"Biomass conversion progress: approximately fifty percent of the global Swarm biomass has been decomposed. Gas production continues to climb. Based on the current rate, the gas saturation critical point is projected to be reached by the forty-sixth hour," reported the Tech-Priest of Technology.
Osiris pulled up magnified imagery of several key areas.
In one region that had once been a major hatchery cluster, nothing remained but melting chitinous skeletons surrounded by vast pools of yellow-green sludge. Bubbles constantly broke the surface of the sludge, releasing even more gas.
A plain once covered by the creep now resembled scorched earth following a chemical fire. Across the gray-white, cracked terrain, the scattered remains of Swarm units were mostly semi-liquefied and unrecognizable.
In a mountain range where the Swarm had established underground nests, thermal imaging showed an abnormal spike in internal temperature. This indicated that the virus had likely penetrated deep underground, decomposing the hidden Swarm units and stored biomass within.
"What is the virus's penetration capability regarding underground structures?" Osiris inquired.
"Limited, but present," the Tech-Priest analyzed. "Viral particles can enter ventilation systems via air currents or be carried inside by infected units. The enclosed environment of the underground nests might actually accelerate gas accumulation and increase internal pressure. However, deep, completely sealed zones may remain temporarily safe. Still, this will not impact the overall outcome—once the atmosphere is ignited, the underground structures will be destroyed or sealed off by the extreme heat and pressure."
By the twenty-fourth hour, the global Swarm biomass conversion rate reached seventy percent.
The Swarm's organized resistance had fundamentally vanished.
Sporadic bio-electric signals, likely emitted by Overseers that were not yet completely dead, were detected, but they were weak and chaotic. The Swarm had collapsed as an army; what remained was merely biomass wreckage undergoing rapid decomposition.
The concentration of flammable gases in the atmosphere continued to surge.
Global atmospheric pressure rose by 0.3% due to the increased volume of gas. Meteorological models indicated that atmospheric circulation was starting to destabilize due to alterations in temperature distribution, forming powerful convective cyclones in several regions.
During this period, Osiris simultaneously received operational data sent back by Valerie from Agria.
The contrast was stark: the Swarm on Agria was still actively on the offensive, while the Swarm on Mar Sara was being dismantled from within by an invisible force.
"The gas accumulation speed is slightly faster than expected," the Tech-Priest reported. "Following the current trend, the ignition threshold could be reached around the forty-second hour. However, we recommend waiting until the forty-eighth hour to ensure the vast majority of the biomass has completed decomposition, thereby achieving the maximum cleansing effect."
Osiris agreed with the recommendation.
The purpose of the test was to evaluate weapon efficacy, not to chase the fastest result. Giving the virus ample time to complete its work would yield complete data.
By the thirty-sixth hour, the global biomass conversion rate reached ninety percent.
Almost no traces of purple could be seen on the planet's surface anymore. Replacing it was a vast landscape of death painted in alternating gray-white and yellow-green.
The atmosphere grew turbid and visibility dropped, a direct result of the increasing gases and suspended particulates. The surface temperature rose by an average of 1.8°C due to the greenhouse effect.
The Swarm's activity signals were down to a final few sporadic points, vanishing minute by minute. The observation satellites detected several minor earthquakes, likely caused by the collapse of underground hives failing under excessive internal gas pressure.
"The biomass decomposition process has entered its final stage," the Tech-Priest summarized. "The remaining undecomposed biomass is primarily located beneath the polar ice caps, in deep-sea regions, or within completely sealed underground spaces. While the virus has difficulty penetrating these areas, they account for less than four percent of the total biomass and will not affect the global outcome."
"Gas concentration?" Osiris asked.
"Methane concentration has reached seventy-five percent of its lower explosive limit. Factoring in the concentrations of ethane, propane, and other heavy hydrocarbon gas mixtures, the overall flammability index stands at eighty-eight percent of the critical threshold. It is projected to hit the ignition threshold between the forty-fourth and forty-sixth hours."
"Prepare the ignition sequence," Osiris ordered.
The weapons control room of the Eternal Seeker went on high alert once more. This time, the weapon to be deployed was not biological, but a more conventional yet immensely powerful energy weapon.
"LANCE arrays charging. Target coordinates: fifty kilometers above the equator of Planet Mar Sara, at longitude sixty degrees west. The atmosphere is thinner at this position and sits at the center of global circulation, making it ideal for triggering a chain reaction."
"LANCE charging. Projected to reach firing power in eighteen minutes."
Osiris's primary host reviewed the observation data one last time.
The test of the virus bomb was a fundamental success: the Swarm had been decomposed rapidly and effectively, the conversion process matched expectations, and no significant resistance or anomalous reactions had occurred. Now, only the final step remained—igniting the atmosphere to complete the cleansing while observing the energy release data of the entire process.
The final ten minutes of the countdown.
The LANCE arrays finished charging. Massive energy coalesced within the ship's prow focusers, radiating a hazardous blue-white light. Mar Sara rotated silently on the screen, shrouded in the colors of death, its atmosphere laden with fuel.
"Ignition sequence, final readiness," reported the Tech-Priest nearby.
Osiris's optical lenses locked onto the target.
"Execute."
At the prow of the Eternal Seeker, the LANCE array focusers hummed with a low resonance. Coalescing into a single point under the guidance of complex force fields, the energy broke past the critical threshold.
A slender but intensely incandescent blue-white beam pierced the void, lancing toward Mar Sara. Its diameter was only a few meters, but the energy it contained was sufficient to melt through the armor of a battleship.
The beam struck the pre-established coordinates precisely: fifty kilometers above the equator, within the thin but heavily fueled atmosphere.
In the initial instant, only a small, brilliant fireball erupted at the point of impact. Measuring several hundred meters in diameter, it resembled a miniature sun ignited against the night sky.
But this was merely the primer.
The extreme heat within the fireball ignited the surrounding, highly concentrated flammable gases—the mixture of methane, ethane, propane, and other complex hydrocarbons.
The first explosion occurred, ten times larger than the fireball itself, sending an orange-red flame billowing outward. The thermal radiation and shockwave released by this initial blast promptly ignited the gases further out.
The chain reaction had begun.
From the satellites' perspective, a single point of light first ignited along Mar Sara's equatorial region, which rapidly expanded into a burning ring. The ring of light raced toward the north and south poles at an astonishing velocity, as if placing an ever-widening crown of fire upon the planet.
The flames spread far faster than conventional combustion. The concentration of flammable gases in the atmosphere was so high that the fire front advanced at what was practically detonation wave speed—several kilometers per second. Wherever the fire reached, the atmosphere itself became fuel, generating sustained, extreme temperatures for several seconds.
Within twenty-five seconds, the entire equatorial belt was swallowed by fire.
After fifty seconds, the flames had torn through to the thirty-degree latitudes in both hemispheres.
The intense illumination produced by the atmospheric combustion transformed Mar Sara into a raging fireball against the dark backdrop of space, its brightness temporarily eclipsing the system's host star.
The sensors of the Eternal Seeker automatically adjusted their sensitivity to avoid overloading. The multi-spectral scanners recorded the energy release data second by second.
"Peak atmospheric combustion temperature: 3,100 degrees Celsius," reported the Tech-Priest. "Flame front velocity: four point three kilometers per second. Energy release rate: five point two times ten to the twentieth power Joules per second, equivalent to detonating 120 million tons of TNT every second."
The data streams flowed smoothly through Osiris's consciousness. He calculated the total energy output, combustion efficiency, and surface impact models.
The fire continued its push toward the poles. Because the polar atmosphere was thinner and the gas concentration slightly lower, the combustion speed slowed marginally, but it remained entirely unstoppable.