Chapter 343: Are All Magi From The Sealing Designation Department This Insane?
The spell was unleashed in an instant—a single flash of crimson light as Illya activated the Death Magic branded on Bazett's neck.
"Ugh!"
Even though Bazett rolled away the moment Illya moved, it was already too late. The spell had taken hold.
"…What did you just do?"
Bazett looked at the panting Illya, a rare hint of caution on her face.
There was no way she believed that Illya and the others had gone through all that effort just to touch her neck—what was this, some lecher's bad joke? No, that magic Illya triggered had to mean something serious.
Still, Bazett wasn't the type to admit defeat easily. Her motto was simple: If I'm still standing, I can still punch my opponent into the ground.
Of course, she had been holding back against Illya and her friends. If she'd been fighting the way she usually did when sealing rogue magi, a single punch from her would've been enough to leave these little girls so broken they could only whimper "Onii-chan~" for the rest of their lives.
But alas, the outcome of this battle wasn't something Bazett's will could overturn. The moment Illya's hand touched her neck, everything was decided.
In the end, it was a victory earned by everyone on Illya's side.
If Rin hadn't embedded a "shared pain" spell into her earlier magic bullet, Bazett would never have shown that opening.
If Chloe hadn't risked everything to draw Bazett's attention, Illya never could've gotten close.
If Ruby hadn't played bait, Illya wouldn't have gotten behind her.
And if Luvia hadn't fired that final magic shot, Bazett wouldn't have leaned in toward Illya in the first place.
Bazett lost for one simple reason—she fought alone, while Illya fought with trusted companions.
She didn't lose to Illya… she lost to their bond.
—Yeah right. That kind of moral lesson is for kids' shows. For anyone over fifteen, all that talk about friendship, bonds, and teamwork is just window dressing to make the fight scenes hit harder.
Let's be honest—the real reason the audience tuned in was to watch Bazett go toe-to-toe with a group of magical girls in a glorious, high-speed brawl!
"So then… Shinji Matou—no, wait. What was Miyu even here for?"
Watching Illya press her glowing hand against Bazett's neck, Waver sighed. He knew the fight was over.
Back during the Fate/Zero shoot, he'd chatted with Shinji about filming techniques, including one crucial rule for action scenes:
Never too short, never too long. Too short and the viewers feel cheated. Too long, and they get exhausted.
This battle with Bazett had spanned two full episodes—over thirty minutes of nonstop action. Any more twists or turnarounds at this point would just make the audience scream, "Oh, come on, enough already!"
Sure enough, even as Bazett refused to accept defeat and moved to strike again, a newly-awakened Miyu stepped forward to block her path.
Facing Bazett, Miyu declared with unwavering resolve,
"I won't let you lay a finger on Illya!"
"…Ah."
Waver sighed again from outside the screen, utterly defeated.
Sure, Miyu—right now you look really cool protecting your best friend. But the battle's already over, kid. Your big moment's done.
Looking back at the whole fight, the girl Waver had put his money on—Miyu—had, in truth, contributed almost nothing to the outcome.
Aside from giving Bazett a reason to show off that blinding sword technique… she was basically just there for moral support.
Ah, wait—no, to be fair, Miyu did manage to blow off half of Bazett's sleeve. That's at least something. When they tally up the score after the battle, she won't walk away with a complete zero.
But for the bet between Waver and Kayneth, that tiny contribution meant absolutely nothing.
If he wanted to, he could've weaseled his way out—claim the fight was inconclusive, say no one really won or lost. That would've been a nice loophole.
But that kind of cheap trick? That was something his teacher would've done after losing.
He, Waver Velvet, would never stoop that low.
When it came to paying up after a bet, Waver was far more honorable than Bazett herself.
On-screen, Bazett—still blocked by Miyu—showed no signs of giving up and was about to rush forward again.
Fortunately, after spending half an episode running, Rin Tohsaka finally made it to the battlefield.
"Bazett! It's checkmate already!"
The ones happiest to see Rin weren't the adults, but the three little girls.
They weren't expecting her to swoop in as reinforcements—they were just relieved to see that Rin and Luvia were still alive.
No time for tearful reunions though. Rin skipped the chatter and immediately opened negotiations with Bazett.
Using nothing but her sharp tongue and the art of fast-talking, Tohsaka Rin managed to convince Bazett that her own life was now bound to Illya's through magic.
If Bazett attacked Illya again, the spell would supposedly cause her own death.
Of course, all of that was complete nonsense.
Forget dying together—the pain-sharing spell didn't even transfer that much pain.
But Rin, ever the cunning talker, took advantage of Bazett's straightforward nature and her lack of knowledge about gem magecraft, twisting "Shared Pain" into something that sounded like a dark master-slave bond—"Cursed Life Link."
Unfortunately, even that threat wasn't enough to make Bazett back down.
"In that case," Bazett said calmly, "I'll just beat her until she's half-dead. That way, the spell won't trigger."
Her tone was as casual as if she were talking about trimming her nails.
"If I want to, I can completely ignore my own pain."
"…"
That kind of line left even Rin—both the one on-screen and the one watching off-screen—completely speechless.
"Hey, Shinji," Rin asked, brows furrowed, "are all magi from the Sealing Designation Department this insane?"
Shinji shrugged. "The few I've met? Yeah, they're pretty obsessive. Especially Bazett—she really would go that far."
"…But why?" Rin asked, clearly baffled.
She could understand the crazy zealots from the Church—they were driven by fanatical faith. But these Sealing Designation agents? What was their deal?
"If I had to guess," Shinji mused, rubbing his chin, "it's about their magical ideals. Every magus has their own pursuit. Most chase after mystery, but a few… they follow their own philosophies."
Rin frowned slightly. "You mean… the pursuit of the Root?"
"What about it?" Shinji asked.
Rin shook her head slowly. "No, it's just… back when I was at the Clock Tower, I met all kinds of magi. They chased mystery so desperately… they didn't even seem human anymore."
Shinji smirked, glancing sideways at her. "It's like law students who lose their souls the deeper they go."
"The more you chase something as abstract as the Root, the more your sense of humanity erodes. That's what it means to be a magus."
Rin smacked Shinji across the arm with a sharp slap! Clearly, she didn't appreciate that last remark—mostly because it hit a little too close to home.
"What kind of international joke is that supposed to be?! How could I not be human? I'm Tohsaka Rin!"
Shinji just gave a lazy shrug, utterly unbothered.
Everyone knew Rin had a sharp tongue and a soft heart. Among the old-school magi, she was probably one of the most human ones out there.
…Well, usually.
Because, truth be told, Shinji did remember a certain route where Rin's humanity had… drifted off the deep end.
In the Heaven's Feel line—specifically that infamous bad ending where Shirou chose ideals over Sakura—Rin had taken it upon herself to carry out her sister's execution.
And after that… something inside her snapped.
As the rumors went, afterward Rin and Shirou entered the Great Hollow and uncovered the Holy Grail's true nature.
Shirou, ever the self-sacrificing hero, chose to destroy the Grail. Rin, on the other hand, chose to claim it.
To her, the Tohsaka family had already sacrificed too much for that cursed artifact—her father, her sister, even her own soul. No matter the cost, she would not walk away empty-handed.
Unable to turn her back from that path, Rin faced Shirou's blade. Just as Kiritsugu had done ten years earlier, Shirou killed her, destroyed the Grail, and went on to live his life as a wandering champion of justice.
That, many fans agreed, was the route where Shirou came closest to becoming Archer.
So really, every one of Fuyuki's "protagonists" carried the potential for dark, twisted madness.
The only reason they hadn't gone full yandere villain yet was because the right conditions hadn't hit—yet.
"What's with that look?" Rin narrowed her eyes at him, suspicion flaring. Her instincts told her Shinji definitely wasn't thinking anything wholesome.
"I was thinking about how you'd—uh, never mind that! I was just thinking about the TV station's New Year's project," he said quickly, giving Rin a big thumbs-up and an even bigger grin. "I came up with a great idea!"
"…"
Rin just stared at that gleaming grin of his, feeling the urge to sigh, scream, or throw something—all at once. There was no way to respond that wouldn't make her look like the crazy one.
At least, that was true for the real-world Rin.
The on-screen Rin, though? She wasn't the type to be caught off guard.
Even with Bazett standing there radiating raw muscle power and professional intimidation, Rin didn't so much as flinch. She'd already anticipated that this brawny enforcer wouldn't fall for a simple mutual-destruction bluff.
Rin's true goal wasn't to make Bazett abandon her mission.
It was to stall her—to make the human battering ram stop swinging long enough to talk.
And it worked.
"This is…"
Bazett's eyes narrowed as Rin spread out a map of the city's leyline network before her. In the lower left corner of the chart was a neat, square mark that immediately caught her attention.
The eighth unclaimed Class Card.
That was Tohsaka Rin's real trump card in these negotiations.
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