Lord Of Beasts

Inside the Gate, in a gigantic dark chamber where the corpse of an enormous A Rank beast lay sprawled across the stone floor, a grin slowly spread across Ethan’s face.

"So..."

He lowered his stance as blue electricity began crawling across his arms. Flickers snapped from his fingertips before disappearing into the darkness.

"I guess it’s time for the rematch."

The vampire’s smile widened.

"I’ve been waiting."

She rose from the corpse of the enormous monster, stepping casually across its black-scaled body before dropping lightly onto the stone floor. For the first time since Ethan had seen her, the relaxed amusement disappeared from her expression.

Her slitted eyes sharpened, and something far more dangerous entered them.

The atmosphere changed.

It wasn’t merely killing intent.

This was pressure, one that could only be radiated by someone extremely powerful.

A suffocating sense of danger settled over the chamber, heavy enough to make the hair on Ethan’s arms stand on end. Even the air seemed to grow colder around her, as though the temperature itself had reacted to her presence.

Beside him, Wolfy lowered his body and pulled his lips back, exposing a row of gleaming fangs.

Ethan’s grin only widened despite her aura.

The vampire laughed softly.

"Come."

"Gladly."

Lightning detonated from his body.

’Thunder Dash!’

Ethan vanished.

Wolfy launched forward at the same time, the two of them attacking from opposite sides. Ethan flashed toward the vampire’s head while Wolfy surged toward her legs, their movements perfectly synchronised.

For a fraction of a second, their attack looked flawless.

Then the vampire moved.

She disappeared.

Ethan’s fist tore through empty air while Wolfy’s teeth closed on nothing but a strand of black fabric.

"What the-?"

A blur flashed past Ethan.

He barely sensed it before something slammed into his shoulder.

Boom!

His body was launched sideways.

Ethan skidded across the stone floor, his sneakers carving shallow grooves through the dust. He dug his feet into the ground and forced himself to a stop before his back could collide with the wall.

His eyes narrowed.

"She’s fast."

In an instant, the vampire was already behind Wolfy.

The Fenrir spun and swung his claws, but she simply leaned backwards. His claws passed within inches of her face, missing by the smallest possible margin. Then, with almost effortless grace, she twisted around Wolfy’s attack and stepped onto its forearm as though it were nothing more than a platform.

For a moment, she stood there.

’What a showoff.’

Then she kicked before Ethan could even unsummon his beast.

Boom!

Wolfy’s massive body flew sideways. He crashed into the stone floor and rolled several metres before digging his claws into the ground and forcing himself upright.

Ethan’s grin disappeared.

He had expected her to be strong, but this was beyond him.

’She was holding back way more than I was last time.’

The realisation sent a thrill through him.

In their previous encounter, she had just been testing his limits, and now she was just toying with him. From the start, the vampire-like woman knew that he was no match for her and had him dancing in the palm of her hand.

Ethan’s gaze shifted toward the enormous corpse behind her.

Whatever that monster had been, it looked powerful enough to tear through an entire city. Its gigantic body was covered in wounds that would have taken an entire squad of B Rank Titled people to inflict.

Yet she had been sitting casually on top of its corpse when Ethan arrived.

She hadn’t looked tired, injured, or even particularly excited.

’Killing an A Rank monster like it was nothing...’

Only the likes of Kaela and Elara were capable of such feats, and something told him that she might even be beyond them.

Ethan’s eyes sharpened.

’This isn’t looking good, but everything can be killed. I just have to get her to drop her guard and land a strong enough attack. Lightning should be pretty effective against her as well, if she really is a vampire.’

Blue electricity crawled across his transformed body as he remained calm and composed.

"So, what’s your name, sweetie?"

The vampire blinked, surprised by his sudden, casual question.

She smiled.

"Aisha."

There was no reason for her to hide it. Ethan already knew her face, and judging from the confidence in her expression, she didn’t believe knowing her name would make the slightest difference.

"Aisha, huh."

Ethan barely finished speaking before she suddenly appeared in front of him.

Her fist swept toward his face.

Ethan barely managed to duck in time, his compound eyes catching her blur of movement. The strike passed over his head, close enough for him to feel the pressure of it.

He immediately activated Thunder Dash.

Boom!

He shot backwards.

Aisha followed.

The distance between them disappeared almost instantly.

Ethan twisted sideways as her claw-like nails swept across his chest. He felt the wind of them pass over his skin as he narrowly avoided the attack.

’She’s playing with me.’

Ethan countered with a punch.

Aisha slipped beneath it.

He followed with a knee, but she turned her body just enough for his attack to miss by inches.

Her expression remained completely relaxed.

Ethan laughed.

"What are you? A Rank? S Rank, maybe?"

He flashed sideways as Wolfy attacked from behind, jumping into the fray.

Aisha spun as the Fenrir’s claws crossed and came down.

She blocked them with one arm, the impact shaking the entire chamber.

Boom!

Aisha didn’t even slide backwards, pushing the fenrir back without so much as a scratch.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

She had actually blocked Wolfy’s full-strength attack.

Aisha looked at the Fenrir before shifting her gaze back toward Ethan.

"You’re quite strong."

She smiled, seeing Ethan pout sarcastically.

"And you’re not bad either."

He charged again.

"Not bad? I thought I was pretty good."

Their exchange became a blur.

Lightning flashed across the chamber as Ethan repeatedly used Thunder Dash to reposition himself. Wolfy attacked in perfect sync from opposing directions, forcing Aisha to divide her attention between them and preventing her from focusing entirely on either opponent.

But even together, they couldn’t pin her down.

Aisha slipped between their attacks with movements so smooth that she seemed to disappear between moments. Every dodge was precise, every movement economical, and every counter came without hesitation.

Ethan ducked beneath a claw.

"You’re dodging a lot for someone who looks so confident."

Aisha laughed.

"And you talk too much."

"People tell me that."

Ethan suddenly accelerated.

’Thunder Dash!’

Boom!

He flashed toward her.

Aisha evaded effortlessly, but he wasn’t done yet.

Ethan collided with Wolfy and changed direction in midair, the giant fenrir flinging him her way. He used the momentum to alter his trajectory, giving his beast a curt nod the moment they made contact.

Her eyes narrowed.

For the first time, she looked slightly surprised.

This was the first time he had managed to get this close without her being on the offensive.

"Got you."

Ethan raised his arms, going to grab her, but Aisha suddenly disappeared.

His eyes widened.

"No, I’ve got you," she whispered in his ear.

Then something cold touched his neck as her fangs sank into his flesh.

"Ah-!"

A freezing sensation rushed through Ethan’s entire body.

Aisha pulled away almost immediately.

Ethan stumbled backwards, one hand clamping around his neck.

"What the fuck was that?!"