After a small "reunion", Simone brought me back again to Col. Peterson. Imelda said she wanted to see me again. I immediately smiled back.
When I arrived, Col. Peterson wanted to talk to me and Simone would accompanied. We left the monitoring room and entered a meeting room.
Inside, Col. Peterson started explained that the Department of Defense was investigating the source of the monsters and how to destroy them permanently.
Then Simone explained the connection between them and me. He said that I was the only person known to have extensive knowledge of the storyline and lore of The Mayhem.
Col. Peterson then asked me about the possible reasons why the monsters could come to this world, given the connection within the game.
I thought for a moment, recalling the story from the first installment. It didn't take long for me to remember.
I immediately explained to Col. Peterson that, according to The Mayhem lore, the reason monsters invade a place is because a portal from the Hell realm has opened.
The portal was initially accidentally created during crucial research to discover infinite energy by a large energy company and a space company in that game world, using a unique stone mined from the planet Venus. The stone emits radiation energy that is far greater than any other radioactive substance on Earth.
However, over time, the portal grew out of control, growing larger and larger, and an invasion of monsters from hell broke out. Not only in the Venusian mines, but also in the Earth's deposites, portals created that allowed the monsters to invade the entire game Earth. That's where the journey of a Hellraider begins.
I also stated that the Venusian stone couldn't possibly exist on this Earth today. I assumed that the primary cause of the current portals was a connection to a nuclear power plant.
Col. Peterson, who seemed to have grasped the gist of my story, told me that my city was surrounded by five nuclear power plants. He also assumed that this situation caused my city to be the first to experience the disaster, followed by other nearby cities, and spread throughout the world like a chain reaction.
He would convey this to the highest command of the army for further investigation to determine whether there was a correlation. He also seemed confident that this could be the true solution to resolving this tragedy once and for all.
Col. Peterson thanked me for sharing my knowledge and strategy. He then left the meeting room, leaving Simone and me alone.
"My instincts were right; you were the only one who could solve this problem. When I saw you arrive at this base, I immediately told the colonel," Simone said proudly.
"But how did you know I'd still follow this game series when we hadn't seen each other since high school?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, Johann, of course I knew. I used to see you eagerly waiting in front of game stores for the latest series or waiting for the newest figures at toy stores. What I remember most was when I was studying for academy entrance test at an internet cafe, I saw you engrossed in the comics, watching documentaries, and reading articles for hours. I've never seen anyone as dedicated as you as a fan of The Mayhem. I only played the games, didn't care about the story, and just enjoyed the demon slaying," Simone explained.
I was stunned again to find Simone paying attention to this even after I graduated from high school. I thought he'd completely forgotten about me, but when this disaster struck, he hadn't.
Simone asked me to return to my room to rest. I hadn't slept at all in almost five days, having finished the entire series of The Mayhem, and then suddenly this disaster struck. I lay down on one of the rows of beds provided and fell into a deep sleep.
While I was sleeping, I had a dream that I found very strange. This wasn't a reenactment of my crime the day before.
Suddenly, I was in a place where the entire area was covered in maroon-colored rocky hills. I saw fires raging in the distance, the clouds in the sky appeared black, but occasionally flashed with thunders of yellow, green, and red colors. The atmosphere around me seemed very gloomy.
Wait, I know what this place is. This is the hell setting in The Mayhem. Why was I suddenly placed here? Did I die instantly and went to hell for my heinous deeds?
As I turned to look around further, I was suddenly startled by a figure standing a few meters in front of me. It wasn't the monster that inhabits this place.
It was a Hellraider.
There were blood stains on almost all of his body. I I was shocked and reflexively took a step back. He was holding The Obliviator in his right hand. My feelings were mixed.
Was he going to shoot me right here like he did to Navel??
Unexpectedly, he suddenly dropped his gun to the ground. He turned around and then took off his helmet. I couldn't see his face, but only his black hair, cut short, with a slightly long and spiky on top.
I actually already knew what Hellraider looked like in the last series where in one of the scenes he took off his helmet. But why was his hairstyle this time so different from the one in the game?
He then walked away from me straight ahead. I tried to walk after him.
But suddenly I woke up and saw the morning sun rising through the window of the room.
Oh, what a vivid dream, but it left me completely confused. Lucy, Larry, and Robbin had left me first because they each had their own things to do.
After showering and breakfast, Simone invited me back to meet Col. Peterson in the meeting room. But this time Imelda joined us in the discussion. Col. Peterson announced important developments from last night.
He had conveyed my idea to the Army generals and Air Forces. The Air Forces then instructed to send an unmanned reconnaissance drone to one of the nuclear power plants.
Imelda showed the reconnaissance videos in her laptop. The results revealed a large number of monsters roaming that area.
When attempting to capture video using high-resolution infrared imaging, several round, high-frequency radiation beams were captured inside the nuclear power plant, particularly near the main reactor. These were assumed to be portals that led the monsters to this world.
Col. Peterson stated that the Department of Defense, along with nuclear scientists, was exploring ways to quickly deplete the reactor's energy in the hope of closing the portals as soon as possible.
Imelda then added that the military could not immediately destroy the nuclear power plant, as this would certainly cause a new disaster in the form of massive radiation contamination.
She then stated that one of the biggest challenges was the radioactive material that was the reactor's primary energy source could not be depleted in a matter of days. Radioactive elements generally deplete over several years.
Imelda had contacted a nuclear expert and told that the only way was to completely contain the energy beam within the reactor using a special enclosure.
However, Imelda also stated that this was nearly impossible due to the numerous monsters there that had already made the nuclear power plant their base.
Everyone, including me, fell silent for a moment after hearing Imelda's explanation.
I thought it would be nearly impossible to destroy the portal without making sacrifices. In my mind, the most realistic course of action was to completely destroy the nuclear power plant. Let the surrounding area be permanently degraded into a dangerous radioactive wasteland rather than have us all fight those monsters indefinitely.
I wanted to express my thoughts, but immediately thought about the potential future consequences for me, which could lead to even more serious criminal charges. So I remained silent.
If we didn't want anyone to be sacrificed, then one solution was to let the Hellraider work itself out without interruption but with no exact time.
Col. Peterson thanked Imelda for her consideration. He wanted to go again to the main monitoring room. He leaving with Simone, I was left alone with Imelda. Then she came over and sat down next to me again.
"It's just the two of us now. I've been meaning to ask you about this," Imelda said seriously. I immediately became nervous.
"I've read your police record before this catastrophe. At first, I was very shocked by it. But after reading the details, I thought about it. This incident seems very strange to me. So, I just want to ask you one thing. You really didn't do it consciously, did you?" Imelda asked, somewhat intimidatingly.
I was shocked by her statement. I immediately knew that Imelda was an intelligence agent, so she definitely had access to that information.
I took a deep breath and explained that even though I'd been asked this question hundreds, thousands, even millions of times, I still stood firm, saying I didn't do it consciously.
Imelda smiled, convinced that it was impossible for me, whom she'd known since high school, to do such a thing.
"Oh yeah, by the way, I just found out that your father is a high-ranking military officer too. But why did he send you to a public school when you could have asked to go to an elite school?" I asked curiously.
Imelda chuckled happily. She said finally someone could ask her this.
She explained that at first, she was very confused as to why her father wanted her to attend school here. Imelda knew her family was wealthy, but her father rarely spoiled her as a child.
After Imelda graduated from high school and her father decided to send her to intelligence academy, he finally explained his reasoning.
He wanted her to see how people's characters are formed in a free yet actually very limited environment. Imelda wanted to gain insight not only into the class subjects, but also into the dynamics of social interactions that occur at school so she can shape her own personality from that insight.
I was stunned by Imelda's explanation. Besides coming from a wealthy background, her parents, especially her father, truly educated her to become who she is today. It was a stark contrast to my childhood of extreme poverty and my father, who was my nightmare.
"Oh yes, I want to get back to my earlier topic. I accidentally linked you to this incident. I also know from Simone that you are a huge fan of the game The Mayhem, a crime incident happened that was beyond reason for you, then not long after that this disaster came exactly according to what was in the game and up to this point I can feel from Col. Peterson likes you because you are like the key to solving all this disaster. I wonder if this might be a special sign for you or not. What do you think?" Imelda asked.
I became very nervous hearing Imelda's statement. I couldn't believe she could still trace and connect all this to events in my life that I hadn't even considered.
But not long after, someone came in, who appeared to be another intelligence agent, to ask Imelda for help with some things.
That afternoon, I sat on one of the balconies of the army headquarter building.
I began to reflect on everything from the beginning. My fanaticism for the game, my recent criminal indictment, the beginning of this disaster, the slot interface that only I could see and possess, my initial encounter with Hellraider and Navel's tragic death, direct encounter with Hellraider in my dream, and the grand plan to end it all that stemmed from my knowledge of the game.
The wind blew, and something like paper flew towards me and landed right in front of me. I immediately picked it up.
It was an old poster of a Hellraider being swarmed by monsters, desperately trying to exterminate them with his signature weapon.
I stared at it again, but this time I didn't feel traumatized. I recalled the Hellraider's story from beginning, the background and the journey to the end that seemed unsatisfying to me.
The sun then began to set, it's rays falling on my face.
Suddenly, I felt something very strange again, like a revelation had come directly to my heart.
I began to understand why Hellraider had come here and done what he did. I felt that there was a connection between Hellraider and me that was difficult to explain with any concept, and that over time, it would lead us to a conclusion only we could find for ourselves.
I stood there, staring at the twilight sky and the ruined city.
I knew what I had to do from this moment on.