Surviving The Beast World With My 'Sassy' System-Chapter 22: She Is Real?!

Vira moved forward, stopping beside Nima, took a bunch of wild berries she found and started popping them into her mouth. "Sela is right, they should have returned by now. Did something happen to them?"

Eiran shrugged, already crouching to check the roots for worms. "Maybe Tark followed them again. You know how he is — always being an annoyance."

"Don’t speak of the Sunmane," Ressha snapped, her tone brisk but low. "He is always making our outings unbearable."

Vira nodded and echoed, "Yes, the bastard is always finding ways to make us unable to forage here anymore."

Miren walked toward them, his large form belying the fact that he had only come of age two years ago. "The bastard only knows how to use those shameful, underhanded methods!"

They all nodded, various sour expressions overtaking their faces as they thought of the countless ways Tark had troubled them during their foraging trips. He was also one of the reasons they couldn’t travel too far from their established paths.

Tark had always been on their trail — watching, waiting, looking for the perfect moment to ambush them so he could win easily and leave them helpless.

If it had been just him, they wouldn’t have cared so much.

But he never came alone.

He arrived with nearly a dozen Sunmane lions — powerful and aggressive. And with two teenagers in their own group, they dared not risk a full confrontation.

Ressha inhaled deeply, letting her gaze sweep across the forest edge. The air shifted — carrying with it the faintest hint of... blood.

Before she could confirm, Nima stiffened. "Did you hear that?"

Every beastman froze.

The leaves rustled — not the scattered, soft sound of prey animals, but the heavy, urgent rhythm of someone running hard.

Drak strode toward them from where he had been resting, his jaw tightening. "Positions. Now."

Behind him, the fifth Beastman warrior, Vors, stepped beside him.

They all moved instantly.

The warriors shifted back into panthers, forming a protective line.

The women retreated behind the makeshift mats, ready to scatter if needed.

Kal stepped forward with Eiran, both of their postures tense and braced.

The underbrush exploded.

Tharn burst through first — and in his arms was a limp body.

And not just anybody.

A human woman.

Her arm dangled lifelessly, her head lolling against Tharn’s blood-smeared chest. Her long dark hair spilled over his arm like ink, and nestled tightly against her was a tiny baby, tucked against her breast, still shielded by her unconscious embrace.

Garrick followed a heartbeat later in panther form, skidding into the camp before shifting back. The wounds from the earlier fight were already closing, but dried blood still streaked his skin and hair.

The entire foraging party went still — shocked into silence.

"What..." Kal whispered, eyes widening to full circles, "...in the name of the First Beast is THAT?"

Drak’s stance eased just a fraction, though his expression remained carved with surprise.

Ressha stepped forward slowly, both hands raised in a calming gesture. Her gaze locked onto the woman’s pale, motionless form. "Tharn," she said, voice steady but edged with urgency, "explain."

Tharn exhaled, chest heaving from the run. "We found her," he said simply. "Bleeding and unconscious. Holding a youngling."

Eiran’s mouth dropped open. "Is—Is that a human?"

"Yes," Tharn answered.

Nima slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes bulging. "A real human? As in—an actual actual human?"

Sela stepped back as if the sight alone might bite her. "By the ancestors... She’s real."

Vira swallowed hard, berries forgotten in her palm which she nearly dropped. "But humans... they’re only supposed to exist in stories. My grandmother always said they were long gone."

Drak shifted back into his Beastman form, towering and tense, the scars on his chest catching the dim forest light. "Tharn," he called, his gaze on the human in his arms."Where did you find her? And why is she bleeding this much?"

Ressha moved forward. Her gaze swept over the limp woman, taking in the dried blood on her thigh, the weakening rise and fall of her chest, the way her fingers were locked protectively around the baby even in unconsciousness.

"She’s injured," Ressha said firmly. "Severely. If she bleeds any longer—"

"She won’t last," Drak finished grimly, stepping closer.

Sela frowned and came forward, sniffing the air. "That’s all her blood...? How is she still alive?"

Tharn adjusted his hold on Lavayla carefully, mindful of the tiny infant pressed between them. "She was attacked," he said. "We heard a Tark’s furious roar and turned around. Found Tark frozen stiff on the ground and her collapsed beside him."

Every head snapped toward him.

"Tark?!" several voices echoed.

Garrick nodded, hair disheveled, face pale. "He was still breathing, but... stuck. Like something paralyzed him."

Eiran blinked rapidly. "Tark was... defeated? By her?"

Tharn didn’t answer, which was answer enough.

Kal exhaled sharply through his nose. "Impossible. A human? And she had a baby with her? No way she could even scratch him."

"She didn’t fight him," Tharn said. "Something else happened there."

"What something?" Nima demanded.

"I don’t know," he replied honestly. "But we can ask later. Right now, she’s dying."

Ressha’s eyes narrowed as she barked orders, "Drak. Vors. Clear a space. Nima, bring clean leaves and water. Vira, start preparing a fire — we’ll need heat to stop her shivering."

She turned to Tharn, "Lay her down. Carefully."

Tharn hesitated—just a fraction—the tiny baby whimpering softly against her chest. Then he knelt, easing her onto one of the thick leaf mats. The moment her back touched it, her body curled instinctively toward the child, shielding him even in unconsciousness.

Ressha’s voice softened slightly. "Even bleeding out, she protects him..."

Eiran knelt beside them, eyes wide with wonder. "I’ve never seen anything like this."

Miren folded his arms. "What tribe has humans birthing Beastman-sized infants?"

Garrick answered quietly, "I don’t think the baby is an infant or a beastbaby."

Kal’s eyebrows shot up. "Then what is it?"

Garrick opened his mouth, then closed it, helpless. "I... don’t know."

Ressha knelt before Lavayla, gently brushing her tangled hair away from her face. "Whatever she is... she’s under our protection now. At least until she wakes."

Drak grunted. "And Tark?"

Tharn’s jaw clenched once. "I don’t think he will be able to move at all."

Miren cracked a humorless smile. "Good. Let him stay stiff. Saves us all the headache."

Ressha looked at the baby again, who had stopped wailing and now only sniffled, tiny fingers fisting in Lavayla’s torn shirt.

Dark and Vors got to work and soon a space with new leaves layered over each other was put together and she was moved there. While Vira got started on the fire. Just then, Lavayla twitched.

It was just a tiny movement — but enough to make every Beastman in the clearing freeze.

Her fingers shifted, tightening around the baby protectively and her breathing hitched.

Then—

A faint, broken whisper escaped her lips, "...Nessa...?"

Ressha jerked her head up. "She’s waking up!"

Tharn leaned forward instantly.

Lavayla’s eyelids fluttered.

But then her body sagged again.

And they realized that she wasn’t waking, she was slipping deeper.