Covenant (2)

The last thing Ichiro Takagi saw was the terrified faces of schoolgirls as he yanked the steering wheel hard left.

The last sound he heard was shattering glass and the crunch of metal against concrete.

The last thing he felt was peace.

Peace—because for once in his life, he'd done something good. Something that mattered.

It was different from years of driving the same delivery routes, then returning to his apartment for late-night anime and gaming marathons.

"So this is death," he murmured to the surrounding void. Thirty years old is short for many, but a very long one to him.

But death had other plans.

Light poured through stained glass windows as he opened his eyes. He found himself in what appeared to be an ancient temple or church, with rows of wooden benches etched with unfamiliar symbols. A fireplace crackled in the distance, though its flames cast no shadows.

He glanced down. No shadow beneath his feet either.

"I really am dead."

"Indeed you are, Mr. Takagi."

A woman stood before the benches, black hair flowing over the nun's attire. A strip of crimson cloth covered her eyes, yet her head tracked his every movement.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"I know many things." A slight smile touched her lips. "Your van's brakes have failed, and you decided to steer into that building rather than let those girls die."

The memories hit him like a jab to his chest—regular cargo routine before disaster struck.

The fact that the nun also knew it added to his shock.

"Could you have prevented it?" The question escaped before he could think.

She shook her head. "I cannot rewrite what's already happened. I lack that power."

"Where am I?" He looked around before facing the nun again. “This doesn't look like heaven or hell, does it?”

"The alterplane—a place where souls rest briefly before their final journey."

Takagi's face became wary. He stared at her for a brief moment. "What are you...?"

"It doesn't matter who I am." Her smile deepened. "What matters is I need your help, Mr. Takagi—and whether you realize it or not, you need mine."

"What could you possibly want from a nobody like me?"

"From someone who takes the chance to sacrifice himself?" She tilted her head. "You underestimate yourself, but very few could have made that choice."

Takagi had no response. A mix of confusion and suspicion swirled inside him.

"What if I offered you a second life?"

Those words made his heart seem to stop—if he still had one. But he quickly became cautious. "You said you can't change what's written, but then you offer me a new life?"

"I cannot change your death in your world. That door has closed—but there's another door."

“What do you mean?”

She approached until she stood an arm's length away, and he caught the scent of cinnamon from her.

"You can begin a new life in another world."

Takagi caught his breath. "Another world?"

"A world… standing on the edge of destruction."

As if her words were a cue, the temple suddenly transformed around them and disappeared. It was almost too real for a mere illusion.

And in its place, a vast battlefield beneath a blood-red sky appeared.

Two massive armies—tens of thousands strong—faced each other across a scorched field. On one side stood humans in shining armor alongside sturdy dwarves, elves with longbows, and knights mounted on scaled lion-like creatures.

But facing them was a swarm of terrifying beings that sent chills down his spine. Abominations with limbs sprouting from impossible places, towering patchwork monsters leaking black ichor, and hooded figures weaving what looked like sinister magic.

Elven arrows darkened the sky before the demonic horde surged forward like a tidal wave. The two forces clashed. The collision sounded like a thousand thunderclaps. Takagi watched in horror as a human knight was lifted screaming into the air, impaled on the horn of a demon with a rhino head.

Before Takagi could gasp for breath, the image in front of him wavered before ripping itself apart. As suddenly as it had appeared, the scene collapsed.

They stood again in the shadowless temple, but the dying screams still echoed in Takagi's ears. He found himself on his knees, trembling.

"What… what was that?"

"You witnessed a battle from the Great Demonic War, a conflict which almost destroyed that world long ago," she explained.

"Great Demonic… War?" He managed to ask, still shaking.

"For millennia, the people of Verda fought against demons who wanted to conquer the world."

He struggled to process everything. "Y… yeah… this sounds like something from one of my light novels or games."

"But what you witnessed wasn't a fantasy, Mr. Takagi."

“...What happened to them?”

"Through great sacrifice, the demons were defeated in that war—but some still survived." Her expression darkened. "They hide in the shadows, and plot their rise."

“How do you know this?”

"I can see the future, Mr. Takagi, and the future shows me that Verda is in danger.”

"If you can see the future, why not act yourself?"

"Like you, I exist here only in spirit."

"...So you're dead too?"

"Does it matter?" She paused. "As I've said, Mr. Takagi—I need your help."

“What if I refuse?”

"Then I've done all I could."

"You're saying everything depends on me?" He laughed bitterly. “You’re joking, right?”

Without her reply, the scene shifted once more.

The temple vanished again.

This time, they stood in a castle hall where young people in school uniforms—blue blazers and white shirts—fought against monstrous creatures. They resembled what he had seen on the battlefield before, but the courage of the students amazed him.

Unlike the soldiers he saw before, these teenagers were fearless, even when carnage unfolded before their very eyes. They hurl fireballs towards the demons, creating stonewalls to block incoming attacks, each helping and encouraging each other to fight.

As he wondered where such courage came from, golden light blazed behind him.

He turned to see a student brandishing a glowing banner with a dolphin insignia which matched the emblem on the blazer. Strangely, he couldn't determine whether the person was a boy or a girl. Their face kept blurring for some reason.

Even then, this person radiated something special. Takagi could sense it.

As he focused on the figure, a growl echoed from the hall's far end.

From the shadows emerged a massive silhouette of pure darkness with eyes like dying stars. Even a glance at it drained courage from the heart, sending chills beneath his skin. Takagi wasn't exactly a coward, but what he felt wasn't normal. He was sure of it.

This shadow—it wasn't one to be trifled with.

Yet, without hesitation, the mysterious student sprinted towards the shadow, holding the banner high. The student shouted a battle cry, but no voice came out. As if it was a silent film.

Takagi never looked away. As they almost collided, the light from the banner grew blindingly bright.

He had to close his eyes.

When the light subsided in his eyelids, Takagi opened his eyes.

He held his breath, widening his eyes.

The shadow had impaled the student high above the ground.

When Takagi thought he didn't want to be there for long, the scene seemed to listen as they dissolved once more.

Before long, they returned to the temple.

No one said anything for a while, until Takagi finally spoke with a suppressed tone. "...What was that? Who are they?"

"It was a vision of the future," the nun explained. "The shadow represents the Archlord of Demons, supposedly slain in the Great Demonic War—and the student with the banner is the future Centurion—this world's chosen hero.”

"...You mean this… hero will be killed in the future?"

“I believe so.”

"But they're the hero, aren't they? Heroes don't just—"

"It doesn't mean they can't die, Mr. Takagi."

He pondered her words. "Am I… the one who got stabbed by that shadow before? Are you here to warn me?"

“You’re not the Centurion, Mr. Takagi—nor do I ask you to become one.” She said with a firm voice.

"Then why am I here?"

"I’m asking you to protect this Centurion."

“So in exchange for a second life, you want me to go to this world and... fight those demons?” He said in a mocking tone. “Sorry… I'm a cargo driver, not a warrior."

"Fate chooses its own hand, Mr. Takagi—and it chooses you."

"And why me? What gives you the right?" He asked. "Am I that special in the whole universe?!"

As he wanted to argue further, he felt a weight at his hip. Gazing down, he was surprised to find a sword in a plain sheath linked to a belt he had never put on before.

“Prepare yourself.”

Before he could process and respond, the nun had drawn an identical blade and stood poised to strike.

Too quick for his eyes, she suddenly already stood by his side. Her sword already descended upon him.

Abruptly, Takagi sank to one knee. His hands shook wildly as a crash rang out through the hall, followed by a rattle.

Takagi stared at his empty, trembling hands.

His body had reacted without thought.

In a split second, he blocked her strike—somehow—but it sent his sword flying by the sheer force.

What just happened, he thought. How did he do that?

The woman's expression remained calm, but satisfaction touched her lips.

"In my lifetime, only two people have ever blocked that strike." She sheathed her blade smoothly. "Now there are three."

"That wasn't me." He whispered, staring at his hands. "I don't know how to use a sword. I never even touched one!"

"Yet, you blocked my strike." She helped him to his feet. Despite her blindfold, he felt her seeing straight through his soul.

Takagi remained quiet. He gazed at the distant sword, his thoughts trying to work through all he had witnessed. He knew what he did was extraordinary.

"The question now, Ichiro Takagi, isn't whether you can help save Verda." Her voice softened. "The question is whether you'll choose to try."

"Did you choose me because I've appeared in one of your visions?" He asked without looking at her. “Have you ever thought what would happen if I fail?”

There was a long silence between them. As he waited for her to speak, no words came out. "Why the quiet? Are you afraid this could affect the future?"

"Fate chooses its own hand, Mr. Takagi. That's all I can say." The nun finally answered, repeating her earlier words. "My foresight is a powerful ability that I possess, but it also has limits."

"Like how we can't identify the Centurion in that scene before?"

"Yes."

"But you haven't told me the full truth." He finally stared at her. "Even if the Centurion is saved, how is it supposed to save the world? What would I be, if I'm not the hero itself?"

"Those, Mr. Takagi," she replied, "are things you will discover for yourself."