Chapter 264: LORD DIARMUID, WE LOVE YOU!!
The climax was finally here.
On the big screen, Ethan had pulled off the impossible—gathering everyone who wanted him dead onto the same high-speed train:
His corrupt superior, the arms dealer he was supposed to hand the list to, and even the traitor from his own team.
One train.
Three enemies.
One chance to end it all.
First, he handed the list to the mysterious arms dealer, Max. But as soon as she tried to transmit the data, the signal went dark—jammed by the train entering a tunnel.
Next, Ethan used his smart-glasses to record evidence that Jim—the supposed "dead" traitor—was very much alive. He sent the footage straight to headquarters, exposing Jim and clearing his own name.
Cornered, Jim snapped.
With nothing left to lose, he made his move to kill Ethan.
At the same time, his partner-in-crime, Craig, swooped in piloting a helicopter to back him up.
The final showdown took place right there in the tunnel—chaotic, high-speed, and heart-stopping.
In a change from the original Mission: Impossible, this version added an intense new twist: the helicopter pilot swap.
Craig gave up the controls and let Jim take over, while he himself climbed underneath the helicopter—ready to throw hands with Ethan directly on the moving train.
This Craig was played by none other than Vlad, soon to appear in the upcoming Fate/Apocrypha.
Shinji had cast him not just to help him get used to film work early, but also to start building his presence with the public.
After all, it's not easy to find heroic spirits with a perfectly punchable villain face.
Whether it was Semiramis or Vlad, Shinji never missed a chance to use them.
They are quite pitiful, actually.
They were once rulers of entire nations, now taking orders from a teenage magus directing spy flicks.
From a certain angle… You could say Matou Shinji was truly heartless.
But the audience didn't care.
As Ethan (Diarmuid) and Craig (Vlad) fought midair—dangling from the landing skids, exchanging blows in the roaring wind—they cheered, they clapped, they lost their minds.
The final blow, of course, came from the very beginning of the movie.
The Exploding Chewing Gum.
Gadget-laced equipment was a staple of spy movies, and while Spy Among Spies tech was no less absurd than 007's, it felt more grounded—just believable enough to make the audience think:
"...I don't know how it works, but it's gotta be genius!"
"Red light—!"
Wind roaring in the tunnel, Diarmuid flashed his trademark smile.
"Green light—!!"
Just like a manga character shouting their finishing move, he raised the gum dramatically… then crushed it between his fingers with a satisfying snap.
Pa!
He slapped it right onto the helicopter windshield.
And then—like a true hero—he leapt.
BOOM—!!
The explosion rocked the air. Diarmuid used the blast wave as a boost, landing flat onto the roof of the speeding train.
The camera cut rapidly.
The helicopter spun, out of control. Its blades whirled closer and closer to Diarmuid, screaming through the air.
The audience gasped—was Ethan about to die after all this!?
But at the very last second, the spinning blades stopped—just millimeters from his throat.
Perfectly timed.
Painfully close.
The pacing. The tension. The sheer coolness of it all.
It gripped the audience like a vice—and they loved it.
From there, the film began to wrap up.
Ethan defeated the traitors, cleared his name, and returned to active duty.
The good survived.
The evil perished.
Everything wrapped up clean, neat… perfect.
Except… it wasn't over.
Not quite.
The final scenes already hinted at the next mission.
The next enemy.
The next sequel.
In his past life, the early Mission: Impossible films weren't too tightly connected.
That made it easier for casual viewers to jump in—but it also limited how deep the story could go.
Shinji wasn't one to settle for that.
Following the more successful Hollywood model, he wove recurring characters across his own franchise, letting the story build into something bigger and more cohesive over time.
For instance, in the official novels, the arms dealer Max from the first film was retroactively written as the mother of the "White Widow," a key figure who debuted in the sixth movie.
Naturally, Shinji kept that backstory intact—except he went a step further and showed it directly in the film.
The only missing piece was the White Widow's actress.
He hadn't decided on one yet, so her face was left unseen on screen—just a voice, just a presence.
Still, even with so little screen time, White Widow absolutely stole the spotlight.
There was something alluring about her—an irresistible pull. But unlike Semiramis, whose charm came from pure danger, White Widow had a strange softness to her… even a trace of innocence.
If you had to sum her up in one sentence, it'd be:
"She smiles like spring, blushes like a peach blossom… and under her skirt hides a blade that dances without mercy."
Honestly, Semiramis could have played the role if Shinji had asked.
But he had other plans.
Characters like the White Widow, short screen time or not, were tailor-made to launch newcomers into stardom.
A role like hers, played well, could leave a lasting impression—and Shinji knew better than anyone how powerful that first impact could be.
And so, behind what looked like a satisfying, clean-cut ending, Shinji had already planted the seeds for what came next.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
"Looks like Matou Shinji has plenty of confidence in this franchise," murmured Johnny Kitagawa, one of the veteran producers attending the premiere.
The movie wasn't even officially released yet, and this kid was already setting the groundwork for the sequel.
Smart.
Keen-eyed.
Ambitious.
Johnny Kitagawa had spent decades in the industry. Even before the credits rolled, he'd already made up his mind about the film.
First of all, the plot—excellent.
Sure, it had a few holes if you looked close, but nothing major. The non-stop action more than made up for any loose threads.
The pacing was tight.
The cinematography hit all the right beats.
Shinji had the entire audience dancing to the rhythm of his vision—laughing, gasping, gripping their seats when he wanted them to.
And most importantly—the cast.
The film gave Diarmuid all the screen time he needed to shine.
And shine he did.
Johnny Kitagawa might not know a thing about digital cameras or special effects—but he was a lifelong expert in one thing:
Good-looking male idols.
From what he saw, if this Diarmuid couldn't sweep up a tidal wave of female fans, then women must've collectively changed taste and started chasing ugly men instead.
"Working with Shinji was the right call," he muttered under his breath, stroking his beard in thought. "I remember he's got several other ridiculously handsome actors lined up too…"
In all his years, Johnny Kitagawa had never managed to create a truly world-famous male idol group.
It was one of the few regrets he had.
But now?
Now he saw a new path.
A real opportunity.
With Type-Moon's actors and Matou Shinji's films, maybe—just maybe—he could take one final gamble before he passed the torch.
"Only problem now… is how to convince that sly fox to work with me."
His eyes settled on Shinji's silhouette, seated just a few rows ahead.
"He's not an easy one to bargain with. That kid's ambition burns hotter than most men's lifetimes."
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
As the end credits of Spy Among Spies rolled across the screen, the lights came back on.
But no one left.
The audience remained seated, offering loud, enthusiastic applause for the cast and crew.
At most premieres, this kind of clapping was just polite formality.
But not this time.
Somewhere in the middle of the crowd, a female fan—voice full of hormones and eyes sparkling with obsession—leapt to her feet.
It started with just one voice.
A young girl shot to her feet, unable to contain her excitement any longer. Her shout rang across the theater like a firecracker:
"LORD DIARMUID, WE LOVE YOU!!"
She wasn't alone for long.
The energy she released was contagious. More and more fans around her stood up, raising a pre-prepared banner, their voices rising into a deafening chorus:
"LORD DIARMUID, WE LOVE YOU!!"
"LORD DIARMUID, WE LOVE YOU!!" × N
The chanting echoed, wave after wave of adoration flooding the room.
"…Isn't this getting a little out of hand?"
Diarmuid froze in place, caught completely off guard by the sheer fervor of his fans.
His past experiences with crowds hadn't all been kind, and for a brief second, he even worried that some of the women's boyfriends might come flying out of the audience to punch him in the face.
—But no such disaster came.
In fact, as he looked again, Diarmuid realized that it wasn't just women cheering.
Men were standing too—cheering just as loudly.
He was stunned.
Completely at a loss for what to do, he stood frozen—until a calm, familiar voice whispered from behind:
"Diarmuid, take the crew up for a curtain call."
Shinji.
"Master, aren't you coming too?"
Shinji gave him a gentle smile.
"This moment belongs to you."
Of course he wasn't going.
Shinji had made this whole movie precisely for this moment—so there was no way he'd steal the spotlight now.
This was Diarmuid's stage.
Still a bit flustered, Diarmuid scrambled to gather the core production crew and led them up to the small stage in front of the screen.
On his way up, he bumped into Vlad—hard.
The two nearly tripped over each other, their arms instinctively grabbing each other's shoulders for balance.
And just like that, the pose they ended up in…
It looked exactly like a certain scene from the film.
The crowd burst into laughter, the whole theater filled with playful teasing and good-natured applause.
Beneath that wave of joyful chaos, the premiere of Spy Among Spies drew to a spectacular, heartfelt close.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
As the audience began to exit the theater, the atmosphere was still buzzing with post-film excitement.
Most of the out-of-town fans had come in groups, and now they left in those same groups—chatting, laughing, still deep in conversation about what they'd just seen.
A woman with sleek, straight black hair and an intellectual air was the first to speak.
"That was an excellent film."
The blonde girl walking beside her nodded immediately.
"The film was great—but Lord Diarmuid was amazing."
The intellectual woman smiled and spread her arms.
"Of course. Our Lord Diarmuid is the best."
Clearly, this group was part of Diarmuid's dedicated fanbase.
Trailing behind them, a brunette girl looked utterly heartbroken.
"I don't even know when his next movie will come out… Just thinking about the wait is already killing me."
"Same," someone else muttered with a sigh.
The intellectual woman twirled her hair thoughtfully.
"I never imagined a man could be this cool, this handsome… He doesn't feel real. He's not like any man from this world."
That line hit home for the entire group. Everyone nodded in agreement.
Then the brunette chimed in again:
"I heard it was Matou Shinji who discovered him. That director really has an eye for talent."
"Matou Shinji?" the blonde girl tilted her head, clearly unfamiliar with behind-the-scenes names.
She was the type to chase stars, not staff.
The intellectual took on the role of impromptu guide.
"He's the lead producer and screenwriter of Spy Among Spies. Also the director of the Fate series."
"Oh! Fate/Zero—Diarmuid's screen debut, right?" the blonde's eyes sparkled.
"That Shinji guy must be pretty amazing."
Just then, someone stepped in front of them, stopping the group.
Surveyors. From a media research firm.
Normally, none of the girls would've bothered with the usual post-screening questionnaires.
And the tiny freebie the researchers handed out? They wouldn't have looked twice.
But tonight was different.
The gift… was a photo of Diarmuid.
No one refused.
Each of them happily filled out the survey—and of course, every single rating they gave the movie was the highest possible:
A+
And they weren't alone.
This same scene—adoring fans, glowing ratings, Diarmuid's name on everyone's lips—was playing out in theaters all around the world.
<+>
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 316: Shinji: Good Morning! Children's Show![2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/138671752?collection=31097[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/31097?view=expanded[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/31097?view=expanded
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/138671752?collection=31097
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/138671752?collection=31097
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/31097?view=expanded