"Who are you? Where is Lady Nightwane?" Luna sounds quite scared.

From the back of the store, one more man comes out, much smaller and thinner than the first two thugs. This one looks like he took all the brain matter reserved for the other two during their creation, but traded in his muscles as compensation. His eyes are those of a dead fish, as he stares at Luna with a grin. If that's not a rape-face, I don't know what is.

"Ohhh, that one's a half-elf!" His voice is quite high-pitched, fitting for such a textbook ringleader. Wait, half-elf? Luna, you're half elf? Now that I think about it, I never saw her ears under her hair. How can this guy tell, though? "Grab her, too."

You just gave away some valuable information about yourself there, brainiac. They're here for this Lady Nightwane, who's a dark elf. By wanting to take Luna, who's a half-elf, he basically announced that they're after elves.

"Stay behind me, Miss Marcott, it's dangerous." Oh, how dependable. But if your spells take minutes to chant, how do you want to protect me? Ah, she's holding her staff like she wants to fight with it. Stop it, girl, we're in a cramped space, and you'll just hit a pillar or a wall.

A thug rushes forward; it's the one with the club. That weapon is much more fitting in such a space. Luna swings and obviously, her staff gets stuck on a crossbeam. Then the thug is already right in front of her and swings down his club.

"Not her face you idiot!" The brainiac yells frantically.

Yeah, he really is an idiot for aiming at a cute girl's face with a heavy wooden club. If that wouldn't knock out a few teeth at least, I'd doubt its apparent material. But his reflexes are good enough as he stops himself just in time and instead punches Luna in the gut. She folds over, falls to the ground and is out cold. Wow, so weak.

"And what do we have here? You have such white skin; you must be a noble." I do? Well, I guess I did brighten up my skin tone a bit since my actual body would be quite tanned from running around outdoors all the time. "Even though you don't dress like one... a disguise?"

Oi, leave my clothes alone! At least I'm wearing some.

"Take her as well. She doesn't look like she wants to fight, so you don't have to knock her out. Just tie her hands and feet. And gag her." Hm, do I want to fight here or let them bring me along so I can see what kind of thing they're running here? Maybe it'll be more efficient if I ask them directly.

"W-where do you want to bring us?" My voice came out just right. Innocent, slightly shaking. I'm getting better at this. "My mother is a very powerful woman; you won't get away with this!"

"We just got a request for kidnapping elves, but taking you is a little bonus for ourselves. But say, who is your mother?" Thank you for telling me that. Hm, I actually don't even know her name, only her title. Well, I call her mama anyway.

"She is the reigning demon lord." I say with confidence. For a moment, the three thugs are stunned. Oh, I know what's coming next. They start to laugh their asses off.

"The lady says she's the daughter of the demon lord! She must have gone crazy from fear!" The high-pitched voice is quite annoying. But I start laughing as well. This goes on for a bit until they finally realize that I've joined them. "W-why are you laughing? What's so funny?"

Ah, he's suddenly nervous.

"Crazy from fear... you gave me a great idea." I think my mouth just split into a grin wider than possible with this human anatomy. Then I cancel my transformation.

For a moment, the three look at me with big eyes and jaws ajar. Then the first starts to scream. It's the thug that didn't move so far. Oh, he wet himself. I'm not going to eat you anymore... The other two join in on the screaming. This is like music to my ears. Why am I reveling in their fear so much? Ahhh, I can see madness growing in their eyes.

"Hahahahahaha!" I practically rip open my face with that laugh since I don't even have a mouth in this form. This sound is not something human, and if I didn't know what I am, it would have grated on my spine. But knowing that, I'm sure these three are feeling its full effect. Maou-mama did say that this appearance drains the sanity of those who see it. I think I can see that happening right before me. Let's see what their individual madness looks like.

The thug with the club thinks he can do something because he has a weapon. He rushes at me and tries to bash me over the head with it. It connects, but I let it slide into me. Without resistance, he stumbles and falls forward. Haha, come into my embrace! I split apart my arms into their individual tentacles and grab him. He screams like a gutted pig as half of his body begins to disappear into my own.

"Hahaha, that can't be... it's a nightmare. Yes, I'm dreaming..." The brainiac claws at his own face and laughs madly, trying to explain this away with rationale. I guess you humans don't know about us Crawling Chaos.

"Yes, this is a nightmare you will never wake up from. This is your reality now." I say in a gleeful tone, and he screams. Ahhh, this feels great. The thug with the club is completely inside me now; there isn't a single part of him poking out. The other one who pissed himself has fainted, his eyes rolled back in their sockets. Wait, it doesn't look like he's breathing. Wow, that effective? His mind shut his body down to preserve itself. "Now, tell me who hired you, and I will ease your suffering."

"He-is-a-merchant-called-Sveinn-Itkonen-he-is-a-black-market-slaver-who-smuggles-elves-and-other-rare-species-into-the-capital-for-nobles-to-buy." He rattles it down without taking a breath. Sveinn Itkonen, huh? Jackpot. This was quite convenient.

"Thank you very much. You can rest now." I grab him and stuff him inside me. He doesn't even try to fight back and closes his eyes as if welcoming my embrace. Madness does that to you, huh?

This dead one... honestly, I don't want to eat him, but I also don't want to leave behind any evidence. I'll have to take him in, too, but I'll put him in an isolated section. It's not like it makes a difference whether his filth is outside or inside his body, though. It all dissolves inside me anyway.