The men gaze at her with predatory eyes as Subaru inspect them. Their clothes were filthy, their faces clearly embodied their evil intention. They were not a lower life form per se, but they are not decent people either.
The man in the center, with sickly purplish hair and wearing a chain around his neck, grinned down at her. The man to his right, a fat giant of a man, wearing a bandana, looked at her with contempt. And the last man to the left, shorter than the rest of them, having brown hair style in a bowl cut sneered at her.
Subaru's face stuck in a perpetual grin as these three thugs looked down on her. They were clearly bandits and considering the world she was summoned to; they might even take her life if not careful.
"Damn, don't tell me that book was right."
Unlike Subaru however, the men were calm, it's like they'd done this their whole life, which is probably true for the people with their status.
"What are you murmuring about?"
The shorter one calls out to her, his face scowling in contempt at Subaru. The grinning man slowly marched toward Subaru as he threatened her.
"If you don't wanna get hurt missy, cough up whatever you've got!"
The grinning man's hands reached toward her, clutching her wet shirt as she was brought up to the thug eyes level.
"Crap, it's a compulsory event…"
Subaru muttered as she closed her eyes, feeling the thug's disgusting breath tickles her smooth pale skin.
"Move it, Move it! You're in my way!"
Suddenly a high pitch female voice calls out to them, startled them all including Subaru.
Her frame is small, like that of a loli if she were to call it, and her shoulder-length blond hair fluttered from the wind blowing against her direction. Her red eyes glimmered with strong will.
The seemingly deliberate timing caused hope to build up within Subaru. She calls out to her.
"Here we go! Is that the cute girl who summoned me?"
Slowly, the little girl stops within the distance of them once she hears the white-haired pale woman called out to her.
"Summoned? I dunno what you're talkin about, but I'm busy!"
She made a cute pose as if to encourage her somehow.
"Live strong!"
"Eh? What?! Seriously?!"
It was as if time slowed down as she jumped to the wall, using her lithe figure, to jump to a higher vantage point before running away from them. Subaru hope was crushed.
They all stared at her, both in amazement and shock at the maneuver she pulled.
"Hey, did that make you less hostile to me, did it?"
Subaru calls out to them nervously, making them stare at her in the grasp of the purple hair thug dumbfounded.
"Actually, it rained on our parade and made things worse."
The big thug said, cracking his fist together, while the man gripping her cloth let out his pierced tongue as if to lick her pale skin.
"Y-yeah of course…"
―Calm down Natsuki Subaru, since ancient times, it's been a rule that anyone summoned to a parallel world will display supernatural power.
She put her thumb under her chin as she was dragged into her own world, as if thinking. The thug stares at her in astonishment.
―Come to think of it, I do feel lighter in this body. Maybe this body contain my hidden protagonist power? I feels like I can win this.
Her fist tightens into a ball, nails digging into her skin as she prepares herself.
"You lump of EXP!"
With that declaration Subaru launched her preemptive strike before they could react. She flew into the bigger man, since the bigger the man, the more of a threat they are.
She lands a hit with such force that it staggers her back and hurts her hand, she looks up again, expecting to see the fallen form of the big thug.
Only for her eyes to widen in shock, as the man is still standing and seemed to barely feel any punch.
"Hey missy, that hurt a bit you know."
"No way… This can't be…"
Subaru takes a step back, her whole body shaking like a leaf, her eyes widen in fear. Now she has done it, she seals her own fate.
―Why am I so weak?
The purple hair thug immediately brandished his ominous knives, his tongue wagging in his mouth.
Subaru immediately prostrated herself on the spot, fearing for her life as the wicked man toys with his knives.
"I'm sorry, it was all my fault! Please forgive me, spare me!"
She surrendered on her knees, the greatest and lowest representation of Japanese culture. Subaru felt her blood run cold, as she tried her absolute best to beg for mercy, her head low on the ground.
She flinches as the knife wielding thug shoe stops right in front of her bowing head. The thug grinned down at her.
The thug let out a war cry as he kicks Subaru's pale head. Sending the youth rolling down on the ground, clutching her face as she let out a cry of pain.
"Guk-Aaaah"
"Play games with us, will you?! Die, bitch!"
The shorter one said with absolute malice, they all stomp on her head into the ground, causing her forehead to bleed as it meets the hard pavement. Subaru desperately curled up as they continued to pile on her.
―It hurts! This body is too weak! I might die, for real.
They show no mercy whatsoever, considering this is a new world, perhaps she'd be tortured to death like this.
"And don't think it'll be painless!"
"Owowowow! It Hurts it hurts it hurts!
The moment she tried to get up, they crushed her hands underfoot and she could only scream in agony.
The purple hair thug stomps on her head, grinding his shoe against Subaru bruised skin on the pavement. The thug then held the knife in the underhand grip, letting his tongue wagging out.
"We'll kill you and take everything you have. That's what you get for messing with us!"
Subaru grits her teeth as she tries to push the foot that was on her face helplessly.
"If it's valuable you're after, it's useless. I'm completely broke!"
"Your strange clothes and shoes will do then, we could even sell you, could fetch an extra money for someone like you, if not then we'll turn you into Giant Rat feed."
―Ah, Am I going to get sold to the underground business? There's rats in this world too. Sounds like a bottom tier monster.
Subaru's mind started drifting in an attempt to escape from reality as she looks at the ominous knife that could tear into her at any moment. Her life would end just like that.
The knife wielding thug chuckles. He grinned down at the fallen form of the white-haired woman under his shoe.
"You know, we could have fun with you first, making it easier for you to adjust yourself once the client gets their hand on you."
The thug licked his knife, dragging his long tongue wickedly along the blade of the knife as Subaru cowering beneath him.
The thug with the knife looks serious, Subaru realized she will have a fate worse than death for sure, her hands were still trapped underneath their heels, and her head still trapped underneath the knife wielding shoe.
―Its… Over? Just like that, in a place like this? I lived a sinful life. But even so this is just too cruel, am I going to get raped and then if I'm not worth anything after they sold me, I get killed? This is so unfair.
Pain and fear weren't what caused her eyes to wet. There's something else causing her to tear up. It wasn't the fear of death. She just couldn't bear to live such an empty and meaningless life.
"Oi Chin! That's-"
The bigger Thug was about to say something as if he disapproved of the purple-haired thug named Chin action before he was cut by an unexpected voice.
"-That's enough, villains."
A clear voice rang through the alleyway, overpowering the noise of violence, the men's vulgar jeer and even Subaru's own ragged breath.
AN: Starting from this chapter onward, I will be using female pronunciation for Subaru.