The following afternoon, David requested permission from the Space Force commander to leave early, saying that he needed to take Dianne to her prenatal checkup. David really did take his wife there first, and during the examination, they found out that the baby was a boy. Dianne was overjoyed and said that their second child would resemble her husband. David only smiled.
After taking his wife back home, David headed to Gruzhnil's and Glynpatra's workplaces. Their supervisors immediately allowed them to leave when David arrived, still wearing his uniform. When they arrived at the apartment, Sherubiel was already there.
"The cloning process takes quite a long time because the equipment isn't as advanced as the ones in High Heaven. It may take several more days before it's finished, Lord David." Sherubiel explained. He simply nodded.
Glynpatra and Gruzhnil took turns changing into their distinctive clothes and armor in the bedroom. David went into the bathroom for a moment, and when he came out, he was already wearing his iconic armor. Gruzhnil and Glynpatra instinctively bowed upon seeing him.
"Have you inspected the entire building?" David asked.
"Yes, My Lord. I've also studied its security and communication systems. I found an interesting schedule where all the important people will be gathered in one place. This is a good opportunity. Let's go there immediately!" Mendicore explained.
David ordered Mendicore to create a portal. They all stepped through it and headed straight to the game studio.
***
Around eight people were seated inside a closed meeting room. They consisted of the game's development team, the studio director, and several shareholders. The director opened the meeting by discussing the finalization of the last installment of The Mayhem, which was scheduled to launch the following week, as well as the future direction of its intellectual property. One of the shareholders praised The Mayhem for becoming one of the most popular action game franchises for more than two decades.
"I have an idea that the next step for this IP could be to turn it into an online multiplayer game that everyone can play. We could still generate revenue from selling skins, weapons, battle arenas, and perhaps even turn it into an esports tournament in the future. This would allow The Mayhem to remain relevant much longer, even though the original series has already ended." said one of them, who turned out to be the head of the development team.
Almost everyone whispered among themselves and seemed to agree with the idea. However, one person wanted to comment it. The others immediately fell silent to listen because, besides being one of the shareholders, he was also the original creator of The Mayhem.
"I know all of you want this franchise's popularity to continue. But allow me to say something. I originally created The Mayhem on my old computer, and back then it was nothing more than a simple pixel game. I created the main protagonist, Hellraider, because I wanted this character to become every player's avatar. Through him, every player could experience how formidable Hellraider was without needing lengthy narration. At that time, I never imagined this game would become as huge as it is today, with a world and story far more complex. So I honestly don't agree with turning my creation into an online multiplayer game. Because fundamentally... this game is just for that one player..."
BBBBBBAAAAAAMMMMMM...!!!
Everyone in the room was thrown out of their chairs and scared to death as the meeting door suddenly exploded. They hurriedly helped one another back to their feet. When they looked toward the source of the explosion, five figures emerged from the smoke, leaving them even more horrified because those figures had literally come from the game they had created.
"H-HOW CAN THEY BECOME REALLLL?!?! SOMEBODY EXPLAIN THIIIIS...!!!" the head of the development team screamed.
One of the developers immediately grabbed his phone, intending to make an emergency call.
"It's useless! I've already placed a digital signal barrier over entire building! We've temporarily disabled the landline system and the security alarms. Everyone else in this building, except for all of you, has already been put to sleep!" Mendicore declared firmly.
They began shouting over one another in panic at the utterly unimaginable situation, and even more so when they saw the truly real Hellraider standing before them. David then summoned his magnum pistol and fired it into the ceiling. They all immediately crouched down in fear.
"SILENCE! I'M TAKING COMPLETE CONTROL OF ALL OF YOU HERE! WE WON'T BE HERE FOR LONG! TELL ME THE ENDING OF THE FINAL GAME NOOWWW!!!" David demanded.
They urged the head of the development team to explain it. Stammering, the developer described the ending they had written. David's expression turned furious again because what he described closely matched what he had experienced before parting ways with Johann.
"Now I want all of you to change that ending before the game is released!"
David then told the development team exactly what kind of ending he wanted. They were utterly stunned and could not believe the version of the ending he proposed.
"W-Wait a minute!!! Are you seriously telling us to make an ending like that?!?! It could destroy the reputation we've spent two decades building! Don't you have a more reasonable idea?!?!" the director protested.
David fired his pistol into the ceiling once again. They all lowered their heads and begged him to stop threatening them with a firearm.
"I DON'T CARE!!! DO AS I ORDER! DON'T YOU DARE DEFY ME, OR YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES! I'VE ALREADY MARKED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! And remember this! Don't even think about trying to track us down through the authorities! We all know what you're doing, even from afar!" David threatened.
The head of the development team promised that he would fulfill David's demand and begged him to let them all go. David ordered Mendicore to create another portal and erase everyone's memory of their appearances. Glynpatra, Gruzhnil, and Sherubiel stepped through the portal. The others could only stare in astonishment at Mendicore's truly real abilities. Suddenly, one of them stood up and took a few steps forward.
"Why... Why would you do all of this?! I created you!" the man said, turned out to be the original creator of The Mayhem. David, who had been about to turn away, stopped and faced his original creator with an expression filled with rage.
"I meant nothing with you anymoreee...!!!" David snapped.
The creator immediately stepped back in fear. Mendicore then shone a light over all of their faces at once, leaving them standing in a dazed silence before entering the portal together with David.
After the infiltration mission into the game studio had gone exactly as planned, they gathered at the apartment to receive David's instructions regarding the next strategy.
"We'll wait until the game is released, and then I'll play it from the very first installment all the way to the last."
"Won't you just play the final installment, My Lord? We've already watched the entire storyline before..." Mendicore asked.
"Do you think you can use a map by looking only at the destination???" David glared at it.
Mendicore fell silent again and apologized to him. The others simply smiled at Mendicore's behavior. David returned home and allowed the others to continue their normal activities. Sherubiel and Mendicore were still reminded not to appear carelessly in front of the general public.
David continued serving in the Space Force as usual while taking care of his family. Gruzhnil and Glynpatra continued working there to earn additional living expenses. Mendicore and Sherubiel, on the other hand, often traveled around the world to see various natural wonders. They all continued following updates about the exact release date of that game.
"I got information from a gaming news website that the release of The Mayhem's final installment has been postponed for about a month. They didn't mention the reason why, and the fans who had been waiting for it seem rather disappointed." Glynpatra said when everyone, including David, gathered together at the apartment.
"That's good! They won't be able to explain what we did that day!" Gruzhnil chuckled. David remained silent while enjoying his dinner.
"Lord David, can I visit your family at your house sometime?" Glynpatra smiled enthusiastically.
"If you already had a husband and he suddenly brought another woman without telling you, how would you feel?"
As if realizing what he meant, Glynpatra became extremely embarrassed and apologized for her earlier remark. The others laughed, while David still silently finished his meal.
Two weeks later, the final installment of The Mayhem was finally released, earlier than had been reported. David had pre-ordered it beforehand, so he immediately received the game's disc. He also bought every installment of The Mayhem from the beginning and rented a game console. David had already taken three days of leave and told Dianne that he would be visiting an old friend. Gruzhnil and Glynpatra were asked to do the same.
At the apartment, David began playing The Mayhem, starting from the old pixel version all the way to the installments with more modern graphics. Glynpatra, who was serving everyone food, watched in amazement as David played the game with incredible skill.
"Hahahahaaa... look at the Princess's expression! Of course Lord David can do that because he has already done it himself!" Gruzhnil said.
Sherubiel and Mendicore searched the internet to see how The Mayhem fans were reacting after the ending of the final installment had been forcibly changed by David.
[What kind of ending is this???? Are the developers joking???]
[As a The Mayhem fan for more than a decade, I'm extremely disappointed by this ending that feels like a trash joke...]
[Give me back my money and my time, developers!]
[This is one example of how a legendary game series ends in utter disgrace just because of its ending...]
"Lord David, look at these comment reactions on the ending you gave them! One of the developers even made a public statement explaining an unbelievable incident in which a group of people whose appearances they couldn't remember suddenly broke into the studio and threatened them into changing the ending. They also reported it to the police, but no surveillance footage or evidence of the perpetrators could be found, so the case couldn't be pursued. The fans have become even angrier and are accusing the developers of failing to deliver a worthy conclusion to the game series they have waited all these years. What do you think, My Lord?" Sherubiel asked.
David glanced over while his hands continued moving the console controller, slaughtering the monsters on the screen without pausing the game for even a moment.
"Let them be..."
They all fell silent after hearing those flat and cold words.
David played The Mayhem nonstop, while Gruzhnil and Glynpatra occasionally watched and then slept at night as usual. After three days, David reached the final part of the last installment. However, the moment the cutscene transition began, he immediately turned off the console. The others instantly understood why David had done that.
"I've found the path..." David said as he stared at the now-dark screen.