BeastMaster Class.

A class that allows one to control beasts of nature, and depending on the individual, any creature within a hundred-meter radius or more. Starting from soil crawling small insects like ants to dangerous carnivores like lions and tigers. But that isn't all. BeastMasters could also mutate the animals they summoned and warp them into terrifying, twisted beasts.

So when Bob, Sam, and Britt moved out of the safezone to hunt Shin and the girls, Bob made sure to get close. Real close. That way, he could fully sync with his creatures.

Meanwhile...

Hidden inside the shell of an abandoned café, Shin crouched low, his eyes watching through the shattered window.

He'd left the safezone on purpose in the middle of the day after causing a stir.

Why?

Because he needed it.

He needed the blood. The thrill. The sound of flesh tearing under his daggers. His fingers twitched like addicts craving a fix. He didn't feel right unless blood was dripping from them.

Then suddenly, the whole area around him was engulfed by unnatural noise.

BZZZZZ.

CRRK

HSSSS.

Shin turned slowly to his left and saw a snake slithering in through the broken window. It didn't look normal, its skin was charred and flaking while smoke was curling from its open mouth like it had been smoking. Its eyes that were vertical gleamed with a deep yellow.

Shin immediately drew his sword and slashed toward it.

But in that very moment, he felt a searing pain burn through his leg.

He looked down, and his eyes almost bulged out at what he saw. A creature that resembled a rat except it was huge, almost the size of a lamb— burying its fangs into his calf, blood spilling down his leg fast.

"Fucking—!"

Shin roared, kicking it so hard its spine cracked against the wall splattering greenish fluids on it!

"Master!!" Lilian yelled, already smashing one of the incoming pests with her armored gauntlet. "We're being ambushed!!"

Sylvia gritted her teeth, gripping her axe tightly. "Beasts... mutated ones!"

Instead of feeling terrified, Shin actually grinned.

That familiar rush—that addictive surge of exhilaration when he was on the edge of death flooded through his veins like fire. His eyes were wide now, his grin wild.

"Oh... yes," he whispered. "This is what I wanted."

He stepped out of cover.

"OUTSIDE!!" he bellowed. "We'll be able to fight better where we can breathe! MOVE!"

They burst through the door just as the air vibrated with a different buzz: and this time, it was—

BEES.

Not normal ones. These were black, bloated, and the size of tennis balls. Their wings sounded like chainsaws. Their fangs dripped green venom while their eyes glowed with that unnatural BeastMaster corruption.

Shin did a front flip outside in the open as the bees surrounded them, his sword cutting through the soft insect flesh of some, spraying green jelly in every direction. The ruined road and everything close were painted with insect gore, their carcasses splattering on the ground with wet, crunchy smacks.

One tried to sting his neck—he grabbed it mid-air and smashed it against a half-burnt truck, crushing its exoskeleton with a splatter that oozed down like glue.

The ashy snake from earlier launched itself at Shin, slithering at break-neck speed. Just before it reached him, it reared back and spat fire—a wide, roaring stream that engulfed Shin entirely, scorching the air and melting through several of the incoming bees along the way.

Shin shielded himself with his arms as the flames swallowed him whole. But thanks to Spiritual Healing, the searing pain was dulled, barely more than a warm sting against his skin.

He dashed forward through the fire, his eyes locked on the serpent. His sword gleamed mid-swing—

SHRKKK!

—and with a clean slice, he cut the snake in half.

The creature's body dropped, thrashing, its black, boiling blood splattering the cracked pavement with a hiss as smoke rose where it touched.

But Shin didn't stop.

Something strange was happening.

Every insect he killed, instead of draining him, it made him feel stronger. His limbs grew lighter. And even after healing himself, his MP bar hadn't dropped an inch.

Could Soul Harvest be farming mana straight from the person controlling the beasts he was slaying? Whatever the case was, I only made this even more exhilarating!

Sylvia landed beside him, axe already dripping with green blood—proof of her own carnage.

"Tch," she muttered, eyes on the mess around them. "You look like you're enjoying this way too much, Master."

"I am."

Shin's voice was low and steady. His eyes gleamed with savage bloodlust as he looked up. "You?"

Lilian dropped from the rooftop, her gauntlets mid-swing as she smashed a wasp in mid-air, the impact splattering its guts across the sidewalk.

"I'm starting to see the appeal," she said with a wild grin, licking blood from her bottom lip.

But the fight was far from over.

From the sewers, the skittering started again: mutated rats, snakes, spiders with limbs longer than a child's arm began to pour into the streets. Above, mutated crows circled like reapers, massive, their wings casting shadows over the bloodstained ground. Their talons glinted in the sun as they dove.

Shin smirked and unholstered his gun.

With a blade in one hand and a gun in the other, he turned to face the chaos.

The three of them moved, standing back to back in the center of the street.

Shin shot down charging beasts with sharp precision, every bullet punching through corrupted flesh. Those unlucky enough to get close were cut down by his sword, limbs and wings flying as he carved through them like meat.

To his right, Lilian was relentless—only her grunts and snarls echoed as her metal gauntlets crushed insect after insect, leaving gooey green paste in her wake.

Sylvia, even with one arm, held her ground on the left. Her short axe gleamed, made for tight, brutal strikes, and all her swings were cleanly bisecting bugs and serpents, her breath heavy, but her rhythm unshaken.

The swarm came like a tide, and the trio just kept butchering.

**

Not far off…

Britt, Bob, and Sam watched the chaos unfold.

But Bob had a hand pressed tightly over his right eye, hunched forward, trembling.

He looked weak. Pale.

Sam supported him as he stumbled.

Bob's closed eye was his connection—his Beast Vision—which let him jump between the senses of his summoned creatures.

But now?

That vision was a nightmare.

Every time he connected, he saw death, one after another. Crushed. Slashed. Torn apart. And the more he linked, the more his head pounded.

His MP was plummeting—already below half, draining far quicker than normal.

He usually lasted longer using this skill.

"Maybe you shouldn't push yourself so hard, man," Sam said, tightening his grip on him.

"Shut up!!!" Bob barked through gritted teeth. "I can take him down!!"

Britt stepped forward, calm but cold.

"I'm done watching from the sidelines," she said, loading her pistols with sharp metallic clicks. "I'm going in to kill the girls. Just make sure your bugs don't bite me too."

Bob gasped, barely catching his breath. "You got it… but be careful."

She didn't even look back. She just strode ahead, hips swaying, slipping between the chaos of bugs and blood like she belonged in it.

She planned to use the confusion and the swarm as cover.

Strike when they least expect it.

Bob turned to Sam, barely keeping upright. "Go on! Leave me here. Go help her. While she deals with the girls, you take care of the hacker boy."

Sam nodded. "Understood."

He slipped away, heading into the mess.

Bob dropped to one knee, his fingers trembling as he redirected what little MP he had left into a few nearby insects to defend himself in case of sudden attacks.

Even if this kills me… I'm not stopping…

No way he was going to sit back and let a kid—a damn brat— who treated his lover like some kind of pet see another day.

No man could stomach that.

Not him.

Not in this damned filthy world!

TBC