Most people retreated when they understood the line.
They adjusted.
They adapted.
They obeyed—quietly.
But some did not.
Some looked at balance and saw not order, but an obstacle.
Those people did not fear Krishna.
They resented him.
The system chimed late into the night, its tone stripped of humor.
«Ideological Resistance Identified.
Classification: Volitional Conflict Initiators.
Count: Limited.
Danger Level: Disproportionate.»
Krishna opened his eyes.
"So," he murmured, "these are the ones."
Radha stirred. "Ones?"
"The ones who don't want balance," Krishna replied calmly. "They want permission."
Across the subcontinent, a pattern formed—not widespread, not coordinated like before.
Focused.
Intentional.
In the far northwest, a warlord named Krodhan openly executed villagers who refused to supply his armies.
Not secretly.
Not defensively.
Publicly.
In the southeast, Queen Malini declared herself the sole interpreter of dharma, dissolving councils and silencing dissent "for unity."
In the central plains, mercenary clans began raiding neutral territories—not for conquest, but provocation.
None of them hid.
They wanted attention.
The system summarized coldly.
«Psychological Profile:
Subjects Reject External Moral Constraints.
Preferred Resolution Method: Force.»
Arjuna clenched his fist when he heard the reports.
"They're daring you," he said.
Krishna nodded. "Yes."
Yudhishthira looked troubled. "If you intervene everywhere, they will call it tyranny."
Krishna smiled faintly. "They will call it that anyway."
Duryodhana leaned forward, intrigued. "And if you don't?"
Krishna met his gaze. "Then innocents suffer."
Silence followed.
Even Duryodhana had no answer for that.
The system chimed once.
«Decision Point Reached.
Passive Balance Insufficient.
Escalation Justified.»
Krishna stood.
"This," he said calmly, "is where correction ends."
Radha rose with him. "And begins?"
"Demonstration."
Krishna did not summon armies.
He summoned clarity.
The first target was Krodhan.
Krishna arrived alone.
No disguise.
No announcement.
Krodhan laughed when he saw him.
"So the watcher comes himself," the warlord sneered. "Will you lecture me?"
Krishna looked at the bound villagers behind him.
"No," he replied. "I will end this."
Krodhan raised his sword.
The system chimed—precise.
«Hostile Action Detected.
Lethal Force Authorized.
Minimal Collateral Mandated.»
Krishna moved.
Not fast.
Final.
The sword never reached him.
It stopped mid-air.
Not frozen by magic—but unmade.
Steel aged a thousand years in a breath, crumbling to dust.
Krodhan staggered back.
"What—what are you?"
Krishna stepped forward.
"Balance," he said.
The warlord screamed and charged barehanded.
Krishna touched his chest.
Once.
Krodhan collapsed—not dead.
Broken.
His strength gone.
His will intact—enough to understand.
"You chose force," Krishna said calmly. "So you live knowing what it costs."
The villagers were freed.
No blood spilled.
The system chimed quietly.
«Demonstration Complete.
Message Delivered: Unambiguous.»
News spread faster than fear.
Queen Malini watched reports arrive with pale lips.
"He dismantled him," she whispered. "Without killing him."
Her advisors argued.
"We must submit."
"No—we must escalate."
She chose escalation.
Declared Krishna an enemy of sovereignty.
Closed her borders.
The system flagged it instantly.
«Second Demonstration Pending.»
Krishna did not enter her kingdom.
He withdrew recognition.
Trade halted.
Allies hesitated.
Councils refused correspondence.
Within weeks, Malini ruled silence.
She abdicated voluntarily.
The mercenary clans lasted longest.
They believed chaos favored them.
Krishna appeared on a battlefield as blades clashed.
He did not stop the fight.
He watched.
When one side crossed into slaughter—
Time slowed.
Not stopped.
Slowed enough for understanding.
Krishna spoke.
"This ends."
Weapons fell.
Not from compulsion.
From certainty.
The system chimed—final.
«Ideological Resistance Neutralized.
Survivors: Reintegrable.
Escalation Level: Contained.»
Arjuna stared in awe.
"You fought," he said.
Krishna nodded. "Only those who demanded it."
Radha exhaled softly. "And you didn't lose yourself."
Krishna smiled.
"I know who I am."
That night, Krishna stood beneath the sky.
Balance had teeth now.
And the world understood—
Some lines were negotiable.
This one—
Was not.
--chapter 36 ended--