On the patrol ship, everyone stared dumbfounded at the huge warship that suddenly emerged from the thick fog, watching its bow, almost twice the height of the patrol ship, pass by the ship's side. They watched its mottled, rusty hull slowly move forward. Above the *Warrior*, old, tattered flags seemed to still hang, the strips of cloth, their original appearance completely unidentifiable, swaying wildly in the night wind, looking like loose… shrouds.

The patrol ship's commander was the first to react.

"Continue turning, accelerate away!" he shouted. "Don't get caught in that ship's wake!"

Passing this close to a capital warship was extremely dangerous, especially for a small vessel like a patrol ship—the currents around and behind the larger ship would greatly interfere with the smaller ship's course. In the violent rocking, any collision would be fatal.

The steam core roared again. The helmsman now felt the terrifying influence of the large ship firsthand—the patrol ship's hull was shifting and swaying to one side. He had to do everything he could to stabilize the ship in the erratic currents and accelerate away from the behemoth looming nearby.

The helmsman's efforts were on the verge of failure.

The *Warrior*'s speed exceeded expectations, and the turbulence surrounding the ship was even more bizarre, surpassing the helmsman's years of experience—he felt as if countless invisible ropes were entangling the patrol boat's rudder and hull underwater, maliciously dragging the small ship closer to the old warship, like a ghost ship.

The entire ship began to creak and groan unsettlingly, as if being violently torn apart by something invisible.

The little distance the patrol ship had gained through its sudden turn and full-throttle engine lasted only a few breaths. Then, the entire ship began to move toward the stern of the *Warrior* at a speed visible to the naked eye. The rusty "cliff" rapidly magnified in everyone's view, and many swaying, vaguely human figures appeared near the *Warrior*'s rails, looking down with chilling gazes at the small ship about to capsize.

"We're going to crash! We're going to crash!"

Someone cried out. The sailors immediately ran to the nearest railings or handrails to avoid being thrown overboard at the moment of impact. However, at the instant the patrol ship's side touched the stern of the *Warrior*—the latter disappeared.

The *Warrior* disappeared, vanishing before everyone's eyes.

Like a startling awakening from a nightmare, the old capital warship, which had been looming like a dark cloud only a second before, vanished instantly from the soldiers' sight. Only a terrifying impression and a feeling of fear trembled in everyone's hearts. Those on the bridge and deck looked at each other, as if waking from a dream, lost and unsure of where they were.

The fog dissipated. The cold light of the World's Scar shone on the sea, and the cold sea breeze cleared many heads. On the empty sea, only a stretch of undulating broken waves remained, along with fragments of floating ice drifting in the distance.

The patrol ship's commander slowly released his grip on the railing and came to the porthole, looking out at the sea. A subordinate walked to his side, muttering as if to himself, "A mass hallucination? Was that just a phantom?"

"...It wasn't a hallucination," the commander said in a low voice. He raised his hand, pointing to a damaged railing outside the porthole. "See that? The railing is broken—we did crash into something."

"Then where did it go? The previous *Petrel* wasn't like this… the *Petrel* didn't just 'disappear' until it was completely destroyed. And the currents around us suddenly changed just now. The helmsman couldn't even control the course…"

The commander didn't speak for a moment. After a long silence, he said slowly, "Perhaps… we just sailed into some kind of interstice—the ghost ship that suddenly appeared and disappeared wasn't the one that vanished, it was us."

An expression of astonishment and horror instantly appeared on the subordinate's face. Then, he subconsciously looked at the distant sea and the direction of Frost City. After a few seconds, he opened his mouth, "Then… are we back in the real world now?"

"...Simultaneously call the *Sea Mist* and Frost Island," the commander said quickly after a brief silence. "Compare their responses, determine our own status—until we can be sure of the situation, do not approach any ships that appear in the nearby waters."

"Yes, sir."

"They encountered a warship that sank forty years ago? And then that warship suddenly disappeared just before they were about to collide?" In the captain's cabin of the *Sea Mist*, Tirian leaned back in his chair, raising his eyebrows after listening to First Mate Aiden's report. "Now they're still patrolling the sea area—because they're afraid to confirm whether they've returned to the real world?"

"Yes, the commander of that patrol ship seems to have judged from the phenomena encountered when they encountered the *Warrior* that they briefly sailed into an 'anomalous sea area'. Now they are contacting the *Sea Mist* fleet and Frost City at the same time, trying to use this to determine whether the surrounding environment is real," Aiden nodded, then shrugged. "I think they might be a little scared, a bit too nervous."

"...No, this is the right kind of caution," Tirian shook his head, his expression quite serious. "We may not like the current Frost Navy, but we must admit that they have indeed defended the city-state for fifty years—they are no less experienced than us in fighting supernatural phenomena. That commander's judgment should be correct."

Listening to the captain's words, the expression on Aiden's face finally became serious as well. "So… they really briefly sailed into a… 'anomalous sea area' that might overlap with the real world? And they encountered the *Warrior* there?"

"The *Warrior*… I still remember that ship. When it was first built, the Queen personally cut the ribbon for it," Tirian said with emotion. "Do you remember how it sank?"

"Of course I remember, after all, we sank it," First Mate Aiden nodded. "After that ship was controlled by the rebels, it underwent some modifications and was sent to wipe out our 'rebel fleet'. As a result, in the first engagement, it was sunk by your ambush outside Frost City—several rounds of artillery fire hit the ammunition depot and fuel depot in succession. It almost broke in half."

"Yes, broken in half, but the *Warrior* seen by that patrol ship was a complete ship," Tirian said. "So it's obvious—a counterfeit similar to the *Petrel*."

"Frost has been looking for the source of those 'counterfeits' because they always seem to 'appear out of thin air'..." Aiden said thoughtfully. "Could it be… a hidden overlapping space?"

"Frost should receive the news soon. The smart ones among them will analyze that possibility. As for us, we don't need to worry about them—we have our own mission."

"Are you going to report this to the Old Captain?"

"Of course. He's been waiting for my news," Tirian said, pointing outside. "You go out first, close the door, and don't let anyone in."

"Yes, Captain."

"Tirian reported a new situation."

In Frost City, inside the temporary residence on Oak Street, Duncan said to Morris and Vanna, who were sitting across from him.

Beside him, Nina was engrossed in a history book, while Shirley, who had wandered around with him until midnight, was already nodding off.

"A new situation?" Morris immediately adjusted his posture. "Something happened at sea?"

"A Frost patrol ship encountered a naval warship that sank forty years ago in the southwestern sea area. It's suspected to be a 'counterfeit' like the *Petrel*, but no battle broke out—after a slight collision, the 'counterfeit' warship disappeared before the patrol ship's eyes. It's uncertain whether a new counterfeit suddenly appeared on the sea, or whether the patrol ship briefly sailed into an anomalous sea area parallel to the real world—the second possibility is more likely."

"...An anomalous sea area parallel to the real world." Morris analyzed the sentence, his expression gradually becoming serious. He looked up. "This seems to confirm your discovery tonight…"

"Yes, another Frost City appeared in the mirror—if all the counterfeits, and even the cultists' lair, are hidden in a 'mirror image', then it can explain why we can't find the source of the pollution even after searching the entire city," Duncan said slowly. "Also, the 'Ravens' that went missing for a time and then returned out of nowhere, the large number of clones of unknown origin in the city, the disappearance of certain personnel… it can all be explained."

Morris and Vanna looked at each other. In each other's eyes, they saw the same gravity.

"...I can deal with ordinary heretics and demons. Even if the enemy is strong, we can always solve the problem by mobilizing more manpower and firepower, but enemies in the mirror…" Vanna frowned, looking a little troubled. "I can't think of a solution for a while… I can't even imagine how those heretics did it."

"If this is also the authority of the Gloom Lord, then his power is obviously not only spreading from the deep sea to the surface, but is also spreading on a large scale. This is no longer the 'small-scale' movement of creating a few clones," Morris also said.

The two "professionals" seemed to be in trouble. Seeing this, Duncan smiled. "Actually, I've already thrown a spark into the other side of the mirror."

Morris & Vanna: "...Huh?"