Lord Of Beasts

Ethan didn’t go into detail, but he made it clear that he couldn’t summon an A Rank Lightning Dragonfly, not yet at least. It would be insane if he could, and looking at his steady blue eyes, he seemed to be telling the truth.

But he did have an idea in extension of their plan of action, if it could even be called that.

As such, he stepped forward slightly, gesturing toward the nest.

"We don’t just poke the hornet’s nest," he said with a confident smile. "We hit it hard, or to quote Kaela, we smash it all."

He looked at Dave.

"You and Elara unload everything you’ve got into that thing the second we’re in range."

Then he pointed toward the structure again.

"I’ll follow up and set whatever’s left on fire."

Liora blinked.

"How are you going to do that?"

Ethan smiled.

"You’ll see."

That answer did not satisfy anyone, and only added to the mystery around him. A beast summoner with insane physical enhancement abilities and now supposedly pyrokinesis.

How was that even possible?

But right now the how wasn’t important; all that mattered was that he could.

Ethan turned his gaze back toward the nest.

’If there’s a breeding ground in there...’

His grin widened slightly.

’That’s a lot of shards for my beasts.’

And with five of these bases to clear, Ethan was already picturing evolving his three remaining beasts to B Rank, and his Lightning Dragonfly even to A Rank.

He looked around, and there were no objections to his idea.

There was no time to hesitate, and all they could do was trust in him and hope for the best.

As such, the group advanced together, closing the distance toward the massive hornet’s nest. The buzzing grew louder and heavier, almost oppressive, but none of them backed down.

The Hornet’s Nest itself pulsed faintly, as if alive.

And before they even reached optimal range for their initial strike, there was a sudden ripple of energy.

It was faint, but unmistakable.

"They’ve noticed us," Ethan said immediately.

"How?" Liora asked sharply, not having sensed anything despite being confident in her mana sensitivity.

"Fuck knows, but they have."

And right on cue, the nest stirred with dozens of shapes moving within its dark openings.

The buzzing intensified.

But despite the dozens of beasts, Ethan stepped forward calmly.

"Stick to the plan!"

And with that, they moved.

Ethan, Elara, and Dave surged ahead of the group.

The others spread out behind them, preparing to intercept whatever came their way.

Elara blinked into the air first, crimson energy gathering around her like a storm. Dave followed, floating upward as mana began to condense around his eyes. Below them, Ethan rode his giant Fenrir, which carried him effortlessly and was as fast as most cars, and far more dynamic.

Kaela’s gaze locked onto him, her purple eyes narrowing slightly.

’Let’s see this.’

She, just like the others, was curious to see exactly what he was capable of.

Meanwhile, Ethan was internally debating.

’Summon or assimilate?’

Deep down, he was still hesitant to use his abilities freely, like he would in the tower.

’Ah, fuck it.’

His lips curled into a grin.

’They’re going to see it all eventually anyway, so there’s no point worrying about hiding anything anymore.’

Besides, the rewards would be worth it.

As such, he jumped off Wolfy’s back and stood there for a moment, his mana surging.

And in the next moment, Ethan did something that shocked them all...

-

Dave and Elara did not hesitate.

The moment Ethan surged forward, and the hornet’s nest began to stir, both of them moved as if they had already committed to the outcome of this battle.

There was no second-guessing or hesitation.

Only action.

High above the fractured islands, Elara’s body pulsed with crimson energy, the air around her distorting under the sheer pressure of it. Her expression was calm, focused, yet there was something deeper beneath it.

Her arm extended forward as energy gathered and condensed, focusing into a single point. The crimson light swelled, growing brighter and denser until it was almost blinding to look at.

In the distance, the looming hornet’s nest writhed as more of the creatures poured out, sensing the incoming threat.

But it was too late.

Without any further ceremony, she fired.

A Giant Crimson Flash erupted from her palm, tearing through the air like a beam of pure destruction. It was not just energy; it was force, pressure, heat, and intent all compressed into one devastating attack.

The beam carved through the sky, leaving a crimson trail in its wake as it slammed directly into the heart of the hornet’s nest.

For a fraction of a second, everything seemed to pause.

Then...

BOOOOM!

The structure exploded.

Chunks of the blackened nest were vaporised instantly, while others were blasted apart and sent flying into the void below. The force alone shattered nearby floating islands, reducing them to debris that rained downward endlessly.

The buzzing intensified into a chaotic roar.

But Elara was not alone.

Beside her, Dave hovered, his expression strained but resolute.

His white eyes glowed intensely.

Mana gathered within them, dense and compressed, far more controlled than the overwhelming flood that Elara wielded. Where hers was raw power, his was precision and efficiency.

He inhaled sharply.

Then twin beams of concentrated energy shot from his eyes, slicing through the air with terrifying speed. They followed Elara’s attack, piercing deeper into the already damaged structure, targeting what remained of its core.

The beams burned through layers of the nest, drilling into it with relentless focus.

It was slightly weaker than Elara’s attack, but the fact that it came from a C Rank made it far more impressive.

The control alone was monstrous.

For a brief moment, the two attacks overlapped, crimson and white annihilating everything in their path. The hornet’s nest went from a giant dark structure to falling apart in an instant, with nothing they could do to stop it.

But the cost came immediately.

Dave’s body trembled violently, the glow in his eyes dying out.

"...Heh."

His lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Then he lost consciousness.

His body dropped from the sky like a puppet with its strings cut, completely drained of mana. Not just what he had stored, but everything he could pull from the environment in that instant.

He had given everything.

And now it was up to Ethan to live up to his own plan...