"I told you before," Ren stepped forward, cutting off Klein's monologue. "That kind of thinking is for halfwits."
Klein froze in the doorway. His golden lion manifested more fully. "What did you say?"
"Having a beast that is decent in the lower ranks doesn't give you the right to look down on others." Ren's mushrooms pulsed with growing intensity, their light steady and unwavering. "Or to threaten humiliation... or to treat people like objects."
"A decent beast?" Klein turned fully. "My golden lion's lineage is the culmination of generations of noble cultivation. You dare call it decent? What next, will you compare it to your pathetic mushrooms?"
"Your beast or your noble genes don't make you a better person than anyone else," Ren's voice remained firm, unbending. "And tomorrow won't be the easy victory you imagine against my awesome spore!"