Chapter 59: Cataclysmic Disaster

The news of the large-scale attack on Kyoto broke around two o'clock in the middle of the night.

By that time, the massive street brawls that had engulfed nearly every corner of Kyoto were gradually subsiding. Torrential rain and rampaging floods forced the fierce yakuza to retreat obediently into their homes. The omnipresent gunfire and blazing fires finally faded away as midnight approached, and the city seemed to have superficially recovered its tranquility—save for the unyielding downpour lashing down from the heavens and the rising floodwaters carrying a roaring clamor.

The citizens, who had spent the entire day in dread and anxiety, finally let down their guard for the moment. Some gently coaxed the children in their arms who had been crying in terror all day; others went to the kitchen to prepare a few rolls of sushi to comfort their startled souls; some rose in prayer, pleading with the Sun Goddess to ensure no further major disasters would befall them on the morrow; and others planned how they would commute to work the next day. As for those of particularly timid disposition, they were contemplating whether to simply abandon this city bereft of a sense of security...

Of course, in a nation never short of shut-ins, those who always preferred to stay indoors finally found the mood to venture out.

Koji Matsushita was one such shut-in.

This twenty-four-year-old, pale and scrawny young man due to his perpetual aversion to the outdoors, pushed himself up from a bed strewn with crumpled tissue paper. Shoving aside the piles of instant noodle cups, he sat listlessly in front of his computer and clicked on a link to a well-known adult film website.

Having spent the entire day in fear, he could at last no longer hear the terrifying gunfire, despite the pouring rain. Koji Matsushita decided to spend the ensuing hours properly appreciating the newest adult video featuring the most prominent actress newly launched by the website. If possible... Koji Matsushita let out a few lewd, salacious chuckles.

The website link opened, but to Koji Matsushita's bewilderment, the computer screen did not display the usual alluring poses of actresses accompanied by ecstatic moans. Instead, a gigantic pop-up window materialized directly, taking up almost the entire screen, and its contents were utterly nonsensical: amidst a backdrop of mountains, a ferocious flood surged down a narrow river channel, roaring with tremendous force.

"What the hell is this?" Koji Matsushita muttered in dissatisfaction. Could it be that he had opened it the wrong way? He clicked his mouse, preparing to close the pop-up window.

However, his finger froze just as it was about to press the left mouse button. Staring blankly with dull eyes at the flood-ravaged scene, listening to the shocking news echoing in his ears, Koji Matsushita dropped his jaw wide open and, after a long pause, let out a cry of dismay.

"Great Sun Goddess—"

The same exclamation soon rang out in every corner of Kyoto. Prompted by these cries, a growing number of people hastily switched on their televisions, clicked open computer web pages, and lit up their mobile phone screens. Regardless of the medium, the media outlet, or the institution, every single one of them was now broadcasting the exact same image and conveying the exact same voice.

"Right now, we are stationed at the Mochikawa Reservoir in northwestern Kyoto!" The torrential rain around the reservoir area had ceased. A reporter tore off the hood of his raincoat, shouting at the top of his lungs amidst the roaring, surging floodwaters: "Roughly two hours ago, the reservoir dam suddenly suffered a catastrophic failure. The floods engulfing the entire city of Kyoto originate from right here!"

Following the reporter's gesture pointing behind him, the television camera shifted from a mountain peak down toward the rushing body of water below.

As the camera panned, people realized that this very area was none other than the incomparably familiar Mochikawa Reservoir, one of Kyoto's most renowned tourist destinations, also known as Lake Ovaden.

Yet now, the serene, azure lake had vanished, replaced by a turbulent, rampaging flood tainted with yellowish mud. The majestic dam that once stood tall between the mountain passes was also gone; the roaring torrents battered the rocks on both banks with manic fury, whipping up towering waves and cascading directly down from the dam crest that should have stood as an unyielding pillar of strength!

"The Mochikawa Reservoir dam has breached?" Everyone who heard this news found it utterly impossible to believe their ears. Wasn't that structure touted as one of the empire's most robust edifices, constructed with countless new materials and technologies, and subjected to continuous maintenance and repairs over the years? How could it fail without any warning? Furthermore, a considerable number of troops were stationed near the dam! Could it be...

"According to data obtained from the water resources department, due to the peak flood season, the current water storage of the reservoir has reached eighty percent of its total capacity. This means more than one billion cubic meters of water will rush from here toward Kyoto..." Upon uttering this figure, the reporter's voice trembled, and his face turned deathly pale.

Staring at that momentarily stunned reporter, looking at the towering floodwaters behind him, and hearing a figure that defied imagination, everyone was struck dumb with astonishment.

One billion cubic meters—such a colossal volume of water meant that even if spread across a land area of ten thousand square kilometers, every single inch of soil would have to endure a flood depth exceeding one meter! Yet the total area of Kyoto City was less than three thousand square kilometers, and the entire Kyoto metropolitan area—comprising over a dozen large and medium-sized cities and hundreds of small towns combined—spanned a mere thirteen thousand four hundred square kilometers.

An apocalyptic catastrophe!

The Sword of Damocles that had long hung over Kyoto's head, worrying numerous experts, had finally descended. This was an overwhelming calamity!

Yet the matter was far from over. On screen, the pale-faced reporter seemed to suddenly hear something, holding the microphone in his right hand while pressing his left hand against his earpiece.

"What? What? How is this possible, this is impossible!" The reporter's words became disjointed, his expression one of sheer horror.

What had happened now? Judging by the reporter's complexion, he seemed to have heard some utterly staggering news. But what news could possibly be more shocking than the breach of the Mochikawa Reservoir and the imminent inundation of the entire Kyoto metropolitan area?

People stared blankly at the screen before them. After a long while, the reporter, whose face had been drained of all color, slowly began to speak.

"According to information obtained from military departments," whether due to fear or anger, the reporter's hand could barely steady the microphone, and his voice was chillingly grim: "The Mochikawa Reservoir was blown up by the enemy. Furthermore, aside from those dispatched into the urban area to help quell the riots, the garrison troops stationed at the dam have perished alongside it..."

"Boom!" The reporter's words felt like the detonation of a small nuclear bomb. Everyone across the entire city of Kyoto, and indeed the entire Zipang Empire, was stunned into speechlessness by this revelation.

"Who? Exactly who is it?" Countless individuals smashed the remote controls, water cups, or whatever else happened to be in their hands against the televisions before them, roaring in fury.

Yet, as if unsatisfied with the degree of shock inflicted upon the populace, the reporter trembled all over and uttered words that plunged everyone's hearts into a freezing void.

"It is not only the Mochikawa Reservoir that has come under attack. According to the latest news, the Kyoto underground drainage system and the Kyoto First Water Purification Plant have both suffered massive assaults and are currently completely destroyed," the reporter hesitated visibly before speaking slowly. "Simultaneously targeted was the Zipang Ministry of Defense Military Intelligence Headquarters!"

Utterly dumbfounded. Everyone was left speechless, blankly listening to the reporter's mechanical voice. "Now, we hand the broadcast over to another feed..."

Before the reporter could finish his sentence, the television broadcast was impatiently switched to another scene.

And then, every single person in Zipang sitting before their television sets witnessed a hellish spectacle they would never forget for the rest of their lives.