Akiha, the little loli, had no idea that the director she considered a creepy old man was plotting something involving her.
She simply felt that, apart from work-related interactions, it would be best to stay as far away from him as possible.
What nonsense about her having special abilities in her body, wanting to study her, or helping her with a hereditary illness? Did he really think she would buy such rubbish excuses?
If it weren't for her desire to leverage this director's vast influence, Akiha might have walked away the moment Shinji mentioned studying her.
To be honest, the pay she received for playing Miyu in Prisma Illya wasn't particularly high—180,000 yen per episode placed her at mid-level in the industry.
However, since the show's executive producer and director for the first two episodes was Matou Shinji, combined with the fact that the show was a Fate spin-off, it naturally garnered immense attention.
Akiha was well aware that if she went through the typical actor grind, hopping from one crew to another, she might still be struggling to make ends meet by the time her illness worsened.
But if she could land a leading role in a drama produced by Matou Shinji, she had a high chance of skyrocketing to fame and becoming a top-tier child star.
In Akiha's eyes, Prisma Illya was her springboard. As long as she endured the director's presence until the shoot wrapped, she could say goodbye to him forever.
"Alright, let's do another take," Shinji signaled to the crew after about ten minutes.
Akiha walked back to her designated spot and picked up her magecraft wand once again.
To be fair, she did notice some unique aspects of this crew compared to others.
For instance, the actress playing Rider had blood that looked surprisingly realistic when she was pierced by her spear.
If the fake blood didn't evaporate completely after being exposed to air for a short time, Akiha might have thought it was real.
"I wonder how they made such realistic fake blood. I've never seen anything like it in other productions. They say that creepy old guy (Shinji) loves using new technologies in his shoots. Looks like that's true," Akiha mused.
That said, she didn't dislike these new techniques; in fact, they greatly enhanced her performance.
For some reason, she started to feel as if she was truly defeating Servants and collecting cards.
Even when wielding the red spear prop, she almost felt as if she were truly stabbing through her opponent's heart.
The experience both frightened and thrilled her.
Something within her seemed to be awakening.
However, instead of pausing due to her surprise, Akiha leaned into her performance even more.
This fresh and exciting sensation made her feel better than ever.
Following the script, she recited the true name of her Noble Phantasm while thrusting her spear through Rider's body.
"Cut! That's a wrap!"
As Rider took a step back, Shinji called for a pause.
At this crucial point, they had to halt because the next scene involved filming the shattering of the Mirror World.
In a typical tokusatsu production, a simple transition animation would suffice here.
However, Shinji found such transitions to lack visual impact.
More precisely, they lacked sophistication!
In fact, while many Japanese tokusatsu series had interesting concepts, their visual execution was often mediocre. This led to jokes about "using a Star Wars-level setup to fight a Clash of Clans battle."
This was partly due to the younger target audience of tokusatsu, but mostly it was a matter of budget constraints.
Tsuburaya Productions had better funding, but Toei? Well, it seemed their special effects budget went straight to the catering department.
In Shinji's mind, while the Mirror World transition didn't need to be as mind-blowing as Paris folding over in Inception, it should at least reach the level of Doctor Strange's reality-bending effects.
Of course, using CGI for such a scene would be exorbitantly expensive, possibly consuming the entire series' budget.
Fortunately, Shinji didn't plan on making the transition overly complex.
Being a magus, he had several visual trick techniques unavailable to ordinary people.
For the Mirror World transition, Shinji intended to record the set with Medea's crystal ball, play back the scene using the ball, and then disrupt the playback with magecraft to create an otherworldly effect.
In Japan's current tokusatsu scene, such effects would still be considered novel and impactful.
However, Shinji wasn't planning to film that scene today.
The Mirror World transition required him to perform magecraft in front of the entire crew, which was much harder to pass off as new technology compared to Rider's fake blood.
So, Shinji decided to wait until tonight to give Akiha a small demonstration—a metaphorical "slice with a knife" to open her eyes before filming the scene.
"Hmm, let's hope this little loli maintains her usual aloof expression tonight," Shinji muttered to himself with a smirk.
Rider stepped forward once more, commenting, "Master, your expression right now is seriously creepy."
"Shut up!" Shinji snapped back.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
That evening, in the set's temporary screening room…
At Shinji's invitation, Akiha and the rest of the crew gathered in a small cinema room, waiting for the screening of Episode 5 of Heaven's Feel.
Initially, Akiha was inclined to decline the invitation, but since most of the cast would be attending the screening, she didn't want to seem antisocial.
In addition, with Type-Moon's stars all attending, Akiha felt it would be a waste not to make an appearance and network, considering she risked her personal safety by taking on a role in Prisma Illya.
Of course, to prevent the director from making any unwanted advances, Akiha had made some preparations beforehand.
Self-defense tools like pepper spray were a must, and she specifically chose a seat far away from Shinji, opting to sit next to Luvia instead.
Compared to Shinji, who didn't seem trustworthy, Luvia clearly gave her a greater sense of security.
Not only did Luvia play her elder in the show, but she also took good care of her off-screen. For Akiha, who had lacked familial affection since childhood, Luvia was truly wonderful.
It could only be said that Akiha was still too naive. Once she grew older, she would learn that even those who are kind to you might have ulterior motives, and gender wouldn't necessarily be a barrier to such intentions.
"Master, would you dare say that in front of her?" Yan Qing teased with a grin, "She'd probably smack your face with her shoe, wouldn't she?"
"Yan Qing, what choice do I have? If Akiha weren't so wary of me, would I have to go to such lengths today?" Shinji replied helplessly.
Yan Qing leaned back in his chair with an exaggeratedly lazy posture and yawned, "I have to admit, Master, this was clever. You invited that little girl to the screening because you knew we'd use magecraft casually, right?"
Type-Moon's screenings were essentially private parties for insiders—only trusted individuals were allowed to attend.
Normally reserved Servants would let loose, openly using magecraft, od, and ether manifestations, displaying all sorts of supernatural abilities.
Even if someone wasn't paying attention, they would still notice something strange about the Servants.
This was precisely Shinji's brilliance—rather than explaining things with words, he intended to let Akiha witness the supernatural with her own eyes.
Moreover, since everyone present was an insider, Shinji didn't have to worry about Akiha screaming and exposing the existence of magecraft to outsiders; people like Luvia and Illya would step in to explain things if needed.
"Master, you really went all out for this little girl," Yan Qing remarked.
Shinji shrugged. "No choice. Desperation drives people."
"Master, you do know there's such a thing as a C-section, right?"
"Yan Qing! Are you trying to pick a fight?" Shinji's face darkened.
While they joked around, the room lights dimmed, and the big screen lit up, marking the start of Episode 5 of HF.
The episode began with Dark Sakura arriving at the Emiya household, intending to capture Illya, only to be intercepted by Rin.
Despite facing her elder sister, Sakura showed no mercy, preparing to kill her without hesitation.
As a descendant of the Tohsaka family, Sakura possessed the Origin of Imaginary Numbers and wielded the power of shadows.
At the same time, having been raised as an adopted daughter of the Matou family, she had also inherited their unique magecraft of binding and controlling others.
Sakura, a product of the combined training from both the Tohsaka and Matou families, had honed her "shadow" abilities to their peak.
More critically, the difference in magical power between the two sisters was immense.
At this point, Sakura's magical energy reserves were practically infinite.
To put it into numbers, Rin's magical reserves were around 300, representing the pinnacle of an ordinary mage.
Meanwhile, Sakura's reserves were in the billions, making her a literal "monster" with limitless energy.
It was like a skilled gunman armed with a Desert Eagle facing off against a T-800 wielding a Gatling gun with unlimited ammo.
Such an overwhelming gap meant that not only magus but even Servants would struggle to defeat Sakura.
"Well then, let's have some fun, dear sister," Sakura said coldly, extending her shadowy claws toward Rin.
"Although I'll capture you in the end anyway, as the head of the Tohsaka family, do try to escape gracefully, won't you?"
By deliberately invoking the Tohsaka family's motto, Sakura's playful tone was evident.
But Rin was utterly helpless against her younger sister.
If Sakura wished, her black shadows could instantly engulf the entire Emiya residence.
Escape was futile, and resistance was pointless.
The outcome of their battle had been decided before it even began.
With just one move, the black shadow wrapped around Rin.
The sludge-like substance restrained, compressed, and polluted her body, while countless tendrils, resembling snakes, invaded her magic circuits.
"Ahhhhh!"
Though it was merely a cry of pain, it sounded strange in Rin's ears.
Unable to suppress her frustration, she punched Shinji in the head.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you? Drug injections! Tentacle play! And forced corruption! If you want to create doujin plotlines, go do it at Comiket!"
"Calm down. It's just a standard plot where the protagonist gets captured," Shinji explained, spreading his hands. "You'll see similar scenes in Ultraman web series later. What's so over-the-top about this?"
'As I thought, this guy is a total pervert!'
Sitting at the back, Akiha grew more convinced of her judgment.
<+>
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