The Psychopathic Beast Emperor

Chapter 261: Mission Briefing by Prince Victor

The room was silent. This was not the awkward silence born from unfamiliar faces, nor the peaceful silence of a quiet morning. It was the kind of silence that settled over a battlefield before the first arrow was loosed.

Victor Gandhal stood before a pair of towering oak doors. His hand rested lightly upon the brass handle, though he made no move to push them open just yet. He allowed those behind him a brief moment to observe the hallway they had entered. Unlike the luxurious corridors leading through the Gandhal Palace, this wing lacked elaborate decorations. No expensive paintings lined the walls. No ornamental suits of armor stood proudly upon polished pedestals.

Everything here served one purpose: Work. This place was like the war room they’d been earlier, but more refined... and detailed. It was clearly for high level tasks. They didn’t know why Victor had brought them here just when he sent them to another. But they weren’t complaining.

The corridor itself was occupied by guards unlike any Bahamut had encountered since arriving in Solaria. They neither saluted Victor nor acknowledged his presence. Instead, they stood perfectly still with closed eyes, their hands resting upon the pommels of identical black swords. Each possessed an unnerving aura that immediately told Bahamut they were anything but ordinary soldiers.

"They’re strong," Sel muttered quietly. Victor heard him and answered.

"They’re members of the Royal Shadow Guard."

That single sentence was enough, and even Apollonia’s usually calm expression shifted ever so slightly. The Royal Shadow Guard, an organization whose existence many believed to be nothing more than rumor. Victor finally pushed open the enormous doors.

The room beyond was breathtaking. It resembled neither a meeting chamber nor an office. Instead, it looked like the headquarters of an army preparing for war. Entire walls had disappeared beneath enormous maps of Solaria, colored strings connected hundreds upon hundreds of marked locations, with stacks of documents nearly reaching the ceiling, and tables overflowing with reports.

One wall displayed sketches of victims, while another carried lists of names. Several magical projection arrays floated gently above circular tables, continuously updating information as tiny lights blinked across the kingdom. The moment everyone stepped inside, Bahamut stopped walking, his expression becoming serious, for perhaps the first time since entering Solaria.

Victor noticed.

"So you feel it."

Bahamut slowly nodded. "This room... is alive."

Victor smiled faintly.

"Good. It means your perception is excellent."

He stepped forward.

"The room itself is an artifact."

Everyone looked around again.

"The walls continuously receive information from every city within Solaria. From royal investigators, military commanders, noble families, city governors, and even village chiefs. Everything eventually reaches this room."

Ren hopped from Bahamut’s shoulder onto the nearest table, twitching his nose repeatedly.

"So many scents..." he mumbled.

The atmosphere immediately became heavier. Victor walked toward the largest map in the room, that occupied nearly an entire wall.

"This is Solaria."

Golden light spread from beneath his fingertips. Immediately, every city illuminated. Smaller settlements appeared shortly afterward until nearly every inhabited location within the kingdom glowed softly.

Bahamut quietly observed everything. He wasn’t looking at the cities: he was looking at the spaces between them, roads, mountain passes, trade routes, rivers, and forests. His blindfold hid his eyes, but Victor noticed the subtle tilt of his head.

"Interesting."

Bahamut remained silent.

"You’re studying movement," Victor smiled.

Bahamut simply answered, "Cities don’t kidnap people."

Victor laughed softly.

"You’re exactly as Elder Silvia described."

That answer drew several curious glances. Victor turned back toward the map.

"The disappearances began eleven months ago."

One golden light blinked.

"First, it was a merchant. Then a traveler, and a hunter."

The lights appeared slowly, then more rapidly. Soon dozens blinked across the kingdom. The entire map resembled a star-filled night sky. Victor raised a finger and the lights froze.

"Three hundred and twenty-seven confirmed disappearances."

Another gesture and sixty-one lights changed color.

"Recovered bodies."

Nobody interrupted him. Victor appreciated that. Instead of asking questions immediately, everyone continued observing. It meant they were thinking.

"The earliest investigations assumed random criminal activity."

He waved his hand and new projections appeared.

"We investigated all of them, but they were all innocent and unrelated to the case. Some even fell victims to it."

Soon every projection had vanished and Victor folded his arms.

"We were chasing ghosts."

Gabi frowned.

"So... nothing?"

"Nothing," Victor answered immediately. "No stolen goods, no ransom, no political demands, no corpses for months, no witnesses, and no patterns."

"No patterns?" Apollonia tilted her head.

Victor smiled bitterly. "We thought there weren’t."

He reached toward another table. A thick leather folder appeared in his hand. He opened it and inside were portraits of people; Humans, beastkin, demons, elves.

Bahamut quietly flipped through several and his movements slowed.

"They’re talented."

Victor nodded. "Exactly."

Everyone looked toward Bahamut, wondering where that detective nature had come from. He wasn’t exactly the... investigative type.

He continued, ignoring their stares.

"They aren’t random. The victims have potential."

Victor’s smile widened slightly.

"I was hoping one of you would notice."

He took another portrait, then others, showing it to everyone.

"They all possessed something."

"What?"

Lily asked, but Victor slowly shook his head.

"We don’t know."

The room became silent once more. Exildra narrowed her eyes.

"They’re collecting people."

Victor looked at her.

"Perhaps."

Sel crossed his arms. "Or harvesting them."

Victor quietly sighed. "The frightening part is that both theories are equally possible."

He approached another board. Unlike the others, this one displayed only names. Below many of them were dates, and one word: Missing. He traced a finger down the list.

"The disappearances no longer occur monthly. They occur weekly." He paused to let it sink in and continued.

"And recently..." He looked toward Bahamut. "...daily."

The weight of those words settled over everyone. Daily, that meant someone had likely disappeared, today. Victor slowly closed the folder.

"I won’t overwhelm you with every report. You’ll have plenty of time to read them yourselves."

He looked toward every member of the group, and spoke in a voice devoid of emotion.

"I want each of you to understand something before this investigation truly begins. This mission is unlike anything you’ve faced before. You are not hunting beasts, fighting armies, or participating in an evaluation."

He looked directly at Bahamut.

"You are hunting an enemy intelligent enough to remain invisible while operating across an entire kingdom."

Victor’s eyes slowly swept across the massive room once more.

"And the worst part..."

He gestured toward the thousands of reports surrounding them.

"We still don’t know whether we’re chasing one organization or several."

Somewhere within this kingdom, someone had constructed an invisible web stretching from one end of Solaria to the other, and now, they had stepped directly into it.