As I watched the colorful group of thugs appraising my pathetic state with hate, I tried to defy my now inevitable fate with a pained smile.

Naturally, the idea of dying could not be taken lightly. However, the chances that all of this would end if I just died were too easy to fathom, compared to anything else. Still, I kept in mind the cliché of summoned stories where the hero was always possessed of some power. While my summoning hadn't followed the terms of those stories, I was, after all, a summon. Following this logic, I had to have some superpower.

The boot of one of the guys landed on top of my head, and as he put force into his step, he said to me:

"Are you digressing? What the fuck are you going to do to get out of this situation?"

"I'm not sure, but I think he's having a seizure. The blow to the jaw must have rattled his brain."

My will to stand up and make use of that mysterious power, though I didn't know what it was, was right next to me. But the problem was more internal. If I was willing to die to achieve my goals, I had to be stoic enough in the face of the possibility of superhuman strength or the ability to fly. If I wanted to prove that I really wanted to come home, I had to turn my back on my superhero abilities.

I had never fought before, but this world didn't seem to give people like the bullies in front of me space to learn martial arts. That meant that I could certainly fight them off and, at the very least, escape.

Basically, temptation had cleared my way to make it easier for me to choose whether to stay in this world or go back to my own.

The man with his boot on my head scraped my forehead against the rough stone floor, causing it to bleed.

「Is this the test that will determine how great my conviction is?」

Another of them kicked me in the face, causing my body to curl up like a worm to avoid taking further damage.

A silver glow shimmered in the single ray of light that crossed the alley.

"Hold him..."

"Hey, wait a second! Can't we talk about it? I'll give you what I have!"

...

My conviction was not my strong point, and my desire to live was not worth so little.

In short, I had chickened out.

Maybe too late...

The man with the knife held my hand, and as the steel scraped the skin of my thumb, I could feel it scrape against the bone casing in my finger. I tried to scream, seeking to release my suffering somehow, but one of the men kept my jaw shut with the innate strength of his own hands. All the sound I could create was muffled groans and the bizarre scrape of the dull knife trying to cut through my finger bone.

It seemed that I was completely wrong about the premise of being summoned to another world. And while I was looking for someone to blame for my bright-minded attitude, the truth was that I couldn't point my finger at anyone but myself. I just stood firmly believing that I had a chance against men who were born into a drastic environment. But above all of my nonsense, I was to blame for my own stupidity.

Didn't I get tired of repeatedly telling myself that I was nobody special and should stay in my own world?

All this nonsense was happening to me because I kept making the same mistake: thinking logically. What kind of idiot, after being summoned to another world, would still approach things logically? Only me!

「Shit. This hurts like hell. It's too much. It's fucking real.」

As I writhed in pain, my desperation seemed to be causing trouble for the man holding my legs.

"Come on, pup, where's that smart-boy attitude?"

The man with the knife released my hand but grabbed my ear. As the cold air rushed through the wound in my finger, a damn shiver ran down my spine. Then, he readjusted his grip on the knife and began to cut off my right ear.

"Stay still, you stupid ho."

My eyes darted around, while my throat burned from my inability to scream.

"Do you understand what you get for being rude, brat?"

The guy released my half-cut ear. My right eye was closed from the cascade of blood, and I felt like the severed piece was still hanging on the right side of my head.

What kind of sick helplessness was this? There was absolutely nothing my weak teenage arms could do against a wall of flesh like the one restraining me. As much as I wanted to think logically, there was no physical explanation that would free me from this situation. My life no longer belonged to me; it had been snatched from the hands of fate and stolen by these three men.

While pondering this, I suddenly felt the big man's foot on my body as he got up. He released my head and jaw, but I didn't even part my lips.

"Oh, looks like the little dog learned a new trick! Shut the fuck up and be submissive! Hahaha!"

I glanced over my shoulder on the ground and saw the one with the knife, the one who had just tortured me.

He was a tall, slender teenager with fair skin. His hair was grayish-blue with a dark blue streak. He wore black bracelets and a chain necklace.

The smile he offered me faded as he gazed into my eyes, eventually turning into disgust.

"Son of a bitch... you still don't get it!"

"Chin, stop!"

"Chin," the scrawny sadist gasped and pierced the skin of my cheek with his knife, then pulled up, splitting my left cheek in half. I could feel the flesh tearing as the knife cut. I could taste the blood in my mouth. And I could feel unbearable agony.

But somehow, for an indescribable reason, amidst an unknown euphoria, I grabbed Chin's neck and dug my nails into his throat.

"Damned bastard! Let go! Let it go!"

My fingers were as fragile as pencils, but even an ordinary pencil can be lethal if used correctly. I no longer felt the hand where my finger had been severed, but the instinctive response my brain sought activated every fiber of my being, and I squeezed.

The sound of life faded away from me, and when I realized what was happening, all I could do was laugh. When a steady warmth awakened me from the grip of anger, I released Chin's neck and let my arms slump down. I could congratulate myself, because if it hadn't been for the blood that had drained all my energy, I might have succeeded.

As my head fell limply to the side, I saw clearly as the two men carried Chin out of the alley.

I really didn't want to continue thinking logically. Until now, nothing good had come to me from logical thinking alone. But... hadn't I just taken back control of my destiny with my own hands? I mean, my life was already sealed. One way or another, I had been forced to choose Option A over Option B, and right or wrong, I had managed to escape my assailants in the end.

I didn't use any superpowers, I didn't receive help, and I didn't lose immediately.

However, I never said I was going to make it out alive.