Shinji: Are You Guys Putting on an EVA Show Here?
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On screen, Shirou Emiya and the audience were unaware that the real bombshell news of the day was yet to come.
Just as Shirou Emiya was lost in thought, an uninvited guest arrived at the Emiya Residence.
"Emiya Shirou, right?"
Cursed Arm Hassan, appeared before Shirou Emiya.
"The Magecraft wishes to meet with you, Shirou Emiya."
An assassin wearing a white skull mask, expressionless (and unlikely to have any expression), relayed a message from Matou Zouken to Shirou Emiya.
Shirou Emiya originally thought this was a great opportunity to defeat Matou Zouken and free Matou Sakura.
However, when he actually met Matou Zouken, he learned a shocking truth.
The Holy Grail—no, it should be said that the "shadow" buried within the Holy Grail fragments is the shadow of Matou Sakura.
The enemy that Shirou Emiya has always wanted to defeat is the girl he swore to protect.
That's not all; Matou Zouken also gave Shirou Emiya an option that left him unable to choose—a way to save Matou Sakura.
"Defeating this old man is a waste of effort. The only way to end the Holy Grail War is to activate the Holy Grail itself. But if the Holy Grail itself is activated, Sakura's spirit will easily dissipate."
Matou Zouken smiled wickedly, seemingly eager to see how Shirou Emiya would choose.
"If you want to save Sakura, you must endure until the Holy Grail War ends. It won't be long; the war will be over in four days."
"Four days. If four days pass, will Sakura be saved?"
Upon hearing Matou Zouken's words, Shirou Emiya was overjoyed, happy that he had found a way to save the girl.
However--
Do you think Sakura can last another four days?
"It can definitely be maintained!"
"But the others can't wait any longer," Matou Zouken said maliciously. "How many humans disappeared last night? How many will disappear tonight? Have you thought about that?"
"You think again, that in a few days all the humans in this city will be eaten?"
Matou Zouken's question sounded particularly jarring to Shirou Emiya.
"Then, what should we do?"
"It's simple. You just need to kill Sakura. Otherwise, it will still hunt humans tonight."
"This is what I wanted to tell you, Shirou Emiya. The greatest calamity is being protected by you."
Seemingly feeling that this wasn't enough, Matou Zouken continued to deliver the finishing blow to Shirou Emiya.
"To fight evil for the sake of millions. Shirou Emiya, if you truly inherit Kiritsugu Emiya's will, then Matou Sakura will be your enemy."
"So that's how it is!"
Azu suddenly understood. "This is Matou Zouken's real purpose. He wants Shirou Emiya to give up on Matou Sakura, so that Matou Sakura will be completely desperate and become the Holy Grail!"
"Is it possible?"
Fujita expressed skepticism about Azu's guess.
That must be it!
Shibata nodded frantically to the side.
"So, the next part of the storyline is about Shirou Emiya stopping Matou Sakura from going berserk! They fight together against Matou Zouken and ultimately survive."
"After all, if Sakura and Illya can share the Heroic Spirit equally, their chances of survival are still quite high."
Shibamatsu was full of confidence. He suddenly felt like a great prophet, and the basement and all that stuff seemed to be a thing of the past.
"However, this doesn't fit with the dark storyline of Heaven's Feel."
Azu commented in a low voice.
From the horror film in the first episode to the dark and brutal plot that follows, HF's story consistently leverages its R-rated to tell a tale of Magecraft that can devour people.
The Magecraft, in his quest to find Magecraft and its origins, becomes consumed by his own desires and ultimately transforms into a monster.
This should be the main theme of Mr. Matou's Heaven's Feel story.
Azu tapped her chin thoughtfully, saying, "[If that's really the case, in order to demonstrate the greatest danger of Magecraft, Matou Sakura's character going berserk is absolutely inevitable. It all depends on how Matou handles it. There are still two episodes left.]"
Although Azu was already captivated by Shinji's entertaining stories, it's undeniable that what initially drew her to Shinji was his unique insights into Magecraft in his films.
Although HF, a series produced by a Magecraft, did not continue to showcase elaborate Magecraft techniques, Shinji Matou's philosophy on Magecraft still impressed Azu.
To understand a Magecraft, you must begin with their attitude towards Magecraft.
Now, through the TV series HF, Shinji Matou's understanding of Magecraft is becoming increasingly clear to Azu.
Chapter 184 Shinji: Are you guys acting out EVA?
On the television screen, the story of HF continues.
Apart from Shibamatsu, who didn't want to be locked in the basement, most viewers were already aware of the current situation.
Following the Fate series tradition of featuring spectacular special effects and action sequences, the shadowy figure played by Matou Sakura is most likely the final boss of this story.
The battle between sisters Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura is about to erupt.
What viewers will find interesting is the role played by the male protagonist Shirou Emiya.
In Tohsaka Rin's eyes, Shirou Emiya is her enemy, someone who will fight to the death to protect Matou Sakura.
In Matou Sakura's eyes, Shirou Emiya has been seduced by his older sister, a wicked woman, and might kill her at any moment.
Therefore, both young ladies now believe that Shirou Emiya has already been kidnapped.
Ultimately, it's really hard to say whether Tohsaka Rin or Matou Sakura truly represents Saionji Sekai or Katsura Kotoha.
But in any case, Makoto-bro Shirou Emiya's characterization as a heartless bastard is pretty much confirmed in the hearts of both women.
Fortunately, Shirou Emiya doesn't know yet, otherwise he would be completely dumbfounded.
He was already in a difficult situation enough, and now these two women in his family were pulling this stunt!?
Is it because I'm not buried that you won't let me have a good rest?
You should know that Shirou Emiya's heart is currently in turmoil, like a raging storm.
My childhood dreams are in fierce conflict with my current dreams.
This conflict wasn't what Shirou Emiya had previously thought—that it was simply about him giving up his original ideal of becoming a champion of justice in order to protect Matou Sakura.
Matou Sakura is the monster who kills every night; if he wants to protect Matou Sakura, then he is an accomplice.
For Shirou Emiya, this was even more painful than not being able to become a ally of justice.
It was this inner conflict and contradiction that made Shirou Emiya forget his two sisters at home, and he was unaware that he had become a traitor in their eyes.
Upon returning home, Shirou Emiya encountered Illya. During their conversation, Shirou Emiya confirmed once again that she was the Homunculus Lesser Grail.
Not only that, Illya comforted Shirou Emiya, telling him not to worry too much, but also explained the workings of the Holy Grail.
It's clear that Zouken wasn't lying; as Servants are continuously recycled, the Lesser Grail will gradually lose its human functions.
This made Shirou Emiya realize that, besides Matou Sakura, he also had Illya to protect.
"Illya ..."
Shirou Emiya hugged the silver-haired girl tightly.
"Shirou."
Illya smiled with relief and quietly closed her eyes.
Although no promises had been made and no expectations had been placed, the silver-haired girl still felt the warmth of family after ten years.
Because Illya's body was too petite, Shirou Emiya couldn't hug her too tightly; he could only touch her gently.
But Shirou Emiya himself remained very serious, because he wanted to meticulously record with his fingers the weight of the person he was absolutely determined to protect to the very end.
The siblings, who were not related by blood, embraced each other, feeling the genuine emotions between them.
"The scene appears to be of an older brother and younger sister, but in reality, it's an older sister and younger brother; however, the actors' relationship is indeed that of an older brother and younger sister..."
After listening to the explanation from the person next to her, Leinys crossed her arms and tilted her head. "The relationships in your crew are so complicated."
"Actually, that's not the case." Shinji waved his hand. "You don't need to worry about external factors. Just focus on making the relationships between the characters in the story clear."
"That's not so easy to understand," Leinys retorted. "Four Masters in one room, each with their own unique relationships. Besides 'this social circle is truly chaotic,' I can't say anything else."
"Cough cough!"
Shinji, then stubbornly said, "Please refer to this part as my personal in-depth portrayal of the character."
Actually, if they could, Shinji wouldn't have wanted to film this part of the story.
In Shinji's opinion, Illya's storyline in the Heaven's Feel route is truly lackluster.
Just as Leinys complained, the addition of Illya's route has escalated the already complicated emotional entanglements within the main characters to a new level of chaos.
Some of the plot insertions were particularly... baffling.
Just like in this scene, in the previous scene, Shirou Emiya was still struggling with the conflict between his ideal of being a righteous ally and his dream of protecting Matou Sakura, but after talking with Illya, he wants to protect Illya.
If this isn't Makoto-bro's womanizing behavior, then what is it?
However, without these plot points, it would be difficult for Shinji to end the story with the return of Spring Return.
After all, it's hard for the audience to believe that a character will make a sacrifice when their emotions haven't been properly built up.
Fortunately, Shinji's TV series version of Heaven's Feel has a relatively long runtime. Without compromising the overall viewing experience, Shinji still managed to show the audience all the storylines that could be filmed.
Interestingly, this part of the story is titled "Gift" in the HF game text. This word means "gift" in English, but it means "poison" in Illya's native German.
This double entendre can also be considered a spoiler from Nasu regarding the fate and future of the character Illya.
Unfortunately, to ensure the viewing experience of the film and television series, Shinji couldn't possibly add titles to each segment like in the director's cut of Justice League.
So he could only sigh to himself and, incidentally, name the background music for this scene "Gift" on his music CD for his own amusement.
"Master, could you please stop laughing so disgustingly?"
Just as Shinji was gloating over his own creation, Artoria disdainfully remarked, "Are you really that happy to see your own sister being pinned against a wall by you on screen?"
"Of course not!"
Upon hearing this, Shinji was startled and immediately straightened his back and sat up straight, not daring to relax for a moment.
"Hmph~"
Artoria Alter scoffed dismissively, "Master, you're such a coward. If it were me, I would definitely lock your sister up and give her a good talking-to, releasing her only when she's obedient."
Artoria immediately retorted, "What kind of tyrannical behavior is this!"
"I am a tyrant by nature," Artoria Alter sneered.
"Hey! Useless trash! Come here!"
Hearing Shinji words, Artoria Alter narrowed her eyes and looked at her Master: "Who are you calling trash?"
Shinji quickly waved his hand. "It wasn't me, it was the sound from the TV."
"Ah!"
At that moment, Matou Sakura the TV screen also screamed and was pushed onto the bed.
"You traitor!"
Shinji shouted again.
"You're the traitor, man!" Artoria Alter retorted, annoyed.
Shinji spread his hands innocently. "It has nothing to do with me, it's all the sound from the TV."
"..."
Upon realizing she had mistaken the person twice, Artoria's lips twitched violently, then she sat back down dejectedly.
At that moment, Shinji Matou on the screen had already pressed himself against the girl and placed his fingers on her soft skin.
"Ah--!"