(Part 9) Reincarnated as an Elf Mage’s Cell

“Hmm, hmm hmm, dumm da doo…”

A cheerful girl hums various tunes to herself as she ballets around the kitchen, mixing together miscellaneous ingredients into a fine batter.

Step by step, she carefully measures each ingredient, making sure not to waste anything or even splash batter onto her protruding nub horns. She moves carefully so as to not make a mess, but freely as her heart desires.

After taking a deep whiff of her handiwork, she places the batter into a mold and tosses it into a large furnace, losing it with her tail.

“Whew, and done. These demonic brownies were a bigger hit than I thought they’d be! The people are going to love the extra rich flavor in this batch!”

She looks over at a fuzzy pastel pink clock, then smiles joyfully as she gets a large tub of ice cream with an equally large spoon.

“Oh daddy, I wonder how’s it going…”

The demon girl’s eyes change color to white–completely white. No longer is she seeing the sweet and comfy environment of her bakery, but a cold, dark, fleshly space through the eyes of a monstrous entity.

Every missed attack thuds against the beating flesh, creating a sickly body reaction. Every single second brought a much bigger smile to her face, making more room for even larger scoops of ice cream to fit in her stuffed mouth.

“It really worked! My plan worked wonderfully! I felt a little afraid of baking dad within that cookie, but he’s alive and well inside that elf’s body. Ooo, she must be so sick and weak, I really wish I could see her face now!”

She takes more oversized scoops of ice cream one scoop after another, practically swallowing them whole without even chewing them into reasonable chunks. More than apparent, the demon girl is hardly able to contain her excitement or sit still.

“Just before dad finishes destroying Lyrielle’s body, I need to be nearby to safely retrieve him; it’s already breaking my heart not having him in my body, but it’d be even worse if he never returned to me. I swear, if dad dies with that elf away, I’ll resurrect her and kill her over and over and then I’ll–”

“You’ll do what? Come on, I’m dying to know, don’t leave me hanging.”

“?!”

Out of nowhere, a small, but very audible voice reverbs through the demon girl’s eardrums. All of her childish glee vanished.

“W-where is this voice coming from? W-who are you? S-show yourself!”

“Sorry, can’t do that.”

The tiny voice’s casual, yet confident tone makes the demon girl grit her fangs and rapidly scratch her ears. Despite her efforts, the voice remains within her head while all she manages to do is tire herself out.

“I’ll have you know, I’m not only the cutest, most talented baker of this millennia, I am Nara, the daughter of the awesome demon lord Grath. It’s best not to get on my bad side, you know!”

“Agreed, I wouldn’t want to do that. That’s why I’m on the best side of you–the inside. More specifically, your inner ear right next to your eardrum. Let’s just say, you should be glad that you look much cuter on the outside than in, eh? Demon’s guts are something else!”

“Y-you’re i-inside my b-body?! Whawhawhawha what?! How’d you get there? What are you trying to do to me?!”, Nara screams in panic. Learning exactly where her tormentor lies, she frantically digs in her ears as deep as her fingers can reach and shakes her head to “empty” it. Unfortunately for her, the best she could dig out was a bit of earwax.

“You’ll never reach me like that, so don’t bother trying. Anyway, to answer your question from earlier, I’ll introduce myself. I am the renowned leader of the Halo party, the subduer of the demon tyrant Grath, Kaden!”

“K-Kaden? I thought you died! Are you now a spirit haunting my body? Please, leave me alone or I’ll tell my dad!”

“Calm down, I’m not a ghost, I’m just a harmless cell...person. I now belong to the body of Lyrielle, you know, the very same elf that you and your dad are currently attacking from her insides?”

“Someone like you could never understand–my dad has given me everything I ever wanted, this is my way of paying him back! He wants vengeance on that elf for her mockery, and he deserves to get it!”, Nara whines in protest. Rather than screaming in panic, her tone turns defensive.

“You see, that’s the issue. That elf you speak of is my dearest friend, and my host. MY existence as a cell is to protect her body. Regardless of you or your father’s grievances, I’m not asking, but demanding that you call off the attack on her body at once. Understood?”

“Urg, you’re like an annoying little bug stuck in my head! I refuse to be demanded by you, dad taught me to never do such a thing!”

“Okay then, I won’t beg ya. Since I’ll end up homeless at this rate, I’m just gonna have fun in my new home. I’ll make myself nice and comfortable immediately!"

“No, you will not! I command you to get out of my body this instant or you will have to deal with my dad!”

“...”

Though Nara yelled out a threat in desperation, it was met with stark silence–her attempt at a commanding voice fell on deaf ears. The voice in her head vanished as though it was never there.

But it was there, and it still exists where it shouldn’t. And Nara knows it all too well to pretend otherwise.

Several thoughts bombard her mind one after another, panicking at the thought of what her enemy could do to her from her most vulnerable weak spots–the tender and frail insides of her body. Bluffing authority means absolutely nothing without leverage.

“Hey, Nara…”

Coming from a basement door, an adult female demon walks up to Nara with a look of concerned curiosity. Her maid uniform complements her gentle motherly voice, bringing an immediate sense of comfort to the overwhelmed girl.

“Nara, are you alright? Baking by yourself hasn’t been too stressful on you, I hope? I swear I could hear you talking to yourself…”

“Ranna! Oh thank goodness, I need you!”

“Oh? It sounds like an urgent task. If you need me to watch the furnace or get a particular ingredient, I’d be more than happy to–”

“It has nothing to do with baking! The former hero Kaden, dad’s mortal enemy, is inside my body! I don’t know how he invaded me, but that doesn’t matter right now! He refuses to leave and says that he’s going to make himself comfortable inside of me! What does that mean?! What should I do?!”

“Please, dear Nara, calm down. That human is powerless to do anything to the beloved daughter of the great and mighty demon lord Grath. He’s probably using magic to project his voice into your head, so don’t fall for his tricks and empty threats, okay?”

With the combination of her calm voice and head-patting, Ranna extinguished the fire that is Nara’s mental state. Nara uses her sleeve to wipe her almost-teary eyes.

“O-okay–!!!! EEEEEE!”

A sudden, sharp pain forces the unexpecting Nara to wail in agony. She reactively clings onto her face, though it does nothing to stop the source of the pain.

The pain that is coming from her mouth.

Like transformation magic, Ranna’s once calming demeanor vanished instantaneously at the mere sight of seeing her master in pain. She clenches her razor sharp teeth, she extends her black claw-like nails, and the wrinkles in her face eliminates the semblance of a smile on her face.

“So that human bastard is really inside your body, and he dares to assault your precious mouth that brings smiles to all of creation? Please don’t burden your body by trying to speak to me–there’s no need for that. I assume that I have your permission to exterminate this human parasite firsthand?”

From a calming motherly tone to an aggressive motherly tone, Ranna ensures that she speaks with her master before fulfilling her duty with diligence. Nara nods several times, rapidly bobbing her head.

Ranna gently places her hand on her head, stopping Nara’s nodding, then delicately pulls down her lower jaw like a dentist examining her patient.

A vengeful dentist who sees nothing but cavities to fill.

“Hold your mouth still just like that for a few seconds. I’m going in.”

With her magic, Ranna envelops her body and shrinks herself in less than a second. She then flies towards Nara’s open mouth, but as desperate for relief as she is, Nara uses her hands to quickly push the shrunken Ranna into her mouth like medicine that she couldn’t wait to swallow.

A tear rolls down her cheek.