Natsuki spoke with a neutral tone, "Hey, werewolf. Have you seen my cousin?"
The werewolf jumped, startled. "What? Who's your cousin?"
"She's a little girl, about seven or eight," Natsuki explained. "A few days ago, her grandma got sick, so she went through the forest to visit with some food. Then she just... vanished. No one's heard from her since."
"You're talking about Little Red Riding Hood!" the werewolf blurted out. "Don't act like you don't know!"
"So you do know where my cousin is," Natsuki said, unfazed. "Werewolf, you're under arrest."
"Kid, do you even know what you're saying?" The werewolf stood up, towering at nearly two meters tall. "I've made up my mind. I'm eating you first!"
Natsuki sidestepped, revealing Chika behind him.
Chika, ready for action, pointed at the werewolf. "I dub thee John Doe, the outlaw. Dare you agree?"
The werewolf felt his mouth moving against his will: "I... I am John Doe!"
While the werewolf was confused, Natsuki lunged forward and grabbed him. "John Doe, you're under arrest."
With Natsuki's touch, the massive werewolf froze instantly, only his eyes able to move.
"Human, what did you do to me?" the werewolf growled.
Chika waved to the three people hiding in the corner. "Quick, get out of here!"
The three stunned players finally snapped out of it and scrambled away.
Natsuki calmly eyed the werewolf's shorts. "The Hulk has shorts, and so do you... Same brand?"
"Don't touch my shorts!" the werewolf's voice suddenly turned feminine. "I'll eat you alive!"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're not a dude?"
"There's nothing wrong with female werewolves," Chika chimed in. "Only showing male werewolves in movies is totally sexist."
"Fair point," Natsuki nodded. "Though with all that fur, it's hard to tell."
"So, you eat your food raw?" Natsuki asked.
The werewolf scoffed. "Don't underestimate monsters. Can't you see I'm working on the oven? Cooked food tastes way better."
"..."
"Natsuki, we can leave now," Chika said quickly.
Natsuki nodded and let go. The female werewolf immediately bared her fangs, ready to bite.
Natsuki clapped his hands, and the werewolf girl froze again. Despite her timid appearance, she still managed to snarl, "Human, I'm gonna eat you!"
Kaguya frowned, whispering, "I should seal her away."
She was about to summon her bow and arrow, ready to transform into a witch and seal the werewolf.
"No need," Natsuki shook his head. "Since she's so eager, let's bring her along... we might need a food taster later."
Natsuki led the werewolf girl out of the room. The group followed Billy the puppet to the dining area.
The restaurant was dimly lit, with a dome painted to mimic "The Last Supper". A long table stretched out, ten chairs lining one side.
Natsuki and the werewolf girl took the front seats, followed by Kaguya, Chika, and the others.
"Sorry for the wait," Billy bowed slightly. "Let's begin dinner." As he rang a small bell, footsteps echoed in the darkness. A group of maids emerged, each carrying a silver tray.
They wore traditional English maid outfits with long skirts, looking like a mountain range of varying heights from the side.
Natsuki glanced up at their faces and sighed silently. Each maid had only black holes and white bone where their faces should be, like something out of a horror movie. It shattered any pleasant maid fantasies, cranking up the creep factor.
Even for someone who'd seen real evil spirits, these eerie maids were hard to look at for long.
Natsuki turned his gaze to the werewolf girl beside him. Compared to the scary maids, she looked almost cute.
"What are you staring at, human?" the werewolf growled, her green eyes narrowing.
"Nothing," Natsuki said sincerely. "I just realized you're getting cuter the more I look at you."
"Flattery won't save you," she snapped, her voice rising. "I'm still gonna eat you!"
"..."
The maids swiftly placed plates in front of everyone, then retreated into the shadows.
"Dear guests, you may begin your meal," Billy announced.
The other players hesitated, all eyes on Natsuki. After everything that had happened, and seeing how he controlled the werewolf girl, it was clear Natsuki was the one to follow.
"Food to replenish your energy is under the plate," Billy announced.
"Is this really the Last Supper?" Natsuki mused, glancing at the dome's mural. He calmly lifted the silver cover in front of him. With the hint about energy-replenishing food, he wasn't too worried about any immediate danger.
As soon as he lifted the lid, deep blue fruits came into view.
"Hey, are those blueberries?" Chika leaned across the table, peering curiously at Natsuki's plate.
Indeed, they were blueberries, a common sight in any supermarket. Oddly enough, they were still covered in frost, as if freshly plucked from a snowy bush.
Seeing this, the others began to uncover their own plates.
"A fish?"
"Pine nuts?"
"Ugh... why do I have earthworms?"
"Is that a skinned frog on my plate?!"
Exclamations echoed around the table as everyone discovered their unexpected meals.
The fish looked like salmon, but it was raw. Something had taken a bite out of its belly, leaving only the head and part of the tail.
The pine nuts were still in their white shells, unpeeled.
As for the skinned frog... its legs were still twitching on the plate from nerve reflexes!
The girl who got the 'skinned frog' meal turned pale, clearly on the verge of tears.
Meanwhile, the werewolf girl next to Natsuki had frozen again, this time more from shock than any supernatural control.
Natsuki surveyed the bizarre array of foods, his mind racing to understand the purpose of this strange "Last Supper."
Kaguya's plate held a handful of green grass and a few fat, white, wriggling giant insects. Compared to that, Chika's plate of shriveled frozen fruits looked almost appetizing.
"Whoa!" Chika leaned back, startled. "Kaguya, why did you get horrible bugs?"
Kaguya bit her lip, saying nothing. The unfairness of the situation was clearly getting to her. While others got fruit, she got insects. Talk about drawing the short straw.
Natsuki glanced at Kaguya's plate. "That's Oxalis," he said, gesturing to the leaves. "It's edible. Tastes a bit sour." He then pointed to the bugs. "Those look like longhorn beetle larvae. They've got six times the protein of beef."
"How do you know that?" Chika asked, shocked. "Have you eaten them?"
Natsuki shrugged. "Lots of places eat insects. It's not that weird."
"It's totally weird!" Chika protested.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out. One of the other players had eaten his pine nuts and exclaimed, "Eating this food increases your time!"
After their earlier separation, Chika had explained about the game's death countdown to everyone. Now, knowing the food could buy them more time, the other players started eating frantically, regardless of how unappetizing their meals looked.
"Kaguya..." Chika began hesitantly.
Kaguya looked at her, her expression firm. Understanding the unspoken message, Chika changed the subject. "By the way, why do you have that weird collar around your neck? It wasn't there before, right?"
"We ran into some trouble when we got separated on the third floor," Natsuki explained briefly, skipping over the parts Kaguya clearly didn't want shared.
"Can I see the key?" Chika asked curiously.
Natsuki pulled out the key and handed it over. "Here you go."
As the others continued to eat their bizarre meals, the tension in the room was palpable. The game's deadly stakes were becoming all too real, and everyone was desperate for any advantage they could get.