Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 352: Episode 350: It’s finally time.

The four weeks that followed Ren’s change bled past in an agonizing, suffocatingly tense blur.

The sprawling Iron-Wood Manor, usually a chaotic haven of roaring laughter and thundering Alpha footsteps, had completely transformed into a hyper-vigilant fortress. The warlords walked on eggshells, their eyes tracking Roxy’s every single movement.

It had only been seven weeks and three days in total, but Roxy’s stomach had swelled to massive, aching proportions, entirely dominating her slender frame.

She was officially in the final, precarious stretch.

Upstairs in the royal suite, the preparations were already in a state of frantic, organized chaos. Dena, the young wolf-shifter helper, had been bustling around for days. She was currently boiling massive iron pots of fresh spring water, sterilizing medical instruments, and laying out dozens of pristine, white linen sheets across the furs of the birthing bed.

Sitting heavily on the edge of the mattress, Roxy watched the preparations with her brilliant green eyes, one hand resting protectively over her swollen belly.

She let out a long, heavy exhale, incredibly glad she had acted on her paranoid hoarding instincts months ago. Before the System had violently glitched into that terrifying crimson warning and completely ceased communicating, Roxy had practically emptied the digital shop’s medical section.

Hidden beneath the floorboards of her closet was a massive stash of advanced, postpartum healing kits, specialized sterilized bandages, and potent nutritional supplements.

But the most valuable item she had retrieved from the digital void was a sleek, silver auto-injector resting currently in her palm.

Roxy stared at the device. The Architect was a manipulative, terrifying entity she absolutely no longer trusted. But Roxy was a transmigrated soul. She knew her way around modern pharmacology and chemical compositions.

She had spent hours analyzing the clear, viscous liquid inside the heavy glass barrel, cross-referencing its scent and magical signature with Syris’s apothecary texts.

It was the Beastworld equivalent of a highly advanced epidural combined with a massive stamina booster.

It was designed to completely block the bone-shattering, paralyzing pain of birth without dulling her pushing reflexes.

"I don’t trust whoever made you," Roxy muttered under her breath, her green eyes narrowing at the silver metal. "But I trust the chemistry."

Without hesitating, Roxy pressed the injector against her upper thigh and engaged the mechanism. A sharp, localized pinch pierced her skin, followed immediately by a cool, spreading wave of absolute, soothing numbness that radiated outward, settling deep into her aching lower back and pelvic bones.

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. The sheer physical relief was staggering.

But as the physical pain receded, the restless, anxious energy of impending labor violently spiked.

Roxy absolutely refused to just sit on the edge of the bed and wait for the agonizing, terrifying contractions to begin. She needed a distraction. She needed to feel normal, even if it was just for a few hours.

Pushing herself up from the mattress, Roxy waddled slowly but determinedly out of the master bedroom and made her way down the staircase toward the kitchens.

"Mother, you should be resting," a deep, mature voice scolded gently as she entered the kitchen.

Drax was already there. The teenage dragon-shifter leaned against the heavy wooden island, his brilliant green eyes wide with immediate, protective concern.

"If I sit in that room for one more minute staring at Dena’s boiling water, I am going to completely lose my mind, Drax," Roxy sighed, tying a linen apron around her massive waist. "I want to cook. I want to make a rich, heavy chicken soup with lots of winter roots. It will be good for my health after... well, after."

Drax let out a highly exasperated grumble, but he didn’t try to physically stop her. He knew better than to argue with the Matriarch when her mind was set.

"Fine," Drax conceded, stepping up to the massive wooden chopping block. He rolled up the sleeves of his tailored tunic, exposing his arms. "But you are not touching a single knife. You point, and I chop. Understood?"

Roxy offered him a warm, deeply affectionate smile. "Understood, my brave boy."

The kitchen slowly filled with the incredibly comforting, rich aroma of roasting chicken bones, chopped celery, and wild winter garlic. Drax proved to be a surprisingly efficient, if somewhat overly aggressive, sous-chef.

He wielded the massive iron cleaver with terrifying precision, dicing the root vegetables into perfectly uniform, microscopic cubes.

The only mate who could teach him all this was Kaelen.

Roxy stood by the iron stove, slowly stirring the bubbling, golden broth with a long wooden ladle. The rhythmic, repetitive motion was deeply soothing.

She wasn’t alone by the fire.

Sitting directly beside her bare feet, no larger than a common hunting hound, was Ren. He was just a small, fragile red fox now, his fur lacking its usual vibrant luster, his single tail wrapped tightly around his paws.

His green eyes never left Roxy’s face. He watched her with a quiet, tragic, and unyielding devotion, acting as her silent, furry shadow.

"It smells good, doesn’t it, baby?" Roxy murmured softly, reaching down to gently scratch the small fox behind his ears.

Ren leaned into her touch, letting out a soft, breathy whine.

"Okay, Drax, hand me the diced carrots," Roxy instructed, turning her attention back to the massive iron pot.

"Right away, Mother," Drax replied, scraping the orange cubes off the chopping block.

Roxy reached out to take the wooden bowl from him.

The absolute second her fingers brushed the wood, the world entirely dropped out from beneath her.

It wasn’t a normal contraction. It didn’t build slowly. It was violent, and detonating directly inside her lower stomach. The magical heir was forcefully, aggressively demanding to be released, tearing through the final barriers of her body.

"Ah—!" Roxy gasped, the air completely violently sucked from her lungs.

Her knees buckled instantly. The wooden ladle clattered loudly against the stone floor. Roxy collapsed, her hands flying down to grip her massive stomach as a secondary, bone-crushing wave of pressure hit her pelvis. Even with the advanced painkiller injected into her system.

"Mother!" Drax shouted, his green eyes blowing wide in sheer panic. The heavy wooden bowl of carrots shattered against the floorboards as he lunged forward, his hands desperately catching her shoulders before she hit the stone.

Beside her feet, the small red fox violently flinched.

Ren’s dull green eyes snapped wide open. Despite his failing core, his desperate, overriding instinct to protect her completely hijacked his fragile body. He knew exactly what was happening.

The small fox let out a sharp, frantic, and incredibly loud yip. He didn’t hesitate for a single microsecond. He spun around, his claws scrambling desperately against the smooth stone floor, and bolted out of the kitchen archway as fast as his small, weak legs could carry him, sprinting frantically toward the grand hall to alert the Alphas.

Roxy groaned, her head falling back against Drax’s chest, her breathing turning into short, rapid, terrified gasps.

Seconds later, the sound of heavy, frantic footsteps of the warlords tore down the hallway. The kitchen archway was practically ripped open.

Zarek burst into the room. The towering Dragon Alpha looked absolutely terrifying. His massive chest heaved, his golden eyes blazing with a blinding, frantic mixture of sheer panic and overwhelming, protective hellfire.

Right on his heels were Torian, Kaelen, Syris, and Caspian, their respective blue and green eyes wide with alarm.

Zarek didn’t ask questions. He crossed the kitchen in two massive strides, gently pushing the teenage drake aside. With effortless strength, Zarek scooped Roxy entirely off the floor, cradling her massive, pregnant frame securely against his broad chest.

"Don’t worry, Roxy," Zarek rumbled, his deep voice vibrating against her ear. "We got you."

Without wasting a single breath, the Dragon King turned and quickly swept out of the kitchen, his long strides carrying him rapidly toward the grand staircase and the prepared birthing suite. Torian, Kaelen, Syris, Caspian, and Drax instantly flooded out behind him, a heavily armed, highly anxious royal guard escorting their Queen to the battlefield of motherhood.

The chaotic, frantic noise of the family vanished down the corridor, leaving the kitchen completely, suddenly silent, save for the soft bubbling of the forgotten chicken broth on the stove.

In the archway of the kitchen, entirely left behind in the chaotic rush, sat the small red fox.

Ren had guided them to her, but his fragile, failing legs couldn’t keep up with the explosive speed of the Alpha Kings. He sat heavily on his haunches, his small chest heaving with exhaustion. His dull green eyes watched the empty hallway where his entire world, his beautiful Queen, and his unborn child had just disappeared.

He was the continent’s greatest trickster, the King of Illusions, but now, he was just a frail spectator to his own legacy.

Ren let out a soft, broken, and agonizingly quiet whimper. He slowly shifted his weight, sitting completely back onto his legs, his single red tail wrapping entirely around his paws.

Before he took one more step forward.