Chapter 214: Pandemonium.

[You really should stop for the night... You have a shoot tomorrow...]

[I know what I’m doing. Stop nagging me and just come pick me up on time tomorrow.]

Derek brushed off his manager’s usual barrage of concern and greeted the dawn in his private rehearsal studio.

Ars’s acting.

He understood the perfect mimicry.

But when that mimicry fell away and Derek saw the overwhelming being beneath it for the first time, he had trembled with shock and exhilaration.

Was that truly something acting could achieve?

This was the field he had always prided himself on knowing better than anyone.

After witnessing an entirely new horizon unfold before his eyes, the ambitious actor shut himself away in the studio. Aside from visiting the set to observe Yu Myeong’s acting firsthand, he scarcely left it.

His manager had seen this happen many times before. Whenever Derek’s passion for acting seized him, he would forget to eat or sleep and practice until his health gave out. The manager tried desperately to restrain him, but nothing worked.

Derek sank deep into thought.

The people of Avikan have no compassion for the weak.

Terca is dispatched to Earth to “retrieve” Ars.

The problem is that Ars’s whereabouts are unknown.

Naturally so. With his ability to mimic others, he would be living among Earth’s population without the slightest discernible difference.

While considering how to find Ars, Terca begins broadcasting a message at a frequency only Avikanians can hear. But far too many humans hear phantom voices for all manner of reasons, making it impossible to identify who is actually responding to the message.

That’s why Terca begins committing acts of terrorism. As long as he can accomplish his objective, he feels no hesitation whatsoever about humans dying.

Any place showing even the faintest trace of an Avikanian is mercilessly bombed.

Before each explosion, he leaves a message in a frequency only an Avikanian can hear.

The people who inexplicably survive those attacks are added to his list of “candidates.”

And Ars survived twice.

There have been hundreds of accidents, some reported as terrorist attacks and others never reported at all.

Anyone who “coincidentally” survived one becomes a candidate.

Terca then invites them to meet him. Naturally, it is not an invitation for which he seeks permission.

The scene in which Terca and Ars meet for the first time would be Derek and Yu Myeong’s first shoot together tomorrow.

When Ars stops mimicking humans, he exudes the aura of a predator that makes them instinctively shrink back. Terca needs to possess that atmosphere by default.

In the absolute stillness of the predawn air, Derek sank deeper into concentration.

A natural disaster.

Quiet and beautiful, like nature itself, yet possessed of such immense presence that when it indifferently opened its eyes, humans would scatter helplessly like handfuls of ash.

?A new set had opened.

Spiraling lights and the dense machinery filling the spaces between them recreated the interior of a spacecraft. It was the only set in the film with a distinctly science-fictional atmosphere.

Yu Myeong’s eyes widened at its scale and intricacy as he carefully ran a hand over the mechanical wall.

The brilliant production designer had constructed it to resemble the creation of a civilization far more technologically advanced than Earth. For Yu Myeong, who was shooting a full-scale Hollywood film for the first time, it could only be fascinating.

[We’ll use VFX to touch up the rougher parts.]

[Uh... rough? Which parts...]

A passing member of the art department tossed the comment at Yu Myeong as if making an excuse. By the time Yu Myeong looked around in confusion, the man had already vanished.

I’d really like to know which parts he thinks are rough...

Kyler approached through the busy crew and asked anxiously,

[Yu Myeong, perhaps we really should use a double... Even now, we could find someone with a similar build...]

[I’m fine, Director. Truly.]

Apparently worried about the intense scenes they would be shooting today, Kyler kept looking uneasy. Yu Myeong gave him a bright smile and assured him there was no need to worry.

Then Derek approached, his makeup complete.

His hair had been slicked straight back, and metallic pearl powder had been blended into his makeup. The result was rather grotesque, but as he strode forward as though the attention around him were only natural, he radiated such force that he genuinely seemed inhuman.

[You look impressive.]

[You’re the only person who doesn’t know what an impressive actor I am.]

[I know. You look especially impressive today.]

For once, Kyler did not retort to Derek’s remark and instead agreed with him. Derek flinched, then stared at Kyler as though wondering what he was scheming.

Yu Myeong chuckled. What kind of past did those two share to have ended up with a relationship like this?

In any case, he liked this set tremendously. Both the actors and the crew.

It was excellent.

[Shall we get started, then?]

[Let’s.] [Yes.]

Scene 61.

Ars’s abduction.

[We’ll begin with the chroma key shot of Ars sleeping.]

Wearing pajamas, Yu Myeong lay down on the bed.

It was a scene based on the classic American alien-abduction cliché: a dazzling light streams through the bedroom window while someone sleeps, transporting anyone it touches aboard a spacecraft.

Yu Myeong lay on a bed covered in green fabric. On-screen, Ars’s body would float into the air and drift out through the window.

Ars was not the only one being abducted. More than ten people who had survived Terca’s “terrorist attacks” and were considered “suspects” would be summoned with him.

At this point, Terca still did not know which of them was the real Ars.

Yu Myeong looked around at the supporting actors.

They were the “Ars candidates” who would undergo Terca’s test with him today.

I heard they put considerable effort into casting them despite the small roles, because convincing performances are crucial. I recognize quite a few of them.

Some were too well-known to normally accept such minor roles. They had probably been able to swallow their pride because this was “a film in which Derek McCurdy was playing a supporting role.”

Derek was helpful in more ways than one.

[Preparing Scene 62.]

Ars and the dozen people who had been abducted stood in the middle of the spacecraft set.

Filming for Scene 62 began.

?[W-where are we?]

[What is this? What’s happening?!]

The moment they were transported, the sleeping people awoke with terror etched across their faces. Some pinched themselves to check whether they were dreaming.

Confused voices rose from the crowd.

Ars sharply observed them for a moment, then began to “mimic” them.

He possessed none of the human emotions they called fear, and quickly deduced that this situation was connected to the “voice” only he could hear.

He decided that the safest course would be to behave like the other humans while observing how events unfolded.

Then “he” appeared before the bewildered crowd.

Step. Step.

As Terca emerged from the corridor that narrowed into a single point of light, Yu Myeong felt his skin prickle.

His lips were tightly sealed. His eyes held no emotion.

An oppressive current seemed to spread from every step he took, as though each footfall left a visible stain behind.

The closer he came, the more his fiercely blazing presence crushed the frightened people beneath it.

He was Avikanian ruthlessness incarnate.

As expected of Derek McCurdy... It’s extraordinarily difficult to project that much presence while restraining every emotion.

Violent rage. Devastating sorrow.

It was not difficult to seize people’s attention by displaying emotions like those.

Yet without expressing any emotion at all, Derek commanded such overwhelming presence that every eye remained fixed on him.

Thinking that the praise calling him one of the greatest actors was entirely deserved, Yu Myeong began delivering the finest performance he could in response.

He had to appear more ordinary than anyone else among these humans, mimicking them so that “the dangerous creature” would not notice him.

He suppressed his presence even further and began trembling.

What he was doing now was a copy of Hetty Lamb, who had been unable to stop shaking at the sight of him.

[You have been brought here because you are suspected of being “Avikanian.”]

His voice poured through the room in a deep, thunderous resonance.

The force behind it made the meaning seem to imprint itself directly into their minds rather than enter through their ears.

The people began trembling even more violently at the sound. Ars diligently observed those around him and adjusted his condition to match theirs.

[If an Avikanian is among you, then he must already know that he is different from the people of Earth. Speak. I did not come to find and harm you. Revealing yourself will benefit you as well.]

Benefit him? Hardly...

He had killed all those humans merely to find Ars. Was that not excessively brutal?

The other being was overwhelmingly stronger than him. Ars decided it would be far too dangerous to reveal himself without understanding Terca’s intentions, so he carefully continued concealing his identity.

When no one stepped forward to admit that they might not be human, Terca spoke without the slightest change in expression.

[If you refuse to speak, I will simply make your bodies speak for you.]

?A massive tank filled with water.

The most terrifying thing to any living creature was the fear of death.

Terca intended to drive the “candidates” to the very brink of death and force them to reveal their true nature themselves.

Transparent wires were fastened to the actors’ backs in places that would be difficult to see. It was a dangerous shoot, with medical staff and emergency rescue personnel waiting close by.

This part was extremely important to the screenplay.

It was where Ars was first revealed to be an alien, yet also where he desperately struggled to conceal that fact.

The tension could not be allowed to break. The supporting actors had therefore been selected only after being fully informed of the risks and agreeing to them, and they had undergone repeated safety training beforehand.

Kyler approached Yu Myeong and raised the subject yet again.

[It would be disastrous if you were injured, Yu Myeong. Just in case, I have a stunt performer with a similar build waiting nearby. Even now, we could—]

[Director, I’m truly fine. This is an important scene. An extremely important one. We chose to film it underwater instead of using CG, so there would be no point if the lead actor sat it out.]

[You’re such a good actor that we could shoot your facial expressions separately and splice them in—]

[Splicing them in could never produce the same result as doing it myself. Don’t worry. We have safety equipment, and look at how many safety personnel are standing by.]

[Haa...]

[It isn’t even that extraordinarily dangerous, honestly. At worst, I might swallow some water and pass out. It’s not as though I’m in danger of dying.]

Kyler sighed.

[Very well. Stop before you reach your limit. Don’t push yourself too hard.]

[All right.]

Phoebe Taylor furiously recorded the exchange.

It’s only that there isn’t anything I can publish immediately. Thinking about the future, I’m practically drowning in material.

She was the only reporter who had been allowed onto the set.

As long as became a proper success, she could produce quite a profitable stream of articles using nothing but behind-the-scenes stories from the shoot.

They would not be the sort of scandal pieces she specialized in, but perhaps this could become an opportunity to branch out into another field.

But... aren’t these people genuinely insane?

Phoebe had trembled with excitement upon seeing Derek and Yu Myeong in the same shot today.

When she had witnessed the “true form of Ars” performed by Yu Myeong, she had been unable to comprehend how such acting was possible. After seeing Derek’s “Terca” today, she was dumbfounded to discover there was yet another actor capable of reproducing it.

Were creatures called “real actors” simply like this?

What would happen when those two finally cast aside their disguises and collided?

Her heart pounded.

[All right, prepare to shoot.]

[Ready—action!]

The Avikanians kicked the “Ars candidates” into the tank.

In an instant, ten people, including Ars, were submerged and began thrashing in the water.

[H-help—me... I can’t swim—]

[Aaah—glub—ugh—glub, glub—]

[Why are you doing this?! Why are you doing this to me?!]

The interior of the spacecraft was instantly filled with screams and groans.

Those who could swim splashed frantically while screaming for them to stop. Those who could not swallowed water and flailed as if fighting for their lives.

Pandemonium.

Even when people knew they were filming and that safety equipment was in place, once the water rose to their chins, fear inevitably blinded them.

The actors’ faces filled with genuine terror rather than performance, and the deeply harrowing scene was captured steadily by the cameras.

And Phoebe—

Roll.

She shuddered as she watched Ars dart his eyes around, swiftly assessing the situation even while thrashing and screaming in the water.

Although he was clearly struggling for breath, the expression on his face in that instant looked—

Perfectly “rational.”