Lord Of Beasts

Before anyone had the chance to stop them, the Enforcers suddenly jumped out of the moving SUV.

Or more accurately, Ethan, who had been sitting between Kaela and Elara, casually planted a foot against Kaela’s side and kicked her straight out of the vehicle before launching himself out after her.

"What the-"

Mark nearly had a heart attack.

For a split second, he was convinced they’d both just committed suicide.

Instead of tumbling across the dirt road, the pair landed in perfect strides, absorbing the momentum so naturally it almost looked rehearsed. Their feet barely lingered on the ground before they broke into a sprint, effortlessly keeping pace with the speeding SUV as though they were jogging through a park.

Kaela’s violet aura erupted around her body.

’Partial Assimilation: Talon.’

At almost the same moment, green mana coursed through Ethan as he fused with his Griffling. Hawk-like eyes replaced his own as his body morphed, especially his hands, which reshaped into razor-sharp talons.

The two of them tore across the dry countryside, keeping up with the vehicle with ridiculous ease. One moment they were running shoulder to shoulder, the next, they were trying to knock each other off course.

Kaela slammed her shoulder into Ethan’s.

The impact shoved him several metres sideways, sending dirt exploding beneath his boots. Ethan simply dug his feet into the ground, carved a pair of trenches through the earth, then laughed as he launched himself straight back at her.

Kaela caught him without slowing down.

Then, she threw him.

Ethan spun twice through the air before landing lightly on his feet, barely losing any momentum as he continued sprinting alongside her. The pair looked less like Enforcers and more like superpowered children.

The truck driver wisely veered away from the duo as they clashed alongside the vehicle.

Mark, however, couldn’t stop staring.

His eyes were practically glued to the window.

"Is this... normal?"

Elara couldn’t help laughing.

"They’re like brother and sister."

Ever since Ethan had bluntly announced that Kaela preferred women, Elara had found herself relaxing more and more around the Riot Valkyrie.

That wasn’t the only reason.

Ethan himself had made his feelings painfully obvious.

Be it through his teasing, his careless comments, or the little moments when he thought nobody was paying attention, he had made one thing perfectly clear.

She was the only one for him.

As chaotic, reckless, and impossible to predict as Ethan could be, he was still someone she trusted completely. Which somehow made watching him and Kaela repeatedly attempt to launch each other across the countryside even more amusing.

She smiled, enjoying the increased space while it lasted.

After several more minutes of racing one another through the open fields, the pair suddenly accelerated. Almost simultaneously, they leapt back into the moving truck, which lurched violently beneath the added weight.

The already abused suspension let out a loud metallic screech that sounded dangerously close to giving up entirely.

"They’re definitely going to get me killed," Mark muttered under his breath.

As Ethan settled comfortably back into his seat, the green mana surrounding him gradually faded. His talons disappeared, and his hawk-like eyes slowly returned to normal. Beside him, Kaela’s violet aura also dispersed until she once again looked like nothing more than an unusually muscular woman.

Mark quietly watched the transformation.

Every single time he almost forgot, they reminded him that they weren’t ordinary humans like he was. It was a strange feeling, watching the person closest to him become less normal with every passing day.

Not that he said anything.

He simply remained silent as the car continued rattling along the endless dirt roads.

"Sorry about the door, I’m sure the Association will compensate you."

"Ah, don’t worry about it."

The black suit didn’t seem to care, and even if he did, he wouldn’t say it.

"You’re pretty fast for a B Rank Summoner," Kaela commented.

"And you’re fucking strong for an A Rank cow," was Ethan’s response, recalling being thrown around like he weighed nothing before gliding back to the ground and landing gracefully.

He hadn’t even been able to knock her off balance.

She smiled to herself, ’At this rate, he’ll be able to give me a fun fight very soon.’

Her eyes then landed on Elara, who had also somehow been improving rapidly, and she couldn’t help but get excited.

’She’s meant to be even stronger than me.’

But that only made her more eager to face her again, maybe this time without that demon taking over. She barely suppressed the urge to go on a rampage and fight her right away, her eyes remaining locked onto both of them.

’Whatever it is making them stronger, I just hope it rubs off on me.’

Titled rarely progressed in rank since their innate potential restricted them no matter how skilled they became at wielding their abilities. Ethan was among the few anomalies who rapidly grew in power, while Elara seemed to have endless potential.

Seeing her staring at them, Ethan wrapped an arm around Elara’s shoulders and pulled her closer against his side.

"You jealous?"

Kaela laughed. "Oh, get a room."

"We’ve got one," Ethan replied without missing a beat. "It’s under a bar."

That only made Kaela laugh even harder.

The easy banter continued for the remainder of the journey, broken only by the occasional bump that threatened to launch everyone through the roof. Gradually, the endless countryside gave way to scattered farmhouses and narrow dirt roads winding through the open fields until, not long afterwards...

They finally arrived at their destination.

"We’re here."

The driver carefully brought the ageing SUV to a gentle stop before glancing back through the rear-view mirror.

Kaela climbed out first, and the others followed close behind.

The first thing that struck Ethan wasn’t the house.

It was the space.

Back in New York, every building fought for every square metre of land. Towering apartments stood shoulder to shoulder, roads never truly emptied, and no matter where you looked, there always seemed to be another person, another car, another source of noise.

Here there was almost nothing.

The nearest neighbouring house sat hundreds of metres away, separated by long stretches of dry grass, old wooden fencing and patches of overgrown fields swaying lazily beneath the afternoon breeze.

The silence felt almost unnatural.

Somewhere in the distance, birds chirped peacefully, rusted windmill creaked rhythmically as it slowly turned with the wind.

Beyond that, there was nothing.

Though the house itself was small, old, and worn by time.

Its faded white paint had long since begun peeling away, exposing weathered timber beneath. The front porch sagged slightly under its own weight, while one of the railings had clearly been repaired countless times using mismatched wooden planks gathered from who knew where.

The roof wasn’t in much better condition.

Several tiles had obviously been replaced at completely different times, leaving uneven patches scattered across its surface.

Despite everything, the place didn’t feel abandoned.

The grass had been cut recently, flower pots rested neatly beside the front steps, and someone clearly cared enough to keep the little house standing.

Ethan glanced toward the driver.

"So you’re telling me Darren lives there?"

The Black Suit shrugged.

"It’s the address you gave me."

Ethan slowly nodded.

"Fair enough."

Turning back toward the others, he gestured toward the vehicle.

"You guys hang around here. I’ll go see if my old friend is actually home."

They all nodded, though they couldn’t help but be curious, especially Mark, who frowned thoughtfully. He couldn’t remember Ethan ever mentioning many friends, and outside of himself, he wasn’t entirely sure Ethan had ever truly been close to anyone.

So who exactly was this Darren?

And why was he living all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?

Ethan walked up the creaking wooden steps before knocking firmly on the front door.

There was no response.

He waited before knocking again, slightly harder this time, but still nothing.

"Huh."

His eyes slowly wandered around the house until they settled on an upstairs window that had been left slightly open.

"Good enough."

With almost insulting ease, Ethan bent his knees before launching himself upwards. Even without Beast Assimilation, his physical abilities had increased enormously since initially receiving his Title.

His fingers caught the windowsill effortlessly.

One smooth pull later, he climbed inside without hesitation.

Mark simply stared.

"Isn’t that breaking and entering?"

Kaela folded her arms thoughtfully.

"I mean, technically he didn’t actually break anything."

"Um... I don’t think that’s how it works."

She just laughed, knowing nobody was going to arrest him for it either way.

Meanwhile, Ethan began exploring the house...