"Has Shinji just met his demise again in his own work?"
As Sakura stared at the lifeless Shinji on her TV screen, the audience outside the story world was equally stunned.
To be honest, viewers had anticipated that Shinji might meet a bad end in this series. After all, in the stories he had directed, Shinji's characters rarely fared well. In the Fate/stay night movie, he died in a fit of impotent rage. In the Unlimited Blade Works series, he was betrayed by Gilgamesh and left crippled.
Even before Heaven's Feel began airing, fans speculated endlessly about what tragic fate awaited this version of Shinji.
Some thought that since Sakura was the main heroine of HF, her older brother Shinji might at least retain his dignity and meet a relatively intact end.
But this version turned out to be the worst of all. Not only was a chunk of his skull sliced off, but he also died ignobly—on top of a woman.
"His death was a bit abrupt," lamented Fujita. "Couldn't they have milked the tension a bit more before killing him off?"
"That kind of thinking is dangerous," Shibamatsu warned from nearby.
The surrounding female magi frowned at Fujita's tone. He must have been missing a few screws to suggest something so outrageous.
"This is exactly the kind of twisted mentality that prompts Sir Matou to write stories like this—to warn people like you!"
Alice snapped with scorn.
As a traditional magus, Alice had never experienced the kind of abuse Sakura endured. But she was all too familiar with the grim fates that befell members of some magus families who took their practices to extreme lengths.
"Every year, there are one or two cases where a family member, having endured long-term abuse, finally rebels. These incidents are usually meticulously planned, so…"
Alice trailed off, unwilling to elaborate.
The younger magi around her nodded, signaling their understanding.
Such stories were all too common in their world. Even though many magus families had softened their ways in response to modernity, a few still clung to their cruel "traditions."
Such families were often short-lived; in a world where secrecy was increasingly difficult to maintain, calling the police on abusive relatives had become an option for some victims.
But a small number of magus families persisted with these destructive practices.
"What a shame," Alice sighed. "The ones who really need to watch Fate probably never will. If only it could serve as a lesson to them."
In reality, the magi thought they understood the message behind Shinji's storytelling.
But on-screen, Sakura still didn't realize that she and Shinji were both victims of the Matou family's twisted pursuit of magecraft.
At this moment, Sakura seemed utterly shocked, sitting motionless on the blood-soaked bed.
However, in truth, Shinji's death had flipped a switch deep within her.
"Ah… ah…"
The girl made a series of indecipherable noises, caught in a daze different from Shirou's idealistic confusion.
"So, I killed my brother… but I feel nothing."
Feelings of disgust, horror, guilt, or regret—emotions that should have surfaced in such a moment—were completely absent from her mind.
Sakura's hollow heart held only one thought:
"Turns out it was so easy."
"Because I've done it so many times in my dreams, it was simple to mimic in real life."
Sakura tilted her head, still somewhat unable to grasp the situation.
But one thing was becoming increasingly clear to her.
"If I'd known it would be this painless, I should have done it sooner."
She muttered this to herself as if in realization.
No, this wasn't about feeling "nothing" at all. The thrum in her soul—the source of this sensation—was something far deeper.
"It's… happiness."
The girl whispered.
And this happiness wasn't new; it felt familiar, something she had carried for a long time.
Finally, Sakura unlocked the gates to her deepest memories, realizing that those were not dreams.
The monster wandering the streets at night, killing indiscriminately, was her.
"Hehe… ahaha… ahahahahahahaha!"
Like a broken doll, Sakura burst into uncontrollable laughter.
And yet, her mind was startlingly clear. In fact, she had never felt this lucid before.
"Hu-hu… huu-huhu…"
Fearing her jaw might dislocate from laughing too much, Sakura gradually quieted down. But her expression grew even more unhinged.
Then, the girl casually tossed aside her brother's lifeless body like garbage. Rising slowly from the bed, she walked toward the full-length mirror in the room.
Staring at her reflection, drenched in blood yet wearing a serene smile, she seemed to see the shadows of all the people she had killed standing behind her.
The girl named Sakura Matou had finally achieved enlightenment.
All those years spent suppressing herself to avoid becoming a monster, all those futile efforts to stay by someone's side to maintain her humanity—none of it mattered.
"It wasn't a gradual transformation after all," she muttered.
Turning on her heel in front of the mirror, she extended her hand toward her reflection.
"Senpai, look."
A grotesque smile spread across her face.
"I've been this mad from the very beginning."
At that moment, the girl underwent her metamorphosis. What had been buried deep within her soul finally surfaced completely.
Then, a somber voice whispered in her ear.
"Sakura, you can no longer live as a human."
"Accept the shadow. No one will be able to stand in your way then."
"Seize that girl from the Einzbern family and take the Holy Grail. There's no other way for you to survive."
The girl nodded silently.
"Understood, Grandfather. I'll do as you say."
Darkness began to creep up her body. From her core, black mud spread across her skin.
Under the influence of the curse, her once pale, flawless skin turned unnaturally dark. Red runes began to etch themselves onto her face, making her look both seductive and dangerous.
"Ah, now I won't lose to you, Sister."
Fully consumed by her blackened transformation, Sakura delivered her villainous declaration directly to the camera.
"She actually went completely dark?! This twist is insane!"
Shibamatsu was dumbfounded.
He had been hoping for some kind of redemption arc, where Sakura might repent after killing Shinji and return to Shirou's side.
But no such thing happened.
Sakura's smile in the final frame obliterated any lingering hopes Shibamatsu had entertained.
"Wait… maybe this isn't a twist after all."
As a somber melody began to play, Shibamatsu instinctively reflected on all the details of the Heaven's Feel storyline.
In retrospect, it all boiled down to one thing: Shinji had set events in motion for things to take this dark turn.
Too preoccupied with his scheme to avoid going to the basement, he had failed to see where it was all heading.
And now—
"Goodbye, everyone!"
Taking advantage of everyone being engrossed in the ending theme, Shibamatsu leapt over the back of the couch and bolted for the clubroom exit.
"Stop him!"
"Don't let him get away!"
"Yeah, lock him in the basement!"
...
Led by Fujita, the magi began chasing after Shibamatsu in a chaotic spectacle.
The idea of being locked in a basement wasn't that bad, but it was undeniably embarrassing—especially among acquaintances they saw regularly.
Of course, no one actually intended to harm Shibamatsu. They just wanted to throw him in the basement for a laugh.
Watching the antics unfold, Alice could only shake her head in exasperation.
"What a bunch of children."
"Mmm. (You're no better.)," groaned the still-prone Aoko.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
Meanwhile, at Type-Moon Studios
"Huh… that's it?"
Shinji looked bewildered.
After receiving a few words of congratulation, Sakura had smiled at him. And then… nothing else happened.
He had half-expected Sakura to unleash some sort of beatdown, but instead, she let him off the hook entirely.
Sakura turned her head, glancing at her brother.
She had anticipated being mocked mercilessly today, but to her surprise, everyone had ignored her and focused on teasing Shinji instead.
"Onii-sama, just how strong is your magnetism for mockery?"
Sakura couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she tied both Gilgamesh and Shinji to separate lamp posts—whose post would get chopped down first by the Servants?
Unaware of her thoughts, Shinji hastily apologized.
"Sakura, I swear, after Heaven's Feel, this won't happen again."
With Magical Girl Illya only slated for one season, only the Counter Force could predict whether Sakura might show up in future spin-offs.
Shinji was confident he wouldn't annoy Sakura in his future productions.
"Strange, Onii-sama. Is there something you need me to forgive?"
Sakura's calm question caught Shinji off guard.
Right. What did he need to apologize for?
Still, it wouldn't be fair to say Sakura was completely blameless either.
After all, portraying his sister as a yandere in HF wasn't entirely justifiable.
Suddenly, guilt began to creep up on him.
"What should I say? Maybe I should offer her a heartfelt apology?"
"It's fine now," Sakura said, rising from her seat to signal the matter was over.
After all, she hadn't been embarrassed in front of anyone familiar. Pressing her brother too hard wouldn't be fair.
There would be plenty of opportunities to spar with him in the future.
"..."
Shinji twitched slightly.
Just like that?
No! He felt unsettled. Couldn't she at least give him some punishment?
Even if it wasn't a full-on fight, some joint locks or wrestling moves would suffice.
Doing nothing made Shinji feel worse.
"Could it be that this girl is doing this on purpose, so I'll feel compelled to make it up to her?"
That night, Shinji realized he wasn't going to get any sleep thanks to Sakura.
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind paying $5 each month to read till the latest posted chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Current Chapter In Patreon: Chapter 238: Losing to a Film Like This is Nothing to Be Ashamed Of[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/im-not-master-im-125584452[3]
https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/im-not-master-im-125584452
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/im-not-master-im-125584452
[4] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl