Lord Of Beasts

Darius moved like a man possessed, his entire focus locked onto a single objective.

The Ant Queen.

Everything else, the swarming beasts, the collapsing terrain, even the people around him, had become secondary. To him, there was only one path forward, and it ended with that towering monstrosity lying dead at his feet.

The Boss Beast was a force to be reckoned with; there was no denying that. Its sheer size alone made it a nightmare to deal with, its massive body looming over the battlefield like a living fortress.

And yet it was still killable, at least in theory.

It had a heavy MP stat distribution, similar to Ethan’s, making its other stats not as overwhelming as they could be. He imagined Darius had a similar composition since he used his skills so much.

But knowing something could be killed and actually killing it were two very different things.

Especially when it wasn’t alone.

The Queen wasn’t just a brute force monster. It was coordinating everything, issuing silent commands that rippled through the swarm like an invisible web. Every Ant Commander, every Troop, every lesser beast moved with purpose, positioning themselves to block, intercept, and overwhelm.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem to possess many direct combat abilities of its own.

If it had?

This Gate would have been literally impossible.

But even now, it was damn close.

The sheer scale of the creature made it lethal without even trying. One careless step from that massive body would be enough to crush any of them into paste.

A single miscalculation, and they were dead.

Meanwhile, Ethan fought, not as strategically or cleanly as he was used to, but desperately.

The A Rank stumbled beside him, barely holding herself together as she moved more out of instinct than skill. She wasn’t contributing much; if anything, Ethan was the one keeping her alive.

Which would have been laughable under any other circumstances.

Now, it was just exhausting.

Ethan clenched his jaw as he threw another punch.

’Variable Beast Impact!’

A controlled burst of force erupted from his fist, slamming into an approaching ant and sending it skidding back. He followed up immediately, chaining another strike, then another, varying the output just enough to reduce the backlash.

But even then, it was adding up fast.

His muscles screamed with every movement, his skin burned where the energy surged through him, and his breathing had grown heavier with each passing second.

Maintaining his summons, controlling his output, and enduring the strain was becoming too much.

’I can’t keep this up...’

For the first time since entering the Gate, helplessness began to settle in.

There was nowhere to run or hide that he could see, and if there was, he would have taken it without hesitation.

This was unlike anything he had faced before.

’I’m just not strong enough.’

His fist slammed into another ant, weaker this time, barely dealing any damage as he was knocked tumbling backward.

Even after putting everything on the line, it wasn’t close to enough.

And this didn’t feel like a situation where he could push his limits and figure things out like usual. Nor did it feel like one the system was going to throw him a lifeline for, since it was the one that had thrown him in the deep end to begin with.

He couldn’t put his hopes on anyone or anything but himself.

Even Darius, who had been pushing forward relentlessly, was being forced back. Ant Commanders surged toward him in coordinated waves, cutting off his advance and surrounding him from all sides.

His explosions tore through many of them, but more just took their place.

By the second, he was getting pushed further and further away from the Ant Queen.

Even as explosions tore through them, more just took their place.

The situation was quickly worsening, especially for Ethan, who was obviously much weaker than Darius.

Dangerously so...

Wolfy was locked in combat with two Ant Commanders, both of them working together to pin it down and prevent it from reaching Ethan’s side. The Juvenile Ulfen roared in fury, its claws tearing into one while the other struck from the side, forcing it into a brutal stalemate.

Talon circled above, but the density of ant beasts made it nearly impossible to dive in without risking being caught. It still tried anyway, hacking away at the beasts, but it was to no avail.

Which left Ethan alone, surrounded by dozens of E and D Rank Ant Troops.

He lashed out again, spamming Variable Beast Impact as he tried to carve a path through the swarm.

But it wasn’t enough.

The ants closed in from all sides.

One attack landed.

Then another.

And another.

His body jerked as blows struck him from multiple directions, his balance faltering as he was battered back.

Then, a sharp, crushing pain exploded through his left shoulder.

"Ghk-!"

A mandible clamped down on him, extremely hard.

Bone shattered instantly under the pressure, the sound sickeningly clear even amidst the chaos. Pain flooded his senses, blinding and almost overwhelming, but his pain tolerance was now at an inhuman level.

’Beast Impact!’

He smashed his right fist into the beast that had crushed his left shoulder, but that just added to the strain he was under. It also dwindled the little MP he had left, leaving him off balance and open to attack.

The ant beasts capitalised on it instantly.

As his body gave out, he was forced to the ground, pinned beneath a series of giant ants. It was like something straight out of a nightmare, giving him flashbacks to Floor Zero.

Beside him, the A Rank stumbled, her movements sluggish and unfocused as she took another hit, her body swaying dangerously. She was also about to go down and couldn’t save him, and Darius was too far.

It was the same with his beasts.

Talon couldn’t reach him, and Wolfy was still locked in combat. Ethan considered dismissing their summon, then resummoning them beside him, but...

’Fuuuuccccckkkk!’

He ran out of MP, and both beasts disappeared instantly.

Even Variable Beast Impact took its toll, and Ethan had lost track of how much mana he was using while more focused on fighting for his life.

There was nothing else at his disposal.

’I’m cooked.’

Ethan stared up at the mandibles poised above his head, watching as they slowly opened, ready to crush his skull like a grape.

For a moment, everything slowed.

’So this is it...’

His breathing steadied despite the pain and death staring him in the face.

’I guess I had a good run while it lasted.’

But he couldn’t just lie there and die, as he let out one last desperate call.

"Come on..." he muttered weakly, blood slipping from the corner of his mouth.

"Come on, you red-eyed fucker... come out and save us!"

There was nothing, no response or change.

’What did I expect to happen?’

Ethan laughed, closing his eyes as the mandibles closed in on him.

But that’s when everything suddenly changed...