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

"Futile, fruitless!" Nian Zhuo kept closing the distance with Mary, his short gun unleashing endless purple light bullets as he watched the defensive spell gradually collapse.

With a loud bang, Nianzhuo watched as the barrier radiating golden magic suddenly shattered. As if unable to support her body, Mary suddenly knelt on the ground.

The golden magic has dissipated, leaving only scorched earth and Nian Zhuo's silver armor as a testament to what had happened.

And now, only a few minutes have passed.

He walked up to Mary and sheathed the Time Gun.

With her head down, Mary still couldn't figure out what she wanted to do...

However, the condition for victory is that one side loses the ability to fight, so Nian Zhuo raised his hands and fused them into a sword.

"It's time to end this, Master." He said softly. "I don't know if this will make you angry, but I'm sorry, the gap between a Heroic Spirit and a Magician is huge... Those Magicians who can fight Heroic Spirits head-on are just exceptions."

“Then—” Even Leonardo da Vinci, in the control room, was preparing to announce the end of the battle.

"Heh—" Suddenly, the kneeling girl chuckled softly, "It's not over yet, Da Vinci!"

Then, golden magical energy surged forth from his body once more, and dense magical runes instantly spread throughout his entire body.

The magic crest on his forehead, representing the Animusfia family, seemed to finally come into full operation, radiating a dazzling light.

The light gun he had summoned earlier appeared in his hand, but the golden magic flowing through it was clearly a specially enhanced type.

"I see—" Sensing the power of the golden spear tip in Mary's hand, Nian Zhuo understood almost instantly what the girl had been doing.

He shut down all the magic circuits in his body, leaving only the most basic magic power to maintain his defensive spells, and poured all the remaining magic power into the magic gun he had created.

Was he deliberately showing off his weakness to lower Nianzhuo's guard, just to create this one and only opportunity?

Immediately afterwards, the orange magic circuits all over the girl's body began to operate.

The enhanced magic boosted her strength, stamina, and even speed. Mary looked at the silver knight in front of her and thrust out the tip of her spear without hesitation.

"Oh...?" Leaning slightly to one side, Nian Zhuo watched the spear tip pierce past him, even feeling the heat emanating from the magical energy on it. "However, even so, your hand should—" His gaze shifted to Mary's right hand, which was gripping the golden spear.

Since this gun, made of magic, has extremely high heat, how did Mary manage to hold it?

A small barrier also appeared in Mary's palm, separating the scalding hot gun handle from her hand.

"I don't know whether to praise you for being smart or to say you're not afraid of death—" Nian Zhuo shook his head and muttered a few words. Then, the silver blades of the gun and sword in his hand popped out and collided.

The point where the sword blade and the spear tip collided made a hissing sound, which made Mary's face, with its flowing magic circuits, shine even brighter.

Feeling the force coming from his hand, Nianzhuo raised an eyebrow.

"So you did use magic to enhance your power, huh? Well then, so what?!" With that, Nianzhuo moved, sheathed his sword, moved to Mashu's side, and continued to swing his sword.

"—" There was no reply, but as soon as Nian Zhuo's figure moved, the gaze, which was specially enhanced by magic, automatically followed Nian Zhuo's figure to the other side.

Then, the golden spear tip and Nian Zhuo's sword blade collided again, producing a heavy thud before separating.

In the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged attacks and defenses no less than ten times, and the sand beneath their feet had even slightly sunken due to the clash of their weapons.

"How could this be—?" Nian Zhuo brandished his sword, but looking at Mary, whose speed was almost on par with his own, the question in his mind was about to burst out of his mouth: "It should have been just a normal enhancement magic, so why did it increase to this level—?"

Even with Zi-O's basic armor, Nen-cho should possess an agility suppression that seems unattainable to ordinary magicians.

However, Mary managed to almost keep up with her speed using enhancement magic that any ordinary magician could perform.

During Nianzhuo's contemplation, the weapons kept clashing, separating, and then colliding again.

The intense speed and battle, sparks illuminating their faces, showed that the fight was far from over.

"Drink—!" Finally, the deflected blade spun backward, and Nian Zhuo's arm drew a semi-circle in the air, the blade even taking on a silvery sheen.

The moment the sword blade struck the spear tip, Mary was knocked back, and even after the spear tip was planted in the ground, she was still pushed back several meters before stopping.

Looking at the girl's violently heaving chest and the fact that her magical power hadn't been depleted much, Nian Zhuo seemed to have finally guessed the key to the problem.

The Mary in front of him was not one of the ordinary magicians he had imagined.

As she introduced herself at the beginning, she was the head of the Animusfia family and one of the twelve monarchs of the Clock Tower—comparing her to an ordinary magician was like comparing a fully carved gemstone to a plain pebble.

The key lies in the quality of the magic.

An ordinary magician using enhancement magic may only temporarily boost a small amount of their abilities, and the effect lasts for a very short time.

But Mary is different; the quality of her magic circuits is EX level, which is considered excellent even in the Clock Tower, where talents gather.

"So that's how you can reach this level." Looking at the messy sand around him, Nian Zhuo raised the blade in his hand. "But even if you can keep up with my movements, the difference in strength between the two of you is still too great."

The most important point, Nianzhuo did not say.

That is physical strength. As a magician, Mary's strength is less than Nian Zhuo's, not to mention that she is a girl.

By now, Nian Zhuo had barely broken a sweat, while Mary was already panting heavily, her exhaustion obvious.

"Please forgive my slip of the tongue, Master." Nian Zhuo truly took the girl in front of him seriously, the blade of his sword gleaming with silver light. "You are indeed a magician who can bring me surprises."

Even though she was panting heavily, Mary's orange eyes remained unwavering as she watched Nianzhuo approach again.

“…But you no longer have a chance.” Examining the girl in front of him, Nian Zhuo shook his head after confirming that she truly had no chance of resistance. “Your physical strength is almost exhausted, but you still have a lot of magic left—but Mary, I think you know that those so-called magic tricks are only a matter of time for me. It’s time to truly end this.”

“Is that so—” Mary nodded, gazing at the sand beneath her feet. “But I feel like this is just the beginning.”

Immediately afterwards, the golden light magnified rapidly in Nianzhuo's eyes.

"!" Nian Zhuo quickly retreated to the side, watching the golden light gun narrowly miss his chest and crash into the wall not far away.

The previously invisible wall instantly revealed its true form, and the barrier that could withstand the battle of a B-rank Heroic Spirit showed signs of breaking due to the golden magical light spear thrown by Mary.

"Phew... It's over." The weapon that had made him somewhat wary was now embedded in the wall behind him, while Mary stood empty-handed in front of him.

—The defeat is inevitable.

“Oh, right, Nian Zhuo.” However, seeing Nian Zhuo walking towards her, Mary suddenly smiled. “Do you remember the magic I used when we first went to Singularity F?”

"Singularity: F, huh—" Nian Zhuo nodded, but his steps didn't falter. "Let me think—"

Memories of the past flooded back, and the journey to the first singularity flashed quickly through Nian Zhuo's mind.

Finally, it stopped at the school, on the pebble in Mary's hand.

“I remember you used runes, didn’t you?” Nian Zhuo’s distance from Mary was getting closer and closer, almost to the point where Nian Zhuo could touch her with his sword. “And several of them were taken by Caster Cú Chulainn, who was our only helper at the time.”

"You remember it very clearly, that's a plus, isn't it?" Mary didn't seem angry at all at the moment, and smiled as she tapped her cheek. "I'll be gentler later."

"Huh?" Nianzhuo was completely baffled by Mary's words.

"So, would you like to see the effect of that magic trick?" Mary's smile widened, and she closed her eyes.

A snap of fingers rang out, and a small stone was sent flying to eye level with Nianzhuo.

"What—!?" Realizing something was wrong, he tried to back away, but the small pebble in front of him was faster than him.

The dazzling white light briefly obscured Nianzhuo's vision, but it did not cause any real harm.

This was Mary's backup plan. Although it had no power, the bright light could actually buy Mary a rare opportunity.

"Now, the real show begins—!" Then, Nianzhuo suddenly felt a tremendous force coming from his abdomen.

With a yellow magical aura emanating from her body, Mary placed her arm against Nian Zhuo's abdomen.

Mary, who had initially seemed physically exhausted, was now truly putting her plan into action.

Mary pulled Nianzhuo back after being knocked backward by her own attack and swept her leg with her foot.

"Holy crap—!" His vision was still filled with a white light, but Nian Zhuo still fell uncontrollably to the ground.

Still unable to fall, her shoulders were grabbed again, and then Mary struck Nianzhuo with a knee strike.

"Whoa—" Even Da Vinci in the control room grimaced at the sight. "As a magician, you actually have to fight Heroic Spirits in close combat..." Although she said it softly, her voice still flowed into the arena through the microphone.

"I'm so sorry to disappoint you—!" After sending Nian Zhuo flying with another blow, Mary took a deep breath and re-established her stance. "As one of the heirs of the twelve monarchs of the Clock Tower, I've faced my fair share of assassination attempts!"

Her long silver hair was stuck to her forehead with sweat, but it flew up more often with the girl's movements.

Like a silver butterfly, yet the loud, muffled sound of each flap of its wings evokes no sense of harmony whatsoever.

In close combat, Nian Zhuo never imagined that his master had actually trained in something like close combat.

Countless coincidences stemmed from his underestimation of his opponent, but now, in Nianzhuo's vision, the white light finally began to dissipate.

Having regained his sight, Nian Zhuo looked at Mary's fist, which was radiating orange magic, as she threw it again, and raised his sword.

Nianzhuo could finally breathe a sigh of relief after being deliberately knocked away by Mary.

Not daring to be careless in the slightest, Nianzhuo had to brace himself and seriously confront Mary.

"—How could I have underestimated my opponent to such an extent? Did I become arrogant?" Nian Zhuo shook his hand and gripped the hilt of the Time Gun Sword with both hands. "But next, I will claim victory."

"That's not necessarily true," a confident voice came from nearby. Mary looked at Nianzhuo, who had deliberately distanced himself from her, and smiled smugly. "Up until now, things have been unfolding exactly as I planned—"

The magic circuits in his body suddenly stopped, and then began to flow even more wildly.

Mary was surrounded by a large amount of golden magic, which even unconsciously vaporized the sand and dust on the ground.

"So this is the decisive blow! Watch closely, Nianzhuo, you big idiot!"

Her orange eyes revealed unwavering determination, and Olga Marie's silver hair swayed with the fluctuations of magic.

The sweat on his head evaporated instantly, and the magic mark on his forehead finally revealed a glimpse of its mystery.

Then, the girl closed her eyes and softly sang.

"Stars"

A vast expanse of the Milky Way appeared above the girl's head.

Nian Zhuo: Stars, stars, light up!

“Stars; —” Only now has Mary finally revealed her last card, her so-called trump card.

He learned celestial magic from his father, which originated from the Animusfia family.

Golden magic condensed into a turbid light, a magical spell that made one dizzy just by looking at it, and gradually formed a huge golden ring on it.

Within the golden ring lies the dazzling Milky Way.

"..." Both Leonardo da Vinci and Nian Zhuo stared wide-eyed at Olga Marie, who was now depicted under the Milky Way, admiring the golden brilliance that belonged to her.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Suddenly, Da Vinci’s voice came through Nian Zhuo’s earphones. Even though she had always looked down on modern magic, she couldn’t help but look at the spell with a bit of appreciation. “The Animusphia family’s great magic – celestial magic. It originally required a ritual field of celestial science and several days of chanting to complete, but now Mary has actually performed it in such a short time.”

"How did she do that?!" Nian Zhuo stared at the girl who looked particularly petite under the huge golden spell, and murmured, "Mary, you shouldn't have a Mystic Code that can use high-speed divine words or shorten the chanting ability."