"Alright, it's done!"
In the dragon source hall deep within the misaki leyline, directly below the central dragon source, where the vaporized Greater Source Life Force churned like a sea of clouds, a space isolated by a barrier appeared. Two Maguss were conducting an "evil human magic experiment."
Within the hundred-square-meter barrier space, various limbs and organs were piled everywhere! Over a dozen arms were piled there, seven or eight heads were placed there, various internal organs were stored in bottles and jars, soaked in a light green transparent liquid, and there were also eviscerated humanoid figures casually discarded in corners, unattended.
This space was truly chilling, and with the infinitely mysterious dragon source above continuously emitting an endless supply of vaporized Greater Source Life Force, the entire hall appeared incredibly eerie and terrifying!
No wonder there were witch trials in medieval Western Europe. If all Maguss were like this, burning them wouldn't be unjust at all.
These two wicked Maguss: the taller one had short orange-red hair and wore glasses, looking like a literary girl; the relatively shorter one had black, straight hair that reached below her shoulders, styled into twin-tails. At this moment, the two Maguss were cackling around a bloody operating table, as if their "evil magic experiment" had succeeded!
Zooming in, in the center of the operating table between the two Maguss, a pure white infant shape was placed. Limbs and a head could be seen, but there was no face, like an unfinished plaster statue. However, judging from the slight movements of this thing, it was a living creature!
What kind of "heaven-defying" evil magical creatures did these two wicked witches create?!
"It's finally done! A doll that is exactly like a human body, perfectly balanced and identical!"
Alright, no more fooling around. In reality, Touko and Rin were researching dolls together in an underground spiritual pulse. The infant-like plaster statue before them was the result of their research.
"Indeed, every person and every existence is absolutely unique and irreplicable. No matter how hard we try to mimic every detail of a human body, even a single nerve fiber or a hair follicle cell, we can't make it exactly the same."
"However, since that's the case, why not completely initialize everything that constitutes a human body! Create an active doll that is similar to a synthetic egg. When the bound target's physical body dies, the soul enters the doll, which is like a synthetic egg. With the corresponding Magic Formula, it will use the soul as a blueprint and the world as a hypothetical mother to directly plunder elements for growth from the Root!"
"The soul is the blueprint of the physical body. As long as a soul resides within, the embryo will rapidly grow according to the soul's blueprint. Even Magic Circuits and Magic Crests, and even bloodlines, can be perfectly preserved. The technology to transcend yin and yang, to be ageless and immortal, has been born in our hands. This is a masterpiece comparable to true magic! Touko, we succeeded!"
Rin and Touko exclaimed excitedly. This technology, which should have only been developed after Touko's three years of study at the Clock Tower, was developed several years in advance due to Rin's interference and Touko's cooperation.
It must be said that talent, ability, opportunity, and luck—these seemingly ethereal yet truly existing objective factors beyond human control—are often the key to success. Humanity's magical research, spanning nearly ten thousand years from ancient times to the present, culminated in a consensus among Puppet Masters: "Even if one can create a doll that surpasses humans, one can never create a doll that is exactly identical to humans." This consensus was broken by two young girls in an era that had already entered the Age of Decline.
Rin and Touko both let out a collective sigh of relief, pulled over chairs, and sat down to rest, exhausted.
No technological development is easy, pleasant, or achieved casually. Rin and Touko had been toiling for two months in the dragon source hall deep within the spiritual pulse. In a corner of this Magic Workshop, which Rin had created solely with barriers, a large stack of opened and unopened self-heating rice meals and cup noodles were piled up.
For two months, the two of them hadn't stepped out of this Magic Workshop. Various theoretical exchanges, debates, experimental operations, and discarded blueprints—if they hadn't been thrown out of the barrier and decomposed by the life force of the Great Source—would have covered the entire floor of the dragon source hall an inch deep.
Due to an accidental discovery, Touko found that Rin's sleep-talking was also very insightful. From then on, both of them would set up a recorder before going to sleep and play it back after waking up, occasionally yielding unexpected gains.
No matter how arduous the past efforts, now that they could achieve their desired results, everything was worth it. It could be said that the two girls sitting here were the most outstanding Puppet Masters in human history, for they had broken through technological boundaries that humanity had never been able to overcome.
Touko took off her glasses and wiped the corners of her eyes. Perhaps Rin, who was a latecomer, couldn't fully appreciate the sense of accomplishment of reaching the forefront of her field, a field she had studied since childhood.
"Well, it's a pity no one can know."
"Indeed, that filthy Mage's Association would definitely give us each a sealing designation. Although we're not afraid of them, it would ultimately be very troublesome."
A sealing designation, under the guise of "protection," detains and captures Maguss with rare talents or those who violate taboos, imprisoning them for life. For those who possess magic that cannot be learned through study but only through their bloodline or constitution, the Association treats them as "precious items" and gives them preferential treatment and "protection."
The Mage's Association arrests Maguss subjected to sealing designation, ensuring their magical characteristics remain unchanged so they can be preserved as valuable specimens for future generations. In a sense, it's no different from a specimen preserved in formaldehyde. For the Association, it's a sealing designation based on goodwill, but for the chosen Magus, it's equivalent to a death sentence.
Most of them refuse the decree and flee to other lands. Not because they fear death. Those who receive a sealing designation are Maguss who have reached their limits. Their priority is the pursuit of the magical path; their own lives are no longer a concern. For them, who are engrossed in research daily, a sealing designation is absolutely unacceptable. Being immersed in formaldehyde means they can no longer pursue magical studies.
Maguss who receive a sealing designation and flee generally fall into two categories.
The first kind completely disappear, teaching magic only to their blood relatives, becoming hermits. These are fallen Maguss. They must be discovered and protected before their talent is buried, but conversely, their danger is infinitesimally close to zero. If it weren't for extraordinary talent, the Association wouldn't send pursuers.
The second kind returns to their own territory and fully researches magic, becoming sages. These are excellent Maguss striving for advancement. With further refinement of their talent, the Association could gain immense results in just a few years. However, there is no ordinary morality or justice among them. Sages, unburdened by shackles, prioritize magical achievements, and unrelated people become their sacrifices.
Once there are victims, if it can be hidden, the Association will merely observe, ignoring them until results are obtained. Because, in any case, the Association's justice is nothing but the pursuit of the magical path. But if it's a situation that cannot be hidden—a situation that violates the Mage's Association's grand principle of "concealing mysteries"—then their foolish acts must be swiftly halted. Not only to prevent the leakage of mysteries, but also to protect the precious physical bodies of the sealing designees.
In the original work, there are three known sealing designees: Touko is one of them, and the other two are Xuanwu Gaoyue, the "Book of Pseudo-Gods," and Kiritsugu Emiya's father, Norikata Emiya.
Anyone can see that the so-called sealing designation is nothing more than coveting others' technological achievements under the guise of righteousness; it's merely a high-minded act of blatant plunder.
"So, justice, righteousness, and all that, it's really disgusting."
"Can't be helped, they're Maguss after all."
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.