Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 241: A Gorey Nightmare

Ren walked a short distance from the clearing, stepping over thick roots and patches of damp moss. She kept her chin tilted up, shielding her eyes from the bright morning sun as she scanned the dense, sprawling canopy above.

’Where is he?’ Ren wondered.

She opened her mouth to yell his name, but quickly snapped it shut. Yelling for the Golden Eagle Prince in an open forest when there were literal bounty hunters actively looking to pluck his feathers was a terrible idea. Anyone could be hiding in these bushes, listening.

’System,’ Ren started. ’Is Altair anywhere near here? Can you pin his location?’

[System: Scanning... The Golden Eagle Prince is not currently in the immediate area. His coordinates are out of my local sensory range.]

Ren let out a heavy sigh of disappointment. She truly hoped he wasn’t lying hurt somewhere in a ditch, but realistically, she wasn’t overly worried about him. His accelerated healing ability essentially made him a feathered immortal. Even if he did run into trouble, he could probably heal from a decapitation just by taking a nap.

Since she hadn’t ventured too far from the camp, Ren decided it was best to just head back.

Ren spun around on her heel—

And slammed directly into a solid, scrawny chest.

Before she could even register the foul, musky scent of unwashed fur, a rough hand clamped violently over her mouth. The goat beastman from the clearing shoved her backward with surprising strength, pinning her forcefully against the rough bark of a wide oak tree.

"Mmph!" Ren muffled, her eyes widening in absolute shock.

The goat beastman pressed his body against hers, his rectangular pupils blown wide with feral, unchecked lust. He panted heavily, his foul breath washing over her face as his free hand immediately grabbed her hip, squeezing the soft flesh through her grey snow fox dress.

Ren didn’t panic. She got mad.

Her trusty, ten-inch Lodge cast-iron frying pan materialized instantly in her right hand. She gripped the heavy handle, wound her arm back, and swung it with all the strength she possessed directly at the side of his head.

CLANG!

It was a flawless, solid hit that would have easily concussed a grown human man or knocked out a small beastman.

The goat beastman merely blinked.

Ren’s stomach plummeted. ’Oh, right,’ she realized with horrified clarity. ’He’s a literal goat. They headbutt mountains for fun.’

The frying pan hadn’t fazed him in the slightest. If anything, it only seemed to annoy him. He ripped the frying pan out of her grip and tossed it lazily into the bushes.

"Feisty," the goat beastman sneered, leaning his weight fully against her to trap her struggling limbs.

Ren fought back with everything she had. She kicked her bare feet against his shins, wiggling frantically to break his hold. Tears of frustration and fear welled in her eyes as his rough hand remained clamped airtight over her mouth, entirely silencing her screams for Kael.

The goat beastman’s hand left her hip and traveled upward. He grabbed the thick fur collar of her beautiful, newly acquired grey dress and began pulling forcefully, fully intending to rip the garment right off her body.

CRACK!

A massive, blurred fist connected squarely with the goat beastman’s jaw.

The impact was so devastatingly powerful that the goat beastman lifted off the ground and flew completely across the clearing, crashing violently into a thick thicket of thorny bushes.

Ren gasped for air, her lungs burning as the hand covering her mouth vanished. She wiped the panicked tears from her eyes, her legs trembling like jelly as she looked at her savior.

Kaelen was standing there.

His long white hair was whipping around his face, his lean, muscular chest heaving. But it was his face that made the blood freeze entirely in Ren’s veins. His naturally golden eyes were gone. In their place were glowing, blood-red orbs radiating pure, unadulterated madness.

The goat beastman scrambled frantically out of the bushes, clutching his shattered, bleeding jaw. He took one look at Kaelen’s eyes and completely lost his mind.

"A feral!" the goat beastman muttered fearfully, scrambling backward on his hands and knees.

But Kaelen didn’t give him even a fraction of an opportunity to escape.

Before the goat could even turn his back, Kaelen moved. He descended on the goat beastman.

Kaelen’s massive fist came down first, shattering what was left of the goat’s face with a sickening crunch that echoed through the quiet trees. The goat shrieked, a wet, bubbling sound.

"I’m sorry! I’m sorry!" the goat beastman shrieked, throwing his hands up in a desperate, pathetic shield. "Please! Have mercy!"

But mercy did not exist in those glowing red eyes. A terrifying, manic grin stretched across Kaelen’s face, pulling his lips back to reveal elongated, razor-sharp fangs. He let out a dark, echoing laugh. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Kaelen’s claws flashed in the morning light. He slashed downward, his nails acting like serrated blades, tearing through the goat beastman’s chest cavity as easily as a hot knife through butter. Blood sprayed in a massive, vibrant crimson arc, painting the green leaves, the dirt, and Kaelen’s handsome face.

He plunged his hands deep into the open wounds, ruthlessly ripping out chunks of flesh and tossing them aside with sickening splats.

The goat beastman’s pleas died in a wet gurgle, his body going completely limp.

But Kaelen didn’t stop. He was entirely, blissfully lost to the relentless bloodlust of the feral madness. He straddled the lifeless corpse, raining down a flurry of devastating punches and rapid claw swipes. He butchered the remains, his manic laughter escalating in pitch with every single strike.

Viscera, fur, and gore splashed violently in every direction, completely coating the forest floor and soaking Kaelen’s arms up to the elbows.

Finally, after reducing the threat to an unrecognizable pile, Kaelen’s frantic movements slowed. His chest heaved with ragged, heavy breaths. He slowly dropped the mangled remains from his blood-soaked claws.

"More," Kaelen growled.

He slowly turned around. His glowing red eyes locked directly onto Ren.

Ren remained completely frozen in terror, her back pressed flat against the oak tree, staring into the blood-splattered face of a brand-new nightmare.