After several exchanges, only Kaiju corpses remained around the giant, mixed among flames and rubble.
Having deliberately held back during combat, the nearby Kaiju weren't directly exploded—only those launched into the distance had shattered into pieces, piling up together.
The giant faced the distant mountains where Kaiju bodies accumulated and slowly raised his arm.
"Hum!"
A brilliant blue beam erupted from the side of the giant's palm, instantly striking the Kaiju corpses. Powerful thermal energy whipped up a heat wave that spread with the beam.
"BOOM!!"
The energy buildup triggered a massive explosion, detonating the Kaiju remains along with the mountainside behind them. Smoke and dust billowed. Earth and stone flew!
"Wow... so cool." Students in the distant school bus gaped at the scene.
This clean, decisive battle with no wasted movement brought them tremendous shock. The final beam ignited their romantic fantasies.
"Unbelievable..."
Many citizens on the streets had pulled out phones, recording the giant's form.
They never imagined that when Kaiju attacked and the city became hell, a giant would descend from the sky to save them.
"Sir... all Kaiju have been eliminated by the giant."
"We... we all survived." The frontline commander lowered his binoculars, gazing at the giant in the distance, murmuring into comms.
In this moment, everyone celebrated surviving this apocalypse.
"Thank you..." The commander stepped down from the armored vehicle, stood on the street, and spoke toward the giant.
The giant seemed to hear him.
Standing amid the flames, he turned his head slightly this way. Their eyes met. He nodded gently.
Then both arms rose toward the night sky.
"BOOM!"
The giant defied gravity, leaping skyward. Intense air pressure extinguished all surrounding flames as he disappeared into the night with sonic booms.
The giant's appearance was brief, but everyone who witnessed this battle would never forget it. That hope and sense of security would become their courage to face the dawn.
Combat at the other battlefields also went smoothly.
Each Jaeger, assisted by local military forces, killed all Kaiju and destroyed every unmanned Jaeger.
When night faded and sunrise slowly rose from the sea, they knew—they'd won.
"Thank you, Marshal Stacker."
"It's been an honor working with you."
"We look forward to meeting you officially next time."
In the Shatterdome command center, Stacker stood before numerous virtual screens, listening to voices through various comms. The worry in his heart finally lifted. A smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
"This damned apocalypse... is finally over." He closed military communications, his heart full of relief.
All invading Kaiju had been eliminated, and the Precursors' colonial spaces completely destroyed. They no longer needed to fear invaders eyeing their home.
This time, it was truly over. Completely over.
"Gipsy Danger, Shaolin Rogue, Cherno Alpha, Crimson Typhoon—prepare to return to base. Transport aircraft will pick you up shortly." Tendo Choi told the pilots through internal comms.
Hearing this order, Raleigh and Mako in Gipsy Danger's cockpit in Texas both exhaled and laughed.
The heavy Jaeger rose from the Kaiju corpse, every gear rotation echoing their surging hearts. They retracted the chain sword embedded in the Kaiju body.
Dawn illuminated the massive Jaeger's damaged outer armor. Those scratches and dried Kaiju blood stains appeared even more magnificent under this sunlight.
"Haven't seen such warm sunlight in a long time." Raleigh gazed at the distant dawn from the cockpit, exhaling deeply with emotion.
They'd won the final battle against the Kaiju.
Looking at the sunlight, then at the person beside her, Mako suddenly felt complex emotions surge through her heart. A tear rolled down her cheek.
"It's over... we won..." Seeing tears on her face, Raleigh disconnected and came to her side, giving her a hug with a smile.
He knew these were tears of joy.
Mako reached out and wrapped her arms around his back.
"We all survived..." she said.
For some reason, her intuition had kept telling her she'd lose Raleigh.
But now combat was completely over, everything settled. This person whose soul resonated with hers, who supported and believed in her, stood here safely, witnessing dawn together. This brought her joy at breaking free from a nightmare.
That afternoon, all Jaegers were arranged to return to the Shatterdome.
Natsuki also returned.
He carried what looked like a giant squid. The creature seemed not quite adapted to Earth's environment yet—its two pairs of arms twitched instinctively.
"My God!"
"Oh my God!"
At the base entrance, Newton was coordinating with transport personnel about Kaiju tissue samples when he saw Natsuki—and noticed the oversized squid Natsuki carried. He immediately recognized it as a pure Precursor, an alien creature.
His eyes lit up instantly. He ran over screaming.
"That's a Precursor!"
"God, it's alive!"
Newton didn't care about anything else, reaching out to touch the three-meter-long Precursor all over.
"Get off!" Quek shouted in the Precursors' unique language, trying to grab and crush Newton.
"Thump."
But the moment he moved, Natsuki lightly tapped his head. His entire body went limp, temporarily losing consciousness.
"Gently... Mr. Natsuki, look—his skull is cracking." Newton saw fine fractures appear on Quek's crest and immediately said with concern.
"He just tried to kill you," Natsuki reminded him.
"I know, I know!" Newton didn't care at all, still scanning Quek with curious eyes. "I'm so curious about his internal structure."
"Mr. Natsuki... could you... leave me some tissue samples?" Newton asked hopefully.
He desperately wanted to study a Precursor.
Though he knew Natsuki had uses for this guy, so he only wanted some tissue.
"Fine." Natsuki understood scientists well—once their curiosity was triggered, it couldn't be suppressed.
So he tossed Newton a piece of tissue he'd accidentally knocked off when knocking Quek unconscious.
"Whoa!"
"Thanks!" Newton caught the tissue piece with part of the crest attached, excitedly secured it, then ran into the base, ready to return to his lab for thorough research.
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