[The Abyssal Academy - The Faculty Boardroom]
The air in the boardroom was tense. The Goblin King, the Serpent Queen, and the Rogue Grandmaster sat on one side of the mahogany table, radiating dark magic and arrogance.
Victor Thorne sat entirely alone on the opposite side, the glowing Tycoon's Ledger resting silently in front of him.
"These are our terms, Principal," the Rogue Grandmaster slammed a blood-stained parchment onto the table. "You will immediately recall Inspector Vance. You will cease all hostile takeovers. And you will pay a twenty percent tariff to the Union for every adventurer that enters your territory."
"If you refuse," the Serpent Queen hissed, "our ten thousand warriors will burn your toll booths to the ground."
Victor didn't look at their parchment. He took a slow sip of his coffee.
"You misunderstand the purpose of this meeting," Victor said softly, the temperature in the room dropping. "I am not here to negotiate with your union. I am here to acquire your leadership."
Victor tapped his gold-nibbed pen against the Ledger. Three glowing, golden contracts materialized, floating directly into the hands of the three bewildered union bosses.
"What is this?" the Goblin King grunted, squinting at the glowing text.
"It is a Golden Parachute," Victor leaned forward, his Tycoon's Aura suffocating their dark magic. "The Pantheon Group is officially offering to buy your three dungeons for ten Million Gold each. Furthermore, I am offering each of you a position as 'Executive Vice President of Regional Operations'."
The three leaders froze.
"You will receive a corner office, full dental, and an annual salary of five hundred thousand Gold," Victor continued, his voice dripping with pure, predatory temptation. "But to accept this corporate buyout, you must sign over the deeds to your dungeons, dissolve your union, and immediately lay off your entire ten-thousand-monster army."
"You... you want us to betray our own people?" the Rogue Grandmaster whispered, his eyes locked onto the massive salary figure.
"They aren't your people. They are overhead," Victor corrected smoothly. "You brought an army to my gates because you wanted wealth and power. I am handing it to you on a silver platter. All you have to do is sell out the working class."
The room fell into a heavy, agonizing silence.
Outside the towering glass windows, the ten thousand monsters were chanting, believing their leaders were fighting for their rights.
Inside the room, the Serpent Queen licked her lips. The Goblin King stared at the ten million gold buyout figure. Without a single word of debate, all three "proud" dark lords grabbed Victor's fountain pen and frantically signed their names on the dotted lines.
"Excellent," Victor smiled a ruthless smile, the Ledger consuming the contracts. "Welcome to the C-Suite. Now, go tell your army they are unemployed."
Ten minutes later, the three newly-appointed Vice Presidents walked out to the Grand Courtyard balcony. The monster army cheered, expecting victory.
"Warriors!" the Goblin King shouted nervously. "The IDU has been... dissolved! Your dungeons have been sold! You are all officially laid off, effective immediately! Please vacate the premises!"
The cheers instantly turned into a roar of absolute shock and betrayal. Ten thousand monsters realized they were suddenly homeless, leaderless, and completely broke.
Before a riot could break out, Victor Thorne stepped out onto the balcony, perfectly adjusting his midnight-blue cuffs.
"Attention, unemployed labor force!" Victor's voice amplified over the chaos. "The Pantheon Group is currently hiring Independent Contractors! We offer zero benefits, no job security, and minimum wage! But if you sign up today, you won't freeze to death on my mountain!"
Down in the courtyard, the betrayed, desperate monsters threw down their picket signs and frantically rushed toward Seraphina's toll booths to fill out job applications.
From the control room, Elara watched in pure horror. Victor hadn't just busted the union; he had absorbed their entire 10,000-man army for pennies on the dollar.