Chapter 22: "Shut Up, You're Interrupting My Movie"

Archer's battle against Lancer, as the opening action scene of Fate/stay night, captured the attention of all the viewers with its incredible visual effects and thrilling combat.

Regular viewers marveled at the stunning special effects and intense fights, while viewers like Alice, who were knowledgeable about magecraft, paid attention to how various magecraft spells were portrayed on screen.

And then there were a few particularly unique viewers with different priorities.

"Twenty times... I knocked your weapon away twenty times!"

Cu Chulainn chuckled and nudged the white haired EMIYA.

"I have to say, Archer. Your projections aren't that stable. If Master hadn't called 'Cut,' you'd probably have been beaten by me!"

The extraordinary combat skills of the Heroic Spirits meant that Shinji rarely had to design specific actions for them during filming.

When filming these action scenes, Shinji would usually provide a brief explanation of the battle process, and the Heroic Spirits would do the rest themselves.

So, EMIYA being suppressed and beaten by Cu Chullain wasn't a script issue; he genuinely couldn't win.

Although this was true, hearing the mockery from his side, EMIYA felt a bit uncomfortable.

With the mentality of not losing his face, EMIYA crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, calmly saying, "You, a close-range combatant, are comparing yourself to a long-range fighter like me?"

"Wasn't that your choice?" Cu Chulainn shot him a look, "You're an archer, yet you like charging into close combat with two short swords."

"But that's just the Master's order."

EMIYA's face didn't blush, his heart didn't race—it was as if he really would do that.

"Um... um..."

On the other side, Arturia was grabbing handfuls of popcorn and stuffing them into her mouth.

"Their battle is getting a bit long." Arturia complained, "Hey, Rider. Call me when I appear. I'll snack for a while."

"You're so noisy. Can't you watch the movie by yourself?"

Medusa looked at her with annoyance, contemplating whether to use her Petrification Eyes to make this glutton calm down.

Fortunately, the movie time was limited, and the battle between Archer and Lancer couldn't last too long. After a few minutes of symbolic fighting, they were interrupted by Shirou Emiya's sudden appearance.

"Um... am I about to appear... so excited... excited..."

As the movie's plot continued to unfold, Arturia quieted down a bit and focused her attention on the big screen. She no longer ate popcorn voraciously but nibbled on it like a hamster.

Aside from the main character, Arturia, not many viewers were happy with how quickly the first battle ended.

"Hey, keep going!"

"They cut it right when it was getting good?"

"I wanted to see what kind of move that blue-clad weirdo would use!"

...

Listening to the comments of the audience around her, Nao nodded in satisfaction.

Viewers expressing their opinions indicated their engagement in the movie, which was a positive sign.

[Now, what about the two young ladies beside me?]

Nao turned to Aoko and Alice, only to find them both gazing at the screen with serious expressions.

Aoko was holding her chin, softly asking, "Alice, is something like this possible?"

By "something like this," she was referring to Rin using a jewel to revive the dying Shirou.

"Well... it's hard to say," Alice answered seriously, "In theory, it should be possible, but no one has performed magecraft of this level in almost a century. It's beyond the imagination of ordinary people. For him to think of something like this, Shinji Matou is really a genius magus..."

As she spoke, a hint of longing flashed in Alice's calm eyes.

Of course, Alice knew that the movie was fictional, but the fact that Shinji Matou could simulate magecraft of this level through imagination indicated his extremely high level of magecraft expertise.

...

After listening to the conversation between the two young ladies, Nao could only manage an awkward yet polite smile.

'As long as you two are enjoying yourselves.'

As the plot progressed, the movie transitioned to the scene where Shirou Emiya was matching wits with Lancer at his home.

Although this short scene wasn't as intense as the Heroic Spirits' battle, Shinji had still managed to make it suspenseful.

The camera moved through the narrow hallway, frequently cutting between the terrified Shirou and the calm Cu Chulainn, building tension for the audience who thought Shirou was safe. This tension remained until...

"Servant, Saber. I have come in response to your summons."

At this moment, every movie theater in Japan showing Fate/stay night fell silent, as if time itself had frozen.

"What beauty..."

Many audience members couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

In a scene bathed in moonlight, Arturia officially made her entrance.

With Shinji's meticulous editing, Arturia's introduction was delicately crafted. The appearance of the young knight with her slightly aloof expression immediately captured everyone's attention.

She was so beautiful, so gallant, so dreamlike... Such a girl was not meant to exist in the real world; she was the embodiment of a perfect knight in a story!

Not only male viewers, but also many female viewers were captivated by their first glimpse of Arturia.

"So handsome, is she the prince on a white horse?"

Shinji clearly heard a young girl in the front row exclaim.

[Haha, I wonder if she'll be addressed as Lady King of Knights in the future.]

Shinji glanced back at the row behind him.

The girl who referred to her as the "prince on a white horse" was attentively watching the screen with a serious expression, but her hands were busy elegantly yet rapidly shoveling popcorn (from a second large bucket) into her mouth.

Seeing King Arturia diligently eating in the noisy theater, there was a sense of "The joys and sorrows of humans are not my concern; I'm simply annoyed by their noise" about her.

Compared to Arturia's quiet eating, the male Heroic Spirits were engaged in teasing Lancer.

"Hahaha, your Noble Phantasm missed! This is the result of having low luck and forcefully using a Noble Phantasm!"

Gilgamesh slapped his thigh as he burst into maniacal laughter.

"Hmph, it's not bad."

EMIYA didn't burst into laughter; he just curved his lips slightly.

Cu Chulainn retorted awkwardly, "Someone who got taken out by a single blow from Saber doesn't have the right to talk about me!"

"Stop being so noisy..." Medusa complained softly, "Next time, I'm definitely not sitting next to this bunch."

However, at this moment, Medusa didn't realize that the loudest noise in the theater didn't come from people talking nearby, but from the theater's sound system.

Especially in Fate/stay night, a movie filled with battles and explosions.

The initial battle between EMIYA and Cu Chulainn on the school playground and the current showing of Saber's debut at the Emiya residence could only be considered minor skirmishes.

The true spectacle of the movie's first major action scene was the encounter of Shirou and his group with Illyasviel and Berserker on their way back from the church.

"■■■■■————!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Berserker's furious roars and the continuous explosions filled the theater, leaving the audience stunned by this series of wild shots resembling a runaway train.

Even Nao, who had watched the movie several times before, still patted her chest in residual fear.

"It's a bit... thrilling..."

In her previous viewings of Fate/stay night, she had either watched it in a meeting room using a projector or on a monitor in her workspace. She had yet to truly appreciate this film that had pushed audiovisual experiences to the extreme on a large screen.

"That little boy... He's quite impressive."

Echoing a certain young director's smiling face, Nao gave a complex evaluation.

Beside Udagawa, Aoko kept running her hand over the armrest of her seat. The immersive performance had made her instinctively feel as if she had been transported to the streets of Fuyuki City.

The battle on screen continued. However, the protagonist, Shirou, was at a significant disadvantage. Saber, engaging in direct combat, was no match for Berserker. EMIYA's sneak attack, which had been launched while injured, also didn't have much effect. In fact, he couldn't even distract Berserker.

With tense and exciting background music, Aoko felt her heart being pulled into the movie's storyline.

As the scene progressed to the climax, where Shirou was slashed away by Berserker while protecting Saber, Aoko felt as though her heart had shattered.

"That's just too brutal."

"Hey, is this guy named Shirou really the main character? He's had a rough night."

"Perhaps this is the price of summoning Saber."

...

Voices of astonishment and concern filled the surroundings. Most of the audience worried about Shirou's injuries, while a small minority of Saber fans, now captivated by her, displayed a sense of schadenfreude.

One of the most exaggerated reactions was from Shirou's foster father, Kiritsugu Emiya. Seeing his own adopted son charge forward in such a foolish manner, he covered his face with a "slap."

"This is just like something that kid Shirou would do in real life," Kiritsugu said helplessly, "He doesn't use his brain at all. At a time like this, even if he wanted to save someone, he should have tried to divert the enemy's attention first. Isn't he just trading saving someone for getting himself in trouble?"

"Alright, alright, Kiritsugu, don't dwell on this," Irisviel said with an aunt-like smile, "It's wonderful that Shirou and Illyasviel get along so well, isn't it?"

Do you really think they're getting along well?

Glancing again at her screen-bloodied godson, Kiritsugu began to ponder what his wife's words truly meant.

Shirou's injury marked not just the end of this fight but also the end of the first act of the movie.

Immediately, the movie transitioned to the second part, focusing on the Rider subplot, which provided a relatively milder transitional scene.

As the plot truly unraveled, Shinji Matou's character, Shinji, finally made his appearance.

If Aoko hadn't seen him at the magus gathering, she wouldn't have believed that the greasy playboy on the screen was the same person. His demeanor and mannerisms were completely different.

With the movie's pace slowing down a bit, Aoko turned slightly and said, "I didn't expect the Matou family's young master to be such a good actor. He has decent acting skills too."

"Of course, he's a prodigy in the world of magecraft," Alice said with a proud tone, "Don't use ordinary thinking to assess him."

Aoko took a deep sip of her cola and let out a belch without much grace.

"Well, I don't deny his expertise in magecraft. Otherwise, Grandpa wouldn't have approached him... huh?"

On screen, Shinji arrogantly challenged the protagonist, Shirou Emiya, to a duel and repeatedly mocked him.

Shinji's slightly comical performance amused Aoko. She playfully poked her companion, "Alice, do you think the Matou guy might have set up some sort of scheme in advance?"

"Shut up!"

Alice replied disdainfully, "It's impolite to disturb others while they're watching a movie."

"...Since when did you start enjoying movies?"

Aoko remembered that her companion used to dislike crowded places like movie theaters.

"About 40 minutes ago. Is that not allowed?"

While speaking, Alice extended a slightly glowing finger.

"Aoko, stop talking, or I'll make you unable to speak." (Using magecraft)

"...I get it."

Aoko obediently conceded and took a frustrated sip of her cola.

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