The falling leaves told a tale ..
A tale of a young man who struggled within a cruel world, unaware of the terrifying truth waiting ahead.
The world was shifting. A war loomed on the horizon.
A war crueler and darker than any that had come before.
The Empire was preparing.
And so were the Ultras.
Those extreme factions ... mysterious and unknown to the rest of humanity... inhabited an entire continent of enigma. No one knew how life there truly was.
For that land obeyed laws far different from those of the civilized world.
The continent of the Ultras was split into two parts:
One made up 90% of the land .. barren and dead. A never-ending desert, known as the Desolate Lands.
The remaining 10% was called the Bloodlands.
Scattered cities, ruled under the tyranny of Higher Blood.
The contrast between the two regions was so stark, they might as well have belonged to different worlds.
Amid the shifting sands of the Desolate Lands ..
A man and a young figure walked side by side, cloaked in a fierce sandstorm.
The first wore a regal black suit beneath a long overcoat and covered his face with a scarf.
He was none other than Lord Gavid Lindman of the Ultras, and beside him strode his empyrean—his masked subordinate known only as V.
Judging from their state, they had been traveling on foot for quite some time.
"…Lord Gavid, do we really have to get involved in this nonsense?"
V's displeasure was obvious in his voice.
But Gavid Lindman replied calmly.
"It's a direct order from High Demon Astaroth. We don't have a choice."
He recalled the mission handed to them by Astaroth himself.
"We've been tasked with gathering all the Hollows. They're essential for the war to come. The Higher Blood plan to end the conflict with the Empire once and for all."
As he listened, V grumbled under his breath.
"The Hollows… I've heard all the stories, but are they really as strong as they say?"
"They are," Gavid affirmed. "You saw firsthand what one of them did that day… Ludwig, the Cursed One."
V remembered that mad beast who dared to attack Astaroth.
"Ludwig is the weakest of the five Hollows. The other four? They're far worse."
There were five in total.
And all of them were monsters.
As they pressed deeper into the storm, V voiced another question that had been on his mind.
"If a battle broke out between the Lords and the Hollows… who would win?"
Gavid didn't hesitate.
"Except for the old man Mergo, whom I know little about... they'd most likely wipe us out completely."
"Is it really that bad?"
"Yes."
Suddenly, the two stopped.
Something ahead had made their blood run cold.
Gavid frowned in disgust, and V swore aloud.
"…What the hell is this?"
Before them stood dozens of wooden stakes, each impaled with human bodies ... still alive.
But it wasn't just that.
It was what had been done to them.
Their bodies had been twisted into grotesque forms ...some had extra arms sewn onto their backs or limbs attached in bizarre places. Their real limbs had been severed.
Eyes and mouths were expertly stitched shut, making them unable to scream or beg.
Some men had their genitals mutilated and grotesquely stitched to their faces.
Others were mangled beyond recognition, then sewn back together like mockeries of life.
And all of them were silent.
Whoever tortured them had left them alive ... but destroyed their souls.
"She's near. This is one of her signatures."
Gavid muttered.
With a swift movement, he raised his sword and sent a wave of power that ended all their suffering.
Then, they moved on.
"…Who exactly is the Hollow we're after?" V asked again.
Gavid's voice turned grim.
"There are five Hollows, like I said. Two of them are rumored to be mindless beasts. The first is Ludwig, the one you saw that day… and the second…"
He paused, gaze narrowing against the sandstorm.
"…is the worst of them all."
"The one known as Pontiff Sulyvahn."
"For Pontiff, Lord Godfray was dispatched. He volunteered to confront the strongest of the Hollows."
"There are two other Hollows ...more rational than the rest .. which makes them easier to recruit: the Puppet Master, Simon Manus, and Father Smog. That sly old bastard Mergo said he'd handle them himself, claiming they're the easiest targets…"
Gavid Lindman grumbled bitterly, especially when it came to the last Hollow.
"Which leaves us with the final one… a woman."
As the two continued onward, they encountered more mutilated bodies, twisted and warped in grotesque ways. Some had been horrifically fused together.
It got worse with every step ... disfigured, naked figures staggered through the sand, unable to scream, their mouths stitched shut.
"Don't be surprised by what you see," Gavid muttered. "The one we're looking for is the most deranged of all the Hollows."
A woman described as being closer to demons than humans.
"The Blood Queen… Evelyn."
It had taken them months of searching, wandering what felt like eternity.
Eventually, Gavid Lindman and the masked V reached one of the desolate cities.
A battered sign marked its name:
"Black Flag."
They walked through its streetsc..ccompletely deserted. Most of its residents were holed up inside tents resembling a freak show circus.
Occasionally, some desperate fool tried to approach, only to be cut down by Gavid's sword before they got within five meters.
His eyes now glowed red ... he could feel it. The presence was close.
"She's nearby…"
They pressed on, eventually stepping into one of the massive tents.
The stench of blood and filth overwhelmed their senses.
A filthy, middle-aged man with a bloodstained apron glared at them from within.
"What the hell do you want?!"
Behind him were scattered corpses, one of them lying sprawled on a table.
It was a large man ... dead.
The old butcher snapped.
"Here to rob me?! These bodies are mine!"
The state of the place was abominable .. human flesh was treated as food, and body parts served all sorts of functions.
V gripped his sword, bloodlust radiating from him.
"Should I kill him?"
But Gavid shook his head.
"Don't."
He stared at the filthy man.
"We're not here to rob you. But take my advice ... get out while you still can. You'll die if you keep this up."
"Hah?! You bastards gonna preach at me now?! Get lost before I shove this blade up your ass!"
The old man raised his bloody knife threateningly.
V moved again, but Gavid stopped him.
"I said don't."
He pointed to the butcher.
"Why don't you keep working? We won't bother you. We're just watching."
"Keep my ass! I told you to leave!"
The old man was about to lash out, but he froze the moment he sensed Gavid Lindman's patience wearing thin.
It was late, but he finally realized ... these two men weren't ordinary.
Reluctantly, he turned around, sweating.
"Damn it! Fine! You can watch this old man work."
Grumbling, the butcher turned to the corpse on his table.
With a steady hand honed by years of grim practice, he sliced open the man's stomach.
The cut was precise and deep ... blood spilled across the table.
Then, suddenly, he screamed and stumbled back, terrified.
"What the…!"
V stepped forward, puzzled.
"What is it?"
The butcher shrieked from the floor.
"Inside his stomach—!!"
From within the dead man's abdomen, two blood-soaked, slender arms slowly emerged.
Bit by bit, the woman curled up inside began to emerge, hugging her bare legs, her body completely drenched in blood as she slowly crawled out from within the corpse.
The moment her face came into view…
Evelyn opened her wide black eyes and cast a sleepy glance at those who had disturbed her rest.
"Oh… you found me."
Slowly, she pulled herself out of the dead man's body.
"Always so annoying... to the very end."
She muttered, then pointed at the old man who had dissected the corpse.
"Die."
With a flick of her finger, the blood soaking the terrified old man's clothes began to ripple… then suddenly exploded ... reducing him to nothing but scattered flesh.
V froze for a moment as the scent of blood tickled his senses.
Especially when his eyes met that strange woman's.
She smiled at him, and a bizarre aura began to radiate throughout the tent .. an aura that was instantly shattered by Gavid Lindman's swift strike through the air.
"Don't look at her."
"Oh, what a killjoy."
Evelyn laughed as she tossed aside the corpse she had emerged from and sat naked atop the bloodied table.
"Evelyn… the High Demon summons you."
"Hm. Let me put something on first… Gosh, you're such a nuisance. Lindman, didn't I tell you last time that if we ever met again, I'd kill you? didn't I?"
She tapped her finger against her lips as she stared at Gavid.
"I wonder what kind of face one of the Lords of the Ultras would make… when being tortured."
Despite the blatant provocation, Gavid didn't attack. He remained composed and patient.
"These are direct orders from a High Demon, Blood Queen… Evelyn. Refusing them now—"
"Are you threatening me?"
Evelyn's expression darkened, but Gavid continued calmly.
"Interpret it however you wish."
His hand moved to his blade, waiting for her reaction.
But Evelyn simply waved him off.
"Leave already. You're such an eyesore right now."
"What?"
She stood and walked away without looking back.
"You want to win the upcoming war, don't you? To fulfill your pathetic ambitions."
She picked up a short coat that barely covered her rear as she walked off, still soaked in blood.
"I'll come when the time is right… But if anyone bothers me now, I'll kill them. So leave."
Gavid hesitated as he watched her turn her back on them completely.
"Ah… I want a new man to play with. But they all rust too quickly. They're all so hideous."
Evelyn kept mumbling madly to herself.
"I need someone beautiful… dripping in blood, used to pain… someone whose body has endured every type of torment ... someone I can truly create with!"
She hugged herself, shivering with twisted delight.
"With someone like that… I could live happily for years… for a very long time~"
Only now did V finally begin to grasp what Lindman had meant earlier…
About the Hollows.
He finally understood how truly deranged and monstrous they were.
Time was moving forward. And war was drawing near.
Evelyn, the Blood Queen.
Simon Manus, the Puppetmaster.
Father Smog.
Ludwig, the Cursed.
And the strongest Hollow of them all .. Pontiff Sulyivahn.
The Ultras were assembling at full power for the war to come.
And elsewhere, deep inside Alcatraz Prison…
Frey Starlight was enduring his sentence ... awaiting the next chapter of his suffering.