Prologue 5 The city of Argia

''So what is there to be said about the inner circle? It's where the people who couldn't quite make it in the city main districts end up at, the lawless streets where people fight for scraps from the other districts. This place is not ruled by any of the families and is barely under the watch of the capital. It is a perfect place for low gangs and under-the-table dealings. It is also neutral ground outside of any of the family's control, so, by all means, it is the perfect place for us to begin our operations.'' Aurora showed us the first map of the city I had seen. The area was separated into seven zones and this district was a circle between the outer wall and the inner wall of the capitol district that was at the very center, surrounded by the other districts. Abram, Rush, and Aurora were now at the abandoned warehouse where the gate out of the city existed.

''Lonwan district, she pointed to the area on the right of the inner circle that was the only part of the map that showed a lake.

''That is the Hailong Hui triad territory and the main trading area for both legal and illegal goods, it also surrounds the only great lake of the city. Now to the left of here, we have the Onigashima district famous for being the center of the city's financial district it has a small island at its center that is the Nishiyama clan territory. Going north right from here above Lonwan is the Villa Blanca district, ruled by the Rosario cartel, which is the biggest district of all of them and mostly composed of farmlands and agriculture. Most of the food in the city is prepared there. Although we do have an import industry here, we don't export much. The city brings much from the outside but never gives anything back.''

''I figure, like with the smugglers, it must be done with the same stone gates, I guess only the capitol people handle that,'' Abram asked her and she just nodded and pointed her finger to the opposite side of the map, above the Onigashima district. This area is the Vechnyy Less district ruled by the Vekov Syndicate. This is a rather secretive community and very unfriendly to outsiders. That said, they have a really powerful industry in metalworks and mining.''

''Why is there a huge tree on the map?'' Rush asked her stating the most obvious thing about this particular district, Abram had the same question. There was just a huge drawing of a tree at the very edge of the outer wall in the Vechnyy Less district.

''Yes, well, there is a huge forest there. The boss of the syndicate created it with his devil a century ago. The trees there regrow all on their own, and so is an endless supply of wood and air for the city. Although most people will tell you to never go there, it is a demonic forest, after all.

''Jeez, that is seriously crazy.'' Collins could only give a weak laugh at the idea.

"The final district is located on the opposite side of the inner circle, behind the capitol district, but you can easily get to any district by taking the main highway or the trolleys that surround the inner circle."She points behind the capitol to a smaller district than the two surrounding it.

''This place is called Rischio Infernale. It is the entertainment district of the city managed by the Bramante Familia. is small, but they have built as much as they possibly could there. The buildings in this district are massive, and they have also been built into the earth. That is why people call it the Devil's fault. The casinos, and restaurants there have people from all over the city spending wildly. Of all the families, the Bramante familia is certainly the richest.''

''Are we really going to go after these people? This is all sounding insane, like even more than it already did.'' Collins crossed his arms. Abram was finally starting to understand what being an enemy of this city really meant.

''Forget about them. We are going to hunt demons here in the inner district. There is no need to worry about the lot of them for now, one thing at a time. The inner district, the most powerful organization here is, of course, Mr. Louise's agency in a way. They have stores in every district, but this is their main hub as a neutral party. The city folk consider Mr.Louise a hero of the common man. After all, he stole one of the most powerful demons of the Engel family.'' Aurora showed a picture of the man in the portrait that Abram had seen before.

''The Engel is the family that won the war, right? What happened to them exactly?'' Abram always wondered about that. After all, they were the people who broke down all those skyscrapers a hundred years ago. The Creak district wouldn't have that name without them.

''They are still around in the capitol district. The heir of the family, Elias Engel is head of the Morning Star corporation, the biggest industry giant in the city. The family has split over the decades, but their descendants all have important positions. The current chief of the Anti-Devil Corps is one of them, as is the chief prosecutor of the House of justice, Lorelei Engel. At least the position of mayor is chosen democratically every six years, I believe the election will be next year. How much power the mayor has over the Engel family, no one really knows.''

''I see, so they just divided the government, I suppose since there is no entering the Capitol district, we don't have to care for them that much, as long as we don't let the law track us down.'' Abram had no real desire to go after any of these people, but the idea that the most important people around here didn't even hide the fact that they had demons was very concerning."

"It is likely that this entire city was created by a demon, as the people of Argia believe that humanity will conquer all demons and establish a true eternal kingdom, which is why things like the Mephistopheles contracts have become an important part of the city and their culture." Aurora put both of her hands on the table with force.

''This is why we will be considered a great danger to this city. Demons have been eternal here, moved from one generation to the next. Every single hierarchy in this city has been built around that, but we can break the circle and this city will not let that happen. If our secret is uncovered, we will be labeled as terrorists and hunted down in full force.'' Abram moved to the table and put his dagger in the center of the map in the blank area of the capitol district.

''We are not citizens here. If these people think that by summoning demons they can make a perfect world, they are just idiots to me.'' Rush Collins laughed as well following Abrams's comment.

''They made the wrong move by messing with my town. Whoever is to blame for that, they are going to get it, even if it's the mayor or whatever'' Collins crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

''Is not like any of us have a choice to back down anyway, if we are going to die if we try to run away, we might as well die fighting.'' Aurora clapped at the two of them, she seemed content with their answers.

''Naive, really naive, but is good enough for now. In that case, gentlemen, let's take a trip downtown.''