Chapter 25: Apparently, Terror Is a Compliment
Chapter 25: Apparently, Terror Is a Compliment
For a second, none of us spoke.
Rin just stared at me while Versha blinked her eyes, waiting for me to inform them of what they asked.
"You guys are really serious about this?" I asked them, and they nodded in unison again.
I inhaled slowly, steeling myself.
"Marrok," I said, pointing at him. "You are the less scary one among the three of you."
All three demons froze.
Even Rin’s feathers—or hair, or whatever that was—seemed to halt mid-sway.
Marrok frowned, confused and offended. "Less... scary? Me?"
"Yes." I gestured at him broadly. "You’re still intimidating, but compared to them? You’re practically normal."
Versha tilted her head, eight eyes widening. "Normal?"
I turned to her. "You have multiple eyes. That alone is terrifying."
Versha stared at me like I had just told her she ruled the kingdom. I didn’t pay any mind to the weird reaction; besides, I was still getting used to those eyes of hers staring at me.
I faced Rin.
"And you—everything about the way you talk makes people feel like you’re about to crawl into their nightmares. Even the way you look is scary too."
Rin gasped—like I’d just told her she won a prestigious award.
Silence.
The three demons stared at me, processing my words as if I’d just handed them a prophecy.
Then—
Rin jumped with her fist in the air. "YES!"
"Finally!" Versha clasped all six hands together and let out a delighted squeal. "Someone said it! I am more scary than Marrok!"
I blinked.
...What?
Rin laughed—an excited, unhinged little cackle that made the hairs on my arms stand straight. Versha joined her, eight eyes blinking eagerly like a cluster of excited stars.
"What is happening?" I whispered.
Marrok, meanwhile, slowly sank onto the floor, looking deeply betrayed. "I thought I was the frightening one," he said, sounding personally wounded.
"What?" I asked in shock because I could not understand what was going on... at all.
Versha waved two arms dismissively, explaining Marrok’s reaction to me. "Humans are always scared of Marrok. Always. It’s predictable and boring."
Rin nodded. "Very boring."
"Hey," Marrok muttered.
Versha ignored him and leaned toward me again—too close—her smile bright. "But hearing you say we are scarier? That is so refreshing, your highness... no, ’my lady’ suits you better."
I recoiled on instinct. "Wait—humans aren’t scared of you?"
"Oh no, they are," Versha said cheerfully. "But they don’t scream. They just die. Immediately."
I stared.
"They... die?" I echoed.
Versha nodded proudly. "The only human who saw me didn’t even scream. He just fell over on the spot. Very polite."
That was not polite. That was a fatal heart attack.
Rin puffed up next to her. "Humans run when they see me. Always. One even ran straight into a wall and killed himself! It was very funny."
I opened my mouth, closed it, reopened it, and stared because what else could I do?
"That’s—horrifying," I said, wide-eyed.
"Yes!" both women said in unison, delighted.
I blinked rapidly because the absurdity of the conversation was reaching dangerous levels.
"So," I said slowly, carefully, "if humans die on sight or run themselves into a wall when they see you... that means you are absolutely more terrifying than Marrok."
Rin and Versha erupted like I’d set off a celebratory firework.
"We’re scarier than Marrok!" Rin shouted, spinning in a little circle.
Versha clapped all six hands and began dancing around the room with her.
I sat there, watching a raven demon and a spider demon celebrate like children at a festival, and wondered if perhaps I had actually died back in the human realm and this entire situation was some bizarre afterlife prank.
Marrok grumbled under his breath the entire time. "I cannot believe this. Centuries of building my reputation, gone."
He folded his wings in irritation and sank deeper into sulking.
"This is unbelievable. How am I not the scary one? I work very hard at it."
"You look fine," I said.
"I don’t want to look fine," he snapped. "I want to look terrifying."
Rin danced by him, snickering. "You look like a disgruntled statue."
Versha chimed in, "One that’s not scary."
"He’s even pretty," Rin added with a laugh.
"I am not pretty," Marrok growled, bristling.
I stared at all three of them, utterly overwhelmed.
This conversation was absurd, and I didn’t mean that in a good way. It was extremely absurd. Delusional even.
Which was a concerning sign.
If this was considered normal here...
I needed to get out.
Soon.
If they were rejoicing about how terrifying they were, I could only imagine what else they would celebrate.
Rin twirled again, her hollow eyes gleaming. Versha clapped and laughed. Marrok sulked. And I sat on the bed contemplating my life choices.
Finally, Marrok shook himself and stood. "All right. Enough celebrating. I have apparently lost all my frightening credibility." He sighed deeply, wings drooping.
He turned to me. "My lady. You need to change so we can begin the tour."
It seemed "my lady" was the new way they would be addressing me now because apparently Rin had decided it suited me more.
I nodded and moved to stand, brushing my palms against the bed sheets. My mind was still spinning from everything that had just happened.
I reached for the ties of my dress when I suddenly realized—
Marrok and Versha were still standing right there.
Staring directly at me.
"Um," I said, blinking at them. "Could you two... give me some privacy?"
The two looked at each other, then at me.
And then, simultaneously, they tilted their heads like confused puppies.
"Why?" they asked me.
I gaped. "Because—" I pointed at myself. "I need to change, and I need privacy."
They stared at me blankly.
Marrok blinked, completely perplexed. "You don’t need to be shy. We’ve all seen each other naked."
What the hell?
"That is true," Rin said with a nod.
"And human nakedness isn’t strange either. We’ve seen it all," Versha added.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?