Dragon Monarch System Chapter 1048 1048:- Elder Victor's Victims

"The funeral arrangements are concluded. Mister Victor, it is time for you to depart." Cassian desired a private moment with Aditya and thus urged Victor to leave. Victor departed with the other nobles, but his subsequent return struck Cassian as exceptionally peculiar.

"He is here for me." Aditya understood that from the moment Victor entered, he had been fixated on him, radiating palpable hatred, so intense that he made no effort to conceal it.

As Aditya approached and positioned himself directly before him, Victor finally unleashed a grin, though one devoid of any friendly sentiment.

"What is it you want?" Aditya inquired, his tone sharp and unwelcoming.

"Tell me, have you taken notice that each week, a soldier from the Istarin Empire vanishes without a trace?" Upon hearing this, Aditya's countenance grew somber.

What began as a minor issue had escalated into a crisis that defied their solutions.

"You were responsible for that?" Aditya's voice laced with fury. Though his volume didn't rise, the palpable anger in his tone was unmistakable.

Witnessing Aditya's reaction brought Victor immense pleasure; this was precisely the expression he had anticipated and craved to see.

"Indeed!" Victor responded, a savage grin spreading across his features. The satisfaction of confessing directly to Aditya was profound. The reaction Aditya displayed upon hearing his affirmation made the entire ordeal of returning undeniably worthwhile.

Victor had succeeded in drawing the attention of everyone present. All remaining individuals within the Hall turned their gaze towards Victor. However, he remained unfazed, showing no apprehension towards the scrutiny of these formidable cultivators.

"You comprehend, I understood that overcoming you within the confines of the six continents was an impossibility. It would be accurate to state that across the six continents, you stand unparalleled. No matter the extent of my preparations, I knew that any confrontation with you on these lands was a predetermined losing endeavor from the outset."

"I have witnessed cultivators of even greater strength than myself meet their demise at your hands within the six continents. Nevertheless, I am not so foolish as they, nor as overconfident as those who ultimately fell before you. Therefore, I patiently chose to bide my time, enduring this gnawing torment within."

"I endured, holding onto the hope that you would eventually journey to the Main Continent, whether drawn by the Celestial Dragon Empire or in pursuit of the organization that has relentlessly endeavored to make your existence as arduous as possible." Aditya instantly grasped that Victor possessed knowledge of the organization.

This revelation prompted him to question whether Victor himself was affiliated with the organization or if his Sect operated under its influence.

"As the months of waiting stretched on, my impatience grew. I began to feel increasingly agitated." Victor produced a rope, tugging at it forcefully before Aditya, as if to visually represent his state of mind during those protracted months of anticipation.

"My restlessness became so profound that I found myself unable to sleep or cultivate in peace. You, Aditya, became the sole focus of my obsession. Then, as now, I am consumed by the singular desire to end your life."

Harrington felt an immediate urge to subdue Victor with his imposing Aura, but his nephew, Wahid, intervened.

He gestured for Harrington to restrain himself and permit Victor to articulate his piece.

"My desire was to physically strangle you until you drew your last breath."

"I wished to inflict upon you the most wretched and agonizing demise imaginable." Victor then discarded the rope and produced an object that instantly captivated the attention of every individual in the chamber.

It was a skull, bearing the marks of decay, its condition rendering any identification of its former owner utterly impossible.

"I realized I would descend into madness if I did not find an outlet for my escalating rage. This deep-seated frustration, this consuming pain, this building fury needed an outlet until the day you, Aditya, finally set foot on the Main Continent."

Victor's gaze shifted to Harrington, and he continued his declaration, utterly devoid of fear. In the entirety of the hall, he was the sole individual who exhibited no trace of apprehension towards Harrington or Boris.

Upon hearing Victor's entire confession, Harrington's immediate impulse was to extinguish the man's life. However, on this occasion as well, an intervention prevented him. It was Boris who stepped in this time.

Boris's primary concern was to ascertain the fate of the Istarin Empire's missing soldiers and what Aditya had done with them—a matter he deemed too significant to overlook and one that required a direct account from Aditya himself. Concurrently, he arrived at a critical realization: not every trial in Aditya's life could be navigated with the assistance of others.

Certain junctures demanded that his grandson face challenges independently, confronting them without external support. Regardless of the strength of the backing they provided, some paths were intrinsically solitary, meant only for Aditya to traverse alone.

Harrington's tendency towards excessive protectiveness stemmed from a profound wellspring of love, which, in many respects, was a commendable trait. However, even such qualities possessed their inherent limitations. When taken to an extreme, it could prove detrimental. Shielding someone from every adversity would ultimately result in their weakening, a truth Boris fully acknowledged—excessive protection was never the optimal solution.

"So every week, I made my way to a different city within the Istarin Empire. When the chance arose, I would abduct one of your soldiers." Victor then casually tossed the skull onto the floor. It tumbled across the ground, eventually settling right before Aditya.

"You wish to know my methods with them?" Aditya remained silent. The sight of the skull made the fate of the soldiers all too clear to everyone present.

"Each and every one of my targets endured a unique form of torment." Victor retrieved another skull, examining it. This one showed no signs of decay, indicating it belonged to someone who met their end very early in the ordeal.

Following the demise of each captive, Victor employed a unique alchemical process to rapidly break down their skin and flesh.

"I would transport them to a secluded subterranean chamber, far removed from any prying eyes. There, I would strip them bare."

"Then, for days on end, I'd inflict all manner of suffering upon them until their minds completely fractured. I probed every possible avenue until they finally shattered."

Victor proceeded to bring forth more skulls, one after another. Each one spun across the ground for a few rotations before coming to rest before Aditya.

"Allow me to share just one instance."

"On one occasion, I apprehended a soldier from your empire."

"Upon regaining consciousness and seeing me, he uttered defiant words, proclaiming that your Dragon Monarch would locate and vanquish me."

"Initially, his pronouncements amused me, but once he crossed an unspoken boundary, I proceeded to tear off all his limbs with my bare hands."

"Then, as he shrieked in excruciating pain, I unleashed a famished, injured Salamander." Aditya's eyes flared crimson, brimming with tears of pure rage.

"As the salamander pursued the poor soldier, he incessantly cried out your name, desperately hoping the Dragon Monarch would intervene and save him."

"Hahahaha!!!!!" Victor erupted in laughter, the memory clearly a source of great amusement. He convulsed with mirth as if recalling the funniest jest.

Yet, for Aditya and everyone else, this was anything but humorous. The mere contemplation of what his soldiers must have endured sent shivers down Aditya's spine.

Unbeknownst to him, faint tendrils of crimson lightning began to crackle around his body.

The sky, which moments before had cleared after a storm, began to darken anew, as if mirroring the tempest within him. Dense clouds swiftly congregated overhead, and without warning, a torrential downpour commenced.

Concurrently, his fury intensified. A few strands of hair near his forehead flickered, transitioning from azure to a fiery crimson before reverting to their original hue, only to repeat the cycle incessantly.

His breaths grew noticeably more labored.

Crack...!!!

The very ground beneath his feet fractured under the immense pressure emanating from his aura. The surrounding space warped and distorted, appearing as though it could shatter at any instant. He was on the precipice of losing all control.

"This is but a single illustration of the amusing activities I engaged in before ultimately ending their lives." A total of 59 skulls lay scattered before Aditya.

This figure represented the exact number of soldiers Victor had abducted.

To simply state they were "killed" would be an understatement. His actions transcended mere termination; they were a profound descent into depravity. These were soldiers he had systematically tortured, denying them even a shred of mercy. Their lives were not extinguished swiftly or cleanly. Instead, their agony was deliberately prolonged, ensuring they experienced every conceivable moment of torment before their heads were finally severed.

And even that was not the conclusion. He meticulously collected their skulls.

He kept them as morbid trophies, not out of any practical need, but purely from a sense of dark pride. His intent was transparent: to one day stand before Aditya and present them. He desired to witness the raw emotion on his adversary's face, relishing that moment of triumph.

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