Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 262: He Wasn’t Always a Sneaky Fox

A cheerful, upbeat melody echoed through the damp, glowing cavern. Vex hummed to himself, entirely unbothered by the cacophony of absolute madness echoing from the pitch-black tunnel.

The heavy, rhythmic slaps of flesh against flesh, the deep, guttural grunts of the feral black tiger, and Bia’s incredibly loud screams of mixed pain and pleasure formed a chaotic background track to his quiet evening.

Vex stood at his stone workstation, holding a tiny, pristine white object between his sharp claws. It was the birth control implant he had seamlessly stolen from Ren’s arm. He held it up to the bioluminescent moss, his orange eyes narrowing in deep fascination.

He wondered if she had even noticed it was missing yet. He had been incredibly careful, using his claw to make the tiniest, cleanest incision possible so the bleeding would be incredibly faint. By the time she noticed the tiny prick, she would just assume a mosquito had gotten her.

But as he rolled the tiny, flexible plastic rod between his fingers, Vex simply couldn’t wrap his brilliant mind around it. How in the world could this tiny, strange object stop pregnancies?

Did his old world really advance this much since he had been gone?

Vex slowly walked over to the edge of the steaming hot spring. He crouched down, staring into the perfectly still water. The reflection staring back at him was that of a devastatingly handsome, orange-haired Fox beastman with fluffy orange ears.

But inside, he remembered the truth.

Bia’s muffled screams and Carik’s heavy grunting completely faded into white noise as Vex let himself reminisce.

He remembered wearing lab coats, not leather loincloths. Back in his old world, he had been a highly respected, genius chemist and scientist. He had been standing right on the precipice of a groundbreaking, world-changing breakthrough.

And then, his jealous, treacherous lab partner had pushed him straight off a cliff.

He had woken up in this brutal, primitive world, trapped inside the body of a beastman, completely at the mercy of the Moon Goddess who had resurrected him.

Vex stared at his reflection, a rare, solemn frown touching his lips. He wondered exactly how long it had been. Time moved so strangely here. Was it still the 1800s back in the human world? Or had the century turned? Was it the 1900s now?

He had left a wife and two young children behind when he fell off that cliff. In his first few years in the Beast World, he used to think about them every single day. He would cry himself to sleep, begging the Goddess to send him back. But now? He stared into the water and realized with a chilling emptiness that he couldn’t even remember their faces anymore. They were just blurry, blank slates in his mind.

The Moon Goddess had given him a single, grand mission in exchange for his second life. For many decades, he had been stuck. But now, thanks to the sudden arrival of Ren, he was finally getting closer to his own ultimate breakthrough.

"Vex! Help me!"

Bia’s sudden, throat-tearing shriek violently interrupted his deep inner monologue.

Vex blinked, his solemn expression instantly vanishing, replaced by his usual, wicked smirk. "Ah, the sounds of progress," he murmured.

However, the loud scream had disturbed the cavern’s other occupant. Lying on the pile of furs near the hot spring, Vara groaned. The sickly, pregnant tigress tossed her head, her eyes fluttering open as the noise woke her from her feverish slumber.

Vex immediately stood up and strolled over to her, his posture relaxed and polite. He grabbed a wooden cup, scooped up some fresh water, and stooped down by her side.

"I am so sorry for the noise," Vex smiled warmly, offering her the cup.

Vara weakly pushed herself up, resting on her elbows. She looked past him, her tired eyes landing on the dark tunnel where the terrifying sounds were coming from.

"What..." Vara wheezed, taking a small sip of the water. "What are you up to, Vex? What is going on in there?"

Vex didn’t see any reason to lie to a dying woman. He happily told her exactly what he was doing.

"I am using Carik to breed that rogue tigress so I can produce more monster babies," Vex explained cheerfully, gesturing toward the tunnel.

Vara stared at him in pure, unadulterated horror. Her chest heaved as the sick, black veins on her swollen belly pulsed.

"You are a monster," Vara spat weakly. "The Goddess of Misfortune will come for you eventually, Vex! You will suffer for the evils you commit!"

Vex just smiled affectionately. He reached out and gently caressed her matted, sweaty white hair, entirely unfazed by her curse.

"Perhaps," Vex purred softly. "But when the Goddess does come for me, you won’t be alive to see me suffer, my dear."

That brutal, casual reminder of her impending doom finally broke whatever remaining resolve Vara had left. Vara collapsed back onto the furs. She burst into loud, pathetic tears.

"I won’t die!" Vara sobbed, her entire body shaking as she became a complete, hysterical mess. "I don’t deserve this! I was a Queen!"

"Yes, yes, it’s a terrible tragedy," Vex sighed, entirely bored of her crying.

He casually reached into his pouch, pulled out a strongly scented, pungent purple plant, and ruthlessly rubbed the crushed leaves directly under her nose.

Vara’s eyes instantly rolled into the back of her head, and she was knocked out cold before she could even take another breath.

"Much better," Vex muttered.

He stood up, walked over to his massive, empty wool sack, and brought it over. With a few heavy grunts, Vex unceremoniously shoved the pregnant tiger beastman completely inside the burlap sack, folding her limbs inward like he was packing a remarkably heavy tent.

He grabbed the thick leather straps, hauled the massive sack onto his broad back, and bounced slightly on his heels to test the heavy weight.

"Comfortable?" Vex asked the lumpy sack with a smirk. "Good. We’re going on a fun little vacation."

His fluffy orange ears twitched.

The cavern was completely, terrifyingly silent. Bia’s screaming had completely stopped. There were no moans, no grunts, not even the sound of splashing water.

Vex’s smirk completely fell from his face.

He immediately dropped the heavy sack carrying Vara onto the limestone floor with a loud thud. Grabbing a clump of glowing moss, genuine panic flashed across his handsome features as he sprinted into the pitch-black tunnel.

He burst into the hollowed-out cave.

Carik was sitting back in the shallow, warm water, his massive, scarred chest heaving as he stared blankly at the wall, the potent aphrodisiac finally burning out of his system.

But Bia was laying entirely unmoving on the flat stone altar in the middle of the water. Her limbs were splayed at unnatural angles, and her eyes were staring blankly at the dripping stalactites above.

"Move!" Vex barked at the giant feral tiger, shoving Carik’s massive shoulder out of the way.

Vex rushed to Bia’s side. He immediately pressed his fingers hard against the pulse point on her neck, holding his breath as he waited for the familiar, steady thump of a heartbeat.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

She was dead.

Vex slowly dropped her limp, lifeless wrist onto the stone table. He ran his hand through his hair. He closed his eyes, releasing a long, incredibly frustrated breath through his nose.

"Fuck."