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 or force her to move away from the stage.
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 struck Erza’s neck.
CLANG!
A deafening metallic sound echoed throughout the War Hall.
The blade shattered.
Fragments of steel exploded through the air as though the weapon had struck an indestructible wall rather than a woman’s exposed neck. Several broken pieces spun across the stage and struck the floor, while the remaining half of the weapon trembled violently inside Loid’s hand.
Erza hadn’t moved.
There wasn’t even a mark upon her neck.
Loid’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the shattered weapon remaining in his hand. He had expected resistance, perhaps some defensive magic or even Erza avoiding the attack entirely, but he hadn’t expected his blade to break against her skin.
"What...?"
His surprise lasted only an instant.
Loid immediately jumped backward, creating several meters of distance between himself and Erza before throwing away what remained of his broken weapon. His hand moved toward his leg, where he pulled a dagger from a sheath strapped near his knee before lowering his body into a combat stance.
Only then did the rest of the War Hall seem to remember how to breathe.
Gasps spread throughout the enormous chamber.
Nearly ten thousand people had witnessed the attack, and many were still staring at the broken pieces of metal scattered across the stage. They had already understood that the mysterious woman Sara appointed as Supreme Commander must possess extraordinary strength, but watching a blade strike her exposed neck and shatter without leaving even a scratch was something entirely different.
Then people began recognizing the attacker.
"Wait... isn’t that Loid?"
"It is."
"Vice-Captain Loid?"
"What the hell is he doing?"
Confusion rapidly spread through the War Hall as more soldiers recognized him. Loid wasn’t an unknown intruder who had somehow broken through the Agency’s defenses. He was one of their own officers, a vice-captain serving directly beneath Captain Fiona Phoenix.
That realization made the situation considerably worse.
"Has he lost his mind?"
"Why would Vice-Captain Loid attack the Supreme Commander?"
"He’s Captain Phoenix’s vice-captain!"
Fiona barely heard the voices surrounding her.
Her eyes remained fixed upon Loid.
She had already been worried when he failed to appear during the briefing, but she had assumed there was some explanation for his absence. Never, even for a moment, had she imagined that he was hiding inside the War Hall preparing to attack Erza.
Her hand began trembling.
"Loid..."
Then Fiona’s gaze moved toward Erza.
Her breath caught.
Erza was staring at him.
The faint amusement she had shown when sensing his killing intent was gone. Her violet eyes had become frighteningly cold, and there was something within them that made Fiona’s instincts scream at her that the situation had just become far more dangerous than Loid understood.
Sara reacted immediately.
Her aura surged through the War Hall as she stepped forward, fury appearing across her face. Someone had just attempted to assassinate the woman she had personally placed in command of the entire Agency, and worse, the attacker was one of her own officers.
"Vice-Captain Loid!"
Sara’s voice thundered through the chamber.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Loid’s eyes moved toward Sara before quickly returning to Erza. He could feel thousands of people staring at him, while the five captains were already prepared to move the moment he attempted another attack.
Yet instead of surrendering, Loid tightened his grip around the dagger.
Loid looked toward Sara, then toward Erza, before turning his attention to the thousands of people surrounding the stage.
"Everyone, snap back to your senses!"
His voice thundered throughout the War Hall.
"She’s hypnotizing all of you!"
A wave of shocked murmurs immediately spread through the enormous chamber.
"What?"
"Hypnotizing us?"
"What is he talking about?"
The atmosphere inside the War Hall became increasingly tense as thousands of soldiers began whispering among themselves. Most couldn’t understand what had driven Loid to attack their newly appointed Supreme Commander, while others simply stared at the vice-captain in disbelief.
Loid heard the growing murmurs.
To him, however, those reactions meant something entirely different.
His eyes widened slightly as hope appeared within them.
*They’re reacting.*
Perhaps his words were reaching them. Perhaps the mysterious influence controlling everyone was finally beginning to weaken now that someone had openly confronted the woman responsible for it.
"Don’t worry!"
Loid raised his voice even further.
"I’ll save all of you! Whatever she has done to your minds, I’ll break it and free everyone from her control!"
His grip tightened around the dagger.
"And I’ll make sure nobody ever looks down upon our Agency again!"
There was no hesitation in his voice.
Loid genuinely believed every word.
In his mind, he wasn’t a traitor who had just attacked the Agency’s newly appointed commander. He was the only person inside this entire chamber who had somehow resisted whatever influence had brought thousands of his comrades under the mysterious woman’s control.
Erza remained completely silent.
Her silver-white hair had fallen slightly across her face after the explosion, hiding much of her expression from everyone standing before her. She hadn’t moved from where she stood, nor had she responded to Loid’s accusations.
That silence made Fiona increasingly nervous.
Loid tightened his grip around the dagger and prepared himself to attack again, but before he could move, Fiona’s voice suddenly cut through the tension.
"What are you doing here, Loid?"
Loid immediately looked toward her.
The distraction caused his attention to leave Erza for the first time since the attack.
"Fiona, step back."
"What?"
"I said step back. I’m here to rescue everyone."
Fiona stared at him.
"Rescue?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
At first, Loid assumed it was fear.
Then he saw her expression.
She wasn’t frightened of him.
She was furious.
"Rescue who, Loid?"
Fiona’s hands slowly curled into fists.
"And from what?"
Loid pointed his dagger toward Erza.
"From her!"
Several soldiers immediately tensed when the weapon moved toward Erza again.
"Don’t worry, Fiona. I’ll free you from whatever this woman has done to your mind. Once she’s dead, the hypnosis should disappear."
"Stop this bullshit!"
Fiona’s shout echoed through the War Hall.
Loid froze.
"Look at me!"
Fiona stepped forward, her anger becoming increasingly obvious.
"Do I look hypnotized to you?"
Loid’s teeth tightened.
He opened his mouth, already prepared to argue, but Fiona’s question forced him to look at her properly.
Her eyes were normal.
Her behavior was normal.
There was anger on her face, confusion in her voice and genuine fear beneath both, although Loid couldn’t understand that the person Fiona was afraid for wasn’t herself.
His eyes moved toward Sara.
Nothing.
Then Sister Mary.
Nothing.
Loid gradually looked across the captains and the thousands of soldiers surrounding him. He searched their eyes for some obvious sign of magical influence, but no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find one.
His dagger began trembling slightly.
*Am I wrong?*
The possibility entered his mind for the first time.
If everyone truly had been hypnotized, there should have been some indication. Loid had encountered mind-affecting abilities before, and supernatural control almost always left traces upon the victim.
Yet there was nothing.
"No..."
Loid shook his head.
Fiona immediately noticed his hesitation.
"Do you see anyone here who looks hypnotized?"
Loid remained silent.
"Look around you, Loid!"
His eyes moved across the War Hall again.
Nearly ten thousand people were staring back at him.
"No."
The answer escaped him quietly.
Fiona took another step forward.
"Then snap out of this delusion and put the dagger down."
For a moment, Loid’s grip loosened.
Then another thought entered his mind.
His eyes widened.
"No... that proves nothing."
Fiona stopped.
"What?"
"This must be more advanced."
Loid’s breathing became heavier as he desperately tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
"That’s it. It has to be."
He remembered Suriya’s power and the other forms of mind manipulation the Agency had encountered. Normally, magical hypnosis produced noticeable symptoms, particularly changes within the eyes caused by the supernatural energy controlling the victim.
But nobody here displayed those symptoms.
Instead of accepting that as evidence against his belief, Loid reached the opposite conclusion.
Whatever Erza was using had to be far more powerful.
"More advanced than Suriya’s ability..."
Fiona’s expression slowly changed as she realized what was happening.
Loid wasn’t discovering the truth.
He was searching for another explanation that allowed him to keep believing he was right.
Loid raised his dagger toward Erza again.
"You can’t deceive me."
Erza still didn’t respond.
"Using Fiona to make me hesitate was clever. Making everyone appear completely normal was even better."
His eyes hardened.
"But demons know exactly how to exploit human weakness."
Fiona’s anger was beginning to mix with genuine fear.
Not because she believed Loid could hurt Erza.
His shattered sword had already demonstrated how impossible that was.
She was afraid of what Erza might do to him.
The Queen hadn’t spoken since Loid attacked her. She hadn’t threatened him, defended herself or even bothered correcting his accusations, and that complete silence was becoming more terrifying with every passing second.
Fiona knew Loid was running out of time.
"Loid!"
Her voice cracked through the chamber.
"Snap out of your delusion!"
She pointed toward the shattered pieces of his sword scattered across the stage.
"You attacked her without asking a single question. Your weapon shattered against her, and instead of stopping to think about what you’re doing, you’re inventing another reason every time someone proves you wrong."
Loid’s expression tightened.
Fiona stared directly into his eyes.
"Nobody here is hypnotized."
Her voice became colder.
"You’re the one who isn’t thinking clearly."
For several seconds, Loid didn’t answer.
His dagger remained pointed toward Erza, but his hand was visibly trembling now.
Behind him stood nearly ten thousand Agency personnel.
In front of him stood his captain.
And beside her stood Sara Venom, Sister Mary and the other captains, all staring at him with completely normal eyes.
Yet the one person Loid had accused of controlling everyone still hadn’t said a single word.
Erza simply watched him.
And the longer her silence continued, the more desperately Fiona wanted Loid to lower that dagger before the Dragon Queen finally decided to speak.
Loid’s grip slowly weakened.
For the first time since launching his attack, another possibility entered his mind.
Wait...
His eyes moved toward Sara, who was staring at him with unmistakable fury, before shifting toward Sister Mary and the five captains.
If nobody here is hypnotized...
His breathing became uneven.
Then she really made Chief Sara kneel.
The realization struck him harder than Fiona’s words.
Sara Venom wasn’t weak. Loid had served within the Agency long enough to understand exactly what kind of monster their Chief was, and he had personally witnessed enough of the captains’ strength to know none of them would willingly submit to some ordinary stranger.
Yet Sara had knelt.
Sister Mary had knelt.
Every captain had followed.
Loid’s eyes slowly returned to Erza.
Then... what exactly did I just attack?
Before he could finish that thought, the temperature inside the War Hall began to fall.
At first, the change was subtle enough that only a few soldiers noticed it. Then a tiny white speck drifted downward through the air and landed upon the shoulder of one of the officers standing near the stage.
The soldier looked at it.
"What’s this...?"
Another white speck descended beside him.
Then another.
"Snow?"
More soldiers began looking upward.
Tiny snowflakes were appearing beneath the ceiling of the War Hall, drifting peacefully through the enormous chamber despite the fact that they were deep inside a reinforced underground facility.
"What the hell?"
"Is it actually snowing in here?"
A young officer instinctively rubbed his arms as an uncomfortable sensation travelled across his skin.
"Does anyone else feel like something is wrong?"
The soldier beside him swallowed.
"Yeah. My heart is beating too fast."
"Mine too."
Another officer slowly looked toward the stage.
"My hair is standing on end..."
Sara’s eyes widened.
She understood immediately.
Sister Mary did as well.
The five captains simultaneously turned their attention toward Erza as the atmosphere surrounding the Dragon Queen began changing.
Aura was normally invisible.
Most living beings could feel it when exposed to someone sufficiently powerful, but actually seeing aura with the naked eye required an entirely different degree of concentration. When a creature released enough of it for ordinary people to physically perceive, the sight itself became a warning from their instincts.
It meant they were standing before something powerful enough to kill them.
And now something was beginning to rise from Erza’s body.
Violet-black energy slowly gathered around her like smoke, curling upward from her shoulders and spreading behind her silver-white hair. The concentration continued increasing until even the lowest-ranked soldiers inside the War Hall could see it clearly.
Sara’s pupils contracted.
Her aura...
The pressure descended.
Nearly ten thousand bodies were forced downward at once.
Soldiers who had been standing only moments earlier crashed onto their knees as an overwhelming weight pressed against their bodies. Weapons struck the floor throughout the War Hall, while officers desperately tried to remain upright only to discover that their legs simply wouldn’t obey them.
Even the captains couldn’t resist.
Fiona dropped onto one knee before the pressure forced her hand against the stage. Raven clenched her teeth while Lily and Erika struggled beside her, and Elga’s face immediately changed when she recognized the same horrifying difference in power she had already experienced once before.
Sara attempted to remain standing.
She failed.
Her knee struck the floor as the pressure continued increasing, and even Sister Mary was forced down beside her. The Holy Saint raised her eyes toward Erza with an expression that made it clear she understood exactly how dangerous the situation had become.
Nobody inside the War Hall could stand.
Nobody except Erza.
She finally moved.
Her silver-white hair shifted away from her face as she slowly turned toward Loid, allowing him to see the expression that had been hidden from him until now.
There was no rage twisting her features.
No uncontrolled fury.
That would have been easier to face.
Erza looked completely calm.
"How amazing."
Her cold voice travelled through the War Hall.
Loid’s entire body began trembling.
Erza took a slow step toward him.
"Truly..."
Another step brought her closer.
"...how amazing you are."
Loid wanted to move.
His body refused.
The dagger slipped from his trembling fingers and struck the floor as every instinct inside him screamed the same warning. His stomach twisted violently, his breathing became shallow and tears began gathering involuntarily within his eyes.
This wasn’t hypnosis.
He understood that now.
The thousands of people who had knelt before Erza hadn’t done so because she had stolen their minds.
They had knelt because they understood what she was.
And Loid had attacked her.
Fiona watched helplessly from the floor.
"Loid..."
She tried to force herself upward, but Erza’s aura immediately crushed whatever strength she managed to gather. Fiona’s fingers dug against the stage as she stared at the man she had known since childhood.
For the first time, she couldn’t protect him.
Loid slowly raised his head.
Erza was standing before him.
The violet-black aura surrounding her made the space behind her appear almost distorted, while tiny snowflakes continued drifting between them. Her violet eyes stared down at him with such absolute coldness that Loid no longer saw a mysterious woman, a demon or even the Supreme Commander he had foolishly challenged.
He saw death.
His body shook uncontrollably as tears finally escaped his eyes. Every instinct he possessed told him that the next few seconds would be his last.
Fiona knew it too.
Her breath caught as she remained pinned against the stage, forced to watch her childhood friend kneeling before a woman who had absolutely no reason to spare someone who had just tried to cut off her head.
And Erza was finally standing directly in front of him.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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