The Ryuudou Temple Skull Mask Murder Case! / Azu: This Horror Movie Really Lingers

Whether due to time constraints or rating concerns, the scene of the creation of the Cursed Arm in the theatrical version of Heaven's Feel was simplified to an alien bursting through the chest.

In fact, this part of the original game script was slightly more complex and also a bit more graphic.

After the Cursed Arm was created, Kojirou was conscious while his body was being devoured alive by the insects, a process that lasted for an hour.

Although the gatekeeper is essentially Heroic Spirit rather than a human, the entire process of "devouring" is clearly described as if he were a living person.

It doesn't seem out of place at all that Nasu, who can write such a plot, would become good friends with Urobutcher, who wrote "Saya no Uta".

This is like the dung beetle finding its uncle – birds of a feather flock together.

If the Fate Route and UBW routes were forcibly categorized as Restricted rating by adding Replenish Magic storylines, then the HF route would still be a solid R-18 work even without the Replenish Magic storyline.

Therefore, Shinji, during the filming of HF, also inherited Nasu's quirky sense of humor in plot arrangement.

It not only recreates the scene of the gatekeeper's "alien-like chest being ripped open," but also subtly shows the plot of his body being eaten.

The problem was that the scene of insects eating people in the original script was difficult to portray. If it was too realistic, it probably wouldn't even qualify for an R18 rating, but if it was too abstract, it wouldn't have the necessary sense of horror.

To balance the horror elements with rating restrictions, Shinji simply changed the character who spoke from an insect to Cursed Arm.

Anyway, there's a later plot where the Cursed Arm eats Doggy's heart to evolve its language abilities, so this change isn't too excessive.

However, in the eyes of a certain person, the Second Master's change had a different intention.

"Servants eat Servants?" Aozaki Public stroked his stubble and calmly analyzed, "If consuming Spirit Origin can strengthen the original body, then wouldn't having a Servant constantly devour Spirit Origin eventually result in a perfect product of the Third Magic?"

"Grandfather..."

Aoko was initially tense due to the bizarre plot, immediately deflated after hearing Aozaki Public's conjecture.

Aoko wasn't afraid of this kind of plot, but she still enjoyed being scared by horror movies.

Just as she was engrossed in the story, her grandfather suddenly pulled her back to the academic discussion of Magecraft, and the terrifying atmosphere vanished.

That's why the worst thing a horror movie can do is ruin the atmosphere.

Aoko wanted to offer a reminder, but as soon as she turned her head, her gaze met that of Aozaki Public.

"Aoko, what do you think?"

"I?"

Do you think it's possible for this quantitative change to lead to a qualitative change?

Aoko then realized that the person sitting next to her was her grandfather, not Azu, and that what he wanted to discuss with her wasn't the movie plot, but Magecraft theory.

"I think... since Heroic Spirit are born from the magical power of the Ley Lines, they can't possibly surpass the magical power of the Ley Lines themselves. At most, they can only purify the quality of the magical power through the Servant."

Aoko resisted the urge to comment on the plot and instead discussed Magecraft theory with her grandfather.

Aozaki Public nodded thoughtfully, then sighed, "That's true. It would be great if a Heroic Spirit could conduct this research."

"Honestly, those bastards from the Matou Family, they have a mountain of treasures but don't even know it!" Aozaki Public cursed again. "If he had seriously studied Heroic Spirit, what a huge contribution he could have made to the Mage world! Instead, he used these crystallizations of Magecraft to do such clownish and disgusting things!"

"Well... Grandpa, don't be angry."

Aoko glanced at the clock as she spoke, "It's already so late, shouldn't you be going to sleep?"

She realized that she couldn't enjoy the story properly while with her grandfather.

So she planned to lull her grandfather to sleep first, and then secretly watch it herself.

To everyone's surprise, Aozaki Public glared at him and said sternly, "Sleeping? What are you talking about? I'm not old yet! Aoko, do you think your grandpa is already old?"

"I don't..."

"Then let's keep watching!!"

"Yes..."

Aoko was truly on the verge of tears.

Watching HF with my grandfather really ruined the viewing experience; I didn't get the tension I usually feel when watching horror movies.

What's worse is that the second viewing of a horror movie is much less effective than the first. Even if you Aoko it a second time, you won't experience the same thrill as the first time you saw the killer.

[Should we just use Magecraft to knock Grandpa out?]

A rebellious idea popped into Aoko's mind.

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Compared to the extremely conflicted Aoko, the young Magecraft in the Magecraft club were much more unified in their attitudes.

The strange time at the entrance of Ryuudou Temple not only terrified them, but also swept away their drowsiness.

"Looking at it this way, Ryuudou Temple is practically the perfect time and place for a horror movie. Ancient architecture, an enclosed space, and now a black ghost added to the mix."

Shibamatsu muttered to himself, the dark and eerie atmosphere on the television seemed to seep through the screen, causing him to instinctively curl up into a ball.

"Yes, it's really scary!"

The woman standing to the side, who was considered a "public enemy of women," echoed her sentiments.

"Especially that white skull mask, and the black faceless face beneath it, brought back bad memories..."

At this point, he couldn't help but shudder.

Shibamatsu shrugged. The other person's behavior might have been a bit strange, but he could understand it to some extent.

The other person's family has a heavy set of metal armor, which is said to be a replica of a great figure. I was frightened several times when I went to their house to play when I was a child.

Of course, Shibamatsu was relatively lucky; the guy next to him was terrified by that eerie armor more than once or twice when he was a child. Several times, when he got up at night to go to the bathroom, because of that armor, he ended up looking for the bathroom instead of the toilet.

The most striking and unique part of the armor was its white skull helmet, which looked exactly like the one worn by the shadowy figure.

Actually, the Hundred Faces design in Fate/Zero is similar, but the filming effect in Fate/Zero is nowhere near as eerie as in Heaven's Feel, so Shibamatsu didn't have a similar feeling back then, but now...

When the black True Assassin leaped onto the roof of Ryuudou Temple, it reminded Shibamatsu and the others of the fear of being dominated by armor.

However, Kojirou's death was just the appetizer; what was truly terrifying was yet to come.

In fact, most viewers had already guessed that Ryuudou Temple would suffer a calamity the moment Kojirou died. The only difference was how many people would die in the temple and how each person would die.

Even Azu film novice like Yuzhu could guess that the following plot would probably not be peaceful.

After all, almost an hour and a half has passed since we started watching the movie, it's time for something more substantial.

Without a doubt, Kuzuki, People's Teacher, is the second victim after the gatekeeper.

When he sensed danger and reminded Issei to stay with the others, while he went to investigate, viewers familiar with horror movie tropes knew he was doomed.

A person getting separated from the group is the most common way to die in horror movies.

But these kinds of tricks are used repeatedly because they are so effective.

On the television screen, after several unsuccessful attempts to leave the gate of Ryuudou Temple, he finally turned his attention to the city by wrapping his Cursed Arm in a black rag.

He had just stepped into the temple corridor, and before he could make a move, the club fell silent instantly.

This reflects everyone's anticipation for the key plot points and also proves the success of HF's horror atmosphere rendering.

Shibamatsu clearly sensed this atmosphere, because he was in a state of contradictory feelings of excitement and fear.

In particular, Shinji deliberately used Kuzuki's first-person perspective to film this scene, which is cramped, dark, and filled with unknown fears.

While Kuzuki's steady breathing made him appear very confident, this calmness only served to highlight the perilous situation he was in, given that the audience knew his enemy was Heroic Spirit.

"Snap!"

Just as Kuzuki stepped into the side hall of the temple, a dark figure suddenly appeared in the frame. The white skull mask stood out starkly against the completely black background. The squinting eyes and the upward-curving lower half of the mouth on the mask made it look like an eerie smile.

"Hiss~"

The eerie white mask sent a chill down everyone's spine.

But before everyone could finish taking a breath, Kuzuki launched an attack on the shadowy figure.

This behavior fits Kuzuki's image as a ruthless and taciturn person, but unfortunately, it was ultimately useless.

The gap between humans and Servant is enormous; without any enhancements, Kuzuki only possesses bizarre assassination skills.

If it were Heroic Spirit like Artoria, Kuzuki's attack could indeed surprise the opponent, and might even buy them some time.

Unfortunately, this time he was facing Hassan, from his meticulous assassinations to his own cursed assassinations, to the unparalleled assassinations of his ancestors, and finally to the modern-day Allah Akbar.

What kind of assassination methods hasn't Master Cursed Arm seen?

Pfft

The sharp dagger sliced through Kuzuki's carotid artery, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

The screen turned blood red, Shibamatsu vaguely saw Kuzuki lying on the ground, his eyes having lost their light.

But Kuzuki did not give up; he shifted his body, trying to launch another attack.

Then, another flash of blades appeared.

Pfft!

Pfft!

Pfft!

The continuous thrusts of the dagger, the sound of the sharp blade piercing flesh sent chills down Shibamatsu's spine.

"So... he should... be dead... right...?"

Hassan spoke in an eerie tone.

The television screen gradually dimmed, the black screen reflecting the utter astonishment on the faces of everyone, including Shibamatsu.

"Ah--!! Holy crap, it really is that armor!"

Shibamatsu quickly managed to control his mouth, but his childhood friend wasn't so quick to react.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only one screaming; the entire club was filled with gasps and screams, making it seem like one had entered a high-note practice room.

[These guys... thankfully, everyone at the neighboring company has already left work at this time, otherwise it would be incredibly embarrassing. Even the guys were screaming, are they all sissies?]

Azu pursed her lips, feeling Shinji Matou's excellent ability to create a terrifying atmosphere and ashamed of these cowards who couldn't even handle horror movies.

[Did they learn Magecraft through correspondence courses? They can't even handle this little bit of fright!]

If such a person represents the future of Mage world, Azu understands why the older generation feels that the future of Mage world is bleak.

Chapter 145 Azu: This horror movie has a strong aftereffect.

There is a very strong connection and connection between the Master and the Servant. The moment Kuzuki was in trouble, Medea, who was cooking in the kitchen, sensed it instantly.

She first went to the entrance of Ryuudou Temple to check what was wrong with the barrier.

To Medea's shock, however, the swordsman who should have been sitting on the steps admiring the moon was gone, replaced by a Japan sword that was slowly disappearing.

In the game, Artoria and Shirou should have been the ones to witness this scene.

They then entered Ryuudou Temple and found Medea holding Kuzuki's corpse in the main hall. Convinced that Caster had killed her Master, Artoria decisively eliminated her.

However, in the theatrical version, Shirou and Saber did not appear at all during the scene where the Caster group was destroyed.

This is mainly because the game uses a first-person perspective, requiring the protagonist to participate in events as much as possible.

When Shinji adapted the story for film and television, this part of the plot was mainly based on the theatrical version.

On the one hand, Artoria's attitude towards killing Caster Medea was too arbitrary, and her behavior was too domineering.

Shirou and Saber left in a hurry and without vigilance, allowing the shadowy figure to take advantage of the situation and retrieve Caster.

Throughout the entire Ryuudou Temple arc, Shirou and Saber rushed to the temple to kill Caster, then hurriedly left as if afraid of disturbing Sakura's attack on Caster.

In order to maintain Artoria's virtuous and upright image, and also to make the plot more logical, Shinji decided not to let Artoria participate in this part of the story.

However, this made Medea the sole victim.

Well, that's not quite right, since the gatekeeper and Kuzuki have already died one after the other.

However, this doesn't stop Shinji from delivering another blow to the audience.

When Medea realized the seriousness of the situation and rushed to the scene of the Kuzuki, she saw Kuzuki covered in blood and Hassan dragging Kuzuki on the ground like a rag.

"Let me... leave... the Witch..."