Lord Of Beasts

”I have a two-pronged solution that can save your friend.”

Ethan immediately looked back toward the demon.

His expression hardened as he studied the creature wearing Elara’s body. After everything that had happened, he wasn’t sure whether he should be relieved that the demon had an answer or even more concerned that it seemed so confident.

”What kind of solution?”

The demon didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, it looked down at Mark.

Mark was still lying on the training room floor, his body twitching violently. His breathing remained shallow, and more importantly, his strange triple heartbeat was still dangerously uneven.

The demon’s expression became more serious.

”There are two problems inside him.”

Ethan remained silent, waiting.

”His body is changing faster than it can stabilise, and his mind hasn’t learned how to control what those changes are producing.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

That made sense.

During the fight, Mark’s body had adapted to almost everything Ethan threw at him. It had hardened his skin, strengthened his muscles, increased his speed, and even begun reproducing techniques he had witnessed from other people.

He could adapt, but his mind couldn’t keep up and his body was suffering in the long run.

The demon looked back at Ethan.

”Fix one, and the other will continue to destroy him. If you fix his body, he will become a mindless monster, and if you fix his mind, his body will fall apart.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened.

”So we fix both.”

The demon smiled.

”Exactly.”

There was something unsettling about how simple the answer sounded coming from the demon.

Ethan looked down at Mark again.

For a moment, he remembered the fight and how impressive his brother had been. Then his mind went back all those years; it was just him and Mark against the world and the only one waiting for him after being released was his best friend.

That dark-green power was eating Mark alive.

If that process continued without some kind of control, Ethan could already imagine where it would eventually lead.

Mark would become stronger.

Then stronger again.

But eventually, there might not be enough of Mark left to control the strength.

Ethan didn’t like the thought.

Not one bit.

He locked eyes with his lover’s body, now possessed by the demon within.

There was no hesitation as he extended his hand.

”Sounds good to me.”

The demon looked at his hand for a moment before taking it.

”Whatever it is you want me to do, as long as it doesn’t harm any of the people I care about, I’ll do it.”

The demon smiled ominously.

”Good.”

Its grip tightened slightly around Ethan’s hand.

”Then let’s get started.”

Ethan was willing to do almost anything to save his friend from dying.

And if Mark eventually came out of this as a stable Titled-like entity, then Ethan was all for it.

There was only one problem.

He had agreed without knowing what he had just signed himself up for.

”So...”

Ethan released the demon’s hand and looked at it expectantly.

”What exactly does that mean?”

Inside her own mind, Elara remained tense as she watched everything unfold.

She could see and hear everything happening outside, but she remained unable to interfere while the demon occupied her body. She could only watch as Ethan made a deal with the entity that had been living inside her.

Mark continued twitching on the ground.

His strange triple heartbeat was faint, each beat separated by just enough of a pause to make Ethan’s enhanced senses uneasy. Kaela stood nearby with her arms crossed, listening attentively as the strange deal was being made.

The demon laughed.

”It’s simple.”

It raised two fingers.

”Like I said, it’s a two-pronged solution. That means we attack this problem from two angles, and the two of you will handle one of them each.”

Kaela and Ethan glanced at each other.

Neither of them looked particularly reassured.

Then they looked back at the demon, ready to do whatever was necessary if it meant helping Mark and finally ending this destructive cycle.

Ethan exhaled slowly.

”Alright.”

The demon’s smile widened.

”The first part is simple.”

It lowered one finger.

”His body needs something it can use to fuel it instead of his lifespan.”

Ethan frowned.

”What does that mean?”

”It means he needs monsters,” Kaela chimed in, recalling how Mark had siphoned the Boss Monster in that gate.

Ethan blinked.

”Monsters?”

”Living monsters.” The demon clarified. ”Not corpses. Not meat taken from something that has already died. His body needs the living essence of monsters.”

Ethan stared at it.

”Why?”

”Because his body is constantly trying to adapt.”

The demon gestured toward Mark.

”Every time he transforms, his body creates something new. It changes his muscles, his skin, his organs, his senses, and even his mind. But those changes require something to feed on.”

Ethan’s expression darkened.

”And you’re saying monsters can provide that?”

”Exactly.”

The demon nodded.

”His body is starving for something it doesn’t even understand. That hunger is one of the reasons his transformations are becoming so violent. If you give that hunger something appropriate to consume, his body will have less reason to devour itself.”

Ethan looked at Mark again.

”So he needs to feed.”

”Regularly.”

The demon’s voice became more serious.

”If he feeds on monsters consistently, his body should be able to use their strength and biological essence to support his adaptations. Instead of constantly tearing itself apart to produce the power it wants, it will have another source.”

Ethan frowned.

”And they have to be alive?”

”Yes.”

The demon’s answer was immediate.

”Dead monsters won’t be enough. His body needs to experience the process of overcoming something that is still alive. The instinct you’re trying to suppress isn’t simply hunger. It is the need to hunt, kill, and consume.”

The demon smiled.

”He is a monster now, after all.”

Ethan didn’t know how he felt about that, but there was something more concerning.

A smile slowly spread across Kaela’s face.

He noticed immediately.

”I’ve got an idea.”

The demon looked toward her.

”Of course you do.”

Kaela’s smile widened.

”There are plenty of monsters out there. And if he needs them living, imma fucking get them.”

Ethan nodded appreciatively, though he was sure her idea wasn’t a sane one.

”That would satisfy the first half.”

Ethan turned back to the demon.

”And the second?”

It smiled.

”Well, that’s the one you need to fix.”