I really cannot believe it has been a year since I wrote this.

Thanks to all who enjoyed it and followed it.

Chapter 2: Singularity F, Begin

Crackling pyre. Red. Crushing destructive sounds of rocks fell like thunder. The world around them was ending in a horrible fiery apocalypse. His body protested, crying from fire and destruction.

"—lease manually switch to reser—"

Thunderous crashes trembled on the ground, rocks fell like rain, and the world bled in fire.

Bleary vision blinked, blinking at the red hell before him. Od reinforced his body, pushing himself up with the director in hand. Steeped as they were in the water, cold sweat ran down his head.

"Rin!" His heart hammering in his chest as rocks continued to fall, the Rayshift coffins still in danger. "Rin! Where are you."

Crackle. The crackle of flames was all he heard. Mocking him of the lives unable to be saved reminding him of the hell he had once seen. He focused on the coffins that still stood, he peered but saw no nothing on the cracked glass nor did he hear breathing.

Od ran through his fist and punched the glass then grabbed the girl in it and set her down. When he heard the slow heartbeat, he sighed. She would live, given the whole place wouldn't collapse.

Others he saw, he could only watch in helplessness but he still placed them on the ground resuscitating them for several minutes.

The masters, all in varying states, from pierced, burned, and even both from all the falling debris and the alarmingly increasing flames, spreading its wrath to everyone. Calling forth blades that ooze ice vapor, and multiple daggers, he put the dagger on the injured masters and surrounded them with the cold blade.

Someone coughed in the distance, with a gentle tug of the director on his back, he trudged through the rocks with one hand, careful of unnecessarily moving her. The bomb had to be professionally set up to yield this much damage, and not only that; a sabotage.

"Please evacuate from gate two immediately."

He held himself from running seeing her down, coughing and glowering that would shake the heavens.

"Rin!" Gently setting the director, he checked for any injuries on her. Only breathing in relief when he found none on her. "I'm glad."

"You're glad? What about you? Shirou, you're burnt! Hold on," her hands glowed, but her stopped her with a shake of his head. "Use that on the director instead. She needs it more than I do."

"Kyu. Kyu!" A mournful cry reached his ears.

"Rin," he said looking at the direction it came from. "I found others that're hurt too. I applied emergency treatment but without energy from them it won't heal them."

"Go." She smiled ruefully at him before looking at the Olga. "I'll take care of her and have Saber carry them here."

With his chest lightening, he ran to where the sound came from. Somewhere where the fire blazed at its highest that he could almost taste it. Rolling sweat down his face, he could feel the heat warming him even inside the heat-insulated mystic code uniform.

"Is anyone there? Mash! Fou!" he called. The coffins cracked, bent, some pierced by rods, he languished at their deaths. Fuyuki all over again, but this time there was something he could do.

Something white bounded towards him. "Fou!" the thing ran in circles and went back to where it came from. "Kyu!" Even panic set in the small creature's eyes.

When he got to the cries, he stood there in shock before running. Mash cried weakly with a helpless Fou clawing at her. Mash groaned. The look of despair didn't fit someone like her as she struggled to move with the giant block too much for her.

Should he cut it with a noble phantasm? What if it hit her? He can't risk it.

"Mash!"

"... senpai?"

"You're going to be okay." Shirou crouched next to her, gritting his teeth, od empowered his very being, his nerves, body heating up, and ignoring the pain coursing through him. "I am the bone of my sword."

"Steel is my body, and fire is my blood." A sense of calmness coursed through him, his strength increasing. His bones, his joints cried, but he pushed through it! The heat became mere numb feeling in his fingers he ignored for the fallen young woman before him.

"Rayshift transferring to the—"

The ground trembled once more.

"—pai, save yourself."

"Mash, what do you want most." The words came unbidden out of his gritting lips. Regrets. The one thing that separated him from Archer. He would not forsake himself by regretting everything he did and everything that happened to him. Nor give up his ideals, the very thing that made him, him.

He wanted to empower Mash in wanting to live. He didn't want Mash to go out so young without fulfilling her dream!

"Tell me!"

"I want to see the blue sky!" Her pained cry broke through everything.

"AH!" Empowered, he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Shirou!" someone called, but he focused. If he let go now, Mash's pain would come back. He would save her. When the giant block reached his knees, he said, "Mash! Now! Live!"

"Laplace conversion protection in place"

"We'll see the skies together!"

Mash crawled, crawled with all her power leaving a long trail of blood. Her desire to live, her desire to see the sun, the sky, and the moon gave him the strength to hold it for her as long as possible.

"Senpai," she breathed out.

The computer said something but he ignored it in favor of releasing the block creating a dust cloud for a brief moment. His arms took more than all it could bear even powered by reinforcement.

"You'll see the sky, Mash. I promise you," he said. Beyond a promise, he swore an oath to the girl that reminded him of Sakura.

"Shirou!" Saber in her armor waved at him, but he only grinned, letting his muscle rest by sitting beside Mash whose head rested on his lap. Rin carrying Director Olga Marie followed.

"Warning to observation staff: CHALDEAS' condition has changed."

When Mash craned her neck up, he followed her gaze only to widen as the magical blue globe turned red. He didn't know what it meant, but all he needed to see was Mash's dread upon seeing it and Rin's body stiffening, a look that broke her calmness.

"Rin," Saber said, confusion and dread on her face looking up. "What's going on."

Before Rin could reply, the automated voice continued. "SHEBA's near-future data will be overwritten. The survival of the Human race for the next 100 years cannot be confirmed. The future of Humanity cannot be guaranteed."

For once, Rin was speechless. Saber's confusion turned to dread, and as for him, defiance roared in him. An immeasurable fire built up in him for whoever sabotaged Chaldea and doomed humanity.

Does that mean everyone's dead? He didn't know, but the need to stop this burned in him. This anger, this grave injustice on someone who would wish ill for all humanity.

The groaning of the bulkhead reached where they were. "Saber, take the others. We'll follow after healing Mash as the others."

She jumped ahead to her target without a word to Rin.

Without fanfare, Rin set the director beside Mash and started healing Mash herself, eyes closed in agony and relief.

"Senpai." Soft dainty hands reached up for his, something he gladly accepted even to just alleviate a small pain of hers. "Did… ou mean what you said."

Rin scoffed in amusement that became a smile and said, "that's a promise, Mash. He never breaks his promise."

Mash laughed, sounding mostly like a coughing fit. A heavy heaving from her chest.

"Seeking qualified masters."

"Resetting contact with suitable contact designee 48 and 49."

He and Rin was the only remaining master alive? He counted it, and they got more than half of the masters, the rest, he didn't know their fate amidst the destruction.

"You will see the sky, Mash." His hands embraced hers with a weak smile. "You will see the desert, the ocean, the sea, and you will see all the animal friends for Fou."

"Fou?" the creature tilted its head at him as it lay on top of Mash.

"While we're at it, we should really find out what Fou is."

"Rin, we're not dissecting Fou."

"Kyu!" the creature jumped, hiding behind him when Rin grinned viciously at the cute creature.

Releasing Mash's hand when the ground trembled, rocks rained on them but before he could project something else, everything turned dark.

Nothing. Then a flash, a clear blue exploded, spinning until it became a vortex, brighter and brighter it grew but couldn't look away from it. He felt nothing and did nothing but stare at the light ahead.

"Unsunmoning program start. Rayshifting in 1, 2, 3."

The light faded. "All operations cleared. Beginning First Order verification."

Shirou opened his eyes, gasping for breath before calming himself when something wet his cheeks.

"Kyu." He smiled when the familiar mewling animal hopped on his face looking down at him.

"Fou," he said, looking around. The hell of Chaldea now became a barren city. A city of nothing but empty dilapidated skyscrapers, cars, and roads now abandoned by time. The clouds above were nothing but hazy smoke that hid the night skies he often stared at. Nothing right was going on.

All of this screamed familiar, almost a dream shaking him back to it, but that was impossible. Isn't it?

"Rin, Arturia." Where were they?

His hair stood erect, chill ran through his body when a red star, a blood star illuminated the dark sky. Bow on the right, he nocked the now familiar drilled sword-turned arrow launching it to me the malicious arrow targeting him.

A red arrow, one that he himself had used many times in the past—, cold anger lit up inside him. Only a few could be so malevolent towards him, no matter the peace they made at the end.

A grand explosion lit up the dark sky, blowing the clouds and smoke away revealing nothing but a dark hole bigger than the moon on the skyward horizon. Just above the fire, an almost blood-red eye looked down on everything like a malevolent eye.

"Master! Look out!" A black blur stepped in front of him as another projectile flew at him now blocked by the large figure.

"Trace on," he muttered. The regret and disdain in those arrows were almost palpable to him, making him certain it was him.

A sword blessed with eternal sharpness. Its hand-and-a-half black hilt was plain as any sword and its simple golden crossguard belied the legend it hid. The white edge concealed the sharpness that never dulled. The only telltale sign of any extravagance it held was signified by the red jeweled pommel at the end of it.

The sword twisted, the metal shaft capable of cutting spinning until it resembled the twisted form of an arrow shaft. Its guard becoming fletching, and hilt to a nock. Mana filled it to the brim, almost vibrating from the power it contained.

"Fly! Durandal!"

The sword flew splitting the fiery smoke and ending in a blast that destroyed everything around it. Shirou followed with the all-familiar red spear that killed him once, Its thorny long red shaft brimming with aura blood and death.

It flew, a red flash zigzagging in the air dodging the projectiles until it blew the tower on a building. The blast tore the top floor and subsequent ones below it in a blaze of fire.

"Se… pai?"

He felt it, the familiar connection between them, a bond that he all knew too well. When he looked at his hand, at the back of it, the ever-familiar sigil of command spells was indeed there. Their minds connected by the master-servant connection and seeing the character sheet that showed him his servant's abilities.

"Mash, you're…"

How come he didn't notice this? Him, Rin, and Saber didn't detect anything unusual when they met her. Not a servant's mana, presence, or anything of that sort.

Gone was her uniform and replaced by a black skirted armor that hugged her petite figure with a giant tower shield on her hand that could smash flat any ordinary man and thing.

A brief glance was all it took for the shield to join the other heroic weapons in his reality marble, a shield of renown but its abilities, hidden and beyond a gate that escaped his gaze. Only its name and brief abilities were the only things he could read of it.

Lord Camelot. A giant dark crossed shield with a round shield in the middle.

Shirou doubted Mash knew of the shield she wielded, but would Saber? A question for another time.

"Mash."

Mash looked at her form with nary a problem nor confusion. "Senpai, you're a—"

"Magus," he said. "Mash, how come you're a servant."

Brows furrowing, she looked pensive but shook her head. "It's… this is the first time it worked."

"Wo－"

A frightful scream echoed in the distance, coming from the fiery hell ahead breaking the silence to even where they were. His hair stood up on how the sound reached them.

"Master－"

"I know." Together, they dashed ahead, matching her servant speed with his reinforcement and following the sound of blasts and clattering.

Relief swelled when he saw the Director alive and well firing Gandr at dragon tooth warriors. The skeletons, numerous in numbers ran after Olga not even phased by her attacks.

The skeleton surrounded her front, coming out and jumping from the buildings like ants to a source of food. Fighting through sheer numbers against their foe.

"Mash, protect the Director."

Swords appeared by his side and launched up toward the skeletons faster than they could move creating a dust cloud just as he landed behind Mash.

"Mash!" A lone sword landed before her, and the familiar twin swords appeared in his hand just in time to block a sword followed by a stab. Metal met metal, clashing in sparks, but his experience won easily disposing of them.

Behind him, the thunderous thuds and crashes continued, he turned sword slashing against bones dissipating them. A group ran towards them, Mash met them shield bashing them with her hidden strength and defending their boss. Her attacks a whirlwind of giant metal in which Shirou joined, back to back, sword and shield slashed and bashed until there were none.

Olga gaped at them, in shock, in surprise, or relief, he was glad she was fine. He could only hope the same for the others.

"Are you okay?" Last he saw of her she was unconscious beside Mash. Her injuries were gone along with whatever else she sustained as if it was nothing.

"Director, are you hurt?" Mash said, looking at the sitting Olga.

"What's going on?" The panic may have subsided, but her confusion remained. One that he shared with her.

Was this the anomaly they talked about earlier. If so, why does he feel the familiar stench of death and dread around and within him.

"This is Singularity F Fuyuki, 2004."

He froze, if not for his attained discipline, he would have asked many questions but now was not the time because most of his questions were already answered. Why the smell of death reminded him of home, because it was home.

Where was the people. Taiga, Sakura, Rin, Issei, everyone. Why was the once bustling Fuyuki so empty. Lifeless as if left behind by time.

"It may be hard to believe but—"

"I know what you are," she said, her tone hard as she stood up. "You're a demi-servant. What I want to know is, why didn't it work until now."

Demi-servant. A human servant? He was no full-fledged magus like Rin, but he did not like the implications of that. A human-made to attain the power of a servant.

Tempered by experience, he held the questions in as Rin was so eager to remind him of. Conclusions comes later.

"As I laid dying." A minute glance at him that when he blinked, it was gone. "Before senpai rescued me, the heroic spirit offered me a contract. In exchange for the abilities of a heroic spirit and his noble phantasm, he wanted me to eliminate the cause of the singularity. So, I merged with the servant to become a demi-servant."

"Are you okay?" he finally asked. "Are you still yourself?"

He may not be the smartest one, but he knew from Rin's various lectures that two souls cannot coexist in one body. One has to dominate the other. So, the fact that Mash's self didn't fade for the hero is a feat in of itself for him.

A firmness that didn't exist in her eyes before now stared back at him even as she smiled. "Yes, senpai. I'm still me."

"Then this freelancer is your master then." She glanced at him, not hiding her disappointment. "I suppose that's better than nothing. So, why aren't you surprised about being a master."

The mystic code on his wrist beeped, pressing a button as was instructed before and the symbol of Chaldea projected on the ground before Dr. Romani appeared.

"I finally got through. Mash, Shirou, you're okay. To Rayshift without a coffin, you had to withstand the—"

"Romani! Why are you, head of the medical section, taking control. Where's Lev." Irate Olga marched at the projection, fingers almost shoving. Would have pushed Dr. Romani had he not been a projection.

Romani reeled back, a painful flinch. "Director! You're alive."

"Alive? Of course, I'm alive." Huffing and crossing her arms, she glared at the man. "Now, where's Lev!?"

The cheerful man sighed, and he knew what happened. All too often did he see those expressions to those who knew those he failed to save. The all too familiar bitter feeling rose up in him. "Professor Lev was caught in the middle of the explosion."

"Lev," Olga gasped, fingers shaking. "No. You're lying."

"Director," Shirou pleaded. His worry for Rin and Saber growing by the minute, but he reined it in. "Please, focus for now. We will mourn them later."

Romani sighed, his figure downcast. The weight of responsibility in his eyes was the very same that he saw in him to save others. "I'm the highest-ranking officer here right now, that's why I'm in control now."

"Then what about the forty-seven masters in the coffins?"

Shirou inwardly flinched already knowing the doctor's response. "All in critical condition even with emergency treatment. With the lack of staff, I ordered them to be put in cryopreservation. I know it's against—"

"Good job." Through clenched teeth did she say it. "I'll bear responsibility for it once things clear up. As long as they're alive, this can be justified later. I can't possibly carry the burden of the dead forty-seven lives on my back."

"Currently, Chaldea lost eighty percent of functionality. Once communications are back, we'll request supplies and rebuild Chaldea."

The two conversed, and he just listened. The more he sat in silence, the more it became apparent this was an act of sabotage. Communications were always the ones to go down in any sabotage, followed by divide and conquer, attacking to further divide and confuse the victims.

Somehow, he doubted that. All masters were critically injured, Chaldea in ruins, and somehow—hoped as he might, he didn't think the staff made it out unscathed.

After several minutes, Dr. Romani concluded his report, and the director decided to investigate this singularity. Something with which he wholeheartedly agreed. If she didn't, then he would have to investigate alone and

"If you need anything, just contact me."

She scoffed crossing her arms. "Even if we send out SOS, nobody will come save us."

"Di—"

"Director, are you sure about this? We could wait for help to arrive."

She leveled a glare at Mash, impatience running thin on the already impatient woman. "I'm sure. We can't go home empty-handed and I expect much protest from the Association." Sighing, Olga gave him an empty side glance. "I can't believe I'm relying on a freelancer and commoner of all things."

"I don't like to bear bad news, but the Director's right. No help is coming. It's up to us. I suggest we regroup with Rin and Saber."

"Saber?" both said at the same time.

"Senpai, that's a servant class, isn't it?" Mash asked.

"I'll introduce you two later. Or reintroduce, in Mash's case." Sword in hand, his concentration broke when the Director's wristband beeped at the same time his senses called to him; a shivering feeling of great malevolence.

"Everyone run! Get away from there right now!"

His partner was quick to turn, horror in her voice when she said, "I sense it. A servant."

Then he sensed it, something brimming with power, with corrupted mana and a stench he knew all too well. "Run, you two! I'll hold them off."

"Hold them off? A servant?" The Director poked him in the chest, eyes alight with fury. "Are you mad?"

"Mash, please, we have no time, take the Director."

Oh no. His eyes widened.

"Get down!" he screamed as something heavy crashed against his shield, sending him back, something cut the air getting closer to him. Durandal met another steel, sending vibrations in his arm even if he did deflect the strike.

"Mash, run now! Take her with you." He dared not look back, against a servant, any second meant life or death.

Rattling chains appeared before them, crisscrossing tightly as they connected the two buildings on opposite ends. He knew then that any escape they thought they had was gone, except for Mash. Her defensive nature as a servant could help her survive in these dire straits.

In the Grail War, only one he knew wielded chains. He needed to hold her off.

Sweat rolled off him despite being an unnaturally cold night, but stance firm and ready, he called out to the spirit before them. "You can come out now, Medusa."

"Medusa!" Olga said in surprise, ground shuffling as she took a step back. "The legendary Gorgon."

The chain crinkled, atop which stood a dark-clothed figure with its hood on making the golden eyes glow with malice and sadism. But even with all that, he couldn't mistake that long flowing purple hair for anyone but her. The once fair skin all desired now dark pale, a shade of her former glory. A shadow of a woman he knew well.

"Rider," he said, greeting her for all its worth knowing the insanity that lay behind those golden irises.

"Emiya Shirou and unknown servant." She smirked, lazily spinning a longer Harpe in her hand that was now known to be already in his Reality Marble. A different form of her weapon, longer in reach yet still deadly as he knew it once was. "I see you got yourself a new servant after losing your precious Saber. Guess she wasn't that important after all."

The indignant flame in him wanted to say something but tempered through the years, he grit his teeth.

"A master without a servant," Mash said coming in between her and him with shield raised.

"Can you feel it, Mash? Her power. No ordinary person or magus could power a servant to gain that much mana." There were few, some of whom he met, able to fight servants but none of them were in Fuyuki.

Shirou was many things, but forgetting his loved ones was not one of them so he let that comment slide in consideration for its implications.

"Poor Saber, all alone as she turned dark from the mud. Lost her sense of self, swallowed by anger."

The same mud Rin and her fought off against Sakura when nearly everything was lost. That was impossible, Saber, she, she's one of the strongest persons he knew. There must be a reason for her anger, he knew she was not one to be easily angered.

"Mash, protect the Director, please." Releasing his weapons, Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in his hands and glared at her, offering no more words.

"Emiya!"

Curved blade crossed the distance faster than he could blink, through gritted teeth he deflected it to stab back but Medusa was fast, she spun, Harpe, cutting across. Ducking, he kicked her low but her fist bore down on him fast, the vibrations shook the ground as he flipped away and threw the sword before projecting another different sword.

A gust of wind went past him quickly catching the sword he launched at their enemy to slash down at the gorgon. Ahead, long sickle and shield clashed, fierce whirlwinds blowing rocks and dust away from the contact alone. Mash!

Swift and fast their strikers were, almost a blur, but he could see it—for now. Mash barely kept up with her as Rider circled her through sheer speed.

Shirou pressed forward with another Durandal in hand to block a strike from the curved blade threatening Mash's back, pushing it back he went forward stabbing, only to meet air but he went on to meet her next strike. Harpe swung down at him, but Mash slid in taking the hit with her shield before he went around it to meet her head-on, this time eyes on her and never letting up once.

"Mash!" he said as he retreated and released his sword to call forth the married blades. 'Keep her busy!'

"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm." He threw the pair only to be slapped away easily even distracted as she was, but this gave him time to project a bow and overload a sword to the sky where it blew up, lighting everything before he charged with another pair. "Our strength rips the mountains. Our swords split the water."

Twin swords met Harpe, clashing steel and sparks that shook him. Down, right, left, right, every slash Rider blocked and countered which he barely defended. When her blade bore down on him, Mash with her giant shield blocked it with a raise of it.

Spinning, he deflected a chain behind them and moved at blurring speed to slash at her side. Hair turned chain crossed in defense lashing forward to keep him away but he threw them to wield another. "Our names reach the imperial villa." Behind her something struck, but he kept on the attack to keep her from focusing on one thing.

Chains flowed from her back but he jumped, rotating, landing on the other side just as two pairs of swords circled front and back. Their attraction created a two-front strike.

"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together!" Overflowing with magical energy, the sword grew, and their finesse became power as the fine blade became jagged at the guard halfway through the shaft. With a heavy downward slash and stab, he jumped back as the noble phantasm broke and exploded.

Eternity in a minute, that's what Shirou felt, as he readied another weapon. It was not as powerful as Archer's, he could never compare to a servant, but he hoped it was enough in this case because he could now feel the strain in his muscles and magic circuits a rare event in the years he spent freelancing around the world.

"I underestimated you, boy." Chuckling, the smoke dissipated to reveal Rider on top of her chains. Her dark garments were torn revealing her body that would have him blushing had it not been for their situation, noticing this, the woman dropped down and walked with her chest forward for all to see. Sporting no wounds, the chains crossed defensively all over her, barely covering her woman parts. Did he get her, or did she heal herself faster than they could attack? "If not for the power I wield, that would have been enough to injure me, but alas, now you're going to die, prey."

Jumping down, she sauntered, emphasizing her great physique, lazily holding her weapon while she eyed him as a predator would to a prey and ignoring Mash for whatever reason he considered good. "If not for your servant covering you, I'd have long turned you to stone and suck every bit of blood in you," she said licking her lips. "Just to make sure you stay dead."

"Think again, Lancer." Fire struck where she stood but chains crossed to block the explosive fire. "Good job, boy. Your death was exaggerated it seems. Reminds me a little bit of that bastard but you, you're fine." A familiar voice rang, everywhere and nowhere at once. "And you found yourself another servant. A master and servant of equal courage covering each other's back as your first one. Now that's a rare sight."

This was one voice he would never forget. An enemy, yes, but an honorable one. One that when needed was a friend.

"Show yourself, servant!" Olga said.

"Impatient women, just my luck." The invisible servant clicked his tongue.

"Hiding," Rider smirked. "A pitiful excuse for a hero."

He held his weapons, ready for another round. And this time, he wasn't sure if he could last long.

Fire crashed to where Rider was, a blast so fiery the heat warmed him even with the distance in between. "Kid, I appreciate your spirit, but you and the young lady are gonna need my help against Lancer. After all, the enemy of my enemy is not my ally. What say you, kid."

Just as he thought this can't get weirder, what he thought was Rider was Lancer, and Lancer a Caster. "You're a Caster." He didn't look away from their waiting enemy now a little concerned, but not too much worried.

"Cú Chulainn, a caster," the Irish man can't help but smile at that. He knew about his legend, but it amused him to see his once enemy as a Caster of all classes. Lancer was all he knew him as. "Not my best class, but don't you look down on me."

"Do you think a caster will be fast enough to keep up with me?"

The man lazily chuckled, amused by all this even the power differences between the two of them. "Don't underestimate a Caster like me, Lancer."

Whereas Lancer contained an ocean of mana, a torrent of power that he was lucky to have survived through his experience that only gave him the capability of holding her off for a short while. Caster's was more controlled than the wild mana Lancer had but he didn't think he was no less dangerous than her.

His mind whirred like a machine, one by one the process of tracing recited automatically with the precision of one. The red spear, the very same spear that nearly killed him. A weapon from the Age of Gods made from the remains phantasmal beast reeking of death and blood.

The weapon he was known for. Come forth the spear that reverses causality, Gáe Bolg, was its name!

A red spear. A Blood spear, called for him to pull it out and thus, he did, appearing in his hand an aura reeking of blood and death.

Cú whistled appearing atop a streetlight. His form, loose clothing of typical blue but with a white cloak and dark tank top underneath and the same shoulder armour piece. "Nice spear you have there kid. You might if I borrow it."

It was a demand, not a suggestion, Shirou knew, for his eyes sparkled with more than interest. Not that Shirou was going to deny the name, after all, that was why he traced it in the first place.

The servant easily caught it when he threw it at him, twirling and testing the spear. "Now we're talking. As a Caster? Maybe. As a Lancer? Yes," he grinned. "Go, kid, I met the other ladies and told them if I meet you to head to the school. I'll deal with this one."

"You can't just change class!"

Cú smirked, confident and sure in his stance, and his eyes glowing with mirth from the inevitable thrill of battle. "Watch me, girly."

"Come on, Director," he said kneeling behind the woman who stood silent.

"I can walk myself just fine, Spellcaster." The woman huffed, indignant at his words almost seeing her cross her arms.

He didn't want to force her, but he was left with no choice. "This is the fastest way, Director."

"Why—" the Director fell silent, making him turn to see her go limp as he caught her. And he knew it with one glance at Cú, whistling with a without care, then just nodded at him.

"Come on, Mash. Cover me, I know the way."

When I started this, I knew this was gonna be an epic story. Not this story itself, but in the type of story it would be. A grand epic. That's not counting the Lostbelts yet. I consider this a great practice for myself in any case.