The Psychopathic Beast Emperor

Chapter 262: Every Path Ends in Darkness

The silence following Victor’s explanation lingered for several moments. No one spoke or asked questions. The numbers alone were enough to crush any optimism they had carried into the room. Three hundred and twenty-seven disappearances, sixty-one recovered corpses, not a single survivor? This wasn’t a game.

Victor watched their expressions carefully before nodding to himself. "Good. You aren’t panicking."

Bahamut tilted his head while Ren snorted.

"Should we?"

Victor chuckled. "I’ve seen veteran investigators throw up after hearing only half of what I’ve just told you."

He walked toward another wall, this one entirely covered in colored threads. Unlike the previous board, these strings connected people instead of locations. Every connection imaginable had already been drawn.

"It wasn’t for lack of trying."

He snapped his fingers. One of the magical arrays floating above the room descended slowly, projecting dozens of translucent documents into the air.

"This is the work of eleven months."

The documents spread across the room. Each bore a different crest.

"The Royal Intelligence Bureau."

A golden lion crest.

"The Armstrong Family."

A hammer wrapped in chains.

"The Adam Family."

A tree with countless branches.

"The Obosu Family."

A musical circle surrounding an eye.

"The Throst Family."

A wolf standing beneath a crescent moon.

Victor folded his hands behind his back.

"You should understand something about Solaria. Our five Great Families rarely cooperate. They compete, argue, and undermine one another, but when this began, they all agreed on one thing, and that this couldn’t be ignored."

He pointed toward the first projection. The image shifted, showing elegant men and women dressed in royal clothing. Behind them stood countless spies hidden under cloaks.

"The Royal Intelligence Bureau the greatest intelligence organization in the kingdom." Victor smiled faintly. "They’ve infiltrated neighboring kingdoms, dismantled criminal syndicates, and uncovered assassination plots before the assassins even left their homes."

Sel quietly nodded. "They’re famous."

Victor sighed. "They failed."

The projection changed and rows of reports appeared. Every single one bore the same conclusion: No Evidence.

"They investigated noble houses, slave traders, mercenary guilds, foreign merchants, every city governor, and even investigated members of our own royal family."

Lily blinked. "They suspected themselves?"

Victor nodded. "They suspected everyone and found nothing."

The projection vanished and another appeared. An entire battalion marched through the illusion.

"The Armstrong Family proposed a simpler solution." Victor crossed his arms. "’If people disappear outside cities, ’then patrol everywhere.’

They doubled military patrols, and even tripled them. They escorted caravans, guarded villages, and established checkpoints. It worked."

Everyone’s eyes widened.

"For two weeks."

Then, the projection changed. One squad vanished, followed by another. Entire patrols disappeared without a trace. Victor’s expression darkened.

"The worst incident occurred six months ago."

A projection appeared of thirty elite Armstrong knights, each riding powerful beasts. Every one of them was at least Tier Two.

"They entered Hollow Birch Forest and never returned."

Only one projection remained. A lone knight stumbled from the forest. His armor was shattered, his eyes empty. Victor’s voice became quiet.

"He survived."

"What happened?"

Alana asked softly. Victor remained silent for a while, as if trying no to remember, then answered.

"He went insane."

The projection continued. The knight repeatedly scratched symbols into the ground. It was the same sentence. Victor spoke it aloud.

"’Don’t follow the music.’ He repeated those four words until he died three days later.

The Adam Family rejected military methods. They believed knowledge would solve everything."

Victor slowly shook his head.

"They found nothing."

Sel frowned deeply. "Impossible."

"So they thought." Victor nodded. "The bodies were..."

He paused, and searched for the proper word. "...empty."

Even Bahamut felt a chill. The projection dissolved.

"The Obosu Family controls information." Victor smiled slightly. "If money changes hand, they usually know. They dismantled seventeen trafficking organizations, arrested over four hundred criminals, and destroyed three underground markets."

Victor sighed.

"None of them were responsible."

Ren scratched behind one ear.

"So... they cleaned up crime."

Victor laughed.

"They accidentally reduced crime throughout western Solaria, but they found nothing connected to the disappearances.

The Throst Family believed beasts were involved. They exterminated several dangerous beast packs., questioned intelligent beasts, and even requested aid from druids. They found absolutely nothing."

The room became quiet once more. Victor walked back toward the center.

"So... We tried everything and failed."

Bahamut finally spoke. "No. You missed something."

The prince smiled.

"I was wondering when you’d notice."

"You’ve been investigating separately."

Victor nodded.

"We have."

"You’ve never investigated together."

Sel’s eyes widened.

"..."

Ren blinked.

"Oh."

Victor pointed directly at Bahamut.

"Exactly."

He walked toward another board that had remained covered since they entered.

"I ordered every investigation report and spent months reading them, and I noticed something strange."

He removed the black cloth and everyone leaned forward. Five circles appeared, one representing each Great Family.

"They shared information, but they never truly worked together. They trusted one another’s findings." He struck the table. "And that was their greatest mistake."

Everyone stared at the diagram.

"The enemy wasn’t stronger. They were simply more coordinated."

Victor looked toward Bahamut’s group.

"The Shadow Fang Sect is different. You people fight together, train together, travel together, and think together." He smiled. "That gives you one advantage no investigator in Solaria has ever possessed."

Exildra quietly asked, "And if we fail?"

Victor’s smile slowly disappeared and the room became colder.

"If you fail..." He turned toward the glowing map of Solaria. "...the disappearances won’t stop."

Victor’s voice echoed quietly through the chamber.

"They’re becoming bolder and faster. And..." He looked directly at every member of the team. "I believe, they’ve already noticed we’re looking for them."

Silence consumed the room once again. Far away, another red light suddenly appeared upon the map, and a magical notification rang softly. A clerk hurried into the chamber, his face pale.

"Y-Your Highness..."

Victor already knew. He didn’t even turn around.

"Where?"

The clerk swallowed. "Northwestern Armstrong."

Victor closed his eyes.

"Another disappearance?"

The man nodded weakly.

"...Yes."

Everyone in the room stared at the newly glowing red marker.