Ray and her older brother Hayes are driven out of their home as their household falls apart. Hoping to find shelter, they arrive at an ominous castle covered in bloody red roses located in the middle of nowhere. This is where Ray meets the castle's mysterious host Clodan—a dark, beasty man possessing dangerous charm and even more deadly secrets. Within the enclosed walls of a remote castle, there is no reason or logic left as Clodan desires innocent Ray.

The Beast Within has story by zorengyi and art by Pangeon, based on a novel by dikitalis. Translated by J.K. Published by Manta (September 2, 2025). Rated M.

Content Warning: Non-consensual sexual activity

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Much as I love the romance genre, I recognize that it has certain…flaws. Among them, two stand out as particular issues for me: the Too Stupid To Live (TSTL) heroine and the overly dominant hero. While the latter has both a semi-decent reason to exist (he's both the hero and the villain) and a long history in the genre, it's also not to my taste. And The Beast Within goes all-in on both this style of hero and heroine, so if they're not your favorite tropes either, this may not be the webtoon for you.

Heroine Ray is both TSTL and too naïve to possibly exist. In part this is because her older brother Hayes has kept her as ignorant as he can – and not because he's caught up in ideas of purity. He's just an ass who ran off every tutor hired by their parents so that in her twenties, Ray is functionally illiterate and has minimal experience interacting with people. She's also breathtakingly beautiful, blonde, and buxom, which are qualities that do not escape (tall, dark, and handsome) Clodan when she and Hayworth show up at his house. With his predator's eyes, it's not a question of whether he'll go after Ray, but when.

The answer is “about eight chapters in,” with chapter ten being solely devoted to sex. That's not bad in and of itself, but there's such precious little character or relationship building that it's very difficult to get absorbed in the story. Everyone is an archetype from some corner of the romance genre, from the deranged old nurse to the stoic housekeeper with her barely-veiled warnings, and by the time Ray walks in on Clodan masturbating, it feels like just another road sign. People warn Ray away from Clodan, Hayes acts like a twit, and Clodan grows increasingly pushy with Ray. If you've been reading genre romance for a long time, you've read this story at least a few dozen times.

It's entirely possible that the source novel is a little more thorough as far as setup and character writing goes. This isn't Manta's best effort on a couple of fronts, though, not the least of which is that J.K's translation isn't as professional as I'm used to from the site/app, with a few noticeably awkward phrases, primarily in the first few chapters and then around chapters eight through ten. The art also has its issues, mostly with perspective, although the colors are lovely, particularly the contrast between Ray's light and Clodan's dark. While this isn't terrible, it is very surface-level. There's a time for that, and if you're having one of them, The Beast Within is fine. Otherwise, maybe wait until you just need something brainless.

Bolts
Rating:

I was reminded of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast the entire time reading this story. It's what would happen if we were to make Belle very submissive and she was forced to live with the Beast because Gaston was her brother. I swear that's a comparison that makes more sense when you actually read the text. But to be more direct, this is a wish-fulfillment power fantasy where a young, innocent woman named Ray is forced into a situation where she has to abide by the whims of two very abusive people. There's her brother Hayes, who doesn't seem to care for her, often ridiculing her for her lack of intelligence or general usefulness as she is constantly ridiculed.

On the other side, we have Clodan, the master of the mansion where the story takes place, and he pretty much embodies everything that you would expect on the other side of the toxic masculine spectrum. He is seductive, he is powerful, but he is also violent and subtly manipulative. He is very much like a beast that is slowly snaring you in your trap, and when he has you, he will never let you go. I use the beast analogy because there is this overarching air of mystery regarding the mansion and its residents. There is a clear supernatural angle to everything, but the story is a noticeable slow burn to the point where it takes a while before the supernatural reveal actually happens. I do respect the pacing of the story and how it's used to generate tension. We don't get thrown into the violent sex scenes right away to the point where, when we do, they feel like a shotgun to your face out of nowhere.

The early sex scenes themselves seem to revolve around being driven despite expressed denial of consent, so bear in mind that this story seems to be playing into a very particular type of fantasy. This is a story about somebody self-projecting as Ray, someone who feels useless and delicate, so that she can be taken by a strong, assertive male, or for people who want to project onto said strong male. It's very expressive and very animalistic, so it's clear that all of this is intentional. Even Clodan himself is drawn with very beastly and violent features, like bulging veins from his hands and neck during times when he shouldn't be flexing his muscles.

Outside of that specific interest, though, the rest of the story feels very shallow and mean-spirited. It's hard to watch Ray getting abused or taken in by these men, and while the spicy stuff can be titillating, the context around a lot of them sours the flavor. Plus, the mystery takes a bit too long to be revealed to the point where it's hard to get invested or feel sympathy. If you like this particular power fantasy, go to town, and more power to you.