Chapter 179: Episode 4 - The Hollow Of Shrine (9)
"The film is still playing!"
Suddenly, a voice from the audience rang out, and in an instant, everyone's attention returned to the TV in the bar.
…
The film abruptly cut to a new scene.
In a familiar hospital room, the frail figure of Kirie Fujio, who had appeared in the earlier panoramic shots, was once again visible. She sat on a hospital bed, her weak body trembling slightly.
Suddenly, the door to the hospital room was pushed open from the outside, and a tall man dressed in black slowly entered.
"Are you Kirie Fujio?"
The tall man spoke, his deep voice reverberating as if carrying some hidden burden.
"Are you a friend of my father?"
In response to Kirie's question, the tall man remained silent.
Trembling slightly, Kirie hesitated before speaking again, "What do you want? I'm of no use anymore."
The man in black simply and calmly replied, "I've come to grant your wish. Another body, one that can move freely—do you want it?"
"…"
Hearing the man's words, which seemed imbued with a magical power, Kirie found it impossible to resist.
After a brief silence, she nodded, her throat trembling.
The man in black then raised his right hand, bestowing upon Kirie the power of 'Panoramic Vision.'
At the same moment, Kirie asked, "Who are you?"
Before he could answer, the scene suddenly shifted, revealing the exhausted figure of Asagami Fujino, fleeing from the bar.
"What should I do…? What am I supposed to do now?"
Having just killed someone and feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen, the young girl gasped for air as she collapsed to the ground.
At that moment, the man in black appeared again, catching her before she fell.
"Are you Asagami Fujino?"
"Your spine is fractured. You won't be able to make it home like this."
Hearing his words, Asagami Fujino froze, her pale face filled with fear.
The man in black spoke again, his voice carrying an almost magical tone:
"Do you want me to heal you?"
Instinctively, Asagami Fujino nodded.
"Understood. I'll fix the abnormalities in your body right away."
As she felt her body recovering, Asagami Fujino asked in surprise:
"Who are you…?"
Before he could answer this question—so similar to Kirie's—the scene shifted once again.
This time, in complete darkness, a young boy's voice slowly echoed:
"Who exactly are you?"
The man in black finally responded to this question.
"A magus—Araya Souren."
The film ended.
…
Seeing the contents on the screen, the audience immediately began to buzz with excitement. No one had expected such a surprise at the end of the story.
"Who is that man in black? He seemed to appear in the trailer after the last Remaining Sense Of Pain chapter."
"Yeah, I remember that clearly. At that time, he mentioned something about the pieces being ready."
"Could he be some kind of mastermind? It feels like the whole Kara no Kyoukai story is connected to him."
"Wasn't he just helping Kirie and Asagami Fujino? Doesn't that make him a good guy?"
"A good guy? Did you forget what Kirie and Asagami Fujino did earlier? Someone helping them is definitely not a good person, no matter how you look at it."
"And who was that boy in the final scene? Did he appear earlier in the story?"
"It's getting more and more mysterious. Wait, doesn't this count as a cliffhanger again?"
"Well, it's not as blatant as Fate/Zero or KonoSuba. At least this level of teaser is still within an acceptable range."
"Yeah, I guess…"
The audience continued to chatter, all feeling a sense of relief, thinking the film was over and there wouldn't be any more surprises.
Meanwhile, in Edward's Tavern next door, the production team members were also relaxing, casually discussing the plot twists in The Hollow of Shrine.
However, Durin's expression had been odd the entire time.
"Lord Edward, is something wrong?"
From a distance, Winry noticed Durin's strange behavior and looked at him in confusion.
The others, too, turned their attention toward him.
Durin, chuckling awkwardly, replied, "Um, isn't Kara no Kyoukai the one where they shoot an episode, then air an episode?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, about that, episode five, Paradox Spiral, is already completed, right? So I thought, maybe we could spice things up a bit…"
"What do you mean?"
Helena, sensing something off, immediately became alert.
At that exact moment, the TV in the distance suddenly began showing new footage.
"What the heck is this?"
As everyone stared in disbelief, Durin quickly prepared a teleportation circle and explained, "Oh, uh… it's a trailer. I edited some of the highlights from Paradox Spiral into a teaser. Anyway, enjoy! I've got to run!"
"What the—!"
Everyone in the production team was both shocked and furious, but before they could react, Durin had already activated his teleportation spell and vanished from the scene.
"DURIN!"
Despite their anger, the team couldn't resist watching the trailer on the TV, albeit while fuming.
.....
"Whoa, there's more?!"
At the Imperial Mage Academy, the students had been discussing the identity of the man in black, much like the patrons at the tavern, speculating on how the plot might unfold next.
But what they didn't expect was for the TV to suddenly show even more new content before they could draw any conclusions.
"What the heck is this?!"
"I've never seen this before! Is this from episode five?"
"But why did it jump so fast? I didn't catch what was happening!"
"Whoa, that was awesome! But what was that? Seriously, what the heck was that?!"
"Wait, slow down! I couldn't see anything clearly!"
"Ahhhh! I'm going crazy! Someone knock me out, please!"
"This is torture! It's killing me!"
"Damn, if I have to wait another month like this, just end me now!"
"…"
In an instant, the entire Imperial Mage Academy descended into chaos. Normally composed and elegant, the mages were now acting as if they had been bewitched, going wild in front of the TV screens.
To an outsider, it might have looked as if these mages had all been hit by a fifth-tier psychic storm, the way they were losing their minds!
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