"Talking"

"Thinking"

[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]

…

Against his own wishes, Monti took one last look at the thing that made him turn away before. It was a sun. Maybe a small star. Either way, it was massive, as big as these worlds, just much further away. The star was yellow, or maybe orange. Why couldn't he tell? Because it was completely covered by a colossal centipede monster. One he was familiar with. Monti had stolen a glance at Merodach's main body.

"That's him, the real him… How many Fitoria's would it take to kill that?" Was his last thought as they all passed into a new world.

.

Lights flickering, muffled yelling, loud smashing of colossal objects. Everything was down, nothing was up. Falling, falling, falling.

Naofumi's eyes snapped open as he shot up, leaning forward and looking around. He was in a sturdy stone room with a metal-barred door leading out. It reminded Naofumi of a prison. He also became immediately aware of something under his armor. He pulled his armor away from him to discover a small kitten in between his clothes and himself. Naofumi stared for a long moment. Burnt gold in color, dull purple wings with a matching scorpion tail. A small regalia and metal-fitted claws worn over their own.

"...Monti?" Naofumi called his voice shaky.

"Mhm." A small noise came from beside Naofumi. There lay Wyndia, struggling to pull herself up. Naofumi took note that she looked like she was 10 years old again, yet her clothes still fit her for the most part. Naofumi stared at her for a moment as she looked up to meet his gaze.

"She's as small as when I first met her. But after leveling with Ren she-..." Naofumi cut himself off looking back at Monti for a moment then he navigated his menu frantically.

"This has to be a joke…"

[Naofumi Iwatani: Shield Hero]

[Level: 1]

He stared at it a long moment, long enough that Wyndia collected herself enough to ask. "Where are we? Why are Monti and I younger?"

"Check your level." That was all Naofumi managed to say, his hand reaching his face as he fell into his palm.

Wyndia did so and a sharp inhale followed. "I was level 82 before, how did this happen!?"

Her words carried down the hall and the two of them could now feel how empty the place was. Naofumi stood up, still holding Monti in his arm. He offered his other to Wyndia so she could stand.

"The others are likely in the other cells, c'mon." Naofumi placed a hand on the gates and went to tear it free from its hinges, but the door simply swung open. Naofumi stood still a moment, completely bewildered. He was so confused as to why their cell door was unlocked that he forgot to even consider he probably lacked the strength to do as he planned now being level 1 again.

"Looks like we are in luck." Naofumi said, turning to Wyndia.

"Bad luck." Wyndia added. She held out her axe. "The stats on this thing are completely screwed up. It's like those gems Sophia stole from Therese."

"Items from another world… So it's safe to say we've reached Glass' world." Naofumi looked at his armor, just as useless. He picked up the Holy Weapon Replica that was laid near him. He had hoped it was fine, seeing as his shield still worked, but it seemed only true Holy Weapons were unaffected. He hooked the replica (still in shield form) onto his belt.

"Level 1, no useable equipment…" Naofumi raced through the menus only to find he could only take on two forms, the [Prophecy Shield] and something called the [Beginner Small Shield]. It was just called [Small Shield] in Raphtalia's world, but it seemed to be completely different. It was a rectangular shield that curled inward slightly, a flat black in color. Nothing like the shield he knew, the light silver color, the pointed kite shield shape. "This is bad. Very bad." A sweat drop formed and Naofumi grew quiet and stern.

The two sneaked out of the open door, Naofumi first with Wyndia shadowing behind him. The cell next to their own had a sofa, bed, food, and all sorts of things. Naofumi slipped a few things free from one of the sacks and put them comfortably in his own. For a moment they expected to find quite a bit. However, after that first cell every few steps they were at another set of cells, only to find them more barren than the one they were thrown in. Soon they inched themselves out of the hall and into a corridor. The silence caused Naofumi to move a little faster, Wyndia panicked at that and couldn't maintain the silence.

"Where is everyone? Where's Ren? Where's Leon?" The stress in her vice grew the longer she called out.

Naofumi checked the last few cells before turning back to acknowledge her questions. "...Not here. No one is here at all." Naofumi relaxed and sat down.

Wyndia grew loud. "Then we need to hurry up and find them!"

The noise was loud enough to finally wake Monti. His eyes were barely able to open. He looked up at his father and Wyndia, but the angle confused him. He went to stand only to see his stubby, little paws.

"Meew?" He wanted to ask 'what' but he was too small for even that.

Naofumi lifted him up while he opened his party menu. "I'm not in a party currently…"

"Monti, we're all level 1. Our equipment is useless and we three are the only ones here." He explained while sending a party invite to both Monti and Wyndia.

"Mewm!?" Monti made the loudest noise he could.

"We'll find Raphtalia, and the others." Naofumi responded, somehow knowing Monti was trying to say 'mom'. He looked at another menu with a slight sigh.

[Out of slave spell observation range]

"The slave crest is still functioning. Says she's too far away to track. But she is alive." Naofumi told them.

"But slave crests have an incredible range. If she is that far away…"

"Then she's really damned far away, maybe everyone else is with her, or even in a third group. They could be anywhere." Naofumi finished her thought out loud.

Monti began to climb up the side of Naofumi, who picked him up and sat him resolutely on his right shoulder. Naofumi felt himself calming down. He didn't even realize his heart was beating faster and he was breathing harder until he stopped.

"We have to find Ren before he wakes up." Wyndia said as they all walked out of the open and unguarded front door of the prison.

"We'll find him sooner or later." Naofumi said, opening the main door to exit the jail.

"But when he wakes up… and without Kyo in front of him… He'll-" Wyndia left the rest unsaid.

"We should look for a town, but we might need to run from any strong monsters we see. With any luck, everyone else has thought of the same thing." Naofumi ended the conversation.

The three of them stepped out and felt a sudden increase in humidity. With the thickness of the air, the slight heat, and the heavy foliage, it felt like they just suddenly entered a rainforest. This tropical climate was off-putting. As they made their way between these large plants, a rustling stole their attention. From deeper in, a monster leapt out.

"...?"

[White Box]

In front of them was what looked like a white cardboard box. It had two holes cut out for eyes, and a zig-zag pattern on its free frontal flaps that sort of looked like cartoonish teeth. Naofumi gave it a deadpan look. Wyndia wanted to get a closer look.

"That's… just stupid." Naofumi summed up their feelings. "But it might be dangerou-"

"Bliew!" Monti extended his claws to hold firm to Naofumi's shoulder and shot out lightning at the box. The small bolt landed and the pitiful monster stuttered and vibrated. The box quickly grew still.

[EXP 3]

Monti just used lightning, but he didn't have lightning when he was this young last time. Naofumi certainly remembered. This meant that while he was younger, all the various bonuses he had gained through eating remained. Between Naofumi's defense and Monti's high stats for his level, Naofumi figured that they'd be able to handle even level 20 enemies.

Another thing he noticed was the EXP. This thing was clearly the bottom of the barrel, yet it gave 3 EXP. If Naofumi's memory served him right, orange balloons only gave 1 EXP. "Meaning these white boxes are probably the equivalent of a Red Balloon." He wrongfully concluded.

"Guess about as dangerous as a balloon, huh?" Naofumi approached the downed monster. His Shield's gem glowed in response and he in turn fed materials from the monster to his shield.

Naofumi looked at his shields. While still unlocked, his shields were not available if they had a level requirement above his current level. Additionally, shields he had already mastered remained that way, but the permanent bonuses they provided were also locked due to the level requirement. This meant Naofumi was truly nothing but his base stats right now, but as he leveled, the hundreds of shields he had mastered would grant their bonuses again.

"Might be a bit until we run into anything edible. Balloons tend to stay away from traditional monsters. These may be the same." Wyndia commented, poking the remains with confusion.

"I snagged some food from the jail, we're fine for now." Naofumi told her.

Monti's and Wyndia's ears twitched. "...I hear running water." Wyndia announced.

"Good. A source of clean water. We can also follow the river to a town. Towns are usually built off rivers for a number of reasons." Naofumi motioned for Wyndia to lead the way.

The three of them traveled for more than an hour. During that time, they came across and defeated several more monsters. White Boxes and Black Boxes at first. Wyndia felt awkward at first, unable to use her axe and being forced to use [Way of the Dragon's Vein]. But even with her calling upon the magic around her, the power was based on her own power, so her once mighty black fire was only operating on the scale of a level 1. The box monsters died, sure, but they were still mostly intact, something that hurt what little pride Wyndia still managed to hold onto.

They gained a level, then another. With it, Naofumi could equip these new shields and began that tedious grind upward again. Eventually, they even came across a red box. Against expectations, it died in one solid hit, no different than either of the other two monsters. When that happened, two things struck Naofumi.

[EXP 9]

The first was the EXP. He was wrong about his earlier misunderstanding about the white box monster. It was indeed the weakest version of the monster, not the strongest. All three versions gave three times the EXP as balloons did. Why? Because they survived to a higher level around here? They didn't feel higher leveled. Was it something to do with them being from another world? No, Naofumi was already a foreigner to the world the first time. Then what was different?

The second thing was him seeing the red box and remembering the red balloons he had stored away. As soon as he hit level three he could open up and try killing a red balloon to see if it was the monster or the location.

"Get ready, you two. I'm going to use [Celebration]." Naofumi warned.

"Celebration?" Wyndia questioned.

"Mew!" Monti looked eager and ready.

"I haven't needed to use it since the kids were born, but I guess I or Raphtalia mentioned it once or twice. I have about 30 Red Balloon monsters in my inventory. And now that I'm level 3, I can access it." He explained.

"Can you bring out only a few at a time? And how are they even alive still?" Wyndia asked.

"Nope. It's hard to remove them at all. And I assume these hellspawn don't need to breathe. But just stay behind me and there is nothing to worry about. This EXP is more useful now than it ever will be." He told her.

After positioning herself behind Naofumi, he unleashed all his Red Balloon monsters. But something different came out. Instead of 30 Red Balloons, they saw 30 Red Boxes. Larger, stacked high, and all seeming insane with rage.

"Why are they…? Whatever. This is the easiest EXP we'll find." Naofumi called.

The next few minutes were a bit rough. Had it not been for Naofumi's absurd defense, it would have been too much for them. Just the day before, they were fighting the Spirit Tortoise, a beast so mighty that it carried a mountain upon its back. Now they are licking their wounds after fighting angry cardboard. How the mighty had fallen.

Still, it served their purposes. They went from level 3 to level 6. And with it, Naofumi once again had access to many of the bonuses he once had. The only issue was Monti ate all the food that Naofumi snagged and was going through their supplies drastically. He was already a bit bigger than before, Naofumi even began hearing bones pop within him. Something he only ever heard when the kids leveled too quickly.

Within two hours, the three of them found a river and decided to follow it downstream. They found more monsters on this path. A freshwater source attracted many monsters. For a time, most of the monsters were easy enough to handle. Monti relied on his lightning due to his young body, and Wyndia continued to rely on her [Way of the Dragon's Vein]. All while Naofumi easily tanked any would-be attackers.

However, things did not stay simple.

"Hmm, what's that?" Wyndia asked as she pointed to the river.

They saw a turtle shell floating downstream and, given their recent experience with the Spirit Tortoise, they all tensed up at first sight. All three were prepared for a fight with much anxiety. Then it shifted and revealed a duck-like face and humanoid body.

"Huh, it's a kappa." Naofumi said, slight amusement in his tone, his body relaxing.

From his tone alone the other two relaxed as well. "Is that a monster from your world?"

"No, a myth. Something that never existed… probably." Naofumi added uncertainly at the end.

"Manticore, dragons, many of the monsters I've seen match myths from Earth. Could be they existed in one manner or another? Could be that someone was summoned as a hero once and brought those stories back to earth."

Their relaxed posture was not taken well by the kappa. It shot pressurized water out of its duck-billed mouth at them without much thought or indication.

[Change Shield]! Naofumi swapped shields quickly to his best shield for dealing with water he could use at his low level. The stream of water was as straight as a ray of light and pushed Naofumi back as his boots glided over loose rock.

"This is bad." Naofumi lowered his shield after the attack ended. "That was strong enough to probably slice one of my limbs off, so these can kill you two in one hit."

Wyndia nodded and stayed behind him as she began chanting. Naofumi had heard Leon and her [Way of the Dragon's Vein] chants before and knew when they'd end, so he readied himself to move out of her way. He inched closer to the monster and swiftly moved aside when Wyndia was done chanting so she could properly target the kappa. The black flames she preferred to use were correctly aimed but missed as the Kappa shot out of the river and onto the same side of the embankment as them.

The spell made a loud noise and water went everywhere like rain as her attack hit the river. Naofumi half-turned to face Monti toward the monster who immediately shot out lightning. The kappa seemed slower on land and the distance was shorter. The attack landed and the kappa seized up a moment. Naofumi ran forward and tackled the monster to the ground, pinning it with his shield. Again, Wyndia began to cast her black fire spell.

The monster managed to claw Naofumi's left arm pretty well before he removed himself in time for Wyndia's strong magic to hit its mark. It grew still and they all received a large amount of EXP. Killing just that one leveled them twice, it was a great feeling. However, Naofumi looked at his arm. The attack wasn't deep, but given his defense, the monster could likely tear Monti or Wyndia in half with just its claws. That fear grew as several more turtle shells came towards them from both directions of the river.

"Fuck." Naofumi muttered aloud.

For some time they fought with everything they had. Their attacks couldn't hit the kappa while they remained in the river, so they moved away from it, forcing the kappa to abandon either the fight or the water. Once on land, Naofumi did his best to block every attack, but with so many attacking at once, he was in trouble. Nafoumi feared what would happen to either Monti or Wyndia if they managed to knock him off his feet with the water pressure and he found himself with several deep cuts from momentary contact with the jets.

"Shit!" He managed to grab Wyndia and run behind a tree, but their attacks would go right through it.

"Graak!" He tried to think of a way to deal with so many at once when suddenly the kappa called out in pain. Naofumi lowered his shield slightly and took a peek out from behind his cover.

"...What?" As he and Wyndia looked out nothing about the scene made any sense. They were all dead. In a single slash from a girl no taller than Monti was before wielding a sword that looked like an oversized tuna knife. She had brown eyes and matching hair. She wore a green gothic-style dress that clashed horribly against a dark haori that seemed so out of place.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked, turning to see them hiding.

"She knew where we were…" "How long were you following us?" Naofumi demanded.

"A fair bit. I swear, I leave for just a bit and you choose that exact moment to wake up… Watch out!" Her friendly manner grew concerned as she saw Monti on his shoulder. In a moment, her sword transformed into a fishing pole and shot out toward Monti. Naofumi moved his shield to block the attack. Oddly, when the attack landed, it felt so weak it couldn't hurt anyone or anything.

"Oi, keep your hands off my son!" Naofumi growled.

Kizuna adopted a face of confusion and lowered her weapon slightly, but kept her distance a moment longer. "Son…? Sorry, I just saw a monster with a stinger near your neck. I only saw you and the girl before."

"Well, he's with us." Naofumi said in the same tired voice. He so often had to defend them in this way early on. It seems that'll never change.

The girl began to step forward in a measured approach, hand on her chest, weapon fully lowered. "I see. Well, let me introduce myself. I'm Kizuna Kazayama, the Hunting Hero."

"...Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero. Not that you'd know it." He supplied in the same tired tone.

"Shield, huh?" She question aloud. If half sounded like she didn't believe it but her facial expression said she accepted the answer but was filled with questions.

"Are there any more of you?" She asked with a hint of hope.

"Nearby? Probably not." He answered.

Her smile fell away. "If they aren't nearby, they might as well be a million miles away…"

"What do you mean by that?" Wyndia asked, only just now removing herself from behind Naofumi.

She simply turned and waved for them to follow her. Wordlessly they moved. Naofumi was cautious but complied for now. They walked for several minutes with that awkward silence before they saw it through the trees.

"Wait…"

In front of them, just a few meters from the tree line was sand, and further still, the soft waves of the summer ocean. Naofumi scanned the horizon and found nothing between the water and sky.

"Are we on an island in the middle of nowhere?" Wyndia asked in confusion.

"Much worse. Don't you remember them forcing you here?" Kizuna asked, equally intrigued and confused.

"No one forced us to go anywhere. We were trying to reach Glass' world. And we did." Naofumi answered arms crossed as he thought.

"You know Glass? …Well you're wrong. We're not in her world." Kizuna grew bright a moment before the light left her eyes again.

"WHAT!?" Naofumi and Wyndia exclaimed. "WHEM?" Monti tried saying.

"We're inside a massive extra-dimensional space. One used as a prison." Kizuna answered, now looking at the ground.

"How do we leave?" Naofumi asked.

Kizuna rubbed her chin, thinking deeply, then spoke. "...We have a lot to talk about. Let's get some food and I'll explain what I can. But if I can ask one question first… How is Glass? Is she okay?"

"Last I saw her, she was traveling back to her world with L'arc and Therese, chasing Kyo, same as us." Naofumi supplied.

Kizuna's face regained a bit of its light, then she led them all back to the prison. She sent them a party invite. Naofumi rejected it, before sending his own. She didn't seem bothered by it. On their way back, Kizuna killed any monsters they came across instantly. It reminded Naofumi of unlocking a cheat character in your party. Wyndia and Monti raked in tons of EXP. So much so that the levels they gained while exploring were made meaningless. Nafoumi and Kizuna, unfortunately, gained nothing, as two holy heroes can't level near one another.

Once they were back at the ruined prison, Kizuna pulled out some supplies from the cell next to the one they woke up in and managed to make tea. She also supplied them with dried meat and throw pillows to sit on. Naofumi began to use the Kappa they'd slain to make stews in their own shells. Something Monti needed desperately. His level gains were forcing him to grow rapidly and that made him as hungry as Filo.

Kizuna made sure they were comfortable before she started the conversation up again.

"This is nice… I haven't spoken to someone in years…" Her voice was upbeat but strained.

That changed the tone for the others. They briefly looked at Kizuna with some concern and sympathy before someone broke the silence.

"So, there is no way to leave?" Wyndia asked with a slight hesitation.

"There is for you two." Kizuna said after a pause, her hand with two fingers pointing at Wyndia and Monti.

"Only them?" Naofumi asked defensively.

"There's a gate they can simply walk through if we help them. But it won't work for us." Kizuna explained.

Naofumi immediately remembered how he couldn't follow Kyo through the portal he made until Ost permitted him. "I should be able to travel through it as well. I have permission."

Kizuna's eyes widened a moment, before falling to stare at the floor. "Truly? …Good for you."

Naofumi saw her shrink in place and asked without thinking. "How long have you been here?"

"A few years… I'm not completely sure." Kizuna shifted to looking upward, her voice making her seem lost while sitting still.

"Really? How old were you when you became a hero, nine?" Naofumi asked. It seemed so ridiculous that Hero Weapons found a child younger than his own as a worthy hero. "Well, not chronologically, but still."

Kizuna stood abruptly. "I'm older than I look! I'm an adult!" She screamed as she stomped her boot looking more like a child than she did before.

"Oh, you're one of those." Naofumi commented. "A lolibaba." He thought.

Kizuna's head snapped to face him. "You just thought 'lolibaba', didn't you!?" She accused with a more threatening voice than Naofumi thought her capable of having.

"...Okay, I am that easy to read." Naofumi finally admitted to himself after all these months.

For a moment, Wyndia and Monti laughed. It was brief but needed. Then it fell fast, remembering those missing. Kizuna heard the laughter die and looked at them in concern.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Just worried. My woma-Monti's mother isn't here. And it sounds like my other three children aren't here either." Naofumi told her.

"Or Ren…" Wyndia added.

"You said you were following Glass, right? Chasing Kyo? Kyo Ethnina, the Book Hero?" Kizuna asked.

"Yeah, that bastard." Naofumi spat.

"I met him once. What did he do? You're from another world, how did Kyo possibly affect you?" Kizuna asked with her own worry.

And so Naofumi began to explain what happened. Recounting the events of the Spirit Tortoise as he finished another shell full of soup, which Monti ate in moments. He told her about the countless deaths, the destroyed towns, and about the battle they personally had with the man.

"That… doesn't sound like Kyo." Kizuna responded after hearing the entire thing.

Naofumi recalled how Kyo introduced himself and played with Glass. "He did a decent job of playing the hero when we first met. He wasn't as smart as he pretended, nor as brave. But he is a damned good liar. One of the best I've met." Naofumi's disgust was mixed with a strange sense of admiration that wasn't lost on Kizuna.

"What do you plan to do when you find him?" She asked, something strange in her voice.

"Ost asked us to retrieve the souls Kyo stole. Said that if we don't, it'd be bad for both worlds." Naofumi answered. Even now, his own was less important than Ost's dying wish.

"And then we'll kill him." Wyndia added, looking at her cup of tea.

Kizuna tried correcting her. "If you take a diplomatic approach, you could-"

Wyndia stood abruptly, her tea hitting the floor. "He dies." Wyndia said firmly.

"..." Kizuna searched for some response.

But Wyndia stopped that short. "He killed Ren's-my party members. They're gone, forever. Ren will not forgive him, and neither will I."

"..."

"Dad, can I have meowre?" Monti managed to speak. Naofumi turned to see Monti. A bit bigger, small pops and cracks were heard as his bones grew too quickly. A sound he had heard before. Seeing Monti being a bit closer to his old self did give him a look of relief. One that even lifted Wyndia's mood, if but a little.

"Yeah, we have more. Keep this up and you'll be your old size in just a few days."

"Old size?" Kizuna asked with some interest.

"...I have weapon forms that grant growth speed increases for him. As he leveled, he grew rapidly. He was fully grown in two weeks the first time. But with our level reset, it seems all those bonuses became null." Naofumi answered. It was strange, part of him wanted to not so easily share information with Kizuna, but L'arc, Therese, and Glass had just fought alongside them the day before and it was Glass who finished the Spirit Tortoise for good.

"Level reset?" Kizuna asked, pulling Naofumi from his thoughts before they drifted to Ost.

"Yeah, we don't really get it ourselves, but when we woke up we were level 1. We were all around level 80 just before that." Wyndia answered between bites.

"Curious…" Kizuna was as lost as Naofumi was.

"Any Morew?" Monti asked again, reaching for a bucket.

"No Monti that's-" Naofumi was cut short as Monti's paw grabbed the lip of the bucket and overturned it, dowsing him in water, then the bucket landed on his head. As a cat, he laid there, dramatically defeated.

Wordlessly, Wyndia took a nearby cloth and helped Monti dry himself. Finding his pitiful state so amusing, Kizuna helped as well.

"You're eating faster than I can cook. That's a good thing. The next batch will be done in a bit." Naofumi found something positive to say to cheer him up.

"Thanks… Sorry." Monti found himself growing quiet and still.

For the rest of the night, he opened his mouth only to eat. As Naofumi and Kizuna continued their conversation, Monti closed his eyes and saw Merodach's visage coiled around a star. No matter what he did, that image continued to haunt him. If he wasn't worrying about that, he was worrying about the rest of his family.

"Before, you mentioned that we, Monti and I, could leave this place. How?" Wyndia asked now that she and Kizuna were next to each other drying Monti.

"It'd take a while to explain with words. I'll just take you all to the exit tomorrow morning." Kizuna answered.

Naofumi paused. Had things gone differently, he'd have likely been untrusting and without options. He looked to Monti. "But ultimately, Glass and the others are now allies… and even if this doesn't work out, we have an alternative means of leaving."

"That's fine then. We'll leave that for tomorrow. What matters is after we escape, how to locate everyone else?" Naofumi asked.

Seeing Naofumi's confidence in escaping calmed Wyndia considerably.

"Yeah…" Despite herself, it also softened Kizuna.

"We'll just ask around, we'll put up fliers and-" Wyndia began thinking of how to find Ren.

"Only dad and Ren will be able to talk to them." Monti pointed out to her.

"What?" Wyndia stalled a second, questioning.

"Monti is right. You guys are in a new world. You don't know any of their languages. Naofumi and that Ren guy are heroes, so their weapons translate speech for them, just like it does for me. The rest of you won't be able to speak to natives. Even Naofumi won't be able to use fliers because hero weapons don't translate text." Kizuna explained further.

"Seriously? Even in another world, there isn't a weapon form that translates text?" Naofumi complained more than asked.

"I looked everywhere for one, believe you me." Kizuna answered with matching irritation.

"I think my siblings and I'll be fine. We all learned Melromarc's spoken language in just 2 weeks without trying." Monti thought.

"That's true. Apex monsters are not to be underestimated." Wyndia nodded.

"...All your children are monsters? How did that happen?" Kizuna was now more interested.

From there, Naofumi regaled Kizuna with a somewhat summarized version of the events of his being summoned, being screwed over by Malty, finding Raphtalia, and gathering his family. He didn't even notice his own tone turning sweet after only the first minute of explaining. It wasn't something Naofumi ever wanted to experience again, but they helped shape who he was and what allowed him to meet all the people that formed his world. Without realizing it, even the bad times were being looked back on as fondly for what they resulted in.

Having never heard all the details herself, Wyndia was content to just listen. Occasionally, Kizuna would comment on how her experience was different or similar. Once Naofumi finished explaining things up to the death of High Priest Balmus, he let Kizuna tell her story.

Kizuna's story gave her more reason to think like how Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu did when she first entered than Naofumi was comfortable with. Like Ren's world, they had fully immersive games that felt like real life, ones where you suspend your body and operate only in your mind with assistance from the gaming system. So when she opened her eyes to see everyone summoning her, she simply thought she loaded in.

There were several other things that helped sell the delusion. The console was called "The Second Life Project" and allowed people to experience time dilation to an extreme, allowing her to never wonder why she was still playing. In a single day of play, you could experience 2-3 years of life. And the game she was supposed to be playing was called "Dimensional Wave" which Naofumi and Monti shared a look at hearing.

Not only was she given every reason to believe she was in a game… she escaped that delusion herself.

"I began to see the people around me more clearly, and as I did, I knew no game or designer wrote their lives or scripted their words. They were real. As real as me or you." She said. She had overcome the delusion through pure empathy.

She continued to speak and just as with Naofumi, her words became sweetened once she had surrounded herself with friends, Glass, L'arc, and Therese being among the first. But she had more than two dozen friends that were no mere acquaintances, but true ride-or-die comrades.

And as she spoke, Wyndia seemed to pay more and more attention to her.

Finally, she spoke about why she was summoned briefly. It wasn't the waves, but a monster called 'The Demon Dragon' that threatened several countries.

"They believed one hero would be enough, and smartly chose to summon the Hunting Hero specifically." Kizuna said, staring out of a hole in the ceiling at the stars outside.

"Why? Was it hard to track?" Wyndia asked, assuming that from the name 'Hunting Tools' could track enemies.

"No, it left disaster in its wake constantly. The Hunting Tools… they are only good against monsters." Kizuna admitted after a moment of consideration.

"Huh?" The other three collectively said.

"You told me your attack is so low that you can hardly hurt anything. Since you revealed your weakness, I think it's only fair I reveal mine." Kizuna said to Naofumi, now standing with her weapon readied.

"We have several peoples in this world; normal humans as you know them, ghost people, gem people, and grass people. But they are all considered human by the laws of this world. I assume you 'demi-humans' are the same?" Kizuna suddenly asked Wyndia.

"Yes-?" Wyndia's answer was cut short as Kizuna swung her weapon with everything she had at Wyndia.

Just to be sure, she aimed to merely clip her, but as expected, her blade was unable to cut her.

Naofumi, Wyndia, and Monti jumped up for a moment, yet seeing Wyndia unhurt left them confused.

Kiazuna continued. "I am mostly offensive with some traps, yet I cannot harm a 'person,' no matter how hard I try. But according to this weapon, monsters aren't people. And just as your lack of attack means your defense is godly, because I can only hurt monsters, my ability to kill monsters is absurd."

Naofumi and Wyndia paused. Both her attacking Wyndia and what she just said put them on guard. Naofumi considered placing himself in front of Monti.

Kizuna looked at them calmly. "As I said, this weapon does not consider monsters to be people." She said leaning down and petting Monti.

"But I am painfully aware some monsters are just as capable of intelligence and empathy as humans are. I can't really say this to anyone else but… When I fought the Demon Dragon, it spoke. It was highly intelligent, more intelligent than me. When I killed it, it felt very different than when I killed normal monsters. While I don't fully understand its reasons, it attacked with purpose. It was a person as far as I am concerned, but still a villain that needed defeating." Kizuna explained.

"..." They all relaxed a bit as Kizuna stood a moment and returned to her sitting position.

"I couldn't really express that to anyone else. The Demon Dragon killed countless people and burned towns to the ground. Treating him like a wild animal is a lot easier for his victims than admitting the humanity of their idol of hatred. Seeing you adopting this little one and apparently living comfortably as a family finally settles some feelings I'd had." She gestured for everyone to retake their seats and they did so.

She waited a moment for tempers to reset before continuing. "Anyways, as you can see, I can't hurt humans or those that are close to it. Yet I could probably bore a hole through a monster with my pinky."

"That sucks." Naofumi said casually, returning to how he was before she attacked Wyndia.

"What? That sounds super convenient to me." Wyndia disagreed, now more focused on this conversation than being attacked by what felt like a mosquito.

"No, it sucks. Looking back, who are the enemies we most needed to kill?" Naofumi asked aloud, mostly looking at Monti.

"..." Images of Balmus, the nobles, Idol Rabier, and Kyo flashes fresh in his mind.

Kizuna nodded and seemed happy someone understood her position. "Yeah, killing colossal monsters with ease sounds cool, but when you remember that people control the planet, suddenly you're powerless in most situations. You learn diplomacy real quick." She said in a measured tone.

"So when whoever tossed you in here did so, they did it pretty easily, huh?" Naofumi asked.

"...Yeah. Once a person has a hold of me, I'm pretty much done." She admitted with an accompanied sigh.

"Well, when we get out, you got us, so you won't be arrested so easily." Monti reassured.

"Yeah, when Monti regains his size, we can ride him out of any prison laughing." Wyndia added.

"Three people is a bit much for him." Naofumi argued while Monti shook his head that he could handle it.

"Yeah, but I'm tiny right now, and Kizuna is the same. It's two people really." Wyndia argued.

"I'm not a kid, just short! And I'm taller than you!" Kizuna again went from calm to anger when her height was brought up.

"Yeah, and? I was taller than you yesterday and will be taller than you tomorrow. Savor the only day in which you stand as my equal, mortal!" Wyndia practically bellowed.

At that, Kizuna was slightly stunned. "...Huh, you really were raised by a dragon."

Naofumi thought about something. "She really is too short… then again, if she can have 2-3 years of life experience a day in her original world then…" "You really are a lolibaba." He said.

"You just said that out loud, jerk!" Kizuna practically barked with her finger pointed at him.

"Yeah, and?" He said, mimicking Wyndia. "If I'm going to be called out for thinking something rude, I might as well say that rude thing and properly earn your scorn." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's the conclusion you came to? What about just not being a jerk at all!?" She was getting stressed in only the way policing Naofumi could cause.

"I've decided my fate, now the rest of you just have to live with it." Naofumi said, arms crossed.

"...You all became jerks really quickly." Kizuna said, slightly pouting.

"Your fault for explaining to Dad that you can't hurt him." Monti told her.

"Is that why you're the only one still being nice?" Kizuna pouted and snatched up Monti.

"And where are you taking him?" Naofumi asked.

"I'm sleeping with him tonight. He's sweet and warm and you jerks don't deserve him." She told them.

Naofumi simply reached out and took him from her. "As his father, I did not approve of this sleepover."

"Monti, you want to sleep in my bed, right?" Kizuna asked, wanting to argue more.

But she didn't yet understand how well-behaved he was. "Sorry. Dad hasn't slept alone since everything happened. With mom not here…" Monti didn't explain further and simply laid beside Naofumi.

"I feel betrayed." Kizuna huffed.

"We find Raphtalia or one of the other kids, you can borrow one." Naofumi offered jokingly.

"I call dibs if we find Leon." Wyndia chimed in.

"Oi!" Kizuna was now the third rung on sleepover buddies.

"What? You want to sleep with a dark dragon after what you told us?" Wyndia asked.

"...Okay, but I am getting either Monti or that fluffy bird you told me about for at least one night." Kizuna argued.

"Fine, fine. Go to bed, lolibaba."

Kizuna then went on for several minutes before she grew too tired to continue. They eventually went to sleep and had two important things to do tomorrow

…

Somewhere far away, on the same morning Naofumi awoke, Ren stirred. He slowly lifted his head, still reeling from the use of the curse series that had gripped him hours earlier. He lifted his head to see a rolling hills of flowers. It was quite the sight. He turned to make a comment to his party but stopped himself after halfway.

"Dammit." He whispered.

Just as the confusion and feeling of being lost from the curse series gave way before, Ren quickly adopted an angry demeanor and stood. All he could think of was reaching Kyo and driving his sword into the man's chest. Yet, as soon as he took a step, he heard something so softly he questioned if he heard anything at all. He looked around and saw a town in the distance. But that wasn't the right direction.

He turned and saw only flowers, yet one was so distinctive that he figured out what was going on rather quickly.

Before him was a blue flower of a very familiar color with a strange blood-red eye at its center.

"...Teal?"

.

[Author's Notes]

Hey everyone! It's only been *checks notes* over 3 months… Seriously, I never want this long of a wait again. Holidays were busy and then I've gone through several medicines trying to find something that works. Went through BuPROPion, Guanfacine, and now on Qelbree. Nothing seems to be working, but I gotta let them throw a bunch of useless drugs at me before they give me something that does more than screw up my sleeping schedule lol.

So yeah, Group 1: Naofumi, Monti, Wyndia

Group 2: Ren and Teal

The rest? We'll see at some point.

I plan to cover Ren and Naofumi either side by side or alternating each chapter. Showing the other group(s) when needed, including the possibility of flashbacking to show their journey up to the point Naofumi reaches them again.

I also plan for some chapters to end with little sections of smaller happenings of those left in Raphtalia's world. At least 3, one of which is a 2 parter, but we will see.

I hope you liked the way Kizuna and Naofumi got along. This isn't as angry of a Naofumi, so I figured they'd get along better and be more willing to share things.

Knowing Ren and Teal are a group with a town nearby, can any of you even guess the important things these two will accomplish?

See you next time, which is hopefully sooner.