Back then, facing Maria, he still needed to rely on the weapons provided by Alessa.
But now...
Sephirot lowered his head, clenched his fists tightly. He didn't need any weapons at all.
He was absolutely confident that with pure strength alone, he could tear that monster apart with his bare hands.
"This feeling... not bad."
The corner of Sephirot's mouth lifted slightly, a trace of wildness flashing in his eyes.
The next second, the suffocating aura emanating from him slowly receded, and he transformed back into a detective who looked somewhat lazy.
"Let's go."
Sephirot walked out. "The air in this place is too foul. I need to find a place to have some strawberry sundae. You're paying for this one."
When he reached the doorway, he paused, his tone calm.
"Mr. James, carry this memory well. Live on, clearly, painfully."
"And remember to wire the payment."
James slowly looked up.
He carefully placed the letter into the pocket close to his body.
"Alright."
—--
Several hours later.
A black, old-fashioned Sampton was driving along a winding road.
James was focused on driving from the driver's seat.
Mary's body, which he had originally hidden in the car's trunk, had been buried by his own hands beside Toluca Lake in Silent Hill Town, the place he and Mary loved the most.
—--
Meanwhile, Sephirot was sprawled unceremoniously across the back seat.
His legs were propped up against the window, his hands cushioning the back of his head, his consciousness sinking into his mind.
When the mission was completed, his focus had been entirely on the awakening, and he hadn't gotten around to checking the system prompts that had popped up in his mind.
[Solo Kill: James's Inner Demon: Maria. Reward Points: 500]
Looking at the additional prompt on the system panel from the mission settlement, Sephirot's mind shook. He hadn't expected this extra surprise.
"Didn't expect there to be this kind of reward mechanism besides the rigid mission rewards."
He continued reading.
[Detected awakening of "Sparda demonic bloodline".]
[Rewarding basic Devil Trigger skills.]
[Acquired Innate Skill: Snatch – Condense demonic power into a phantom hand. Can pull distant enemies to oneself, or pull oneself towards a target.]
[Acquired Innate Skill: Trickster: Dash – Instantly erupt with magical power to perform an extremely fast displacement in any direction. Can even dash again mid-air by borrowing force.]
Seeing these skills, Sephirot didn't feel happy. Instead, he sensed the system's deep-seated malice.
He had seen all these skills in the System Mall.
Skills that could be obtained simply by awakening the bloodline, and the system dared to put them in the mall for point exchange?
It was like buying a bottle of water, only to find a label on it after drinking: Complimentary Drink.
Profiteering system.
But complaints aside, looking at these two genuinely god-tier skills, he couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl up.
Snatch was for controlling enemies, and Dash combined with the double jump he'd already learned meant he finally didn't have to move like a clumsy super soldier, just shuffling around on the ground.
This was starting to look a bit more like a proper Devil Hunter.
In this good mood, he opened the System Mall to see if he could do a bit of shopping.
The next second, he closed the system with a blank expression.
[Devil Arm: Yamato] Price: 120,000 points.
[Devil Arm: Gilgamesh] Price: 100,000 points.
[Devil Arm: Rebellion] Price: 90,000 points.
...
[Devil Arm: Pandora] Price: 20,000 points.
[Devil Arm: Lucifer] Price: 8,500 points.
...
Sephirot checked his remaining points balance and let out a deep sigh.
Even with the extra 500 points from the bonus reward, he only had a little over 2,200 points.
Poverty was the original sin.
But he had no choice but to find a way to buy one.
With the awakening of the Sparda bloodline, ordinary man-made weapons could no longer contain the demonic power within him.
Only weapons transformed from the souls and bodies of powerful demons could resonate with his magic and unleash their true power.
That was also why these weapons were called Devil Arms.
But even the relatively cheaper Devil Arm [Agni & Rudra] cost 5,000 points.
Thinking of that pair of twin blades, Sephirot felt a bit like laughing.
They were originally a pair of demon brothers who, after being defeated by Dante, willingly submitted and transformed into weapons.
But those two were way too chatty.
During fights, they would provide their own commentary for Dante, shouting out all sorts of chuunibyou-style move names, and even critique Dante's combos for not being cool enough.
Later, Dante found those two swords too noisy, even stealing his spotlight a bit, so he sold them off to the black market dealer Enzo to subsidize the Agency.
"Enzo..."
Thinking of Enzo, Sephirot's eyes lit up.
Enzo was a black market dealer, a typical profiteer, and an old acquaintance of Dante's.
Dante's Agency was often in a state of financial deficit, and a large number of the Devil Arms he seized would be pawned with Enzo for cash, only to be redeemed when needed.
Since he couldn't afford the stuff in the System Mall, why not go to Enzo and borrow a few weapons first?
After all, the person who pawned them was Dante, what does that have to do with me, Sephirot? It's not like I have to pay the money back.
Just as Sephirot was silently scheming how to pluck feathers from the iron rooster Enzo, the ringtone of his phone shattered the quiet inside the car.
"Got a signal?"
Sephirot pulled out his phone.
As the vehicle drove away from Silent Hill, the phone finally picked up a weak signal.
The lock screen instantly popped up a bunch of missed call notifications, all showing the same name: Patty.
And the current call was also from her, dialed again a few minutes after her last call didn't go through.
Looking at the caller ID at the top, an image instantly flashed in Sephirot's mind: a refined girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, who loved wearing Lolita dresses.
Patty Lowell.
She and Sephirot could be considered childhood sweethearts, having grown up together in the Agency.
Unlike Sephirot, who had no parents, her true identity was actually a descendant of ancient alchemists, possessing a powerful magical bloodline.
Patty often used the excuse that she was a year or two older than him, or rather, that she was more psychologically mature, to boss him around in the Agency, acting like a proper little housekeeper.
Her favorite line to Sephirot was: "Sephirot, you were picked up by this lady next to a trash can all those years ago! When you start making money, remember to buy me lots of pretty dresses to repay the favor!"
Whenever he remembered those words, Sephirot's head would ache faintly.
Where on earth did she learn that line?
It was exactly like parents tricking their kids when they were little, saying "you came free with a phone plan."
He held the phone a bit farther away and pressed the answer button.
"Sephirot! Where on earth have you been?! Your phone's been out of service area this whole time."
The noise coming through the phone was so loud that even James, who was driving, glanced back slightly.
The girl's clear voice carried anger, but even more so, an anxiety she couldn't hide.
"Keep your voice down, Miss Patty."
Sephirot lowered the phone volume a few more notches. "You sound just like the nosy old lady next door. Be careful, you'll get wrinkles."
"You're the old lady!"
Patty spoke rapidly: "I don't care, where are you right now? Are you hurt? Is Dante with you?"
"I'm on my way back. Isn't Dante at the Agency?"
Sephirot glanced at the date and continued asking, "What's wrong? Isn't it Wednesday today? Is school out?"
"Out for what holiday! I took the day off specially to come check on you guys!"
Even over the phone, Sephirot could picture her, all puffed up with anger, stomping her feet.
"I thought, since I hadn't been over in a few days, the Agency must be a mess again, like a dump. I wanted to come clean up, but then..."
At this point, Patty's voice suddenly took on a hint of grievance:
"But then there wasn't a single person in the Agency! And Dante's run off somewhere to have fun, who knows where!"
"And another thing! Has the Agency been robbed?!"
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — CROSSOVER GUIDE
The notes below are here to help readers unfamiliar with these universes follow along more easily.
POWERS / ABILITIES
Devil Trigger — The signature ability of devil hunters with demonic blood in the DMC universe. It allows partial or full transformation into a demonic form, dramatically boosting strength, speed, and regeneration. The phantom silhouette that flickered over Sephirot at the end of the previous chapter was the earliest stage of this awakening: the form exists but cannot yet be fully activated.
Snatch — A spectral hand made of condensed demonic energy, used to grab distant enemies and pull them to the caster, or to pull the caster toward a target. One of Dante's signature utility moves in DMC4 and DMC5.
Trickster: Dash — A mobility technique from the Trickster combat style in the DMC series. It allows near-instantaneous displacement in any direction and can be chained in mid-air to maintain momentum during aerial combat.
ITEMS / WEAPONS
Devil Arms — In the DMC universe, these are weapons forged from the body or soul of a powerful demon. They cannot be wielded at full power by an ordinary human; only someone whose demonic energy is sufficient can channel magic through them. Each Devil Arm has its own properties, and some retain a degree of consciousness. The ones listed in Sephirot's System Mall are major weapons from across the game series. Yamato is Vergil's katana, capable of cutting through dimensional space. Rebellion is Dante's broadsword, a keepsake from their father Sparda. Gilgamesh is a set of demonic armor focused on crushing melee strikes. Pandora is a briefcase that transforms into over 600 distinct weapon forms. Lucifer generates an infinite supply of explosive energy blades. Agni and Rudra are twin curved swords imbued with fire and wind; in DMC3, they are literally demon brothers who, after losing to Dante, willingly become his weapons and enthusiastically narrate his battles in real time.
CHARACTERS
Patty Lowell — A character from the Devil May Cry animated series (2007). She first encounters Dante when he is hired to escort her, and later discovers she carries the bloodline of a powerful ancient alchemist.
Enzo Ferino — A recurring character in DMC expanded media, including the animated series. He serves as a middleman who connects Dante with clients and deals in the black market trade of demon-related items and weapons. His relationship with Dante is built on mutual use and long-running debt.