Chapter 220: Sakura, This Is My Final Projection. Please Accept It!
Regarding his situation and that of his peers, Milo Johnson didn't find anything particularly unusual.
Compared to other veteran film critics, Milo Johnson neither had the advantage of seniority nor any particularly unique insights. If he wanted to stand out, he naturally had to take a different approach.
At first, Milo Johnson simply thought that reviewing horror films—movies his peers didn't take seriously—was a good way to attract attention.
His original plan was to leverage this niche advantage, accumulate a following by reviewing horror films that other critics refused to touch, and then gradually transition to reviewing more mainstream films.
However, just as Milo Johnson was beginning to implement his plan, he was approached by people from the Time Group, who wanted to offer him a "gift"—the opportunity to become their film critic.
As a critic with principles, Milo Johnson firmly declared, "You can't buy me with money! Even if you offer me fifty thousand dollars, I won't agree!"
Then, faced with a sixty-thousand-dollar offer, Milo Johnson promptly abandoned his principles.
Of course, Milo Johnson insisted that it wasn't just about the money. The Time Group also provided him with various resources, including but not limited to: an exclusive film review column, a high-end luxury apartment with low rent, an honorary degree from Oxford University… and countless other perks covering both work and personal life.
In exchange, all Milo Johnson had to do was give the reviews that the Time Group wanted for certain films and TV series.
How could he refuse such an opportunity when it practically fell into his lap?
Besides, the Time Group didn't explicitly force him to give positive or negative reviews. If a movie had overwhelmingly bad reception, he had the right to refuse to write a positive review to maintain his credibility. Of course, the specifics depended on the Time Group's decisions.
Generally speaking, as long as the public reception wasn't completely disastrous and wouldn't significantly damage the reputation of the newspaper or Milo Johnson himself, his reviews would be subject to certain limitations.
Not that he minded. Keeping his job was far more important to him than speaking the so-called truth.
And over time, Milo Johnson came to understand one thing: did his personal judgment of a movie's quality truly represent the "truth"?
The tastes of film critics and the general audience often differed far more than he had initially thought. Many films he personally disliked ended up being well-received by audiences.
The only thing that troubled him was when his personal opinions about a movie's strengths and weaknesses were the exact opposite of what his benefactors wanted him to highlight.
That was even more frustrating than having to praise a film he didn't like.
After all, when he was forced to give outright false praise, he could at least justify it by telling himself he was just doing a job for money—and then simply copy reviews from online users.
But being forced to distort his own viewpoints in a way that conflicted with his honest analysis? That was something that made writing reviews deeply uncomfortable for him.
A prime example of this was Heaven's Feel. The Time Group had already instructed him to write a positive review.
Milo Johnson didn't actually dislike Heaven's Feel. In fact, he thought it was good. But the specific demands from his benefactors made him uncomfortable.
For instance, Milo Johnson believed that Heaven's Feel's greatest strength was Shinji Matou's portrayal of the movie character's inner transformation.
He was particularly interested in how Sakura Matou struggled on the edge of collapse multiple times—those nuanced moments captivated him.
Unfortunately, his benefactors insisted that he praise aspects he felt were, at best, merely passable—such as the actors' performances.
Furthermore, the Time Group demanded that he praise the lighting techniques used in Heaven's Feel's fight scenes, something he didn't consider particularly remarkable.
Compared to fake lighting effects, he believed that explosions were the essence of action scenes because they made the combat feel more real.
With all these conflicting thoughts, Milo Johnson constantly found himself wavering between his conscience and his professional obligations.
Sometimes, he genuinely wanted to tell moviegoers: Film reviews are all nonsense. They're just other people's opinions. Only your own feelings are real and the only reviews that truly matter to you.
But since this was directly tied to his livelihood, Milo Johnson could only keep those thoughts to himself.
"What should I title this review? 'Sakura Matou, the Girl Who Longs for Love'? 'A Perfect Finale to the Series'? Or 'The Hero Who Protects the Maiden—Shirou Emiya'?"
After much deliberation, Milo Johnson decided to wait until he saw whether the movie ended in tragedy or a happy ending before settling on a title.
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While a certain film critic was comfortably enjoying a massage, Sakura Matou had reached the most critical moment on the silver screen.
By the time Shirou Emiya arrived, Sakura was crying.
It wasn't because of the pain from the shadow consuming her but because of the deep regret she felt after harming her sister, realizing that she was completely controlled by the shadow.
"Senpai… I can't… hold on anymore. I… I can't suppress it. I lost… I didn't become stronger. I'm just a weak, cowardly, and selfish person."
Shirou Emiya frowned and took a step forward.
Swish!
A shadow blade slashed past his cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood.
Seeing this, Sakura panicked even more and screamed, "Stop! Don't come any closer, Senpai! You'll be killed!"
But Shirou didn't stop. He continued walking toward her.
"Run! Please, just run away, Senpai! Take my sister and escape!"
Terrified that Shirou Emiya would end up like Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Matou was truly desperate. She screamed, resisting his approach with all her might.
But unlike that time at the Emiya household, this time, Sakura wasn't trying to make Shirou suffer. On the contrary, she cared too much about him and feared hurting him.
Because at this moment, Sakura had completely lost control of the shadow.
"Just forget about me! Let me die here alone! I don't want you to see me like this!"
The shadows around her tightened, writhing violently, on the verge of completely breaking free.
"There's no need for a reason. I'm going to take you out of here, Sakura, and save Rin. Isn't that only natural?"
Even though he was covered in wounds, even though the girl he loved had hurt him time and time again, Shirou Emiya still maintained his kindness.
Because—this was the woman he loved.
To be the hero of justice for Sakura Matou alone—
This was the promise Shirou Emiya made on that rainy night.
And now, it was time to fulfill it.
He tore off his bandages and poured all his remaining magic into the arm of a Heroic Spirit.
Boom!
A shadow struck Shirou Emiya's abdomen.
With all his focus on suppressing his arm's power, Shirou had no way to dodge the attack.
Fortunately, Sakura Matou desperately fought against the shadow's control, preventing it from piercing through Shirou's body.
That was enough!
"Sakura, I will protect you. Even if others call it hypocrisy, protecting the one I love has always been my ideal!"
Lightning flickered across his arm.
"Trace—on."
Shirou Emiya poured all his remaining magic into his hand.
"Sakura, this is my final projection. Please accept it!"
A strangely shaped dagger appeared in his hand.
The moment the dagger materialized, the entire theater erupted into applause and cheers.
Even though many audience members didn't get the JoJo reference since this scene hadn't been animated yet, it didn't stop them from feeling excited.
"Isn't that Caster's Noble Phantasm?"
"Wait, wait, Caster has already exited the stage, and yet her weapon is still showing up?"
"So this dagger is actually a Fate/stay night tradition now?"
"This is amazing, it's in the bag now!"
"Sakura can finally be saved!"
"This girl has suffered too much."
"Go for it, bandaged big brother!"
…
Whether they were making jokes or feeling sympathy, the audience's cheers didn't bring warmth to Sakura Matou. She slowly lifted her head, struggling to see the face of the man she loved.
"Senpai…"
"Here I come, Sakura." Shirou smiled. "It's going to hurt, so bear with it for a bit."
Hearing Shirou's words, the entire theater burst into laughter.
They couldn't help it—even though he spoke with complete sincerity, a boy saying that to a girl in this situation sounded unintentionally suggestive.
But of course, the audience also knew exactly what Shirou's projected weapon was meant to do, so their tension had eased somewhat.
"Let's go home, Sakura. Cut your ties with this thing!"
On the silver screen, Shirou Emiya took a deep breath—
Then, he plunged the dagger into her heart.
"Rule Breaker!"
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