[The Abyssal Academy - The Principal's Office]
Agent Vane's blank, gray face seemed to tilt slightly, an expression of cosmic confusion.
"You do not have a choice, mortal," Vane's monotone voice vibrated the glass of the towering windows. "The Astral Revenue Service is absolute. We supersede the laws of magic, time, and space. If you refuse the audit, I am authorized to place a cosmic lien on your assets."
Vane raised his hand. A beam of dull, gray energy shot toward the Tycoon's Ledger, intending to permanently freeze Victor's accounts and lock away his 900 Trillion Gold.
Princess Ignis screamed, diving forward to block the beam, but the gray energy phased right through her demonic body. You cannot physically block a tax levy.
Victor Thorne simply raised his gold-nibbed pen and tapped the cover of the Ledger.
BZZZT.
A blinding, pure-white hexagonal shield erupted around the book. When the gray ARS beam struck the shield, it didn't explode. It simply bounced off with a pathetic ping, harmlessly absorbing into the ceiling.
Agent Vane staggered back, dropping his starlight briefcase. "Impossible! A cosmic lien cannot be deflected! Your capital is mortal! It is subject to universal taxation!"
"My capital was mortal," Victor stood up, casually buttoning his midnight-blue suit. "But you clearly didn't review my Q2 acquisition filings, Agent Vane."
Victor turned to his Growth Partner. "Elara. What happened yesterday in Chapter 44?"
Elara, recovering from the shock, stepped forward. "You... you executed a hostile takeover of the Holy Kingdom. You acquired the Vatican and the Supreme Pontiff's entire organization."
"Correct," Victor smiled a ruthless, predatory smile. He slashed his fountain pen across the Tycoon's Ledger.
A massive, glowing golden document projected into the air between Victor and the ARS Agent. It was stamped with the official seal of the Heavens.
"By acquiring the Holy Church, the Pantheon Group officially absorbed its legal charters," Victor's Tycoon Aura flared, completely shattering the gray, sterile energy in the room. "I immediately filed Form 1040-C. The Pantheon Group, the Abyssal Academy, and all associated subsidiary dungeons are now legally classified as a Registered Religious Non-Profit Organization."
Agent Vane stared at the holographic document. "A... a religious non-profit?"
"Under Subsection 501(c)(3) of universal astral law, religious institutions are strictly tax-exempt," Victor walked around his desk, towering over the cosmic entity. "You cannot tax my nine hundred Trillion Gold, because legally, it is all classified as 'charitable donations'."
"This is tax evasion!" Vane's monotone voice cracked with genuine anger. "You run a labyrinth of death and extortion! You are a Tycoon, not a deity!"
"I am the Supreme Pontiff of Capitalism," Victor corrected him coldly. "And you are conducting an unauthorized audit on a tax-exempt sanctuary."
Victor checked his gold Rolex.
"Seraphina. If an ARS agent attempts to levy a tax-exempt religious entity without prior cosmic authorization, what is the penalty?"
"Harassment and religious persecution, Principal Thorne," Seraphina smirked, holding her clipboard tightly. "We have grounds to sue the Astral Revenue Service for punitive damages."
"Get out of my office, Agent Vane," Victor pointed his pen at the spatial tear. "Before I repossess your briefcase and audit your dimension."