Another violent impact slammed against the submarine almost immediately afterward.

BANG.

The hull groaned loudly.

Several warning indicators flashed across the compartment while crew members struggled to maintain balance.

"Hull integrity holding at ninety-two percent!" one officer reported.

The creature was still circling them.

Fast.

Aggressive.

And worst of all—

Intelligent enough to continue targeting weak points around the submarine.

The sonar operator’s voice rose again.

"Captain, multiple tentacle movements detected around the stern!"

"Helm, evasive maneuver pattern delta-three!"

"Aye, Captain!"

The submarine immediately tilted sharply while the pump-jet propulsion system increased output again.

Deep within the vessel, turbines screamed louder as the nuclear reactor pushed more power into propulsion systems.

The submarine accelerated through the water while maneuvering hard to avoid another incoming strike.

Then something massive moved across the sonar display again.

THOOM.

THOOM.

The sound almost felt alive.

Captain Weber looked toward the weapons officer.

"Torpedo status?"

"Tube one expended. Tubes two through four ready."

"Target lock?"

The weapons officer hesitated briefly.

"That’s the problem, sir."

Weber narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

"The creature’s movement is too erratic. Sonar lock keeps breaking."

The thing outside was moving far faster than its size should allow.

That alone terrified everyone inside the submarine.

A creature that massive should’ve been slow.

Heavy.

Predictable.

Instead it moved like a predator.

Then suddenly—

"CONTACT STARBOARD!"

Another tentacle slammed across the submarine’s side.

BANG.

The lights flickered violently.

One of the consoles exploded in sparks.

A crewman was thrown backward onto the floor hard enough to crack his head against the bulkhead.

"Medic!"

The submarine creaked loudly under pressure.

Captain Weber immediately grabbed the intercom.

"Damage control teams move to section four immediately! Check for hull compromise!"

"Aye, Captain!"

Further inside the vessel, sailors wearing emergency damage control gear rushed through narrow compartments carrying seal kits, portable welding tools, pressure equipment, and emergency foam systems.

Submarine combat was brutal.

There was no open battlefield.

No room to retreat.

If the hull failed underwater—

Everyone died.

Meanwhile, back in Subic Bay, the command center inside the naval operations building had already become active.

Adrian stood in front of the main tactical display while naval officers rapidly relayed incoming data from Captain Weber’s submarine.

The atmosphere inside the room felt tense.

Especially after the transmitted sonar images arrived.

Ryan stared toward the display in disbelief.

"That thing’s bigger than the submarine itself..."

The tactical screen displayed partial sonar outlines of the massive cephalopod-like creature moving beneath the Philippine Sea.

Even incomplete, the scale looked horrifying.

Naval officers moved quickly around the room while communication channels opened nonstop.

One officer stepped toward Adrian.

"Sir, Captain Weber is requesting immediate naval support. The submarine is currently engaged with hostile marine contact."

Adrian nodded immediately.

"Deploy the fleet."

The room instantly moved faster afterward.

"How many ships, sir?"

Adrian looked toward the tactical map.

"Two Arleigh Burke destroyers. One cruiser. Anti-submarine warfare configuration."

Ryan looked toward him.

"You think missiles will even work on that thing?"

Adrian crossed his arms slightly.

"I don’t know."

Then he looked back toward the sonar image again.

"But we’re about to find out."

Minutes later.

Subic Bay erupted into activity.

Sirens echoed across the harbor while destroyer crews sprinted across docks preparing for emergency deployment. Missile systems activated aboard the warships while radar arrays rotated above the vessels.

The first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer slowly pulled away from the dock under tug assistance before its own propulsion systems fully engaged.

Massive gas turbine engines roared alive beneath the hull.

The ship accelerated outward through the harbor.

Behind it, another destroyer followed.

Then the cruiser.

Floodlights reflected across their gray hulls while crew members secured equipment along the decks.

Vertical launch systems remained armed.

Naval guns loaded.

Close-in weapon systems active.

Anti-submarine warfare helicopters prepared on flight decks.

This was no longer reconnaissance.

This was a naval combat operation.

Back beneath the sea, Captain Weber’s submarine continued maneuvering desperately through dark waters.

The creature struck again.

BANG.

This time the submarine rolled slightly from the force.

"Damage report!"

"Minor flooding section seven! Contained!"

The sonar operator suddenly looked horrified.

"Captain..."

Weber turned immediately.

"What now?"

The operator pointed toward the tactical display.

Everyone inside the command compartment stared afterward.

Because the sonar image no longer showed just one tentacle near them.

It showed several.

Moving around the submarine from multiple directions simultaneously.

Like the creature was preparing to crush them completely.

Captain Weber slowly exhaled through his nose.

Then he grabbed the intercom again.

"All hands brace for impact."

Outside the submarine, deep beneath the Philippine Sea, the enormous creature finally began revealing its full size as colossal tentacles emerged from the darkness surrounding the vessel.

And somewhere above the ocean surface, Adrian’s destroyers raced toward the battle at full speed.

The dark waters of the Philippine Sea churned beneath the advancing warships while radar systems scanned continuously across the horizon.

Inside the Combat Information Center of the lead destroyer, naval personnel worked rapidly across illuminated consoles while sonar feeds streamed directly from Captain Weber’s submarine.

One of the officers looked visibly disturbed.

"Jesus... that thing’s huge."

The tactical display showed fragmented sonar outlines of the creature moving around the submarine below.

Even incomplete, the scale looked monstrous.

The destroyer captain immediately began issuing orders.

"Prepare anti-submarine warfare systems."

"Aye, Captain."

Crew members activated additional sonar arrays beneath the ship while helicopter crews rushed toward the flight deck preparing an SH-60 Seahawk for launch.

Unlike conventional naval combat, nobody here had ever trained to fight something biological this large beneath the ocean.

Everything now was improvisation.

Meanwhile beneath the sea, the submarine shook again violently.

BANG.

This time warning alarms erupted instantly across several compartments.

"Hull stress critical on starboard section!"

"Outer plating deformation detected!"

Captain Weber grabbed the side rail tightly as the submarine tilted hard beneath another impact.

The creature was no longer probing them.

It was trying to destroy them.

One of the sonar operators suddenly looked horrified.

"Captain! Massive movement directly below us!"

"What?"

Before anyone could react—

The submarine lurched upward violently.

Several crewmen slammed into nearby consoles while loose equipment crashed across the floor.

"Ballast instability!"

The creature had wrapped something around the underside of the submarine.

And now it was lifting them.

The realization spread fear instantly across the compartment.

Because submarines were not designed for this.

They were designed to hide from ships.

To evade torpedoes.

To fight other submarines.

Not giant underwater monsters capable of physically grabbing them.

Captain Weber reacted immediately.

"Emergency countermeasure launch! Fire tube two!"

"Aye, Captain!"

CLUNK.

WHOOSH.

Another heavyweight torpedo launched directly downward beneath the submarine.

Seconds later—

BOOM.

The underwater explosion shook the surrounding ocean violently.

This time the reaction was immediate.

A deep roar echoed faintly through the hull itself.

Not mechanical.

Not sonar distortion.

A roar.

The submarine suddenly dropped again as the creature released its grip momentarily.

"Stabilize depth!" Weber barked.

"Aye!"

The vessel leveled out while warning alarms gradually stopped flashing.

But then the sonar operator’s face turned pale again.

"...Captain."

Weber already hated that tone.

"What now?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The operator stared at the display silently for a second before answering.

"The creature is ascending."

"Toward us?"

"No, sir."

The operator swallowed slightly.

"It’s heading for the surface."