98. Mental breakdown
The mansion had finally calmed after dinner.
Maximilian was in his study.
Uncle Adrian and Aunt Liana were finishing their tea.
Chloe was scrolling through her phone, plotting ten different ways to tease Aiden tomorrow.
And Aiden…
Aiden was floating on cloud ninety-nine, replaying Marcelline's "Hey… I'm sorry for earlier…" in his head for the 157th time.
He sat on the couch hugging a pillow with a dreamy smile, mumbling:
Aiden (softly):
"She said my name so beautifully… Aiden… Aii-den… like music… no, like divine echo—"
Chloe:
"Oh god, he's gone."
---
SUDDENLY—
The mansion lights flickered.
Temperature dropped.
A thick suffocating darkness slithered across the ceiling like ink.
The entity had returned.
Stronger.
Wilder.
More murderous.
Aunt Liana's cup SHATTERED on the floor.
Uncle Adrian froze, terrified.
Chloe jumped behind the couch.
And upstairs, Maximilian rose from his chair instantly—the monster inside him surging awake.
The demonic shadow began dragging its claws across the walls…
SCRAAAAAATCH… SCRAAAAATCH…
A cold whisper flowed through the house:
"FeAr… FeEd mE fEaR…"
Everyone screamed.
Except.
Of course.
AIDEN.
The stupidly in-love idiot.
He didn't even notice the demon.
He was too busy staring at Marcelline's contact name on his phone.
Aiden (smiling at phone):
"Should I text her? No… too soon… But what if she's waiting? Should I send a 'Reached home?' message? Or maybe a meme? She seems like a meme person—"
Demonic Entity:
"Grrrrrrrrrr—"
Aiden (ignoring it completely):
"She smiled at me. She SMILED. Her hair, her eyes—oh god I'm dying."
The entity moved right in front of him— towering, distorted, demonic energy swirling like a tornado of death.
Chloe screamed,
"AIDEN MOVE YOU IDIOT!!"
But Aiden…
Still staring at Marcelline's photo.
Aiden:
"Waaah she looks so beautiful—should I change her contact pic to this one? No, too creepy—maybe when we're dating…"
The entity roared—
A deafening, house-shaking, hell cracking roar:
"AAAAAAAAAAAARGH—!!!"
Curtains flew. Lamps burst.
Aunt Liana fainted.
Uncle Adrian clutched his heart.
Chloe was about to pass out.
And Aiden?
Did not react.
He just sighed dreamily:
Aiden:
"She's so angelic… like soft… like moonlight… how does someone look THAT perfect?"
The entity stopped.
Paused.
Tilted its monstrous head like:
"…tHe f*Ck???"
Even the demon was confused.
It hovered right next to Aiden's ear and screamed again, louder:
"DIE—!!"
Aiden casually waved a hand as if shooing a mosquito:
"Yeah yeah later… hmm maybe I should ask her favorite color…"
Chloe's jaw DROPPED.
Maximilian, rushing downstairs with murderous aura, froze at the sight.
Even he…
didn't know whether to kill the entity…
or Aiden.
The entity tried AGAIN—
Claws inches from Aiden's neck…
But Aiden suddenly giggled:
"Bro she literally waited for me outside the room… HAHAH I'm so lucky—"
AND THE ENTITY JUST—
STOPPED.
It stared.
It trembled.
Then it let out the most exhausted, disappointed groan in demonic history:
"...…noFeAr… noFeAr… tHis iDiaT…."
And then—
IT LEFT.
Just disappeared like:
"I can't deal with this dumbass today bye."
Silence fell.
Everyone stared at Aiden.
Aiden finally looked up innocently:
Aiden:
"Huh? Why is everyone staring? …What happened?"
Chloe threw a cushion at him.
Chloe:
"YOU STUPID LOVESICK GOLD FISH—
A DEMON JUST HAD A MENTAL BREAKDOWN BECAUSE OF YOU!!"
Maximilian pinched the bridge of his nose.
His temper gone.
His logic gone.
His hope gone.
Max:
"…You're grounded."
Aiden:
"For what? 😦"
Max:
"For existing like that."
And Chloe added dramatically:
"Congratulations Aiden.
You're so annoying in love…
YOU SCARED AWAY A DEMON."
Aiden blushed.
Shrugged.
Then whispered with soft smile:
" She is worth it."
Everyone groaned.
The demon somewhere in the void:
"bRo PLz stOp…"
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