Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World

Chapter 138: The Darkness Comes For Su Ye

The name rippled through the camp like a shockwave, silencing the laughter and clatter of dinner preparations.

Mothers froze with ladles hovering over steaming pots. Fathers dropped their axes, the thud of wood hitting the ground echoing in the sudden silence.

Every golden eye in the Golden Mane tribe turned to scan the group of playing cubs near the firelight.

Mao Mao looked around, his fluffy tail drooping low between his legs, his ears pinned back in confusion. "Kito? He was here! He was chasing me just a second ago!" His voice trembled, small and lost in the vastness of the savanna night.

"He went to get water!" Qiu Qiu cried out, his little paw pointing frantically toward the darkening tree line where the shadows stretched long and hungry.

"He said he wanted to show the cheetah man his new rock! The shiny one he found by the river!"

The blood drained from Xin Yi’s face so quickly she felt dizzy.

Her hand spasmed, and the wooden spoon slipped from her grasp. It clattered loudly into the massive iron pot, splashing scalding hot broth onto her hand. She didn’t feel the burn. She didn’t feel anything except the ice-cold dread flooding her veins.

"The cheetah," she breathed, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. "Su Ye."

She spun around, her eyes darting wildly across the perimeter, scanning the swaying grass, the deep shadows beneath the baobab trees, the empty space where safety used to be. "Su Ye! Where is Su Ye?!"

The spot where the terrified cheetah beastman had been kneeling only moments ago was empty. The grass was crushed flat, as if something heavy had sprinted away in a panic. Or perhaps, as if something had chased him.

Panic seized Xin Yi’s throat. Jin Ze’s words echoed in her mind, a horrific prophecy coming true before her eyes. The corruption is spreading. It is waking up everywhere. The monsters are already inside the gates.

"Where is the cheetah?!" Xin Yi screamed, her voice cracking, tearing through the night air with raw terror. "And where is the cub?!"

Chaos erupted. Lions roared, shifting into their beast forms, tails lashing. Wan Ning grabbed a spear, her face pale. But Xin Yi was already moving, her mind racing faster than her feet.

"I’m going," Sha Chen growled, stepping forward. The Arctic Wolf’s white fur bristled, his muscles coiled tight. His eyes were hard, focused. "I will track them. My nose is sharper than any lion’s. I can smell the corruption if it’s there."

"No!" Xin Yi snapped, whirling on him. Her hand shot out, shoving him back toward the unconscious form of the wolf king lying near the fire pit. "You stay here! Don’t be stupid, Sha Chen, you need to recover! If you follow me, I will never forgive you!"

Sha Chen flinched as if struck.

"Please, Sha Chan," Xin Yi said, her voice trembling but firm. She grabbed Sha Chen’s arm, her grip tight. "I need you to stay. I can’t risk it again, okay?"

Sha Chen hesitated, his jaw working, conflict warring in his eyes. "Fine. I will stay. But please be careful."

"I know," she whispered. She turned to the Snake King. "Qing Lin."

Qing Lin looked up, his emerald eyes filled with pain and exhaustion. Venom dripped from his fangs onto the dirt. "Xin Yi? You cannot go alone."

"I’m not going alone," she said, gesturing to the hyenas who were already circling her, teeth bared, ready to bite anything that moved. "But I need you here. Keep Sha Chen and the rest of the Golden Mane Tribe safe please."

Qing Lin’s expression softened, though the fear remained. He reached out, brushing his cool fingers against her cheek. "Come back to us, my light. Do not let the darkness take you too."

"I’m bringing them back," Xin Yi promised, her voice fierce. "Both of them."

She didn’t wait for another word. She grabbed her glowing Bone of Discipline and sprinted toward the tree line.

"Kito!" she screamed into the darkness. "Kito, answer me!"

"Boss! Wait!" Gou Sheng yelped, scrambling after her, his claws digging into the earth. "We come too!"

"Fan out!" Xin Yi ordered, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps. "Search the bushes! Check the riverbank! Kito! SU YE!"

The savanna night, usually alive with chirping insects and distant calls, was eerily silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath. The only sound was the crunch of their footsteps on dry grass and the frantic pounding of Xin Yi’s own heart.

Please let it be a misunderstanding, she prayed, her lungs burning. Please let Su Ye have just run away in fear. Please let Kito be hiding.

But the crushed grass told a different story. The trail led away from the water source, deeper into the thick, tangled underbrush where the moonlight barely penetrated.

The signs of struggle were becoming clearer: broken branches, torn leaves, and dark, wet stains on the ground that smelled metallic and wrong.

"Over here!" Er Gou whimpered, his nose twitching violently. "Smell blood! And.....and rot!"

Xin Yi’s stomach lurched. She pushed harder, thrashing through the dense foliage, ignoring the thorns tearing at her clothes and skin. "Kito!" she shrieked, her voice breaking. "Baby, please!"

Then, she heard it.

A sound that stopped her cold. A high-pitched, heart-wrenching sob.

It was a cub crying. Not the playful whine of a child seeking attention, but the terrified, guttural wail of pure agony.

"That way!" Xin Yi gasped, pointing toward a small clearing obscured by hanging vines.

She burst through the barrier, the hyenas close on her heels. "Kito! I’m here—"

The words died in her throat. Her eyes widened in shock, then horror, then a disgust so profound it made her want to vomit.

The scene before her was a nightmare ripped from the depths of hell.

Little Kito was on the ground, curled into a tight ball, his small body shaking violently. His golden fur was matted with dirt and tears. But it wasn’t the cub’s pain that froze Xin Yi’s blood.

It was what was on top of him.

Su Ye. The cheetah.

But not the Su Ye who had begged for help a day ago. Not the frightened refugee who had spoken of madness. This creature was hunched over the cub, its spine arched at an unnatural angle, its limbs twitching with jerky, spasmodic movements. Its once-beautiful spotted fur was patchy, revealing raw, weeping sores underneath.

And its teeth were clamped tightly over Kito’s leg.

Blood bloomed bright red against the cheetah’s dark spots, dripping onto the dry earth. Kito screamed, a sound of unbearable pain, kicking his free leg weakly, trying to push the monster away.

"Get off him!" Xin Yi screamed, the sound ripping from her soul. She raised the Bone of Discipline, her arm shaking with rage and terror. "Su Ye! Let him go!"

The cheetah didn’t move. It didn’t even look up. It just tore a chunk of flesh from the cub’s leg, swallowing it with a grotesque gulp.

"Su Ye!" Xin yi charged forward, the hyenas snarling behind her, ready to attack. "Let him go, you monster!"

Slowly, agonizingly, the cheetah lifted its head.

Xin Yi skidded to a halt, her breath catching in her chest.

Su Ye’s face was unrecognizable. His jaw was distended, hanging slightly loose, stained with fresh blood. But it was his eyes that held Xin Yi captive. They weren’t the warm, fearful brown eyes of the cheetah she had met. They were glowing.

A sickly, pulsating red, swirling with a madness that had consumed everything human within him. There was no recognition in those eyes. No mercy. No memory of the kindness Xin Yi had shown him.

Only hunger.

The cheetah slowly released Kito’s leg, leaving the cub sobbing uncontrollably, clutching his mangled limb. Su Ye rose to his full height, his movements stiff and unnatural, like a puppet pulled by invisible, jagged strings.

He tilted his head, the red eyes locking onto Xin Yi, then flickering down to the hyenas, and back to the bleeding cub.

Saliva, mixed with blood, dripped from his lips, pooling on the ground. He took a shuffling step toward Xin Yi, his claws scraping against the dirt, leaving deep gouges.

"Su Ye?" Xin Yi whispered, her voice trembling, hoping against hope that somewhere inside that red haze, the real beastman was screaming to get out. "Fight it! Please, Su Ye, fight it!"

The cheetah let out a low, gurgling sound, a noise that shouldn’t have come from a throat built for speed and grace. It sounded like stones grinding together.

He took another step, his focus shifting entirely to the fresh meat bleeding on the ground, then back to Xin Yi, assessing her as merely another source of sustenance.

His lips peeled back in a rictus grin, revealing rows of teeth stained crimson. The red glow in his eyes intensified, pulsing like a dying star.

"Hungry....." the cheetah rasped, his voice distorted, layered with a demonic echo that vibrated in Xin Yi’s bones. "So... hungry....."

He lunged.