Black Wing
Strength flooded into her body of its own accord.
It was a miracle she hadn't frozen solid with fright.
Lee Sia watched the thing coming toward her.
She still couldn't get used to it. The thought that those torn-open lips might chew her up and swallow her whole filled her head completely.
"Did you order already?"
It sat down across from her with a perfectly ordinary face and asked as if nothing were wrong.
She never said I couldn't answer…
After a brief hesitation, Sia nodded.
"Yeah…"
"Exciting, right?"
"Yeah."
As natural as she could manage. The woman with the split mouth across from her didn't look like she was about to do anything to her right this second.
They say even if a tiger grabs you, you can still survive if you keep your head.
This was scarier than a tiger. But if she just didn't mess up and handled herself carefully, she might still make it through this crisis. Of course, she'd already broken Rule Number Two, so what would happen from here was anyone's guess.
"By the way…"
Its smile deepened. The mouth stretching even wider was so horrifying it made her skin crawl.
"You picked a nice seat."
The most secluded table in the café. The only empty one left—and the one Sia had chosen.
Her heart dropped with a heavy thud.
So it does know something.
This was a being that appeared in the rules themselves, wasn't it? A stranger who called her a friend. Anyone looking would know that the thing sitting in front of her was exactly what the rules were talking about.
"Why? Why? You don't like it?"
"No. I like it."
You wouldn't, the words whispered past her so quietly they barely counted.
When is the order even going to come out?!
The plan to chug her drink and run before the thing came out of the bathroom was dead. That meant she had to sit there, drink her coffee like nothing was wrong, and slip out as naturally as possible. There was no other way.
She tried lifting her phone to call 911, but of course the call wouldn't go through.
"Oh, right—when was your birthday again?"
It asked as casually as if this were just ordinary small talk between friends.
Don't hand over personal information…
But Sia remembered the rules. A few of them were fuzzy, but she had Number Seven locked down for sure. It was the one that concerned her directly.
"Why do you want my birthday?"
"What do you mean, why? So I can get you a present. You can look forward to this year. Unnie's going to get you something amazing, okay?"
She had zero curiosity about what that amazing thing might be. Sia's mind raced; she bit her lip and answered.
"You can't even remember your friend's birthday?"
She put on a show of disappointment.
"I'm not telling you. You figure it out yourself."
She dodged the question. The thing giggled as if it found that funny. Every time it laughed, some unidentifiable red something dripped from its teeth onto the table.
She nearly gagged. She didn't want to know what it was, and she had a feeling she wasn't supposed to.
"You're right. It's my friend's birthday, and I forgot. How could I."
The gaze that raked over Sia was exactly like a snake's. That wasn't a metaphor—it was literal. Not human pupils, but vertical slits. Just meeting those eyes made her body and soul shrivel up.
"Sorry. I'll buy at this café to make up for it."
Do whatever you want. Honestly, Sia would have been willing to pay a million won for a single iced americano if it meant getting out of here.
"Your order is ready."
Just then, the employee who had taken their order a moment ago arrived carrying two drinks.
Or… were they drinks?
The iced americano Sia had ordered looked normal. The other one did not.
Was that the jelly tea crawling with bugs? The description had said something about jelly worms that looked almost alive…
Those are real bugs!
Not jelly at all. Cockroaches, earthworms, spiders, larvae, centipedes—actual living insects, steeped into tea.
"Wow, it's so pretty! Photo! We have to take a picture!"
The thing clapped its hands in excitement.
"Urgh—"
Sia had to focus everything she had on keeping the contents of her stomach from climbing up her throat. If she hadn't been empty already, she never would have held it down.
"Please enjoy."
The employee didn't so much as glance at the thing; he looked only at Sia as he spoke.
"Um…"
"Would you like to order anything else?"
the employee asked.
"No, that's not it."
She carefully ignored the thing still gushing on its own and asked as carefully as she could.
"What… happens if you sit here?"
She had already broken a rule. She needed to know in advance what would come of it so she could respond.
Even as she asked the question, Sia was a little shocked at herself. She couldn't believe she was still thinking this clearly under these circumstances. She was scared—terrified, even—but she hadn't lost her mind. The original her would have fainted dozens of times by now, and yet here she was.
"It seems this is your first visit to our café."
A sidelong glance. The employee flicked his eyes toward the thing, then continued.
"The penalty for noncompliance with the rules will be made clear at checkout."
"At checkout?"
"That's correct."
He didn't explain any further. But it was enough. Something was going to happen.
Sia chewed her lip.
"Sia, give me your phone. Mine never takes pretty pictures. You use an iPhone, right?"
It held out a hand while staring at the writhing insects. Focused entirely on acting natural, Sia almost handed the phone over without thinking—then froze.
No!
A smartphone was personal information itself. Everything about Lee Sia lived inside that device. If the thing got hold of it…
Rule Number Seven goes out the window too.
She yanked her arm back.
"Hey, what are you doing? Why start to give it and then stop?"
"I just realized I'm kind of busy right now. I'm gonna finish this and head out."
"What?"
Its eyes sharpened. Those snake pupils locked straight onto Sia's.
"What's with the sudden change? I cleared my schedule on Christmas just so I could hang out with you."
"Sorry. Next time I'll treat you to something huge. I'll pay here too. Just… cut me some slack today."
Sia averted her gaze and picked up her coffee. Then she tipped it back and drained it in one go without even breathing. The ice stabbed through her skull, but she didn't stop.
Gulp, gulp, gulp—!
Emptying a full iced americano didn't take long.
The thing watched her while bringing the bug-swarming jelly tea to its lips.
Slurp—
Every grotesque insect was sucked into that long, torn mouth.
Crunch crunch crunch crunch—
It chewed the bugs. Sia felt her sanity starting to slip. It was like she'd stepped into a scene from a gore film.
She set her empty cup on the table and stood.
"I'll head out first, then. I'll text you later. See you then."
She had to get out. She moved quickly toward the counter. The employee's eyes turned her way.
"Where do you think you're going alone? If you're leaving, you're leaving with me."
The thing fell in behind her. A nauseating stench brushed past her nose. Sia ignored it and held her card out to the employee.
"Here."
She didn't even ask the total. Ten thousand, a hundred thousand—she just wanted to hand it over and get out of this freakish café.
"That'll be twelve thousand won."
More reasonable than expected. She had no idea what the bug tea was supposed to cost.
"Payment complete. Here's your card."
The employee finished the transaction and handed the card back.
And in that instant, Sia felt something wrong.
What is it?
She kept her head still and rolled her eyes as she took the card, searching for what had changed.
Ah!
Silence. At some point, the noisy café interior had gone completely soundless. Even the screams that had been pouring from the speakers had stopped.
Gulp.
She swallowed dryly without meaning to. Slowly, she turned her head.
The thing was still smiling. And behind it, every customer in the café was looking this way—every single one of them wearing the same smile, every single one of them staring only at Lee Sia.
Is this…
The penalty for breaking the rules?
A chill ran through her.
Screeech—
The customers all stood at once. The sound of chairs scraping the floor rang out with dizzying force.
"Please take care on your way."
The employee offered the farewell.
"Y-yeah."
Without taking her eyes off them, Sia backed slowly toward the entrance.
But—
Teeeeear—
Its mouth split open. Hundreds of teeth. One bite would shred a human being on the spot.
Sia spun and bolted for the entrance.
"Where are you going where are you going where are you going where are you going where are you going?! Don't leave me behind and go alone! If you're going to leave like that, leave your guts here! Your heart's fine too!"
It was going to catch her!
The entrance was right there, but the thing chasing her was far faster than Sia.
"Let's eat that."
"Catch it and eat it."
"I want the blood."
"Blood latte wouldn't be bad."
"I want flesh smoothie."
"Lee Sia's flesh smoothie."
"It's famous for that rotten-sweet flavor."
"I never got to try it because it's so expensive."
"Should we take a picture? A photo? It would come out so pretty."
"Let's just catch it and eat it first."
The other customers were the same. All of them charged at Sia in a frenzy, desperate to tear her apart alive and chew her up. Tables flipped. Chairs went flying. In an instant the café had become pure chaos—the work of hungry, starving gourmets.
No!
There was no way she could slip past their hands and make it outside. Sia understood that. At the same time, her hand moved on instinct to her waist.
…Why?
It wasn't as if she had a gun. And even if she did, what could a gun do against things like these?
Sia didn't understand her own movement. But—
Her fingers closed around something.
How long had it been there? A long sword hung at her waist. A blade of matte, lusterless black, as if someone had cut a piece of the night sky and forged it into steel. Even the black wing ornament bridging hilt and blade.
Seeing it, Sia murmured under her breath.
A legendary sword of black iron, sealed with the power of a fallen angel.
Grade: C
Shhhhhhing—
Like a hungry infant seeking its mother's breast, like a fledgling tumbling from a branch and beating its wings—it was pure instinct. The weight was heavier than expected, but Sia welcomed it. It was so familiar, so comforting, that she almost felt as if she and the blade had become one body.
This is…
She understood exactly what she had to do. Thanks to some nameless experience she couldn't even remember.
The moment the black-iron edge of Black Wing [C] left its sheath, it was already swinging behind her.
"Get the fuck away from me, you bastards!"
KWAAAAAAAAANG—!
A single stroke carrying the full spirit of the Sword Empress.