Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 280: Episode 278: Torian saves the Day!

Roxy stared at the stone slab. This was a fucking miracle...

The corrupted, sickly grey core of the mana crystal was completely frozen, the necrotic rot entirely suffocated by the hardened crust. Deep within the center, a faint, healthy blue light was slowly returning.

It wasn’t a failure. It was a complete, undeniable success.

"How?" Roxy gasped, her green eyes wide as she stepped closer to the workbench, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten. She looked from the crystal to the White Tiger standing beside her. "Syris didn’t change the ratio. We didn’t add anything else. How did it suddenly react?"

Torian rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly sheepish for a massive, feral warlord. He held up his left hand. There was a fresh, shallow slice across his thick thumb, a single bead of crimson welling at the surface.

"When you went to sit down, and Syris turned his back to organize the glass," Torian rumbled, his deep voice carrying a note of absolute certainty, "I reached over. I added a single drop of my own blood to the mixture before it hardened."

Syris spun around from the counter, his green eyes snapping to Torian’s thumb and then to the crystal.

"Alpha blood," Syris hissed, the realization hitting his analytical mind like a lightning strike. "Of course. The Iron-Wood sap was a weak botanical bridge. But the blood of an Alpha is saturated with pure, concentrated territorial mana. It acted as the perfect biological anchor, forcing the Abyssal magic and the Kraken venom to recognize Beastman biology without attacking it!"

Roxy didn’t care about the complex language Syris was speaking. She didn’t care about the ratios or the binding agents. All she heard was that Torian, her stubborn, overprotective, fiercely possessive Tiger, had just provided the missing puzzle piece to save millions of lives.

"You did it!" Roxy cried out.

A massive, overwhelming wave of pure euphoria crashed over her. Roxy launched herself entirely into Torian’s arms.

Torian caught her effortlessly, his massive hands gripping her waist as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. A wide, arrogant grin broke across his face, his thick tail wagging furiously behind him as he spun her around in a joyous circle.

"We did it, Roxy," Torian laughed, the sound booming in the small lab.

But as her feet left the ground, the joyous laugh died in Roxy’s throat. The edges of her vision violently blackened.

Her arms went completely slack around Torian’s neck. Her head lolled backward, her body turning to absolute dead weight in his grasp.

"Roxy?" Torian’s grin vanished instantly.

He caught her head before it could snap back, his dark eyes widening in sheer terror. He lowered her quickly to his chest. Her skin was incredibly pale, covered in a fine sheen of cold sweat, and her violet eyes were rolled back, shut tight.

Around her neck, the tiny emerald snake that was Tanith hissed in sudden alarm, sensing her mother’s consciousness flatline.

"Roxy!" Torian roared, the sound shaking the glass beakers on the workbenches.

"Move!" Syris barked, abandoning the crystal entirely.

Torian didn’t need to be told twice. He scooped Roxy tightly against his chest and bolted out of the lab. He sprinted down the hallway as he made for the stairs to the master bedroom.

His heart hammered a frantic, sickening rhythm against his ribs. He had just gotten her back. He had just planted his cub. If she died in his arms right now—

No she was not dying!

Before Torian could reach the top of the stairs, a massive shadow blocked the landing.

Zarek stepped out of the hallway, his golden eyes locking onto Roxy’s limp, pale form. His pupils narrowed into lethal slits.

"What did you do to her?!" Zarek bellowed, his voice a deafening, draconic roar.

Zarek lunged. He didn’t care that Torian was a fellow King. His mate was unconscious, and the Tiger was holding her.

Zarek grabbed Torian violently by the front of his shirt, his claws extending, ready to rip the White Tiger’s throat out for whatever harm had befallen their Queen.

Torian bared his fangs, fully prepared to drop Roxy onto the soft carpet and fight the Dragon to the death just to get her to a bed, but a cold, sharp voice cut through the testosterone-fueled madness.

"Release him, Zarek! Now!"

Syris slithered rapidly up the stairs behind Torian, his emerald coils taking the steps three at a time. The Snake Beastman didn’t flinch at Zarek’s rage.

"She is fine!" Syris commanded, using his absolute authority as the pack’s medical expert. "She is not injured, and she is not infected. She simply fainted from extreme exhaustion!"

Zarek’s grip on Torian’s shirt trembled, the flames in his eyes flickering. "She is unresponsive!"

"Because she is not a Beastman, you overgrown lizard!" Syris snapped, his logic slicing through Zarek’s panic. "She is a human who adapted to the abyss and just came back to the surface. She brewed a cure under extreme stress, and she is in the first stage of a highly taxing Alpha pregnancy. Her body simply hit its absolute limit. Now let him pass before you stress the cub!"

The mention of the pregnancy and her biological limits acted like a bucket of ice water over Zarek’s rage.

Zarek gritted his teeth, his jaw locking so hard it popped. With a gruff, furious shove, he released Torian’s shirt. But he didn’t step aside.

Instead, Zarek reached out and physically ripped Roxy out of Torian’s arms.

He didn’t ask for permission. He gathered her limp body against his broad chest, completely ignoring Torian’s warning growl. Zarek turned and carried her the rest of the way into the master bedroom, kicking the heavy oak door shut behind him with his boot, leaving the Tiger and the Snake out in the hall.

Zarek laid Roxy gently in the center of the massive bed. He pulled the thick furs up to her chin, making sure she was warm.

As he leaned over her, his enhanced senses caught the heavy, pungent scent radiating off her skin. It was Torian. The White Tiger’s scent was everywhere, woven into her hair, lingering on her neck, and deeply saturated in her pores from their night together.

A dark, territorial rumble vibrated in Zarek’s chest. He hated it. Every draconic instinct he possessed screamed at him to scrub the Tiger’s scent away, to bite her shoulder and replace it with his own smoke and pine. But he looked down at her exhausted, pale face. He saw the dark circles under her eyes.

Zarek let out a heavy sigh, forcibly suppressing his beast. He kicked off his boots and carefully climbed into the bed beside her.

He pulled her flush against his side, wrapping his arms securely around her, and simply let his body heat act as a comforting furnace while she slept.

Several hours later, the room was bathed in the soft, golden light of the late afternoon.

Roxy groaned, her eyelashes fluttering. The crushing fatigue had finally lifted, leaving her feeling groggy but entirely coherent. She shifted her weight, instantly realizing she was trapped in heavily muscled, scorching-hot arms.

She blinked, tilting her head up. Zarek was looking down at her, his eyes soft and intensely watchful.

"Hey," Roxy murmured, her voice thick with sleep. She nuzzled her face directly into the center of his chest, inhaling the comforting scent of him. "How long was I out?"

"Long enough to send the Tiger into a panic attack and nearly get him roasted," Zarek replied gruffly, his large hand coming up to gently stroke her dark hair. He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead. "You scared us, Roxann."

"I’m sorry," Roxy whispered, wrapping an arm around his waist. But a sudden spark of memory ignited in her brain, and she pushed herself up slightly, her green eyes shining. "Zarek. The crystal. I did it. The blood and the ink worked. We have the formula. I’m going to save everyone."

Zarek’s fierce expression melted into one of profound, overwhelming pride.

"I know," Zarek murmured, his thumb brushing her cheekbone. "I never doubted it for a second. I knew you could do it."

Roxy smiled, her heart swelling. But then she looked around the quiet room. "What about Torian? Is he okay? I kind of collapsed right on him."

As if the White Tiger had been sitting directly outside the heavy oak door with his ear pressed to the wood, which he absolutely had been, the bedroom door immediately swung open.

Torian rushed into the room. He didn’t care that Zarek was in the bed. He dropped to his knees right beside the mattress, his large hands frantically grabbing Roxy’s hand and pressing it to his cheek. His eyes swept over her face, searching for any sign of lingering illness.

"You’re awake," Torian breathed, his thick tail thumping happily against the floorboards. "Are you in pain? Does the cub need anything?"

"I am perfectly fine, Rian," Roxy laughed softly, squeezing his hand. "Just a little tired."

Roxy sat up further, pushing the furs down to her waist. She was rapidly calculating their next steps. Having the cure was only half the battle; distributing it to a continent of aggressive, territorial Beastmen was a logistical nightmare.

"Zarek," Roxy said, turning to Zarek. "I need you to get up. I need you to go down to the kitchens and assist Kaelen and Syris."

Zarek frowned, his arms tightening around her waist. "I am not leaving you. The Tiger can go." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"No, listen to me," Roxy insisted, tapping Zarek’s chest firmly. "The cure tastes like abyssal ink and venom. If we just hand vials of black liquid to infected, paranoid tribes, they will think it’s poison and refuse it. We need to hide it."

Torian tilted his head, intrigued. "Hide it how?"

"Food," Roxy stated brilliantly. "I want Kaelen to brew massive vats of thick, heavy chicken broth and rice. It’s hearty, it smells incredible, and it will completely mask the taste and color of the cure. Syris can mix the exact dosage into each batch. Then, I want you to wrap the portions tightly in those large, waterproof edible leaves Kaelen uses for travel rations."

She looked between the two Alphas. "It creates a natural package. Your scouts can fly over the Southern Swamps and the quarantine zones and literally drop hot, healing meals directly to the tribes. They won’t fight over medicine, but starving, infected Beastmen will definitely eat chicken and rice."

Torian’s eyes widened in sheer respect. It was a flawless, highly efficient supply chain strategy.

Zarek grumbled, entirely unconcerned with the logistical brilliance. He buried his face in her neck, his arms locked stubbornly around her. "Kaelen and Syris can handle the cooking. I am staying here with you."

If they could do it alone would I ask you?

Roxy let out a soft sigh. She reached down, cupping Zarek’s rough jawline. She tilted his face up, looking directly into his crimson eyes, and deployed her ultimate, unstoppable weapon.

She softened her violet eyes, pouting her lower lip just a fraction.

"Please, darling?" Roxy whispered sweetly.