I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director (Creating Fate Movie In Nasuverse)

In the Heaven's Feel movie adaptation, perhaps due to time constraints or concerns over censorship, the birth scene of Cursed Arm was simplified into a chest-bursting scene reminiscent of Alien. 

In fact, in the original game script, this part of the story was slightly more complex and far more grotesque.

In the original, after Cursed Arm was born, Kojiro's body was gradually devoured by worms while he remained fully conscious. 

The entire process lasted about an hour. 

While Kojiro, as a gatekeeper, was technically a Heroic Spirit rather than a human, the description of the "devouring" was unmistakably from a living person's perspective.

It makes sense that Nasu, who can write such a scene, would naturally become good friends with Urobuchi Gen, the writer of Saya no Uta. 

They're a perfect match, like a dung beetle meeting its uncle—kindred spirits drawn together by a shared taste for the grotesque.

If the Fate and Unlimited Blade Works routes had to forcefully inject "mana restoration" scenes to edge into the mature-rated category, the Heaven's Feel route is undoubtedly R18, even without such scenes.

Hence, when Shinji was working on the Heaven's Feel film, he inherited Nasu's twisted sense of humor in the plot arrangement. 

Not only did he recreate the gatekeeper's chest-bursting scene, but he also subtly depicted the devouring of Kojiro's body. 

Originally, the worm-eating scenes were too hard to portray—if done too realistically, the movie wouldn't even qualify for an R18 rating, but if too abstract, it wouldn't be scary enough.

To balance horror and the rating restrictions, Shinji simply changed the eater from worms to Cursed Arm. 

However, a certain curious individual interpreted this change differently.

"A Servant eating a Servant?" Tohko Aozaki stroked her chin thoughtfully, analyzing, "If devouring a Heroic Spirit's essence can strengthen oneself, what if a Servant continuously consumes other Heroic Spirits? Could they eventually obtain the perfect result of the Third magecraft?"

"Grandpa..."

Aoko, who had been feeling tense from the eerie plot, instantly deflated upon hearing her grandfather's speculation. 

She wasn't afraid of the storyline but rather enjoyed the thrill of getting scared. 

Yet, just as she was immersing herself in the plot, her grandpa suddenly dragged her into a magecraftal theory discussion, completely killing the horror atmosphere.

This is exactly why horror films should never break the mood, Aoko thought.

She wanted to remind him, but the moment she turned her head, she met Tohko's eyes.

"Aoko, what do you think?"

"Me?"

"Do you think it's possible for quantity to lead to a qualitative change?"

Aoko realized that the person sitting beside her wasn't Alice but her grandfather, and he wasn't interested in discussing the plot. He wanted to delve into magecraftal theory.

"Well, I think... since Heroic Spirits are born from leyline mana, there's no way they could surpass the mana of the leyline itself. At most, they could refine the quality of the mana through the Servant system."

Aoko resisted the urge to comment on the plot and engaged in a theoretical discussion with her grandfather.

Tohko nodded thoughtfully, then let out a long sigh. "You're right. It would be great if we had a Heroic Spirit to study."

"Seriously, the Matou family is such a disgrace, sitting on a gold mine without realizing it!" Tohko cursed once again. "If they took Heroic Spirit research seriously, imagine how much they could contribute to the world of magecraft! But no, they waste these magecraftal treasures on petty schemes!"

"Well... Grandpa, no need to get so worked up."

Aoko glanced at the clock. "It's getting late. Shouldn't you be going to bed?"

She had figured out that if she wanted to enjoy the story properly, she would have to put her grandfather to bed first, then watch it secretly by herself.

However, Tohko widened his eyes and sternly said, "Sleep? What sleep? I'm not old yet! Aoko, do you think your grandpa's old?"

"I didn't say that..."

"Then keep watching!!"

"Yes..."

Aoko felt like crying. 

Watching Heaven's Feel with her grandpa was ruining the experience, stripping away all the tension that made horror movies fun. 

What's worse, the thrill of the first watch is always more intense, and even if she rewatched it later, she wouldn't get that same excitement.

Should I just knock grandpa out with magecraft? she wondered.

A rebellious thought popped into Aoko's mind.

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Unlike Aoko, who was deeply conflicted, the young magus in the Magecraft Club shared a much more unified reaction. The "Alien" scene at the Ryudou Temple gate not only scared them out of their wits but also fully wiped out any trace of drowsiness.

"Looking at it now, Ryudou Temple is the perfect time and place for a horror movie. An ancient building, a confined space, and now a black ghost added to the mix," Shibamatsu muttered to himself. 

The eerie atmosphere from the screen seemed to seep into reality, making him unconsciously curl up.

"Yeah, it's really scary!" echoed the "enemy of all women" beside him.

"Especially that white skull mask and the black faceless figure below it... they bring back some bad memories..." As he spoke, a shiver ran down his spine.

Shibamatsu shrugged. 

The guy's reaction might have been a bit odd, but he understood. 

His friend's family owned a heavy suit of metal armor, said to be a replica of a great historical figure's armor. As a child, Shibamatsu had been terrified of it several times when visiting his friend's house.

The most striking and unique part of that suit was the white skull helmet, which looked almost identical to the one worn by this shadowy figure. In fact, the Hundred Faces design from Fate/Zero looked somewhat similar, but the filming style of Fate/Zero didn't have the same dark atmosphere as Heaven's Feel, so Shibamatsu hadn't felt the same way back then. But now…

When the black True Assassin leaped onto the roof of Ryudou Temple, Shibamatsu and his friends couldn't help but recall the terror instilled by that armor.

However, Kojiro's death was just an appetizer. The real fear was yet to come.

By the time Kojiro died, most of the audience had already guessed that Ryudou Temple would meet a terrible fate. 

The only question was how many people would die and in what gruesome ways. 

Even a movie novice like Alice could sense that the upcoming scenes wouldn't be peaceful.

After all, over an hour of the movie had passed, and it was time to serve the main course.

Unsurprisingly, Kuzuki became the second victim after the gatekeeper.

As soon as he sensed danger and warned Issei and the others to stay together while he went to investigate, seasoned horror fans knew he was done for. 

Walking off alone—one of the most common ways to die in a horror movie.

But tropes like this get repeated because they work.

On the screen, after several failed attempts to leave the temple, the figure wrapped in black cloth, Cursed Arm, finally set his sights on the city. As he stepped into the temple hallway, without making any move yet, the magecraft Club suddenly fell silent.

This was both a sign of anticipation for the critical moment and proof of how well Heaven's Feel had built its terrifying atmosphere.

Shibamatsu felt this tension deeply, caught between excitement and fear. Especially in this scene, where Shinji intentionally shot it from Kuzuki's first-person perspective, making it feel claustrophobic, dark, and full of unknown fear.

Kuzuki's calm breathing indicated his confidence, but since the audience already knew his opponent was a Servant, that calmness only heightened the sense of impending doom.

Plop!

Just as Kuzuki stepped into the temple's side hall, the black shadow suddenly appeared in the shot. In the pitch-black scene, the white skull mask stood out eerily, its narrowed eyes and upturned mouth giving the mask an unsettling smile.

"Hisss..."

Everyone took a sharp breath at the sight of the strange white mask.

But before they could finish inhaling, Kuzuki launched an attack on the shadowy figure.

This move was very in line with Kuzuki's silent but deadly persona, though it was ultimately futile.

The gap between humans and Servants was vast. Without any enhancements, Kuzuki's only advantage was his unusual assassination techniques. If his opponent had been someone like Arturia, his attacks might have at least surprised her or bought some time.

But this time, his opponent was Hassan. 

From precise assassination techniques to curse-based assassination and even more legendary techniques passed down through his clan, Hassan had seen it all.

Slash

A sharp dagger sliced through Kuzuki's carotid artery, and blood sprayed like a fountain.

The screen turned blood-red as Shibamatsu faintly saw Kuzuki collapse, his eyes already losing their light.

But Kuzuki didn't give up. He struggled to move, attempting another attack.

And then, the blade flashed again.

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

Repeated stabs with the dagger, the sound of the blade sinking into flesh sent chills down Shibamatsu's spine.

"Now... he should... be dead... right..." Hassan said in an eerie tone.

The TV screen gradually dimmed, reflecting the stunned faces of Shibamatsu and everyone else.

"Ahh—!! Damn it, it's that armor after all!"

Shibamatsu managed to stop himself just in time, but his childhood friend wasn't as quick.

Luckily, they weren't the only ones screaming. The room was filled with gasps and yelps, making it sound like they'd walked into a high-pitched vocal training session.

These guys... It's a good thing the office next door has already closed, or we'd be so embarrassed. Even the boys are screaming. Are they wimps? Alice thought, frowning.

She was proud of Shinji Matou's excellent ability to create a terrifying atmosphere but embarrassed by these cowards who couldn't even handle a horror movie.

Did they study magecraft via correspondence courses? How can they not handle this level of scare?

If these people were the future of the magecraft world, Alice finally understood why the elders had little hope for the next generation.

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