It was really a sight to behold. What once was a barren wasteland of ruined buildings and skeleton warriors prowling the vicinity was still barren, but now bones and dust laid strewn across the area. To anyone just walking in, they would be shocked to hear the yells of "Ira Lupus!", "Ansuz!", or "go for it, Mash!" after the silence of the crackling flames of Fuyuki. They might be concerned about the constant yelling, too.

Yes, something unusual and lively had occupied a tiny section of the city: Servants training one another, and their Masters watching with bated breath….except for one.

Alpha absentmindedly picked up a red bone and waved it around. These things seemed to be dropped by those skeletons. "Maybe they're useful for something…"

"Of course these materials are useful. Now that most of you have Servant allies, we can use items like these to power them up and exceed their limits!" Director Olga gave the young man a stern look not unlike that of a teacher's and seemingly produced a bag out of nowhere. Maybe it was magic? It probably was. "Take this bag and start collecting the bones. If you see purple dust, make sure to collect that too."

The sack looked about the size of a plastic grocery bag. There's no way all of those things are going to fit in there, Alpha thought, frowning.

"Well? Did you hear what I said? We don't have all day, and soon we will have to move on from this area."

Alpha sighed. "Yes, Director." He took the bag reluctantly and began to pick up the red bones lying on the ground, grumbling to himself all the while. But strangely enough, the bag never seemed to get heavier. No matter how many bones went in or how much dust slipped inside from Alpha's cupped hands, the bag never gained weight.

Whoa. This must be some kind of hammerspace bag. Suddenly picking up the spoils of war didn't seem so bad, and eventually the entire field was litter-free.

"Hey Alpha!" Chiaki jogged over to Alpha, who was currently messing around with the bag to see if it dropped anything.

"Oh, hey. What are you doing here Chiaki? Aren't you supposed to watch the Servants duking it out over there?"

"Right, right. I was, but I figured you were up to something since you weren't nearby and the Director was yelling." She looked at the bag, which was currently upside down as Alpha was shaking it, hoping for something to fall out. "So what's in the bag?"

"Bones and dust. Some fangs too. They're supposed to help out Servants or something." Alpha decided to put his head inside the bag, and was confused to find that it was pitch-black within.

Peeking out from the empty sack, Alpha sighed. "Looks like there's nothing to show that I found anything. Oh well."

Well, that killed the mood.

"So, um, I got a water bottle for you, since this place is a hellhole. Gotta stay hydrated!" Chiaki broke the silence with a weak grin and handed him a plastic bottle. "Anyways, I gotta go before Caster notices I left. See ya!" With a wave, the girl took off and sprinted away.

Alpha watched her leave, and he swore a little bit of his soul left too. He opened the bottle, groaning as a little bit of water overflowed from the top and spilled on his hands.

That's life, huh? He stared into the distance, the sky still bearing the fiery orange of a false sunset.

"At this point even hot tea would have been better."

…

"I can't, go on any further, please...I'm at my limit…"

Mash was panting heavily from the back-to-back battles between skeletons, Caster and Lancer. She rested on her shield for support, wondering if these battles had any effect on the chipper Gareth and the cool and composed Caster. The blue robed wizard had been inscribing runes of misfortune all over the place (to the chagrin of the Director), attracting numerous skeletons.

Since then it was beat up after beat up, with the occasional spar between Gareth or some long-distance training with Caster. Her will to fight was being spent, and though she was thankful for the combat training and her newfound energy as a Demi-Servant, her stamina was running out. There was also the fact that she had yet to manifest her Noble Phantasm, too.

"Rather than test my will, please teach me some solid theories on how to-"

Caster cut her off. "You just don't get it, do you?"

"Huh?"

He sighed. "Maybe I miscalculated. Lancer, step aside for now. I will be Mash's next opponent."

Gareth eagerly made her way back to Ryuuto's side, ready to watch how this would turn out.

Caster looked at the sidelines. There was his temporary Master chugging the last remains of her second water bottle, the Lancer's Master who had been watching and asking about information the whole time, and finally the master of the shield girl.

An idea suddenly popped up in his head. "You there, young man." He gestured to Naughty with his staff. "We're going to make this fight up close and personal."

The Italian Master grinned. "Perfetto. I wouldn't have it any other way."

As he made his way closer to the dueling pair, Caster suddenly flung a fire rune at him, pressuring Mash to deflect the blow with her shield.

"Get back, Master!"

Chiaki gasped. "Caster, what are you doing!" He ignored her and waved his staff, letting fiery missiles descend upon the pair. With some effort, Mash managed to prevent her Master from becoming roasted Italian.

"Now then Mash, don't hold nothing back. Even if you're at your limit."

More fire runes exploded, and Mash grunted with effort as she swung her shield to cover her Master. The heat and the bright lights felt oppressive with every detonation, and it was getting harder and harder to simply slide over to the correct spot and protect Naughty.

"You don't have to hold back because we're allies. I'm not gonna hold back when I kill Naughty."

She had to protect him. At this moment in time, that was the priority. The ultimate objective. Defend Master from Caster. That goal and those sentiments was the drive she was running on, giving her the strength to keep going against the constant bombardment of fire.

Meanwhile, the onlookers were reacting in their own ways at the sudden skirmish.

"What is that Servant talking about? This is crazy! What does Naughty have to do with this?" The Director looked extremely flustered at the situation.

Gareth turned to face her. "Well, if Mash runs out of strength to fight, her Master's gotta fend for himself!"

"Does that mean he might actually die?" Alpha had finished collecting and had caught up with everyone else wondering what the fuss was all about.

"Of course not! Mash won't let him...I think." Chiaki looked at the fight below. The duo was still doing fine with Mash at the front defending, but with the occasional yelp from Naughty as a stray flame got too close.

"Stay back, Master…" Mash grit her teeth as she charged towards Caster. "I won't be a hindrance to Naughty, or anyone. I won't!" With a yell, she picked up speed with renewed vigor.

The shield girl's Master couldn't help but look back and watch as his faithful new friend and Servant ran with her giant shield, bashing against Caster's runes. Her aim was true, and with every strike the runes fizzled and lost their function. Even Caster had to defend himself with his staff for some hits. Truly, Naughty couldn't take his eyes away from how brave his partner was.

(He also couldn't help but grin knowing he had a front view to her lovely backside again.)

"What's he doing? Mash told him to run! Why is he just standing there staring?" Chiaki was panicking, hands balled into fists and pacing wildly.

"Aren't you Caster's Master? Can't you get him to stop with a Command Seal or something?" Ryuuto spoke up, after watching the whole situation diligently. He really wasn't averse to Naughty getting put in danger, but a senseless casualty from simply training just wouldn't do.

"No, wait. Look, everyone!" Gareth pointed to something happening below, and everyone stared in awe once they figured out what it was.

Caster had blasted Mash all the way back to where Naughty stood, and was about to unleash a more powerful spell.

"It's time to end this." He raised his staff, and a fiery aura flared to life around him. The ground began to light up with numerous runes, causing everyone to squint.

"My spell is the coffin of flames, a giant of verdant thorn."

The ground began to rumble, and it felt as if an earthquake had been unleashed. A huge hand shot out of the ground, made of interwoven straw. Another followed, and the tremors increased.

"Retribution, a shrine that will purify human misery-"

The head, and torso slowly ascended, and the sharp crackle of flames accompanied its ascension.

"Befall the Wicker Man!" Caster yelled, pointing his staff at the Shielder. "And behold as good and evil bite the dust!"

The enormous Wicker Man trudged its way towards them, every step felt more than heard as the ground rumbled and cracked beneath its feet.

"I can't look!" But Chiaki lied. Her eyes were glued to the scene in horror, and she felt paralyzed as a million possibilities of "I could have stopped Caster" played through her head. But could she? She was only a temporary Master. She didn't know anything! And now two of her friends might die because of this!

"Please…" She whispered as if in prayer. "Please let them be alright."

…

Mash ran up ahead, putting some distance between the Wicker Man and her Master. This was it, the moment of truth. She realized now what Caster had meant about her will being tested.

I must protect...I must unleash it. I have to, or everyone here will-

She planted her shield in front of the advancing burning giant who started to tilt forwards, as if it had lost its balance. Was it going to fall on top of them?

No.

There was a resolute expression on the Shielder's face. Even in the burning flames, even if the situation felt severely escalated-

Even if it's a fake, even if it's just for now. I must protect everyone by unleashing it properly.

Light started to gather around her shield.

Or everyone here will disappear!

The light burst into a larger construct of a shield, completely covering Mash's side of the battlefield and even outshining the falling Wicker Man.

Naughty had to blink several times before he realized he was alive, very exhausted, and without a scratch save for his uniform being a little charred in places.

She did it. She must have unleashed her Noble Phantasm, and what a spectacle it was! The giant burning man was gone, and Caster was running towards them with satisfaction.

Mash stared at her shield in surprise, not really believing that she had just nullified Caster's ultimate attack without any damage. Her lilac eyes were wide in disbelief.

"Did I...did I manage to unleash my Noble Phantasm?"

Caster finally caught up. "Heh. I knew you two would survive that." He cocked his head to the side to get a look at Naughty. "But I didn't expect both of you to come out without a scratch."

Naughty smirked, but deep inside he was feeling an immense relief that his near-death experience was over. "Let's not do that again, si?"

"In any case…" Caster gave Mash a wink. "Praise her, Naughty. That young lady is undoubtedly a first-rate Heroic spirit."

"Molto bene, Mash. Congratulations. It truly was amazing." With those words, Mash's eyes sparkled and a smile bloomed on her face. And out of nowhere, her little furry friend Fou popped out and gave out congratulatory squeaks as well.

"You did it! I'm so glad! I thought you were goners!" Chiaki reached them all running ahead of everyone else gathering around the victors of the fight.

"Wow, that was impressive. I didn't expect her to unleash her Noble Phantasm that soon. Mash was never someone with a strong will…" From Chaldea, Dr. Roman commented on the sight.

"Wow, harsh." Chiaki mumbled. Caster looked at the doctor's projection. "That's because you got her all wrong. This fine young lady here is a protector. You can't teach a bird to swim, yes? Therefore you must teach it to fly high."

"Or in this case, have a trial by fire." Chiaki said jokingly, but it earned her a tap on the head from her Caster's staff. "Oww…"

Caster continued. "Although, she wasn't able to reach its True Name. That may be inconvenient."

Mash's face slightly fell. "Right. I can use my Noble Phantasm now, but I still don't know its True Name, or the True Name of the Heroic Spirit fused with me…"

"But that's okay! Gareth spoke up, her face chipper as always. "Even so, you were able to protect your friends. You may not know who it is, but I believe you understand its meaning, to protect the ones you love." Ahh, it was just like someone she knew. Someone who defended the homeland...Gareth kept that thought to herself.

"Yes, it's fine." The Director stepped forward, eyeing Mash with a serious yet approving look. "Even if you're inexperienced and temporary...your very wish unleashed your Noble Phantasm. You didn't have the slightest desire to obtain a True Name, to become one of the chosen- to become a Heroic Spirit. That's why your Noble Phantasm responded."

The Director had a thoughtful look on her face. "Ahh, it's such an inspiring story. Just like a fairy tale."

"Um, Director…" Mash sheepishly looked at her boss.

"Don't mind me! I'm just teasing. It's good that you know how to use your Noble Phantasm, but like that Caster said, it will be inconvenient without a True Name. I'll think of a good spell for you." With that, the Director looked at Mash's shield pensively.

"Since it's a pseudo-deployment...let me see...yes, how about 'Lord Chaldeas'. It has a special meaning for you, and so it's good for activating your Spirit Origin."

"Y-yes...thank you, Director!" Mash had a grateful expression, almost proud, even.

"Lord Chaldeas, huh? That sounds powerful. And from the Director, too." Naughty looked satisfied.

"Lord Chaldeas...it really has a nice ring to it." Chiaki mused, nodding.

"And with that, we're one step closer to being ready to face the Singularity's cause." Ryuuto said.

"That's right. One step closer…" Alpha echoed, looking off into the distance.

And so, Mash continued her training to consistently unleash her Noble Phantasm. Gareth and Caster helped, while Ryuuto and Naughty grilled the Director about basic information. Alpha continued to brood, sitting on the ground overlooking the clashing Servants. Chiaki, however, was jumping with excess energy and watching them fight.

"Alright, here goes! Feel the power of the Rampaging Maiden Wolf, Ira Lupus!"

Gareth readied her lance, energy crackling around her as she faced Mash and Caster.

"Deploying Virtual Noble Phantasm….Lord Chaldeas!"

With a heavy thud, the young lady slammed her shield onto the ground, activating a barrier of light of protection.

The impact was intense: a thunderous boom echoed through the barren land, sending shockwaves through the ground, far from the Chaldean's little training site.

It went so far as to make even a certain swordsman, lying in wait within a deep cavern, ever so still…

Feel the tiniest bit of anticipation.