Oddie continued to watch the laughing Miyamoto with an appraising eye.
"Miyamoto, you're acting really weird man." He said, as Miyamoto's laughter tapered off.
"Sorry, sorry. I just didn't think I would be back here again after so long…" He said as he brushed a hand through his hair.
"Yeah, what's that about? You said it's been five years and you're finally back in this world." Oddie asked, gauging his reaction, he has an idea what happened.
"Yeah… Oddie, would you believe me if I said I have been in another world for five years?" He asked.
Of course.
"So, that's what it really was, huh?" Oddie muttered but it seemed like Miyamoto heard him clearly.
"Huh, why are you not—" Miyamoto seemed to realize something. "—Wait a minute… you saw me kill that shadow monster just now but yet you look so calm—" Miyamoto immediately put his guard up. "—as if you are used to seeing such things." He narrowed his eyes. "Oddie, who are you?"
Oddie sighed.
"I would like to give you an explanation but I doubt we have time for that right now." Oddie said as he stared straight behind Miyamoto.
Miyamoto turned around as well, surprised by what he found.
Before them was what appeared to be fractured glass, only that this was no glass, it was a fracture in space with purple light seeping in.
A spatial crack.
"It can't be, what is a spawn dimension doing here?" Miyamoto's eyes were wide.
Oddie dropped the confectioneries he had been holding ontop of his bag and then placed it on top of a garbage bin close to the wall.
Walking closer, he stood beside Miyamoto as they watched the fracture start to break.
"Since you know what this is, I guess it came with you then." Oddie replied, observing the crack in space.
"Huh? What are you talking about?! No way I brought such a dangerous thing here!" He yelled, eyes displaying emotions that Oddie hadn't seen in him before.
The last time Oddie saw Miyamoto, he had his usual eye bags under his eyes, but those were a result of chronic gaming but right now, it felt like the bags under his eyes were a testimony of what he had been through in the world he went to.
Dammit, he really hates situations like these.
"I'm not saying you brought it here intentionally." This is not the first time a foreign element has appeared in this world after all.
"How dangerous is this thing anyway?" Oddie continued.
"It's a place that continuously spawns monsters, lots of monsters. The monster are weak that I could deal with them myself, the problem is that the more you defeat them, the more stronger ones appear… it's like a survival mode game with no pause button." Miyamoto gave a quick summary.
"And you had this back in the world you were in?" Oddie asked.
"Yeah, it was a good place for grinding levels but since nobody had a death wish, it was mostly left alone." Miyamoto replied.
"Oh, levels eh? So you were isekaid to a world that had a gaming system, that's cool." Oddie said evenly.
"Yeah… it was." Miyamoto replied with a forlorn expression. "Anyway, you're really weirding me out man."
"Huh? What the hell, dude?" Oddie felt offended.
"I mean, I know I'm the one saying it but aren't you believing me too quickly? Also when I found out I was in another world, I was excited by the prospect but here it feels like it is not surprising to you, almost like you've had to deal with crap like this on a regular basis." Miyamoto observed.
"Hmm, you're not that far off the mark, I guess." Oddie agreed.
"Wait a minute, were you isekaid as well?!" Miyamoto grabbed his shoulders.
"Hahaha, no way, no way." Oddie brushed it off.
Crack.
They both looked at the still fracturing spatial crack.
"By the way, how was something like this held back? Cause it seems like it's about to break soon, I would prefer not to have the city flooded with monsters." Oddie said, eyeing the crack, the inside now visible from the parts that has flaked away, he could see various creatures with red eyes scurrying around.
"There is usually a seal in place that prevents monsters from coming out of it and it's not usually a crack in space like this, more like a portal." Miyamoto responded, removing his hands from his shoulders.
"I see… so something like a barrier was in place."
"Yeah, something like that."
"That's too bad, I'm not really that proficient in barriers…" Oddie brought out his phone from his pocket. "But luckily, I know someone who is."
"Wha… you have powers then?" Miyamoto asked, surprised.
Before Oddie could send a message, a voice whispered into the wind.
"Found you…"
What followed that was a mighty palm strike on the chest of Miyamoto as he was sent hurling and crashing into garbage bins, kicking up dust and refuse.
Oddie watched the new arrival, his thumb inches away from pressing the send button on his phone.
The person who arrived was a beautiful girl wearing white robe and hakama pants, a miko outfit, on her hand was a wooden wand decorated with folded zigzag paper, a gohei. She had long blonde hair with strawberry tips styled in twin tails and peach colored eyes.
That person was Akiko Toru, his classmate.
"That was uncalled for." Oddie said, looking at her.
"O-kun… like, you can see that spatial distortion right?" She asked in her usual monotone voice.
"Yeessss?" Oddie replied, already knowing where the conversation was heading.
"So why was the culprit still alive?" She asked staring at him intently.
"Weeell—"
"What the fuck?!"
They both turned as one towards the spot where Miyamoto was hurled to.
He stood up, blood on his lips and his uniform in tatters.
Toru frowned.
"I know you…" Miyamoto looked surprised. "You are Akiko Toru… what the hell is going on Oddie? That would have killed me!" He was getting angry.
"You…" Toru started, staring at Miyamoto and as the stare off dragged on. "…Who are you?"
Oddie and Miyamoto almost tripped.
"Toru, that's our classmate. Hiroshi Miyamoto…" Oddie was holding his laughter.
Toru could be an airhead sometimes.
"I see… I'm sorry then but you have to die." She said, easily switching gears.
"What the hell are you on about?! As if I would stand still and let myself die, not after everything I've been through." Miyamoto said as the air seemed to get heavier but Toru still had that blank stare.
"Like, you are the cause of that spatial crack. If you die, it would stop but if you remain alive, it would persist and more would likely appear." She said, flourishing her gohei.
Miyamoto seemed to falter. "I-is that true?" He asked looking at Oddie.
Oddie sighed audibly.
"Yeah… she's correct."
Miyamoto's eyes hardened. "I see… but I'm sorry, I don't intend to die here, especially not today." He settled into a stance, looking like he was ready to do whatever it takes to survive.
Miyamoto blinked, surprise in his face.
"Fox spirit…"
Toru narrowed her eyes then looked at Oddie who raised both arms up. "Hey, I never talked about you… if I had to guess, he has something like an appraisal ability."
"Like in video games?" Toru asked.
"Yep…" Oddie nodded. "By the way Toru, I would really prefer for my classmates not to try and kill each other."
"O-kun, I am contracted to protect this city…" She said as she looked into the eyes of Oddie, a frown on her lips and her voice colder than before. "Are you trying to get in my way?" The air seemed to vibrate.
"Yeah, whose side are you on, bro?!" Miyamoto asked.
"Let's all just calm down, okay." Oddie stepped between the two parties.
"Look at him—" He pointed a thumb at Miyamoto. "—He survived a blow from you, he is strong… so that means he should be able to clean up after himself right?"
Toru let her shoulders relax. "What are you suggesting, O-kun?"
"Well, I was about to text you earlier, why don't you seal this spatial distortion and then if another one does appear, Miyamoto would take care of it himself, of course I would help out as well… that way, nobody has to die and besides…" Oddie lowered his voice so only Toru could hear. "You can… delegate some of your work to him."
Toru eyes widened, and a very small smile graced her lips. "Like, O-kun, have I told you that I liked you?"
Oddie smirked. "You mentioned that earlier."
"What do you think Miyamoto… Toru would take care of this spatial crack and then if any other problem from the world you were in appears, you would have to take care of it… you would also be helping out with some other issues though."
"I would really like to know what you mean by 'other issues'… but I guess that is fine, I really do not want to get into a fight where I have to put my life on the line anytime soon." Miyamoto said as he started walking closer, still wary of Toru.
Toru walked close to the spatial crack and then brandished her gohei, a pink color streaking along with the motion, soon a pink circle containing a pentagram adorned with elaborate symbols appeared in front of the spatial crack.
"Wouldn't somebody notice something is happening here?" Miyamoto asked as he stood beside Oddie as they watched Toru fix the crack.
"Toru actually put a barrier in place… she is very thorough with things like that…" Oddie said, voice sounding nostalgic.
"I can imagine." Miyamoto said rubbing his chest.
"Are you okay? That must have hurt." Oddie said, apologetic.
"Yeah… honestly, I would have probably died if I didn't have healing magic and if my physical abilities weren't high enough." Miyamoto said.
"Hahaha, I totally get that. Toru packs quite the punch…" Oddie agreed.
"She's level 232"
"Oh? So you truly can use something like appraisal then?" Oddie asked, intrigued.
"Yeah… that's how I knew she was a Fox spirit… although I can't seem to get anymore information on her."
Oddie nodded his head. "Still, that's a convenient ability to have… incidentally what do you see when you check mine."
"…Human, Level 5."
"Ouch, I'm weak as hell after all." Oddie said sadly.
"I don't believe that." Miyamoto said.
"Eh? Why not?"
"…Just a feeling." He said watching as the crack in space folded on itself, disappearing with a pop.
"I'm done." Toru said as she walked towards them.
"So, can you guys tell me what is really going on? Since when did we have magic and supernatural stuff in this world? And what the hell was that thing that I killed earlier?"
"Ah, weeell, we have always had supernatural elements in this world though, it's very contained so that normal folks wouldn't know about it. As for what you killed earlier, that was a [Void being], creatures that sort of exist on the reverse side of the world." Oddie gave a quick exposition.
"A lore drop all of a sudden!" Miyamoto exclaimed then brushed a hand through his hair.
"Look, I can't deal with this right now, I want to go home, I have not seen my family in five years."
"Oh… yeah, that sucks huh?" Oddie said.
"You have no idea, so how about I contact you tomorrow so you can tell me more about everything?"
"Hmmkay, I don't mind…"
"Alright thanks… see you guys then." Miyamoto started to walk away.
"Hey! What about your clothes?" Oddie called out.
"Oh right? And this was my uniform too." He said, looking at Toru with judging eyes.
Toru swung her gohei in his direction and his uniform knitted back into place.
"Oh… that's cool, thanks even though you were the one who ruined it in the first place."
"You are welcome." Toru replied, sounding genuine.
Miyamoto's eyes twitched.
"See you, Oddie!" He said as he started to walk out of the alleyway.
Toru and Oddie stood side by side as Miyamoto went out of view, silence now reigning in the alleyway.
Toru broke the silence.
"O-kun, is there a reason why you protected that boy?"
"Ah, you caught me huh?" Oddie asked in a mischievous tone as he winked with his tongue out.
"You dissipated the energy behind my attack, so I was only able to deal physical damage, he would have died otherwise."
"Hmmm… you think so?" He hummed. "Also, don't be so quick to kill your classmate, Miko-sama." He tried to flick her forehead but she swatted his hand away.
"Surely you know that spatial crack of earlier would weaken the boundary between the void and this world right? At this rate, stronger monsters from the void would start to appear, what do you think would happen if another spatial crack was to appear due to that boy?"
"Miko-sama, you are awfully chatty today."
"Don't call me that, Cupid-kun."
"Anyway… I'm just a bit curious about something is all." Oddie replied.
"O-kun…" She started, voice losing its playful edge. "I would sacrifice one life to save many… I hope you haven't forgotten that." She held his gaze, unblinking.
He looked away. "How could I?" He muttered but enough for her to hear.
"By the way, O-kun, that pink liquid on the floor, that red and white substance… it couldn't be what I asked you to buy from Cafe Lotus right?" Toru asked, a sweet smile on her face.
On the floor, before them where Miyamoto had been hurled towards by Toru was the snacks Oddie had bought earlier.
"Ah…" Oddie chuckled nervously. "How about I get you another, Miko-sama?"
"Good boy. Let's go."
Toru strolled out of the alleyway on peppy steps as her once miko outfit transformed into casual wear.
Oddie glanced as the roof for a bit then quickly went after her.
As they left the area, up in the roof was a boy resting back against the wall, just out of view.
In front of him was a blue see through, holographic heads-up display.
[Odiel is curious about you.]
"Oh fuck."