"So... are you guys going to let me out of here?" Kazuma asked as he gestured to the knot of rope currently holding him together. "How about you answer our questions first?" The one eye man said. Kazuma just looked him in the eye, taking note of his white hair, red pupil, and the general deadpan he seemed to have. "Are you Nagamo or Naofumi?" Kazuma asked, remembering the two names he had heard. "Nagamo, now tell me how you got here?" Nagamo replied.
"I rode the Wave of Calamity, if you get it just right you can travel between them." Kazuma answered. "Really? so you can use them for travel." Nagamo clarified. "Yes, but only if two waves happen simultaneously." Kazuma answered with a half lie. "And why were you traveling?" Nagamo asked as he leaned in.
Kazuma considered what to say, how they would react. Would they even believe him if he said "A goddess sent me to find four Cardinal heroes and is paying me.", that sounds crazy. "I was sent by a trusted advisor based on rumors of a group capable of aiding against the waves." Kazuma answered cryptically.
"Advisor." another voice chimed in. Nagamo just glared back as Kazuma saw the black haired guy with a shield walk in. 'He must be the Shield Hero.' Kazuma surmised. "A powerful woman that is paying me to find a... I believe they were called The Sword Hero, The Bow Hero, The Shield Hero, and The Spear Hero." Kazuma answered, watching for the other man's reaction.
The other man suddenly got close, taking a strong grip on Kazuma's shoulder, he could fell the room heating up around him as he did so. "Why?" The man simply said. "Because the Waves are spreading, and every world that was connected by the breaking sky is at risk." Kazuma answered honestly, nervous of the boiling alcohol he could feel in his body.
The man let go, and the heat left with him; "Just great" he groaned out as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Nagamo just shook his head and turned back to him "If we can restart, I think we got off on the wrong foot." Kazuma commented as Nagamo put a metal hand on his other shoulder.
"Fine, let's restart." Nagamo said as the shielder walked back. "Good, My name is Satou Kazuma and I'm being paid to find the four Cardinal Heroes." Kazuma introduced himself, causing the others to pause. "Nagamo Hajime," Nagamo said. "Naofumi." Naofumi said. "Ah, well Naofumi it seems I'm now one fourth the way through that plan." Kazuma said. "What makes you so sure about that?" Nagamo snided as he leaned back.
"We're all from Japan, and one of us is wearing a strange looking shield that radiates magic." Kazuma answered. "Told you he would find out." Nagamo snided as Naofumi just scowled; "Why should I?" he asked. "Look man, I'm just being paid to find you guys. If you want a reason I can't really give you one, you'd have to find it in one of the other worlds." Kazuma replied.
"How many other worlds?"Nagamo spoke up. "All things Considered, at least six or so, maybe more." Kazuma answered as he shrugged his coat around. "I have a map in my left coat pocket, if it isn't soaked then it should be in good condition." Kazuma said while shifting his coat under the ropes. Naofumi just scowled, as Nagamo approaches and put his metal hand in Kazuma's left coat pocket.
His newly updated map was pulled out. Made using the details from his previous map, a map he took from Lugunica, a map he took from that one guy's manor when he met Kumoko, and a map provided by Rimuru. Nagamo looked it over, raising his brow as he took in the details. He then pulled out his own map with incredibly different details. The only point the two maps seemed to line up was with a small outcrop on the bottom right from Rimuru's map that appeared on the bottom left of Nagamo's.
Kazuma could see three separate continents on the map. "Did you have a plan of getting back." Nagamo asked in curiosity. "Yes, but she didn't show up with me." Kazuma replied. "Well then, How much are you being paid?" Nagamo asked as Naofumi seemed to gawk. Kazuma just grinned, knowing few could resist what he was being offered.
Subaru groaned, a local healer was kind enough to treat his wounds. He had found several of the beasts that the Storm had spewed out, coming out alive. "How much longer do I have to keep my arm in this?" He asked while gesturing to the mass of medicine synthesis his arms were soaking in. "Just another hour or so." the healer replied.
The sound of a child crying got his attention as he looked in the sound's direction. A small baby with pure white hair was bawling her eyes out in a basket. Subaru could only huff as he watched people ignore the small child in need. "What happened to her?" he asked while dating his eyes to the baby. "Parents claimed she was cursed, she was left to the church but then this happened." The healer answered while gesturing to the destruction of the town.
Subaru continued to hear her cries, and he lost his patience. He stood up, taking his arms out of the medicine much to the healer's protest, and walked over to the small child. She stopped crying as Subaru leaned down, her eyes looked at him with an unexpected curiosity. "Hey there." Subaru said as he gently lifted up the basket she was in. "You sure you want to take her?" The healer asked as Subaru returned. "Is the church going too?" Subaru asked in response as he put his arms back in the medicine synthesis. "Ain't no one left who would take her. Her parents gossip got the people against her, the destruction of the church just made it worse." The healer responded.
Subaru scowled at this; "Does she have a name?" he asked. The healer just shrugged in response; "None that I know of." they answered. "Then I'll give her one, how does Yuika sound?" he asked as the baby giggled.
'Man, this is some Bull crap.' Kumoko bemoaned as she wandered through the forest. She would normally teleport out, but something was interfering with her magic. 'When I find Kazuma, I'm going to give him what for.' She ranted while rasing her fist. She continued walking through the forest, occasionally stopping to devour a random monster in her path.
She stopped when she came across what her Appraisal called Ogres (different from Tempest Ogres that's for sure). They stood taller than her, brandishing tree trunks and large stones as clubs. "Food." One of them muttered as they all rushed her. Kumoko felt her stomach rumble as she looked down.
'Ah, another meal won't hurt.' She thought before raising her scythe legs and charging forward. The first troll to reach her was shot through with a blast of heretic magic before she sliced off the head of the next one. The others faltered as her spider head bit the face off a third.
They tried to run, her Evil Eyes put a stop to that.
'Don't think you can run away from the consequences of your actions food.' Kumoko shouted as she put the last of them to death via Archne venom. She spider head quickly getting to work devouring the Ogre corpses left in her wake.
'Now, where was I again? Oh yeah, finding a way out of her.' Kumoko left, not bothering to see a large creature behind her. "Scary." The large hamster said as she watched Kumoko leave. "I need to tell Ainz of this." She muttered before scampering off.
Kazuma now found himself around a campfire, still tied up. In front of him was two groups. One group had a woman with the same hair and eyes as Hajime, a petite blond girl with red eyes, two scantily dressed women with animal features, and a little demi human girl with fish gills on the sides of her head. The other group was comprised of three demi human girls and a small blonde child with bird wings who was busy playing with the Mermaid girl. Naofumi and Hajime were currently discussing the details that he had provided.
"Can we even trust such a source?" Naofumi heckled Hajime, ignoring him. "Maybe, but a wish spell is rather tempting." Hajime replied. "Does such a spell even exist?" The scantily clad bunny girl from Hajime's party spoke up. "I can assure you, the payment is legitimate." Kazuma spoke up. "But that doesn't answer how you survived the fall." One of the demi human girls (the weasel one) from Naofumi's group spoke up.
Kazuma just chuckled, ignoring the still ongoing argument between Naofumi and Hajime. "I'm undead." Kazuma stated. Silence reined in, everyone turning to him. Hajime broke the brief silence; "Doubt it." he said. "Doesn't matter if you believe me or not, I'm undead." Kazuma replied. "Let me guess, your lady is your undead master?" Naofumi chimed in. "Nope, my undead master is a bit of an airhead. The friend who called me in was someone I met before my undeath." Kazuma replied vaguely.
"That's just great. We've got an undead with payment for a job. As if this can't get any weirder." Hajime mocked. "Trust me, when you start seeing some of the other worlds, it only gets weirder." Kazuma said. "Say you're being truthful, how should we gather the others?" Naofumi spoke up. "Dragging them kicking and screaming if we have too. You guys don't have to get along, just work together." Kazuma answered.
Naofumi just rubbed his face with his hands. "Sir Naofumi, would rather avoid the others." The raccoon demi human girl from his group spoke up. "Ah. Look, I'm not going to go too force you guys to spill everything, I'm just the messenger here." Kazuma said before he felt the ropes loosen slightly.
He smirked as the two groups turned to talk with one another. He ignored it as he began to bend his limbs, feeling the ropes loosen even more. Then they fell slack and he stood up. "Now if I could get my stuff back please?" Kazuma said, getting the others attention, ignoring the gasps of the two groups.
Subaru pat the now named Yuika on the head as she slept. Some of the villagers had been kind enough too give him a harness to carry Yuika over his torso while he traveled. The small baby had tuckered herself out after a brief meal, making it easier for Subaru.
"When I get back, I know you'll love my home." Subaru murmured as he walked. The territory around him slowly changing from the forest too grasslands. He felt his new bag shift a bit, causing him to adjust his shoulders as be heard something up ahead. He turned just in time to see some sort of large velociraptor like monster rush towards him.
"Invisible Providence." Subaru said as ten hands shot out from his sides and slammed full force into the monster. He could hear bits of bone and flesh break from the force of the impact. The monster staggered, shaking its head while letting out pained noises. Three hands grabbed its head and roughly twisted it, snapping the beasts neck.
'Too bad Kumoko isn't here, she'd eat the damn thing in an instant. At least I know where I am.' Subaru pondered as he stepped over the monster's corpse. He looked back on last time, glancing at his surroundings for a second. He pulled out the broken half of his sword and used Invisible Providence to pick up the corpse. He cut off the beasts various claws with a mix of the blade and hand.
"I always wanted something like this, maybe a necklace made from the claw." Subaru said as he left with his newly aquired souvenir. "Best not lose it like Grant though, was a total waste." he muttered, reminiscent on his old world.
The other two Raptors didn't dare approach him, their survival instincts overriding their current state of hunger. He didn't even know that he was in the middle of their hunting grounds.
So he just continued further, hoping to reach a port city before the messily funds on his person run out.
'Alright, so there's just a village?' Kumoko pondered as she watched it from a far. 'It has a lot of goblins though, summon type ones at that.' Kumoko surmised as her Appraisal scoped out the village. 'But where would some peasant girl get such an item?' Kumoko asked herself as she zoomed in on the apparently leader of the village.
A young woman with light brown hair and a horn around her neck. She was walking with her little sister and a thin boy with hair covering one of his eyes. 'Well miss Enri, I hope you don't attack on sight?' Kumoko asked herself as she decended from the trees.
"May I be of assistance?" A calm and monotone voice spoke up. Kumoko turned to the source, her Appraisal still going. She caught a glance of an imposing figure dressed in robes before a message flashed across her vision.
'Forces Appraisal detected, Anti Appraisal ward activated.' Was all she saw before she felt her eyes burn and burst. An explosion tocked her being as she stumbled to the floor. 'My eyes, my precious eyes.' Kumoko lamented as she rolled on the ground in pain.
"Most interesting." She heard the figure say before she felt him stand ever her. "I'm going to heal you, you may want to deactivate your Appraisal if you don't want it to happen again." They said. Kumoko followed suite, not botheri g to argue with free healing.
"Greater Healing." She heard him say as magic washed over her and her eyes began to heal. Burst sinew and fluid was quickly repaired and put back together. She blink a couple times, rubbing her eyes as she could feel the sunlight blaring into them despite being in a more shaded part of the forrest.
When she opened her eyes fully she saw who was in front of her.
An imposing skeletal figure with red glowing eyes and magic practically radiating off of his form. Kumoko instinctively curled in, wishing to make herself unseeable in his presence. "Now little Spider, I have some questions to ask of you." the skeleton spoke calmly as he raised a hand to her.