The Appearance of the "Fairy Queen"

"Stop!"

A crisp yet commanding rebuke rang out, as if imbued with magic, instantly silencing all the noise in the guild. The unquestionable authority in that voice made the mages, who had been swept up in fury with magic power surging around them, stop moving involuntarily.

The crowd automatically parted to either side, opening up a path.

Erza Scarlet stepped out slowly from the direction of the bar, her strides steady.

Her scarlet hair, like blazing flames, fluttered gently in the breeze pouring in through the hole in the roof. She wore her usual silver Knight armor, which glinted with a cold metallic sheen. Yet the aura she exuded at that moment was harder and sharper than the armor itself.

Unlike the others, she had not been consumed by shock and anger. Throughout Zoro's fight with Natsu and Gray, she had remained calmly observant.

She had seen the incredible black substance that covered the man's arm when he faced Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.

She had seen his unfathomable evasions, as though he could foresee the future, when confronted with the dense barrage of Ice Make.

More importantly, she had seen the nearly indifferent calm in the man's eyes from beginning to end, as if everything happening before him were nothing more than a trivial interruption.

Most importantly, Erza could sense a kind of "energy" entirely different from magic power faintly emanating from the man. It was pure, condensed, and seemed forged through countless life-and-death battles—the aura of a true powerhouse. As a swordswoman who also lived for battle, that aura sent a tremor through her soul.

This man was strong.

Strong enough that she could not yet comprehend his level.

Erza stepped through the crowd and walked straight to the edge of the crater, facing Zoro from afar. She was not angered by his claim that they were all too weak, because she knew that a truly strong person had the right to say such things.

Her gaze was more solemn than ever. A powerful magical aura rose from within her, sweeping toward Zoro like a tangible gale. This was the pressure of Titania, the "Fairy Queen," an S-Class mage.

Yet when that magical pressure, enough to make ordinary mages' legs go weak, came within a meter of Zoro, it seemed to strike an invisible, even heavier wall and was easily neutralized and dispersed. That was Zoro's restrained yet overwhelmingly domineering Haki—the domain of a powerhouse, one that permitted no outside force to intrude.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment. The entire guild hall became a battlefield where the auras of two top-tier powerhouses clashed.

"Who are you, sir?" Erza spoke, her voice steady and powerful, betraying neither joy nor anger. "Why did you break into our guild and injure my companions?"

She did not directly interrogate him, instead adopting a tone of inquiry. She knew that when facing such a powerhouse, anger and accusations were the most useless emotions. Only equal strength and respect could earn the right to talk.

At last, Zoro shifted his gaze away from those noisy "small fry" and onto the red-haired woman before him.

He sensed the soaring magic power around her, as well as the equally sharp, undisguised Sword Intent concealed beneath it.

It was the unique aura of a swordsman.

A barely perceptible change finally appeared in his previously lazy eyes. It was the particular gleam of appreciation and battle lust one had upon encountering a worthy opponent—or rather, a fine piece of steel worth cutting.

He did not answer Erza's question. Instead, he asked one of his own, his tone carrying a trace of recognition for one of his kind.

"Oh?" The corners of his lips rose slightly into a faint smile. "You're a swordswoman too?"