From a distance, Sam could already "see" Godzilla's towering form, rising like a mountain to a height of nearly a hundred meters. Its skin was as rough as that of an ancient, thousand-year-old tree, covered in thick, armored scales. Beneath these scales pulsed muscles that seemed forged from molten lava and steel.
Rows of sharp, green-glowing spines lined its back, casting the only light in the dark depths of the sea.
"Watch out!" Sam warned, even though they were underwater. Her helmet prevented seawater from flooding her mouth, so speaking was no problem.
As a high-pitched humming sound grew louder, Godzilla's spines shone brighter. It opened its mouth and unleashed a sweeping beam of dark green energy toward Sam and Mad Lion.
Holy crap! Aside from the color of its breath attack, this thing looked exactly like Godzilla!
The beam was fast, but Sam and Mad Lion easily dodged it. This attack would likely be devastating against a massive enemy, but aiming at two "ant-sized" targets like them proved far more challenging.
Seeing its breath attack fail, Godzilla swung its thick, powerful tail with renewed speed, lashing out toward the pair.
Meanwhile, Mad Lion grinned widely, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Now that Godzilla was glowing, he could finally see clearly. He paddled furiously, gradually accelerating as he charged directly toward the colossal monster.
In a matter of seconds, the two collided. On one side stood Godzilla, a behemoth over a hundred meters tall, and on the other, a human barely two meters tall. It was an obvious mismatch.
As expected, nothing unexpected happened.
The instant they collided, Mad Lion was sent hurtling backward with even greater force than he had charged forward.
The underwater environment was the decisive factor. While Mad Lion possessed immense strength, how much of it could he effectively exert in the water? No matter how hard he swam, he couldn't possibly match his speed on land.
In the next instant, the swarm of fishmen surged forward. Firefly, unwilling to linger, maneuvered SAM into a burst of speed. Just as before, she charged straight through the school of fishmen, searing flames erupting around her. She became an underwater meteor of fire, plunging downward toward the location of the Dimensional Rift.
Most of the fishmen paused in surprise at the sight. After a moment's hesitation, they chose not to pursue SAM, but instead continued to close in on Mad Lion.
These fishmen were clearly intelligent. They knew they couldn't match SAM's speed, and the other intruder appeared weaker. Just as they had bypassed SAM to attack the destroyer on the sea surface, they now focused their assault on Mad Lion.
At first glance, this might seem like abandoning their comrade. But in truth, it was a testament to their trust in him.
Firefly believed Mad Lion could handle the enemies. She decided to first reach the Dimensional Rift, deploy the Herta Puppet, and then return to assist him.
Mad Lion, meanwhile, paid no attention to such tactical considerations. He was completely absorbed in the thrill of battle. Too many enemies swarming him? The environment hindering his full strength?
Nonsense! Those were excuses for the weak!
Too many enemies? Then he would tear them all to shreds! Unfavorable environment? Then he would defy it and fight even harder!
Mad Lion never feared an "unfair" fight, nor did he dread "scheming traps." Even if he were to be ambushed and killed one day, he would only blame himself for being too weak to see through such petty tricks, never accusing his enemies of resorting to underhanded tactics.
Bang—!!!
Godzilla's massive tail slammed into Mad Lion's chest with devastating force. Instantly, Mad Lion was sent hurtling backward like a cannonball. Several fishmen who foolishly tried to block his path were crushed into bloody pulp.
Even Mad Lion himself coughed up a bubble of air, his remaining dive time drastically reduced.
Thud—!
Another dull thud echoed as Mad Lion crashed into the muddy seabed. Considering they had been fighting at a depth of 1,000 meters, and this part of the seabed was at least 1,500 meters deep, this single strike had sent him flying a full 500 meters downward!
Anyone else struck with such force would have been instantly obliterated, but Mad Lion slowly rose from the seabed. Ignoring his mangled chest, he grinned.
He had finally found a foothold!
Mad Lion slowly gathered his strength in the pitch-black depths of the sea. Spotting a faint glimmer of light on Godzilla's body, he lunged forward with explosive force.
In that instant, the seabed within a hundred-meter radius of Mad Lion's takeoff point shattered completely. He clenched his right fist and unleashed a devastating punch!
Meanwhile, SAM had arrived near the Dimensional Rift. He slowed to a halt, and in the next moment, a small Herta Puppet materialized beside him.
To prevent its hair from interfering with underwater operations, Herta had specially styled the puppet's hair into a bun and equipped it with a swimming cap.
Upon landing, the puppet immediately activated, circling the Dimensional Rift and collecting data.
The true technological challenge in creating the Herta Puppet wasn't simply making it function normally at a depth of 1,500 meters, but rather integrating the astonishingly dense array of advanced sensors packed within its frame.
After deploying the puppet, just as SAM was preparing to return to the battle, a massive water surge swept in from an unknown distance. SAM remained unscathed, but the Herta Puppet on the seabed was tossed violently by the wave, spinning several times before crashing down hard on its rear.
Herta Puppet: ???
"What's going on?" Firefly paused, then rushed toward the source of the surging water. She soon spotted Mad Lion locked in combat with a horde of fishmen, and Godzilla floating belly-up, clearly unconscious.
Without hesitation, she joined the fray. Her mission was clear: fight these monsters, hold them back as long as possible, and buy the Herta Puppet enough time.
SAM proved far more efficient at dealing with the fishmen than Mad Lion, who was relying solely on his bare hands. Each of SAM's flame-infused punches incinerated swathes of fishmen, but the price was a steady rise in the surrounding seawater's temperature.
Fortunately, Mad Lion had previously endured SAM's Supernova Overload at point-blank range. This minor heat was nothing to him, so SAM didn't need to worry about accidentally cooking his teammate alive.