Trigger warning: gambling, mild violence 

Sannarah was right; it was a different kind of establishment. Demons and humans alike crowded several tables that hosted games of cards, dice, or other matches I didn't know. Every few moments, angry or happy shouts erupted in different places, and coins or metal chips exchanged hands.

"There," Sannarah grabbed my elbow to get my attention and pointed to the table in the far corner, where the familiar-looking demon with bat wings sat hunching down over cards. "Let's not let him run this time."

I nodded, and we slowly approached, though there was no need for stealth. The Greed Demon was so focused on his game that he saw nothing except the cards that the croupier was slowly putting on the table.

"That's two Demons and a Sorcerer on the table," the Fallen announced after putting down the cards and looking at the three remaining players. "What's your stakes, gentlemen?"

"I raise," said the burly, brown-skinned demon with biceps the size of my head, throwing a handful of chips to the centre of the table.

The croupier's eyes flew over them as he did a quick count and announced in a bored tone. "Raised by fifty shards. Call or fold?"

"I call." An old man in dark robes pushed his chips towards the big pile.

All eyes at the table turned to the remaining demon. Our suspect bit his lower lip and narrowed his eyes, staring at his cards as if he could turn them into a favourable hand with his will. He raised a shaking hand and pushed most of his chips. "I reraise. Five hundred."

"You're bluffing!" the burly demon scoffed, his knuckles turning white.

"Call or fold?" the croupier asked patiently.

"Call!" the demon growled, shoving more of his chips forward.

"I drop," the old man said, discarding his hand face down.

As interesting as the game seemed, I wanted to grab the Greed Demon and press him for answers, but Sannarah sensed my anguish and just raised a hand, signalling me to wait.

"Final card," the croupier announced and drew one last card from the deck, putting it face up. "Third Demon. The final set is three Demons and a Warlock."

The burly demon sniggered, clearly pleased with the outcome and pushed all his chips forward. "All in."

I turned to Greed Demon, but he was no longer anxious. A smug smile brightened his weasel-like face, and he knocked on the table once. "I call."

"You're a fool!" the other demon roared and threw his two cards at the table face up. "I have two Sorcerers, so it's a Dark Pact! Try to beat that, you bugger!"

The Greed Demon grinned. "What a shame, such a good hand! But unfortunately for you, my dear friend, luck is with me today." He raised his hand theatrically and let the cards fall on the table, revealing a pair of Demons. "I have two Demons, which makes Hell On Earth. I won."

"What?! That's impossible! You cheating scumbag!" The brown-skinned stood abruptly, toppling down his chair and grabbing a huge axe hanging at his belt. 

A hearty laugh broke the tension before he could charge at his grinning opponent. 

The old sorcerer patted his burly companion. "He didn't cheat. I enchanted the table. You saw yourself. You just got expertly played. Let it go, buddy."

The demon huffed, turned on his heel and stomped away.

"Yes! You are mine, sweet chips! Come to daddy!" the Greed Demon chirped, gathering all his won shards as if he wanted to embrace them.

Sannarah nodded to me and casually sat on a spare chair beside him. "Hello, Buzran. That's a nice win."

The demon's eyes went wide, and he wanted to jump to his feet, but I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it hard enough for him to grimace.

"Are you in a hurry?" I asked in a friendly tone. "Too bad. We have a few questions for you. Answer them swiftly, and you can be on your way."

"W-what?" he stammered, looking up at me anxiously. "You've got the wrong guy. I'm no one important. I know nothing!"

He had every right to be nervous. Greed Demons, in general, were one of the weakest among the Fallen, having a power level barely surpassing the Sloths. Dealing with a Wrath Demon, who was second strongest after a Pride, could be intimidating.

Sannarah smiled charmingly and snapped her fingers in front of his nose. "Focus on me. Yesterday, you gave me a tip-off, remember?"

"A tip-off? N-no, I don't recall. You must be mistaken," he stuttered nervously, gathering his chips. "I wasn't even out yesterday and─" His voice turned into a fearful shriek when a dagger pierced the table right between the fingers of his right hand.

"You missed," I noticed in a conversational tone.

"No, I didn't," she replied, smiling pleasantly. "But next time, I will aim for the hand. It would be better if you remembered something, Buz. I hate wiping the blood off my blade."

"Oh, yesterday! I remember, yes!" The Greed Demon laughed nervously and hid his hands under the table. "By the way, Sanna? Did I tell you that you look lovely today? Did you do something with your hair?" Sannarah's hand shot up, and she hit the demon at the back of his head. "Ow!" He hunched, trying to shy away from her, but I tightened my grip, ensuring he stayed in his place.

"Stop blabbering, you idiot. You sent me there for a reason. Who gave you the tip-off?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "It was just some guy."

I squeezed his shoulder harder, and his face twisted in pain. "I'll need more details than some guy."

"A sorcerer. He was a sorcerer," he blurted. "At first, I didn't even want to talk to him because he seemed... off."

Sannarah narrowed her eyes. "Off how?"

"I don't know. I can't put my finger on it. The fellow was reeking of dark magic, but he'd done nothing to conceal it. As if he wanted everyone, including humans, to know who he was."

"But you did take his tip-off anyway," I noted.

"Well, yes, because he paid me handsomely," he said, then his eyes brightened, "in gold."

"Gold?" Sannarah raised her brows. "No one here uses gold coins daily, except nobles and angels." She looked up at me questioningly, but I only shrugged. It was weird indeed, but I had no knowledge of any business that angels could conduct directly with humans.

"Yes, I couldn't refuse that offer, you understand, right, Sanna? We're good, no?"

She looked back at him with a frown. "No, we're not good, Buz. Tell me exactly what he said."

The Greed Demon sighed and rubbed his neck. "He told me there will be a guy looking for demons' assistance, and one of us must go there and deal with him that evening."

Sannarah crossed her arms. "And you didn't think it was suspicious at all?"

He shrugged. "You know I can't think straight when money is involved."

"You're not that smart without money either." She scoffed. "How did he look like?"

"He was human."

"Yes, we know that." I tightened my grip again. "More details, please."

"I don't know!" Buzran howled. "It was dark, and all mortals look the same, right? He was male, not too tall, not too short, very average; nothing stood out except the dark magic stench."

Sannarah rubbed her brow. "Gods, you are useless."

"It was Khaneus," said the voice nearby, and we all turned to look at the speaker.

The older man in robes was still sitting at the table, counting his chips and drinking ale from a heavy-looking tankard.

"You know him?" I asked, gazing at him. I could sense dark magic on him, but it was subtle. The mortals probably would take him for any regular elder.

"Yes. Khaneus was kicked out of the Witches and Sorcerers Association a couple of weeks ago."

"Why?" Sannarah asked with raised brows.

The sorcerer finished stacking his chips in a neat tower and turned to Sannarah. "Buzran is right. Khaneus is a weird fellow. Unhinged. He is very powerful, and that makes him even more of a liability for us. He's radical, preaching that instead of hiding in the city's underbelly, we should seize power and rule over those puny mortals as he called them."

"And the rest of the sorcerers don't agree with him?" I asked. I never had much experience with humans dabbling in dark arts. They didn't interest the Mighty One as their souls were already tainted, so we let them be if they behaved.

The man shrugged and took a long sip from his drink. "Some do, but fortunately, most of us are more prudent. Coming out like that would only aggravate Heaven, and we'd have angels on our back in no time. War is never good for business."

"Yeah, no one wants holy bastards venturing into our part of the city," Buzran chirped in, and I had to force myself not to squeeze him harder. "That would be annoying. I've already seen Angels of Courage prancing around like they own the place."

The older man nodded. "Yes, I saw them too. I'm surprised they hadn't got him yet. It's been almost two weeks of him running rampant and murdering people, and all they do is trot around in circles asking questions no one wants to answer. It seems as if they don't want to stop him."

"That's absurd!" I said through gritted teeth. "Angels are making sure to keep things peaceful in the city. Why would they let an insane renegade kill innocent mortals?"

"How would I know?" The older man shrugged and downed his ale. "Maybe it's a political decision. Blame it all on us, or even demons. Or maybe they are just that useless. Anyhow"─he got to his feet and threw all his chips into the leather pouch─"if you have any dealings with him, I wish you luck. But beware, he might be insane, but he is powerful. He won't go down easily."

"Thanks for the warning." Sannarah nodded while the sorcerer moved towards the door. She looked up at me. "I think we have all the information we need now."

"We still have no idea where to find him, though," I contradicted.

"Don't look at me. I have no clue!" Buzran protested before I even opened my mouth to pose the question.

"It's all right. I have a way to track him down." Sannarah rose to her feet and hit the Greed Demon again at the back of his head.

"Ow! Why do you keep hitting me?"

"Because it's your fault I got implicated in this ridiculous thing, you dolt! Next time you give me a false tip-off, I'll make sure to break some bones, you hear me?"

"Fine, just stop hitting me!" Buzran squeaked, covering his head with his arms.

"You're lucky I'm in a hurry. Otherwise, we would have an entirely different conversation," Sannarah scoffed. She tapped me on the arm. "Let him go. He's useless anyway. Come."

We left the gambling den and got back to the main room of the Parlour of Dreams. Sannarah was looking around anxiously and seemed in a hurry to get out. I could barely keep up with her. Some drunk demon bumped into me, and I lost her in the crowd before I could regain my balance. I craned my neck, trying to catch her distinctive red skin in the sea of horns and hair in all possible colours, but it seemed hopeless.

I started to make my way toward the exit hoping to meet her there, when I heard her voice.

"...I was just... you know, hanging out."

There was something wrong with her tone. It was not confident or sassy as usual─it sounded overly nervous. I quickly scanned the crowd and finally spotted her almost at the door. But she wasn't alone.

Her shoulders were hunched, and she tried to get away, but an elegant tall demon with dark skin and a white mane held her arm in a tight grip that looked painful. My breath hitched, and my heart started to race. It was the first time Sannarah looked helpless. Even shackled and surrounded by angels, she kept her head high. But now, for some reason, she deflated as if she had no strength left. I hastily made my way toward her.

"We both know you can't afford any of the services offered here, and you didn't even buy a drink," the demon droned on harshly. "Did you come here to stir trouble?"

"Of course not! I was leaving, so if you just let go of me...."

"Oh, no, you're not getting away so easily." His face twisted in a cruel smile. "Tell me why you are here, or I assume you want to join the girls."

"Yeah, no thanks to both," Sannarah said defiantly, regaining some of her spirits and trying to wrench her shoulder from his grasp.

"Oh, but you are already here. I'm sure we can work out some deal to make your soul quota smaller if you work part-time for me."

"She already said no, so back off," I said when I finally reached them, giving the demon a firm shove.

He was surprised enough to lose his grip on Sannarah and fell back a few steps. His violet eyes rested on me and his face twisted in hatred.

"How dare you!" he growled with such a menace that all hair on my body stood on end. Before I could brace myself, he was on me already, his clawed hand crushing my windpipe. "Who the Hell are you?"

"Zugrun, leave him! He's nobody!" Sannarah protested, but he ignored her. I tried to pry his hand away, but his grip was steel. He was stronger than I assumed by the look. A lot stronger.

"Such impertinence will get you killed, boy!" he hissed in my face. He narrowed his eyes. "But you are not human. What are you? Speak, or I'll break your neck."