The Tragedy

## Planning

Nero began preparing for the Tragedy around August, 2019, when he entered Hope's Peak as the Ultimate Lucky Student for Class 3. From the time he arrived at the school, Nero ingratiated himself with his classmates, in particular, his upperclassmen. Despite having no interest in romance, he pursued a relationship with Cara Fischer of Class 2. Due to the recent murder of her brother, Cara was in a particularly vulnerable state, and Nero quickly won her over.

Because Cara was a well-liked and widely trusted member of her class, Nero easily used her to gain favor with most of the rest of Class 2. With the exceptions of Antimony Hughes, Kyra Acker, Noko Tsutsumi, and Natsuki and Tomo Rin, all of Class 2 were indoctrinated into Ultimate Despair before their graduation in May 2020.

Nero successfully brought Kyra into the group at the start of the Fall 2020 semester, when she began a teaching position at Hope's Peak. After his sister, Vivian, expressed interest in collaborating with Kyra on an immersive virtual reality program, Nero convinced her that this would be an ideal setting for Kyra to mastermind a killing game of her own. Kyra agreed under the false belief that her killing game would be the first one carried out.

Over the course of the following months, Nero attended school as normal while Ultimate Despair made preparations for the big day. After assessing his underclassmen in Class 4, he recruited Shinobu Watanabe and Nikola Morrish into the group in April, 2021. He told them of his plans to destroy the school and run his own killing game. The Ultimate Hacker overheard part of this exchange, and he approached Vivian with what he'd heard. Vivian, who suspected her brother was planning something nefarious for months, had no trouble believing what the hacker told her. Due to his talent, she encouraged him to hack into Nero's computer and gather whatever information he can.

As the school year drew to a close, Nero again approached Kyra. This time, he has her use her talent as the Ultimate Neuroscientist to create a digital copy of his personality and memories. He planned to upload them into Faust Reid's body at a later date, suggesting he already anticipated his premature death.

## Destruction of Hope's Peak

On May 11, 2021, the students of Classes 3 and 4 gathered at the beach for a last get-together before Class 3's graduation. While most of the students were occupied there, the hacker finished hacking into Nero's computer. He discovered that Nero had been in contact with a group calling themselves "Ultimate Despair" and that he was planning to destroy the school the following day. He shared his findings with Vivian, who realized she needed to convince her classmates to flee the school with her as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Kyra, Shinobu, and Nikola all evacuated the school overnight.

The next morning, all of Class 3, including Nero, left campus via boat with Headmaster Makoto Tamochi with plans to celebrate their graduation. At the same time, Vivian and Student C pleaded with their classmates to flee the school with them. They managed to convince Aria Abe, Iris Aileen, Dante Benedicci, Lex Dance, Seamus Lusk, Keiko Matsuda, Marielle Morley, Natalie Spark, Shiori Watanabe, and several others. As the group rushed to the wharf, bombs began to detonate across campus, killing the students left behind. Vivian and the others escaped on a cargo ferry.

As this happened, two members of Ultimate Despair were in an airplane headed towards Hope's Peak Academy. The plane was piloted by Adrian Winfield, the Ultimate Pilot. Makaira Ikeda, the Ultimate Demolitionist, was also on board, filming the event. The survivors from Class 4 were still within sight of the school when the plane dropped a nuclear bomb on campus. As an android, some of Natalie's inner workings were unable to withstand the blast, and she died aboard the ferry.

## The Tragedy

After learning about the attack on Hope's Peak, Makoto Tamochi, following a suggestion from Nero, took the class to Beresham Island, a small private island in the Pacific he purchased with some of his substantial wealth. Class 3 held a graduation ceremony on the boat, and when they disembarked on Beresham Island, Nero began preparing for his killing game.

Meanwhile, the world fell into chaos. Members of Ultimate Despair dispersed across the planet, committing acts of terrorism and wreaking havoc. Christopher Smith successfully advocated reinstating public torture and execution, Cassie Doe destroyed the Amazon Rainforest, and Cara Fischer and Holly Bell collaborated to convince the scientific community that an apocalyptic collision with an asteroid was imminent. With the numerous assassinations, bombings, and acts of sabotage relentlessly destroying public morale and sending millions into despair-induced madness, world governments began to topple. By the time Nero executed his father and began Neo Danganronpa 54 on the anniversary of Class 3's graduation, his plan was already an incredible success.

## Casualties

### Students

* Akari Kiyota
* Arnold Jorgenson
* Dustine Li
* Evad Winston
* Hitoshi Akazawa
* Natalie Spark (later rebuilt)
* Sebastian Meijer

### Hope's Peak Staff

* Delores
* Aria Abe's father