The cargo hold of the fishing boat had been converted into a makeshift brig. The captured Naga grunts were bound together with standard ropes reinforced by Seraphina's mana-seals, but General Slish was given special treatment.

He was strapped to a chair in the center of the room. Alvian's [Abyssal Bindings] were wrapped tight around his torso, the black water-chains pulsating as they slowly, constantly drained his mana to keep him weak.

Alvian stood over him. He had re-equipped his [Vestments of the Void Monarch], the intimidating black armor absorbing the dim light of the lantern. He looked less like a student and more like an executioner.

"You have five minutes," Alvian said, checking the timer on his interface. "Before the mana drain causes permanent organ failure. Talk."

Slish spat green saliva on the floor. "I tell you nothing, surface scum. The Sleeper sees all. He will wake, and he will swallow your city whole."

"The Sleeper," Alvian repeated. "Is that what you call the entity in the trench? Or is it a person? A Syndicate agent?"

"He is a god!" Slish shrieked, his composure cracking under the strain of the mana drain. "He promises power! Evolution! He promised us the surface!"

"He promised you death," Alvian corrected. He pulled out the [Voidpiercer]. He activated the [System Jack] ability. He didn't cut Slish. He cut the air next to Slish's ear. A small rift opened, revealing the screaming void between dimensions.

"This dagger doesn't just kill," Alvian whispered. "It erases. If I stab you with this, you don't go to the afterlife. You don't respawn. You cease to exist. Your data is deleted from the universe."

Slish stared at the rift. He felt the cold nothingness radiating from it. True fear, primal and overwhelming, filled his eyes.

"Who is the Sleeper?" Alvian asked again.

"He… he is ancient," Slish stammered. "He lies deep below the Iron Shell district. Beneath the bedrock. The Syndicate… they woke him up. They feed him. They built a machine… a siphon… to pump the blood directly to him."

"What is he?"

"A Leviathan," Slish whispered. "A [Deep-Sea Behemoth]. But corrupted. Mutated. They fused him with… with metal. He is a living fortress. He demands tribute. Life force. To charge his core."

Alvian looked at Valeria and Seraphina.

"A cyborg kaiju," Valeria summarized, looking disgusted. "Great. Just what we needed."

"He's beneath Magnus's district," Seraphina noted. "That explains why Magnus couldn't find him. He's deeper than the sensors go. He's buried."

Alvian turned back to Slish. "The Tribute. The civilians you took. Where are they now?"

"The Siphon Chamber," Slish gasped, his skin turning grey as his mana hit critical levels. "It's in the old sewers. Sector 4. They're… they're already being processed."

"Processed," Alvian said, his voice cold.

[Quest Updated: The Sleeper's Tribute.]

[New Objective: Locate the Siphon Chamber. Stop the Blood Ritual.]

[Target: The Sleeper (Bio-Mechanical Leviathan).]

Alvian dismissed the bindings. Slish slumped forward, unconscious but alive.

"Tie him up," Alvian ordered. "We're done here."

He walked up to the deck. The fresh sea air did little to wash away the feeling of grime from the interrogation. The Syndicate was escalating. They were moving from political manipulation to creating weapons of mass destruction using the local fauna.

"We need to tell Magnus," Valeria said, joining him. "He needs to know there's a monster under his bed."

"We'll do more than tell him," Alvian said. He looked toward the Iron Shell District, visible as a dark, fortress-like silhouette against the glowing cityscape. "We're going to bring him the proof. And then, we're going to make him help us kill it."

He equipped his [Lance].

"Seraphina, get the coordinates for Sector 4. Valeria, prep for a breach. We aren't knocking this time. We're kicking the door down."

"Inefficient?" Valeria teased, a small smile touching her lips.

"No," Alvian replied, his eyes glowing with the promise of violence. "Necessary."

---

The journey back to the Iron Shell District was a silent, grim procession. Alvian walked at the head of the group, his [Vestments of the Void Monarch] absorbing the dim ambient light of the deep ocean, making him appear as a walking singularity. Behind him, Valeria dragged the bound and silenced General Slish, the traitorous Naga leader stumbling over the uneven cobblestones of the ocean floor. Seraphina moved on the flanks, her mechanical eye whirring as she scanned the shadows for Syndicate assassins, though few would be foolish enough to attack them now.

The weight of the discovery in the fishing boat pressed down on them harder than the ocean depth. A Bio-Mechanical Leviathan. A living fortress buried beneath the city's foundation, fed by the blood of innocents. It wasn't just a monster; it was a parasitic tumor growing in the heart of Azureus.

They reached the imposing black steel gates of the Iron Citadel. The massive Hermit Crab-Kin Gatekeeper, who had barred their way only hours before, stepped forward. His multi-faceted eyes widened as he saw the prisoner—a high-ranking Naga General, beaten and bound in void chains.

"Halt," the Gatekeeper rumbled, though his voice lacked its previous authority. "You return, Eighth Guardian. And you bring... trash?"

"I bring evidence," Alvian stated, his voice amplified by a pulse of mana that shook the silt from the gate. "Open the door. Unless you want to explain to Magnus why you delayed the report on the threat eating his district from the inside out."

The Gatekeeper hesitated, looking at the wretched form of Slish, then back at the cold, violet fire burning in Alvian's eyes. He slammed the butt of his halberd into the ground. The massive steel gates groaned, sinking into the floor with a vibration that rattled Valeria's teeth.

"Enter," the Gatekeeper grunted. "Guardian Magnus is in the War Room."

The interior of the Citadel was exactly as Alvian remembered it—brutalist, efficient, and cold. But this time, he didn't stop to admire the architecture. He marched straight to the War Room, a circular chamber dominated by a massive tactical map of the Western District.

Magnus stood over the map, moving iron tokens representing his patrols. He looked up as the doors slammed open. His granite-like face darkened with irritation, which quickly morphed into confusion as Valeria threw General Slish onto the metal floor at his feet.

"What is the meaning of this?" Magnus demanded, his voice like grinding stones. "I told you to solve the disappearances, not drag stray eels into my War Room."

"The disappearances are solved," Alvian said, stepping forward. He didn't bow. He didn't show deference. He spoke as an equal. "Your patrols didn't vanish into thin air, Magnus. They were pulled down."

Alvian gestured to Slish. "Speak."

He loosened the [Abyssal Bindings] just enough for the Naga to breathe. Slish, terrified by the looming presence of the Iron Guardian, spilled everything. He spoke of the Syndicate. He spoke of the blood tributes. He spoke of the Sleeper—the Bio-Mechanical Leviathan designated as 'Subject: Behemoth'—nesting in the old sewers of Sector 4, directly beneath the Citadel's foundations.

As Slish spoke, Magnus's face grew darker. The temperature in the room dropped, not from cold, but from the sheer killing intent radiating from the giant. The iron plates of his armor groaned as his muscles expanded in rage.

"Beneath... my... feet," Magnus whispered, the sound vibrating in Alvian's chest. "They hollowed out the bedrock. They corrupted the ancient plumbing. And they installed a monster to feed on my people?"

"It gets worse," Seraphina added, stepping out of the shadows. She projected a holographic schematic she had compiled from the data in the fishing boat. "The Leviathan isn't just eating people. It's tapping into the geothermal vents that power your district's defensive wards. That's why your sensors didn't pick it up. It's wearing your energy signature like a camouflage cloak."

Magnus slammed his fist onto the tactical table. The solid iron slab buckled, a massive dent appearing in the center. The tokens scattered.

"TREASON!" Magnus roared. "Vermin! Parasites!"

He looked at Alvian. The dismissal was gone from his eyes, replaced by a burning, intense focus.

"You found this," Magnus said. "You found the rot I was too blind to see because I was looking at the walls instead of the floor."

"Walls are inefficient if the enemy has a shovel," Alvian noted calmly. "But we have a location now. The Siphon Chamber in Sector 4. I intend to go down there and evict the tenant. Permanently."

"You intend?" Magnus scoffed, though there was no malice in it. "That creature is feeding on the district's power grid. It will have shields thick enough to stop a torpedo. It will have crushing pressure that makes the open ocean feel like a puddle. You are strong, boy, but you are a glass cannon. One hit from a Leviathan in that enclosed space, and you will be paste."

"That is why I am here," Alvian said. He met Magnus's gaze. "I need the Art. I need the [Tidal Barrier]. Not to hide behind, but to walk through the fire."

Magnus stared at him for a long moment. He looked at Valeria, whose armor was scarred from the battle. He looked at Seraphina, who was cleaning her nails with a dagger. Then he looked back at Alvian.

"You have the offense," Magnus admitted. "You have the speed. But to kill a fortress, you must become a fortress."

He reached into the chest plate of his armor and pulled out a heavy, slate-grey tome. It didn't look like paper; it looked like thin sheets of pressed steel bound together with iron rings.

"The Fourth Art," Magnus said, holding it out. "[Tidal Barrier]. It is the concept of the Unyielding Ocean. Water cannot be broken. It can only be displaced. This Art teaches you to become the water that refuses to move."

Alvian took the book. It was heavy.

[Quest Complete: The Missing of the Iron Shell.]

[Reward: Skill Book: [Tidal Barrier] (Legendary).]

[Reputation with Iron Shell District: Exalted.]

"Learn it," Magnus commanded. "And then, show me. Show me that you have the will to hold the line when the world tries to crush you."

"I don't just hold lines," Alvian said, his eyes glowing with anticipation. "I break the things that crash against them."

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