A Deal

"Is there anything you want to know?" Hat man pondered kindly.

"... Do you know anything about the spawn point?" He contemplated for a moment, carefully choosing a question to ask.

"I don't know, but it should be fixed. You destroyed that spawn point," hat man replied.

"Are you going to walk over the space?" He asked, feeling uncomfortable seeing only a head popping out of an empty space.

"No. Is that all the things you want to know?" Hat man shook his head and seemed to want to go.

"Do you know what kind of place this is?" He shifted his eyes to the cave. The cave didn't seem natural and had something that jammed his mana senses. Hat man looked around the cave.

"It is disgusting here. Perhaps you can find something valuable." Hat man remarked, annoyed mixed with a bit of anger and ending his words with a polite suggestion.

Disgusting? What makes him say that? He thought to himself and noticed that man's words to be out of place. He had a feeling that the hat man wouldn't speak nonsense, so it must be important, or maybe he was just overthinking things?

"What's going to happen with this space?" He asked worriedly.

"I will close it. Speaking of which, are you from ETC?" Hat man asked as though it was his turn to spew questions.

"Yes." He looked down at his business suit. His clothes couldn't make his identity any more obvious. Only people from ETC would go to a cave full of evil wearing a suit.

"I see. Can you keep our meeting a secret?" Hat man requested.

"That depends. Why don't you tell me who you are and why does the space appeared in your room out of all places? Does that mean this cave has connections with you?"

"I go with many names, but many call me Overseer. To your last question, I failed to find the answer too. A divine power created this cave, and regarding this empty space. Perhaps it's s fate it appears in my room," Overseer replied patiently.

He was about to say something when hat man added quickly, "Freak, since our meeting is fate, I have a quest for you. You can accept it or not."

"Freak? Is that me? I'll let you know I have a name and it's–" His words cut short.

"Good, good. You accept it. I will reward you handsomely, or maybe do something with that disgusting thing in your body," Overseer nodded, speaking as though he accepted his quest.

The youth froze, "What did you just say?"

"You heard what I said. I can help you," Overseer stated.

He grunted as he pinched his chin, thinking before asking, "What do you want me to do?"

"Spread the word of this cave and reveal whatever you find to the world, regardless of ETC's final decision about this place," he said as he removed his hat. Afterward, his arm came out of the space and entered the top hat, looking for something.

"I can't possibly betray them for my sake. They've helped me so much. I'm sorry, but I must refuse your quest," he said quickly as he shook his head.

"I know your concerns, but it is for the greater good. You can make your decision after you see this." Overseer pulled out a black usb. "A friend of mine used to be a part of ETC. He died a mysterious death. The day before of his death, he gave me this. He said something about ETC's secret and wanted me to uncover it. He's a good friend of mine, you see.

"I've been thinking of ways to complete his dying wish and due to personal reasons, I can't reveal myself to them. I had hired many people.

"Spies, detectives, nothing worked. I lost contact with them and after looking for them, it isn't they abandoned their jobs. I found out they vanished without a trace." he explained calmly, paused and added, "I will not force you. You can decide after you see this. If you don't want to take the quest, you can act like any of this never happened. However, if you do. Go to Shibuya station at five P.M."

He looked at the USB drive in silence. Overseer failed to figure out what his line of thought was from his expression alone.

He accepted the USB drive and shifted his eyes from it to Overseer. His face concealed in darkness, making it hard for people to believe him.

"I want to know if you can remove the thing inside of me," he demanded.

Overseer wore his hat and said, "I'll give you two options. One..."

.

.

From a distance, the girls watched him silently. In their eyes, he seemed to be speaking but there was no one else with him.

They frowned, thinking if he lost his mind after using that ball of energy. They could only watch from a distance.

"Do you think he lost his mind?" Kana pondered without looking away from him.

"I hope not," replied Himeko quickly, concerned.

"He finished talking." Kama increased her voice slightly.

"Yeah I can see that." Himeko nodded.

On the other side, he nodded at something and walked in their way. The empty space behind him slowly closed and vanished.

He arrived by their side, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Are you still sane?" Kana pondered without a warning. She then get up, followed by Himeko. They lightly patted their skirts to shake off the dust.

"No, what makes you think that?" He was taken aback, almost stunned.

"You talk by yourself." Kana responded.

"Are you truly okay, Captain?" Himeko wondered worriedly.

He showed a troubled smile, "I'm okay. I'm just talking to that guy. He refused to step out of the space, you know? What a strange guy, only revealing his head." He chuckled, and found Overseer's action amusing.

"Who are you talking about, Captain? There is no one else beside you." Himeko showed genuine concern in her expression. He fell silent, it lasted long and it caused Himeko to worry.

"Captain, are you alright?" She wondered anxiously.

"Yes, Himeko. I'm alright." He smiled.

"If you say so, Captain." Although still in doubt, Himeko accepted his words.

"I've erased the spawn point. The other point should be automatically gone as well. Those monsters won't come out again. Continue the mission," he reported and ordered.

Kana heeded his words as she walked away. Leaving Himeko and him. She observed him for a few seconds.

"Is there anything you want to say?" He looked at her.

"You're hiding something."

He shifted his eyes away and started to walk. Himeko followed. They walked side by side in silence. Sometimes they stop when they see something odd and investigate it.

"Himeko, do you trust me?" He opened his mouth, asking without looking at her. His eyes on the wall.

"Of course I trust you." Himeko halted whatever she was doing and shifted her attention to him, who was standing next to her. At this moment, he seemed so... distant. Her mind went blank for a moment.

"Hey Himeko! I found something!" Shouted Kana from a distance. He turned his body around and walked in Kana's way.

Himeko watched his back slowly getting further. She reached out her hand, wanting to shout his name, yet it stuck on her throat.

"What did you find, Kana?" He observed his surroundings.

"That," Kana pointed her index finger at a certain spot. He followed and spot it, a cream rock inside the wall. "Did you know what it is?"

He got closer and observed it. At the same time, Himeko joined the group.

"What did you find?" She looked at him and wondered to Kana.

"An unidentified ore. Do you know what it is?" Kana crossed her arms.

"I'm not knowledgeable about ores." She shook her head.

He closed his hand, only index finger remained. Straight flame took the form of a ghost torch. The flame exceeded more than 1,500 Celsius. The flame easily penetrated the wall as it melted it and he made a circle.

He pulled out the ore with his hand that was imbued with mana. With the ore successfully excavated, he showed it to the girls.

"We should bring this back," suggested Himeko.

"I thought the same thing too."