Dealing with the two monsters didn't mark the end of it. Zodhis told them that familiar energy fluctuations had been detected in the Pacific Ocean — presumably another spatial portal like the one the Chitauri had used, except this time it was located deep beneath the Pacific seafloor.
On this front, the Atlanteans were the undisputed experts.
"The monster's point of origin has to be close to the wormhole. If there's any positional drift, we start searching from the deep-sea trench regions."
"Based on my earlier observations, this monster moved using the rather embarrassing method of walking. Given its mass, it should have left footprints on the seabed. If we act quickly, we might be able to follow those tracks all the way back to its emergence point. The satellites up above should have also tracked the monster's approach path, which will make the search considerably easier."
The moment Zodhis finished speaking, Fury turned his gaze toward Tony.
Tony met Fury's stare and took two small steps backward.
"I don't have time for this kind of thing. That monster just damaged my suit. I need adequate time to repair and improve it."
"Hold on." Raising a hand to cut off Stark, who was already preparing to leave the scene, Fury pointed toward the ocean waters now tainted with the monster's blue blood.
"The contamination from the monster's blue blood, and the potential disasters it could trigger — is there any way to deal with that?"
Knifehead had ultimately died near the shallows. Though most of its body had been reduced to ash, small fragments of battle debris still remained.
Factor in the flesh and blood scattered for kilometers in every direction from the superheroes' attacks, and this was simply the price paid for victory.
What would become of the city was anyone's guess, but the blue blood flowing into the sea would certainly be diluted by the seawater. The real question was how long that would take — and whether it might cause mutations in marine life. That was far harder to say.
"I'll need to study its composition before I can figure out a solution. For now, cordon off the area. And stop coming to me for everything — I'm not that kind of researcher!"
Tony got one sentence out before he couldn't hold back the complaint.
Fury's expression seemed to say: Aren't you people supposed to be all-purpose?
Zodhis might not just be all-purpose — he was all-purpose in ways that comprehensively surpassed all of humanity.
"News report: The monster that made landfall in Hokkaido, Japan, was eliminated by the Sword Bureau using an orbital satellite cannon. Large-scale incineration of the monster's corpse and all areas contaminated by its blood splatter was carried out immediately afterward. The giant monster that made landfall in the shallow coastal waters of Los Angeles was also dealt with shortly thereafter."
"The Sword Bureau has expressed humanitarian concern regarding the tsunami and major earthquake triggered in Hokkaido, Japan. The United Nations will assist with disaster relief."
"Furthermore, relevant agencies have announced that the blue blood inside the monsters contains highly dangerous toxins. As such, the landing zones and adjacent waters are very likely contaminated. To ensure the safety of residents' lives and property, those living near Los Angeles are advised not to cross the quarantine line."
At least until the Sword Bureau could pinpoint the exact location of the spatial wormhole, the necessary arrangements would demand enormous manpower and resources — especially considering the Bureau had lost considerable strength during the previous Chitauri invasion and still hadn't fully recovered.
The Sword Bureau's new headquarters in New York City was still under construction.
But the spatial wormhole lay in the deep Pacific. Although the United Nations, after deliberation, had decided that everyone should contribute a few warships and submarines to help out, the Pacific Ocean was simply too vast. Finding a spatial wormhole created by aliens in its depths remained staggeringly difficult. And that was before accounting for the fact that each contributing party was also pursuing its own agenda.
The Atlanteans had sent out a considerable number of personnel to dive into the deep sea in search of the portal. It seemed humanity had more or less pinned all its hopes on the Atlanteans — the human navies were just sending a submarine or two as a token gesture.
Everyone had been hoping for a brief stretch of peace. But then things went wrong again.
"Director Fury — the situation has turned dire."
Coulson, a man who could always be counted on to wear that polished, businesslike smile, now bore an expression of gravity Fury had never seen on him before. He couldn't smile at all right now. And the reason was very simple.
"Per your earlier instructions, the UN-dispatched warships and submarines, along with the Atlanteans, have been conducting the search for the spatial wormhole in the central Pacific. Our Sword Bureau, after borrowing a military submarine, has also been tracing the movement trajectory of the monster that made landfall on the Los Angeles coast yesterday. But not long ago, we received the latest report from the deep..."
Coulson wiped the cold sweat seeping from his forehead. His voice couldn't help but tremble.
"In the area where the tracks of the monster codenamed Knifehead disappear, new footprints have appeared — six sets in total. Analysis indicates those six sets of tracks are moving in five different directions. Two minutes ago, multiple warships, submarines, and Atlantean personnel lost contact with headquarters."
The furrow that had just begun to ease from Fury's brow returned. His expression dark, he pressed further.
"And the spatial wormhole? Any sign of it?"
"None." Coulson shook his head with regret.
"Logically speaking, if multiple sets of footprints appear simultaneously in one location, that area should without a doubt be where the spatial wormhole is."
"We already know the aliens are using wormhole technology to link to Earth, using it to transport monsters to the deep Pacific. But Earth's position naturally shifts continuously along its orbital path. In other words, if the spatial wormhole closes, they'll have a hard time accurately reconnecting to Earth with their wormhole tech. There'd be no second wave of monsters. Are they trying to use this single opportunity to utterly destroy all the landmasses surrounding the Pacific?"
"And the timing — no one expected this. Two monsters died just yesterday, and today they've deployed six at once. Sure enough, intelligent antagonists don't send their cannon fodder to die one at a time. There's no question — even if the monsters are merely individual combat units, just a handful of them is more than any known organization on Earth's surface can handle."
Zodhis's voice cut in without warning.
"Is the Sword of Damocles still operational?"
Fury asked immediately.
"There is only one Sword of Damocles. It cannot handle that many monsters."
Zodhis replied evenly.
"Director — is there really nothing we can do to re—"
"Calm down first, Agent Coulson." He cut off Coulson's unfinished words.
"Now. Let's sit down and analyze this. We know there are six monsters in the depths of the Pacific, and the spatial wormhole that should be there has vanished without a trace. Closing the door before the objective is achieved obviously makes no sense. That leaves us with two possible explanations for why we can't find it."
"First possibility: the invaders didn't just build a single gate in the Pacific. They built two in different regions. They abandoned the gate that would be discovered — the one that might even endanger the invaders' own safety — and are deploying new monsters from an unknown spatial wormhole elsewhere..."
Zodhis found this very interesting.
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)