Nearly one thousand miles away from Lull’s main continent, there existed a small island. On that island, there was a single house. It was a wooden house built on top of a grassy hill. The hill was the highest point of the island and provided a clear view of the nearby surroundings.

Only one person lived in that house. It was a woman with pearl-white hair.

She was a person of routine and pattern. Day in and day out, she wore the same set of clothes, performed the same set of actions and ate the same set of meals. Her behavioral patterns were so uniform that each passing day bled with the next, creating a false sense of stagnancy.

On this island, it was as if time did not pass.

Today, like usual, she wore loose-fitting robes that draped across her body like bedsheets. Each individual robe was thin, almost see-through, but because she wore so many layers, it was almost impossible to discern her figure. What’s more, her facial features were obscured by a head full of unkempt hair. It was difficult to tell whether the woman was beautiful or ugly.

She was a person of many mysteries, but one thing was clear: she was not human.

A pair of cyan-colored wings stuck out from her shoulder blades. They occasionally twitched with each subtle movement of her body. In addition, a bulky tail of similar color grew out from her lower back. It somewhat resembled a snake’s tail, albeit a tad bit shorter. And finally, arguably her most notable feature, two antler-like protrusions stuck out from the top of her head.

She sat in front of a short circular table with her legs crossed underneath her. There was a single cup on the table. Wisps of steam exuded out from the cup while an aromatic fragrance wafted through the air.

This woman lived alone on this island and right now, she was currently enjoying her daily cup of afternoon tea.

The skies were clear and the world was calm. To her, today was another ordinary day.

As she reached out for the cup, her slightly pointed ears suddenly twitched.

“…”

The woman slowly raised her head and looked off into the distance. The house did not have any walls, only four wooden pillars on each corner of the rectangular room. Their sole responsibility was to keep the roof aloft. Because of this odd architectural design, the house resembled more of a temple rather than an actual house.

Her gaze clouded. She stared out into the faraway sea.

“…”

A few seconds passed. Eventually, the woman narrowed her eyes. A bemused smile twisted her pale lips.

“It’s been a while since I’ve last felt something so… dangerous.” She murmured to herself. “Going off the energy it’s giving off… a hydra? Not only that, but it’s a hydra at the peak of its potential.”

She let out a soft sigh. “It is truly unbelievable. Lull is entering another tumultuous era.”

Lull was a world with a long and storied history. It often featured cycles of destruction and rebirth, not unlike that of a phoenix. She had lived through quite a few of those cycles, and knew of many more.

The peace of today was bound to break soon. Nothing made that clearer than the appearance of a calamity-class monster.

A hydra at the peak of its potential was an incredibly dangerous monster. It was a veteran of countless battles, and a being capable of massive destruction. To the rest of the world, it was known as a Calamity Hydra. It was a simple name, but there was charm in its simplicity.

The last known appearance of a Calamity Hydra was over one million years ago. That was a time when the nine Gods still ruled. To get from then to now, Lull had to go through a disgusting number of rebirths.

“Still, this is a good thing. In order to survive in these chaotic times, we need strong individuals. It hasn’t happened in the past, but maybe it’s time for the dragons of this world to finally gather in solidarity.” At such a fanciful thought, another sigh leaked out from her lips.

The dragons were a very stratified species. There were many different kinds of dragons, but all of them were famed for their great personal strength and rather… unique personalities. If there ever comes a time when Lull’s dragons unite under one banner, then the world would become nothing more than the dragon race’s playground.

Unfortunately, such a reality would never come to fruition.

The woman shook her head in disappointment. She cleared away her wandering thoughts as she focused back on the subject at hand. “Where did this little fellow come from though?” She once again looked out into the distance. “Judging by the location… Ilpin forest, is it?”

A peculiar glint flashed through her eyes. “So, it was in her territory, huh?”

In truth, she did not find it all that surprising. After all, calamity class monsters could only be birthed in a place teeming with death and danger. Ilpin forest certainly possessed such qualifications. After all, what could possibly be worse than the forbidden regions of Lull?

A somewhat expectant expression colored her face. The woman took a sip of her tea before she continued her one-sided conversation. “When it gains wisdom, I think I’ll go pay it a visit. Hydras are somewhat violent, but to make up for it, they are often simple-minded creatures. Blockheads are a lot easier to control than the ones that like to think a lot.”

She repeatedly nodded to herself.

“Still, how long will it take? If it wants to attain a human form and gain intelligence, then being strong will not be enough. That is only one qualification.”

“… Well, since that child’s already gotten this far, then it shouldn’t take all that long for it to gain wisdom.”

Regardless of the fact that there was nobody else around but her, the woman kept talking. It was pretty obvious by now, but this person was extremely lonely.

“But a Calamity Hydra is a very difficult dragon to nurture. Just what exactly happened in Ilpin forest?”

The circumstances needed to birth such a creature were extremely difficult to achieve. It wasn’t just a simple accumulation of strength like many other calamity-class monsters. A Calamity Hydra was the type of thing that only came out after a baptism of battle.

A Calamity Hydra’s main trait lay in the number of heads that it possessed. According to her knowledge, the heads numbered over one hundred. The more heads it possessed, the stronger it was. Naturally, such a thing could only happen after it repeatedly experienced torturous levels of combat.

Of course, wantonly slicing off a hydra’s head wasn’t enough. The most important factor was stimulation and, in this world, there was no better stimulation than death. If a hydra had its heads repeatedly sliced off while fully knowing it wouldn’t really die, then there was no point. That was why a Calamity Hydra only arose after countless battles. The sensation of near-death wasn’t something that anybody could just fabricate.

It was impossible to force the creation of a calamity-class hydra. At the very least, it hadn’t happened yet. After all, there was nobody in this world who would purposely let their enemies grow stronger.

Just as her thoughts began to wander, the woman’s expression suddenly hardened. Her ears violently twitched as she hurriedly stood up. “What the hell?! It… it died!”

Various thoughts and questions raced through her head.

“Why did it abruptly die? Is it just hiding its aura? That shouldn’t be the case… it’s dead, it clearly died, but… how?”

It wasn’t all that uncommon for a hydra to die part way through the evolutionary process. Dying after successfully evolving though, now that was rare. Calamity hydras were creatures said to possess strength great enough to destroy an entire nation in under one night. For something like that to die so quickly after evolving… the world was truly a dangerous place.

Unless it was taking a nap or something, she could not even begin to picture the circumstances of its death.

“…” She breathed out a light sigh. “It’s unfortunate, but I guess you weren’t strong enough.”

Although a fellow member of her race had just perished, the woman did not feel all that bad. After all, the hydra was just a stranger. She admired it for its strength and potential, but since it died, it had nothing to do with her anymore. Still, she was curious.

What had killed it?

“Should I take a quick peek and look?” She wondered to herself. “But if I do that…” She furrowed her brow. While she was curious, in the end, she chose not to pry. The hydra was already dead. There was no point in antagonizing whatever killed it. Despite living a hermit lifestyle, she very much valued her life. A being that could kill a Calamity-class monster was not one to be taken lightly.

“Still, what a shame… I had such high hopes too. What a crying shame…” With a sigh, the lone figure shook her head and took another sip of her tea. It may have just been her imagination, but today, the tea tasted a tad bit more bitter than usual.