The initial attack Matriarch Niveus sent landed directly in Dyon’s hometown of New York City.
Thinking that whoever Dyon loved had to be staying there, she aimed her attacks for that large populated area. As for how she knew where Dyon was from, how could she not? After all, Dyon was the one suspected of having the soul kernel. However, this gave the rest of the world time to respond.
Any government would have disaster plans in place. The United States Government even had nonsensical plans for the possibility of a zombie attack. As ridiculous as this sounds, it was true. So, how could the various governments of the world not have plans in place for a disaster like this?
Having explored their various catacombs for centuries, it was a no brainer that they would quickly evacuate those they could into those places.
Unfortunately… No matter how fast their response was, more than 95% of the mortal world’s population was wiped out within the first ten minutes. Aside from those who had no chance escaping a strike levied a celestial, the subsequent chain reaction was too fierce for the rest to survive.
Due to the proximity of the White House to New York City – taking into account the attack range of a celestial – Matriarch Niveus’ initial attack instantly wiped out the entire eastern border of the United States and Canada, taking with it the life of Clara’s father…
However, the troubles didn’t end there.
Due to diligently laid succession plans, President Gallagher’s replacement was chosen almost immediately and an evacuation order was sent. Luckily, the entrances to the catacombs covered the entire world. Of course, these entrances didn’t exist naturally, but were rather dug out and created by those of the mortal world.
As a result, even small cities had a few dozen possible entrances, allowing quick evacuations. But, as the atmosphere quickly burnt to nothingness, the entrances had to be closed. If they remained opened, then this evacuation would mean nothing… Should the doors have remained opened… Everyone inside would have died too…
At that moment, the leaders of the world made a harsh decision, deciding to close the entrances to these safe havens less than ten minutes after they opened.
Despair fell onto those who didn’t make it in time. Some families were torn apart… Husbands from wives… Fathers and Mothers from children…
This was the devastating reality…
Of the nearly ten billion mortals that had been alive just minutes earlier, less than ten million remained…
Still, the problems didn’t end there. It was as though they had hopped out of a frying pan and into the fire.
As is clearly known, the heat of the Earth didn’t come from the sun, but from the entity. So, even if escaping underground would save them from the initial surge of Matriarch Niveus’ attack and being exposed to the vacuum of space due to the various technologies hidden within the bunkers, it only brought them closer to the disaster beneath their feet!
The bunkers that had been designed for exceptional safety – some of the most advanced pieces of technology ever created – suddenly began to heat up to levels beyond the ability of humans to withstand.
At first, the bunkers were able to stand strong. They had been designed for the most extreme circumstances… Whether it be severe negative temperatures, or ones as high as the Earth’s core, it could withstand them all.
Unfortunately, the matters of the martial world were far beyond their abilities to calculate. While they had accounted for the Earth’s core, the body heat of the entity was on a completely unprecedented level.
One level of heat could exist along with the Earth… While the other could burn it to ash!
Hours passed in these conditions.
The leaders didn’t know what to do… They had already sacrificed so many by closing the doors early, now it seemed that their sacrifice would mean nothing as they slowly roasted to death…
Many diverted all of their energy into protecting the food supplies, placing them in the safest places… However, this diversion of resources only made the deaths pile up quicker…
The old and weak were the first to die, as a population that had already fallen to ten million dwindled by hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands…
The bitter reality began to set in for many as what they had come to know started to crumble in upon them.
The food and water supplies burnt to a crisp soon after as many realized there was no point in having food if they were going to die anyway…
Many began to tremble in helplessness. Maybe the worst part was that they were too hot to even find comfort in those beside them…
Their throats were sore, their lips were cracked and dry, and even their hair began to fray, evaporating into what looked like nothing more than straw livestock would eat.
The animals and crops were the next to go, causing everyone to despair all the more. Even if by some miracle the heat stopped rising, how would it matter if they couldn’t sustain themselves afterward?
Some fell into such despair that they begged the soldiers keeping order to shoot them dead…
As the hours passed, some soldiers even turned their guns on themselves… In bunkers where this happened, mass suicide was the tragic ending…
It was then, when seemingly all hope was lost, that Dyon finally won his battle, releasing the mortals of their chains…
However, it seemed almost too late… A population that already stood at a pitiful ten million had dwindled to barely four million… And it didn’t seem like the strife would end there…