After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back

Chapter 183: Scarlet Flame Beast

The moment Nina’s blood touched the green crystal, it flared with dazzling light. Then, as if awakened, it shrank rapidly and flew straight toward the spirit pearl—sticking tightly to it.

The spirit pearl flickered in visible annoyance.

Move away. Don’t touch me. Go somewhere else.

The crystal pulsed stubbornly in response.

No. I like it here. This spot is perfect.

The pearl tried to shake it off—but the crystal clung on with all its might.

Nina lowered her head, watching the two glowing beads bicker like quarrelsome children.

"Alright, that’s enough. No fighting," she said with a sigh. "Little Pearl, it’ll be your little brother from now on."

The spirit pearl flickered once in reluctant acceptance.

Fine.

The crystal dimmed slightly, clearly dissatisfied—but didn’t dare argue.

Why did it have to be the little brother?

Even so, Nina couldn’t deny the strange sense of closeness she felt toward the crystal. Whatever it was, it felt... familiar.

At that moment, a golden mark appeared on the forehead of the small beast that had collided with her earlier.

It was shaped like a tiny deer—but subtly different from the marks Odian and the others bore.

The little creature immediately leapt into her arms, yipping excitedly. "Master! Master!"

Nina felt its affection and docility clearly—and didn’t push it away.

She studied it.

Its fur burned a vivid flame-red, its eyes round and bright like copper bells. It looked part dog, part lion—an odd but undeniably adorable mix.

What kind of creature is this?

Then she noticed the contract mark on its forehead—and realized she could sense its emotions.

...She had bonded it?

In the beast world, only spirit beasts could be contracted—and even then, it required special methods and was notoriously difficult.

But she hadn’t done anything.

How did this even happen?

After a moment, she shrugged inwardly.

Well... what’s done is done. I’ll just treat it as raising a pet.

The little ones stared curiously at the small beast. Two babies even reached out with their tiny claws to poke it.

The creature didn’t resist at all.

These were the master’s babies, after all.

Nina gently stroked the small beast clinging to her arm. "Alright, little guy—you’ll be called Roro from now on."

He was like a little ball of fire. So cute!

Roro nodded happily and flashed her a grin. Then, opening its mouth, it spat out a flame-colored crystal.

The crystal dropped and landed squarely on the egg baby.

Before Nina could react, it sank straight into the eggshell and vanished.

Her eyes widened in alarm. "Roro! What did you just feed my baby?!"

She stared in disbelief. How had it gone through the shell?

Roro looked up at her, aggrieved. That’s a Flame Crystal. It’s full of energy. I was giving it to you—your egg ate it on its own!

At that moment, Setan arrived—just in time to witness the Flame Crystal being swallowed.

Regret flashed across his face. He had only been a step too late... and the crystal had been consumed by an egg.

Then he saw Nina.

For a brief instant, his eyes filled with astonishment at her beauty—followed quickly by shock at the cluster of babies in her arms.

But he composed himself almost immediately.

"Little female," he said firmly, "return the Scarlet Flame Beast to me."

Their clan had searched for hundreds of years to find this spirit beast. Capturing it had cost them immense time and resources.

Roro clung tighter to Nina.

Master, save me! These bad people want to catch me!

Nina lifted her gaze—and saw a strikingly handsome male before her.

He had golden hair, sharp brows, and bright, star-like eyes. His nose was straight, his lips thin and pale. His posture was upright and powerful, his presence imposing—radiating authority and strength.

Behind him stood several other males, all with the same golden hair.

"Is it your spirit beast?" Nina asked calmly.

"We were in the process of capturing it," Setan replied.

"Then it’s not yours," she said evenly. "So there’s no such thing as ’returning’ it."

"But we lured it out from volcanic magma after great effort," Setan insisted. "That makes it ours."

"I can’t return it," Nina said. "It has already acknowledged me as its master."

There were many of them. Nina had no desire to provoke a conflict.

"How is that possible?" Setan frowned, stepping closer.

He examined Roro carefully—and sure enough, there was an additional contract mark on its forehead.

Shock filled his face. "How did you contract it?"

Even he would have needed the aid of a shaman—and the beast’s own approval.

This female had clearly just met the Scarlet Flame Beast.

So how had it willingly bonded to her?

And how had she done it so easily?

"I... don’t know," Nina said innocently. "It just ran into me—and then we were bonded."

Setan found her explanation hard to believe.

And yet... from what he had seen from a distance, it did seem to have happened exactly like that.

Since the beast had already acknowledged a master—and the female hadn’t deliberately stolen it—he couldn’t justify making things difficult for a seemingly fragile female.

They would just have to swallow this loss.

"Then have your egg spit out the Flame Crystal," Setan said, reluctantly compromising. "We won’t pursue the matter of the Scarlet Flame Beast—but the Flame Crystal must be returned."

Nina looked down at the egg in her arms.

"Baby... can you spit it back out?"

The egg wobbled slightly, then shook from side to side.

Nope! Can’t do it!

Nina cleared her throat awkwardly. "My baby... can’t spit it out."

Truthfully, she wasn’t particularly eager to give it back—but being alone with so many children, she had no desire to stir up unnecessary trouble.

Behind Setan, the golden-haired males began to grumble.

"My lord, what do we do now? Did we come all this way for nothing?"

"Exactly—we’ve wasted so much time and resources."

Setan frowned deeply as he stared at the egg.

Just his luck. Not only had the spirit beast been snatched away first—the Flame Crystal had also been swallowed.

And that crystal was incredibly rare. It was immensely beneficial to their fire abilities.

"Ask the Scarlet Flame Beast if it has any more," he said at last.

Nina glanced at Roro. "Do you have another one of those Flame Crystals?"

Roro shook its little head.

Nope.

There were more back in its nest, but there was no way it was giving anything to this group of bad people.

Nina looked back at Setan. "It says there aren’t any more."

Setan felt a surge of frustration. His gaze swept the surroundings, then returned to her.

"You’re alone?" he asked, clearly puzzled. "A single female, out here—and with so many children?"

"This does not concern you," Nina replied coolly, with no intention of explaining.

Setan fell silent for a moment, weighing his options. Then he made a decision.

"Then I’ll stay with you for now," he said. "When your egg hatches, I’ll take back the Flame Crystal."

After all, he couldn’t come all this way and leave empty-handed.

He was certain the crystal was still inside the shell.

His eyes flicked over Nina and the children. "And in the meantime, I’ll protect you. The wilderness is dangerous—especially for a lone female with offspring."

Nina curled her lips slightly but didn’t argue.

They were going to follow her anyway—whether she agreed or not.

"Where is your tribe?" Setan asked. "We can escort you back."

Before Nina could answer, the locator at her side suddenly vibrated.

She immediately accepted the connection.