Chapter 179: Episode 4: The Hollow Shrine (Part 9)
"The movie's still playing!"
Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, and just like that, all eyes snapped back to the TV screen in the bar.
…
The footage abruptly shifted.
A familiar hospital room came into view—the same one that had appeared in the aerial shots earlier. There, sitting weakly on a hospital bed, was Kirie Fujou once again. Her frail body trembled slightly.
Suddenly, the door creaked open from the outside. A tall man dressed entirely in black stepped in, his presence heavy and unshakable.
"So, you're Kirie Fujou?"
His voice rumbled like thunder, low and laden with something that felt almost like sorrow.
"Are you a friend of my father?" she asked.
The tall man said nothing in response.
Her lips trembled. With a trace of fear in her voice, Kirie Fujou spoke again.
"Why are you here? I'm of no use to anyone anymore…"
But the man only replied in a calm, even tone:
"I've come to grant your wish. Another body, one that can move freely—do you want it?"
"…"
His words carried an almost magical allure. Kirie Fujou couldn't help but be drawn in. After a long silence, her throat quivered as she nodded.
In response, the man in black raised his right hand, and bestowed upon her the ability of Overlooking.
At that moment, as though in synchrony, Kirie Fujou whispered a question:
"Who… are you?"
But before he could answer, the scene cut away.
Now, Asagami Fujino appeared, stumbling weakly through the streets after fleeing the bar. Her breath was ragged, her abdomen wracked with pain.
"What do I do… What am I supposed to do now…?"
She had just killed someone. Her trembling voice was almost a sob as she collapsed toward the ground.
That was when he appeared again. The man in black caught her in his arms.
"You're Asagami Fujino, right?"
"Your spine's fractured. There's no way you can make it home like this."
Fujino froze, startled. Her pale face twisted with fear.
The man's voice rang out again—deep, powerful, and strangely bewitching.
"Do you want me to heal you?"
Without meaning to, Fujino nodded.
"Understood. Then I'll fix the abnormalities in your body."
As her pain ebbed and her body slowly mended, Fujino's eyes widened. She asked, startled:
"Who… are you?"
The exact same question.
Just like before, the scene cut to black before he could answer.
But this time, in the darkness, a young boy's voice quietly echoed:
"Who… exactly are you?"
At last, the man answered.
"My name's Souren Araya, a magus."
The film ended.
…
The room exploded with murmurs.
No one had expected a surprise segment like that to follow the credits.
"Who the hell was that guy in black? Didn't he show up in the teaser after the last 'Remaining Sense of Pain' episode ended?"
"Yeah, I remember that! He was saying something like 'three pieces have been prepared,' right?"
"Could he be the big boss behind everything? It feels like the whole The Garden of Sinners plot ties back to him somehow…"
"But wait, didn't he just help Kirie and Fujino? Doesn't that make him a good guy?"
"Good guy? Are you forgetting what Kirie and Fujino did? If someone's helping them, there's no way he's on the side of the angels."
"And that last scene—the kid's voice. Who was that? Did he show up earlier in the story?"
"This is getting so mysterious… Wait a minute, isn't this kind of a cliffhanger?"
"Eh, it could be worse. At least it wasn't as blatant as the endings of Fate/Zero or Konosuba. This kind of post-credits tease is still within acceptable levels of pain."
"Yeah… I guess you're right…"
With the tension broken, the audience let out a collective sigh of relief. Whatever twists the film had thrown at them, it was over—no more surprises.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring Edward Tavern, the staff from the production company also relaxed, casually discussing the latest developments in The Hollow Shrine.
Yet throughout it all, Edward's expression remained… oddly strained.
"Lord Durin, are you alright?"
From across the room, Winry looked over with a puzzled face. She had clearly picked up on Edward's weird behavior.
The others quickly followed suit, casting curious glances his way.
Edward, meanwhile, let out an awkward laugh and scratched his head.
"Ahaha… well, uh, you know how The Garden of Sinners releases one episode at a time, shooting and airing them one by one?"
"Yeah, what about it?" someone replied casually.
"It's just… uh, the fifth chapter—Paradox Spiral—it's already finished, right? So I thought, maybe we could… stir up a little excitement ahead of time…"
"What are you talking about?" Helena was the first to pick up on something off. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
And then—at that exact moment—the bar's television suddenly flickered to life again.
"Wait, what the hell? What is this!?"
As everyone stared in dumbfounded shock, Edward activated a teleportation circle under his feet and explained:
"Ahaha, yeah, that… I might've, uh, spliced together some highlight footage from Paradox Spiral and made a trailer out of it. Just a little teaser at the end there. Anyway! You guys enjoy it! I'm out!"
"YOU LITTLE—!"
The entire production team erupted, faces filled with a wild mix of shock and fury.
But by then, Edward had already activated his teleportation magic and disappeared from the scene.
"EDWARD!!!"
On the other side of the room, even as they shouted his name in anger, none of them could resist the lure of that trailer. With burning rage in their hearts, they turned back toward the screen.
…
"Wait, wait, what?! There's more!?"
At the Imperial Mage Academy, the students—who had been having the same heated debates about the mysterious man in black as the folks in the bar—suddenly froze.
None of them had expected another post-credits segment to appear. Yet there it was.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"
"I've never seen this before! Is this footage from Episode 5!?"
"But it's flashing by so fast—I couldn't even tell what was happening!"
"Oh my god, that looked insane! What was that?! What even was that?!"
"Wait! Slow down! I didn't catch any of it!"
"AAAAAAAHHHH! I'M LOSING IT! SOMEBODY JUST KNOCK ME OUT!"
"This is emotional torture! Psychological murder!"
"Screw this, how am I supposed to last an entire month after that?! Just kill me now!"
"…"
In a flash, the entire Imperial Magic Academy descended into chaos.
Students ran wild in every direction, knocking over chairs, clutching their heads, and screaming at the ceiling. The once-graceful, composed mages of the Empire now looked like victims of a full-blown fifth-tier psychic storm.
From the outside, any onlooker might've believed the Academy had fallen to some catastrophic magical attack.
But no—it was just the side effects of a trailer. A cruel, merciless trailer.
And the name of its creator… would not be soon forgiven.
<+>
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