Killing a rival match would inevitably draw the Beast God's wrath.
History had already proven that point. The last Dragon Kind who had dared to slaughter another male match hadn't escaped justice—his mind fractured under divine punishment, collapsing in on itself until his consciousness completely self-destructed.
Even so, the Dragon Kind never truly abandoned the instinct to monopolize a female. They still schemed, intimidated, and drove rivals away whenever possible. Absolute prevention was impossible.
Dax understood this better than anyone.
A male as overwhelmingly powerful as Paros would never tolerate sharing Rory with others. That much was obvious. In fact, Paros had already seen straight through Dax's intentions from the moment he spoke.
One sharp brow lifted slightly as Paros leaned back, his tone lazy but dangerous. "Go on. Tell me more about this deal."
Poor Rory, Paros thought with faint amusement. Every male matched to her seems desperate to run or scheme their way out. How amusing.
Seeing the opening, Dax's smile broadened. Paros was willing to talk—and that alone was a victory.
"Mr. Gabriel," Dax said smoothly, "I can help you drive away the remaining matches. No bloodshed. No divine punishment. You'll have Rory all to yourself."
He paused deliberately before adding, "I only ask one simple thing. Don't tell her who I really am."
Paros let out a low snort, unimpressed. "A handful of low-ranked nobodies?" he replied coolly. "I can deal with them myself. Why should I bother involving you?"
He didn't need to kill anyone. A show of force would be enough. No male could take Rory from him unless they could defeat him outright—and no one at that level even came close.
Besides, Paros had no intention of bonding with her in the traditional sense anyway.
This was nothing more than a game to him, one that conveniently let him toy with the fox lurking at his door. In time, the Empire's wealth would flow straight into his claws anyway.
Dax had expected resistance. Gritting his teeth, he changed tactics. "I know you're searching for a rare ore," he said quietly. "And I know exactly where it's hidden. Agree to my terms, and I'll give you the coordinates."
That did it.
Paros's eyes flashed, a sharp gleam cutting through his lazy expression. "Deal," he said instantly.
Relief washed over Dax as he sent the location data directly to Paros's light-brain.
Whether Paros could actually extract the ore was no longer his concern. With Paros satisfied, Dax felt his worries melt away. Rory being matched with two monsters of this caliber was already an absurd stroke of fortune.
As for the remaining matches? At best, they'd be mediocre Rank 6 or Rank 7 males. With a bit of manipulation and sweet talk, he could strip them of their star coins and send them running.
***
At Gina's villa, Rory sat curled up on the couch, carefully reviewing the information Gina had sent her. She had survived five long years in the beast world without family backing or reliable matches. During that time, Gina had been the only one willing to consistently partner with her on beast hunts.
"A whole cluster of Rank 5 beasts, several Rank 7s… and Chitinids?" Rory frowned as she scrolled through the data. "In Veridan City? Why would Chitinids show up there?"
Unlike mindless wild beasts, Chitinids were a highly advanced civilization. Their intelligence rivaled that of therian races, but their grotesque forms and hive-like societies made them infamous. They built massive nests in open space and hunted therian species relentlessly.
Throughout history, Chitinids had launched devastating raids across the Asterium Planet. To protect females, all Etherian women had been relocated to reinforced cities, each shielded by powerful defensive arrays designed specifically to repel Chitinid incursions.
One of Gina's male matches spoke up gravely. "These Chitinids came from the outer battlefield. They've developed silent bombs capable of piercing planetary shields without triggering alarms. My brother serves in the Asterium Army. Three months ago, massive swarms poured in from the outer battlefield."
He swallowed before continuing. "The Asterium's second prince personally led the counteroffensive. Losses were staggering on both sides. Even the top commander was deployed."
Rory had heard stories of the outer battlefield but had never truly understood its reality. For five years, she had lived quietly within the interstellar beast world, believing war existed somewhere far beyond her reach. "How is the battle now?" she asked softly.
The man shook his head. "No confirmed updates yet. But the second prince and the top commander… they've never lost."
It wasn't just blind faith. Their records spoke for themselves.
Gina nodded in agreement. "We've confirmed that the Rank 5 beast groups in Veridan—and the Rank 6 and Rank 7 ones—originated from the outer battlefield. How they ended up there is still unknown."
She turned to Rory. "You're already Rank 4, right? To advance, you'll need Level 5 beast cores. When I heard about this situation, I thought of you immediately. Do you want in?"
Advancement required an enormous number of beast cores—far more than Rory could normally afford. Gina knew that, which was exactly why she had called her over.
"I'm in," Rory said without a second's hesitation, nodding firmly.