This scene didn't just play out on Rentaro's home TV, but on every electronic screen currently turned on. Politicians, workers, civil servants, vendors, the military, children, even the Civil Security... everyone saw the Silver King's world destruction proclamation.
Many ordinary people didn't take it seriously, considering it just a prank by some hacker who accidentally interrupted their mundane morning. However, for those in the know, this... was huge.
The entire Holy Residence was in chaos. When Rentaro arrived, he saw a haggard-looking Seitenshi come out to meet him. Without much talk, the two quickly drove to pick up others, preferably those who had been in contact with the Silver King. They were going on a trip to persuade him to stop.
As Seitenshi predicted, things shouldn't have progressed this way, so she thought there must be a hidden reason. The Silver King might not be beyond persuasion.
Regrettably, most of the people who once had a relationship with the Silver King had already joined the Territory. Only a few close to Rentaro remained, like Mr. Sukekiyou, but it was better than nothing.
Rentaro also remembered Ms. Sumire. But when he arrived at the hospital, the doctor on duty said that since the Kanto Great War, Doctor Sumire had not returned to the hospital. This made Rentaro feel very strange, but there was no time to investigate now.
Thus, having gathered enough people, Rentaro's group drove straight to the Homeland Flame Memorial.
When he arrived, Rentaro was surprised, but not completely, to see many core members of the Silver King's Territory also there. Among them were individuals he was familiar with, like Suibara, Luke, and Mr. Matsuzaki.
Looking at the situation and the formation, it seemed even the people inside the Territory didn't know what was happening.
All of them stood at a distance, trying to persuade and beg the Silver King. But he remained silent, looking like he was spaced out, sitting right in the center of the memorial on a protruding stone mound used as a seat. Nothing seemed to reach his ears.
Seitenshi also approached, trying hard to persuade the Silver King. She bowed deeply, promising to find the true perpetrators who bombed the Territory and hand them over to him for disposal. She even knelt down on the spot, using the highest ceremonial gesture she could to beg the Silver King.
Rentaro also joined in, but no one succeeded.
However, after ten minutes of commotion, the Silver King finally reacted slightly. He lifted his head. Everyone's eyes shone with hope, but the next sentence was like an arm pulling them down from heaven to hell.
"It seems..."
"You all still think I'm joking..."
"No, Silver King, we..."
Before she could finish, the Silver King stood up from his seat, spread his two wings, and then flew up into the sky.
Everyone looked at each other; the fear in their eyes was undisguised.
Indeed, two hours later, all screens worldwide were hijacked again. However, the scene that appeared was no longer the Homeland Flame Memorial, but Moscow.
A Moscow consumed by flames, silent as hell.
The Silver King leisurely walked into the most heavily guarded area of Russia. In front of the whole world, he used his hand to lift the head of a leader.
"No! No! Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me! I was wrong! I shouldn't have targeted you, I... I..."
This person spoke so fast he stammered, the extreme fear vividly etched on his face.
He struggled non-stop, but against that pincer-like arm, all resistance was futile.
The Silver King only replied in a cold, machine-like voice.
"You were wrong."
"As I said, this is not an act of revenge. It is simply that everything... no longer needs to exist."
"No!!! You are just a demon, a lunatic, you were never a deity..."
"I am."
He crushed the leader's head as gently as crushing a piece of cotton candy. The skull was ground into fragments, the brain turned to liquid. He was dead to the point of being utterly obliterated.
The splatter of blood couldn't even reach his silver armor, as everything was incinerated by energy. This allowed him to maintain a sacred and majestic form, but it only made the Silver King more terrifying.
The screen returned to normal, but people's minds were still reeling.
Half a day later, although there were no more broadcasts, news from all over the world kept pouring in. Not only Russia, but Europe, the United States, Australia, and others also suffered disasters. Some managed to escape; others did not. But it seemed this was only because the Silver King didn't bother to pursue them.
In a single pass, the Silver King killed half the world's ruling class.
The remaining ones were now hiding somewhere remote, praying to a god. They got their wish, but unfortunately, this was a mad god.
Compared to the rest of the world, Japan was relatively peaceful; not a single official was killed. But no one was happy, because if the proclamation was true, after three days, the whole world would end at his hands. Whether they survived now or not was irrelevant.
After purging the world in a sweeping round, the Silver King returned, but not to the Territory, but to the Homeland Flame Memorial. He sat down on the same stone mound.
This display was as if to tell everyone that he would wait here, right until the process of destruction began.
By this time, the news about the Silver King had spread: his existence, his exploits, his terror. The authorities could not suppress it, and were powerless to suppress it.
The Gastrea were relatively quiet during this time. But all of Tokyo, even all the territories where humanity still reigned in the world, were in chaos.
At this moment, the reaction was...
Questioning.
"Why? Why does that thing want to kill us?!"
Questioning.
"Why are you still asking why? Haven't I already told you, it's because of people like you!"
Questioning.
"What did you say I did? I've never done anything wrong!"
Exposure.
"I still remember what you did to that little girl, you sick bastard! Do you dare swear you did nothing?"
Exposure.
"That was just a Cursed Child, that monster..."
Exposure.
"There! You are truly a sick bastard!"
Blaming.
"If it didn't carry that monstrous virus, I wouldn't have done that."
Blaming.
"Don't act innocent either. You were there, watching me do it, but you didn't stop me! You are an accomplice!"
Blaming.
"It's all the fault of those dog-headed rulers! If their policies were a little better..."
"..."
Many, many more.
Although slightly skewed, the first reaction of almost everyone was to find someone to question, to find someone to blame. Because in their world, they were not wrong, and they refused to admit they were wrong. It was only when everyone started exposing each other that the chaos erupted.
Everything was dragged out: old history, new matters, filth, or shame. Everything was pulled out and thrown in each other's faces, shifting responsibility, yet revealing everyone's dark side.
A rarer segment of the population began trying to show their good will towards the Cursed Children, but upon seeing the children's expressions of fear instead of joy, these people knew things were not well.
Besides, being indifferent before, and showing goodwill now, it looked somewhat fake from any angle. You aren't doing good because you are good; you just don't want to die.