It is the Russian.

It is always the Russian.

"Mother of God! Get us away from that thing! Get us away! Now!"

But it is too late.

The amphibious monstrosity is speeding through the water like a homing torpedo with all of the deadly intentions.

And all the men and women within a nuclear submarine scream in utter terror as the radioactive lizard clamps down onto their military vessel with its enormous and powerful jaw.

The monster straight out of a movie proceeds to gut the submarine with its steel teeth and then drags what is left of the nuclear vessel along with all of its crewmen into the crushing depth of the sea.

This is what happen when you decide to test your nuclear weapons in the middle of the ocean.

You give birth to Godzilla!

Actually, it is not just Godzilla.

There are a whole host of monsters being formed by the remnants of the vaporized black markers.

Not all micromachines are destroyed in the nuclear strike, and they can replicate at an incredible rate as long as there are raw materials available.

While the idea is really just a joke initially, it is still hilarious to see more than half a dozen Kaiju taking down all those hostile nuclear submarines and laying absolute waste to the supporting naval fleet, full of battleships and destroyers and carriers.

The Russian is really going all out.

Unfortunately for them, nothing short of a point-blank nuclear blast can take down a micromachines monstrosity, so it is more or less a one-sided massacre.

That will teach them to mess with my plan.

I admit that their high-yield warheads do deal some serious damages to Legion, but the damages they inflicted are negated quickly enough to not even matter despite being in battle.

Furthermore, Legion can even emulate the Godzilla's signature atomic breath by detonating a fusion bomb housed within a powerful forcefield.

The released nuclear energy is then funneled out and directed at whatever needed to be atomized.

It is quite a spectacle to see the atomic breath being used against modern military vessels right outside of the big screen.

I should do this more often.

Replicating science fiction weaponry, I mean.

And it is not the only signature attacks that Legion can emulate for the Kaiju.

Incineration plasma beam and gravity shockwave are just some of the attacks that the Kaiju can launch at the 20th century warships without any restrain.

There is no need for restrain.

It isn't like this is the prime-reality.

Lacking powerful energy shield or forcefield, those Russian warships couldn't stand a chance.

Honestly, steel cannot withstand such an intense directional blast of heat and pressure let alone flesh and bones.

The people on those ships are instantly killed.

And their warships reduce to molten scrap metals, scattering across the surface the ocean and sinking to the deepest depth below.

As for all the radioactive or similar byproducts, Legion will clean that all up once he finishes chastising the Russian for their ill-thought actions.

They didn't really think this through, but their desperation is understandable from their perspective.

I would have done the same if I see my family and friends are eaten alive by alien spheres.

And considering that more than 30% of their people are being locked up in stasis cell within the spatial dimension while the rest are in a state of fear and panic, the Russian might as well go down in history with a big bang and try to take out as much of those alien bastards as possible.

That is what they are thinking.

It is better to be killed than to be enslaved by a technologically superior species, eh, comrade?

Honestly, must the military think of the worst-case scenario?

Yes. Actually.

It is their job to.

The Russian politicians usually keep their military from going stupid, but sadly, almost all of them are corrupt, so they are locked up in the stasis cell.

Oops.

It is just one of those causes and effects.

The destroyed black markers are promptly replaced by the spaceships hovering in high orbit, meaning that those good men and women have died for nothing.

Well, not for nothing.

The Russian did give the world a nice but rather short battle between Kaiju and their military.

I think it would be better seeing giant robots fighting Kaiju.

At least it would be considered a fight.

Next time then.

I mean another world then.

Of course, Legion did not understand the underlying humor and cultural references. He merely follows my plan for retaliation as according to the parameters and constrains that I have specified.

Legion cannot deviate from that.

He doesn't have the brain to.

This means no bombarding the Russian into oblivion from the starships in orbit, even if that does make a lot more sense, considering the technological advantages.

But raining destruction onto the planet while being out of range for retaliation is a little overpowered.

It is also somewhat cheating.

At least let the other side thinks they can win before crushing their hopes and dreams with impunity.

And a battle is called a battle when each side get a shot.

In any case, Legion has demonstrated to the human race what the aliens are fully capable of.

That is, killing humans with absolutely no remorse.

It definitely gets the message across.

Seeing what happened to one of the superpowers, even if a former one, the American and the Chinese immediately discard any attempt at destroying one of the black markers with their nuclear weapons.

The American didn't want to get their proud men and women killed pointlessly against impossible odd while the Chinese just wants to protect their people from any form of Japanese culture.

Alright. That is a bit racist, but it is their current line of thoughts.

Since nuclear weapons prove completely fruitless against the aliens and their structures, I am sure the world military will try something else instead of actually bending over and take it up the ass like they are supposed to.

Of course, they won't take it up the ass.

They aren't gay.

Heh.

And I expect nothing less from mankind. I mean the relentless will to fight, not the gay part.

In the face of hopelessness, humanity tends to fight to the bitter end.

Humanity has shown me this over and over again in the erased timeline of the Galactic Empire.

It is a huge problem when people fight me to the last man even if there is no hope of victory, especially if they truly believe their sacrifice mean something in the long run.

All they did is buy time with their lives.

Time that I can get back effortlessly.

Honestly, I wish that only my side has such a fanatic belief and devotion.

But this is what freedom grants them.

Freedom is annoying, but taking that away, what do we really left with?

Besides, it does make things more interesting and challenging.

Boredom is actually very effective against me.

"Is that a fucking Godzilla!?"

Joshua calls out when the news reporters finally talk about the battle across the sea.

What little footages they have managed to scrap together to broadcast tell enough of the whole story.

The Russian attacks and the Russian just get massacred.

By impossible monsters no less.

And with all the ghostly voices and hallucinations going around, everyone does wonder to themselves whether what they are seeing on the television is real or not.

They will come to a correct conclusion eventually.

"Language, Josh."

John tells his son sternly. His eyes soon return to the television screen and capture the images of those Kaiju destroying the Russian military effortlessly.

And when micromachines monsters are done with the slaughtering of good Russian men and women, they roar towards the sky before breaking apart and scattering into the wind like dust. Silvery dust.

It is merely for effect.

Those micromachines are regrouping under the sea and away from prying eyes.

But for such titanic monstrosities to be created from nothing and then being reduced to nothing strike absolute fear into everyone.

And if anyone in the world still believe that humanity can win against a spacefaring alien race through some bullshit tactics or ideas like in the movies, they might as well stick their head into the sand.

There is simply no other way to convince them otherwise.

To demonstrate the seriousness of the attack, the black makers throughout the world hum with power and extend the sphere of their influence. More people are starting to hear voices and see things even if they are standing far away from the markers.

The people didn't need to come in direct contact with the black markers either to start mumbling all those strange strings of numbers and random words like a broken record on repeat.

It is absolutely terrifying.

"I can hear it."

I mumble softly and look at my mother.

Stephanie heard me, and I could see the fear and concern in her beautiful eyes.

"Max."

I response to her worry with a faint smile and shake my head, telling her not to make a big deal out of it. It will only create unnecessary tension in the room and induce fears in everyone else.

This is all an act, of course. Even at maximum power and range, those generated brainwaves shouldn't be able to penetrate the shielded underground complex.

I spend a bit more time with my grandfather and his family before slipping away to the study room. I resume working on deciphering the encryption that Legion has come up with.

It is more than annoying that I couldn't solve this before the time is up.

The time is almost up. Everything is ready for me to initiate first contact. It will stop the people all over the world doing more stupid things.

Although I could cheat and compress time within this room, Legion would know.

And even if I prevent both Legion and Selene from watching me, I would know that I have cheated.

I would know that I have admitted defeat and cheated!

There is no way I am going to lose to a virtual intelligence, even if I programmed the damn thing!

C'mon brain! Think! Think!

"Max. Please. Please stop trying to decipher it."

My mother requests from the doorway, finally getting my attention.

The expression of frustration can be seen upon my face.

I wonder how long my mother has been standing there. Selene tells me it was for the last six minutes.

"Please. For me?"

I nod slowly and close the handwritten book, clamming down all the tattered notes. I suppose that it is not shameful to lose to Legion in cryptography.

Legion does have almost unlimited computing power while I only have my brain.

It is a good brain, but it cannot calculate faster than a super computer. If I have more time, I will figure out how to break the code eventually. Oh well.

"Thank you, Max."

Stephanie speaks up when I am standing next to her at the doorway of the study room.

"No. I should be thanking you, Stephanie. I might go crazy if I keep it up."

I response and take her hand into mine. Her fingers wrap around my palm as I do the same. I suppose that this fine enough.

And with a smile, I turn off the light head out of the study room alongside with my mother.

Seeing us together like that annoys John a lot, but he is unable to say anything about it.

His daughter is falling over heel for me, and it has only been like about four days.

Give me a week or two and my mother will probably jump in front of a speeding train for me. That just an analogy. She wouldn't do such a thing regardless how much she loves me.

Night slowly descends upon the United States as I join the Connors and watch the news report. Other than the repeated warning about approaching the black markers, there aren't any new updates.

Most of the black markers in the United States have military presence now.

Considering a good chunk of the military has been gobbled up by Legion due to their extreme hostility and aggression, I say this is as thin as the United States could deployed.

In fact, they are recalling all their military personnel overseas to booster their number and protect the homeland.

Another full day gone by before the black markers hum again before expanding the sphere of influence once more. And again, the next day.

By then, people realize that the black makers will keep doing that until everyone in the world becomes affected by the hallucinogen effect.

With the stress of diminishing food supplies due to the death of all plants and animals, the people are starting to riot again.

This time, not at each other, but at the black markers. They have something common to express their rage and anger.

It is as expected.

And as the people did so, Legion informs me that from the aggregate result, the brainwaves generator becoming more and more ineffective against people who are exposed to it longer and longer.

That means that their brains are building up resistance.

It is interesting to know.

While my mother and everyone else in the underground complex are not affected by the black marker nearby, I still fake that I do, and it is progressively getting worse over time to demonstrate the severity.

My mother is worry about me, but I dismiss her concern whenever I can.

John notices it as well along with Joshua and Misha, but none of them can do anything about it.

And one night, I am standing in front of the elevator and staring blankly upwards.

"Max…?"

Stephanie utters when she notices that I am not sleeping in the living room with grandfather. She has never seen me so out of it before, it frightens her.

"I think I know what the message mean, Stephanie. And I know what they want."

I response without looking at her and then approach the elevator.

Before she could stop me, the door to the iron cage closes.

The lever is pulled.

"Wait. Max! Don't go! Don't go up there! Max!"

Stephanie shouts for me and slams her hands against the cage as it ascends, taking me to the surface.

"I can stop all of this, Stephanie. I can stop all of it right now. Please don't worry. I will protect you like I have promised."