Ortega was a member of the ancient order of the man-beasts. He and Cornell were good friends and were generally recognized as the two most powerful of their kind. Their relationship was severed when the insecure Ortega lost a friendly battle for superiority amongst the man-beasts. There was more to the spurning on of Ortega's resentment: Cornell held a unique power in that he was the only member of the man-beasts, ever, to be able to assume beast form, at will, by breaking the ancient seal--a seal that had been created by the order when they sought to live peacefully amongst the humans. Ortega had always been jealous of that power, but he never expressed the feeling.

Despite keeping his humble demeanor, Ortega never got over the loss; in fact, he trained harder than ever with the belief that he would one day defeat Cornell in a rematch, transformation power or not. Unfortunately, he was thrown over the edge when his hatred began clouding his better judgment. He did the unspeakable by aiding Death, Gilles De Rais and Actrise in their mission to resurrect the Count: He assisted their cause by helping to burn down Cornell's town; by kidnapping Cornell's stepsister, Ada; and by delivering her to the trio.

When Cornell set out to look for Ada in the castle, Ortega intervened to make his intent known. During Cornell's quest, he continued to make his former friend's life miserable with repeated interference. Eventually, they battled atop one of the castle's towers, where Ortega revealed that Dracula had afforded him the power to break the seal in his own way; he transformed into a deadly Chimera and attacked Cornell. Even in a more powerful state, he still couldn't defeat his former friend.

Before his end, Ortega admitted his regret over burning down the village and inconveniencing its habitants, but he was not sorry for the result, which was the rematch he craved; he needed to prove to himself that Cornell wasn't the cool and overconfident opponent that he last fought. Realizing that his friend was more powerful than for what credit he'd given him, he had finally come to understand and respect his friend's strength.