" ": You talking

' ': You thinking

* *: Narrator/Voice-off

Your POV:

"Be careful, he laid down a trap ! Stay close or... Naofumi ?! Filo ?! EVERYONE ?!"

"Ugh... I never drank before, and after that I really don't want to start... Guys... Guys ? Naofumi ? Filo ?! Anyone ?! Where... Where am I..."

"Okay, so let's keep things composed... I'm most definitely alive, even though this might be some kind of dream... So the first course of action here is determining where I am..."

"... This does not help."

???: So you're finally here, huh ? I honestly was expecting you earlier.

"You... Oh, it's you again. The spirit of the staff."

Sei: I thought we agreed on my name already.

"True, true. Do you-"

Sei: I do not know where you are right now.

"Worth a try. But if you're here then it must be some sort of introspection."

Sei: About that... I do not know where your body is heading right now... But I have a feeling I won't be able to help you for a while after that.

"Why ?"

Sei: Call that some sort of instinct. You might be even more by yourself than before.

"Nothing new then."

Sei: Don't take it so lightly. Please, just for this once, try to remember what you're fighting for... Or you might lose it all. Just... Remember, please...

"... Hey, where did you go ? Sei ?! What's happening ?!"

???: Oi ! Is everybody here ?!

???: Yes, I'm here. Wait, my eyes are adjusting...

???: GYAH !

???: I- I'm sorry !

???: That voice just now...

???: Please wait a second, I'll put on a light now.

???: Glass-san... L'arc-san and Therese-san too... i'm glad ! Seems like we caught up ! Where are Naofumi-sama and the others ?

Therese: hey... Is that you, Raphtalia... ?

Raphtalia: Heh ?

Raphtalia: It is, why are you asking ?

L'Arc: Raphtalia... Um, try touching your cheek for now. Just do it...

Raphtalia: Eh... What ?

L'Arc: Did you notice something ?

Raphtalia: ... We're surrounded...

Warden: You there... How did you get into this prison... ?

Guards: We can't get their weapons off !

Warden: What ? So you guys are vassal heroes... !

Glass: ... Well, what if we are... ?

L'Arc: Glassy !

Glass: This kind of rope... With my strength... !

Glass: ... ... My power... Is flowing out of my body ?!

Warden: Heh ! Fools ! It seems that you guys got in here without knowing what kind of place this is ! Even though you guys are heroes, you are so foolish...

???: AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH !!

*SCHBROOOM*

"Guh... That wasn't quite the landing I hoped for... "

Guard: Another one ?!

L'Arc: Sonny ?! Why are you here ?!

"I'd like to know myself... ... Wait, L'Arc and Co ?! And... Uhh, Raphtalia ? i'm getting confused here..."

Therese: Now's not the time ! Can't you see we've been captured ?!

"... Yeah, I can see. So I guess we'll get out of here first and then we'll discuss this whole situation."

Guards: Get out of here ? Who do you think you are ?!

"You lot. The time will come when you'll curse fate for placing you on my path. But for now, just stay quiet while this place burns down ! Custom spell, MAGICIAN'S RED !!"

*PUFF*

"... ... ... ... I said... MAGICIAN'S RED !!"

*PUFF*

"WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING !! STAR PLATINUM !"

*PUFF*

"DAMMIT !!"

Warden: What are you standing here for ?! CAPTURE HIM TOO !

"Eh ? AAAAAAAAHHHHH !!"

Warden: We'll leave you all in here for now !!

Raphtalia: ... ... ...

Therese: Raphtalia-san... Are you okay ?

Raphtalia: Ah... yes. Instead of me, Glass seems more...

Glass: I'm fine. If I rest, I will recover a little...

L'Arc: Glassy...

"I swear, out of all places, we had to fall here... What even is 'Here' anyway ?"

Therese: There's no doubt about it... This place is the regression prison we've heard about !

"Regression ?"

Therese: It seems that this place was made so your level didn't matter much, and magic is always being cast that decrease all abilities.

"Decrease ? Better check to see if everything's right then... ... .. ARGURGLAH?!"

L'Arc; Hey, don't make such a ruckus ! What's wrong with your status?

"M- My status... My stats... My level... It's all been reset ! I'm back at Level 1 !"

L'Arc: You what ?!

"I'm not kidding ! And worst of all... My skills, and all my spells... They're gone ! I can't access them anymore ! The party menu's all bugged out, too ! Be it Rishia or Filo, I can't see anything !"

L'Arc: Okay, that last one might be because of the prison... But getting your level reset ? Like we needed that right now !

Raphtalia: Because of the prison... Is that what's happening the Glass right now ?

Therese: The spirit race has no level concept, and their soul points are their life force. That means decreasing her abilities will put her life in danger !

Glass: ... No way... I could die as easily as that...

Raphtalia: I see... My level has also decreased, so my appearance is back to my real age... But we haven't committed any sins ! Why are they treating us like this...

"Neither did we back in Melromarc, yet you saw it with your own eyes... Some people don't need a reason."

L'Arc: Nah, I think this kind of treatment is even lighter than normal.

Glass: I think they are now desperately discussing with their higher-ups about this sudden turn of events. We have become sitting ducks...

"Ducks... Wait, you think the same situation has happened to the others as well ? Are they all back to level 1 ?"

Raphtalia: Oh no...

Both: Filo !!/Naofumi-sama !!

L'Arc: ... You're lucky they didn't discover you're one of the holy heroes from another world... But if we died here, they would have two vassal weapon that have no users. So they would do it in secret.

There: In this world, we have so many things going on between countries...

L'Arc: Damn ! That bastard Kyo ! While we are being treated like this, I don't know what's going on with the others right now...

"... ... ... Filooooooooooooooo... ..."

Raphtalia: We better do something about this before we get a concerned father on our hands... Let's escape. Right now.

Therese: Raphtalia-san...

Raphtalia: The longer we stay, the harder it will become.

Therese: But how ? They took my bracelet too...

"And I don't want to sound like that guy, but I don't think a mage without spells is very useful..."

Raphtalia: Don't worry. I have an idea.

Warden: Don't let your guard down ! Even with their abilities decreased, they are heroes !

Guard: Hm ? Hey, just now... There was something there...

Guards: That kid is gone ! IT CAN'T BE !! Hey ! That stupid little, where did that kid go ?!

"She... She hasn't moved a step from there, you know ? On the other hand... I think we're gonna move a lot real soon."

Guard: What ?!

Glass: I see, this makes a lot of sense. To not lose their power along with the prisoners they guard, prison guards are using these "Charms"...

Guard: Guh- When did...

Glass: I'm sorry. It seems that I can't hold back right now... I'm really sorry for this...

"So even without spells I can still share my mana... That's food for thoughts."

L'Arc: Even so, you did it quite flashy. And with that, we're completely wanted criminals on the run !

Therese: Ahahaha !

Glass: What ? We just have to not get caught anymore.

L'Arc: Reflect a little, won't you ?

"But now... At least we now know our condition wasn't linked to the prison... 'Cause otherwise, Raphtalia would've reverted to her adult size..."

Therese: So it's not because of the prison that her level decreased ?

"Just like it's not because of that I lost all my spells... And both are really starting to piss me off !"

Raphtalia: Can't you just make them back ?

"What do you think I'm trying to do right now ?! But even if I try over and over, it's always the same error message ! Like, what the hell does 'Conditions not met' means, I did back when I was level 1 ! I swear, all that situation has just turned into one giant ballbreaker !"

*SCHBROOOOOOOOOM*

"... ... Did that tree just explode right now ?!"

Therese: It was completely torn apart...

L'Arc: Are they following us already ?!

Glass: I doubt it. I made sure there was no one left to ring the alarm...

L'Arc: Yeah, you went too far... But thinking back on it, that illusion sure was amazing !

Raphtalia: It's a very elementary illusion magic. I have sometimes used it in battle to make an opening, but I tricked an opponent outside of battle this time, so I feel a little bad...

Therese: So it's fine if you use it in battle, huh ?

Raphtalia: ... I thought, about what Naofumi-sama thinks at a time like that, and about how he would get out of that situation... I hope he's okay... I can only pray...

"I've known the guy for most of my life. He's clearly not the kind to let himself get dragged down by things. You saw that by yourself too."

L'Arc: For now, let's think about ourselves, and where we're heading next.

"That makes me wonder... Is everyone really in the same situation... ?"

???: Sa... Fumi-sa...

Rishia: Naofumi-san !

Naofumi: R Rishia ! Where is this... ?

Rishia: I don't know... When I came to, we were already here...

Naofumi: Raphtalia ! Filo ! Y/n !! Where are they ?!

Rishia: Th- That is... They were not...

Naofumi: ... Okay, let's try to understand our current situation. They may be close by...

Naofumi: What's with this shield ?

Rishia: Shield ? I've never seen this one...

Naofumi: I should've been using the Spirit turtle's heart shield...

*Hero: Lv. 1*

Naofumi: WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING ?! Most of the shields that I've unlocked are unusable now ?!

Rishia: U- Um, Naofumi-san... My level is also 1...

Naofumi: 'That means... We were locked in ?!'

Therese: Between this world and our world, the rules of nature are different.

Naofumi: No, no, no, no... It can't... Raphtalia, where is Raphtalia ?! And Y/n, and Filo... Are they safe ?! Are they alright ?!

*The target is outside the slave crest's observable range*

Naofumi: SHIT !! The slave crest is not working !

Rishia: So you can't find their locations...

Naofumi: ... Her name is not present in the party list...

Rishia: This can't be...

Naofumi: NO ! Till now, it was always observable... We were never separated until now...

Rishia: Th They are just not close by... They must have appeared somewhere far away from us. It's not like they're gone... ...

Naofumi: ... THIS ISN'T FUNNY !! HEY, ANYONE !! IS ANYONE THERE ?! YOU ARE THERE, AREN'T YOU ?! THE ONE WHO LOCKED US IN HERE...

Rishia: Na- Naofumi-san...

Naofumi: Out of the way, Rishia ! Now that it has come to this, I'll force my way-

Rishia: Naofumi-san... ? It looks like it wasn't locked... Are you alright ?

Naofumi: ... So we weren't locked in ? 'I've done it. I've lost my composure. My level has been reset and the others aren't with us. This is the worst possible situation, but... It is not hopeless. We've got the experience of starting from zero in Melromarc. That's right, I won't break over something like this. Not only Ost's request, but I'll end up giving up on everyone too. And only that... !'

Rishia: This is odd... There isn't even a single guard even though this is a prison...

Naofumi: Now that you mention it... Clearly, something or someone must be living here.

Rishia: is this a furnace ? Amazing, it must be comfortable here.

Naofumi: Though this is a prison. Who knows what kind of person created this. But one thing's clear. This "Prison" must be safer than the "Outside".

Rishia: What is that ?

Naofumi: That must be the exit. There isn't anything else that looks like an exit.

Rishia: perhaps... Are we going through there ?

Naofumi: You want to wait for whoever put us in here to return ? Even though we don't know what kind of people it is ?

Rishia: Bu- But... Right now, our levels are...

Naofumi: Rishia. I'm counting on you. Where did your vigorous self go after you cornered Kyo ? The old woman acknowledged your ability, didn't she ? Our levels won't increase if all we do is wait here... And we can't search for Raphtalia and the others. I'll be heading out first, follow me.

Rishia: O- Okay !

Naofumi: The... THE SEA ?!