[The Abyssal Academy - The Eastern Courtyard]
The freezing rain fell in heavy, rhythmic sheets, washing over the cracked gargoyles of the Abyssal Academy. Elara clung to the slick stone wall, her white-and-gold cloak completely soaked. She was a Heroine of Light, a Paladin sent by the Holy Kingdom to infiltrate the most dangerous villain academy on the continent.
Her mission was simple: gather evidence of blood sacrifices, demonic rituals, and torture to justify the Holy Kingdom's upcoming crusade.
Elara slipped through a shattered stained-glass window, landing silently in the dark hallway. She drew her silver rapier, letting a faint hum of holy magic coat the blade. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She braced herself for the screams of the innocent or the manic laughter of dark mages.
Instead, she heard sobbing.
Elara crept toward an open dormitory door. She peeked inside, fully expecting to see a gruesome murder.
Instead, a hulking, scarred Orc and three High-Vampires were huddled around a single flickering candle. They weren't plotting a massacre. They were frantically scribbling on pieces of parchment, their faces pale with absolute terror.
"Carry the one..." the Orc whimpered, wiping a tear from his eye. "If the compounding interest is thirty percent weekly on a ten thousand Gold principal... by the gods, I'll lose my bloodline in a month!"
"Stop crying and calculate the amortization schedule!" one of the vampires hissed, pulling his hair out. "If we miss the Friday payment, the Principal will repossess my fangs!"
Elara lowered her rapier, her jaw dropping. What kind of dark magic was this? The continent's most feared villains weren't studying forbidden curses; they were studying advanced accounting.
Confused and deeply unsettled, Elara moved deeper into the castle. She needed to find the source of this psychological torture. She needed to find the Principal's Office.
She bypassed the perimeter security easily, though she had to freeze in the shadows when a massive, steel-plated Chimera wearing a high-vis yellow vest lumbered past. Finally, she reached the heavy oak doors of the headmaster's sanctuary.
Elara channeled her holy magic, melting the iron lock silently. She kicked the door open, aiming her glowing rapier straight ahead.
The office was dark, lit only by a roaring fireplace.
Sitting behind the massive mahogany desk was a human male. He wasn't wearing an evil, spiked armor set. He wore an impeccably tailored, midnight-blue business suit.
Victor Thorne didn't flinch. He didn't even look up from the heavy, glowing black book on his desk. He simply adjusted his gold cuffs.
"Seraphina," Victor said softly, his voice carrying a suffocating, terrifying calm.
From the shadows near the bookshelf, a Dark Elf in sharp business attire stepped forward, holding a silver clipboard.
"Yes, Principal Thorne?"
"What is the penalty for unauthorized campus access, destruction of a vintage iron lock, and corporate espionage?" Victor asked, tapping his fountain pen against the page.
Elara tightened her grip on her sword, her holy aura flaring. "I am Elara of the Holy Vanguard! I am not here to play your twisted games, villain!"
Victor finally looked up. His eyes were cold, calculating, and entirely devoid of fear.
"I don't play games, Paladin," Victor flipped a page in the Tycoon's Ledger. "I run a business. And you are trespassing on private property."