Chapter 258: Mordred: "Master, you're sooo bad."
While stubbornly refusing to admit anything, Mordred kept glancing toward Shinji.
Shinji had promised to help her before, but Mordred really couldn't figure out how her Master could support her in an acting face-off without altering the script.
Even though Mordred could be a bit bull-headed, she definitely wasn't stupid—otherwise, she wouldn't have become a Knight of the Round Table in such a short time.
From the instructors' lectures during actor training, Mordred understood that when two performances are imbalanced, the simplest way to fix it is by dragging the stronger one down a notch.
But Mordred didn't want Shinji to use such a self-defeating and destructive tactic. That would make it feel like she had completely lost.
'I guess I'll just have to rely on myself!'
Mordred thought to herself.
'If I can get along with Father, then dealing with that fake mother of mine (Semiramis) shouldn't be a problem either!'
Mordred clenched her fists, psyching herself up.
'This is a rare opportunity—to overcome the fear my mother gave me and truly become independent…'
Seeing Semiramis walking alongside Shinji, Mordred made up her mind.
Only—
'Pfft... Can't laugh. I seriously can't laugh…'
Looking at that massive braid you could probably hide a person in, Mordred suddenly found herself admiring her Master.
How did he manage to keep a straight face through all of it?
Shinji would never tell Mordred that he had seen Semiramis with even worse hairstyles.
Yeah, like that back view from the Fate/Apocrypha concept art.
With all her hair gone, Semiramis's design looked like a nun. Now that was truly hideous.
In comparison, this coffin-like braid was just a little weird—not nearly funny enough to laugh at.
Of course, just because the hairstyle was funny didn't mean Mordred thought Semiramis looked bad.
In her eyes, Semiramis was still a beautiful woman despite the strange hairdo—it just distracted people from appreciating her beauty.
"This hairstyle feels like pure malice... Master, you did this on purpose, didn't you?"
Taking advantage of a break before filming, Mordred quietly tugged on Shinji's sleeve and asked in a whisper.
Compared to Semiramis, who wasn't as familiar and had already been led astray by Shinji…
Mordred, who hung out with her Master all the time, understood Shinji way better than the Empress did.
"Yup."
Shinji didn't even bother hiding it.
"She'll kill you when she finds out! Master, you better be careful when eating or drinking."
Mordred gritted her teeth and glared at Shinji.
But she kept her voice low, worried that Semiramis might overhear from a short distance away.
She hadn't bought all those hugging photos of her and her Father from Shinji yet, so she wasn't ready for him to die just yet.
"Maybe," Shinji said with a nonchalant smile. "But only if someone tells her. You wouldn't do that... right, Mordred?"
That casual threat made Mordred's lips twitch.
From a technical perspective, getting Semiramis's hair into that style was incredibly hard.
Just gathering all her hair was a nightmare—not to mention all those golden accessories worked into it.
Luckily, Semiramis was a Servant. Once the hairstyle had been done once, she could use the Ether in her body to recreate it at will—kind of like loading a saved hairstyle in a game.
"Master, you and your ridiculous taste..."
Mordred didn't even know what kind of expression to make at Shinji anymore.
Wanna curse him? His bizarre ideas always end up helping her take advantage of Father—in every sense of the word.
Wanna praise him? Mordred was convinced that one day, Master's twisted sense of humor would inevitably be turned on her.
"Mordred-chan, you've gotta learn to let go,"
Shinji said in an exaggerated, comical tone.
"I'm doing all this for your sake!"
"You sure it's not just to turn her into everyone's laughingstock?"
"Besides you, who's bold enough to laugh at her? You think anyone wants to risk getting poisoned?"
Shinji snorted in response to Mordred's question.
"Listen, my dear Mo-chan, regular people are scared stiff by Semiramis's icy aura, and even the Servants won't joke about her because of her very colorful past. So it's a win-win for everyone."
"Then… what about Cu Chulainn?"
"Which is why I sent him off to the Seven X set."
At that, a chill crept up Shinji's spine.
He could practically see that death-seeking dog of a man foaming at the mouth and twitching on the ground after opening his big mouth again.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Cu's got Battle Continuation—he's been through worse. He won't die."
"..."
Mordred could only sum up her tangled feelings with one sentence:
"Only a weirdo Servant would get paired with a weirdo Master. Truly, the Holy Grail War's perfect matchmaking system."
Still, even with that bitter thought, she felt Shinji's joke was going a bit too far.
If that guy Amakusa dumped Semiramis over her ridiculous hairstyle…
Well, she'd be the first to throw a dance party on Shinji's grave.
"Master, are you doing all this to… build the character?"
"Of course."
Shinji nodded sincerely.
"And also to ease your pressure a little~"
"What kind of help is that!?"
Mordred was completely speechless.
But… she had to admit, ever since Semiramis changed to this weird hairstyle that looked nothing like her mother's, that eerie sense of déjà vu had seriously lightened.
'So that's what this damn Master meant when he said he had a solution… This is your 'solution'?!'
Mordred stared at the calm-looking magus, nearly tempted to sink her teeth into him.
'Too bad I can't…'
Seeing Shinji lazily swinging his phone around, Mordred let out a long sigh of defeat.
"Whatever. At least now I won't be so nervous during filming... I guess that's worth celebrating—Like hell it is!!"
She scratched at her hair in frustration.
"Aaagh! I let him lead me by the nose again! This is so annoying!"
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The scene between Semiramis and Mordred began shooting amidst this slightly absurd atmosphere.
Through the monitor, Shinji observed the two striking women on camera—each with their own unique vibe.
Well, technically, one of them was still more of a pretty girl than a woman.
"They definitely look like they got the wrong scripts," Shinji muttered to himself.
According to FGO lore, Mordred was never meant to be a straight-laced character.
This was the kind of girl who'd use her dad's coffin as a surfboard—a naturally chaotic gremlin.
Semiramis, on the other hand, was a refined empress—tough, assertive, the no-nonsense type.
And yet, here she was, the once-regal queen sporting a hairstyle that looked… vaguely absurd.
And Mordred, the chaotic gremlin she was, kept a deathly serious expression the entire time—not out of professionalism, but sheer survival instinct. She was terrified that if she so much as smirked, she'd get herself killed.
"Actually, this kind of tension fits the final showdown in Fate/Apocrypha really well. I think it'll leave a strong impression on the audience."
Shinji, who was entirely responsible for this atmosphere, commented with a cheerful smile to the nearby EMIYA.
"Absolutely," EMIYA nodded, not even bothering to hide his amusement.
He couldn't care less what happened once Semiramis found out the truth—there was no way any of that fallout would land on him.
First one to get erased? Shinji Matou.
Then Amakusa (stabbed while blushing), Jeanne (because Semiramis just didn't like her), Mordred (killed for laughing), Astolfo…
By the time it got to EMIYA himself, he figured he'd be long gone—his Master dead, his mana supply cut, and himself safely back in the Throne of Heroes.
So watching Shinji dig his own grave was entertainment.
Shinji watching the Mordred–Semiramis circus, and him watching Shinji's chaos—everyone had something to enjoy.
Bright futures for all.
There was one thing EMIYA had to admit though.
"They're both doing a great job. Especially Her Majesty over there."
Even through the monitor, he could feel the madness emanating from Semiramis's queen persona.
'Guess that's what you get from someone who actually ruled a country. Even with a goofy hairstyle, her aura's still terrifying.'
"Looks like today's shoot will go smoothly,"
EMIYA commented.
"No doubt. They're both on fire today,"
Shinji replied, and for once, it wasn't empty flattery.
Mordred was truly at her best today—even rivaling Semiramis.
Probably because the stakes felt real: laugh, and she will die.
That kind of pressure made her laser-focused, and her performance skyrocketed.
Up against Semiramis's queenly presence, this newbie king held her ground flawlessly.
She didn't have the official [King] trait, sure, but technically, she had once ruled over the pseudo-Britain government.
Calling her a rookie ruler wasn't exactly wrong.
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Of course, Mordred didn't care what EMIYA and Shinji thought of her performance.
Unlike her usual style, this time she felt a genuine fear deep inside—of being poisoned. Even if Semiramis didn't intend to kill her, the suffering would be real enough.
This poison-phobia actually helped her tap into the mindset of Fate/Apocrypha-verse Mordred.
So, the moment Shinji called out, "Action!", Mordred found herself genuinely contemplating how to defeat this woman without getting herself poisoned in the process.
That made her fight choreography look a little conflicted—hesitant even.
While this might not perfectly align with what the script originally demanded, it felt right. Authentic, even.
So Shinji, as the director, never called "cut." He just let her keep going.
And Mordred didn't try to overthink it. She simply followed her instincts.
Until finally—spotting the perfect opening—she raised her sword, unleashing her Noble Phantasm:
"Clarent Blood Arthur! (Rebellion Against My Beautiful Father!)"
A red beam of light tore through the air, sweeping straight toward Semiramis.
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