It's a fan theory, not a confirmed reveal. An English-language discussion suggested that the Bureau might take magic—or even souls—from captured mages and bind it to tools. The manga gives that fear something to latch onto, but Volume 3 tells us something more specific: a human attacks with a magic tool, while Nona's needle uncovers two people's past.[1][2]
Why readers suspect something worse than ordinary weapons
In a November 2025 discussion on r/Witchriv, a reader connected an early lock-related scene with the Bureau's interest in magical abilities. Their theory: some magic tools might be the result of captured mages losing control of their power. Other replies entertained the possibility, too.[2]
The theory came up again on June 3, 2026, in a discussion of Chapter 28. One commenter predicted that the Bureau might turn mages imprisoned in Uvral into magic tools, and feared that Nona’s mother could meet the same fate. That is a reader’s prediction about how the tools are made, not a fact established by that discussion.[3]
That's a genuinely unsettling idea. Imagine being persecuted for having magic, only to have that same magic turned into somebody else's equipment. The thread itself framed this as speculation, so it makes a compelling question—not an answer the story has already delivered.
What Volume 3 actually puts on the page
Shueisha's synopsis identifies Gheer as a human who attacks Nona and Miramira with a magic tool. During the encounter, they learn that Raloud is a mage and flee with him unconscious.[1]
Later, Nona tries to stitch Raloud's broken-chain necklace to her pocket so she won't lose it. When her needle passes through the necklace, the history of Raloud and Gheer rushes into her.[1] She was trying to secure a necklace, not order an emergency backstory delivery. Yet there it is.
The necklace scene connects a physical object with someone's past. It makes the darker theory easy to imagine, while leaving the actual process of making magic tools an open question.
The question behind the theory
The Bureau persecutes people for using magic; a human can also wield magical equipment as a weapon. That contrast is already disturbing without adding a secret factory of stolen powers. A tool can be taken, traded or locked away. A person with magic can refuse to cooperate.
So the fan theory has two layers: Where do the tools come from? And, even more troubling, who gets to decide what happens to a mage's power? The second question is what makes Gheer's weapon worth watching every time it appears.
[1] https://www.shueisha.co.jp/books/items/contents.html?jdcn=08X10000000072625400 [2] https://www.reddit.com/r/Witchriv/comments/1p84k0h/some_early_theoriesspeculations_about_the_bureau/
[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/Witchriv/comments/1tvs4cx/disc_witchriv_chapter_28/
