"From today on, the whole world will hunt you."
The voice came from across from him, as calm as if discussing the weather.
"None of this will calm the waves."
Only a few steps separated them.
The young man looking up continued:
"If you eliminate every power here, the North Blue will immediately become a vacuum.
Unchecked armies, pirates already lurking in the shadows, and those kingdoms watching hungrily... they will flood every island like the tide."
"People who lose their homes will have no choice but to take up arms and become the bandits you must eradicate in the future.
So does your path mean killing everyone in the North Blue, or everyone in the world?"
This was no threat, merely a reality about to unfold.
The momentary satisfaction of rooting everything out often left behind a far longer desolation.
"If bloodshed is the answer you've settled on, we have nothing more to discuss."
"If not,"
The young man changed tack. "We might as well discuss-"
"If bloodshed cannot bring peace, then tell me, what can?"
Dragon's voice was like frozen iron.
The person opposite him seemed to let out a soft breath.
"Rules."
"A set of provisions everyone must obey, giving every life its due and making it bear its proper responsibilities."
"Whether they belong to that alliance or not, whether they come from land or sea, everyone can stand before the same scales-that is what right and wrong should mean."
Dragon's pupils suddenly contracted.
It was as though a wind had scattered the fog that had long occupied his mind.
"Fair rules? You make it sound easy. Do you understand-"
"I understand."
His words were cut off **.
A hand waved through the air as if brushing aside invisible cobwebs.
"The order that has lasted eight hundred