Demonic Devourer's Development

I stood still like a pole while Risha tested the limits of my malleability with her bear hug. No, not a bear hug—she clutched me like a lifebuoy in a storm.

"That's so good you came, Voren! What are you doing here? Did you look for me, too?" Risha asked, raising her big, shiny eyes at me.

"You know him?" Yvenna pointed at me with an expression of dumb shock on her face. "Hey, you girl, who let her hug him, whoever you are? He's—" she caught herself, paused. "Show some more respect, will you?"

Surprised, Risha let me go. "Huh?"

"Hey, my sister can—" Rosha started defensively. Seeing a storm of a conflict brewing, I hurried to step in while I could still affect it. A moment later, and I'd probably have to run away from all the shouting and drama… Oh, after I tried Yvenna up so she wouldn't hit anyone.

"Stop fighting for no reason!" I barked at them. "Yvenna, Risha wants to hug me, let her. Risha, Rosha, this is Yvenna, just don't give her a reason to punch you, I don't think she can control herself even when she actually wants to."

Yvenna looked at her clenched fists and, with what looked surprisingly like angry shame, hid them behind her back.

"And, girls," I looked around the Guild's hall, "too loud for so many ears. Yvenna, let's go sit at your place. You have food there?"

"Something was somewhere, I think…" Yvenna shrugged. "I hate cooking."

"Oh well, we will deal with that later. Come on."

⠀⠀

A short while later, after a silent and tense walk, we sat around the table in a guest room of Yvenna's house. It was a place that felt barely lived in: bare walls, bare shelves, bare table. The only food Yvenna had were some potatoes that went green long ago, and a lonely carrot that I crunched down raw.

"So… You know each other," Rosha gave Yvenna an appraising look. "I thought you don't keep company to adventurers, Voren."

"She's an exception. I've met her in the mountains—she's actually the one who told me about the church of hers. And Rosha here has been providing me with equipment for a while now," I explained to Yvenna.

"The church?" Risha's clueless eyes flickered between us. I grinned. This was just a perfect opportunity to bring her into my secret. After all the time we spent together, I was pretty sure she won't turn away from me because of it.

She didn't even ask me about my mask and clothing, like it was all alright as long as it was me. Sweet, naive girl.

Rosha gave her younger sister a doubtful stare. "I don't think this is a sort of conversation that you should stay around for…"

"Don't tell me to go away, Sister! I won't hide under my blanket again!" Risha immediately protested and turned towards me and Yvenna. "What is that church you are talking about?"

"Go on, Yvenna, you tell her," I encouraged with a nod.

She only needed a word to stand up and start preaching.

"It's the Church of the Devourer! The saviour of our world and the… the smiter of the people who do shit, to him or in general! The greatest being to walk our earth… and you are sitting at the same table with it! Isn't that a blessing, or what?" Yvenna gestured at me. "He'll kill gods, and we all will be better for it!"

"Kill gods? Devourer?" Risha looked at Yvenna with round eyes, then at me. "What? I don't understand any of that!"

I sighed. Yeah, eloquent Yvenna was not. "To explain this better, Risha, I've been hiding something from you, because your sister said she's gonna kill me if I didn't."

"And I still can do it!" Rosha threatened, raising up. "Dammit, this wasn't even supposed to come out!"

"What? What you were hiding?" Risha frowned helplessly. "Rosha, why? We are sisters, there aren't supposed to be any secrets between us!"

"I'm a demon that came here from Hell, and Yvenna and her little cult worshipped me for almost a century because of some prophecy someone made. I don't know about the prophecy, but the demon part, it's here. Just look."

And to show what I meant, I took off my mask.

Risha gasped. "Your face! B-but… I've seen it before, it was… It wasn't like that!"

"That's just a part of what I am, Risha." I put the mask back on, since no food was in sight to put in my mouth, and shrugged. "Can never guess what I will look like next month."

"See? Some things you just better not knowing about," Rosha said, gesturing at me. "I was keeping this from you to protect you, Risha. Voren, he's… He isn't as good as you thought. It's safer to know less about him for you."

"What about you, then?" Risha challenged her sister. "Why not for you?"

"We signed a contract to not share what we know about each other for harm," Rosha explained.

Yvenna huffed. "One day, the entire world will know about Voren, and will praise him and shit. Now that will be a day… Oh, and we will execute all the followers of the Twelve who won't convert to the new faith! Hundreds of them, thousands…" Her eyes turned dreamy. "There will be rivers of blood."

"R-really?" Risha paled. "That's awful!"

"She's exaggerating, Risha. But…" Rosha grit her teeth, then tsked. "See what we are dealing with? Nutjobs and demons from the deepest pits of Hell. See what I was protecting you from? Don't blame me for it."

"I…" Risha looked at me again. "I won't, Sister. But only this one time! Because, well, whatever you didn't tell me, it doesn't change what I know. If not for Voren, we wouldn't have the money for better things, and Teren would've…"

"Don't think about him, Risha."

She nodded resolutely. "I won't.. He's gone now. So, I still want to help you with what I can!"