The Pacific Ocean exploded.
Massive waves rose from every direction, crashing into the research vessel like invisible hammers made of water. The hull groaned violently. Windows cracked. Red emergency lights flashed throughout the corridors.
WHOOMMMMM!
The enormous vessel was lifted several meters into the air—
then slammed brutally back onto the ocean.
Everyone was thrown off balance.
Outside—
the night sky was filled with black clouds swirling like a wound torn open across the heavens.
And in the middle of the raging ocean, two colossal creatures faced each other.
Leviathan Thalassa.
Guardian of the Ocean Core.
Its enormous body stretched across the sea like a living mountain rising from the depths. Its blue scales shimmered like crystals born beneath the earth. Every breath it took sent waves rolling across the ocean.
Opposite it—
Cosmic Leviadon.
The Void Dragon that had fallen from orbit.
Its body was black like a dead meteor. Crimson cracks glowed across its chest and wings. Its eyes radiated a hunger that knew no end.
Bimo clung to the ship's railing, his face pale.
"Okay…"
He swallowed hard.
"If we survive this, I'm retiring from the ocean."
Dika grabbed him before another wave could throw him overboard.
"You said that in the Sahara."
"And I meant it both times!"
No one had time to laugh.
Cosmic Leviadon spread its wings.
The wind exploded outward.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Its roar shook the water, sending white fractures racing across the surface of the ocean.
Farhan nearly dropped his laptop.
"Its energy frequency is disrupting the ship's systems!"
Lila immediately rushed to the main control panel.
"I'll take over the backup controls!"
Sinta braced herself against the wall.
"Everyone stay focused! Don't panic!"
Rani grabbed a crew member who had slipped across the wet deck.
Bimo and Dika worked together to force a steel door shut before the pressure of the water tore it completely off its hinges.
In the middle of the chaos—
Leviathan moved.
It did not attack out of anger.
It attacked because an entire world lay behind it—
a world it had sworn to protect.
The colossal creature surged through the waves like a spear launched from the ocean itself.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
It slammed into Cosmic Leviadon's chest.
An explosion of water erupted into the sky like a collapsing mountain.
The research vessel was thrown sideways.
The lights went out.
Total darkness.
Only flashes of lightning and the radiant energy of the two dragons illuminated the ocean.
Cosmic Leviadon was driven backward—
but it quickly retaliated.
A claw the size of a tower slammed into Leviathan's neck.
CRAAASH!
Blue scales shattered.
Glowing blood fell into the ocean like a rain of stars.
Arga stared, holding his breath.
Leviathan was hurt.
And the ocean itself seemed to roar with it.
ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!
Leviathan opened its jaws.
The surrounding sea began to tremble.
Water from kilometers away was drawn toward it, forming a gigantic ring of blue light.
Farhan stared at the emergency monitor that had just flickered back to life.
"The Ocean Core's energy is rising rapidly!"
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"It's calling upon the heart of the ocean."
Leviathan unleashed its attack.
WHOOMMMMMMMMMM!
A massive beam of blue energy tore through the night and struck Cosmic Leviadon directly in the chest.
The cosmic creature was blasted high into the sky.
Its black wings burned beneath the ocean's radiant energy.
Bimo whistled.
"Okay."
"Our sea dragon is pretty crazy."
But Kai didn't smile.
"It's not over."
High above them—
Cosmic Leviadon suddenly stopped falling.
It simply hovered in the air.
The crimson cracks across its body began glowing brighter.
Black energy gathered inside its jaws.
It wasn't merely an attack.
It was a void that devoured light itself.
Lila stared at the monitor, her hands trembling.
"Its energy output just tripled!"
Farhan's face went pale.
"If that hits the ocean… the Ocean Core could fracture."
Sinta turned sharply.
"Leviathan can't withstand that alone."
Arga was already standing at the edge of the ship.
The ocean wind slammed against his face.
The MBG Lunchbox was in his hands.
Twenty-six glowing grains of rice spun rapidly inside it like a miniature galaxy.
Kai stepped beside him.
"You haven't recovered."
Arga didn't answer.
He took another step forward.
A sharp pain pierced his chest.
His body remembered the Sahara.
His knee weakened.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
But his eyes remained fixed on the ocean.
"If the Ocean Core falls…"
He drew a heavy breath.
"…they'll come for the next Core."
Kai stared at him for several seconds.
Then he raised his hand.
Golden energy began to glow around his body.
"Then we stand together."
Cosmic Leviadon unleashed its attack.
The sky split apart.
A colossal beam of void energy descended from above like a black apocalypse.
WHOOOOOOOOOOM!
The entire crew screamed.
But Arga raised the MBG Lunchbox toward the sky.
Golden light erupted from his body.
BOOOOM!
A wave of warmth swept across the deck.
For one second—
the storm seemed to stop.
Two energies collided above the ocean.
Black against gold.
Darkness against life.
The resulting explosion turned night into daylight for a fleeting moment.
Arga screamed as he fought against the pressure.
The veins in his arms stood out.
The twenty-six glowing grains spun faster and faster.
Kai stood beside him, adding his own strength.
But it still wasn't enough.
Leviathan roared.
It felt the call.
The sea dragon's entire body erupted in brilliant blue light.
Then it surged straight through the explosion and slammed into Cosmic Leviadon from the side.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The two colossal creatures crashed into the ocean.
The sea split apart.
A wave as tall as a skyscraper raced toward the ship.
Sinta shouted,
"Massive impact! Hold on!"
The wave slammed into the vessel from the front.
The deck cracked.
The radar mast snapped.
The main engines died.
The ship tilted violently.
Rani slipped—
Bimo caught her hand just in time.
Dika kicked the emergency generator into operation.
The lights flickered back on.
Farhan was still clutching his soaked laptop.
"Still alive!"
Lila stared at the radar screen, which was flickering erratically.
Then her expression changed.
"Wait…"
Farhan turned toward her.
"What now?!"
She pointed toward the sky.
A new red point had appeared in orbit.
Then it began growing rapidly.
Far larger than the first.
The radar couldn't even calculate its mass.
Kai looked up.
And for the first time since all of this began—
his expression tightened.
"No…"
Out in the ocean, Leviathan was rising from the water.
Then it suddenly stopped.
The Ocean Guardian looked toward the sky.
And—
it took one step backward.
Bimo stared, his voice barely more than a whisper.
"Leviathan…"
He swallowed.
"…is it afraid?"
The storm clouds parted.
The sky seemed to split open from the outside.
A colossal shadow descended slowly.
It wasn't like a monster.
It was like a catastrophe given a body.
Arga forced himself upright—
then collapsed to one knee.
The MBG Lunchbox shook violently in his hands.
And among the twenty-six glowing grains—
a new grain of rice began to take shape.
Farhan whispered, trembling,
"The twenty… seventh grain…?"
The colossal shadow opened its eyes in the sky.
Two red eyes, as large as moons, stared down at Earth.
And the entire Pacific Ocean fell silent.