Lord Of Beasts

The last surprise Ethan had after exiting the Tower had been waking up to Elara riding him. Looking back on it, the system hadn’t warned him of it, so it hadn’t considered that a threat.

’It knew better than to interrupt that one,’ he joked to himself.

This time, there was no immediate surprise waiting for him, only extreme exhaustion. The frozen wasteland dissolved into countless motes of light before the familiar darkness of the Black Howl’s basement returned.

Ethan slowly opened his eyes.

The muffled sounds of conversation and laughter drifted faintly through the floorboards overhead, telling him the bar was still open. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he squinted at the screen before letting out a tired breath.

Almost twenty-four hours had passed.

To anyone else, it would’ve looked as though he’d spent an entire day asleep.

The reality couldn’t have been further from the truth.

He’d conquered three Tower floors, battled dozens upon dozens of beasts, tested newly acquired skills after evolving Storm, experimented with Beast Suppression, reviewed every one of his beasts, and even watched two B Rank face each other.

His body had recovered countless times inside the Tower, but his mind hadn’t, and he hadn’t truly rested since before entering the insect Gate.

Now that everything was over, the mental exhaustion finally caught up with him.

It settled over him like a lead blanket, crushing away every remaining ounce of motivation. Even lifting his arm felt like work, as he dismissed the System Interface. He barely had enough energy left to pull the scorched blanket over himself before his eyelids became impossibly heavy.

This time, he wasn’t entering the Tower or even thinking about it.

He was simply going to sleep, which had become a rare luxury for the Lord Of Beasts.

Morning arrived far too quickly.

Warm sunlight filtered through the small basement side window, replacing the darkness with soft golden light. Ethan stretched instinctively, letting out a long yawn as every muscle in his body relaxed.

"Mmm."

His eyes slowly opened, then immediately narrowed.

"Huh?"

Something felt... different.

He sat up slowly, still half asleep, and finally looked around the basement.

"What the fuck?"

For a brief moment, he genuinely wondered if his body had been moved while he was asleep.

The Black Howl had transformed.

Gone were the cracked walls stained by years of neglect, the leaking pipes that constantly dripped into rusty buckets, and the warped wooden beams that had always looked one strong breeze away from collapsing.

The damp, mould-infested basement had been completely rebuilt, and fresh timber lined the walls with clean, polished panelling. The ceiling had been reinforced with sturdy steel supports hidden behind new plasterwork.

Modern lighting bathed the room in a warm amber glow instead of the flickering bulbs that had always threatened to die at the worst possible moment.

The entire room smelled different too.

Fresh wood, wet paint, and even the air felt cleaner somehow.

It no longer carried the stale scent of damp concrete and mildew that had become strangely familiar over the past months.

’How did I not notice?’

He was so tired upon exiting the tower that even with his sharpened senses, which practically allowed him to see in the dark, he hadn’t realised his odd surroundings. Though that wasn’t to say his instincts were dull or that he wouldn’t have sensed danger.

His eyes wandered towards the bathroom.

"No way."

Even that had been transformed.

The cracked sink had been replaced with a spotless new one, and the rust-covered pipes had vanished completely. Best of all, the shower, once little more than patched concrete held together by duct tape and hope, now had proper tiling, a glass screen, and what looked like an actual, functioning showerhead.

’Fuck yeah.’

The entire basement felt comfortable and livable, barely resembling the place he’d first arrived at.

Then his eyes landed on the centre of the room.

"..."

His scorched mattress on top of a cheap bed frame was the only thing that wasn’t changed. It looked utterly ridiculous in the middle of what was now an almost luxurious basement.

For several seconds, Ethan simply stared at it.

Then burst out laughing.

"They rebuilt the whole bloody place, but nobody thought to replace this?"

The answer came almost immediately.

Nobody had dared touch it simply because he lay on it, and also because of the woman who had stood guard while he slept. Ethan had recently become a B Rank, and she was the revered Blood Demon, so it was only natural they were afraid.

Elara had watched over him almost the entire time, and even now was observing him quietly from a small chair.

The moment their eyes met, she offered him a small smile.

"You were watching me sleep again?"

She nodded without the slightest hint of embarrassment.

"For how long?"

She slowly raised three fingers.

"Three hours?"

She gently shook her head before signing again.

*Thirty.*

His eyebrows climbed.

"...Thirty hours?"

She nodded.

Ethan rubbed the back of his neck.

’When she puts it like that, I really was out for a while.’

He rolled his shoulder experimentally before flexing his right arm. Aside from a little stiffness from lying down for so long, he felt surprisingly good.

Better than good, even.

He channelled a small amount of mana through his arm, carefully tracing the pathways that had been shredded during his final attack against the Golden Flutterer.

Almost no resistance remained.

The nerves responded naturally, and the mana flowed smoothly.

’Completely healed.’

His smile widened as he turned to Elara, who signed again.

*The black suits worked the whole time.*

That explained everything.

While he’d been unconscious, Association workers had apparently swarmed the Black Howl around the clock, repairing years of damage in little more than a day. Nobody had disturbed him or even approached him as he seemingly slept.

They were careful even about making noise, which, you could imagine, made the renovation work very difficult.

Not that he would have heard them either way.

Ethan slowly turned another circle, taking in the refurbished basement once again.

"Just as I was starting to think about moving out of this place, they go and fix up the whole place."

He laughed.

"I almost feel bad now."

Elara smiled.

His eyes drifted back towards her, a familiar grin slowly spreading across his face.

"You know, I really liked it when you kissed me yesterday."

He spoke directly and seriously.

Elara looked at him without blushing or becoming flustered. Instead, the corners of her lips curled upward ever so slightly, long used to his jokes and teasing.

She stepped forward until only a small distance separated them.

"I liked it, too."

Before Ethan could even process those words, she leaned in and gently kissed his cheek again. It was soft and warm, and he almost seemed to melt after she did. Then she stepped back again as though nothing had happened.

Ethan stood completely frozen.

"..."

His brain simply stopped working.

Several long seconds passed before the gears finally started turning again.

He smiled.

"Oh, we’re playing that game now."

He pointed at her dramatically.

"You don’t get to do that and just walk away."

Ethan reached towards her and grabbed her waist.

Laughing quietly, Elara didn’t even try to escape, already knowing exactly what he was planning as he gently pulled her closer. She leaned forward, and this time she wasn’t aiming for his cheek, and neither was he.

Their faces drew closer until only inches remained between them, when-

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The heavy knocking echoed throughout the basement, rattling the newly renovated walls.

Both of them froze.

Ethan slowly turned his head towards the basement door before letting out the longest sigh imaginable.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

The first unexpected knock had arrived with a briefcase full of cash, while the second had dragged him into complete chaos with an emergency summons.

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What is it this time?"