Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 156: Feral but Functional

The dust from the Titanoboa’s transformation had barely settled when the Black Tiger decided it was his turn to escalate the situation.

Carik dropped to all fours. His body contorted, bones cracking and reshaping with sickening crunches, until the scarred man was gone. In his place stood a nightmare.

He was a massive black tiger, easily twice the size of a normal beast. But it wasn’t his size that made the air turn ice-cold.

It was his eyes.

They weren’t the dull, muddy yellow they had been a moment ago. They were glowing a vibrant, blood-curdling red.

Kael, standing in his two-legged form, felt his jaw drop.

"No way," he whispered.

Even Syris, currently a fifty-foot-long serpent, paused. His vertical pupils widened slightly in genuine shock.

Red eyes meant one thing in the Beast World: Feral Madness. It meant the beast had lost its mind, reduced to a drooling, mindless killing machine that attacked anything with a pulse.

Carik was drooling. But he wasn’t mindless.

He threw his massive head back and roared.

"COME AT ME, WORM!" Carik’s voice boomed, distorted and wild, but terrifyingly coherent. "I WILL USE YOUR SKIN AS A BELT!"

Kael and Syris were frozen. A conscious Feral? That was impossible. It defied every law of nature they knew.

While the two Kings were paralyzed by existential confusion, a desperate voice cut through the noise.

"KING SYRIS!"

Viper came scrambling over a pile of debris, waving his arms frantically.

"THE FOX!" Viper screamed, pointing toward the forest. "HE TOOK HER! VEX HAS TAKEN YOUR MATE!"

The news hit Syris like a bucket of cold water.

’Vex?’

The realization crashed down on the massive snake. He had been so focused on his ego, so focused on showing off his strength to the tigers, that he had completely forgotten the annoying variable that was the Fox Shaman.

’I have been played,’ Syris thought, a wave of hot shame burning through his cold blood. ’Again. By a fox. A glorified dog.’

He hissed in frustration, his massive tail twitching. He, the great Snake King, manipulated like an average beast? It was humiliating.

But Carik didn’t care about the drama. He didn’t care that his mate’s prize had been stolen. He only saw an opening.

While Syris was busy wallowing in self-loathing, Carik launched himself.

He moved with supernatural speed, a blur of black fur and red light.

"MY KING WATCH OUT!" Viper shrieked.

It was too late.

Carik collided with Syris in mid-air. His massive jaws unhinged and clamped down hard on the thickest part of Syris’ neck.

CRUNCH.

Syris let out a deafening screech of pain.

His scales were legendary for being impenetrable—harder than diamonds, smoother than obsidian. But Carik’s teeth, fueled by the red-eyed madness, punched right through them.

Blood sprayed into the air.

Syris thrashed wildly, his massive body whipping around, smashing into the ground and creating tremors that shook the village. But Carik held on like a demonic tick, his claws digging deep into the snake’s flesh, grinding his jaw to tear out a chunk of meat.

Viper stood frozen. The battle was on a scale he couldn’t touch.

But Kael could.

The White Tiger King watched his enemy—the snake—getting mauled. A part of him wanted to let it happen. But his pride as a Beast King, and his hatred for the abomination that was Carik, overrode his pettiness.

"Hey! Ugly!" Kael roared.

Kael bent his knees, the muscles in his legs bulging as he channeled every ounce of his strength.

BOOM.

He launched himself into the air.

He aimed for the snake.

Kael landed on Syris’ thrashing tail. Using the momentum of the snake’s movement, he sprinted up the length of the Titanoboa’s body. He ran along the shimmering dark scales like he was running up a ramp, defying gravity with sheer feline agility.

As he neared the head, Kael leaped.

He clasped his hands together, interlocking his fingers to form a heavy, double-fisted hammer.

"GET OFF!"

Kael swung his arms down with the force of a meteor strike.

WHAM.

His fists connected squarely with the top of Carik’s skull.

The sound was sickening—like a watermelon meeting a sledgehammer.

Carik’s eyes rolled back for a split second. His jaw slackened involuntarily, releasing his grip on Syris’ neck.

The Black Tiger plummeted from the air, crashing into the dirt below with a heavy thud.

"Now!" Kael yelled, sliding down Syris’ neck.

Syris didn’t need to be told twice. Furious and bleeding, he whipped his tail around.

THWACK.

He caught Carik’s prone body with the force of a freight train, sending the Black Tiger flying.

Carik soared through the air, crashing through one hut, then another, and another. Wood splintered, stone crumbled, and dust billowed into the night.

"Run! Run for your lives!"

From the shadows, members of the White Tiger Clan who had been hiding began to flee, screaming in terror as their homes disintegrated around them.

Kael landed gracefully on the ground, but his heart sank as he watched his kin scatter.

He saw the fear in their eyes. They weren’t looking at him with reverence or hope. They were looking at the destruction he had failed to prevent.

’I am useless,’ Kael thought, a pang of guilt piercing his chest harder than any claw. ’I couldn’t save the clan. I couldn’t save the village. I can’t even save my mate.’

He looked at his hands. ’I have made every wrong choice possible. And now... I have nothing.’

He looked up at Syris.

The Titanoboa was coiled defensively, crimson blood oozing from the nasty bite mark on his neck. His amethyst eyes were slit with pain and rage.

Kael took a deep breath. He swallowed his pride. It tasted bitter, like bile.

"Snake," Kael called out, his voice rough.

Syris looked down, his tongue flickering weakly.

"We cannot beat him alone," Kael admitted, gesturing to the pile of rubble where Carik had landed. "Not like this. Not while I am unable to shift and you are bleeding."

Kael clenched his fists. "We need to work together. It will be faster. We need to finish this... and go find her."

Syris stared at the small tiger man. He hated the idea. Every instinct in his reptilian brain screamed to crush Kael for his insolence.

But Syris was pragmatic. He knew Vex was getting further away every second. And he knew Carik wasn’t dead.

Syris lowered his massive head until he was eye-level with Kael.

"Fine," Syris hissed, his voice vibrating in Kael’s chest. "We kill the beast together."

The snake’s eyes narrowed.

"But make no mistake, Tiger," Syris added, his tone possessive and lethal. "Ren is my mate. Once this trash is taken out...I am claiming her for myself."

Kael opened his mouth to argue, but a low growl cut him off.

From the pile of destroyed huts, rubble began to shift.

A massive black paw punched through a wooden beam. Then another.

Carik rose from the debris. He shook his head, sending a cloud of dust and blood flying. He looked battered, bruised, and absolutely delighted.

He looked like a rabid dog that had just found a new chew toy. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Did you think a little love tap would stop me?" Carik laughed, his red eyes burning in the darkness.

He dug his claws into the earth, lowering his head for a charge.

"Round two!"