---

“Come to think of it, that Mr. Mei Hua Jie said something about the Longfeng Convention happening in Hubei Province this year.”

“Hubei Province?”

“Yeah. I heard it’s going to be like a festival across all of Hubei Province… Preliminary rounds will take place in cities all over Hubei, and the finals will be held in Wuhan. Wow, when I heard that, I was amazed at how the scale is just different in the continent~”

Iarin giggled and stuffed several macarons into her mouth.

“Just how many warriors are there to hold the Longfeng Convention on such a grand scale… Oh, by the way, do you know, brother? The Longfeng Convention has an age cutoff of 20. But even if you’re in your mid-twenties, they give you such a hard time that you basically can’t participate unless you’re something special~”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, if you started martial arts late or have a really good background, you can still participate in your mid-twenties… But even then, they say the conversations around that are pretty intense. So, by that time, most people apply for the tournament called the ‘Zhonghua War,’ where all the warriors participate…”

Iarin excitedly chatted with Park Jinseong about martial arts.

Was it the thrill of discussing martial arts that made her so lively, or was it just joy from talking to Park Jinseong after a long time?

She looked quite cheerful, so much so that I couldn’t even remember her previously gloomy self.

In other words, she was completely absorbed in her conversation with Park Jinseong.

Perhaps that’s why, despite her usual reputation of being ‘beastly,’ she didn’t notice the incident happening in the room.

Not until something began to tickle her leg.

“Eh?”

It was such a minor sensation. A light breeze seemed to brush past her leg, or maybe a strand of hair had fallen gently onto it; it was a tiny sensation, perhaps caused by some movement of her clothes.

But that sensation didn’t stop after just once; it continued.

The subtle feeling that started around her ankle seemed to creep further up her leg…

Like a gentle breeze playfully caressing her foot…?

Iarin looked down at the strange tingling on her ankle.

“….”

And then she met it.

A centipede the size of her index finger crawling up her leg.

“…?!”

No matter how beastly one may seem, there are limits to what could be shrugged off as ‘Oh, I can handle that~’.

If she were to see a centipede diligently wriggling its way up her leg, as if possessed by the vengeful spirit of a ladybug she had eaten, and to witness it crawling up her very own leg…

“…!!!”

Even the most daring would freak out.

Iarin let out a silent scream and shot up from her chair.

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

She literally leaped out of her seated position.

Instinctively, she infused her toes with energy, amplifying her strength so she could vault into the air, spinning and using the footwork technique to lightly crash into the chair. Then, like a dandelion seed blown away by the wind, she floated to the door and landed.

She shivered, as if cold chills were creeping up her spine, and just in case there were more bugs on her, she instinctively tried to lift her upper garment to check.

“…Ah.”

Realizing her brother, Park Jinseong, was in the room, she hastily pulled her clothes back down.

Instead, she concentrated her internal energy and brushed it over her body, lightly leaping atop a display cabinet.

Her stance on the cabinet resembled that of a cat.

Perched on the display cabinet, she watched the room with the grace of a cat surveying its territory.

“Brother! Just now, a centipede crawled on my leg! Ugh, that was insane!”

Iarin curled up comfortably on the cabinet and began to complain to Park Jinseong about how disgusting the centipede was and how it was the worst experience ever. She’d never felt such sharp sensations before, and she was still astonished.

“Wow, it felt like when I was watching a horror movie without knowing what to expect. I was really startled, you know?”

Was she feeling embarrassed about how startled she was?

Iarin began justifying her fright by comparing it to a horror movie.

Knowing in advance what scene would be scary, or having a hunch about where it was set to appear, is entirely different from being caught off guard. Being unprepared can really jolt you, and that’s exactly what she went through.

Iarin rambled on from her perch, justifying her panic.

Park Jinseong watched her, who had jumped like a startled cat after seeing a cucumber, and glanced at the centipede that had dared to creep up her leg.

The centipede, seemingly crushed by the energy she had used to leap from the chair, was struggling to crawl but still drew closer to Park Jinseong.

Wriggle, wriggle.

Wriggle, wriggle.

Despite being on the verge of death, the centipede incessantly squirmed, making its way towards Park Jinseong.

As if possessed by something.

Despite having just crawled along Iarin’s leg, the centipede was now fixated on Park Jinseong.

“Hmm. This looks like a foreign centipede… I see. It seems like the little bug that I brought in for magical purposes has given birth to a bunch of little ones. Ha ha, what a sight.”

Park Jinseong remarked, looking at the centipede, which was distinctly different from the ones he had seen in his dwelling, yet somehow familiar. Then, he naturally turned to the window.

The centipede.

It was crawling through the crack in the window and trying to enter the room.

Blue bodies, pitch-black bodies, blood-red bodies, and so on.

The descendants of the centipedes he had once failed to contain for magical purposes were now frantically attempting to squeeze their way inside, seemingly begging to be used in the ritual once more.

“Wow.”

And as Iarin gazed at that sight, she finally understood what Park Jinseong meant when he’d said, “The centipedes have come in droves and are invading.”

No, she had somewhat grasped it in her mind before… but now, she genuinely realized its significance.

Yeah.

Centipedes, in fact, were flooding in, infernally rushing towards them as if someone had smeared them with honey.

But just how many more would continue to arrive, and for how long?

“Yeah… When there are this many, it makes sense to clean them up with a sprinkler…”

Iarin stared blankly at Park Jinseong before a realization struck her, and she hopped off the display cabinet, opened the door, and dashed outside. Then, using her internal energy, she sprinted up to the second floor, grabbed her smartphone, and…

“HELP! AHHHHHH! SOS! HELP!”

…she began calling for help.

Iarin’s call was directed towards none other than Anastasia herself.

Considering her ability to manifest strange and wonderful things from her dreams, there was a high likelihood she possessed “something to drive away the centipedes” or “a creature that consumes any centipede within reach without leaving a trace.”

Even if not, she could probably search her dreams for such an item!

Iarin’s deduction was quite rational.

But at the same time, it was also irrational.

Asha had enough ability to help Iarin, but she also had the critical flaw of not being very reachable by smartphone.

What good is power if you’re unreachable?

Thus, Iarin’s first help request SOS call met with failure.

All she heard was the endless ringing and the automated voice that followed.

“My sweet rabbit! I need your help!”

[What the heck…?]

That’s why her second call was to someone who could instantly connect her to Anastasia.

Her friend, Ella, whom she affectionately referred to as ‘Rabbit.’

“Sis Rabbit, I need your help! The centipedes are launching a massive assault…!”

[Huh? Centipedes?]

“My brother showed up, but due to some shamanic side effects, tons of centipedes are gathering…”

Iarin was about to explain in detail when she instinctively turned her head.

Yes.

She turned.

“…Ah. We made eye contact. Ugh, annoying.”

And at that moment, she instantly regretted it.

She had locked eyes with a gigantic centipede the size of her forearm that was crawling towards the door.

Did its size mean it was smarter?

The centipede, with an imposing and somewhat threatening appearance, seemed capable of overtaking someone like Ella.

At that moment, it was even displaying high-level strategic behavior as it maneuvered through other paths to reach Park Jinseong.

…And Iarin, in that very instant, found herself staring into the intelligent centipede’s eyes.

“Anyway, my brother said they were here to invade, so I guess I should ask for help…”

Iarin gave Ella a rough outline of the situation.

[…Okay. If that’s the case, I’ll help. Oh, and.]

Ella paused for a moment, then let out a giggle.

[You’re not even considering driving them away, are you? You look more like a cat than a puma.]

“Eh?”

Thud.

Ella, who normally only tried to dissuade Iarin, had seized the opportunity to counterattack.

Without letting that perfect chance slip, she struck Iarin where it hurt and immediately hung up.

Caught off guard, Iarin felt as though it was one of those cursed days when calamity seemed to follow her around, and she slipped her smartphone into her pants pocket.

But is that really what was going on?

The pocket opening of her dolphin pants was too small, and as a result, her smartphone slipped out and began to fall to the floor.

Startled, Iarin moved her foot like a soccer player, flicking the phone back up into her hand, letting out a sigh of relief.

“…What day is it today?”

Feeling as though she couldn’t catch a break, she mumbled to herself and headed back to her room.

She was planning to hide until the centipede exterminator arrived.

 

---