[The Abyssal Academy - The Principal's Office]
Duke Malphas stared at Victor Thorne, his crimson eyes flashing with lethal, demonic fury. The green hellfire in the fireplace roared higher, reflecting off the towering glass windows.
"Fifty Million Gold? A twenty percent royalty?" Malphas let out a harsh, barking laugh that shook the dust from the ceiling. "You are arrogant, mortal. The Demon King does not pay royalties."
Malphas slammed his massive, clawed hand onto the mahogany desk, splintering the wood.
"We watched your broadcast," the Duke sneered, leaning in close until Victor could smell the rotting sulfur on his breath. "We saw your Toll Booths. We saw your Surge Pricing and your Premium Loot Boxes. We know exactly how your little labyrinth works."
Malphas picked up his bag of gold.
"We do not need your 'Franchise License,' Principal Thorne. We will simply return to the Demon Realm, replicate your traps, and build our own highly profitable dungeon. You have given us the blueprint for free. Enjoy your decaying castle."
Malphas turned in a swirl of dark shadows, preparing to step back into the green flames.
"Elara," Victor's voice cut through the room, completely devoid of panic. "Please retrieve File 001 from the archive cabinet."
The Paladin intern blinked, adjusting her clipboard before rushing to the metal filing cabinet in the corner. She pulled out a glowing, golden parchment and placed it on Victor's desk.
"Duke Malphas," Victor adjusted his midnight-blue cuffs. "Before you leave to steal my Intellectual Property, I highly suggest you review the terms of your Princess's enrollment."
Malphas froze. He turned around, his eyes darting to Princess Ignis, who was still kneeling on the floor, bound by the glowing chain of financial law.
Victor tapped his gold-nibbed pen against the parchment. It was the original 500,000 Gold debt contract Ignis had signed on her first day.
"When Princess Ignis destroyed my door, she signed a binding debt agreement with the Pantheon Group," Victor explained smoothly, his Tycoon's Aura suffocating the room. "And if you read Subsection 8, Paragraph 3... you will find a standard Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and a strict Non-Compete Clause."
Victor slashed his pen across the Tycoon's Ledger, highlighting the text in blinding golden light so the Duke could read it.
"Because Ignis is a royal bloodline entity, her signature legally binds the sovereign state of the Demon Realm," Victor stated coldly. "By signing this, your empire agreed not to replicate, distribute, or compete with the Pantheon Group's business models for a period of ten thousand years."
Malphas's face turned the color of pale ash. "A... a Non-Compete Clause?"
"If the Demon Realm builds a pay-to-play dungeon without my explicit franchise license, it triggers an immediate breach of contract," Victor leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk. "The penalty for breaching the Non-Compete is the total forfeiture of the Demon King's soul, payable instantly to my Ledger."
Ignis gasped, staring at Victor in absolute horror. "You... you trapped my entire kingdom on day one?!"
"I protected my patents," Victor corrected her. He looked back at the trembling Duke. "You have two choices, Malphas. You can walk through that fire, try to steal my IP, and watch your King's soul be repossessed. Or, you can sign the Franchise Agreement, pay my fifty Million Gold fee, and we can do business."
The green hellfire in the fireplace died down to a pathetic flicker. Duke Malphas, one of the most terrifying entities in the cosmos, was sweating profusely.
With shaking hands, the Duke reached across the desk and picked up Victor's fountain pen.
"Where do I sign?" Malphas whispered.
"Right on the dotted line," Victor smiled a ruthless, predatory smile. "Welcome to the Pantheon Group."