Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 400. Suppression of Predator Suppression?

"Whenever I see the mantis now... it’s like there is an ominous feeling around it. It makes me want to leave it alone," Lucien spoke honestly, which made Theo nod but smile awkwardly.

"That is a very normal situation, Lucien," the baron spoke, getting his attention.

"Do you remember that mutt-like beast we fought in that gate?" he spoke, making Lucien frown at the very memory of it.

"... How could I forget that thing?" he spoke with utter disdain in his voice.

"That beast had the same kind of pressure around it. Only stronger and a lot more wild," the baron spoke while trying to think, as if it was kind of a distant memory for him.

"When a beast reaches a certain point in strength or gains an ability that can put pressure on weaker wills, it gives an output like this." The baron kept speaking while looking at the mantis near Theo. "It’s usually when a beast is born with it, and with time, that pressure increases."

Lucien looked at the mantis again and then at Theo.

"But I cannot believe the sheer size your insect beast is now, Theo. I am now feeling bad calling it a mere bug once," Lucien spoke in a slow tone, making Theo chuckle.

"This glutton seems the same as ever though," Theo spoke with a heartfelt chuckle. "It’s still the same mantis, just a lot bigger now."

Lucien looked at Theo as if he wanted to tell him that it was definitely not just a lot bigger, but he controlled himself.

"I know it won’t hurt you, Theo," Lucien finally spoke. "But when it looked at me in the corridor, for a second it felt like my body was telling me to attack first or run away before it moved."

Theo went into thought after hearing that. He knew what Lucien was saying was important for research, as there was one thing he could confidently say.

His brother was not a weak man by any means.

"Predator Suppression..." Theo muttered and then looked up the mantis’s status again.

The baron grinned. "That name does make sense for the bug."

"Father..." Lucien didn’t know what to say when the baron was still calling it a bug, but seeing that Theo didn’t mind it, he refrained from pointing it out.

"Yes, father. But the thing is, the mantis keeps showing confusion when I ask it to shut off the ability," Theo spoke while rubbing the mantis’s head, which made it make those same sounds again.

"Then the problem becomes simple." The baron began explaining. "You need to make it stop using it all the time."

Theo’s eyes widened a little. "Do you know of a way, father?" Theo asked frantically.

"Can such an ability even be controlled this early?"

"Why not?" the baron asked with a shrug. "Your aura wasn’t supposed to manifest this early either. Yet here you are." He said before taking another piece of fruit from the plate.

Lucien stayed serious through all that and then looked at Theo.

"Can it turn it off?" he asked directly, making Theo realize that he was still being affected by it.

Theo didn’t answer right away and instead entered the bond. The mantis’s emotions came in a lot more clearly than before. There was hunger, comfort, and a little laziness from waking up not too long ago.

Some of these emotions were new, as the mantis wasn’t this expressive before, which meant an increase in intelligence.

’Mantis, can you make the pressure around you stop?’ Theo asked as directly as he could.

There were a few seconds of nothing until emotions started spreading inside the bond.

Theo tried to understand what it was trying to convey, and when he was done, Theo couldn’t help but sigh.

’So you’re saying you are not doing it on purpose?’ Theo asked, making the mantis send him another feeling.

Theo opened his eyes and sighed. "It’s saying that it’s not an ability it can control. It doesn’t come naturally to it."

"Even the name is different from all the abilities or passives I have seen. It says Aura-like Field, father," Theo spoke.

The baron nodded, not looking even a little surprised. Theo didn’t know if this conversation would even come to any good outcome or not, but it was worth a try.

"That makes more sense," he spoke. "If it could use such an ability normally right after that evolution thing you do, I would have thought that this bug got smart." The baron spoke, making the mantis look at him and make a sound.

The baron burst out laughing at the thought of the insect already understanding him.

"But Theo, do you want this thing to control this pressure?" he asked while trying to stop laughing, making Theo think about it.

"That... seems like the better thing to do?" Theo said as a question in confusion.

"Your beast was able to scare half the knight staff around here on duty. Wouldn’t you want to make the mantis keep showing such a presence instead of hiding it?"

"Wasn’t your motto to make your beasts strong so that others didn’t look down on them? Why make it suppress it then?"

Theo didn’t know how to respond to that. He took a minute but kept thinking about it.

"Hmm... what you say is right but... shouldn’t I hide it like a trump card, father?" he asked, making the baron shrug it off.

Theo didn’t get that at all, but the baron started speaking again.

"From now on, if you plan on taking this mantis around the castle or outside it, there are only two options." He lifted two fingers up.

"First, you keep it in the beast space unless absolutely necessary. That is how you keep the pressure outside the real world."

"Second, you get everyone used to its presence just like how Lucien had slightly gotten used to it," he said, making Lucien nod.

"If that doesn’t work for you, then it needs to learn to control it. Which will take time, as these things take time to control."