LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2: First Blood
Chapter 2: First Blood
Deep in the Pacific Ocean, Oblivion drifted through the crushing darkness. Emerging from the shattered remnants of his shell, he'd felt a strange pull, a metallic resonance echoing through the planet. It had drawn him down, deeper into the abyss, where the water pressed against his new form. The water felt… different. Not hostile, but definitely not the air he dimly remembered. He moved with an instinctive grace, his body adapting effortlessly to the aquatic environment. The resonance grew stronger, a metallic hum guiding him towards his first meal.
He found it in a vast deposit of iron ore, jutting from the seabed like a jagged, underwater mountain range. Using his Devour ability, he opened his maw, a swirling vortex of energy drawing in the metal. It disintegrated as it entered, the energy flowing through him, fueling his growth. Days blurred into weeks, then months. Oblivion roamed the ocean floor, drawn by the metallic hum. He devoured iron deposits, manganese nodules, any metal he could find. With each meal, he grew larger, stronger. His body elongated, becoming more streamlined. Spines sharpened along his back, and his tail grew longer and more powerful. He reached fifty meters in height, and a nascent bud of bone began to push through his forehead, a precursor to his second horn. He sensed, instinctively, that he would need a richer diet soon, but for now, the seabed provided enough.
[Pan Pacific Defense Corps HQ – Shatterdome]
Ten years had passed since Trespasser's devastating attack on San Francisco. Ten years of escalating Kaiju incursions, each one more destructive than the last. The world had changed. Coastal cities were now fortified bastions, ringed by concrete walls and early warning systems. The Jaeger program, once humanity's greatest hope, had faltered. The colossal mechs, while powerful, proved too costly and too vulnerable against the increasingly cunning Kaiju. The program had been officially decommissioned a year prior, a bitter defeat for humanity. Now, the focus was on the Wall, a massive, coastal defense project meant to physically bar the Kaiju from reaching land.
Suddenly, red lights flashed, and alarms blared through the Shatterdome. Technicians scrambled to their stations, their faces grim. On the main screen, a blip appeared, moving rapidly towards the Californian coast.
Marshal Pentecost's voice boomed through the intercom. "Category IV event underway. Jaeger pilots, prepare for deployment. Kaiju designation: 'Karloff.' Target: Los Angeles. Everyone to their stations!"
As the Shatterdome buzzed with activity, a very different drama was unfolding in the depths of the Pacific.
[In the depths of Pacific]
Oblivion sensed a new presence, a disturbance in the water. It was large, even larger than himself. The metallic hum that usually drew him to metal deposits was absent. Instead, there was something else… a primal sense of aggression.
The creature emerged from the gloom, a grotesque amalgamation of aquatic forms. Its body was long and serpentine, like an eel, but it had the thick, mottled skin of a frog and the powerful limbs of a lizard. Its head was disproportionately large, with bulging, yellow eyes and a wide, tooth-filled maw. The creature's skin was a sickly green, covered in barnacles and other parasitic organisms. It moved with a slow, deliberate grace, its powerful tail propelling it through the water.
The creature lunged, its claw raking through the water towards Oblivion. He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the blow. The creature's momentum carried it past, exposing its flank. Oblivion seized the opportunity, his jaws snapping shut on its thick neck. The creature roared, a deep, guttural sound that vibrated through the water, sending tremors through the seabed. It lashed out with its free claw, striking Oblivion's head. The force of the blow dislodged his grip, tearing away chunks of flesh and scales. The water around them turned a dark, oily blue as the creature's blood spilled into the ocean, the scent acrid and metallic.
The creature thrashed, its powerful tail slamming against Oblivion's side. He was thrown sideways, crashing into a rocky outcrop. Dazed, he struggled to regain his footing. The creature, sensing his vulnerability, lunged again, its jaws wide open, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth. Oblivion rolled away just in time, the creature's teeth snapping shut inches from his head. He retaliated with a swift strike of his tail, hitting the Kaiju squarely in the head. The creature staggered, disoriented. Oblivion seized the opportunity, raking his claws across its torso, tearing deep gashes in its thick hide. The creature roared again, a sound of pain and fury.
Oblivion then clamped his jaws onto its right arm, tearing it free with a sickening crunch. The creature wailed, a high-pitched screech that echoed through the depths. Using his Devour ability, Oblivion pulled a large, jagged rock towards him, launching it with a powerful flick of his tail. The rock struck the creature's head, further disorienting it. Oblivion pressed his advantage, ramming his horn into its skull. The creature shuddered, its body going limp.
The blue blood continued to seep into the surrounding water, the scent of it turning the stomachs of the smaller fish that scattered in panic. But something unexpected began to happen. Where the blue blood dispersed, the water shimmered, and a faint, emerald glow emanated from the seabed. Patches of dead coral, bleached white from the Kaiju's toxic blood, began to regain their vibrant colors. Small anemones unfurled their tentacles, and tiny fish, initially repulsed by the blood, now darted curiously around the revitalized coral.
Oblivion activated his Devour ability, this time focusing on the creature's corpse and the polluted water around it. The swirling vortex of energy drew in the remains, disintegrating them and cleansing the surrounding area. As the last traces of blue blood vanished, the emerald glow intensified, spreading outwards like a wave of life. The barren patch of seabed where the battle had taken place was now a thriving oasis of coral and marine life. He felt a surge of energy, a noticeable boost to his own power.
[Pan Pacific Defense Corps HQ - Shatterdome]
The radar screen remained stubbornly blank. Karloff, the Category IV Kaiju, had vanished. It should have been attacking Los Angeles by now, but there was no sign of it. The sudden disappearance had thrown the Shatterdome into a state of tense confusion.
"Report!" Marshal Pentecost barked, his voice echoing through the command center.
"Marshal, we've lost all contact with Karloff," a technician reported, his fingers flying across his keyboard. "It just… disappeared from the radar. No energy signature, no movement, nothing."
"Impossible," Pentecost muttered, his brow furrowed. "Kaiju don't just vanish."
"The Kaiju have been adapting," another officer offered. "They're learning, becoming more cunning. Could it be some kind of cloaking ability?"
Pentecost rubbed his temples, a headache throbbing behind his eyes. The thought of a Kaiju capable of cloaking itself was deeply unsettling. It would render their early warning systems useless, making them vulnerable to surprise attacks. "Send Jaeger teams Wolf Charlie and Epsilon Wave to Karloff's last known location. Investigate. I want answers."
Two hours later, Wolf Charlie and Epsilon Wave descended into the depths, their powerful floodlights cutting through the darkness. They reached the area where Karloff had last been detected and found a scene of underwater carnage. Deep gouges marked the seabed, and patches of dark blue Kaiju blood stained the surrounding rocks.
"Command, we've found signs of a battle," the pilot of Wolf Charlie reported. "Deep gashes in the seabed, residual Kaiju blood… looks like it was a short, violent encounter."
"Any sign of Karloff?" Pentecost's voice crackled through the comms.
"Negative, Marshal. No sign of the Kaiju… or whatever it fought."
"Whatever it fought?" Pentecost repeated, a chill running down his spine. "What do you mean?"
"There are other markings here, Marshal," the pilot of Epsilon Wave interjected. "Different claw marks, different… bite marks. This wasn't a Jaeger. And it wasn't Karloff alone."
"A double event?" Pentecost considered the possibility. Two Kaiju fighting each other was something he couldn't fathom. But the alternative—a rogue Jaeger, operating outside of the PPDC's control—was even more disturbing. "Report back to base. We need to analyze this data."
A month passed. The mystery of the missing Kaiju and its unseen opponent continued to plague the PPDC. They analyzed the seabed markings, the Kaiju blood, but found no conclusive answers. The incident remained a chilling reminder of the unknown threats lurking in the depths, a sign that the war with the Kaiju was far from over. The revitalized patch of seabed, now teeming with life, went unnoticed by human eyes, a secret harbored by the deep.