[HELL - PRIDE RING]
The Pride Ring pulsed with its usual, chaotic energy neon lights flickering between the cracks of shattered streets, demons of all kinds hustling and bustling in the underbelly of Hell. But in the midst of it all, one figure didn't move, didn't care.
A crow demon. Tall, hunched, and wrapped in a black coat that had seen better days. His dark feathers were matted and unkempt. He hardly bothered keeping up appearances.
He was in a park with a small sack of meat, feeding crows and petting them.
Before he could proceed with his activity, an imp woman using formal clothes came into the park. Panting, she walks up to the crow, who doesn't even bother to look at her. She looks at him with an annoyed look.
"Why did you come here, Liana?" The crow asks calmly, his voice a low rasp, barely carrying over the distant sounds of chaos below. He still doesn't turn to look at her, his gaze fixed on the crows, as if they were more interesting than the presence standing beside him.
Liana huffs, her tail flicking in irritation. "I came to see if you'd finally snapped out of it." She replies, adjusting her glasses that slid down her nose. "You know, the last time you showed up was—"
"Three months ago." Lex interrupts, his tone flat, devoid of any emotion. "Is that what got you worried? You're my secretary, not my keeper."
Liana crossed her arms, frustration bubbling just below the surface. "I'm not just your secretary, Lex. I'm the only one who still cares what happens to you."
Lex remained silent for a long moment, letting the tension simmer between them. He still didn't meet her eyes, focused entirely on the crows that pecked at the scraps he tossed, their sharp beaks snapping up the small pieces of meat without hesitation.
"You shouldn't." Lex finally muttered, his voice as dispassionate as ever. "Care, I mean."
Liana's brow furrowed, her tail giving another irritated flick. "Maybe not, but I do. You think I enjoy running around Hell, covering for you? Everyone's starting to ask questions. It won't be long before someone tries to take advantage of your... absence."
Lex gave a dismissive shrug. "Let them. What does it matter?"
Liana's eyes flared with a mix of anger and concern. She took a step closer, her voice lowering, turning almost pleading. "It matters because you're still an overlord. Because you still have power, influence. Because if you don't get back into the game, someone else will tear apart what's left of your territory. And that someone else can be Vox."
Lex stops everything he's doing and looks at Liana in silence for a moment. He started speaking. "What can I do to prevent that?"
Liana blinked, momentarily thrown off by Lex's sudden shift in tone. She hadn't expected him to change his mind so quickly
"First? Show up." Liana said, stepping closer until she was practically in his line of sight. "Even if you don't care about any of it, the others need to think you do. Vox is circling like a shark because he sees weakness. And he's not the only one."
Lex's cold gaze lingered on her, then slowly drifted back to the crows. He tossed another scrap of meat to them, the action almost absent-minded now. "What do you expect me to do, Liana? Put on a suit? Smile for the cameras? Pretend I give a damn about the game everyone's playing?"
"No," She shot back, her voice hardening. "I expect you to remind them why they were afraid of you in the first place."
The statement hung in the air between them, stark and heavy. Lex's feathers ruffled slightly, a subtle sign that Liana had struck something deeper. He exhaled slowly, his breath misting in the cold Hellish air.
"... I think I know what to do…" One of the crows flies to Lex and lands on his shoulders. Lex simply gives the crow some chin-scratching.
[SOME DAYS LATER - V TOWER]
The looming structure of the V Tower gleamed with screens and flashing lights, a symbol of the Overlord's dominance in the world of media. The tower's main broadcast room, a nerve center for all things digital and entertainment, was buzzing with activity. Vox himself stood at the center of the chaos, his sharp smile plastered across his pixelated face. His neon eyes flickered with an unholy mix of excitement and confidence.
Behind him, massive screens displayed his iconic logo, and beneath it, the words "Breaking News" pulsed in bold, electric colors. Demons scurried around the studio, preparing for Vox's big announcement.
Cameras whirred to life, and the countdown to the live broadcast ticked down on the screens.
"Three... two... one..."
Vox snapped his fingers, and the lights dimmed. His glowing eyes narrowed as he faced the camera with his usual arrogance, his static-filled voice booming across the Pride Ring.
"Good evening, Hell!" he started, his voice filled with confidence. "Today marks the beginning of a new era, one that I've personally ensured will be full of... exciting changes."
The screens behind him began cycling through images of sprawling territories, the domain of various Overlords. Lex's territory appeared, dark and crumbling, seemingly abandoned, an image of a former power in decline.
"As some of you may have noticed, one of our dear overlords has been... absent. I'm sure you've all wondered where dear Lex has gone. Three months of silence. Three months of nothingness." Vox grinned wider, his sharp teeth glinting. "I, for one, think it's high time someone took a more... hands-on approach to managing things, don't you?"
The screen shifted, displaying several images of Lex's building, the once-feared crow Overlord's influence now all but fading. Vox's smile grew more predatory as he began to pace.
"Hell is not a place for the weak, nor for those who wish to sit on the sidelines. Power here belongs to those who seize it. And it seems Lex has chosen to step aside." His eyes gleamed, the air in the studio growing tense. "So, I'm making it official. As of today, any remaining claim Lex has to his territory will be forfeit—"
Suddenly, Vox's transmission is shut. On the screens of the viewers, an image of a suited Lex appears.
He looks at the camera with an annoyed look before he starts talking. "I've come to make an announcement. Vox, the TV Demon, is a bitch-ass motherfucker." An image of a trash can with Vox's face appears. "He thought he could take over my stuff without finding resistance, just because I was on vacation."
Lex grabs the camera and says right in front of it. "That's right. He said his influence was this big to just take my shits with no-reason, and I said, "That's not true". So I'm making this announcement to remind something:" He puts the camera right in front of his beak-mouth. "TV Demon, you got a small, fucking influence, so small that you're afraid of an outdated deer."
He moves the camera away. "And guess what? You're also afraid of a sinner that had a 3-months-break. He thought he could fuck up my business, but guess what," He moves the camera and show the V Tower from the window of his building. "I'm gonna fuck you up! That's right! All the modifications I made so far are going to have a 60% discount! You buyers have 24 hours before the discount ends. With that said, fuck you, Vox."
Lex's image disappears, leaving just a black screen with a dancing crow GIF with the Brazilian background music, "Pontes Indestrutiveis".
The moment Lex's message cuts off, the studio is plunged into a stunned silence. Vox stands there, his pixelated eyes wide, blinking rapidly as if trying to process what just happened. His neon-lit grin falters, twisting into a sneer as static briefly flickers across his form.
The technicians scramble, frantically trying to restore the feed, but the damage is done. On every screen across Hell, Lex's dancing crow GIF loops endlessly, mocking Vox's failed coup in real-time.
Vox slams his fist onto the console in front of him, the crackle of static intensifying around him. "Get me back on the air, NOW!" His voice carries a dangerous edge, the usual smug arrogance replaced with a fury that crackles through the air like broken transmission lines.
A demon technician stammers, "W-We're trying, sir! B-But it seems like… he hacked our system—"
"I KNOW WHAT HE DID!" Vox snaps, cutting him off. "I want that filthy crow's head on a platter. Find him. NOW!"
[LEX'S BUILDING]
Meanwhile, back in Lex's territory, the crow lounges in a shabby chair, his boots kicked up on a broken table. He watches the screens in his hideout with mild amusement, the crow GIF still playing across every major broadcast. A few of his crows flutter around, perching on his shoulders as he leans back, lighting a cigarette.
Liana stands in the corner, arms crossed, her expression caught between exasperation and reluctant approval. "That's one way to get back into the game." She mutters, shaking her head. "But you seriously had to go that far?"
Lex blows a cloud of smoke, his eyes half-lidded with disinterest. "It got the point across, didn't it? Besides, Vox's ego is more fragile than that pile of junk he calls a TV empire."
Liana sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fine. You've made your point. But you know Vox isn't the kind to let something like this slide. He's going to retaliate."
"Nothing worse than what he COULD do when I started this business." He says calmly, one crow landing on top of his head. "I've got resources now, even if I stayed gone for 3 months. And c'mon, Alastor have been out for 7 years and Vox lost an influence battle to him the same day. It's not like that TV shittass is a threat to me now." He silently offers a drag of the cigarette.
Liana waves away the cigarette offer, her lips pursing in disapproval. "I'm just saying, you've poked the bear. Or, in this case, the walking static storm. Vox will come at you with everything he's got. You sure you're ready for that?"
Lex shrugs, flicking ash off the end of his cigarette. "Let him come. I've been through worse. Don't tell me you forgot the starting days? Vox was a way bigger threat than he is now, and because of his stupidity, he didn't do anything." He stretches. "Even if Vox want to destroy me, he's too stupid to even know how to do so. Stop thinking about that fucker." He leans back on his chair relaxed.
Liana looks at him incredulous. She can't quite say if he's either utterly insane or just completely confident. She sighs, smiling softly and shaking her head. "Well, if you say so, I'll trust you, Lex. Just be careful."
Lex looks at her with ease. "And so I'll be." He picks the crow on his head in his hands and get up, petting the crow softly. "But now one thing is right: People know the Mod Demon is back, and those who don't will eventually know…"
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Note: I decided to delete the earlier versions of the stories because I thought they sucked. Judge me. But I'm eventually going to relaunch them with some differences