[The Abyssal Academy - The Faculty Boardroom]
The shockwave from Ignis's hellfire shattered the remaining glass in the boardroom windows. The freezing storm outside immediately whipped into the room, scattering Morbus's toxic acid across the stone floor where it hissed and burned.
Ignis stood between Victor and the corrupt Alchemist. She was breathing heavily, her fangs bared, gripping her flaming broadsword. She glared back at Victor, her golden eyes burning with humiliation.
"I am a royal of the Demon Realm!" Ignis snarled, pulling against the glowing golden chain of her debt contract. "I am not your personal meat-shield, human!"
"You are currently a highly leveraged asset, Princess," Victor said smoothly, wiping a speck of ash from the lapel of his midnight-blue suit. "If I die, your debt defaults to the Iron Bank. And they do not offer favorable repayment plans."
Across the table, Professor Morbus was coughing, his robes singed by the hellfire. His initial shock had morphed into a deranged, desperate fury. If the human reported the embezzlement to the Magic Council, Morbus would be executed.
"I will melt the flesh from your bones!" Morbus shrieked. He reached into his robes and pulled out a pulsing, pitch-black crystal. He crushed it in his bare hand.
The air in the boardroom violently imploded. A tear in reality ripped open above the table, and a massive, hulking Abomination dropped into the room. It was a chimera made of stitched-together manticore parts and hardened steel plating, dripping with venom. Its roar was a deafening, metallic screech that shook the foundation of the castle.
Seraphina drew a silver dagger, stepping in front of Victor. Even Ignis took a step back, recognizing the immense, forbidden magical power radiating from the beast.
"Kill them!" Morbus pointed a trembling, bleeding finger at Victor. "Tear them to shreds!"
The Abomination coiled its massive muscles, preparing to leap across the table and crush the Principal.
Victor pulled a golden pocket watch from his vest, checking the time. Then, he raised the Tycoon's Ledger.
"Dawn," Victor spoke, addressing the magical artifact's appraisal spirit. "Scan the biological components of that entity."
The Ledger glowed with a blinding, calculating light. Golden grids overlaid the massive monster.
[Appraisal Complete.]
[Asset: Class-A Chimera. Material Cost: 300,000 Gold.]
[Funding Source: 100% Abyssal Academy Embezzled Funds.]
"As I suspected," Victor said coldly. He didn't cast a protective shield. He didn't order Ignis to attack. He simply tapped his fountain pen against the open page.
"Professor Morbus," Victor's voice cut through the monster's roaring. "That creature was created using stolen academy property. Therefore, under corporate asset recovery laws, it does not belong to you."
Victor slashed his pen across the ledger.
[System Alert: Asset Repossession Authorized.]
[Ownership Transferred to: Principal Victor Thorne.]
The Abomination launched itself into the air, its jaws snapping open to devour Victor.
But mid-leap, a golden barcode of pure financial law burned itself into the creature's forehead. The monster's eyes snapped from a hostile red to a compliant, docile gold. It crashed onto the table directly in front of Victor, instantly halting its attack. It lowered its massive head, whimpering like a trained dog.
Morbus stared in absolute, mind-shattering horror. His ultimate trump card had just been hacked by a ledger.
"You... you stole my creation!" Morbus stammered, falling backward over his chair.
"I recovered stolen property," Victor corrected him, closing the ledger. He looked down at the massive, deadly chimera acting like a puppy. "Seraphina. We have a severe shortage of security personnel. Assign this asset to patrol the perimeter. Give it a high-vis vest."
"Immediately, sir," Seraphina smirked, noting it down on her clipboard.
Victor stepped around the table, standing over the trembling, bankrupt Alchemist.
"Your accounts are frozen. Your private laboratory is seized as collateral," Victor looked down at Morbus with eyes devoid of any mercy. "You owe the academy 1.2 Million Gold. Report to the basement. You are going to brew Grade-A health potions for sixteen hours a day until your debt is paid."
Victor adjusted his tie, his Tycoon's Aura fully dominating the room. "Welcome to the corporate grind, Professor."