Lord Of Beasts

Elsewhere, Elara’s battle was unfolding.

And it was nothing like what anyone had expected.

She stood at the centre of the chaos, as a grotesque, towering A Rank aphid-like beast bounced across the island, each landing cracking the ground beneath it. Acid dripped from its mouth, sizzling wherever it touched.

Beside it, two cicada-like beasts hovered in the air, their wings vibrating at a pitch that made the mind ache, their sharp limbs gleaming with deadly intent.

"Elara, left!" Rowan shouted.

She vanished and reappeared.

The ground where she had been standing exploded as the aphid slammed down, shockwaves rippling outward.

*Thanks,* she signed back, though being mute definitely wasn’t ideal when trying to communicate in battle.

Despite that, she had a confident smile on her face.

’I’ve got this teleportation thing on lock now.’

Her movements were fluid, controlled, and precise.

She blinked across the battlefield, dodging attacks that would have killed her instantly just minutes ago before being provided with what felt like an endless supply of mana. Even the Blood Demon within her seemed surprised at how skilled she was.

The sinister crimson energy was effortlessly bending to her will, and though she wasn’t the most experienced in combat, she was faring well.

’It really is like muscle memory.’

And with her two skilled B Rank companions, things were flowing smoothly.

Seraphina blurred across the battlefield, her speed pushing the limits as she circled the aphid in a pink blur, striking and retreating, drawing its attention.

"Keep it focused on me!" she shouted.

Rowan’s hands glowed as he slammed them into the ground.

Thick vines erupted upward, shooting towards the hovering cicadas, attempting to bind them and drag them down from the sky. One of them sliced through the vines instantly, while the other avoided them entirely.

Then they retaliated.

A high-pitched screech filled the air, one that was less powerful than Skyshatter Cry but was much more disorienting.

Elara flinched as the sound drilled into her skull.

’Shit...’

Her focus wavered, and her vision swam.

The A Rank aphid instantly leapt.

She barely managed to teleport away in time, reappearing several meters away as acid splashed across the ground where she had stood.

’Focus!’ she snapped at herself. ’I can do this.’

She moved again, maintaining belief in herself and remaining confident.

How could she not?

Elara felt invincible.

It wasn’t just adrenaline from the heat of the moment, but something deeper, something intoxicating.

Crimson energy surged through her body in endless waves, flooding her limbs, sharpening her senses, reinforcing every movement she made. It felt like she had tapped into something infinite, something far beyond what she should have been capable of wielding.

She darted forward in a blur.

Then vanished, before reappearing above one of the cicada-like beasts, her hand already glowing with condensed energy.

"Crimson Flash!"

The attack fired instantly, a compressed burst of destructive force that tore through the air and slammed into the creature mid-flight.

It clipped it, and though not a clean hit, it was enough.

The cicada spiralled downward, its wing shattered, crashing into the island below with a heavy impact.

Elara grinned.

’Just how much energy does that demon even have?’ she wondered, her heart racing, her body moving almost faster than her thoughts.

For once, she wasn’t the weak one who was relying on others and always holding them back.

She was leading, being relied on, and on track to win.

As powerful as the beasts before them were, they outclassed them as a trio, and Elara’s proficiency was improving by the second.

She felt like she could take on the entire world alone.

But that’s when it all stopped.

Just like that, the endless waterfall of energy within her was gone.

Elara’s body froze mid-motion as the overwhelming power vanished, leaving behind a hollow emptiness that made her feel painfully human again.

Her breathing hitched, and her limbs instantly felt unbelievably heavy.

’Is this really how I normally feel?’

That’s when a cold, amused voice echoed in her mind.

"Yes, you pathetic weakling."

It laughed so hard it hurt her head, like she had a speaker blasting inside her very skull.

"What can you do now? Without my power, you are nothing, or did you forget?"

Her eyes widened slightly.

’Let me use the energy,’ she pleaded internally, panic creeping in faster than she could suppress it. ’We were winning.’

A soft chuckle followed.

"I don’t feel like it. You were getting too big for your boots."

Its tone and words were immature, but its voice commanded attention and still shook her to her core each time she heard it.

That’s when something within her stirred.

"Just let me deal with it. You get to sit back and relax, and I’ll have some fun."

Elara felt it immediately.

Those familiar chains and suffocating pressure as something tried to wrap around her consciousness, to bind her, to push her aside as it had done so many times before.

’No!’

Her body tensed, her mind strained, and for the first time...

She resisted.

This wasn’t instinctive, or out of fear, but something she had done consciously.

The chains tightened, pressing harder as the demon tried to seize control of her body like usual.

But something had clicked for Elara.

It was a simple realisation, one so simple it almost felt stupid, but it changed her perspective entirely.

’It’s my body.’

The thought echoed clearly.

’So naturally... I should be in control.’

All those times, all those moments, she had subconsciously stepped back and allowed it to take over because she was scared and felt like she needed it.

And many times she truly had, and would have died without its help.

But now she didn’t want that, not anymore.

’I want to fight.’

Not hide and idly watch as the demon fought for her.

The pressure pushed again, even harder, but this time she pushed back.

As soon as she did, the metaphysical chains that used to have so much control over her slowly began to crack.

"Ho," the voice murmured, amused, almost impressed. "You’ve finally grown a pair."

Elara gritted her teeth.

’What are you talking about? I just want to be in control of my own body. Is that so bad?’

The demon was taken aback by her strong rebuttal before responding in a darker tone.

"It must be that boy you’ve been hanging around with."

The voice lingered.

"But you aren’t as special as he is."

Elara frowned, confused, but she didn’t have the time to question it.

"Well," the voice snapped suddenly, its tone shifting sharply, "If it’s your body, fight with your own power."

And just like that, every last trace of the crimson energy as well as the demon was gone, hiding deep within her body in a place she couldn’t reach.

Elara stumbled slightly as the battlefield snapped back into focus around her.

The B Rank cicadas, the A Rank aphid, the chaos, and her: weak and helpless again.

But she wasn’t planning on giving up that easily...