For these viewers, the extreme length of "Fate Zero" this time, which is nearly four hours, can be described in one word: "I'm so excited!!!".
The movie ends with the introduction of the Master and the Heroic Spirit and their small interactions, and the first battle between the Heroic Spirits finally begins.
Looking at the blonde female knight slowly moving towards the port, the audience's hearts were suddenly in their throats at this moment. The first battle of "Fate Zero" that showed its essence as a special effects blockbuster finally began!
The battles of guns and swords, the magnificent scenes displayed by the heroic spirits spanning the ages based on their recognition of each other, such scenes can be said to have directly ignited the blood hidden in the hearts of the audience. No matter they were adventurers who often experienced fighting, or ordinary people who had never set foot on the battlefield in their lives, all the audience were personally involved in this glorious battle at this moment. The chaotic battle situation also clearly depicted the actions between each Master and Servant, allowing the audience to appreciate the wits and courage of the Holy Grail War itself while enjoying the special effects.
... ... ..
When the same plot is played out, the magicians of the Imperial Mage Academy are much more powerful than those of Northric.
"A barrier wrapped around a sword? A red spear that breaks demons? This is so cool!"
"This design called the Wind King Barrier is really interesting. Wind and water magic circles are engraved on the sword to cover up the length of the sword itself, and even make the enemy ignore the weapon in his hand. Of course, the premise is that the self-charging magic circle can really be compressed so small. Moreover, the huge magic power wrapped around the sword will actually weaken the sharpness of the sword itself. In comparison, it is better to wrap it with a layer of fire-attributed flame curtain. In that case, the sharpness will probably be even higher."
"I think the familiar setting is a bit strange. After all, there have been similar contracted familiars in previous legends, but it seems that there is no such type of magic after a certain point in time. The idea of being able to obtain the same senses is also interesting..."
"Why do I feel that this movie is more like a popular science film than a story? I always feel like I'm being fooled..."
"Yeah, now I want to study alchemy..."
As various discussions spread across the scene, the difference between the comments made by educated and uneducated people could be clearly seen.
Most of the uneducated people in Northrick would at most say "Wow!" after watching the movie, but the magicians of the Imperial Mage Academy analyzed the sensory experience brought by the movie, as well as the design of the movie itself, in great detail. If you didn't know them, you would think these people were old fans who had watched movies for decades.
In the middle of the crowd, a group of teacher-level magicians from the Imperial Mage Academy and the Mage Tower who had sneaked in to watch "Fate Zero" suddenly started discussing:
"Fuck, does this count as poaching? That bastard is openly trying to swindle our next freshman class away!"
"You know what, this method is too insidious. After watching it, even I feel like going to the Alchemy Academy to make up for the lessons... ... This guy picked this time to show the movie just for this, right? Damn it, the dean doesn't care?!"
"The dean you mentioned has been going to the Alchemy Tower a lot lately, so why would he care..."
Obviously, although these old wizards can be said to be the most traditional magicians, they couldn't help but feel a little shaken after being influenced by a work like "Fate Zero" which not only has a good plot but also indirectly expresses the advantages of magical alchemy. Even they are like this, let alone the freshmen who have just entered school and have not yet been influenced by traditional magic!
At this moment, after seeing the story presented in "Fate Zero", a group of freshmen, no matter how little they knew about magic, became interested in magical alchemy. Now the only thing preventing them from practicing this idea is that the Imperial Mage Academy does not seem to offer this course.
Compared with the discussion of the magicians present, at the far end of the Mage Tower, a group of top magicians from the Imperial Mage Academy who were unable to leave due to their status but were also watching with Eagle Eyes, were the most powerful sixth-order magicians in the entire empire and were having a more profound exchange at this moment.
"The Holy Grail is a tool that can fulfill any wish. It can also summon Heroic Spirits and give the Masters participating in the Holy Grail War three Command Spells that can control the Heroic Spirits that have been transformed into Servants. The magic power required for such a huge system cannot even be provided by the earth veins, right? In my opinion, this story is pure nonsense without any logic. After all, this story was written by a kid who is less than 20 years old. It is natural that there is no basis for it."
Dean Hohenheim, who was standing at the head, shook his head and said, "Not really. Although the setting of the Holy Grail is so magical and beyond our comprehension, the other settings in the story are quite complete. The story also depicts magic families and organizations such as the Three Great Families and the Clock Tower. The Three Great Families are the three great families that created the Holy Grail and have a complete magic heritage. But in the end, they did not choose to digest it internally and keep the Holy Grail for themselves. Instead, they called in these foreign magicians to compete for the use of the Holy Grail together. This is too unreasonable."
"Add to that the fact that the so-called supervisor of the Holy Church secretly cooperated with the Tohsaka family, and even the referee was not neutral. This war was probably problematic from the beginning. In my opinion, there may be some drawbacks in the Holy Grail War itself, which forced them to call in foreign magicians. In other words, the most important thing about the Holy Grail War may not be the result of the Holy Grail, but the process of the war..."
Another great sage beside him couldn't help but laugh at Hohenheim's almost amazing insight. "Old Ho, you are still so sharp. But yes, I have a similar opinion. And have you forgotten what the man named Tohsaka Tokiomi said before? He said that the purpose of magicians participating in the Holy Grail War is to reach the root. Although I won't mention what this root is for now, I can imagine that it is like the seventh level to us magicians."
"That is to say, the Holy Grail War was probably designed by the three great families in order to reach the source at the beginning, but because of some unexpected events, they had to spread the rumor of the universal wish-granting machine in order to attract outsiders. It is obvious that the other magicians in that world are not fools, and the high-level magicians deliberately suppressed the news about the Holy Grail War. This can be seen from the fact that there were so few participants in the Holy Grail War that even an 'ordinary person' like Akutagawa Ryunosuke was forced to participate in the Holy Grail War."
Several other great sages at the side also showed expressions of agreement with the two old men's analysis, and the great sage who spoke first said angrily: "Oh, you can see clearly now! Anyway, I just don't like such a petty story. Compared with this kind of thing, it would be more interesting if you let seven powerful magicians fight each other!"
"Well, I hope so too. After all, although the battle between knights may look very magnificent to ordinary people, it is just a superficial trick for us. Compared to these, a battle between magicians would be better."
“The Holy Grail, the Holy Grail War, magicians, roots, heroes from history, the last person alive can possess the Holy Grail and have any wish come true... To be honest, although it seems like a very simple story, I still find it creepy when I see it now. Whether it’s the fact that the head of the Matou family did not have any hope for Matou Kariya after taking the daughter of the Tōsaka family, or the so-called Clock Tower’s indifferent attitude towards the Holy Grail War, I always feel that this so-called Holy Grail War is not a simple story.”
"Yeah, even an old man like you who hasn't left the house for a hundred years can go out just because he wants to watch a movie. How can this be a simple story?"
"Stop being funny, I'm serious."
"What's serious is that a bunch of us great sages are not doing magic experiments in our own laboratories, but instead come here to watch something called a movie made by a young wizard. If it were five years ago, I would never have believed that such a day would come!"
“… … .”
Seeing that several great sages beside him had strayed from the topic, Hohenheim remained silent and couldn't help muttering, "Anyway, it's still the same question. Since the Holy Grail is given as a reward item and the Holy Grail War is the stage, then the war process is obviously indispensable. And under this circumstance, is the Holy Grail, the prize, really a wish-granting machine that can grant all wishes as the setting says? Does the system of summoning heroic spirits really exist? Where does the soul go after death? What is the so-called root? Does it refer to some kind of miracle, or does it really exist on the other side of magic?"
A series of questions described Hohenheim's confusion and also made the several great sages present concentrate more on appreciating this performance called a movie.
Chapter 106: Fate Zero (Part 6)
Chapter 106
The plot of "Fate Zero" continues, and soon it comes to the part where Kiritsugu Emiya blows up the hotel building where Kenneth lives... ...
"… What? What happened?"
Kenneth's fiancée Sora looked confused because the door outside suddenly rang.
In response, Kenneth walked to the door calmly, and after listening to the person outside the door, he slowly said: "The waiter outside said that there was a fire downstairs. The service desk told us to take shelter quickly. It seems to be just a small fire, but the fire is very scattered. It looks like arson."
"Arson? Tonight?"
"Humph, this is certainly not a coincidence."
Kenneth laughed disdainfully. "This is a trick to drive away the crowd. My opponent is a magician, and it seems that he doesn't like to fight in a building with too many strangers."
And when Sora heard his words, he became nervous.
"So—an attack?"
"I'm afraid so. Maybe the guy who didn't have enough fun in Warehouse Street is here to cause trouble again. Interesting, that's exactly what we want, right? Lancer?"
"Yes, indeed."
Lancer nodded affirmatively, because he knew who was coming to attack this time.
Among the seven Masters, only one was so eager to launch an attack—that was Saber’s Master who was hit by the “Yellow Rose of Certain Destruction”.
Coincidentally, Lancer also wants to have a life-and-death battle with the proud Knight King.
"Lancer, go to the lower floor to fight them, but don't send them away so easily. Since guests are here, how can we not let them have a good look at my Kenneth magic workshop?"
Obviously, this hotel, as Kenneth's base of operations, has been completely transformed by him. The interior is filled with magic barriers and various types of familiars. Any enemy of the magician will be completely corrupted by this terrifying place.
"Since the other residents have been evacuated, there is nothing to worry about. You should all go all out on the ground."
As he spoke, Kenneth couldn't help but laugh from the bottom of his heart. In this situation, instead of being nervous about the arrival of the enemy, he became even more excited.
Yes, as a prodigy and genius in magic, Kenneth is fully confident that he can defeat any enemy who comes head-on. He is even ready to show off to his fiancée after defeating the enemy and washing away the shame with blood.
However, the enemy had no intention of engaging him head-on in this battle from the beginning...
As Kiritsugu Emiya finished the arrangements outside the building, with a loud bang, the hotel where Kenneth was staying collapsed.
... ...
"This... What? Can we play like this?!"
"Oh my god, is this something a human would do?!"
"Pfft, I was ready to see a gorgeous battle, but you did this to me the next second..."
"As expected of a magus killer, he never intended to defeat the enemy with magus combat from the beginning."
"So cool... It's such a despicable thing to do, but it's inexplicably so cool..."
"But I don't think this Kayneth will fall so soon. After all, how could a character who looks so annoying be beaten just go away? That Lancer is also a tough opponent to deal with."
As various sounds rang out in the great square of the Imperial Mage Academy, it was obvious that the magicians who had been looking forward to the magician battle for a long time had never expected that the first magician battle that was about to begin would end with such a result.
At the same time, facing the scene just shown, some magicians who had some knowledge of alchemy started discussing it immediately.
"The principle of the explosion just now doesn't seem to be magic or a magic circle."
"Well, it feels more like an overload of magic power spreading from a center. It should be the result of a chain reaction of substances that store a large amount of magic power."
"Is that really the case? I always feel like it's a little more special."
"... ..."
Compared to the discussion of the people below, the focus of the great sages on the tower is obviously different...
"Did you hear what Kotomine Kirei said? He said that the way to the Root is to leave this world and go to the outside. Those who are only interested in the inside of the world are just mortals. In other words, the Holy Grail is a tool to the outside of the world. The so-called universal wish-granting machine may just be its added value, and it also has the power to change the inside of the world."
In response to Hohenheim's narration, the great sage who had previously shown disdain for Fate Zero immediately replied, "You know this now? What the hell is the inside and outside of the world? A long time ago, the famous wizard Brunco spent several years traveling around the world and successfully proved that the earth is round. This Holy Grail can't possibly drill a hole in the sky and let those of us inside go to the so-called outside world, right? That's too fanciful, or completely agnostic!!"
Dean Hohenheim simply shook his head and looked up at the sky. "How do you know that our world is not a wrapped egg? Although we magicians have already overturned the church's theory of the round earth and the square sky, does this mean that we have completely understood the world we live in? In the final analysis, none of us has successfully broken through the shackles of the sky and traveled to the world outside the sky."
"Well, this only shows that the sixth level is the limit... ... When one of us, or someone in the future, can break through to the seventh level, or even higher, one day someone will be able to reach the sky!"
"Above the sky? Do you assume there is another world above the sky? In this case, the origin of the story in the movie might be a similar place."
"... ..."
Suddenly, as the great sage was speechless, the magicians had many other thoughts in their minds while watching the movie.
Soon, after the pleasant dialogue between the King of Heroes and Kotomine Kirei, the movie of "Fate Zero" finally came to the end. As many viewers guessed, Kenneth was not knocked down by the explosion, but survived from the ruins.
After Kotomine Rizheng announced the bounty on Caster as the referee of the Holy Grail War, the first high-energy battle plot of "Fate Zero" began.
Chapter 107: Fate Zero (Part 7)
Chapter 107
"Uh, why are Emiya Kiritsugu and Saber acting so strangely? Aren't they master and servant?"
"Yeah, I feel like there might be problems if this continues..."
"It would be fun if Emiya Kiritsugu summoned that Archer, hahahaha!"
"Why don't you say it's rider?! I think summoning these two is much more interesting than summoning Saber, hahahaha!"
The audience made irresponsible comments about the scenes in the movie, and it was indeed true. If Kiritsugu Emiya had summoned the other two arrogant kings, there would probably have been internal strife among them before the war officially started.
As the plot develops, Kiritsugu Emiya's vulnerable side is gradually exposed to the audience, which makes the audience suddenly unsure whether this cold-blooded magician killer is a naive person or a cold and realistic person.
It is precisely this contradictory portrayal that further highlights the authenticity of the character of Kiritsugu Emiya, making many viewers gradually fall in love with the character of this magician killer.
At the same time, as the caster began to forcibly attack the Einzbern Castle, the plot of "Fate Zero" unfolded again.
The following plot can be briefly summarized into three lines: the battle between Saber and Caster, the battle between Kayneth and Emiya Kiritsugu, and the battle between Irisviel and Kotomine Kirei.
First of all, let’s talk about the first line. Regarding the battle between Saber and Caster, although the audiences were very satisfied with this battle scene that was like that of adventurers, they did not have any more emotions except being indignant at Caster’s indiscriminate killing of innocent people. It was not until Lancer suddenly joined the battlefield that some audiences who had a strong feeling for the gun and sword CP reacted.
On the other hand, the battle between Irisviel and Kotomine Kirei seemed very dull. Although it was still a fight full of calculations and reversals, it was only a mortal-level battle after all, which made the audience lose their enthusiasm. At most, no one could have imagined that the seemingly fragile Irisviel also had such a strong side.
In comparison, the longest and coolest battle is undoubtedly the magic battle between Emiya Kiritsugu and Kenneth. This is also the scene that the magicians of the Imperial Mage Academy have been looking forward to from the beginning!
... ...
"Inherent time control, double speed!"
In an instant, as the scene showed Kiritsugu Emiya using this skill with special subtitles to avoid Kenneth's Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid, all the magicians in the square became excited!
"Did you see that?! It's actually the ability to control time! By cutting off the connection between the inside of the body and the outside world, it can speed up its own time. Such dangerous magic can actually be achieved..."
"I didn't expect that Emiya Kiritsugu, who seems to be the most unconventional, also has a unique skill belonging to a magician, and it is time control?"
"Time magic seems to have always been an unknown area that has never been explored. Has anyone in reality mastered the ability to modify time?"
"I don't think so. It seems that the only similar magician I've heard of so far is the founder of teleportation magic. But even though he mastered the power of space transformation, he couldn't grasp the mystery of time. If this ability exists in reality, it would be too much of a cheat..."
"Yeah, although I also want to have the ability to stop time."
"Pause time? What do you want to do? (alert)"
"What's that look in your eyes? Damn it! If I could stop time, I would definitely punch you a hundred times first!"
As the students discussed various things, the topic deviated from the track as usual, but the battle between Kiritsugu Emiya and Kayneth continued on the screen. From this battle, even the old wizards who had been immersed in magic for a long time learned a lot of things that they had not paid attention to before.
"Interesting. Using water flow control on a highly plastic liquid like mercury to create a unique magic trick can be said to be an innovative idea. Of course, a normal water magician simply can't afford so much mercury..."
"I think that Emiya Kiritsugu's completely unconventional fighting style is very creative. Magicians are not required to stand still to cast spells. Wouldn't it be cooler and more creative to fight like a warrior or assassin while using magic to assist?"
"It's OK, but I think Emiya Kiritsugu is no match for Kayneth. That Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid is too abnormal. It integrates attack and defense, and it also has an autonomous system. It feels fake."
"It's fake in the first place. Isn't this a movie? Anyway, just keep watching. Seeing how confident Emiya Kiritsugu seems, he must have some hidden tricks up his sleeve. Let's wait and see what happens next."
"... ..."
Soon, as the discussion spread, the battle between Emiya Kiritsugu and Kayneth came to an end. Facing the completely enraged Kayneth, Emiya Kiritsugu simply greeted the opponent's attack with absolute confidence, and ended the opponent on the spot with his last magic bullet!
When the audience saw Kenneth fall down, they hadn't even reacted to what had happened. To them, it was as if Kiritsugu Emiya had cheated and suddenly killed Kenneth in an instant.
It was not until the next part of the movie inserted Kiritsugu Emiya's past memories of making the Origin Bullet that the audience gradually realized the situation and fell into deep thought, or confusion...
On the top of the tower, several great sages who were originally watching the movie quietly became restless the moment they saw this part of the plot.
As they recalled the scene one by one, the great sage who had previously analyzed the Holy Grail War rationally also said quickly: "Origin? What is this? I have never heard of such a concept."
Similarly, most of the great sages also expressed their confusion and were unable to understand the meaning of the so-called origin.
However, among the group of great sages, a female magician who seemed the least noticeable was surprised and said slowly: "Is this movie really created by that Durin Edward? Why does he know the concept of origin..."
"You know?"