Hell's Actor-Chapter 100: Publicity Stunt

"You sound excited," the employee on the call remarked. "Please, don’t go overboard."

"Why does everyone tell me that? Even John and Raymond said it."

"Alright." There was some noise on the other side. "Everyone else is in place. Put in your earpiece."

The call ended.

Averie stood up and straightened his suit as Hyerin draped a black coat over his shoulders.

He opened his black umbrella and handed her his hat.

"Be careful," Hyerin said, brushing his coat.

The diabolical man put a wireless earphone in his right ear. It was connected to his phone.

As if to confirm it, it buzzed.

He tapped on it, and six different voices rang in his head at the same time.

"It will be time soon."

"Don’t be late, everyone."

"Don’t stand out, Averie."

"There is heavy traffic."

"Are you sure this will work?"

"Will they be able to capture anything in the chaos?"

Averie smiled.

"I’ll be back," he said to Hyerin.

As the clock struck 5:40, his eyes grew cold, and his jaw set in.

Averie, now Asmodeus Binsfeld, stepped onto the streets of Shibuya.

***

It was 5:42 PM when a man with a quiet yet strong gait joined the stream of pedestrians heading towards the center of Shibuya.

His coat was prestigiously wrapped around his torso, and his leather shoes shone black.

Peaking from underneath his collar was a black suit, a black shirt, and a black tie. His face was obstructed by the umbrella in his hand, but his strong jaw stood out.

It was a young lady on a date who noticed him first.

She nudged her boyfriend.

"Look at that," she whispered.

"Oh? That’s a great costume. Looks exactly like in the show."

"Yeah..." She took a step closer to the man. "Doesn’t he look exactly like him?"

"It’s a good costume; I said that already."

"No, I mean like the way he walks. There is—It’s like that’s literally him."

"Eh, come on. How could it be him? You are imagining it."

But she wasn’t the only one thinking that way.

"Hey," — one of the school girls tapped on her friend’s shoulder — "what’s that guy doing?"

Her friend looked up from her phone. "Walking with an umbrella on a clear day. There are oddballs like that."

The first girl looked at her with surprise. "That’s all?"

"What, why?"

She looked back at him, and her eyes went round. Finally, her attention was on the subject of their gossip.

"That looks good. Is that—?"

"I don’t know. Looks real, huh?"

A little girl walking with her father pulled on his pinky.

"Papa, look." She pointed at the overly dressed man. "That’s the handshome man you look at when Mama ishn’t around."

The father quickly shushed the child.

"Don’t say weird things!" he whispered. "And where—"

His gaze turned to the man.

"Is that—no, can’t be."

The child kept nodding at the man.

"That’sh im."

As more and more people were starting to take notice, Averie erased the creeping smile from his face and only briefly raised the tip of his umbrella.

His ruby-like pupils brought out gasps from those fortunate enough to witness them.

"Damn, it’s him!"

"No way, no way."

"Can’t make this stuff up."

As a fair few people started following the man, a small crowd gathered around him.

"Record this, quick."

"Should we approach him?"

"Where are the cameras? There must be cameras, right?"

"Is it fine to ask for a picture?"

They kept a distance between the man and themselves. Their fervent voices and actions garnered more attention than his sudden appearance.

"What’s going on?"

"Is it a festive procession?"

"Who are they following?"

"Must be your cross-dressing father."

"Shut up."

More people joined in as small streets culminated into large ones. Some didn’t even know what was going on or who Averie was, but still, they tagged along.

Passing cars slowed down to capture the weird phenomenon. Men and women looked down from the glass buildings to take pictures. Within minutes, they were posted on social media.

But Averie maintained his solemn expression.

His lips were tightly shut; his eyes had shadows underneath, and his hair was immaculately done.

"How is everything?" Raymond Lee’s voice whispered through Averie’s earpiece.

"Chaotic," answered John Strom.

"No one’s hurt, right?" In-Su Kim asked.

"I am safe," Do-Yun Park said. "For now, I should add."

Their voices were low and odd. It sounded like they were barely moving their lips.

"Some people are heckling me," Peter Kang remarked. "Why do I have to be the most hated one among us?"

"You earned it," Averie joked, keeping his outward appearance solemn.

He wasn’t the only one gathering a crowd on the sidewalks of Shibuya.

From the streets of this beautiful ward, sightings of the seven BSPH actors were flooding the internet.

Some people had seen Satan coming out of a bar.

Some had watched as Lucifer climbed out of his black sedan.

After leaving his subordinates to settle the bill, Beelzebub was seen casually walking out of a restaurant.

Mammon had been sneering at a clothing store after buying nothing.

Leviathan was hanging around a shady hotel.

Belphegor was seen leaving a park after a quick nap near the flowerbeds.

"How far is everyone?" Su-Jin James asked.

The answer was a unanimous ’I don’t know.’

"Approximately five minutes," said the employee Hyerin had talked with on the phone. "I will coordinate all of you from here."

The gathered crowd by now could be counted in hundreds. Some sane people were keeping a few of the rowdy, overly enthusiastic individuals in line.

’The bodyguards are doing a great job,’ Averie thought with a side glance. ’Someone less perceptive wouldn’t be able to tell them apart from the civilian crowd.’

"Does anyone require police assistance?" the coordinator asked.

"No," Averie replied. "Let’s not ruin this."

"Yeah," Peter Kang agreed. "It won’t make for a good shot."

"Is anyone even shooting? I can’t tell in all this chaos."

"They are. Just don’t look up. You will rile the crowd. Keep as much of your face hidden as possible."

They continued their casual walk as if it were just another Monday.

Soon, Averie found himself walking on a wide road.

"How far am I?" he whispered.

"Two minutes."

"Okay."

For a minute, there was silence in his ear.

"You may look up now," came the voice from his earpiece.

Averie lowered his umbrella with relief and excitement.

The view that greeted him was majestic beyond words.

The surroundings had come to a standstill as red lights kept the foot traffic from moving. The bystanders waiting for the signal to turn green had noticed that something was wrong.

Most of the cars had been diverted before he even arrived. What few remained had to make way for the procession that had taken to the roads.

Civilians were stepping out of their cars to take pictures as he weaved between vehicles, making his way towards the large square that called out to him.

Finally, he was at Shibuya Scramble Crossing, the iconic place at the largest square in the nation.

The large buildings rising above him reflected the sun that had finally broken through the overcast sky.

Bathed in golden light, every digital board, every screen that Averie could see, suddenly flickered. The previous advertisements were taken down to make way for his solemn figure.

Filmed from different angles, his face was everywhere in the large square.

He could not show it on his face, but Averie was extremely elated.

’They had been shooting from the roofs, huh?’

His desirous gaze stared down at him haughtily. It was as if a higher being was judging his life and his crimes.

Hundreds of civilian cameras captured the moment.

The screens flickered, and one by one, the rest of the seven appeared on them.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢