"Everyone, stay alert, I detected a big spike in magical energy around you. It's a Servant signature!" Romani popped in.

"Yeah, I think we established that, Romani!" Olga fired back. "Can you tell us anything else about it? Something useful?"

"I'm working on it-Wait, the signature disappeared! Presence Concealment?!'

Olga nodded. "So it's an Assassin. Ritsuka, stay behind Mash at all times."

"What about you, Director?" Ritsuka asked.

"Don't mind me. I can protect myself with magecraft. You can't- There!"

Olga pointed at the top of the church door as blades rained down on them. Mash raised her shield to block the knives, but when she put it down, the Servant was gone. The three of them fell quiet, trying desperately to sense the Assassin that was resolute to kill them.

"I will get the Grail!" The Assassin's voice rang around the church. Romani, thinking quickly, used the extremely right reverberations off the church walls in order to triangulate the location of the Assassin.

"There! Now, Mash!" He shouted from the Command Room. Mash nodded and threw her shield towards the direction Dr. Roman pointed at. The Assassin's arm was caught in her shield and took them down to the floor. Olga, reacting to the shield's descent, fired multiple bullets of Gandr at the enemy Assassin.

"Romani, can you use the leyline to produce a temporary bounded field around us? At least something that encloses this church so that we don't have to play a guessing game with this Assassin?" She asked.

"Don't ask for unreasonable things, Director! You're not even near the leyline anymore."

"Romani, back talking right now is really not appreciated! Do something!"

Romani facepalmed. "Okay, okay, let me think… Uh, okay, I'll need to collect combat data-"

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH, ROMANI!"

Mash grabbed her fallen shield and rushed the Shadow Servant, pushing the enemy towards the corner of the church. Olga and Ritsuka stayed behind her shield as they also rushed the Assassin.

"Ha!" Mash used the bottom of her shield to swipe at her enemy, who was trying to escape upwards, but Olga was keeping watch, and once its head popped out, it was greeted by a barrage of Gandr shots.

"Impossible!" The Assassin finally found respite by using the last of its strength to kick Mash's shield outward, causing the other two who were huddled behind it to fall on their backs. "I will get the Grail!"

With this declaration, it burned magical energy even more, but Olga could sense that it was burning its Spirit Core for energy. "It's going to use a desperation attack! We need to defeat it now!" Olga inferred. He looked at Ritsuka and at his hand. "Ritsuka, use your Command Spell to give Mash a boost, now!"

Ritsuka nodded. He ran over and put his hand on Mash's back. "Alright, Mash. Let's do this."

"Right. I'm ready, Senpai!"

BY MY COMMAND SPELL!

Mash felt a power course from Ritsuka's hand, entering her chest. It was warm, comforting, but it was a surge of energy her body was not used to. The warmth spread from her chest, down her arms, and into her fingertips. She felt powerful, even more powerful than she could have ever imagined. She felt as if she could do anything.

Mash Kyrielight, Defeat the Enemy!

His command rang in her ears, propelling her body forward. She felt light as a feather, moving faster than the eye could follow, her shield pointed forward, towards the enemy who would kill them if she did not stop them. She put all the strength she gained into her hands and pushed past the Assassin's corporeal form and broke through its spirit core.

When her feet touched the ground, it was over. The enemy Servant disappeared.

Ritsuka and Olga fell to their knees in exhaustion. They could finally breathe a sigh of relief. They were safe, for now.

"Enemy Servant neutralized. Congratulations, everyone!" Romani announced.

Olga began to laugh. "Romani, you were of no help whatsoever!" She shouted.

"Yeah, I know. But there's only so much I can do, Director."

She sat on the ground. "I can't believe we actually won."

"Director?" Ritsuka tried to get up but he was too tired.

Olga smiled at both of them. "You did good. Both of you."

"We did?" Mash asked.

The Director nodded and stood up. "Sloppy work, but for a Servant with no real experience and a Master who barely knew about the world of magecraft, it's more than I, or anyone, could ever hope for." She walked towards Ritsuka and offered a hand. "Get up. I hope we can keep working together, Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash Kyrielight."

He smiled. "You look better with a smile, Director. You should do it more often."

She snickered. "Don't get too friendly, rookie. I'm still your boss."

"Right, right."

Romani popped in. "I'm sorry to interrupt your moment, you three, but I'm detecting another incoming Servant!"

"Another one?!" Mash exclaimed at the information.

Another Servant walked towards the group. This one was also clad in shadows, obscuring its information from Olga and Romani's sensors.

"That was quite an interesting show you put there." The voice was feminine, seductive, and thorny. "But it looks like your reserves have long since run out. Too bad for you."

Olga could feel her body aching. She did not have enough magical energy left to support Mash. Ritsuka didn't have much energy remaining either. Due to being a normal human, Mash was taking vitality from him in the form of magical energy, and the strange nature of this Singularity is preventing Chaldea from sending energy to them.

"This is bad…" Ritsuka whispered under his breath.

However, Mash was already in position, shield raised. Even so, she could not stop her knees from shaking. She, too, felt tired. The exertion of the command spell weighed on her physical body. "Mash Kyrielight, ready for combat!"

"Mash…" Her Master stood up as well.

The Servant produced a large scythe. "Well, time for you to die." Her movements were more sophisticated, graceful, and efficient. Although she could not conceal her presence, there was an ill need to do so. Each swipe was made with the intent to kill, steel clashing with Mash's shield, producing sparks. Mash's feet dug into the ground as she tried to deflect each and every strike.

That was, until the Servant hooked her shield with her scythe and pulled it away from her grasp. This took Mash by surprise as her hands were suddenly empty of the only weapon and form of protection that she has had this whole time. She barely had any time to react before the Servant jumped, recovered her scythe in mid air, and slash downward, towards her vulnerable head.

And then…

Flames hit the Scythe and the Shadow Servant, pushing them back just enough for it to miss Mash by mere centimeters.

"What… You?!"

Ritsuka followed the path of the flames to a figure standing on top of a building overlooking the clearing where they were now located. The figure was wearing a blue outfit, carrying a staff glowing with magical energy.

"Preying on a bunch of kids didn't seem to be your style, Lancer."

The Shadow Servant glared at his direction and growled. "You are- No… Caster?!"

"The one and only." The man jumped down from where he was perched and landed between the two Servants. With a swift movement, he kicked up Mash's fallen shield and threw it towards her. "I didn't know you were still kicking around."

Ritsuka took a closer look at the man. He had medium-length blue hair, at the back it was tied in a neat ponytail. His clothes were strange for a flaming city as it looked more like a very thick coat. He had a staff in his hand inscribed with strange writings Ritsuka had never seen before. All he could tell was what the Lancer enemy already mentioned, that this man before him was Caster class.

Olga saw something else. This Servant's parameters were high, very high. She surmised that it must have been a Servant of high renown, and the way he easily fended off Lancer speaks to his skill and power with magecraft.

Lancer hissed. "Curse you, Caster! Why are you siding with these wanderers?!"

Caster scoffed with a smugness that Olga thought could only come from someone who has heard that line many times. That or he simply found the question funny. "Why? Because it's better than allying with you desperate schmucks."

"Schmucks?" Lancer raised an eyebrow.

"Besides, I don't mind becoming friends with brats with potential. They killed the Assassin by the skin of their teeth, after all." The Caster turned to Mash. "Yo, Young lady in armor."

"Y-yes!" Mash stuttered.

"Take a deep breath and calm down. Think clearly but swiftly. You can turn this around. I'll help you." He gave her a smile and then turned to Ritsuka. "You're her Master, aren't you?"

The young Master nodded.

"I'm a Caster Servant, and these guys don't really like me right now. I know the enemy of my enemy isn't necessarily my friend but in honor of the bravery of that young lady with the shield…" He gave Ritsuka a thumbs up. "I'll help you. Let's form a temporary contract."

"Alright." Ritsuka held out his hand.

"You know the chant, don't you, Ritsuka?" Olga asked.

He nodded. "I read about it."

She gave an affirmative nod.

You body shall serve under me

My fate shall be under your sword

Magical energy flowed from Ritsuka to the Caster Servant, their contract temporarily established. The blue-haired man walked to the side of Mash and readied his staff, eyes focused on the Lancer who was seething with hatred.

"I'll provide support, young lady. Let's take her down."

"Yes. I'll do my best."

"That's what I like to hear!"

Mash could feel energy from Caster going into her, making her stronger and lighter on her feet. Strange writing appeared on her shield and on her armor. She took this as a sign to engage the Lancer enemy. With her shield, she charged at full speed, but even with the enhancements, she was still slower than her enemy. The Lancer evaded her attack at the last moment, jumped, and performed a slash at her back using her scythe.

"Oh no you don't!" Caster declared as flames erupted from the ground behind Mash. Lancer was almost caught in it but spun to dodge the pillars. However it did mean she could not finish her attack.

"Tch." She spat. She picked herself up and went towards Mash once more, recognizing that she was easier to kill than Caster.

"So this is a battle between Servants." Ritsuka muttered under his breath.

"Ritsuka, focus on the battle." Olga spoke. "That Caster is using Runes. It's a type of magecraft that uses inscription in order to invoke magic."

He nodded, trying to Olga was trying to say. "Yes?"

"Which means he can set traps like he just did."

"Oh… I see."

"They're your Servants now, Ritsuka. Think of a way to make full use of their abilities." She looked at him with a small smile. "I can trust you to do that, right?"

Ritsuka returned the smile. "Of course." He called out to Caster while Mash deflected Lancer's scythe.

"Yo, Master. Whaddya got?"

"Caster, you're enhancing Mash with your magecraft right now, right?"

Caster nodded.

"That's the same magecraft that you use to launch fireballs right?"

Another nod.

"Can you make it so that Mash leaves rune traps whenever she backs away?" Ritsuka scratched his head, trying to explain what he wanted to do. "Basically, Mash leaves runes as her footprints which you can trigger at a good time."

Caster thought about it and nodded. "Yeah, I think I can do that. It will cost you magical energy, of course. A bit of a tall order for my energy at the current moment."

"That's fine."

The blue-haired man raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure she can handle it? I can only provide small support with these enhancements taking my, and you, magical energy."

Ritsuka didn't even take a moment to consider it. "I trust her."

Caster turned back to the battle at hand. "Now I'm getting fired up."

Mash deflected Lancer's scythe one more time before she lost her footing. Lancer once again went for a kill strike, but her strike was blocked by Caster's staff, allowing him to spin his staff in mid-air and disarm Lancer for a moment. The scythe was connected to Lancer by chains, however, so it wasn't long before the weapon was back in her hands.

Caster took this opportunity to carve runes into Mash's shoes. "Now, I need you, young lady, to keep moving."

Mash, not understanding, raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Caster smiled as he helped her stand up. "Trust your Master like he trusts you."

She took a moment to understand his meaning, but then it clicked. Caster was acting under the orders of Ritsuka Fujimaru, her Master. She nodded. "Right, I'll do my best!"

Lancer recovered. She and the two Servants allied with Chaldea stood on opposite ends.

"Die!" Lancer screeched and ran towards Mash, her scythe gleaming with fiery rage.

"Remember, Mash. Do not attack. Stay on the defensive and move in a circle." Caster whispered.

"Haaaaa!" Mash screamed the nervousness in her body and met Lancer in the the battlefield. She kept in mind her mission, to move around the battlefield and keep Lancer in a certain radius. The enhancements from Caster were tremendous, but they were only just enough for her to keep pace with her enemy.

Her enemy must have been a strong warrior in her time, maybe even one of the strongest heroes of all time, but none of that matters. She won't get anywhere thinking of how strong her enemy must be, all she needed to think was how strong SHE needed to be in order to defeat them.

So she used her power to dance around her enemy.

A memory played in her mind as she deflected strike after strike. It was a fleeting memory of using her feet for the first time in something not walking and not combat training. One step, two step, watch your feet. Watch your partner's feet, too. Stepping on them will cause both of you to stumble. She took a deep breath as sparks flew past her eyes. Focus, focus.

She was dancing with Dr. Romani again.

"Mash, step back!" Ritsuka shouted.

"Understood!" Mash stepped back and increased the radius she was tracing with her feet.

Lancer's mind was foggy. What was she even fighting for? Something's wrong, but she can't put her finger on it. All she knew was that she needed to fight to get the Grail… But for whom? Why was she fighting so hard? Who was pushing her to fight so hard? Why won't her enemy just die already?! Die, Die, DIE! LET ME GET THE GRAIL! GIVE ME THE GRAIL! Her mind has long since stopped functioning, her thoughts are now a jumbled mess. At some point… she wished for oblivion.

Caster watched this all play out, focusing on materializing the runes Mash was tracing, while providing light support . He was being pushed to his limit in terms of magecraft with the amount of Runes the young Master's plan requires, but he couldn't lie: He was having fun with it. There's rarely any Master who would ask him for something so ridiculous. In fact, he was sure the young man was a new Master, but also new to magecraft. Even so, as a Servant, he must deliver.

Mash danced with Lancer's strikes, parrying instead of meeting them head on.

Ritsuka swallowed his anxiety. When he saw the right moment, he acted. "Mash, now!"

Mash understood and pushed Lancer to the center of the two radii she created, using a small boost from Caster's enhancement to get herself out. "Master!"

"CASTER! NOW!"

Caster flashed a smile and pointed his staff towards Lancer. "Checkmate, Lancer! Nauthiz!"

Lancer raised an eyebrow before looking at the ground. The ground she was standing on, as well as a large radius around her was glowing with fire runes. Even with her speed, it was impossible for her to escape the trap. She still tried to do so, but she barely left her place before she was caught in multiple pillars of fire.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her screams echoed across the Singularity as her flesh was burnt with intense heat.

Caster manipulated the pillars of flame to converge on the Lancer's position, just to make sure her defeat was not left up to chance. Once the flames began to die out, he pointed his staff at her.

"Ghh! Cas…ter! Curse you!" Even with her destroyed body, she tried to stand up. "With the Grail… in front… of my eyes… I was… so… close!"

Her last words became a whisper, before she collapsed and disappeared.

"Battle… finished… Master…" Mash announced as she leaned on her shield in exhaustion.


Hello hello! BlankSlate2356 here! So you've probably noticed something different. Yes! I have changed the rating of this fic from T to M! The reason for this is so that I have more freedom in what I write, especially when we get to the more unsavory bits, I don't have to hold back on the descriptions and the themes and what not. That's about it for me. I hope you all continue to enjoy Chaldea Re:!

Thank you, much love, and I hope you have a wonderful day!