Demon Vepar II

In a dark and wet room, there was a crooked figure, wearing a brown raincoat with a hood that covered most of her face. She sat on a wooden chair illuminated only by a single candle on a wooden table, her hands in her lap, looking at the drops of water falling from above her, despite the fact that her room was well prepared. This place was still just a sewer. A woman groaned. The rumored queen of the worms had been sitting there for days now, the pain in her legs not letting her stand up.

"Mh... a little while longer now."She murmured in the dark, but there was a sudden ray of light that illuminated the room from behind her. She slowly looked back from her chair, finding the brightness hard to adjust to. Behind her, a great door of stone opened. The old woman coughed after the strong smell of flowers reached her lair.

"So much perfume; do you use that garbage to mask the sulfur odor?"The worm queen looked with disdain at a figure coming out of the grand door.

"Cornelia, it's great to see you haven't changed even a bit in so many years of service.A woman seemed to come from within the door of stone, her shape simply a shadow in the light within, till the doors finally closed. She was a small woman with long black hair who was dressed in a black and white striped suit with a plaid skirt and a bright blue scarf around her neck. She was petite but had a clear elegance in her posture as she began to applaud, smiling kindly.

''The bloody Lorelei, I can't say I'm happy to see you again.'' Cornelia grabbed her chair with enough strength to damage the wood.

"There's no need to be shy; I know you've been waiting for my little visit for the past few days."She waved her hand to greet her. Her face was visible now that the door behind her had closed on its own, returning the room to the dim light of the candle. Her black long hair was voluminous and fluffy on the sides and directed attention to her face. Her green eyes were sharp and yet gentle, and her lips were marked by a permanent smile that seemed to radiate the most. Her posture and everything about her were surprisingly reserved, almost as if she was trying to vanish into the background of that dark room, even if there was no shyness in her expression.

"I fulfilled everything you city folks demanded of me. It is time for you and me to finish our deal with you, chief prosecutor, Lorelei. "Cornelia went to the point, still remaining in her seat, as the other woman walked slowly towards the light of the candle with both of her hands behind her back.

"Of course, you did fifty years of hard work for us, and it's only fair that I pay my dues as well, off the record, of course."Lorelei tried to take a look at the old woman's face, but she quickly lowered her gaze, hiding under the hood. '' The woman dressed in an elegant suit sighed, but the old lady didn't say anything, so Lorelei continued with delight.

"I was hoping to use this as an opportunity to talk about the last fifty years, get up and reminisce." The woman closed the distance, not concerned with the old queen's disdain at her approach.

''Why bother? You don't look a year older than you did back then. Time means nothing to you. "

"No need to be jealous. I worked hard for my looks, just like you have worked so hard for your power. 'In this city, nothing is free, so people say.''

''Jealous? Please, I just don't care to speak words to a monster. You got what you wanted from me, I worked as a smuggler for you people for fifty years, I gave up everything to build this place, all for you city folks. So I demanded what had been promised to me....'' Lorelei applauded. All business as usual. ''Well then, as it was put in our contract, in exchange for this effort, your family and all of the future generations, your children and the children they will sire will be welcomed into the embrace of the city of Argia.'' Lorelei snapped her fingers and a shadow appeared right behind her.

"Could I please have her contract?"A long pale hand emerged from the shadows, bringing a sheet of paper into her hands. Within the shadows, one could see the huge head of a bird, its feathers gleaming in a variety of bright colors, and its eyes fixed on Cornelia. Its feathers of bright blues and yellow contrasted with the darkness of the figure. It was almost luminous.

"This one, I recall, is just a shell of what she once was....but she still stands... hehe." The demon sneered, tilting its head as its yellow eyes stared at the old woman.

"There's no need to be impolite, Mr. Mephistopheles. Lorelei got closer as shadows danced around her, like limbs holding on to her form, the colored wings of the demons covering Lorelei like a cape.

"We gave you a gateway to the city so you could provide access to things the government wouldn't approve of. You guarded this gate for fifty years and became an invaluable asset, but it is clear that the time for your retirement is now. " "Oh, how cruel time is; I am truly grateful that I bought my way out of its grasp."

"You claim it, but the toll remains with you." Lorelei waved off the demons' words as she put the contract on the wooden table. "He is quite snarky, but no worries, he is a demon that always plays by the rules. He just has a really big peak. "

Cornelia wasn't even paying attention to the demon behind that smiling woman. She looked at the contract and the only thing else on the table, a photo, was taken years ago. Cornelia reached for it, but the woman put her hand on the contract instead.

"You don't want to die in old age and have it all be for naught, so please write your name right here."Lorelei handed her a bright blue feather stained with ink, something she had simply taken from the demon behind her. Cornelia signed it with an exhausted grunt.

"Will you visit your family now that you're retired?"They will receive their documents and leave the city soon, right where you can't follow them. " Lorelei grabbed the photo and took a look at it, still smiling as usual.

"No, they wouldn't even recognize me at this point; they don't need to know the price of their fortune; it would just be a burden they don't deserve."

"Hehehe, how kind of you. Although it may just be because you are a monster now, they may be too shallow to stare at your face, family or not.

"I don't care how I look now. I am not a monster like you, Lorelei. We have nothing in common, and I have nothing to be proud of; I am just another fool making a deal with the devil. "''Lorelei put the photo back into place and stepped back again.

"With Mephistopheles as my witness, I declare our contract to be fulfilled.'' She snapped her fingers and the long arm made of shadows turned its fingers into claws and dragged the contract back into the darkness, the demon with the head of a bird disappearing into the shadows as well.

"Farewell, it was a pleasure to work with you, and I will leave you now to enjoy your retirement in peace, Cornelia."The huge door of stone opened again and Lorelei disappeared into the light. As she did, the shape of the door began to crumble, and the entire gate was turned into a simple ruin as the door finally closed.

Cornelia remained alone as she finally reached the photo and looked at it closely.''She felt another interruption approaching as one of her guards, a man dressed in a brown full-body raincoat, entered her room. He hesitated for a moment but finally spoke.

"We are under attack, Ma'am.

"I'll leave you to give the orders you need to give, just don't let them get too deep."He looked at the grand door that was destroyed in shock but quickly ran out of the room to follow her orders without asking her anything.

"Nothing really matters now... we've finished our work. "She remained seated as the distant sound of gunfire from the worms in what could be a final stand.