Chapter 243: One of Them is a Monster

“Ren!”

Kael’s thunderous voice ripped through the trees just a split second before his massive body burst into the small clearing. He took one look at Ren, pale and pressed flat against the oak tree, and crossed the distance in a single bound.

Kael pulled her away from the bark and enveloped her in a tight, crushing hug, burying her face into his broad, warm chest. Ren clung to him, her entire body trembling like a leaf in a hurricane.

Right on Kael’s heels, the rest of the rogue strays and a few of the defiant white tigers came rushing through the brush, drawn by the overwhelming stench of fresh blood.

They all stopped dead in their tracks.

A collective gasp of absolute horror echoed through the forest. They stared at the mangled, unrecognizable pile of meat, fur, and shattered bone that used to be the scrawny goat beastman. Some of the strays covered their mouths in shock, while others took terrified steps backward, their eyes wide with fear.

They looked from the butchered corpse to Kaelen, who was literally dripping in the goat beastman’s blood. It wasn’t hard to deduce that this absolute massacre was entirely his handiwork. Even the loyal white tiger beastmen who had followed Kaelen into self-exile looked deeply disturbed. They knew Kaelen was their best hunter, but they had never guessed he possessed this level of brutal, monstrous strength.

The lanky wolf beastman and the other scrawny strays who had just boldly volunteered to compete in the tournament to be Ren’s mate suddenly looked incredibly sick. They gulped audibly, their newfound confidence instantly evaporating.

Such unparalleled violence from a beastman who wasn’t even a Beast King?! If they stepped into a tournament ring with him, they wouldn’t just lose; they would be turned into ground meat!

Kaelen said absolutely nothing. He casually pulled the makeshift wooden stake from his own chest, tossing it into the grass, his insane beastman vitality already slowing the bleeding. He slowly got up from the dirt.

Ren peeked over Kael’s massive shoulder. She let out a long, shaky exhale of pure relief when she saw that Kaelen’s eyes were no longer that terrifying, glowing feral red. They were back to their lucid, piercing gold.

For a brief, heavy moment, their eyes met over Kael’s shoulder. Kaelen stared at her, an unreadable expression on his blood-splattered face, before he silently turned and walked away into the shadows of the forest.

Ren’s brows furrowed deeply as she watched his retreating, muscular, bloodstained back.

’Does Kael know?’ Ren wondered, her heart still hammering against her ribs. ’Does he know that his brother is a literal monster? Well… a monster with a homicidal split personality?’

A new wave of panic washed over her. She couldn’t possibly allow Kael and Kaelen to fight in that stupid tournament! Wouldn’t Kaelen completely rip him to pieces if the red-eyed feral side took over? Kael didn’t have his Beast King status anymore. It would sit extremely heavy on Ren’s conscience for the rest of her life if Kael was horribly mangled or killed because of her Moon Goddess lie!

[System: Host, you really shouldn’t worry your pretty little head about that.]

’Huh?!’ Ren thought indignantly. ’My husband is about to enter a death match with his feral twin, and I shouldn’t worry?!’

[System: Precisely. You are forgetting the Golden Eagle Prince. Altair possesses immensely powerful healing abilities. His tears can regrow entire limbs. Altair’s tears can heal any and every physical injury in existence; he only cannot bring the dead back to life. Even if Kael is torn to shreds, a few bird tears will fix him right up!]

Ren blinked against Kael’s chest. She would have been infinitely more relieved hearing that incredibly overpowered medical fact if she actually knew where Altair was, or if he was ever coming back! He had vanished into thin air this morning! There was absolutely no way she could depend on a flighty, AWOL bird prince to be her on-call master healer.

’I have to keep this competition from happening,’

Ren decided firmly.

She was suddenly pulled from her frantic thoughts when Kael effortlessly scooped her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest like a precious, fragile doll.

Without a word, he carried her away from the grisly crime scene. As they passed by the main clearing by the large tree, Ren noticed several other strays were completely unbothered, happily helping themselves to more of her elk stew.

Ren’s eyes softened when she saw Katleen. The white tiger female was sitting by the fire, happily rocking her tiny cub. The baby tiger definitely looked a million times better than it had just a few minutes ago; its breathing was steady, and the dullness in its fur was already fading.

’The buff effect of good food must be massively boosted in this world,’ Ren thought, a small, proud smile touching her lips despite the morning’s trauma.

Kael carried her straight past and brought her directly to the sparkling waterhole.

He gently set her down on the soft moss. His large hands reached for the hem of her grey dress and with incredible, feather-light gentleness, he helped her pull it over her head, careful not to scrape her skin.

After, Kael reached down and untied his own leather loincloth, letting it drop to the grass.

Ren immediately tried to look away and act completely normal, but she really couldn’t help herself. Her green eyes traitorously drifted downward, staring openly at his spectacular, heavily muscled physique, and the heavy, thick evidence of his ever-present morning arousal.

Kael smirked as he noticed her gaze.

“You should get clean first,” Kael teased softly, his golden eyes filled with deep affection.

He lifted her back up into his arms and waded straight into the waterhole, bringing her deep inside the cool, refreshing water. The chill instantly washed away the sweat and the lingering phantom sensation of the goat beastman’s foul grip.

Kael settled her into the water, keeping one strong arm wrapped securely around her waist.

“Where is that round, sweet-smelling thing you usually rub on your body to get very clean?” Kael asked.

Ren burst into a genuine, musical laugh, the tension finally leaving her shoulders. “It’s called soap, Kael.”

With a quick thought, she accessed her inventory and pulled out a fresh, purple bar of lavender soap. She held it up and was just about to start lathering her arms to wash herself, but Kael’s large hand suddenly reached out and took the soap right out of her grasp.

His golden eyes darkened slightly.

“No,” Kael murmured, his voice dropping an octave as he moved closer, pulling her flush against his chest in the water. “I will wash you.”

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