The Psychopathic Beast Emperor

Chapter 263: The First Clue

The atmosphere inside the investigation room had become suffocating. No one spoke. No one even moved. Every pair of eyes rested upon the newest crimson marker that pulsed steadily on the enormous map of Solaria. It showed on Northwestern Armstrong, meaning another victim, and another disappearance.

Victor closed his eyes briefly before exhaling. "When?"

The clerk immediately opened the report in his trembling hands.

"Approximately forty minutes ago."

"And witnesses?"

"...None."

Victor nodded as though he had expected that answer.

"The victim?"

"A young woman," He swallowed. "Twenty-one years old. An herbalist, with no known enemies, no noble connections, no criminal history, and no significant cultivation."

Sel frowned. "I thought the victims were all talented."

Victor slowly shook his head. "Not all." He walked over and accepted the report before skimming through it. "This one possessed unusually high spiritual affinity."

He looked toward Bahamut.

"Another potential talent."

Bahamut remained silent. Something about all of this bothered him deeply.

Victor finished reading before placing the report onto the table.

"I wanted to spend today familiarizing all of you with the investigation." He looked toward the glowing map.

"That plan has changed."

Everyone straightened immediately.

"We move now."

...

Five minutes later, the entire group exited the investigation wing. Royal servants hurriedly prepared supplies for them, horses, food, camping equipment, maps, communication crystals, and medical kits. Everything was brought out with astonishing speed.

Apollonia looked impressed. "They’re efficient."

Victor smiled faintly.

"When lives are disappearing daily, you learn to stop wasting time."

Several black carriages rolled into the palace courtyard. Unlike ordinary noble carriages, these lacked decorations. Every inch of them was reinforced with enchantments.

"The Royal Investigation Carriages." Victor explained. "They’re resistant to most Tier Two attacks."

Ren hopped onto one before immediately hopping back down. "They smell weird."

"They’re protected against tracking," Victor answered casually. "That includes scent."

"Oh," Ren nodded seriously. "Smart."

Bahamut stood perfectly still his head tilting slightly. Exildra noticed.

"What is it?"

"..."

Bahamut didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he slowly looked around the courtyard. Guards, servants, knights, birds, trees, and the breeze. Everything looked normal... too normal. Victor noticed him looking and asked.

"You’ve sensed something?"

"Maybe," Bahamut answered quietly. "I don’t know."

"What?"

"I feel watched."

Silence engulfed the place, while several Royal Guards immediately became alert. Victor’s expression hardened.

"Direction?"

Bahamut slowly turned his blindfold facing one of the palace rooftops. Everyone looked, but saw nothing and no one, just fluttering banners dancing beneath the wind. Victor narrowed his eyes.

One of the Shadow Guards disappeared soundlessly, and a few moments later he returned.

"No one."

Bahamut remained staring for another few seconds. Then, he slowly relaxed.

"It’s gone."

Victor didn’t dismiss it. Instead, he quietly memorized the direction.

...

The journey toward Armstrong began shortly afterward. The royal carriage moved surprisingly fast. Instead of ordinary horses, massive white beasts resembling deer pulled the vehicle effortlessly, their antlers glowing softly with mana.

"They’re Windhorn Stags," Victor explained. "Tier Two. They can travel almost three times faster than ordinary horses."

Ren stared through the window. "I want one."

"No." Bahamut answered instantly.

"Aww..." Lily giggled.

"You already have Nagini."

"But Nagini isn’t fluffy and she isn’t exactly mine."

"..."

Nobody argued with that.

...

Hours passed and the scenery gradually changed. The elegant architecture surrounding Aurora disappeared, and rolling plains replaced them. Villages became more frequent. Farmers could be seen harvesting crops beneath the afternoon sun. Children laughed while chasing one another. Merchants traveled busy roads. It looked... Peaceful, painfully peaceful.

Alana rested her chin against the carriage window. "It’s hard to believe people disappear here."

Victor quietly nodded. "That’s exactly why people keep lowering their guard."

As evening approached, the convoy entered the Armstrong Territory. The difference became immediately obvious. Everything looked... Militarized.

Watchtowers overlooked every road. Stone forts dotted distant hills. Every village possessed walls, every gate had guards, and every traveler underwent inspection. Victor noticed Bahamut observing everything.

"The Armstrong Family doesn’t trust luck."

"I can see that."

"They prepare for war every single day."

"And yet..." Bahamut looked toward him. "...people still disappear."

Victor’s smile vanished.

"Exactly."

Night had fallen by the time they reached the village. It wasn’t large, perhaps only three hundred residents yet nearly everyone remained awake. Torches illuminated every street, women cried openly, while men carried weapons despite clearly lacking combat experience.

Children clung desperately to their parents. Fear had consumed the village. The moment Victor stepped from the carriage, the village chief hurried over. He looked exhausted, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Your Highness..."

Victor placed a reassuring hand on the old man’s shoulder. "We came immediately."

The chief nodded repeatedly.

"Thank you..." His voice broke. "My daughter..."

Everyone immediately understood. She had been the victim. Victor quietly asked,

"Show us."

The house stood near the edge of the village. Nothing appeared unusual. There were no signs of battle, no broken windows, no blood, and no footprints. Nothing. The bedroom door remained open.

Inside, everything looked untouched. Victor sighed.

"This is exactly how every scene looks."

"No scent." Lily frowned. "How?"

Ren looked genuinely confused.

"Even if someone cleaned it, there should still be something."

"There isn’t."

Apollonia crouched beside the bed. "No signs of struggle."

Exildra inspected the window. "It wasn’t forced open."

Sel closed his eyes and his mana expanded. Several seconds later...

"...No lingering elemental traces."

Gabi carefully examined the walls.

"Nothing."

The room was perfectly ordinary. Bahamut slowly walked toward the untouched teacup, his fingers hovering above it. It was still warm.

"..."

His eyes narrowed.

Victor noticed.

"What?"

Bahamut looked around the room once more. He quietly asked,

"Who found the room?"

"The victim’s mother."

Victor answered.

"And where was she?"

"Outside, talking with neighbors."

"For how long?"

Victor consulted the report.

"Approximately fifteen minutes."

Bahamut slowly nodded.

"Then she disappeared within fifteen minutes."

Everyone became quiet. He looked toward the untouched tea.

"It hadn’t cooled, the chair hadn’t moved, the window wasn’t opened, and the door wasn’t broken."

He slowly turned around.

"So... how did someone remove a living person, without disturbing a single thing?"

Silence. Nobody had an answer. Bahamut suddenly crouched. His fingers brushed lightly against the wooden floor.

Ren blinked. "What?"

Bahamut didn’t answer. Instead, he rubbed two of his fingers together. There was dust, very ordinary dust, except, that one tiny speck shimmered faintly beneath the moonlight. It was golden and barely visible, but for Bahamut, it was as clear as water.

Bahamut held it toward the lantern and the particle sparkled. Victor’s expression changed immediately.

"...Don’t touch anything."

Everyone froze. Victor carefully produced a crystal vial and Bahamut dropped the tiny golden particle inside. The prince corked it tightly, his heartbeat had noticeably quickening.

"What is it?" Sel asked. Victor stared at the glowing particle.

"I don’t know."

He looked toward Bahamut.

"But..." A faint smile finally appeared on his face. "...it’s the first real clue we’ve found in eleven months."

Outside, unseen by anyone, far beyond the village walls, a shadow standing atop a distant tree quietly smiled beneath the moonlight.

"They’ve found it."

The figure turned away.

"...Interesting."

And disappeared into the darkness.