At that moment, it felt as if all sound vanished from the world.

The premiere screening of the film Requiem of Iron and Blood.

It was just after the end credits finished rolling, the screen faded to black and the lights in the hall slowly returned.

The several hundred audience members filling the venue, all of them female film critics, media personnel and influential figures of the industry stared blankly at the screen as if their souls had been ripped away.

It was no wonder.

Until now, they had only ever perceived the creature called a man as something cute, something to be protected and something fragile.

But what they had just witnessed was a monster that overturned that common sense at its very foundation.

Covered in sweat and mud, bleeding, growling in a low voice and wielding violence.

Cruel, savage and irredeemably evil.

And yet, impossibly beautiful, radiating a powerful pull as a male.

Someone began clapping with trembling hands.

The dry sound broke the silence.

That became the signal and emotions burst forth as if a dam had been broken.

Boom!!!!!

It was an earthquake.

Not applause.

It was a roar.

The entire audience leapt to their feet and clapped.

Critics in elegant dresses scrunched up their faces and wept openly.

Renowned journalists known for their composure fogged up their glasses with excitement while shouting something unintelligible.

“Bravo!!”

“Encore! Do not stop the screening!”

“Who is that man!? Does that creature really exist!?”

This was not fear.

It was an instinctive frenzy, the kind born from unknown stimulation, either as predators or as would-be mates.

Watching that scene from the wings of the theatre was me, Akutsu Jō and I loosened my tie knot slightly with my fingers.

“…Good grief. They are awfully on edge.”

My outfit was the same as in the film, a black double-breasted suit.

My hair was slicked back and my feet clad in leather shoes.

Just moments earlier in the dressing room, a female makeup staff member had begged to at least add blush to make me cute and pink gloss for my lips, but after snapping, I had chased her out and ended up here with a nearly bare face and my natural hard features.

“Let’s go, Jō.”

Standing beside me, Kujō Hibiki looked up with a flushed face.

Her hands were trembling, but her eyes shone with certainty of victory.

“Show them. Show the world my greatest masterpiece.”

“…Yeah, yeah. More like a human sacrifice.”

I let out a wry smile and took a deep breath.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting! The cast will now take the stage!”

The host’s voice rang out with so much excitement it almost cracked.

Amid thunderous cheers, first Hibiki and then the lead actress Tennoji Karen stepped onto the stage.

A storm of flashes erupted.

Karen, wrapped in a pure white dress, waved with a goddess-like smile.

Her beauty was flawless, but the hungry gazes of today’s audience were searching for the shadow behind her.

“And now…”

The host paused for a breath.

The air in the hall tightened.

“The most vicious villain to rewrite film history, please welcome Akutsu Jō!!”

I stepped forward onto the stage.

Thud.

My 192-centimeter frame planted itself firmly on the stage floor.

Blinding spotlights washed my vision white.

At that instant.

“”Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!””

I thought my eardrums would burst.

This was not some mild cheering.

It was a high-pitched scream, like thousands of birds crying out at once.

The air in the hall physically vibrated.

“Jō-samaaaa!!”

“Look this wayyyyy!!”

“Kill meee! Kill me toooo!!”

…The last one was unacceptable, but in any case, I seemed to be welcome.

Squinting against the glare, I moved to the center of the stage.

With my size, I would be in the way no matter where I stood, so I stopped between Karen and Hibiki, standing firm like a guardian statue.

My view opened up.

The reporters in the front rows had forgotten to raise their cameras, staring up at me with mouths half open.

Naturally so. In this world, the category of male celebrity does not exist.

To them, I must have looked like a rare beast or perhaps an alien.

The host extended a microphone toward me with trembling hands.

“P-please, say a few words…”

“…Ah.”

I took the microphone and gave it a light test.

A low noise echoed from the speakers.

Just that alone made several people in the audience let out small cries and collapse.

I surveyed the hall and spoke from my gut.

“…I’m Akutsu Jō.”

Zuuuun……

The heavy bass of my voice enveloped the entire hall.

To ears accustomed to high-pitched female voices, it must have felt like vibrations directly shaking their organs.

I could tell the entire venue shuddered in unison.

“…I’m not used to this, so I’m sure there were shortcomings. Well, if you enjoyed it, that’s what matters.”

I said only that and gave a brief bow.

No polite smile.

No idol-like declaration of love.

Just the blunt greeting of a gruff man.

And yet, that seemed to strike their hearts even more.

“…Wonderful…”

“He does not flatter… he is not flattering us…”

“Those eyes… he is looking at me like I am trash… amazing…”

The comments drifting from the audience were unsettling in every sense.

It seemed I had warped the preferences of this world without realizing it.

The event moved on to the question-and-answer segment.

Normally infamous for harsh questions, the press conference felt different today.

The eyes of the reporters raising their hands gleamed like female panthers eyeing prey.

“Yes, the one with glasses over there.”

The female reporter who was called on stood up with a flushed face.

“I am Katō from Weekly Empire! I have a question for Jō!”

“Go ahead.”

“Um, those muscles… are they real!? They are not CG, are they!?

“…Want to touch them?”

When I joked, she let out a strange sound, sprayed a nosebleed and fainted on the spot.

The hall erupted in commotion.

Medical staff rushed in.

‘…Is this really going to be okay?’

Next was a more composed-looking veteran reporter.

She directed a sharp gaze toward Karen standing beside me.

“I have a question for the lead actress Tennoji. The combat scenes with Akutsu-san were extremely passionate. What kind of relationship did you have with him during filming?”

The hall fell silent.

This was the kind of romance question gossip magazines loved.

In a world where men are scarce, who holds claim over a man is apparently the greatest point of interest.

Normally, one would deflect with something like a good co-star, but…

Grab.

Karen moved.

Still holding her microphone, she clung to my right arm.

The sensation of her ample chest pressed against my upper arm.

Yes, it was wonderful.

Karen smiled seductively at the cameras.

“He is not just a wonderful partner on screen, but in private life as well. Right, Jō?”

The hall buzzed.

‘In private life.’

‘Partner.’

It was practically a declaration of a relationship, a claim of ownership.

The flashes doubled in speed.

“H-hey, Karen!”

The other beast was not about to stay silent.

Kujō Hibiki clung to my left arm.

“Do not jump the gun! Please do not misunderstand, he is my work!”

“If he is your work, then he should have already left your hands, should he not?”

“No! I was the first to find him on the street! I understand his talent and his body better than anyone!”

Hibiki buried her face into my shoulder and glared threateningly at the reporters.

“The next film and the one after that, he will always be mine! I am not giving him to anyone!”

A public lover’s quarrel unfolding on stage.

No, a battle over ownership.

A huge man sandwiched from both sides by two beautiful women, being fought over.

Normally, it might look pathetic.

But right now, it did not.

I remained unfazed, simply letting out a sigh as I looked down at the two cats in my arms.

“…Hey. We are in front of cameras. Do not embarrass yourselves.”

“But! Jō is too attractive, that is his fault!”

Even while protesting, neither of them made any move to let go.

The reporters, stunned for a moment by the sight, grew even more frenzied.

“Did you see that!? He has both of them tamed!”

“A king… he is a king!”

“Aaaaaah! Let me get in between toooo!”

The question corner had completely collapsed.

The final photo session descended into pure chaos.

The photographers’ requests were all things like get closer, “Jō-san, stand like you are commanding them and give us a fearless smile.”

Doing as told, I crossed my arms, flanked by the two beauties and stared down the lenses.

Flash flash flash!!

So many flashes that my vision turned white.

In that light, I had a premonition.

Tomorrow, this world would change.

The era of cute men would end and an era where strong, rugged men are worshipped would begin.

I glared into the future beyond the dazzling light and flashed a daring smile, just like the final scene of a movie.