The burning crater stretched across what used to be a dense section of forest south of Manila. Trees had been flattened outward from the impact zone like grass hit by a bomb blast. Fires spread across shattered roads and broken terrain while smoke climbed into the night sky in thick black columns.

Inside the command center, everyone stared at the thermal feed.

The massive heat signature inside the crater shifted again.

Slowly.

But undeniably.

"It’s trying to stand," one of the analysts said quietly.

Adrian narrowed his eyes at the screen.

"Zoom in."

The drone camera adjusted immediately, lowering altitude while focusing on the impact site.

The image stabilized.

Then the operators saw it clearly.

One enormous wing pushed upward through the smoke first.

Burning.

Damaged.

Torn apart in several sections.

Then a claw emerged from beneath the debris, digging into the crater wall as the creature tried dragging itself upward.

"Jesus Christ..." Falcon One muttered over comms.

Back in the air, the fighters circled cautiously above the burning crash site. None of the pilots flew directly over the crater anymore.

Not after what they had seen that thing do.

The creature growled again.

Weaker this time.

But still powerful enough that the audio sensors distorted briefly from the sound.

Then its head emerged through the smoke.

Half its face was burned black.

One horn-like crest had snapped off during the crash.

Its chest still glowed faintly beneath shattered armor, though the molten fissures were unstable now, flickering instead of burning steadily.

"It’s hurt badly," Adrian said.

"But not dying," one of the operators replied.

Adrian stayed silent for a second.

Then he looked toward the tactical screen.

"How much ordnance do we still have?"

The response came quickly.

"Patriot batteries are running low after the earlier saturation strike. Fighters still have partial missile loads. CIWS operational. Avenger systems operational."

Adrian nodded once.

Enough.

Hopefully.

Then he grabbed the mic again.

"All aircraft, prepare for final engagement."

Inside the cockpits, the pilots immediately straightened.

Raptor One rolled slightly, lining the aircraft back toward the crater below.

"Command, you sure about this?" the pilot asked.

Adrian’s eyes stayed on the burning monster trying to pull itself upright.

"If that thing gets airborne again, we may not get another chance."

No one argued after that.

Back at the crater, the creature finally dragged half its body free from the impact zone.

The sight was horrifying.

One wing barely functioned anymore, hanging unevenly from shredded joints and exposed muscle. Its chest cavity had partially collapsed inward from the earlier missile strikes, glowing blood leaking down across its torso like liquid fire.

But it was still alive.

Still dangerous.

Then it looked upward.

Toward the circling aircraft.

The growl deepened immediately.

"Contact reacting," one analyst warned.

The creature’s chest flickered brighter again.

Not fully.

Not enough for another massive beam.

But enough to worry everyone watching.

Adrian immediately reacted.

"Do not let it charge!"

"Copy!"

Raptor One moved first.

The F-22 dove through the clouds again, afterburners flaring behind it as the aircraft lined up directly toward the creature’s exposed chest.

"Raptor One in hot."

The pilot locked the targeting reticle onto the unstable glowing fissures.

Missile tone.

"Fox Two."

The Sidewinder launched.

The missile streaked downward into the crater at extreme speed before slamming directly into the creature’s chest.

Impact.

The explosion rocked the crater.

Fire erupted outward across the monster’s torso, forcing it backward against the crater wall.

It screamed again.

This time weaker.

Falcon flight attacked next.

"Falcon One engaging!"

"Fox Three!"

AMRAAMs dropped from the F-35s and accelerated downward, disappearing into the smoke seconds before detonating around the creature.

The ground shook again.

Chunks of burning debris blasted upward from the crater while the shockwave rolled across the nearby forest.

Still—

The heat signature remained. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"We’re hurting it but not killing it!" Falcon Two shouted.

Then Adrian saw something.

The exposed chest fissures were unstable now.

Pulsing.

Collapsing inward.

The internal heat buildup had nowhere to go anymore.

And suddenly—

An idea formed.

"Wait..." Adrian muttered.

He stepped closer to the screen.

"Focus thermal imaging on the chest cavity."

The display zoomed tighter.

Inside the shattered chest armor, unstable energy surged violently beneath the skin, building pressure every second.

The creature was becoming its own bomb.

Adrian grabbed the mic instantly.

"All units, listen carefully."

The pilots waited.

"That chest cavity is unstable. We rupture it completely, the internal energy may collapse inward."

"You mean detonate it?" Falcon One asked.

"Exactly."

A brief silence followed.

Then Raptor Two answered.

"...Well that sounds terrible for him."

Adrian ignored the comment.

"I want concentrated fire only on the chest. No spread shots. No wing targeting. Collapse the core."

"Copy!"

The fighters repositioned immediately.

Raptor One climbed sharply before rolling inverted and diving again toward the crater. Falcon flight split wide to attack from separate angles simultaneously.

Back on the ground, Patriot Alpha finished preparing its final remaining interceptors.

The battery commander looked toward the incoming firing solutions.

"Last volley ready."

Adrian nodded once.

"Send it."

The Patriots launched.

Four interceptors screamed upward before curving sharply downward toward the crater.

At the same time, the fighters attacked.

"Fox Two!"

"Fox Three!"

Missiles streaked through the smoke from every direction while Raptor One descended almost vertically toward the target.

Then the Vulcan cannon opened fire.

The M61A2 roared continuously now, hundreds of armor-piercing rounds tearing directly into the exposed chest cavity.

The creature screamed violently.

Its chest glowed brighter.

Brighter.

Too bright.

The first Patriot interceptor hit.

Then another.

Then all at once, everything detonated.

The crater vanished behind a blinding orange-white explosion as the unstable energy inside the creature’s chest finally collapsed catastrophically. Fire erupted upward into the sky like a volcanic eruption, consuming the entire impact zone beneath it.

Shockwaves rolled outward hard enough to shake the fighter aircraft mid-flight.

Even the command center screens flickered from the blast interference.

"Pull up! Pull up!" Falcon One shouted.

The aircraft scattered immediately away from the explosion while burning debris blasted thousands of feet into the air.

Inside the crater—

The creature’s scream suddenly stopped.

Completely.

The explosion continued burning for several seconds before finally fading enough for the thermal feeds to recover.

Smoke covered everything.

No movement visible.

No clear image.

Then slowly—

The thermal scan recalibrated.

One operator stared at the readings.

Then looked back toward Adrian.

"...Sir."

Adrian didn’t blink.

"Report."

The operator swallowed once.

Then finally said the words everyone in the room had been waiting for.

"No heat signature detected."

The room went silent.

Not from fear this time.

From disbelief.

Back in the air, Raptor One circled carefully above the crater while smoke drifted upward beneath him.

The massive creature was gone.

Nothing remained except fire, shattered terrain, and a crater glowing faintly from residual heat.

Falcon Two exhaled slowly over comms.

"...Did we actually kill that thing?"

Adrian looked at the screen for several more seconds before finally answering.

"Yes."

Outside Basa Air Base, the sirens slowly stopped.

For the first time that night, the sky became quiet again.