Chapter: 51
Strength naturally flowed into her body.
It was almost miraculous that her muscles hadn’t cramped from the tension.
Lee Siya stared at the thing approaching her.
She simply couldn’t get used to it.
Her mind was filled with the thought that the woman with the torn mouth might chew her up alive.
“Did you order?”
It sat down across from Lee Siya with a perfectly casual expression and asked.
‘No one said I couldn’t answer.’
After a brief hesitation, Lee Siya nodded.
“Yeah…”
“I’m excited, aren’t you?”
“I guess.”
As naturally as possible.
The woman with the ripped mouth didn’t seem like she was about to do anything to her just yet.
“They say if you keep your wits about you, you can survive even after being caught by a tiger.”
This thing was far scarier than any tiger.
Still, if she didn’t make any mistakes and handled things carefully, she might be able to get through this crisis.
Of course, whether that was even possible was uncertain, considering she’d already broken Rule No. 2.
“By the way…”
Its smile grew wider.
Its mouth stretched open even farther, making it even more horrifying.
“You picked a good seat.”
The table tucked away in the farthest corner of the cafƩ.
It was the only empty tableāand the one Lee Siya had chosen.
Her heart sank.
‘Just as I thought… it knows something.’
Wasn’t this very existence mentioned in the rules?
The stranger who called herself her friend.
Anyone could tell that the thing sitting before her was exactly the being described in the rules.
“W-Why? You don’t like it?”
“No. I like it.”
‘You probably don’t,’ she thought silently.
‘When is the menu ever going to arrive?!’
Her original planāto finish her drink and escape before it came back from the restroomāhad already failed.
Now she had no choice but to drink casually and leave naturally afterward.
There was no other way.
She had discreetly tried to call 112 on her smartphone, but naturally, the call wouldn’t go through.
“Oh, that reminds me. When’s your birthday again?”
It asked casually.
Like two ordinary friends chatting about everyday life.
‘The rules said not to give away personal information.’
Lee Siya remembered.
She couldn’t recall every rule perfectly, but she clearly remembered Rule No. 7.
After all, it directly concerned her.
“Why do you want to know my birthday?”
“Why else? So I can prepare your present. You can look forward to this year’s. Your big sister here is going to give you something amazing.”
She had absolutely no interest in finding out what that “amazing” gift was.
Thinking quickly, Lee Siya bit her lip before answering.
“You don’t even remember your friend’s birthday?”
She deliberately sounded disappointed.
“I’m not telling you. Either remember it yourself.”
She avoided answering.
The thing smiled brightly, as though amused.
Every time it smiled, bits of some unidentified red substance dripped from its teeth onto the table.
A wave of nausea rose in her throat.
She didn’t want to know what it was.
And she felt like she absolutely shouldn’t.
“You’re right. It’s my friend’s birthday. I can’t believe I forgot.”
The way it looked her over resembled a snake.
Not figuratively.
Its pupils weren’t humanāthey were vertical slits.
Simply meeting those eyes made both her body and spirit shrink.
“I’m sorry. I’ll pay for everything here instead.”
Suit yourself.
Honestly, Lee Siya would’ve gladly paid a million won for a single iced Americano if it meant she could escape this place.
“Your order is ready.”
Just then, the employee who had taken her order returned carrying two drinks.
Or… were they really drinks?
The iced Americano Lee Siya had ordered looked perfectly normal.
The other one didn’t.
Was that the wriggling insect jelly tea?
The menu had described it as jelly worms that looked alive…
‘Those are real bugs!’
They weren’t jelly at all.
Cockroaches.
Earthworms.
Spiders.
Larvae.
Centipedes.
Every single one was actually alive.
The tea had literally been brewed with living insects.
“Wow, it’s so pretty! Pictures! I have to take pictures!”
The thing clapped excitedly.
“Urgh…”
Meanwhile, Lee Siya focused everything she had on suppressing the contents rising up her throat.
If her stomach hadn’t already been empty, she would’ve vomited without question.
“Please enjoy your time.”
Without even glancing at the thing, the employee spoke while looking at Lee Siya.
“Excuse me…”
“Would you like to order anything else?”
the employee asked.
“No, that’s not it.”
Ignoring the excited creature beside her, she carefully asked,
“What happens if someone sits here?”
She had already broken the rules.
If something was going to happen, she needed to know in advance.
Only then could she respond.
Even as she asked, she was surprised at herself.
She couldn’t believe she was still calm enough to think logically in a situation like this.
She was terrified.
She was scared beyond words.
But she hadn’t lost her mind.
Normally, she would’ve fainted dozens of times over by now.
“I take it this is your first visit to our cafĆ©.”
The employee glanced sideways at the creature before continuing.
“The penalty for violating the rules… will become apparent when you pay your bill.”
“When I pay?”
“That’s correct.”
He offered no further explanation.
But one thing was certain.
Something was going to happen.
Lee Siya bit her lip.
“Siya, let me borrow your phone. Mine doesn’t take nice pictures. You use an Apple phone, right?”
It held out its hand while staring at the wriggling insects.
Focused on acting naturally, Lee Siya almost handed over her phone without thinkingā
Then froze.
‘No!’
Thinking about it now, a smartphone was personal information itself.
Everything about Lee Siya was inside it.
If that thing got hold of her phone…
‘Rule No. 7 would become meaningless.’
She quickly pulled her arm back.
“Huh? What are you doing? Why’d you stop halfway?”
“Come to think of it, I’m kind of busy right now. I’ll drink this and get going.”
“What?”
Its eyes narrowed sharply.
Those snake-like pupils stared directly into hers.
“How can you suddenly do this? I even made time for you on Christmas so we could hang out.”
“Sorry. I’ll treat you properly next time. I’ll even pay here today. So just let me off this once.”
Avoiding its gaze, Lee Siya picked up her coffee.
Then, without taking a single breath, she chugged it all in one go.
The icy drink sent a sharp ache through her head, but she didn’t stop.
Gulp! Gulp!
It didn’t take long to empty an entire iced Americano.
The thing watched her before raising the insect-filled jelly tea to its lips.
Sluuurp.
All those disgusting insects were sucked into its grotesquely torn mouth.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
It chewed them.
She felt like she was about to lose her sanity.
It was as though she’d stepped straight into a scene from a gore movie.
Lee Siya set the empty cup down and stood up.
“I’ll get going first. I’ll contact you later. See you then.”
She had to get out.
She hurried toward the counter.
The employee looked her way.
“Where are you going by yourself? If you’re leaving, we leave together.”
The thing followed closely behind her.
A revolting stench suddenly assaulted her nose.
Ignoring it, Lee Siya held out her card to the employee.
“Here.”
She didn’t even ask how much it cost.
Whether it was a hundred thousand won or a million.
She just wanted to pay and get out of this grotesque cafƩ.
“That’ll be 12,000 won.”
Surprisingly reasonable.
Though she had no idea how much that insect tea cost.
“Payment complete. Here’s your card.”
The employee handed it back.
At that momentā
Lee Siya felt something was wrong.
‘What is it?’
Keeping her head still, she accepted the card while moving only her eyes.
She searched for whatever had changed.
‘Ah!’
Silence.
The once-noisy cafƩ had become completely silent.
Even the screams that had been playing through the speakers had stopped.
Gulp.
She swallowed involuntarily.
Slowly, she turned her head.
The thing was still smiling.
And behind itā
Every customer in the cafƩ was staring at her.
Each one wore the exact same smile.
Every single gaze was fixed solely on Lee Siya.
‘Is this…’
The penalty…
for breaking the rules?
A chill ran through her.
Screeeech.
All the customers stood up at once, their chairs scraping loudly across the floor.
“Please come again.”
The employee politely bid her farewell.
“Y-Yes.”
Never taking her eyes off them, Lee Siya slowly backed toward the entrance.
Butā
“Let’s go together. Why do you only think about yourself? We’re friends. Friends don’t treat each other like thiswhereareyougoingyoullendupaloneeverybodywillabandonyousoyoushouldhavebeennicetomewhileyouhadthechanceifyoukeepactinglikethatillripyouapartwithoutanyonenoticingsonodandtellyourbirthdayyourphonenumberandyouraddressorillreallychewyouup.”
Craaaack.
Its mouth split open.
Hundreds of teeth.
One bite was enough to tear an entire person apart.
Whoosh!
She spun around and sprinted toward the exit.
“Where are you goingwhere are you goingwhere are you goingwhere are you goingwhere are you going?! Don’t leave me behind! If you’re leaving, at least leave your intestines! Your heart will do too!”
I’m going to get caught!
The exit was only a few steps away.
But the thing chasing her was much faster.
“Let’s eat her.”
“Catch her and eat her.”
“I want the blood.”
“Blood latte sounds nice.”
“I’ll have a flesh smoothie.”
“A Lee Siya flesh smoothie.”
“They say it has a wonderfully rotten sweetness.”
“I’ve never tried one. Too expensive.”
“Should we take pictures? Pictures? It’ll look so pretty.”
“Let’s catch her first.”
The other customers joined in.
Every last one of them charged toward her like mad, intent on tearing her apart and devouring her alive.
Tables flipped over.
Chairs flew across the room.
In an instant, the cafƩ descended into complete chaos.
All because of those starving gourmets.
‘No!’
There was no way she could escape outside while avoiding all of them.
Lee Siya realized it.
At the same time, her hand instinctively moved to her waist.
‘…Why?’
It wasn’t like she had a gun there.
And even if she did, what good would it do against monsters like these?
She couldn’t understand her own actions.
Butā
Grab.
When had it gotten there?
A long sword was hanging from her waist.
A blade forged from a soft, matte black, as though it had been cut directly from the night sky itself.
Even the black wing ornament where the hilt met the blade.
Looking at it, Lee Siya muttered quietly,
“ćBlack Wing [C].ć”
Shiiingā
Like a hungry infant seeking its mother’s milk.
Like a baby bird flapping its wings after falling from its nest.
The movement was pure instinct.
The sword was heavier than she’d expected.
Yet that only made her happier.
It felt unbelievably familiar and comforting.
As though it were part of her own body.
‘This is…’
She suddenly understood exactly what she had to do.
Thanks to memories she couldn’t even remember acquiring.
The moment the black iron blade of ćBlack Wing [C]ć was fully drawnā
She swung it behind her.
“Get lost, you motherf***ers!”
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
It was a single sword strike containing the full power of the Sword Queen.
