The Silver Death
"Take care!" It was a heartfelt farewell from a compassionate mother, as a black haired youth had waved back frivolously and made his way over to the convenience store for some late-night snacks.
His name was christened to the symbolic name of Pleiades, which permeated the night-sky under a clear night. Of course, the constellation was difficult to see at night considering the canvasing light pollution in the bustling suburban cities surrounding Tokyo prefecture.
Nevertheless, for the youth named Natsuki Subaru, the symbolic weight of that name was a far-cry from the true impact that his existence has had on the world around him. He did not perceive himself as a shining star to the people around him, but rather someone who have lived in the shadows of his father's footsteps.
Natsuki Subaru was someone who had always been compared to his father since his childhood, resulting in him having live up to those expectations. His father in question, Natsuki Keichi, was an individual who left a lasting impression on the people around him.
Whether it was his generous nature, to his outgoing personality. All of these dynamics have played a role in Natsuki Subaru life to meet the endless unrealistic expectations of that people have imposed on him.
Afterall, he was the son of the famous Natsuki Keichi, the greatest man to have ever lived. And for a time, he had bottled down his own feelings and lived the capable life as the son of Natsuki Keichi. Fighting tooth and nail to impress the others around him. But eventually, the burden of that title had started to take a toll on his mental health. Subaru's mental health had waned from the weight of this burden, and over time people had started to catch on.
Naturally, this had lead to him being shunned as a failure by his fellow peers. And after a grim incident, he eventually decided to stop going to school all together and live on as NEET.
Clinical Depression had started to set in, and while his school work had continued to pile up incessantly, considering that he wasn't kicked out of school system just yet. His motivation to do anything did not, making his parents considerably worried about their son's situation.
They were sympathetic, and worrying about their son's suffering, and did everything they could to bring back the light into his life. But they had a hard time getting through to him, and eventually both have given up and decided to let Subaru sort his feelings out. While being as supportive of their son as they could, both knew that this couldn't last forever considering that their son's 18th birthday was encroaching on them fast.
Subaru had continued to amble through the dark streets of Suburban Tokyo to the local Mini Stop. He was clad in his favorite white and black tracksuit, with an orange accent flowing through the outfit, and an N for Natsuki etched on its design. He had also wore a pair his running shoes with black and orange stripes featured around it. His piercing eyes were also a trait that stuck out to many, and while he did not admit to it, some would find him handsome if he took care of his appearance more.
Not finding the motivation to hurry back and confront his worried mother. He had punctiliously taken note of some of the changes on his route to the convenience store. They ranged from the occasional changes on some of the neighborhood drive-ways, to the outfits on the occasional individual that he would come across. Eventually his ominous gaze had shifted up towards the light-posts and night-sky.
He had heaved out a heavy sigh as he reminisced on the game he was playing earlier, Arknights. He had recently been thoroughly absorbed in that game's plot and game-play; investing around 12 hours a day on it.
His preferred character was Mudrock, considering that he had always had a preference for cute white and silver haired girls. He did not know why, considering that there were other white and silver haired characters in that series. But something had stuck out to him about her design, so he decided to main her throughout his journey. Perhaps because of her elf-like ears as well, and broad range of attacks.
What ever the case may be, he was somewhat eager to return to that pastime as soon as he ran this errand.
The night in question was partly cloudy, so he couldn't really scout out his favorite constellations from his childhood. While Subaru had hated himself internally, he had always had a soft spot for name that his parents have given to him. There was always this mystifying beauty about the cosmos that put Subaru's mind at ease. Unfortunately for him, tonight was not his night.
He had eventually made his way over to the convenience store, nearly stumbling his way in when his attention had drifted over to his phone. His mom had asked him to make a run for a new jar of mayonnaise so that she could make some chicken salad. Subaru had always loved his mother's cooking, and had even volunteered to help her in the kitchen on some occasions.
As he set foot inside the convenience store. His first priority of course was to comb through the latest entries in the manga display catalog, and he skimmed over a particular magazine in question.
It had feature his favorite manga from the Shounen Jump magazine. Unfortunately for Subaru, the particular chapter in question had brought memories of awful day at the time, so he decided to close the magazine and continue towards the food pantry.
Eventually after a quick comb-through of the aisles, he collected himself a container of Tonkotsu (pork bones) noodles, a jar of mayonnaise (AN: not canon, adding this so that it aligns with my timeline), and his favorite Corn Pottage chips.
After gathering the food that he needed, he hovered over to the refrigerator so that he could pick up a bottle of Coke to compliment his makeshift meal.
Shuffling over the counter with a semi-brisk pace, the cashier in question had turned his gaze over to his customer. He was eagerly awaiting his shift to be over, as he had barely acknowledged his customer after a brief exchange.
Subaru had sifted through is pocket to retrieve some change for his 5 star meal, skimming his finger across the intricate groves of a particular 10 yen coin that had a nice sheen to it. He had felt a fleeting feeling of regret over the fact that he had to distribute this coin back to the system but he spared it no second thought.
Eventually after his first interaction with a stranger in weeks, he had made his way out into the street. A gentle breeze had coursed over his attire, and his slicked back hair, causing his ironed out track-suit to flutter in the wind.
As he was making his way through the freshly paved street crossing, his body had lurched forward as his the very fabric of his being was suddenly met with a nauseating sensation. Like a toxic fume that pervaded his mind, and threatened to drag him into the incorporeal abyss.
It was malevolent feeling yet simultaneously, his mind felt attracted to this delusion of his. And call him crazy, but he could have sworn that he heard a beautiful voice, akin to that of a silver bell, along with a set of brief visions plaguing his mind. Eventually the feeling subsided, leaving him in a confused daze as he watched a car fly by the intersection.
"Huh, I guess anyone's eyes would be tired after gaming all day while being holed up in a room.."
He had casually acknowledged to himself as he had rubbed his eyes to ameliorate his pent up stress. He would make a resolution to himself to get better sleep from now on.
As he opened his eyes, he was met with the blinding sight of a bustling marketplace, filled with a variety of otherworldly beings that were impossible to create no matter how much medical science had evolved.
There were also strange reptilian creatures pulling wagons alongside the busy street that he was perched on. The sun was bearing down on him with its gentle heat, despite it being midnight only a few seconds ago. And a beautiful fountain was situated just behind him, giving him a medieval Europe aesthetic from it. This had added to the mystifying nature of his predicament.
"… What the fuck..."
Subaru had managed to murmur out with freak calmness in his voice.
His mind had tried to grasp this impossible reality, no, this delusion of his. Thinking that he might have slipped into a dream while passed out on the cross walk, he decided to pinch himself to see he could jolt himself awake.
Much to his stupor however, he found himself with an aching sensation as well as few onlookers that circled around him. This was certainly either a very lucid dream or…
"Wait, can this situation be… No it's impossible, but if that's really the case. Could I have been finally summoned into a new world?!"
Subaru had raved in proclamation, earning a fair share of disparaging looks from crowd around him.
Many of them branded him as a ridiculous lunatic that would be better off if he got out of the street rather than impeding the flow of traffic. While others would ignore him for their own sake.
Subaru had realized the magnitude the spectacle that he had created and had sheepishly shuffled his feet so that he could blend in with the crowd.
He had willed his feet to get a move on, sensing that he does not. That he might miss a viable plot element to kick off his new beginnings.
Many thoughts, as he traversed the polished streets, had bombarded his mind. They ranged from the sheer confusion to his fated summoning, to lingering doubt on that this was not simply a dream. After-all, where was the cute girl or group of summoners to welcome his calling?!
As he was scoping out the gravity of his situation and the scenery around, he realized that he still had his trusty Mini-stop bag on him. Inside were the contents that he dubbed to be his starting gear on this new adventure. It was a simple nod at the MMORPG scene to deflect from the reality of his situation.
It was a pretty shit starting set if he must admit though, at least the Corn Pottage Chips were still there to comfort him on his humble beginnings.
Then there was demi-humans that mingled around the streets of this beginning town. Walking humanoid dogmen, catmen and lizardmen were most common-place, but there was also occasional unique demi-human as well.
He processed the fact that demi-humans seemed to have peacefully co-existed with their human counterparts, unlike a lot of the other fantasy series were demi-humans always seemed to at war with humanity.
Of course that was his first impression at least for now, since he needed more information on his surroundings. He reasoned that there still might be tension among them, as he walked alongside the stone-carved sidewalks. Subaru was even tempted pet one of the fluffy dog-men that he came across on the street, but he sensibly decided to hold back on that urge for now.
In the middle of the bustling street were massive sized lizards pulling mercantile wagons that came in a variety of sizes. Subaru's mind had concluded that these were the lizard counterpart of horses in his world, yet they also seemed to be at much faster rate. He was especially impressed with the their strength considering that they seemed to pulling extremely heavy wagons with ease.
"Ahhhh!"
A woman had screamed out in fear at the impending disaster happening on the road right next to Subaru.
Subaru and a bunch of other spectators had turned to see what was going on, to their surprise they see a child curled up in fear at the barreling wagon that was quickly closing in on him.
"Alright, finally it's my turn. This is my chance to finally invoke my first display of magic!"
Subaru had got down to one knee, and posed in a showy magic casting pose.
LARPing on the fact that he could use some mystical and ancient magic to safely cast the kid out of danger, by utilizing some of his intrinsic chakra powers. Only to be grossly disappointed once he saw a what appeared to be a knight rush into the fray and grab the child before they could be run over.
Nearby spectators had burst out in a round of applause at the spectacular display of heroism. Disappointed with his own outcome, Subaru recomposed himself and conclusively decided that maybe it was too early to utilize magic as a level 1 hero, silently thanking the knight for saving the day.
A few minutes later, after a series of self-absorbed ruminations, and potential routes that he could take. Subaru had come across a particular food stall manned by a brawny man with a vibrant mane of green hair and other harden features.
He was clad in a flashy black and yellow vest that showed off his impressive muscles, trousers woven out of the finest silk merchants had to offer, pink and black wrist-guards that could probably withstand a kick-boxer, complimented with a vibrant pink headband, and had a half-clover in his mouth.
Subaru had would have mistaken him for a leprechaun if he didn't know any better. However, his attention was primarily focused on the food-items that he had out for display.
"Hey kid, those are some weird clothes that you have. Are you a traveler by chance?"
The vendor had amiably initiated an exchange with the enigmatic customer.
Subaru's was slightly caught off guard by the fact that the man could speak Japanese, but he decided to accept it for the time being.
His piercing gaze had shifted over to the red fruits that were uncannily similar to the apples from earth. Despite wanting to ask how much the apples were worth forthright, he decided to play it safe and ask what the name of the fruit was.
"What are these fruits called?"
"What, you've never seen an Appa in your life? These are appas, appas."
The vendor had shrugged off his customer's ignorance in light of their potential patronage.
Judging by the quality of clothes that the foreigner seemed to be wearing, he must have lived quite the prestigious life. A far-cry from the life that the vendor had to build to be able to achieve the life he's living now.
Of course, he could care less for the foreigner since all the vendor cared about was providing for his family.
Subaru had milled around in his pocket in search of his trusty set of coins that he had pocketed from the convenience store. Displaying said coins in front of the vendor, the man's eyes had narrowed in agitation.
"What type of currency is that? I don't take that coin here, much less in the entirety of Lugunica. That means you're flat broke, huh?"
The vendor had then burst forth in a fit of anger, grabbing the youth by the collar and scaring the daylights out of Subaru. Subaru had caught off guard by that outburst, recoiling from the man's overreaction to his simple question.
"Quit interfering with my business and scram! Don't come back until you have the proper coins on you!"
Clearly understanding the weight of that message, Subaru had hurriedly gotten out of sight of the man and continued to make his through the labyrinth of side streets, and market stalls.
It was at this point where he realized that he was critically lacking in information, and needed to find a means of acquiring it. He had motioned his body towards a cobblestone building with 2 open door frames fixed along the outside. Only to come to the realizing that the door that he entered was actually a washroom for the woman's side of the compound.
Naturally, the woman residing within it had lashed out at the pervert and quickly slapped him silly out of the building.
Subaru had then trudged towards a tavern-area but because of his current illiteracy with the native language in city that was known as Lugunica. He did not spot the sign on the exterior where it specifically said no humans allowed.
Consequentially, he was also kicked out, and thrown out of the way at the entrance, before stumbling in the canal down below.
He eventually found a way to climb out of the canal and gravitated out of sight of the public into a sketchy alley so that he could regather his bearings.
It was at this point in Subaru's information gathering quest had started to become quickly become a jading task.
So far from his experience here, no one was there at his initial summoning and had to figure things out for himself so far. He hated how he was thrust into a city called Lugunica without any further explanation for it, and he hated inconvenience that had accompanied his time here.
"Damnit, where did my OP protagonist status go?! Why was I thrust into this world without any explanation whatsoever! Shouldn't I have been introduced to the hero's party by now?"
Subaru had lambasted the various misfortunes that he had to deal thus far, as well as challenges he will have to face in the near future if he was stuck in this parallel world.
Where were all the OP statuses at, where was the cute girl that summoned him, and where were the ancient relics that was needed to stop the looming evil on the horizon?
There were so many looming questions that had plagued his mind, yet he knew that his frustration would not help his situation at all.
Absentmindedly, he took out his phone to not only distract himself, but to see if his phone still remained operational after everything that's happened to him.
He breathed out a sigh of relief as his phone had still worked, only to realize that he had no cell-phone reception whatsoever. So the whole idea of having a having a cell-phone was pointless to begin with.
He had reasoned it to be a byproduct of the medieval age, simply because there was no possible way cell-phone towers existed here without the aspect of magic.
Speaking of magic, Subaru has yet to see if anyone has magic in this world, and whether or not they could become a suitable teacher for him in the near future. Frankly, right now he had more pressing concerns as footsteps unknown trio had caught his attention.
"Is the event finally happening!? Am I finally going to meet the cute girl that summoned me..."
Subaru had burst out with a tone of relief and optimism, only to veer off once a group of three thugs had stepped out from the shadows concealing them.
A wicked grin was plastered across the face of one of the thugs, as the other thugs had decided to cut off all the avenues of escape for the mindless chump that dared to enter their turf.
"Look at what we have here, a hullabaloo that doesn't know where to draw the line. Hey, what were you babbling about earlier? Talking to yourself?"
The short one with the bowl cut had spouted out a series rapid fire questions to their potential muggee.
Posturing to look as imposing as possible but it had only made him look even more ridiculous if Subaru had anything to say about it.
"If you value your life, then cough up everything you have!"
Next to the short thug was a lanky thug with a sapphire blue hairstyle, and with pink accents. If his terrifying visage was anything to go by, he was likely the leader of the group.
Of course, Subaru had reasoned that this was probably just a compulsory mugging event where the level 1 has to fight out a situation using only the tools that he has at his disposal.
Most of the time, those events involved saving a helpless girl from a group of thugs. But now, he precariously found himself in that sort of situation himself.
Subaru cursed the fact that it had to happen on his first day in a new world though.
Then there was the large thug who had most likely served as a bodyguard in case of any of their potential muggings go awry.
"Move it, move it! Get out the way, you guys!"
An almost cheerful voice had erupted from the entrance of the alley, feminine in its delivery.
Subaru and thugs had turned to look at the source of the voice only to spot an a figure approaching them at a rapid pace.
"It's here! Is that the cute girl who summoned me!?" Subaru had cheerfully inferred that all his frustrations and grievances were finally about to be resolved, however…
"Summoned? I don't know what you're talking about, but I have to hightail it out of here. Wish I could stick around, but sorry! Live strong!"
The revealing blond girl with illustrious blond hair and ruby eyes had nimbly scaled the wall before disappeared out of sight. Leaving Subaru to fend for himself once again.
"Can we just let that event make you a little less hostile towards me, and let this occasion slide by any chance?"
Subaru had tried ameliorate the deteriorating situation, with a sheepish grin. Causing the large thug to start cracking his knuckles at the potential beating that he was going to give the black haired foreigner.
"On the contrary, it rained on our parade and now you've dug yourself a deeper grave than before."
The thug had calmly concluded as a malevolent feeling had churn inside the pit of Subaru's stomach.
Now that things have turned out for the worse, Subaru decided that he was not let these lumps of XP put him down without a fight.
Replacing that lingering veil of fear with a fiery display of confidence. Subaru had decided to fight his way out of his predicament.
And as such, he had swung a right arm at the largest thug, taking him out of the equation so that he wouldn't cause problems. The shorter thug was next on the agenda, as Subaru had carefully delivered a round-house kick to the shorter thug's face, not giving him enough time to react.
While Subaru had felt his hand ache in the punch that he delivered on the larger thug. Subaru was confident in his fight abilities that have been honed through years of experiences wrestling his dad.
Teeming with that confidence, Subaru rushed the lanky thug only to stop in his tracks and prostrated before said thug that had promptly brandished out a set of knives.
"I'm sorry, it was my fault. I promise I won't do it again. Please forgive me, spare me -"
Subaru had rapidly performed a series of panicked Dogeza in front of the lanky thug, only to be punted square in the nose by the lanky thug with a tone of excitement in his voice.
Subaru had writhed on the ground in agony, the blow had nearly knocked him out after rattling his brain. The lanky thug would teach this fool a lesson on what happens when you cross him and make a mockery of his friends.
He swore he would put his head on a plaque or feed them to the rats in the sewer after he was through with him. It didn't take the guesswork of a child to understand just how fucked Subaru was at the moment.
The other thugs had shakenly gotten back up from Subaru's improvised attack strategy. Teeth clenching, and anger brimming, the thugs had ganged up on the defenseless Subaru on the ground. Kicking and berating the foreigner for his defiance.
"Mess with us, will you? We'll make sure to mount you on our wall after we're through with you! Die, scum!"
The shorter thug had announced as the relentless stream of blows had perforated the sides of his sternum.
Subaru could feel his sides and legs start to break as the thugs had continued to pile on his beating, crying out for help at anyone who could save him from his outcome.
Subaru had felt his pride being demolished by the thugs, overshadowed by the gnawing sense of agony and fear that had debilitated him from acting out of line. Subaru knew that his life was on the line now, as tears as started to well up in his corners of his eyes at the prospect of being killed, or worse slavery.
A complete and utterly shameful end to his adventure. Subaru had never felt as pathetic as he did at that moment, silently praying to Kami to save him from his situation.
Footsteps had once again reverberated through the alley. As the thugs had once again turned towards the person who dared to intrude on their mugging session.
They were firm, yet graceful footsteps that gave the impression of someone who had years of discipline on their track records. Every footstep had a sense of purpose, and conviction.
The thugs knew that something was off about the encroaching figure, were they a knight perhaps?
A sense of danger had filled the air as the imposing figure had stopped just before the revealing sunlight. Subaru had tried to tilt his head to see who had come to his rescue, but he couldn't make out much of the figure. All he could make out were a scathing set of amethyst eyes that had pierced the very fabric of his soul.
"I recommend that you leave that man be and depart from my presence before I turn you into Elior Forest Mabeast mince-meat."
The woman had threateningly announced in a low voice.
Something about the way she carried herself had told Subaru that her words had carried weight. He couldn't help but be awed by the display of confidence that this mysterious woman had exuded.
"You bitch, just who do you think you are?! Coming here to our turf and threatening us like we'll simply give in to your demands?! We'll just add you into our collection!"
The shorter one was the first to intervene at her demand, yet deep down inside, he felt an intrinsic sense of fear permeated through his being.
The set of amethyst eyes had glared at the trio in pity for they knew not who she was. She made her move to step out into the sunlight as her characteristics were revealed.
"Don't say I didn't warn you..."
The woman, no girl in question had a beautiful and youthful countenance that was further emphasized by the impressive and immaculately maintained river of silver hair.
The girl had radiated a sense of mystery and stoicism. There was no doubt in Subaru's mind that she was a warrior or knight of some sort, in contrast to her noble beauty.
She was clad with an armored chest-plate, a regal tunic that had some sort of symbolic emblem etched on a pair of shoulder epaulets, and sleeves which were hidden underneath a set of gauntlets. There was a set of chain-mail that had shrouded her frame, perhaps to protect her from a fatal blow or two. Her legs were heavily armored as well, and she wore a pair of trousers underneath.
She had carefully covered all her vital points besides her head, leaving no room for a possible adversary to surprise attack her without retaliation.
Then there was also the obsidian steel sword that had some mysterious runes etched in gold.
"That silver hair and those violet eyes… No, it can't be… No one has heard of her in at least 50 years!"
The largest thug had seemed to panic as the girl had slowly made her way towards the thugs in question, a devilish grin had spread on her face.
The thug's eyes had widened in terror and his voice had trembled in fear as he stammered out the last set of words.
"The Silver Death… The woman responsible for the massacre of nearly 5,000 Lugunican soldiers during the Great War. A monstrous Fire magic user that reduces her opponents to cinders. The Second Coming of Satella!"
The woman named Emilia had smirked, as the visage of despair that had slowly started to set in on the vermin in front of her.
Lower than life scum that deserved to be eradicated off the face of Od Laguna.
"En Garde..."