Batiya Island.
Hospital.
"The head injury appears minor. Strangely enough, the impact wasn't as forceful as expected. He should recover after some rest."
"I understand. Thank you, doctor," Momonga replied flatly.
The doctor gave him a complex look before quietly leaving the room.
In the empty ward, Momonga stood over the unconscious man on the bed. He pressed his lips together and exhaled heavily.
"Damn it… damn it all!"
Not far away, Tokikake's eyes were bloodshot as he slammed his fists against the wall again and again.
Bang! Bang!
Plaster crumbled and dust fell. The wall was now filled with dents streaked in blood.
"She called me 'uncle'… Uncle! She called me that!!"
He let out a roar like a wild beast.
Blood dripped from his fists, but he didn't even notice.
Gion sat still beside the hospital bed, eyes closed, fingers interlaced at her brow in silent anguish.
Then suddenly, she stood up.
Her bloodshot eyes turned sharply toward the man standing by the window, calmly smoking a cigarette.
"Darren!!"
"How can you still be smoking?!"
Her voice cracked with fury she couldn't explain—so raw it turned hoarse.
"You call yourself the ruler of the North Blue?! You think you're so powerful?!"
Darren finished his cigarette, lit another without pause.
Gion's anger surged. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
"Say something!"
She bit her lip so hard it bled.
Darren exhaled a long stream of smoke, casually flicking his ash.
The tray on the windowsill was already piled high with cigarette butts.
The room was unbearably silent.
Like a tomb that buried the living.
Momonga looked at Gion, then at Darren, lips parting—but he couldn't say anything. His expression was tangled.
"…What else could I have done?"
Darren's voice finally cut through the quiet.
Gion froze.
A bitter, mocking smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
He turned, laughterless, eyes cold.
Then he glanced at the clock on the wall.
Gion's face paled.
What else could he have done?
He was just a Captain. A mere North Blue commander.
Even if Admiral Sengoku himself had been there—it wouldn't have changed anything.
Because the man they were dealing with…
Was a Celestial Dragon.
One of the World Nobles, untouchable and above all laws.
If any of them had acted—even the Marines present—Saint Shaldes's wrath would have burned the entire island.
All the civilians of Batia would have paid the price for their defiance.
"…Am I still alive…?"
A weak voice broke the tension.
Everyone turned sharply.
The man on the bed slowly opened his eyes, struggling to stay awake.
"…Liya… Liya…"
He murmured, hollow and broken.
Then, spotting Darren by the window, his body shuddered.
"Marine sir… Commander Darren…"
He gritted his teeth and tried to sit up—only to collapse off the bed.
Gion rushed to help, but he waved her off.
Bloodshot eyes filled with desperation locked on Darren.
"You saved me…"
Gion and Tokikake both stiffened.
They recalled the doctor's words.
The impact wasn't that strong.
Then they saw it—the man's belt buckle.
Metal.
Realization dawned.
Darren had prevented the suicide.
"If you're alive, then live."
Darren took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled, voice calm.
"Under my watch, no civilian dies an unnatural death."
"No… Commander Darren…"
The man knelt weakly on the floor, tears in his eyes.
"Please… save my daughter…"
"She lost her mother to illness when she was little…"
"She's so good… so sweet… never cried, never complained. She even helped me sell flowers on the street…"
"Flowers…"
Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, he slapped himself across the face.
SLAP!
And burst into tears.
"It's my fault… If I were stronger… If I hadn't let her go out there alone… none of this would've happened…"
He sobbed uncontrollably, banging his head against the floor.
"Please, Commander… Save Liya… She's all I have left…"
"I'll do anything! Be your servant… your killer… take my garden, my money—everything I have…"
"Please…"
He frantically searched his dirty clothes, pulling out wrinkled bills and handfuls of coins caked with mud.
His hands trembled from weakness. The coins slipped from his palms and scattered across the floor.
Clink. Clink. Clink…
They spun briefly, then stilled—stained with dirt and blood.
On the surface of the fallen coins, Darren's reflection stared back.
Cold. Unmoving.
"…You misunderstand."
Darren stubbed out his cigarette and picked up his coat from the rack.
As he flung it over his shoulders, the word Justice unfurled boldly across his back.
Majestic. Cold. And absolute.
The man looked up at the imposing figure, his expression lost.
Darren sighed and met his eyes.
"I'll say it again: under my command, no civilian dies an unnatural death."
He glanced at the crumpled money on the floor.
"As for your payment…"
Darren gave a crooked smile.
"I've already accepted it."
He turned and walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
Gion called out, heart racing with unease.
Tokikake stared at Darren's back, fists dripping with blood.
"It's time."
Darren didn't look back.
Time…?
Gion and Tokikake froze.
They suddenly recalled: since they entered the room, Darren had kept checking the clock.
He was waiting for something.
Before they could react, Darren had already left the ward.
His boots echoed down the hospital corridor—sharp, steady.
His eyes grew colder with each step.
"Darren!"
A voice called from behind.
He turned.
It was Momonga, catching up.
He hesitated.
"Earlier… Lieutenant Commander Gion bought a flower from the girl. She didn't know what would happen…"
"I know."
Darren cut him off.
He smiled faintly.
"You seem to think well of her."
Momonga smiled bitterly.
"There aren't many people left in this sea… who believe in justice as purely as she does."
Darren didn't answer.
It was true.
That was why he didn't hate Gion.
Her anger wasn't directed at him.
She knew the truth—knew that no one, not even she, could've changed the outcome.
Her anger was with herself.
With her powerlessness.
With the weakness of justice.
With the cruelty of the world.
"…Anything else?"
Darren asked.
Momonga hesitated.
"Are you really going?"
"No Marine has ever done this."
"You don't have to…"
His voice faltered.
Darren chuckled.
"Momonga, you're right. I have a thousand reasons not to go."
"This world is filled with tragedy. There are countless horrors caused by Celestial Dragons alone."
"I'm just the North Blue Commander. I can't save everyone."
"If I do this, I risk everything. If I'm found out, no one will be able to protect me."
"As a Marine, I serve the World Government. I'm supposed to get used to injustice."
"And all this… for one little girl I don't even know?"
"One misstep… and everything I've built in the North Blue collapses."
"…Yes. There are so many reasons not to go."
He paused.
Then smiled.
"But I only need two reasons to go."
"And those two are enough to crush every excuse."
His voice turned sharp. Cold. Unyielding.
"First—this is my territory. And I won't allow anything like this to happen on my sea… even if
the one responsible is a Celestial Dragon."
"Second—his face disgusts me. And I want to kill him."
Darren's smile twisted into something feral.
"…The kind of disgust I can't suppress—no matter how hard I try."
---
To be continued...