I Thought It Was a Fairy Tale but the Genre Is Strange

Episode 1: Alice

Fairy tales. What are fairy tales? They are stories that give lessons to children and unfold a world of dreams filled with brilliant and creative imagination. There are countless stories like The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Snow White, Peter Pan, and so on. Beautiful stories that make children’s hearts swell with excitement.

My beginning was like a fairy tale too. Yes, just like Alice in Wonderland. As a high school student, I was walking home, watching the setting sun. Then, out of nowhere, I encountered a black rabbit wearing a black hat and a pitch-black cloak.

The rabbit went up the mountain, and no matter how I thought about it, its unusual attire piqued my curiosity, so I couldn’t help but follow it.

The rabbit would wait for me to catch up whenever I got tired, as if guiding me to come this way. Excitement. It evoked the unique excitement and nostalgia of fairy tales that I had long forgotten. I truly felt like I had become Alice in Wonderland.

So, I hurriedly chased after the memories of old nostalgia. I was as happy and excited as a child.

When I reached the place the black rabbit had guided me to, I discovered a giant ancient tree.

It was an awe-inspiring tree that exuded an incredible presence, as if it had stood there for countless years. As I was examining the tree, I suddenly realized the rabbit was gone.

Wondering if it was hiding somewhere, I searched around and found a rabbit hole at the base of the tree. Just as I was about to stick my head in to check inside, I was ambushed.

Something kicked my butt, and I was sucked into the rabbit hole. The last thing I saw before falling was the black rabbit giggling in front of the hole.

“Waaah!!!”

And so, I was falling. What the! What is this! What the heck!! I was falling endlessly. The rabbit hole was much wider and deeper than I had imagined. But no matter how wide and deep it was, does it make sense to fall for over 10 minutes?

“How long am I going to keep fallingggggg!”

Moreover, it was pitch black with not a single ray of light, so I couldn’t tell what was what. I was worried about how long I would keep falling and if I would die if I hit the bottom.

Just as I was thinking that, a dazzling light suddenly poured out from beneath my feet.

“Ah!”

The light was so blinding that I covered my face with my arms, and suddenly, I felt a soft sensation on my butt and a warm light on my eyelids instead of darkness.

As I opened my eyes, I found myself in a place filled with flowers and grass that towered over me as if I had become a tiny person. This place seemed familiar, but where had I seen it before?

“Move, move! Get out of the way!!”

Someone shouted urgently from beneath me. Startled, I jumped up, and the creature I had been squashing was a brown cat, as big as me, trembling in fear.

To my surprise, the cat spoke in human language, its slit pupils anxiously scanning the surroundings before it ran away, shouting.

“Why are you just standing there? Run if you don’t want to die! She’s coming! Crazy Alice is coming! If you don’t want to end up like the Mad Hatter, run!!”

“What? Alice? Mad Hatter? A talking cat?”

I was so confused by the situation that my mind went blank for a moment.

“Run! aaah! Run! Save me!!”

“Squeak! I don’t want to become minced meat squeak!!!”

Suddenly, a talking mouse and rabbit, drenched in sweat, dashed past me. They were dressed like humans and, like the cat, were terrified as they fled.

“What is this? What’s happening?”

I hesitated, not knowing what to do, but it seemed like something terrible was coming from behind, so I decided to join their escape. Just as I was about to run,

“Ah!”

Thud! Something soft stepped on my face and leaped away. I endured the stinging pain on my face and glared to see who it was.

“Whistle~”

A whistle. It was the black rabbit that had led me here. It whistled cheerfully, and when our eyes met, it grinned and started running away.

“Hey, hey! Wait a minute! Stop right there!”

Instinctively, I felt compelled to catch it and started running. The black rabbit darted through the dense grass, making me feel like a tiny person.

“Wait! Rabbit! Tell me the way home! Don’t run away!”

The rabbit ran like a cheetah, far too fast for me to keep up. It was already out of my sight. The rabbit had come like the wind and disappeared like the wind, leaving me stranded in the dense grass, not knowing where I was. I panted heavily and wiped the sweat from my face.

“Pant, pant. Why is it so fast?”

“A rabbit?”

At that moment, a face suddenly popped out from the bushes beside me.

“Ah!”

I was so startled that I fell on my bottom, and the creature that surprised me giggled as if it found it amusing. The face that emerged from the bushes was not that of an animal. It was the face of a girl around my age, with beautiful blonde hair, large eyes, and cherry-like lips. But her eyes were strange.

The girl’s eyes were filled with a chilling madness.

“Giggle! You fell down so easily. But a rabbit? You said it! A rabbit!”

I nodded my head involuntarily at her words. Then she gave a creepy smile and stepped out of the bushes, revealing herself.

She was wearing a dress with sky-blue shoulders and outer parts, and the middle part was white, reminiscent of a maid’s outfit.

I couldn’t help but be scared by her appearance.

Why, you ask?

Her dress was splattered with blood. I hadn’t noticed it when I only saw her face, but seeing the white part of her dress completely stained red sent chills down my spine.

And in her right hand, she held a mace that looked like it could crush and pierce a body with one hit, while in her other hand, she held a blood-soaked Trump soldier who was dead.

“Hahaha! You said you saw a rabbit, right? Hahaha! I finally found it. Nice to meet you, I’m Alice!”

A Trump soldier. A world that felt familiar. Talking animals. And the girl in front of me, dressed like Alice.

Could it be… Alice in Wonderland? But something’s off. Why is Alice like this? Why has she become a crazy murderer? The animals must have run away because of Alice.

The genre seems to have taken a seriously weird turn, but stay calm. The person in front of me is clearly a crazy murderer who would kill without hesitation if I said the wrong thing. I need to appease her. Be careful not to upset her!

I put on a friendly smile.

“Ah, n-nice to meet you! I-I’m Siyu.”

“Siyu? Hmm? Siyu. Yes, good. It’s a good name. I remember it, Siyu. So…!”

She dropped the cold, lifeless body of the Trump soldier and the bloodied mace she had used to brutally kill him, then rushed over and grabbed my hand with her blood-stained fingers.

“Where is it?! The rabbit! Where is it?! I have to catch that damn white rabbit!”

Her crazed eyes met mine, and my heart trembled. The feel of her blood on my hand was so chilling that I wanted to run away immediately. Alice exhaled sharply, pressuring me to speak quickly.

“The rabbit I was chasing disappeared down that path.”

I forced a smile and pointed to the corner where the rabbit had vanished.

“Kya-ha-ha-ha! I found a clue! Thank you, thank you so much!”

“Ugh!”

She hugged me tightly. Though she looked as delicate as an idol with her slender limbs, I realized that her embrace alone could kill a person due to her immense strength. Enduring the excruciating pain that felt like my spine was about to snap, I hurriedly spoke.

“But, it’s a black rabbit!”

“What?”

Thud. Freed from her murderous hug, I collapsed to the ground. Alice looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“A black rabbit? Not a white rabbit!? A black rabbit!!! A black rabbit!!!”

She began to get extremely agitated, and suddenly grabbed the mace, raising it above her head, and started to savagely beat the already dead body of the Trump soldier.

She’s gone mad. Completely mad! I need to get out of here! I have to run away!

My heart started pounding wildly, signaling me to flee. The sensation of my hair standing on end.

“A white rabbit! I need a white rabbit! White! White!!!”

Crack, crack! The thin paper-like body of the Trump soldier was torn apart, and blood splattered. I cautiously moved my legs, trying to slip away. Now that she had lost her mind and couldn’t see anything, I had to get a bit farther away before making a run for it.

I can do it! I can do it!

I held my breath and moved slowly, putting some distance between us and hiding in the bushes.

She suddenly started babbling strange words, then noticed I was gone and began to search for me, twisting her neck in a grotesque manner.

I immediately started running like crazy. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m totally screwed!!! Why did she have to snap out of it at that exact moment! I have to run away! I absolutely have to escape!!

“Kya-hahaha! Are you trying to play tag with me right now!?”

As I sprinted at full speed, I heard Alice’s chilling voice from behind. And like a horror movie, the sound of her running at an impossible speed echoed in my ears.