Serenna Drakos did not fight with technique.

As the legitimate heir of the renowned Drakos House, Serenna was born into wealth and privilege.

From an early age, she received the best training possible, with the finest resources at her disposal.

And to make things even better, her talent was overwhelming.

Never in history had anyone possessed such unparalleled martial and physical aptitude.

Not in the Drakos family. Not in the entire Demon Kingdom.

The expectations placed upon her were immense.

And she did everything she could to be recognized.

So, technique? Something so trivial?

She didn't need it. At least, not entirely.

Her punches shattered bones. Her retractable claws tore through flesh. Her kicks—awkward, like a child play-fighting—carried enough force to send monsters flying.

Direct. Raw. Effective.

And above all—deadly.

The river monsters were of the lowest classification.

Annoying? Yes, indeed.

Dangerous in large numbers? Maybe.

Alone?

Nothing more than a nuisance.

With a sharp crack, a monster lunged—only for her to crush its skull with a single blow.

Another tried to latch onto her leg—she yanked it out of the water and used it as a weapon to slam into those following behind.

The river bubbled with dark stains of blood and shredded flesh.

Was this a battlefield or a massacre? Each of her movements left an undeniable trail of destruction.

But the monsters did not stop.

They learned. Bit by bit. Try by try.

They slid back into the shadows, again and again. They circled her with patience. They attacked from unpredictable angles.

She realized it too late.

Something yanked her leg.

The force dragged her downward, and others swarmed in, coiling around her limbs like a living chain.

Tsk.

She wouldn't die. That was a fact.

She knew that. The Grand Regent had said… it was likely she wouldn't die, right?

But she was certain she'd get injured. Maybe even lose an important fight later.

And above all… she was sure her father would forbid her from seeing her bunnies that night if she lost so disgracefully!

Damn it…!

Then, suddenly—

Silence.

The monsters retreated.

The claws and teeth that had been tearing at her seconds ago now pulled away. The pressure on her body lightened—except for that of the water itself.

Serenna frowned.

And then she saw it.

Purple skin, a little lighter than hers. Silver hair swinging every which way. Small arms moved frantically.

A silhouette slicing through the water, descending.

But they weren't trying to escape.

They were moving in the opposite direction.

Diving. Deeper and deeper.

And the creatures followed.

Not like predators. As if they were being drawn in.

Something clicked in her mind. An opportunity.

If all those things were occupied, she could escape without a single problem. She could finally reach the other heirs!

That way, she could avoid trouble with her father later!

Her body propelled upward without hesitation.

But then—

The water trembled, slightly knocking her off course.

This time, it wasn't just movement. It was a deep, dense, cruel vibration.

Worse. Stronger. More violent.

A muffled yet powerful roar echoed through the river, reverberating in her bones. It was like thunder.

Her head turned at the exact moment.

And then, she saw.

The heir who had been diving deeper and deeper… was gone.

In his place, a monstrous presence, surrounded by its spawn. They were standing still. As if frozen in time.

Serenna barely had time to process it.

Rudgar had been devoured.

Swallowed whole.

Without a single chance to escape.

----------------------------------

The call came before the bite.

A voice.

I couldn't tell where it was coming from. From above, below, inside my head?

It sounded like an invitation.

And with it, a light.

The dark water seemed to split for a moment, opening a crack of brightness before me.

My eyes widened.

The Blessing?

The thought came before I could process it.

But then—

The water began to press against me.

Not like before. Worse.

The weight around me suddenly increased, crushing my chest like invisible chains.

Breathing became impossible.

Even with the spell protecting me, the liquid seemed alive, crawling into my lungs.

I tried to move.

Tried to push myself up.

But it was as if the water itself held my limbs, pulling me deeper and deeper.

Consuming me.

Drowning me entirely.

And then, the fangs closed.

The world spun.

The weight of the water vanished.

No pain. No tear in the flesh, no crushed bones. Somehow my body was intact.

The protective spell had worked. A lucky strike, indeed.

But there was a problem.

I was no longer in the river.

Where...? Where was I?

The ground beneath me was soft. It had the texture of clouds, but didn't dissolve at touch.

Around me, nothing but pure white.

I looked at my hands, trying to understand.

My body seemed the same. I wasn't dead, so... where the hell had I ended up?

— Intriguing.

The voice hit me from all sides.

Several voices. Deep, high-pitched, intertwined like a chorus without harmony.

I turned.

There, in the middle of the white void, a humanoid silhouette.

Its outline wavered as if it were not fixed, as if it were between states, between forms.

— The time around you... Your time, to be said... is eccentric. Unique.

The figure tilted its head, as if studying me.

— I was going to choose the other girl.

Serenna, right?

— I sensed great potential in her. But you...

It took a step closer.

— Your time fascinates me in a strange way. I've never seen anything like it.

I crossed my arms, keeping my expression neutral.

The creature was not fooled, however.

— Interesting. You seem surprised. Does this kind of thing not happen often?

The creature laughed.

Or something close to it.

The sound reverberated through the space, multiple voices overlapping like an echo with no origin.

— No. Not at all.

— And you are...?

I already knew the answer. But I wanted to hear it from it.

The entity leaned slightly forward.

— The origin of that which you seek. Part of the zero point of the equation you wish to solve.

The spirit of the Blessing of Blood.

My golden ticket to something greater.

My mind began to work at high speed. What did that mean? What was the logic? What made someone like it choose an individual?

But before I could continue, the space trembled.

A thunderous boom.

Like thunder echoing directly inside my chest.

I staggered, feeling the ground twist beneath my feet.

The creature looked up, indifferent to the chaos.

— It's time.

— What? — I furrowed my brow.

— I wanted to talk more, but I can't interfere too much in the test...

Its tone shifted.

— That old man wouldn't like this.

Suddenly, she was right in front of me.

There was no warning. No time to react.

The spectral hand rose, and the space around us began to collapse.

The absolute white, once untouched, folded in on itself.

It twisted. It tightened.

The air seemed to be sucked into a single point, as if the very concept of space was being crushed.

My chest tightened. Something was wrong.

It wasn't just energy converging.

It was as if the world itself was being distilled, refined, reduced to its purest form.

The density was suffocating.

And then, I saw it.

At the center of the whirlwind of distorted reality—

A deep, crystalline glow, sharp as a blade.

Red.

Blood.

My instinct screamed.

I should run. I should raise my arms, protect my head.

But I couldn't move.

As if invisible threads held every muscle in my body, preventing any reaction.

The thing shot toward me.

Impact.

A direct shock to the center of my forehead.

The heat was the first thing I felt.

A burning sensation, like red-hot iron touching my skin.

But then came the real pain.

An overwhelming pressure.

As if something was digging into my skull, penetrating straight into my mind.

My bones vibrated.

A piercing pain shot down my spine, cracking as if each vertebra was about to snap.

My muscles contracted violently, as if they were being torn and sewn back together at the same time.

Every cell in my body screamed.

I screamed too.

Or, at least, I tried.

No sound came out.

My vision flickered between light and absolute darkness. The heat turned to cold. The pain turned to numbness.

And then—

Relaxation.

As if the world had loosened its suffocating grip on me.

The weight vanished.

My bones stopped creaking, my muscles loosened, the burning dissipated.

My mind, once flooded with pain, opened to something different.

Something... peaceful.

Almost serene.

And in the middle of this new state of numbness, I heard its voice one last time.

— Go and return.

The darkness began to yield.

— I will follow your steps closely.

And then—

Light. Warm and cozy. Essentially different from before.

The scent of water. Breeze touching my cheeks.

The touch of a body against mine. Arms tightening around me...?

And silver eyes staring at me.

Serenna.

The Beast Queen.

Carrying me in her arms.