Surviving The Beast World With My 'Sassy' System-Chapter 26: Chaotic Energy

The Mauler roared — a sound like a landslide tearing through timber — and charged. Its bark-plated hide shimmered with unnatural energy, sickly violet veins pulsing and crawling beneath the cracked surface. The ground shuddered with each thunderous step as it barreled toward the wall of panthers, claws tearing deep trenches into the forest floor. The moment they realized the beast had been invaded by Chaotic energy, tension rippled through the group.

Dark met the charge head-on, his panther form disappearing into a blur as he lunged for its throat, claws outstretched. Miren leapt simultaneously from the opposite side, angled for its ribs.

The Mauler twisted with impossible speed. Dark’s claws missed by a breath, while its massive shoulder slammed into Miren with the force of a collapsing tree. The crack of impact echoed through the forest as Miren was sent hurtling through the underbrush, crashing through thick foliage until he vanished in a spray of leaves.

Dark pivoted instantly, claws digging into the ground as he launched forward again. Vors and Tharn — the latter shaking off his disorientation with a snarl — sprang with him, all three converging from separate angles.

Dark snapped a command, voice ringing through the beast tongue toward Nima, signaling her to flank and exploit her speed to cripple the creature. But even consumed by Chaos, the Mauler sensed the danger closing in. With a sudden drop into its crouch, it vanished once more — burrowing into the forest floor, its bark-like plating blending perfectly with roots, mud, and moon-shadow.

A heavy silence followed, the kind that tightens the lungs. The Panthers circled warily, ears twitching, noses testing the air.

Then the earth exploded beneath Garrick.

Soil burst upward as the Mauler erupted from the ground, its massive frame blotting out the moonlight. Garrick reacted on instinct alone — twisting to shield Lavayla with his body. The beast’s jaws snapped shut on empty air where Lavayla’s torso had been, but one hooked claw tore across Garrick’s chest. Blood sprayed as he staggered back, barely keeping his footing.

Ressha struck before the Mauler could follow through. Her jaguar form slammed into its side with devastating force, the impact sending both rolling across the forest floor. The beast thrashed violently, fighting back, its tusks carving a burning line across her shoulder, the wound sizzling with corrosive heat. Snarling, she raked her claws deep into its flank, forcing it to wrench free with a shriek that rattled the branches above.

The Mauler flung Ressha aside.

Tali — mid-lunge — was caught by its tail. The thick, rootlike appendage whipped into her ribs with brutal precision, launching her into the trunk of a nearby tree. She hit hard, the crack echoing, and slid to the ground.

The Mauler rose again, steam curling off its hide. Fiery red cracks crawled across its plating as the beast’s growl deepened into something guttural and unstable.

"What’s happening to it?" Eiran demanded in the beast tongue, voice tight.

Sela shook her head, but Dark answered first, stepping forward with certainty. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Chaotic energy," he growled. "Keep your distance. Too much contact will corrupt you."

Every beastman’s gaze sharpened — just in time to see where the Mauler’s attention had fixed.

Not on them but on Lavayla.

"It’s targeting the human!" Vira shouted, circling to cut off its line.

The Mauler lunged.

Nima intercepted in a golden streak, claws raking across its legs. She didn’t draw blood, instead, thick, dark ichor that steamed out of the wound and burned on contact with the ground — but the tail whipped back instantly, slamming into her mid-leap. She crashed to the forest floor and skidded across leaves and torn earth, gasping for breath.

Kal, who had been pacing impatiently along the edges of the fight, saw an opening and could resist no longer. He darted forward.

"Kal!" Dark’s roar split the air, furious and warning.

But it was too late.

The Mauler snatched Kal mid-air with ease. Its jaws clamped around his hind leg, and his scream tore through the clearing before the beast swung its head violently and flung him like a rag doll into a tree. The impact was sickening — a sharp crack followed by silence as Kal collapsed.

Dark launched himself onto the Mauler’s back in blind fury, his jaws sinking deep into its shoulder. Chaotic steam hissed out instead of blood, charring the ground where it fell. The Mauler bucked hard, its spine contorting unnaturally, and threw Dark off with a violent twist.

Tharn pounced immediately, aiming to pin a limb, but the beast folded its joints in impossible angles, slipping free as if its bones weren’t bound by the same rules. It surged forward again, barreling toward Garrick. He dodged — barely — and this time escaped unscathed, though the heat of its corrupted breath washed over him like fire.

Ressha, eyes narrowed and burning, noticed something the rest hadn’t. "It’s decaying," she snarled, voice thick with strain. "The chaotic energy is holding it together from the inside!"

As if responding to her words, the Mauler convulsed sharply. Its roar fractured into a distorted, broken cry. Cracks ripped through its hide as chaotic energy seethed beneath the surface, burning through muscle and bone.

Garrick’s pulse thundered as he felt the feverish tremble of the human woman clinging weakly to him. Her skin felt scorching. Too hot.

"Drak," Garrick called, voice tight and breathless. "She’s burning up."

Drak’s gaze flicked from her flushed face to the Mauler. His voice dropped to a chilling certainty. "It’s feeding off her. It wants her."

The beast was panting harshly now, steaming from every joint, its hide splitting open in places where black ichor poured out in thick streams. It was dying — rapidly — but its obsession had only sharpened. Those glowing red eyes were locked on Lavayla with a grotesque, unwavering hunger, as if determined to drag her with it into death.

"New plan," Drak growled. "We draw it out. Force it to burn itself empty."

Ressha stepped forward despite her bleeding shoulder. "I’ll lure it."

"No." Garrick shifted his stance, Lavayla still secured against his back. His voice was low, steady, resolute. "It wants her. Then it can come to me."

Before anyone could argue, he was already running.

He sprinted through the trees, weaving between roots and low branches, each stride controlled despite the injuries. Behind him, the Mauler shrieked with maddened fury and thundered after him, tearing through the forest like a beast possessed.

The Panthers followed close behind, flanking and harrying it with relentless strikes. Vira slashed at its hind legs. Sela — limping but unyielding — leapt from a branch to carve her claws down its back. Nima darted in and out in dizzying flashes, each pass drawing more of the beast’s ichor.

The Mauler never slowed. It never looked at them. Its focus remained locked on the human.

Garrick burst into a small clearing and skidded to a halt, pivoting to face the charging beast. He shielded Lavayla with his body and braced for impact.

The Mauler crashed through the foliage — and the Panthers were ready.

Ressha slammed into its flank with bone-rattling force, driving it off balance. Dark and Vors hit next, crushing its other side. Miren, bleeding but conscious, shot out from the brush and slashed deep at its tendon. The beast staggered, roaring, its entire body cracking and collapsing in on itself.

A final convulsion ripped through it as chaotic energy devoured its failing organs. Then the Mauler collapsed entirely.

Steam poured from its body in violent bursts. Its hide shrank inward, plates cracking and sloughing off as it rapidly decayed. Within moments the massive beast had dissolved into a spreading pool of dark, ash-like sludge that hissed and burned every plant it touched, leaving a ring of shriveled vegetation around the clearing.

Only when the steam dispersed did anyone breathe.

Kal struggled upright with Vors supporting him. Everyone checked each other quickly, confirming that despite numerous injuries, they were all still able to move. With no time to waste, they returned to the hidden shelter beneath the ironwood’s roots, scanning the area repeatedly to make sure no other predator had been drawn by the noise.

Once certain the area was safe, they set to preparing the hollow. Broad leaves were used to sweep out dirt and debris, then the space was searched thoroughly for ants or crawlers. A smoke herb was lit — one known to repel poisonous insects — and once the air cleared, they laid down a thick layer of broad leaves, followed by their single piece of soft hide.

Only then did they gently place Lavayla atop it, with the baby set carefully near her head, tucked behind their bundles in a shadowed corner for safety.

Ressha checked Lavayla’s body again and discovered that her burning heat had faded.

Dark crouched beside them, expression grim. "The fever must have been the chaotic energy reacting to her."

Ressha nodded, changing her herbs with ease. Garrick and Tharn knelt close as well, tension etched across their faces.

Garrick spoke first. "Is it because she’s human? That the beast’s energy affected her without direct contact?"