In his many years working this industry, Grigori wondered what it was truly like for the humans. Sure the process of farming the magic from their soul connection meant crushing hopes and dreams over a slow-burn process, but what else to their lives was there? Eating, sleeping, consuming the mindless media that daemon-kind hardly has to force them to create anymore? The ones who clung to the system aren't just cogs in a machine, they're cogs that are oiled and maintained. Kept alive in a comfortable position they fit in until the time has come for them to be retired and replaced.

Yet, life for the daemon wasn't just a matter of that. They didn't need to worry about eating, what with so much blind food walking around them, they certainly didn't need to sleep, and so long as they use little of their power they could survive off the tiniest sparks of magic for decades. Daemons aren't born like faeries, with a connection of their own to the world's heart and not needing to do anything to be kept alive. From their first breath, they have to fight and take from the start just to be alive. Nobody's looking out for them. They are not the crop, they are farmer, and the less competition there is means more food for the rest.

These were the thoughts the mulled through Grigori's mind this early in the morning, as he waited for the humans to finish their self-sustenance rituals before returning to their useless work. At this hour, there wasn't much to do but wait in his office for them to arrive. Wait, and watch the sky light up from a sun that rose above an unseen horizon through the massive windows that stretched almost an entire floor up to the raised ceiling of his office.

"Master," the rasping voice of a lowly imp came from the office door. "I'm here with your morning report."

"You're late," Grigori said, rubbing a finger along one of the curved horns on his head. "Please tell me it's for a good reason, lazy human employees are one thing but I would hate to be the imp who thinks they can get away with browsing social media when they have more important things to be doing."

The imp swallowed. "It is for a reason," it said slowly, "though... I'm not sure if I would call it good."

"Is it about the scout we found dead on my floor?" Grigori asked. "Because there are enough daemons in the Pandemonium who would love to put information like that to great use, and I can assure you I wouldn't be the only one to suffer those consequences."

"N-no, the secret is safe with us," the imp said. "But it is about that. Another of our scouts, it spied a faerie in our territory."

"How powerful?"

"It was just a sprite, sir."

Grigori turned and glowered down at the imp. "And this is supposed to be a good reason? Why should I care about a stray sprite? They can't do anything if they can't work with a human."

"This one... it was with humans, three of them."

"And did the humans have the Veil or not?"

"One of them did, but I couldn't get too good of a look," the imp said, pulling out some papers and donning a pair of half-moon spectacles. "He works in your department, a Jonathon what's-his-name, accountant or whatever, massive kiss-ass."

"Ah yes," Grigori said, stroking his chin. "Yes, the one that's proving to be too much work to snuff out that last little spark of hope. You sure he had his Veil?"

"Positive," the imp said. "We tried to get his attention this morning. Nothing worked."

"Interesting," Grigori took a seat in his large, leather chair. "And the other two?"

"Sue Yoon and the receptionist, Violet," the imp said.

"I am aware of the receptionist's case," Grigori said. "She was never compatible with the Veil, for one reason or another. Either way, she's harmless. There's no way a sprite can work with a half-blind human. What about the third, was she tested?"

"Not exactly," the imp said. "She is proving to be a little... elusive. The scanners say she has the veil..."

"...but if the sprite is working with her, then of course it would create a mask of some sort," Grigori said. "Can you tell if she is intentionally avoiding daemons?"

"Sometimes it seems like it, but nothing damning." the imp took off its glasses and folded its tiny arms. "Really boss, we could just eat her at the first chance and be done with this nonsense before it happens."

Grigori dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "That one has too much potential magic to just throw away. Even if she is the culprit, she's just working with a sprite, a lost scout is hardly a problem."

"So you're just going to let a Magica run around in your turf?" The imp said with a laugh. "I might just get a promotion in no time!"

Grigori shot the imp a scathing glare, and it stopped laughing immediately. "No, I'm not going to let a Magica run wild, but we aren't going to do anything rash or suspicious. No." Grigori turned in his seat and made a steeple with his fingers under his chin. "No, if there is a Magica here, then I know how to root them out."