Gilgamesh-A Flash of Gold, and the King Makes a Dazzling Entrance

He wasn't a seasoned movie buff, but in his decades of life, he'd seen plenty of films. None had ever thrilled him as intensely as this one.

"This takes me back to my days as an Executor when I was young," Risei Kotomine said to Tokiomi Tohsaka beside him. "Right now, I just want to charge out there and fight those vampires for three hundred rounds!"

As he spoke, Risei even swung his sandbag-sized fist.

Tokiomi, however, seemed not to have heard him. He pinched his chin whiskers and appeared to be thinking seriously about something.

On the screen, the film was easing into a transitional scene. Saber had grown weak after unleashing her Noble Phantasm at full power. While the protagonist, Shirou, worried about his Servant, he was also astonished to learn Saber's true identity.

Shinji had deliberately placed this at the film's "pee break," giving the audience a chance to relax after the tension of the battle at the school, while also providing a breather and setting the stage for Berserker's upcoming fight.

The audience took advantage of the break to munch on popcorn, sip their cola, and chat with those around them about the film.

Naturally, the most heated discussion was about the unprecedented twist that Saber's true name was King Arthur.

It couldn't be helped. People in this world had never seen a big-budget effects film, let alone a gender-swapped character. Though in the Nasuverse, this probably wouldn't count as "gender-swapping," but rather uncovering the truth of history.

But whatever the case, the vast majority of people believed King Arthur should have been a man.

The moment the idea of a female King Arthur appeared, it was bound to become a subject of discussion.

Even if some audience members hadn't realized who Saber was when she unleashed her Noble Phantasm, Excalibur, they all figured it out when they saw Artoria draw the sword in Shirou's dream.

The story of the Sword in the Stone was one of Britain's most famous tales. Even Disney had made an animated feature film about it.

"Damn, why is Saber King Arthur? I thought she was going to be Saint Joan of Arc."

Plenty of people quickly voiced their support for the audience member's complaint. Everyone seemed surprised that Artoria was King Arthur.

"Seriously... I thought she was Joan of Arc too. There weren't many female knights in history."

"The director probably guessed we'd think that, so he deliberately went against expectations, right?"

"Wouldn't that mean he's just going against the grain for its own sake?"

"But don't you think the idea of King Arthur being a girl is really exciting?"

"And the way she used the Holy Sword just now was so cool! Calling her the Goddess of Victory Athena wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

"Now that you mention it, yeah~"

"If I were a Briton back then, I'd have joined the Knights of the Round Table! I'd lay down my life for King Arthur!"

"Exactly, exactly! Me too!"

"King Arthur is the best! Long live Saber! Long live My King!"

The audience in the theater soon reached a consensus and began to think of themselves as Knights of the Round Table.

"You sure are popular."

Medusa spoke to the gluttonous king beside her, her voice dripping with jealousy.

Artoria shuddered. "If these people were my knights, my country might have fallen even faster."

"Maybe it would have lasted longer," Medusa teased with a grin. "After all, they'd be your die-hard supporters."

Artoria shook her head emphatically. "No way. These people and Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain wouldn't have a single thing in common."

"Are you sure?"

Shinji smiled slyly. He could already picture the Knights of the Round Table he'd summon in the future joining these fans in the theater to cheer on their king.

Chapter 24: Gilgamesh—A Flash of Gold, and the King Makes a Dazzling Entrance

"Hmph, a bunch of shallow people who only care about appearances."

Hearing the other audience members praise Saber, Aoko scoffed disdainfully.

"What do you think, then?"

Taking advantage of the transitional scene, Azu turned and asked.

Aoko gave a thumbs-up. "Obviously, I'd fight her!"

"...You're a shallow person with muscles for brains too."

Azu had never thought fighting was a good thing. What on earth had she done in her past life to deserve knowing a friend like this?

"Hehe, what are you talking about, Azu? How could I possibly be shallow?"

Aoko had always been thick-skinned. She didn't mind her friend's teasing at all.

"I just want to know whether those Heroic Spirits are really as strong as they seem in the movie."

As she spoke, Aoko picked up her cola, ready to take a sip.

But before she could bring the straw to her lips, the film's BGM suddenly changed. On the screen, the protagonist, Shirou, had gone out for a walk and run into Illya at the park.

To show that Illya would take the lead from this point onward, Shinji deliberately filmed her from a low angle and Shirou from a high angle.

Although the two characters were originally quite different in height, the camera angles created the illusion that Illya was taller.

Most of the audience, including Aoko, had no idea what camera language was. But after the shots switched between Illya and Shirou several times, they all knew that something interesting was about to happen between them.

"Is that little girl going to take on the protagonist by herself?"

Looking at the obviously petite Illya, one audience member muttered, "She's not using her Servant. She's going to do it herself? That makes no sense. The protagonist's a grown man."

"Ignorant," Azu murmured in rebuttal. "She's a Magus."

A contest between Magi had never been about comparing height and build. Even with mystery in serious decline, one of them could still handle a single opponent without a problem.

But Azu's voice was too quiet. The audience member hadn't heard her at all.

It wouldn't have mattered if he had, though, because the big screen had already shown what a battle between Magi looked like.

Illya walked right up to Shirou and greeted him. After a few cutesy remarks, a red light flashed in her eyes, and then...

Smack.

"Good grief..."

Kiritsugu had lost count of how many times he'd covered his face. His idiot son was so embarrassing. He never learned from his mistakes, and on top of that, he was ridiculously naive. The other person said a couple of things, and he let his guard down.

That was an enemy!

Even if the other person was the cutest girl in the world—Kiritsugu's words—she was still an enemy!

And that wasn't the only thing wrong with his son in the movie. He'd gone off to challenge a Servant with nothing but a poster; he'd been told to retreat and still rushed to the front lines where Servants were fighting; he'd been told to use a Command Spell to summon his Servant if anything went wrong, yet he hadn't thought to call for help until someone threw him off a building...

Never mind that this was only a movie. After observing his godson, Kiritsugu had concluded that if something like this really happened, his son would act exactly the same way.

"Looks like... I'll have to give Shirou a proper talking-to in the future."

Kiritsugu let out a long sigh, feeling as if he'd been publicly humiliated. He thought he might bring his son along to work next time and show him how the world worked.

"But Shirou's so cute like this~" Irisviel said, tilting her head. "So innocent, and he looks so easy to tease."

"..."

Kiritsugu wasn't sure whether he should remind his wife that their son wasn't a toy.

"There's one thing I don't understand, though."

"What?"

"How did Illya carry Shirou all the way into the mountains?" Irisviel asked in confusion. "If she dragged him, given Shirou's height, his legs should've been scraping along the ground, right? So why weren't his pant legs scuffed up?"

"Who knows..."

Kiritsugu realized he couldn't keep up with his wife's train of thought.

Ordinary audience members hadn't noticed the issue Irisviel had brought up. Compared to an inconsequential detail like that, they cared more about the main plot.

As the story developed, the audience learned about Illya's past. They discovered that she was the daughter of Shirou's adoptive father, and learned that she had complicated feelings for Shirou.

"I thought it was a tired old plot twist when the little girl stopped her Servant from killing the protagonist right away. Turns out there's more to it..."

By this point, many audience members felt sympathy for Illya. She wasn't a born demon who killed people; her family circumstances had driven her mad.

Her angelic, snow-white appearance was just a façade. Illya seemed carefree and innocent, but if anyone so much as defied her, she'd turn from an angel into a demon.

Especially in several close-up shots, Illya revealed a fixation and madness unlike anything ordinary people possessed.

In the eyes of most of the audience, Illya was a far deeper and more sympathetic villain than the previous one, Matou Shinji.

"But then does that mean all the misfortune comes from Dad?"

Shirou, who still had no idea his future vacation had already been arranged for him, spoke quietly with Shinji.

"No."

Shinji shrugged. "Uncle Tokiomi is the perfect person to pin the blame on."

"Huh?"

Shirou was bewildered by the nonsensical answer. He glanced cautiously at the people around them, then asked in a low voice, "Shinji... do you really dislike the Tohsaka family that much?"

Shinji wagged a finger and smiled smugly. "Not really. It's just that blaming Uncle Tokiomi is the politically correct thing to do in the Nasuverse, isn't it?"

"Since when has your company had a rule like that?"

Shirou, who knew nothing about the Nasuverse or the TYPE-MOON Film Company, was even more confused.

The audience didn't care whose fault Illya's misery was. After tens of minutes of dialogue-heavy scenes, the action they'd been looking forward to finally arrived.

The long-awaited showdown between the revitalized King Arthur, Saber, and the great Greek hero Heracles had finally begun!

"Sugoi—!"

Another gasp rang out in the theater, followed by a wave of enthusiastic cheers.

Sakura couldn't remember how many times this had happened, but she wasn't the least bit tired of the cheers. The audience was applauding the people who had made the film!

"Big brother, you did it."

A hint of pride appeared on Sakura's flushed face, a pride that belonged to her alone.

She'd always believed in her brother, but even so, she was overwhelmed with excitement at that moment.

"But..."

The excitement on Sakura's face instantly gave way to gloom.

"Why do I have so few scenes?"

"It's kind of cold. Did they turn up the air conditioning?"

Shinji, sitting not far away, shivered involuntarily.

Meanwhile, at the Tokyo screening.

"That kid from the Matou family really is impressive."

Aoko praised him as she enjoyed the audiovisual spectacle the film had to offer.

"Compared to other directors, this guy uses a lot of explosions, but they're absolutely incredible. Just watching the explosions is a pleasure in itself~~"

Because of her Magecraft affinity, Aoko had always loved explosions. The scenes Shinji had designed to show off his skills were exactly to her taste.

In the scene that had just played, Tohsaka Rin threw a jewel at Heracles, and the burst of ice that erupted looked as wild as a crashing wave. It was practically an explosion with ice standing in for the explosives!

The sparks that flew when weapons clashed, the flashes of electricity that represented Shirou Emiya's Magic Circuits, the bursts of light from various Magecraft spells, the gales that swept through the forest from the impact... Every one of them sent the audience's nerves tingling.

From the perspective of a seasoned commercial-film buff like Shinji, the finished movie was a little over the top. There were plenty of places where he could have toned things down.

But for most of the "novice viewers," who had no idea what an effects film was, such a wild movie was a feast made just for them!

They cheered and applauded. They didn't care if they spilled cola and popcorn everywhere. They were completely immersed in the film.

It was Fate/Stay Night that made them this excited, and only Fate/Stay Night could make them this excited!

Fate/Stay Night hadn't let them down. Its tense, thrilling plot unfolded one twist after another. The fierce battles between Heroic Spirits left them breathless, and the story raced forward like a sports car speeding down the road, never dragging its feet. Could a movie get any more exciting?

"This is a film that will shatter the current movie market! It's going to unleash a storm of unprecedented proportions!"

Natsuo Takayanagi was an entertainment journalist. A veteran of the industry, he had already reached his conclusion even though the film was nowhere near over.

He had never seen a film that drew the audience in so completely. And it wasn't winning them over with beautiful women showing skin, but with the fight scenes that critics had always looked down on.

"This is an unconventional film, and a remarkable one," Natsuo Takayanagi wrote. "Its exhilarating rhythm and spectacle seem to have no end. The director uses the most dazzling, beautiful, thrilling, and rapid shots to keep teasing the audience's most sensitive nerves."

FSN wasn't without flaws. With Takayanagi's experience as a moviegoer, he could easily find several plot holes if he looked for them.