[The Demon Realm - The Infernal Palace]
The obsidian throne room of the Demon King was sweltering, filled with the scent of sulfur and roasting meat. But the Demon King himself was not celebrating. He sat on his throne of skulls, glaring at a glowing Pantheon Kiosk that Victor Thorne had installed in the corner of his throne room to track the 20% gross royalty fees.
"He bleeds us dry," the Demon King growled, his massive crimson horns scraping the ceiling. "Every soul we extract, the Pantheon Group takes their cut."
Standing before the throne were Archmage Vildor and the four-armed Titan King. Both looked utterly exhausted, having been financially ruined by Victor's firmware updates and insurance scams.
"We cannot fight him individually," Vildor hissed, leaning on his frost-covered staff. "He controls the universal reserve currency. He holds the creation blueprints. If we attack him, he simply locks our bank accounts or deletes our gravity."
The Titan King crossed his massive granite arms. "That is why we must attack him as a corporate entity. We are here to propose an M&A—a Merger and Acquisition."
The Demon King narrowed his glowing yellow eyes. "A merger?"
"We unite our dimensions," Vildor produced a glowing, blood-red contract. "The Titan Realm, the Northern Wastes, and the Demon Realm. We combine our remaining sovereign wealth, our armies, and our land into a single, unified Super-Conglomerate: The Apex Coalition."
The Titan King slammed his fist into his palm. "Combined, our gross GDP will dwarf the Pantheon Group's liquid assets! With a united treasury, we can force a hostile buyout of his shares, override his Poison Pill, and dismantle his monopoly!"
The Demon King looked at the contract. If he signed it, he would be the CEO of a multi-dimensional empire capable of crushing the arrogant human who had enslaved his daughter, Princess Ignis. The temptation of absolute, unchecked power was too much for a dark lord to resist.
"We merge," the Demon King rumbled, slicing his thumb with a claw and pressing his blood against the dotted line. Vildor and the Titan King did the same.
A massive shockwave of unified magical energy rippled through the multiverse, signaling the birth of the largest sovereign conglomerate in existence.
"It is done!" Vildor cackled, his magic flaring. "We are untouchable! We will march on the Abyssal Academy and serve Thorne his eviction notice!"
"You really should have hired a legal consultant before finalizing an M&A."
The temperature in the throne room plummeted to absolute zero.
Stepping out from behind the glowing Pantheon Kiosk was Victor Thorne. His midnight-blue suit was immaculate. Seraphina stepped out behind him, adjusting her glasses and holding her silver clipboard.
"Principal Thorne," Seraphina smirked. "It appears the local franchisee has engaged in unauthorized corporate restructuring."
Victor took a slow sip of his black coffee, looking at the three terrified monarchs. "Let's review your merger, gentlemen."