CHAPTER 6

“YOU WILL visit me, right, Dad?” Cent looked at her father with wariness evident in her eyes. Her eyes flashed from her usual black to the green-colored ones as they stood in front of the haunted-looking gates of the Malevolent Dorm. 

The fear of being abandoned again lingered in her chaotic mind. Thousands of scenes were played should her father decide to leave her if she proved worthless. 

Patting her head, the Grand Duke eased his daughter’s anxiety. “Of course. I will visit you every week. You will know when I am back, that I promise you. And since I can’t leave you my shadow according to the school’s law, at least I can leave you a gift.” Gukasho opened his mouth. The Grand Duke inserted his entire arm into its mouth as if he was just getting something from it. The goblin expanded his mouth like it was natural for him to do. The entire scene froze Cent. 

Dude, why am I getting surprised? I am a living half-demon. A goblin turning his mouth into my father’s pouch is no biggie, yup. Nothing to be surprised about it.

“Here. Take it, Maleficent. And this will protect you in my stead.” Her father’s words snapped Cent from her sarcastic thoughts. And right in front of her, she almost dropped her jaws when greeted by a titan-size egg. 

As if her right hand got a mind of its own, it moved to touch the enormous black-colored egg. When her fingertip grazed its stone-like shell, a zap of pain attacked her immediately. The pain connected her mind, bringing a tugging feeling at the back of her consciousness. “The heck?” She turned to her father. “Dad, did it just attack me? I thought that would protect me?”

The corner of his lips tugged a bit which startled her more than the zap of pain from earlier. Oh wow, my father knows how to smile!

Reading her mind, he cleared his throat before continuing. “That egg did not attack you, Maleficent. You just made a connection between a master and a familiar. All the children of the seven great demons got a familiar.”

A familiar? “So my butterflies are not counted, Dad?”

He shook his head as he handed the egg to her, which she accepted reluctantly. Cent expected the zap of pain when she took the egg, but it never came. Was that a one-time thing?

“Your butterflies are your manifestation. You are born with that, while the familiars are creatures without definite form. When they hatched, depending on the demonic energy from their contracted master, they could be a tiny rabbit or a huge beast. The pain you felt was the immediate and irreversible contract between you and this familiar. So be a superior monster and produce a beast that will shake the world, Maleficent.”

Wow, you got some expectations for me. “But what if I ended up having a little mouse or a cat as a familiar?” The worried expression she wore earned her another pat on the head from her father. 

“You are my daughter, Maleficent. And I watched you grow up. You are no low-level demon; I promise you that.”

“I only got you back, Dad. I don’t want you to go.” Cent only got this side of her in front of her father. He showed her what it meant to have a parent, and she loved every second of it. The way he showed his concern for her in his own way would be something that Cent would genuinely miss.

What her father did the next moment almost made her drop the egg she was holding on the pavement. Crossing the distance between them, he kissed her forehead, earning him wide saucer eyes from Cent. The tug of the corner of his lips was a telltale sign that her father wanted her to be brave. “Always remember, Maleficent. You are Maleficent the Glutton, the only heir of Grand Duke Beelzebub. As long as you never forget that, you will never be lost from me.”

MALEVOLENT DORM. It was written in gold atop the haunted-looking grand gates of her said dorm. With her luggage in tow, she stepped towards the closed gates. As Cent walked closer, the doors opened as if welcoming her arrival.

The thick fog that gathered around the area obstructed her line of vision. But from time to time, a gush of cold wind blew, scattering the mist around her and exposing the graves at each side of the pavement she walked on. “Am I lost? Did I somehow venture into the graveyard?” 

0154, 0680, 0003. Wait, why are there numbers carved on the gravestones?

Cent’s question got answered when a hand suddenly came out from tombstone 0680. With no shadows to defend her, she was contemplating if she would throw the egg if worse came to worst. The skeletal form of a squirming arm turned into a full-blown zombie girl crawling from the soil, which freaked the heck out of Cent. Though it was entertaining to see a zombie clad in a green dress and jewelry pieces while its eyes were almost dangling from its skull. Its blondish hair was practically nonexistent, but it did not stop the zombie girl from wearing a headband. 

Wow, there is something wrong with me, admiring the fashion style of a zombie known for thousands of zombie movies. They have a specific diet, human brains, which I have. Though I am only half-human.

Standing frozen, the zombie girl finally looked at her. “You lost, girlie?”

“Dude, shut up.” Her reaction offended the talking zombie; it gasped, which also earned a gasp from Cent. “I’m sorry. I am just shocked that you–talk.”

“You are new, I reckon?”

“Yeah. And this is my dorm, but I think I am lost?” Since I am talking with you in a middle of a colossal grave. Cent looked around for any signs of zombies but found none.

The zombie girl, taller than her, walked towards her. “My name is Matilda, girlie. You are not lost. This is the Malevolent Dorm. This is the graveside for the zombies. We are also students here in Transylvania Academy.” Its dangling eyes stared at her. “Judging from your huge horns, I can tell that you are a Halfling. Wow, I never thought that a new Halfling would come before my bone rots.”

“I am not a Halfling. I’m a half-demon since my father is a demon.”

The fully intact teeth of Matilda cackled as she laughed in front of Cent as if the latter were joking. “Silly. Of course. You are called a Halfling, a great demon’s offspring. So your father did not tell you what you’re called. You must be well-loved by your father. Who is he? Asmodeus? Belphegor? Leviathan?”

So father did not tell me because he cares for me? Is the term Halfling supposed to be an insult? 

Cent tilted her head, wondering who Matilda was talking about. Are they one of the great demons too?

“No. My father is Beelzebub the Glutton, the Grand Duke of the Malevolent World.” Cent felt good that, for the first time, she did not have to say that she was an orphan because she had a family now, a father waiting for her.

Cent expected Matilda to talk again, but the zombie lady remained frozen minutes later. “Ah, are you alright, Matilda?”

“Pardon my impudence, Your Grace. I truly did not know that the Grand Duke’s daughter would come today. I promise I do not mean any harm! Please do not incinerate me with your flame!”

Matilda’s frantic outburst shocked Cent. She just introduced herself. She did not mean to threaten anybody with incineration, which she did not know. But two things were clear for Cent: her father was feared by many, and if she did not wish to draw attention, then she should refrain from introducing herself as his daughter.

“Hey, hey, calm down, Matilda! I am not incinerating anybody today, you hear me? If you want to compensate for your ‘impudent’ behavior, can you show me the way to my room?”

The zombie girl’s frantic flailing abruptly stopped upon her request. “Really? You have my gratitude, Halfling.”

Cent’s action when she winced upon the Halfling term struck the zombie girl. Hence, Matilda immediately asked her her name, which she gladly answered. “Maleficent. You can call me Cent, Matilda. So, which way is this room?” She showed Matilda the piece of parchment that Gushako had given her earlier.

“The House of Lamentation, room 004. Well, I know where that house is. Every student of Transylvania Academy knows where that is. See that hill where there are looming dark clouds? That’s where the Halflings lived. That is where the offspring of the great demons and demon king stays. The other demons live in the Forest of Lamentation, the forest surrounding the House of Lamentation. That will be about half an hour’s walk, so let’s go? I have a class to attend, you see.” Gone was the fear from Matilda’s bones. Since Cent could not see her face’s expression nor the emotions reflected in her eyes, all she could observe was the quiver of her bones.

“Are you afraid of heights, Matilda?” Cent asked her as the latter helped her by taking her baggage from her. Cent was fearful of Matilda’s joints snapping. It was not a tiny suitcase, after all.

“No. Why did you ask, Cent?”

Cent did not need to reply anymore as she manifested her large demon wings. Spreading her black-colored wings, the fog around them vanished. “Wow! You are indeed the Grand Duke’s daughter! You are the only Halfling with wings. I saw Levi, Sylvia, and Damon, but no one manifested wings since your father is the only one with wings among the great demons.”

Levi, Sylvia, and Damon. Are they the other Halflings? I will be meeting them in less than an hour, I see. This will be the only time I will gladly present myself to them. Next time, I will make sure that I will use the butterflies to travel. Plus, I need to master the shadow manifestation.

Ugh, I have so many things to do.

Matilda clung to her right foot while Cent carried her baggage, afraid the weight would snap. Matilda should later carry her bag. “This view is so amazing! No wonder the dragon men are very proud of their wings.”

This was also the first time for Cent. The feeling of the wind against her body and the feeling of being so free was something she did not experience even when she manifested as a flock of butterflies. “Matilda! What’s in there? Is it still the Malevolent Dorm’s territory?” She meant the lush forest with a river surrounding it as if it were a boundary. It looked so magical; she would not be surprised anymore if she learned that fairies were living there.

“No. That’s the Ambivalent Dorm’s Territory. Aren’t they lucky?” Envy laced upon Matilda’s voice.

So there are other dorms as well. The Headmaster did not mention that. “Can you tell me about the dorms here at Transylvania Academy?”

“Sure, girlie. There are three dorms in the Transylvania Academy. The Benevolent Dormitory where creatures from the Benevolent World stay, the Ambivalent Dormitory for the creatures from the Ambivalent World, and the Malevolent Dormitory where creatures of the Malevolent World live. The entire Asguard Forest belongs to the Ambivalent Dorm. The small islands above this floating island are the territory of the Benevolent Dorm, while the Forsaken Lands belong to the Malevolent Dorm.”

Cent saw the distinction between the three dorms. Matilda pointed to the three small floating islands above the Transylvania Academy. She pointed to the lush forest, which was the home of the creatures from the Middle World, and Matilda also showed her that the drylands and dark-looking forest belonged to the Malevolent Dorm. 

I guess I will have to observe the system in this school to know more. I need to work extra hard to be a monster.

“We’re here!”

Cent landed with a thud in front of a gloomy-looking castle. The dark clouds produced some lightning, completing the Dracula vibes of the House of Lamentation.

A mailbox and its carved house’s address grabbed Cent’s attention. 

Street 666, House of Lamentation