Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 726

“Arodo…”

William muttered as he looked at the photo.

Taylor, the director, continued to explain as he watched William.

“According to the alien expert, this is what happened.”

Along with his explanation, another video appeared on the table.

Of course, the real video was not shown, as it was supposed to be processed with CG after filming, but thanks to the marks that indicated where and what video would appear, there was no discrepancy between the gazes of Seo-jun Lee and Sophia Kelly.

“Both of them are very natural at CG filming.”

“Indeed.”

It would have been very hard to act in front of an empty space if it was their first time, but Seo-jun Lee, who had starred in the [Shadowman Series], and Sophia Kelly, who had starred in the superhero series [Assemble], acted as if there was a video in front of them. It was as if they were really seeing the invisible video.

As the staff and the extras admired them, the two actors continued to act.

“When Arodo contacts the host, it absorbs into the host’s body,”

A simple animation showed the scene of ‘Arodo’, which was in the shape of a jewel, being absorbed by a person’s hand. The absorbed black-green parasitic creature, Arodo, slowly moved from the tip of the finger to the arm, neck, face, and finally to the brain. It looked like it was climbing up a black-green blood vessel.

“It invades the host’s mind as well.”

Finally, Arodo reached the host’s brain.

The host, whose brain quickly turned black-green, soon had his whole body contaminated with the same color.

William stared at the video without blinking.

He had a special ability called ‘shadow friend’, but until recently, he was a very calm person for someone who had nothing to do with superheroes.

It was a strange thing, but Taylor, the director, who knew the cause, swallowed a light sigh and continued to explain.

“Arodo, who invaded the host’s mind, first absorbs the host’s negative energy.”

“Negative energy?”

“Sorrow, pain, hatred, loneliness, anger, anxiety, worry… Those kinds of emotions.”

William frowned in confusion.

“Can emotions… become energy?”

Emotions.

They were just feelings that living things, such as humans or animals, felt.

How could they become the energy that living things needed to move and live?

Taylor, the director, who felt that the boy named ‘William Lee’ was a normal person in this place, answered.

“Because it’s an alien creature. It uses things that we can’t even imagine as energy sources. On Earth, there are things that ordinary people don’t know, like magic, superpowers… and shadows.”

As if to answer Taylor’s words, Jay appeared out of nowhere.

At Jay’s appearance, William, who had been stiff until then, relaxed his expression a little and smiled faintly. He nodded his head and opened his mouth.

“What happens when it absorbs negative emotional energy? Does it move to a new host’s body?”

“Something like that.”

The next photo that appeared was one that William knew.

The photo of the baseball stadium where Vision crashed.

He remembered Shadowman, who came to save him, and his heart sank and his throat tightened. He bit his lips unknowingly to hold back his sadness. Taylor, the director, who saw William for a moment, continued to explain.

“Arodo finds the memory of the host when he was the happiest and most joyful in the host’s mind. And it destroys the place where the happiness was full.”

It was the most effective way to create negative emotional energy.

“The memory that our Vision agent was the happiest recently was…”

“…the baseball stadium.”

“That’s right.”

Taylor nodded at William’s low voice.

“Arodo absorbed the negative emotional energy generated at the baseball stadium and moved to another host’s body there.”

William recalled the people who came to watch the game.

Students from the same school, students from the opposing school, scouts, locals who came to see the baseball game nearby, tourists.

There were many people there.

“And Arodo repeated the same thing everywhere.”

Taylor showed dozens of videos.

Videos of people evacuating from department stores, airports, amusement parks, etc. where smoke rose and collapsed.

William knew those things too.

The accidents and incidents in New York that were on the news lately.

“So these accidents are all…?”

“Yes. They are. Arodo’s doing.”

William’s gaze, which was directed at Taylor, turned to the videos on the table. He could see the people running away in a hurry, but he couldn’t hear the sound.

All this because of an alien creature…

William clenched his two hands that felt the cold body temperature of Shadowman.

Taylor, who was watching William, showed a new video.

“What is this…?”

“It’s a video sent by an alien expert.”

The round sphere in the video looked like a different planet, not the blue Earth.

He saw the red gem-like planet slowly dyed in ominous black and green.

“She said that Arodo, who had absorbed enough negative energy, splits his body.”

Splitting…! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

William’s eyes widened.

“The split Arodos keep absorbing and splitting negative energy. Until all the living creatures with emotions on that planet disappear.”

Looking at the red planet that was now only black and green, William unknowingly took a deep breath.

“Then the Earth…”

“Yes. If we don’t stop it before it splits, it will change like that.”

His heart beat fast.

He thought of his parents at the company, his friends at school, and the neighbors who greeted him warmly.

They all disappear.

…Like Shadowman.

But why?

His heart, which was beating so unstable that it choked his breath, suddenly calmed down. His head, which was full of worries and anxiety, also became clear as if someone had neatly organized it.

‘You always have to be calm. -sir.’

He seemed to hear a stranger’s voice.

“What should I do?”

William spoke in a calm voice. It was a cold voice, not calm. It was a calmness that a civilian boy could not have, but only someone who had experienced a lot of things.

Taylor, who was looking at William for a moment, opened his mouth.

“Be the bait. William Lee.”

***

“Cut! Okay!”

Before shooting the close-up shot, they had a break.

It was because Lee Seo-jun and Sophia Kelly, both excellent actors, didn’t even notice the time and continued shooting.

“Good job.”

“Thanks. You too, Jun.”

As Sophia Kelly sat next to him, Seo-jun handed her a bottle of water. Sophia Kelly gulped down her throat and opened her mouth.

“But aren’t I getting a lot of hate? For making William the bait? I know Taylor is a character who would use anything for the sake of the Earth, but still. William is a civilian and a minor.”

“Hahaha.”

Seo-jun, one of the writers of the synopsis, laughed and said.

“I think I’ll get a lot of resentment too. I made Shadowman die.”

Sophia Kelly, who handed Seo-jun the snack that the manager gave, smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t think they’ll resent you. They’ll say, ‘Our Jun wouldn’t do that…’ You know. Isn’t Jonathan the director in danger instead?”

Hmm.

As Seo-jun was about to nod his head, thinking that might be possible, after taking a bite of the sandwich, Jonathan the director, who might be in danger of his life as soon as the movie was released, interrupted.

“I opposed it. It was all Jun’s doing.”

“But you agreed in the end, Jonathan.”

That’s why the script came out and the movie was filmed like this.

Jonathan the director said to Seo-jun’s words.

“I opposed it. It was all Jun’s doing.”

“…Jonathan?”

“I opposed it! It was all Jun’s doing!”

I’m not guilty! Save me!

He seemed to hear such a scream.

Sophia Kelly burst into laughter at the broken Jonathan the director.

Seo-jun, who had a blank expression, also laughed. Then Jonathan the director said with a face and voice without a trace of laughter.

“I’m going to do the interview like this.”

“Hmm. Then I’ll say, ‘Jonathan the director also agreed.’…”

“It was all Jun’s doing!”

To Jonathan the director’s scream for survival, Seo-jun joked with a smile.

“Then let’s say it was ordered by Marine, our company.”

“! That would work!”

…Would it?

Seo-jun and Sophia Kelly blinked their eyes at Jonathan the director’s scream full of sincerity and laughed.

It looked like the poor Marine would be grabbed by the collar.

***

First kindly took William to the front of his house.

William, who got out of the black car, greeted the driver and looked around.

He saw the kind neighbors’ houses that were having a normal and happy day as usual, or maybe a little boring.

“I’m home.”

The house was quiet.

Maybe it was because he heard stories he never imagined. He felt like he spent a lot of time at First, but his parents hadn’t come home from work yet.

Parents.

William, who briefly looked at the family photo on the wall, headed to his room on the second floor. Then he sat down on the bed and recalled the stories he heard at First.

Alien parasitic creature, Arodo.

The red planet dyed in black and green.

The current host of Arodo, the villain.

And,

“Shadowman…”

The thought he wanted to avoid filled William’s head.

He remembered the words of the director of First. He didn’t come back, the vital signs that couldn’t be caught, and the corpse.

Sob-

William curled up his body and buried his face in his palms. He cried, but his tears didn’t dry up. He couldn’t bear it, he couldn’t bear it when he heard such a story from First, his last hope.

As he curled up his body and held his breath and cried,

Plop-

He felt something fluffy touch his right arm.

It was a familiar feeling.

“Jay…”

William called his shadow friend in a tearful voice.

His shadow friend Jay had always moved the teddy bear ‘Jin’ to comfort him whenever William was sad or crying since he was young.

He did the same this time.

“Thank you.”

At his friend’s consolation, William lifted his head with a faint smile and reddened eyes.

Then Jay popped out and tilted his head. At the same time, he felt the teddy bear hug his right arm. William’s head also tilted in the same direction as Jay.

…Jay is here?

William and Jay’s eyes turned to the right.

There was a teddy bear.

“…Will?”

It wasn’t the teddy bear ‘Jin’. It was the old teddy bear ‘Will’ that was decorated next to the teddy bear ‘Jin’. By the way, the full name was ‘William’.

Anyway.

The old teddy bear ‘Will’ was moving.

“Jay, are you moving it?”

Rattle.

Jay shook his head. William knew that too.

He didn’t know why, but from when he was young until now, Jay only moved the teddy bear ‘Jin’, and never moved the teddy bear ‘Will’.

“…Then?”

Then, something black popped out of the shadow of the teddy bear ‘Will’.

Hello!

And danced cheerfully.

William opened his eyes wide and raised his voice without knowing.

“…Partner!!”

It was the shadow of Shadowman, Partner.