Lord Of Beasts

Its aura alone was frightening.

Ethan had felt powerful auras before, including those of A Rank Monsters and Beasts, and even the S Rank Titan.

This was different.

The moment the demon took control of Elara’s body, the atmosphere inside the training room seemed to change.

The air became heavier.

Ethan could feel something pressing against his skin, not quite physical pressure, but something deeper. It was as though the very space around them had become aware of the demon’s presence and was instinctively trying to make room for it.

Even in his assimilated state, with Wolfy’s enhanced senses still active, Ethan couldn’t properly gauge the thing standing in front of him.

That alone made him uneasy.

The demon turned toward Kaela with an amused expression, completely at ease despite the tense atmosphere.

”We haven’t spoken since we fought in that arena. It seems you’ve finally started to understand what you are.”

She narrowed her eyes.

There it was again.

That cryptic way of speaking.

The demon had always talked as though it knew something they didn’t, dropping hints without ever giving him a straight answer.

Before Ethan could interject, Kaela raised an eyebrow.

”I hate people who speak in riddles, but you up for a rematch or what?”

The demon laughed.

It wasn’t a nervous laugh or one born from surprise, but one of genuine amusement.

”Oh, we’ll have a rematch.”

Its smile widened.

”But you’re far too weak for me to bother with.”

Kaela’s expression flattened.

”That’s fucking rude.”

The demon casually raised Elara’s hand.

There was no dramatic movement, perceivable surge of mana, or visible attack.

It simply waved its palm.

The next instant, Kaela was ripped off her feet.

Her body shot backwards as though she had been struck by an invisible truck. She crossed the training room in an instant before crashing straight through one of the reinforced walls.

BOOM!

The impact shook the entire room.

Dust and fragments of reinforced material exploded outward as Kaela disappeared into the next room.

Ethan winced.

The wall had been specifically designed to withstand attacks from powerful Titled. It had remained intact through countless training sessions, and even a bomb would have struggled to do more than leave a dent in its surface.

Yet the demon had sent Kaela straight through it with nothing more than a casual wave of its hand.

’Yeah.’

Ethan stared at the hole in the wall.

’That’s a problem.’

For several seconds, there was silence.

Then Kaela walked back through the opening.

She had already recovered.

Her spine had been shattered by the impact, yet her regeneration had repaired the damage before she even returned to the room. She rolled her shoulders once, then rotated her neck as though checking whether everything was working properly.

”I’m looking forward to it.”

Ethan stared at her.

He couldn’t help being both surprised and impressed.

Kaela wasn’t angry.

She wasn’t rushing back in or pretending that she could win.

Instead, she had accepted what had just happened and returned to the room without making a foolish decision.

Ethan understood why.

Kaela was holding herself back, not only because Mark was the reason they were here, but because she understood that fighting the demon right now would accomplish nothing.

She knew she had no chance.

At least, not yet.

Ethan looked toward Elara.

Or rather, the demon controlling her.

Elara had grown considerably stronger since their first encounter, exactly as the demon had intended. The stronger its host became, the more of its own power it could unleash. That meant the creature standing in front of them wasn’t the same demon Ethan had encountered before, which was already immensely powerful.

It had access to more of its power now.

Much more.

The difference was terrifying.

The power that had left Ethan in awe during that first Ant Gate was nothing compared to what the demon seemed capable of now. And somehow, the most unsettling part wasn’t even its overwhelming strength.

It was the way it seemed to understand everything happening around it.

It knew what Ethan was, what Mark was becoming, and even what had happened with Kaela. And judging by the confidence in its expression, it somehow knew far more than any of them realised.

Ethan’s eyes shifted toward Mark.

His friend was still lying on the floor, barely conscious.

’Maybe it really can fix him.’

There was only one problem.

Like the devil that it was, the demon didn’t do favours for free.

”You already owe me one from way back when, and now you’re asking for help. A little shameless, no?”

The demon’s smile became almost playful.

”I mean, I’ve been nice and informative, but I feel like I’m being used here.”

”Fair enough.”

Ethan couldn’t exactly argue with that.

He glanced down at Mark.

The man was still twitching occasionally, his breathing shallow and uneven. The faint rhythm of his strange heartbeat remained in Ethan’s enhanced senses. Whatever was happening inside Mark, his condition was deteriorating by the second.

”So, what do you want?”

The demon’s smile widened.

”At some point in the future, I will need you to do something for me. And you must do it without questions asked.”

Ethan stared at it.

”A little vague, don’t you think?”

He couldn’t help suppressing a laugh.

Even in a situation this serious, the demon somehow managed to make the entire thing sound like a shady business transaction.

Kaela folded her arms.

”And what makes you think he’d actually follow through?”

Her expression was openly suspicious.

The demon glanced toward Ethan.

”Beast Boy would do well to keep his word.”

”Hey, it’s Beast Man.”

Ethan frowned.

He didn’t particularly like that name either, but it was still better than Beast Boy.

The demon’s smile twitched.

For a moment, Ethan wondered if it was genuinely amused by the correction.

He pushed the thought aside.

There were more important things to worry about.

Ethan took a moment to consider the offer.

He knew better than to agree to something blindly and then try to trick a demon that literally lived inside his lover. That was the kind of decision that could come back to bite him in ways he couldn’t even imagine.

But Mark was lying on the floor in front of him.

If this thing could genuinely help him, Ethan was willing to listen.

”And what is it you can do?”

The demon’s expression became more serious.

”Your friend here is dying because he doesn’t understand what he is.”

Ethan’s eyes widened.

”Dying?!”

He had suspected as much, but hearing it put so bluntly made his heart sink.

”Yes.”

The demon looked toward Mark.

”His body is breaking down, and every one of those adaptations you see is eating away at his lifespan.”

Ethan’s expression darkened.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

The thought of Mark using his lifespan hadn’t even occurred to him.

Ethan could see that the transformations were dangerous. He had seen Mark collapse, lose control, suffer pain, and struggle to remember what happened during his transformations. But he had always believed they were problems they could eventually solve.

He hadn’t realised they were on a clock.

’He’s been killing himself every time he transforms.’

The realisation settled heavily in Ethan’s stomach.

Mark wasn’t simply becoming stronger; his body was consuming itself to achieve that strength.

The more he adapted, the more damage he was doing to himself.

”But there is a way to help him.”

The demon spoke with a smile on his face, one that made a chill run down their spines...