[FMMISM] Chapter 44: A Monster at Tokyo Bay

As news of the Gigantic Horror's appearance in Tokyo Bay spread, it instantly made headlines worldwide.

"A monster! It's really a monster!"

"Dude, a monster just showed up in Tokyo! Turns out those monsters in Ultraman are real!"

"Seriously? Are we looking at doomsday in 1999 or what..."

"Man, what's gonna happen to the world now?"

===

"God has sent a sanction against sinners..."

"Why would God send such an ugly monster to sanction us?! It must be Satan!"

"Seriously... I'm still single..."

===

"What are you all afraid of? Just bomb that monster with two rounds of F15 bombings."

"Ever heard of the GBU-28 bunker buster? How about the BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile?"

"My goodness, do something productive, will ya? Stop comparing this monster with those monsters in movies!"

"Who the hell doesn't know monsters in movies are fake, it's just a military otaku like you who believe them."

===

"Hey, don't you think the monster looks kinda cute?"

"It feels like a shape that girls would like."

"Are you guys fucking serious?"

"Of course, Katsushika Hokusai never deceives!"

===

At this moment, on another continent separated by the Pacific Ocean from the Gigantic Horror.

Inside the Pentagon, the president, the secretary of state, and generals convened an emergency meeting amidst a tense atmosphere surpassing the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Eventually, the entire meeting lasted only twenty-five minutes.

After a brief twenty-five-minute discussion, the most powerful nation on Earth unanimously reached an inevitable conclusion—to intercept the monster.

On one hand, there was a strong demand from the Japanese government, since according to the agreement between the two countries, the United States was obligated to protect Japanese territorial waters.

On the more important side, it was for the honor and dignity of the nation, and for reasons not spoken aloud in front of the media—interests.

"We will fight the monster to the end and protect our allies!"

In the White House where press conferences were conducted, the president passionately declared to the world in a stirring speech.

At the same time, the front line finally received orders from the higher-ups and swiftly began operations.

On the dark, turbulent waves, three Aegis destroyers headed towards the Gigantic Horror in unison.

Dozens of F-15 fighter jets also took off from the Kadena Air Base, flying at near-supersonic speeds through lightning-filled clouds towards the waters near Tokyo.

At Yokosuka Port, closest to the incident site, aboard the Forrestal-class aircraft carrier, USS Independence, numerous F-14s were also urgently taking off.

===

High above Tokyo Bay, where the brave soldiers were dispatched to eliminate the Gigantic Horror, they communicated via radio.

"Hmph... a giant monster, seriously? Sounds like a joke to me."

"Yeah, it's not like we're in a movie."

Although they were informed from the start that their target was a giant monster, there was not a trace of fear on the faces of these soldiers wielding the most advanced modern weapons.

"Anyway, a giant monster is just a giant target, right?"

"Oh, c'mon guys, seriously? Do people really think a carbon-based life form can stand against thermal weapons?"

"Ugh, can't stand these ignorant folks from backward countries. All products of compulsory education who slipped through the cracks."

"My girlfriend's just like that, y'know. She called me internationally a while ago, crying on the phone as soon as she heard I was going into action."

"Aren't you getting married back home next week? Hahaha, congratulations in advance, buddy."

"Alright guys, let's get this done before daybreak!"

""OOOHHHHHH—!!!""

In this relaxed atmosphere, several steel eagles fiercely dove towards the direction of the Gigantic Horror.

===

'Hou? They already here?'

Deep within the heart of the Gigantic Horror's body, Ragna, acting as its heart, slowly opened his eyes.

With over a thousand tentacles of various sizes covering the Gigantic Horror's entire body, he could keenly sense electronic signals fluctuating within a radius of twenty kilometers.

It was what they called a biological radar.

'Let's see what my buddy Clinton has brought me as a big gift.'

'Mm-hmm, mm-hmm...'

'F-14s, F/A-18s, F-15s, totaling over forty aircraft...'

'Ten Apache and WZ-10 helicopters...'

'On the shores, there are a dozen Type 90 main battle tanks... Oh, these were sent by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to support the artillery fire, huh?'

'Now, onto the main course... three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and one Forrestal-class aircraft carrier? Hmm, it's fewer than expected, but it looks like I can settle things before dawn.'

In the next moment, the Gigantic Horror let out a deep roar, riding massive waves and thick fog, slithering toward the shore.

Truthfully, while Ragna wasn't fond of the United States, he also didn't hate it enough to want to destroy its people. Of course, he wasn't intending to uphold justice either, since today, he was simply here to have some fun.

'Alright, let me check if you guys have any weapons of mass destruction.'

With a chuckle, Ragna closed his eyes again.

'You'd better have some...'

===

"Impossible... the radar, unable to use...?"

Watching the devices inside the cockpit go haywire, the pilots aboard their fighter jets were left speechless with astonishment.

While reporting the abnormal situation to the command center, the officers in the command center racked their brains, considering various possibilities.

Could it be due to the rare, decade-long fog this morning? Or perhaps the monster's skin was so unique that it could evade radar detection?

No.

None of these two could cause the devices of the fighter jets to go haywire.

Without a doubt, the monster had released something like bioelectromagnetic waves that could disrupt the radar's normal function.

At this thought, cold sweat involuntarily dripped down the pilots' bodies.

If such a thing truly existed, it would undoubtedly surpass the current technological capabilities of Earth.

At this moment, a younger pilot, however, thought of a possibly even more terrifying reality.

'Could it be that this monster has intelligence?'

===

Soon, a new command came from the command center.

"Reduce altitude and prepare for attack. Eliminate the monster before it reaches Yokosuka Port."

"...Is this for real?"

One of the pilots gasped at such a radical command.

"Shouldn't we observe the situation first before deciding?"

In truth, the reason the command center issued such a rash command was that the Gigantic Horror was currently approaching the aircraft carrier docked at the port in a straight line.

Indeed, from the beginning, its target was the aircraft carrier.

Thud!

"Damn it! We must not let it succeed! We cannot even allow it to approach Independence!"

In the Pentagon's conference room, the Navy's chief of operations shouted in anger and slammed the table.

Of course, frontline soldiers like the pilots were not privy to such inside information.

"What? Are you scared? Even if it has anti-radar, it's just flesh and blood."

With a nonchalant smile, one of the pilots completed the fighter jet's standard maneuver, doing a slow spiral descent with his F-14.

"Wait! Ghost Two! Don't charge ahead like that!"

"Huh? What exactly are you afraid of—"

Without warning, the voice over the radio abruptly stopped, and along with it, the silhouette of the F-14 vanished into the fog.

"Hey! Answer me, Ghost Two!"

Meanwhile, as soon as the fighter jet entered the hunting range of the Gigantic Horror, Ragna sensed it.

In the next moment, the Gigantic Horror raised its tentacles.

Even though the thrashing tentacles seemed slow, their tips could surpass the speed of sound like whips.

Without surprise, the fighter jet was caught by one of the tentacles and bitten by suction cups filled with sharp teeth on it.

After the pilot got ejected from the fighter jet, it was forcibly pulled down from the sky.

In the blink of an eye, the fighter jet turned into a pile of scrap metal, deeply embedded in the protoplasm of the Gigantic Horror's body, being devoured.

Surprisingly, the entire process took less than ten seconds.

ROOOAAARRR—!!!

As the Gigantic Horror was done with its meal, it slowly rotated its countless eyeballs on its surface, looking up at its prey in the sky.

At the same time, the higher-ups sitting upright in the Pentagon felt a simultaneous shiver run down their spines as they watched the camera footage.

Even though they were on the distant other end of the Earth, they seemed to feel the giant monster's oppressive gaze overflowing with pressure on them.