I'm Not Your Husband, You Evil Dragon!

Erza reached the microphone.

She wrapped one hand around it before slowly looking across the thousands of kneeling soldiers before her. Every person in the War Hall waited for the mysterious Supreme Commander to speak, uncertain what kind of orders or words would come from someone capable of making their own Chief kneel.

Erza’s violet eyes narrowed slightly.

She could smell their fear.

Not everyone inside the War Hall was frightened. Many of the veterans had already experienced enough battles to control themselves, while the captains, Elite Class agents and several experienced divisions possessed enough discipline to remain calm despite what was approaching.

But among the nearly ten thousand gathered here, there were still thousands whose fear remained painfully obvious to Erza’s senses.

Sara’s speech had already done much to suppress it. She had reminded them of their duty, their families and the reason they had joined the Agency in the first place, yet Erza knew from experience that courage created inside a safe room could disappear very quickly once blood began covering the battlefield.

She had seen it happen countless times.

One frightened soldier would turn around.

Another would see him running and begin questioning whether the battle had already been lost. A third would follow, then a fourth, and before anyone realized what was happening, fear would spread through an army faster than any enemy could possibly move.

Ten courageous soldiers could be dragged into panic by one coward who ran at the wrong moment.

Erza wouldn’t allow that to happen tonight.

She didn’t need soldiers who felt no fear at all. Such people were either fools or had simply never encountered something truly terrifying.

What she needed were soldiers who understood what they should fear more.

Not the demons standing before them.

Not the pain waiting for them.

Not even death itself.

They needed to fear the future that would exist if they failed.

Their homes burning, their families lying beneath rubble, their children becoming the next victims of the creatures they had been too frightened to face. If Erza could make that possibility more terrifying than the battlefield itself, then when the moment came to choose between running and raising their weapons, they would know which direction to move.

Her gaze slowly passed across the kneeling army.

She had commanded enough wars to understand that strength alone didn’t create an army.

A soldier needed a reason to remain standing after strength failed him.

And before tonight’s battle began, Erza intended to give every person inside this War Hall one.

Then she opened her mouth.

"Arise."

It was only a single word, spoken without raising her voice, yet it passed through the War Hall with enough authority to make several soldiers tremble. Thousands of people immediately began rising from their knees, their movements careful as they finally gathered enough courage to look toward the mysterious woman standing above them.

For many, that only made the pressure worse.

Erza’s violet eyes moved across the enormous gathering with an almost unnatural sharpness. Whenever her gaze passed over a particular section, the soldiers standing there instinctively straightened, as though being personally noticed by those eyes could mean the difference between life and death.

Erza allowed everyone to stand before continuing.

"I believe many of you are already aware of what we’re facing."

Her voice remained cold and remarkably calm for someone addressing an army preparing for war.

"And I believe you will not disappoint me."

Nobody answered.

After Sara’s speech, many of them had expected their new commander to encourage them or reassure them that they would survive. Erza offered neither. She didn’t know these people well enough to make promises about their lives, and she had experienced enough wars to know that telling soldiers everyone would return safely was nothing more than a comforting lie.

"This is war."

Erza’s fingers remained loosely wrapped around the microphone.

"And whenever I lead a war, I prefer seeing the corpses of my enemies rather than the corpses of my soldiers."

The silence inside the War Hall became heavier.

Several veterans stared at her more carefully now.

Erza wasn’t promising that none of them would die.

She was telling them which side she expected to lose more.

"If any of you feel like giving up once the battle begins, remember one thing."

Her violet eyes slowly moved across the thousands before her.

"Look at me."

Several soldiers unconsciously straightened.

"If you see me lying defeated upon the battlefield, then you may decide that everything is lost."

A faint coldness entered Erza’s expression.

"But if I’m still standing..."

Her grip tightened slightly around the microphone.

"...then don’t you dare give up before I do."

The words settled over the War Hall differently from Sara’s speech. Sara had reminded them of the people they were protecting and given them a reason to overcome their fear, while Erza seemed to consider the possibility of surrender so ridiculous that she barely acknowledged it.

She wasn’t asking them to believe victory was possible.

She expected them to watch her prove it.

"From this moment onward, I am the Supreme Commander of this operation."

Erza’s voice remained calm as she looked across the thousands standing before her.

"I have personally slain millions of monsters, including countless high-ranking creatures, twenty-seven calamity-class beasts, and enemies your Agency would classify as disasters capable of threatening humanity itself."

Erza’s violet eyes slowly moved across the War Hall.

"I have killed without stopping for years. I have walked across battlefields where the land itself disappeared beneath blood, and I have fought wars so horrifying that even those who survived wished they could forget what they had seen."

Several soldiers felt their hands tighten around their weapons.

Erza wasn’t glorifying any of it.

There was no pride in her voice when she spoke about mountains of corpses or lands stained with blood. She spoke as someone who had witnessed those things so many times that she no longer needed to exaggerate them.

"So trust me when I tell you that war is horrifying."

Her gaze hardened.

"But don’t allow that horror to consume you."

Erza looked across the thousands standing before her, allowing her eyes to settle upon frightened recruits and experienced veterans alike.

"Be afraid if you must, but have the courage to move despite that fear. Because if you allow fear to decide what you do tonight, then the corpses you find tomorrow may not belong to strangers."

The War Hall became painfully quiet.

"It may be your mother."

Several soldiers stiffened.

"Your father. Your husband. Your wife. Your brother, your sister..."

Erza’s expression remained cold.

"...or your child."

The words struck harder than any threat against their own lives.

Many of the soldiers had already accepted that entering the Agency meant they could someday die in battle. They had imagined their own deaths before, prepared wills and even discussed with their families what should happen if they never returned.

But Erza had forced them to imagine something else.

Going home after surviving the battle and discovering there was nobody waiting for them.

Fear remained inside the War Hall, but something began mixing with it. Hands tightened around weapons, jaws clenched, and several soldiers who had been trembling moments earlier slowly raised their heads.

Erza could see it in their eyes.

Fear was becoming anger.

"But don’t worry."

The unexpected softness in her voice caught everyone by surprise.

Erza’s gaze became distant for a moment.

"I promise you that I will bring peace to this world."

Sara slowly looked toward her.

"A world where you can live happily without wondering whether tomorrow will bring another war."

For reasons none of the soldiers could understand, the terrifying woman standing before them seemed to be looking somewhere far beyond the War Hall now.

Erza imagined a small home.

She imagined Yuuta sitting somewhere peacefully without demons, gods, dragons or kingdoms dragging him into battles he had never asked to fight. She imagined him complaining about something insignificant while preparing food, and for a fleeting moment, she could almost see Fiona somewhere nearby with the child she had always dreamed of raising.

"A world where you can spend your days beside the people you love."

Her fingers loosened slightly around the microphone.

"A world where you can watch your children grow."

Another image entered her mind.

Yuuta.

Older this time.

His youthful face gradually marked by age, his hair slowly losing its color while years passed peacefully around him. The thought created a familiar ache inside Erza’s chest, because she knew that even the peaceful future she wanted couldn’t protect a human from time forever.

Yet strangely, she still wanted that future for him.

"A world where you can grow old."

Her voice became quieter.

"And when your time finally comes, you won’t die screaming upon some battlefield while wondering whether the people you love survived."

The soldiers listened without making a sound.

"You’ll die peacefully after living the life you were supposed to have."

Erza’s violet eyes lowered slightly.

"And perhaps, when your body returns to the earth, a beautiful flower will someday grow from that ground."

Her expression softened almost imperceptibly.

"Let that flower be the only reminder this world needs that you once fought for its peace."

Something changed inside the War Hall.

Only minutes earlier, these soldiers had been thinking about demons, death and whether they possessed enough strength to survive the night. Now, for the briefest moment, Erza had given them something else to imagine.

Tomorrow.

Homes filled with ordinary arguments and laughter. Children growing older. Parents living without fear. Husbands and wives returning home. Years passing without another alarm ordering them onto a battlefield.

A future where their weapons were no longer necessary.

Then Erza’s expression changed.

The gentleness vanished from her violet eyes, replaced by the same terrifying coldness that had entered the War Hall alongside her.

"But if you want that peace..."

Her fingers tightened around the microphone.

"...then raise your weapons."

The soldiers straightened.

"Raise your voices."

Something began stirring throughout the enormous chamber.

"And when the enemy comes to take that future away from you..."

Erza’s gaze became murderous.

"...kill them."

The atmosphere erupted.

Fear that had been suffocating the War Hall only moments earlier transformed into something violent and determined. Thousands of soldiers tightened their grips around swords, firearms and weapons while staring toward the mysterious woman standing above them.

Erza didn’t raise her voice.

"If you’re too afraid to fight for that future, then step back now. I won’t condemn you for fearing death."

She looked across the enormous gathering.

"But understand this."

Her voice became colder.

"I am your Supreme Commander."

Erza stood completely straight before them.

"And I will not take a single step backward."

For a brief moment, nobody spoke.

Then a voice somewhere among the soldiers shouted.

"WE WON’T STEP BACK EITHER, SUPREME COMMANDER!"

Another voice immediately joined it, followed by dozens more. Within seconds, the declaration spread throughout the War Hall until thousands of soldiers were shouting the same words with enough force to make the reinforced chamber tremble.

"WE WON’T STEP BACK, SUPREME COMMANDER!"

Erza stared at them.

"What do you want?"

This time, there was no hesitation.

Thousands answered her as one.

"TRUE PEACE!"

The force of their voices shook the War Hall.

Erza’s lips slowly curved into a satisfied smile.

"Very well."

She looked across the army now standing before her without the same fear that had filled their faces when she first entered.

"Then take it."

Sara’s eyes widened slightly.

She had commanded many of these people for years. She knew their fears, understood how inexperienced many of them were with true war and had felt their uncertainty only minutes earlier.

Yet Erza had done something Sara hadn’t expected.

She hadn’t eliminated their fear by telling them there was nothing to fear.

She had given them something they wanted more than they feared death.

Sara slowly looked across the thousands of soldiers shouting for peace before returning her gaze to Erza. The mysterious woman they had knelt before only minutes earlier was no longer merely someone they obeyed because their Chief had ordered them to.

One speech had begun changing that.

For the first time, they were looking at Erza not simply as the unknown woman Sara had placed above them, but as the commander they were willing to follow into war.

Erza noticed it as well.

Her violet eyes slowly moved across the thousands of soldiers standing before her, and a faint smile appeared upon her face.

Truthfully, Erza hadn’t intended to lead them.

When she first decided to participate in the coming battle, she had only been interested in the powerful creature she sensed approaching Liebus. Whatever happened to the command structure of the Agency hadn’t concerned her much, and even when Sara placed the title of Supreme Commander upon her, Erza had considered it little more than another amusing form of authority.

Yet something had changed.

Thousands of soldiers were now staring directly at her. The fear she had sensed among them hadn’t completely disappeared, but it was no longer controlling them. Their hands were firmly wrapped around their weapons, their backs were straight and the uncertainty that had filled many of their eyes had been replaced by something much stronger.

They were waiting for her.

Erza’s smile became slightly more noticeable.

Perhaps leading them wouldn’t be so bad after all.

She had commanded armies far greater than this one before, and although these humans were considerably weaker than the soldiers who once marched beneath her banner, the determination appearing in their eyes was something Erza could respect.

If they were willing to place their lives beneath her command, then she would lead them properly.

Erza was about to speak again when something suddenly touched her senses.

Her smile disappeared.

A killing intent had appeared behind her.

It was extremely well concealed, so much so that none of the thousands gathered inside the War Hall appeared to notice it. Even Sara, Sister Mary and the five captains showed no immediate reaction.

Erza did.

Normally, something like this wouldn’t have interested her. She had experienced killing intent from countless enemies throughout her life, and most of them had been so insignificant that she barely considered them worth acknowledging.

This one felt different.

There was no hesitation within it.

Whoever was hiding behind her wasn’t merely angry, frightened or considering whether to attack. The intent was focused entirely upon one purpose.

Killing her.

A strange excitement stirred inside Erza.

Someone hidden within this building genuinely intended to kill her.

Instead of warning Sara or ordering the soldiers to search the chamber, Erza released the microphone and calmly turned around. She began walking toward the enormous tactical display positioned behind the central stage, causing several soldiers to watch her in confusion.

Erza’s lips gradually curved into a faint smirk.

The map of Liebus and the surrounding ocean remained projected across the display, filled with routes and information Sara had presented only moments earlier. Erza appeared to be studying it as she approached, but her violet eyes weren’t looking at the map.

Her attention was fixed upon something else.

Something behind it.

"If you’re here to do something..."

Her cold voice passed easily through the silent chamber.

"...then do it now."

Sara looked toward her in confusion.

Sister Mary did the same, unable to understand who the Queen was addressing. The thousands of soldiers standing throughout the War Hall began glancing around uncertainly, while the captains instinctively became more alert.

Erza continued staring at the enormous screen.

"Don’t pretend to be a predator while hiding from your prey."

Sara’s expression immediately became serious.

What is Her Majesty looking at?

She followed Erza’s gaze toward the tactical display, but there was nothing unusual there. Sister Mary concentrated upon the same area and sensed nothing either, while Fiona, Raven, Lily, Erika and Elga gradually shifted their attention toward the rear of the stage.

None of them understood what Erza had detected.

But they understood enough to know that she hadn’t spoken those words without reason.

The atmosphere inside the War Hall tightened.

Before anyone could react, a violent explosion tore through the rear of the stage.

BOOM!

The enormous tactical display shattered outward as part of the reinforced wall behind it exploded. Smoke, fragments of metal and pieces of the broken screen erupted across the stage, forcing several nearby soldiers to shield themselves as the entire area surrounding Erza disappeared beneath a thick cloud of dust.

The five captains reacted immediately.

Fiona reached for her weapon while Raven’s body tensed and Lily moved instinctively toward the stage. Sara’s eyes sharpened as she searched through the smoke, trying to understand how someone had managed to enter one of the most heavily protected sections of the Agency.

Then something moved inside the cloud.

A figure burst through the smoke at terrifying speed.

Most of the soldiers couldn’t even follow his movement. They saw only a blurred silhouette crossing the stage before the flash of a blade appeared beside Erza.

The attacker had already reached her.

His weapon swept directly toward her exposed neck with enough speed and determination to make his intention unmistakable.

He wasn’t trying to threaten her.

He was trying to kill her.

For everyone watching, the moment seemed to slow.

Fiona’s eyes widened as the smoke shifted just enough for her to see the attacker’s face.

She knew him.

"Loid...?"

The blade reached Erza’s neck.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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