The silence after Bella's smile was worse than shouting.
Vario felt it before he saw it. The way Nyx stopped laughing. The way Garruk cracked his knuckles. The way Arthos slowly, deliberately picked up a lighter from behind the counter like it was a sacred artifact.
Vario took one cautious step back. "Okay. Let's all calm down. Violence is not the answer."
Bella tilted her head. "This isn't violence."
Nyx grinned. "This is fairness."
Before Vario could react, Garruk grabbed the edge of his pristine apron. Arthos held the lighter under it with ceremonial seriousness. Seraphine whispered a prayer—not to stop them, but for the uniform's soul.
"Wait—WAIT—"
The flame caught.
The apron ignited faster than expected. Whoosh.
Vario yelped and jumped back as fire climbed the fabric like it had been waiting for this moment its whole life. He slapped at it in panic, but Nyx casually flicked a fire spell to help it along.
"Nyx!"
"Oops," she said, not apologizing at all.
The apron collapsed into ash midair, drifting down in the exact same sad, uniform-shaped way as the others.
Silence.
Then Bella stepped forward, crouched, and examined the pile.
"…Yep," she said. "That was yours."
Vario stared at the ash. Slowly. Deeply.
"…You didn't have to burn it that well."
Garruk crossed his arms. "We absolutely did."
Arthos nodded solemnly. "Balance has been restored."
The Demon King clapped once. "Justice."
Yuwen sighed in relief. "I feel better."
Kael wrote in his notebook: "Retaliation successful. Morale improved."
The monkey applauded wildly.
Vario looked around at the group—trash-bag uniforms, towels, cardboard armor, plastic wrap capes—and finally exhaled.
"…Okay. I deserve this."
Bella stood up and handed him a mop. "Good. Then start earning forgiveness."
Vario took it, shoulders slumped. "I just wanted to test my power."
Nyx leaned over the counter. "Next time, test it on literally anything else."
A customer walked in, stared at the ash-covered floor, the mismatched outfits, and Vario mopping in socks.
"…Is this performance art?"
Bella didn't miss a beat. "Yes."
The customer nodded. "Cool."
As the automatic doors slid shut again, ash still floating gently through the store, Vario learned a second important lesson that day.
Never underestimate retail workers.
And never, ever, mess with the uniforms again.