Thanks for the invitation. I'm in Type-Moon, inheriting the legacy of Zi-O.

"EVOLTO BLACK HOLE, and it even has 2017 printed on it, what could it be?" He surveyed the battlefield with a scrutinizing gaze, then his figure flashed back into the vast emptiness of Ryudouji Temple.

The corrupted white-haired heroic spirit walked towards the one hidden deep within the Great Void, the one who possessed the power of the Holy Grail.

The Dark King

The demon blinked its dark eyes

In the end, Nianzhuo gave up the idea of ​​going to see Group A. Sitting on a bench, sipping his coffee, he silently reviewed the plan of action and tried to rid himself of any remaining goodwill he felt towards them.

As the last sip of coffee entered his mouth, Nianzhuo finally opened his eyes and smiled helplessly.

"This coffee is really bitter..."

Then, the confusion in his eyes vanished, and he pulled out the driver.

"Time-Space Driver—" "ZIO—"

Feeling the power emanating from the driver, Nian Zhuo closed his eyes and softly chanted.

"Goodbye, staff, and—I'm sorry."

Press the knob

"Rider Time"

"Henshin!" The gears of time surged forth from the void in an instant, enveloping the slender figure. When the white light dissipated, only Shinshin, who manipulated time, remained.

"Go save Mary!" Nian Zhuo stretched his wrists and sprinted down the corridor toward the control room.

Inside the control room at this moment —

Leif was talking to Dr. Roman. "The spirit transfer is about to begin. Doctor Roman, you should take a look. Group A is in good condition, but Group B and several other groups are showing some abnormalities." "Then I'll go give those who haven't adapted yet anesthesia." The gentle voice coming from the screen made the Demon God on the other side overjoyed. This was the perfect opportunity to completely fulfill the King's wish and destroy the entire Chaldea. Even so, Leif still wore a fake smile and urged Dr. Roman slightly, "Hurry up. You're in the infirmary now, right? It should only take two minutes to get there from there." Looking at the director who was lecturing below and Mash beside him, Leif's joy was practically written all over his face.

"No, no, I have to endure it." Grasping his wrist, Rafe suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out, maintaining his sanctimonious appearance.

"Don't be late, Doctor Roman," he said, ending the communication.

Then, one by one, crystalline cylindrical objects rose from the waters near Chaldea. The 47 Masters and the members of Group A, who were already prepared, stepped into the opened hatches without hesitation. Perhaps they were filled with excitement or fear, believing they could become heroes who saved humanity and achieve great things. But that was ultimately just a fantasy. As long as the demon standing on the control panel remained alive, they were already prepared sacrifices.

Leaning against the door of the control room, Nian Zhuo slowly tapped the iron door behind him with his fingers, chanting a strange lullaby.

"Life is but fifty years, like a dream, an illusion. The one who truly achieves great things is not you, but me. I am the one who controls time, the one who protects hope, I am—" He paused.

"To save humanity, not you who are burdened with sin."

He then turned and swung his fist at the iron hatch.

Amidst thick smoke and flying metal fragments, the black knight charged into the conspiracy.

"You—" Mary turned to look at the dark figure at the door, but before she could ask why he was so late, Nian Zhuo, who had rushed over, hoisted her onto his shoulder. "What are you—"

At that moment, the demon on the control panel pressed the button in its hand.

The deafening roar shattered the glass of the spirit transfer basket. A massive burst of flame, accompanied by thick smoke, instantly evaporated the surrounding moisture. The Masters inside the basket didn't even have time to react before being engulfed by the shockwave or impaled by flying debris. Layers of blood blossomed like blooming roses on the basket's surface.

All of this was clearly seen by Nianzhuo, who was leaping high above, and Mary on his shoulder. Both Nianzhuo and Mary closed their eyes in fear at the horrific sight.

Then he rushed to the wall and saw the flames and impact sweeping towards him. Nian Zhuo kicked the wall and shattered it. He picked Mary up from his shoulder and held her in his arms. The impact hit Nian Zhuo's back and sparked.

Fortunately, the two escaped. Holding Mary, they lay on the floor outside the control room. The light above Nian Zhuo's head flickered and then went out. Then came the warning from the Chaldea system.

"Warning, warning! A fire has broken out at the central power plant and the central control room. The isolation wall in the central area will be sealed off in 240 seconds." Looking at the director coughing loudly in his arms, Nian Zhuo's eyes glazed over slightly. Before he could utter a word of relief, Mary, realizing what was happening, stood up without hesitation and ran towards the control room.

"Hey! It's dangerous over there!" Seeing Mary run into the smoke-filled control room, Nianzhuo rushed in as well. Like Mary, who was standing not far away, he was also shocked by the scene.

Fire danced a deathly dance across the black ruins, fueled by various rubble-breaking machines. The air was thick with the pungent smell of burning, and the control room was a scene of utter chaos. Debris continued to fall. Nian Zhuo looked up at the perfectly intact black sphere at the center—Chaldea.

Nianzhuo took Mary's beast, who was standing there bewildered, and led her into the despairing, flame-filled space. Then, with the enhanced vision of a Heroic Spirit, Nianzhuo easily spotted Ritsuka and the Doctor standing at the control room door. Just as he was about to take Mary to meet them, Chaldea's broadcast sounded again.

"Power equipment confirmed to have stopped operating, insufficient power generation. Switching to backup power has encountered an anomaly; please manually switch." Nian Zhuo squinted through the smoke at the shattered glass control panel. It seemed there was no survivors. However, that demon, Leif, must have already moved to the singularity. He'd hold Leif accountable for this. After watching the doctor and Ritsuka exchange a few words, Nian Zhuo dashed out of the control room.

"Did you go to the underground power plant to switch the power? Next, we'll go see Mashu." Holding Mary's trembling hand, Nianzhuo walked step by step towards the central platform, the place where the 47 Masters and Mashu had once been.

Stepping over the crater and ignoring the echoing Chaldea broadcast, "180 seconds until the seal is broken, System, Spirit Particle Transfer enters final stage," Nian Zhuo walked to the center. There lay a giant boulder, and beneath it, a purple-haired girl was trapped. Blood stained the surrounding ground.

He quietly walked up to Mashu and knelt down. The purple-haired girl seemed to sense something and looked up. A half-broken eyepiece rested loosely on the girl's nose.

"Is this... Mr. Nianzhuo?" Gasping for breath, Mashu strained to open her beautiful violet eyes, trying to make out the appearance of the person in front of her.

"Yes, I'm here," a voice said, feigning nonchalance. Nianzhuo realized that even though he already knew Mashu wouldn't die, the self-blame and anger within him were growing stronger.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're alright." Even at the very end, this girl was still thinking of others, able to smile simply because someone else survived. A kind girl indeed.

"Ah, you'll be alright, Mashu, I promise you." Reassuring Mashu, Nenjoyed the fact while calculating the passage of time, watching the small purple flower about to wither.

"Hey, Mr. Nianzhuo. May I hold your hand a little?" She stretched out her hand with difficulty, rubbing it on the ground as if trying to wipe away the dust. Nianzhuo, without hesitation, grasped her hand with both of his, kneeling on one knee to hold her weak hand.

"Thank you...you and the doctor...for being there for me, for telling me about the outside world." Mashu's eyes were filled with gratitude. Even though she couldn't see the man's face clearly, Mashu could tell how distorted his expression was. "These past few days...I've been so happy." Blood continued to flow. Nianzhuo listened quietly to the girl's deepest thoughts.

"Mash!!" A female voice rang out; it was Fujimaru Ritsuka. Ignoring the dust and scrapes covering her, Ritsuka rushed towards Mash upon seeing her, but upon witnessing the scene, she collapsed to her knees, utterly defeated. "How...how could this happen?"

"It's you, Senpai..." Mashu's lips curved into a beautiful smile upon hearing the voice. "I'm sorry... you saw me like this. Senpai, you'd better hurry, or it'll be too late."

"No, we have to escape together!" Ritsuka ran over and knelt before Mashu, tears welling in her eyes. Despite having only met a few times and barely spoken, this girl had shed glistening tears for her, the tears falling silently to the ground.

"System Spiritual Particle Transfer Enters Final Stage"

"Coordinates: January 30, 2004"

“Location: Fuyuki City, Japan”

"Laplace's transmission guarantee has been established."

"The addition of spirit sites for singularities has been secured."

"Anti-summoning system has been set up"

"Please make the final adjustments, Master."

The inopportune voice from the radio came on again, and Ritsuka seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and smiled upon hearing it, tightly gripping Mashu's hand. "See, now they can't escape!"

"The central isolation barrier is sealed off." Huge walls descended from all sides, fitting snugly into the ground, turning the control room into a cage (not counting the two large holes Nian Zhuo kicked open). "90 seconds remaining until final transfer."

The four people in the center, plus a white-furred pet. Nian Zhuo suddenly felt the grip on his hand tighten, and looked down to meet Mashu's violet gaze.

"I'm so sorry... Mr. Nianzhuo... Mingming, I wanted to hear more of your stories..." Losing her breath, Mashu grabbed Nianzhuo's hand as if she wanted to say everything in one breath.

"Thank you for giving me hope, for allowing me to flutter like a butterfly. And thank you, Dr. Roman. He taught me so much, but unfortunately..." Mashu's voice suddenly softened as she watched Nencho silently revert to his transformed state. Mashu laboriously reached out her hand, as if trying to touch his face.

"In the end... I didn't get to experience the taste of love. It's a little regrettable." She smiled, and a natural little flower bloomed once again amidst the scorched ruins.

"However, if the object is you, Mr. Nianzhuo... I'm really looking forward to it." A black sprout emerged from the seed of Nianzhuo's thirst for power.

"Searching for Masters who match the criteria"

Searching...

"Hey, Mr. Nianzhuo, and senior," Mashu's eyes trembled slightly, like a girl dozing off, "We can't see the sky at all here..."

"Yeah...it's covered in snow all year round..." Wiping her wet eyes, Ritsuka smiled and held Mashu's hand tightly. "I hope I can take Mashu to see it someday...it's a promise~"

"Reassign Master to Person 48."

Rocks rained down, crashing to the ground with a series of booming sounds, as if drawing a curtain on this tragedy. Mashu, as if finally succumbing to drowsiness, closed her eyes. Ritsuka and Nencho held Mashu's beast, waiting quietly. Even Mary, half-crouching on the ground, hugged Nencho from behind, feeling the solidity of the man's back, her tightly furrowed brows relaxing slightly.

"Anti-Summoning System Activated"

"Initiating spirit particle transfer"

The space fluctuated, and everyone closed their eyes, transforming into colorful particles.

"First order: Actual verification begins upon completion of the entire project."

All four of them suddenly blacked out and fainted.

――――Perspective――――

Caster, watching the blue and red Another Rider Build leaping about opposite him, frowned. "This guy's really troublesome. My magical attacks either get absorbed by him or I can't break through his defenses, so I have to unleash my Noble Phantasm." He then swung his staff, striking the ground. With a wave of his hand, several runes of "F" flames hindered the Another Rider's progress. Then, starting from beneath Caster's staff, a huge magic circle appeared alongside the flames, along with a giant wooden hand.

"Taste the Noble Phantasm of Cú Chulainn of Ireland, the Prince of Light!"

"My magic is a blazing cage."

The green giant, like thorns

The shrine purifies the afflictions of human affairs through the principles of cause and effect and retribution.

"The Wicker Man, scorched to ashes!"

A giant wooden figure rose into the air from the magic circle. Taking its form from the Celtic wickerman sacrifice, the giant wooden figure offered Build as a tribute, opening the iron gate on its chest and throwing Build inside.

Even Cú Chulainn wore a confident smile, but then that smile froze on his face.

The Fiery Giant is dissipating—

No, to be precise, it was being absorbed. Build, trapped in the iron cage on its chest, unleashed black mist from its hands, continuously devouring the wooden doll. Then, to Cú Chulainn's incredulous gaze, the wooden doll transformed into two bottles, which were then sucked into Build's mouth.

Seeing this, Cú Chulainn did not hesitate to use his substitute wooden dummy and quickly fled the scene.

"You give Lu Dayou some gas~~~~"

At this moment, Build was shaking the two bottles after receiving them, muttering to himself.

"Flamewood isn't the best mutch." Shaking his head in disappointment, Build seemed to sense something, sniffed the air, and a goofy smile spread across his face.

"Ahhh—our future king, I await your command to kill you, best mutch~~"

Martyrs who gaze at the stars

Inside the control room, Nian Zhuo looked at Mary and Ritsuka, who had already fainted, and gently took Mashu's hand, silently counting down in his mind.

After the count of "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" ended, a clanging sound of armor clashing echoed from behind Nian Zhuo.

“Galahad, you’ve finally come.” Nian Zhuo knew the identity of the newcomer without even looking behind him. The pure-hearted knight didn’t respond, but instead walked up to Mashu, knelt on one knee, and gently took Mashu’s hand.

"Her injuries are very serious. You... can't save her, Nianzhuo?" The pure knight sighed softly, looking at Nianzhuo beside him with her eyes tightly closed. "I'm sorry. I can't. Mashu's injuries are too severe. Even if we shatter the stones on her body..." Nianzhuo didn't finish his sentence, but Galahad already understood what he had left unsaid. Galahad sighed slightly and looked at the girl with half-open violet eyes in front of him.

Amidst the flames, this pure knight, in order to save the girl before him, made his first request for a contract.

"Hey, Mash, I'm transferring my Heroic Spirit abilities and Noble Phantasm to you." With one hand on his chest and head bowed, the knight casually transferred his Heroic Spirit powers to another. "However, in exchange, I hope you can eliminate the cause of the Singularity. What do you say? Are you willing?" Galahad looked at Mash before him, his eyes revealing a seriousness for the first time.

"I...I'm willing. I want to be with Mr. Nianzhuo...I want to become...the power of my senior." Mashu struggled to open her eyes and agreed to the request of the Heroic Spirit before her. A 14 or 15-year-old girl, bearing the immense responsibility of restoring humanity.

Galahad then looked into Mashu's violet eyes, which revealed unwavering confidence. He stood up, and his figure began to dissipate into particles, gradually merging into the body of the girl before him.