The Psychopathic Beast Emperor

The village chief had the room sealed immediately after that. No one was allowed inside anymore, not even the victim’s grieving parents. The tiny golden particle had become the first tangible clue in nearly a year, and Victor wasn’t about to let anyone contaminate the crime scene.

Outside, the atmosphere remained heavy. Villagers gathered around their homes in anxious clusters, whispering among themselves while frequently glancing toward Bahamut’s group with hope, fear, and desperation, all three emotions mixed.

Victor stepped out of the house and addressed everyone.

"Please remain calm. We’ll investigate every part of the village. If anyone remembers even the smallest unusual detail, report it immediately. I don’t care how insignificant it seems."

The villagers nodded quickly.

...

After that, the investigation was split into groups. Victor had already anticipated this possibility before they even arrived.

"Sel, Gabi. You’ll examine the northern side of the village."

They both nodded in understanding.

"Lily, Alana. Question the families closest to the victim."

"Yes."

"Apollonia."

"The rooftops."

"I’ll check every blind spot."

She disappeared before anyone could blink.

"Black Fang Prodigy."

She just nodded. "I’ll investigate outside the walls."

Within a second, she was gone. Rakia, Exildra, and Ren split up to help the others. Victor turned toward Bahamut.

"You stay with me."

"Why?" Bahamut asked, tilting his head.

Victor smiled. "Because you’ve noticed more in ten minutes than we have in eleven months."

...

The pair slowly walked through the village streets. As they passed, children peeked through the cracked windows, only for their mothers to hurriedly pull them back inside. Every face they found looked exhausted. Nobody here had slept peacefully in months. Victor sighed.

"After the fifteenth disappearance, everyone stopped going outside after sunset, and yet..." He looked toward a nearby house. "They still vanish."

Bahamut quietly listened, his enhanced senses prying everywhere.

"Locked doors. Guarded homes. Families sleeping together. It doesn’t matter. They still disappear."

Something about that sentence bothered Bahamut.

"They disappear... or they’re taken?"

"Explain." Victor stopped walking and looked towards the blindfolded guy.

"If someone disappears, they leave. If someone is taken, something takes them."

Victor remained silent and nodded slowly.

"Fair point."

They continued walking. After several minutes, Bahamut suddenly stopped. He had heard something, crying. It was soft and weak, and coming from inside a nearby stable.

"What’s wrong?"

"Someone is crying."

"I don’t hear anything," The prince frowned.

Bahamut quietly walked toward the stable, and the crying became louder. He gently pushed the wooden door open. Inside, a little boy hugged one of the horses tightly. He couldn’t have been older than seven. His face was buried in the animal’s neck. Victor immediately recognized him.

"Eli."

The boy flinched violently, but Victor crouched beside him and patted his head.

"You’re alright."

There was no answer from the boy. Bahamut noticed something strange. The boy wasn’t crying anymore, but rather, he was shaking violently.

Victor spoke gently. "Did you know the missing girl?"

The boy gave a tiny nod and answered. "She was my sister."

"I’m sorry," Victor said, his expression softening. The boy buried his face again. Bahamut slowly approached and knelt beside him.

The horse looked nervous. Its ears kept twitching, probably from fear or something else. Bahamut gently placed one hand against its neck, and the animal immediately relaxed. Ren had once told him that animals noticed things people didn’t. Ren himself was an animal person, which was why, despite Bahamut being the owner of Nagini and her child, they were almost always with Ren.

He quietly asked, "Were you here yesterday?"

The little boy nodded.

"Did you see anything?"

He nodded again. Victor’s eyes widened.

"You saw something?"

The child hesitated, but he slowly whispered.

"...A lady".

Victor’s heartbeat quickened.

"What lady?"

"...Pretty."

"What did she look like?"

"I..." The child frowned. "...can’t remember."

"What?" Victor blinked in confusion.

"I saw her... but..." The boy grabbed his own head. "It hurts. It hurts to remember."

Bahamut’s eyes narrowed in interest. He gently spoke.

"Don’t force yourself."

The child relaxed slightly. Bahamut changed the question.

"Was she alone?"

The boy thought.

"...No. There was..." He frowned harder. "...music."

Victor looked confused.

"Music?"

The boy nodded. "I couldn’t see where it came from. But... It was pretty."

His little face suddenly turned pale.

"No... It wasn’t pretty..." His breathing became erratic. "It was scary..."

His pupils began shaking.

"The flowers... They... They were..."

The boy screamed.

"NO!"

Victor immediately caught him before he collapsed. The child fainted, and silence filled the stable. Victor carefully checked him and sighed in relief when it didn’t appear to be anything serious.

"He’s only unconscious."

Bahamut looked thoughtful. "His memories."

Victor nodded. "They’re blocked or damaged."

"Or..."

Bahamut finished. "...sealed."

Neither liked that possibility.

Outside, another voice suddenly called out.

"Your Highness!" One of the Royal Guards hurried toward them. "We found another witness."

Victor stood immediately.

"Where?"

"Near the eastern fields."

...

Several minutes later, they arrived at an elderly farmer’s house. Unlike the boy, the old man looked strangely calm. Victor sat opposite him and asked.

"You saw someone?"

"I did," The old man nodded.

"Tell me everything," Victor leaned forward.

"I was watering my crops. I saw a woman walking."

"What did she look like?"

"...Beautiful."

"Hair?"

"I..." The old man blinked. "...I don’t know."

"Face?"

"...Can’t remember."

Victor frowned.

"Clothes?"

"I can’t remember."

Bahamut quietly watched him, noticing a pattern. Every answer was identical.

Victor continued. "What do you remember?"

The old man smiled.

"Her eyes."

"What color?"

His smile disappeared, while his breathing quickened.

"...Red..." He suddenly grabbed his head. "No... No... They weren’t... They..."

Blood began dripping from his nose, and Victor immediately caught him.

"Stop. Don’t think anymore."

The old man collapsed unconscious. Victor slowly stood.

"This has never happened before."

Bahamut looked toward the doorway.

"No. It has."

"What?" Victor asked in confusion.

"Nobody asked the right questions. The witnesses remembered until they tried describing whoever they saw."

Victor slowly looked toward Bahamut, and his eyes widened.

"Their memories are being erased."

Bahamut nodded. "Not erased exactly. They’re still there, but they’re being..."

He searched for the word. "...locked."

Victor inhaled sharply. That wasn’t an illusion or hypnosis. That required an incredibly advanced mental technique with a power level of tier 3, maybe higher.

Outside, a cold breeze swept across the fields, and far away, standing atop a lone windmill, the same shadow from before overlooked the village. A pair of crimson eyes watched Bahamut carefully.

"So..." A feminine voice drifted through the darkness. "...you’re already finding the pattern."

She smiled under her hood.

"Good. I was beginning to think you’d disappoint me."

Then, without making the slightest sound, she stepped backward and vanished into the night once more. She had been very elusive, but what she didn’t notice was that the person she’d been staring at was staring at her retreating.

’Is she the culprit? No. System, can you do something for me?’

[Let’s hear it.]