I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director
Chapter 414: Fujino: "Is This Woman (Shiki) Seriously Sick?"
The moment Fujino's Mystic Eyes activated, Shiki felt an invisible force rushing toward her body. She immediately leapt sideways.
But it was already too late. Even though she changed direction mid-movement, Shiki still couldn't avoid the force targeting her.
Fujino's twisting power wasn't like a projectile. As long as the target remained within the girl's field of vision, there was no escaping it—even if they moved.
This girl—!
Even Shiki had to admit that Fujino's power was far stronger than she had imagined.
'I underestimated her!'
During their earlier encounter, Fujino had been clumsy with her Mystic Eyes, making Shiki assume she was a rookie who could be taken down in a single strike. Who would've thought that, because of Shiki's earlier threat, Fujino had spent the past few days mastering her power?
Now Shiki had to pay for her carelessness.
'I need to get somewhere she can't see me!'
Shiki began circling around Fujino, trying to slip into her blind spot from behind.
"Petty tricks."
Fujino's eyes tracked Shiki's movements closely. She had no intention of letting the white kimono disappear from her sight.
"You think that'll—"
She fell silent before finishing her sentence.
She dodged!
Taking advantage of Fujino's unstable footing as she turned, Shiki made an unbelievable decision—she jumped off the bridge toward the sea below.
Hearing the sound of glass shattering amid the wind and rain, Fujino immediately realized that Shiki had smashed a window and slipped into the parking structure beneath.
"This woman… she really does love reckless moves."
A smile spread across Fujino's lips.
Shiki had dodged her attack—but not completely.
Up until the very last moment before activating her ability, Fujino's eyes never left Shiki's left arm.
So she twisted it—the left sleeve of the white kimono.
"Lost one arm, huh. As expected, I'm stronger. Mm…"
Her delight didn't last long. The intensifying pain in her abdomen nearly made her vomit.
"It hurts…"
Fujino liked the sensation of pain, but giving herself a pain debuff in the middle of a fight was definitely not ideal.
"No… I need to finish this quickly…"
Suppressing the pain, Fujino descended the slope leading underground. She resolved to settle things with Shiki here and now.
And afterward, she would curl up in a corner and slowly savor the lingering pain in her abdomen.
"That would be wonderful~~"
Just imagining a world where no one would interrupt her enjoyment of the remaining pain twisted her smile further.
At this moment, she was genuinely happy.
Of course, Fujino wasn't the only one feeling excited. The audience in the theater was equally thrilled.
More precisely, they were excited because Asagami Fujino and Ryougi Shiki were finally clashing in earnest.
As mentioned before, since it was a film by Shinji Matou, the audience was most looking forward to the action scenes.
Especially when Shiki and Fujino created bursts of light and shadow during their battle, the viewers felt their hearts pounding along with the flickering visuals.
Shiki getting injured also drew gasps from the crowd.
After all, audiences tend to empathize more with the protagonist. Seeing Shiki hurt naturally made them feel the tension.
Alice, however, wasn't particularly concerned.
She wasn't a child, she knew that in a commercial blockbuster like this, the protagonist would inevitably win. No matter how disadvantaged Shiki appeared early on, director Shinji Matou would surely give her some kind of power-up to defeat the seemingly stronger Fujino.
Alice could accept that outcome, but that didn't mean she'd support Shiki.
The reason was simple: she felt a bit jealous of how lucky Shiki was—just like she once felt about Rin Tohsaka.
There was no need to guess or predict; Alice could already imagine the name "Ryougi" resounding across the world.
Aside from that small annoyance, Alice was thoroughly enjoying the dark, grotesque urban atmosphere of Garden of Sinners, savoring the mysterious, eerie gloom.
It felt as though Mifune City wasn't on the big screen, but right beside her.
In Alice's view, compared to the flashy explosions of the Holy Grail War, the magical world depicted in Garden of Sinners felt much closer to reality.
Even if real-life magi wouldn't fight using only Mystic Eyes like the two girls on screen, this kind of atmosphere was exactly what Alice had always been pursuing.
'If only I could live in Mifune City inside the movie…'
Alice sighed inwardly. She longed to step into the film herself and fight the two Mystic Eye users.
At that moment, the intense action resumed—
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
Because of the typhoon, when the camera cut to the parking lot, it was almost completely dark. But that didn't mean it was quiet.
The storm had arrived too suddenly, and many passersby who had been in the harbor district chose to take shelter here.
There was nothing wrong with that. The Broad Bridge—though called a bridge—was actually a commercial complex where people could shop, dine, and entertain themselves. It was an ideal place to avoid the rain during a typhoon.
Unfortunately, the unlucky civilians who came here today ran into two monsters locked in a duel.
To convey the panic among the crowd, Shinji deliberately used a disaster-movie style for the background characters in this scene.
The camera first focused on a couple inside a car, lost in their own world, kissing passionately. Through the window beside them, people could be seen running frantically, hinting that something was wrong.
But the couple, absorbed in each other, paid no attention to the chaos outside. All their focus was on each other's lips.
It was understandable. Whether man or woman, when things get intimate, nobody wants their partner's attention wandering elsewhere. Losing focus at that moment could easily be taken as a lack of sincerity.
However, when everyone around them was fleeing in panic, even their concentration couldn't sustain the mood.
"What the hell's going on?"
The man irritably poked his head out of the car. He had just been getting into it—being interrupted like this was infuriating. What if this killed the mood completely?
His answer came in the form of flames erupting from a Honda parked ahead, followed by a car door blasted through the air.
Bang!
The door embedded itself into his windshield, less than two centimeters from his head.
The smell of scorched metal filled his nose, making it clear this wasn't a dream.
"Holy—!!"
He immediately stopped worrying about who interrupted him. Staying in the car meant more than losing the mood—it meant losing his life.
He flung open the door, jumped out, and ran without hesitation.
As for his girlfriend?
When your life's on the line, who cares?!
But the woman wasn't stupid either. The moment the door flew past, she had already opened her own door and fled—without even calling out to him.
Like birds from the same forest, scattering when disaster strikes.
Their decision to run was wise, because the next car to twist and explode was theirs. Had they stayed inside, they would've been crushed together with it into a mangled wreck.
"Damn it!"
Fujino walked past burning vehicles, her expression filled with irritation. She ignored the fleeing crowd entirely.
She was already regretting choosing the parking lot as the battlefield.
The visibility was terrible.
The lot she thought would be open was instead filled with cars and support pillars. These obstructions blocked her line of sight.
If she couldn't fully capture Ryougi Shiki within her field of vision, she couldn't activate her twisting power.
Even knowing that the kimono-clad woman was hiding behind a car or pillar, without seeing her directly, Fujino could only twist the obstacles instead.
"Tch… That woman planned this!"
Fujino realized Shiki had already figured out her ability and deliberately escaped to a place full of cover to increase her chances.
And Fujino had foolishly followed, even giving her time to hide.
Clearly, she was suffering from a lack of combat experience.
But—
"Even so, I'm still stronger!"
If she couldn't see Shiki, she'd just twist away everything blocking her view.
One car after another exploded and burst into flames under Fujino's gaze, yet she showed no sign of stopping.
Not only that, she even began twisting the structural pillars of the parking lot.
Knocking down load-bearing columns on a bridge during a violent typhoon—normally, we'd call that suicidal behavior.
Unfortunately, Asagami Fujino was both mentally unstable and lacking in common sense.
To her, the stability of the bridge meant nothing compared to snapping Ryougi Shiki's neck.
As one load-bearing pillar after another was destroyed, the constant use of her ability made the pain in Fujino's abdomen grow sharper and sharper.
At the same time, the entire parking structure began to tremble.
"You're really overdoing it." Shiki's voice echoed through the darkness.
"Found you!"
Fujino instantly turned toward the source of the sound.
The car Shiki had been hiding behind twisted into a lump. The fuel tank detonated under the violent force, erupting into flames.
In the instant the fire flared up, a white shadow burst out.
"Ryougi Shiki!"
Fujino's eyes locked onto the girl in white—running toward her, her left arm already dyed red with blood.
"Tch!"
Without hesitation, Fujino twisted the girl within her sight.
The spiral of distortion shot straight toward Shiki's body.
Crack!
The sharp sound of bones twisting.
Blood splattered. Shiki's left arm snapped.
Next—the neck!
Fujino shifted her gaze at maximum speed toward Shiki's pale, dazzling throat.
But that brief gap was all Shiki needed.
The short blade flashed like lightning—
A silver strike, as though carving a permanent mark into the darkness.
Unfortunately, Shiki's confident slash aimed at Fujino's carotid artery missed. Fujino twisted her body and avoided it.
She hadn't dodged because of agility or instinct.
She dodged because she was startled.
Shiki—whose arm had just been broken—was rushing toward her with a delighted expression.
Is this woman insane?!
Thinking that, the frightened Fujino instinctively turned her face away—accidentally dodging the fatal strike.
Yes. It was pure luck.
"Tch!"
Shiki reset her stance, dissatisfied with the missed blow.
"Disappear!" Fujino screamed sharply, staring desperately at Shiki's body.
Shouting before attacking—like a fighting game character—was amateurish to the extreme.
The moment Fujino opened her mouth, Shiki vanished into the darkness at incredible speed.
Due to Fujino's relentless destruction, the parking lot's power system had long since failed.
Though a few burning cars still provided flickering light, the outer walls had been damaged, and rain driven by fierce winds poured inside.
The rain couldn't extinguish gasoline fires, but it severely hindered Fujino's vision.
In such harsh conditions, her eyes couldn't keep up with Shiki's movements.
"That lunatic…"
Fujino's breathing grew ragged—not only because of the pain in her abdomen, but because of the girl in the white kimono.
Her arm had been broken, yet she didn't stop—she accelerated toward her instead.
Worse, Fujino had seen the joy in that woman's expression.
Smiling with a broken arm—if that wasn't insanity, what was? She certainly wasn't some gentle lady or elegant Yamato Nadeshiko.
Shiki's behavior only reinforced how different they were.
She's enjoying the killing…
An indescribable agitation rose in Fujino's chest. She couldn't understand Shiki.
Or rather—she did understand, but didn't want to admit it.
Because admitting it would mean acknowledging that she, too, found pleasure in killing.
I won't fall that far!
Having already branded Shiki as a Jack-the-Ripper-like murderer, Fujino swore she would never sink to that level.
"Actually, it would've been interesting if the heroine Shiki had been twisted in half instead of just losing her arm."
The one who said that from the audience seats wasn't the jealous Alice—it was Aoko.
As someone who valued "fun" above all else, Aoko genuinely wanted to see how the story would unfold if the movie actually killed Shiki.
Would her sister Touko step in as the new heroine, launching the legendary journey of the Aozaki magus?
As for whether director Shinji Matou would receive "enthusiastic" gifts from fans—knives, torches, bullets, and the like—Aoko didn't care at all.
After all, they wouldn't be sent to her house.
So now, while enjoying the thrilling battle between Mystic Eye users, Aoko imagined Shiki being twisted into a rope like some street thug, wondering how the plot would develop afterward.
By contrast, Alice—who was actually rooting for Fujino—had no such bizarre thoughts.
Cheering for Fujino was one thing, but Alice knew perfectly well that Ryougi Shiki couldn't lose.
Shinji Matou wasn't Hajime Isayama, nor was he Aka Akasaka. There was no way he'd pull off some anti-commercial twist.
Even those two hadn't dumped misery on readers right at the beginning. They only started "doing things" after their works became wildly popular—well… after luring everyone in first.
And Garden of Sinners was only the first installment. If there was going to be a shocking twist, it certainly wouldn't happen here.
"I wonder what kind of twisted magus Sir Matou will create in later entries of this series…"
Alice was convinced that Shinji Matou created the Garden of Sinners series as a critique of the inhumane practices within magus society.
On that point, Alice completely agreed.
Magus were rare resources. Treating them like disposable tools was simply too wasteful.
If such sacrifices truly led to the Root, that would be one thing—but could they actually reach it?
Since they couldn't, they should stop trampling on precious magical bloodlines.
In Alice's view, those magi who stubbornly clung to outdated, inhumane, anti-human research methods could be summed up in one phrase: weak but addicted.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
"That was pretty rough just now…"
On screen, hidden within the shadow of a support pillar, Shiki murmured to herself.
In truth, her left arm had already been fractured back on the bridge and was useless.
Since it couldn't be used anyway, she decided to gamble—using it as a shield to execute her earlier plan.
But her killing blow failed simply because Asagami Fujino was even more timid than she expected.
"Guess you can't be too confident."
Shiki glanced at her bleeding arm, then skillfully began stopping the bleeding with one hand.
She didn't wrap it.
Instead, she swung her knife—
The bleeding stopped.
"Haah…"
Shiki let out a long breath.
Perhaps because she had lost blood, the excessive heat in her body subsided, and she calmed down.
Without a doubt, Asagami Fujino was the strongest opponent she had ever faced.
One wrong step, and she would die instantly.
But for Shiki, that was exactly what made it enjoyable.
Walking along the boundary between life and death allowed her to truly feel alive.
For someone like Shiki, who had long been imprisoned in memories of the past, only this moment felt real.
"This is wonderful, Asagami. You really are the best."
For the first time, Ryougi Shiki found herself liking Asagami Fujino.
She liked her so much that she felt compelled to personally take that life.
Shiki realized that, in a sense, she and Fujino were both intertwined and opposed.
They were extremely similar—so similar that the darkness could not accommodate both of them.
"Come on. I've already seen through your trick."
Shiki shook her head, pale from blood loss but now clear-minded. Gripping her short blade firmly in her right hand, she stood up.
Seeing Shiki standing calmly before her, Fujino initially thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"Just as I thought… Ryougi Shiki, you're not normal."
Just as before, the only thing Fujino could do was stare at Shiki—and twist her.
Her field of vision trembled.
Shiki's body began rotating in opposite directions between head and feet—twisting like a wrung cloth.
It should have twisted.
But with a gentle swing of her knife, Shiki nullified the distortion.
No—not nullified.
She killed it.
"Things without form are hard to see. But you overused it… and my eyes caught it."
Shiki smiled faintly.
"A green and red spiral… honestly, it's quite beautiful."
"What…?"
Fujino couldn't understand the meaning of Shiki's words.
She only knew her ability hadn't worked—which meant she would be killed.
"No… no! It can't be! Twist! Twist—twist—twist—twist—!"
Fujino repeated the words over and over, her voice trembling as she desperately tried again.
No matter how many distortions she created, each one vanished with a single swing of Shiki's short blade.
More importantly, the pain in Fujino's abdomen had already passed its limit. Her concentration was slipping.
"…What are you?"
Facing Fujino's fear, Shiki answered with a deep, unfathomable gaze.
"Everything in this world has a flaw. Not just humans—air, will, even time… As long as something has a beginning, it must also have an end."
The rainbow-colored light of her eyes shone vividly in the darkness.
"My eyes are special, just like yours. Your eyes twist everything… mine see the death of everything."
Those multicolored pupils—always an ill omen to Fujino—were now fixed on her.
"So as long as my opponent is alive… I can kill them, even if it's a god."
Shiki began to run, her movements elegant, almost like a dancer gliding across the floor.
"Don't—don't kill me—!"
Fujino still refused to give up. She began twisting the surrounding objects, trying to obstruct Shiki's advance.
"Why do you want to kill me? I only wanted to erase the pain in my wounds."
Fujino's question made Shiki smile.
"You're lying. If that were true… why are you smiling?" Shiki sneered. "Back then, and even now—why do you look so happy?"
Fujino didn't answer.
Because in the reflection of Shiki's blade, she saw her own expression.
A twisted smile—unmistakably genuine.
So… I was smiling?
At last, Fujino understood. She had always been smiling.
Whenever she killed, she had felt restless, confused about what that emotion was.
Now she knew.
That feeling was joy.
She, who couldn't even feel pain, experienced happiness while killing.
"So you're not trying to erase pain at all. You simply love hurting others beyond reason."
If everything disappeared, there would be no reason left to kill.
So Fujino chose to continue—letting the wounds ache forever.
More selfish than anyone else—this was the true nature of the girl called Asagami Fujino.
"…Is that the answer?" Fujino murmured.
She didn't want to admit it. Didn't want to think about it.
She didn't want to become something abnormal.
"I told you, didn't I? You and I are very similar."
Shiki's blade moved. She was already right in front of Fujino.
"We're not the same!"
Fujino screamed, as though she were burning to ash.
"Everything—twist for me!!"
The parking structure shook violently.
In Fujino's mind, she envisioned the entire strait floating beneath the stormy night.
Enduring the searing heat that felt like her brain was melting, she established a rotational axis at both the entrance and exit of the bridge—
And so, amid wind and rain, the Broad Bridge twisted.
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 455: Shinji — My Awesomeness Has Exceeded Even My Own Expectations[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/im-not-master-im-160861502?collection=31097[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/im-not-master-im-160861502?collection=31097
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/im-not-master-im-160861502?collection=31097