The Villainess Winning Back Her Beast Husbands-Chapter 32: Where is Thorne’s Beast Crystal?

As soon as the words left her mouth, a suffocating silence descended upon the cave.

Orion’s eye twitched as he shot Thorne a cautious glance. ’This little maiden... she’s certainly direct, but she doesn’t think. We just finished explaining that Thorne’s Star Pattern is shattered, his lifespan is drastically shortened, and he’s even lost the ability to father children. And then she comes out with something like that. Isn’t that just twisting the knife?’

Thorne’s dark green, fathomless eyes weighed upon her for a moment before he suddenly smirked.

His gaze was sinister and discordant, a terrifying crimson seeping into his dark eyes. "I’d love to betray the Beast God Contract and have a cub with you," he said, "but unfortunately, my Beast Crystal was carved out, my Star Pattern is shattered. I’ve lost that ability."

There was even a slight tremor in his voice. When he finished, his thin lips pressed into a tight line. His breath came in short, sharp gasps, and a dark undercurrent churned in his eyes, as if a colossal beast was thrashing within, ready to break free and devour them all.

Evangeline asked with a serious expression, "In that case, how long would it take to regenerate a Beast Crystal?"

Once again, a suffocating silence descended upon the cave.

"I have to ask, are you even a female from the Beastman Continent?" Orion couldn’t help but blurt out, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. "The way you talk is all over the place. Don’t you have any basic common sense?"

’This is bad,’ he thought, inwardly groaning. He was terrified that if she kept running her mouth, Thorne would fly into a rage and attack.

’After all, this little maiden is a Witch—and one truly favored by the Beast God, at that. Her tricks and trump cards are endless. Thorne doesn’t have his old strength anymore. Even with my help, the two of us might not be a match for her.’

Evangeline looked puzzled. "Common sense? Is information about Beast Crystals considered common sense? Females don’t have them."

’Females only have Star Patterns, not Beast Crystals. The original owner of this body only cared that Beast Crystals looked pretty. Why would she have bothered with the details?’

Orion looked utterly exasperated at her words.

He said, "Even if females don’t have Beast Crystals, you should know that a Beast Crystal is a Beastman’s vital core. It’s the source of our power, storing immense energy. During battle, we draw on it to unleash powerful attacks and greatly enhance our strength and speed."

"Once a male Beastman loses the ability to shift freely between his beast and human forms, his Star Pattern shatters. His lifespan is drastically shortened, and he loses the ability to father children."

At this, Orion paused and glanced at Thorne, his expression a mixture of pity and sorrow. "And if a Beastman loses their Beast Crystal... their life ends even more quickly. It’s the worst possible outcome."

"And there is no way to regenerate one." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

After that crash course, Evangeline finally understood.

As Orion spoke the last sentence, Thorne’s gaunt hand clenched into a fist, his eyes darkening.

’If I’d known I was going to be thrown into the world of *All My Sterile Beast Husbands Want to Kill Me*, I would have studied every last one of the tens of thousands of forum posts about it. Even if there weren’t any walkthroughs, I could have at least learned the basics.’

Evangeline mulled it over for a moment before saying with a serious look, "What if we find the Beast Crystal and re-integrate it into Thorne’s body? Would that work?"

Orion and Thorne both froze, then frowned in unison. "Re-integrate?"

"No one’s ever tried that," Orion began. "A Beast Crystal is filled with energy. On the Beastman Continent, plenty of Beastmen covet the crystals others have cultivated. But anyone who consumes another’s Beastman Crystal becomes a Fallen Beastman."

Orion’s expression turned grave, and as he spoke the words "Fallen Beastman," his pupils narrowed into vertical slits.

On the Beastman Continent, Fallen Beastmen are public enemies, and it is every citizen’s duty to execute them on sight.

The source of a Beastman’s energy is called a Beast Crystal, while the energy core of a Wild Beast is called a Beast Core.

Beast Cores are unique in that they have no elemental attributes, allowing any Beastman to absorb their energy.

For this reason, Beast Cores have naturally become the common currency on the Beastman Continent, widely used in daily transactions and for bartering goods.

Beast Crystals, however, have distinct attributes. If a Beastman tries to absorb a crystal with a different attribute, they risk their body literally exploding. Yet, absorbing the energy from another’s Beastman Crystal offers a shortcut, allowing one to advance their Star Pattern cultivation much faster.

This very human craving for shortcuts is manifested all the more intensely in the straightforward nature of the Beastmen.

Driven by ambition, it’s inevitable that some of them entertain this dangerous thought.

Perhaps to stamp out this vicious cycle of Beastmen killing their own kind, the Beast God issued a draconian decree: "Should any Beastman slay their kin and absorb their Beast Crystal, the attribute of their Star Pattern shall vanish, and they will be cast down, becoming a Fallen Beastman."

This decree has hung like an inviolable iron law over the Beastman Continent ever since, a deterrent so powerful that none dare transgress it, thus preserving order.

Evangeline nodded and said calmly, "You just said it yourself—Beastmen can’t absorb crystals with different attributes. In all of Norfell, I’ve only ever heard of Thorne having a unique Thunder Beast Crystal. If I know that, others must know it too. Even if someone got their hands on Thorne’s Beast Crystal, I doubt they’d dare try to absorb it. That would be suicide."

Hearing her logic, Orion had to concede that there probably wasn’t another Beastman with the Thunder Attribute in all of Norfell.

After a moment’s hesitation, Orion spoke again, his voice laced with skepticism. "But this idea of re-integrating a Beast Crystal... it just doesn’t sound right. Once a crystal is removed from the body, it’s like water that’s been spilled. How can you just put it back? I doubt even the most powerful Witch possesses the ability to bring something back from the dead like that."

As he spoke, he shot an apologetic look at Thorne. He wasn’t trying to be difficult; he just didn’t want Thorne to cling to false hope, only to be thrown back into the Abyss. It was better to have no hope at all than to have it snatched away.

Evangeline gave him a disdainful look. "You haven’t even tried. How would you know it’s impossible?"

’I’m here to solve the problem. As long as it helps me complete my mission, anything is worth a shot.’

’Either way, since he can’t regenerate it, we have to get Thorne’s Beast Crystal back!’

Thorne stared at her focused, earnest expression. Something shifted within him, and his gaze instantly became inscrutable, as if hiding a thousand different thoughts.

Orion was speechless. He set down the Herbivore carcass—now picked clean to the bone—wiped the grease from his mouth, and crossed his arms. He gave a slight nod. "Alright, fine. Let’s say you have a point. Then tell us: where is Thorne’s Beast Crystal?"

Evangeline blinked. She glanced guiltily at Thorne. "It’s... with Evangeline?"

Hearing this, Orion sneered. "So you *do* know. Great. Why don’t you go find this Evangeline right now? We’ll take the Beast Crystal back from her. Perfect. That’ll fulfill your little promise to Thorne."

Evangeline fell silent.

’I mean, I could find ’Evangeline’ easily enough. But then what? Thorne’s Beast Crystal isn’t with her anymore.’

Evangeline searched her memories. The original owner’s past deeds flashed before her eyes, one more outrageous than the next. And as for Thorne’s Beast Crystal... hah...

’What would happen if I told Orion and Thorne, right here and now, that the original Evangeline had carved out the Beast Crystal, turned it into a necklace, got bored of it after a while, and just casually tossed it to one of her friends in the tribe?’