Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 158: Episode : Ren goes Berserk.

"We will return before sundown," Kaelen promised, tightening the leather straps of his armor. He leaned down, pressing a rough kiss to Roxy’s forehead. "Keep the gates locked."

"Bring me a deer," Roxy ordered, stifling a yawn. "A fat one. I’m craving stew."

"I will bring you a bear," Torian declared, puffing out his chest. He was practically vibrating with energy. "A bear worthy of a Tiger’s mate!"

"Just bring dinner, Cat," Zarek grunted, ushering the Tiger out the door. The Dragon King turned back, his golden eyes sweeping over the Manor. "Syris are with the kids. If anything approaches the wall, scream. I will hear it."

"Go," Roxy laughed, shooing them away. "Go do your manly hunting things. We’ll be fine."

With a final chorus of growls and shouts, the three hunters departed, disappearing into the dense treeline of the Iron-Wood.

The Manor fell into silence.

Roxy stood in the foyer, adjusting her silk robe. Syris had taken the triplets and Drax to show them some tricks he had learnt with the books Roxy gave him for herbs he could concoct potions with his venom, leaving the main house quiet.

From the nursery, a soft coo drifted out.

Roxy went to Tanith. The basilisk baby was awake, playing with her own toes. Her white scales caught the morning light filtering through the window. Roxy fed her quickly, her mind wandering as she rocked the chair.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Ren.

Ren had looked at her with such longing. He had touched her lips with trembling fingers. He had danced with her like she was the only woman in the world.

I know when a man is lying.

[Of course, you know.]

Roxy wasn’t a genius tactician, but she knew people. And she knew that when a man looked at you like you were his oxygen but refused to breathe, he was hiding something big.

"Time to rattle the cage," Roxy whispered to Tanith, placing the sleeping baby back in the crib.

She walked out of the nursery, planning to find him. She checked his room, the garden, the hot spring bathroom, and other places. He wasn’t there until she reached the tea room and found him.

Ren sat on the edge of the wooden pavilion, staring blankly into the koi pond. He wasn’t wearing his usual elaborate layers.

He wore a simple, high-collared grey tunic that looked suspiciously like he was trying to cover as much skin as possible.

He looked small.

Roxy walked across the bridge. The sound of her footsteps made his ears twitch, but he didn’t turn around.

"The hunters are gone," Ren said, his voice flat. "It is safe for the Fox to come out."

"You’re always safe here, Ren," Roxy said, sitting down on the bench next to him. She didn’t leave a respectful distance this time. She sat close enough that their arms brushed.

Ren flinched away, scooting to the far edge. "I am contagious with gloom today, Roxy. Do not sit so close."

"Why?" Roxy asked, cutting straight to the chase. "Because of the mark?"

Ren stiffened. "We discussed this. It is a scar. It is ugly. I do not wish to expose you to it."

"You’re lying," Roxy said.

It wasn’t a question. It was a statement dropped like a stone into the pond. Ren turned his head slowly. His violet eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"You’re lying to me," Roxy repeated, turning to face him fully. "I don’t know why, and I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it. You put up this wall, Ren. You act like you’re fine, and I know you are far from it."

She reached out, trying to grab his hand.

"Why are you holding back?" she demanded. "Is it me? Am I not enough?"

"Not enough?" Ren let out a sharp, incredulous laugh. He stood up abruptly, pacing away from her. "You are too much! That is the problem!"

He spun around, his composure cracking.

"I cannot be what you need! I cannot be a Mate! I cannot give you cubs! I cannot even guarantee I will be here to see the winter!"

As his agitation spiked, the glamour he usually maintained flickered.

Roxy gasped.

The black veins weren’t just on his neck anymore. As his heart rate rose, she saw them pulse and crawl up. They snaked from his collar, creeping up his jawline like living ink. They throbbed with a sickly, necrotic rhythm.

Ren saw her eyes widen. He slapped a hand over his neck, horror washing over his face.

"Don’t look!" he screamed.

He turned and bolted. Trying to get away from her as soon as possible.

"Ren! Stop!" Roxy shouted. And without thinking, she lunged and grabbed the only thing within reach.

His tail.

One of his nine tails had materialized in his distress. Roxy grabbed the thick, red fur with both hands and yanked back with all her weight.

"Get back here!" she grunted.

The sensation of having his tail grabbed sent a shockwave through Ren’s nervous system. It was painful, humiliating, and instinct-triggering.

"LET GO!" Ren roared.

An explosion of violet mana knocked Roxy backward onto the grass.

The air shimmered and cracked. Ren was gone. In his place stood a monster. It was a Nine-Tailed Fox, but not the cute kind from fairy tales.

He was massive, standing twelve feet tall at the shoulder. His fur was red, but matted and dull. His nine tails lashed the air like whips, cracking with energy. His eyes were glowing violet orbs of pure mana.

Roxy, who was hit by the mana explosion, was trying to get up from the floor, her arms bruised with her knees, her whole body aching.

Fuck it, this is why they say, never chase a man.

It would only leave you broken and battered!

But no! I never listen!

He loomed over Roxy, his jaws parting to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. He snarled, a sound that vibrated in her bones. He looked ready to kill. He looked ready to eat her to stop the shame of being seen.

He could already taste her meat and how much it would calm his rage.

Roxy scrambled, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Ren..."

The massive fox lunged.

He pinned her to the ground, his giant paws caging her body. He lowered his snout, his hot breath washing over her face. He snarled, drool dripping onto her shoulder.

Roxy’s heart stopped at this point. She couldn’t breathe, she wanted to scream, but she found herself looking into his glowing orbs, as if entranced.

But he didn’t bite. He froze.

The giant fox trembled. The violet glow in his eyes flickered and dimmed. He whined, a high-pitched, pathetic sound escaped the massive beast’s throat.

Ren shifted back.

He collapsed on top of her. He wasn’t a monster anymore. He was just a man, naked, shivering, and heavy.

Roxy caught him. She ignored the weight, wrapping her arms around his bare back to hold him up.

Fuck it, Roxy, use this time to flee, or shout for Syris, Damn it!

"I’ve got you," she whispered, stroking his sweat-slicked hair. "I’ve got you." She looked down at his body.

Now that there were no robes to hide it, the truth was laid bare.

The black veins were everywhere. They started at his heart—a solid mass of black necrosis, and webbed out across his chest, down his arms, and up his neck. The skin around the marks was grey and fever-hot.

As if it were alive and consuming him.

Ren buried his face in the crook of her neck, sobbing dry, ragged gasps. He was too weak to move. He was too ashamed to look at her.

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Roxy asked, her voice breaking as she traced one of the jagged black lines on his shoulder. "Why did you let me believe you were just vain?"

Ren lifted his head. His eyes were red-rimmed, the violet dull and fading.

"Because I wanted you to look at me with desire," he whispered, a tear tracking through the dirt on his cheek. "Not with pity. A King does not beg for help he knows cannot be given."

"What are these, Ren?" Roxy asked, though she already knew the answer in her heart. "For the last time, what are these?"

Ren closed his eyes, surrendering.

"It is the Mana Burn," he rasped, shuddering as a wave of pain hit him. "Our magic requires a price. We pay with our life force. I have drawn too much. My soul is empty, Roxy. My body is eating itself to fill the void."

He looked at her, his expression hopeless.

"I have a month. Maybe less. I am a dead man walking."

[System Notification: The Fox King Has Revealed the Truth.]

[Deception Penalty Removed.] 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

[Affection Status: 100% (Unconditional).]

[Diagnosis: Severe Mana Necrosis.]

[Prognosis: Terminal.]

[Solution Detected.]

[Possible Cure: Soul Tether.]

[Description: Bind your Life Force to the Target. Your immense Vitality will act as a battery for his Mana, halting the necrosis and reversing the damage.] [Cost: Feed him your Vitality (Requires physical transfer).]