Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 94: The Eve

In Tang Yao’s previous life.
Fate/Zero was one of those extremely rare works that plunged into a death march of negativity halfway through—and never let up.
From that point on, it was a constant onslaught of death and despair.
At least, that was how it was when it first released.
And the most incredible thing was—it received overwhelming praise.
Despite being a tragedy, Fate/Zero managed to garner accolades even from non-fans, and expanded the Fate series’ fanbase significantly. That alone speaks volumes about the quality of this work.
In fact, the story's death spiral really began with Lancer's suicide.
And readers in this world were about to learn exactly what a “death march” meant...
Just last chapter, they saw Kiritsugu Emiya kill his father.
This chapter, they watched as he faced a plane full of Dead Apostles—and his own teacher and foster mother.
Kiritsugu once again chose to sacrifice the few to save the many.
He aimed a rocket at the plane with his mother figure aboard.
The explosion followed.
Then came his anguish, his breakdown… and that iconic scene of him crying in despair.
And this wasn’t even the end.
The plot just kept escalating.
The Noble Phantasm showdown between the Emperor and Saber.
Matou Kariya, manipulated by the Delightful Duo, pointed to the unconscious Tokiomi and screamed, “It’s all his fault!”
The Great Bridge Duel of the Twin Kings, where the Emperor and Waver formed the only real positive alliance in the story. Waver, as a Master, willingly became a loyal subject. The Emperor charged forward with valor, shining gloriously as he exited the stage...
Saber’s pain.
Her obsession with the Holy Grail.
Lancelot’s wish for the King to punish him...
Explosions.
Gunfire.
Nobility.
Treachery.
Flames.
Betrayal...
Every single chapter—an emotional detonation.
At last, the readers' emotions reached their peak in the penultimate chapter.
After learning the Holy Grail wasn’t the miracle he’d dreamed of, Kiritsugu decisively used two Command Seals to order Saber to destroy the Grail with her sword.
That second-to-last chapter ended with a chilling freeze-frame:
Saber, screaming in despair, raising her Excalibur to strike the Grail.
At the same time—
The reclusive “third-rate artist” finally stepped forward with one announcement:
The manga will end with the next chapter.
And not a week later.
Tomorrow.
By now, after the storm stirred by the game, and the death-charge storytelling of the manga, the FATE franchise had reached the height of its popularity!
Especially in the second half of the manga.
Every weekly release became a hot topic across anime forums. Countless fans of anime and manga were joining in on the discussions.
Fan art. Fan fiction. Flooding in.
And memes—
Maybe it was some kind of world-line convergence or fate, but phrases like “It’s all Tokiomi’s fault” and “Delightful” had become legendary catchphrases in this world’s anime circles.
Kiritsugu blowing up the plane and breaking down had also become a meme, shared widely across forums—but now in manga form.
Right now, the hottest manga out there wasn’t Rumi’s Into the Night, or anything else.
It was Fate/Zero.
And now... Fate/Zero was ending.
Who knows how many mangaka breathed a sigh of relief.
Because during its run, Fate/Zero hogged readers’ attention!
Sure, other manga weren’t totally ignored, but the pressure was real.
Worse still—it wasn’t even serialized in any magazine!
It broke through with just its premise and plot alone!
This left other mangaka in an awkward spot...
Even the magazine publishers were relieved.
Fate/Zero wasn’t in their lineup, yet it was siphoning attention and even affecting their sales...
Readers were heading to the free Fate/Zero updates every week...
They had really feared… this third-rate artist might extend the series into a long-run.
Thankfully—
Their worst fear didn’t come true.
The manga was finally ending. It was all over.
Now it was time for magazine serials to reclaim the stage!
As for the readers—
They weren’t exactly sentimental about the ending.
Because in the second half of Fate/Zero, practically everyone was dead...
More than sadness, people were discussing—
Saber and Kiritsugu, the Master-Servant pair who couldn’t understand or communicate.
The devastating scene where Saber was forced by Command Seals to destroy the Holy Grail.
And ultimately, what kind of ending this story would deliver...
Meanwhile.
At Avalon Studio.
Everyone could finally breathe easy.
But clearly... the team at Avalon Studio couldn’t.
Because Fate/Grand Order had reached its final and most crucial step—open beta.
In recent weeks, the manga’s explosive developments had drawn in so much attention...
Even the last beta test of the game had noticeably fewer eyes on it.
Tang Yao had anticipated this, though.
Thanks to the strong final test data, the team stayed calm.
Avalon Studio had been polishing the game, preparing for launch.
This marathon wasn’t long, but it had been grueling.
And now—it was almost over...
Of course, there was more running to come even after the launch.
The post-singularity content still had to be developed.
The Fate/stay night storyline too.
But for now—
Everyone in the studio hoped to cross that one symbolic finish line before continuing the next leg of the journey.
“...How’s the website looking?”
The weather had gotten colder recently.
Thin sweaters just weren’t cutting it anymore.
So Tang Yao had put on a puffy down jacket.
Even so, she still looked great.
At least in Kang Ming’s eyes, she did.
His two idiot friends looked like walking snowballs in theirs—but on Tang Yao, the jacket was light and cute.
Just like the difference between a seller’s photo and a buyer’s photo… the contrast was too strong.
Thinking this—
Kang Ming glanced at Tang Yao, with her smooth hair draped over her shoulders, bundled up with only her fair, delicate face showing.
After silently roasting Sun Gong and Shi Wanglin in his mind, he replied:
“All done. We double-checked everything just now. No problem launching at midnight.”
Tang Yao asked again:
“What about the two short videos?”
Kang Ming:
“I checked them too. All good.”
“And the manga…”
“The final chapter’s been uploaded too.”
“……”
Tang Yao stopped asking questions.
She raised a hand to breathe warm air on it, then looked toward the studio exit and softly said:
“Then we wait until midnight… when the website goes live.”
After all this time and effort, the fruits were finally about to ripen.
But Tang Yao wasn’t really thinking about that anymore.
Probably because she’d already thought about it too much in recent days.
What she was thinking about now… was Li Xue and Xun.
Because her hands were freezing.
And those two had such warm hands...
That night.
11:50 PM.
Since they had announced it beforehand, players knew that the final chapter of Fate/Zero would be released shortly after midnight.
So at this moment, many readers were sitting in front of their computers, waiting.
Su Deqiang was one of them...
He stared at the familiar website, feeling nostalgic.
He’d started following Fate/Zero by chance over summer break, after flaming Ou Congquan.
Now it was almost winter break.
And the manga—was finally ending.
Compared to those long-running magazine serials, Fate/Zero wasn’t long.
You could even call it short.
But the time he spent following this manga had really stuck with him.
So much so...
Fate/Zero had replaced The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword as his favorite manga.
He’d been so hyped back then...
But there was no helping it.
Fate/Zero was just too good!
The Girl, the Boy, and the Sword? Who’s that?
Still, the manga was ending now…
What kind of ending would it have?
Thinking this, Su Deqiang hit refresh on the website again...
But this time—it didn’t load properly.
The site even froze.
Huh?
Su Deqiang frowned. He was just about to hit refresh again...
When the site, after freezing briefly, suddenly loaded.
But what appeared before him—wasn’t the familiar animated Saber portrait that had once wowed him.
It was a...
Game main screen.
“Huh?????”
Su Deqiang stared at the screen in confusion, letting out a puzzled noise.