Ritsuka could tell something was going wrong. While there were a lot of these Timberwolves, they weren't anything special. Chaldea had fought against horde types like these all the time. Yet he noticed his servants acting slower than normal. Their strikes would hit with less force. A strike that should have destroyed a timberwolf needed another to follow behind it. It made no sense to him. Was something wrong with his eyes or was something affecting his servants?

It couldn't be mental attacks. His servants and himself had ways around that. That and there were usual tell tale signs. They were fully summoned. They weren't using hosts. They were perfectly fine and yet…

"Wooo-hoo," Rachelle cheered from his side, "Break those dogs. Burn their sticks to ashes!"

It would have been a cute sight to see. Rachelle seemed to be hopping about, sometimes even shifting onto her hindlegs. The transformation had been settling nicely for them so this wasn't too weird. However, he couldn't get behind her enthusiasm. He didn't hold it against her. She was a new master. There were things she wasn't going to pick up right away or at all. That is, unless something more drastic happened.

"Rachelle," Ritsuka said.

"Yes?" Rachelle stopped hopping about to look at him.

"Don't you notice anything off about this?" Ritsuka said, hoping she would say something.

"Not really," she shook her head in response. "The servants are kicking some serious butt. At least, I think they are. Do wood wolves even have butts?"

"I don't know but that's not important," Ritsuka got closer and pointed at some of the servants fighting, "You've seen them fight in the simulator and other 'fake' battles. Tell me what you see now watching them."

Rachelle squinted her eyes. She wasn't sure what he was talking about. They were doing well in the battle. Those wooden wolves had nothing on them. Yet, the longer she looked, she started to notice something. They were panting and sweating. That was odd. She'd seen servants fight each other with stronger attacks and be perfectly fine. These timberwolves weren't too tough so them being so tired was odd. She had initially chalked it up to her new body being weird and not supplying enough magic, yet Twilight had said the air was filled with magic here. They shouldn't be having a problem functioning.

Then she remembered how earlier, some of her servants were tired. She hadn't thought much of it. They still kicked ass and won. She thought maybe this normally happened right after a rayshift or something else minor. Now though, she was starting to worry. She should have thought about it more. Observed better. She was still new to this but it still irked her that she hadn't paid close enough attention to notice something was majorly wrong.

Before they could voice their concern further, the fighting had ceased. Artoria had cut down the last of the timberwolves in the area. None of them were relaxed about it, however. They had seen the creatures put themselves back together. It was just hoped that enough material was broken and destroyed for them to do it again.

"That would be the last of these wretches," Artoria huffed. She stabbed her sword into the ground to lean against it. Atalanta gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Hopefully," Twilight huffed. Her arms were almost limp at her side as she tried to catch her breath, "Timberwolves aren't known for giving up. Unless you create just the right type of noise but these ones seemed… extra aggressive."

"You're telling me," Mine snarled, stamping on an extra big stick to break it. "Fuckers don't know how to quit. I'd almost be impressed if they weren't just trash mobs."

Ochaka frowned as she leaned against a tree, "Guys, do you think we're safe?"

"We should be," Twilight said, eyeing the treeline nervously. "While they are persistent, they tend to give you a bit of space if you are too troublesome. At least, for a little while."

"Masters," Reinhardt said, keeping the two child servants safe in one arm. "I think we should find a town quickly. A place to rest is what we need."

"Right," Ritsuka said, "Everyone, we need to-"

Just as though their legs suddenly turned to jello, all of the servants, minus Mash, fell to the ground. Ritsuka's eyes widened as it happened. He raced over to Kiyohime first to check up on her. It was obvious she was having a hard time breathing or really doing anything. His head looked around quickly to see about the others. They seemed to be in a similar state. It was as though someone reached in and took out all of their energy.

He put a hoof to his head, "Chaldea, do you read me?"

No answer.

Ritsuka wasn't surprised. They usually messaged him right as he got into a singularity. He hadn't said anything before because he was a bit busy with his new body and the enemy. Now though, he was panicking. Yet he needed to stay calm. It wouldn't do to go nuts now.

"Senpai," Mash said, keeping herself close to his side. "Can you not reach them?"

"I can't," Ritsuka said, "I think something's blocking us. It might be the same thing that's weakening the servants."

"Are they going to be okay?" Mash asked, worriedly scanning the downed servants.

"I don't know," Ritsuka said before looking over at Rachelle. She was shivering, staring at the servants in shock. He quickly went over to her and shook her, "Rachelle, keep yourself steady."

"But… But they collapsed," she mumbled.

"Things happen in singularities like this," Ritsuka said calmly, "The only thing we can do is keep a steady head and hope for the best."

"Then what are we going to do to help them," Rachelle said, pointing at the servants. "The only one up and running is Mash and I don't think we can carry them all the way to a town."

"I-"

"Tiny thinks you should just die then," a deep, growling voice spoke up.

The masters weren't given any further notice of an attack. Out of the woods, an orange blur raced towards them. Thankfully Mash stepped in and raised her shield. The large, orange creature slammed into it with enough force to send her staggering back, almost enough to push her off her feet. She held firm enough to survive and the creature jumped backwards.

Standing before them looked like the strange cross of a wrestler and a tiger rolled into one. The Roman helmet and some armor made it look stranger. Ritsuka wouldn't say anything about it though. He'd seen much stranger in his travels thus far.

"Shield girl still up?" The tiger creature laughed and flexed his claws, "Good. Tiny wanted a challenge."

"So I'm guessing Tiny is your name," Rachelle snarked, although she was slightly shivering in fear. This would be her first battle with an enemy servant.

"Tiny is the strongest tiger there is," the enemy servant proudly proclaimed. He flex his strong arm muscles as he struck a combative pose, "Grogar sent Tiny here to kill you. It's going to be easy."

"Did you do this to our servants?" Ritsuka asked, both to get information and to stall for time. With Mash being the only servant on hand that was standing, things weren't looking good. He'd have to try and rouse a couple of the other servants up.

"No," Tiny said, "Master Grogar did. He wanted to keep you out of his fights so he cut you off from that place of yours and weakened your servants." Tiny's grin turned vicious, "'Course, he did more than that. Say bye-bye cause they are going to disappear soon."

"You bastard," Rachelle stomped a hoof, "You look tough but you're all talk."

Tiny frowned, "What did you say?"

"If you were really strong," Rachelle glared at him as she spoke, "You'd have fought us at full strength. Now I see you're all talk and no bite."

Tiny snarled and flexed his claws, "Tiny strongest there is. Master Grogar is just big coward is all. I'll crush you all now and then fight one of the powered up servants running around."

"There are other servants running around?" Ritsuka said. It wasn't uncommon for that to happen. Maybe they could make a retreat for it and meet up with one. Now he just had to figure out how to get the servants out of here.

"Yeah but you won't meet them," Tiny said before charging.

Mash blocked the attack with a swing of her shield. The claws, that would have cut through flesh like butter, glanced off of the surface. Tiny roared and slashed several times before. Mash grunted as she blocked them. It was obvious this servant was a berserker from how they fought. Their power really showed it off well. Still, Mash had plenty of experience under her belt. Several singularities were under her belt. She had faced tyrants and beasts uncounted and super strong. This was just another battle under her belt.

Mash yelped as she was pushed back. Tiny had opted to punch her shield instead of clawing it. He roared and tried to continue punching and slashing. He wasn't a really strategic fighter. In fact, Mash was thankful he fought like your average berserker. Even if he was stronger then her, she could take his punches and keep distracting him for her senpais.

Ritsuka was standing beside Izuka. His horn was lighting up as he tried to funnel mana into the young berserker. That and a few healing spells. He ground his teeth together. It wasn't working. Whatever was happening was basically draining their very existence. No matter what he did, nothing seemed to stop it.

"Is it working?" Rachelle asked, not knowing what was going on.

Ritsuka stomped a hoof into the ground and shook his head, "No. It's like they are cut off from both us and chaldea. Even worse, they can't get the magic from the surrounding area. I've never seen anything like this before."

"Oh that's just great," Rachelle scowled, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Ritsuka sighed, "We just have to support Mash until we think of something."

"Can she handle a servant on her own?" Rachelle asked, looking worriedly at the fight.

"I believe in her," Ritsuka said.

Mash grit her teeth. Her senpai's were in danger as she was pushed back by another punch. Tiny was simple but it seemed like he was pushing himself harder against her. The first couple of minutes must have been a test run for him with how strong he was now. She wouldn't give up though. She pushed aside another strike. She needed to go on the offensive. Tiny roared and grabbed the edge of her shield. Her eyes widened when he lifted it up and threw it.

Mash had kept her grip on the shield. So she yelped when she was thrown alongside it. Thankfully she stuck the landing quite well. Tiny wasn't far behind her, roaring louder then before. She quickly slammed the shield into the ground, causing him to smash into it. Then, with trained expertise, she somersaulted over her shield and slammed her feet into his face. Tiny staggered from the blow.

Mash didn't let up. Not when she was finally on the offensive. She grabbed her shield and slammed it into the side of his face. Tiny let out a pained yelp as a tooth went flying. She struck again, hitting him in the arm. Then she took a step back and reeled her arm as far as she could. She flung it forward, slamming the end of her shield right into his chest. He was sent flying into the forest, breaking through a trunk of a tree.

Mash smiled, panting in exhaustion. She was still ready to fight. Her master was supplying her enough energy. However, this fight was straining her. She didn't often fight servants alone. That went especially so for berserkers.

"Great work, Mash." Ritsuka said, as Rachelle cheered.

Mash blushed, "Thank you, senpai."

However, the moment was cut short. Mash had to quickly thrust her shield in front of her as a roman spear crashed against it. Thankfully, it shattered on impact. Tiny jumped out of the forest, roaring as he did so. Mash winced as the roar hurt her ears. His glare was piercing as he flexed his claws.

"Tiny done playing," the berserker class servant snarled, "Now Tiny will show you a world of pain."

Ritsuka's eyes widened as he felt a wave of mana come from Tiny. He knew what that meant. He turned to Mash, "Watch out. He's deploying his noble phantasm!"

Mash knew it was too late to stop it. Tiny was too far and Noble Phantasm's were usually quick to use. So she held her shield firm and waited to block whatever attack came her way or anyone else's. Suddenly, the world went white. She had to close her eyes due to the brightness but it quickly faded. When she opened her eyes, the site before her was very different.

No longer were they in a forest. Now they were in a very familiar colosseum. It wasn't exactly like the one at Chaldea used during Nerofest but it was similar enough. They could hear laughing and looked up to see Tiny sitting down on a throne. He pointed a spear at them.

"This is Tiny's favorite place," he said, "You will all die here. My lions will be eating good today."

"Lions?" Rachelle quirked an eyebrow.

It didn't take long for them to find out. Out from the circular door frames beneath Tiny, stepped two lions. They roared and charged at the group. Mash ran forward and bashed one of them into the wall, knocking it out of the fight. The other jumped at her. She moved her shield so it blocked the strike, pushing the beast back. It jumped off of the shield and tried to slash at her. She blocked that as well before bashing in the head of the creature.

Tiny laughed, "There's more where they came from."

Like he said, three more lions exited the doors. They roared and charged. Mash gave her own battle cry and charged in turn. It went as well as before but Ritsuka knew she couldn't keep this up forever. Either a lion could get her or Tiny would grow tired and resume his attacks. He needed to do something but he was all out of options. His only hope was for Mash to pull through. He believed in her.

Neither masters noticed Izuku's hand twitch.

Mash bashed and punted lion after lion. Her kicks did quite a bit of damage, like the one she kicked unconscious before splitting one in half with a well placed strike of her shield. These lions weren't normal animals but they weren't the strongest foes she had faced. The only issue is that for every one she killed, three more seemed to take its place. She just hoped she could keep their attention on her. She knew she couldn't keep so many people safe and kill these things at the same time.

Tiny laughed, "They'll get you any moment, shield girl. Stop trying or Tiny will get bored."

"No," Mash shouted, killing another lion. "I won't stop trying. So long as my senpais are with me, I'll keep fighting to the end."

"Mash…" Ritsuka said in awe, blushing slightly. Rachelle would have smirked at that if she wasn't so scared.

Mash kept at it. Lion after lion fell to her shield and kicks. She didn't really bother with punches. She was strong enough to hit them with a good punch, like one lion learned when she broke his nose with her fist. However, she never really trained much when it came to fists. After this, maybe she'd talk to some of the close combat servants about it. Then again, kicking did the job and better in her mind.

Then she noticed the lions enacting her worst fear. They started charging at the downed servants. Mash yelled in anger as she raced forward, bisecting one lion before kicking another under the jaw, sending it flying backwards. She slammed her shield down and two lions struck against it. Mash knew she couldn't keep them all safe. So she did the only thing she could think of.

"Lord Chaldeas!" She shouted, putting energy into her noble phantasm. A large castle-like structure erected before her and her companions.

Tiny roared in anger and ordered more lions to attack it. None of them could leave a dent on it. The impressive barrier kept them at bay. The howls of anger could be heard from the other side, sending slight chills down the masters' spines. Ritsuka ignored it. He needed a way out of this. Mash couldn't keep up her noble phantasm forever. Now he just-

"I've got this," a weak voice said.

Both masters turned their heads to the voice. Their eyes widened. There, standing up albeit shakily, was Izuku Midoriya. The berserker servant took a shaky and weak step forward but his eyes were anything but weak. He glared up at Tiny as he rolled his shoulders.

"Izuku," Rachelle said, "Sit down. You look like you're going to pass out."

"I'm fine," Izuku said, his fists tightening. "I've pushed myself beyond my limits before. I can do it again." He turned to Mash, "Get ready to lower your noble phantasm. Once you do, I'll go face him."

"I'll watch your back," Mash said with a nod.

"No," Izuku walked up beside her, "You need to stay and defend everyone. I'll fight Tiny on my own."

"But Mr. Midoriya…" Mash started to say.

He cut her off, "I need to do this. Trust me. I think I can take him."

"You think?" Rachelle shook her head, "No, you aren't fit enough to fight that thing. He'll kill you."

"I have to try or he'll kill all of us," Izuku said. "Please, trust me on this."

Ritsuka sighed, "I'll lend you as much energy as I can manage. Just take care out there."

Izuku smiled and gave him a thumbs up, "You can count on me."

Mash hesitated but she gave a nod. She yelled as she pushed her noble phantasm forward, sending the lions flying before ending it all together. Izuku jumped forward with his fists raised. His glare towards Tiny made his intentions obvious.

Tiny just grinned and summoned a spear, "Tiny was getting bored. Entertain me!"

Tiny threw the spear he had in his hand, which Izuku narrowly dodged. Another spear was thrown his way and he dodged that one as well. Tiny scowled and threw two more spears. Izuku had trained long and hard in the art of dodging so this wasn't anything new to him. It helped that his spears didn't explode or had some other ability. So it was quite easy for him to see where they were going. Yet, he needed to draw him down. So instead of dodging, he punched one of the spears point blank. It shattered into pieces.

Tiny roared. He had enough, so he jumped down into the colosseum. Izuku had to jump back and ended up tumbling around due to the shockwave from Tiny's landing. Tiny attempted to punch Izuku but he dodged. Izuku tried to return the favor but Tiny grabbed his hand. He yanked him to the side, throwing him right into the wall. The heroic berserker was lucky enough to push himself to the side of his crater before Tiny crashed into it.

"Give Tiny a challenge," Tiny said before going on the offensive again. "Tiny crush you!"

Izuku Midoriya jumped away again. Tiny reminded him a lot of Muscular. He was strong, fast, and Izuku had to do his best to avoid his strikes. It did seem like Tiny was smaller but that gave him a bit of a speed edge over Muscular. Still though, that meant he knew how to get around this fight.

"You won't crush anyone," Izuku sidestepped a punch before hitting Tiny's jaw.

Tiny staggered but turned to bite Izuku when he tried to keep up the advantage. The anthro tiger slashed with his claws and his bites. One nasty hit by that tiger and he'd be out of the count. He couldn't let the others down. He tried to punch him but Tiny either tanked a blow or pushed it out of the way. Yep, Izuku thought, this really was reminding him of Muscular.

"Tiny crush little man," Tiny howled as a punch connected with Izuku's chest.

The breath was knocked out of his lungs as he was sent flying to the ground several feet away. Tiny laughed and summoned a trident in hand. He jumped into the air and made to stab him. Izuku saw it coming and rolled out of the way. The trident stabbed into the ground. Tiny snarled as he tried to pull it up. Izuku didn't waste his opportunity. He punched Tiny hard in the face. Tiny roared in pain as he fell.

"That's for threatening my friends," Izuku shouted as he didn't let up. He kicked the monstrous berserker as he tried to stand and kept up his punches. While he preferred to use his kicks, a few good punches were in order.

Tiny grunted with each strike before he headbutted Izuku. The young berserker staggered before he was punched away. Tiny hopped back onto the stage and turned. He pointed a finger at Midoriya.

"Kill tiny man," he shouted.

Out of the walls came ten lions. Izuku scowled. Of course the villain wouldn't play fair. He gave a war cry. The lions returned it with a roar. Izuku jumped forward, kicking one of the lions away. He used his momentum to kick each lion, bouncing from one to another. He eyed the trident that was still stuck in the ground. He needed to build enough momentum and these beasts gave him just that. They were easy enough, although he hoped that he wouldn't have to face too many more. He felt drained already. He needed to end the fight now.

"I am not tiny!" Izuku shouted before bouncing onto the trident.

The trident bent backwards. Tiny quirked an eyebrow, unsure of what Izuku was going to do. He'd soon find out. Izuku put as much power into his legs as he safely could. This strike could end the battle. Then he pushed himself forward. He struck like a bullet. His flying kick connected with Tiny's chest before the insane berserker tiger could respond.

"Now leave!" Izuku shouted.

Tiny didn't have any say in the matter. The powerful move hit him with more force then he could take. He was lifted off the ground and sent flying into the sky. His roars of anger and pain were heard even as he was just a twinkle in the air. His noble phantasm ended the moment he was gone.

Izuku smiled as he fell to the ground. Mash caught him before he hit it. He kept smiling even as he fell unconscious. Mash gave him a kind smile.

"Thank you, Midoriya senpai." She said.

"Wooo-hooo!" Rachelle cheered, hopping up and down in delight. "We did it. We beat our first servant here!"

"I don't think he's permanently gone," Ritsuka said. As long as you don't see a servant disappear yourself, it was very likely they were still alive. "But this is cause for celebration."

Just then, the three still conscious members of the party heard howls. They turned to see several timberwolves ready to strike. Ritsuka sighed.

"Spoke too soon."

Rachelle gulped, "Do you think Izuku can fend them off?"

"He's out like a light," Mash said, "I think that's the correct saying, yes."

Ritsuka nodded, "We're going to have to fight them ourselves… joy."

"Not so fast," a mysterious voice said. "I think great heroes such as yourselves shouldn't perish to simple timberwolves. I suggest you cover your ears though."

Without another word, a large magical bell was summoned over the timberwolves. Mash and the two masters covered their ears as the voice instructed. It rung, causing the timberwolves to howl in pain. Then, one by one, they came undone at the joints or ran away. Within a moment, they were all gone. The bell disappeared and the masters and servant unsealed their ears.

"Now that's over," the voice said, "How about I introduce myself."

Out from the woods stepped one man. He wore a rundown, brown cloak with a hay rope tied around his neck. He was caucasian with dark green eyes and light green hair. The man smiled as he waved at them.

"Nice to meet you," the man said, "I've been so eager to see you all since I sensed so many powerful servants in the area."

"Who are you?" Ritsuka asked.

"Pardon me," the man bowed his head, "I appear to you as a Caster class servant. I am known here in these lands as Clover the Clever and I've come to help."

I am so happy to finish a chapter for this again. It's been a while. I'm sorry. My writing drive has taken a nosedive due to frustrations in life. Hopefully I can get more out soon enough. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a comment. They mean a lot and help me improve. Until next time, take care.