Under the studio's precise-and anything but subtle-maneuvering, the news that Rebeca Verne had rejected Alex's audition invitation for the second time exploded straight onto the trending lists. The moment the information surfaced, it drew the full attention of the ever-hungry crowd that lived for watching other people's drama unfold.
[Turning down Alex twice… that really takes nerve]
[Our "goddess" truly is something else. Looking across the entire industry, who else has dared to reject Alex two times?]
[Hold on… are you a real fan or a hater? That sounded oddly passive-aggressive]
[Has Rebeca Verne lost her mind? She's been flopping in films for years and still refuses when someone tries to pull her up?]
[Relax, this time she's acting opposite Raymond . Maybe the movie will actually succeed?]
[Dream on. Not even a Hollywood superstar could save her-so Sunny's supposed to do it?]
[This definitely has her mother's fingerprints all over it]
[Her mom is something else too… given a great hand every time, yet always plays it terribly]
[...]
Just as Alex had predicted, aside from Rebeca's most loyal fans, more than eighty percent of the reactions were pure mockery. There was no helping it. After all, Rebeca had been accumulating failures for far too long, while Alex's track record remained almost spotless.
When combined with the earlier incident-where Rebeca had rejected Bleach in favor of the disastrous The Four Great Detectives-the topic became even more explosive. To many netizens, the logic seemed painfully simple: how could someone ignore support as solid as Alex's? Wasn't it enough to look at the people around him? Violet Grant, Melissa, and other rising stars of the new generation had practically latched onto Alex and soared without ever looking back.
Inside a side room of the studio, a marketing assistant monitored the data in real time. The charts climbed almost vertically, search terms related to Alex and JOJO dominated the top rankings, and new memes popped up every few minutes. He swallowed hard when he realized this was nowhere near the peak yet-the topic was only just beginning to boil.
On the other side, the studio behind Rebeca's new film, Bronze Sparrow Terrace, reacted quickly, posting an official statement online.
[Miss Rebeca Verne chose our film out of absolute confidence in the project. We are also joined by Sunny and other major names…]
There it was-another classic case of inexplicable self-confidence.
If the script were truly strong, would they really need to use Rebeca as bait? In the end, it was just another attempt to ride the popularity of the so-called "nation's first love" to make up for a lack of confidence in the material itself.
…
After using Rebeca as fuel to further ignite discussion around JOJO, Alex and his team finally reached the day of the final scene of Phantom Blood.
Before giving the last command, Alex walked the set with a sharp, meticulous gaze, adjusting details that almost no one else would have noticed. He requested a slight boost in lighting so the glow in Jonathan's eyes would stand out in the final moment, tweaked the camera angle to make Dio appear less human and more monstrous, and asked for the ambient sound of the ship to be subtly muted-as if the world itself were closing in around the characters.
"Everyone in position!"
At the order of the set's tyrant, the entire crew straightened instantly. No one dared to blink. Even the smallest mistake could mean doing everything over again.
Perhaps it was the natural influence of otaku culture, but under Alex's command there was little room for sloppiness. Most of the staff gave it their all, determined to present the work in its best possible form. Of course… it also helped that anyone bold enough to slack off had long since been replaced.
In the final scene, reduced to nothing but a head, Dio followed Jonathan and Erina-newly married-along with his subordinates. Deprived of his body, he coveted Jonathan's perfect physique, seeking to claim it for himself and achieve immortality once more.
"I've come, JOJO!"
"Welcome… my eternal body!"
Using blood vessels like writhing tentacles, Dio wrapped them around Jonathan's neck and lunged forward with a maddened expression. At the last possible instant, Jonathan tore out the metal plate lodged in his back from the earlier explosion and drove it straight into Dio's throat. The next moment, he pulled Dio into a tight embrace, revealing a gentle, almost holy smile.
"Dio… perhaps you're right. Perhaps we were always parts of the same whole. I feel something strange… a kind of friendship. Now, our fates will merge… and vanish together with the explosion of this ship…"
In his final moments, Jonathan gathered the last of his strength and lifted his gaze toward his wife.
"Be happy… Erina…"
The silence that followed was absolute.
Even after the cut, no one moved right away. No instructions, no comments, no premature applause-just a few heavy seconds of stillness, as if everyone needed a moment to return to reality.
Pregnant, Erina held back the tears threatening to spill over and, carrying a surviving infant, escaped using the special coffin prepared by Dio. Amid the sky-piercing explosion, Dio stared at Jonathan's lifeless body-whose eyes still shone like stars-and, for the first time, fell into silence.
…
"Cut. Approved."
After reviewing the final take once more, Alex announced with a satisfied smile. In an instant, relief spread across the entire set.
Melissa, who played Erina, took a few extra seconds to fully step out of character. She discreetly wiped her eyes before accepting the bottle of water someone handed her. Alex watched from a distance, saying nothing, merely nodding to himself.
Jack, Ray, and Rock stretched their bodies, the dry cracking of joints echoing faintly. All of them had experience in martial arts films, yet the absurd, unnatural poses of JOJO had nearly destroyed their backs-not to mention the deep embarrassment some of those stances caused.
That was when Alex's voice rang out, cold as a demon's:
"What are you celebrating for? Get ready to head to the land of the lighthouse. We're filming Battle Tendency. Ray, call your wife."
A producer who had just begun packing up equipment nearly choked on his own saliva. Visas, desert locations, unpredictable weather, budget overruns-an entire list of problems formed in his mind, only to be cut off before it could even become words.
"We'll figure it out," Alex said, not even looking back.
After all, even with aggressive editing, Phantom Blood would only amount to four or six episodes at most. There was no reason to stop there.
As the set began to be dismantled, a crew member carefully placed Dio's prop head into a reinforced box. Before sealing it, he affixed a simple label to the side:
"Battle Tendency."
Alex had no intention of slowing down. The plan had always been clear-to film the Ripple arc, Battle Tendency, all in one go.
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