Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 256: Episode 254: Let’s save the world.

"A plague is coming."

The silence that followed was expected. The crackling of the logs in the massive stone fireplace suddenly seemed too loud.

Torian, the White Tiger, was the first to break the silence. He crossed his thick, muscular arms over his broad chest, his dark brows pulling together in a heavy frown. "A plague? What does this mean, Roxy? Is it a famine? A drought that affects the trade routes? A physical enemy we can crush?"

Before Roxy could formulate the right words to explain microscopic pathogens to a world that relied on magic and herbs, Syris uncoiled from his spot on the rug. The Snake Beastman’s vertical pupils narrowed to thin slits, his mind instantly grasping the concept.

He was the one that spent almost all of his life studying.

"It is a sickness, Tiger," Syris hissed softly, his voice echoing with a cold dread. "A pandemic or disease that flares up and spreads with a series of dangerous contacts. It is the kind of rot that can wipe out entire generations before a head can drop to the floor."

Roxy nodded grimly, her green eyes sweeping over her mates. "And it’s worse than a normal sickness. It spreads fast. By biting, scratching, or prolonged exposure to the corrupted energy it produces. It turns the infected feral."

Everyone frowned. The atmosphere in the room plummeted, growing thick with a suffocating stress.

These were men who could conquer enemies and topple mountains.

But a microscopic, corrupted energy that turned beasts against each other? That was an enemy they couldn’t simply hack apart with Kaelen’s trench-glass sword or incinerate with Zarek’s fire.

"We have forty-eight hours before it hits the borders of the Iron-Wood," Roxy continued, forcing her voice to remain steady. "But I am going to do my best to prevent it. And possibly... possibly cure the other beastkin who are already suffering from it in the Southern Swamps."

A low, vibrating rumble started deep in the chest of the Zarek.

Zarek nuzzled into the crook of her neck.

"No," Zarek growled, his voice dark with command. "I won’t let any possible danger come to you. You are not stepping foot outside this Manor. The world outside the Iron-Wood could burn to ash for all I care, as long as you are safe within these walls."

Roxy’s heart skipped a beat at the sheer, overwhelming possessiveness of his declaration. It was romantic in a terrifying, primal way. But it was also completely unacceptable.

She pressed her lips into a thin line, recoiling away from him just enough to look him in the eye.

"So that all my years of fixing the Beast World would go down the drain?" Roxy demanded, her voice rising with fierce indignation. "I bled for this world, Zarek! I united the territories! You of all beasts know how much I have suffered! You want me to just sit in a bedroom and watch it all rot into a feral wasteland?"

Ren shifted uncomfortably near the table, his red fox ears pinning back flat against his hair. "Zarek has made a point, though," Ren muttered, refusing to meet her eyes. "We are selfish creatures, Roxy. We protect our own hoard. If going out there puts you at risk of this... this rot, then the rest of the continent can fend for itself."

Syris and Torian nodded in silent, grim agreement.

Kaelen stepped closer, his blue eyes filled with a profound, quiet sorrow that immediately pierced through Roxy’s anger. The Wolf Alpha reached out, his calloused fingers gently brushing a stray curl behind her ear.

"We have lost you before, Roxy," Kaelen said softly, the raw vulnerability in his tone making the breath catch in her throat. "For months, we lived as ghosts. Having you back is a miracle we do not deserve. It doesn’t mean we want to lose you again to a disease we cannot fight."

Roxy’s heart swelled. The fierce, defensive anger melted away, leaving behind a deep, aching love for these broken, beautiful monsters who worshipped the ground she walked on.

But she couldn’t yield. Not on this.

She gently reached up and covered Kaelen’s hand with her own, shaking her head.

"This is my mission to take," Roxy said, her voice dropping to a soft whisper. "And I can’t reject it. The Gods gave me this task. I have to do this to keep you guys safe. If I ignore it, the rot will eventually breach our walls. It will take the children. It will take you."

They all looked at each other, a silent communication passing between the Alphas. The tactical reality of her words began to settle over their possessive instincts.

A siege was only effective if the walls could hold against the enemy, and a magical plague respected no walls.

Zarek let out a long, heavy sigh. He dropped his forehead, resting his chin heavily in the crook of Roxy’s neck, inhaling her scent as if trying to memorize it.

"Then tell us," Zarek rumbled against her collarbone, his total surrender sending a shiver down her spine. "What can we do to help?"

Roxy sighed in profound relief, her hands coming back to stroke the dark, thick hair at the nape of the dragon’s neck.

"First, I would be very happy if you don’t leave the house until everything is settled," Roxy instructed, looking around the room to ensure they all heard her. "We go into full lockdown. We have only a few days to get a cure and a prevention in place, and I am going to need to brainstorm. But the most important thing you need to know..."

She hesitated, her stomach twisting into a painful knot.

"The plague doesn’t affect everyone equally," Roxy revealed, her voice trembling slightly. "It only targets those with a highly active, elemental mana core." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

She looked directly at Ren standing beside her.

"It targets you, Zarek. And you, Ren."

At the mention of his name, Ren visibly stiffened. The Fox Beastman’s entire body went completely rigid, his knuckles turning white where he gripped the edge of the couch.

The color drained from his naturally flushed, mischievous face, leaving him looking sickly and pale.

Roxy noticed it instantly. "Ren? What happened?" she asked, stepping out of Zarek’s embrace. "Are you feeling sick?"

Ren blinked rapidly, his posture forcibly relaxing as he pasted a bright, strained smile onto his face. "What? No! Nothing. It’s nothing, Roxy. Just... surprised, that’s all. A fox is hard to catch, even for a magical disease."

Roxy didn’t believe him for a second, but she didn’t push. She couldn’t afford to panic right now.

So, she quickly moved on, giving them the rest of the terrifying details the System had provided, the necrotic flesh, the madness, the corruption of the magical pathways.

"If the disease specifically targets and corrupts the magical pathways of a mana core," Syris theorized, "then mundane herbs and medicine will be useless. The only thing that could fix corrupted mana is pure mana."

Roxy’s eyes lit up. "That makes sense, Syris! A magical flush to clean out the system!"

But just as the spark of hope ignited, a dark realization immediately snuffed it out.

"Wait," Roxy frowned, looking at the Snake. "But what if the corrupted mana infects the clean mana? What if the rot just feeds on their energy and spreads faster?"

They all went dead silent. The horrifying logic of her question hung in the air. Using their greatest strength against the plague might be the exact trigger that kills them.

Ren suddenly pushed off the table, his strained smile vanishing completely. His green eyes were dark with sudden urgency.

"I need to leave," Ren declared, his voice tight. "I need to speak with my people. The Fox Tribe’s dens are scattered, but our elders have ancient archives on mana sickness. If my core is at risk, my entire tribe is a massive target."

Roxy stopped him.

"You have to avoid contact with your people for now. The same goes for Zarek and the Dragon Peaks. I am going to talk to Drax as soon as we finish. No one moves during this period. No physical contact with anyone outside these walls."

Ren looked down at her, his expression twisting in agony. "Roxy, I am a King! I can’t just lock myself in a warm house and leave my people out there to rot and die in the woods!"

"We will use letters," Roxy countered swiftly, a reassuring smile on her face. "We will send ravens. We will use Torian’s merchant drops. We can communicate, Ren, but you cannot go to them. If you go, and you catch it... you will bring it back here. You will infect Zarek. You will go feral and tear the children apart."

Even though she trusted that he wouldn’t do such a thing and instead suffer alone.

Ren pressed his lips into a thin, white line. His whole body trembled with the conflict between his duty as a King and his absolute devotion to his mate.

Roxy couldn’t bear the pain in his eyes. The fear of the plague, the exhaustion of the journey, and the terror of losing her family all crashed down on her at once.

Her lips wobbled. Tears instantly blurred her vision, threatening to spill over.

"Please," Roxy begged, her voice breaking. She looked around at all of them. "Please. I have lost you guys once. I spent months staring at an ocean ceiling, crying myself to sleep because I thought I would never see your faces again. I don’t want to lose you a second time. I won’t survive it."

The sight of her tears broke them instantly. The pride, the territorial duty, the stubborn need to fight, it all evaporated.

Though Zarek wasn’t resisting as much as Ren was, he didn’t care about his people.

At least that was what he thought.

He pulled her back into his solid chest, nuzzling his face deeply into her hair to hide his own shuddering breath.

Ren dropped to his knees right in front of her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her stomach. "I won’t go," the Fox swore, his voice muffled against her shirt. "I swear it on my core, Roxy. I won’t leave you."

Kaelen knelt beside Ren, pressing a reverent kiss to her trembling hand, while Torian and Syris stepped in close, flanking her on both sides, creating an impenetrable, protective circle of devotion.

They fell at her feet, each of them murmuring vows and assurances that she would never be left alone, that they would obey her every command to keep the pack whole.

Roxy looked down at the fierce, beautiful monsters kneeling before her.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, wiping the tears from her cheeks, and gave them a bright, reassuring smile that chased the shadows from the room.

"Then let’s give our possible best," Roxy whispered, her green eyes burning with the fire of a true Queen, "to protect our world."