Ignis stared at him. He saw the look in Alvian's eyes. It wasn't the look of a politician. It was the look of the man who had frozen a Dragon God. It was the look of a killer.
Ignis's magma skin dimmed. He looked at Shui. The water woman looked terrified.
"We..." Ignis swallowed hard. "We submit."
"Good," Alvian said, turning back to the map. "Kincaid, take their keys. Valeria, integrate their troops. We have a lot of work to do."
As the defeated Governors were led away, Seraphina whistled.
"Ruthless," she whispered. "Oceanus was right. You really are a tyrant."
"I'm a survivor," Alvian corrected, zooming in on the map. He pointed to the edge of the city, where the ocean floor dropped away into the infinite darkness of the open sea.
"The Syndicate failed here," Alvian said. "But they are still out there. And the Draconic Legion... the ones we killed were just the vanguard. The real army is still sleeping."
He looked at his friends.
