Sea of Realms

A place said in certain religions to be the origin of all things.

It doesn’t exist in the real world.

Imagine taking a globe and drawing a crooked, dotted line across the coastal edge of the Eurasian continent—

That line would be the Sea of Realms.

On the globe, it’s just a slender marking, insignificant in physical space.

But in reality, it exists in an extradimensional layer, almost completely severing the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

It’s like walking from home to school.

Normally, it would take less than five minutes.

But now, imagine a barrier thinner than paper appearing on the way.

Passing through it leads into another dimension—

To get to school on the other side, you’d have to cross the entire space within that layer.

A five-minute stroll turns into fifty.

That’s the Sea of Realms.

To get from the Eurasian continent to the other side of Earth, you either go around—

Or brave the Sea of Realms straight through.

Only, crossing the Sea is a false proposition.

No one’s ever tried.

No one even knows if it’s possible.

Inside the Sea, there’s nothing—

Only waves of gray rising and falling.

Here and there, floating across air or water, are bizarrely shaped, irregular geometric masses, providing rare footholds for passing entities.

The sky overhead remains dyed in hues like a dying sunset—

At first glance, the colors seem breathtaking.

But stare too long, and it turns unsettling.

In this dread-choked ocean—

“Shikari, what’s your status?”

A well-built woman used a pre-installed receiver to check in with her teammates.

Zzzzz…shhhhhh—

“…All clear. No sign of danger.

Honestly, is this recon even necessary?”

Shikari hid behind one of the impossible structures and muttered,

“This place is absurdly huge. I haven’t seen a single living thing.

Aside from avoiding the tides, there’s really no threat, right?”

“Don’t be stupid.

A creature breached the Sea not long ago.

Just shut up and keep scouting.”

There were over ten of them scattered around the area, waiting for the opposing party to arrive.

This wasn’t just any trade.

The organization had sent their third-in-command—

Captain of the Zero Division, codename: Zero.

Her actual name was just that—“Zero.”

Right now, Zero stood within the Sea of Realms, nerves stretched taut.

In a godforsaken place like this, anything could happen.

[We already knew the Sea of Realms Special Operations Division and the Magical Alliance planned to interfere.

So why set the meeting here?]

Zero suspected their unit was merely a decoy—

That the real deal was happening elsewhere.

If that were true…

Wouldn’t that mean even she—Zero Division’s leader—was being used as a pawn?

Too great a price.

Meanwhile, back at Shikari’s position—

He lifted his binoculars and scanned from a higher vantage point.

Aside from the undulating gray surf and a scattering of surreal floating structures,

There was nothing.

Pure emptiness.

“Captain’s really paranoid, huh?

As long as we don’t go too deep, what’s even out here?

Nothing’s gonna sneak up on us, right?”

“Oh?

I wouldn’t be so sure.”

A woman’s voice rang out behind him.

“!?”

Shikari’s muscular frame went rigid.

He slowly turned his head.

“…Who’s there?”

“Hmm~

Why don’t you take a guess?”

Her crimson hair spilled down like molten blood.

She wore an extravagant, seductive dress—

Asymmetrical in length and mismatched in color.

One stockinged leg extended in a deliberately unbalanced fashion—

“Ele…ra?”

Shikari blinked in confusion.

He remembered Herrera was supposed to have silver hair.

“Oh my~

No ‘Lady’ with that?”

She confirmed his guess,

And his entire body began to tremble.

Luo You chuckled lightly.

“No need to be so scared~~

Even if you did help hunt me down back then,

I’m not here for revenge.”

She remembered clearly—

Seven years ago, when she’d defected, this guy had gone all out in the assault.

Of course, not a single hit landed.

Shikari clenched his trembling hands.

His voice dropped.

“Why… are you here…?”

“Didn’t Lord Yue tell you?

I’m here to… ohhh~~”

Luo You’s brows lifted slowly.

In that moment, everything clicked into place.

She smirked.

“So they’re afraid of traitors…

Planning to have me clean house along the way?”

“Traitors? What traitors?”

Shikari instinctively reached to contact Zero.

“Ah ah~ don’t rush.

Tell anyone I’m here, and I’ll kill you instantly.”

Shikari’s scalp prickled with numbness.

His hand dropped helplessly to his side.

This woman…

To oppose her in any way—

Was an act of pure madness.

Just then—

A report came in from the forward scouts.

“They’re here.”

“Copy.

Prepare the exchange.

Be alert—they might try to double-cross us.”

In the distance, a few oddly designed low-altitude fliers skimmed over the waves, drawing closer.

These were the Sea-Striders—

The trading partners of the Yi Ren Organization.

But these weren’t the kind of “sea-striders” known to the average person.

They hadn’t just arrived from human society.

They’d lived in the Sea of Realms for years, perhaps generations.

They rarely returned to the human world,

Roaming this space like nomads on a prairie—

Or pirates living out their lives upon the sea.

Precisely because of this,

They often unearthed rare treasures within the Sea,

And bartered them with human factions.

The fliers came to a smooth stop before the waiting group.

A tall, gaunt man disembarked.

“Greetings, everyone.

How many times have we traded now?

Let’s hope this one goes just as smoothly.”

“Captain Ku.”

Zero nodded curtly.

“Do you have the goods?”

“But of course.

A trade is a trade.”

At his signal, the crew aboard the flier began unloading cargo.

“You folks always know the moment we find something valuable…

Ah, not implying you’ve planted a mole, of course, haha!

We have to sell it, after all.”

Zero gave no response.

“You brought your side of the deal, I assume?”

“Naturally.”

Her people moved forward with their own shipment.

Money meant nothing to those who lived in the Sea of Realms.

Their payment came in the form of “usable goods” from human society.

This time, what Zero brought out was—

“Didn’t think you’d actually have it.

Well, damn.

Core component of an Equatorial-Class Macro Star Ring—

The Singularity Core…

My first time seeing one in person.

And it’s in pristine condition, too.

Wasn’t this tech under heavy lock and key?

How’d you even get your hands on it?”

“A secret.”

“Haha.

Fair enough.

Let’s finish this quickly.”

Both sides accelerated the transfer.

No one wanted to linger.

But then—

“Surround them!”

The Sea of Realms lit up on all sides.

Dozens of military-police squads surged into formation,

And a radiant orb flared in the sky, illuminating everything below.

Zero’s expression darkened.

They’d come.

Sea of Realms Special Operations.

Hundreds of armed personnel appeared,

All in uniform,

Each radiating immense presence.

“We’ve long known your kind couldn’t resist scheming.

No hard proof before—

But this time, we caught you red-handed.”

At the forefront stood Joemil Wills,

Director of Division One.

His chiseled foreign features were grim and unyielding.

Impossible!

Zero clenched her fists.

The goods were here.

That meant they weren’t expendable.

Lord Yue must have made last-minute changes.

Captain Ku turned his withering gaze on Zero.

“After this stunt,

No one in the Sea will trade with you again.”

“I didn’t call them.

Blame won’t help you.”

Zero answered coldly.

“Instead of pointing fingers,

Wouldn’t you rather—”

“Escape?

Don’t bother.”

Another voice rang out from the surrounding Sea—

A torrent of magic surged like a cyclone.

Seawater exploded into the air.

An overwhelming magical presence had arrived.

Not just any esper—

This was far beyond that.

One of the elite.

One in ten thousand.

Magical Alliance Ten Seat—Rank Three.

“I don’t know all the details,

But I do understand one thing—

Caught in the act like this,

You’re finished.”

Xing Yu’s eyes landed behind Zero.

“To think you’d trade something like a Singularity Core.

That alone is enough to damn you for eternity.”

If it had been any other magical girl,

Zero’s team might have resisted—

Bought some time.

Tried to escape.

But this was one of the Ten Seats.

They existed to make the impossible possible.

The Yi Ren Organization had never beaten a Ten Seat without external help.

Except Herrera.

“Lady Xing Yu, there’s no need to waste words.

These people have surely been behind the recent dimensional beast invasions.”

Joemil Wills growled coldly.

His tone grated on her nerves,

But Xing Yu stuck to her own sense of judgment.

She looked to Zero.

“Nothing to say for yourself?”

“Talking’s pointless!”

A ripple of gray surged from Zero’s back.

“Hmph.

Still delusional.”

Joemil sneered.

“Lady Xing Yu, we’ll handle the perimeter.

The traitors are yours.

Eliminate them if necessary.”

“…I’ll decide for myself.”

In the next instant,

A blinding wave of magic erupted,

Its radiance flooding the barren Sea of Realms.

Joemil watched coldly, face unreadable—

Until it wasn’t.

“…Strange.

I sense killing intent.

Strong.

Undirected—unfocused.

Just… pure killing intent.”

…?

His pupils darted sideways.

There, beside him—

A woman.

A woman steeped in danger,

Appearing as if she’d been there all along,

Speaking like an old friend.

Who was she?

“Pardon the late introduction.

Name’s Herrera.

You’ve heard of me, haven’t you?”

Luo You gave a curt nod, then asked with a voice like death itself:

“Were you planning…

To kill everyone here who isn’t one of yours?

Even the magical girls?

And let the Sea of Realms bury every trace?”