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

"Now, step over your past and embrace the real future!" Behind me, it felt as if many hands were pushing me forward, and familiar voices were saying the same thing in unison.

Nianzhuo's body floated up and grabbed the golden light.

"Ah—!" The familiar body temperature and sensation returned instantly, causing Nianzhuo to sit up abruptly from the chair.

"Eh..." Staring blankly at his surroundings, Nian Zhuo recognized the familiar decorations. "This is... the 9 to 5 Hall, so where am I...?" Staring blankly at his hands, Nian Zhuo couldn't help but clench his fists. Only after confirming the familiar feeling did he realize that he had been resurrected.

"So that's how it is, I've been resurrected..." His expression relaxed, and he finally opened his arms with relief.

Then, suddenly, a pair of hands tightly wrapped around her neck, and a strange fragrance wafted into her nostrils.

"That's great, that's great..." Zhuang Wu hugged her neck tightly and murmured softly, "You're finally awake, Nian Zhuo... you're finally awake."

Feeling the trembling of the arm on his neck, Nian Zhuo's words eventually turned into a helpless smile, and he gently patted Zhuang Wu's back.

"Ah, I'm back, my Demon King."

Then Nianzhuo noticed that Zhuang Wu was standing in the distance, looking at her with a helpless expression.

"Huh...?!" Staring wide-eyed in utter astonishment, Nian Zhuo quickly straightened the person who was hugging him, only to discover that an identical Zhuang Wu was wiping her eyes. "My Demon King... there are two?!"

"Ah, please don't misunderstand this~" Zhuang Wu, who was standing to the side, waved her hand and pointed to the Zhuang Wu who was hugging Nian Zhuo. "I am not like a certain crying BBA. I am different from her. I am the Demon King who has created a brand new world."

"Huh...?" Wiping away her tears, Zhuang Wu immediately retorted defiantly, "I don't know any faceless little girl who could be kicked down by some Drive Six? Who is it that, after fighting for a while, forgot how to use their own power?"

"I was...!" Zhuang Wu immediately widened her eyes, wanting to refute again, but after realizing that what the other party said was true, she could only lower her head. "Drive at that time... was because I was too shocked and tired, so I didn't want to fight anymore, and it automatically deactivated! And Zi-O's second form merged with the third form, yes! That's how it was!" She even stomped her foot, and the girl shook her black ponytail and puffed out her cheeks.

"Hmph, even so, it's still better than some old woman who's older than herself and pretending to be young, hee hee hee~" Pulling up the corner of her eye, the little devil delivered another fatal blow.

"Hey..." The old demon king tossed his waist-length black hair, crossed his arms and puffed out his chest indignantly. "I was talking to some little girl who I don't know if she's underdeveloped or not, and you didn't listen to your uncle and eat properly?"

"I...!" Just as he was about to say something, the little devil saw the... ample bosom of her breasts from 68, and could only turn his head away in pain. "Hmph!" He snorted defiantly.

"Ah..." Nian Zhuo wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling genuinely awkward being caught between the two demon kings. "Why are you two arguing as soon as I woke up... Can't you just get along peacefully?"

"Huh...?!" Then, for some reason, the little devil suddenly turned around with wide eyes, looking at his 68-year-old self in astonishment at his triumphant appearance. "You actually—?!"

"What, you think you're allowed to say that, you little girl?" The old demon king chuckled smugly, tightening his grip on his arms. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

"Hey! That's not how you use the Demon Chat Room!" Nianzhuo immediately understood what had happened.

It's likely that his Demon Lord said something in the Demon Chat Room that his uncle and he couldn't hear, which successfully ignited the powder keg in front of the little Demon Lord.

"Bang—" Then, their faces were pressed together again. The two demon kings glared at each other defiantly, then suddenly turned their gazes back to Nian Zhuo and said in unison... no, it should be said in unison.

"Speak! Nianzhuo, whose side are you on?!"

"Ah, this..." Nianzhuo suddenly wanted to ask if there was still a chance to die now.

I woke up to find my two demon kings arguing, the kind of arguments that could destroy the world with a few shouts. I need advice on how to talk them out, it's urgent!

"If you ask me who I would choose..." Nian Zhuo's gaze shifted back and forth between the two demon kings.

The little devil had a black ponytail tied at the back of his head, and his face looked still very childish, which made him quite cute.

The old demon king's face was a bit more mature, but he looked only a year or two older. However, his long black hair reached all the way down to his waist, and his chest... cough cough, was much bigger than the little demon king's.

"I'm at 1000% now!" Nian Zhuo thought, his gaze finally settling on the face of the Demon King from 68.

"Eh..." Seeing Nian Zhuo staring at him, the old demon king suddenly felt a little nervous.

“I still choose you.” Nian Zhuo lowered his head slightly. “You saved me, and you also gave me the opportunity to fight, so no matter what, I will choose you.”

"Hmph~ Is that so?" The little devil was a little unconvinced, but a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Well, that's fine then."

"...Hmm." Then, the old demon king turned his back and wiped his eyes again. "He actually hesitated for a while before making a choice. Can this still be considered a loyal subject to me?"

"Yo—!" Then, Uncle's cheerful voice came from the inner room, and he appeared in front of them with a huge tray of food. "Alright, four lunches are ready... Eh? Nianzhuo, you're awake?" Then Uncle noticed that Nianzhuo, who had been sitting in the chair when he arrived, had stood up, and Zhuang Wu was standing in front of him with her back to him, her shoulders trembling. "Eh... Did you guys play a prank on me?"

"Pfft..." Instantly breaking down, the little devil's smile, which he had managed to suppress, reappeared. He clutched his stomach and turned his back to the other side. "Yes... hahaha, Uncle... we were just... playing a prank." He explained while clutching his stomach, but even though he lowered his voice, his laughter could still be clearly heard.

"Ahem, alright, Uncle... let me help you carry it." Composing himself, the old devil turned around and took the plate from his uncle's hand. After staring at his face for a long time, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, alright, everyone, let's eat. Nianzhuo too, you must be hungry after just coming back from playing pranks, right?" Nianzhuo blinked and immediately nodded knowingly.

"Ah...yes, after all, I went on a trip...hahaha, I'm so hungry, thank you, Uncle!" Wiping away the sweat from his nervousness, Nianzhuo immediately clutched his stomach as if he were starving and walked to the table.

"Oh dear, Zhuang Wu, look at your sister, how well-behaved she is..." Wiping his hands on his apron, the uncle sighed as he looked at the laughing little devil beside him. "Sigh, if only you could grow up someday..."

"Huh...?" The little demon king froze, looking in his uncle's direction, his finger tracing patterns on the old demon king and himself. "You're saying... she's my sister? Uncle, she's—"

However, before he could finish speaking, the little devil felt a sharp gaze from the side. The old devil was sitting in a chair playing with chopsticks, but his eyes looked like he was saying, "If you dare to say my age, you're dead."

"No, nothing at all. All you need to know, Uncle, is that she's not my sister! Besides, wouldn't you know if I had family?" Then, the little devil defiantly sat down on the other chair. "And besides, I don't want to grow up or anything..."

"Sigh, Zhuang Wu, people have to grow up..." Uncle said earnestly, taking off his glasses and wiping them. "Just like me, one day I will also leave—"

"Snap—" A crisp breaking sound. It turned out that the old demon king had snapped the chopsticks in his hand, but he was still looking down without realizing it.

"It's okay, I'm here." Nianzhuo patted her shoulder and nodded.

"...Hmm." The 68-year-old Demon King stood up and placed the broken chopsticks in his uncle's hand, then gently stroked the other's wrinkled palm. "Uncle, you must take good care of yourself. As for her, just stay as she is. This is her own path..."

"Oh...oh..." Uncle stared blankly at the girl in front of him who looked nine-tenths like Zhuang Wu, and nodded. "I wonder which relative of ours you are? You are so well-behaved, you must have a very gentle couple of parents. Wait for me to get you some new chopsticks, okay?" Then, he took off the apron around his waist, carried the plate, and went back into the inner room.

"Yes... she is a very gentle parent..." The old demon king silently sat back down in his chair and covered his eyes.

"..." The Little Demon King and Nian Zhuo had lost their joking mood and put their hands on her shoulders.

In despair, the girl ignites a flame.

However, although Nianzhuo escaped from the deadly situation, the girls were unaware of what had happened.

Located in the Third Singularity, and within the main control room of Chaldea, a deathly silence of despair filled the air.

“It’s…it’s been confirmed…” The blonde female employee of Chaldea looked in Mary’s direction with trembling eyes, her hand clenching the report was extremely pale. “The spirit origin reaction of Nen-cho…has completely disappeared.”

As if her bones had been removed, Mary slumped into her seat, her eyes trembling.

"How could... how could..." He clutched his head, his eyes gradually turning black with despair. "Nian Zhuo... Nian Zhuo..." The figure who carried him out of the flames that destroyed everything... The figure covered in wounds who saved him from the evil demon god pillar Leif Lenor.

“No…” Clenching her fists, Mary gripped her hands tightly in despair. “No… he can’t die!” However, the three bright red runes disappeared from her hands, completely extinguishing any hope in Mary’s heart.

“Da Vinci, I’ll leave the rest to you.” Mary stood up unsteadily, supporting herself against the wall as she walked step by step toward the door of the control room. “I’m feeling a little… unwell right now.”

“Mary…” Da Vinci’s face also showed some sadness. Although she was a Heroic Spirit who had already died once, and although she had long understood that Heroic Spirits would eventually leave the stage, it was still hard for her to accept that Nian Zhuo, who had always been a main force, would leave like this. Although she wanted to comfort her, seeing Mary’s reddened eyes, she finally sighed and said, “Never mind… Go and go find Roman to get some rest…”

Mary didn't answer, but simply nodded and walked out of the control room.

He could faintly hear soft sobbing coming from outside the door, which made Leonardo da Vinci bite his lip.

On the Golden Deer, located in the third singularity, the atmosphere was also extremely oppressive.

“That…” A pirate, watching the rainbow-like magical light gradually dissipate on the horizon, looked at Drake, whose face was grim. “Boss, that Nian Zhuo guy who was drinking with us…”

"Shut up!" Unexpectedly, Drake slammed her fist on the mast, snapping the heavy log in two and silencing the pirates. "Now, nobody mention the word 'death' to me, understand?" Seeing her men nod tremblingly, Drake removed her captain's hat.

"That guy won't die, my gut feeling tells me that, and my gut feeling is usually very accurate."

What angered her wasn't simply Nian Zhuo's death, but the fact that even after the colorful energy dissipated, she could still see that damned blond man being helped by the girl as his men sailed away.

The orange-haired girl sat by the railing, hugging her knees, her side ponytail hanging low, looking listless.

She was thinking, pondering the meaning of the look Mr. Nianzhuo had given her before she left.

It was a very complex look in his eyes, with a hint of reluctance and sadness, but more than anything, trust and hope.

“Mr. Nianzhuo…” Ritsuka hugged her knees and lowered her head. “Why…why did you do this?”

"Mr. Nianzhuo... has sacrificed himself." Mashu and Ritsuka huddled together, Mashu clinging tightly to Ritsuka as if afraid she would disappear too. "What are we going to do now...?"

"There's no ship in sight nearby..." The pirate climbed down from the mast, put down his binoculars, and nodded to Drake.

"...Is that so?" Drake breathed a sigh of relief, pulled a bottle of rum from the box next to him, skillfully twisted off the cap, and drank it down his throat. His complexion finally improved, and he looked at Ritsuka, who was hugging her knees. "So, Ritsuka, what do you think we should do next?"

“Yes…” Mashu seemed to have grasped at a straw, looking at Ritsuka’s worried face with equal concern. “Master, what should we do now…”

Only Ritsuka became the backbone of the team, and Ritsuka silently looked around.

Euryale leaned on Asterius's shoulder, her shoulders shaking, and it was obvious she was crying without even looking.

Asterius's hand hung limply at his sides; he didn't even have the strength to raise it to comfort Euryale.

Artemis was alright, since Orion was with her, so she was the only one on the field who could keep a normal watch, but her expression was still very complicated.

"Phew..." Now, the only way is for her to become the pillar supporting everyone.

Then Ritsuka suddenly understood the meaning behind Nenjo's gaze.

"Only you can rekindle their hope." He opened his palm, and the feather he had picked up gradually turned into particles and dispersed.

In the midst of utter despair, the girl gently embraced the spark of hope.

"...We need to know about the Ark of the Covenant first." Although pale, Ritsuka still managed to stand up. "Since they took Nencho-sensei away, then we will take away what they want as well."

“…Master.” Mash looked at Ritsuka with some confusion. Although the girl’s legs were still unsteady, she forced herself to pretend that everything was fine.

But who couldn't see that Ritsuka was also confused and didn't know what to do next? But the determination in Ritsuka's eyes and that little bit of hope silently infected these Heroic Spirits.

"...Ha, hahahaha!" Drake tossed the bottle aside, patted Ritsuka on the back to straighten her posture, and said, "This is why I recruited you. Even in the midst of a storm, we can't give up. Trust me, Nianzhuo will definitely come back." He then looked at the still silent Euryale and the Berserker, as well as his underlings, and put his captain's hat back on.

"So, can anyone tell me what that Ark of the Covenant is?" Only then did Drake reveal his ruthless pirate side. "That damn blond man, I'll definitely take what he wants."

“Leave this to us.” Mash picked up her shield, stood up, nodded to Ritsuka, and smiled. “I’m fine, Master. So… Director Marie, could you please explain it to us?”

“Mary isn’t feeling well…” After a brief static, a not-so-familiar female voice came from the communication device on Mashu’s wrist. “As for the explanation, leave it to this genius, Da Vinci~” Da Vinci then cleared his throat.

"...The so-called Ark of the Covenant is the box used by the ancient Israelite prophet Moses to seal the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments given by God. From a historical perspective, it is a relic comparable to the true Holy Grail." Da Vinci tapped his chin, seemingly deep in thought. "Hmm... Just like the Holy Grail composed of magic used by Rafe in your previous singularity, which summoned Attila, capable of destroying the singularity at that time. I won't elaborate on the value of the true Holy Grail."

"...Hmm, no monetary value? What a shame." Drake shook his head in disappointment. "I thought that blond man would have a taste for valuable things, but it's just a broken cabinet."

“The Argonauts, led by Jason, are searching for the Ark of the Covenant.” Mash recalled Jason’s earlier words. “He did say that. The Singularity didn’t disappear after Blackbeard’s disappearance. In other words, Jason, the captain of the Argonauts, might be the Singularity… So, should we seize the Ark of the Covenant before them?” Mash turned her gaze to Ritsuka.

“…The Ark of the Covenant.” Even Artemis and Orion, who were on patrol and observation duty, came over. The teddy bear touched his cheek and asked Leonardo da Vinci on the other end of the communication device, “How do you use that thing? What is it used for?”

"...I'm sorry, even a genius like me has no clue." Leonardo da Vinci on the other side also shrugged, indicating his helplessness. "There's just too little information."

Artemis's face showed displeasure. Just as she was about to say something, she was suddenly interrupted by a familiar, sweet-sounding voice. The little goddess, who was still crying, had somehow walked over with the berserker.

“I’m telling you, you weren’t even there, were you…” Yuri’s hands and face, which were gripping the hem of the skirt, were pale and even showed traces of tears. Her tone was full of gunpowder. “At least you should be of some use in a situation like this! Even Nian Zhuo was like that. If you could… if you could have analyzed it earlier… he wouldn’t have…” Then, Ritsuka touched the little goddess’s head, but it was slapped away by her.

"Don't... touch my head..." Turning her head away, Euryale acted like a little girl throwing a tantrum.

“…Eureka.” Ritsuka knelt down in front of her and gently wiped away the tears from the goddess’s eyes with her fingers. “Actually, we are all very sad, but even so, we must continue. Because Mr. Nencho’s sacrifice was not to make us sad for him, but to preserve us, to preserve the spark to conquer this singularity… So we will not be sad, because we simply do not have time to be sad.”

"..." Euryale remained silent, turning her head slightly so they wouldn't see her expression.

“…We can only say we are sorry about this.” Da Vinci’s expression darkened, and he gripped the coffee cup in front of him with a little more force. “But that’s not what I meant. What I don’t understand is why they came up with the idea of ​​using the Ark of the Covenant.”