Since leaving Sky Island, Mihawk and Issho had been travelling together.
With the Hunter Guild supplying them with information, neither had been idle.
Still, both of them understood that the chaos consuming the world would ultimately be decided by Cyrus and the person hiding in Mary Geoise.
Only when that conflict was settled could the rest of the world truly begin to calm down.
So when they realized the enormous phenomenon spreading across the sky was most likely Cyrus's doing, the same thought occurred to both of them.
He was finally making his move against Imu.
"This is sudden."
Issho rested a hand on his sword, his expression grave.
There had been no warning that something like this was about to happen.
"Let's go."
Mihawk glanced once at the island below, now completely silent after the flames had swept through it.
His sharp eyes shifted toward the distant horizon.
"If this really is the beginning of the end, it'll happen at Mary Geoise. I have no intention of missing it."
He lifted his gaze toward the crimson sky.
Issho nodded. Using his ability, he propelled their small vessel forward and sent it racing in the direction of the Red Line.
The red sky was spreading at an incredible pace, but news travelled nearly as quickly.
…
Sengoku, still recovering from his injuries in the New World, soon received a call from Garp.
Garp told him about Cyrus's sudden appearance, the strange warning he had given, and the implication that the most dangerous moment might still be ahead.
Simply hearing those words was enough to make Sengoku's mood sink.
Something enormous was about to happen.
Not merely another battle, but an event that would decide what direction the world took afterward.
Then reports began arriving from Marine forces still operating throughout the Four Seas and Paradise.
A blood-red sky.
Flames descending from the heavens.
"It has to be his ability."
Tsuru struggled to hide her shock.
"I never imagined he could do something on this scale. He's certainly never shown it before."
No matter how powerful someone became, there should have been limits to what a single human being could accomplish.
Cyrus cutting open the Red Line had already been absurd. Erasing Wano with a single attack had been equally difficult to comprehend.
Yet those feats could at least be understood as overwhelming attacks concentrated on one location.
This was different.
Reports were arriving from regions separated by entire seas, and all of them described the same phenomenon. The affected area was already immense, and it was still expanding.
Sengoku thought quietly for a moment.
"This probably isn't something he can use casually."
Tsuru looked toward him.
"If he could unleash power like this whenever he wanted, the current crisis never would've spread this far in the first place."
Those transformed monsters would never have had a chance to overrun so many islands if Cyrus could wipe them out worldwide whenever he pleased.
"That's true."
Tsuru paused, then nodded several times.
"He's always had the ability to deal with large numbers of them. The question was apparently how far he was willing—or able—to take it."
"Whether he could do it before doesn't matter anymore."
Sengoku drew a slow breath.
"He's doing it now. That means we're probably approaching the final confrontation."
Even Sengoku could not completely suppress his tension.
The World Government had already been weakened to the breaking point by rebellion, internal collapse, the loss of its weapons, and Cyrus's repeated attacks.
Now even the Celestial Dragons had begun appearing personally on the battlefield.
Sengoku had little faith that they would accomplish much.
In the end, everything still came back to two people.
Cyrus and the ruler hidden within Mary Geoise.
"What should we do?"
Tsuru asked.
Sengoku rubbed his brow.
"Do you have any suggestions?"
His original plan had been to use the war against the demons to establish a working relationship between the Marines and the Hunter Guild.
That cooperation could then become the foundation for maintaining order after the World Government collapsed.
But events were moving too quickly.
If Cyrus had already begun acting on this scale, there might not be enough time left for careful political positioning.
When Tsuru remained silent, Sengoku finally made the decision himself.
"Contact the three Admirals. Have them head to Mary Geoise."
"To support Cyrus?"
"If he needs it, yes."
Sengoku nodded.
"I don't want the alternative outcome either, even if it looks increasingly unlikely."
"Everything does seem to be proceeding according to Cyrus's plan."
"That's what happens when one person becomes powerful enough to stand above every organization in the world."
Sengoku's voice carried a trace of bitterness.
A massive institution could enforce order, but the person capable of defining that order was ultimately someone no institution could oppose.
For centuries, that person had likely been the hidden sovereign of Mary Geoise.
Now it was Cyrus, chairman of the Hunter Guild.
Both possessed enough personal power to shape the rules of their respective eras.
And now it was Cyrus's turn.
"The strong define the order, and everyone weaker lives within it."
Tsuru spoke softly.
Sengoku gave a bitter smile.
It was difficult to argue with her.
Even before Cyrus appeared, the Marines had been trapped beneath that reality.
Many officers despised the World Government's actions and hated the Celestial Dragons, yet the institution itself had been unable to resist.
Protecting the Celestial Dragons had taken priority over nearly everything else.
"Tell them to move quickly."
Sengoku looked toward Tsuru.
"We have no idea when Cyrus intends to finish this."
Tsuru nodded and personally contacted the three Admirals currently operating in different regions.
By this point, none of them wasted time debating whether obeying such an order constituted another act of rebellion against the World Government.
There was simply no time left for that kind of hesitation.
They had been fighting almost continuously since the crisis began, moving from one contaminated island to another with barely any opportunity to rest.
Even with the tremendous endurance of an Admiral, all three were exhausted.
But when Tsuru explained what was happening, each of them immediately abandoned their current operation and headed for Mary Geoise.
…
The Holy Land atop the Red Line no longer resembled the paradise it once pretended to be.
Its magnificent palaces had been replaced by vast stretches of ruins. There were no longer enough people—or resources—to rebuild them.
The slaves who once filled Mary Geoise were gone.
Most of the Celestial Dragons were gone as well.
The few figures who occasionally crossed the surviving pathways moved quickly, their faces tense and their steps hurried.
Only the innermost structure of the Holy Land remained intact.
In the past, very few people had even possessed the qualifications to approach it.
The Room of Flowers was silent.
Imu sat alone upon the throne, surrounded by darkness, staring down without speaking.
She knew what was coming.
The moment the Menos Grande sensed that the passage to its own world was beginning to form, Imu understood that the final stage had arrived.
She had also seen the fire flickering within the creature's eyes.
At this point, anything associated with flame was enough to put her on immediate alert.
So Imu waited.
Her hope was simple: keep Cyrus occupied here long enough for the passage to fully open.
At the decisive moment, she would transfer her consciousness, sever herself from this world, and bring everything here to an end.
Then she would begin again elsewhere.
Even if reaching that new world required abandoning her current form and becoming a pure spiritual being like the Hollow, she was prepared to do it.