Beast Hack: Customizing Beasts and Capturing Beauties-Chapter 448: Vornis Dropped, Beast Castle Flopped

The meeting hall of Beast Castle was quiet.

Too quiet.

The screen in front of the boardroom had just gone black.

Fiona's flashy stream had ended minutes ago, but the echoes of her voice still lingered.

"Tomorrow, we don't just fight. We shine."

The words rang in their ears like a warning.

Around the long glass table, executives sat still, eyes darting nervously between each other.

No one spoke until one man, the head of Beast Castle marketing, finally broke the silence.

"What do we do?"

Another man leaned forward. "That stream's already viral. Look at the numbers."

He tapped his tablet.

"Thirty million viewers in fifteen minutes. Worldwide trending. Comments exploding."

"Sponsors tagging the Luxoria brand directly."

Someone else added, "And they're making Vornis look like a god-tier product."

"No weaknesses. No limits. No one else can sell it."

A woman in a sleek gray coat scoffed. freeweɓnovel.cøm

"That's because no one can. It's exclusive to them. No one knows how they made it."

One of the older directors leaned back.

"And now they're making a whole event just to showcase their private stock…"

"Public battle. Custom beast display. Aesthetic scoring."

"And Lord L himself as judge," muttered another executive.

The room went quiet again.

At the head of the table sat Donnie Aldren, the new CEO of Beast Castle.

He said nothing.

He didn't need to.

Everyone in the room already felt it: pressure.

Heavy. Silent. Cold.

Donnie's hands were clasped in front of him. His dark jacket perfectly pressed.

His eyes, cold and unreadable, were locked on the screen.

The same screen that, just moments ago, had shown Luxoria Castle blazing with light and glory.

One man across the table cleared his throat.

"Sir… with respect, if we don't act soon, our reputation will be gone by the end of the week."

Another added quickly, "Beast Castle used to lead the premium beast market."

"But now? We're a joke. Fiona's stream already has memes mocking us."

"And our former CEO…" someone muttered.

Donnie's eyes flicked once.

That was enough.

The man who had spoken instantly stopped.

The marketing head looked around.

"Then what's the move? We can't make our own Vornis. We can't out-stream them."

Another executive leaned forward.

"What if we challenge the competition format? Say it's biased."

"Call it unfair—make noise on social feeds."

A woman across the table snapped her fingers.

"We spin it! Say Luxoria's locking everyone out of fair play. That only rich elites can join."

Someone else whispered, "Should we… sabotage the event?"

The room went quiet again.

One of the newer directors glanced at Donnie, hesitant.

"We could hire mercenaries. Fake a beast malfunction."

"Make it look like a Vornis broke protocol."

Another added, "Or flood their app with low ratings during the live stream."

"Make people question the system."

More voices joined in, all talking at once.

"Leak fake documents."

"Bribe some of their stream drones."

"Discredit Fiona."

"Hire someone to fake a better beast!"

Donnie Aldren said nothing.

He sat still, face unreadable, just frowning.

The buzzing voices bounced off the walls, but none of them seemed to reach him.

His mind was somewhere else.

Back to when Varen Aldren, his older brother, stood on that very same stage and lost.

Publicly. Brutally. His chosen beast broken. His pride shattered.

Beast Castle's reputation destroyed.

Varen had been the face of the brand. Now he was gone.

All because of Luxoria Castle.

Again and again, they were humiliated.

Again and again, they were forced to watch.

Donnie sighed quietly.

Even their father—cold and merciless—had finally snapped.

He looked Donnie in the eye and said, "You replace him. Fix this mess."

But deep down, Donnie knew the truth.

Nothing could be done.

Luxoria Castle was just that strong.

He even bought five Vornis from the first auction winners.

He then went to Luxoria Castle himself.

Paid the full price and watched as each Vornis was contracted to himself.

Five different beasts. Five different styles.

All terrifying. All perfect.

He trained with them. He tested them.

He realized quickly… Vornis wasn't just powerful.

It was alive.

A Sovereign-tier beast that evolved during battle.

That learned. That adapted. That listened.

Beast Castle?

They dealt with Normal-Tier and Elite-Tier beasts.

Barely Sovereign. And even those were hard to control.

He clenched his jaw.

They weren't just behind.

They were obsolete.

---

Donnie finally stood up from his seat. Everyone went quiet.

He looked around the room. Calm. Sharp.

Then he spoke.

"No sabotage. No tricks. Don't do anything."

The higher-ups frowned. A few of them exchanged confused glances.

"But… why not?" the head of marketing asked.

Donnie's eyes didn't blink. "Because Luxoria Castle is not a force we can handle."

Silence.

He stepped forward slowly, voice steady.

"They focus only on Sovereign-tier beasts. We don't."

He pointed to a chart on the wall.

"We handle the lower market. Elite and Normal-tier."

"That's still 90% of beast buyers. We own that space."

Someone whispered, "We can't even sell Sovereign beasts properly. They never listen."

Donnie nodded. "Exactly."

"Luxoria Castle doesn't try to take everything. They only want the top."

He turned to face the full table again.

"So we shift. We lean into what we're good at."

"Make our beasts cleaner, cheaper, easier to raise. Control the base. Let them keep the crown."

The room stayed quiet for a few seconds… then people slowly nodded.

"Understood."

"We'll start refocusing ads and training packs."

"I'll meet with suppliers tomorrow."

One by one, they stood and began filing out.

Donnie didn't say anything until the last one left.

Then he smiled.

He turned to the side, pulled out his comm, and called Beast Castle's secretary.

"I won't be coming in tomorrow," he said.

The voice on the other end was calm. "Understood, sir. Should I tell them it's urgent business?"

"Yes. Very urgent," Donnie said, smirking.

"What's the reason?"

He adjusted his tie. "Personal mission."

The secretary paused. "...Related to the Vornis Competition?"

Donnie smirked wider. "You could say that."

He hung up.

Then muttered, "Can't be a Vornis owner and not show up, right?"