– Mmm... ah?
The sudden change in the landscape around him led to the fact that his eyes widened, his bullets increased sharply, and his breathing stopped. It seemed that the boy was in a state of sudden stress that could not be overcome so quickly. It took him a while to realize his position.
– Where am I...?
When his vision stopped failing him, he looked at everything around. His hand opened of its own accord, causing a bag of snacks and drinks that were supposed to be eaten tonight to slip out of it. But the sudden night turned into day, and the situation around the boy was not at all like a large populated city.
– Is that... really…
When there was only a forest around, but it's still day, and the terrain seems completely unfamiliar, thoughts suggest themselves. It could only mean two things, one more stupid than the other. Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary boy who is a high school student, was suddenly either kidnapped or abducted to another world. Which of these is true?!
– Dude, it's like in Skyrim.
The forest is full of fog, only the dragon is missing. Does this mean that I am the chosen one? Although no, it's pretty stupid if you ask me. After all, isekai is just a genre of our famous Japanese literature.
– Huh?
Suddenly there was something wrong in the air, something that hadn't been there before. The presence of the unknown, bordering on something insane, quickly made itself felt. The feeling of concern about the situation in the young man only grew because of this. His gaze darted from side to side for the sake of finding an answer or a solution to this situation, but there was nothing like that.
Firstly, he himself still doesn't understand where he was lucky enough to be. Natsuki Subaru has no idea what is going on around him right now, he is completely unaware of why these strangely dressed figures stood around him. They seem to be frozen, but there are no obvious signs of frostbite and hardening. All these figures resembling people in Halloween costumes literally surrounded the teenager, reminding him of his presence from all sides.
– Are you...?
Suddenly, before he could begin to speak, they all bowed sharply as one, causing the boy to lose concentration. His inner soul feelings called out to him and warned him about the threat from all directions, his eyes perfectly saw this threat right now. But, in the end, the brain couldn't figure out why these guys were doing what they were doing.
– Excuse me…
He started rather timidly, but most of them didn't even look at him. They all together ignored his quiet request, just pointlessly continuing to display their strange respect expressed by a deep bow. That's just some of them still opened their eyes to the situation, this someone stood up straight and looked at Subaru, as if asking what was the matter.
– …
His tongue was almost frozen in place, his lips and even his jaw as a whole simply refused to move. His breathing, like his heart, seemed to have stopped, nothing in his own body wanted Subaru to start moving or talking. His body stopped him 100%, not allowing him to move a finger.
– …
But the cloaked and robed figure was patient. The black-red outfit, resembling a member of some sect, didn't endear itself and didn't help calm down at all. But in fact, the inaction of all the strange figures around calmed down a little and strained even more in return.
However, Natsuki Subaru wouldn't be himself if he wasn't able to overcome his own fears. Yes, he was scared, yes, he seemed to be in a desperate situation, yes, he dropped a bag of chips and soda. But this does not mean defeat, he still has a chance to get out of this suspicious situation and keep both his sanity and his health with him.
– Who are you..?
Not having the best options in a critical situation, he began to act. His tongue was a little slurred, and his eyes were running from side to side, trying to keep as many suspicious personalities in sight as possible. But even so, nothing could help the boy calm down right now. The whole situation puts so much pressure on his mind that it makes him think too fast.
The adrenaline in his blood allows him to feel really excited and excited right now. His body is tense to such an extent that he simply has no choice how to act or see the situation around him.
That's just the fear in the depths of his soul had long since come to the surface, and now it was only growing. Moreover, the level of fear of Natsuki Subaru increased exponentially due to the fact that after his last relatively bold question, all the cultists looked at him.
He didn't see their eyes, didn't observe their direct gaze, but that didn't stop him from feeling completely out of his comfort zone. He is surrounded, he is under the close supervision of individuals in robes and cloaks. Drops of cold sweat begin to roll down his forehead and back, which does not help at all in this delicate situation.
– My name is Maria.
The figure in the black-red robe of a sectarian slowly removed the hood from his head and spoke. She turned out to be a girl, judging by her facial features, long silver hair tied in a ponytail and a slightly soft voice. However, he didn't find any other differences from other people around himself at all, they all looked almost the same.
– We are followers of the Witch of Envy.
Carefully placing her right palm on chest where her heart was, she introduced herself to Natsuki Subaru with grateful feeling. Her heart was pounding with an enviable frequency that its pounding was reflected in own ears. It seemed that she would only like to say more and more such magnificent words that had so recently escaped from her tongue.
However, Natsuki Subaru experienced a very different reaction. After these honest words, his mind cleared up. He finally realized that he was right from the very beginning. No, it wasn't Twitter with followers of someone whose nickname Envy Witch, it's something else. He, a high school student of such an excellent country as Japan, was abducted by a sect of some cultists worshipping some witch. In his memory, nothing more terrible had ever happened than this.
It seemed that the sweat on his back, face and hands doubled, and his heart was ready to jump out of his chest, just to run away and save himself. At the same time, many processes were taking place in his brain aimed at resolving the difficult situation in which he happened to find himself. The lungs held the air to themselves and refused to release it to the rest of the organs, they did not try to stimulate his body, they forced him to be in an even more critical position without access to fresh oxygen. From the fear of Natsuki, Subaru not only lost his sense of logic, but also forgot how to breathe. A little more and his legs will refuse to function under the weight of fear in his soul.
– …
– ..?
A young girl, perhaps a little older than the brunette himself, continued to look at him almost impartially. Her sense of responsibility for her own words did not fade a bit, she just could not completely understand the reaction of the young man in front of her. Of course, she managed to pick out the fear in him without any difficulty, which was so eager to come out, but why?
Why is fear trying to escape from his soul? Why does fear affect his mind and actions, preventing him from speaking? Why did fear have to manifest itself at all in a gifted young man who himself attracted their attention?
– Is it possible…
– My name is Natsuki Subaru..!
Just as thoughts about what was really going on crossed her mind, suddenly he spoke again. When the brunette suddenly called his name, she was a little taken aback, because she could not understand why just a second ago he was shaking like an aspen leaf, and now there is this idiotic smile on his face. She didn't understand any of this, because he was as unusual as she had heard. She has never had a chance to meet personally, much less communicate with the Archbishops, but now she understands for sure.
– After all, it's a courtesy, isn't it?"
Mentioning something like that, he showed his smile to everyone around. He seemed to want to give everyone present this incompetent smile so that they would all understand what he was feeling. But Maria was finally able to notice that the fear had not gone away, it was just hidden deeper than before, than ever. This young man decided to remove the fear in order to do business with all of them now.
Such a decision was good, it was brave, but it did not annul any of his feelings. Natsuki Subaru allowed himself not to calm down, but to become even more tense. He was spending the resources of his body to eliminate fear from the equation of the current situation, to figure out how to get out. He does not need fear now, fear will only interfere with thinking, fear will become an obstacle in negotiating.
He needs to come to an agreement, he needs to show his charm and diplomacy in order to finally solve this problem. If there is a sect in front of him, then they should indulge in moderation so that there are not enough claims against him. But first you always need something to start with.
– Please explain why you need me?
– Huh?
Since he is still alive, since there are no wounds on his body, since even his belongings are left with him, it means that these sectarians do not just want to kill him or sacrifice him. Perhaps they need something else from him, perhaps they want him to join them or help in some large-scale conspiracy.
– I'm just an ordinary schoolboy, you know. There's no point in you kidnapping me.
His eyes were burning with some hope and had something like a piece of madness. Maria and the other cultists standing around him looked at this strange boy with some surprise, because he wasn't like them at all. He was afraid of them, which is pretty obvious, but it seems that the case is quite unusual.
Such a reaction was not peculiar to anyone who had ever heard of a Witch Cult. Of course, people were shivering, fear and panic seized them, but none of them yet looked like Natsuki Subaru, who looked as if he had heard about their magnificent and merciful patroness for the first time at all.
– Please let me go! I won't tell anyone, I promise! No, I swear you!
There were characteristic notes of panic in his voice, he wanted freedom from foreign influences so much that he was ready to go to great lengths. But every cultist at that moment realized that everything was in vain, their goal was not what they imagined it to be. But the expression on the face of the only cultist who took off her hood spoke for itself.
– You don't need someone like me! I don't know anything about anyone or anything!
She looked straight into Natsuki Subaru's eyes with closed lips and a stern look. Her hand finally relaxed from her heart, after which the girl closed her eyes as if she was saying goodbye to something she had wasted her time on. Her goal was not achieved, she failed, and she will have to meekly accept the punishment for her blunder later.
– Just let me go in peace..!
Fear surfaced in her own soul and was reflected in her beautiful violet-blue eyes. She felt a great fear of the girl dressed in simple white robes. A small fire of fear quickly turned into a flame inside her body, which only accelerated her heart rate, as well as her breathing rate.
– Ah..?!
He wanted to say something else, but bit his tongue, feeling that something was wrong. The dull pain was felt from below, but was not very pronounced, which is why Subaru decided to find out what the reason was. For a second he thought he had indigestion, but these thoughts were dispelled at the moment when something gentle and warm slowly poured onto his groin and legs.
– Mm..ma..?!
– …
Maria swallowed her own fear, watching the brunette slowly fall to the grass, clutching his stomach. She could have helped him if she hadn't given a silent order about it. One of her companions cut open the boy's stomach, leaving him no chance of survival. It was pretty quick and almost painless at first, not at all what he deserved for this heart-rending cries of ignorance and misunderstanding.
It hurts..!
But she was also sinful, more sinful even than this boy. Soon after his death, everything will go very badly for her and the people next to her. If they are not killed all at once, then they will still never have time for a normal life until they die soon.
It hurts!
Slowly, blood flowed out of his mouth, the bloody stream itself splattered the ground with grass under the brunette himself. His clothes were soaked with blood from top to bottom, leaving almost no dry places. His mind was burning, and all his senses were screaming about endless pain.
It hurts so much!
And the last thing he could see before the irresistible, inevitable imminent death was the sweet face of a girl who looked at him somehow incorrectly. It's definitely not the face of someone who wants to save you, but there was no malice towards him in those beautiful violet-blue eyes. Just sympathy, just pity and regret.