The Psychopathic Beast Emperor

The instant the twig snapped, Bahamut disappeared, leaving the butler in shock.

CRACK!

The stone pathway under his feet shattered as his body shot forward like a released arrow. Wind gathered around his legs while his enhanced physique exploded with terrifying force.

"There!" Lily shouted.

A dark silhouette darted through the dense vegetation. It wasn’t particularly large, nor was it especially fast, yet it knew exactly where to run. It weaved between ancient trees, slipped beneath hanging roots, and disappeared behind broken hedges as if it had memorized every inch of the abandoned garden.

"Hmph!"

Exildra vanished in a flash, coming from the opposite direction, attempting to intercept whatever it was. Alana leaped over an old stone fountain, landing heavily enough to crack its edge.

"We’re cutting it off!"

But the figure wasn’t alone. The moment Bahamut closed within twenty meters...

BOOM!

A cloud of grey dust exploded into the air.

"Smoke?" Alana exclaimed.

"No!" Bahamut shouted. "Don’t inhale it!"

He immediately manipulated the wind element, sending a powerful gust through the garden. The smoke dispersed almost instantly, but the silhouette had vanished. Silence settled over the abandoned garden. Lily landed beside Bahamut.

"It’s gone."

Exildra emerged from another direction, her expression calm despite the slight disappointment in her eye.

"I searched the perimeter, but there was nothing."

Alana sniffed the air repeatedly. "I can’t smell anyone anymore."

Bahamut slowly closed his eyes, his perception spreading outward. One hundred meters, two hundred, five hundred, but he found nothing. There was not a single heartbeat that didn’t belong to his group, Alya, the butler, or the estate itself.

"It escaped."

Alya finally caught up, breathing heavily. "Did... did you catch whoever it was?"

"No." Bahamut shook his head.

The butler looked visibly shaken, unwilling to believe anything.

"I-I told you nobody came here..."

"They did," Bahamut answered calmly. "They simply didn’t want to be found."

He walked toward where the figure had disappeared.

"But... They weren’t careful enough."

He knelt, and the others gathered around.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

Bahamut brushed aside the tall grass.

"There."

Pressed faintly into the damp soil were footprints. There were not many, only three.

"They’re too light," Exildra observed. "They barely sank into the ground."

"Exactly." Bahamut nodded. "Either whoever this is weighs very little or possesses exceptional body control."

He examined the prints more closely.

"They’re wearing boots. So... a humanoid."

Alana frowned. "A person?"

"Most likely."

Bahamut’s fingers traced the edge of one footprint.

"But that’s not all."

He picked something up between two of his fingers. It was a thin, black thread. No. It was hair. It shimmered strangely beneath the sunlight.

"It isn’t human hair," Alya murmured.

Exildra looked closely.

"It’s too durable."

Bahamut gently tugged it, but instead of it breaking, it stretched slightly before returning to normal.

"Interesting."

He carefully stored it inside his storage space.

’The system can probably identify it later.’

Lily continued searching nearby.

"Ba- My Lord."

"Hm?"

"I found something."

She held up a tiny silver object. It was no bigger than a fingernail, a decorative button, beautifully engraved. On its surface was a strange symbol. Three circles overlapping one another.

"That’s unfamiliar," Alya admitted. "I’ve never seen that crest before."

The butler leaned closer, inspecting it with a keen eye.

"Neither have I."

Bahamut accepted the button. It didn’t look expensive in any way, but its craftsmanship was extraordinary. Someone had cared enough to engrave it by hand, and that made it more important than it looked.

Alana’s voice echoed from farther inside the garden, sounding excited, without an ounce of seriousness.

"Master! I found another one!"

Everyone hurried over. She stood beside an old greenhouse that had collapsed years ago, probably. On the broken stone floor, almost hidden under the vines, was a faint carving. It was not naturally formed, but rather someone had deliberately etched it into the stone. It resembled a circle, and inside it were several intersecting lines and an arrow pointing west.

Bahamut crouched, inspecting it.

"This doesn’t look like a ritual array."

Exildra nodded.

"It looks too simple."

"A marker, maybe?" Lily suggested.

"Maybe," Bahamut examined it more carefully. "The carving is fresh. It’s less than..."

He touched the edge.

"...two weeks old."

Alya looked surprised.

"You’re certain?"

"The stone hasn’t weathered yet." He stood. "So whoever came here returned recently."

Silence followed his deductions. This was no abandoned crime scene. Someone was still using it. The butler’s face turned pale.

"Should we inform Lady Elridge?"

Bahamut shook his head.

"Not yet. If the kidnappers have eyes inside the estate, they’ll disappear before we can learn anything."

The butler swallowed nervously.

"You think they have spies?"

"I think..." Bahamut looked back toward the direction the figure had escaped. "...someone knew we were coming here."

Everyone froze.

"What?" Lily asked.

"The moment we entered this garden, the person watching us ran. They didn’t attack or panic. They simply reported our arrival."

Exildra’s eyes narrowed.

"So we’re being observed."

"Exactly," Bahamut smiled, his lips widening into that predatory grin.

"Which means they’re nervous."

Alana tilted her head. "Isn’t that bad?"

"No."

"It’s good. They’ve made their first mistake."

He held up the strange black strand of hair in one hand and the engraved silver button in the other.

"Before today, we had nothing. Now..." He counted them calmly.

"We have a suspicious servant pattern, a restricted garden, humanoid footprints, unknown biological evidence, an unfamiliar emblem, and a direction."

He glanced toward the carved arrow, his eyes gleaming under his blindfold.

"West."

Alya unfolded a detailed map of Aurora. The western district occupied only part of the capital. Beyond it, the road continued toward the older sections of the city where they would find warehouses, merchant depots, and eventually, the abandoned aqueducts beneath Aurora.

Bahamut’s finger slowly rested on that region.

"I don’t think we’ve found the kidnappers... But we’ve found where to begin looking."

For the first time since arriving in Solaria, the investigation had moved beyond rumors and disappearances. They finally had a trail, and whoever had fled moments ago had unknowingly left behind the first pieces of the puzzle.