A mysterious shadow watched from afar, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself. Soon after, a butler appeared and informed the stranger that the group they had sent was dead.
—Mmm, not surprising. Many have tried before and achieved nothing. Some couldn't even make it to the island. —So, what's next? —Prepare another group. We won't stop until we recover what's ours.
Meanwhile, the capsule successfully arrived at its designated location. It was time to wake the others, but at that moment, the sergeant struck the demoness on the head while scolding her.
As they argued, the capsule opened and Nova stepped out, dazed and confused. Spotting a nearby village, he walked toward it. The sergeant and the demoness noticed and quickly ran after him toward the same place.
On the way, the sergeant realized she had nothing covering her mouth and tied a cloth around it. The demoness noticed and asked why she did that. The sergeant explained that many years ago, a virus called The Immortal Strain, created by God as a form of punishment, spread across Earth. It was airborne, incurable, and lethal—if you didn't take precautions, within just one hour you'd be infected.
But infection wasn't the worst part. After an hour, the virus killed the brain, the skin rotted rapidly, the eyes shrank, and the body mutated with grotesque deformities. Finally, came the endless hunger—the curse of those creatures now called Glops.
The demoness laughed, saying she couldn't be infected because demon blood ran through her veins. The sergeant didn't believe her, but pointed out that the demoness had been unconscious for more than two hours and yet hadn't shown a single sign of infection.
Shocked, the sergeant checked her health monitor and realized she was right.
The demoness then suggested she take off the cloth, claiming it was pointless and probably made breathing harder.
Though hesitant, the sergeant removed it, trusting the demoness. Since they were talking so much, the demoness asked for her name—after all, calling each other by titles was tiresome. Reluctantly, the sergeant agreed.
—Well, I guess it had to come out sooner or later… uhm… fine. My name's Victoria. Now what's yours, demon? —Heh, silly girl. Mine's Lucia.
With their names exchanged, both agreed to cooperate in finding Nova: Victoria wanted to bring him to the Empire, while Lucia wanted his ring. For now, they had no choice but to work together.
In a nearby bar, Nova walked in and asked the bartender for a drink. The man refused, saying Nova was far too young.
Nova stared him down, insisting. When the bartender refused again, Nova began manipulating him, pointing out there was no one around to witness it and even threatening to tell the whole village that he'd been poorly treated. After all, who would believe a teenager? To seal the deal, he flashed a roll of cash.
The bartender was just about to give in when Victoria and Lucia entered and dragged Nova out of the bar.
Outside, Victoria scolded him—he wasn't allowed to drink alcohol. But Lucia's attention shifted to something else: a strange shadow in the distance, its eyes glowing white.
And they weren't the only ones being watched. A soldier observed them closely from the shadows.