Location: Liebus Agency
Place: Anaya City – Captain Training Ground Hall
Erza and Elga stood several meters apart inside the vast training ground, watching one another with the stillness of predators waiting for the first mistake. Neither woman moved, yet the tension between them was so heavy that it seemed to press against the walls. Their expressions carried the same dangerous confidence, but Elga’s body trembled more visibly with every passing second.
From a distance, Erika remained beside one of the stone pillars with her arms folded across her chest. She leaned against it casually, but her eyes never left the two women standing in the center of the hall. She had already convinced herself that she knew how this fight would end.
Elga was the strongest physical fighter among the agency’s captains. Standing more than six feet seven inches tall, she possessed the raw strength, speed, and instincts of a lioness, enhanced far beyond anything nature could create on its own. She was one of the Demonic Cult’s most successful experiments, a new generation of living weapons designed for nothing except hunting and slaughter.
They had once called her the Lioness-Headed Killing Beast Elga Reed.
Erika still remembered the day Sara rescued her from the hidden laboratory. By the time the agency forces arrived, Elga had already turned the entire facility into a graveyard. More than two hundred researchers, guards, and cult members had died inside those walls, including several half-demons and lower demons who had believed they could control her.
None of them had been able to match her strength.
The laboratory floors had been soaked in blood, and Elga had stood at the center of it all without a single weapon in her hands. She had torn through reinforced doors, crushed demonic soldiers, and slaughtered the very scientists who had created her. Ever since that day, Erika had never seen anyone overpower Elga in a contest of pure physical strength.
That was why the outcome should have been obvious.
Elga would charge forward, overwhelm the intruder, and break her before the woman had time to understand what was happening.
Even if Erza possessed unusual abilities, Erika believed raw strength would decide the battle before any strange power could be used. Elga had killed creatures far larger and stronger than an ordinary human woman.
Yet something about the scene felt wrong.
Erika’s gaze slowly shifted toward Erza. Anyone who stood before Elga usually reacted the same way. Their breathing changed, their posture stiffened, and fear gradually consumed them beneath the lioness’s predatory stare.
Erza showed none of those signs.
She stood calmly beneath Elga’s gaze, neither intimidated nor cautious.
Her posture was relaxed, her breathing remained steady, and the faint smile resting on her face suggested she wasn’t looking at an unbeatable monster. She was looking at someone who had finally managed to interest her.
For a brief moment, Erika wondered whether she had judged the situation incorrectly.
Perhaps the woman standing before Elga wasn’t foolish.
Perhaps she truly believed they were equals.
Erika narrowed her eyes before dismissing the thought. Elga’s reputation and strength had been proven through years of battle, while Erza remained an unknown intruder whose abilities were still unclear.
It was possible that the woman simply didn’t understand what kind of beast she had challenged.
Then the training hall produced a quiet mechanical click.
The sound echoed across the enormous chamber, signaling that the combat field had finished preparing itself.
Barriers activated around the arena, the damaged floor locked into place, and every hidden safety system entered battle mode. The moment the signal reached them, Elga’s trembling stopped completely.
Her yellow eyes sharpened.
Erza’s violet gaze narrowed in response.
Neither woman waited for another signal.
The stone beneath their feet cracked as they launched themselves forward at the same time, their bodies becoming blurs before the first impact shook the entire training ground.
Elga moved first.
The moment her feet left the ground, a powerful yellow aura erupted from her body like an explosion.
The energy gathered behind her, twisting and taking shape until the phantom image of a massive lioness appeared above her shoulders.
Its glowing golden eyes stared directly at Erza, while an overwhelming pressure swept across the training ground.
It was the symbol of Elga’s strength.
The pride of a lioness.
Raw power without restraint.
With a ferocious roar, Elga threw her fist forward. Every muscle in her body moved as one, carrying enough physical force to shatter reinforced steel.
Erza didn’t dodge.
Instead, she calmly raised her own fist.
For a single instant...
The entire world seemed to fall silent.
Then—
Their fists collided.
BOOM!!
A deafening shockwave exploded outward, tearing across the training hall like a violent storm.
The force of the collision blasted air in every direction, shaking the walls and sending loose debris flying across the arena.
A thunderous crack echoed throughout the chamber as the stone floor beneath them shattered under the overwhelming impact.
Dust immediately erupted into the air.
Within seconds, the battlefield disappeared behind a thick gray cloud.
Erika instinctively raised one arm to shield her face from the powerful wind. Her long hair whipped wildly behind her as she narrowed her eyes, trying to see through the dust.
"...What incredible strength..."
Even she hadn’t expected their very first exchange to produce such destructive force.
The hall gradually fell silent again.
The dust slowly began to settle.
Little by little...
The figures hidden inside the smoke became visible.
Erika focused her eyes on the center of the battlefield.
Then...
She froze.
"No..."
Her pupils shrank.
Standing exactly where the collision had occurred was Erza.
She hadn’t taken a single step backward.
Not a scratch marked her body.
Not a strand of silver hair had fallen out of place.
She stood there completely unharmed, her hand still lowered after the punch, while a faint smile rested upon her lips. It wasn’t a mocking smile.
It was the smile of someone who had finally found something mildly entertaining.
Erika’s heartbeat quickened.
"...Where’s Elga?"
Her eyes frantically searched the arena.
The answer came only a second later.
A loud groan echoed from the far side of the training hall.
Erika slowly turned her head.
Her entire body became stiff.
Elga...
Had been launched across the battlefield.
Her enormous body was embedded deep within the stone wall, countless cracks spreading outward from the point of impact like a spider’s web.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as pieces of broken stone continued falling around her. For several long seconds, she remained pinned there, unable to move.
Erika’s mind went blank.
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Elga...
The captain renowned as the agency’s greatest physical fighter.
The woman who ranked third among humanity’s strongest defenders.
The beast who had slaughtered hundreds inside the Demonic Cult’s laboratory.
Had been defeated...
With a single punch.
Erika’s breathing became uneven.
Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she looked back toward Erza.
The Dragon Queen still stood exactly where she had been before.
Calm.
Elegant.
Completely relaxed.
She hadn’t released her dragon aura.
She hadn’t drawn a weapon.
She hadn’t even looked serious.
The horrifying realization slowly settled inside Erika’s heart.
That... wasn’t even her full strength.
For the first time in years...
Fear quietly entered Erika’s eyes.
Erika’s body reacted before her mind did.
The moment she witnessed Elga being buried into the wall, she immediately grabbed the communication device attached to her belt.
Her fingers tightened around the radio as countless warning signals raced through her mind.
This was no longer a normal sparring match. Whatever woman stood before them had just overpowered the agency’s strongest close-combat captain with a single punch.
"I have to inform the higher-ups..."
She raised the radio toward her mouth.
Before a single word could leave her lips, an earth-shaking roar exploded throughout the training hall.
"RAAAAAAHHHH!"
The terrifying roar echoed through every corner of the arena, shaking the walls and vibrating the very floor beneath their feet. Even the hanging lights trembled as the sound swept across the enormous chamber.
Erika instinctively turned toward its source.
Elga slowly pulled herself free from the shattered wall.
Pieces of stone crashed to the ground around her while dust rolled off her shoulders. Without hesitation, she grabbed the remains of her torn uniform and ripped it away, revealing the body hidden beneath.
Steam slowly rose from her skin.
Her broad shoulders expanded as every muscle tightened beneath layers of reddish-golden fur. She looked less like a human and more like a wild beast standing upright. Every breath she took escaped her mouth like the growl of a starving predator.
Erza quietly watched the transformation.
A faint smile appeared upon her lips.
Deep within her instincts, the dragon inside her whispered the same answer again and again.
Kill her.
Kill the beast before it grows stronger.
Her mind instantly imagined countless ways to end the battle. She could drive her claws straight through Elga’s stomach. She could tear her spine from her body before the lioness realized what had happened. She could crush her heart with a single strike or break every bone one after another until nothing remained.
To Erza...
Those thoughts came as naturally as breathing.
Then...
Everything stopped.
Her crimson eyes fell upon Elga’s body.
The countless scars covering her skin immediately caught her attention.
Long surgical cuts.
Burn marks.
Deep puncture wounds.
Old bite marks.
Some had healed.
Others never truly had.
Every scar told the story of years spent inside laboratories, chained to operating tables, treated not as a child...
But as an experiment.
Erza’s smile slowly disappeared.
For just a brief moment...
Her heart ached.
Without warning, another image appeared inside her mind.
Yuuta.
His scar-covered body.
The countless wounds he had endured in silence.
The lonely expression he always tried to hide behind his smile.
The resemblance struck Erza far harder than she expected.
Her killing intent faltered.
That single moment of hesitation...
Was enough.
"RAAAAHHH!"
Elga disappeared from her position.
Steam exploded beneath her feet as she launched herself forward with terrifying speed. Before Erza could pull herself away from those memories, Elga’s fist had already crossed the distance between them.
Boom!!
The punch landed squarely against Erza’s side.
The impact echoed throughout the training hall as Erza’s body was launched backward like a cannonball. She crashed into the far wall with tremendous force, sending cracks racing across the stone before fragments rained onto the floor around her.
Silence filled the arena.
Erza slowly slid down the damaged wall.
It wasn’t because Elga had overpowered her.
It wasn’t because Erza had been slower.
For the first time in battle...
Her love for Yuuta had distracted her.
Across the battlefield, Elga threw her head back and released another deafening roar toward the ceiling, convinced she had turned the fight around.
Erika lowered the radio slightly.
She had been moments away from calling for emergency support.
Now...
She hesitated.
"...Did I overestimate her?"
Erika quietly wondered.
"...Or did I simply panic too soon?"
Relief slowly began replacing the fear inside her chest. Perhaps the mysterious woman wasn’t an unstoppable monster after all. Perhaps Elga had simply needed one clean hit to regain control of the battle.
Then...
Something caught Erika’s attention.
Her eyes slowly shifted toward Elga’s right hand.
The relief on her face vanished.
Her pupils shrank in disbelief.
Elga remained standing.
Her chest rose and fell violently as every breath escaped like the growl of a wounded beast. Steam poured from her muscular body while the berserk instinct inside her continued to suppress every trace of pain.
Yet Erika’s eyes weren’t on Elga’s face.
They were fixed on her hand.
Her breathing stopped.
"...No..."
Elga’s right fist...
Was destroyed.
The bones of her hand had shattered completely upon impact. Blood streamed down her fingers while fragments of broken bone pushed against the skin, threatening to tear through at any moment. Every slight movement caused fresh blood to drip onto the stone floor.
It was horrifying.
Erika had fought beside Elga for years.
She had seen her battle demons.
She had seen her tear apart monsters with her bare hands.
She had even watched her survive explosions that would have killed ordinary soldiers.
But...
She had never once seen Elga bleed.
Not like this.
Even now, Elga continued roaring toward Erza, completely unaware of the condition of her own body. The berserk state had robbed her of pain itself. Her instincts demanded only one thing.
Fight.
Kill.
Destroy.
Erika slowly lowered the radio in her hand.
A small breath of relief escaped her lips.
At least... she defeated that monster.
If Elga hadn’t entered her berserk state, Erika wasn’t even sure anyone inside the agency could have stopped the mysterious intruder.
Then...
Everything changed.
An invisible pressure spread across the training hall.
It wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t violent.
Yet every instinct inside Erika screamed at her.
Something...
Had awakened.
She slowly turned toward Erza.
The Dragon Queen had already risen to her feet.
Not only was she standing...
She was laughing.
A quiet laugh escaped her lips.
Not the laughter of someone amused.
Nor the laughter of someone who had lost control.
It was calm.
Cold.
Almost disappointed.
Dark violet aura slowly leaked from her body, twisting around her like living shadows. The temperature inside the training hall plummeted as the atmosphere itself seemed to reject her presence.
Erza lowered her gaze for a brief moment.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"...You were right, Grandpa."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I truly believed love would never make me weak."
She slowly looked at her own hand before closing it into a fist.
"...I was wrong."
Her voliet eyes lifted toward Elga.
"For the first time in centuries..."
"...I allowed an insignificant creature to strike me."
Her smile widened ever so slightly.
"And do you know why?"
She tilted her head.
"Because..."
"I saw Yuuta in her scars."
"For a single moment..."
"I forgot we were enemies."
The smile disappeared.
"So..."
"Thank you."
"You reminded me why I should never hesitate."
A deep pulse erupted from Erza’s body.
BOOM!
Dark violet aura exploded outward like a tidal wave, flooding every corner of the training hall before racing beyond its walls. The pressure tore through corridors, shook windows, and spread across the entire Liebus Agency.
Every soldier.
Every officer.
Every captain.
Stopped what they were doing.
An overwhelming instinct screamed the same warning into their hearts.
Run.
Inside the training hall, Erika’s face turned deathly pale.
Her knees nearly gave way beneath the sheer pressure.
"...This...Pow.."
She couldn’t even finish her sentence.
The woman standing before them...
Hadn’t been serious.
Not until now.
Erza slowly took a single step forward.
The floor beneath her cracked without her even trying.
Her violet eyes no longer carried curiosity.
Nor amusement.
They held only the cold gaze of a queen passing judgment.
She had finished playing.
Now...
The Dragon Queen was serious.
To Be continued...
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