The distinct aroma clinging to the Vieux-Port today is salt. Clean, salty, deadly salt. It is proof of the brutal peace Jean Valéry bought six months ago. The entire harbor floor is now coated in transmutation crystals—making the air cool and pure, and guaranteeing that no trace of the Cartel’s magic can thrive.The operation, which locals call the 'Clean Garage,' is actually the first open recruitment and training session for the Shadow Navy (ABS). Civilians clean dirty oil tanks and dark cargo. They are paid well and protected. They think they are cleaning physical trash. Jean and his men know the truth: they are cleaning a battlefield.From the surveillance balcony above the now-shining white pier, Jean watched with a flat demeanor, his black alchemy robe moving slowly in the sea breeze that no longer smelled of sulfur.“The cattle look happy,” Le Requin whispered from Jean’s side. The man nicknamed the Shark Boss looked leaner and neater in his new ABS service uniform. Fear of cha

“I will depart with the freshly mixed Corrosion Elixir and the Krait Submarine. They are coming for my magic. I will take the fight to where they live. I will face that steam sorcerer personally. You, Shark, hold the line here. And be careful,” Jean said. “Because we don’t know who else is waiting behind those three black ships. Or how quickly that threat can sail across the Atlantic…”The density of the air in the Wet Dock seemed to melt away. The temperature suddenly dropped, as the Transmutation Solid Salt Elixir in Jean’s pocket radiated a cold that contrasted sharply with the nervousness of the newly inducted ABS members. Jean’s command was no longer open for negotiation; it was an axiom of physics and magic.Le Requin nodded stiffly, still processing the fact that his superior had mandated massive destruction in Marseille should he fail, while Jean was now deliberately allowing the spy vessel, the Pisces, to serve as bait.Jean Valéry was already moving, his body sleek as a shar