Lord Of Beasts

A new Chapter of Ethan Crowe’s life had begun.

The world was changing.

The Blessed had finally revealed themselves, the Gates continued to reshape society, and the truth behind the supernatural forces influencing humanity was slowly beginning to surface.

Ethan had come a long way since the day he first received his Title.

He was no longer the desperate prisoner who had stumbled into the Tower Of Beasts with nothing but some street smarts and a refusal to die. He was now an established Titled, an Enforcer of the Association, and slowly embodying the Lord Of Beasts.

And apparently, that meant he had earned the privilege of getting beaten up by his friends.

”Again!”

Kaela’s voice echoed through the enormous training room.

She charged forward with her purple aura flaring around her body, while Wolfy met her head-on. The impact sent a deep boom through the reinforced chamber, cracking the floor beneath them.

Kaela laughed, and Wolfy growled.

Then the enormous Fenrir lunged forward and wrapped his massive jaws around her arm.

”Hey!”

Kaela stumbled as Wolfy pulled.

She dug her feet into the ground and grabbed hold of his thick fur with both hands.

”You’re not supposed to use your teeth!”

Wolfy responded with another growl before dragging her several metres across the floor.

Kaela burst into laughter.

The scene was ridiculous and was almost like a mutated version of a human playing with their dog.

Except the ”dog” was a gigantic Fenrir capable of tearing apart most, while the woman wrestling with him was an A Rank Titled whose purple aura was powerful enough to make the air tremble.

Wolfy clearly wasn’t trying to hurt her.

Neither was Kaela.

They were simply having fun, and had grown much closer since Ethan summoned him much more often now.

Across the training room, however, things were considerably more serious.

Ethan was partially assimilated with Storm.

Electricity crackled around his body while his muscles moved with unnatural swiftness. His compound eyes captured all the surrounding movement, but his attention was focused on the man in front of him.

Or, more correctly, the monster.

He disappeared.

Mark’s eyes widened.

Ethan reappeared beside him.

Mark twisted his body just in time to avoid a fist that tore through the air beside his head.

He retaliated immediately.

His fist slammed toward Ethan.

Ethan ducked beneath it and swept his leg toward Mark’s knee.

Mark’s body shifted.

His skin hardened, and the impact barely moved him.

”You’re getting faster,” Ethan complimented.

”Clearly not fast enough.”

Ethan grinned.

Mark suddenly exploded forward.

His movement was absurd for someone his size, and Ethan was forced to retreat as Mark chased him across the training room.

The two collided again.

Then again.

And again.

Every impact sent vibrations through the reinforced walls.

Even the training room, specifically designed to withstand Titled combat, was beginning to show signs of stress. They had already been warned to tone things down since there was only so much punishment the Association’s facilities could take.

Not that they listened.

Elara stood off to the side, watching all of it.

She looked almost like a mother watching her children compete.

Kaela and Wolfy were rolling across the floor in a chaotic wrestling match, Ethan and Mark were exchanging increasingly dangerous blows, and Elara simply watched with an amused expression.

At one point, Kaela managed to get Wolfy into a headlock.

The massive Fenrir immediately rolled onto his back.

Kaela was dragged down with him.

”Hey!”

Wolfy’s tail wagged.

Kaela burst out laughing.

”You’re such a cheat!”

Elara shook her head.

”They’re both idiots.”

She couldn’t help smiling, though.

The sight was strangely peaceful, especially after everything that had happened. Something as simple as watching them train together almost felt normal. Since their encounter with the Blessed, Mark had changed considerably.

He had finally begun learning how to control whatever had awakened inside him.

From what he understood, he was a Monster.

That was the word the voice had used.

He still didn’t completely understand what that meant, nor could they find records of anything similar, but he had learned one important thing about his body.

It adapted.

Whatever was thrown at him, his body seemed capable of changing to better withstand it.

Strength, speed, and durability.

Those were the three forms of adaptation that came most naturally to him.

Mark could harden his skin at will now, increasing his resistance to physical attacks. He could also temporarily increase his strength and explosiveness, allowing his massive body to move far faster than it should have been capable of.

Increasing his size was still a work in progress.

For now, his overall strength was roughly comparable to that of a powerful C Rank.

But that was only the beginning.

Mark could feel something deeper inside himself that he hadn’t yet learned how to access. More importantly, he could sense countless possibilities for how his body might adapt.

He simply needed to discover them.

And what better way to discover them than through fighting?

Mark suddenly blocked another punch.

The two then exchanged blows before Mark spoke.

”You really not going to address those letters? It’s been a week since you got them.”

Ethan’s expression changed instantly.

”Can we not talk about this right now?”

Mark frowned.

”You going to be a deadbeat just like your own dad?”

Ethan’s fist stopped inches from Mark’s face.

”How do I even know that’s my kid?”

Mark stared at him.

”You could at least meet her and see.”

”I need more time. She was fine for all these years, so what’s a week going to do?”

”That’s not the point.”

Ethan knew that.

He simply didn’t want to talk about it.

That was the problem.

The letter had arrived shortly after Ethan’s name had begun spreading across the world. It had been from Jessica, his high school lover and girlfriend before prison. But after so long, she only wanted to speak with him now that he was a famous Titled.

’What a coincidence.’

But deep down, he knew that wasn’t the entire reason.

It was just easier to ignore the letter and pretend it didn’t exist.

Though it didn’t help that another letter had conveniently accompanied it.

Ethan had spent years learning how to bury things he didn’t want to deal with, and apparently, that habit hadn’t disappeared after prison. But a supposed child wasn’t the only surprise that had been in store for him since returning from Arkansas...