Chapter 36: Mariana’s Dark Frontier

The titanium wall of the Leviathan-X submarine bends violently under the pressure of hundreds of atmospheres and the giant coils of the Prime Queen of Ouroboros. The distorted screech of thick metal repeatedly deafens the crew, echoing horror throughout the interior corridors. Red indicator lights flash wildly, projecting a hazardous glow onto the faces of the Obsidian Legion soldiers struggling to maintain their balance on a bridge floor tilted at fifteen degrees.

"Outer hull structural integrity plunges to sixty-eight percent!" shouts the navigation operator, his fingers dancing across a console sparking with electrical bursts. "The main propulsion system is locked by the monster’s biological mass!"

Alexander Rington stands in the center of the bridge without budging a single millimeter. His feet plant firmly on the steel floor while his silver irises narrow, piercing through the dark water behind the triple-layered viewport. Behind the shadows of the black-scaled tentacles wrapping around the ship, the Prime Queen’s four golden eyes burn in a dense wave of ancient hatred.

"Daniel, divert all backup reactor power to the biological polarization shield!" Alexander orders, his voice calm yet cutting through the panic welling up in the room. "Do not let the toxic fluid from her tentacles penetrate the medical sector wall!"

"What about the Torpedo Propulsion system?!" Daniel asks while wiping fresh blood flowing from his temple from the initial impact. "If we fire kinetic weapons at this close range, the shockwave will destroy our own steering system!"

"We will not use torpedoes," Alexander asserts coldly.

He reaches for a high-specification water-pressure-proof tactical cloak and puts it on within seconds. The command helmet fastens precisely, sealing a self-contained oxygen circulation system linked directly to his pure blood regeneration system. At his waist, the Ancient Dragon-Framed Sword is strapped tightly, emitting a faint golden glow that pierces through the protective fabric layers.

"Are you crazy, Alex?!" Daniel screams as he realizes his comrade’s plan. "The pressure outside reaches ninety megapascals! Even the Vanguard suit has never been tested directly at a depth of nine thousand meters!"

"If I let that creature crush the hull of this ship for two more minutes, the Leviathan-X’s internal network will collapse and kill everyone inside," Alexander says absolutely. He turns his body to look at Genevieve, who stands at the bridge doorway holding baby Gabriel tightly.

Genevieve does not hold Alexander back. Her face is pale, but her gaze radiates a complete trust that transcends ordinary logic. "Bring back the antidote for our children, Alex."

Alexander nods briefly. Without wasting a single second, he steps toward the airlock, the specialized pressure isolation chamber at the lower front of the submarine.

The water pressure equalization process begins. Sub-zero degree Celsius coolant fluid surges in to fill the isolation chamber, accompanied by the roar of high-pressure hydraulic pumps.

The outer airlock gate swings wide open.

Alexander leaps out, diving straight into the eternal darkness of the Pacific Ocean!

Instantly, the giant water pressure strikes the tactical armor covering Alexander’s body. The suit’s servomotor system creaks loudly under the burden of thousands of tons of seawater trying to flatten his body. However, the stage-two pure blood glow inside Alexander’s blood vessels ignites instantly, forming a silver-gold energy field layer that converts the external pressure into pure biological thrust!

He hovers in the dark water, fixing his gaze on the giant body of the Prime Queen.

The ancient monster measures over three hundred meters long, encased in a curved bone shell resembling a prehistoric sea dragon. From the folds of her damp skin, hundreds of biological fibers shoot out, wirelessly linked to the depths of the Mariana Trench.

An underwater sonic roar blasts from the Prime Queen’s giant mouth! The high-frequency acoustic wave creates a local whirlpool capable of tearing standard steel into small shreds!

Alexander swings his legs and arms, cutting through the heavy current at incredible speed. He draws the Ancient Dragon-Framed Sword from its sheath. White-gold fire energy blazes instantly underwater, creating high-pressure hot steam bubbles that illuminate the ocean’s darkness!

The Prime Queen feels it. One of her giant tentacles wrapping around the Leviathan-X’s hull releases, swinging through the waves straight toward Alexander’s position like a giant steel whip!

Alexander does not dodge. He charges forward to meet the tip of the tentacle!

A vertical slash from Alexander’s flame sword splits the five-meter-diameter tentacle in two! Dense, toxic black blood spurts heavily into the water, boiling instantly upon contact with the golden sword’s heat aura!

The Prime Queen screeches in unmatched pain. Her biological roar triggers a micro-seismic wave at the bottom of the trench. Her remaining two tentacles release their grip from the Leviathan-X submarine, shifting their entire attack focus toward the figure radiating the pure golden glow.

"Daniel! Take the submarine into the rift now while I distract her!" Alexander shouts through encrypted acoustic radio transmission.

"We are not leaving you out there, Alex!" Daniel replies from behind the helm.

"That is an order, Daniel! Secure Genevieve and the children inside the rift’s safe zone!" Alexander presses absolutely.

Inside the Leviathan-X’s medical cabin, the red glow on Ethan’s and Stella’s bodies burns brighter. The two children’s bodies begin to hover a few centimeters above the care mattresses, influenced by the biological gravitational pull from the battle reaction between Alexander and the Prime Queen!

"Do it, Daniel!" Genevieve screams, cutting through the hesitation. "Trust Alex!"

Daniel clenches his teeth tightly and pushes the Leviathan-X’s main throttle to the absolute limit. The massive submarine breaks free from the monster’s grip, igniting its hydro-jet turbines, and glides rapidly toward the mouth of the Challenger-Zero Rift glowing with magmatic radiance at the bottom of the trench.

Seeing her prey try to escape, the Prime Queen opens her ancient jaw wide. Inside her throat, a orb of deep red light gathers—an accumulation of high-pressure biological plasma ready to launch to destroy the Leviathan-X from behind!

"Your opponent is me!" Alexander shouts.

He multiplies his pure blood energy transmission. Bio-electric energy wings in the shape of a golden dragon spread from behind his armor back, cutting through the dense seawater at speeds exceeding sound waves!

Alexander drives the Ancient Dragon-Framed Sword directly into the center of the Prime Queen’s main eye!

A burst of white-gold fire explodes inside the monster’s eye neural network! The red plasma orb in her throat explodes internally before it can fire, burning all of the Prime Queen’s respiratory organs from within!

The Prime Queen writhes violently in a horrifying death agony. Her giant body plunges down into the abyss of the trench, carrying along Alexander, who still holds his sword plunged into the monster’s head!

The two of them sink past a depth of ten thousand meters, penetrating the most forbidden layer of darkness on the face of the earth.

Around them, ancient black stone architecture begins to appear between the pressing tectonic plate walls—giant pillars carved with Ouroboros symbols that have stood for tens of thousands of years untouched by outside civilization.

The Prime Queen’s body slams into the main courtyard of the Sacred Temple of Ouroboros at the bottom of the rift!

The impact of the violent collision collapses the black stone pillars surrounding the temple. Alexander is thrown several dozen meters, rolling across the ancient stone tiles before finally standing up while wiping remaining water vapor from his helmet visor.

The Prime Queen’s black blood flows, soaking all the carvings on the temple floor, slowly activating the ancient biological fluid circulation system sleeping inside the structure.

One by one, hydrothermal blue eternal fire torches ignite automatically along the temple walls, illuminating a giant room as vast as a sports stadium.

At the far end of the main temple altar stands a black stone throne covered in actively pulsing live cell veins.

Alexander walks slowly, positioning his sword in full readiness. His eyes narrow as he sees a human figure sitting calmly on the stone throne.

The figure is draped in a black silk robe adorned with ancient gold thread. His face is covered by a silver mask shaped like a coiled dragon face.

However, what causes all the blood in Alexander’s body to freeze instantly is the golden birthmark pattern on the figure’s neck—a pattern one hundred percent identical to the birthmark belonging to Julian Rington, his brother who was supposed to have sacrificed himself at the Valhalla space station!

The figure on the throne slowly nods his head, then raises his right hand.

From behind the silver mask comes a doubly articulated voice that sounds so familiar, yet filled with an extraordinarily cold resonance of eternity.

"Welcome to our true home, my Brother... Thank you for bringing the

final blood sample to perfect my resurrection."