S313

Society Protocol Season 3 13

Crusade

Hearing the prayers of the humans who were being driven out and praising Him, God began to act personally.

After preparing a few tasks that only He could perform throughout the entire universe, He gave a command to the living and non-living things on Earth.

“Attack the humans. Defend your homeland.”

The first to respond were the birds.

The birds gathered at high speed and began to fly together.

And from high in the sky, they watched as humans, wielding clubs, attacked other humans wearing blue helmets.

Some birds climbed onto the remaining utility poles or towers to observe the scene and

transmit their location to other creatures.

The next to act were the livestock.

The cows and pigs went mad and began to run wild. They broke through their pens and burst out.

They ran at full speed and began to advance toward the city where the humans were.

The chickens all took flight at once. They tore apart the net cages with their beaks. They threw themselves at the glass to shatter it. Then, they began to move in perfect unison.

A flock of crows flew directly toward the humans at full speed. They began to peck out their eyes.

Then, using their talons, they peeled off the plastic wrapping the foil covering the humans' heads.

Seeing this moment, the pursued figures in blue helmets fired their weapons: angel trumpets.

The birds were unaffected.

Only the humans collapsed, their breath stopped.

Next, the insects took action.

Bees flew up and began stinging the humans. Ants swarmed onto the ground and covered the humans.

Cockroaches living in the cities emerged, and rats began to swarm.

In China and Africa, locusts flew in swarms, attacking people.

Fish were no exception.

They located human boats floating on the sea, attacked them, capsized them, and sank them. Dolphins and sharks launched themselves at the ship, and the sailors who fell into the sea became food for the fish.

The most terrifying thing was the schools of tuna.

They launched their massive bodies to attack the sailors on the ship.

Swamp crocodiles came up onto land one by one, and monkeys confined in zoos began to struggle desperately.

Strong gorillas smashed through their cages, and chimpanzees used tools to open the iron gates of the safari.

Then, the lions, tigers, and bears that had been lying languidly slowly changed their expressions and walked out.

Plants all began to scatter pollen simultaneously.

And viruses flew along on the wind.

Venomous snakes entered the homes of humans who were hiding.

Poisonous spiders and scorpions attacked the humans living nearby.

Horses went wild and began kicking humans with their hind legs.

Humans didn't just passively accept it, either.

They used gas canisters to create flamethrower-like devices to attack insects and animals.

Giant beasts threw themselves at the fire-breathing humans.

The base on Ganghwa Island where Min-hyuk was stationed was also under attack from the surrounding mosquitoes and flies.

Frogs swarmed the streets.

Inside his camping trailer, Min-hyuk was gripped by terror as he listened to the sounds of bugs crashing against the window.

It was a fear he had never imagined before.

It wasn't guns, knives, or other humans.

It was every living creature on Earth risking their lives to attack him.

Screams could be heard from outside the trailer.

Something sounded like a gas canister exploding.

Min-hyuk grabbed his bed mattress and hid underneath.

And he waited motionless for this moment to pass.

The trailer continued to make sounds like hailstones falling due to the attacks of bugs and the pecking of birds.

It was then. Thunder began to rumble in the sky, and lightning struck continuously out of the clear sky.

A hurricane formed in the central United States.

It was blowing away human dwellings with its whirlwinds.

In Europe, hail was falling.

The hailstones began to fall in sizes ranging from fist-sized to basketball-sized.

Buildings and houses built by humans were destroyed.

The DS headquarters was also in danger.

Lightning began striking the tower continuously.

A crisis also befell the SS members hiding in the San Francisco branch.

The ground began to shake. The buildings trembled from the earthquake.

It was a powerful earthquake unlike anything experienced before.

The earthquake seemed to pause for a moment.

Then, suddenly, the seawater near the beach began to be forcefully sucked out.

The seawater disappeared to the point where the bottom was almost visible.

And not long after, a massive tsunami struck. Tsunamis struck Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

In waterless areas, fires broke out as lightning began to strike the forests.

The fires spread rapidly, creating massive plumes of smoke.

Just then, a strong wind began to blow, causing the flames to spread in all directions.

Even so, humans had not yet died.

Although this disaster was several times more severe than previous ones, it was merely part of the annual routine.

Most of the disasters were those that had already existed in their regions.

The only difference was that other creatures were moving in herds.

However, even if birds attacked in flocks, humans possessed arms and legs,

and the ability to use fire.

Tanker trucks loaded with pesticides roamed the streets, spraying the chemicals.

Insects and animals died from the powerful poison.

Humans released their stockpiled gas masks and distributed them to the people.

Now, one could not breathe without a gas mask. At that time, parts of the city restored their power and water supply.

What the descendants of the serpent needed most was, as expected, power and water.

With the power restored, communications were re-established.

And they were able to start broadcasting.

Among the surviving SS members, those known to the public began broadcasting and started teaching people how to prepare for disasters.

People began moving to higher ground,

and started evacuating to higher elevations, wrapping themselves in items like mats rather than raincoats, blankets, or tables.

The viruses, on the other hand, began to be swept away from the rainy areas,

and as the wind blew, the insects began to scatter.

God should have sent them one at a time.

Since they began attacking simultaneously, it turned into a scene of mutual destruction.

The earthquake terrified not only humans but also animals.

The tsunami swept away not only humans but also insects, bugs, and livestock.

Humans were the only animals on Earth capable of surviving such a disaster.

And now, even a portion of the Million Salvation Sect, of whom fewer than 10,000 remained, was dying from the calamity sent by God.

An angel, watching over the Earth under God's command, conveyed the message to God and stopped the disaster. The Earth's rotation angle and speed, which had temporarily shifted, returned to normal.

The catastrophe came to an end.

In just a few hours, the Earth was nearly completely devastated.

Most people in the secluded farms of the provinces, which had not yet been affected except for the cities, also perished.

The members of the DS, descendants of the serpent, established a headquarters in tents near the neutralized tower.

Armed military forces, who had been evacuating underground, began driving armored vehicles and tanks back into the city.

Humans responded swiftly.

They re-erected the fallen utility poles and repaired communication cables.

They began distributing food and water to the starving people.

The surviving members of the SS began announcing their survival one by one.

This resulted in the death of 80% of the entire population.

However, out of a population of 8 billion, 1.6 billion still survived. In other words, the members of the Smart Snake group also survived in a similar proportion.

Out of about 8,000 people, there were now around 1,600 survivors.

The ratios varied by country, but that was the general trend.

The same was true for the population.

There were countries where 20% survived, and others where 40% survived.

However, there were also countries where not even 10% survived.

The countries that suffered such severe damage were mostly those with large populations, high concentration of cities, and high population density.

They began rebuilding their social systems the moment the disaster receded.

They started repairing roads and clearing the debris from collapsed buildings.

Then, they established evacuation facilities in stadiums, open spaces, or remaining schools and gymnasiums capable of accommodating large numbers of refugees.

Since there were now almost no enemies left to attack brainwaves, it was a situation where it was safe for people to gather.

However, there were still many people who felt anxious. Therefore, they continuously broadcast messages assuring the public and showed soldiers protecting people in the city.

“We have suffered a great ordeal. However, we can rise again. We will set everything right and run society again.”

They continuously delivered these messages on the broadcast. The people were shocked.

The cows and pigs they had raised for food,

and the dogs and cats they had kept like toys to soothe their boredom and loneliness,

attacked them, causing them immense psychological trauma.

They still did not know why they had to go through this, or who on earth had done it. This was because no one had told them.

Even the entities running society could not yet tell the citizens that.

No, they would never, ever say anything similar.

“It was God who tried to kill you.”

They simply could not dare to speak like that. This was because religion played a significant role in the formation of human society.

It was because, when society was difficult and friction arose among people, and when they were weary, exhausted, and sick,

when accidents occurred, fires broke out, floods ensued, and family members died or were injured,

the only place they could find solace was religion—that is, God.

Because they strongly believed that they were shaping this entire society according to God's will,

they neither wanted to believe nor could they believe that God had tried to kill them,

that God had intended to destroy all of humanity.

For humans, the most important thing was neither material abundance nor intellectual ability.

The most important things to them were hope and courage.

Being humanity abandoned by God was akin to a child abandoned by their parents.

No, it was even more profound.

It was because the belief that God would protect them, even if they were abandoned by their parents, was what sustained their lives.

All members of the SS knew the truth, but they did not tell it to their families, friends, or anyone else.

However, the shock and sense of loss they felt were greater than those experienced by people suffering from any other disaster.

“God really tried to kill us.”