I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director
Chapter 449: Director, You're Already Dead
"So Saber really just ended like that, huh? Feels like I didn't get enough of her."
Shibamatsu, who had remained silent throughout the entire movie, finally voiced his thoughts after Arturia Alter's complete exit from the stage.
"Exactly. It feels like something's missing," Fujita agreed, standing up for his favorite character. "Cu Chulainn stealing the kill at the end was totally unfair! How could Shinji make Saber leave the story like that?"
"I heard the original plan was for Cu Chulainn to finish her off with his Noble Phantasm."
Aoko shared the latest bit of information she had just received from her older sister.
"Having a big sister working at Type-Moon sure is nice," Fujita said enviously. "But isn't she violating some confidentiality agreement by telling you this stuff?"
Aoko waved her phone with a grin.
"It's fine. The movie's already out. Little details like this aren't exactly classified anymore."
"Then does Lady Touko have any juicy insider stories for us? This humble servant is dying to know."
Fujita immediately lowered himself into a shamelessly submissive posture.
"You really have no dignity, do you...?"
Watching his best friend's complete lack of pride, Shibamatsu could only shake his head.
That said, despite criticizing Fujita verbally, his ears had perked up quite honestly. Since Fujita had already thrown away his dignity for the information, it would be rude not to listen.
After checking her phone, Aoko continued.
"According to my sister, the idea of stabbing Saber through the body with a staff was actually Cu Chulainn's suggestion. He thought it would be more nostalgic and fan-friendly for longtime viewers."
"Nostalgic? That's got to be a joke."
As a veteran fan, Fujita was more than familiar with the old running gag that Cu Chulainn's spear never seemed capable of actually killing anyone.
"So back then, the metal spearhead couldn't kill people. Now he switches to a wooden stick and suddenly it's a one-hit kill? What's that supposed to mean? Wooden staff now is of higher standing than Gae Bolg?"
What even Touko didn't know was that Shinji had originally prepared three different versions of Arturia Alter's defeat, each adapted from a different Fate work.
The first version followed the anime: Mash blocked Excalibur with her Noble Phantasm, then Cu Chulainn sealed Alter away using his own Noble Phantasm.
The second came from the Shirakaze manga adaptation: Mash blocked the holy sword, Alter intentionally held back and prepared to reveal the true mastermind behind everything—only to be stabbed in the back by Lev before she could speak.
The third was based on Kawaguchi's manga version: after Mash deployed her Noble Phantasm, Alter exhausted all her magical energy and was executed by one of Cu Chulainn's magic bullets.
Shinji rejected the first option because both the complete and nerfed versions of Cu Chulainn's Noble Phantasm had already appeared during the battles against Medusa and Archer. Using it again would feel repetitive.
The second version avoided that issue, but Lev's trademark priest-style backstabbing made Alter's deliberate restraint far too obvious. Viewers would end up feeling that Ritsuka and Mash were completely powerless, that everything they did amounted to nothing.
While that might have accurately reflected Arturia Alter's overwhelming strength, it came at the expense of the protagonists.
After all, Alter was merely a temporary boss, while Ritsuka and Mash were the true protagonists of FGO, so there was no way Shinji would sacrifice their characterization.
With the first two options discarded, the Kawaguchi manga version naturally became the final choice.
However, during filming, Cu Chulainn himself suggested replacing the magical-bullet execution with a simple wooden-stick execution.
Even Shinji hadn't expected such a brilliant idea.
The fact that Cu Chulainn had come up with it himself was what made it so amazing.
Of course, after filming wrapped, both Arturia and Arturia Alter teamed up to bully Cu Chulainn, forcing him to test whether a wooden stick could actually kill someone by stabbing himself with one.
Shinji chose to pretend he hadn't seen any of it.
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When Cu Chulainn finally disappeared, Ritsuka was able to relax for the first time.
Though he felt a deep sense of loss at saying goodbye to such a dependable older-brother figure, Cu's departure also marked the end of the ridiculous mess he had been dragged into.
"Alright, Mash. Let's recover the Holy Grail and head back to our own era."
They had spent less than an hour in that simple dormitory room, yet at this moment, Ritsuka missed that room more than anything.
The mattress, soft yet firm in all the right ways— No, even that uncomfortable chair was infinitely better than the stone floor of the cavern.
Unlike the somewhat carefree Ritsuka, whose biggest concern was finally getting some sleep, Olga Marie's emotions were far more complicated.
Her sensitive heart couldn't help but notice something.
Before leaving, Cu Chulainn had acknowledged Mash.
He had encouraged Ritsuka.
Yet he had completely ignored her, despite the fact that she had fought alongside him.
At the very end... I still wasn't recognized.
Olga Marie clenched her hair tightly.
A look of bitter regret spread across her face.
Of course, it was only natural.
In the end, I was completely useless.
At Chaldea. In Fuyuki City. Everywhere.
From beginning to end, all I ever did was run around shouting orders and panicking.
Olga Marie bit her lip, desperately holding back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
How pathetic.
The head of the Animusphere family, reduced to nothing more than a cheerleader on the sidelines.
Someone like me could never earn anyone's recognition—
"Director."
Lost in her spiral of self-loathing, Olga Marie suddenly heard Ritsuka calling her name.
She immediately looked up.
Assuming the amateur magus had run into yet another basic magical problem, she prepared herself to explain it.
Instead, she heard words she never expected.
"Thank you. Really. I only managed to survive because of you, Director."
"...Me?"
"Wasn't it?" Ritsuka asked in return.
"Every decision we made after arriving in Fuyuki came from you. If you hadn't been here, someone like me—who doesn't understand anything—would never have made it this far."
"..."
Olga Marie didn't answer.
Instead, she lowered her head.
Her shoulders trembled as silent sobs escaped her.
Because she was too proud.
Too proud to let the very first person who had ever truly acknowledged her see her crying.
"...You too."
Secretly wiping away her tears with her sleeve, Olga Marie spoke between faint sniffles.
"You shouldn't underestimate yourself. I think your achievements far exceed those of some ordinary person who doesn't know anything..."
"Haha..."
Ritsuka scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
According to the Director's own explanation, wasn't he still just an ordinary person who knew nothing?
"So I acknowledge you, Fujimaru Ritsuka."
The "ordinary person" label was nothing more than Marie's clumsy attempt at hiding her embarrassment.
Now that her heart was practically bursting with happiness, there was no way she still saw him as ordinary.
"As the Director of Chaldea, I recognize your accomplishments."
As she spoke, Olga Marie extended her hand toward him.
"Yes, Director."
Ritsuka nodded.
He reached out his own hand.
At last, the superior and subordinate who had been bickering since the very beginning of the movie had finally reconciled.
By all conventional storytelling logic, the next step should have been obvious.
The trio would recover the Holy Grail, their journey would come to an end, and everyone would return home.
A happy ending for all.
Even Aoko and the others watching from in front of the television were already preparing to applaud as the credits rolled.
And yet—
"I could hardly suppress the urge to vomit."
A voice dripping with malice suddenly echoed through the cavern.
"Mashu!"
"Senpai, be careful! Someone's here!"
Mash reacted first.
Displaying the instincts of an excellent Servant, she immediately stepped forward and shielded Ritsuka behind her massive shield.
Unlike the wary Mash, however, Olga Marie's expression brightened.
Even distorted by the cave's echoes, she instantly recognized the speaker.
After all, it was a voice she knew all too well.
"Lev!"
Joy flooded her face.
"You survived! Thank goodness!"
Not for a second did she find Lev's appearance suspicious.
After all, she herself had survived the explosion.
Someone as capable as Lev certainly should have survived as well.
Or at least, that's what she believed.
Before Olga Marie could rush toward him, Mash stepped in front of her and blocked her path, her guard still firmly raised.
"Director, don't go near him."
Her voice was sharp with caution.
"This person isn't the Professor Lev we know."
After becoming a Servant, Mash's sensory abilities had undergone a dramatic transformation.
She might not know what a Demon God Pillar was, but she knew one thing with absolute certainty.
The man standing before them was not human.
Years of trust made it impossible for Olga Marie to accept those words.
"Mash, what are you talking about?"
Just then, a familiar voice crackled through the communicator.
『Professor Lev! You're alive!』
Just like police officers who only ever arrive after everything is over, Chaldea—having been completely disconnected throughout the final battle—finally managed to reestablish communication.
"Ah, a transmission from Chaldea?"
Lev clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"And from Roman, no less."
He narrowed his eyes.
"I see. So you survived as well."
For a moment, he drew a deep breath.
Then—
"NO MATTER WHICH ONE OF YOU IT IS, YOU'RE ALL NOTHING BUT USELESS TRASH—!!"
His furious roar echoed throughout the cavern.
Everyone froze.
Then Lev pointed a finger straight at Ritsuka.
"You!"
His expression twisted with contempt.
"The forty-eighth candidate! The one I spared simply because he didn't know anything!"
The finger shifted.
"And you!"
It now pointed at Mash.
"Mash Kyrielight—the girl who became a Demi-Servant!"
Finally, his gaze locked onto the communicator.
"And you too, Romani Archaman!"
Pure resentment dripped from every word.
"You survived because you ignored what I told you! Why couldn't you have just come over when I called for you?!"
His face twisted in frustration.
"What a collection of freaks and misfits. And somehow, by sheer luck, you even managed to defeat Saber..."
He clicked his tongue.
"That useless woman."
Lev kicked a loose stone across the cavern floor.
Then, as though genuinely enjoying himself, a smile spread across his face.
The kind of smile that radiated pure malice.
The same kind of smile Kirei Kotomine once wore after driving a blade into Tokiomi Tohsaka's back.
"But the one who surprised me most..."
His eyes settled on Olga Marie.
"...is you."
The smile widened.
"You pitiful fool who hasn't even realized she's already dead."
"Eh...?"
Olga Marie froze.
The statement was so sudden, so absurd, that her brain simply stopped functioning.
The information refused to process.
"What are you looking so confused for?"
Lev laughed.
He looked genuinely delighted.
"I personally placed the bomb's detonation point right beneath your feet."
His words struck like a hammer.
"Your body was blown apart long ago."
A pause.
Then he added, almost cheerfully:
"And I mean that literally. Reduced to ashes. Completely obliterated."
Olga Marie's pupils trembled.
Lev spread his arms.
"As far as reality is concerned, you're nothing more than a lingering ghost."
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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.
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