Author's Note: Well, seems like 2020 had one last thing in store for me before it left. Felt like shit. But, I've more or less recovered and now, here y'all go! :)
My apologies for the tardiness.
That aside, be warned: shit gets dark in this chapter! I'm honestly expecting it to scare some of y'all off, but we shall see. That list of content warnings was there for a reason, after all.
In either case, I hope y'all enjoy and if this does end up repelling anyone, then I only wish those people well and hope they find something that is more to their liking. :)
Chapter Six: Trouble in E-Rantel
The next morning, Naruto slipped out of the village to meet with someone.
Aura Bella Fiora had been tailing him since he left Nazarick and after staying here, he had her see if she could find this "wise king" he'd heard so much about.
"Lord Kurama," she greeted with a bow. It felt weird calling this woman Kurama, truth be told, but she knew it was him. The visuals just... messed with her brain is all.
Naruto nodded in return. "Report," he ordered, curtly.
Straightening up, Aura began to recount her observations. "I think I may have found it?" She looked unsure. "There is a massive rodent-like creature sleeping in a cave not far from here. Less than half a mile north. It's relatively strong for something from this world and unlike anything else I've ever seen before."
That got Naruto's attention immediately. Aura was a level 100 ranger with a hobby of collecting mythical creatures. If there's something she's never seen before, then that was saying something!
"Interesting…'' he murmured. Placing his head on Aura's head, he ruffled her hair, "Good job Aura. I'm proud of you."
The elf blushed heavily at his praise, fidgeting cutely. "S-so what should we do with it…?" She then perked up, a thought coming to mind. "Ooh! Can I skin it? I'm sure it would make a good pelt!"
She looked like an excited child about to get a new toy.
"Leave it be for now," he said with a chuckle. "We'll come back later."
Aura deflated a little but nodded. "As you wish M'lord." It was such an interesting creature, but she could wait.
She looked so cute! Naruto felt an urge to hug her like a little teddy bear, but resisted.
"Th-that aside," Aura added, eagerly looking up at him. "I noticed that one of those humans has been bothering you. Do you wish for me to deal with him?"
"You too?" The youko chuckled. "It's fine; he's just a minor annoyance."
"If you say so," the elf replied looking uncertain.
Naruto smiled warmly at how happy this girl was to help. Trailing him this whole time with no complaint… offering to deal with Lukrut… She even stayed up all night to find that creature! Naruto had no doubt that she'd do anything he wanted.
Anything…
A mental image flashed in Naruto's mind right then and there, of the girl on her knees before him, completely topless and eagerly swallowing his… Naruto shook his head, forcing the images out of his mind. A headache began to form as he groaned. That was the third time this morning! What the hell was wrong with him?!
"L-Lord Kurama…?"
Naruto looked down to see a heavily-flustered dark elf looking up at him. Desire burned inside him. All it would take was one word… a slight push…
Aura could tell that he was hot and bothered. His hand, still on her head, slipped down to cup her cheek, drawing a gasp from the elven loli. That hungry look in his eyes made it clear that he wanted something… and she knew full well what it was.
He wanted her! Of all the people in Nazarick, all of the sexier, curvier, bustier women she simply couldn't compete with, he… wanted her…
Pulling his hand back with a show of effort, Naruto cleared his throat as he looked around for anything to distract them. When nothing came to his mind, he scratched the back of his neck, looking just as flustered. "W-well, I guess I should head back…''
"Y-Yeah…'' Aura nodded, now red as a beetroot, the poor thing's heart pounding in her ears. (1)
Several hours and a… rather explosive fap later, Naruto and the Swords were making their way back to E-Rantel. Currently, they were walking beside a small river, chatting between each other. Naruto took it as a perfect opportunity to see if he could start a little… experiment by striking up a conversation with the party's resident spellcaster.
"I-I don't see how there's anything I could teach you." Ninya said, feeling embarrassed. The taller, bustier "blonde" had seemingly forgotten about the simple concept of personal space as "she" leaned in uncomfortably close
The transformed youko pouted cutely, crossing his arms, their position pushing his artificial breasts upwards. "You know plenty of spells that I don't," Naruto told her. "I just wanna see if we can do a little exchange is all." There were plenty of other things Naruto wanted to do to this shy cutie, with or without her consent, but the blond held those urges back.
A part of him was growing increasingly frustrated with this lust of his. Another, darker part of him was raging at all of the squandered opportunities to murder that ranger, to have his way with countless women, to sew all manner of chaos in E-Rantel, and so on… it was very distracting...
But he did his best to push them aside to focus on something else. Truth be told, he still had so many unanswered questions about this new world.
Since he was in a completely new world, Naruto couldn't help but wonder… did the level cap still apply? Could he go higher than 100? Could he learn more spells despite being level 100?
Well, that's what he fully intended to find out!
"E-exchange?" Ninya's squeak broke him out of his thoughts as she started to blush, her mind jumping to the wrong conclusion. 'I-is she offering a sexual favor as payment?!'
"Exchange. Trade. Bargain. Call it what you want," Naruto told her, not helping in the slightest. The way he said that was also far too flirty for the actual mage's comfort. "I'd be willing to show you some of my own spells in return. I'm not looking for charity."
'Oh, thank the gods!" Ninya muttered, averting her gaze. "For a second there, I… uh… nevermind."
Naruto stared at her, realizing that she'd gotten the wrong impression. He couldn't keep the impish grin off his face if he tried.
Leaning closer, he murmured into her ear. "We can do that too, if you wish~!"
Ninya sputtered helplessly, her cheeks feeling like they were on fire
"Sorry, sorry," Naruto cackled as he leaned back, a hand raised placatingly. "I just couldn't resist!" He was a prankster, after all, so that opportunity for a little harmless mischief was just too golden to pass up. (2)
"Oh, if only my lovely Kushina would tease me like that~!"
And Lukrut was promptly ignored...
Ninya unleashed a heavy sigh of relief. "I… suppose we could try something," she relented.
Aaand of course, that wording evoked another mental image, this time of Naruto pounding the girl from behind, her robes hiked up to show that nice ass he knew she had while he made her his…
Naruto shook his head, clearing his throat and plastering on an impish grin. "Well, when you put it that way~!"
Poor Ninya blushed even harder at that. "P-pervert…'' she muttered, looking embarrassed.
"Hold them back!"
"There's too many of them! We need backup!"
The screams came from E-Rantel's southernmost barracks as several of the city's night watch scrambled to contain their now-undead compatriots. No one knew how it happened or when, just that they all started pouring out of the building, still in their nightwear, and attacking everyone in sight…
The guards were on them like flies on shit, swarming the area and surrounding them, before cutting the men down.
"Decapitate the casualties so they don't turn as well!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
In the chaos, no one noticed the hooded blonde hopping a wall farther north, carrying a writhing sack almost as big as her over one shoulder. Nor did anyone hear the muffled cries for help. (3)
In the dead of night, a blond-haired man opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer in his and Lupusregina's tent, but in an endless wasteland. Shadows crept into every corner of his vision and nothing but darkness and arid wastes stretched as far as he could see. It reminded him of Nazarick's 8th floor, but was much darker and gloomier.
The man was in his late twenties or so, messy golden locks and blue eyes making it clear that he was of western descent. He was garbed in orange sweats, a black and orange coat, a white tee, and matching sneakers; the three whisker-like birthmarks in either cheek making it clear that this was Naruto… the real Naruto.
Then, out the corner of his eye, he saw some movement and turned to see his character, Kurama, staring at him.
"You're resisting."
Naruto blinked at the demon's words "Huh?"
"Those urges," the being clarified. "I believe that book called it, ahem, 'desire to rape, pillage, murder, conquer, fuck your mother, and/or consume human flesh (possibly among other things) in no particular order'."
Just to make this more awkward, purely for the luls, Kurama used Peronroncino's voice to quote his encyclopedia.
''Oh that… yeah… could you help me with that? I'd like to put a stop to it."
Kurama's eyes narrowed. "No."
''What?!" Naruto was not at all pleased to hear that as one would expect, glaring at his creation.
Said construct, meanwhile, merely tilted its head sideways, looking thoughtful.
"You misunderstand," Kurama said. "It is not a matter of want, but simply part of who we are… of what we are.. I―we―can no more influence those instincts than a human can will itself to stop drawing breath."
"Oh…'' Naruto said, ''...that's bad."
Kurama shrugged lazily. "It's what you chose," he said, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "You made me an oni."
"That build was just meant to be for a game!" Naruto growled in frustration. "Excuse me if I didn't think I'd be punished for it, but I never thought I'd end up getting plopped into a new world with a hate-boner for humanity and shit!"
Kurama shrugged again. "It is what it is. We are now one in the same. Deal with it."
Naruto gave him an uneasy look. "You're a very chill asshole; did anyone ever tell you that?"
"Nope; no one's ever told me anything until now." Then he grinned evilly, a cold chuckle radiating from his chest. "But, this is your life, now… this is the hand you've been dealt and you will have to play it. What happens next depends on how you do so."
The blond sighed, wracking his brain to come up with some kind of solution.
Meanwhile, the youko's smile faded as he continued. "I believe you've started to feel headaches? Nausea too, if I'm not mistaken?"
"Yeah… why's that?"
"I've told you why," the youko sighed. "You're going against your own very nature. Again, this is you, now, and what you're doing is not healthy. Your current body doesn't know the difference between physical and emotional stress any more than your former one did. If you keep this up, you'll eventually go raving mad… or just die." Another grin split Kurama's face. ''...or maybe your instincts will take over, and you'll be nothing more than a beast driven by its base nature."
"I… see…" Naruto sighed. "And there's nothing I can do about it?"
"Nothing whatsoever," Kurama said. That grin then disappeared, his look now dead serious. "Consider this a warning," he said. "Eventually, you will be unable to resist… you will reach your limit and someone will get hurt in the process if you don't find an outlet. Possibly someone dear to you."
Truth be told, Kurama was every bit as fond of those within Nazarick; he didn't want to see them hurt anymore than Naruto did.
With that thought in mind, he shot Naruto a cold, threatening glare. "And if one of our daughters gets harmed in the process…" (4)
Naruto jolted awake, body covered in sweat and breathing labored. He could feel his beating and his body felt like it was on fire!
"Is something wrong?"
Naruto jumped and turned to see Lupusregina slowly sitting up and looking at him with a concerned frown.
He opened his mouth to say something… and caught a whiff of her scent.
She smelled nice… It was very sweet and musky for some reason, but very faint. His primal side quickly recognized it. She was in heat; if he mounted her right now, let loose those urges and had his way with her, she would bear his young.
"N… No," he managed to say, eventually, forcing his muscles to still lest he do something... horribly ill-advised at best.
"Kushina." Lupusregina said. "No, Lord Kurama… forgive me, but you're lying. Something is terribly wrong." She started inching closer.
Naruto sighed. "It's those urges," he relented, making the redhead pause in her approach.
"I… see…'' the werewolf muttered hesitantly, her frown deepening. ''...Is there… something I can do?"
Naruto did not like the inflection in that tone. Because his primal side definitely did.
Just one word...
"N-not here," he said, taking every ounce of his self-control to do so. "The others will definitely hear us and get suspicious. I'll be fine for now… we're almost at E-Rantel. I'll call for a gate back to Nazarick once we're in town and deal with it then."
Lupusregina sighed heavily, but nodded nonetheless.
"If that's what you want."
'What I wanna do is to breed you here and now and make you my bitch!' Naruto's smile was strained beyond mortal measure. It was taking everything he had to resist putting a baby in her and the woman's purehearted loyalty and kindness weren't making it any easier on him.
"...It is," he said.
A few days later, the party was well on their way to E-Rantel, all of them noticing how grumpy "Kushina" was, though no one said anything for the longest time.
But eventually, it started getting to Peter and he decided to approach the disguised man and his companion. "...Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine," the youko's companion assured, waving him off with a friendly smile. "It's just… lady issues."
Naruto's cheeks burned at that, his eyebrow twitching violently, but he said nothing. 'It's a perfectly fine excuse! I'll take it!' (5)
"Oh… uh… right." Peter blushed at the implication. "I'll leave her be, then."
"Much appreciated," Naruto grumbled.
"Y'know…" Lukrut began, but then, Ninya whacked him upside the head with her staff.
"You saw what she's capable of," the mage reminded him. "Don't piss her off." (6)
"Just trying to help," the ranger grumbled with a childish pout.
"Speaking of help," Dyne chimed in, "I could whip something up for you if it's particularly bad."
"I'm fine," the youko grunted. "Just grumpy… Thanks for the offer."
"Kushina," Ninya said, causing Naruto to perk up. "Drop the transformation and let me suck your dick~!"
"Wait, what?!" Naruto looked at her, utterly shocked.
"I said we can rest if you need it," the mage repeated, now looking very concerned. "You were spacing out there for a sec."
"I-I'm fine," he assured. "Sorry, just tired... I'm also craving some of that grilled meat… can't wait to get back to E-Rantel." It wasn't entirely untrue; that stuff was pretty good, actually. He legitimately could use some, right about now.
Lupusregina then noticed something off in the distance. Narrowing her eyes, she leaned closer to whisper so that only Naruto could hear her, "M'lord, there's―"
''Smoke! Something big's burning..." Lukrut yelled out before the redhead could finish, pointing at a growing stack of gray in the distance. Without exchanging any more words, the Swords all ran up to the top of the hill they were trekking and stopped to stare.
"That looks like it's coming from the city." Ninya observed after a moment of silence.
"What are we waiting for then?!" Peter shouted over the wind, already running down the road. "We need to hurry back!"
Lupusregina gave her lord a quick glance and Naruto nodded. Then, the two of them followed the adventurers back to E-Rantel.
The city in question was in chaos...
The wall surrounding their communal graveyard had been breached and a mighty horde of undead laid siege upon the city proper.
A necrosome giant, a colossal golem made out of a thousand corpses stitched together, lead the charge, flanked by two skeletal dragons. Hundreds... no, thousands of undead creatures followed in their wake; countless zombies and skeletons, alongside many rarer, more powerful necromantic horrors, flooded the city. The second wall crumbled before their combined assault, torn down like paper, and those who were slain by the horde either fed or joined it—consumed by the ravenous masses or turned.
And yet, the people of E-Rantel did not falter; any and all able-bodied men and women in the city, adventurers and otherwise, were called upon to help. That said, when the Swords of Darkness and the copper-plates they'd taken under their collective wing were spotted, the six of them received a gracious welcome. The city could, after all, use all the help it can get.
Naruto immediately recognized the man whom they were brought to as Pluton Ainzoch, guildmaster of E-Rantel's adventurer's guild―a man who was well past his prime, but clearly still had some fight left in him if the large, muscular frame was anything to go by. He was in his early forties, with well-kept, grey hair and a handlebar mustache. Now donning full-plate armor in light of the situation, his visor pushed up as he briefed the new arrivals on their current situation, he addressed them with a grateful smile.
"We managed to contain them in the northeastern marketplace," Pluton explained. "It goes without saying that you will be paid handsomely for any aid you can provide in this fiasco."
Naruto frowned, skeletal dragons were some wicked sons of bitches who shared his High-Tier Magic Nullification despite their level, which nullified the majority of spells under 7th-Tier cast upon them. Of course, there were fringe exceptions, but very few. Grease was potentially among them, in fact―so long as he didn't' try to coat them with the liquid. Were a creature with this ability to charge at him, though, casting Grease on the ground before them would still make the poor sap fall on its ass and susceptible to being set ablaze; but even that would only do so much and would be useless against airborne creatures like those dragons.
That all said, for a 3rd-Tier caster to control, let alone create something with this ability, should have been impossible! Hell, even a 5th or 6th-Tier caster shouldn't be capable of this! Either the level cap of this world was higher than he thought or there was something else going on. Another player, maybe? A relatively low-level one? One who was at level cap and holding back to test the limits of this world? Well, if it was a player, Naruto hoped it was the former… that would be far less of a pain in the ass to deal with.
"It turns out that Kushina's a 3rd-Tier caster of all things," Peter said, immediately getting the guildmaster's attention. "She has a thing for fire-magic, too, and with Regina being a cleric, I'd imagine that they'd be the most useful out of everyone here."
'Way to put us in the spotlight,' Naruto thought, his attention drawn to their conversation.
Then again… this could be their ticket to a quick promotion. More prestige would leave them in a better position to figure out who's who in this world.
"I also have some knowledge of the occult," Naruto chimed in. "Fought with a necromancer on occasion before he up and vanished on me. I'll see if I can put that knowledge to good use."
That wasn't technically untrue… In the waning days of Yggdrasil, he and Momonga tended to fight alongside one another to defend Nazarick. So, yes, he did indeed fight "with" a necromancer until he... and the world... disappeared. Ahem.
"Good to know," Pluton replied with an appreciative nod.
"That being said," Naruto added, his tone grim. "Skeletal dragons should be impossible for any human to control." Given the apparent limits of humans in this world, at least. "We might be dealing with something much bigger than we can handle and should take steps to evacuate the city if that's the case."
"As I have been told," the guildmaster commented. "We've already made arrangements to evacuate the city if it comes to that. Any suggestions?"
"Any magic below 7th-Tier is also useless against them," the youko added. "Even I won't be of much use against them directly, but…"
That was entirely false; one Explosion… maybe two for good measure, and they're gone; hell that crystal he still had would also work. But, he had an alternative.
"Go on," Pluton urged.
"It's impossible for anything short of a god to control a naturally-occurring one," Naruto explained, "let alone two, so might be safe to assume that they were created. Maybe by a lich or a powerful vampire?" He'd heard those existed in this world, though they were rare… and Naruto had no idea how powerful they were in comparison to the ones found in Yggdrasil. "If that's the case and we do manage to kill whatever's controlling them, they should… deactivate for lack of a better way to put it?"
"Excellent!" The guildmaster smiled in approval. Clearly, this girl knew her shit; after spending so much time in the Katze Plains himself, Pluton was very much able to confirm her observations from years of experience. "You and Regina will be sent to the front lines to help try and push the hordes back." Then, he turned his attention to the Swords of Darkness. "You four, meanwhile, are to assist in taking out the undead those dragons keep raising."
Of course, by "managed to contain" them, Pluton meant the giant got its foot stuck in the basement of a storehouse… and that was it. The damn thing was still being a problem and the northeast as a whole was a complete and utter shitshow.
As it turned out, those fires had been started by the adventurers to help keep the dead at bay and funnel them into chokepoints for the gold and higher fighters they still had to wreak havoc upon said horde. Even then, though, it was a two-sided meat grinder; and unfortunately for the city, that left the dragons unattended.
And they quite literally went to town, raising several more undead in their collective wake.
Naruto and Lupusregina were sent to the southernmost battle group, where the bulk of the undead had been steered.
A burly man with golden hair turned to address them. "So you're the greenhorns who came to help?"
The man was quite clearly a bard, given his gaudy attire and lute. By his necklace, he was a mithril-plate, likely serving as support while coordinating the troops.
"We are," Naruto replied, giving the whole scene a quick look. They were holding out but just barely. A few creatures in particular were giving them a lot of trouble.
In particular, there were no less than eight egg-shaped undead―writhing, floating masses of innards known as organ eggs. They kept sniping and snatching at people with their intestines, constantly harassing the shield wall while the masses divided their attention.
"We need to push forward, but we are making no progress," the bard lamented. He then gave Naruto an odd look. "You seem way too young to be a 3rd-Tier."
"I feel like I'll be getting that a lot in my career," Naruto sighed, giving him a helpless shrug. "But I'm not the only 3rd-Tier between us." The kitsune turned to his companion. "Keep them not dead, Regina," he said, before doing the unthinkable. He leapt over the shield wall and into the fray before anyone could react, hopping off of many a zombie's head along the way.
"K-Kushina!" Lupusregina shouted in dismay.
"What the hell are you doing?!" The bard was equally shocked at what Naruto had done.
"Pushing forward," the youko shouted back. "I'll slow them down for ya while getting to the root of the problem!"
Then, to the shock of many, he started dancing around the undead, ducking and weaving over and under them and their attacks. It was like she knew their every move before they were even made.
"Grease!"
A massive chunk of the horde beside her fell flat on their faces as their footing was immediately lost. Then, Naruto slit under a sword strike on his knees, narrowly avoiding her head being cut off, before spinning in the air and igniting the puddle she left behind.
"Firebolt!"
And with that, no less than two-dozen undead went up in smoke right then and there, the creatures' weakness to fire being their undoing. Landing on his feet and gracefully sidestepping an organ egg's intestines before he could be impaled; he killed it, too, and pressed on.
"Scorching Ray!"
"That girl," a nearby mage muttered. "It's like she's untouchable…"
Indeed he was, at least to these paltry beasts, and as he'd assured, the undead hordes started to give way, allowing the warriors to press forward. Those organ eggs dropped like flies as well in Naruto's wake, though a few were taken out by Lupusregina.
Meanwhile…
"Kill her, kill her, kill her!"
A certain, bald, pale man was distinctly less impressed as this child cut through his forces like a hot knife through butter. Literally everything she attacked went down in one shot! Even the higher-tier undead! This shouldn't have been possible, even with their weakness to fire being taken into account!
Khajiit snarled. Well, if you want something done, do it yourself, as the old saying goes. So, raised his hand, the one holding the glowing death orb, into the air. He opened his mouth, probably to cast a spell of his own, but then, he was already dead.
A massive hole was in his chest, smoldering in the wake of Naruto's latest attack.
Kneeling down, Naruto took the orb from the man's death grip and examined it. The little ball seemed to radiate with the power of death itself. He didn't recognize it, though… Then, he heard a voice in the back of his head.
"...You are a strange creature."
Naruto perked up, looking at the item in his hand. The sensation wasn't too different from someone casting Message, but he could tell that it came from the orb.
"What makes you think so?"
''You… are not a species of demon I recognize…"
"I like to think I'm unique," the pseudo-blonde responded, cheekily.
"Perhaps you are…"
And that was the end of their conversation as Naruto tucked the orb into his Magic Satchel. This was an interesting discovery… He'd never actually encountered an intelligent item before. They were quite rare in Yggdrasil. But he'd wasted enough time here. 'I'll hand this to one of the overlords in the library… See what they have to say about it.'
Naruto stood up, turning to look towards the city. All he could see were the distant rabble and those corpses left smoldering in his wake. Bringing a hand up to his ear like he was holding an earbud, the disguised blond cast Message.
"Lupus."
"Yes, Lord Kurama?"
"Tell me, has anything changed?"
''I… don't think so."
''I see..."
''Mi'lord?"
''I'll need a bit more time to deal with this... Stay safe." Naruto then cut off the magical link and looked down at the dead necromancer.
'So, you were only directing them,' he mused, before shifting that attention to his surroundings. 'If that's the case, then what is the source?'
His knowledge of necromancy, courtesy of Momonga's help, told him an undead mob like this required some kind of a catalyst… which clearly wasn't the bald fucker. Looking around, he scoured the cemetery for anything that could be used as such. In time, he found what he was looking for. A secret entrance, hidden behind a stone pillar inside the ruined temple.
'Silent Magic: Invisibility!'
His lithe form shimmered and faded away like a lifting fog as he vanished from sight. Then, he fished out the thieves' tools in his inventory. As a rogue and ninja, he of course had a set in case they were needed... and it didn't take him long to find the hidden switch... or the poison dart trap... or to take the latter apart without a peep. (7)
Moments later, upon descending the stairs with his Feather Step ability, it was there that he found the other necromancers―presumably disciples of the bald crone on top. They sat in a circle around something. From where he was, he couldn't tell, but it almost looked like a person. A cute girl was in front of the staircase, wearing a black, hooded cloak and not much else from the look of it.
She didn't seem to have noticed him. Naruto felt his heart race in her presence.
"She smells nice~!" Naruto flinched, hearing Kurama's voice purr in the back of his head. "She's a looker, too... and clearly one of the bad guys... surely this little treat is suitable for your pansy bitch ass!"
Naruto's eyebrow twitched violently at that. Great... now, his character was developing a mind of its own! Either that, or his demonic urges were literally driving him insane...
"Love you too, bitch," Kurama snarked. "Come on, now! What're you waiting for?!"
'PRIORITIES, DAMN IT! We at least need to kill the zombies, first!"
The voice huffed. "Very well..."
Taking a deep breath, Naruto decided to kick this off with a bang.
He just needed to get into a better position first… so, with that thought in mind, he slipped past her. Still being in the guise of Kushina, his smaller stature and relative lack of appendages proved rather helpful in that regard.
What wasn't' helpful in the fucking slightest, however, was the temptation to just the drop the transformation and mount blonde right then and there. And of course, it only got worse as he got closer, to the point that he had to physically stop himself as he reached out to grab her by the hair.
But, he managed.
Clementine frowned, looking around as she felt a chill up her spine, as if something... dangerous was in the room. But, she couldn't sense anything. Maybe that was just her imagination? Her instincts told the blonde otherwise, but at the same time, she'd heard no one entering the hidden passageway and that door was pretty loud...
Slinking on up towards the men, Naruto eyeballed them for a sec. With a quick glance he was able to discern that they were maintaining the spell. So, with that in mind, he cast a spell of his own.
Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.
It was a ninja spell that made him spit out a large ball of fire. As such, he didn't need to recite its name while casting… and the poor bastards didn't know what hit them.
As he spat out the ball of fire, three of the mages were engulfed and his invisibility broke. Their screams of agony were like music to his ears.
Though he wasn't sure what to expect from the girl he most certainly wasn't prepared for her to lunge at him with a maniacal cackle.
But, thanks to his comical agility, that was not at all an issue as he hopped over her and cast another spell.
"Scorching Ray!"
Yet another mage hit the floor, a red beam having burned a hole through his head.
But, as he prepared to attack the others, Clementine was right on his ass, two daggers drawn and poised to strike at the nape of his neck. He evaded her lunge well enough, before taking a deep breath and killing two more of the necromancers in one shot, their screaming, writhing bodies enveloped by the ball of fire he spat, courtesy of another Goukakyuu no Jutsu.
Truth be told, he could―and probably should―have enveloped the crazy bitch with that one, but for some reason he didn't.
It would have been such a waste…
Naruto shook his head, dislodging the dark thought as he focused on the mages. He'd deal with her when he was done with them! With that thought in mind, he danced around another lunge and gave her a firm whack upside the head.
Clementine literally didn't know what hit her and had no idea what just happened, just that the world started spinning before her eyes as she dropped her daggers and hunched over, swaying drunkenly in place.
This was courtesy of a rogue ability called Sap, a nonlethal striking ability that instantly stuns its target in exchange for doing zero damage. Only one target can be affected by this ability at a time and it only lasted one minute, but that was all Naruto needed at the moment... so long as he didn't accidentally whack her of course. Like with most crowd control abilities, it would end the instant she took any damage. (8)
But, that wouldn't be an issue. So, with that out of the way, he stopped the surviving necromancers from escaping with another spell.
"Wall of Fire!"
The two remaining mages cried out in fear as their path was blocked by precisely that; even though they were a safe distance away from it at the time, it still felt like their robes threatened to ignite!
The lifeblood drained from their faces, as the other exits were cut off as well... by a 4th-Tier spell, no less!
"Grease!"
And that was the last thing they heard as Naruto didn't give them enough time to contemplate how badly they were fucked.
Enjoying the screams of agony far more than he should have, Naruto snapped his fingers when they died and absently noted that the smoke drifted out of the room. Incidentally, his Robes of Hellfire also made him immune to smoke inhalation, even if ventilation was an issue, so he wasn't bothered either way.
That all said and done, his gaze fell upon the still-staggered blonde and his whole body started to tremble. And from there, everything was a blur to him.
Naruto had no idea when he dropped the transformation and shifted back into his divine class gear. He had no idea when he got so close. But when he did, when he grabbed the blonde by her throat and pinned her down beneath him, her wrists bound by one tail each, he lost control of himself.
Before he knew it, she was utterly nude beneath him, save for her footwear, writhing and screaming obscenities at her assailant as she struggled against his iron grip. Her bikini armor, seemingly made from the plates of hapless adventurers, was cast aside and his manhood was out, poised to penetrate her folds.
Then, he ripped a terrifyingly delicious scream from the blonde, sinking deep within her, his dark side delighted to finally have an outlet for those urges that have plagued them for so long...
He shuddered, the smell of blood and tears delighting him just as much as the warmth and tightness, just as much as the outraged, venomous ravings. And then, he started to move, the first thrust tearing a yelp from his victim that made his hips move on their own and soon enough, the sound of their loins meeting filled the room.
Clementine thrashed and raged, her vision blurring, eyes burning, as she tried in vain to escape. She had no idea where that girl ran off to, where she or this fucker came from, but she didn't care; all that mattered to her was her newfound, sole purpose: to pry herself from his grasp and castrate this fucker before feeding him his own dick!
But try as she might, that never came to pass. No matter how hard she struggled, no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't escape. And to make matters worse, this sicko seemed to get off on watching her squirm!
Then, she stiffened, feeling something warm flooding her loins as the "demihuman" raping her let loose a pleasured groan. Clementine sobbed, her struggles wavering before they finally ceased as the thought of being forced to bear this bastard's offspring flashed through her mind.
Unbeknownst to her, she had no such thing to worry about as Naruto kept going from there, draining the weeks' worth of dark, degenerate urges from his balls and into his victim...
Much, much later…
Now back in his female guise with his self-control restored, Naruto scratched his cheek nervously, unable to look at what he had done to the blonde.
By the time he came to his senses, she was gone―blood pooling beneath the woman, large bruises covering her skin, particularly in the chest and thighs. Thick, white fluid mixed in with the blood seeped from her loins.
...He didn't want to think about it.
To make matters worse, her eyes were rolled back, tongue lolled out, that pretty face now frozen in a classic ahegao.
...He really didn't want to think about it.
One thing was for certain, though… she was dead… and he was very satisfied…
A part of him cried out in horror. Another, much bigger part of him, however, found the release to be quite soothing… as if a massive burden had been lifted from him.
Naruto shuddered.
Pushing those thoughts aside after a long, awkward silence, he cast another Message to check on his companion.
"Lupus."
"L-Lord Kurama! You're back!"
The elation in her response was unexpected to say the least. Naruto frowned; clearly, he'd blacked out for longer than he thought.
'...Back?"
"I couldn't get in contact with you for almost three hours..."
His eyes strayed towards the girl's still-cooling corpse.
"Three hours you say…'' he shook his head, casting his troubled thoughts aside. "Nevermind that, what's the situation outside?"
"I don't know what you've been up to, but it weakened the horde quite a bit," she replied. "The dragons are still being a problem, but most of the more powerful undead have been taken care of. The giant is being dealt with as we speak."
Naruto frowned. So killing those necromancers didn't stop it?
He looked at the boy, eyeballing the crown upon his head. What if...
After studying the arcane runes around his feet and recalling the necromancers' positions when he arrived, Naruto realized what the issue was.
After Momonga was forced to start working that second job, he helped Naruto do a slight respec so that the man behind the fox could start maintaining the Great Tomb on his own. So as not to compromise his build, just in case, Naruto only had five levels in Necromancer―which he had access to thanks to his levels in Demonic Sorcerer; but that was more than enough for him… or rather Kurama, apparently, to discern what the issue was.
He couldn't help but wonder, though... did this mean his character know more about the art than he did in real life…? Or rather his previous one? Questions for later...
"Found the problem," he replied. "Just hold out a little longer."
"Got it!"
It was this boy… he was the keystone, as it were. He couldn't quite tell how, but an examination of that crown should provide the answer.
"All Appraisal Magic Item!"
Then, once the spell had run its course, there was a brief pause as the redhead frowned in contemplation.
"The Crown of Wisdom..." Naruto hummed thoughtfully. He'd never seen this item before… or even heard of it! The abilities were incredibly foreign to him, too. Many of them didn't exist in Yggdrasil, at least to his knowledge. Was it a creation of the New World? Was it simply an item he and his guildmates had never found in the vast worlds of Yggdrasil?
Only around thirty-or-so percent of the whole game had been mapped, last he'd heard, and that was only a few months before the servers shut down, so anything was possible.
Regardless, it was clear to him that this item was the last thing maintaining those necromancers' ritual… and there was no way to remove it without destroying the wearer's mind unless he were to destroy the item itself.
But the only way he could do that was with the spell Greater Break Item, which he didn't know, or a similar effect… which he didn't have... for the most part. He had a ring that could do the job, but it only had three uses and, well… he needed to be extremely careful about how he spent those charges.
Naruto frowned, looked thoughtfully at his left pointer finger for a brief moment and muttered a short prayer.
"Sorry, kid, but you're not worth one of my 'get out of jail free' cards." The least he could do, though, was to make this as quick and painless as possible.
"Kaze no Tsume!" (9)
The spell in question was a wind-based attack, emanating from his claws; like Goukakyuu no Jutsu, it was one of the spells granted to him by his Ninja class levels.
Naruto extended two fingers and with a swipe of his hand, the boy's head was separated in an instant. The crown was then plucked from his brow as the head rolled off and bounced away.
Pocketing the item for examination and experimentation, Naruto then eyeballed the carcass of that girl and realized that it would raise some awkward questions. So to be safe, he cast another spell.
"Destroy Evidence!"
To his pleasant surprise, the girl's corpse then started to evaporate along with the blood and semen until not a single trace was left. The woman's now-immaculate and seemingly repaired outfit were all that remained when the spell was done.
That was interesting…
Truth be told, he'd done that as more of an experiment than anything to see if he could remove the blood and semen. In Yggdrasil, bodies always vanished upon death, so there was no way to deal with them ingame due to a lack of necessity. However, players could still wreak havoc upon the environment; that said, the spell Destroy Evidence would remove that damage and was a favorite among spellcasters who wanted to be a bit more discreet. It only worked on the damage they had caused, though, and could only affect a small area, so particularly-massive craters would still remain, for example. (10)
Then, with all that said and done, he pocketed her gear for examination and was about to cast one last Message, but Lupusregina beat him to it.
"Milord," she said, "the entire horde is dead. Where are you?"
"A secret chamber under the mausoleum," he replied. "I was about to inspect it when you called, actually."
"Should I come to you?"
"Don't venture off alone," he replied. "It'll raise suspicion. Let the bard know where I am and I'll meet you here."
"Uh... Right... Th-the bard is dead, M'lord."
Naruto's eye twitched in mild irritation at her sheepish reply, but he said nothing. In all fairness, he youko could only imagine how she had reacted to him being... unresponsive for so long.
"...Let whoever's in charge know, then."
"As you wish, M'lord."
As the sun set, Naruto was sitting on a gravestone, the disguised youko kicking his legs and twirling his staff in a little display of girly cuteness while he waited for the adventurers to find him.
"There she is," someone shouted, "Kushina!"
Naruto looked up and gave the man a friendly wave, more than a little relieved that Lukrut hadn't found him first.
"Hi Peter," he chirped. "Come to rescue the damsel in distress?" He stood up and took on a cute, mocking pose. "You need to work on the timing." He giggled impishly.
"You need to stop making us look bad," he replied jokingly. "I'm starting to feel inadequate."
Naruto strutted up to him and patted him on the cheek playfully. "There, there," he cooed. "So, where's Regina?"
"Hellooo~!"
Peter yelped as the redhead in question seemingly popped up behind him out of nowhere. "Wha-how? Uh..." he sputtered, "Where'd you come from?"
The werewolf's only response was a mischievous giggle.
"She likes doing that from time to time," Naruto told him. "You'll get used to it eventually."
"Uh… right…" he looked around, feeling cornered and looking for a change in topic, "So… is that the guy?" He nodded at the bald necromancer's corpse.
"He was directing them," Naruto clarified. "Apparently their leader? The rest were in a secret chamber under the mausoleum." He hitched a thumb to the building in question. "I left the door open for ya. They were apparently using a local boy as part of their ritual." He did a wonderful job of feigning regret and continued with a sigh. "Unfortunately, killing him was the only way to stop it…"
"And you did this all alone?"
Naruto shrugged, throwing his female form's hair over his shoulders.
"I never said I was weak. Just a newbie is all."
"Still… that was incredibly dangerous."
"I'm a tough girl!" Naruto protested, puffing out his cheeks in an adorable pout, "I can take care of myself. Besides, I couldn't just wait for someone to catch up, because that would mean more lives lost."
Peter stared at her for a moment before smiling tiredly.
"Just promise you won't do something so reckless again."
"Uhh…'' Naruto blushed, caught off guard by the legitimate concern. "Right… I promise to try my best."
"Thank you."
The third-wheel in the conversation then chose that moment to throw her arms around Naruto.
"Aww, you two would make an adorable couple," she teased.
Naruto elbowed her in the stomach, giving her a glare while Peter rubbed the back of his head, blushing. Naruto turned his glare on him when he noticed.
"Not happening," the youko insisted, cheeks now even redder. "Not my type."
Peter held his hands up placatingly. "I've got a girl," he told them.
Lupusregina perked up, "Oh?" Then, she smiled mischievously. "She doesn't need to know~!"
"R-Regina!" Naruto cried out, doing his best to aghast. To his dismay, however, he was completely apathetic to the notion of stealing someone's partner... mostly because Peter was indeed not his type; Naruto wasn't into guys. Were the partner being stolen a hot, young maiden, however...
The werewolf roared in laughter at that. "Sorry, couldn't resist~!"
''...You know I'll get you back for this, right?" Naruto deadpanned.
"Yup~!"
Naruto deflated with a heavy, exasperated sigh, knowing damn well that he'll find her antics fucking hilarious in hindsight. "Awkwardness aside, where's the guildmaster?"
"On his way," Peter told him, "Same goes for the rest of the team."
The youko smiled brightly at that. "Good to know!" And so, they awaited Pluton's arrival, continuing to chat it up in the meantime as the Swords of Darkness gathered one by one in the cemetery.
Naruto wasn't quite sure what this night had in store for him, but he thankfully had less shit to worry about, at least for now…
Meanwhile, deep in the tomb of Nazarick, Demiurge found himself taking a moment to admire the 9th floor. "Truly magnificent," he said with a fond smile.
He enjoyed coming here on occasion, when he finished his duties, just to drink in the sights. It was quite therapeutic to be honest. Every time he walked through here, he always had a smile upon his face as it never failed to reinforce Demiurge's loyalty to the Supreme Ones, to his gods.
To him, anyone who wasn't delighted by the grandeur of the Realm of the Gods, who wasn't sufficiently loyal to the Supreme Beings, was to be suspected of outright treason at best.
As those thoughts passed through his mind, Demiurge turned the corner and gazed upon the personal living quarters of the Last Supreme One, the One who Stayed, the esteemed Lord Kurama. When he approached, however, Demiurge saw a number of servants exiting the room. Was it that time already? It didn't feel that late at all.
Ever eager to do their job, the servants of Nazarick diligently scoured the 9th and 10th floors to ensure that everything was spotless, no less than twice a day―once in the morning, after breakfast, and once in the evening, just before dinnertime.
One of them was male, dressed as a butler. His uniform was all black, save for the white gloves. Demiurge knew not which one of the ten manservants this man was, though, as he wore an identical face mask to the others. And just like the rest, he communicated solely through odd grunts and such.
Standing before the butler, meanwhile, was… a penguin.
It was rather large for its species, standing nearly two feet tall, and wearing a tie, but it was indeed a penguin… or rather, that's what it appeared to be.
"It has been a while, Assistant Head Butler Eclair," Demiurge greeted.
The large bird was Eclair Ecleir Eicler. In truth, the creature was a birdman, the same species of heteromorph as Lord Peronroncino. Strangely enough, though, said species should be more humanoid in appearance―bearing arms and legs like a human, but with avian characteristics.
Yet he looked just like a penguin…
Demiurge always wondered how, but never why; this being was, after all, created by a Supreme One and it was nigh-treasonous to question any of them. Pushing those thoughts aside, he then addressed the birdman. "Is Albedo inside?" Demiurge asked.
"Indeed, she is," Eclair replied with a bow.
Upon leaving to gather information about this new world, Naruto had left her in charge. It had also become common knowledge by now that she conducted her business in his room rather than her own… for some reason.
She also did nothing without Lord Kurama's approval, so the only one who would object was Shalltear, but the vampire in question was out and about as well, tasked with protecting that village Lord Kurama was so interested in, alongside Princess Fumiko.
"It's rare for you to come here," Demiurge commented. "Aren't you typically put in charge of the guest rooms?"
"Ah, yes," Eclair replied. "I am, but with Sebas gone, it falls upon me to take on several of his responsibilities. In fact, I was discussing some of the finer details with Albedo."
"I see… so am I to assume that you will also be managing the floor?"
"That duty is in the hands of Head Maid Pestonya, actually. I'm sure she'll do fine; managing this floor is nothing compared to cleaning it."
"I'm sure she will," Demiurge replied, his smile growing. "I must ask, though, how do you manage to carry out your duties with those penguin hands of yours?"
Eclair laughed boisterously, whipping a comb out from… somewhere, twirling it in a spectacular flourish before preening the golden feathers on the side of his head and answering Demiurge's question. "My talent lies in overcoming my disadvantages," he declared, "so that I may one day rule Nazarick!"
One would think that such a declaration was an act of outright heresy, but Eclair was created with that desire so no one questioned it.
"I am no mere penguin, after all," Eclair continued, "but a rockhopper penguin created by Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi with the duty of maintaining the Great Tomb's cleanliness! In that department, no one can compare to me! One could eat off the toilets I've tended to!"
Demiurge was not about to test that, but took his word for it while offering the penguin a respectful bow. "It would seem that I've been rude," he said.
Eclair seemed to disregard it, signaling to the masked butler. "Carry me!"
The manservant grunted and picked him up, tucking the birdman under one arm.
"I will be taking my leave, then, Demiurge. Duty calls!"
"Farewell, Eclair."
Finding some humor in the assistant head butler being carried off like a child's plaything, Demiurge waited for the maids to take their leave as well before heading to the door and knocking.
"Pardon the intrusion," he said. "This is Demiurge." Then, he entered Lord Kurama's quarters.
As was the case for all of the Supreme Beings, the chamber was more of a royal suite, featuring a living room, large bathroom, a dedicated kitchen, guest rooms, and even a bar. Several additions and other details also existed, depending on the individual Supreme One's preferences.
Lord Momonga, for example, was known to have a grand piano in his living room.
Demiurge's own creator, Lord Ulbert Alain Odle, had a far more occult feel to his decor, featuring demonic statues, depictions of naked women performing blood rituals or their duties as concubines for the dark lord, and what appeared to be an altar for human sacrifice.
Lord Peronroncino's quarters, meanwhile, were rather infamous for having a full-on sex dungeon with all the trimmings in the basement and several dakimakura in his bedchamber―the case of each pillow bearing the appearance of of one "waifu" or another.
No one in Nazarick quite knew what the word meant for sure, but it was clearly a term of endearment. That said, he was known to have a fascination with young girls, and given the compromising positions each pillow showed its designated girl in on one side, most assumed that "waifu" was another word for sex slave or concubine―possibly both.
As for lord Kurama, his quarters had a large sofa and four bookshelves in a neat row―all filled to capacity with said being's favorite reading material. Sandwiched between them, however, was a glass case with various odds, ends, and knickknacks―the majority of which being miniature statuettes of small, human-looking girls and various women. Some of them appeared to be in battle, some just posing cutely; many were scantily clad or even nude, while others were more conservatively dressed.
This cabinet was apparently called an "otaku shrine" though Demiurge hadn't the foggiest clue what that term meant, either.
He had a few dakimakura of his own as well―seven in total. One depicted a young-looking pink-haired angel garbed in white with two short pigtails done up in white bows and long, flowing locks in the back; one of a young human girl with brown hair and red eyes, dressed as a magic caster; and finally one of a dark-skinned woman with white hair, green eyes, odd proportions, and feline traits, appearing to be a demihuman of some kind… or maybe a heteromorph… possibly a hybrid?
Demiurge was uncertain, as he'd never asked… nor had anyone else to his knowledge.
Lord Kurama's favorite, however, seemed to be a pink-eyed kijo with black hair and what looked like a bamboo muzzle. Of course, Demiurge didn't know for certain, but that definitely appeared to be the case, based on the fact that he had two dakimakura depicting her—one showing her in a younger form and one showing the same girl after having matured. Combined, these two forms also accounted for the most statuettes of a single character in Lord Kurama's collection with the red-eyed magic caster being quite firmly in second place.
That aside, the dakimakura depicting the magic caster was lying on the sofa, while the other two flanked the bookshelves in a decorative fashion and the remaining four could be found throughout Lord Kurama's living qurters. (11)
Then, the demonic man perked up, hearing a rather lewd, feminine giggle coming from the main bedchamber. "So that's where she is," Demiurge muttered to himself, adjusting his glasses.
He was in for a surprise upon entering and finally locating Albedo in Naruto's bed. The succubus in question lay beneath the covers, squirming about and giggling lewdly. To this day, despite how much time had passed, the succubus was still reeling from the reward Lord Kurama gave her for tolerating those creatures for so long.
Of course, he was still far too shy at the time to go all the way with her, the poor dear, but when he pulled her into his arms and stole her first kiss...
Albedo squealed and giggled like a lovestruck preteen at the memory
Demiurge frowned thoughtfully, pondering what she was doing. 'What manner of fell sorcery is that woman up to now…?' This was far from the first time he'd caught her acting weird… he shrugged and called out to her. "Albedo…"
The succubus perked up at that, poking her head out from under the covers to give him a curious look.
"What are you doing in Lord Kurama's bed?"
"I want him to be enveloped with my fragrance when he finally returns," she cooed. "So that he can think of me when he is resting~!"
She plopped back down and returned to squirming about like a cat marking her territory.
Never mind the fact that his sheets would be changed before he had the chance to smell her perfume…
"Do try not to take it too far," Demiurge advised.
"I have no idea why you mean by too far, but I understand," Albedo replied. "Right, Lord Kurama~?"
Demiurge could only stare upon realizing what she was talking to. "Is that… a dakimakura? Where did you even get that?"
Indeed, it was. The body pillow depicted Kurama completely topless and presumably nude. The bespectacled demon couldn't see from his vantage point, nor did he frankly want to know.
"I made it myself, of course~!" Albedo cooed, drawing a look of surprise. "It was wonderful practice for when I started making clothing the children we'll have one day. I've already prepared enough for one boy and one girl, up to age five; it is my duty as his future wife, after all~!"
The giggle that followed sent a shiver up Demiurge's spine, though he knew not why.
But, then, a thought came to the succubus' mind. "Oh, but what if the child is a hermaphrodite or sexless…?"
"I'm sure it will be fine," the bespectacled demon told her. "You seem to have everything under control, after all."
"I suppose," Albedo muttered, an uncertain pout upon her face. Then, she addressed him directly. "So, what did you come to see me for?"
"I am here to inform you that I shall be departing shortly," he stated. "The preparations for my scouting mission have been completed."
"I see…" Albedo frowned thoughtfully. She knew full well what he was referring to. While Lord Kurama was out collecting information with Lupusregina, Demiurge was assigned to head east and scout the Katze Plane.
He wasn't the only one sent out either...
With him gone, that meant their defenses were even weaker now. Only three of the Pleiades remained within the Tomb, and the only Floor Guardians left were Victim, Gargantua, and Cocytus. "How troubling… I feel as though I might not be able to perform my duties with so few of you still here, but I will do my best. If worse comes to worst, my little sister should suffice in repelling anyone foolish enough to attack while you're gone."
There were also the other members of the 8th Floor Hierarchy if things got particularly bad, but Albedo didn't want to risk endangering one of them in particular for obvious reasons.
Granted, Princess Fumiko was out on the field as well, but that only left Albedo even more inclined to look out for Princess Tayuya!
"I was under the impression that you couldn't wake her without Lord Kurama's permission," Demiurge commented.
"Which he has given," Albedo assured. "If anyone dares to defile the home of the Supreme Ones in any way, I will make them wish they were never born~!"
"As you should," Demiurge replied with an approving smile. Then, he bowed. "That said, I shall be off. Best of luck, Albedo."
The succubus waved at him, making it clear that she was completely naked as the blankets fell, much to her colleague's discomfort. "You too!"
DMS Notes and Trivia:
1: Given her reaction to Momonga saying "I like you too" in such an innocent way, I can't help but picture Aura jumping to all sorts of conclusions upon seeing such a look in Naruto's eyes. Poor thing. XD
2: It feels kinda weird to me that Naruto didn't tease people like this in canon, trolling them for misspeaking and such. He is a prankster, after all. That's probably just me, though.
3: Well, hello, there! Seems a few people are conspicuously not dead quite yet...
4: This scene made so much sense for me to write. It serves as quite the lovely callback to Naruto chatting with the fox in his mindscape in my opinion and did wonders in showing how different the original Naruto of this setting is from the being he's becoming.
I felt this was kinda lacking in the original Overlord. Not so much a problem with the series or anything, it just felt like a... missed opportunity. I could very well be horribly mistaken, though. Given that I accidentally called Gargantua Colossus in this fanfic and that I'm relying on fan translations of the LN, it's entirely possible that such a scene exists that I'm not privy to. Kinda hope that's the case; I'm a sucker for authors with a good eye for detail and Maruyama seems like precisely that kinda writer.
Also yeah, returning to the subject of this scene in particular, there's a bit of valuable advice in there: the human body does not know the difference between physical and emotional stress. Always look out for your emotional health if at all possible! A lotta people seem to downplay how important it is and that has a nasty tendency to bite them in the ass.
5: ...I am not sorry, lol.
6: I can't help but imagine these two having a similar relationship to Brock and Misty from the older seasons of the Pokémon anime.
7: I mean, that's a staple item for rogues and similar characters in D&D, so of course he'd have something like it, lol. Rogues were, after all, the foremost trapmasters of the setting, entrusted to set and remove them for the party.
8: Naruto's Sap ability is inspired by an ability of the same name from World of Warcraft. Seems like an obvious ability for him to have. Of course, it's not the only stun at his disposal.
9: Kaze no Tsume (Claws of Wind) is an original wind-based ninjutsu I came up with for my fanfiction, inspired by Kaze no Yaiba from the series proper and Sesshomaru's whip-claw thing from Inuyasha.
10: Seems like a spell a rogue or ninja would have.
11: I figured that the NPCs and such wouldn't be the only things that got more... fleshed out, as it were, upon Nazarick's transfer to the New World. So, I gave their living quarters the same treatment. Not sure if it's canon or not, but if it ain't then we'll just call it a creative liberty, lol.
Parting Note: And, there we have it: Chapter 6 of Volume One. That puts us nearly at the half way point... for the volume. Not sure how many there will be, but it's definitely going to be an absolute minimum of five... and that's being conservative.
That being said, I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out with those small differences culminating in the E-Rantel fiasco we see in this chapter. Some things still happened, others didn't, and one of two simply occurred in a different way with interesting results, exactly as I'd envisioned this story playing out as a whole to be honest.
Rest assured, though: it goes without saying that these will not be the only ripples in the story; E-Rantel's just a taste of what is to come.
And with that outta the way, Chapters 7 and 8 of Vulpine Overlord are due to be posted on the 15th of this month and the 5th of February respectively. The next chapter of The Mirran is due to be up in a few hours and the two that follow will be posted alongside the next two chapters of this story. No longer will I just be posting one of the other; Now, y'all can look forward to both being updated at the same time!
...Give or take an hour or two on occasion, lol. Until next time, eh? :)