The island nation, once renowned for its brilliant neon lights, had now turned into a silent wasteland.
On the docks along the island's coast, rust-stained containers were stacked like mountains, their surfaces covered in dark, dried bloodstains.
Cranes tilted and collapsed, steel cables snapped and dangled, emitting monotonous creaks in the wind.
The sea breeze swept by, carrying a pungent mix of rot and salty stench, enough to make one retch.
On the streets, wandering figures could be seen everywhere.
They were no longer human.
Those once known as the people of the island nation had now become grotesque zombies, unlike any monsters humanity had ever imagined.
Some had bodies swollen like balls with limbs shriveled like withered branches; others were hunched over, with twisted bone spikes sprouting from their backs; still others had heads split in two, from which writhing tentacles emerged.
They seemed not to come from reality, but from the deepest nightmares of humanity's twisted consciousness.
Ghost Prison's Purgatory of All Living Beings had drained, crushed, and reassembled the souls of tens of millions, forging his false godly form.
The discarded remnants, those shattered, maddened, and distorted fragments of consciousness, scattered across this land, parasitizing corpses, and ultimately giving birth to these indescribable monsters.
The Tyrant Corpse King lurking beneath Tokyo was the king among them, the nightmare of the island nation's people!
Yet, at this moment, there were living figures on the docks.
Five men dressed in identical black combat uniforms stood in the shadow of a pile of containers.
The leader shook the black filth off his katana and spat.
"Damn Dragon Country, damn America!"
His voice was hoarse, yet filled with bone-deep hatred.
"They fought over a strange artifact and turned our island nation into this. We must avenge this!"
The four men behind him nodded in unison, their expressions mirroring his.
They did not know the truth.
Or rather, the truth had been deliberately kept from them.
Since Lord Sato took over the remnants of the island nation's Factions, he had begun wave after wave of brainwashing propaganda.
In his narrative, the island nation's disaster was entirely a conspiracy by Dragon Country and America.
To obtain the strange artifact, those countries committed unspeakable atrocities, using biochemical weapons on the island nation, ultimately causing tens of millions of its people to turn into monsters.
America, in particular, disregarded humanitarianism outright, employing extermination methods in an attempt to force the island nation out of the competition entirely.
As for their island nation's Emperor—
The legendary SSS-Rank Hunter Ghost Prison, unwilling to submit to such hegemony, fought alone with his frail body to defend the island nation's dignity, resisting the joint siege of powerful figures from various countries.
With strength that towered over the world, the Emperor single-handedly fought against the siege of nine SSS-Rank Hunter, battling for a day and night until he finally fell from exhaustion.
He became the first SSS-Rank Hunter in this world to die.
And for his death, every nation in this world bore some responsibility.
"Hmph!"
Another team member snorted disdainfully, tightening his grip on his automatic rifle.
"A bunch of hypocrites! All high-sounding words, but not one of them treats life as life! Sooner or later, we'll make them pay!"
"Right!"
A third chimed in.
"Once Lord Sato completes his refinement and becomes a true SSS-Rank, we'll strike back! First, slaughter Dragon Country, then annihilate America!"
The more they spoke, the more agitated they became, their eyes gleaming with fanaticism.
They were the armed forces directly under Lord Sato, tasked with clearing the surrounding zombies and reclaiming the occupied territories of the island nation.
Today's target was this port.
Once the zombies near the port were cleared, they could freely venture out to sea, obtaining vast amounts of marine food to temporarily resolve the food crisis.
And Lord Sato's plan required a massive consumption of food.
He ate every day, devouring food frantically.
Only by ingesting enough energy could he complete the legendary refinement and become an existence comparable to an SSS-Rank.
Thus, they had to bring back sufficient food daily to nourish Lord Sato.
"Enough, stop the chatter."
The leader sheathed his katana and pointed ahead.
"There's another batch over there. Finish clearing them, and today's mission is done. Move quickly, we need to return before dark."
The four nodded, gripping their weapons, ready to advance.
However, at that moment—
The sea surface suddenly changed.
The previously calm seawater began churning without warning.
Waves rose higher and higher, crashing against the dock's embankment with a dull roar.
All five halted their steps, their gazes drawn to the scene.
Those waves... were unusual.
Too unusual.
On the calm sea, there was no storm, no cause for giant waves, yet the waves rose higher with each surge, as if something colossal was slowly rising from beneath the surface.
For some reason, an indescribable fear welled up simultaneously in the hearts of the five.
The fear came inexplicably, yet felt so real, so intense, it nearly stole their breath.
"Retreat... retreat..."
The leader's voice trembled as he instinctively took a step back.
But it was already too late.
"Splash—!!!"
The sea surface suddenly exploded!
A massive, sky-obscuring azure-blue figure slowly rose from the churning waters!
It was a monster!
A colossal creature over seventy meters long!
Its body was covered in metallic azure-blue Exoskeleton, gleaming coldly under the sunlight.
On its ferocious head, a pair of dark golden vertical pupils coldly gazed down at the five humans on the dock, as insignificant as ants.
From the fissures on its back, dozens of tentacles slowly unfurled, the hooked barbs at their tips glinting with deadly cold light in the sun.
It climbed from the sea onto the dock, each movement leaving deep claw marks in the concrete with its heavy claws, causing the entire dock to tremble slightly.
Alien Queen.
A being more massive, more ferocious, and more terrifying than the Tyrant Corpse King entrenched deep within Tokyo's ruins.
And the five island nation warriors were now completely frozen.
Their mouths hung open, eyes wide, minds utterly blank.
The katana slipped from the leader's hand, clattering to the ground, but he remained oblivious.
Just then—
A petite figure leaped down from the ferocious head of the Alien Queen.
Her military boots tapped the ground with a soft click.
Her black-and-red gothic military uniform fluttered in the wasteland sea breeze.
The brim of her hat was pulled low, covering most of her face, revealing only a delicate chin and those—crimson vertical pupils.
Lilith slowly raised her head, her gaze calmly sweeping over this once-familiar land.
Wasteland.
Zombies.
Wandering monsters.
And those trembling island nation people.
Her gaze finally settled on the five men.
Then—
The corner of her mouth slowly curled into a faint smile.
The smile was shallow, so shallow it was almost imperceptible.
But in the eyes of the five, that smile was more terrifying than the seventy-meter-long Alien Queen behind her.
Because it was...
The smile of a predator.
Lilith stepped forward, her military boots treading over broken concrete as she walked toward them step by step.
Behind her, the massive body of the Alien Queen slowly moved, following its master's steps like the most loyal guard.
"Island nation people..."
Lilith spoke, her voice clear, cold, and youthful, drifting on the sea breeze.
"Perfect."
"There are some things I'd like to ask you."