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

"Huh...!?" Even Jeanne Alter could hardly believe that "this guy is still alive...!"

Before she could react, the "humanoid" body moved again, removing the Ex-Aid watch face from the driver and quickly attaching the Drive watch face to it.

"armor time――"

"Drive! Type Speed!" The red time ring enveloped his figure, and Black Jeanne thrust out with her spear, but it was blocked by the ring.

The rings dissipate, and Drive Zi-O, in its brand-new red armor, is here!

"Accelerate." The figure transformed into a stream of light, scattering red stardust, and Zhuo instantly appeared behind Jeanne Alter.

"Hey...!" This was already the umpteenth time Black Jeanne had been surprised. She wanted to stab the man behind her, but he was one step ahead of her.

"From scum... to a reptile...?" There was no attack, but instead, she quietly pinched Jeanne Alter's—perky buttocks.

In Black Jeanne's ear, she heard the man whisper something.

“I’m honored… to be closer to you.” Ignoring Black Jeanne’s blushing and anger at having her private parts touched, Zhuo quickly returned to the unconscious Mary’s side using his speed boost.

He hoisted her onto his shoulder, then activated his speed boost again, scattering a shower of red stardust before disappearing from the spot.

All that remained was Black Jeanne, head bowed, face flushed, fists clenched in anger.

"That man...I'm going to kill you! Aaaaaaah!"

"Cough—cough cough cough cough!" Zhuo carried Mary as he ran faster and faster across the building.

Then, as if he had reached some kind of critical point, Zhuo ran to the roof of a building again, his legs went weak, and he fell forward.

He quickly turned Mary into his arms, and Zhuo stumbled and fell to his knees after landing on the roof.

Unable to even maintain his basic form—he ended up kneeling on the ground.

If a doctor were to witness this scene, she would surely ask the man why he is still alive.

His skin turned charred black, his clothes were burned open at the chest, and his flesh was turned inside out, emitting a foul odor. His legs were bleeding again from the acceleration.

His head was overburdened from the two transformations, and blood trickled down his head.

In general, the current state of turbidity has never been so severely damaged.

"Ouch...it hurts so much..." Tears welled in his eyes from the pain, but Zhuo's vision was completely obscured by the blood streaming from his head; everything was a sea of ​​red. "This...this is terrible..."

Fortunately, the bumpy journey finally woke Mary up.

As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Zhuo's face covered in blood.

"You...how could you!" She quickly stood up from Zhuo's embrace and supported him as he swayed. "You...you've been carrying me all this way like this?"

"...Actually, I carried you here for the first half." Although he wanted to say that, there was no doubt that he couldn't. Zhuo slowly opened his mouth, as if even speaking was a great effort.

"Well... not really. We barely made it through."

Then a wave of dizziness washed over him, and Zhuo finally collapsed to the ground before Mary stopped him.

"I'm counting on you from now on..." "Okay..."

Mary summoned her glassy horse and carefully placed Zhuo on its back.

"Why...why did you save me?" Sitting on horseback, Mary suddenly asked the question she most wanted to ask Zhuo behind her.

"...Why...?" His turbid head drooped and then lifted repeatedly, drooping and lifting again. He forced himself to stay awake.

"Just think of me as... someone who doesn't want to see promises broken but can't keep them."

"Besides... I'm a knight, saving the queen is just commonplace for me." After saying that, Zhuo finally couldn't hold on any longer and fainted.

“...Is that so?” Mary’s voice trembled slightly as she turned her back to Zhuo.

"Thank you..." The words drifted on the wind, carrying with them certain emotions.

The glass-like horse she sat on became slightly more transparent, and Mary quickened her pace.

I wonder if that sentence, imbued with emotion, carried by the wind to the ears of the person behind me?

The girl made this wish.

Hosho Eternal Dream! (Grass)

Before the battle begins, Jeanne d'Arc finally reunites with Mash and the others.

When Amadeus did not see the smiling figure, his heart sank. Although he had expected this, he was still somewhat disappointed.

"Miss Mash!" Upon seeing the familiar figure, Jeanne waved and returned to the group.

"Ah! That's great. And this is—" Mashu was equally happy that Jeanne was back. Looking at the man behind Jeanne, Mashu was slightly puzzled.

“People call me Giorgios.” Bowing, Teacher Giorgios introduced himself.

"...What about Maria?" Amadeus was still unwilling to accept it, clinging to a sliver of hope that it wasn't the worst possible outcome.

“Maria, she—” However, Joan of Arc’s hesitant expression said it all. Nevertheless, Amadeus calmly listened to Joan of Arc finish her story.

He had never been so calm, yet the veins on his hand, gripping the musical staff tightly, bulged, revealing the inner turmoil within this genius.

"Is that so? That was her last sentence?" Amadeus frowned slightly. "Well... there's nothing we can do about it then."

He seemed to accept this reality and smiled as he tried to comfort Joan of Arc, who was filled with remorse.

“Don’t worry about it too much. Even if we had all been there, she probably would have done the same thing.” Amadeus said, as if comforting Joan of Arc, and also as if comforting himself. “There’s nothing we can do. Maria is a complete philanthropist. She’s the kind of woman who lives and dies in this way. More important than that, let’s help Siegfried break the curse as soon as possible.”

However—things always take a turn for the better.

A sound of air being sliced ​​open came from afar. Mary, seeing the two Spirit Origins suddenly appear on the screen, quickly opened the communication.

“Beep beep—” The moment the call connected to Mashu’s communication device, Director Mary’s voice came through.

"Hey! Watch out! Two spirit cores are rapidly approaching you. Also, where's Nian Zhuo? Tell him to prepare for battle as well."

"Um... Director, Mr. Nianzhuo has been missing since just now..." Mashu replied in a slightly anxious voice.

"Huh?! Why didn't you tell me about this?" Director Mary's voice grew increasingly impatient, but she relaxed slightly after touching the three bright red Command Seals on her hand. "There's no time to worry about that now—Ritsuka, the battlefield command is in your hands."

"Everyone! Prepare—" Ritsuka looked at the mount charging towards them from the sky, feeling it looked vaguely familiar. "Wait a minute—"

As she got closer, she saw that the horses were like glass, gleaming in the sunlight.

"It's Mary and the others—!" Ritsuka excitedly raised her hand and ran over.

The horses landed with difficulty on the ground, and Mary, looking somewhat disheveled, was the first to fall from her mount.

"—" Amadeus ran ahead, and after confirming that he was not living in a dream, he finally breathed a long sigh of relief. "You're back, that's so good."

“…Yes.” Mary nodded, then helped another person off the horse. “…It was him who saved me.”

"Click—" The driver in Zhuo's hand fell to the ground.

"Mr. Nencho (Nencho)!" Ritsuka and Mashu also rushed over. When they saw that the "humanoid" in front of them was the man who had been comforting them with a smile, they covered their mouths in surprise.

"...Such a serious injury." Jorcos glanced at him briefly; the man's injuries were comparable to those of Siegfried, who was cursed.

Extensive burns, especially on the chest and the outer sides of both arms, while not threatening the psychic core or vital organs, have caused varying degrees of damage to other areas. The current coma could also be a protective mechanism against the excessive burden on the brain.

"...Hello? What's wrong, Nianzhuo?" The director's anxious voice came through the communication device. After seeing the scene sent back by Ritsuka, he stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

“…How could this be?” Then, she quickly calmed herself down. “Ritsuka, your Chaldea Mystic Code has an emergency healing spell. Use that to heal the basic wounds of the clown first. Also, Jeanne and Georgius should go and break Siegfried’s curse. There’s no time to worry about that now… The ‘Dragon Witch’ is very likely to make a comeback.”

"Yes...yes!" Agreeing with Director Mary's decision, Ritsuka immediately ran to Tsuru's side. On the other side, Jeanne d'Arc and Georgios were also preparing to lift Siegfried's curse.

Mary went to the side and sat down to recover her magic power. She looked at Amadeus, who had also come to her side, and smiled.

"Mozart, may you now play a piece on the piano to celebrate my return?"

A light shone in Amadeus's eyes—the light of a pure and innocent dream coming true.

“It is my honor, Ms. Marie Antoinette.”

That year, she was seven years old, and he was six. They made a promise to hear him play the piano.

On this day, she was in the prime of her youth, and he was full of youthful vigor. The promise was finally fulfilled.

(It is recommended to listen to this piece in conjunction with Mozart's Requiem.)

With his hands positioned on the virtual piano keys, Amadeus, like a young man just beginning to show his talent, let his fingers glide across the flowing keys.

Mary closed her eyes and listened to the piano piece.

Tranquil and peaceful notes flowed and drifted here, passing through the hearts of Ritsuka and Mashu, who were urgently treating Zhuo. They relaxed, and the shimmering green light intensified. Even Zhuo, who was unconscious, seemed to smile.

Over there, Joan of Arc and Georgios, who were chanting the baptismal chant, smiled upon hearing these notes. Even Siegfried's face, unusually devoid of apology, was now tinged with heroic pride.

Everything was poetic and picturesque, like celestial music, yet also mortal.

After the charred skin peeled off, it grew back, and tender red granulation tissue sprouted from the flesh, and the wounds continued to heal. Yet, his mind was far from calm.

"Host! What are you doing?!" The system's usually emotionless tone was now trembling with emotion. "Do you know that if I hadn't protected you just now, you would be dead?!"

On the other side, Zhuo was sitting obediently on the ground, waiting to be reprimanded, and occasionally saying things like "Yes, yes..." and "I'm really sorry..."

"Also, may I ask the host why you did this?" The system's voice returned to its usual calm, as if it were all an illusion. "As far as I know, even without rescuing the queen, you should have been able to easily conquer this singularity..."

"There's no reason for it." Zhuo stretched his aching legs and lay down on the ground, using his arms as a pillow.

"I just don't want to see the two people who made the promise be let down." Zhuo touched his head and was as happy as a child. "The reason we traveled through time is to make those sad things beautiful, even if sadness can elevate the story."

"I've seen enough sorrow, I've witnessed enough of the story's culmination, so let it be." He pointed one finger forward. Zhuo remained resolute.

"I will change their fate."

Looking at the white light shining down from above, Zhuo waved his hand toward the system's screen.

"There will be many more life-threatening situations like this in the future, and I'll be leaving them to you then..."

The screen only rippled after his figure had completely disappeared.

"Idiot..." the system muttered under its breath, tossing a round object into its own storage space.

"Consider yourself lucky..."

Everything returned to calm.

On the other side, the song ended. Mary also opened her eyes.

"What? It's not that nice. Has your technique deteriorated?" Curling her hair and looking to the side, Mary rediscovered her former self.

"Huh? You wicked woman, you're lucky to have anything to listen to!" Amadeus put down the piano keys, and his sullen expression made Mary laugh again.