“Protect the fixtures, protect the fixtures!”

“Drag the molding machine!”

“Water’s flooding in—move!”

The giant rings that make up the Origin Dragon Palace are split like a Yin-Yang: topside is the public living belt; below is staff quarters—plus the labs.

Today, the researchers who live by quiet routines ran like startled fish, then forced order out of chaos, choosing to save the precious instruments first.

An unfamiliar silhouette walked in from one end of the circular corridor.

“You evacuate. Leave this to me.”

The staff heard a girl’s voice. Their first reflex was to scold the troublemaker; then it hit them—

This is the lower level of the Origin Dragon Palace. What girl could be here?

Hands froze mid‑hustle. Eyes turned as one.

She wore a black sailor uniform. Silver hair streamed like frost. Her face said, plain as daylight: believe me or don’t—it’s your call.

“Time for the hero to take the stage!”

“????”

Everyone blanked. Then she pulled out the Polaris Staff, and every wise soul chose the right hill to stand on.

“Alright. Evacuation complete…”

Ivaris stepped to the window and took stock. Flash Energy, Soul Power, and Spiral Force had fallen into a triple sync; the sea itself pulsed with an odd field—yet it wasn’t wild or deadly.

It smelled like the Causal Horizon.

The Infinite Power twister the two had kicked up, rooted in the giant maelstrom, was ripping the curtain between the here and the beyond.

If it kept going, quantum quirks would balloon into the macro. The place would gain a rune’s weight and turn into a true Devil Sea—not some Bermuda rumor mill, but a real abyssal maw that swallows everything.

“But even if I lift the whole city out of the sea, where do I set it—”

…

The moment Yekase became red lightning and split the tide, the fight was over.

Through a tangled Infinite Power composite reaction, the nameless mermaid gained Infinite Power vision. Unfamiliar signals surged in from every direction like a migratory storm; she lost control in an instant, rolled by the current, nearly smashed into a reef.

“...uh, ha…” Whatever had been jamming her mouth had vanished. Her voice scraped out like rust.

“Why…”

She could only watch that red spear of night fade into the distance.

Don’t leave me. Don’t throw me away. Don’t—

“Give me back my… darkness—”

Doctor, where did the Doctor go? It’s so bright here, I can’t focus on swimming!

Most blind folks have wondered about sight, but she wasn’t one of them. The light was noise to her, a grit in the gears that slowed her tail.

Finally, Infinite Power vision dragged her into seeing. In the maelstrom’s eye, a brilliant funnel‑shaped building sobbed in the Infinite Power storm, then slowly… rose?

It wasn’t a trick.

Surging Flash Energy and Spiral Force couldn’t vent outward. The maelstrom gathered them all into the calm eye, and another force—out of nowhere—joined in. The whole structure tore free of its rock cradle.

At the vortex’s heart, the sea bulged upward like a dome.

The Origin Dragon Palace showed its true body at last, then—

—lunged toward the sky!

Ivaris meant to ram it straight into low Earth orbit.

She dug up the circuit map in record time and found that, though this city was supposed to be a fixed submarine, it had a complete, ready‑to‑use aerospace drive.

Origin Dragon Palace was…the world’s first prototype low‑gravity mega‑city.

Low gravity.

Astronauts train underwater. But since the Earth‑Moon orbit network firmed up in recent decades, most national space programs went conservative. They barely trained new crews—lucky Ivaris could recognize those neat engine clusters, thanks to Yekase’s old science lessons.

This city was built to go to space!

Maybe the test phase got kicked down every hallway; maybe shareholders killed it. It stayed in the sea… and there was no time left to check a single bolt.

“Give me—higher—”

Engines breaching water. Forced ignition with Flash Energy.

“Fly—!”

The Origin Dragon Palace staff, docking in West City in lifeboats, could only stare at the giant shadow and the small figure braced under it.

…Huh?

Can a city be pushed?

What are those thrusters spitting tongues of fire?

“Ou—our city…”

“…flew…”

Ivaris let go, dropped back into the water, scooped the feral‑faced Yekase like a fish, raised her high, and pressed her against the Palace’s belly.

“Yekase, you slacker—can you please try to be useful?”

…

“…Huh?” Yekase came to, flicked her tail twice, and slapped the Palace’s hull.

“Awake? Pump Flash Energy. The engines are about to die!”

“Eh—eh—eh?!”

“If this drops, you know what happens, right?”

What happens—something this huge, this heavy, slamming into the sea, would birth a tsunami. Hokkaido and the northern cities would be hit. Countless lives would be gone.

“—I know.”

Together, they fed Flash Energy into the Origin Dragon Palace. A pale red glow wrapped the entire city, turning this split‑stage steel drill into a blazing reentry ember.

Still not enough.

Punching through the surface and lighting the engines was the hungriest step. Ivaris doing both alone was a proper miracle, thanks to the Doctor of Death’s Spiral Force tug—but that was the limit.

Yekase’s Flash Energy could keep the Palace from falling, yet the push to break atmosphere needed fuel they couldn’t squeeze, even if they wrung themselves dry.

How long to evolve bodies that could do it? Calculate… no, skip it.

What else can we do?

What else—

“First and Second Maintenance Squads reporting!”

“Dragon Palace City—leave it to us!”

Two ragged teams of engineering mechs took off from the shore, gathered around Ivaris like iron gulls, and shouldered the Palace together.

They pushed the city toward the sky.

“You guys… you want to die?! Fall back! Those mechs can’t take it! They’ll tear apart!”

“We’ve got worker’s comp!”

…Is—is that the point?

Mechs kept popping apart and falling like meteors, but those left held their line. Fresh frames flew in from Sanshima and Honshu.

“Yo. Fancy seeing you too.”

She turned. The red Magical Girl stood one‑handed on an antenna, perched on the head of a huge mech—the Machine‑Knight “Starmark.”

Dewa’s furious voice blared from a speaker: [Why does the Palace blow up the moment you arrive?! 20 words or less. Explain!]

“An Infinite Power storm spun inside the maelstrom. It’s tearing open the dimensional veil!”

[OK. Not bad!]

With Starmark joining, the Origin Dragon Palace climbed faster. It pierced cloud curtains and slid into the endless, glass‑calm stratosphere. The view cracked wide open.

—Krrrk‑krrrk‑krrrk!

The last few engineering mechs burned out and dropped.

“I’ll go cover the pilots! The rest is yours!”

Crimson Field swivel‑kicked the Palace, ricocheting herself downward.

“How are you together?” Yekase asked.

[We crossed paths on the road!]

Dewa snapped back, then tossed another line: [How did she tour from Old Tokyo to Akita in two days?]

“You don’t need the Magical Girl’s logistics that clear.”

[I’m not interested.]

That stubborn tone? Pure Lu Yao energy.

[Since we’re here, here’s the plan. Dragon Palace City was designed to dock under the Star Staff orbital station. If you want to play launch vehicle, I don’t mind going straight in.]

Starmark broke into seven bodies that spread across the Palace, holding attitude. Dewa took “Azure Sky” up top to steer and aim for a one‑shot align and latch.

The stratosphere runs from around ten kilometers to fifty, with almost no weather. After the first panic died, the ascent grew—honestly—pretty dull.

“Dear,”

Ivaris started chatting with Yekase, still pinned like a living battery against sheet metal.

“What’s up?” Yekase had no hands, no feet, no motion, just pumping juice. She was more bored than Ivaris and answered at once.

“Ling Yi… could be our daughter.”

“Huh? Daughter—Ling Yi?”

…At a moment like this? You drop that?!

And you two are only ten years apart, right?! Yekase could understand wanting a child, but using a comrade as a substitute? Way too much.

Ivaris pivoted: “Then how about you give me one?”

“Ah???”

Yekase’s nature is compromise. Say you want a child—she won’t. Suggest using a teammate—she’ll retreat and agree to a baby. Ivaris believed that with her whole heart.

And sure enough, a clear hesitation bloomed.

“Uh, this… well… okay… maybe… hiss… that does… kind of make sense…”

—Ew! Yes! She bought it! She’s in the loop!

Yekase never considered Ivaris might be running a play. Her head was foggy after decoupling the Soul Power sync—she missed the key point: why was it already decided she’d be the pregnant one?

“Four years till we head back to Huaxia. Subtract the Moon stuff… about two years left… minus ten months… the rest lines up with weaning… seems fine.”

“Yeah, yeah. We won’t be able to tear around, but your research doesn’t need travel. When we hit the Huaxia Branch, Grandma and Aunt can help babysit.”

“Mmm…” Yekase hesitated at a knot she couldn’t name, then gave a reluctant nod.

Yatta‑ze—!

Out of her sight, Ivaris struck a silent, outrageous victory face.