Raid on Midgar The Raid on Midgar is an event in " Final Fantasy VII " that takes place on January 14 , εγλ 0008 when the Diamond Weapon attacks Midgar by firing its powerful beams of energy towards the city . Although being able to destroy the Diamond Weapon with the Sister Ray cannon , the Shinra Company couldn ' t prevent the Weapon from firing at the city , destroying the upper floors of the Shinra Headquarters and presumably killing Rufus Shinra in the process . Combined with the assumed death of Scarlet and Heidegger at the hands of Cloud ' s party , this event spelled the end of the Shinra Company ' s position as the dominant power in the world . Before the battle . Cloud ' s party has found out from Bugenhagen that Aeris had cast Holy to stop Sephiroth ' s Meteor from destroying the Planet . Sephiroth is holding Holy back , and the only way to save the Planet is by destroying Sephiroth himself . As the party is leaving the Forgotten Capital , they pick up a signal and discover Diamond Weapon attacking Midgar . They fly the " Highwind " to Midgar to confront Diamond Weapon and protect the city . Shinra has just finished their two new weapons : the Proud Clod and the Sister Ray . Shinra plans to use the Sister Ray to destroy the energy barrier around North Crater . Battle . Both the " Highwind " and the Diamond Weapon arrive at the outskirts of Midgar around the same time . Cloud chooses two allies to help him fend off the Weapon . After inflicting minor damage to it , Reeve Tuesti , the Head of Urban Development in Shinra ( acting through Cait Sith ) orders the party to get away , for the Sister Ray is being launched . Diamond Weapon fires at the city before Sister Ray ' s energy blast destroys it , along with the energy barrier around the crater . Even after having been destroyed , the Weapon ' s beams of energy hit the Shinra Headquarters and leave President Rufus Shinra injured and thought dead by both Cloud ' s party and Rufus ' s minions alike . Events following the battle . The party learns that Scarlet and Heidegger are ordering Reeve to turn off the Midgar Mako Reactor s , but Reeve is not able to . They discover it is Hojo ' s doing , and if they don ' t stop him the reactors will explode , destroying Midgar . Reeve is arrested for his double - agent role . The party parachute to Midgar and can choose to confront the Turks , depending on previous actions , and then defeat Scarlet and Heidegger piloting the Proud Clod . Once they reach Hojo , he reveals himself as Sephiroth ' s father and that he is going to fire the Sister Ray to give his son a burst of energy to help him out . The party kills Hojo but because he experimented with his Mako Juice on himself , he is reborn as the monster Helletic Hojo and then Lifeform - Hojo N . Cloud ' s party deactivates the Mako Reactors before it is too late . Before his demise , Hojo uploaded his consciousness onto the Worldwide Network , as revealed in the sequel " Dirge of Cerberus - Final Fantasy VII - " . Aftermath . With Hojo dead , the Shinra descending into chaos , and the elimination of Sephiroth ' s barrier , the events proved to be a serious setback to both of AVALANCHE ' s enemies . It marks the end of the Shinra Company ' s influence over Midgar and the Planet , although the company didn ' t fully collapse at the spot ( employees are still at work on the 66th floor in the Shinra Headquarters when visited for the second time by Cloud ' s party ) . It is also revealed in " " that Rufus Shinra escaped the Shinra Headquarters ' destruction , and seeks to revive the company . By now the populace has grown suspicious of Shinra and with its main business model , production of Mako Energy , out of the picture , the new Shinra Company can no longer project power of the Planet like they used to .