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"Thank god it's not Shibuya again, that place is always filled with damn Yokai all the time, I'm tired of going hunting there…"
Erika sighed in relief as she glanced at Takeshita Street, one of the many Streets of Tokyo, this was a place well known as a shopping and entertainment street.
There were a lots of clothing shops, caffes, and a lot of places where one could go eat, by entering the place through "the other side" through the Domain Creation Technique, however, this usually bustling area of Tokyo was completely empty and devoid of people.
"Uwah, there's a lot of new shops in here!" Erika ran around, wagging her tail casually.
"Careful where you go Erika, I can sense a lot of Negative Energy here," Matsuo said, looking around suspiciously.
As they walked around the empty streets, Frank looked around his surroundings, always curious about this "other side" and what it truly was.
"Is the other side like a different dimension?" Wondered Frank. "It literally copies everything from the real world, it even has buildings, the shops have clothes and even food inside… Is it possible to take it with us?"
"Sure, but when you return to the real world they disappear," laughed Matsuo. "Also the food is not tasty and tastes bland and flavorless, and doesn't fill your stomach."
"Oh, I had no idea… Good thing I didn't-"
CRASH!
As they talked, Erika suddenly kicked one of the clothing shops and took out several dresses and skirts she liked, looking at them with wonder.
"Look at these Harumi, they're so shiny! We can take them right?" Erika giggled.
"Erika! That isn't going to work, didn't you listen to Matsuo? The clothes disappear if you try to bring them to the real world…" Harumi sighed, reprimanding her friend.
"Eeeeh? But they're so chic and right around my alley! Don't you think so? Like, they're totally what I would wear all the time- I mean, not this dress hahaha! It's too frilly and shit, more like for you right? You're a little mommy's princess," laughed Erika.
"I am not a princess…" Harumi groaned grumpily.
Matsuo and Frank glanced at the two girls chatting while lowering their eyebrows.
"Seriously, those two really do whatever they want, huh?" Matsuo wondered.
"Well, just let them be, they're having fun and its not like destroying the whole city in the other side will have any effect, right?" Frank wondered.
"Yeah, they're illusory realms created through the power of Gaia, the World itself," explained Matsuo. "It is a way to protect the real world from the destruction we, the people of the underworld, could cause. And also to protect normal humans and living beings from the supernatural. Some call it the "World's Defense Mechanism". Although it is possible to use magic power and abilities to affect the real world as well, Gaia will usually force a Domain around you anyway."
"Huh, I never thought about it that way…" Said Frank. "But that doesn't mean people cannot be dragged into the Domains right? And it's not as if sometimes Yokai, Monsters, or Assassins just kill people, no?"
"Yeah, Gaia usually reacts to large-scale attacks. For example if you tried using a super spell to wipe out the entire city, it would react instantly and lock you inside an illusory realm," explained Matsuo. "The attack would instead hit the illusory realm."
"But what happens if the person continues trying to destroy the city, if they escape the Domain? Because it's quite easy to do," Frank said.
"I don't know much about that, but there are other defense mechanism the world can employ," Matsuo said. "Of course, they don't apply when it comes to normal human-made technology. Nuclear bombs, fire weapons, and so on, that aren't imbued with magic or anything supernatural, don't activate this self-defense mechanism."
"Woah, so I guess the normal people can still destroy each other if they want, huh?" Frank wondered.
"When you think about it a lot, yeah, the rules are a bit weird," Matsuo nodded. "Old people from the last Era say that back then there wasn't anything like the Domain Creation thing or illusory realms, and magic and supernatural things could be used and seen everywhere in the normal world. But something might have caused the entire world to react and defend itself from it, beginning to create domains and illusory realms to contain supernatural beings. We are between the supernatural and the natural, humans with powerful abilities. Fully supernatural beings would be yokai or monsters for example."
"Ahh, I see," nodded Frank. "Is that why we are allowed to move around easily?"
"Yeah," Matsuo nodded. "Wait, what about other races, werewolves or vampires?"
"They might have supernatural origins, but at the end they still share traits with us humans and therefore are allowed the same things as we do, but they might risk proccing the defensive mechanisms of the world if they go overboard, so they often hide their appearances and pretend to be normal humans." Matsuo explained. "Get it now?"
"Yeah, I do," nodded Frank. "Though there's another thing I was wondering… So that means that if an assassin with super abilities comes to kill a family of normal people, they can do it easily?"
"Perhaps… I suppose they could quite easily even in broad daylight," said Matsuo. "I am not saying it's a rare thing but, eventually someone is going to catch them, unless they move around a lot and are stealthy or sneaky… or very powerful. There's a lot of variables honestly- Frank, why are you asking that?"
"…" Frank remained in silence for a moment before he patted Matsuo's shoulders.
"Nothing." He said. "Don't worry about it."
"Hmm?" Matsuo raised an eyebrow feeling confused. "Well, if you have something to say you should- Ah! Hey you two! Watch out!"
Matsuo and Frank panicked as they saw a huge block of black miasma suddenly appear behind the two girls that were looking at the clothes, mostly prompted by Erika's contagious enthusiasm.
"GLOP... GLOP… GLOP…"
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