The estate was in ruins.

  Where the fifth floor once stood, a gaping hole yawned toward the sky. Debris blanketed the earth in a jagged sprawl of shattered stone and splintered wood.

  Amid the wreckage, three B-rank Cerberuses clawed at the rubble, their grotesque forms broken from the fall. Snarling through fractured jaws, they struggled to rise, limbs twisted and bones jutting at unnatural angles.

  Dozens of red-skinned ogres lay around them, C-rank monsters that had also plummeted from above.

  Some lay dead, impaled by sharpened beams or crushed beneath collapsed walls. Others groaned, struggling to push themselves upright.

  High above, suspended like an ominous wound in the air, a massive violet dimensional gate hovered where the estate’s fifth floor had once been.

  Every few seconds, another ogre spilled from the gate, dropping like a stone.

  Many landed onto the deadly ruins below, only to be skewered or crippled upon impact.

  At the center of the chaos, in the estate’s ravaged front courtyard, stood Cryssa Stelluna

  She stood still, her breaths shallow, her fingers clenched around her sword’s hilt.

  Around her, thirty-six knight-slaves formed a protective ring, with a single mage-slave at her side.

  At her feet lay Reina, bloodied and unconscious, one of her knights, struck down in the first wave of the assault.

  But this battlefield wasn’t the only one under threat.

  Across Selini, five other locations were calling for emergency support.

  Cryssa’s mind swirled with panic. She had no idea how to respond. The weight of command bore down on her like the sky itself was collapsing. Her ears rang with frantic calls from every direction, and she stood paralyzed in the middle of it all…

  Until Ayla appeared beside her.

  Invisible to all but Cryssa, Ayla’s spirit floated calmly above the ground, radiating authority.

  Though Ayla had been a solo player in the game, she wasn’t new to leadership.

  Some game events forced players to command others, coordinate raids, and manage chaos.

  As a top-tier player, Ayla had taken the role of raid leader more than once. Even back then, some had resented her for how often she stole the spotlight.

  But this was no game.

  Here, mistakes meant real death.

  And the ones she commanded were living, breathing people. Not NPCs.

  And that thought terrified her.

  Still, she pushed the fear down. She had done this before, and she would do it again.

  Ayla took command.

  (“Lylia and Fina! Heal Reina with potions and carry her to the apothecary in D1!”)

  Cryssa jolted as Ayla’s voice echoed in her mind.

  “Lylia! Fina! Heal Reina with potions and carry her to the apothecary in D1! Don’t worry about the money, just move!”

  The two Rare-rank knight-slaves, Lylia and Fina, hesitated, startled by the sudden command. But when they met Cryssa’s eyes, they saw no hesitation, no fear, only determination.

  Without another word, they rushed to Reina’s side, uncorking healing potions and pressing them to her wounds. Moments later, they lifted her carefully and darted away from the battlefield, disappearing into the shadows of the ruined town.

  (“Open channel! B1, B3, B5, create a path with magic. Direct the monsters to the estate!”)

  “B1! B3! B5! Use earth magic to open a path, funnel the monsters toward the estate—!”

  Cryssa’s eyes widened in disbelief as she relayed the words. There was a stunned silence among her nearby knights.

  Even Cryssa recoiled at her own words. And she complained to Ayla.

  “W-Why here? Why bring them here?!”

  (“Just trust me!”)

  Ayla’s voice cut through the noise, firm and resolute.

  There was no time to argue.

  (“To all idle squads in all sectors, assist the B-sector in building the path. Guide the monsters to the estate!”)

  Cryssa swallowed her doubts, clutched the communicator tighter, and obeyed.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “To all idle squads in all sectors, help the B-sector create the path! Guide the monsters to the estate!”

  Cryssa had fallen into a repeat-mode trance, echoing Ayla’s commands without processing them.

  Then came another command.

  (“Now, north! Get your asses to the Mercenary Guild! Tell every lazy bastard in there to move it and help at the gates unless they’ve got a fucking death wish!”)

  Cryssa raised the communicator with crisp determination and repeated the command without hesitation.

  “North! Get your asses to the Mercenary Guild! Tell every lazy bastard in there to move it and help at the gates unless they’ve got a fucking death wish! Payment’s covered, just go!”

  A stunned silence followed.

  Not from confusion, but from sheer shock.

  Even Cryssa blinked, lips still parted as her brain caught up to her mouth.

  The mercenaries on the northern squad, who had already been halfway into a sprint, stopped mid-stride.

  A voice crackled over the channel, hesitant and confused:

  “…Did Lady Cryssa just call us lazy bastards?”

  The knights around her turned slowly, wide-eyed. Some gasped audibly.

  Cryssa flushed deep red, feeling unjustly accused. Her eyes darted as she clutched the communicator like it might save her soul.

  “I-I was just…”

  One of her knights coughed awkwardly and looked away. Another struggled not to laugh.

  Cryssa turned her back on them, shoulders stiff with embarrassment.

  Then another voice came from the northern squad, loud and proud:

  “Haha! You heard her! Our Lady just told us to move our asses, so MOVE, you bastards!”

  Cryssa glared sideways at the air beside her and hissed through clenched teeth as she cursed Ayla.

  “...I’m going to strangle you later.”

  Ayla felt wronged too. She had only done what always worked in the game. Not all players would follow her command unless she said it like that.

  (“What? I said what needed to be said. Worked, didn’t it?”)

  Cryssa groaned and rolled her eyes, cheeks still burning.

  Still… the message had gone through.

  Most of the higher-ranked mercenaries were already deployed. But hundreds more, low-ranked and unassigned, were still holed up in the guild.

  Later, Cryssa’s outburst reached them through the northern squad.

  And it was enough to rattle them into action.

  As for her reputation among the mercenaries… well, it was another story for the future.

  Then Ayla gave the next order before Cryssa could spiral into another rant.

  (“South, East, West, hold the line! Reinforcements are coming!”)

  Cryssa’s death-glare lingered, but she complied anyway.

  “South! East! West! Reinforcements are on the way, hold your ground!”

  Their replies came quickly.

  “West—we’re stable!”

  “East—we can last for thirty minutes!”

  “South—we’ve got ten!”

  Ten minutes. That wasn’t enough time.

  (“To all the slaves, except Glacia and Iori! Reinforce the South Gate!”)

  Cryssa clicked off the communicator and turned to her knights.

  “All of you, except Glacia and Iori, go reinforce the South Gate!”

  Her voice rang out.

  A ripple of hesitation passed through her knights. Some turned, pale-faced. Others stepped forward, defying her order with trembling emotion.

  “B-But Master!”

  “Your life—!”

  Their voices trembled, not from fear alone, but from fierce, unshakable loyalty.

  In just a few weeks, Cryssa had treated them with more kindness and dignity than anyone ever had.

  She hadn’t commanded them like tools, but spoken to them like people, with warmth and trust.

  And now, even in the face of death, they wanted to stay.

  Cryssa’s chest ached, not with guilt, but with overwhelming gratitude. She didn’t deserve their loyalty… yet they gave it freely.

  But still… they couldn’t stay here. They weren’t strong enough to help in this area. But at the South Gate, they could make a difference.

  Cryssa shouted, sharper than she meant to.

  “I said go!”

  “I don’t want a single one of you dying here for me, and I’m not planning to die either!”

  She tried to sound strong and unshakable. But her throat tightened on the last word.

  They didn’t argue again.

  “Master…”

  “Understood!”

  “Please… Stay safe…”

  One by one, they nodded, saluted, or bowed their heads. Some whispered her name under their breath like a prayer, as if saying goodbye.

  Tears shimmered in their eyes, and not just from fear, but from love, loyalty, and the unbearable weight of leaving her behind.

  Then they ran.

  Some glanced back as they disappeared into the smoke and chaos, their faces twisted with regret and faith. Their footsteps faded into the distance, carrying pieces of her heart with them.

  One of them shouted as they vanished into the distance.

  “Glacia! Iori! Protect Master!”

  Glacia and Iori, her Legendary-rank mage and knight, remained by her side. They nodded silently, their weapons already drawn, their gazes fixed on the ruined estate ahead.

  Then Glacia said quietly.

  “Though brief… I’m grateful I got to live by your side, Master.”

  Iori added with a soft chuckle.

  “Same. I’ve never met anyone like you, Master.”

  Cryssa scoffed, shaking her head.

  “What are you two even saying?”

  She glanced at them both, heart tight.

  “I told you, I’m not letting anyone die. And I’m definitely not ready to meet my late father just yet.”

  They exchanged a grim smile, but sincere.

  Now, only the three of them remained in the ruined courtyard. The battlefield had fallen still, too still. The monsters writhed beneath the rubble, broken but not dead. More would come.

  But this time, Cryssa was ready.

  She was no longer the girl who had frozen in fear just moments earlier.

  And more importantly…

  (“Geez. You guys are so damn melodramatic. We just need to score perfect marks, that’s all.”)

  Ayla’s voice rang out beside her, cheeky and confident.

  Cryssa wasn’t alone.

  This estate… this town… was hers.

  She would defend it with everything she had.

  The real battle for Stelluna’s estate had only just begun.