Chapter 368: A Fate/Apocrypha Opening So Shocking It Makes Jaws Drop
"Pff—cough, cough."
Shinji was genuinely glad his reaction time was fast enough to turn a snort of laughter into a cough.
But even he had to admit that what Mordred said was impossible to refute.
In Shinji's memory, after crossing into the new millennium, the only truly successful live-action project Disney had produced was the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Aside from Pirates of the Caribbean, the only other things Disney's main studio could really show off were the live-action 3D remakes of their classic animated films.
It might sound harsh, but Shinji had always personally felt that those live-action remakes had no real reason to exist.
If you were going to watch them, you might as well just watch the animated versions instead.
"..."
Robert Iger pressed his lips together tightly. Of course he knew Disney's biggest problem.
In recent years, Disney's live-action film projects couldn't exactly be called a total failure—but at the very least, they were hemorrhaging money.
That was precisely why he wanted to acquire Fate in the first place.
Iger's thinking was very simple.
If Disney couldn't produce good live-action IPs on its own, then it could just buy them.
Money? Just paper, really.
Print a few more versions of classic animated films through the publishing division and call it a day.
There were so many suckers around the world—more than enough to scrape together the cash needed to buy Fate.
Of course, if he could acquire the entire TYPE-MOON company, that would be even better.
That naked-eye 3D technology alone—anyone in film knew it was a goose that laid golden eggs.
Mordred seemed to read the expression on Iger's face. She narrowed her eyes and continued,
"I hit the nail on the head, didn't I? You're getting close to my Ma—ahem, Shinji… You're planning to buy Fate, aren't you? Just because your company can't make good live-action films?"
"Since you know you can't win, you try to buy it instead. How shameless can you get~?"
Mordred's expression was unbelievably punchable. Even Shinji felt the urge to smack her.
"Miss Pendragon…"
Robert Iger really wanted to tell her that being this arrogant was a great way to earn his grudge.
But he held himself back.
On one hand, he knew what kind of occasion this was—he couldn't afford to embarrass Disney.
On the other hand, even if he threatened to blacklist Mordred, with Shinji Matou's current level of influence, she wouldn't lack acting roles anyway.
This kind of childish argument had no substance whatsoever. In Iger's eyes, it was beneath him—and engaging in it would only make him look small-minded.
Shinji quietly tugged on Mordred's sleeve, then turned to Iger and said,
"I'm very confident in Disney's upcoming projects. Those two films definitely won't disappoint you, Mr. Iger."
"Let's hope so. Even if they fail, it would still be good if the company could at least gain some experience from those failures."
Iger's words were half sincere, half perfunctory.
Of course he hoped Cinderella would succeed. If it did, it would at least point Disney toward a golden road that could generate profits for another ten years.
But judging by the performance of Disney's live-action film department over the past decade, real success would require nothing short of God intervention.
Mordred, meanwhile, stared at Robert Iger, clearly wanting to say something.
Following her instincts, she felt that this man—who smiled so easily—was absolutely not a good person.
Because his smile reminded her of a certain flower-loving magus.
With a wide-eyed little milk-cat like Mordred glaring at him from Shinji's side, Iger found it impossible to have any meaningful exchange with Shinji Matou.
After a few brief, perfunctory pleasantries, Iger turned around and left in a foul mood.
Shinji, having just said goodbye to the "smiling Mickey Mouse," shot a glance at the Mordred beside him.
"Master, how did I do?"
Mordred clung to one of Shinji's arms and said with a grin, "I helped you chase away a big bad villain."
"You really are Yama's strategist—a clever little devil," Shinji commented calmly.
Mordred's rather impulsive remarks had been somewhat rude, but they had undeniably helped Shinji a great deal.
From the moment he noticed Iger appraising him with that evaluative gaze, Shinji knew the man had his sights set on Fate.
There was no helping it—this guy's reputation from Shinji's previous life, where he orchestrated Disney's acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, was simply too legendary.
Unfortunately for him, TYPE-MOON was far too tightly bound to the world of Mystery. No matter what, Shinji would never consider selling to an ordinary human corporation like Disney.
From the very beginning, Robert Iger's plan had been nothing more than a pipe dream.
Still, if Shinji himself rejected the idea outright, it would come off as rather impolite—so letting Mordred handle it was the perfect solution.
"Master, Mordred."
At that moment, Arturia approached, dressed in an elegant evening gown.
"Father!"
The instant she saw her, Mordred immediately abandoned Shinji and rushed over to cling to Arturia's arm.
"Mordred, that's quite disgusting, you know."
Despite her usual tone of disdain, Arturia made no move to reject Mordred's show of affection.
"Oh, right—Master," Arturia lifted her head and said to Shinji,
"I believe I just saw Mr. Robert earlier. He didn't seem to be in a very good mood."
"You know him?" Shinji asked in surprise.
"He's quite a nice person," Arturia explained.
"He once invited me to audition for Cinderella."
"What?!" Shinji's eyes went wide.
"Unfortunately, I didn't pass the final round of auditions."
"Oh…"
Shinji finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
He had been wondering why Arturia didn't appear on Cinderella's promotional posters—he'd even suspected Disney of pulling some kind of marketing smokescreen.
But Arturia's next sentence nearly gave him a heart attack.
"However, I did pass the audition for Maleficent. I'll be playing Princess Aurora. Filming starts next month, in Fuyuki City."
"Don't tell me the witch Maleficent is being played by Morgan?" Shinji blurted out without thinking.
"What does that have to do with my sister?" Arturia asked, clearly unable to follow Shinji's logic.
"Arturia." Shinji grabbed a bottle of mineral water, took a sip to steady himself, and then spoke.
"Yes, Master?"
"I feel like I haven't been caring for you enough lately."
"Huh?"
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
By the time Shinji entered the screening hall together with the main creative staff of Fate/Apocrypha and other heavyweight guests, the seats reserved for regular audience members were already completely filled.
Nearly a thousand viewers inside the IMAX theater were waiting for the screening to begin.
There was no helping it—three full years had passed since the release of the previous Fate film, FZ.
Would this series once again create stellar results, or would it degenerate into a soulless cash-grab that milked nostalgia and deceived fans?
The answer would be revealed very soon.
Milo Johnson, attending the premiere as a film critic, understood this better than anyone. Given how fiercely competitive this summer's box office was, the first week's ticket sales would essentially determine the fate of Fate/Apocrypha's theatrical run.
If the opening-week box office met Times Group's prior expectations—or if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles suffered a critical collapse—then, judging by the consistent long-tail performance typical of Shinji's films, this new Fate installment would undoubtedly dominate the charts once again.
But if the first-week numbers fell far below expectations… Then the consequences would be nothing short of severe.
As a hardcore tokusatsu fan, Li Ri'ang was watching a non–Ultraman movie made by his own boss in a cinema for the very first time.
To be precise, given the state of the China film market in the past, Li Ri'ang always believed—up until Super 8—that spending money to watch movies in theaters was pure idiocy.
What movie couldn't be found on a computer anyway?
"I don't even have a girlfriend—why the hell would I go to the cinema?!"
But the existence of Super 8 completely shattered Li Ri'ang's understanding of movies.
Only then did he realize that watching a film in a theater and watching it at home were two entirely different experiences.
And this time, with Fate/Apocrypha—even setting aside any nostalgia buffs—the trailers alone made Li Ri'ang feel that the movie might be even more exhilarating than Super 8.
Especially those thunderous explosion shots and several grand, awe-inspiring battle scenes. They instantly hooked Li Ri'ang's desire to watch.
Because of that, when Kariya suggested going to Japan, Li Ri'ang agreed without even thinking.
Unfortunately, as Kariya's assistant, he wasn't qualified to sit in the front-row guest section. He could only sit among the regular audience.
But Li Ri'ang didn't mind at all. Watching the movie with fans had its perks—the atmosphere would definitely be much better.
The guests up front were all big shots. When they watched movies, they emphasized restraint. Sitting with them meant no cheering, no laughing out loud—it would be exhausting.
"Still, my spot here is the most comfortable."
Li Ri'ang crossed his legs, smugly lifting his chin as he took a big gulp of ice-cold fizzy soda.
"Ahhh… burp~~~"
The satisfaction was indescribable.
"Excuse me, could we get through?"
Hearing a polite request, Li Ri'ang looked up and saw a group of men and women standing in the aisle. Judging by their movements, their seats were right next to his.
He quickly put his leg down and said courteously, "Sorry about that—please go ahead."
Once the group had settled in, Li Ri'ang casually remarked to the person beside him, "You've got quite a crowd there."
The other party smiled back. "Yeah. We're from the Tokyo Magus Club. My name is Shibamatsu."
Shibamatsu didn't seem worried about revealing that. After all, they had been informed beforehand that this entire seating section was reserved for people from the magical community, to ensure secrecy and Mystery.
"Magus Club, huh…"
Those words instantly made Li Ri'ang feel a sense of kinship.
Although he could barely even be considered an amateur in the field of magecraft, Li Ri'ang had long since begun to see himself as one of the magi.
"My name's Li Ri'ang."
Despite being a bit older, he took the initiative to extend his hand.
"I work at TYPE-MOON's China branch."
Shibamatsu shook his hand and smiled.
"So you're actually an internal employee of TYPE-MOON? I'm jealous—I'd love to work there someday."
"I'm just an insignificant little employee," Li Ri'ang replied modestly.
But the expression on his face was more like Sir Humphrey introducing himself as merely a "humble servant of the people," brimming with barely concealed pride.
Shibamatsu didn't notice Li Ri'ang's expression and instead asked about TYPE-MOON's situation.
...
Two people who had been complete strangers moments ago quickly grew familiar thanks to shared interests—and their identities as magi.
Male friendship was just that plain and simple, and it formed astonishingly fast.
At the same time, Shiki was seated in the second row together with Rin and the others. This arrangement was meant to make it easier for them to go on stage for The Garden of Sinners promotion after the screening ended.
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly," Shiki muttered softly as she looked at the still-empty screen.
Rin withdrew her gaze from her two Clock Tower bosses, Kayneth and Waver, and turned to Shiki.
"Shiki-nee, are you worried?"
Perhaps influenced by Shinji, Rin had started calling her "Shiki-nee" as well.
"Worried?"
Shiki shook her head.
"Why would I be? This is Fate, after all. It has an enormous fanbase."
Though her tone was firm, the slight flicker in her eyes betrayed her lack of complete confidence.
Rin understood Shiki's feelings all too well. This time, Fate/Apocrypha and The Garden of Sinners were being promoted together—tying the two films tightly to one another.
This made The Garden of Sinners's box-office prospects heavily dependent on whether Fate/Apocrypha could succeed.
However, after spending so much time around Shinji, Shiki had long since mastered the art of turning the tables. She looked at Rin and asked calmly,
"Rin, you've been with Shinji for so long. Do you have confidence in him?"
"When it comes to movies, I've never doubted him," Rin replied. "It's about the same level of trust as knowing he'd make a move on every single one of you."
At that, Rin's expression turned a little strange.
It was as if an overwhelming urge to complain was bubbling up inside her, yet for some reason she swallowed it all back. That mix of irritation and helplessness was oddly reminiscent of Arturia's attitude toward Mordred.
Shiki really wanted to press her for details. How could Shinji's gossip not pique her curiosity?
"The movie's about to start."
Someone said that from nearby, and not only did the entire theater quiet down, it also cut off Shiki's line of questioning.
"Let's talk later," she muttered to herself.
Shiki tucked her curiosity away and lifted her gaze, focusing on the massive screen.
First came the logo of Times Group, followed by the Type-Moon logo.
Both company logos were rendered in a distinctly European, classical Gothic style. To Shiki and Rin—who already knew quite a bit about the film—those ornate patterns made it obvious that the story would unfold on a European stage.
"It's starting," someone whispered.
Li Ri'ang and Shibamatsu, who had just exchanged email addresses, fell into an unspoken agreement and ended their small talk at the same time, turning their attention to the screen.
They both knew that Shinji Matou intended to do something new with this Fate/Apocrypha movie. Otherwise, he wouldn't have proposed the concept of a Red-versus-Black faction Holy Grail War in the first place.
For the movie to be truly engaging, the most critical factor was whether the confrontational narratives of both the Red and Black sides could be told well. That alone would determine the lower bound of Fate/Apocrypha's quality.
Yet what surprised Li Ri'ang and Shibamatsu—and many moviegoers besides—was the method Shinji chose to tell this story.
The climactic Red–Black battle, which everyone had assumed would be saved for the finale, was placed right at the very beginning.
As the film opened, the audience was greeted by a vast garden.
A girl sat among a sea of flowers, dressed in something resembling a white wedding gown. Her bangs were so long they nearly covered half her face as she quietly admired the beauty around her.
Suddenly, a pink figure crept up behind her, gently reaching a hand toward the girl's back.
"Uwah—!"
BOOM!
As the girl cried out in shock, a bolt of lightning came crashing down, striking the would-be "attacker."
"Owow… That's quite the lively way to say hello~ You're still as enthusiastic as ever, Fran-chan."
Astolfo, his entire body spasming, let out a voice that sounded thoroughly charred.
"Grrr!"
The girl—no, Frankenstein—let out a tiny, kitten-like hiss at Astolfo, as if expressing her dissatisfaction with his greeting.
"Sorry about that, Fran-chan~"
Astolfo grinned as he nimbly dodged the little punches she swung at him, laughing playfully all the while.
Unfortunately, the warm and gentle moment didn't last long before it was interrupted by Stheno, who had come looking for them.
"Isn't dinner still two hours away?"
Faced with Astolfo's foolish question, Stheno didn't bother hiding her displeasure.
"This has nothing to do with mealtime. We're moving out."
"Oh."
"Mm…"
Astolfo and Fran exchanged a glance, then hurried after Stheno.
During the short walk to the rendezvous point, Shinji used a series of rapid cuts combined with Stheno's lines to explain the basic background of the film to the audience.
Don't underestimate this kind of explanatory dialogue in movies. More often than not, it isn't meant for the characters on screen at all—it's meant for the people watching.
Even so, Stheno didn't lay out every detail. Doing that would have been far too blunt.
Aside from mentioning that the Greater Grail had been relocated to Europe, she focused primarily on the history of the Yggdmillennia clan and their ambitions.
Unfortunately, because Stheno spoke so quickly, the audience could only vaguely grasp that there was a certain magus family preparing to rebel against the Clock Tower. Beyond that, most of the finer details went right over their heads.
Not understanding it was exactly the point. Shinji had never intended to seriously explain those side details in the first place. What truly thrilled the audience in this sequence was the gathering of the Black Faction's seven heroic spirits.
Shinji first opened with an undeniably cool group shot, all seven Servants standing together in a single frame. Then, one by one, he pulled each of them out for individual introductions, each accompanied by a concise appraisal.
"Saber—Siegfried. A great hero blessed with an invincible body."
"Archer—Chiron. The mentor of countless heroes in Greek mythology, and the strategist of the team."
"Lancer—Vlad III. A hero who became the core of the faction thanks to his overwhelming fame in Romania."
"Rider—Astolfo. A cute boy."
"Caster—Charles Babbage. A genius scholar, the father of computers."
"Assassin—Stheno. A goddess of Greek mythology, the eldest of the three Gorgon sisters."
"And Berserker—Frankenstein. An artificial lifeform who is adorable, yet unable to communicate normally."
"Grrraww!"
Perhaps the final description had gone a little too far. Fran deliberately bared her teeth and waved her arms at Stheno, letting out a snarl that sounded like an angry puppy.
Unfortunately for her, Stheno completely ignored the little girl.
The Yggdmillennia clan's reason for assembling their seven Servants was simple enough. They planned to pick a fight before the Mage's Association could fully assemble its forces.
As one magus—who looked nearly a hundred years old yet was barely in his twenties—boldly declared when challenging the Association:
"Seven Servants versus six. The advantage is ours!"
Thus, most of the Yggdmillennia Masters and all of their Servants mobilized at once. With the exception of Stheno, who rode with Chiron and planned to wait for the fighting to start before launching a surprise attack, everyone else mounted Astolfo's hippogriff, preparing to strike from the sky.
From a taxonomical standpoint, Astolfo's steed was essentially the same creature endlessly mentioned in the Harry Potter series—a hippogriff, half eagle and half horse, with wings.
Because those creatures were so common in HP, Shinji had once subconsciously labeled Astolfo's Phantasmal Beast mount as weak.
Of course, that impression might also have been influenced by how painfully underwhelming Astolfo's card performance was in FGO—the kind of Servant that even two grandmas couldn't carry.
In Shinji's eyes, Astolfo's cuteness was clearly something traded for raw power.
That said, weak as he might be, Astolfo was still perfectly capable of serving as a battlefield transport.
There was a famous saying attributed to Vladimir Putin:
"To forgive the terrorists is up to God, but to send them to him is up to me."
When it came to Astolfo, the line became:
"Whether they win the battle is their problem. My job is to deliver them to the battlefield."
Accompanied by several sharp, piercing cries of an eagle, the Servants and their Masters descended from the sky, landing squarely in the small fountain plaza at the center of Trifas.
And there, they received a very enthusiastic welcome from the Red Faction.
"Complaint Message on the Arrow—Phoibos Catastrophe!"
Along with the chant of a cold, distant female voice, countless arrows of light rained down indiscriminately upon the Black Faction.
This was the Noble Phantasm of Red Archer—Atalanta. In its earliest concept, it was supposed to target only men or only women, but that gender restriction had been removed by Higashide in the novel version.
Shinji went with the novel setting without hesitation—it was simply easier to portray on screen.
"It's starting already?"
Staring at the screen filled with green arrows flying straight toward him, Li Ri'ang felt an overwhelming sense of unreality.
In his mind, a large-scale clash between both sides should at least have some buildup, right? A bit of atmosphere, some tension—
But no.
It just… started.
No warning, no preparation, not even time to get emotionally ready.
Just as Li was about to assume this was Shinji messing with the audience—
Two Masters on the Yggdmillennia side were pierced through by the rain of light and exploded on the spot.
"Holy hell! Isn't this way too sudden?!"
With the sacrifice of two Masters, Shinji made his message crystal clear to everyone watching.
This was no joke.
The Servants had truly begun to clash.
<+>
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