Lord Of Beasts

{Congratulations on creating a skill!}

Ethan blinked.

A blue screen floated before him as reality returned.

{Beast Resistance (C) - It’s a passive skill that uses the bond between the host and his acquired beasts to strengthen the soul against mental and spiritual interference. Mental attacks become more difficult to sustain, while spiritual control and illusions are significantly resisted through the collective strength of multiple connected souls.}

He couldn’t help laughing.

"I get a skill for that?"

He definitely wasn’t complaining, though the name was beast-related as always.

But there was something new about it.

’That’s my first passive skill, right? So it doesn’t have any cost, and it’s always active.’

There were no downsides, at least not any that he could identify.

His vision cleared entirely, and as everything came back to him, he realised he was falling. But with the lower gravity and how long he had spent in the sky in this gate, he was relaxed.

’I’m kinda getting used to this.’

Not that he planned on giving up and falling to his death.

Boom!

Flames instantly reignited beneath his feet, and he rocketed back into the air before crashing into the floating islands below.

Across from him, the Golden Flutterer had frozen.

For the second time, it couldn’t understand how the human had managed to free himself from its mental restraints so easily. Not only that, it was confused as to how such an inferior creature had the gall to face it head-on.

Meanwhile, while Ethan engaged the Boss Beast, Elara remained beside the unconscious squad, also unaffected by the beast’s mental attacks. She almost seemed immune because of the ancient being that inhabited her body.

’It’s like she has Demon Resistance.’

She focused on keeping the caterpillars at bay, which had now become more violent in their approach, while watching Ethan from a distance. As for the Golden Flutterer, it changed its approach and unleashed another wave of mana.

Only this time, it wasn’t a burst of light to cast an illusion. Instead, it condensed into a physical form, hardening into a massive, translucent barrier that surrounded it.

Elara instantly recognised it as a Mana Construct, which she had just learnt how to form. But she also observed that it lacked finesse. Unlike Liora’s perfectly layered constructs, this was crude and brutish, relying on its absurd mana to form the force field.

Since it couldn’t get into Ethan’s mind, it would just have to face him in the corporeal plane. As unique as his physical and mental composition was, he still wasn’t a threat to the A Rank Boss Beast.

No matter how frail the Lepidoptera’s body was, it didn’t matter if Ethan couldn’t reach it. And with such a durable and mana-dense barrier, breaking through would definitely be difficult.

But Ethan didn’t slow down, gathering a large amount of mana.

"Ember Pulse!"

A torrent of blazing fire engulfed the barrier, and the flames exploded across the golden shield. For a moment, it almost seemed like his Cinder Wisp’s unique attack would break through, but the barrier held.

"Seriously?"

The Golden Flutterer’s mana supply was practically limitless, and as long as the formation remained active, breaking through head-on was theoretically impossible. It could endlessly supply mana to its constructs and make them literally impenetrable, at least for Ethan.

As such, his eyes shifted past the barrier and the Boss Beast entirely.

Instead, he focused on the dozens of butterflies hovering behind it that were all motionless, suspended in the air, and in a semi-conscious state as they fed their energy to their leader.

They were practically sitting ducks and free Evolutionary Shards for the taking.

Upon realising that, a grin slowly spread across Ethan’s face.

"Let’s see what you can do without them."

The Golden Flutterer’s compound eyes widened, almost as if reading Ethan’s mind as he redirected his flames.

"EMBER PULSE!"

He unleashed even more mana while sweeping his arms, and the inferno changed direction. A tidal wave of scorching flames washed over the tightly packed swarm that couldn’t even react.

Even as they were consumed by fire, their entire focus remained on maintaining the mana formation.

The sky filled with shrill screeches.

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Beast Eliminated!}

Notification after notification flooded Ethan’s vision as the shards came rolling in. He laughed like an absolute lunatic as he watched the beasts burn and struggle.

It was almost villainous.

The Golden Flutterer finally panicked, its wings beating frantically, and this time it was Ethan who could read its thoughts: Should it stop the mana formation and save its kin, or continue maintaining its overwhelming advantage?

That single moment of hesitation was fatal.

Ethan raised one hand.

"Talon."

A flash of light burst from the tattoo sprawled across his upper back, and the griffling materialised with an excited screech. Its hawk-like eyes immediately locked onto the burning butterflies.

Ethan pointed.

"Go ham, buddy."

Talon didn’t need to be told twice.

Swoosh!

The small beast vanished, leaving behind a green afterimage, and effortlessly sliced a burning beast with Gale Rend.

Then another.

And another.

Many were B Rank Beasts, a higher rank than Talon, but it didn’t matter.

Not only were they not fighting back, but their durability was extremely low, making them perfect for its wind-based attacks. The Griffling continued to dart through the burning formation like a hawk tearing through helpless pigeons.

Flaming and severed beast bodies plummeted into the abyss below.

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Beast Eliminated!}

The Golden Flutterer was attempting to use its constructs to keep Ethan and his flying beast at bay, but it was to no avail.

Most of its focus and energy was on keeping the remaining Titled at bay with its mental control, so it was far from able to unleash the full extent of its abilities. Moreover, its endless mana began weakening as the creatures supplying it were being massacred.

Its golden barrier around its body began to dim as its energy fluctuated.

The Lepidoptera was forced to make the impossible choice and release the formation, no longer able to watch as its colony was annihilated.

But it was too late.

Ethan was already upon it, an ultimate attack like no other already charged up...