The horrified expression on Sakura's face, as if she had seen a ghost, was completely justified.
While Shirou and Rin on the screen might not understand, the audience outside certainly remembered the deeply unsettling and memorable twisted smile Sakura had in the previous episode.
Just a moment ago, Sakura had been relieved that Shirou wouldn't have to fight anymore, only to open the door and find her senpai, arm fully bandaged, standing there.
The audience believed that anyone in her position would likely lose their sanity too.
"Sakura's expectations were completely dashed," Shibamatsu chuckled kindly. "This means that, for the sake of her beloved, Sakura will definitely have to play a more significant role now. She's been little more than a decorative vase for most of this series; it's about time she made herself useful."
Fujita, sitting beside him, muttered under his breath, "What do you even know about women's hearts?"
Knowing that Fujita, like himself, was still single since birth, Shibamatsu was taken aback.
"This kind of frustration isn't hard to figure out, is it?" Shibamatsu replied casually, though his expression betrayed a hint of pride. "Shinji's stories always follow a certain logic. If you guess along his lines, you won't go wrong. If Sakura doesn't fight back after all Shirou has done for her, then I'll willingly spend the night on the rooftop while you take the basement."
"Really?"
Fujita grinned mischievously. Just as he was about to tease his friend further about spending the night in the basement, a loud "Shhh!" interrupted him.
"…"
Noticing Aoko's displeased expression, Fujita quickly realized he'd been too loud and obediently shut his mouth.
"Mmff!! (That's not true at all! She'll just completely break down!!)"
Aoko, gagged once more, let out a muffled, spoiler-filled scream, but no one could understand her.
No one dared to look at her either, given the intimidating presence of Alice, who silenced the crowd of young magus with her mere glance.
'Tch, this won't work… Looks like I'll have to learn some telepathic magecraft from Grandfather. That way, even if my mouth is sealed, I can still give spoilers.'
For the first time, Aoko found herself yearning to master a particular type of magecraft.
Unfortunately, being gagged for so long made her forget one thing—there were more ways to silence her spoilers than just duct tape. Knocking her unconscious would work just as well.
On-screen, Sakura was throwing a fit over Shirou's disregard for his own well-being and injuries. It took all of Shirou's effort to calm her down.
Later, through a flashback during Shirou's bath, Shinji explained to the audience the backstory of how Archer's arm had come to be Shirou's and gave an update on Shirou's current physical state.
As a human, Shirou's body could not withstand the spiritual energy of Archer's arm.
Despite Shirou and Archer being the same person, their spiritual qualities were vastly different.
Archer might call himself a "cleaner," but he was still a Heroic Spirit—an existence blessed by the Counter Force.
Shirou's body couldn't match Archer's arm, and using too much magecraft would cause Shirou's body to collapse from the inside.
While Archer's arm had saved Shirou, it was also a ticking time bomb—one that would take his life when it went off.
This explanation was clearly laying a narrative flag, signaling to the audience that Shirou would eventually face physical collapse because of this arm.
But the audience wasn't paying attention to that. All their focus was on Shirou's new look.
"He looks so cool!"
A girl's voice squealed with admiration.
"It's the same face as before and nowhere near as handsome as Gilgamesh or Diarmuid, but why does the bandaged arm make him so attractive? Is this the power of aesthetics?"
"True, he looks much more mature now. Like a boy transitioning into a man," another girl sighed dreamily. "It's like watching a mischievous child you raised finally grow up."
"How is that growing up? It's totally just edgy teenager vibes! Like 'My arm is sealed with a demon…' or something," Fujita snarked maliciously, his envy-driven dislike for Shirou's new look evident.
Shibamatsu, however, didn't share the same sentiment. "What's wrong with that? I want to wrap some bandages around my arm too."
"Forget it. Shirou looks cool with bandages. You'd look like a cursed arm freak," Fujita retorted.
"Hey, watch it, or I'll punch you," Shibamatsu grumbled, cracking his knuckles.
While the screen moved on to the scene of Shirou and Sakura "sharing magic," Shinji's adaptation was hardly going to follow the original HF storyline.
As if! He wouldn't dare.
To avoid the horrific fate of being dismembered without censorship by his own sister, Shinji avoided including the explicit "mana restoration" scene altogether. Even with the advantage of HF's rating, Shinji wouldn't dare let the world watch such a scene.
In the realm of web novels, "clean water" stories—referring to works without explicit content—are considered pure and innocent. However, the term could also be seen as a little dirty, given that "clear water" in ancient times occasionally symbolized saliva.
Cough.
Anyway, Shinji swore that his filmed version was far purer than "clean water"—it was practically distilled water!
Believe it or not, in this adaptation, Shirou and Sakura did nothing but hold hands and lie next to each other.
Thankfully, Shinji was shooting a drama and not writing a game script. Otherwise, this overly pure scene would have enraged players.
In the theatrical version, the events from Shirou's return home after losing his arm to Gilgamesh's grand entrance spanned only a short time. Other than the explicit "mana restoration" and a brief sisterly interaction between Rin and Sakura, not much happened.
But in the game's script, Nasu had written a staggering 100,000 words for this section.
You could say it was Nasu's way of enriching the characters with meticulous details, giving players deeper insights into their development.
This segment, however, wasn't just about daily life. It also delved into Sakura's descent into darkness, showcasing her psychological journey as the "shadow" that attacked others at night.
From a character development perspective, the segment was significant but not entirely essential.
Shinji, however, suspected Nasu simply got carried away writing about a fallen maiden and couldn't stop himself.
That said, even Nasu understood the rules of storytelling. Such a long, meandering segment needed at least some explicit scenes to satiate players; otherwise, frustration would be inevitable.
In that sense, the "mana restoration" scene served its purpose functionally, if not emotionally.
Under Shinji's direction, however, what could have been a hotly debated narrative became a largely forgotten transition scene.
Meanwhile, the sisterly interaction, which was meant to be a transition, resonated much more with the audience—even the cast shared this sentiment.
"What a touching display of sisterly love," Luviagelita teased. "I can hardly believe Tohsaka can make that kind of face…"
"Mind your own business!"
Rin frowned irritably, feeling there was something insidious in Luvia's smile.
"Why not? Sakura is my dear student, after all. Isn't it natural for me to care about her?"
Luvia's smug expression radiated so much pride that she nearly floated.
She firmly believed that Rin's display of care for Sakura on-screen wasn't entirely an act.
In reality, Rin and Sakura had grown up together. In fact, Sakura had spent more time with Rin than with her brother Shinji—who had studied abroad for five years.
Rin's attitude toward Sakura undoubtedly mirrored that of an elder sister toward her younger sibling.
And now, Sakura, who should have been Rin's younger sister, was instead learning martial arts from her, leaving Rin behind.
Luvia knew that Sakura chose her because her martial arts style suited her better, but objectively speaking, it felt like she had stolen Rin's sister.
This kind of N(e)T(o)R(a Re) sensation… it was simply too delightful!
[Hate me, envy me, rage against me! Rin, you will never surpass me!]
As the world's number one anti-Tohsaka Rin enthusiast, any victory over Rin was enough to bring Luvia immense joy. It was pure happiness, untainted by any other emotions.
"Heh heh heh~"
Luvia's smile grew increasingly unpleasant (from Rin's perspective). She crossed her arms and gazed at her rival with a victor's attitude. To be precise, because of the European genetic advantage, Luvia's chest was too ample.
So rather than crossing her arms over her chest, her arms simply rested below, supporting it.
This caused Rin's anger to escalate another level.
"Fine, Luviagelita Edelfelt! How about we spar later? I'll show Sakura what true mastery of martial arts looks like!"
Rin suggested with hostility, her tone dripping with challenge.
It's well-known that in any parallel world, there are two things forever tied to Rin:
She always uses a necklace as the catalyst in the Holy Grail War to summon Archer, and she always suffers from her tragically petite figure.
Sure, Rin's flat body is compensated by legs that could captivate for a year, but if given the choice, what woman wouldn't prefer a fuller chest and a rounder rear?
Just as Rin was about to lose control, Sakura stepped forward to diffuse the tension between the two senior magi.
"Tohsaka-senpai really is very kind and caring. She's like a big sister everyone would want to be close to."
"Compared to a certain someone who, as a big brother, should cherish his sister but instead arranges such ridiculous plots. A murderer? A deranged yandere? Is that how a certain someone sees me—as a monster?"
At this, Sakura shot a malicious glance at a certain person.
Shinji pursed his lips silently.
Why don't you just go ahead and report my ID number already?
Fortunately, the Servants, who outnumbered the bickering magi in the lounge, didn't bother to chime in. Their full attention was drawn to the thrilling drama unfolding on the screen.
"We can't let her continue wreaking havoc like this. No choice, it seems this king must step in personally."
In the church, Gilgamesh delivered a pre-battle declaration reminiscent of another golden-armored villain, a certain purple titan who was also the final boss.
Thus, kind-hearted citizen Mr. Gil prepared to take action!
<+>
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