"Put it down, Gingee!"

The demonling whimpered, dropping the mangled machine. It was covered in saliva and so crushed he hardly recognized it. Gingee lowered its head in shame, their tail tucking between their legs.

"What have I told you about bringing toys?" the hellspawn demanded.

"Bark. Nothing gets in without Master's say," the demonling recited.

"Exactly."

He sighed. What would it have done if the humans had attacked? They were lucky it wasn't seen, but that was only thanks to Karla's illusions. Speaking of which...

"Why didn't you stop them, Minion Karla?"

The ghosts scoffed. "Me? The heck was I supposed to do?"

"Dissuade them. Distract them them. Lead them away. Dammit, Karla, you're supposed to be the responsible one."

"I'm a friggin' ghost, man! Gimme some slack!"

"You are a knight now, and you will conduct yourself accordingly."

The ghost fumed, immediately flying away to who knew where. The stubborn fool. Between her and Gingee it was a wonder they'd made any progress in their world takeover.

Only a month had passed since they'd staked claim to the junkyard. And ever since then, the process of construction had been a routine duty. Digging tunnels to the outside world. Building a wall. Raising their castle. Most of the material they used was repurposed metal from the machines, but it made decent enough frames once smashed and melted down. Though Angelas lacked fire-spewing creatures, they managed to find the next best thing after a bit of research. What the humans called welding torches. Thanks to those contraptions, they'd created some, albeit crude, constructions. Not that his minions made any of the process easy.

Ruling the kingdom had been horrendous at first. Every day he had to make sure Gingee wasn't running off or Karla wasn't off stalking someone or Gingee hadn't eaten a visitor or Karla hadn't given a human nightmares. Sometimes they'd try everything at once, seemingly taking great joy in testing his nerves. It was like trying to wrangle flaming hydras. Impossible. Hence why he'd given them the task of creating a tunnel system. A simple means by which they could come in and out of the junkyard without being noticed by humans. That seemed to have been working, the duo always eager to explore the underground wonders. The only downside was it put them directly under the rest of the city. Something both took full advantage of whether he liked it or not.

"Bark. Master."

He pinched his forehead.

"What now, Gingee?"

The minion whimpered.

"Bark. I'm hungry, Master."

He squeezed tighter. "Yes. Of course you are, Gingee."

At the very least, their expeditions netted a nice human stockpile. After Karla learned to stop scaring away their prey, of course.

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It was secured in the center of the junkyard, hidden beneath a cube of repurposed metal to protect it from the sun's rays. A large pit several meters deep and protected by runes. Luizitine lifted the makeshift door, cold air blowing against his face from the many frozen limbs and appendages stored within. Enough to last them a few months so long as they didn't get greedy. Gingee was always greedy. They weren't allowed to eat without him.

"You need to learn to control yourself, Gingee," he said, grabbing the feeding stick. The polearm stretched out, its netted end scooping up a few frozen arms and legs. "I realize you're still growing, but getting too reckless will only bring us misfortune."

He pulled back, retrieving a single leg and tossing it to Gingee. It ate it eagerly.

"Bark. I'm sorry, Master. Control is hard."

"I know, Gingee." He grabbed an arm for himself. "I would still like you to try."

He bit through the morsel. Perfectly chilled. How he wished Gingee could wield its strength as well as he wielded ice. But then, such things were an unfortunate side-effect of its change.

As a fresh demonling, Gingee had to learn what many demons figured out as youngsters. How to control their power. To be the masters of themselves rather than the other way around. Though it was several millennia ago, Luizitine could recall the feeling. Giving himself accidental frostbite. Blinding his own vision. Botching a transformation. All things he'd had to practice to master. Just as Gingee had to practice to resist its urge for destruction. Just as Karla had to practice leading them.

The ghost finally came out of hiding as they were eating, popping her head out in the food pile. Luizitine shut the door, Karla flying through it.

"You could at least pretend to be scared," she complained.

"There's room for that later. Now, are you going to behave or keep sulking?"

Karla groaned, floating over and sitting next to Gingee. Luiztine swallowed his meal, looking between the two of them.

"Minion Karla. Minion Gingee. We are on the precipice of greatness. Please do not cause the downfall of our empire."

"Bark! I'm doing my best, Master," Gingee came in.

"Is it really an empire if all we got is one junkyard?" Karla asked.

It was a valid complaint. And one that had been crossing his mind from time to time.

Thanks to some investigation from Karla and persuasion from him, they'd managed to pass the second great hurdle of their journey: acquiring funds. Though not the most glamorous job, Luizitine had been able to secure a position with the local healers. They called them doctors in this world, and they all congregated in the hospital guild. Unfortunately, due to his relative inexperience, he could only secure a position as an assistant rather than a surgeon as he originally planned. But Karla had assured him working his way up was super easy. It was just a matter of patience.

After a month of labor, he only had 300 dollars to his name. Human taxes were relentless.

"Unfortunately, we don't have the funds to afford expansion," the hellspawn said. "We barely have enough to afford school."

"Bark. Should I get a job, Master?"

"No, Gingee, you'd just scare the humans."

"What if we dressed them up?" Karla suggested. "We could give Gin a pony costume and sell rides. Kids love horsies. Could probably make some quick cash."

"Absolutely not! Gingee may not be the most refined, but it is still my valiant steed. I will not make it into some side-show attraction."

"Master."

The demonling's eyes shined, Luiztine looking away. Dammit, Gingee. You and your sentiment. Even Karla seemed to smile at the notion. Insolent fools the both of them. He quickly changed the subject, turning their attention to the next best opportunity for their kingdom.

"Ahem. With the money we have, we should instead turn our attention towards recruitment," the hellspawn said. "As it stands, there's three of us and an army of humans out there. If we can boost our numbers, it would make conquering Angelas far simpler."

He pulled out his phone, turning it over to the two of them. It was something he'd stumbled across during one of his many work breaks. Dude had confirmed it was a legit source.

"Minions," he said. "We need more subjects. Therefore, our next goal is to find members. Starting with whatever creature did this."

They both looked from the screen to him, head tilting in unison.

It was a grainy photo, but the subject was clear as day across Luizitine's phone. An image of a large fur-covered carcass. Green liquid had it plastered to the wall.

"They shall be our newest minion," Luizitine declared.

They both continued to stare in confusion.