Lord Of Beasts

Mark ran through the crazy Gate like a man on a mission.

The Gate itself almost felt as though it were expanding in real time, its unstable environment continuing to grow and distort around him. Floating chunks of land shifted in the distance, rivers of crimson mana snaked through the landscape, and the dark sky seemed to pulse with the same unnatural energy that filled the air.

None of it mattered to Mark.

His eyes were completely consumed by blackness, like two endless abysses that contained no emotion, thought, or recognition. Even Mark himself didn’t know what he was doing or what he was after.

He couldn’t explain why his body was moving, nor could he stop it.

Mark was like an animal that had spent its entire life trapped inside a cage, only to have that cage suddenly opened and its innate disposition finally take over the moment it was released into the wild.

Except in this case, the wild was a Gate.

And the animal was Mark.

A monster.

The moment Mark disappeared deeper into the Gate, monsters began emerging from the surrounding terrain.

They came from everywhere.

C+ Rank Monsters crawled from beneath the strange soil, others descended from floating chunks of rock, while some simply wandered through the unstable landscape until they noticed the intruder tearing through their territory.

They attacked.

Mark didn’t even slow down.

His body twisted instinctively as one monster lunged at him, its claws tearing through the air where his head had been a moment earlier. Mark continued forward without even looking back, his body moving as though it already knew exactly where the attack was coming from.

Another monster charged from his side.

Mark’s fist slammed into it.

BOOM!

The Monster was sent flying through the air, its body smashing into a massive rock formation before disappearing beneath the rubble.

Mark didn’t stop.

He didn’t even seem to notice.

His heart beat once.

Thump.

His body accelerated.

Another beat.

Thump.

His muscles tightened, his legs pushing harder against the ground.

Then the third.

THUMP.

Something inside him surged, and his speed increased again.

It wasn’t a normal heartbeat anymore.

Every time his heart completed that strange rhythm, Mark’s mutated body seemed to become stronger, faster, and more efficient. And somewhere deep inside that monstrous humanoid figure was Mark.

The same Mark that Ethan had grown up with.

The same man who had spent years beside him, fought beside him, laughed with him, and remained one of the most important people in Ethan’s life.

But right now, that man was buried beneath something far more primal.

Something that didn’t care about friendship or consequences, seeking out only one thing.

The Gate Core.

And thus the Boss Monster that contained it.

Mark continued charging toward it as though some invisible thread were pulling him directly toward the centre of the Gate.

Another Monster suddenly appeared in his path.

It was enormous, covered in thick plates of dark flesh and carrying enough power to make most Titled hesitate before engaging it.

Mark didn’t.

He smashed straight through it.

His shoulder collided with the monster’s body with enough force to send it flying sideways, its massive frame tumbling across the ground as though it weighed nothing.

Mark continued forward.

Another three beats.

Thump.

Thump.

THUMP.

His body became even stronger, charging up as he continued getting closer. And with every step, the monstrous presence inside him seemed to grow louder.

But the question remained.

Despite his improvements, could Mark actually defeat the Boss Monster?

And even if he could, why was he going after it in the first place?

What would happen if he reached it?

What would become of Mark if that monster inside him finally got what it wanted?

Those were the questions even he himself didn’t have the answers to, and that was what concerned Elara the most.

She wanted to stop him before things got completely out of hand.

The only problem was that another one of the strongest A Ranks in the country, who also happened to have a few screws loose, had absolutely no intention of letting that happen.

’It’s two birds with one stone.’

Kaela grinned as she squared herself up against Elara again.

’I get to have a fun fight, and I get to cause some trouble while letting good old Mark find himself in this Gate.’

Elara didn’t exactly agree with that logic.

”Kaela, move.”

”Nope.”

”Mark is heading straight toward the center of this Gate.”

”Yeah. I noticed.”

”And you aren’t concerned?”

Kaela shrugged.

”Not really.”

Elara’s eye twitched.

Talking wasn’t getting through to her.

Kaela wasn’t simply being reckless for the sake of being reckless.

There was something else behind that wild grin, and she seemed deep in thought, much more than usual.

Her abilities had always been rather one-dimensional.

Kaela possessed an absurd amount of mana, but almost all of it remained trapped inside her body. She had always treated that mana as fuel for her physical abilities. It made her stronger, faster, tougher, and allowed her body to recover from injuries that should have crippled anyone else.

Her regeneration, physical strength, and endurance were absurd.

When it came to using mana in other ways, she had barely explored it and always believed she wasn’t able to.

But lately, two people had given her plenty of inspiration.

Ethan and Mark.

Ethan was constantly developing and experimenting.

He never seemed satisfied with simply having an ability. If something could be used in a different way, he would find that way. If there was a weakness, he would look for a workaround. If there was something he didn’t understand, he would experiment until he did.

And then there was Mark.

Mark’s entire body was practically an experiment in itself.

His body adapted, transformed, and learned.

It changed according to whatever situation it found itself in, and Kaela couldn’t help but wonder if she could do something similar.

’I should be able to, or at least something close.’

She had no idea exactly how she was going to accomplish it yet.

But that was what made it interesting.

She planned on figuring it out, and right now, she intended to use Elara to push her to her limits.

”Kaela!”

Elara disappeared.

Kaela’s grin widened.

She barely raised her arm before Elara reappeared directly in front of her, her fist already flying toward Kaela’s face.

BOOM!

Kaela blocked it.

The ground beneath her feet cracked.

”See?” Kaela said, grinning. ”You’re enjoying this too.”

”I’m trying to get past you!”

Elara could blink past her, but the only thing worse than having her in her path was having the deranged woman chasing after her.

As such, she had no choice but to take her down.

Kaela swung.

Elara leaned away from the blow, crimson mana coating her body as she instantly displaced herself several metres away.

”You need to relax,” Kaela said.

”Relax?!”

”Yeah.”

”Mark is running directly toward the centre of an unstable and dangerous Gate!”

”He’s a grown man.”

”That doesn’t mean we let him run into a death trap!”

Kaela laughed.

”You’re worrying too much.”

Elara’s expression darkened as their exchange escalated further.

But that was exactly what the Riot Valkyrie wanted.

She was starting to figure things out.

Every exchange gave her something new to think about. Every time Elara pushed her back, Kaela’s body responded. She was learning and understand how her muscles adjusted as mana flowed through her body.

But Elara was losing her temper more and more, and there was something else pushing that temper along...