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

"No! Mordred! Get back!" The clock hands above his head spun, and Nian Zhuo, sensing the future, directly aimed his hand at the oncoming Mordred. Purple light enveloped his palm, transforming it into a violent impact of danger.

"What—?" Mordred naturally didn't know why Nian Zhuo told her to back off. The purple impact sent her flying, but she didn't suffer any real damage. "Hey! What are you doing! Nian—"

Mordred stood up from the ground, but was shocked by what he saw.

Black mist condensed before his eyes, gradually transforming into enormous, seemingly solidified spikes.

Nian Zhuo, who was unarmed, had his limbs bitten and locked firmly by the attacking black snake.

"Tsk... Oh no..." Looking at the huge black spikes above his head, Nian Zhuo closed his eyes helplessly.

"Mr. Nencho!" Mashu and Ritsuka exclaimed from behind, but it seems they are also within safe limits.

"Hey! Nencho!" It was Momotaros's voice. The innocent boy immediately wanted to rush over, but Mash held him back.

"Haha, die!" With Barbatos's ferocious laughter, the huge black spikes fell and directly enveloped Nian Zhuo's body.

Not only that, all the sharp spikes in front of the surrounding eyeballs flew out, bombarding Nian Zhuo's body one after another.

In Mashu and the others' sight, Nianzhuo's bright silver body was swallowed by the black mist, leaving a trail dozens of meters long on the ground before passing by Mashu and the others and crashing into the mountain behind them.

“…Nencho!” Mary, located in Chaldea, screamed as she watched Nencho’s body turn red on the screen.

Extreme Armed General - Never Give Up on Yourself

All I could see was darkness.

Hidden by the falling rocks that had crashed into the mountainside, Nianzhuo struggled to open his eyes.

"This...here...?" He looked around in confusion, the heavy pressure coming from his limbs making him twitch his lips.

"My hand..." His gaze wandered aimlessly before finally settling on his arm.

Thoughts gradually returned to the body, and memories also appeared in the mind.

"I see..." Nian Zhuo couldn't help but give a wry smile, gripping the ground tightly. "He was actually sent flying..."

His own driver fell to the ground beside him, but his body, pinned under the falling rocks, was completely unable to move.

The warmth emanated from all parts of his body, making Nianzhuo momentarily think he was lying in warm water.

Then I realized that the warm liquid had a metallic taste.

"What...it's my blood..." Nian Zhuo's tongue touched the liquid, which carried the earthy smell, making him purse his lips. "Ah...thinking about it this way, isn't my current situation quite bad..."

What Nianzhuo couldn't see was that his body was covered in wounds, the most serious being the huge gash on his back from hitting the mountain wall, from which blood was flowing continuously.

The excessive bleeding gradually slowed Nianzhuo's thinking, and he even felt his eyelids starting to droop.

"Really... how long has it been since I suffered such severe injuries..." As her memories faded and even her senses began to grow cold, Nian Zhuo gripped the Zi-O II that had fallen to the side and gritted her teeth.

"I'm so unwilling... The strongest power I possess right now has been defeated like this..."

However, he could no longer move his limbs. The falling rocks around him would have been nothing to him in the past, but now he was... far too weak.

Like walking on a boundless snowfield, the heavy snow coming towards him almost buried Nianzhuo's body.

However, in this silent darkness, a blue light gradually emerged.

"Hey! Nianzhuo!" A male voice that sounded somewhat familiar rang out beside him.

"...Who...is it?" Nianzhuo muttered, half-closing his eyes, as if asking a question, his gaze sweeping across his face, searching for the source of the voice. "Although I don't know who you are...I'm very tired right now..."

"What kind of state are you in, you idiot!" However, upon hearing Nian Zhuo's words, the owner of the voice not only did not stop, but shouted even more angrily, "Hey! Get up! Don't lie here pretending to be dead!"

"...Who are you?!" After being scolded like that, Nian Zhuo actually got a little angry and opened his eyes to look in the direction of the voice. "...Huh?"

A blue light was quietly shimmering from the pocket at his waist.

"This is...?" His mind couldn't process it again until a long time later when he remembered that the dial he owned still carried the will of its original owner.

"The Great Way is to subdue oneself!"

"Hmph, so your brain isn't completely mush after all." Hearing Nian Zhuo call his name, the light clearly paused for a moment. "Looks like you're not that stupid after all. Get up now!"

"Oh...oh!" Finally, under the call of the Great Dao of Self-Discipline, Nian Zhuo truly came to his senses, looked at his limbs trapped under the falling rocks, and said, "But...I can't move at all..."

"I don't care if you can move or not!" Dao Keji's voice sounded like thunder right next to Nian Zhuo's ear, forcing him to remain rational. "In short, I absolutely will not allow you to fall here!"

"You should experience the malice of humanity! Then despair, and then you can fall down and descend into the hell called the human world! This is the scene I want to see!" The blue light kept flashing, becoming brighter and brighter, and even the surrounding rocks showed signs of trembling. This was the Eternal dial emitting fluctuations of power.

"But what's wrong with you looking like this! So disheveled, so unsightly! Is this still you, Nianzhuo!" Da Dao Keji's voice seemed to revitalize Nianzhuo's heart, and Nianzhuo began to look around at his surroundings.

"You bastard, you made that oath to me, and this is how you fulfill it?!" In the space of the dial, Daido Katsumi clenched his gloved hand and slammed it on the table in front of him. "I absolutely refuse to admit it! How could I possibly admit it! How could someone like you defeat me?!"

“...My...resolve...vow…” Gradually, the memory faded away again, and Nianzhuo seemed to return to the previous scene, looking at his spirited self at that time.

“Ritsuka… Mashu… Mary…” Many girls turned around and smiled at him.

At the end of this pristine white road, Nianzhuo passed by one girl after another, until he arrived at the very end, before the last person.

“Nianzhuo, my subject…” He turned around, smiled and stretched out his hands. It was none other than the Demon King Zhuang Wu, to whom he had sworn allegiance.

Nianzhuo's eyes widened instantly, and in a daze, he was back in this desolate darkness.

Dao Keji continued to roar at himself. In his eyes, the guy who had defeated him, the guy who said he would let him see hope again, would never fall here in this way.

"...It's so noisy, old man." "What—?!"

Nianzhuo spoke as if he were annoyed, but a smile appeared on his face.

Strength seemed to surge back from nowhere in his limbs, and Nianzhuo supported himself with his arms, trying to climb out of this hopeless prison.

The first attempt... failed.

Nianzhuo's body landed heavily on the ground, some warm liquid falling directly into his mouth, causing him to stick out his tongue with a bitter expression.

"Use my power, Nianzhuo!" Like a devilish temptation, yet also like a heartfelt plea, Dao Keji whispered in Nianzhuo's ear, "You know, don't you, just how powerful the Eternal's power truly is—"

"Shut up, the Great Way is self-disciplined." Shaking his head, Nian Zhuo began to try to prop himself up on his arms for the second time. "Once I use your power, I will have lost this bet."

Gritting his teeth, Nianzhuo tried to prop himself up.

This time, the falling rocks on my body finally started to shake, albeit very slightly.

Finally, a cool breeze blew in from Nianzhuo's right hand, it seems that the right hand was the first to be freed.

"It's not... over yet..." Just having only his right hand wasn't enough, so Nianzhuo started trying to free his left hand.

However, compared to the right hand, the left hand was clearly suppressed to a greater extent, causing Nianzhuo's third struggle to end in failure.

"So that's why~" On the other side, Daido Katsumi still hadn't given up, and even took the blue and white Eternal watch face out of Nencho's pocket. "Look~ look~ such powerful strength is only one step away from you~"

"With Eternal's power, a rockfall of this magnitude, and that enormous tentacle outside, could be shattered in an instant. Because Eternal is the strongest memory!" Dao Keji laughed wildly, his devilish whispers echoing in Nian Zhuo's ears after his fourth failed struggle.

"...Don't joke around, the Great Way is self-discipline." However, unlike his previous confused self, Nian Zhuo, now clear-headed, already understood the price to pay for using that power: "This is a challenge that only I can overcome on my own. If I rely on the power of others... then how... how can I fulfill my vow!"

Turning his anger and resentment into motivation, and squeezing out the last bit of strength from his body, Nian Zhuo actually managed to prop himself up this time!

"...Tsk, you're really boring, Nianzhuo." Gradually, Dao Keji's voice faded, but Nianzhuo could sense that Dao Keji's gaze hadn't left him, but was silently observing him. "Then let me see just how far you can struggle."

"By the way, those girls outside and your... oh, senior. They're almost at their breaking point because of their anger, aren't they?" As she spoke casually, the blue light gradually faded, leaving only the Eternal's watch face facing Nianzhuo's dusty face.

"Ugh... Ugh!" Upon hearing that Ritsuka and Mashu were in bad shape, Nencho's heart clenched, and then the strength in his limbs weakened again, his body suddenly sank, and he almost fell to the ground again.

But... how could Nianzhuo allow such a thing to happen?

With a thud, he lowered his head and pressed it against the ground, supporting his body so that he didn't fall completely back to the ground.

It seemed as if a few more warm liquids had dripped from the front of his forehead.

Is it blood...? Or is it not blood...? Nian Zhuo couldn't care less about that now.

"Get up...get up! I!" Nianzhuo roared, pressing his palms to the ground, trying to stand up again. "I am Nianzhuo, a man who will never fall here! I still...I still have important things to do!"

Thump—thump—His head slammed against the ground, the pain almost robbing Nianzhuo of all feeling.

But he still couldn't give up. If he fell here, he would never be able to stand up again. Nianzhuo had this feeling.

"Give it to me..." The falling rocks on his body began to make a clattering sound, and a slightly cold wind blew in through the wound on his back.

The cool breeze brought a brief moment of clarity to Nianzhuo's mind. Although it still hurt, it was a good opportunity for him to get back to his senses.

"..." Nian Zhuo couldn't remember when it happened. Dao Keji's voice disappeared, leaving only Eternal's watch face in front of him, staring at him with its golden eye armor.

"Give me..." As long as he thought that there were people outside who were worried about him, as long as he thought that there were people outside who needed him, the man named [Nian Zhuo] would definitely stand up again, no matter what the situation was, he would definitely stand up again.

"I believe in myself..." This time, Nianzhuo's arms, which he had propped up, stopped trembling, his vision in front of him stopped swaying, and the pressure on his back began to gradually decrease.

"I believe in myself!" he repeated, colorful light shimmering in Nianzhuo's eyes.

"This is..." In the system space, the system's cold voice stared at a colorful light, and the voice, which was originally devoid of any emotion, actually showed a hint of surprise.

"Come on! Stand up! Nianzhuo!" Finally, Nianzhuo straightened his arms and raised his legs. The wind flowing into the wound on his back grew colder and clearer.

"Ohhhhhhh!" Finally, colorful light gradually filled Nianzhuo's eyes, and his limbs also surged with seemingly endless power. The pressure on his body finally disappeared, and light reappeared before his eyes.

"Huff... Huff... Huff..." As soon as he came out, Nianzhuo's body swayed and he almost fell over.

“This…this guy…” Meanwhile, Daido Katsumi, located in the dial space, stared in astonishment at Nencho, who was swaying. “He actually…did it…”

Dao Keji was extremely familiar with wounds, knowing exactly where they could be fatal and where they could cause unbearable pain. Nian Zhuo's current wounds, if added together, would not be surprising if he died, yet this guy actually managed to do it.

"...Tsk, what a...naive guy." With his eyes slightly narrowed, Dao Keji looked at Nian Zhuo, who had finally gained his footing, and curled his lip. "Tch, as a reward for you for doing this, I'll do you a favor."

The azure tornado blew through Nian Zhuo's hair and tattered clothes, and the multicolored light in Nian Zhuo's eyes rapidly magnified, gradually enveloping his entire body.

"Use it, Nianzhuo!" It was that familiar voice again. A man in a white robe with a full head of golden hair appeared in front of him. "You have done enough. Now is the best time for you to truly use this power!" He stretched out his hand towards Nianzhuo.

“…Kurota…?” Nencho recognized the man in front of him and finally smiled. “Ah…that’s great. Please lend me your power…!” He reached out and clasped Kota’s hand tightly.

In the blink of an eye, a multicolored beam of light shot into the sky, shining brightly across this underground plain.

"!" Everyone's gaze, even that of the Demon God Pillar Barbatos, turned toward the direction where the multicolored pillar of light appeared.

“…It’s Nian Zhuo!” Mary watched as Nian Zhuo’s physical condition on the screen changed from critical to normal green, and finally let out a long sigh of relief, collapsing into her chair.

"It's Mr. Nianzhuo!" The incredibly familiar magical energy fluctuations brought smiles of surprise to Mash and Ritsuka's faces.

“…This power is…the power of a different knight…” Unlike Mash and the others, Ryotaro and Momotaros also breathed a sigh of relief, sensing the difference in that power as well. “That Nencho guy, he really knows how to surprise people…”

Within the multicolored pillar of light, Nianzhuo's figure gradually straightened up.

In his hand, he held a small, golden lock.

“Extreme Armed…” he murmured the name.