Lord Of Beasts

Elara moved across the city like a crimson phantom.

One moment she stood on the ground in front of the Black Howl.

The next, she was atop a rooftop.

Then again, she was already somewhere else.

She effortlessly distorted the space around her as she seamlessly blinked hundreds of metres forward. There was no buildup, no visible strain, no explosive burst of speed. It simply looked as though reality itself had skipped a frame.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Each displacement carried her effortlessly across the sprawling skyline of New York. She wasn’t running or flying, but rather teleporting from rooftop to rooftop, covering miles in seconds.

But at some point she’d even begun hovering unconsciously, her feet drifting several metres above the roof as crimson mana carried her weight with almost no effort.

Watching the city pass beneath her, she couldn’t help smiling.

Essentially, she had mimicked Ethan’s Flame Flight and Dave’s hovering, while relying on muscle memory to replicate the Blood Demon’s flight. As she did, its hoarse voice echoed quietly through her mind.

"You aren’t restricted like most Titled. Their abilities are fixed. Yours are not. As long as you possess enough energy, there is very little you cannot accomplish."

At the time, those words hadn’t fully settled in, but now she was beginning to understand.

’This is amazing!’

The journey across the city barely took any time at all. And while an ordinary person would’ve spent hours fighting through traffic, Elara had arrived in minutes.

Hudson River Park had been completely sealed off.

Military trucks lined the surrounding roads while rows of concrete barricades prevented civilians from approaching. Floodlights illuminated the riverside despite the daylight, and armed soldiers stood watch around the perimeter.

Several Black Suits patrolled the area as well.

One of them, a young woman who barely looked out of her teens, kept nervously checking her watch.

She looked up, then jumped nearly out of her skin.

Elara had simply appeared.

"M-Miss Veyne..."

The Black Suit swallowed nervously.

"You’ve... arrived sooner than expected."

Elara merely nodded.

She could tell immediately that the woman was frightened of her simply because she was the Blood Demon. That title alone was enough to make most Association personnel nervous. Not wanting to make things any more uncomfortable, Elara quietly followed as the woman hurriedly led her deeper into the restricted zone.

Soon, the Gate came into view.

Even after seeing countless Gates, they remained awe-inspiring.

Towering nearly ten metres high, the portal resembled a colossal tear carved into reality itself. Black and violet energy swirled endlessly in its centre. The surrounding air warped continuously, bending light and distorting space around its edges.

Raw mana rolled off it in suffocating waves.

Most people instinctively stepped backwards, but Elara stepped closer as if drawn to it.

She calmly studied the enormous portal.

’There shouldn’t be a Gate Takeover this time, and even if there is... I can handle it.’

There was a confidence inside her now that simply hadn’t existed before, one that bordered on recklessness. And she knew exactly who she had gotten it from. Ethan always acted as though impossible odds simply didn’t matter.

Whether that attitude was sensible or not, it was contagious.

Especially now that she possessed what felt like endless power that she was only just starting to understand. And if everything truly went wrong, she still had her greatest trump card.

The demon dormant within her.

As much as she hated not having control of her own body and hoped that she never had to rely on it again, just the fact that it existed was reassuring.

The Black Suit quickly opened a tablet.

"I will arrange for a scouting team that can-"

"I’ll be back."

Before the woman could finish, Elara walked straight into the Gate.

"..."

The Black Suit stared blankly.

She hadn’t even had time to explain the Gate’s layout or possible threats within.

"I suppose she doesn’t need it."

-

Darkness consumed Elara for a moment, then there was light as her feet touched solid ground once more. She slowly opened her eyes and took in the new world she had entered. Unlike the underground cove and floating islands she’d explored alongside Ethan...

This place felt ancient.

Massive stone cliffs stretched endlessly towards a blood-red sky. Ruined fortresses sat atop jagged mountains, half-collapsed after centuries of war. Great pillars of black stone rose from the earth like broken spears. Ash drifted lazily through the air, despite there being no visible fire.

Everything smelled of iron and old blood.

A dry wind swept across the desolate landscape, carrying distant echoes that sounded almost like war drums. But behind her, the gate remained stable and unmoving. Unlike Ethan’s bizarre experiences, the portal hadn’t disappeared.

While the creatures within couldn’t exit until the gate ruptured further, she could leave whenever she wished. But she had absolutely no intention of doing so, not until the Gate Core was destroyed, which almost certainly meant defeating its strongest monster.

’For a B Rank Gate... that should be an A Rank boss.’

But rather than intimidating her, the thought only made her curious.

’I wonder how strong it’ll be.’

She began walking, no, floating instead. Crimson mana naturally supported her body as she drifted silently through the ruined landscape, understanding why Dave loved it so much. Though something felt different, and it took several minutes before she realised what it was.

’This place doesn’t have beasts.’

Around Ethan, that’s what she had grown used to.

But before encountering the blue-eyed enigma, she had entered a series of other gates that were mostly filled with monsters, just like the creatures that were appearing now.

Heavy footsteps shook the ground as a towering figure emerged from behind a ruined wall.

Then another.

And several more.

’Orcs.’

Each stood over six metres tall, nearly twenty feet, with thick green-grey skin resembling weathered stone. Their tusks curved upwards like daggers, while crude iron armour hung across bodies covered in old battle scars.

Massive axes rested across equally massive shoulders. Some carried tree trunks reinforced with iron bands instead of proper weapons, while others wore necklaces fashioned from skulls.

But regardless of their equipment, their yellow eyes immediately locked onto the tiny human floating before them.

They roared, their war cries echoing throughout the entire valley.

Elara smiled in response.