"You can try."
Sephirot's expression remained unchanged, a cold sneer.
Holding the gun with one hand, he no longer suppressed the restless power within his body, unleashing without reservation a violent aura originating from an ancient demonic bloodline.
The air instantly froze.
Dark Alessa stood in the shadows, quietly observing Sephirot.
From the moment this man uninvitedly stepped into the town, she had been observing him from the darkness.
Powerful, bizarre, always saying strange words she couldn't understand.
His style of action was even more unpredictable; many of her meticulously designed predicaments requiring finding keys and fuses were ignored by him in a reckless, head-on manner.
The demonic aura emanating from his body made her, amidst the icy, piercing hatred, feel a trace of warmth and kinship from a being of the same kind.
Moreover, she could vaguely sense that somewhere outside the town, a more terrifying magical power was lurking, watching this place with keen interest.
If she acted...
She might get beaten.
After weighing the pros and cons, Dark Alessa waved her hand.
The originally menacing Pyramid Head retreated back into the shadows.
"Deal."
Dark Alessa said coldly, "But I have one more condition."
"You must take me to the Church."
The flames in her eyes violently flickered, burning with boundless hatred, "I want to personally kill all those hypocritical believers, without leaving a single one."
"Gladly."
Sephirot agreed straightforwardly.
After all, it's just following the plot; not only completing the transaction but also watching a spectacular show, why not?
Seeing his agreement, Dark Alessa looked towards a corner of the ward.
The shadows swayed, and a small figure emerged from within.
She rubbed her eyes confusedly, as if just waking from a long nightmare.
"Mommy!"
Sharon instantly saw the familiar figure and rushed towards Rose.
And Rose, awakening from Alessa's memories, fully understood her daughter's origins and the entire story of Silent Hill.
Seeing her daughter safe and sound, tears poured from her eyes as she hugged her daughter who rushed into her arms.
"Oh, god! Sharon, Mommy finally found you!"
Observing this warm reunion between mother and daughter, Dark Alessa revealed a barely detectable envy in her eyes.
Aside from the full heart of fury and hatred, she was ultimately just a little girl craving love.
"A touching reunion."
Sephirot did not disturb them but instead threw the Christabella he had been carrying all along to the feet of Pyramid Head.
"Take it, your toy."
At the same moment, a notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding!] [Side Quest: Motherly Love] [Quest Objective: Assist Rose in finding her daughter Sharon and ensure Rose survives] [Completed] [Reward: 500 points credited]
Sephirot glanced contentedly at the system notification. Five hundred points wasn't much, but even a tiny scrap of meat was still meat.
"Ahh!!"
A scream echoed.
Christabella was thrown onto the floor. The excruciating pain all over her body jolted her awake from her memories.
She lifted her head, and what she saw instantly froze the blood in her veins.
The witch she had personally sent to the stake years ago was now lying on the hospital bed. The eyeball hidden within the charred skin was staring at her with venomous hatred.
That gaze seemed ready to devour her alive.
"No… no!!"
Christabella's spirit shattered completely.
She frantically lowered her head, unwilling to meet that gaze. Muttering incoherent, meaningless prayers, she desperately clawed at the ground with her one remaining hand, crawling towards the doorway.
"Sin stands right before you. Why are you running? Christabella."
Dark Alessa watched the woman writhing on the floor like a worm, her eyes flashing with mockery and satisfaction.
How many years had she waited in Hell for this moment? How much inhuman suffering had she endured?
Fortunately, the delayed judgment had finally arrived.
And all of this was thanks to the intruder before her.
Alessa's gaze turned to Sephirot. This man didn't spew hypocritical benevolence like those pious believers; he simply smashed through all obstacles with pure, raw power.
Compared to those sanctimonious believers, this blatantly goal-oriented, straightforward person inexplicably gave her a sense of reassurance.
Just as Christabella was about to crawl out of the room, Pyramid Head in the shadows moved.
He strode forward, reaching out and grabbing Christabella's ankle, effortlessly lifting her upside down.
"Let me go! I am a divine messenger! I am… Ah!!"
Pyramid Head ignored her screams completely. His other hand slammed heavily into her abdomen, then dragged her slowly out of the ward.
A moment later, the sound of fabric tearing and Christabella's heart-rending screams, filled with unimaginable despair and agony, echoed from the corridor outside.
Listening to the commotion outside, Sephirot suddenly recalled the metaphorical implications of Pyramid Head's original design, shuddering with a wave of disgust.
"Really a… heavy-duty execution method."
He shook his head and looked at Dark Alessa. "Alright, the irrelevant personnel have been cleaned up. We should…"
Before he could finish, Dark Alessa suddenly transformed into a mass of black smoke, drifting straight towards Sephirot.
Sephirot didn't evade; he could sense no malice from her.
The black fog plunged directly into Sephirot's body.
"Hmm?"
Sephirot's brow twitched slightly. This time, Alessa hadn't chosen Rose as in the original story, but instead chose himself as the vessel for her power.
Was it due to the attraction of his Demonic Bloodline?
He didn't feel any discomfort whatsoever. Instead, the dormant demonic bloodline within him seemed to become more active.
But that was all; there was no sense of any awakening.
A strange sense of control surged within him. He could feel that he now possessed partial authority over Silent Hill.
If he wished, he could freely manipulate the surrounding dark creatures, and they couldn't affect him.
Meaning, he could forcibly take over a portion of Silent Hill unless Alessa left his body.
"Your body… is very warm."
Alessa's voice resonated in his mind, no longer icy but carrying a hint of closeness. "This power, sharing the same origin, feels very comforting to me."
"Using me as a ride?"
Sephirot, sensing the darkness within him, didn't attempt to control Silent Hill, just smiled helplessly.
He looked at Rose, who was still tightly clutching Sharon, and pointed outside:
"Mrs. Rose, a grand spectacle is about to unfold at the Church. Would you like to bring the child to watch?"
"No… I don't need to."
Rose shook her head, her face pale, hugging Sharon tightly in her arms, her expression filled with fear and resistance. "I just want to take Sharon away from here, as far away as possible."
"A wise choice."
Sephirot nodded.
The next moment, the dark power within him stirred. Before Sephirot could say anything else, Rose and Sharon's figures gradually grew illusory, vanishing from the spot.
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — CROSSOVER GUIDE Some references in this chapter come from source universes that may be unfamiliar to some readers. The notes below are here to help readers unfamiliar with these universes follow along more easily.
CONCEPTS
Pyramid Head's "metaphorical implications" — Sephirot's shudder at Pyramid Head's "heavy-duty execution method" is a knowing reference to the monster's lore in Silent Hill 2. In the original game, Pyramid Head is not merely a killer; he is explicitly associated with violation and punishment in their most extreme forms. Several scenes in the game depict him assaulting other monsters rather than simply killing them, a deliberate design choice meant to convey the depths of James's self-loathing and his subconscious need to be degraded. The game frequently uses sounds of struggle, dragging metal, and obscured camera angles to suggest unspeakable acts of sexual violence or torture. The author uses Sephirot's reaction here as a darkly humorous nod to players who are familiar with exactly what Pyramid Head tends to do to his victims off-screen.