Chapter 18 - The aftermath

The broadcast swiches to a hazy video, filmed on a phone. It shows two figures duking it out on a field. Each of their moves and strikes is accompanied by loud thunderous booms and unbelievable destruction to the surrounding land. Then the video cuts.

The feed cuts to what's left of the town of Greenville.

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As the USA makes their moves, so do the other world powers.

They generally divide into 3 coalitions. One is the whole of America. The second one is the whole of Europe and half of Africa. The third is the eastern block. Consisting of Russia, China, Ukraine, Romania, Japan and a few other, smaller countries.

After witnessing the destruction that occurred in Charlotte and it's vicinity. Each of these three coalitions are having meetings on how to proceed.

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-The Europe coalition-

Around a big round table have gathered the many leaders of the leading countries. Along with them are some hidden powers, that rule behind the scenes.

"We can't possibly keep the existance of Deas hidden anymore, can we?" A man says.

"It is so. After all, the media has already publicized what happened." Another man nods at that.

"What has America said about this?" Someone asks.

"They stated that they aren't going to hide the fact that Deas exist any longer, from the populace." A woman responds.

"What a bunch of hypocrites. They hide more than anyone. Now that an actually relevant piece of sensitive information has leaked out, they act like saints." A gruff man complains.

"However true that might be, this closes off the possibility of us wiping it under the rug as well. After all if we choose to lie here, then the citizens will lose trust in us." A man says.

"Yes. But we have to ease them into it. This can cause mass panic, if revealed in the wrong way. Imagine how people will react when they find out that a fraction of the population is superhuman..." A man says.

"However with all the downsides, there are positives as well. For example, this makes it easier for us to regulate and control the Deas" A woman counters.

"Indeed. This means that we're all in favour?" A man asks and seeing as no one objects, he finalizes the discussion. "Then we will reveal the existance of Deas."

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Meanwhile right after the fight between Artoria and Zeladrea. Two women show up at the scene.

They are Victoria and Aria. The vice leaders of both Artoria's organisation and the organisation of the reds. Zeladrea's organisation.

(Victoria PoV)

I stare at the scene of destruction brought about by Lucy. If you ignore all the lives lost, then it's a work of art in it's own right. In our organisation maybe only the Destroyer would be able to replicate this.

Although with this, Lucy has basically announced herself to the world. Something I know she wouldn't do if she was thinking clearly. Especially if you know her and saw her fight. She wasn't in her right mind.

"Where did she go..." I mumble, while standing on the snow covered wasteland.

The next moment, I spot a figure walking in the distance. I use my lightning to appear in front of that person instantly.

*Rumble*

*Wham* She reacts instantly and throws a kick to my face. I dodge it, but don't retaliate, as I identify the person.

"What a rude way to greet a colleague." She grumbles, when she recognises me.

"That should be my line. I assume you're here for the same reason as me, Aria?" I say.

"Yep." She relaxes. "I'm trying to find Zela, but it's like she vanished."

"Hmm... Don't you think she's dead?" I ask with amusement.

She looks at me with a serious look. "She wouldn't die so easily."

"Heeh? You call this easy?" I refer to the area around us.

"You're annoying..." That's all she says and starts walking off.

"Hmm..." I narrow my eyes at Aria. I am very well aware of what happened, so the actions of the red faction can be taken as an act of aggression.

Whether Lucy was in her right mind or not, the fact is that Zeladrea attacked her. No matter who made the first move, it still falls on her head.

After knowing Lucy for almost a year now, I can guess that she will be pissed. To what degree will she retaliate or seek compensation will be for her to decide.

Oh well. I guess I'll find that out when she shows up. Now that she is temporarily missing, leading the organisation falls on to me. With the amount of chaos right now, we're going to have a lot of work.

I casually start walking through the frozen wasteland. The temperatures reach -50° C, but that doesn't bother me. My physical abilities have long left the confines of humanity. That includes everything, from regeneration to temperature resistance.

"I just wish I didn't wear heels." I smile wryly and start floating, lighting dancing all around me.

*Boom* I shoot of at incredible speeds.

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Back at the base of operations for Lucifers organisation.

The atmosphere is rather calm and quiet in the office area of the base, as opposed to the rest of the world. The women are analyzing the videos and contemplating their next moves.

Even though normal people would describe most of these women as completely crazy. One must not forget that they are chosen by Lucifer for their competency. All the crazyness is just the trade off for the level of competency these women possess.

"Have there been any signs of Lucifer." Delia asks, while watching the different news feeds, that all broadcast the same thing.

"Njet. After she disappeared, no signs show any movement. Not even any temperature fluctuations." Eleanor answers.

Silence falls again and all the women contemplate what to do. The newbie Mira goes to Eleanors side and asks. "What now?"

Eleanor looks at her without answering. Thinking of the best response to give to this new girl. But before she responds, all the women see a flash of lightning outside.

"Looks like Victoria is back. It seems with all that happened, she no longer thinks we need to be careful when using our powers." Delia remarks with a smirk.

What she isn't thinking about is the fact that almost all of Charlotte is covered by heavy snow. All the people have died or evacuated the city, as the temperatures are insanely low. Because Delia is able to easily survive in these conditions, she doesn't even consider it as a problem. Hence the misconception.

The parts of Charlotte that were farthest from Lucifers cocoon are not that heavily impacted. These parts only had to deal with the freezing temperature and the snowfall that landed. The more you approach the area where the cocoon was. The more destruction you will see.

Soon the elevator dings and out comes Victoria. All eyes fall on her, as she is the vice leader and her word is final at the moment.

Victoria elegantly walks in front of all the women and looks at them wordlessly. A million thoughts are running through her head.

"The situation right now is such that the governments will most likely reveal us to the world. As our organisation is rather hidden, we don't have to worry about that for now."

"Our focus right now should go to three things. First we have to support Leviatan in the coming storm, that the goverments will unleash on the Deas.

Second we have to manage our businesses, as everything is a mess right now. And third, we have to make sure to erase Lucifers face from every media outlet" Victoria explains.

All the women in the room listen closely, but only one chooses to raise their hand to ask a question.

"We don't have enough manpower to do the third task." A woman says, earning a glare from Victoria.

"Outsource it to some hackers. We have enough contacts and rescourses to drown someone in the bottom of the ocean. Just fucking do it. Dismissed." Victoria reiterates with strength and leaves.

The rest of the women leave for their posts and get to work. The coming days will be busy.