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

"Ugh! It's so cold!" Nero said, trying to increase the flames on his sword, but the frigid air was so cold that even the flames flickered.

"Is it going to break down?" Thick frost had formed on Mash's shield, and even her hands were turning purple from the cold. Mash's frail figure was still holding on to prevent the shield from collapsing.

"Well then, this is the last one." The magician waved his hand down, and the water that appeared out of thin air quickly condensed into sharp ice spikes, then two became four, four became eight... gradually obscuring Mash and Nero's vision.

The tiny ice spikes, gleaming coldly in the sunlight, hurtled rapidly toward the two people whose strength was being dwindling due to the cold.

Suddenly, flames appeared out of nowhere.

"Huh?" Nero looked at the Primordial Flame in his hand. "I didn't release any flames...?"

A warm feeling passed by, and Nero and Mashu's gazes turned to the magician in front of them.

Quietly, the ice that had frozen on the two girls and their weapons began to melt and drip onto the ground.

"Whoosh---" The magician in front of him exhaled a breath of white air, as if his whole body was covered in flames.

"Thank you for your hard work, you bought me so much time." Nian Zhuo's words seemed to be filled with warmth. Relying on the time that Nero and Mashu had bought for him, the magic rings on Nian Zhuo's shoulders gathered a lot of magic power. The rolling heat distorted the surrounding air, but Mashu and Nero did not feel any discomfort.

"Next, I will prepare a feast of flames for you." Extending his left hand, with his palm facing the numerous flying ice spikes, Nian Zhuo quietly flipped the driver with his other hand.

“Finish Time----” The intense heat and rolling flames gathered from Nian Zhuo’s palm.

"Alexander! Watch out!" Sensing that the magic in Nian Zhuo's hand was being continuously refined into flames, El-Melloi quickly pulled Alexander, who was watching with great interest, behind him and planted his toes on the ground.

A tall earthen wall blocked their path, and then the flames in Nianzhuo's palm finally coalesced.

"Flame Slash Breake---!" Blazing flames erupted from Nian Zhuo's palm, transforming into a roaring fire dragon and a blooming rose.

The flames quickly spread to the incoming ice spikes, but only enveloped them without melting them rapidly.

The ice, stained with flames, resembled scattered rose petals, beautiful yet terrifying.

The flames didn't stop after burning away the ice; the surging tongues of fire crashed into the earthen wall that the magician had already erected.

Flames shot out, boiling tongues of fire spewing forth and burning everything around to ashes; the land was dried up, and plants turned to ash.

Even the fortress behind the magicians was marked with scorch marks by the leaping flames.

However, the magician erected layer upon layer of earthen walls, firmly blocking the flames spewing forth from the Nen-turbid energy.

After an unknown amount of time, the flames gathered in Nianzhuo's hands gradually weakened, and the roses gradually withered.

The petals disappeared, and the flower gradually turned into a blurry image, thus ending the fleeting dance of the Flame Rose.

Then, the earthen wall in front of the magician still stood, emitting white steam.

A gentle breeze caressed the land where flames danced, and the earthen walls constructed by the magician turned into smoke and dust, which were then blown away by the wind.

Behind them appeared the magician with an ugly expression and the smiling young emperor.

drive—Cetron!

It's even more tricky than I expected...

Even now, El-Melloi II and Alexander have not suffered any direct attacks; even the flames that Nian Zhuo had been gathering power for a long time could not harm them in the slightest.

"Hey~ Your abilities and attacks are so interesting! Hey, you armored hero over there, what's your name?" The boy smiled and peeked out from behind the magician, his curious gaze sweeping over Nian Zhuo.

“Nian Zhuo. Just an unnamed heroic spirit.” With a wave of his hand, Nian Zhuo felt his arm was already aching and had no choice but to remove the wizard dial from the driver. “However, it will still be here that I defeat you, just a mere rider.”

"Hey~ I see. Good luck, big brother." Hearing this blatantly provocative remark, even the boy, with his good temper, became somewhat dissatisfied. "In that case, big brother, please don't die, okay...?" With a stomp of his foot, the boy wielded his short sword and swiftly thrust it towards Nian Zhuo, who was standing still.

“However, your words really reminded me.” With his eyes closed and not looking at the approaching boy, Nian Zhuo took out a red and black watch face from his pocket. “...Since we’re talking about abilities, it’s not just magic, is it?” He flipped it over and then pressed the button on the watch face.

“Drive—” “Hmph, run a lap with me, Alexander.” Nian Zhuo gently placed the dial on the driver and then flipped it over.

"Armor Time! Drive! Drive!" The phantom of the tire enveloped Nian Zhuo once again. Alexander's attack struck the phantom surrounded by the tire, but no matter how hard he tried, he could no longer move forward.

Having been repelled by Nero and Mash, who had finished their rest, Nencho, now transformed back into Drive form, reappears!

“Self-defense is established.” Then, Nian Zhuo said softly to Nero and Mash in front of him, “You two, leave the rest to me. You two quickly retreat to the safe spot near Ritsuka.”

"Eh? But can you manage alone, guest general?" Nero looked at him with concern, clearly worried. "You were having such a tough time in that battle..."

"It's alright! Your Majesty, Mr. Nianzhuo is very strong." Mashu pushed Nero away while running away before Nianzhuo could explain anything. Having witnessed Nianzhuo's acceleration ability, she knew that it would be very difficult to keep up with Nianzhuo's attacks once she was in that state.

"Eh...!? Then you promise me! You have to win! Did you hear me?! Nianzhuo...!" Nero was pushed away by Mashu with a surprised look on her face, and waved to Nianzhuo as she walked away.

"What a worrying emperor..." Nian Zhuo said helplessly, shrugging, though he didn't know who he was talking to. "Alright, accelerate again, activate—"

Suddenly, the world fell into a state of stagnation once again.

"Huh?!" Alexander exclaimed in surprise as he watched his speed visibly slow down.

Then, Nianzhuo kicked him in the abdomen while he was in mid-air with nowhere to hide.

"Tsk..." El-Melloi II, not even bothering to put the cigarette in his mouth, frowned uncomfortably at the sluggishness in his body. "It's a weakened barrier, or is it magic...?" But now was not the time to analyze these things. Forcing himself to overcome the sluggishness in his body, the magician raised his hand and caught Alexander, who was flying backward, with a gentle breeze.

"Ugh...it hurts." Alexander rubbed his stomach, saying with a slightly bitter expression, but then a pleased smile appeared on his lips. "But it's precisely this kind of enemy that's worth conquering!"

"Don't move yet," the magician said, lightly touching Alexander's body.

"Oh!" His strength suddenly increased. The boy, whose strength was originally only C, must have reached the B level with the strategist's help.

Strategist's Command: A+ Strategist-type Servant skill, which allows soldiers, including the strategist, to unleash their full potential.

A rating of A+ allows soldiers to unleash power approaching the level of "being prepared to die."

However, this still doesn't change anything. The original Zi-O basic armor already had strength of B-rank or higher, and now that it has been converted to Drive, it has been further enhanced. In addition, the heavy acceleration state significantly weakens them.

"..." Holding the Time Gun Sword in his hand, Nian Zhuo's legs accelerated, scattering red stardust.

The next moment, almost as if he had teleported, Nian Zhuo appeared in front of the two of them and then slashed down with his sword.

"...!" The first thing to collide was Alexander's hastily thrusting short sword, but unfortunately, due to the haste, the short sword was easily deflected by Nian Zhuo and continued its momentum towards Alexander's delicate neck.

What followed was a swift, verdant wind.

In an instant, even with the slowness of his body due to the accelerated state, El-Melloi II still managed to unleash the wind blade at almost maximum power, relying on the magic resistance and incantation inherent in the caster.

This attack made Nian Zhuo somewhat cautious, and he dodged to the side, but the blade in his hand still grazed the boy's face, leaving a scar.

"Fourth Formation—Sun Position: Storm!" The magician chanted rapidly, causing the emerald green tornado to grow larger and larger, whipping up grass and pebbles, tearing apart everything around it.

Unfortunately, although Nian Zhuo felt the suction force coming from behind, he still managed to escape the tornado's range thanks to his own speed boost during the heavy acceleration state.

"Fifth Array - Departure - Flame Rise!" Blazing flames and searing tongues of fire erupted from the ground, distorting everything around them, including the air. Several pillars of fire shot into the air. At the same time, countless red dots emerged from the ground beneath Nian Zhuo's feet.

The blazing flames gathered beneath the red dot, threatening to erupt at any moment.

“…In that case.” He took the Zio watch off his waist, transformed the gun-sword in his hand into a gun, and then placed the watch on the gun handle.

"Sure Sure Shotting—!" A purple energy bullet shot out from Nian Zhuo's gun muzzle, accurately striking the red dots on the ground.

In an instant, the energy collided with the flames hidden underground, and then scattered in all directions.

However, the time gained is now enough for Nianzhuo to escape the range of the raging flames.

"Sixth Formation - Zhen Position - Thunder!" Suddenly, dark clouds filled the sky, and silvery lightning churned in the clouds like silver serpents, followed by a deafening explosion.

"Thump—thump—thump—" The lightning struck three times in quick succession, relentlessly pursuing Nian Zhuo.

Relying on the amplification from the heavy acceleration, Nian Zhuo kept dodging, causing the lightning to only hit the spot where Nian Zhuo had been standing for a second. He managed to avoid this attack without any serious danger.

"Huff...huff..." Panting heavily, Nian Zhuo moved to the side, his calves trembling slightly. "How can this kind of attack be considered too overpowered...I must say, as expected of the Crouching Dragon who dares to reverse the fate of the world, I have truly learned a lot this time."

"Seventh Formation—Qian Position: Heavenly Pressure!" "What?!"

Suddenly, Nian Zhuo felt a sudden weight on his body, and his figure fell uncontrollably towards the ground. "This is... did he apply several times the gravity to me?!" He tried to get up by bracing himself with his hands, but Nian Zhuo was still too ignorant in front of this strategist.

"Eighth Formation - Kun Position: Earth Collapse!" "?!?!"

As soon as Nian Zhuo's hands touched the ground, the soil suddenly became sticky and soft, like a swamp, causing Nian Zhuo's hands to sink into it.

"Hmph... this is the final end." In the distance, the magician's triumphant laughter reached Nian Zhuo's ears. However, with his hands bound and his body weighed down, Nian Zhuo was unable to struggle and had no way to escape.

Suddenly, a giant Bagua (Eight Trigrams) appeared in the sky, and at the same time, a similar red Bagua pattern appeared centered on Nianzhuo.

"Qian (?), Kan (?), Gen (?), Zhen (?), Xun (?), Li (?), Kun (?), Dui (?)," the magician chanted softly, his first time performing a magic incantation.

Eight stone pillars were placed in different positions according to his words, firmly surrounding Nianzhuo in the middle.

"Now, all the gossip has been gathered."

"A myriad of variations, a formation from which there is no return—"

"This is the Grand Strategist's ultimate stronghold!"

"—Stone Soldier Eight Formations (No Return Formation)!"

The center of the Bagua symbol flickered, completely engulfing Nian Zhuo's figure within the formation.

Smoke filled the air.

Breaking the formation

Amidst the swirling smoke, Nianzhuo entered a completely unknown space.

"Where am I..." Nian Zhuo looked around. The environment was shrouded in mist, and the distant mountains seemed somewhat illusory. However, Nian Zhuo was surrounded by a huge stone formation. There were also eight entrances. "So I've fallen into a magician's treasure..."

Since that's the case, then things are much easier. Nian Zhuo calmed down and carefully observed the eight exits, somewhat lost in thought.

However, it was quite lively outside.

Mash and Nero both looked incredulous when they saw Nianzhuo's figure disappear.

"Here, here!" Dr. Roman's voice came through Mashu's communication device. "The spirit origin reaction representing Nen turbidity on the map here has disappeared...!"

"No! Mr. Nianzhuo will be fine. It must be the magician's doing..." Although she said this, Mashu's trembling hands, which she clenched tightly, silently showed that she was not calm inside.

"Doctor, can Mr. Nianzhuo's life response still be observed in Chaldea?" After a few seconds of contemplation, Ritsuka recalled the machine that Dr. Roman used to observe their life status in the cave on the Mediterranean island.

"Ah, that's still there... so Nianzhuo should be fine now. You don't need to worry." Roman breathed a sigh of relief as his fingers flashed back and forth on the machine and he saw that the three people on the screen were still safe and sound.

"Well then, everyone. Until Mr. Nianzhuo returns," Ritsuka's Mystic Code surged with a crystalline blue magical light, "I'm entrusting your protection to you!"

"Hmph... Still unwilling to give up?" The magician shook his head and snapped his fingers again.

The boulder crashed down on their heads again.

------------------------------------------------

"Hmm..." Nian Zhuo, who was in the town, was staring blankly at a rock at the entrance of a cave.