Ah~ the calm view of the streets at night~

Empty. Dark. Cold.

The dim, warm lights illuminated only a few spots on the humid street.

Hurried steps. They were the only sound on that street that day.

The shoes weren’t expensive, nor the steps were elegant. It was just a filthy person running, nothing special.

On that street, on the third corner ahead from where the filthy person stopped, catching their breath, there was a somewhat dark alley. A place people who lived in that neighborhood knew that had to be avoided.

The smell of sewage mixed with the manure from the piles of rubbish in the bins made the place even more unwanted and uninviting. Rats, trash, cockroaches, and maggots had their own party until someone entered that alley.

The filthy creature turned to be an old lady, who now slowly walked, in no hurry to step on every worm on that filthy floor due to an injury on her leg. She carried a bag in one of her arms, and it looked heavy.

Maybe from running? Maybe from life? Who knows?

And she walked, walked, and walked, and walked some more until reaching a small hut made of cobblestones and dark marbles. Outside, several dark roses adorned the area, mostly near the entrance, that led to an altar.

The altar was beautiful, contrasting with the outside surroundings. There was a tall, dark-marbled woman figure surrounded by candles. Alongside the mysterious figure, many dark flowers that didn’t wither made the place smell very nice.

"Oh, Mrs... I'm so sorry... I had to set your altar a bit near the sludges..." she apologized to the carving sculpture she had just wiped a few candle stains. “You deserve a better place, but I plead for your help.”

When she lit one of the matches, the little light that flame emitted illuminated her partially disfigured face. It was as if a wax sculpture was melting little by little, and a dark disease seemed to rise on her arms.

She coughed a few times before being able to speak. “There’s someone... someone stole my info about your boy... I-I was attacked, and the person stole my memories-”

She barely had time to gasp, and her body slumped on the muddy flooring. The candles lit illuminated her disfigured face and severed arm.

The metallic clang of the dagger used to take away the last breath of that unidentified being ceased as if it had been sheathed again.

Whoever was responsible knelt on the rug the creature brought to pray in front of the small shrine.

“Geez... that was a close one,” the person chuckled and grabbed the creature's body, making it turn into dust. "Oops, another demon went to cosmic court earlier~" he laughed but soon regained his composure when the candle's flames swayed unnaturally.

That person blinked and seemed to have been teleported to an entirely different place, with only the candles burning around him to remind him that he didn't belong there.

The place was spacious, clean, and very fragrant... but also very dark. In the sky - seen through the large windows - the constellations were gracefully displayed around the full moon.

A female silhouette was lying on the couch when she saw the person kneeling, she lazily rose. Her long, wavy hair fell on her shoulders, and part of it insisted on making it impossible to see her face perfectly.

The candle flames then changed color.

Previously yellow, they have now turned blue with orange tips. The woman laughed softly when this happened and moved closer (but not too close) to the person inside the circle of candles.

“What makes you come here? Dear Agarath?” she smiled, showing her fangs behind her carmine lips.

Agarath chuckled. “I knew I couldn’t hide myself from you,” his voice turned deeper, and his appearance changed. “I hope you still want to negotiate, dear Lilith,” he smiled.

A soft chuckle could be heard when the wind blew the candles, and many black rose petals flew around Agarath, tickling his skin and hair. The once snow-white candles turned dark and the fire flickered like will-o'-the-wisps. The petals faded, leaving behind a rare sweet scent that filled Agarath's nose and lungs.

“Oh…” her endearing and enchanting voice came closer, even though she didn’t move an inch. “So, you want to negotiate… it’s been a while…”

The gracious woman sat on her divan and waved her hand, so a gargoyle came with a tray and desserts for their boss. Lilith patted the gargoyle, which turned into stone, and, consequently, a handy table for the tray.

“It’s an honor to see Mademoiselle Lilith again,” Agarath bowed. “You’re as stunning as ever…”

She couldn’t help but let her soft and endearing chuckle out. “I know that, Agarath,” and she combed her hair, revealing all her facial features with the help of the moon's shine, but only briefly and quite too blurry to see it. "What brings you to summon my name?” she asked, crossing her legs.

"I came to offer a trading," he lowered his head respectfully.

“Hm…” she hummed, and the tea tray turned into a liquor tray. “A trade?” she asked, filling the glass with liquor.

“Yes, Mademoiselle,” Agarath nodded. "I heard you lost your Heir so… let's make an equivalent trade."

Lilith suddenly went silent and still.

The sound of the liquor pouring into the glass stopped, and her hands froze mid-air. Her eyes, previously a deep shade of dark color, now glowed a bright ruby-like crimson.

The sudden change was so abrupt that Agarath tensed his shoulders.

“…” she hesitated. “What would dare to be equivalent?”

“A Chronos,” he darted out. “Commercially speaking," he quickly added before shutting.

Lilith placed the liquor bottle on the tray and took the half-filled cup with black-colored liquid inside. Her lips were tainted with that liquid, but she didn't seem to bother.

“How do you know a Chronos is more valuable than my Heir?” she asked, her tone unchanged.

“Because you need him as much as I do,” he smirked. “You don’t care if Rito will chase you, but you want a piece of that fresh Chronos, don’t you?”

“Dear Agarath,” Lilith chuckled, placing the glass of liquor aside, "you should mind your damn business," a sharp dagger slid from her arms to her hand.

She aimed it right on his nose, followed by three more of them around her, and Agarath's eyes widened in an almost cartoonish-like way.

“I WILL!” he quickly said. “A-ahem… hehe~ s-so… let’s trade? I got all the information about your Heir, from his identity to his whereabouts and background,” he took some papers from his pockets, handing them to her.

But her fingers didn't touch the papers. She waved her long, scaled tail, and they vanished.

She knew that devil very well and knew he wasn't lying.

“I’ll send Mephistopheles for the negotiation. He is probably on his way to ambush the Chronos and verify the information before the meeting," she stored the dagger and crossed her arms. "I heard you'll be throwing a party, am I right?" 

When she turned to grab something from the nearby table, Agarath noticed her slightly curled horns. He hadn't noticed them earlier because the room was too dark - maybe her scaled tail was also lurking in the dark, ready to pierce into his heart if he was dumb enough.

“Y-yes, yes~ I’m just finishing some settings,” he grinned. "Ah, and I'll hire the dancers soon. It'll be marvelous."

Lilith's facial features were faint, but Agarath could identify how bad her expression was. Still, in that disturbed mind of his, he still found her pretty.

“Then the negotiation will be held there,” she determined.

“I knew you would treat me well, dear Mademoiselle,” he bowed. “With the Chronos business, you'll have your Heir back,” he made a ‘ta-da’ pose, all joyful.

"Very well, set the date and track Mephistopheles," she chuckled. "And... one last thing..."

"Say it, Mademoiselle," Agarath grinned.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on my Heir."

The last sentence was said with such fierceness that Agarath slightly curved. 

Oh, he knew he couldn't mess things with Lilith, much less disappoint her.

“A-As you w-wish, Mademoiselle,” he bowed. “How about the Chronos?”

“Do whatever you please, but be sure of one thing,” Lilith yanked Agarath’s tie. “If you use the Chronos as your weapon… I’ll be your first headache,” she threatened, eyes glowing crimson.

“E-Erm… ok, Mademoiselle,” he grinned nervously.

“Now, get out of my sight,” she released his tie and snapped her fingers.

Agarath blinked, and he was back in that muddy alley.

He fell on his knees and started laughing hysterically.

Information was a good business.