Request for Backup

What did a few hundred meters mean?

The largest land animal in nature was the African elephant, measuring six to seven and a half meters long. The largest animal in the ocean was the blue whale, which could reach thirty-three meters.

This unknown giant creature was several times longer than a blue whale.

"Leo, check the radar. See if it's malfunctioning."

Winnie Leonard gave the order.

He would rather believe the radar was broken than believe a creature at least several hundred meters long existed in this world.

Leo began checking it with practiced hands.

Just then, a call from the Yusenar came over the radio. A voice spoke in a very low whisper. "...This is the Yusenar. I'm Captain Yano Michihiko. How many ships did you bring? Do you have heavy weapons?"

They had made contact.

Leo felt some relief. At least that meant the ship wasn't a ghost ship.

He immediately abandoned the radar check to focus on the more urgent task: rescuing them. "We're rescue personnel with the Iceland Coast Guard. Tell me where you are, and I'll send someone to get you right away."

"We're aboard the Yusenar, in the captain's quarters." Yano Michihiko swallowed and glanced nervously around him. He kept his voice barely above a whisper, afraid of alerting the enormous Sea Monster. "Do you have missiles aboard? The really powerful kind?"

Given the Sea Monster's size, he doubted ordinary heavy weapons would do much. It wasn't that he lacked faith in modern weaponry. The creature was simply too big. Even if a heavy weapon pierced its flesh, the wound would be nothing to it.

"No."

Leo answered.

How could they?

The Odin was called an Open Ocean patrol ship, but in practice, it was a rescue vessel.

An antique from the last century, the Odin had long since been retired. Otherwise, it would never have been sent here on a rescue mission.

"Aren't you an Open Ocean patrol ship? Why don't you have missiles?"

Yano Michihiko grew frantic.

How are you supposed to fight a Sea Monster without missiles? And how are you supposed to save me if you don't fight it?

Why didn't they have missiles?

Did that even need asking?

Because they had no money, of course.

A single missile could cost millions or even tens of millions of euros. The Icelandic government couldn't afford that, and even if it could, it wouldn't equip them with missiles.

Besides, what would a rescue crew need missiles for? Shooting at a Storm?

Leo assumed the man was so frightened he wasn't thinking straight. He reassured him, "Don't be nervous. Don't panic. We're a professional rescue team. Stay where you are. We're coming to get you."

"You'd better save yourselves first."

With a click, Yano Michihiko ended the call.

Leo: "..."

What kind of attitude was that?

You're the one being rescued. You don't have to thank us, but did you have to tell us to save ourselves?

I ought to turn this ship around and head straight back to Iceland. You can stay here and let the sea breeze cool your head.

Leo resisted the urge to turn the ship around. His face dark, he contacted the captain and reported what had happened.

"Captain, I just made contact with the people aboard the Yusenar..."

Winnie Leonard listened to the report, his expression turning grave. "Contact them again. Ask what exactly happened."

Captain Yano Michihiko's behavior was too strange.

It didn't sound at all as though they had suffered the maritime accident described in their distress call. It sounded more like they had encountered some sort of unnatural Disaster.

Pirates?

The thought flashed through Winnie Leonard's mind, but he dismissed it at once.

This was Northern Europe, not Africa. Where would pirates come from? Besides, if pirates had taken the Yusenar, they probably wouldn't have been able to contact anyone aboard.

While Winnie Leonard was thinking, an enormous wave appeared out of nowhere and rocked the Odin. Before he could ask what was happening, a tremendous splash rang out. A colossal shape rose with the waves from the ocean's mysterious depths.

Seawater streamed down black scales that rose and fell like mountain peaks. A head almost as large as a ten-thousand-ton ship blocked the sun, casting a shadow over the entire Odin. It was as if the whole world had suddenly gone dark.

The Demigod's majesty poured forth unchecked, rooting Winnie Leonard to the spot. An uncontrollable fear welled up inside him.

Winnie Leonard had served in a foreign legion. He could remain perfectly calm under gunfire, and even felt a twisted thrill at the sight of bodies torn apart.

But before this giant serpent, he was like a mouse facing a cat. All courage to resist left him.

"J-Jormungandr..." Finkdale swallowed with difficulty. His entire body had gone rigid, and the name sprang instinctively to mind.

Legend spoke of a giant serpent named Jormungandr, whose immense body could coil around the entire world.

The serpent before him was not large enough to encircle Blue Star, but to Finkdale, it might as well have been.

"It's huge..."

Leo stared at the monster from the bridge, his legs trembling.

Now he knew the radar hadn't malfunctioned. A creature this enormous really did exist, and it was even more astonishing than the underwater search-and-rescue radar had indicated.

He finally understood why the captain of the Yusenar had asked whether they had brought missiles.

But damn it, could missiles even hurt that Sea Monster?

"They've completely lost the will to resist... A god's majesty terrifies mortals even more than I expected." Jiang Hao watched it all through his mirror double and drew back his divine aura.

He wanted word of what happened here to spread and cause a sensation, preparing the way for the next step of his plan. He had no intention of actually killing anyone.

As soon as the divine aura receded, Winnie Leonard felt the crushing weight lift from his chest. His body was still stiff, and the huge monster still terrified him, but at least he had regained control of himself.

Without hesitation, Winnie Leonard jumped into a lifeboat and started its engine. As he threw things at Jormungandr's body, he shouted frantically over the radio, "Quick! Notify headquarters! Tell them we've encountered a Sea Monster and need backup!"

Leo snapped out of his daze and lunged for the console. "Calling headquarters! Calling headquarters! This is the Odin! We've encountered a Sea Monster and need backup! Repeat, we've encountered a Sea Monster! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!"