The group began walking and were looking around the area. They got to a point where the path split in different directions and Issei asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "So which way are we heading first?"

"No matter which way we go we'll have to investigate all the areas," said Mash.

"We should start with the bridge first. It should be the easiest to determine whether or not there is valuable information to glean from it. It should also give us a good view of the other areas as well," said Olga.

"You'll have to be careful though. Being out in the open also makes you an easy target for whoever was firing at you earlier," warned Romani over the comms.

"Don't worry. With Mash and I here, we can cover the others if we get attacked," said Issei. Olga gave a critical eye to Issei but stayed quiet for the moment.

The group started heading towards the bridge. As they got closer the group was stopped by Olga. "Stop. Before we start exploring the city, Ritsuka, isn't there something you want to say to me?"

Ritsuka made a thoughtful expression, trying to remember if she did anything. "No, nothing in particular," she said.

"...You're not very smart are you? Remember what happened in the Command Room?" she said while glaring at Ritsuka.

"Senpai, it's probably about when you dozed off in the Command Room. It'll come back to you if you focus. That was, you know—" said Mash trying to jog Ritsuka's memory. Mash retold what happened at the opening ceremony and Issei got to hear what Ritsuka was talking about earlier in the infirmary. From his understanding, her being tired wasn't even her fault and was a side effect of Chaldea's machines. Hearing this made him even more upset at Olga for blowing up on her for something that wasn't her fault. Once Mash finished explaining she addressed Ritsuka. "Do you remember now, Senpai?"

"...In a way," said Ritsuka. Her mind was hazy from being tired, so all she remembered was Olga being mad at her and being left out of the first assignment.

"Remembered… You weren't really listening after all, were you? Honestly! Sit yourself down! How could you come to a Singularity not knowing the situation or your mission? I'm going to have to explain it to you again. Listen up! We at Chaldea—"

"Director, leave that for later. Enemies are incoming!" warned Mash.

"All right! Good timing!" said Ritsuka, happy to change the subject.

"Right! Mashu, you're with me!" said Issei.

"Right!" she confirmed.

Olga saw Mash take Issei's orders without hesitation, and after learning that he was her Master as well she thought that this might become a problem. Having these two both be Mash's Master will cause trouble if both of them are giving orders. Hmmm… As much as I don't want to do this, it looks like I'll have to help him out a bit. It can wait till we get to a safe place, thought Olga.

Another group of skeletons appeared, and Issei and Mash made short work of them. Mash acted as a barrier that kept them in place while Issei went in and smashed them all up. It took no effort on his part. "Whew! All done. Thanks for the help Mashu," said Issei.

"It's no problem Senpai, but I didn't really do much. You did most of the work," said Mash.

"Don't downplay yourself. You kept them in place so that I wouldn't have to worry about them going after the others. I feel like I can rely on you, even if we've only had a few fights together." Mash seemed to blush at the compliment.

Seeing the battle was over Olga decided to continue the conversation. "...Phew. Good work, Mash Kyrielight. Now I can pick up where I left off."

"Resume… You mean there's more, Director?" asked Mash.

"Why, certainly! Ritsuka! Don't tell me you forgot already! I'm only halfway through! In fact, it's the latter half that's important! Make yourself remember! Make..your...self...re...mem...ber!"

"...Guess I have no choice," said Ritsuka reluctantly.

"She's a real piece of work," Issei muttered.

"Now, now, don't be like that. Director's ramblings can be useful, Ritsuka. Why were you Master candidates summoned to Chaldea? This will explain that," said Dr. Romani.

Issei was a bit startled although he didn't let it show. "Do you always just pop up out of nowhere?"

"Sorry. Didn't mean to frighten you."

"I wasn't scared, it's just gonna take some getting used to." With that Olga continued explaining the purpose of Chaldea to Ritsuka and as Issei listened in, he learned that these people basically had the ability to time travel, which gave him some relief as another possibility of him getting home, but he could talk about that later when they were out of this situation. After he finished that thought and was paying attention again, only to hear how unreasonable she was being to Ritsuka again. Seriously, this woman. I've dealt with some snooty people before but she's like all of them cranked up to 11!

"And that's how you were removed from the Command Room. Remember?" asked Mash.

"I see," said Ritsuka.

"You little… You look quiet, but you've got some nerve, don't you? Anyway! Do you finally remember how much of a mess you made at that critical moment?"

"From what I'm hearing you made the mess yourself," said Issei, earning him a glare from Olga. "You're the one who made a big scene out during the presentation and all you did is show that you can't keep it together when you're annoyed. Also, since it was your machine that caused Ritsuka to be tired shouldn't you have taken recovery from the machine into consideration when scheduling your meeting?"

"Why should I have to consider that?! If she was properly trained, then she would have been prepared for the aftereffects!"

"Weren't you recruiting people off the streets? What kind of training were you expecting? You're asking for something completely unreasonable when you're clearly just trying to fill up numbers!"

"Why you—" Olga was about to go off on Issei but was stopped.

"Director, I think we should stop here. If you keep arguing so loudly, you'll attract more enemies towards you," warned Romani.

"Tch! Well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, you understand your responsibilities and duties as a Master candidate now, right? Very well, Ritsuka. I'm ordering you to be my bodyguard. Work hard."

"...Are you trying to be someone you're not?" asked Ritsuka.

"This is who I am! I was just in a hurry back there! Once we get back to Chaldea, you're in for it," said Olga glaring at Ritsuka.

"...Good to see you two getting along. Let's move before more enemies show up," said Mash, attempting to lighten the mood. With that the group progressed closer to the bridge.

The group arrived at the bridge and were about to look around when they were all stopped again. "Hold on a moment," said Olga.

Issei rolled his eyes behind his helmet as he and the others looked at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"You can't give orders to Mash anymore."

Issei was confused. "What are you talking about? I'm not ordering her around," said Issei, not understanding where this came from.

"In the last battle you were directing Mash on what to do. Even if you share ownership as her Master, you're not a part of Chaldea. All orders should be given by Ritsuka, not only to help her better understand her role and how to fulfill it, but to not confuse Mash on who she should be listening to in a chaotic situation."

Issei quietly thought for a moment before nodding. "It wasn't my intention to order her around. Communication and strategy are a part of battle, even if I'm not the best at it. But you're right. Having two people giving orders would be confusing and possibly harm us in the long haul." He turned to Mash. "Mashu, you should probably only listen to Ritsuka when it comes to overarching commands from now on. I'll do my best to support you both."

"Understood Issei-senpai," said Mash.

"Just Ise is fine Mashu. We're friends after all," he said with a smile, although they couldn't see it behind his helmet.

"A-alright Ise-senpai," she said with a blush.

Olga rolled her eyes at Mash's reaction and continued. "Good. Now with that said, it would be a waste for you to be a Master and have no Servant. When we go back to leyline point we'll have enough energy to perform a Servant summoning."

"If it's a matter of power then you don't have to worry," said Issei.

Olga was confused but Ritsuka and Mash both remembered he had True-Magic. "Can you compensate with your True-Magic?" asked Mash.

Olga's eyes widened in surprise as Issei answered. "Yeah, I can. Ddraig's ability is basically to increase my magic power endlessly. The only limit is how much power my body can handle."

"That's… That's just cheating," said Olga in disbelief. It took a few moments for her to recollect herself and when she did, she was now looking at Issei calculatively. "If that's the case, we don't have to wait till we get back. We can do a summoning now. While I don't like the idea of sharing the secrets to power with untrustworthy individuals, circumstances have forced my hand."

Again, Issei rolled his eyes before speaking to Olga. "So what do I do?"

Olga looked at Mash. "Mash, place your shield down like when we were at the leyline." Mash did as she was told, then Olga gestured for Issei to come to her. "Alright, using your hand that has the Command Seals, focus your magic into it while repeating the summoning chant." Issei extended his right hand forward over the shield and focused.

[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]

The Boosted Gear sounded off and the concentration of magic intensified. Olga looked at Issei almost mystified, but quickly cleared her thoughts as she focused on the task at hand. "Alright, repeat after me…"

Issei listened as he repeated what she said. "Signal! My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call, then follow humanity's path and answer me! Thou shalt wear the spiritual language of the stars of seven heavens. Run! Purge! Pass your judgment! Defender of Balance!" As Issei chanted, a magic circle appeared over Mash's shield and the magic Issei built up flowed into the circle. Soon a golden light began to form and shot up to the sky.

A moment later the light disappeared and, in its place, stood a girl with a sword. Her dress was almost a vanilla gold color with silver armor, her hair was in a ponytail, and she looked to be on the younger side. The girl opened her eyes and saw Issei in front of her. She felt a familiar presence in him. "It is nice to meet you, Master. Since I am still in training, please call me Saber Lily. I look forward to working with you in the years to come."

Issei was stunned for a moment. The girl in front of him seemed like someone who was a mix of Asia and Kiba. She gave a presence that was calming like Asia, but he could tell she was a skilled swordswoman like Kiba or Irina. After the girl introduced herself, Issei snapped out of it. "Uh, yeah, I'm Hyoudou Issei. Just Issei is fine. I look forward to working with you," he said while extending his hand.

Saber Lily looked at his hand then back to him with a smile while taking it. "As do I, Master."

After confirming the contract Olga decided to speak. "Alright, now that you have your own Servant, we have bolstered our forces and are now better off with whatever challenges we may encounter."

As if to accentuate her point the group could hear the sounds of approaching enemies. Mash seemed to panic. "Enemies incoming! There's a lot more of them than usual!"

"Master, stay behind me!" said Saber Lily.

"No. We'll fight together," said Issei as he stood side by side with his Servant. She looked surprised but seeing him ready to fight in his armor she didn't argue.

"Mashu, please support them!" said Ritsuka. Mash nodded and stood beside the two as well. A large group of 12 skeletons appeared and charged the group. Issei jumped forward and smashed the ones in the middle, separating the group. Three skeletons on the left were stunned by the attack, which left them open for Lily to cut them down. Her sword glowed with holy energy, which Issei sensed, and the skeletons were cut to pieces. For the three on the right, Mash did her usual tactic of bashing them with her shield to knock them off balance then using the end of her shield to crush and break them. Issei smashed three in his first attack and charged forward to the last three, smashing through the last three with ease.

Lily looked at her Master dealing with most of the enemies and was impressed. "I see that you can handle yourself Master. Although I hope you won't be too reckless though."

Issei rubbed the back of his head. "I'll try, but I can't stand by when my friends need me."

"How honorable of you Master."

"While I expected more enemies to appear, the number surprised me. Why did so many appear?" asked Mash.

"It's most likely because of the concentration of mana that Issei produced. Remember our world is lacking in mana, so Issei, who can generate essentially an infinite amount of mana is like an irresistible meal for the mana starved phantasmal beings," explained Romani.

"So basically, if I boost, I'm basically gonna send a signal to all the enemies in the area where we are?" asked Issei.

"That's correct, Master," said Lily.

"Tch! Then it looks like we'll have to cut the investigation of this area short. We more than likely gave away our position now and as we said earlier, we're sitting ducks out here," said Olga. They all quickly turned and went back the way they came.

The group decided to check the port next and as expected, they ran into more enemies that they quickly dispatched. As they traveled Olga explained more about Chaldea and the history of Magecraft. Eventually after defeating the latest group of enemies Olga had a suspicion that she wanted to address. "…Hey, Mash. Is it possible that you can't use your Noble Phantasm?" she asked.

"Noble Phantasm?" asked Issei confused.

"Master a Noble Phantasm is essentially a Servant's secret weapon. It is essentially tied to a certain aspect of a Heroic Spirit's legend," explained Lily.

"So it's like a signature attack."

"Well, it can be, but not all Noble Phantasms are offensive. It's easier to think of it as a trump card used for the appropriate situation."

"Ok, I get it," said Issei with a nod.

"Apparently. I don't even know which Heroic Spirit fused with me… ...and I'm unable to use the power of its Special Arts, the Heroic Spirit's secret weapon—known as a Noble Phantasm. However, I am unable to wield my Noble Phantasm. ...I can somehow use it as a weapon, but its output is decreased. I can't even release its True Name. In fact, I don't even know what the origins of this weapon of mine might be," explained Mash. Olga didn't say anything but her look showed uncertainty. "In any case, you can think of me as a failed Servant. Or maybe just a capable kouhai that can get even stronger. I don't have any leads on the Heroic Spirit that fused with me, but with you both as my Masters I will figure it out as I grow."

"I thought it was strange. Although you're contracted with that Master, I felt you also had a connection to mine as well," said Lily.

"There were strange circumstances that ended up with both of us being contracted with Mashu, but taking orders from two people would be problematic so it was decided that I would handle Mashu while Issei summoned another Servant," explained Ritsuka.

"I see. It is a wise decision." Lily looked at Mash with a smile. "Don't worry. Like you, I'm also in training. So let's get stronger together."

"Yes!" responded Mash strongly.

"In any case, Masters have the ability to analyze their Servants' parameters, skills, and matrixes. Ritsuka… As a Master, once you become good enough, you should be able to analyze Mash's Servant data. Any Servants you make a contract with from this point should be the same. First, you need to learn their True Name and Noble Phantasm. As your trust with them grows, your Servant's power will grow too. Well, it's not like you have that much potential in you. The fact that you can't use Mash that well shows that. Once we get Chaldea's Rayshift capability back online, we're going to shift a first-class Master here. Then you're fired. Newbies with no combat experience can spend their time terrified in some corner in Chaldea," said Olga

"Alright! That's it! What the hell is your damage lady?! We're here, literally risking our lives to help you and all you can do is whine and complain! What the hell are you even doing while we're trying to find a way back?!" Issei had had enough with her bad attitude.

"I'm only speaking the truth! She has next to no experience and will only be a burden to Chaldea! She doesn't know the basics and is way out of her league!" shot back Olga.

"Says the one responsible for basically picking people up off the streets just to fill in numbers! If it was gonna be such a problem, then you shouldn't have done that method in the first place!"

"You're trying to pin this on me?!"

"It is your fault! You've done nothing but badmouth Ritsuka ever since you got here, but I haven't seen you so much as lift a finger to help! All you've done is spout exposition and complain! If you're so knowledgeable about all this, then why aren't you a Master?!" That question seemed to hit a sore spot as Olga went quiet and hung her head. "What? Got nothing to say now?"

"Hmph! I don't have to explain myself to you," she said as she walked past him.

"Gah! I've met some rude women in my life, but you are absolutely the worst, and I've had a few of them try to actually kill me."

"Couldn't imagine why," said Olga in an annoyed tone.

Ritsuka tried to defuse the situation seeing that the group was on the verge of splitting. "Could it be that you're worried about me?" she asked Olga with a somewhat innocent expression.

"O-Of course! You're our only fighting force here! If you get taken out, who's going to fight?" said Olga while looking away seemingly embarrassed.

Wait… Don't tell me she's a tsundere, thought Issei as he looked at her expression. She did indeed look embarrassed as if she was seen through, but once she saw Issei's gaze she scowled and turned away. Maybe I was too quick to jump to conclusions. Well, I'll try to be less snarky. She did help me summon Lily after all.

"...Anyway, I'm glad you two understand each other better now. Let's move before any more of them show up," said Mash with Ophis standing next to her and nodding in agreement.

The final area the group checked was a burned down church. As they approached Issei stared at the church and a wave of nostalgia came back to him. Lily noticed her Master seemed to be distracted and spoke up. "Is something wrong Master?"

"Hmm? No, nothing's wrong. Just, memories," said Issei.

"Memories about what?" asked Ritsuka.

"Well, my introduction into the supernatural world more or less all started with people who were working out of an abandoned church. It's because of them that I lost my humanity the first time."

"Lost your humanity?" asked Mash.

"You know that I'm a humanoid dragon now, but before that I was a devil."

"A devil?" said Olga incredulously.

Issei nodded and told them all the story of how he became a devil. How he was tricked onto a date where the girl killed him at the end. Then a devil came and reincarnated him into her servant, saving his life. After he was done the others (minus Olga) had horrified expressions. "That's horrible Ise-senpai! I'm relieved you survived. Although I never thought I would be thankful to a devil," said Mash.

"I'm not sure how it works in this world, but where I'm from devils are basically the same as humans in terms of personality and appearance. Of course, they do lean more into the sinful parts of their personality, but they're not inherently evil. I've met plenty of good and evil devils and it's basically the same as differentiating good and bad humans," said Issei.

"Doesn't it make things tricky though?" asked Ritsuka.

"Well, I usually leave that kind of stuff to my master, or someone else in her family. I'm not good with all the political dealings, so I usually leave it to them. I have been doing my best to learn everything I need to to become a member of the devil nobility one day, but I'm not the smartest, even I know that much."

"Well at least you admit it," said Olga.

Issei shot her a look but didn't say anything. He knew he deserved it for going off on her earlier. Something he said earlier caught Lily's attention. "You're joining the devil nobility?"

Her question grabbed everyone's attention. Issei just rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Heh, yeah. I'm dating my master, and everyone in her family is supportive of our relationship. Honestly, they're trying to have us get married immediately but we want to do things at our own pace."

"You're engaged?!" said both Ritsuka and Mash.

"W-well, not officially. I haven't proposed yet. We're just dating and honestly, things are still too chaotic back home to focus on those kinds of things right now."

"You mean with the Khaos Brigade you mentioned before?" asked Mash.

"Right. They must be stopped so that peace can return to the supernatural world. Which means helping you guys get this done as soon as possible is my priority so that I can go home!" said Issei resolutely.

Lily gave a small bow to her Master. "Master, if your home is still in danger, I will gladly lay down my life to help you protect it."

"Thanks Lily. I appreciate it."

"We'll help too, Ise-san. Since you're doing so much for us, it's only right we help you in return," said Ritsuka with Mash nodding in agreement.

"Hold on! Who said you get to decide whether or not we get involved in someone else's business? Even if we figure all this out, Chaldea will have a large mess to clean up after the fact. It'll be a fight for us not to get shut down after this fiasco, let alone help "another world"," said Olga.

The girls seemed dispirited at that, but Issei consoled them. "Don't worry you two, your desire to help is enough for me. I appreciate it."

The group eventually reached the church and dealt with the enemies they were expecting to run into. Once the battle was over, they continued to look around. "Hey Ritsuka, looks like it's safe over there. Why don't you rest a bit?" said Romani over the comms.

"I agree with you, Doctor. Senpai, would you like some rations?" offered Mash.

"Thanks. Aren't you tired, Mash?" asked Ritsuka.

"Tired? Are you asking if I've been having any problems since I became a Servant? ...Well, for the most part. It's scary to fight, but I'm doing fine otherwise."

"Any complaints since you've become a Servant?"

"It's hard to explain. Imagine yourself becoming a jet fighter. You might be able to fly around in the sky, but you can't do your own maintenance. No matter how strong you might be, your existence essentially depends on having a Master. ...The risk and reward makes sense here. But I can't be too happy when I think of the burden I'm putting on you and Ise-senpai."

"You haven't been a burden Mashu," said Issei.

"Thank you, but honestly, I'm not sure. I feel so nervous whenever I fight that I feel like one mistake will end everything."

"I get it Mashu. When I first reincarnated into a devil, I didn't really understand what I was doing at first either. I was pretty weak for a devil too. I still can't use my own magic circles to transport places like the others. Most of my power comes from Ddraig and it's what's kept me alive, but I trained relentlessly to protect my friends, and you can too."

[My partner speaks the truth. When I awakened and met him for the first time, I could already tell that he was the weakest person ever to hold my power. But through his relentless drive and, strange desires, he has become one of the strongest. Where you start doesn't matter, it's about pushing yourself to achieve your desires.] encouraged Ddraig.

Mash listened intently to the two and seemed to go into thought. Ritsuka seemed to be thinking deeply as well about what was just said and what Issei told her before this mess started. It seems like their words caused them to think deeply about what they want. Olga was looking at Issei with discerning eyes. Is this why he's so protective of Ritsuka? Because she was like him once, weak and unremarkable. He apparently pushed his way to the top with hard work but not everyone can be that successful just based on determination, she thought.

"I'm sorry, who is this Master?" asked Lily.

"Right, I never introduced you. Lily, this is Ddraig. Ddraig, Lily."

[Hello. I'm Ddraig. Also known as the Welsh Dragon.]

"Did you say the Welsh Dragon? Like Albion?" asked Lily.

[Hmm… It's irritating that the people of this world know about the white one but don't know me.]

"I'm sorry. But Albion is the only dragon I know of from my homeland. He represents both red and white and each embodies different aspects."

[And which do you embody?]

Lily showed a surprised look that changed to a small smile. "So, you could tell."

[It was strange. I felt some kind of connection with you. In the past there was only one person who wasn't my host who I felt like this with.]

"Who was that Ddraig?" asked Issei.

"Master, I'm sorry, but leave it be for now. I will tell you when the time is right," said Lily.

Issei looked at his Servant and saw her smiling face. There was something behind her eyes that he couldn't place but he decided to trust her. "Alright, if you say so," he said with a smile. Lily nodded gratefully for her Master's understanding.

"Sorry to interrupt when you're in a good atmosphere, but let's talk later! The three of you need to get out of there now! I'm still picking up something! And this is—" Romani tried to warn them, but it was too late. A shadowy figure appeared suddenly, causing all of them to go on alert.

"Wha—is that…" said Olga, shocked.

"A Servant is there! Don't fight it, Ritsuka, Mash! It's too soon for you to fight a Servant!" warned Romani.

Issei immediately stood between the group and the enemy, with his Servant standing alongside him. Olga was trying to keep it together but couldn't hide her unease. "Even so, we can't escape! Mash, prepare for battle! It's a Servant, you can do something about it, right? You too Issei and Saber," ordered Olga.

Issei wanted to say something back but knew it wasn't the time. Mash also got herself ready. "...Yes. I will do my best!"

They readied for battle and Issei could immediately tell this enemy wasn't like all the others. Even covered in shadows he could tell this was a woman and she held some kind of daggers with chains attached in her hands. As he observed the opponent Lily stepped forward. "Master, be careful. One wrong move could be the end."

"Right. I'm counting on you Lily. You too Mashu," said Issei.

"Y-yes!" responded Mash. Lily took the lead and charged at the enemy, swinging her blade to bisect her, but the enemy used her daggers to block the sword and used the momentum to gain some distance before dashing in to stab Lily. Her attack was intercepted by Mash who got between them and blocked with her shield. Mash tried to push forward which caused the enemy to try and back up but was met with a gauntleted hand on her shoulder, holding her in place. She turned to see Issei behind her, his hand cocked back ready to punch her. Issei kidney-punched her, and Mash bashed her with her shield, completely disorienting her with pain. Both of them backed away from the enemy who was now stunned, allowing Lily to close in and finish her with a powerful slash. A moment later the enemy dissolved into dark particles. Once the enemy was defeated, Mash let out a breath as if she had been holding it the whole time. "Okay—okay—we won… I was sure I didn't stand a chance, but we actually won—"

"Didn't doubt it for a second," said Issei.

"Sorry, there's no time to rest, you guys. "A similar signal as before" is heading that way. I don't have to tell you what you need to do, right?" warned Romani.

"What—Same signal? No way—" said Mash in disbelief.

"Ritsuka! Retreat! Hurry up! We've got to get out of here now!" ordered Olga. Nobody needed to be told twice and they all quickly escaped from the place.

Here is the story that was voted for this month. A lot of you have been waiting for this story to continue and honestly I was too, but I'm having a similar problem here that I did with the Pokémon story and that is the beginning is very tutorial heavy with a lot of expositionary dialogue. Thankfully I can more or less hand wave the explanation with Issei's own thoughts. Anyways, I'm sure some of you are thinking I'm being too harsh on Olga considering what's going to happen to her, but trust me. I'm going somewhere with this. In other news, I decided Issei's first Servant (aside from Mash) would be Saber Lily. I think they would make a good pair with their personalities and would make for an interesting interaction for the end of this Singularity as well as Camelot later on (and by extension London too). I look forward to the comments as always. : )