The Psychopathic Beast Emperor

Evening had long descended upon the capital.

Aurora's brilliant streets gradually exchanged the bustle of the day for the calm elegance of the night. Mana lamps suspended above the roads illuminated the city with a warm golden glow, while patrols of royal knights quietly rotated through the districts, ensuring that nothing unusual disturbed the kingdom's peaceful façade.

Inside the royal guest residence assigned to Team Bahamut, however, the atmosphere couldn't have been more different.

The spacious meeting room on the ground floor had been transformed into a temporary command center.

Maps of Aurora covered almost the entire central table: district layouts, sewer routes, major roads, noble estates, merchant quarters, guard patrol routes... everything they had gathered throughout the day had been spread neatly across the table.

Victor Gandhal stood near the head of the table with a serious expression. Behind him stood three trusted royal intelligence officers, each carrying stacks of reports.

Around the table sat Bahamut, Sel, Exildra, Lily, Alana, Gabi, Rakia, Apollonia, and the Black Fang Prodigy. Ren remained in his rabbit form, comfortably occupying Bahamut's shoulder while nibbling lazily on a carrot someone had given him.

No one smiled. Everyone could tell that today's investigation had uncovered far more than they initially expected.

Victor looked around the room before speaking.

"Let's begin."

He looked toward Bahamut first.

"Leader's report."

Bahamut leaned back in his chair.

"We took the western district."

He placed several papers on the table.

"We confirmed five locations connected to the disappearances."

Victor nodded.

"The abandoned warehouse?"

"It was cleaned before we arrived. What remained were traces."

Bahamut pointed toward one of the reports.

"Strange dragging marks. Heavy restraints. Someone cleaned everything professionally."

He moved another sheet forward.

"We also found remnants of illusion mana."

Apollonia's eyes immediately narrowed.

"Illusions?"

Bahamut nodded.

"Not ordinary ones."

"They were designed to hide movements."

The room became noticeably quieter.

Bahamut continued.

"We also found an old underground passage beneath one of the warehouses. It hadn't been used recently. But someone intentionally collapsed it."

Victor frowned.

"They destroyed evidence."

"Exactly."

Bahamut's expression remained calm.

"And..."

He looked toward everyone.

"We encountered someone."

Everyone immediately paid attention.

"The cloaked woman."

Lily folded her arms.

"She disappeared before we could reach her."

Alana nodded.

"But she left us something."

Bahamut placed the now familiar coin onto the table.

Everyone stared at it.

"The same symbol."

Victor slowly picked it up.

"The Eclipse."

No one missed the way his expression darkened.

"You recognize it?"

Victor hesitated.

"I've only heard rumors."

"My father forbade any discussion about it."

"That's not concerning at all."

Sel muttered.

Victor looked toward Sylvia.

"Southern district."

The Black Fang Prodigy remained as composed as always.

"Our investigation focused on gathering information from civilians."

She unfolded several handwritten notes.

"The disappearances are older than official records suggest."

She calmly continued.

"Many victims were never reported, especially poor families, street children, orphans, and migrant workers."

Victor quietly clenched his fist.

"They were ignored."

She nodded.

"They disappeared. No investigations, no records, and no justice."

Silence settled over the room. She continued.

"I also confirmed something else."

She glanced toward Bahamut.

"Someone is deliberately erasing memories."

Sel looked up.

"So it wasn't a coincidence."

"No."

"The effect is selective."

She explained.

"People remember the victim until someone asks detailed questions. Then, the memories become blurred."

Apollonia quietly wrote something down.

"Memory manipulation."

The room grew even heavier. Ren suddenly raised one tiny paw.

"I have something."

Everyone looked toward the bunny.

"I smelled Chaos."

That immediately caught Bahamut's attention.

Ren continued.

"Not a person, but a residue. It wasn't natural. It was... forced."

Victor frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Ren scratched one ear.

"Someone is using Chaos differently. Not as an affinity, but more like..."

He searched for the words.

"...an ingredient."

Bahamut slowly looked at him.

"You think Chaos is part of whatever they're making?"

Ren shrugged.

"I don't know, but the smell wasn't normal."

Victor turned toward Sel.

"The northern district."

Sel exchanged a glance with Apollonia.

"You should sit down."

Victor slowly sat as Sel placed a massive collection of reports onto the table.

"We reviewed nearly twenty years of disappearance records."

Everyone immediately became alert.

"Twenty years?" Lily whispered.

Sel nodded. "They aren't random."

Apollonia took over.

"They occur in cycles."

She spread several maps across the table. Colored pins marked different years. Twenty years ago up to now. Each wave expanded farther than the last.

Victor stared silently.

"They've been operating for decades."

Apollonia nodded.

"And every victim shares similar characteristics."

She slid another report toward Bahamut.

"Young. Healthy. Above-average mana. Specific bloodline compatibility."

Gabi frowned.

"They're choosing."

"Exactly."

Apollonia answered.

"Not kidnapping, but harvesting."

The word alone made everyone uncomfortable.

Finally, Victor looked toward Rakia.

"Eastern district."

Rakia crossed her arms.

"We found supply chains."

She looked toward Gabi.

"You explain."

The lizard-kin nodded.

"Moonshade Root, blood Orchid, mana suppressants, large quantities, and they were all bought anonymously."

He placed several purchase ledgers on the table.

"And..."

He carefully placed another object down. A broken restraint collar.

Victor immediately stood.

"Where did you get that?"

"It was stolen. Military property. The transport wagon had already been emptied."

Apollonia looked surprised.

"They infiltrated the Royal Armory?"

Rakia nodded. "Without anyone noticing."

She continued. "We tracked the thieves for a while."

Gabi sighed.

"They escaped through teleportation."

She pointed at another sketch.

"A disposable teleportation formation, masterfully concealed."

Victor's expression had become frighteningly serious.

"They're well funded, have skilled formation masters, have infiltrators, and..." He looked around. "They're operating inside Aurora... or Solaria as a whole."

No one spoke. The weight of those words settled heavily upon everyone. Silence lingered until Bahamut suddenly spoke.

"We're looking at this wrong."

Every eye turned toward him. He stood and walked toward the large map. Then, he picked up a charcoal stick. Instead of marking where the disappearances happened, he marked where clues had been found.

One by one, he connected every point. The room watched quietly. Finally, he stepped back, and everyone froze.

The lines formed were not a transportation network or escape routes, but a circle. No. A massive formation, one so enormous that it covered almost half of Aurora, with lines spreading out to the other cities.

Sel slowly whispered, "That's..."

"A ritual." Apollonia finished.

Victor's face lost all color.

"If that's true... The kidnappings aren't the objective. They're preparations."

Ren's fluffy ears stood upright.

"For what?"

No one answered because no one knew. The room remained silent until Victor finally broke the silence.

"I'll report everything to His Majesty tonight."

He looked at every member of Team Bahamut.

"Until then, no one investigates alone anymore. I don't believe we're hunting criminals anymore."

His voice became grave.

"I believe we've walked into the opening moves of a war."