When Ethan had used Flare Drive and unleashed nearly half of his mana reserves through Ember Pulse to burn the nest, the flames had only partially consumed him. His clothes were charred and torn apart by heat and force, leaving him in little more than scorched remnants that barely clung to his body.

But he would much rather have that than his current predicament.

When he pushed his mana further, when he engulfed his entire body in flames to achieve flight, there had been no resistance at all. The fire had not simply burned his clothes. It had erased them. Every remaining thread had turned to ash in an instant, leaving nothing behind.

Now, Ethan landed on another floating island after flying away from the A Rank Boss Beast, his feet touching down lightly as the flames dissipated around him.

He barely had a moment to think.

Notifications were still ringing through his mind.

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Beast Eliminated!}

{Beast Eliminated!}

They came rapidly, leaving Ethan curious to know just how many he had gathered.

{Evolutionary Shards: 15732}

’That’s fucking crazy!’

He could hardly believe what he was seeing, which was mostly thanks to stealing the kill of the Lightning Dragonfly, which had given him 10000 shards.

’I already have enough to evolve Storm all the way to B Rank,’ he thought excitedly.

But despite that, it wasn’t something he could do mid-battle, since the evolution process wasn’t instant. And he didn’t want to do so in this gate regardless, as he’d rather keep the intricacies of his Title and beasts to himself.

Moreover, he definitely didn’t have the mana to maintain another B Rank Beast, especially not an Infant one that he wasn’t even sure what it was capable of.

’I’ll save it for once I’m out of this place. And at this rate, all my beasts will be B Rank in a couple of days, then it’s A Rank and...’

Just thinking about it was exhilarating.

But he didn’t have the luxury of standing around and needed to move.

Flying was exhausting.

Not in the physical sense alone, but in the way it drained his mana reserves at an alarming rate. Maintaining that level of output, sustaining flames across his entire body while also controlling his movement through the air, was tough.

Still, he did it again without hesitation.

Flames roared to life around him as he engulfed himself once more, lifting off the ground and bursting toward another island.

He was still naked, completely so.

But wrapped in fire, he looked less like a man and more like a living inferno streaking through the sky.

As he moved, his eyes drifted back to the battle.

Elara was there.

Blinking through space in flashes of crimson, her movements sharp and decisive as she clashed with the Void Hornet. Each attack she launched carried immense destructive force, yet the beast still endured, retaliating with terrifying speed.

But that was not what caught his attention.

’She called my name, right?’

The thought came unbidden, and he was sure he had heard it. Even more surprising was that it wasn’t the distorted voice of the entity within her. Instead, it was smooth and soothing, still echoing faintly in his mind.

Ethan let out a quiet laugh as he soared through the air.

’To think I would be this happy to just to hear someone say my name... haha.’

He shook his head slightly, amused at himself.

Then his expression shifted, his attention returning to the battlefield where Kaela had joined in.

Of course, she had.

The purple-eyed maniac had thrown herself straight into the fight against the A Rank, clearly unwilling to miss out on the chaos. Her aura flared as she clashed head-on with the Void Hornet, adding even more pressure to the already intense battle.

That left the others.

Liora, Seraphina, Rowan, and Darius were holding the line.

The swarm of remaining hornets pressed in relentlessly, their numbers overwhelming, their attacks relentless. Yet somehow, through coordination and sheer will, they were managing, albeit barely.

Ethan watched for a moment longer.

Then turned away, trusting in them and his beasts.

Instead, he burst forward again, a streak of fire cutting across the void as he moved between islands. He was enjoying the freedom of flying and the absurdity of it all, wielding flames as if it were natural to do so.

And then he landed again.

Only this time, the island he chose was not empty.

The Bulldozer stood there, massive and unmoving, guarding Dave’s unconscious body.

As Ethan touched down, the flames around him began to shrink, his mana output lowering as he forced himself back into a normal state. The fire faded, and the hovering sensation disappeared, but with it went his flaming veil.

He stood there completely bare, yet nonchalant.

The Bulldozer blinked, surprised and confused, while Dave slowly stirred, groggily opening his white eyes. He sat up, and the first thing he saw was Ethan standing over him, his face inches away from the fiery-eyed man’s... you know.

Dave froze, his brain trying to process what he was seeing.

But he failed to do so.

And before he could even react, Ethan reached down and grabbed him.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" Dave shouted, panic instantly flooding his voice.

His mind had gone somewhere very wrong and different to what Ethan was intending. They had all looked into Ethan at the Association Headquarters, and one of the most prevalent things about him was his time incarcerated. Despite that, he seemed like a relatively nice fellow and was acquainted with the A Ranks in the squad, so he was accepted seamlessly.

All that truly mattered was whether he had the abilities, and he definitely did.

But his time in prison, along with the fact that he was naked and touching him, left Dave and the Bulldozer with some wild thoughts.

Ethan didn’t bother explaining himself.

"Go back to sleep."

He punched him, a clean, controlled strike that snapped Dave’s head back, knocking him out cold.

Ethan stood there for a moment, shaking his hand slightly.

’This monk’s got a hard head.’

Then he immediately began doing what he had landed there to do.

"I can’t have the world seeing the crown jewels in the middle of this battle," he said casually as he began pulling off Dave’s trousers. "All the ladies will be distracted, and the dudes will be jealous."

He laughed at his own joke while the Bulldozer stared, stunned and internally reconsidering his life choices. Ethan slipped on the trousers quickly, adjusting them around his waist, surprised they even fit, before looking down at the man he had just robbed.

He burst out laughing.

Dave was wearing bright, speedo-like underwear covered in bananas.

Ethan wiped a tear from his eye.

"You’re lucky I didn’t take your panties too," he said with a grin, glancing at the unconscious monk.

For a moment, he just stood there, catching his breath.

Then he sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes before activating Beast Recovery.

Mana began to flow back into him, slowly replenishing what he had burned through so recklessly and what was still being expended to maintain his summons.

The exhaustion lingered, but it eased with each passing second.

If he didn’t stop to try to recuperate, he would only be a hindrance in the battle against the Void Hornets. Thankfully, the beasts had their hands, or stringers, full, so they weren’t focused on the Titled on a small island away from the action.

After a couple of minutes of deep focus on restoring his mana, Ethan’s eyes snapped open.

’This should be enough.’

Alongside Spark’s remaining reserves through assimilation, he now had more MP than he would have normally without fusing with any of his beasts. His heart raced with excitement as he prepared to jump back into the action.

There was only one problem.

’I want to use Spark’s flight, but I don’t want to leave myself naked or waste my mana...’

His thoughts drifted, curious.

’What if I can control where the flames appear?’

The idea formed naturally, and Ethan had learned that most things were possible as long as he didn’t restrict himself. Until now, his flames had been wild and indiscriminate. They spread around his entire body and burned everything without exception, draining his mana but granting him great power.

But if he refined that ability and learned to direct, shape, and limit the flames, he wouldn’t have that problem again.

He already had all the tools he needed to do so.

Spark’s innate skill of flight through its unique flames, Ember Pulse, which allowed it to fire flames, and Flare Drive, which allowed explosive bursts of movement. They each had an element of what he was trying to achieve, and together, he could unlock his own method of flight that suited him best.

Ethan opened his eyes.

There was something different in them now: a spark of understanding (pun intended).

He stood up, mana stirring within him once more.

And then, his body ignited as he drew upon the power of the Cinder Wisp he had merged with.

But this time, it was different.

The flames did not consume him entirely, and instead wrapped around him selectively as he experimented with how much control he had.

Ethan exhaled slowly, watching how the fire danced around his skin.

’Amazing...’

A grin spread across his face.

The possibilities were endless, and that realisation only made him more excited.

Then, without another word, he burst back into action, flames trailing behind him as he launched himself into the sky once more. Behind him, the Bulldozer remained standing there, watching the place where the flaming man had been, unsure whether he had just witnessed brilliance or complete insanity.

It was a mix of both, and that was exactly what allowed Ethan to get this far...