Koji slowly opened his eyes and realized he was lying on the ground.
"Where is this place?"
He could hear human voices and his vision was blurry. Despite this, he got up and saw the situation he was in.
"The field? I'm at the rescue field," Koji said, feeling guilty for not saving Roger.
The field was overcrowded, with little space to move. People were bleeding, dirty, gravely injured, and children and babies were crying. Religious people were gathered, praying to God.
"It's not such a bad place," Spherea joked mockingly in Koji's ear.
Suddenly, a bald man with a big beard and tattered clothes, who was very drunk, punched Koji unexpectedly on the left side of his face.
"Do you think that shadow will stop you from getting beaten, you idiot! I'm not afraid, you trash!" shouted the man, swaying unsteadily, his beard dirty and mouth smeared with beer.
"I never imagined a despicable drunk would hit you; I find this sensational," Spherea commented, surprised by what happened.
An explosive and sudden anger took over Koji, as the drunk man glared at him with disgust.
"Why don't you stay down? Or do you want me to kill you right now?"
The man, feeling angrier by the second, grabbed a broken glass bottle. Koji's expression changed completely, his eyes becoming more focused.
Just as Koji stood up and took a step forward with his right foot towards the man, the drunk quickly raised the glass bottle and pressed it against Koji's neck, who successfully pulled back in time.
"What?" the man muttered, his eyes wide with surprise at Koji's evasion.
Koji clenched his fist, stretched his arm, and punched his opponent in the chin. The man fell with the sound of his back hitting the ground, but Koji's anger didn't dissipate. The man lay unconscious, his jaw dislocated, and Koji was ready to kill him. Unexpectedly, his hands were cuffed.
"Huh?" Koji reacted, spontaneously surprised to be handcuffed.
"I'll take you to be with the other volunteer carriers," a stern-faced soldier said firmly.
The unwelcoming soldier led Koji to an isolated room. The room's door was made of iron, with only a small window, covering an area of 25 square meters, dimly lit, and with a small TV in the upper corner.
Koji felt uneasy in the room, looked around calmly, and saw no one. But he noticed the presence of two people in the corners of the room, on the right and left.
"Tahiko, who's the newbie?" asked the man lying in the right corner, holding a book with a droopy look.
"I have no idea," Tahiko replied, sitting on stacked boxes in the left corner of the room.
"Who are these guys?" Koji questioned, tired of trouble, as he looked into the dark corners of the room.
One of the guys in the room, named Tahiko, stood up and walked over to Koji.
"Who sent you here?" the guy asked, with his right eyebrow exaggeratedly raised and a strange smile.
"I still don't know how I ended up here," Koji replied, suspicious.
The guy backed off and randomly changed his behavior and expression completely.
"Hey, man. I'm Tahiko, and that guy in the corner is Saik. How's it going?" the guy said, this time excited with a friendly smile.
"What's your name?" asked the guy lying in the corner, whose name was Saik, as informed by Tahiko.
Tahiko was a tall man, 1.85 meters, 25 years old, with an above-average athletic build, exaggerated and penetrating eyes with an arched eyebrow, curly black hair with a style similar to a mohawk, wearing a tight jacket in blue, black, and white that ended at the hips. Finally, he was very expressive.
Saik was of humble height, 1.79 meters, 24 years old, with a minimally healthy body and droopy eyes, straight hair divided into two colors—red on top and black on the sides and bottom—wearing the same outfit as Tahiko, except for a glove worn on his right hand. Unlike his expressive colleague, Saik was more restrained, though social and a joker, making jokes that might barely be considered as such.
"My name is Koji. This room… What is it? Why are we here?"
"Can't you see the mess this city is in? Not even the beach, which was the only good thing, is left," Tahiko said with a crooked smile while massaging his biceps.
Before a conversation could start between them, Spherea reappeared, catching Saik's eye, who asked Koji about his shadow.
"Is your demon in the form of a shadow? Why is it physically visible? Man, that's not normal."
"I have a defective pact. That's all I can say," Koji responded, withdrawn and uncomfortable discussing the topic.
Despite the quiet in the isolated room, the loud alarm of the field was heard by all three.
"Damn it. What's going on?" Koji asked, worried and anxious.
"It must be something crazy, but get ready; it's going to be fun," Tahiko asserted, his enthusiastic smile filling the room with energy for the upcoming mission.