Atalanta's POV

I walked towards Silena and Aimilia as they stood there, slap-jawed. Both of them had horrified expressions on their faces.

It seems I was right. One of those snake monsters managed to escape.

I had Silena watch over us on the bus in case it attacked us again, but it didn't. Why was it out here in the middle of nowhere?

Maybe it was just too crazed to plan properly.

Silena and Aimilia both seem to be alright. Neither of them seemed to have suffered physical injuries, at the very least. It would have been much worse if I wasn't around. Their blood would have been on my hands.

"You two should use this as a learning experience. Always stay alert, or you could end up dead," the pair's eyes darted to the side as I mentioned death.

They were looking at something on the other side of this truck, which must be the one that belongs to the polluters.

I walked over to the other side of the truck to see what they were looking at.

Any relief from seeing the pair ok instantly faded as I took in the sight of a massacre. The ground was painted red with blood and littered with body parts. Patches of torn clothing were mixed in there, soggy from the blood.

Suddenly, the smell of blood overcame the mixture of sulfur, Aimilia, and Silena's smell. It made my stomach turn.

Death is something I'm used to, but this is something different.

These people were brutally torn to pieces and eaten.

My eyes instinctively glanced back towards the pair. Before anything else, I should get these two away from here.

Luckily, it looked like Aimilia was already ahead of me and had already gotten Silena's attention away from the corpse pieces. She looked like she was ready to run back to her lake with Silena in tow.

"Aimilia, please go ahead back to your lake with Silena. I need to clean up here," I ordered Aimilia as kindly as possible.

I got a nod in response, followed by the sickly Naiad leaving as fast as she could. A shooken Silena followed without protest.

Silena's first encounter with a monster was yesterday, and now she's been exposed to a gruesome murder scene.

A kid like her shouldn't see such a thing, nor did these people deserve such a fate.

Their actions were undoubtedly despicable and heinous. By callously releasing dangerous chemicals into the environment, they've hurt this ecosystem. Every single living being in this area has suffered because of them.

If Mom was the one to judge them, they would find no mercy. All they could hope for was a quick death and not a slow one. If what Aphrodite said was true about my mother's cruelty, then those hopes would be quickly dashed. She would slowly kill them with her poisoned arrows.

But that judgment is wrong. Human life is precious and shouldn't be wasted so easily. Killing should only be a last resort.

Yet, isn't it also true that the wilderness and wildlife must be protected? To a bird, isn't the death of its chick just as tragic as a human losing their baby? What right do I have to disregard the justice nature calls for?

If I look at it objectively, I have a duty to enforce it not only for the crime of allowing an entire world to die but as a child of Artemis. The divinity that's taken root in my soul marks me as someone who should side with nature.

Despite that, I can't forget all the corpses I saw traveling with Kiritsugu or all the families broken apart by calamities out of their control. After all the suffering I caused, how could I cause more by siding with nature?

I let out a sigh.

Why can't anything ever be simple?

Even cleaning up this mess wouldn't be easy.

A quick application of structural analysis told me the truck's storage container was still full of dangerous chemicals. Just the act of passing magical energy through the fluid was enough for me instinctively understand how toxic the chemicals are.

Now, the question now is, what do I do?

I don't know how to drive, and a quick look inside the truck tells me I physically can't.

Couldn't I just blow the truck up with a noble phantasm?

The truck is a small enough target…

A sudden wind blew through the forest, causing me to shiver.

Maybe that isn't a good idea…

I think these trucks are built to not leak… so should I leave it here until after the quest? Mom or Dad might know what to do.

That's all I can do for now.

As for the bodies, I should get to burying the bodies. Gathering all the body parts will be disgusting, but it won't be the first time I've done this.

My body hurt as I walked back to Aimilia's lake. It took me several hours to bury what was left of the corpses. It would have been much easier if I still had my old body, but my current self isn't nearly as strong. And my aching back didn't help matters either.

Each step made it worse.

The world began to spin by the time I made it to the area outside Aimilia's clearing. My splintering headache kept growing worse.

It was getting hard to walk.

I stopped for a moment to lean against a nearby tree. I felt like I needed to throw up.

I cursed my body for acting up. I can't let pain bother me.

Mentally, I pushed down the pain and caught my breath.

It's nothing. My pain is inconsequential to the pain of everyone else.

This is nothing compared to the pain I've felt before.

I resumed my walk to Aimilia and Silena, reaching them quickly.

Both of them were sitting together in front of the lake. Aimilia was holding Silena in a hug.

Silena looked scared and was shivering. It looked like she had been crying.

Meanwhile, Aimilia still looked sickly but wasn't nearly as distraught as Silena was.

I wonder if Aimilia even cares about the dead humans.

Nymphs aren't human and thus don't think the same way we do. Mom explained that much to me, along with how to interact with them.

They like those who are close to nature or are kind to them. And these people get their blessings if the nymphs' lackadaisical personalities don't lead to them forgetting too.

Meanwhile, those they hate to receive their curses and apathy.

No nymph would cry over the death of the people killing them.

"Silena," I called as I approached the pair. "I think it's time you drop out of this quest. It's too dangerous for you. Once we get into town, I'll find someplace you can stay safe and finish the quest myself."

I stop walking right in front of Silena and Aimilia.

My expectations were that she would accept my words without question. She is a child who wasn't raised to deal with death. Yet, that isn't what happened.

"No!" She shouted at me. Her entire body language went from shocked to angry in a matter of seconds. "I won't let you go do something dangerous all by yourself!"

I frowned, not really understanding why she was so willing to put herself into danger for me.

A quick glance towards Aimilia revealed nothing. She seemed to want to fade into the background.

"Silena, you'll just get in my way," I explained with a frown. "It would be better for both of us if you just stay out of my way."

"Again! Stop it!" She yelled while rocking up this time. I winced as she grabbed my jacket. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! I don't care about what's better or whatever! We're friends! I can't just abandon you!"

"So, you're going to get us both killed?" I asked with a frown. Her words made me feel strange. "You're too afraid to be anything but a liability."

Silena released me and then looked towards the ground. Her expression warped from anger to sorrow. "I- I'm scared. Monsters are so scary, but I can't leave you. So, I'll just overcome my fear! Like I did with the pulling glass out of your back!"

The sorrow on her face turned to determination as she spoke. Her determination was mixed with fear and anxiety. I could see her hands trembling.

The strange feelings in my heart grew as I looked over Silena.

Why is she standing so strong despite being an actual child? And unlike the others, she keeps pushing. She keeps trying to be my friend.

"Do you think it is that easy?" I asked her.

"No, I know it'll be hard. But I'll do it!" She once again affirmed her resolve.

"You're really hopeless. You know that, Silena?" The words sprung up from the odd feelings in my chest. My perception of Silena shifted. I shook my head, "You win."

Silena smiled. "Duh! Now let's go! Come on, Aimilia!"

Silena grabbed the arm of the nearby water nymph and pulled it towards her.

"Silena, no," I said while glaring at her hands. "Aimilia has duties of her own. She can't be goofing off right now."

"But she isn't going to be goofing off!" Silena protested. "Aimilia said she's sick cause her lake is messed up, and you said your mom wouldn't help. So, we gotta help her, and I know how! This Pan person is supposed to be able to fix nature stuff. All we got to do is help Aimilia find him."

I felt a small headache form as Silena spoke.

The situation with Pan was explained to me by Mom.

Two thousand years ago, Pan told a young man named Lysas to spread the word of his death.

Normally, the only way to kill an immortal deity is through extremely rare weapons made up of stygian iron or by making them fade.

The strength of gods changes based on how much they worshipped and the conditions of their domains. Conversely, they grow weaker as they lose followers, and their domains are damaged.

The weaker a diety becomes, the harder it is for them to stay together. At a certain point, they lose the ability to manifest themselves as physical beings and then run the risk of death if they lack willpower.

If a god has enough willpower, it can remain as a non-corporeal being. They become trapped in an almost sleep-like state, barely able to interact with the world around them.

In the case of Pan, he wasn't a god that received as much worship as the Olympians and was constantly having his domain infringed upon by human development. It wouldn't be too surprising if he just let himself fade away – or at least that's what Mom told me.

She said that everyone except satyrs and nature spirits thinks he's dead. Though, Mom did add she thinks Pan hasn't completely faded yet.

As a nature goddess, my mother was more in tune with its nuances than just about anyone else. And within that sea of subtleties, she senses a small portion of Pan's power still on Earth.

It was nowhere near the power he once had, but it was his. Mom said it was like the last embers of a fire waiting for its death.

At this point, even if Pan is found, his power would have degraded to the point that they're useless.

Mom had been bitter when she explained that.

Pan had abandoned his duties in either despair or weakness. He had chosen to waste away and die, bring countless others down with him.

Generation after Generation of satyrs has hunted for Pan. They believe in him to this day.

'If we just find Pan, then everything will work out fine.'

Yet, they never find Pan. All they do is die pointless death after pointless death. Entire lines of satyrs have died out searching for their god.

For all that blood, satyrs are no closer to finding him now than they were two thousand years ago. No matter how much blood they cast upon the stones, they'll never grow closer.

Mom implied the satyrs were just walking to their deaths, but she wasn't going to do anything about it. She had told the satyrs before that their quest was useless and was ignored. If they weren't going to listen to her words, then she was going to bother with them.

Without the blessings of a nature goddess, it was impossible for them to find one who didn't want to be found.

But at least they have their own powers. They may be weaker than the average half-blood, but they're still strong enough to serve as seekers – those who guide most demi-gods to camp.

Meanwhile, a sickly nymph-like Aimilia would be marching to her death. She might not even be able to survive that far from her lake or a comparable body of water. A fight against even weak monsters like those snake people would result in her quick death.

I need to stop Silena's nonsense before that happens.

"We have our own quest, and finding Pan isn't a part of it."

"I know that. We can do it after! It shouldn't be too hard," Silena said, clearly not understanding the difficulty of the quest she was trying to take on.

"Yes, it will be. Otherwise, Pan would have been found a thousand years ago," I responded before turning my gaze to Aimilia. The nymph squirmed under my gaze. "What are your thoughts?"

"Yo- You wanted me to clean up my territory with my own effort, right? Wouldn't finding Pan take enough effort to meet your expectations," the nymph stuttered as she spoke.

No, that isn't! I wanted her to do it on her own, to be strong enough to stand on her own. Trying to find Pan is just suicide.

"There you go again! Stop being mean to Aimilia!" Silena complained.

"I haven't said anything yet."

"Your eyes are!" Silena pointed toward my eyes. "Why are you such a jerk to Aimilia?!"

"I've not been a jerk to Aimilia. All I'm doing is fulfilling my duty to guide her. Everything I've done has been for her benefit," I answered her accusation.

Mom told me it was my responsibility to help nymphs as I saw fit. It was a duty I inherited from her.

"I don't know what you're talking about or thinking, but I know you're wrong. You started bullying her from moment one! Just look at how sad you made her," Silena's frown worsened as she spoke.

"Sure, she might not like it, but it's still for her own good," I waved off Silena's words. "Aimilia, feel free to hate me or disrespect me as much as you want."

"You don't have to hurt someone to help them. And if you have to hurt someone to help them, then you shouldn't. Seriously, how'd you feel if someone did that to you?"

Silena's words hit me like a punch. My expression twisted into pained remembrance….

Another lifetime…

I was sitting next to the hotel bed. My red hair was getting in my eyes.

My body was burning as I switched on my magic circuits. It was the constant pain that accompanied all mages when they used magecraft. The constant reminder of how close to death we are.

It's as the old man taught me – to be a mage is to walk with death.

Only a year has passed since Kiritsugu took me on as an apprentice, but I've learned that lesson well. Every day we travel the world, look for a way to save it.

No matter the cost, we will save it. That's what heroes of justice do, after all.

I felt happy thinking about it, about the good work we're doing.

There may be too many deaths on this path, but we're helping people. Isn't that all that matters?

But I must get stronger. Otherwise, it will go all to waste. What's the point in helping someone if they die soon after anyway?

I must be strong enough to help Kiritsugu save the world. I can't stay a liability.

I carefully sent my magical energy through the measuring tape in my hand. A schematic of the object appeared in my mind.

Structural analysis was one of the simplest spells in the world, but it took me months to get it to a useful level. Now, I was using it to practice reinforcement.

My magical energy was sent into the weak points of the tape, bringing out its maximum potential.

I smiled as my spell worked. The measuring tape must be as strong as steel!

I turned around as I heard the door open.

Kiritsugu entered the room and closed the door.

"Kiritsugu! I did it," I exclaimed while getting up to show him the reinforced measuring tape. "Just look."

The old man didn't even say hello, instead choosing to focus on the measuring tape I forced into his hands. His eyes were empty as he examined it. A single cigarette hung from his mouth.

"It's lacking," Kiritsugu told me while blowing a puff of smoke into the space above me. I felt all the joy in my body fade as I looked into the merciless eyes of the man whose approval I wanted above all others. "All you've done is placed a little magical energy in the tape without breaking it. Nothing about it has been improved…."

My shoulders sagged as I watched him bend the tape with ease.

Shame and humiliation bubbled up inside of me. I wanted to show off to the man who saved me – and prove that he was right, too – but I just ended up getting ahead of myself.

"If you don't get better, you'll get the both of us killed," Kiritsugu said while walking over to the hotel ashtray and placing the remains of his cigarette in there. He then pulled out another one and lit it. "Is that what you want?"

"No, sir," I answered while looking at the ground. I don't care if I die, but I can't bring Kiritsugu down with me. I'll train ten times as much as I was. Anything to be useful.

"Good, you know what you'll force me to do if you become a liability?" Kiritsugu asked while walking back towards me and handing me a measuring tape.

"Of course," I answered with an added nod as I took the measuring tape.

"I don't want to get rid of you. Don't force me to," the atmosphere around Kiritsugu got colder as he spoke. It almost made me want to back away from him.

I didn't respond since there was nothing else to say. My job was to get back to practicing until I reached a level that satisfied Kiritsugu.

If I don't, Kiritsugu will be forced to make a decision that hurts himself.

He can't just give up his dream of saving the world for my sake. He's goals are bigger than any one person's.

Kiritsugu's words and actions might be cruel, but I know they come from a good place. It's the world that forces him to be horrible.

For his sake, I'll become a real hero. Then he won't have to be cruel again. He can just stand behind me smiling.

But I wonder why my lips feel heaver. It's almost like a weight has been added to them.

I hope my magic circuits aren't messing up or something. I'd hate to lose the ability to smile…

"Ata…" I blinked as I heard Silena's voice pull me from my memory. I looked over to see her concerned expression. Her entire demeanor was changed.

"Silena, Aimilia isn't coming with us," I answered while trying to stifle the intense melancholy feelings in my heart. Kiritsugu treated me coldly to inspire me to do better, so shouldn't I do the same to help Aimilia? But why do I feel guilty? "She has nothing to do with this quest, and I don't want her getting hurt for it."

I knew that she wouldn't accept that, so I needed to create a compromise. "Aimilia, I need you to watch the area for now. At least until I manage to find a way to deal with the chemical truck. Once you're done with it, head to Camp Half-blood. We can talk about Pan next summer."

My tone became softer than it was before. Hopefully, I will be able to stop her from committing suicide by searching for Pan. And this way, someone will be able to make sure no idiots come and mess with the chemical truck.

Silena looked over at Aimilia while she took in my offer.

"I can do that," Aimilia answered before coughing.

"But – Are you sure?" Silena asked. She didn't want to accept Aimilia's decision but was held back by her condition.

"If it's a quest for Lady Artemis, I shouldn't get involved," she said while looking down sadly. A lonely expression formed on her face.

"Good," I accept her words. " – Thank you for understanding."

Aimilia nodded and coughed at the same time.

"Now, let's go, Silena," I commanded while grabbing her arm and dragging her away. I grabbed our backpacks off the ground as I did so.

"But look how sad she is," Silena sounded depressed as I dragged her away.

"She's made her decision," I ignored her protest. My arms hurt as I pulled her away.

Silena looked back at Aimilia. "I guess. Bye, Aimilia. I'll see you later."

I left the clearing without saying everything.

Our next destination is my mother's temple. I hope nothing else gets in our way.

AN: Hello.

It's been a while since this has been updated.

Sorry.

I've been trying to edit the old chapters but keep failing at points. The first issue was that the grammar sucked, and I kept finding more and more grammatical errors. Literally hundreds of errors per chapter. Every time I go through the chapters, I just find more. It's monotonous and takes a while.

The second issue was that I spent like two months rewriting some scenes over and over again, unable to get them right. And in the end, I felt like I couldn't get them right, so I didn't add all but one of them.

Honestly, it doesn't feel like any progress was made, and I just spent several months looking at the computer while bashing my head against the wall.

Please tell me if there are any inconsistencies. (Exact for the one with Silena's magic circuits, and them hurting vs Atalanta. That's on purpose.)

And btw, this might not have been mentioned here in this story, but some people don't seem to be getting my PMs in response to their reviews. Like a couple chapters ago, I asked if any of y'all wanted responses to their questions because I fell behind on that front, just to not get any. Then I switched to the FFN mobile app and found that someone had messaged me, but the PM only showed up in the app, not the desktop. On top of that, the person asking for a response was someone who I responded to before asking if anyone wanted responses.

Then, there are one or two people who've asked the same question over and over again that I PM-ed an in-depth answer to but who never responded in turn. So there probably not getting PMs either.

The issue might just be the fact that the mobile app inbox doesn't seem to be connected to the desktop and vice versa, or it could be a bug. IDK.

Anyway, on to the chapter-

The point of Atalanta and Silena's conversation was the former slowly coming to not just view the latter as a kid. But actually, respect her maybe become friends.

Aimilia's was more about how being raised by Miyuverse Kiritsugu affected Atalanta and was part of the reason I was worried about making Atalanta mean to her. She needs to be mean enough to set up this scene and explain her actions without her being too cruel…

Though now that I think about it, I forgot to tone it down after the feedback… sigh

Feel free to bully me in the review section for taking so long to update and failing at revisions.

As an apology, have a servant character sheet and an omake to set up eventual (non-canon/omake) FGO hijinks.

Please note that nothing shown reflects what the story will become/Atalanta's story arc as story details can change radically with time.

Servant Sheet-

Atalanta Moonlit Lily (caster) –

Alignment- Chaotic good.

Likes: cooking, housework, stargazing.

Dislikes: Herself, loneliness.

Stats:

Strength – D

Endurance – D

Agility – B+

Mana – A++

Luck – E

Noble Phantasm – C

Traits: Children Servants, Divine, Female, Sky, Weak to Enuma Elish.

Class Skills:

Item construction – C (A++)

Due to being summoned in the caster class, her projection ability has been merged with item construction. The A++ ranking represents the highest ranked item she can reproduce.

This skill allows her to trace items faster and at a better quality than she would have been able to otherwise.

The C-rank represents her skill in making items from scratch.

Territory creation – E

She only possesses territory creation of E-rank due to being summoned as a child. At this rank, she can only produce basic bounded fields, and her innate bounded field is inaccessible.

Divinity – B+

This skill is a result of Atalanta being the daughter of the Moon goddess Artemis.

Personal Skills:

Clairvoyance – B

The ability to see faraway places. In the caster class, her clairvoyance's ability to perform in combat has decreased but has seen an improvement in maximum range.

Treasure of the Moon Goddess – EX

The skill represents Atalanta's intense bond with her mother. It reaches EX-rank due to Artemis's intense love for her daughter.

This skill raises her stats by one and grants her the protection of the moon. Under the moonlight, her mana upkeep becomes close to zero, and she gains the ability to heal from fatal wounds.

Eye of the Mind (False) - C+

Capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. So long as there is a chance 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning.

Her divine blood gives her enhanced combat sense via intuition and sixth sense.

The combination of her being her lily self and a caster results in a lower ranking.

Noble Phantasm:

Cynthia blades: Silver Daggers of the Moon:

Rank: C

Classification: Anti-personnel

Range: 2 - 10

Maximum number of targets: 1-10 people

The pair of silver divine blades Atalanta received as a child. They serve as tools to help her control her powers and store energy for later.

Atalanta uses these blades in a manner similar to an Azoth knife. She can also use them as powerful close-range weapons by detonating the energy within them.

Personality:

A demi-god summoned in her child form. She suffers from intense survivor's guilt, leading to her being unconcerned with her own well-being. It isn't that she's suicidal. She just subconsciously places others above herself. Atalanta will go so far as to hide and ignore her wounds to not bother others. Her intense guilt also leads her to be pessimistic and feel responsible for every bad thing that happens around her. At heart, she is a warm person, but it may take a while for one to see this part of her. When interacting with others, she can switch from warm to sarcastic at the drop of a dime.

Kind-hearted masters with low self-esteem are most compatible with her. Especially if they are in need of help beyond her duty as a servant.

She has the lowest compatibility with cold-hearted masters seeking the holy grail.

Thoughts on other servants-

Asclepius – "My cousin obsessed with healing people. He should learn to relax sometimes... Maybe we could take him to the beach?"

EMIYA Alter – "Proof that I made the right choice."

Orion – "Mom! Wh- Why are you going by that name?! And put some clothes on!"

Medea(lily)/Medea/Circe – "They're so different."

EMIYA (Assassin) – A sad and ashamed expression is all she can manage.

Irisviel- "So, there was somebody that could make him happy. Maybe I could have too if I tried harder…."

Miyu- "I'm not staring at her… and no, we aren't connected… it's just nice to see somebody enjoying their little piece of happiness. A horrible person like me shouldn't be close to her, or I might destroy the peace she's gained."

Parvati – "I'm going to be teaching her Greek and Japanese food, so could you keep the red-coated archer away, master?"

Kama – "She's a god of love, making us fundamentally opposed… but I don't want to see her hurt. Her vessel is the only one who I ever could love."

Kingprotea – "I agreed to play with her. Her innocence must be protected at all cost."

Passionlip – "Too much."

Meltlilith – "She looks like Sakura… but I sense Mom in her… but it's Sakura… but Mom…."

BB- "Don't you think this is a little much? Do you plan to take over Chaldea with numbers?"

Other servants' thoughts on her-

Orion (Artemis) – "Adorable! I can't believe my cute daughter was summoned here! She's a good girl, but she keeps turning red and running away from me… It makes me want to hunt her down and hug her! Why do I love her so much? She's the only one who will never betray me. Everyone else stabs me in the back. I guard them from the moment they're born, caring for them with all my heart, just for them to run to Aphrodite's arms! They embrace what I hate and then have the gall to pray for my help during childbirth. But they were once under my protection… and their babies are innocent, so I help them. The only one who never leaves my protection is my little one. What do you think, darling?"

Miyu – Seeing Atalanta causes her to cry, but she doesn't know why.

Paris – "Master! Please keep her away from me. She keeps trying to steal Lord Apollo. My lord's fur is just starting to grow back from last time…."

Kuro – "I wonder what the forbidden fruit tastes likes… heheheh."

EMIYA – "Another heroic spirit that uses projection… So, this is what being ripped off feels like…."

Omake: Olga's desperate summoning.

Olga Marie Animusphere ran through the sea of flames as quickly as she could. The reinforcement she had placed on her body brought her up to the level of an Olympic runner.

Nothing was going right for her.

Today was supposed to be the beginning of Chaldea's Grand Order. It was their mission to save humanity from the threats posed by Singularity F and anything that results from it. Chaldea was humanity's only hope to change its predicted extinction.

Olga had been watching her subordinates enter their caskets to rayshift to Fuyuki in 2004. Rayshifting was the method by which masters would be sent back in time to the Singularity. Only a few people had the ability to, and Olga wasn't one of them. Thus, she was in the command room overseeing the process.

But then she heard a loud noise followed by intense heat. Before she could even process what was going on, Olga found herself in Singularity F.

At first, she almost broke into tears of pure joy.

She had managed to rayshift! It meant she could prove herself within the actual Singularity.

The initial surge of joy quickly disappeared as she realized it was impossible to communicate with Chaldea. And then she remembered the force that hit her before rayshifting could have messed with the process.

Olga hadn't much time to contemplate that as she found herself being chanced by skeletons. Individually, they were weak enough for her to kill them. But she ended up being overwhelmed by the sheer number and had to run.

Now, she found herself running through what looked like a residential part of Fuyuki. On each side of her were walls probably meant to protect the mansions around her, but the countless holes showed how useless they ended up being.

"I must have lost them by now!" Olga muttered as she stopped to catch her breath. She was leaning against one of the holes in the walls. "I need to contact Chald-"

Olga's words were cut off by a bone arrow hitting the wall right next to her face.

"Why is this happening to me?!" Olga complained as she immediately ran again. This time she ran into the hole.

She ran across the random mansion's courtyard. Hopefully, those useless mansion walls will protect her from the skeleton arch-

Olga's thoughts ended as she saw an abnormally large sword-wielding skeleton burst through the wall and close the distance between them in an instant. It swung its large blunt sword at her.

Her ingrained combat instincts formed through countless hours of training let her attempt a block. But even that wasn't enough to stop her from being sent flying into a nearby storage shed.

If it wasn't for her mystic code, she would have lost an arm right there.

Her arm was injured, and her armor was ripped. Another attack would mean death, and she couldn't run.

Olga sat on the floor of the shed, trembling.

She couldn't beat the skeleton. It was going to kill her.

This wasn't right. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

She still hadn't proved herself worthy of the Animusphere name. If she died here, then everyone who looked down on her would be proven right.

Tears formed in her eyes as she watched the skeleton slowly walk towards her.

"Lev!" She called out to the man who was always there to save her. "Where are you?!"

He was the only one she trusted—her only hope.

A hope that rapidly faded as the skeleton walked towards her, seemingly taking pleasure in her terror.

She was alone. Lev wasn't going to save her.

Despair filled her soul.

She was going to die.

Olga closed her eyes and swallowed.

She was a member of the Animusphere family, a clocktower lord, and the leader of Chaldea. She refused to die in shame.

The Animusphere felt her hand start to burn as she stood up.

"Don't think I'll die to some nobody like you!" Olga shouted while powering up her magic circuits for a spell. She launched a powerful magic bullet at the skeleton, who blocked the shot with its sword before charging forward.

At the same time, Olga felt the beginnings of a contract connect to her magic circuits. But she didn't have any time to think about it as her attention was focused on the skeleton.

Fear appeared on her face, her bravery breaking as her mind unconsciously braced itself for death.

She didn't want to die alone. For all the bravery she tried to show, she was still scared. She wanted someone to save her!

Suddenly, the sword stopped, and Olga couldn't understand it.

Standing between her and the skeleton was a beautiful young girl with black hair. She was holding back the skeleton's attack with a silver blade that radiated magical energy.

Olga's eyes widened as she saw the summoning circle on the floor behind the girl. Why was it here?

The strange girl frowned before easily killing the monster with powerful mystic codes that seemed to appear out of nowhere. They skewered the skeleton with ease.

Olga felt a chill run down her spine as the girl's unnatural silver eyes fell upon her. "Are you my master?"

The Animusphere blinked as her mind put the pieces together.

The summoning circle. The girl's spiritual body. The contract Olga felt form.

She must be a servant!

A quick glance at her hand confirmed it. There were three command seals on her hand.

All her despair faded as a smile appeared on her face. She did it!

With a servant at her command, she would be able to clear this Singularity on her own. No one would doubt her again!

Olga quickly schooled her expressions. She needs to behave in the manner suited to someone of her station, "Yes."

Olga looked up at her servant with crossed arms.

"I see. It seems I've been summoned by an odd master, but a contract is a contract. Don't worry; I'll do my best to protect you," Olga's servant replied before stopping to look at her condition. "Do you need help walking?"

"No, I can heal myself," Olga responded while preparing a spell to heal her body. She could afford to appear weak in the eyes of a heroic spirit.

Olga noticed her servant nod at her before seemingly looking at their surroundings for the first time. For some reason, something about this place remaindered her of something.

But Olga didn't care about that right now. She was more concerned with completing her mission and proving herself.

"What's your class and true name?" Olga asked her servant.

Almost all servants belong in one of seven main classes, with very rare exceptions belonging to Extra Classes.

The seven classes are saber, lancer, archer, rider, caster, assassin, and berserker.

The former three are considered the knight classes, while the rest were cavalry classes.

A servant's true name is the identity of a servant. It is the name record in history and holds the secrets to all the strengths and weaknesses of a heroic spirit.

No master with a brain would fight without knowing at least that much.

"My true name is Atalanta, class caster," Caster responded before looking down with a shameful expression. "And I've been summoned in my child form."

A caster servant.

Casters are servants proficient in magecraft. It is made up of history's greatest mages, along with authors whose legends have been sublimed into powers fitting the caster class.

They are tied with assassin class servants as the weakest in direct combat. Especially since the knight classes all possess magic resistance that weakens the attacks of casters.

In turn, casters are great schemers and possess a wide array of arcane abilities.

Olga frowned as she thought about it.

Atalanta is the name of the famous huntress of Greek myth. She shouldn't be able to be summoned as a caster.

"We can talk about it more later," Caster said to Olga before she had a chance to ask her servant about her true name. "I don't know what's going on, but more of those skeletons are making their way here."

The head of Chaldea suddenly realized she hadn't told her servant about the current situation. "I'm Olga Marie Animusphere, leader of Chaldea. Our goal is to save humanity from this Singularity. We find whatever caused this, and everything in this time period should return to normal."

Olga's pride leaked through her voice as she explained who she was and what was going on.

"Save the world, huh…." Caster muttered while looking away from Olga.

"Is something bothering you?" Olga asked her servant. Obviously, not out of concern or anything. She just needed to make sure nothing got in the way of their mission.

"No, you shouldn't worry yourself about someone like me," Caster denied Olga's question while looking back at her. "It looks like you're healed. We need to get going."

Olga frowned but accepted her familiar's words. The leader of Chaldea stood up, now fully healed. "We need to find the others. They should have traveled to this Singularity as well."

"My clairvoyance skill is good enough to look over the entire town and then some," Caster explained while looking out the shed. Olga felt her servant take some magical energy to attack some close-by enemies at the same time.

Olga mentally cheered herself on. Sure, she didn't summon a knight-class servant, but she did get one that could see across the entire city. "Excellent, can you find any other humans."

"The entire city is caught in flames and filled with skeletons," Caster explained with an oddly quiet voice. Olga thought she could almost hear a tremble in it. "But I do see a Japanese male wearing a uniform with a white uniform, and he seems to have a contract with a servant."

Olga blinked, unsure of who her servant was talking about. So, she prompted her servant to give her more details.

And as she did so, Olga felt a fiery headache forming.

"KYAAAAA!" Olga screamed as her servant carried her through the burning city.

"Stop struggling, master!" Caster complained as she tried to not drop her master. "It's hard enough to carry you already."

Her servant's complaints didn't reach the normally dignified Animusphere.

Olga had felt a fit of intense anger at her servant's report and ordered Caster to carry her to her subordinates as fast as possible.

She had forgotten that a servant might be strong enough to carry a human with ease, but they still have to hold a person. And her caster was a small girl, less than half her size.

The result was the current situation where Olga constantly felt like she was about to be dropped by a servant that could barely get a good hold of her.

Olga turned green as Caster made another giant jump over some debris littering the street. Her shriek could be heard a block away.

Olga nearly said a prayer to god as she felt her servant come to a halt. She instantly fell out of Caster's arms and covered her mouth.

'God… I feel like I'm about to throw up.'

"Um… Director?" Olga heard a familiar voice call her.

"Eke!" Olga jumped as she saw the faces of Mash and the civilian.

How much did they see? Do I need to get rid of them?

Such questions ran through Olga's mind as she quickly put on a mask of elegance and sophistication.

She also took a moment to write down a mental reminder to punish Caster for embarrassing her later.

"What in the world is going on here? Why did demi-servant experiments work now? And how did you become a master?!" She yelled while glaring at the black-haired Ritsuka Fujimaru. "Only first-class mages can enter contracts with servants! There's no way you could ever become a master! What did you to her to have her do your bidding?!"

A demi-servant. The mixing of a human with a heroic spirit. Chaldea had spent years trying to make one, but it only works now?

Mages were tricky beings. For all she knows, this Ritsuka Fujimaru could have been faking his stupidity the entire time. All to steal the secrets of her family.

"You've got it all wrong!" Ritsuka shouted while leaning back from the raving Olga.

"You should calm down, master, before your shouting attracts every enemy in the area," Caster said from beside her.

"Who's this?" Mash asked while placing herself between the stranger and her master.

Olga suddenly felt all her anger disappear within her desire to boast.

"This is my servant, Caster," she boasted while showing off her command seals.

"Wow, you're boasting about being my master. I guess I will have to try my best," Caster added.

"You should do better than your best!" Olga commanded her servant while the other two looked on.

"It's nice to meet you," Ritsuka greeted her.

"Yes, it's nice to have you onboard," Mash copied her master.

"Hi," Caster awkwardly said hello.

"If you guys are done, we need to make contact with Chaldea," Olga ordered the group.

She would take charge of this Grand Order and complete it as fast as possible, even if it kills her.