Chapter 229
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: Blockbuster at the Palace
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Thursday, 6:00 AM.
Vehicles carrying the staff of *Shadowman 3* arrived at the Gyeongbokgung Palace parking lot. Staff members in thick padded jackets and the Korean crew assisting with the shoot poured out of several vehicles.
“Move it!”
“Where are the drones?”
“Lights over here! Lay down a mat and secure it!”
They only had the morning to shoot, so they had to arrive early to prepare the set. Furthermore, since the location was a cultural heritage site, they had to be extra cautious. The staff took care not to leave a single scratch on the ground.
Of course, the intense battle scenes were scheduled to be filmed separately on the 'Gyeongbokgung Palace set' built in LA.
*Whirrrr.*
Drones flying high in the sky filmed the tranquil palaces, empty of tourists and staff.
The staff from the Cultural Heritage Administration, who had come out at dawn to manage the palace and assist with filming, marveled at the drones rising in unison.
Director Ryan Will, who arrived with the staff, was surveying various parts of Gyeongbokgung Palace with the drone cinematography director, using camera-equipped drones.
They discussed in detail how to film the palace once the sun rose, even planning the drones' movements. Assistant Director Jonathan listened intently to Director Ryan Will's words, taking notes in his notepad.
“We're dropping the spaceship here, right?”
The Cultural Heritage Administration employee, who had been loitering near Director Ryan Will to see if there was anything he could help with, peeked over at the monitor Jonathan was pointing to.
A familiar building came into view.
*Gasp. The Sojubang!*
The Sojubang, located behind and to the right of Geunjeongjeon Hall, was where the court ladies prepared food.
...A Natra spaceship is going to fall here? The employee's eyes widened in shock.
Director Ryan Will, who was looking at the monitor, nodded.
“Yeah. It'll crash here first, then we'll drop the next one in the pond. And we'll smash this place up a bit.”
“Yes, sir!”
The pond Director Ryan Will mentioned was the one at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, behind and to the left of Geunjeongjeon Hall, and the place he wanted to "smash up" was Sujeongjeon Hall, right next to Geunjeongjeon.
Hearing Director Ryan Will describe the destruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the employee finally felt the reality that the palace was truly going to be in a blockbuster movie.
“Anywhere else we can destroy...”
Of course, he knew they weren't talking about actually destroying it, but listening from behind Jonathan and Director Ryan Will, the Cultural Heritage Administration employee shivered at the brutal discussion.
He couldn't begin to imagine how Gyeongbokgung Palace would look in *Shadowman 3*.
* * *
“Ready, action!”
Bell Natra's spaceship crash-landed. The ticket booth inside Gwanghwamun Gate was crushed beneath it. Fortunately, the commotion in Gwanghwamun Square had caused the staff and tourists to evacuate.
“Damn it...!”
A blue light shot up from above Geunjeongjeon Hall. The wormhole generator had activated, and without a moment's delay, Bell Natra and Shadowman burst out of the spaceship.
Outside was swarming with Natra knights and soldiers. Shadowman and Bell Natra relentlessly cut down the charging knights and soldiers, passed through Heungnyemun Gate, crossed Yeongjegyo Bridge, and entered Geunjeongmun Gate.
Geunjeongjeon Hall.
At the top of the stairs stood Jin Natra and the wormhole generator.
“Jin!”
Bell Natra spotted Jin Natra and was about to shout when she noticed something.
A pattern like black branches, now clearly visible, had spread over half of Jin Natra's cheek, covering the entire left side and reaching up to his left eye and forehead.
“Jin, your... your face...!”
Bell Natra was horrified. *What is that?!*
While Bell Natra was stunned by the sight of Jin Natra's face, Shadowman stepped forward.
Above their heads, Natra spaceships were attacking each other. A falling ship crashed into the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion pond, sending up a huge splash.
“Are you really,”
Shadowman continued with difficulty.
“Are you really going to destroy Earth and Natra together?”
Jin Natra smiled.
“Yes.”
All the while, Jin Natra didn't stop injecting energy into the wormhole generator.
The black veins covering a quarter of Jin Natra's face slowly spread. A black shadow flickered behind Jin Natra as he kept his hand on the generator.
“Jin Natra!!!”
Shadowman's voice echoed through Geunjeongjeon Hall.
He wanted to save him.
He really, truly wanted to save him.
Gritting his teeth, Shadowman pulled a spear from within his shadow.
And then,
he realized that stopping him now was the only way to save him in the end.
Shadowman charged toward Jin Natra. Natra knights blocked his path.
As the knights fell to Shadowman's attacks, Jin Natra focused solely on creating the wormhole. The blue flame shooting from the generator blazed, then slowly began to open a rift.
It was the ice desert of Natra.
The small rift expanded in an instant. Jin Natra's eyes glinted as he watched the second wormhole grow to the size of the one in Paris.
“Stop it, now!!”
Having fought off the knights trying to stop them, Shadowman lunged at Jin Natra.
Jin Natra, having successfully created the wormhole while the knights bought him time, didn't stand idle.
He formed a spear from his shadow and leaped over the wormhole generator. Without a hint of hesitation, Jin Natra targeted Shadowman at the bottom of the Geunjeongjeon stairs.
Jin Natra plunged downward toward Shadowman, sharp spear first.
Shadowman raised his spear to block Jin Natra's attack.
*CLANG!*
The sound was too loud to have been made by two spears colliding. The impact sent out a gust of wind. The sand on the stone floor of Geunjeongjeon was momentarily blown away.
All the while, the Natra spaceships continued to attack each other. Ships hit by laser cannons fell onto the palace and its walls.
Meanwhile, Bell Natra ran to the wormhole generator with the scholar who had rambled on about Jin Natra's plan.
“Quick, remove the Time Stone!”
“Y-Yes, ma'am!”
The shockwaves from Shadowman and Jin Natra's fight could be felt even here. While Bell Natra held off the knights, the scholar stood trembling before the wormhole generator.
“Here, the Time Stone is supposed to be placed right here...”
It wasn't there.
The fragment of the Time Stone, which should have been glowing brilliantly white, was supposed to be here.
“...It's gone...”
“What? What do you mean?”
“...The Time Stone isn't here.”
The scholar's eyes trembled violently.
“Then... how in the world is that thing working?”
Bell Natra's voice shook as she stared at the wormhole displaying its might above the oriental palace.
“Stop, while you still can!”
“Well. Even I might have a hard time with that.”
The battle between Shadowman and Jin Natra grew more intense.
What had been an exchange of attacks with long spears turned into a sword fight as the distance between them closed. Sharp swords aimed for each other.
But Jin Natra didn't directly target vital spots like the neck or heart. In that hesitation, Shadowman found a sliver of hope.
Two sharp blades locked. They were so close that Shadowman could see Jin Natra's eyes clearly. He spoke in a choked voice. Shadowman remembered when these dark eyes used to sparkle.
“Let's go to your parents. Right now.”
“...”
*CRASH!*
Shadowman dodged Jin Natra's sword as it came down with even more force than before, and continued speaking. Jin Natra's sword struck the stone floor. The stone shattered into pieces.
“I'll explain everything.”
*CLANG!*
Sword met sword, creating a shower of sparks.
“Your parents will be waiting.”
As the distance between them grew, the swords in their hands naturally transformed back into spears. Jin Natra swung his long spear, attacking Shadowman with a sweeping blow.
“And... Tul Natra misses you very much.”
Was he even listening?
Despite Shadowman's words, Jin Natra didn't stop his assault. The intensifying battle between them swept away the rank stones standing in the courtyard of Geunjeongjeon Hall.
Meanwhile, Bell Natra and the scholar tried desperately to either destroy the machine or stop the energy injection.
*BANG! KABOOM!*
Bell Natra's sword struck the wormhole generator.
“Why... did they... make this... so... sturdy...!”
“...Lord Jin broke it. Repeatedly, until it wouldn't break anymore.”
The scholar recalled the time he and his colleagues had tearfully strived to build an extremely durable wormhole generator.
“Just find the power source!”
“Yes, ma'am!”
In the midst of their fierce exchange, Jin Natra suddenly staggered.
As if waiting for that moment, Shadowman's troublemaker, which had been quiet, made its move.
*KWAAAAANG!*
Unable to dodge the attack from Shadowman's sentient shadow, Jin Natra was thrown back. The cause was his own complacency, believing that Shadowman would never attack him with full force.
Jin Natra had no idea that Shadowman's shadow had a will of its own and could move independently of Shadowman's thoughts.
Because of that, Jin Natra took the full force of the attack and was slammed into a wall. The blow was so powerful that the stones and tiles of the wall shattered. In the end, the wall collapsed.
Jin Natra's body fell to the ground with it.
“Jin!”
“William!”
Bell Natra, who had stopped trying to destroy the wormhole generator and was searching for the Time Stone with the scholar, screamed. A startled Shadowman also rushed toward Jin Natra.
It was then.
From the unconscious Jin Natra's body and the ground beneath him, a pitch-black shadow spread out like a wave.
The rippling black shadow rapidly expanded. It was a colossal shadow, large enough to cover most of the battle-scarred ground and sky of Geunjeongjeon Hall.
The pressure was so immense that they backed away unconsciously.
“Wh-What is this...?”
Bell Natra and the Natrans were horrified by the sight of this immense shadow, the likes of which they had never seen before. This was something not even Tul Natra could do in her prime.
Shadowman, who had rarely seen another Natran's shadow, simply thought that Jin Natra's shadow was very powerful and worried about the fallen Jin Natra's condition. The troublemaking shadow, startled by what it had done, was plastered flat against the ground.
Bell Natra, her face pale, stared at the black shadow covering the sky above Geunjeongjeon Hall and cried out.
“...What in the world have you done, Jin?!”
“This is, this is...!”
The scholar, who had been staring blankly at Jin Natra's shadow covering the sky, snapped his head around. He looked toward the still-active wormhole generator.
“Don't tell me...!”
“Jin! Are you okay?!”
Just as the scholar realized something, Bell Natra and Shadowman spotted Jin Natra shakily getting to his feet, brushing rubble off his body.
As Jin Natra regained consciousness, the black shadow covering the sky and ground of Geunjeongjeon Hall vanished, as if sucked back into him. Jin Natra took a deep breath, as if inhaling the shadow, and spoke.
“...Returning.”
“Yes, sir!”
Before Shadowman and Bell Natra could stop him, Jin Natra boarded his spaceship.
*Whooosh.*
Above Geunjeongjeon Hall.
The wormhole connected to Natra was still active.
“...Lady Bell.”
The scholar called out to Bell Natra and Shadowman, who were watching Jin Natra's departing spaceship.
“...I've figured out how to stop the wormhole.”
Shadowman and Bell Natra, who had been sighing in relief at the good news, felt a sense of unease at the scholar's grim expression.
“Cut, OK!”
* * *
That same afternoon.
Due to the *Shadowman 3* filming, the staff at the Gyeongbokgung Palace ticket office came to work late.
“I can't believe that was really Evan Block!”
“I even talked to him and had no idea.”
Who would have guessed that the Hollywood actors visiting for the *Assemble 2* promotion, along with Lee Seojun, would come to Gyeongbokgung Palace wearing hanbok?
The employee who had guided them back then said with a regretful look.
“Besides, we didn't even know he spoke Korean so well back then.”
“That's true.”
“Still, besides Lee Seojun, aren't you the first Korean he's spoken Korean with?”
“I guess so.”
The employees entered the ticket office, sat at their respective desks, and chatted as they prepared for work.
“I can already guess what questions people will ask today.”
“Me too. 'Did you see Shadowman?' 'Where did they film?'”
“'Did you see Lee Seojun, too?' 'How long was he here?'”
It was the same during the *Assemble 2* period, when it was revealed that Hollywood stars had visited Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Some people even created an '*Assemble 2* Tour Course' based on photos others posted online and videos of the actors on N-tube.
“Koreans are amazing.”
“I know, right?”
A moment later.
The first customer at the ticket office asked.
“Excuse me, did you see Shadowman?”
* * *
[What is the economic impact of *Shadowman 3* filming in Korea?]
[Seoul City: "Korean filming expected to generate 90 billion won in economic effects, 2 trillion won in increased national brand value"]
[*Shadowman 3* Films in Korea. What is the promotional effect?]
[Hollywood Blockbuster *Shadowman 3* Filming Causes a Stir]
-lol I knew they'd bring this up lol. Everything has to have an 'economic effect.'
-It's just a movie shoot, can it really have that much of an economic impact?
-=*Shadowman 3* is a worldwide release. If even 0.01% of those people visit, it'll be huge!
-=^This. A lot of tourists will come.
-Have you not seen how crazy the places where Lee Seojun filmed his movies get? It's packed even with just Koreans visiting.
-I'm gonna go to Gyeongbokgung when *Shadowman 3* comes out. I'll do a Naeuiwon/Yeok tour while I'm at it, lol.
-=Ooh. Good point.
[The Scene at Gyeongbokgung Palace after the *Shadowman 3* Shoot!]
[Where did *Shadowman 3* film? Gyeonghoeru? Geunjeongjeon? Gangnyeongjeon?]
[This Afternoon's Scene. Crowds Flock to Gyeongbokgung Palace!]
-I went to Gyeongbokgung today, but I couldn't tell where they filmed.
-=^I thought they'd leave some traces since they set up cameras and lights and stuff lol
-=^^^I thought it would be obvious. I looked really hard but found nothing.
-=Even if there were traces, they probably got erased by all the foot traffic. The crowds today were insane.
-=There were sooooo many people ;;;
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