Luceris hadn't slept in three days. His throne room had been converted into a mad scientist's lair: tables cluttered with shards of failed stones, walls chalked full of complicated diagrams, glowing runes scattered across the floor in half-burned circles. He sat hunched over a shimmering Flame Stone rectangle, hair disheveled, golden eyes sharp with feverish intensity.
In this world, magic circles were the limit of "programming"—symbols woven together to produce predictable effects. But Luceris wasn't satisfied with circles. No, he wanted software. A system that could run multiple functions, store commands, and build on itself like the mechas he once engineered.
"This," Luceris muttered to himself, fingers dancing across the glowing surface as he engraved lines of light into a new kind of circuit, "is the birth of magic programming. Not just a circle. Not just a spell. A living system."
Sparks flew, the stone vibrated, but this time… it didn't explode. The runes stabilized into a perfect lattice, glowing softly.
Luceris sat back, staring. "Did I just…?" He poked the surface. The stone lit up with a faint rectangular glow, like a screen.
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Then Luceris threw his head back and cackled. "I DID IT! I HAVE INVENTED THE SMART DEMONPHONE!"
He started simple. Every device needed a system, a way to monitor itself. He carefully inscribed more lines of power, programming a base function.
The screen flickered—and a tiny menu appeared.[System Settings][Battery Time: 4 hours remaining]
Luceris gasped. "Battery! Yes! It even tells me when it's going to die! Perfect!"
He added brightness controls, storage capacity, and even a way to shut down and restart. The rectangle was no longer just glowing—it was alive.
"DemonOS, Version 1.0," Luceris whispered proudly. "We're cooking now."
The next was harder. A camera. This wasn't just a gimmick—this was history. He remembered the optical systems he used in mecha, how lenses bent light and sensors recorded. Translating that into magical circuits was insane. But insanity was his specialty.
Hours later, drenched in sweat, he inscribed the last rune. "Please… work…"
He tapped the icon. The screen flickered—then suddenly displayed his own face.
Luceris blinked. His hair was a mess, his eyes manic, but there he was, staring back in real time.
He shrieked, "IT'S A SELFIE!" and nearly dropped the phone.
After calming down, he added a capture button. Click. The image froze and saved itself to a gallery storage rune.
"Camera. Complete," Luceris whispered reverently. "Behold, the birth of narcissism in the Demon Realm."
The gallery was simple compared to the camera. Stored images displayed one after another, swipeable through runes. He pulled up his first photo—himself, wide-eyed and sweaty—and grinned.
"Perfection. My face has been immortalized."
Finally, he needed something fun. Communication towers weren't ready, humans weren't going to approve construction anytime soon, and Enia would strangle him if he didn't give her something profitable soon.
Games, he decided. If demons couldn't talk to each other yet, they could still waste their time gloriously.
He coded a basic dungeon crawler: a stick-figure character ran through five levels. The first four had traps, falling rocks, fake floors, and mobs to kill. The fifth ended in a boss fight with a crude but terrifying "Ogre King" sprite.
Luceris tapped the icon and watched the little character bounce onto the screen. He laughed manically. "Yes… yes! Useless entertainment has arrived!"
Satisfied, he summoned his aides and new merchant.
The doors swung open, revealing Sylas (elegant and suspicious), Caelum (stoic and cautious), and Enia (tall, blonde, and already calculating how much this meeting would cost her).
"You called?" Enia asked smoothly.
"Yes!" Luceris announced, leaping to his feet and holding up the phone like it was holy scripture. "Behold! The future of civilization!"
Sylas squinted. "…Another rock?"
Luceris gasped as though personally insulted. "NOT a rock! This, my dear sarcasm elf, is the DemonPhone 1.0! Fully functioning! Watch!"
He tapped the camera app, and the screen lit up—showing Sylas's confused face.
Sylas froze. "What is this sorcery?"
"Smile!" Luceris chirped. He pressed the button. Click. The screen displayed Sylas, caught mid-frown, looking like a cat forced into a bath.
Enia burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. "Oh, that's beautiful. Sell this to nobles, they'll pay a fortune just to immortalize their egos."
Caelum leaned in cautiously. "…It captured an image of him? Exactly?"
"Yes!" Luceris said proudly. "This is called a camera. And here—" He tapped the gallery. "—is where it stores the pictures!"
The gallery opened to reveal two images: Sylas's frown and Luceris's own deranged selfie.
Sylas groaned. "Cancel that immediately."
"There is no delete function yet," Luceris said smugly. "Your shame is eternal."
"And that's not all!" Luceris said, eyes gleaming. "Observe—the future of entertainment!"
He tapped the game icon. The little stick figure appeared. "This is a dungeon crawler. Five levels. Traps, mobs, and a boss."
He shoved the phone at Caelum. "You first."
Caelum stared at it like it might explode. "Majesty—"
"No excuses. Play!"
Reluctantly, Caelum tapped the screen. The stick figure hopped forward. A boulder fell on its head. Game Over.
"…This is ridiculous," Caelum muttered.
Luceris clapped his hands. "Exactly! And you want to try again, don't you?"
Caelum hesitated—then tapped restart.
Luceris smirked. "Hooked already."
Sylas took the phone next. He was more careful, navigating traps with patience. By level four, he was scowling in concentration. The stick figure barely avoided spikes—only to be eaten by a slime. Game Over.
Sylas slammed the phone down. "This is infuriating."
Luceris grinned. "And yet, you want revenge."
Finally, Enia took the phone. She breezed through the first levels, muttering about "profit potential," until she reached the boss. The Ogre King crushed her in one hit.
Enia stared at the screen, then whispered, "This… this is evil. Addicting. Brilliant."
Luceris smirked. "Exactly what I was going for."
Sylas folded his arms. "So instead of communication, you've created… vanity and frustration."
"Exactly!" Luceris said brightly. "Now demons will be too busy taking pictures and playing games to start wars."
Caelum sighed. "And this will… keep them entertained?"
"Yes. This is step one in the Demon Scientific Revolution. Bread and circuses, my dear Caelum. Give the masses toys, and they will leave you alone to build the future."
Enia leaned back with a sly smile. "And I will sell these toys. Nobles will kill for them. Imagine—exclusive portraits, endless entertainment, bragging rights." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I'll start with nobles. Then expand to the bored rich. Then the peasants will beg for cheaper versions. We'll drown in coin."
Luceris grinned. "Exactly the kind of greed I like to hear."
As his aides argued over whether this was genius or insanity, Luceris leaned back on his throne, twirling the phone.
A working system. A camera. A gallery. A game.
The DemonPhone had been born.
And this was only the beginning.
Luceris's golden eyes glinted with wicked delight. "Soon, the humans won't just fear us. They'll envy us."