Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 47

Storming Through (6)

* * *

Jang Yoon-soo, the blogger known as ‘vigilia,’ sat in seat 4 of row B, clutching his cola cup so tightly it seemed about to burst. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

This was absurd.

He was a self-proclaimed occult enthusiast—or rather, a movie buff.

In his younger days, he devoured blockbusters, then independent films, and even art films notorious for their obscurity, before finally delving into the occult genre.

‘And I was disappointed.’

In Korea, the occult was a niche within a niche. Was it ‘Mantra’? After that project, which reportedly cost 15 billion won [approximately $12 million USD] to produce, fell apart early last year, he had given up hope…

‘Where on earth did this come from?’

Anyone who’s delved into this area knows. It seemed faithful to the grammar of genre films, but every line, every prop, felt like a master’s mise-en-scène [the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play or film].

The action had trendy camera work, the direction had horror elements, and the editing even incorporated the sensibilities of independent films.

ㅡLook up and see me.

Jang Yoon-soo raised his gaze as if possessed. On the screen, the priest was engaged in a desperate struggle with the demon trying to seize his body.

ㅡYour father and mother, even that priest, died by my hand. And your God? Did that hypocrite nailed to the cross appear for you?

ㅡCease your wicked whispers!

ㅡPitiful servant of Christ, you must know. They are merely using you. Exploiting faith, intoxicating you with the hope of salvation, enjoying the sight of screaming sheep.

ㅡNo… that’s not true…

ㅡUnbeliever who has served a resentful god. I see your fear; how long will you continue to lie?

The priest’s painful denial and the devil’s cunning mockery echoed in his ears.

This was the scene that had shocked CEO Tae during the audition at Geunbeom.

Usually, there’s a significant difference in the performance of one person playing two roles. But Seo Yohan chillingly portrayed the details of being partially consumed and partially untouched by the demon.

…Like ink spreading in clear water, the devil’s temptation gradually tainted faith black.

ㅡRun away. Your God will never save you.

After the defeated demon departs, Seo Yohan staggers, searching for the cross.

The room, ravaged by the demon, is in chaos. Beside the fallen lamp, the silver cross he always carries is charred black and melted.

ㅡBreaking news, members of the Salvation Society and anti-Salvation Society clashed today in Gwanghwamun Square. The clash between the two groups resulted in six injuries…

The Salvation Society is rapidly growing in power. The streets are stained with the struggles of those who have despaired of salvation and are therefore enraged.

Eventually, Seo Yohan seeks help from the priests of the Rosy Cross Society. When they parted, the two priests had thanked him for saving them and handed him their business cards.

Finding the address written on the card, he arrives at the rooftop of a deserted motel, where crows gather.

ㅡ…Damn it.

Forcibly opening the door, Seo Yohan is confronted with a gruesome scene. Latin phrases scrawled in the priests’ blood gleam on the motel walls.

Sanctum est

Hallowed be.

As Seo Yohan exits the motel, crows fly overhead, cawing mockingly.

The priest agonizes.

The police… are out of the question. Who knows how many have been consumed? A couple of city council members are already arguing about whether to acknowledge the existence of the Salvation Society.

In utter despair, Seo Yohan sees it: the symbol of the devil engraved on their suits.

ㅡThat crazy demon isn’t just possessing people; it’s trying to swallow the country whole…

The demons that have captivated the masses are trying to cling to influential figures beyond ordinary citizens. It’s obvious what they’ll do.

They’ll support the Salvation Society and procure new prey. If they can increase their power with the lives they sacrifice and manipulate key figures…

South Korea will be submerged in a catastrophe of evil.

ㅡGod the Father, Christ, and Saint Michael, even if my spirit and flesh are burned, I will capture and kill that demon.

After tracking them down, Seo Yohan arrives at an abandoned factory. It is the Salvation Society’s hideout, where they concoct drugs and perform exorcism rituals on believers.

ㅡHey, you demons banished from hell!

ㅡKrrrgh…

ㅡCome on. I’m going to wipe you all out and make you repent.

Dozens of possessed individuals rush at him, but they are repelled by Seo Yohan’s prayer, filled with a desperate resolve.

The visual editing team, which joined the project at the last minute, perfectly implemented various CG effects.

The swirling wind and dazzling radiance, the ‘divine wall’ that Seo Yohan unleashes, blend into the film seamlessly without any sense of incongruity.

Finally, the leader of the Salvation Society, Lee Yu-won, appears.

ㅡYou’ve come again, Priest.

ㅡYou came to me yesterday; don’t pretend you don’t know. What will change if you enter that person?

The same whirlwind that occurred on the day his parents died returns, and in the power struggle, Lee Yu-won closes the distance step by step.

ㅡWait, what…!

ㅡWhy are you hesitating? Isn’t your enemy right in front of you?

Suddenly, as his divine power fails to work, Lee Yu-won lunges forward, wielding a dagger. The bodies of the two, who had been grappling, suddenly freeze.

ㅡAh…

Blood spreads on the white robe. Lee Yu-won, the leader of the Salvation Society, stares blankly at the knife embedded in his heart… and collapses with a strange smile.

In that moment, Seo Yohan realizes.

Lee Yu-won had never been possessed.

*

In the top seat of the special screening room,

Noh Joong-man suddenly rubbed his neck. The back of his shirt collar was completely damp.

‘I’m sweating… while watching a movie?’

He had seen thousands of movies and even more actors. How long had it been since he had been so drawn into a film?

Seo Yohan, in handcuffs, staring blankly into space with dead eyes, mutters.

ㅡNow I understand. He wasn’t possessed from the beginning; he was trying to make me commit sin.

There are times when you have to trust your gut. When gambling on B-list and unknown actors, when scouting a notorious troublemaker in the entertainment industry, when rescuing an idol in crisis from that den.

This world is as cruel as it is brilliant.

Some stars shine alone. They devour the light around them, spreading dazzling radiance, and then explode and disappear because they can’t withstand their own pressure.

ㅡDamn it, my life as a cop is over. Smuggling out a murderer.

ㅡ…

ㅡSay something, you bastard. I don’t know anything about this, so what is that crazy group!

Jang Seong-hwa, an actor from an unknown theater troupe, dominates the scene on equal footing with Park Geon.

It’s not just his own power but the director’s almost magical direction and the synergy with the lead actor, who grabs his colleague’s potential by the scruff of the neck and pulls it out.

In the running car, Seo Yohan, his handcuffed wrist connected to the passenger seat handle, speaks calmly.

ㅡThey’re probably performing a ritual today. Around the time the dawn rooster crows… at 0 o’clock when the day breaks, sacrificing six sheep and three humans.

ㅡSo what, should I shoot them?

ㅡYou can’t stop the possessed without silver and sacred objects. I’ve lost all my divine power.

ㅡHey, then what should I do…

Bang!

Before the detective can finish speaking, a cargo truck slams into the side of their car. A driver possessed by a demon has come to stop the priest.

In the thick smoke, Seo Yohan twists his fingers and pulls them out of the handcuffs. The wooden cross hanging on the rearview mirror sways weakly.

ㅡ…Reveal yourself, unclean demon.

The place where the final ritual is about to take place is halfway up a mountain. In front of the bound sacrifices, a believer wearing a ram mask looks back in disbelief.

Seo Yohan’s appearance is wretched. The black priest’s robe is torn in places, and his wrist is broken and dangling.

ㅡIf you want to die that badly…

The priest, who has lost his holiness, is a toy for the devil. As Seo Yohan’s body twists grotesquely, his lips, contorted in pain, open.

ㅡI have crossed the distant sea.

The moment a turbid voice flows out, a small scream erupts from one side of the movie theater. No matter how much post-correction was done, it’s not a human voice.

Seo Yohan grits his teeth, desperately clinging to his fading mind.

ㅡRam’s head, wolf’s mane, snake’s tail… that’s why I couldn’t find you. …Amon.

The demon’s identity is Amon, or Amun Ra. An ancient god from fallen Hermopolis [an ancient city in Lower Egypt], symbolizing air and the invisible.

ㅡI wandered for a long time, deprived of my power. This land is full of fragrant smells: hatred and disgust, violence and division. The harbinger of calamity awakened me.

ㅡYu-won, why did she…

ㅡThat bitch followed me willingly. Her salvation was to spread pain and death to as many humans as possible until the day she died.

ㅡ…Jehovah.

ㅡOh, God of all false idols. Will you really answer the call of a priest who has offered a false faith for revenge? Now a renegade who has committed sin and been abandoned by his own son.

A trembling hand reaches into the pocket of the priest’s robe. What comes out, caught on a bloody finger, is the small cross he took from the detective’s car.

ㅡMy power has almost returned. Even though your divine power is gone, what are you going to do with that…

Amon’s voice, which had been speaking mockingly, changes. Suddenly, a bluish light settles on the end of the cross.

ㅡYou must have lost your power, how…!

ㅡI have a rather unique constitution. Just by having it, guys like you get the soul sucked out of you.

Seo Yohan smiles weakly and slams the cross into the center of his palm. Blood splatters, and a terrible scream echoes. Amon tries to escape, but the priest’s mental strength does not allow the demon inside his body to escape.

ㅡOur Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…

ㅡStop, cease!

ㅡ…Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

A beast-like howl bursts from his throat. The desperate priest’s prayer and the demon’s curse are mixed together from the deepest depths.

ㅡForgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…

ㅡFallen priest, filthy sinner! Fall into the eternal lake of fire, burn and suffer forever; there will be no salvation for your God and your people!

ㅡAnd lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

The fur and scales, the ram’s horns, that flickered from Seo Yohan’s body are blown away one by one in the wind. The priest, with his eyes closed, recites the final prayer.

ㅡFor thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

.

.

.

The fight is over.

On the mountainside at dawn, Seo Yohan is kneeling alone.

The cross that had touched the priest’s body and turned into a sacred object, the cross that had defeated Amon, has disappeared into dust. In the distance, the sound of sirens can be heard, and police cars can be seen.

Seo Yohan takes a deep breath and tries to get up but suddenly looks down at his palm. The wounds from repeatedly slamming the cross into it are torn and open… drawing a faint cross shape.

A ray of light piercing through the clouds illuminates a human being who is neither a believer nor a demon.

“······.”

The audience can only stare at the screen without blinking. After the screen goes dark, white letters appear as if engraved in the darkness.

For all who believe in salvation.

*

When you see an overwhelming movie, the reaction in the aisle immediately after the screening is divided into two:

Either silent without a word, or noisy and bustling.

This paid preview was the latter.

“Wow, isn’t that crazy?”

“I didn’t even realize I needed to pee while watching it.”

“What… I’m speechless; that director is either a psycho or a genius.”

The pent-up reactions pour out indiscriminately. Some people screamed while watching, some covered their eyes, and some were wiping away tears amidst all the stories.

“Hey, is Jo Yong-jo crying? Are you crying?”

“Bullshit, who’s crying.”

Next to the actor who is shaking off his hand, a fellow member of the troupe is actually tearing up.

“I’m really crying. It feels like you’re finally seeing the light after all that hardship. How hard you guys have worked so far.”

“Why is he suddenly like that, embarrassing.”

“Ooh, Jang Seong-hwa is pretending to be cool again… I saw that proud look on your face earlier, okay?”

“Wow, you’re not watching the movie; you’re spying on the person next to you.”

While Jang Seong-hwa is protesting with an aggrieved expression, a little further back, a tall father and son are walking.

Kim Ryul’s father kept glancing at the screening room with an expression of disbelief.

“So… you made that, that movie?”