Chapter 27: The Final Scene
After wrapping up the filming of the mission to purify the water source, thanks to the pre-planned continuous shooting and preparation, the subsequent scene featuring the adventurer Kyouya Mitsurugi in "Konosuba God Blessing This Wonderful World!" was swiftly concluded as well.
With only the final showdown with the Headless Horseman left to film, Durin didn't rush the shooting, taking some time instead to review the plot, given the scene's crucial role in the climax.
In the storyline, the Headless Horseman returns to the town gate, only to find that Darkness, whom he had declared dead earlier, is still alive.
As he tries to pass judgment again, he is fiercely attacked by Aqua. Despite her divine-level magic nearly tearing him apart, the Headless Horseman's powerful armor, gifted by the Demon King, shields him from Aqua's anti-undead magic.
Enraged, he summons an undead army to wipe out the beginner's village. However, drawn by Aqua's mocking nature, the undead gather together and are annihilated by Megumin's explosion magic in one swift strike.
With his minions gone, the Headless Horseman is forced into single combat with the adventurers. Though he manages to defeat several adventurers, he is ultimately subdued by Darkness's endurance.
After a fierce battle, the protagonist discovers the Headless Horseman's weakness: water. Confronted with Aqua's summoned "reservoir," the Headless Horseman's vulnerability is exposed, and he ultimately loses his head to the protagonist's stealing skill before being purified by Aqua.
While filming this segment presented significant challenges, careful handling mitigated them effectively. However, there were some filming difficulties that were harder to address. Nonetheless, in a world where magic exists, problems that cannot be solved under normal circumstances can be resolved with magic.
As for the only person who could discuss magic with Durin, after excluding a certain impoverished mage who only knew fire magic, only Wiz, who was a former high-ranking mage in her lifetime, remained.
At this moment, in the distance, actors and crew members were enjoying boxed lunches and chatting, with the Headless Horseman and Wiz mingling among them without any sense of incongruity.
Although Durin informed those around him about the true identities of these two individuals as undead, Lawrence and the newly arrived extras remain unaware of their true identities.
Durin could conceal the truth and inform them that Wiz and Beldia are actors who intentionally emit an undead aura for filming purposes. The rationale behind this is straightforward: because ordinary individuals cannot tolerate the presence of the undead, Durin would only disclose the true identities of Wiz and Beldia to those he deeply trusts.
Although the idea of separating the Headless Horseman's head from his body seemed odd no matter how one looked at it, Lawrence and the newly recruited extras didn't find it strange since they couldn't imagine a true undead being so jovial.
"Wiz, I have something I want to ask you," Durin called out.
Upon hearing Durin's call, Wiz, who had been discussing matters regarding the Mage's Tower with Helena, looked puzzled but nodded in response, asking, "What do you want to ask?"
Without beating around the bush, Durin asked directly, "Do you have any magic for summoning undead? It doesn't need to be too powerful, just enough to summon a certain number."
"Undead? Well, I do, but it requires an environment with a strong aura of death, preferably a graveyard, to summon them..."
"A graveyard? That's a bit troublesome since invading a cemetery would be breaking the law, and that would attract too much attention."
Durin promptly vetoed the proposal to summon undead through criminal means. Besides this method, they couldn't think of any other way to summon a large number of undead, especially in the peaceful Southern Territory, where even magical beasts were scarce, let alone undead or necromancers.
"It seems we'll have to remove this part of the plot, but it will definitely affect the coherence of the story..."
Durin could find solutions for other elements like anti-undead magic, stealing skills, and water magic with his expertise as a high-level mage. However, summoning undead, a necromantic spell, was something he absolutely couldn't do.
With that, deleting this storyline was almost inevitable, especially given the tight schedule. They couldn't afford to let a minor issue affect the entire filming cycle.
Seeing Durin's dilemma, Wiz, who had already stated she couldn't summon undead, suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Durin, if you really need undead, I have another way."
"Another way?"
"Yes, although summoning corporeal undead requires extensive preparation, even grave robbing, I can directly summon incorporeal spirits using advanced necromantic magic. Without requiring intelligence, I can summon as many spirits as needed."
"Can these spirits be captured on film? It wouldn't make sense if they're invisible."
"Don't worry, although ordinary people can only see vague black shadows, this is already the impression of undead in their minds. After all, except for necromancers who intentionally create zombies, which lack both aesthetics and efficiency, normal necromancers wouldn't bother making them."
Upon hearing Wiz's explanation, Durin, who understood that a major filming challenge for the next day had been resolved, discussed the filming details with the others. After discreetly casting suggestive magic, he then announced loudly at the resting area, "Let's go back and rest for today. The assembly time remains the same for tomorrow. Actors, make sure to rehearse your lines well after returning home. Tomorrow is the final scene!"
Upon hearing Durin's words, leaving aside the main actors who didn't immediately react, other crew members involved in the filming couldn't help but show a sense of disappointment. Despite the strange and incomprehensible situations they encountered during these days of shooting, each of them was eagerly anticipating this interesting story. Some even faintly hoped that the story wouldn't end so soon.
Seeing even Winry's saddened expression, Durin couldn't help but pat her head in frustration and sighed, "What's with the gloom? When did I ever say that finishing the final scene would mean the end? While it's true we won't see each other for a while, if the theatrical version receives positive feedback, it's only reasonable to consider releasing a TV version afterward. We might even film two seasons consecutively if everything goes well!"
"Really?"
Though they didn't quite understand what Durin meant by "TV version" and "filming two seasons," the reassurance in Durin's words instantly relieved everyone's worries. They promptly gathered their spirits and went back to their tasks. Even Beldia and Wiz, influenced by the atmosphere, headed back to their lodgings in Nosric.
"It looks like we'll need to set up a dedicated filming base or shop at least. Going back and forth all the time is quite time-consuming."
Muttering to himself, Durin, who remained on set, began to review the script once again, which he had revised countless times. In his heart, he silently prayed for the success of this story, hoping it would yield a positive outcome for his first filmmaking endeavor. Meanwhile, he also began to envision tomorrow's shoot, ensuring that everything would run smoothly without any hiccups.
Ultimately, due to his lack of confidence in directing a large group of adventurers in a performance, Durin knew that tomorrow's epic battle scene had to be done in one take as much as possible. Otherwise, if they were exposed, there was no guarantee that the adventurers would cooperate as well. This was also due to Durin's lack of experience as a director.
But to be honest, shooting a pioneering film in such rudimentary conditions would have been challenging for anyone lacking experience.