Chapter 198: Of Sleep Deprivation and Dramatic Stone Demons
Chapter 198: Of Sleep Deprivation and Dramatic Stone Demons
Elyn’s POV
I stepped closer to him, lowering my voice.
"I am not going to have deaths recorded during my introductory ball," I told him.
He tilted his head slightly.
"They would not be significant deaths, so they wouldn’t be recorded. Every demon would forget they even existed once they are gone," he told me.
My jaw tightened.
"That is not the point."
His expression hardened faintly.
"What then is the point? They disrespected you."
"They were enthusiastic about their jobs, Zorathys."
"They were deafening, firefly. It was inconvenient—not just to me, but to you too," he told me.
I glanced again at the goblin, whose movements were slowing.
"Release them," I said firmly.
His shadows flickered but did not obey.
"If any demon dies tonight," I continued evenly, "I will personally ensure you do not get any sleep... at all."
He froze.
"Firefly," he said in disbelief. "You would threaten to kill me just because of insignificant demons?"
I blinked in shock. I never said anything about killing him, did I? Or perhaps was I the one misremembering things now?
No, that’s not it. I’m very certain that I did not threaten to kill him. I never said anything about killing him.
"I didn’t threaten to kill you," I said to him.
"You threatened to take my sleep away. That’s the same as you killing me. You know how much I love my sleep," he told me.
"But that doesn’t mean me telling you that you are not going to get any sleep if they die means that I’ll be killing you," I told him.
"It’s the same thing," he told me.
"How?"
"Sleep deprivation is the same as death to me. You know that," he told me.
"Zorathys," I called out, even stretching his name out.
Silence stretched between us.
Behind us, demons struggled for breath.
In front of me, the King of the Demon Realm considered his options.
"You are cruel," he muttered.
"I learned from the best."
"I am not as cruel as you. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to threaten someone with what they value dear," he told me.
"No, but you would kill them."
"It’s merciful," he told me. "I have compassion for them, so I just kill them. I don’t threaten them with what they value dear."
My lips twitched. "I’ve never heard killing is compassionate."
"Well, when it comes to me, it is the highest form of compassion too," he told me.
I stared at him.
"Is this your attempt at trying to stall so you can bypass releasing the demons you have in your hold?" I asked him.
He nodded shamelessly. "Is it working?"
I shook my head. "Of course it’s not, you..." I sighed. "Just release them, Zorathys, so we can get this ball started. The faster we finish, the faster you can get back to your room to sleep."
"So if I release them and we get to the ball quickly, I can leave and get to sleep?" he asked me.
"After you finish what we are supposed to do, yes."
His shadows nodded eagerly, and Zorathys gave a small sigh.
It was less dramatic this time.
"Fine. But just know, I’m only doing this because you promised me that if I do this, then I can make things move fast and then go back to sleep," he told me.
I nodded. "And just so we are clear, you are not to fast-forward anything like you did with the duel of the beast territory."
He sighed. "Alright," he said, resigned.
His fingers twitched slightly, and his shadows loosened.
One by one, the floating demons dropped back onto the carpet of doom—which really was just a path filled with lush green grasses, leveled and beautiful—with unceremonious thuds and flustered scrambles. They coughed. Gasped. Clutched their throats.
The goblin collapsed to his knees, wheezing loudly.
A heavy silence fell over the carpet immediately after they were all released. There were no flashes or shouting this time.
Just the sound of demons trying to breathe.
Zorathys stepped forward slightly, placing himself just a fraction ahead of me.
His presence shifted. He looked at the demons who were gasping for breath with indifference.
"Just so you know, you are only being released because the queen asked me to release you," he said calmly.
He did not scream or shout, but his voice carried through. Even those at a distance from us turned to stare at him.
"If you insist on existing in my vicinity," he said calmly, "you will organize yourselves."
The demons froze.
His shadows rose behind him slowly, forming a dark halo that writhed with quiet threat.
"You will conduct yourselves with restraint," he continued. "You will not scream. You will not shove devices into faces. You will not deafen my queen. And just know, if you annoy her, you annoy me. And if you annoy her, I can’t sleep or even rest. And you know what that means for you all."
His shadows made a deliberate motion—two tendrils slicing across one another in a clear, unmistakable gesture.
A killing motion.
"And if you fail to do what I just instructed," he finished softly, "I will finish what I started before."
There was a beat of silence.
Then—
To my absolute shock—
The demons smiled. It was a delighted smile too.
One of them—a tall, sharp-featured demon with curved horns—clutched his jeweled device to his chest and whispered loudly, "There is a reason the King is King."
Another nodded fervently. "Only His Majesty can elicit fear with a single gesture."
A third sighed dreamily. "So powerful..."
I blinked.
They were... impressed. And extremely so at that.
Zorathys looked mildly irritated by their enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, further down the carpet, I noticed a commotion near another cluster of interviewers.
A demon woman staggered backward dramatically.
She was tall and elegant, her skin textured like polished marble, with veins of shimmering quartz running faintly beneath the surface. Her hair resembled cascading obsidian shards, sleek and angular. Tiny flecks of crystal glittered along her cheekbones like embedded gemstones.
A stone demon—it was obvious she was one just from how she looked, but I didn’t know what type.
"Zorathys," I called out.
He turned to me.
"What type of demon is she?" I asked him.
"A Niobe. They are very dramatic," he said, unimpressed.
The woman clutched her chest.
"I love the King," she breathed. "He’s so scary and dreamy!"
Then she collapsed backward in exaggerated slow motion.
Two demorazzi immediately dove toward her—not to assist, but to take pictures.
"Get the angle!" one hissed excitedly.
"She fainted from his aura!"
"This will be front page!"
The stone demon lay sprawled across the carpet, one arm draped delicately over her forehead.
"I can still hear you," she murmured faintly. "Capture my good side."
The flashes resumed.
But quieter this time.
More controlled.
I stared in shock.
This entire realm was unhinged.
Zorathys exhaled through his nose.
"See?" he muttered. "They are ridiculous."
"I can see that," I said to him with a nod.
Meanwhile, where we were gathered, the demorazzi had resumed their work too, although they were more controlled.
"Your Highness," the goblin who had been on the verge of death called to me, "look this way. Turn for us and... no, don’t smile. Glare. Glare at us like the lower demons we are."
I turned to Zorathys, and he just shrugged his shoulders.
"Glare, firefly," he said to me.
My lips twitched at that, and I glared at him just as there was a flash of light and the sound of another demon collapsing.
"How marvelous!"
"The best evil couple!"
"Exquisite!"