40. John the Armstrong
40. John the Armstrong
Gerick, the Sage of the John Armstrong Series, was in a foul mood from the moment filming began.
It was because John had suddenly added an element of direction that wasn't in the script.
It wasn't that he felt his authority was being ignored.
That was because John had carried the films since the first installment, actively changing the direction, revising scripts, and adding ad-libs.
If you were to divide up the shares of the film's success, John's interference was such that he would take at least 60 percent, a fact even the Sage acknowledged.
He had no objection to John proposing a new piece of direction that had not originally existed in the shoot.
On the contrary, he even felt a sense of anticipation about what new horizon John would open this time.
The problem, however, was that the actor brought in for this scene was that fellow named Peter.
Gerick, an aspiring Sage, had judged him no differently.
Gerick had even allowed him to observe the interview, only to become deeply displeased when John tried to make him act as well.
This was because he was worried that John might be blinded by personal connections and end up ruining the work.
But John was already the protagonist of this series, and he was a perfect dictator who had even been granted priestly credentials and taken full casting authority over this film.
Whenever John insisted on something, Gerick had no choice but to film it.
'Aaah... In the end, the John Series too...'
They say no masterpiece is eternal, but isn't an end like this just too miserable?
He had seen it countless times during his career as a Sage: when the foolish desires of priests, actors, and nobles wormed their way into a work, its end was always hideous.
'Haaah... Is the John Series going to be ruined in the end too...?'
John had already derailed the side story by strapping a Hero's bomb to himself and leaping into a pack of villains, sacrificing himself.
Gerick had raised the John Series like his own child, only for John to smash it apart with his own hands.
And after John and Peter's performance ended,
"I have no right to call myself a Sage! I was blind! Waaah!"
He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he burst into tears.
=================
The day of Hetairo Academy's opening ceremony arrived, marking the end of vacation.
But that day, the opening ceremony ended with strange swiftness.
Because, as it happened, the John Series spin-off was released that very day.
Starting two weeks before the opening ceremony, news of the John Series filming had spread by word of mouth.
Most people believed John had died in the second film, so they dismissed the reports as baseless rumors.
But information the John fan club officially announced, wherever they had obtained it, sent shockwaves across the globe.
- A John side story set during his youth was going to be released!
And the sudden news of John 0 announced a week before release, as well as news of collaborations with several trading companies, lent credibility to their words.
The release announcement arrived without warning, sending people into a near panic as they rushed to reserve cinema tickets.
Meanwhile, upon hearing that the opening ceremony coincided with the John spin-off's release date, students and professors demanded the school postpone it, but the school flatly refused.
So, the professors and students put their heads together and hatched a crazy plan to start the opening ceremony at dawn, finish it in one hour, and then head to the cinema.
In particular, the Knight Faculty and Hero Department, where there were many John Series fans, even pulled the bizarre stunt of renting out an entire cinema in the name of their department heads.
Thus, the crowd that had finished the perfunctory opening ceremony rushed to the cinema.
Clutching their fluttering hearts, they focused on the screen.
As with the second film, a prologue came up before the title appeared.
*
The scene immediately transitioned to a young John infiltrating some underground facility.
"I will serve as point man."
John was the only one among the agents to use an automatic rifle, but his performance was in a league of its own.
The quality of the choreography, the effects, and the scale far exceeded anything John had shown before.
Bang.
He disarmed even the heavily armored knight who had given him trouble in the second film, then opened the visor and finished the knight with a pistol.
When he had completed the mission by himself and he and his comrades were clearing the scene, a female agent approached his side.
"John. Here."
"Thanks, Tila."
John sprinkled the potion she handed him onto his wounds.
A youthful, fresh atmosphere hung between the two.
Just as the audience watching this was breaking into fond smiles, they remembered.
'Come to think of it, John's wife was someone else, wasn't she?'
As if the film knew they would recall that fact around then, the atmosphere shifted abruptly.
The underground facility they were in began to collapse.
"A trap!"
John tried to escape the scene with that female agent.
But that attempt ended in tragedy, and he left his comrades behind underground and escaped alone.
"Request rescue at once...!"
Clinging to the hope that his comrades might still be alive in the collapsed area, he tried to contact headquarters.
But reality was, as always, cruel to John.
As a large-scale bombardment magic—the 'Staff of the Sun'—was driven into the site, only a giant crater remained where the underground facility had once been.
"Ah... Aaah...."
The communication crystal slipped powerlessly from John's hand.
"John! John! Respond! What's going on!? John!"
As a frantic transmission from headquarters came through the fallen crystal, the title rose up.
<John Armstrong: Gh0st Protocol>
*
The screen transitioned to the headquarters of the Imperial Counterintelligence Department.
"This is an unsanctioned operation."
"I am aware."
"Official support will be impossible."
"That's fine."
John spoke with his superior, his expression dark.
His superior set fire to the liquor in his glass.
Right in front of the glass were the portraits of the agents who had been conducting the operation with John in the previous scene.
The flame touched the cigarette between his lips, and smoke drifted upward.
"But we will always help you."
"... Thank you."
The word 'abuse of authority' flashed through the minds of the professors watching this, but vanished instantly.
What did it matter.
It was romantic as hell.
"What do you need?"
John mulled it over for a moment, then glared with venom-filled eyes and said:
"Guns. Lots of guns."
*
Afterwards, John went around turning everything upside down.
Tracing the footsteps of those who had dared kill his comrades, he thoroughly punished anyone connected to them.
The casino was merely an intermediary; the kingdom itself had put up the wager.
"Huh? Isn't that..."
"Professor Charles?"
At this point, even a professor couldn't finish a lecture without praising John.
In fact, the very man himself was currently in the premium seats of this cinema, tearing into popcorn.
Peter's chest swelled with pride at the thought that he'd played a small part in this miracle.
'How on earth did that guy keep it under wraps until now?'
'You've finally made it, huh.'
When the scene showed John aiming a gun at the casino doorman and speaking with him, Gerick’s grin nearly reached his ears.
- Are you here on business, John?
- It's personal. Why don't you take off from today's shift.
- ...Thank you, John.
The gatekeeper tossed his comms device into a sewer and left the casino without a shred of hesitation.
Not long after John entered the casino without hesitation, a storm of blood blew through the place.
*
"After analyzing the information you brought, we determined that the kingdom was behind it."
"The Leven Royal Family?"
John was glaring murderously at the royal crest when his superior stopped him.
"No. Not the Royal Family. The cultists were backing a noble who was aiming to overthrow the monarchy."
"And as luck would have it, we raided the underground facility of those very cultists."
A nod.
That noble had blown away John's comrades along with the evidence before the information on the rebellion could leak out.
"The preparations for the rebellion are probably complete by now. If they've prepared a force capable of overthrowing the monarchy, it won't be easy. Will you still take your revenge to the end?"
"I will. No matter what."
"Right. That was the kind of man you were."
The superior gave a bitter smile, then turned around and slid a framed picture aside.
Behind the picture frame was a safe.
When he opened the safe, inside were colorful gold coins that belonged to no country's currency.
"Before you go to the party, get fitted for a suit and some wine."
"Thank you."
John walked out of the room carrying a bag full of gold coins.
John walked into the casino with his superior.
"Ālea iacta est. (The die is cast.)"
*
Once again, the screen shifted to the capital square of the Leven Kingdom.
John walked with a hardened expression through the kingdom's citizens as they went about their happy daily lives.
His destination was a tailor's shop that was obviously high-end just from its outward appearance.
Jingle-jangle.
When he opened the door and entered the shop, a sharp-featured middle-aged man greeted him.
"Taylor."
"It has been a long time, Armstrong. Have you come to be fitted for a new suit?"
"Yes. I'm in your hands."
When John showed the gold coins, Taylor wore a genial smile and guided him to the shop's basement.
They passed countless fabrics, then a display stand of armor that looked suited only for military use.
The last place they reached was a fitting room no different from that of any other tailor's shop.
Yet if there was one point where it differed from other tailor's shops, it was that the displayed fabrics were, without exception, all impossible to obtain on the open market.
"I have some cloth blessed by a religious order."
In this world, the state and religious orders controlled most strategic supplies.
Taylor stood John in front of a mirror, then took his measurements while adjusting the details of the suit.
"Will this be personal business, or professional business?"
"Personal."
"Will you be wearing it by day, or by night?"
"Two, by night."
"And the color?"
"Black."
"Shall I do the shirt in the same color?"
Nod.
Having finished the measurements, Taylor examined the suit from various angles and continued his questions.
"And the style?"
"Leven."
"The buttons?"
"Strafata."
"The trousers?"
"Comfort."
"The pockets?"
"All jetted."
"Do you plan to enchant the inner lining?"
Nod.
"What shall I do for the lining?"
"Seamless. Tactical."
Taylor noted down all of those details, then guided John to the testing room.
Inside a room hung with countless leathers and fabrics stood mannequins dressed in suits.
He took a crossbow from a display case and fired a full magazine at one of the mannequins.
But the crossbow bolts failed to penetrate the suit worn by the mannequin, crumpling and rolling across the floor.
"It is made from earth-dragon leather and enchanted for durability.
"It has Level 5 penetration resistance, along with high resistance to mana, fire, and corrosion.
"Its enchantment capacity is also high, so it can even generate a force field if you wish.
"No existing anti-personnel firearm can pierce or burn it, and it blocks magic as well.
"However..."
- It hurts more than you can imagine.
Nod.
John handed Taylor the gold coins, saying he'd entrust him with this, and left the tailor's shop.
*
The next place he headed directly to was a high-end restaurant situated on the capital's main street.
He opened the restaurant door and entered, then once again carefully passed gold coins over the counter.
"I'd like to create a custom wine. Is the sommelier available?"
"We’ve always been waiting, Armstrong."
The place the clerk guided him to was a dead-end corridor.
But when she turned the candlestick, the illusion magic vanished and the entrance to a wine bar was revealed.
A sommelier welcomed John as he stepped into the wine bar.
The sight of him elegantly maintaining a gun between the wine racks caused a sense of cognitive dissonance.
"Good evening, Armstrong. You said you wanted a custom wine?"
"I'd like a tasting."
"We are always prepared."
Immediately, the sommelier snapped his fingers with a clack!
Upon that, the curtain was drawn back and weapons were revealed, arrayed in an antique style as if they were wines.
The subtle lighting shining upon them made the sight even seem sacred.
"How many courses do you plan on?"
"Three courses."
Nodding, the sommelier headed toward the handgun display.
"You prefer dwarven makes, don’t you, Armstrong?"
Nod.
"I know you favor the Iron Hammer Workshop, but if your budget allows, I recommend something from the Kiril Mountain Workshop. The Kild D4900, 4902, 4906."
When he lined up three handguns in front of John, John picked them up one by one and 'tasted' them.
"Binding enchantments for the grip and trigger, a flared-magwell option, and a custom compensator with a suppressor mount are also available."
In time with his explanation, John removed the magazine, loaded it, aimed, and assumed various stances.
He checked the three handguns one by one, then picked up one of them and gave a satisfied nod.
"What would you like next?"
"Something intense but delicate."
"Intense and delicate... And what shall I do for the aftertaste?"
"Long."
After a moment of thought, the sommelier took a sniper rifle from the display case and assembled several accessories onto it.
"Tempester-40. A 630 mm barrel, bolt-action mechanism, integrated suppressor, Schlager seven-power scope, and Kronen canted sight. It can cover both medium-to-long range and close quarters."
John was satisfied again this time.
The sommelier was also pleased, and asked about the next thing.
"I need something refreshing for the highlight, to heat up the atmosphere."
"Aha. In that case, how about the Rollington M870?"
John accepted the shotgun and racked the pump.
With a satisfying loading sound, a dummy shell was ejected from the chamber.
While John caught it in midair, the sommelier began his explanation with a pleased smile.
"It also has an X74 tactical pump, an SCC assault stock, a MatchSaver, and an adjustable choke."
"The grip?"
"A phantom grip."
"Excellent."
John put the gun down.
The sommelier smiled with satisfaction and reached out his hands to pack the guns up.
But before he could even move, John called him back.
"Dessert?"
"Aha."
The sommelier smiled meaningfully and turned around.
He cautiously took a jewelry box from the lower drawer.
When he opened the box, knives were spread out just as if jewels were on display.
John took a karambit from among them.
When he finally placed the dessert on the display stand, the crow's feet around the sommelier's eyes narrowed in a smile.
"I'll prepare a knife case as well."
"Thank you."
John turned to leave the wine bar just like that.
This time, the sommelier called John back.
"While you're here, how about seeing the chef before you go? I hear some new spices have come in lately."
"... I'll go see him."
*
John and the fat chef descended from the wine bar to the basement spice warehouse.
When the chef pulled a lever inside the warehouse, a firing range revealed itself deeper within.
The chef was a blunt man.
He roughly skimmed the list the sommelier had given him, then muttered curtly in a gruff voice.
"You've managed to stay alive, John."
"It was thanks to the gods’ blessing."
"Right. I suppose so. So, do you have a specific seasoning in mind?"
"First, I need something for the soup. A hot, numbing flavor."
"Then hollow points, I take it."
Bang-bang.
John loaded the bullets the chef handed him into his handgun and hit the targets.
Seeing him land shots precisely on both knees, even the indifferent chef's eyes widened a little.
"Your skills haven't died yet, I see."
"Thank you."
"Next is the appetizer, is it? You don't seem to like overly stimulating flavors, so I'll just pack you a few magazines of subsonic rounds, right?"
He accepted the rounds and immediately loaded them into the sniper rifle's chamber.
He fed the cartridges by working the heavy bolt assembly characteristic of a bolt-action, then carefully pulled the trigger.
Pfft.
In harmony with the silencer enchanted with a wind-attribute spell, a report softer than a fart leaked from the muzzle.
Soon after, the head of the target far in the distance burst.
"Superb."
"Anything for the finale?"
"I need two kinds of seasoning for the main course. One that pops, one that's heavy."
"Dragon's breath and slugs."
Boom! Boom!
Fire erupted from the shotgun.
Not in a figurative sense, but dragon's breath rounds from which literal flame erupted to incinerate the target.
John reduced the burning target to rags with a slug and lowered the gun.
"You had better keep the muzzle clean."
"Thank you for the advice."
Having finished all the tastings, he headed toward the restaurant entrance.
As John placed down a bundle of gold coins and was finally about to leave the restaurant, the chef called him back.
"Armstrong."
"..."
"Enjoy the party."
Bow.