Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 122: The Anchor and the Beast

Vex finally smiled, the expression breaking through his solemn mask like the sun parting storm clouds.

"Good," he responded, his voice regaining a fraction of its usual warmth. "Now we can get started."

He turned back to the Tiger King. Vex walked over to the makeshift bed of furs and knelt down. He gently lifted Kael’s head, supporting the thick neck with one arm, and brought the small wooden bowl to his lips.

With the care of a nursemaid, Vex tipped the bowl, allowing the neon blue liquid to flow gently into Kael’s mouth. He massaged Kael’s throat to encourage him to swallow without choking.

Once half the contents were gone, Vex lowered Kael’s head back onto the furs and stood up. He walked over to Ren, the bioluminescent crystals reflecting in the remaining liquid.

Ren nervously took the bowl from him. It was warm to the touch.

She raised the vessel to her face, sniffing tentatively. It smelled bittersweet, like dark chocolate mixed with electric ozone.

She lowered the bowl, her eyes narrowing.

"Is this poisonous?" she asked bluntly.

"Technically, yes," Vex answered without hesitation. "But nothing deadly. Unless you are allergic to happiness."

Ren gulped, deep concern etching lines into her forehead.

"That is not reassuring," she muttered.

She lifted the bowl again, parting her lips, but stopped millimeters before the liquid touched her lips. She pulled it back down.

"Does it have weird side effects?" she demanded, her imagination running wild. "I don’t want to turn blue. Or grow a second head. Or start laying eggs. Is my skin going to fall off?"

Vex let out a long, suffering sigh.

"Little Rose," he groaned.

He reached out, placing his large hands over hers on the bowl. He guided it forcibly but gently back to her mouth.

"Stop asking questions," he commanded softly. "Just drink."

Ren closed her eyes, surrendering to fate. She hesitantly parted her lips and tipped the bowl.

She braced herself for a taste akin to battery acid or rotting swamp water. She even inadvertently winced in preparation.

But when the cool liquid hit her tongue, her eyes flew open in surprise.

It was... delicious.

It was surprisingly sweet, like concentrated nectar, with a sophisticated balance of bitterness that grounded the flavor. It was as smooth as expensive wine but possessed a strange, heavy thickness that coated her throat pleasantly.

Ren drank it completely, her shy sips quickly turning into heavy, greedy gulps until the bowl was dry.

She lowered the wood, running her tongue over her lips to catch the last drop.

"Wow," Ren said, blinking. "That was actually surprisingly tas—"

WHAM.

The effects didn’t creep up on her. They hit her like a freight train carrying a payload of magma.

"Oh!" Ren gasped, dropping the bowl. It clattered loudly on the cave floor.

Her face flushed a bright, alarming red. Her knees knocked together as her entire body started shaking violently.

The biting cold of the cave vanished instantly. In its place, a blazing, inferno-like heat erupted in her core and consumed her entire body in a split second. It felt like she had swallowed the sun.

"Hah... hah..."

Ren began to pant gently, beads of sweat instantly popping up on her forehead and neck.

She clamped her trembling thighs together, a desperate attempt to quell the sudden, frantic throbbing between her legs. She could feel her wetness pooling rapidly, soaking her underwearless state and moistening her inner thighs with slick heat.

Her entire body felt hypersensitive. The air against her skin felt like velvet. The rustle of the dress sounded like a roar. Her nipples hardened instantly, straining painfully against the thin leopard hide, sending electric shocks straight to her groin with every tiny movement.

It was overwhelming. It was a tidal wave of sensation that drowned out every other thought in her head.

Ren looked at Vex with wide, glassy eyes, realization dawning through the haze of lust.

"You..." she wheezed breathlessly, clutching her chest. "You perverted fox... why did you give us an aphrodisiac?!"

Vex stood calmly, watching the flush spread down her neck.

"Because," he explained, his voice serious despite the subject matter, "Love, Hate, and Lust are the only things that can overpower feelings in a beastman’s soul. Love and Hate are hard to force. But Lust? Lust is easy. And it is the only primal feeling strong enough and violent enough to overpower the emotion that triggered the Feral Madness."

Ren was struggling to focus on his words. Her brain felt like it was melting into a puddle of desire. She swayed on her feet, biting her lip to stop a moan from escaping.

"I get... I get why you gave it to him," Ren panted, her gaze drifting over to the sleeping tiger. "To... jumpstart his engine."

And oh, was it jumpstarted.

Even in his sleep, the heat had taken hold. His usually tanned complexion was flushed with a dark, heavy redness, and his breathing had picked up significantly, his massive chest heaving in short, sharp rasps as if he were running a marathon while lying down.

But it was what was happening below his waist that made Ren’s breath hitch.

A massive, terrifyingly distinct tent had pitched itself in the center of his lap. His erection was so prominent, so undeniably huge, that it strained against the leather, threatening to rip it apart at the seams.

Ren squeaked, tearing her eyes away from the monster in his lap to look back at Vex.

"But why me?" she breathed, fanning herself. "Why is it necessary for me?"

Vex stepped closer, catching her arm to steady her.

"Because the beastman and the beast inside him are torn apart right now," Vex said intensely. "We need to reattach the beastman to the beast. To do that, both the anchor and the beast need to be in the most primal heat."

Ren nodded slowly, her eyes unfocused. She thought she understood.

"Okay," she breathed, wiping sweat from her brow. "So... I just stand here? I just... radiate horniness and wait for the lust to take his mind and cure him?"

It sounded miserable, but she could do it. She could stand here and suffer through the heat until Kael’s brain reset.

Vex stared at her. A slow, amused smirk curled the corner of his lip.

"No, Little Rose," he corrected her softly. "That is not how it works."

Ren blinked, confused. "What?"

Vex gestured to the bed of furs where the massive Tiger King lay.

"You don’t just stand there," Vex purred. "You need to mate."