Lord Of Beasts

Ethan looked up from where he had been sitting.

Mark stood several metres away, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. His expression was frustrated, almost desperate, and there was a tension in his body that Ethan had learned to recognise.

Something was bothering him and had been for a while.

”I can’t keep pretending this isn’t happening.”

Elara looked over from across the room, and Kaela stopped what she was doing and turned toward Mark.

He took a deep breath before looking down at his hands.

”I feel like I’m a bird in a cage.”

He slowly opened and closed his fingers.

”There’s something inside me. Something that wants out. Every time I try to ignore it, it just gets worse.”

His jaw tightened.

”And the more I suppress it, the more I feel like I’m going to fucking explode.”

It wasn’t exactly hunger.

At least, not the kind that came from an empty stomach.

It was more like an itch buried deep beneath his skin.

A constant, nagging need to understand what his body could do.

Mark had tasted that power in Canada, and snippets of what had happened had been returning over the past couple of days.

He had felt his humanity disappear beneath something stronger, faster, and far more violent. He had experienced what it was like to tear through an A Rank monster with his bare hands.

And then, afterwards, he had been expected to simply go back to normal.

Go back to tending the bar, pouring drinks, and pretending that the monster inside him didn’t exist.

For Mark, that was torture.

Ethan understood how he felt better than anyone.

Mark had tasted the forbidden fruit.

Then someone had ripped it from his hands and told him he could never take another bite.

Except the fruit was still sitting right in front of him.

And Mark knew exactly how good it tasted.

’Yeah.’

Ethan slowly stood.

”I get it.”

Mark looked at him.

”You do?”

Ethan nodded.

”More than you think.”

The two stared at each other for several seconds.

There was no need for Ethan to explain further. Despite all their arguments, disagreements, and constant butting of heads, Ethan and Mark understood each other in a way few people could.

They had grown up, fought, and survived together.

Once two stupid kids convinced they could take on the world with nothing but stubbornness and fists. Now they were older, stronger, and the world had become far more dangerous.

But one thing hadn’t changed.

They were still brothers.

And if they were going to take on the world again, Ethan knew they would do it together.

”Alright,” Ethan said. ”Let’s spar.”

Elara’s expression immediately changed.

”No.”

Even Kaela shook her head.

”I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

Ethan looked at her.

”You too?”

Kaela shrugged.

”I’ve seen that monster.”

She pointed toward Mark.

”That’s not exactly something I’d recommend punching for fun.”

Elara nodded.

”Mark nearly destroyed himself the last time he transformed.”

”I know.”

Ethan looked at Mark.

”That’s why we’re going to test it.”

Mark stared at him for several seconds.

Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face.

”You’re really serious?”

”Yeah.”

Mark’s shoulders relaxed.

For the first time in days, he looked genuinely excited.

”I won’t have to go all-out either.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

Mark smirked.

”Because I’m stronger than you.”

Kaela immediately chimed in.

”Yeah, he definitely is.”

Elara considered it for a moment before reluctantly nodding.

”He probably is.”

Ethan stared at the three of them.

’First that damned Leviathan and now these guys.’

He cracked his knuckles.

’I guess everyone just thinks I’m weak now.’

”Fine,” Ethan said.

His grin widened.

”Let’s see how strong you really are.”

Dr Elias had warned them that Mark’s condition was unstable.

The warning had been more than just medical speculation.

As that man had predicted, Mark had already experienced fits of pain, periods of lost memory, and sudden changes in his body. His transformation wasn’t something he could simply activate and deactivate like an ordinary Titled ability.

He was changing in real time.

His body was adapting to something that nobody fully understood, and what he was eventually going to become remained unclear.

But one thing was already obvious.

Whatever Mark was becoming...

It was strong.

Very strong.

And trying to suppress it hasn’t been working.

Ethan didn’t want Mark to keep using those powers after seeing what they did to him.

But he couldn’t exactly take them away either.

And even if he could, he wasn’t sure that he would do that to him, knowing just how much they meant to him. It was the same thing with his Titled abilities that had literally given him a second chance at life.

Mark wasn’t a child.

He was his brother, and whether Ethan liked it or not, Mark had to learn how to live with what was happening to his body.

’Our best bet is helping him control it and understand it.’

Avoidance wasn’t the answer, as they had thought.

If Mark was going to transform regardless, then Ethan would rather be there when it happened. He would rather understand what Mark could do before Mark was forced to discover it during another life-or-death situation.

And if Ethan was being honest with himself, there was another reason.

He was curious to experience how strong Mark had actually become for himself and find out if he really was stronger than him.

And so they moved to the reinforced training chamber.

Elara and Kaela stood several metres away, watching carefully.

Kaela crossed her arms.

”Last chance to call this off.”

Mark shook his head.

”No.”

”You could get hurt.”

Mark laughed.

”That’s kind of the point.”

Kaela frowned.

”You’re both idiots.”

Ethan grinned.

”You’ve known us long enough to know that.”

Mark rolled his shoulders.

”So, you beat an A Rank monster and think you’re hot shit now?”

Ethan stretched lazily.

”I guess so.”

Mark shrugged.

”And I barely remember doing it.”

His smile faded slightly.

”But I do feel strong.”

Ethan’s expression became more serious.

”That’s exactly what we’re here to figure out.”

Mark nodded.

”Then let’s do it.”

Ethan took a few steps backwards.

”Don’t hold back.”

Mark stared at him.

”You sure?”

”Yeah.”

”Even if I hurt you?”

Ethan’s grin returned.

”You’d have to be capable of that first.”

Mark laughed.

”Alright.”

For a moment, neither moved.

Then Mark burst forward, and thus began their so-called spar...