Time resumes with the Akula trapped inside Lusca's mouth. The bridge is thrown into darkness, the juvenile octo-sharks hammer the glass, and Vadim abandons the group by running upstairs toward the last escape pod. Realizing the bridge will soon fail, Carl improvises a bomb from a hob-lobber, hobgoblin pus, and a potion, then moves Katia and Tran into the captain's stateroom because it is the only room he believes can be sealed long enough to buy them time.

Carl briefly considers using the completed Gate of the Feral Gods to escape, but Donut reports that her group is still delayed by the wind and cannot reach safety for another ten minutes. When the bridge window shatters and the babies flood the sub, Carl detonates his device. The potion of bloodlust spreads through the water, drives the juveniles into a feeding frenzy, and makes them tear each other apart. That clears most of the immediate threat, but oxygen warnings and the pressure of the deep force Carl, Katia, and Tran to leave the room and fight their way out through blood, corpses, and the flooded bridge.

Outside the sub, Carl plans to use Lusca's swallowing motion to help them escape. He first thinks they should move toward the front teeth, but he and Katia realize the surviving babies are retreating through slits in the roof of the mouth. Carl then changes tactics and combines two prepared tricks: he activates Protective Shell at the exact moment Lusca swallows, while Katia uses a rocket and the giant buzzsaw plan they call Leatherface. The immovable shell does not simply punch through Lusca; instead it violently peels back the upper jaw and stops the massive creature short. Thrown by the sudden impact, Katia's rocket-propelled buzzsaw carries the group through Lusca's exposed head and slices through her brain, killing the city boss.

The victory leaves Carl, Katia, and Tran stranded on the ocean floor at crushing depth, losing health rapidly while they try to reach the remains of the Akula for shelter. During the trek back, Vadim finally answers and admits he sealed himself into the upstairs room and cannot reopen it because of the water outside. With his oxygen running out, he uses the final escape pod despite Carl's doubts. Vadim successfully launches through Lusca's corpse, but moments later a system warning reports that Vadim has died after sending a last terrified message about the pain amplifier.

With the rest of their allies now in safe rooms, Carl accepts that there is no safer solution and decides to use the Gate of the Feral Gods. He, Katia, and Tran set the coordinates for a spot outside Pandinus, activate the completed artifact, and are immediately sucked through along with a blast of pressurized seawater that damages the town's defenses. They run into an inn and then into the personal space where Donut, Mordecai, Gwen, and others are waiting. As Carl collapses and vomits seawater, a new achievement confirms that he has released a feral god into the realm, and the chapter ends with the world beginning to rumble from the consequences.