Chapter 320: Magical Illya Half-Season Finale!
BOOOOM—!
Golden radiance pierced through the pitch-black building, the beam soaring skyward like a pillar of victory itself.
Alas, this so-called "sword of victory" failed to bring triumph to its wielder.
"Haa—haa—haa—"
Miyu clutched her sword, gasping heavily for breath. Not far ahead, from the depths of the darkened passage, came the rumbling growl of a beastlike breath.
"This scene is way too faithful a recreation, don't you think?"
No one even needed Fujita to spell it out. Everyone instantly recognized the homage: Miyu's stance was a direct callback to Saber's desperate clash with Berserker in the Fate/Stay Night movie.
Back then, Saber too had leaned on her sword like this, forcing herself to remain standing.
And Heracles was just as terrifying now as he had been back then—an overwhelming wall of strength.
The early arcs of Magical Illya had played out as straightforward hot-blooded shōnen fare—well, aside from Hiroyama sneaking in his usual fanservice.
Fans already knew going into the fight that Miyu wouldn't stand a chance against Heracles, but what they didn't expect was Shinji to push the homage all the way through. Nobody knew whether to smile or groan at his audacity.
"He's always pulling this crap! The plot's already halfway done, and instead of tying things up, he just digs more holes. That seaweed-head of a director is outrageous!"
Shinji's stories were undeniably gripping—but he always told only ninety percent of them, leaving the final ten percent dangling as bait for the next arc.
Naturally, this kind of cliffhanger-digging infuriated fans. Aoko, for instance, had taken to calling him 'Pit-Digger Shinji'.
Still, frustration was frustration—but no one was about to stop watching. Shinji's works were simply too good.
"Tch, one of these days he's gonna dig a hole so deep, he won't be able to climb out of it—and end up burying himself alive."
Aoko was still hung up on how Irisviel had never properly explained the source of Illya's powers, and she grumbled about it without pause.
If Shinji had heard her complaint, he'd probably have thrown his hands up and shouted his innocence.
After all, digging holes wasn't his fault—it was a trait of Type-Moon creators in general!
Just like how web novel authors were born with the instinct to end every chapter on a cliffhanger, Type-Moon writers were born with the urge to dig plot holes—each one deeper than the last.
Just look at Hiroyama, Fate/Kaleid Liner Magical Illya's manga author. Even in the very first season, when it wasn't even certain the series would continue, he went around dropping massive plot threads: Illya's mysterious power source, the true identity of the enigmatic girl Miyu… practically all of the main story's biggest mysteries were already buried right there.
You'd have to admit—that took guts. If the manga had ended after a single season, all those setups would've remained nothing but abandoned notes in the margins.
No—using the proper Type-Moon lingo, this wasn't just "digging holes." It was launching satellites.
Back before Shinji had transmigrated, when he was still just another Type-Moon fan, he used to wonder the same thing as Aoko:
"All these guys keep launching satellites. Aren't they worried one day the fans will just launch them into orbit instead?"
But once Shinji began designing the grand Type-Moon Cinematic Universe with his own hands, plotting out works with meticulous long-term strategy—he finally understood one truth.
Launching satellites is just too damn fun!
Fill the holes? Yeah, right!
What kind of serious creator ever actually fills in all their holes?
What, you planning to stop making money afterwards?
If you cover every plot hole, then how are you supposed to make sequels later on?
And let's be honest—every single work that tied everything up nice and neat, then forced out a "new installment," ended up nothing but a half-baked imitation. Reputation shattered, legacy gone.
As for all those "too many satellites, what if they never come back down" worries?
Who cares!
As long as you slap together a proper finale, the audience will still pay for tickets.
Keep that perfect 90/10 ratio—deliver ninety percent, dangle ten percent—and no matter how incomplete the story feels, fans won't call it a trainwreck. At worst, they'll just sigh with a little regret. That's way better than a forced patch job.
He's just a director. Why the hell should he be aiming for divine perfection?
Of course, people like Aoko who can't let go of dangling plot points are still around. But they're a minority.
Most of the audience had already snapped their attention back to the action the moment Miyu's Saber card ran out of juice and she was forced to revert to magical girl mode.
"Out of mana?! Sapphire, get back here!"
Collapsed on the floor, Miyu stretched a trembling hand toward her staff. "Quick, provide mana—"
But a massive black hand slammed down first, pinning the sapphire staff to the ground.
Fully recovered, Heracles loomed before Miyu, unscathed and terrifying. His body was wreathed in white smoke, his twisted face glaring down at her like a lion eyeing helpless prey.
"Ah… this is…"
Sapphire desperately tried to squirm free from his grasp and fly to her Master's aid—but what could a flimsy stick do against Strength: A+? Compared to that monstrous grip, her struggles were about as effective as "softly punching a body builder chest with tiny fists."
On the other side of the Mirror World, Rin and Luvia could only watch helplessly. With Sapphire trapped, Illya stuck at home, and Miyu left alone on the battlefield—all she could manage was a little, "Ahh, I'm in trouble now."
And she was right. Without backup, this really was checkmate.
Fortunately, Shinji wasn't Urobuchi Gen, nor Yoshiyuki Tomino, nor even Okada "Drama-Bomb" Mari. He wasn't about to kill off characters in a fit of sadistic glee.
Just as Heracles reached out to seize Miyu—
A blinding sword flash cleaved down from above, ripping across his chest.
"■■■■—!"
The black giant let out a guttural howl. Sure, he might be immortal, but immortality didn't mean immunity to pain.
If this had been one of those "protecting loli" situations, maybe he could've endured. But tonight, he had no such buff. And worst of all—the strike came from that very same loli.
"■■■■—!"
Clutching his chest, Heracles roared in fury. But Illya, having arrived just in time, ignored the pained mask twisting his face. She gave her command in a clear voice:
"Rin, it's open!"
Crash!
A shower of jewels rained from above. Two figures—one in crimson, the other in blue—burst forth, unleashing their magic at the giant.
"Anfang—!"
"Zsichen—!"
"Beast-Binding Six Shackles!" ×2
War can shift in an instant. In the span of just a few seconds—seconds Heracles wasted crying out in pain—he was bound tight by the twin magi.
But rather than celebrating, Rin burst into tears right on the spot.
"OH COME ON!! Do you know how much those cost?! We're running a massive deficit now!!"
Her wailing was so over-the-top that both Illya and the audience could only laugh through their exasperation. Really, only Rin could worry about finances in the middle of a life-or-death battle.
And then—came the moment everyone had been waiting for. The heartfelt confessions—cough cough—no, the sincere exchange of feelings between the two little heroines.
Hearts resonating as one, their voices rose in unison—
"Kaleidoscope—!"
Just like in Fate/Grand Order, where a golden flash is followed by a dazzling rainbow circle—a ring of Excaliburs manifested above the two magical girls.
"Haaahhhhhh—!" ×2
With the synchronized cries of two lolis, the circle of holy swords unleashed a barrage of light cannons straight at Heracles.
"So bright…"
The screen was flooded with blinding gold. Aoko had to squint just to keep watching.
"Poor Heracles… In the Heaven's Feel movie, he got taken out by Saber's infamous 'Seven Lives, Seven Blades.' People kept saying that scene didn't even make sense."
"So what, Shinji Matou's trying to 'fix the bug' by upgrading it into a Seven-Strike, Seven-Death this time?"
"No." Alice corrected him gently. "Based on the count, this should actually be a Nine-Strike, Nine-Death."
"Same difference—one sword strike equals one life!"
Fujita then pushed his little conspiracy theory further:
"Isn't the funniest part that this battle takes place in the exact same spot where Heracles once obeyed a loli's command to kill in the movie? And now—here he is being killed by a loli in the same place. Obviously Shinji's telling us: 'Anyone who kills me, I'll pay them back in kind!'"
Alice snorted coldly. "Don't spout nonsense. If Shinji had really gone by that logic, wouldn't he have gone after his own sister, Sakura?"
Too bad Shinji wasn't around to hear her sticking up for him. Otherwise, he would've shrugged and said, "I'd love to, but Sakura's way out of my league."
Either way, Heracles fell once more to the King of Knights' sword—another deliberate callback to Fate/Stay Night's original Fate route.
As the sun pierced through the night sky, Berserker dissolved into a card.
The magical girls' mission was complete.
For Illya, her surreal, dreamlike week had finally come to an end.
At last, she could return to the peaceful daily life she longed for—
Yeah, right!
Having been utterly "conquered" by Illya, Miyu now clung to her like a personal accessory. Even at school, she refused to let go of Illya's arm.
Worse, Miyu treated everyone else with cold indifference, smiling only at Illya.
When Illya confronted her about it, Miyu replied without hesitation—utterly justified in her stubbornness:
"My only friend in this life is you. Everyone else doesn't matter."
So yes, the battle had ended.
But for Illya, her troubles were only just beginning.
Meanwhile, on the other side—Luvia had already made her getaway in a helicopter the moment the cards were secured. Rin, of course, immediately dove after her. By the following morning, their duel had reached its conclusion.
Thanks to a crash landing—RIP, helicopter—Rin finally came out victorious, claiming all seven class cards as her prize.
And yet, her reward was not what she expected. Instead, she received a phone call from across the sea—Britain.
"One year. Your study abroad term is one year," came the guest-voiced tones of Lord El-Melloi himself, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald.
"Until then, fix that nasty habit of yours—wrecking classrooms just because you can't stop fighting! After that, I'll consider taking you on as a proper apprentice."
And with that, Kayneth hung up.
"AAARGHHHHH!"
Her hysterical screams echoed across the forest.
In short: for a variety of reasons, everyone ended up staying in Fuyuki City.
These troublesome, chaotic relationships would now continue as the everyday life of the city—at least, until further notice.
And so, Magical Illya reached its end… of the first half-season.
After the ending credits rolled, the camera cut to an airport in Japan.
A plane had just landed from Britain. From it stepped a sharp-eyed woman with short purple hair, a silver earring glinting on her ear, and a crisp business suit clinging to her frame.
Her destination: Fuyuki City.
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