— anwhile - Earth - Mississippi —
On a calm, muddy stretch of the Mississippi River, a pontoon tour boat cruised across the gentle surface, serving tourists who were enjoying the scenery.
Today should have been like any other day, with tourists enjoying their scenic tour, but a churning patch of water changed that.
The churning started small before it quickly escalated into a violent whirlpool, and then...
Booooom! Splash!
An explosion rang out, accompanied by a massive splash of water as a pillar of light burst forth from the riverbed.
The tourists were startled and voiced their alarm. So rushed to the opposite side of the boat, away from the anomaly, while others moved closer to get a better look.
Many took out their phones, trying to capture the strange phenonon happening not far from their pontoon boat.
The water then began to surge upward, as if a massive body beneath the river was pushing it from below. The water level started to rise rapidly, spilling over the riverbanks as flash floods invaded the surrounding land.
The water continued to rise nonstop, as if a giant faucet beneath the river had been opened, pouring endless amounts of water into the forests on both sides of the river.
A dark shadow lood beneath the water, its form slowly revealing itself as a massive serpent-like silhouette.
As the water rose higher and higher, the shadow grew larger until it occupied nearly half the width of the Mississippi River.
"What... what is that?" one of the tourists asked, pointing at the shadow beneath the water.
As if hearing those words, the shadow slowly rose.
Splash!
Water exploded upward as the giant serpent-like creature erged from the river.
Its head alone was more than five ters long, with two horns protruding from its skull. The portion of its body rising above the water stretched for more than a hundred ters.
Slowly, it turned its gaze toward the pontoon boat.
Its blue serpentine eyes locked onto the vessel. Hunger and fury filled those eyes before the serpent opened its massive jaws and lunged.
The tourists scread and tried to jump from the boat, but it was too late.
The enormous head descended and crushed the pontoon boat in half before dragging whatever prey it had caught beneath the water.
Blood from its victims drifted up to the surface, creating a horrifying scene.
So of the unlucky people who had jumped into the river and were trying to reach the riverbank were dragged beneath the water. Their screams were drowned out before anyone could hear them.
Only a few truly fortunate survivors, those with strong enough swimming skills, managed to reach the safety of the riverbank.
Even so, all the survivors had to witness what happened next.
The intelligent eyes of the titanic horned serpent turned toward the city to the north, not far from where it had erged.
It was Natchez, the oldest city in Mississippi.
Its serpentine eyes gazed at the city with hunger and fury, but there was also a trace of calculation within them.
Then it quickly dived beneath the water, and the black silhouette surged toward the city at high speed.
— anwhile - Air Force One —
On Air Force One, President Jonah Crump was reading through briefing books. He was about to make a diplomatic visit to China to discuss the economy and various headaches that had been affecting both the country and his political career, hoping to find a way to address them.
At that mont, his National Security Advisor (NSA) entered the office with a solemn expression. He walked toward the President and spoke in a low voice.
"Excuse , Mr. President. There’s urgent news. Five minutes ago, there was an attack in Natchez."
"Was it terrorists? Do we know which group?" The President set down his briefing book and turned toward his NSA.
"It’s not terrorists, Mr. President. It was a giant monster... a kaiju," the NSA said solemnly.
Hearing this, President Crump paused before bursting into laughter.
"Aaahhh hahahaha! Damn... Douglas, I didn’t know you had it in you. But joking at a ti like this, I think..."
"Mr. President, I never joke when I’m on duty." The NSA’s face showed no trace of humor.
"You’re serious?"
At that mont, President Crump’s expression fell, though he still found it difficult to believe.
Without saying anything, the NSA picked up the remote from the table and turned on the television in the office for the President to see.
On the screen, the breaking news appeared. The sound of helicopters, sirens, and gunfire filled the background. Fire and smoke rose on the horizon as a serpent-like creature more than a hundred ters tall destroyed buildings while fighting against those attacking it.
All of these scenes were being broadcast from a highway overlooking the situation from afar.
"Thank you, Dave. What we are seeing here is nothing short of apocalyptic. Just monts ago, a massive creature, what local witnesses are calling a ’Leviathan,’ rose from the Mississippi River and began attacking Natchez.
Right now, our brave police officers and patrol units are engaging it, trying to protect people’s lives, while the National Guard is racing to the scene and is expected to arrive shortly."
Rooooooooooooaaarrrrr!
The monster’s roar thundered through the background as bolts of lightning struck people, buildings, and nearby infrastructure.
"Oh my God! There it is again! It can call down lightning! Dave! We need to move and evacuate now!" the reporter shouted before running off with the caraman.
The screen then switched back to the studio, where a host with a solemn expression spoke.
"Thank you, Sarah. Please stay safe! We’ll continue to bring you live updates on this unprecedented attack on Arican soil!"
Without further ado, the President pressed a button on the phone on his office desk.
"Get Secretary Granger on the line right now," he ordered.
Within seconds, the secure phone connected.
"Richard, it’s the President. We have a Code Red situation in Natchez, Mississippi. A giant creature..." He paused, listening to the other side.
"For f*ck’s sake, Richard! Watch the news! You heard that right. It’s a giant monster! I’m authorizing imdiate air support. Scramble everything we have nearby! Now!"
He hung up and imdiately connected the next line to his Chief of Staff.
"Next, get Governor Tate on the phone. Tell him federal support is coming!"
He then turned toward his NSA.
"Douglas, tell them to turn back to Washington, D.C."
"Already did, Mr. President." said the NSA.
"Good." The President let out a sigh as he massaged his forehead.
"May the Lord look over us."
— Natchez - Battlefield —
It took about 20 minutes for the nearest National Guard unit with light vehicles to arrive, but their duty was not to engage the monster. Their mission was to evacuate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
Right now, the giant monster, the Leviathan, seed more interested in eating people than destroying infrastructure, but its sheer size was causing massive collateral damage to buildings.
At that mont, a thunderous sound echoed from the sky. F-16s from the nearest air base had arrived, three streaks of steel eagles cruising through the air.
The three aircraft locked onto their target, the Leviathan.
"This is Eagle One, flight of three. Target acquired, visual on the creature. Engaging with Mavericks," the lead pilot called calmly.
"Eagle One, this is Overlord. Cleared hot. Engage," ca the reply from the command center.
With confirmation from command, the three F-16s each fired two missiles at the Leviathan.
"Roger. Eagle flight, Mavericks, ripple two. Fox Three."
Six AGM-65 Mavericks dropped from the rails and streaked toward the massive Flood Dragon. The three F-16s banked hard right after release, staying low to avoid possible return fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A few seconds later, multiple bright explosions blood across the creature’s body.
"Eagle One, splash on target," the lead pilot reported. "Good hits. Assessing damage...."
The smoke slowly cleared. A shimring blue energy field flickered into view, completely undamaged.
"Negative, negative! Overlord, be advised, the target has so kind of energy shield. Mavericks had no effect. I say again, no effect on target."
There was a brief, stunned pause on the radio.
"Copy, Eagle One," Overlord responded, the tension and dread were clear even through the professional tone. "All units, Mavericks are ineffective. Your new priority is observation and...."
But before the base could continue, a change occurred in the Leviathan. Electricity began to spark around its head and concentrate on its horns.
Booom!
A blinding white bolt of lightning ripped through the sky. Eagle Three’s F-16 was struck dead center. The jet exploded violently in mid-air, sending burning debris raining down toward the ground.
"Holy... Sh— Eagle Three is down! Eagle Three is down!" the lead pilot shouted, voice cracking with shock. "We’ve lost Eagle Three! The creature just fired so kind of directed lightning strike! I say again! The target has so kind of energy weapon! Lightning attack!"
The sky rapidly darkened as more arcs of electricity danced across the stormy heavens, as if the sky itself was about to collapse.
"No... NO!!"
Overlord’s voice ca back imdiately.
"Eagle One, break break! Get out of there! Take evasive action and climb to angels thirty imdiately! Do not, I repeat, do not get close to that thing!"
But it was too late.
Dozens of powerful bolts of lightning descended from the sky and struck the remaining fighters. Every one of them exploded and fell toward the ground in flas.
There were no survivors.
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