...san!
Naofumi-san!
Rishia?
I'm so glad you're awake!
I kept calling your name, and you wouldn't get up!
Where are we?
When I woke up, you were the only one with me.
Where are Raphtalia and Filo?
It looks like it's just us.
I see.
What is this shield?
It looked like that when I woke up.
I've never seen it before.
What is it?
Naofumi-san?
My level's dropped back to 1.
Transformation Requirements Not Met
So has yours, Rishia.
You can make weird screams if you want.
So is this all Kyo's doing?
Raphtalia and Filo not being here... Our levels resetting...
Naofumi-sama!
I'm so glad you're safe! And Rishia-san, too!
Where's Filo? I can't see her anywhere.
Raphtalia, your...
Your body!
The Rising of the Shield Hero
It's open?
We weren't locked in?
Episode 7 Infinite Labyrinth
I don't see any guards either.
And we still have our weapons.
Raphtalia, that's too heavy for you.
B-But it's my only weapon.
What?
I was just remembering when we met.
I m-may be back to Level 1, and I may be smaller,
but I'm still your sword!
Yeah.
It's totally different than it was then.
Naofumi-san! Raphtalia-san!
Looks like somebody lives here.
There's even a stove.
Does this belong to the person who brought us here?
Maybe, but why live in a prison?
Does that lead outside?
Something looks very wrong.
But we have to go.
W-Wait!
This place is strange.
Strange?
There are waves,
but no wind.
And the coast is strange, too!
It's like there's nothing out beyond the horizon!
So it's suicide to go out into the water.
Monster Crest out of Detection Range
It doesn't look like Filo's anywhere around here.
She may not be stuck in this weird space with us.
Filo...
S-She'll be just fine!
Knowing her, she's probably having a lot of fun somewhere!
Do you think so?
What if we don't find her?
She's never been in a situation like that...
We need to get out of here and find her.
Right!
Cardboard?
Raphtalia!
Okay!
A-Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm not hurt at all.
New Shield Unlocked
White Cardboard?
I've never seen this one before.
Is it like an Orange Balloon?
Looks like we get XP, too.
We should raise our levels a bit.
Yeah.
You too, Rishia.
O-Okay!
Big-Face Rabbit
I feel so much more alive!
We're lucky the water's drinkable, huh?
There's no point in fighting so many low-level enemies.
Drinking that water made me hungry!
I'm actually pretty hungry, too.
A kappa?
Wait, Raphtalia!
Naofumi-sama!
Run! You can't fight him at your level!
Let go of Naofumi-sama!
Take this! Take this!
Wait!
Slaughter Wire!
You okay?
I take my eyes off you for a second, and look how far you get.
You could've died, you know.
Who are you?
Kizuna. Kazayama Kizuna.
One of the Four Cardinal Heroes. The Hunting Hero.
Four Cardinal Heroes? Hunting Hero?
I gave you my name. Give me yours.
Iwatani Naofumi. One of the Four Cardinal Heroes. The Shield Hero.
You're a Cardinal Hero, too?
I've never heard of a Shield Hero.
And I've never heard of a Hunting Hero.
And that name... Are you Japanese?
You are too, right?
Naofumi-sama?
You took a lot of damage, considering your heavy armor.
It looks kind it's bugging out, actually.
Barbarian Armor
My defense values are bugging out, too.
Is it because my level's not high enough to use this item?
I guess we need to treat your wounds before we talk about anything else.
I see. So you're a Cardinal Hero in another world, Naofumi?
Oh, is it okay if I call you Naofumi?
Call me what you like. I'll do the same.
Um, Raphtalia-chan and Rishia-san, right?
You're lucky, Naofumi, to have comrades who care about you so much.
Are you all alone?
I have some, too.
But I haven't seen them for years. Ever since I got locked up in here.
Locked up?
Oh, I kinda screwed up and got captured by an enemy country.
Why would you capture a Cardinal Hero?
How would you deal with the Waves?
Waves? What are those?
You don't know what the Waves are?
We Cardinal Heroes are summoned to fight them!
Looks like you and I were summoned for different reasons.
L'Arc and Glass knew all about them, at least.
What did you say?
L'Arc and Glass?
I think they're from another world, like yours.
You know L'Arc-niisan? And Glass, too?
She's my best friend!
Best friend?
That scary woman with the fans is your best friend?
That's right!
You're best friends with that monster?
How old are you?
Monster? And I'm 18.
Are you a loli h—
No...
You were just about to say "loli hag"!
So you do know what it means.
Of course I do!
Loli?
Hag?
Sorry. You're hungry, right?
Let's eat.
Wait.
Why would I want to eat with some untrustworthy girl I just met?
Why wouldn't you?
I did save your lives.
And we're both Cardinal Heroes.
You're even more untrustworthy now that I'm hearing you're friends with Glass.
You could turn on us at any moment.
Naofumi, what did those guys ever do to you?
Fine...
Naofumi-sama!
My Cardinal Weapon can attack people, but can't hurt them.
You understand now, right?
I can't hurt you.
So let's eat!
I brought us plenty to chow down on.
And I can cut them up with this!
No, I'll do it.
I'm not going to poison it.
It's a question of who's the better chef.
Wow, this looks great!
Maybe I was right to let you do the cooking!
Let's eat, then.
Let's eat!
That was great.
Thank you for the meal.
Raphtalia, don't tell me you haven't eaten enough!
N-No! Definitely not!
You used to eat all the time when we first met, too.
D-Demihumans grow fast when they level up, and it makes us really hungry.
So you are hungry.
You're in your growing years, Raphtalia-chan.
Hang on. I'll make some more for you.
Thank you...
I'm glad you came! Now I'll have lots of good things to eat!
We're leaving.
You can't.
What?
This is the Infinite Labyrinth. A temporal prison.
Once you're inside, you can never leave.
Never?
How long have you been here?
No idea.
I used to count, for the first few years.
But then I stopped.
That doesn't mean I've given up, though.
I've spent every day for years looking for a way out.
But I've never found one.
Do you expect us to believe you and just stay here forever?
Nope.
I'll show you around.
But this place has night and day, too.
It's late tonight. Let's go in the morning.
Stay here.
It doesn't look like much, but the monsters can't get in here.
How long has Kizuna-san spent here alone?
I couldn't handle it.
Me neither.
If we can't leave either...
We can't stay here.
We need to find Filo and get vengeance for Ost.
It got to me pretty bad when they told me I'd spend the rest of my life here.
"I'm staying here all alone? Forever?"
I was in a pretty bad mood.
I've searched every square inch of the island. Even tried to go out to sea.
There was even a time when I thought I'd just give up and kill myself.
But I had all the time in the world,
so I thought I'd keep fighting for as many years as it took, until I found a way out.
You're very strong, Kizuna-san.
You're so little, but you sound like a grown-up!
Well, I want to see Glass and the others, too.
After years of searching, I think this is the most likely place.
I've taken care of the monsters here, but be careful.
If you've done all that, why can't you leave?
That's what I've brought you here to see.
This is it.
What is this?
It looks like the door that connects the prison to the island, right?
I think this is the far end of the Infinite Labyrinth.
There's nothing beyond it. Just another dimension or something.
Don't tell me you haven't gone through 'cause you're too scared.
Go ahead.
What is this?
See? You can't get in.
This is why I'm stuck.
No...
Why?
I'm sure this is the edge of the space.
But it's not meant to be an entrance.
The wall just happened to collapse,
and reveal that they hadn't made anything on other side?
That's right.
What does that mean?
I don't really understand, but this means there's no exit, right?
It may not be an exit, but it's a bug, at least.
Forbidden Action The Four Cardinal Heroes cannot travel to another world. Exception Handling Failed
Bug?
Yeah, that's right.
Whether it's a 3D game or a 2D side-scroller,
what do you do when you find a bugged-out area?
I'd try to do whatever I could to get in.
What are you talking about?
We might be able to make this work.
I made it like you said, but what is this?
You saw the description, right? It's a Bio Plant Seed.
I can't do anything to modify it at my current level.
It was fun, like strengthening a shikigami!
So, what do we do with it?
This!
Naofumi-sama, is this...
We need to get out of here first, everybody!
The room's swelling up!
Can you do that?
This is the only way for us to force our way into the bug.
It's going to burst! Raphtalia, Rishia!
Right!
Kizuna!
Come with us!
Okay!
Kizuna-san!
It did a great job helping us, but it'll cause a lot of problems if we let it live.
Thank you!
I'm outside.
Kizuna?
I'm outside!
The outside! I'm outside!
I'm outside the Infinite Labyrinth! I'm sure of it!
This is the world I was summoned to!
Thank you!
Thank you, Naofumi!
It's thanks to you!
Thank you so much!
You're too loud.
I'm finally out!
I'm finally...
I'm not alone anymore, am I?
Hooray!
A Parting in the Snow