The damage caused on that day cannot be undershot, it is simply impossible. Even contingencies for total societal collapse in the wake of a hypothetical Anarchian victory projected less damage. In terms of raw numbers, every plague in world history combined only barely to scratch Elassa’s count. One would have to go to the Great War or to the Worldbreaking era in order to find similar events. The world population graph plummeted as if it was a crashing stock market.

It is, and there is no need for discussion or comparison regarding the facts, the single greatest humanitarian disaster in world history.

– Excerpt of a news article written by Etala, of Democracy and the UNN, published two days after Continent Cracking.

Olympiada, the Divine Mountain, never had the hustle and bustle of towns and cities. Even though the mountain had its peak smoothed out, and the top had a concoction of buildings that could be called something resembling a town. Yet Olympiada, in all its glory, always carried that reserved air of respect around it. Divines would wander through the streets, in between the different sections assigned to each major God or Goddess of the Pantheon. And the mortals would talk in hushed voices, rarely did anyone shout, and the most noise was definitely caused by the engines of aeroplanes as they landed in the skyport. Sometimes, a man would trip and fall on the cobblestone roads, a cart would fall, a jar or a plate would shatter yet the rule was that Olympiada was a generally quiet place.

Yet today, the Divine Mountain stood in silence.

In the Great Hall where the Pantheon met had a ceiling cold and pale and domed. The magical lamps that Elassa had created were slowly rotating as they hovered in the air surrounding the marble thrones of the White Pantheon’s highest members, although their number had shrunk, from fourteen to ten. The grand doors were shut, they had been shut for half a day now since Fortia had arrived. The Goddess of Peace was the last to come, from her war-front in Rilia. At first she had been angry, she knew about Elassa’s display of power, she did not know about the consequences of it across the world. But then she had learned. And she said nothing.

Allasaria, white gold robes and golden hair that fell almost to the floor, sat in silence. Maisara stared at her in satisfaction. The woman had come in so smugly that Kassandora had defeated her and Fortia before, and now she had been repelled even faster than the first invasion. Not so easy now, was it Allasaria?

Zerus sat in silence. Breathing heavily, in a grey shawl. The God said nothing, boring as always.

Sceo sat in silence. She leaned on her seat to get closer to her husband, another Force who had no real beliefs or positions. The only reason she had been formally included in the Pantheon was simply so that they had another strong member.

Theosius sat in silence. He was one Maisara could rarely get a read on, but his hands were dirty, he had been rather happy over the course of the war, especially since the forges around Olympiada had restarted. Now though, he was the height of depression.

Alkom sat in silence. The man had done practically nothing throughout Allasaria’s attempt to dislodge Arascus from Kirinyaa. Alkom could burn down entire cities, and every time he would appear, Olephia would soon be there to chase him away.

Mur sat in silence. All his limbs too long, and in dark armour. Unhappy as he looked around. His eyes avoided Maisara’s, that was good. The man had actually thought that just because he led some backwater kingdom, he was now allowed to sit on the Pantheon.

Tasaidien sat in silence. The man looked defeated, his eyes were heavy. He had come with his coral crown and armour, but instead of wearing it on his head, he was gently sliding his finger along it as to remind the God that it was still there.

Itni sat in silence. Maisara gave the God one passing glance. Why was he even here? For what? Supposedly he was to help them in Epa, he had done nothing. Marshalling armies? What a joke. It was simply a lack of want, the man needed a fire under his feet to get him moving. If Maisara was to go and marshal her Paladins, they would be ready on the same day. Itni had already spent a month in Pichqasuyu.

Fortia sat in silence. In gold, with her spear next to her. Maisara appreciated the look. That was how a Divine should hold herself like.

Maisara sat in silence. In her silver armour, exactly how a Divine should look.

They sat like that for another hour. Allasaria had brought a whole folder practically overflowing with images of giant waves. Of the horizon advancing like a giant wall. Of locations that once where amazing cities, the peak of technology and civilization. Now, they had become nothing more than mere marks on the ground, washed away to nothing more than patches of concrete and tarmac. Of places that once were great forests, now only barren trees, all the leaves ripped from them as if they had been in a blaze. Of broken dams.

The worst part was that even though the folder Allasaria had brought was a disaster that would make any day in the Worldbreaking era look preferable, it was the least pressing issue. Maisara sighed as she decided to break the silence. They could sit and stew in their own depression here for days on end, but she had a war lead in Lubska. Fortia had a war to lead in Rilia. Tasaidien had Allian logistics to raid. Allasaria and Mur, ever so high and mighty, had been repelled in Kirinyaa. Even though that was a military defeat, Maisara could not help but feel satisfaction at that fact. “So, we take the issues one by one.” Maisara said. Her eyes skipped Itni, Mur, Tasaidien and Sceo, these weren’t real Pantheon members. She skipped Zerus and Alkom and Theosius too. Those were forces, they had no beliefs. So they landed only on Fortia and Allasaria.

And so, before anyway could raise disagreement, Maisara began. “Firstly, the war. I am pushing in Lubska. The Epan Coalition forces have changed tactics, it is obvious that either they are being led by Kassandora, by someone trained by Kassandora, or their leadership has been trained by Kassandora. The tactics changed like this.” Maisara snapped her fingers. “Overnight, however, we are still pushing. Casualties are slightly greater than expected, progress is slightly slower, but both are still acceptable.”

Maisara turned to Fortia to let the woman speak. Fortia nodded and began in a cold voice. “I have the exact same to report in Rilia. The place is mountainous, there are obvious tactics to be used in locations like that which would be easy to counter, yet the Rilian army is fighting a war of attrition and movement instead of trying to hold strategic locations as would be normally done. I have nothing else to report. The country will fall within the year.”

The Goddesses of Peace and Order both turned to Allasaria. The Goddess of Light stared at them, silently broiling in fury. Maisara knew it was obvious what she had done, but she simply could not help herself. It was Allasaria’s own fault for coming in like that, all so smug about how she would be the one who would defeat Kassandora.

Well where was Kassandora now? Certainly nowhere near defeat. Allasaria began in a cold voice. “Kirinyaa holds. Nanbasa has been destroyed. The strategy is changing to one of attrition. At the end of the day, Kirinyaa is only a single nation, it cannot stand on its own forever.” And Allasaria added her own little snark to it. “The sooner you finish in Epa, the sooner a professional land army will arrive in Kirinyaa. We’re waiting on you.”

Maisara smiled to herself at that sarcasm. Wasn’t Allasaria just the loveliest? Well whatever, she let it slide. The results spoke for themselves, Kirinyaa was not as easy a nut to crack. Maisara began. “So now, we have an issue.”

“We do.” Tasaidien answered. He passed his images to Mur, who only gave them a glance. From the rumours Maisara had managed to sniff out, the man had taken the fall of Ktulu particularly badly. Who wouldn’t though? It was a national titan. Those sorts of things didn’t exist on the surface. “The Arika situation.”

“Continent Cracking.” Maisara correct him. That was what all the papers were calling the situation. “Does anyone want to start? Or should I?”

“I will.” Allasaria said coldly. “The tidal wave has killed some hundred million world-wide. More will come in tomorrow. This, the White Pantheon cannot sit out. We will do something.” Maisara nodded. Allasaria did speak sense, the world was in too bad a situation now, and the Policy of Non-Interference had an exception for Divines. Elassa had caused, there was absolutely no way they could pretend to turn a blind eye. It would spell the death of the Pantheon.

“I agree.” Maisara said quickly to show her support.

“I do too.” Fortia said. And when Maisara, Fortia and Allasaria all agreed on an issue, it didn’t leave much chance for anyone to disagree. Tasaidien looked around with a heavy expression, Maisara saw him, as did Allasaria and Fortia.

“Speak.” Allasaria said and the God sighed. His finger once again traced the ridges of his coral crown.

“Alanktyda has taken damage.” Maisara rolled her eyes. Well that was obvious. What? Did the man want a participation award?

“How much?” Fortia said. “Because I was expecting you to assist.”

Tasaidien sighed and looked around the room. He traced the edge of his coral crown and slowly lifted it up into the air. The put it onto his head. “I am gracious for the opportunity to serve on the Pantheon, but I am a leader of a nation too.” Maisara stared at the man. Wonderful. A fool then. This is why she had been letting National Divines join in the first place. That sort of responsibility was like asking a man with children to lead a revolution: it simply did not happen.

“How bad is it?” Maisara asked coldly.

“Elassa shifted the tectonic plates.” Tasaidien said. “We’re used to earthquakes here and there, but not this. Almost every city has collapse, although loss of life is minor compared to the surface. I have already started rebuilding efforts, but I am pulling the army away from raiding Allia too.”

And now it was Allasaria’s turn to snap. Her eyebrows arced downwards and she turned to the God. “Why? Allian logistics are the backbone of the Epan armoured core. You can’t just leave it.”

Tasaidien slowly shook his head. “This is not up for debate, with any of you. The decision has already been made. I will not let my people suffer so that a surface war will succeed.” Maisara stared smugly at Allasaria. It had been her idea to bring Tasaidien here after all! Look at how helpful he was! Lovely, wasn’t he? “Several of the islands in the ocean have collapsed too. I am transporting the populations back to their respective countries. Allasaria, Fortia, Maisara, I will not claim that what happened to me was just as bad as what happened to the surface, but more than half the country doesn’t have a home right now. Hospitals, schools, infrastructure was damaged, if I keep fighting the Allian front, then we will face revolution in the ocean.”

“Ah. So you’re scared for your head.” Maisara said and the God looked at her as if she was stupid.

Tasaidien explained slowly, as if for a child. “Maisara. It is not that I fear a revolution, I simply know it will succeed. And what then? Do you think that the new Alanktydan government will ally with the White Pantheon? Or do you think there’s another faction they would prefer?” Maisara understood, it was obvious what the man said after all. They were going to ally with Arascus.

“In that case, Tasaidien, you will deal with rebuilding yourself.” Allasaria said. “We cannot help, and the surface is not in a good position either.”

“I have no qualms with that.” Tasaidien said.

“I actually do.” Fortia said. “Which is that we do need Tasaidien’s troops.”

“I have voiced my case Fortia, it is good for the Pantheon as a whole-“ Fortia interrupted the God of Alankytda.

“No Tasaidien. I do not care for your raiding of Allian logistics. I merely think you are a coward because even a hundred troops will make a difference.” Maisara smiled at the cutting remark. “But if you’re this set, then so be it, surface wars are won by surface hands after all.” Tasaidien did not take the bait to argument, so Fortia actually got to her point. She lifted up one of the Allasaria’s pictures, it was merely a stretch of concrete on the water.

“What is that?” Allasaria asked.

“This is Alkai in the UNN. There isn’t a building left standing.” Fortia said. She looked around the room. “Does anyone know what Alkai had?” Maisara thought for a moment, and then she blinked. Her cheeks went pale and her eyes wide. Fortia saw Maisara’s expression. “I think you do Mai.” Of course Maisara did.

“Alkai had the Robert C. Poiter Nuclear Power Plant.” Maisara answered and Fortia nodded. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as the council of ten Divines had a collective shiver. Tasaidien’s face was the worst though, the God fell back into his seat in utter shock.

And Fortia began. “Station Six, Redrick Centre, Temeni Centre, Onkton Institute for Nuclear Development.” She took a breath. “I have named only four but twenty six stations were hit. Eleven no longer exist, they were washed away entirely, fifteen are flooded. Two of those have collapsed.” Tasaidien took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling. “Divines have to go. We cannot allow fifteen nuclear meltdowns.”

“Eleven have already been washed away?” Tasaidien asked in disbelief. Fortia nodded.

“Your ocean will be irradiated, but if we move fast, we can stop it from being uninhabitable. The East Coast of the UNN will be designated a red-zone, but we can save the rest of your kingdom.”

“What do you propose?” Tasaidien asked. Fortia turned to Allasaria.

“Using your beams, cut the reactors out of the ground. Use magicians from Arcadia to transport them out to wherever. Just make sure that they don’t contaminate the oceans.”

Allasaria made a grim face and a heavy breath “And if Arcadia does not help?”

“I am already sending Guardians there. I know Mai is sending Paladins too. We will transport the materials by land if necessary.” Maisara nodded, Fortia had asked her to send immediately, so she had done. She had thought it was only for humanitarian help back then.

“I will divert more of my forces then.” Maisara said. “I can cease pushing in Lubska for now.”

“I have decided to keep fighting in Rilia, but I won’t make you push.” Fortia said. “Frankly, I think this is more urgent.” Fortia sighed. “That is all I have to say on the topic. We have come out of the frying pan and landed in the fire so to say. If anyone wishes to add anything else, they’re welcome to.”

Zerus spoke up for once. “I was going to discuss the landfill wastes flowing into the oceans, but Fortia’s point on the Nuclear Power Plants is more urgent indeed.”

“It is.” Sceo agreed.

Maisara spoke up. Was hers as urgent? Maybe? But the power plants had to be dealt with immediately, this was more long-term. “I have my own problem to raise.” Maisara said.

“What is it?” Fortia asked.

“It’s not as pressing, but long-term it is an issue.”

“How long-term are we speaking?” Allasaria asked.

“I’m comparing it to the hour-by-hour of the nuclear power plants. So long term as in we have a week, maybe two.”

“Lovely.” Fortia said. “What?”

“Getting supplies to the affected areas.” Maisara said. A few of the others got it immediately, Fortia did, as did Allasaria. Theosius did not, that was typical though, the undersea kingdoms didn’t have such a thing as congestion. Maisara explained. “There isn’t a port remaining in the eastern UNN. Simply just based off transport links, they’re in the worst situation. Supplies either have to be airdropped, or shipped by land all the way from the west.”

“The UNN produces it’s own grain.” Mur said. Typical frankly, the man had not seen real conflict, he had merely sat on the sidelines during the Great War.

“But not its own fertilizer.” Maisara said. “Now, it will have no power, so its factories are offline too. The power grid can’t be turned on all at once either, we’ll have to go part-by-part. Whereas I don’t think they’ll thirst themselves to death.” Maisara looked around the room. “The same cannot be said for food. Medicines are another weak point. If we don’t move quickly, we can expect disease outbreaks.”

Maisara wanted to laugh. She saw Allasaria open her mouth and close it. She saw Sceo pipe up, ready to say ‘Ka…’ She saw Theosius sigh and lean back into his chair.

“If we don’t move quickly.” Maisara said. “Then those lost to starvation and illness will be measured not in thousands but in the tens of millions. An entire continent is without food and power.” Everyone wanted to say the same solution, the same thing they had been using for the past thousand years. The same duo that could at least be partly responsible for what just happened: Kavaa and Iniri.

But there was no Kavaa with her endless Clerics to heal the sick, and there was no Iniri to serve as a walking granary. Maisara smiled in humour, it wasn’t funny, it was downright hilarious. It was true, you did not know what you had until you grew to miss it. Fortia spoke up. “Nuclear Power Plants need to be done within the day. Food and medicine, we can secure within the week.”

“I have no issue with that.” Maisara said. “But Theosius, you should work on temporary docking stations. I don’t care how or what, or if they fall apart after one use, but ships need to be able to anchor on the UNN’s east coast.”

“I will think of something.” The God of Forging said. “And on that regard, I think we have something else to discuss. Or, I should say: someone.”

Maisara looked around the room. It was obvious who. “Elassa.” Allasaria said the name. Maisara’s eyes flicked up to the hovering lamps. “I know what I would do, but I would ask for your suggestions first?” Maisara saw all of the old members of the Pantheon turn to her. Well, she was the one who was usually tasked with keeping Order on the Mountain.

“If we kick Elassa out.” Maisara began and trailed off. “Well, we know what will happen.”

“Arascus will recruit her.” Allasaria said. “Immediately most likely.”

“She is one Goddess only.” Zerus said. “And she is less troublesome than Anassa.”

Itni made a confused face from the other side of the room. “This is less troublesome?”

“To kill.” Zerus said. “In ritual magic, Elassa is second to none, but in battle, we have a few candidates here who are stronger.” The God of Lightning was much too humble to say who.

His wife was not. “Zerus for one.” She said rather proudly, then listed off the other names with much less enthusiasm. “Fortia and Maisara, Allasaria of course. I would argue that even Alkom could on a good day.” Zerus made a tiny smile that he quickly hid again.

“The issue of Elassa is Arcadia.” Fortia said. “Not Elassa herself but what will we do with all the mages in there.” Maisara sighed, that was indeed the issue. Arcadia was an army, perhaps the only army in the world. And if it wasn’t, then Elassa’s death would certainly make it into one.

“Elassa could be excommunicated.” Maisara said. “We could…” She hated that she was suggesting this. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t orderly, but it needed to be done. “Arcadia of course won’t stand for Elassa’s execution. However I don’t think they’ll…” Maisara did not know. That was the worst part. The Arcadia of a thousand years past would have undoubtedly followed Elassa no matter what she did. But this Arcadia? With its weak and moral mages? “I don’t know if they’ll be able to stomach following Elassa after this.”

“There is an option.” Allasaria said. “If Arcadia does not comply…” She made her voice hard. “Well, whilst it is Arcadia and obviously we don’t want to. We do have a solution to troublesome nations.”

“I saw it in Kirinyaa.” Fortia said sourly.

Allasaria did not take the bait, she simply made her tone hard and commanding. “Kirinyaa is Kassandora and Arascus, different things. Arcadia has no Divines for protection.”

“So what then?”

Allasaria gave up, her voice grew harder, she sighed. “Arcadia could be purged. That’s what I’m saying. I would do it, with my Seekers.”

Maisara summed up, Fortia was just being difficult at this point. “So either Arcadia bends the knee or we bend Arcadia.”

Fortia nodded. “It is too close to us just geographically. The Pantheon armies are here, they wouldn’t have a chance, mages or not.”

“Mages can’t block light.” Allasaria said grimly. “They would not be able to stand against the Seekers.”

“So we are kicking Elassa out?” Maisara asked.

Zerus came in. “To associate with Elassa now is a death sentence. The Pantheon is unpopular enough, if we don’t kick her out then the world will turn its back on us.” The whole room gave a reason of careful affirmations, as if no one wanted to voice too much enthusiasm about the fact they were discussing being rid of a particularly annoying member.

Allasaria nodded. “Elassa cannot stay because of that. Kicking her out may not necessarily mean she joins Arascus either.”

“You think so?” Tasaidien asked and Allasaria shook her head, golden hair swaying from side to side.

“I don’t know if even Arascus is prideful enough to think he can somehow rehabilitate Elassa’s public image. The woman is worse than any mass murderer in the history of the world. Ever.” Maisara added. “What she did warrants an execution. The only reason we are even considering staying it is because the White Pantheon can’t fight a war against Epa and Kirinyaa at the same time as it hunts down Elassa.” The others in the room, everyone but Fortia, looked as if they took discomfort with the way she had phrased it. All apologetic and careful eyes, all looking away. “Well? I didn’t say anything wrong.”

“Maisara is correct. Elassa would not simply submit to an execution. We would need to send a full team for a capture and execution. And it would have to be some of us, not minor Divines. Elassa is not the strongest, but she is strong.”

“But it make actually work out for us though. If Arascus does recruit Elassa, we’ll have our public image rehabilitated simply through opposing Elassa.” Maisara said.

Fortia nodded. “In that case, it could be beneficial to even push her into Arascus’ grasp.”

“All that can come later.” Zerus said. “We should expel her now in order to not make it seem like we’re simply reacting to public opinion.” He turned to Allasaria. Maisara tightened her fists at that, why was Allasaria always the one who declared these things? Maisara was the Goddess of Order, it should be her. “Allasaria, the honours?”

Allasaria sighed and stood up. “All of those in favour of expelling Elassa, Goddess of Magic, from the White Pantheon, raise your hands.”

Ten hands went up. Allasaria was last. She honestly sounded sad as she spoke.

“Elassa, of Magic, is formally expelled from the White Pantheon.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep