In the dead of night on a North American street, a white-haired teenager hummed an eerie tune as he strolled, waving at strangers with a smile. The foreignness of both the road and the people didn't seem to faze him.

"My mother killed me; my father ate me; my sister, ah, she lifted my bones and buried them under a tree. I changed into a bird and flew to the sky~"

Passersby cast curious, uneasy glances his way. One man—a towering black figure—finally blocked his path, curiosity mixed with arrogance.

"Hey, doll, do you even know where you are?"

008 blinked, unable to grasp the words. He mumbled to himself, recounting his arrival. "I told them I didn't understand… but no one listens."

The man's expression hardened, but before he could react, the teenager raised his hand. Blood erupted from his wrist, quickly morphing into a razor-sharp longsword that stabbed into the man's chest with a sickening **thud**. The bystanders' horrified screams filled the air as the man crumpled to his knees.

008 smiled softly. "Do you understand now?"

"I am here to rule you."

With a casual flick of his wrist, the fallen man's corpse twisted and sprang to life, limbs contorting, eyes glowing red. He charged forward like a feral beast, joining the hunt.

The teenager's body shuddered, expanding into a grown man in an instant. A pair of black, leathery wings unfurled from his back. He launched into the sky, calling out to the panicked crowd below.

"Run faster! The night is no longer safe!"

In the streets below, chaos erupted. The newly born bloodhound, once a man, hunted mercilessly, biting and transforming others into rabid, mindless beasts. Each bite was a catalyst, spreading the infection like wildfire. Soon, the streets swarmed with hundreds of bloodhounds, turning the city into a battlefield.

Even the police, called in to restore order, were helpless against the wave of creatures. As the sun crept over the horizon, its light slowly disintegrated the bloodhounds, reducing them to ashes.

In the aftermath, the authorities scrambled for an explanation. A "large-scale rabies outbreak" was the chosen cover story. They urged caution but allowed life to continue, unable to suppress the will of a free people.

Within days, the strange, nightmarish outbreaks that had begun with 008 spread across North America. Everywhere, after dusk, bloodhounds prowled the streets, hunting, transforming, and leaving chaos in their wake. But as soon as the sun rose, the creatures vanished—like embers extinguished in a morning breeze.

In a dimly lit gun shop, the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder. 008, now in the form of a woman, examined a shotgun, an M1887, with cold curiosity. With a deliberate motion, she leveled the gun at a bloodhound—a woman with glowing red eyes, kneeling before her.

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The roar of the shotgun shattered the silence, the bullet tearing through the woman's chest. Yet, with a sickening grin, she reached into the wound and plucked the bullet out, as though it were a minor inconvenience. Her voice was a mixture of delight and hunger.

"Ah ~ It's not enough. I want more ~ Give me even more ~"

008 chuckled softly, patting her head like a pet. "As a dog, you can't be too greedy."

With that, she turned her gaze towards the shadows. A low growl rippled through the air, and the darkness came alive with the flash of countless red eyes—hundreds of bloodhounds lurking, waiting for their orders.

"Who's next?" 008 asked, her voice dripping with a mix of amusement and cruelty.

...

The reason 008 found himself in North America stemmed from an intricate and personal conflict, a grudge between him and 002 Chino. What started as a smoldering tension quickly escalated into a dangerous rivalry, one that seemed destined to end only when one of them was dead. In Beiling City, their constant clashes became unbearable to Mei, who, exasperated by their daily skirmishes, bought 008 a plane ticket and exiled him to a foreign land.

Why these two collided was of little concern to Mei. Chino believed 008 should be grateful—after all, it was Chino who brought him to Mei, leading to his evolution through the Vampire Potion. But to 008, gratitude was the last thing on his mind. Across his three personalities—each embodying the different facets of his resurrected self—one shared, burning hatred for 002 simmered within them all.

In the mother's mind, Chino had murdered her husband and son. In the father's, Chino had slaughtered his wife and child. In the son's, Chino was the executioner of his parents, and himself. Each of these fractured identities wanted nothing but revenge on 002. The hatred consumed them, turning 008 into a living weapon of vengeance.

Yet, 008 was not the only one with blood on his mind. Conflict between these creatures was commonplace. They could stand side by side only under Mei's gaze, but beneath the surface, like a cauldron on the verge of boiling over, they were ready to tear each other apart.

001 Raven had long been chasing 005 The Wallfacer, caught in a mysterious game of pursuit. 004 Queen Bee despised 002, her animosity spreading even to fellow aquatic beings like 007 Siren. But for 008, nothing mattered except killing 002. He cared for nothing beyond that singular purpose.

Interestingly, the only creature who seemed to avoid this tangled web of feuds was 003, The Hollow. Mei, preoccupied with the chaos around her, had nearly forgotten about him altogether.

"That's right... 003," Mei murmured, realization dawning as she clapped her hands.

He was so unremarkable, so devoid of presence, that even she had overlooked him. It was this lack of notice that allowed 003 to survive undisturbed, perhaps making him the safest of them all.

"Less trouble that way," Mei concluded, and, with a satisfied nod, made a decision. "I'll release 003, for now."

However, just as she thought this, a raven burst into the room, flapping wildly.

"Master Aurora!" it cawed, "Something's happened—003—"

Mei sighed, grasping the raven's beak with two fingers and tossing it out the window.

"Shut it! If no one says anything, no one needs to know!"

Mei was already too weary from the constant chaos surrounding her. It seemed there was never a moment's peace.

In the aftermath of her disappearance, 001 Raven, in the form of a young girl, crept back into the room. Finding it empty, she glanced at a piece of paper left on the desk. Four simple words were written in Mei's unmistakable handwriting:

"Deal with it yourself."

Reading this, 001's eyes sharpened with resolve. It was clear to her now—Mei had no intention of intervening.

"I understand," Raven whispered, moving toward Mei's computer and used Mei's email to send a wanted order to all the monsters.

"009 is a traitor. Drop all current missions and surround the target. Kill the traitor immediately."