Chapter 331: The Mysterious Rune Magician
Saturday morning, Tokyo – Young Magus Club.
"Another week, another episode to catch up on."
Aoko hugged a giant pillow in her arms, yawning lazily as she waited for the long-anticipated premiere of Magical Illya.
Unlike those kids who dropped the series because "the fights weren't hype anymore," the magus in the club still found plenty of reasons to tune in.
If nothing else, the love-hate bickering between Rin and Luvia alone was enough to make waking up early on a Saturday worthwhile.
After all, people were natural-born gossips. Give them a chance, and they'd devour drama. And if the drama involved people they actually knew? That was irresistible.
The Tohsaka family and the Edelfelt family—both had carved out names for themselves in the modern magecraft world. Watching their dirty laundry play out on screen? Pure bliss.
And this arc wasn't just about those two houses. The Emiya family, the Einzbern family—everyone was in the spotlight.
One episode, one giant scandal. A weekly buffet of juicy gossip.
"I wonder what little secrets about Fuyuki we'll uncover today~"
Aoko's eyes gleamed with anticipation. She turned to Alice.
"Hey, Alice, which one do you like—wait, are you still fiddling with that thing!?"
Of course, what Alice was fiddling with was none other than the latest PROPLICA Ruby Staff, designed by none other than Shinji Matou himself and manufactured by Bandai.
Ever since she got her hands on it, Alice had been hooked—pouring over its structure, trying to decipher the magic formulae embedded in what should've been just a "toy."
Aoko was thoroughly annoyed. She had coaxed Alice into buying it so she could play with it herself, but the moment Alice discovered the staff's "chant-less casting" feature, she had been glued to it, refusing to hand it over.
To make matters worse, once the rest of the club learned about its abilities, everyone bought one.
Why? Because Shinji had gone the extra mile with the design: the staff's handle could be detached for portability, and the headpiece even came with an earphone jack.
Detachable handle? Perfect for magi who needed to keep their tools handy on the go.
Earphone jack? A way to chant spells privately through audio prompts—without tipping off everyone around you.
The magus in the club joked that battles from now on would look like this:
Step 1: Pull out your earphones.
Step 2: Skip chanting entirely and just spam spell after spell at your opponent.
A brand-new generation of magi combat visuals.
Now, all the young magus wanted was for Shinji to hurry up and release a 2.0 version—one that would let them edit and upload their own spells.
After all, generic system-level spells were nice, but what they really wanted was to fire off their hereditary magecraft without the hassle of chanting.
Aoko, of course, didn't care about the "future of magical battles." She only cared about one thing: everyone else had gotten their fill of playing with the staff, but she herself only got to touch Alice's once—on the very first day.
"So lame. If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have wasted money on that Excalibur prop…"
She sulked, glaring enviously at the ruby staff in Alice's hands.
"Hey, Alice. You've been researching that thing forever. Any new discoveries?"
Alice finally looked up.
"I found the staff's core enchantment—the contract system. It's built entirely out of runes. Not just the modern standardized ones either. Quite a few are ancient runes that don't match current records."
Aoko smirked, gloating.
"So that's Shinji's anti-piracy mechanism, huh? Figures. These days, aside from him—since he's got the whole Heroic Spirit thing going—no one else really has access to lost rune systems."
"Exactly." Alice sighed regretfully.
"Even in Northern Europe, there's barely any public information left on them."
Aoko nodded knowingly.
"So that's why you actually came out of your workshop today just to watch the episode, huh～～"
Last week's preview had already hinted at it—this new episode of Magical Illya would introduce a brand-new character.
The teaser hadn't revealed who they were, of course. The producers wanted to keep things mysterious. But the quick shot of shining runes in the preview was more than enough for everyone to guess—the newcomer had to be a master of Rune Magecraft.
No wonder Alice, who usually skipped out on the live broadcast, was glued to the TV this week.
Maybe the character wouldn't actually reveal any deep rune secrets on-screen. But given Shinji Matou's track record, whoever this new character was, they almost certainly had a real-world counterpart.
And if Alice could identify who they were, maybe she'd find a way to use them as a lead… a new chance to study the long-lost runes.
She wasn't being ambitious—just pragmatic.
Sure, Aoko's elder sister Touko had likely mastered the original runes, but because of the complex relationship between Touko and Lord Aozaki, Alice couldn't exactly waltz into Fuyuki every week to learn from them.
As for the possibility of being rejected by this new character? Alice never even considered it.
The Kuonji family's influence in England wasn't something to scoff at. Maybe not quite on par with the Monarch families of the Clock Tower, but just a step below, they were undoubtedly among the elite. Refusing her outright was out of the question.
Thanks to Aoko's habit of sleeping in, by the time she flopped onto the sofa, the episode was only minutes from airing.
Sure enough, within moments the latest episode began.
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The opening scene: Rin Tohsaka conducting a ritual inside a vast cavern.
Halfway through, she discovered a glaring discrepancy—something that instantly put her in a foul mood.
Her face was dark, her steps heavy as she made her way toward the Edelfelt mansion.
But the moment she arrived at the gates, she froze. The air was thick with residual magic power—an overwhelming presence that shocked even her.
Alarmed, Rin rushed to push open the door—
Only for the screen to cut away before showing what lay inside.
Instead, the perspective shifted to Illya's house across the street.
As usual, Illya and Chloe were in the middle of their daily sisterly squabbles. This time it was about new swimsuits, pocket money from Luvia, and Illya's endless complaints about her maid's stinginess versus Chloe and Miyu's obvious financial comfort.
Just as Illya reminded Chloe about finishing her homework, a sudden surge of magical energy burst from the Edelfelt mansion across the street. The sound of destruction echoed through the neighborhood.
"…What was that just now?"
Illya and Chloe pressed against the window, peering at the luxurious estate opposite them, worry flickering across their faces.
"That came from Luvia-onee-san's place…"
The camera followed Chloe's gaze, finally revealing what had been happening inside the mansion.
The interior was wrecked—debris scattered everywhere, as if someone had taken an excavator to the whole building and torn it apart.
Amidst the chaos, Luvia was dodging vicious attacks, retaliating by hurling gem after gem at her unseen foe.
But the enemy's speed was monstrous. A deep violet silhouette flashed like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, weaving effortlessly through the explosions, relentlessly closing the distance between them.
The viewers could barely make out the shape at all—it was simply too fast.
BOOM!
A tall figure suddenly interposed itself between Luvia and the oncoming strike.
It was her butler, Auguste.
As the loyal retainer of the Edelfelt heiress, the old man's combat skills were nothing to scoff at. The show had even made a point in past episodes to highlight his well-trained, muscular frame.
But against this new foe—his skills amounted to nothing.
With just a single clash of fists, the butler was sent flying into the wall.
It all happened too fast. Before anyone could even process the situation, both Luvia and her loyal retainer had been completely overwhelmed.
"Resistance is meaningless. Your strength is nowhere near enough to challenge me."
The shadowy figure finally ceased her assault, giving the audience their first clear look.
Short, rose-pink hair. The same striking color in her eyes. A beauty mark beneath her left eye. She wore a crimson-toned suit, crisp white shirt underneath, and a rose-colored tie to complete the look.
Despite the sharp, masculine style of her attire, she was undeniably a woman—one whose looks scored well above eighty points at the very least.
"Bazett Fraga McRemitz…?"
For ordinary viewers, the name would only be revealed later in the plot. But the magus in the know—especially those who'd spent time in the Clock Tower—recognized her instantly.
How could they not? A scion of an ancient Irish magical family, and an Enforcer of the Mage's Association's Sealing Designation Department—she was famous enough in the circles of magi society.
Her job? Hunting down magi who had been placed under Sealing Designation.
That reputation wasn't exactly flattering. Even among magi in the Clock Tower, Enforcers were seen as little more than "the Association's hounds."
If Shinji were asked to comment on her, he'd probably say: a textbook case of all muscle, no brain.
In battle, she was top-tier—professional, dependable, the kind of comrade you'd want watching your back.
But outside of combat? Let's just say her social and emotional intelligence was basically a blank slate. When it came to human relationships, she was practically on the level of a pure, naive little rabbit.
Everyone knew the story: Bazett was taken out of the Fifth Holy Grail War before it even properly began, betrayed in a surprise attack by Kirei.
And the reason she trusted him enough to let her guard down? Simply because on a handful of past assignments—two, maybe three times—they had worked together.
Most men who partnered with Bazett distanced themselves, wary of her sheer power. But Kotomine's unflinching composure during missions left her with a sense of respect—and, gradually, admiration.
If you put it in school terms, it was like the aloof, socially isolated boy in class suddenly being treated kindly a couple of times by the class idol—and mistaking it for something deeper, even elevating her to goddess-like status.
Now, Bazett wasn't quite at the level of a full-blown simp. But there was no denying it: her trust in Kirei far exceeded that of an average colleague.
Whether the "goddess" in question was a two-faced manipulator was debatable. But one thing was certain: Kotomine was a schemer blacker than black.
The truth was, Kotomine had no need for Bazett's aid. He partnered with her purely for efficiency.
To him, Bazett was nothing more than a convenient tool.
And unlike some pure-hearted idols, Kotomine was a predator of human hearts—sharp, calculating, merciless.
He noticed her budding, innocent feelings long before she realized them herself. Which was precisely why, right before the Fifth Holy Grail War, he deliberately recommended her to the higher-ups as a suitable supervisor.
Not to support her. But to betray her.
Fans of Demon Slayer often joke that Gotouge-sensei has no heart. But in truth, it's Kotomine Kirei—the infamous "mapo priest"—who is the real heartless demon.
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