THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 385: Blood of the Close Ones (2)

A monstrous figure, over five meters tall, loomed above him—casting a terrifying shadow.

The spear was still lodged in his chest...

But compared to the sheer size of this giant beast ... now with a single eye and four muscular arms—it looked insignificant.

”Ahh... so I’ve tasted my blood.”

Lawrence’s voice had changed. No longer the voice of a lean, mad youth ..

It had become deep, grating... monstrous.

As he opened his enormous mouth, Ragna froze, paralyzed by the unknown.

”I wonder... how YOUR blood will taste?! AHAHAHAHA!!”

Before him, that gaping maw opened wide ...

A portal into a personal hell pulled from Ragna’s darkest nightmares.

Elsewhere, the Ultras warriors retreated even farther .. And it became clear why they had left such a wide gap between themselves and Lawrence.

The empyrean of Mirgo .. Lawrence was a beast no one could ever predict. The only one who had ever managed to keep him under control was Mirgo himself.

That’s why getting too close to him was never a good idea. At times, simply on a whim, he wouldn’t spare friend or foe alike.

He would transform into a grotesque monster, shrouded in a cursed, blood-drenched aura... mouth wide open before his prey.

Ragna tried to act immediately—but froze when he found himself unable to pull his spear out of Lawrence’s body, no matter how hard he tried.

The flesh and blood of that monster had hardened, turning into something akin to reinforced steel.

Now disarmed, Ragna was completely isolated... left helpless before the beast.

Mere moments later, the Ultras army heard the sound.

The sound of Lawrence’s bite—crushing down on Ragna’s lower half.

Ragna didn’t even move. Lifted high into the air, he was devoured from the waist down, his legs and entrails torn apart and ground between jagged fangs.

After finally tasting the blood he so desperately craved...

Lawrence spat Ragna aside, his mangled body tumbling across the dead soil of the Ultrassian plains.

”Delicious! So delicious! Deli—DELICIOUS! AHAHAHAHA!”

Laughing like a monster, Lawrence cackled, his bloodstained mouth dripping with fresh crimson.

As for Ragna...

He simply lay there... staring up at the sky, aimless and empty.

He didn’t dare look down. He already knew what he would see.

”...You were right, Danzo...”

Collapsed on the ground... his intestines scattered, his organs mangled—Ragna Claud met a fate darker than the one that claimed the father he had come to avenge.

Ragna Claude vs. Lawrence — another battle ended.

And the Ultras army continued to march, trailing behind Lawrence, whose monstrous form was slowly crumbling... reverting back to the emaciated young man he once was.

He looked euphoric—intoxicated.

Like someone who had just spent the night with the woman of his dreams.

In that state, approaching him was dangerous.

That’s why the army deliberately stayed at least a hundred meters behind.

Their next destination: the remaining elite students, each fighting their own desperate battle.

---

...

...

...

”Now this... is interesting.”

Somewhere in the western zone ..

Selena and Aegon Valerion appeared inside a battlefield prepared specifically for them.

Wearing his ever-present smile .. one that never wavered, no matter the situation—Aegon let out a small chuckle, analyzing their predicament as Selena stood beside him, her expression dark and clouded.

”They placed their trap right at the gateway meant to send us home—knowing full well it was our only exit.”

”A trap formed of a magical circle that scattered us randomly... splitting us apart to make the hunt easier.”

He walked slowly, hands behind his back, and Selena followed, a note of unease in her stride.

”If this really is a trap, then we’re in serious trouble.”

”Oh, it’s definitely a trap,” Aegon replied calmly, glancing around.

The place they had been sent to was a desolate city—completely cut off from the rest of the Ultrassian lands.

”And if they went to the trouble of isolating us like this, I assume our executioner is already here... waiting for us.”

After walking for some time through the empty city, Aegon came to a halt—and so did Selena.

”What is it?” she asked.

She readied every trick and spell she had, bracing herself for anything.

Aegon’s eyes were locked on a massive building topped with an old, rusted clock.

And there .. atop that building stood the one meant for them.

”There you are,” Aegon said with a smirk. ”The executioner they prepared just for us.”

Selena’s despair deepened tenfold.

How could it not, when the one standing there radiated an SS class aura?

Wearing a black cloak that resembled the plague-doctors of old...

Wielding a massive scythe...

And exuding a murderous intent so raw it made Selena tremble involuntarily.

It was the Hollow—Ludwig.

The same cursed creature that had appeared in Yharnam just one year ago, where he singlehandedly fought the Empire’s finest.

Just as they spotted him ..

He spotted them.

”So that’s Ludwig the Hollow, huh? Impressive. The Ultras actually managed to tame him?”

”Is this really the time for your damn commentary?! He’s SS class!!”

Selena immediately deployed a magical barrier around herself and Aegon.

”We have to get out of here—right now!”

Activating her spell, Selena attempted to teleport them as far away as possible.

Even if it was random ..

It was better than standing face-to-face with Ludwig the Hollow.

Bzzzt—

Selena was just about to activate her magic—when a focused electric jolt struck her from behind, knocking her out cold.

She collapsed unconscious, and Aegon let out a sigh as lightning danced lazily between his fingers.

”Why are most girls around me this annoying? Look how perfect you are when you’re quiet.”

After attacking his only ally, Aegon turned his gaze back to Ludwig, who had just leapt down, now standing face-to-face with him.

The Hollow began walking toward him slowly, dragging his massive scythe behind him.

The screech of metal scraping against the ground... the crushing weight of his overwhelming aura...

All of it pressed down on Aegon, who didn’t budge an inch.

”So... they’ve sent someone of your caliber against me. I suppose this is their way of trying to force my hand ..make me play a few of my cards, huh?”

Aegon exhaled in annoyance before walking forward to meet Ludwig himself.

”Very well. You’ll get what you asked for.”

As both of them advanced toward one another ..

Aegon slipped his hands into his pockets, and a crooked grin spread across his face while his expression turned darker.

”They say you were raised among Nightmare beasts, Ludwig. That you’re no different from them now. Which means you probably can’t even understand a word I’m saying...kekekekeke...”

His golden eyes gleamed as the air around them thickened and warped, causing Ludwig to stop in his tracks without warning.

”Nightmare creatures are no different from wild animals. They fight using instinct and limited intelligence ..but what they do have... is a strong sixth sense. A survival instinct sharp enough to feel danger of every kind.”

With his hands still in his pockets and an air of superiority, Aegon asked his foe in a low, commanding voice ..

”Tell me, Hollow Ludwig... what do you see when you look at me?”

The air grew heavier and heavier. Ludwig didn’t move a muscle.

”Do I look like prey you think you can hunt?”

”Answer me.”

Aegon continued speaking without pause...

But the world around him no longer felt the same.

Had Selena been conscious, she might’ve gone insane from the sheer pressure of the killing intent now flooding the air.

Even the cursed Ludwig found himself frozen—gazing at this strange, defiant prince.

”LUDWIG!!”

Aegon suddenly shouted, fury in his voice.

And Ludwig ..without hesitation ..stumbled back several steps.

Then, without warning ..

The Hollow retreated, vanishing into the distance, his scythe swung behind his back once more.

It all happened right before Aegon’s unflinching eyes.

He finally let out a tired breath.

”You’ll see nothing from me, you bastards... not even you, Beatrice.”

Turning back, Aegon walked toward Selena, who still lay unconscious where she’d fallen.

”What should I even do with you now?”

He considered leaving her there... but quickly dismissed the idea. He knew Selena was still a tool that could prove useful later.

So, carrying her in his arms...

Aegon walked off, as if taking a casual stroll through the royal gardens, not the deadly plains of the Ultras continent.

After making a Hollow flee without even lifting a finger in combat—

Aegon ended his battle victorious without ever fighting.

He, too, became a free player on the board.

Aegon Valerion & Selena Hemsworth vs. Ludwig the Hollow

Another round concluded—its outcome as cryptic as ever ..

For a rogue prince no one could quite figure out.