After escaping the infinite Labyrinth, the group started to make their way into the woods from the labyrinth's entrance with Kizuna. While they were walking, Kizuna was finally able to see the Wave countdown for herself on her stat screen.
"So this is a countdown to the Waves? It says 10 more days." Kizuna said.
"Not a lot of time. And we still haven't found Filo yet." Legolia said.
"She must be here somewhere." Thorani said.
"We should probably figure out where to find safety first. Kizuna, know any place in this world we could get our bearings?" Ethox said.
"Sure do. We can go to Sikul, the country I was summoned to. I can guarantee its way more safer than where we are now." Kizuna said.
"How far away is Sikul?"
"A week on foot?" Kizuna guessed.
"That sounds a little far…" Raphtalia said.
"We'd probably have to go through a few checkpoints, and cross a few borders." Kizuna added.
"That's not good for us with a group this large. We could try teleportation, but none of us have no idea where Sikul even is."
"That's why we're gonna take a more direct route. We'll head straight to this country's capital, Mikakage. There's a Dragon Hourglass we can use there to warp to Sikul." Kizuna said.
"You mean the same country that locked you up?" Hapi asked.
"Don't worry, we won't be there long." Kizuna assured.
"Wait, back up a bit. Your dragon hourglasses allow you to teleport?" Ethox asked.
"Yeah. So the ones in Naofumi's world can't do that?" Kizuna asked.
"No, they don't. I'm actually surprised this world has them too." Naofumi said.
"I see. Our worlds really are different. We call it Return Dragon Vein, and the Cardinal Heroes and Vassal Weapon Heroes are the only ones who can use it." Kizuna explained.
"I see. If we make our way to the Hourglass, and use its power to warp to Sikul, there's no way for them to follow us through?" Naofumi asked.
"Yup." Kizuna said. "The capital's not that far, just a 3 day walk."
"We can use those days to level and buy weapons. Hopefully by then, we're strong enough to storm the enemy headquarters." Naofumi said.
"Oh, I almost forgot. There are checkpoints throughout the road leading to the capital so we're gonna have to buy a pass." Kizuna said.
"So even in another world, I'm back to being a traveling merchant, huh?" Naofumi asked.
The group soon walked through the streets of the nearby town passing by the people that live in it.
"This country's really Asian-looking." Naofumi noted.
"Yeah, but some of the others are more European." Kizuna added.
"Asian? European?" Raphtalia asked.
"The clothes are all Japanese, but there are lots of different races." Naofumi noted, spotting green skinned humanoids with pointed ears.
"Those are the grass people, or just Grass. Demi-humans, like Raphtalia." Kizuna said.
"More like elves than demi-humans, I think." Naofumi said.
"Over there are the jewel people, or just Jewels" Kizuna pointed out a group of people who had a jewel somewhere on their body. "They're the same race as Therese."
"Therese was a different race, too?" Naofumi asked before noticing a group of pale people walking by. "And them? They're not ghosts, right?"
"Those are the spirit people, like Glass." Kizuna said.
"Spirit people?" Rishia asked.
"Some countries call them Spirits." Kizuna said.
"They're like Hisako then." Ace said.
"Yeah… Hardly." David said, not wanting to remember Hisako.
"So, Glass is a Spirit? What makes them so unique apart from other races?" Adora asked.
"Other races have life or weapon power, while Vassal Weapon users have soul power. But spirits only have their energy level." Kizuna explained.
"Explains why my Soul Eater Shield hit her so hard." Naofumi said.
"Since they're dependent on that energy, they don't have levels, though." Kizuna said.
"They don't?" Rishia asked.
"But that also means Spirits with lots of energy are very powerful. And they're almost entirely incorporeal, so normal attacks don't hurt them." Kizuna said.
"So that's why she was so strong." Rishia said.
"Their one weakness is that their energy can only recover naturally." Kizuna said.
"So no magic or items work for them." Ethox said. "Hm…if this world got exposed to the rest of the Multiverse, I think there would be some items or magic out there that would be compatible with them. But I guess we can look into that later."
"Everyone, take a look at this." X said, referring to several notices posted up.
"Suspicions of neighboring countries creating new weapons using monsters and researching teleportation. This is concerning, but least they don't know about us yet." Theo said.
"Don't jinx us, Theo." Naofumi said.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't be surprised if most of it is just gossip." Kizuna remarked.
Raphtalia's stomach then growled.
"Let's focus on getting some food before we come up with our next plan." Jexi said.
The group was soon seated inside of a restaurant as they ate.
"Before we can think of reaching the hourglass, we need to make some cash, and a lot of it." Naofumi said.
"You got any ideas in that hero head of yours?" Vector asked.
"I got one." Naofumi said as a bottle was brought out of his shield's storage space. "This is a potion that recovers SP."
"SP? You mean Spirit Power?" Kizuna asked.
"Yeah. I saw L'Arc use it on Glass once and it felt like she caught a second wind." Naofumi said.
"If that's true…Spirits would definitely pay a fortune for that." Sunset said.
"Yeah, but it's not like Spirits are gonna buy it just cause we said so. How're we going to peddle it?" Nemo asked.
"I have…just the way." Naofumi said, smiling wickedly.
The next day…
"Come one! Come all! A miraculous potion that restores the power of spirits! Now keep in mind, we have a limited quantity of this item so we're selling at a high price!" Naofumi said as Spirits from across town lined up to buy the potions. Of course, after the sales of the day were done, the next batch was up for auction the next day, with an accidental spill and miraculous save to make things even more interesting and entertaining. It was with those two days, the group was swimming in cash.
"Wow, Naofumi! You're really good at being a merchant!" Kat said.
"Yeah, it's obvious you've had experience with this kinda thing. If you weren't so busy before the Spirit Tortoise woke up, you could have led the Dungeon Knights advertising." Kaze said.
"Yeah, I won't deny that. How did you get so good?" Luz asked.
"Let's just say that I had to get good at a few things to get by in my early days in Melromarc." Naofumi said.
"I get it, do what you have to, right?" Catra asked. "So, now that we have enough money, we should be able to get by around here and get to the Dragon Hourglass in the capital, right?"
"Yeah, we should have enough for a pass." Shiki said.
"More than enough. Let's use the rest of it to buy some weapons and armor while we're here." Kizuna said.
Kizuna took Naofumi, Rishia, and Raphtalia shopping for some new outfits, considering that Naofumi lost his equipment in the Infinite Labyrinth and Raphialia's current wares were too big for her current stature. It wasn't long before the three of them were all dressed up in eastern-inspired garb.
"Check it out! You all look great." Kizuna said.
"Don't you need anything, Kizuna?" Hope said.
"I'm fine as I am." Kizuna assured.
"But that haori of yours is a total mess." Naofumi said.
"Glass gave it to me, though." Kizuna said.
"I see… Sorry." Naofumi said.
"Master Naofumi, do you think this looks good on me?" Raphtalia asked.
"Yeah, seems fine. And you look like a ninja girl, Rishia." Naofumi said.
"Ninja girl?" Rishia asked.
"So, if you had to choose between the three of you, who looks the best, Naofumi?" Megumin asked, which piqued Raphtalia's interest.
"Well considering mine grants a high defense, it's obvious who's best." Naofumi said, pointing to himself.
"She meant in terms of aesthetic and looks- ah, nevermind." Nemo said. "In any case, with the money we've got, we can get passes for all of us and get to Mikakage first thing tomorrow."
The group soon arrived at the capital the next day and saw it was bustling.
"So this is it. Just reaching the hourglass and then we take off." Jexi said.
"Yes…though somehow I doubt that's gonna happen." Theo said as they saw a crowd of people at the shrine where the hourglass was held.
"Huh. Looks like there's something going on. Guess we can't use the hourglass." Ty said.
"Scuse me, what's the occasion for the crowd here?" Ethox asked.
"Don't tell me you haven't heard about it." a civilian replied.
"Apparently, a gifted mage from another country somehow developed a way to use the Return Dragon Vein, when only Cardinal and Vassal Weapon Heroes can." another said.
"And they're here now to show off an experiment." the first said.
"I don't like this, that gifted mage could be Kyo." Ty said.
"Yeah, it could be." Naofumi said.
A figure accompanied by two female guards soon stepped out of the shrine's entrance. He wore a samurai-like armor over what appears to be a school uniform, and had long dark blue hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"I dunno why but I hate him already. He's like Melromarc's former king." Theo said. "So we meet Trash II."
"Yeah, I look at this guy, and I see "Self-Entitlement" written all over him." Ty added.
"Yeah, this is someone I really wouldn't mind killing." Simon said.
"Splendid work, Lord Kazuki!" One of his guards said.
"We believed you could do it!" the other added as the one known as Kazuki laughed.
"Of course I could." Kazuki claimed arrogantly.
"When it's ready for mass adoption, please bring it to us first."
"Hmm…perhaps I'll think about it while I drink sake and watch the snow fall." Kazuki said.
"Of course. We have a room prepared."
They watched him leave as they were doing the same.
"No way we're letting him do as he pleases and block us from the hourglass. We strike…tonight." Theo said.
Night soon fell, the group stealthily made their way back to the shrine as they started to infiltrate it.
"You're sure the Hourglass will take all of us once you use this Return Dragon Vein thing?" DJ asked.
"I'm sure. Since you're all members of my party, you'll be teleported along with me. But if you're too far away from me, I don't know what will happen." Kizuna said.
"Well then let's make sure we stick together like glue." Kaze said. "You know where the hourglass is?"
"Here. The hourglass is on the other side." Kizuna said, opening the closest sliding door, only to reveal a wall. "Something's not right!" she said as the lights came on.
"That's them! The intruders!"
"Surround them!"
Guards quickly rushed to the area and blocked off any paths of escape.
"Damn it. It was a trap. They made that announcement on purpose just to lure us in." Theo said.
"No choice. Push through em!" Ethox said.
Natyal readied her chain as she attacked with it, almost as if she was dancing in tune with it. As the group pushed through the guards, they kept running into dead ends looking for the hourglass.
"I'm getting tired of all these dead ends. So…if we can't find a path…" Jexi said breaking down the stone blocking them in. "We make one instead."
With a stroke of luck, the hole Jexi made led right to the Dragon Hourglass. And waiting for them in front of it were Kazuki and his two retainers.
"Very good, well done. Its a pleasure to meet the buffons who fell for my trap." Kazuki applauded as more guards surrounded them. "I deliberately stationed fewer guards and you came rushing right in. I guess Kyo was right about all of you being idiots."
"You're working with Kyo?"
"I prefer to be called one of his business partners." Kazuki said.
"And lemme guess, in exchange for sponsoring this teleportation endeavor, you volunteered to catch us for him?" Ty asked.
"Something like that. Whatever you all did must've seriously pissed him off. He was practically foaming at the mouth just talking about it." kazuki said.
"Knowing that makes me feel a little better about this." Naofumi said. "But just a little."
"I'm starting to see why you pissed him off so much. Wipe off that smug look on your face, prick." Kazuki said.
"Whatever you say. You just want to be a wannabe Kyo. A Trash II." Theo said.
"Let me correct something your friend mentioned earlier. I wasn't told to capture you all alive." Kazuki said, putting his thumb up. "I was instructed to capture you dead or alive." he said, pointing it down as the guards charged.
"Yeah, good luck with that. See how well that turns out for you." Simon said.
"Especially when this happens." Jexi said as Kizuna went flying in as she jumped next to the hourglass.
"Crap!" Kazuki said.
"Return Dragon Vein!" Kizuna said as they all started to glow.
"Hahahaha! Suck it!" Kazuma said flipping him off before the glow on him suddenly stopped. "What the hell?!"
It wasn't just Kazuma either. Raphtalia, Wendy, Carla, Xion, Kabuki, Kagetsu, Ginseng, Natyal, Subaru, Frisk, Sans, Papyrus and Asia stopped glowing.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Papyrus asked before a familiar laugh pierced the chamber.
"Kyo! That bastard, he rigged the hourglass!" Subaru said.
"He kept us together just to tear us apart." Ginseng said.
"Kizuna, you need to stop!" Jexi said.
"I can't. Once the spell activates, I can't stop it." Kizuna said.
"We'll be fine." Natyal said.
"But, Raphtalia…!" Naofumi said.
"We'll keep her safe, Naofumi. Trust us. You don't need to be the one to protect her all the time." Xion assured.
"Just don't worry about us. We'll keep everyone safe until we meet back up again." Wendy said.
"You guys better be telling the truth." David said.
"Of course we are. Don't worry about us, just go!" Kabuki said.
"Do not worry, my lord. I shall keep your prized retainer safe." Kagestu said.
"Alright. I'll be counting on you, Kagetsu." David said.
"Raphtalia….Raphtalia!" Naofumi called out as the group that was glowing vanished in an instant, leaving the rest behind.
Natyal readied her chain.
"No regrets. Right Raphtalia?" Xion asked.
"Yeah. No matter what happens… I'll always be Master Naofumi's sword." Raphalia replied as the group left behind engaged Kazuki and his guards.