Luceris stormed back into the Demon Palace with all the energy of a man who had just witnessed the definition of societal incompetence. His aides trailed behind, sharing the silent exasperation of men who had long since realized that following their king meant forfeiting any chance at a peaceful life.
"Faith! Communication! Infrastructure!" Luceris shouted, marching through the throne hall with his robes flapping dramatically. "We are sitting on the potential of an entire empire, and what do we do with it? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Unacceptable!"
Several demon guards flinched and exchanged wary looks, but quickly dropped their gazes when Luceris whirled around, golden eyes blazing.
"You there!" he snapped, pointing at a hapless imp. "Do you know what a newspaper is?"
The imp blinked, mouth opening and closing like a fish. "Uh… new… paper?"
"Hopeless!" Luceris declared. "This realm needs me more than I thought." He spun on his heel and gestured grandly. "Summon the Vampire Lord. Now."
Minutes later, the Vampire Lord arrived, cloak billowing behind him in practiced theatrics. His crimson eyes narrowed slightly, though his lips curled in an almost amused smile.
"Your Majesty," he drawled, bowing just enough to be polite, "what great plan drags me from my delicious nap today?"
Luceris slapped the armrest of his throne. "Magic stones."
The Vampire Lord blinked. "...What about them?"
"I want them. All of them. Every last one you can dig up. Find the mines, drag them here, polish them, put them in little baskets if you like—just get me the stones."
For a long moment, the Vampire Lord simply stared. Then, in the driest tone possible, he asked, "Do you plan on eating them?"
Luceris leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "Do you?"
"No…"
"Then don't ask stupid questions."
Sylas stepped in with a soft laugh. "Your Majesty, perhaps some explanation. As you know, demons don't need mana. We don't use it. Our power is innate. Magic stones are, frankly, shiny rocks to us."
"Shiny rocks that humans would kill to have," Luceris snapped. "And what do we do with them? Leave them underground to collect dust. Pathetic! That's like… like leaving barrels of wine unopened for centuries!"
Caelum, ever the straight man in their trio, folded his arms. "What are you planning, Majesty?"
Luceris grinned. "Entertainment. Communication. Networks. Electricity. All of it. If I succeed, demons won't just get stronger from sitting around waiting for scraps of human fear or admiration. They'll get floods of faith power. Tidal waves of it!"
The Vampire Lord tilted his head. "You speak of faith power as though it's wine we can bottle."
"It practically is!" Luceris exclaimed. He jumped up from his throne and began pacing. "Listen carefully, everyone, because apparently I'm the only one here with a functioning brain. Demons get their strength from human faith. The stronger the faith, the more power flows into the Demonic Tree. Correct?"
The Vampire Lord shrugged. "Yes."
Sylas nodded. "Once a year, the Demon King releases the accumulated power to all demons. That's why you're the most coveted seat in this realm."
"Exactly!" Luceris jabbed a finger into the air. "And why did you two—" he pointed accusingly at the Vampire Lord and Caelum "—nearly tear the realm apart before I arrived? Because you wanted to hog the Tree's fruit for yourselves."
The Vampire Lord raised a brow. "I wouldn't say hog. I would say… fairly appropriate."
"Semantics!" Luceris snapped. "The point is, humans don't give demons faith willingly. They hate us, fear us, loathe us. It trickles in at a pathetic rate. But what if—" he stopped mid-stride, a slow grin spreading across his face, "—what if humans loved us? What if they admired us? What if they worshiped us the way they worship their stupid saints and kings?"
A long silence fell.
Then the Vampire Lord deadpanned, "And your solution to centuries of hatred is… shiny rocks."
Luceris slapped his forehead. "No! My solution is progress, you bat-brained bloodsucker. But shiny rocks are how we'll fuel it. I'm going to use those stones as energy sources. Power grids. Communication arrays. Entertainment systems. Imagine this: humans sitting in their little cottages, staring at glowing screens that tell stories of—who else? Me, their glorious Demon King. They'll laugh, they'll cry, they'll swoon! They'll fall asleep whispering my name!"
Caelum cleared his throat. "Majesty, forgive me, but… you're suggesting propaganda."
"Not propaganda. Marketing!" Luceris said cheerfully. "The gods have priests and temples. We'll have theaters, broadcasts, and magazines with my face on the cover. Which system do you think humans will prefer?"
Sylas chuckled. "Knowing humans? The latter."
The Vampire Lord tapped his chin, thoughtful despite himself. "If humans began admiring demons instead of fearing them… yes, the faith flowing into the Tree would multiply. Perhaps even exponentially. You could harvest and redistribute that power at will."
Luceris smirked. "Exactly. The gods will scream when they realize we've stolen their monopoly. About time someone knocked them off their little cloud-thrones."
"But…" Caelum frowned. "The Demonic Tree is ancient. It may not recognize faith born of admiration instead of fear. What if it rejects it?"
Luceris waved a dismissive hand. "Please. The Tree doesn't care where the power comes from. Fear, love, awe—it's all energy. And I have the SSS mental power to… 'negotiate' if it gets stubborn. I didn't overthrow you all to be second-guessed by a plant."
The Vampire Lord actually laughed at that. "You are mad."
Luceris beamed. "And yet, effective."
He snapped his fingers, pointing at the Vampire Lord. "You. Mobilize miners. Bring me every magic stone you can find. Big ones, small ones, glowing ones, cracked ones—I don't care. Pile them up in the palace courtyard."
The Vampire Lord arched a brow. "And if I refuse?"
Luceris leaned in, golden eyes narrowing dangerously. "Then I will feed you raw garlic for breakfast every morning until the end of time."
The Vampire Lord blanched, then scowled. "…Fine."
Luceris clapped his hands. "Excellent! Progress at last. Soon we'll light up this realm like the galaxy I came from. Humans won't know what hit them."
As the Vampire Lord stalked away, muttering about "idiot fish-kings and their impossible demands," Sylas sidled up to Luceris.
"You're serious about this, aren't you? Using magic stones to power… whatever it is you're envisioning?"
Luceris grinned, flopping lazily back onto his throne. "Oh, I'm very serious. Step one: energy. Step two: communication. Step three: entertainment. Step four: profit. And then—world domination, but make it fashionable."
Caelum pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why does every plan sound like a sales pitch?"
"Because," Luceris said smugly, "sales pitches are how you win hearts."
He stretched his arms over his head, tail flicking contentedly against the side of the throne. "Now hurry up and fetch me some snacks. All this talk of revolution makes me hungry."