Anita had grown too comfortable.  

They called her the ‘Tactician’, they saw her as infallible, they trusted every decision she made. After so many victories, she had forgotten fear and uncertainty. Anita had always separated herself from the battlefield - she was never a chess piece, she was the hand that moved.

It was only now that she realized her fragility, as she crawled out from under the rubble. Her leg was twisted, her forehead was bloodied, and she was surrounded in chaos. She could taste the blood on her lips, with the sweet pungent smell of death penetrating her nostrils. The battlefield became a mess as soldiers began to break formation, whether from being slain or fleeing for their lives. As the sky began to grow darker, the voices of soldiers rang in her head.

“Commander! Please give us your orders.” 

“I don’t want to die here…”

“Just run! Run!”

Anita pulled up the strategy screen, hoping to find a way out. The nearest platoon to her were a group of knights, but some of the knights had lost their horses. Anita thought that perhaps, with their speed, they could quickly kill the enemy spellcaster.

[5% chance to hit]

Anita tried again, with the company of archers nestled further away from the scene. The archers were frantically shooting, but their arrows were uncoordinated. If Anita could focus their attacks, perhaps they would have had a chance, but…

[7% chance to hit]

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

There were countless other moves she could make, but time did not stop in her space. While Anita could slow down time by using her strategy screen, she could not stop time. Each second she wasted could change the outcome, which is why she wanted to make a move quickly.

She weighed every decision in her mind, calculating every possibility, but she was scared to gamble upon such low odds. No matter what combinations she tried, there was never a chance higher than 20%. There were no escape routes, and she had few tools left. If she failed here, it was going to be permanent. There would be no do overs, no 2nd chances. 

She saw only one way out, but she couldn’t bring herself to choose it. Even if it meant it would damn everyone else, Anita didn’t care. 

“Hah…Hahaha…!” All Anita could do was laugh, from the sheer absurdity and chaos around her. Before the battle, Anita was confident. Now? She had been humbled, her reality finally crashing down. 

This was no longer a game. The corpses piled up around her were her fault, she had failed to lead them, and she had failed to save them. 

“Anita.”

In the midst of chaos, Anita heard a gentle voice. The soft, gentle, and angelic voice that didn’t belong on a battlefield. The voice that could always find her, no matter where she would be. 

She didn’t want to look up from the ground, but she felt the voice gently grasp her hands. The voice tried clumsily intertwining their hands with hers, but the metallic armor only made it difficult. 

“No … no…. no..” Anita cried, hoping to just stay in this paralyzed moment forever. She felt as if her heart was on fire, the fear twisting her heart into pain. She let out a scream, followed by sobbing, as her emotions flooded out. 

The gentle voice knelt beside her, as if he meant to shield her from the tragedy around them. 

“Anita, you know there’s only one way to limit casualties. You know you can’t die here either.” He smiled, hoping to reassure his anxiety ridden tactician, but she only cried further. She pounded her hands against his armor, struggling to push him away. Her fruitless pounding was beginning to bruise her knuckles, but the pain didn’t matter to Anita. 

“I won’t do it. I refuse.” She felt like a fool, what right did she have to cry, while the man in front of her was smiling? She was nothing more than a coward. How could he have no anger or fear in his eyes, how could he remain composed like this? 

How could he ask her to do this? It wasn’t fair, Anita thought. If he was going to ask, he should’ve cursed her. He should’ve parted with hurtful words, he should’ve not looked at her with those same gentle eyes. 

“It’s the only way, Anita.”