Commander Reed exhaled, a long, weary sound that seed to carry the weight of the entire broken continent. She looked up at the young woman on the stage, seeing not a student, but a burgeoning monarch.
"What are your conditions?" Reed asked, her voice raspy.
"First Condition," Mirabella began, her voice cutting through the hall like a blade. "I don’t want to see her or her teammates anywhere close to the gateways." She leveled a finger at Eve, who stood paralyzed by the coldness in Mirabella’s gaze.
"I am sure she already told you about the relationship between the teams," Mirabella continued, her eyes never leaving Eve’s. "If I want, I can kill her right now; but I won’t."
The threat hung in the air, heavy and undisputed. Mirabella’s focus shifted back to the Commander.
"Second condition: I will help you take back New York State, but Manhattan will be mine from now onwards. It will be my base... My territory. These are my conditions. Will you accept them?"
"This?" Reed was montarily dumbfounded. She looked at Mirabella’s unyielding expression, then at the pale-faced Eve, and finally at her silent subordinates. To give away a cornerstone of Arican identity—even a ruined one—was a monuntal decision.
"You don’t have to worry about the first condition," Eve interrupted, her voice surprisingly steady despite the circumstances. She offered a small, weary smile. "My team and I will back down."
’Phew,’ Reed inwardly sighed in relief. While Mirabella was an indispensable asset, Reed had no desire to spark a fratricidal war between the Academies’ factions.
Eve turned her head toward Mirabella, their eyes locking in a silent exchange of understanding and distance. ’I already decided with my team—no more fighting,’ Eve thought. ’Most of us have already completed our first and second objectives. This is a retreat we can afford.’
Mirabella read the submission in Eve’s eyes and felt a flicker of satisfaction. ’So she doesn’t want to fight again... Wise. With her current strength, the gateways would be her tomb. Even for my own team, I will have to handpick them. That sentinel was just the beginning; he summoned ten thousand World Bosses and a Realm Boss. I must avoid unnecessary casualties.’
She turned her attention back to the military leadership, her expression turning urgent.
"Commander Reed, we don’t have ti," Mirabella said, her voice taking on a sharp, serious edge. "In less than 48 hours, we will all be teleported back into Galaxy Fall. I cannot take down all the gateways in 24 hours unless I move now. I need your decision."
Behind her, Cupcake and the "Lords" kept their faces perfectly neutral, though their minds were reeling. ’She just wiped out tens of thousands of monsters in thirty minutes,’ Rose thought, confused.
’Why wouldn’t 24 hours be enough? She’s playing them.’
Reed looked at her Captains. They were nodding, albeit grimly. Manhattan was a skeleton of its forr self, a labyrinth of rubble and ash. They had bled for months just to hold a few blocks. Reclaiming the rest of the state in exchange for a single borough was a bargain born of desperation.
"Miss Mirabella," Reed said, her expression grave. "About Manhattan... can humans still live here after we give it to you?"
"Of course," Mirabella replied. "People can still live here, but I will be the ruler. It will be independent of your Arican governnt and its controls. I will decide the fate of this city... If you agree, I move out now."
Reed hesitated, the old-world patriot in her flinching at the thought of secession. But Mirabella’s next words shattered her lingering doubts.
"If you don’t want to accept it, I can take it by force," Mirabella stated, her aura flaring just enough to make the air hum. "And if that happens, I will take the whole of New York. Trust , Arica does not want as an enemy."
"Hmm... Fine then," Reed finally conceded, her shoulders dropping. "But who will look after Manhattan when you are gone?"
"Of course, that is you," Mirabella said. She closed her eyes for a mont, then opened them, her gaze softening slightly as she looked at Reed. "I don’t know when I will co back to Earth again, so I will leave this city in your care. When I return, I will take it from your hand."
With that final decree, she stepped off the stage, her "Lords" falling into step behind her as she swept out of the hall.
_
The heavy doors slamd shut, leaving the military contingent in a stunned vacuum.
"Commander, are you sure about this?!" Doctor Richard burst out, his face reddening. "Manhattan might not be as big as Queens, but it’s the heart of the country! Giving it away, then—"
"Then what?!" Reed snapped, her patience evaporated. "Look around you, Richard! Manhattan is already in ruins! Are we gaining anything from it right now? We are losing lives every hour just to keep the ash from burying us!"
"This?" Richard stamred, falling silent.
"It’s the truth," Captain Heather added calmly. "The whole city is gone. If we can secure the other boroughs and the rest of the state, we can at least protect our people. We might even begin to rebuild New York, and eventually, the rest of the country."
"Correct," Captain Mike said, crossing his arms over his chest. "We sacrificed Staten Island by dropping a nuclear weapon on it, and we still failed. The Commander made the right call. We traded a ruins for a future."
"Yes, I also support the decision," Eve said, her voice drawing everyone’s attention. "Because becoming Mirabella’s enemy is the worst karma imaginable."
"You an she would actually turn against us?" Richard asked, skeptical.
Eve looked at the scientist with pity. "Did you think she was bluffing? Mirabella has the strength to wipe out Arica by herself. My Teacher at the Academy inford that she is a Colonel in Galaxy Fall. If she declares war on Earth, this planet will be done for."
She didn’t realize that her information was already obsolete—that Mirabella had already transcended the rank of Colonel to beco a God General. But even her understated warning was enough to leave the room in a cold, terrified silence.
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