"What kind of plot is this?!"
"Why did Diarmuid kill himself?"
"Huh?!"
"Why?"
"Wait… was it the Command Seal?"
"Command Seal?!"
As Su Qingwen stared in disbelief, the story rewound in time.
During the duel between Diarmuid and Artoria, Kiritsugu Emiya had located Kenneth's hideout.
He pressed the muzzle of his handgun to Kenneth's forehead—who had by then lost all magical power—and offered him two choices:
First:
Die here.
Second:
Sign a magecraft contract. In exchange for Kiritsugu sparing him and his fiancée, Kenneth would use his last Command Seal… to order Diarmuid to commit suicide.
And so…
"Aaaaaahhh!!!"
"You bastards… you really…"
"Just to win? You'd stoop to this? You'd trample even my one wish, a fair fight… Don't you feel any shame at all?!"
"You desecrate the honor of knights—fine. Then I, Diarmuid, shall curse you with my blood. May your wishes be stained by misfortune. When you fall into the depths of hell, may you remember my wrath!"
Diarmuid's dying curse toward Kiritsugu and all those present sent chills down Su Qingwen's spine.
You can't do this!
All he wanted was a fair duel with Artoria. He just wanted one honest battle with a worthy opponent.
Why couldn't they let him have that?
Kiritsugu Emiya—Diarmuid even let you live earlier out of chivalry!
And now you do this?
Even if you had to kill Kenneth, fine. But not like this—not while he was mid-duel, finally enjoying a meaningful, mutually respectful battle with Artoria, only to be forced to die by command.
Diarmuid's furious howl still echoed in Su Qingwen's ears.
It lit a fire in him, too.
"How is a guy like Kiritsugu even a main character?"
"He's garbage. Absolutely no sense of honor, no empathy?"
"This kind of protagonist disgusts me. I can't take it."
"No wonder Director Jing Yu didn't want to play him. Even a dog would turn this role down."
"I hope Diarmuid's curse comes true. These people are so obsessed with winning the Holy Grail War. Fine—let their wishes be cursed. Even if they win, may they never see them come true."
"I'm fuming over this protagonist!"
"Poor Diarmuid. Poor Artoria!"
"Why does this hurt so much again? Am I just too emotionally invested in Diarmuid?"
"It's all Director Jing Yu's fault, that damned genius!"
But even before the fans finished raging, another twist dropped.
Kiritsugu had signed the contract with Kenneth: if Kenneth made Diarmuid kill himself, Kiritsugu would let him live.
A proper magecraft contract.
But…
Kiritsugu didn't pull the trigger.
He let his subordinate do it.
That's when it really hit—the importance of an underling who "gets" their boss.
No direct orders. No hints.
The subordinate didn't even wait for instructions—just shot and killed Kenneth and his fiancée.
"I said I wouldn't kill you. I never said anything about others," Kiritsugu explained coldly.
Absolutely shameless.
This scene had Su Qingwen's blood pressure spiking.
If a villain did something like this, you'd just shrug it off.
But this—this is the protagonist?
Ignoring his own Servant Artoria's desire for a fair duel.
Using such despicable tactics to destroy that battle.
Then, breaking a magically binding contract with a technicality?
What the actual hell.
By Episode 8, finally—
Masters started dying.
Two in one episode.
But the way they died left most viewers, especially newcomers, stunned.
They knew Jing Yu wasn't one to follow clichés.
No villains dying because of long-winded speeches.
No karma for showing mercy.
But this?
This protagonist had zero moral compass. He wasn't subverting tropes—he was embodying raw treachery.
This guy's dream is world peace?
More like world destruction.
And yet… the ratings were exactly what Yunteng TV had hoped for:
Average rating across the entire episode: 10.03%.
Meanwhile, the second-highest-rated show this quarter—Xingtong TV's flagship—had only reached 7.11%.
'Fate/Zero' wasn't even in the same league anymore.
After Episode 8, even though viewers didn't exactly reject the plot—
They felt something heavy set in:
The brutality of the Holy Grail War.
This wasn't a show where random side characters died.
No.
Everyone you love—Artoria, Iskandar, Diarmuid, Irisviel—any one of them could die.
And then there were the angry fans who felt Kiritsugu didn't deserve to be the main character at all.
That night, they flooded every major drama forum, downvoting Kiritsugu's character en masse.
For the first time in ages, the lead character of a Jing Yu drama became the most downvoted male lead of the entire spring season.
The last time this happened?
Back when Haruki Kitahara from 'White Album 2' debuted and got labeled the scummiest of scumbags.
Love or hate—controversy is still engagement.
Kiritsugu's actor knew this episode would get him roasted.
But this level of flame?
It still caught him off guard.
He tried posting a few lighthearted videos to reassure fans—
But overnight, tens of thousands of furious comments from 'Fate/Zero' fans flooded his account.
"Just wait—you'll eventually feel for Kiritsugu too," he wrote.
Trying to imitate Jingyu's "mystery bait" tactics.
But fans had zero patience for that.
His comment section got demolished for several days straight.
Eventually, he caved and disabled the comments.
Meanwhile—Diarmuid's actor?
He went viral.
Fans were devastated for him.
He had shot his scenes 4–5 months ago and moved on to other shows.
This sudden wave of love completely blindsided him.
After all, he was technically just a supporting character.
And now? Breakout star.
From Jing Yu's point of view—
This level of impact was slightly above expectations.
He had always believed the true brilliance of 'Fate/Zero' came later—
When Kiritsugu's backstory was revealed, the emotional struggles of all the characters peaked toward the end of the war.
But the fact that ratings passed 10% right after Diarmuid's death?
That was a pleasant surprise.
Fanbases like Iskandar fans, Gilgamesh fans, and Artoria stans exploded in size—just like in his previous life.
They were now battling it out daily on his social media, each one trying to sway Jing Yu to make their favorite character win the Holy Grail.
Naturally, Jing Yu paid close attention.
Even though the game division was already working overtime, Jing Yu decided to inject more funding to speed things up.
The faster the game got released, the less the fans would suffer—and the more money he'd make.
'Fate/Zero' ended on an incomplete note.
Did Artoria get her wish?
What happened to the other characters?
The drama left all of this unanswered.
If the follow-up game wasn't launched soon, and the fans didn't get their closure—
Jing Yu knew exactly where their anger would go next:
Straight at him.
The storylines of 'Fate/stay night' had already been merged into the upcoming Fate game scheduled for release by year's end.
Anyone hooked on 'Fate/Zero' would be powerless to resist the game.