A Berserk Heart 4.1 (Patreon)

What is going on here?" Olga inspected the shield wielding girl with a critical eye, "Mash, you're a Demi-Servant right? I can tell just by looking at you! How? Why has it succeeded now?"

"Director!" The girl, Mash stabbed her shield into the ground and stood at attention in front of the white haired woman, a troubled look appearing on her face a moment later, "As you know Chaldea prepared a servant beforehand in order to resolve Singularity F. Right before I died though, the Heroic Spirit appeared before me and offered me a contract. He would lend me his power and Noble Phantasm as a Heroic spirit and with it, I in return would put an end to the disturbance causing the singularity."

Olga sighed placing her hands on her hips, "I see," she replied before looking to the brown haired boy kneeling on the ground beside the pink haired girl, "And so this commoner has become your master then?"

"..Master?" He looked up giving her a confused look, "..Wait, I'm the Master!? but how!? I don't even know the first thing about magecraft and what's going on, I just got here today!"

I almost winced in sympathy for him. He was way out of his depth here. Hell, I'm out of my depth here.

"Actually, no," the shield wielding girl, Mash shook her head, "Senpai is completely new to all this Director, he was a civilian before all this, he doesn't know how to form a contract yet."

Olga bit her thumb, "I see, understandable I suppose," the white haired woman sighed, shaking her head, "First order of business is teaching him how to make a contract with you though."

Mash nodded, "Yes, as things are, I won't be able to keep up this form for long, my own Od capacity is not great enough to sustain this power for any long period of time." she replied.

Huh, so the Demi-Servant transformation needed to be sustained by magical energy then? In that way, it was wholly inferior to the Class Cards I think.

My eyes drifted to the older teen as he raised his arm and as he did, my eyes landed on the back of his hand. Emblazoned on his skin was a trio of red sigils forming together to look like a shield.

"There's no doubt you're the master mate, these command seals are all the proof needed to show that." I cut in, reaching my hand out to him.

He blinked slowly, before giving a sort of half smile and accepting my offered hand, allowing me to pull him to his feet, "Thanks." he replied gratefully.

But, I wasn't paying attention to him anymore. Not because of anything he done. But, because the second my hand touched his, a burning prickling appeared at the back of my own hand.

My mouth dropped low and my eyes went wide as a trio of red seals burned their way onto the back of my own hand, each in the shape of a blade and spread out like a windmill.

...What!?

"Command Seals!?" Olga's own eyes went wide with shock.

"Looks like." I nodded slowly, looking my hand over for a moment. How freaky. It felt just like a Magic Crest did, though much more diminished in scope since there was only three of them.

Why the hell did they appear on me though? I suppose technically I could count as the master of Berserker, but is that it?

If nothing else, these made up slightly for not having Shaw's Magic Crest. Strictly speaking even without the Magic Crest and these, my Od capacity was higher than Shaw's was even when he had the Class Card.

Simply speaking, my own magic circuits are of higher quality than his own were. His own output was massive thanks to Herakles divinity enhancing his magic circuits. But my own magic circuits, come from a combination of Shaw's soul added to my own, and then enhanced with Herakles Divinity.

And my output compared to Shaw's before he got the Class Card, well, to be frank, there wasn't even a contest. There was such a large gulf between our max capacities that it was like comparing a bucket to a lake. That was how absurdly powerful Divinity was.

"Um Director, sorry to interrupt, but who is this boy?" Mash asked breaking me from my thoughts, "I don't recognise him from Chaldea. And I feel the same kind of feeling as a servant from him."

Olga shook her head, her long white hair shimmering back and forth, "This is an ally I made upon landing here, his name is Faeran Morganach, he is in a somewhat similar but apparently quite different position from you," she explained and crossed her arms, "I owe my life to him and he has agreed to be our ally."

"I see," Mash nodded before smiling brightly at me and bowing her head, "It's nice to meet you senpai, I hope we can get along."

"Senpai?" My eyebrow rose. I examined her body for a moment, my eyes particularly straying to her quite large chest, just as big, if not bigger than Olga's own, "Aren't you older than me?" I asked.

"Ah," her master gave a sheepish laugh, "Mash has a bit of an odd way of defining her senpai's, apparently she considers all people her senpai?"

"Well, it's fine," I shrugged. Well, not really, it was weird, but I didn't really care, "It's technically applicable right? We're both merged with Heroic Spirits, though in different ways from what I gather and I got mine before you."

"You're a Demi-Servant too?" the older boy gasped in surprise, before blinking in some form of realisation, "Oh wait, I forgot. I'm Ritsuka, Fujimaru Ritsuka, it's nice to meet you! Thanks for helping us out." he introduced himself, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Before I could reply, a silver bracelet around his arm lit up and began to beep loudly.

A second later, a blue light was emitted from the bracelet, forming into a holographic screen projecting the image of a slender orange haired man dressed in green and white.

"Doctor Roman!" Ritsuka exclaimed eyes going wide before a large smile formed on his face.

"I finally got through! Fujimaru-kun, Mash Can you guys hear me?" He called out worriedly, only for his eyes to widen as they looked directly at the white haired woman a few feet away from me, "Ah! D-director! You're alive!?" he cried in shock.

"Never mind that Romani!" Olga stomped forward up to the holographic screen and glared at the orange haired man, "Why are you the head of the medical section in that chair!? Where is Lev!?" she demanded.

The orange haired Roman's shoulders slumped, "..Professor Lev..he was right in the middle of the explosion, we haven't found even a hair of him," he reported solemnly, "I can't see any hope of his survival."

Olga's lips trembled, "Ah...uh..." she staggered back a bit in shock, "..No.." she whispered to herself, voice distraught.

Roman visibly grit his teeth, "The reason I've been trusted with command is that there is nobody left here that outranks me director." he pushed on and reported.

Olga looked up, "..What...what about the master candidates? What happened to the forty seven in the rayshift coffins?" she asked. Yet, there was no hope in her voice, I could hear the resignation forming in it already.

Honestly, she looked a single step away from breaking down in tears.

Roman closed his eyes and shook his head despairingly, "They're all in critical condition and Chaldea has lost eighty percent of all functions," the orange haired man revealed, "..At this rate-

Before he could finish Olga shook her head and glared at him, "Don't be foolish!" she cut him off angrily, "Transfer them to cryopreservation immediately! Above all else the lives of the master candidates are the most important thing here, they are the hope of humanity!"

Huh. 'Well she's not the director for nothing I guess.' I found myself smiling. She's quite impressive holding up so well here. I definitely wouldn't be holding up nearly as well in her shoes without my Vitality and Indomitable skills.

"I'll do it at once!" Roman saluted, shooting up from his chair and rushing off. As he did, the holographic call ended and faded away.

"Why didn't he do that in the first place before trying to call?" I couldn't help but wonder. Panic maybe? I'd give him the benefit of the doubt I guess, though it was still pretty damn stupid.

Olga didn't respond to me and gave a shuddering breath, her shoulders shaking as she lowered her face into her palms, "As long as they don't die, this can all be justified later," she said, mostly to herself, "I can't possible carry the burden of forty seven lives on my back." she sobbed lightly.

"..Director.." Mash frowned, eyeing her in worry.

I sighed looking at the white haired woman. That really was quite the burden to be carrying. I felt sorry for her having to go through this. Stepping forward, I reached up and placed my palm gently on top of her head and ruffled her hair, "Calm down Olga, it's not the end of the world just yet." I said gently.

As soothingly as a piece of shit like me could really.

She froze for a moment and looked up from her hands, tears in the corner of her eyes, "...Faeran?"

I plastered a grin on my face, "Don't forget you've got me helping you out here and I have all the power of Herakles at my disposal, the greatest hero to ever come from the Greeks." I boasted.

I may have been wary of Emiya, but I am in no way afraid of him and I know what to expect from him unlike Shaw. and I have Mash and that shield of hers backing me up. With him out of the way, I'm confident I can handle anything else that pops up here.

She stared up into my eyes for a moment, before taking another deep shuddering breath and wiping her eyes, "...Yes...yes, what am I doing, it's too quick to despair!" she scolded herself indignantly. There was a blaze in her eyes now, that quickly disappeared as she looked to the side, cheeks turning pink, "...Still, thank you Faeran." she added, voice going very soft.

So soft I almost didn't hear it. so she was the easily embarrassed type? how cute.

I was going to tease her a bit, but I paused. A pressure formed at the back of my head and I scowled. This feeling, I know it. I'd felt it as soon as Archer attacked me. But..it was a bit different from how he felt.

Mash must have sensed it too because she pulled her shield free from the ground and whirled around holding it at the ready, "Enemy presence detected, I think it's a servant!" she reported.

"I think you're right." I confirmed. And they were approaching at quite the speed.

"Another one, already?!" Olga shouted in frustration while Ritsuka just looked completely lost.

"Director, orders?" Mash asked.

Olga looked at Ritsuka and grit her teeth, "We don't have time for you to form a contract, let's retreat for now!" she replied.

Good enough for me. Honestly, I'd much prefer to go find a base of operations to hide out for a day or two and get a grip on things fully. There were a lot of options for me to pursue right now to maximize my chances of victory.

I reached over and wrapped my arm around Olga's waist, drawing a yelp from the attractive woman as I lifted her up over my shoulder, "Again? At least let me know in advance Faeran!" she complained.

"You grab him and let's go." I ordered Mash while nodding at Ritsuka.

"Right!" Mash nodded, dismissing her shield and copying me, scooping up Ritsuka and ignoring any of his complaints to throw him over her shoulder.

And then together we turned and sprinted off at top speed in the opposite direction of the servant rushing us.

As we ran a thought occurred to me, "It'll take a while for Ritsuka to learn how to form a servant contract right?" I spoke up as we ran. Among other things he'd have to memorize the entire chant and figure out how to extend his magical energy out to Mash to initiate the contract.

"That's right!" Olga replied and I felt her nodding her head against my shoulder, "So we should find somewhere to set up base for now to hide away. Once Mash has a contract and can be supplied magical energy, then we can begin investigating Singularity F in full!"

Pretty standard and straight forward. But, I had another idea, "I agree with finding a place to work as our base for now to work out of," I nodded in agreement, "But as far as contracts go, I have command seals myself now, why don't I form a contract with Mash?"

"Senpai?" Mash running at my side looked over in confusion.

Olga was silent for a moment before crying out, "Of course! You obviously would know how to make a contract easily yourself and we can immediately get Mash at full fighting power if she contracts with you," the white haired woman said, "And that even leaves Fujimaru open to contract with any other servant we can possibly ally with, it's perfect."

"Right?" I grinned. Then I looked to the side into Mash's eyes, "You up for it Mash?"

Mash stared at me for a moment before nodding, "Yes senpai, if it will help complete the mission I will gladly form a contract with you." she replied.

Perfect. And it killed tow birds with one stone. Not only did it get Mash at full power ready to back me up, it also got me a cute girl as a servant.

What? I know what I'm about. And I'm a sucker for a pretty face and a nice rack. I know I wouldn't so easily getting into fights with actual servants for Olga, if she wasn't as beautiful as she was.

I flipped my magic circuits on and extended my od out towards Mash, "Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. I shall be the one you pay tribute to!" I began chant, "Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate!"

With the full force of my od being spread out, a massive raging aura of magical power spread out around me like a raging bonfire.

"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail. Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth!" I continued on, "An oath shall be sworn here. I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven; I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!"

I extended my hand out towards Mash, "From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer!" I declared.

"Yes! I Servant Shielder accept this contract. My shield is your shield, and my fate is your fate Master!" Mash smiled brightly at me and accepted.

A connection formed within me and I felt the mind of Mash press up against my own. And as the connection solidified, so to did Mash's strength. The raging aura of od disappeared from around me, and an aura of strength that Mash seemed to lack before now exuded from her.

"Now you feel like a proper servant Mash!" Olga cheered from my shoulder.

That she did. Get fucked Emiya.