"The lace curtains I painstakingly picked out and hung up last time, the Hello Kitty pillows, and that tea set I put on the table, all gone!"
"Robbery?"
Sephirot froze. Who's so blind to dare steal from a Devil Hunter's Agency?
And specifically stealing all your girly stuff?
But he thought it over for a moment and instantly understood the whole story.
Things missing, and it's all Patty's belongings disappearing.
Dante must have long been unable to tolerate his demon Agency being turned into a pink girly bedroom by Patty.
And since he was so broke he couldn't afford a pot, he probably just bundled all this stuff up and sold it to Enzo the black market dealer.
That's definitely something Dante would do.
"Uh, maybe Dante took them for maintenance? You know he always really likes the things you buy."
Sephirot rubbed his nose, not daring to tell the truth. Otherwise, with the girl's temper, when Dante wasn't around, wouldn't he be the one suffering?
"Stop it! You think I'm a three-year-old?"
Patty clearly knew Dante's habits well. She shouted angrily over the phone, "Neither of you can give me peace of mind! I'm so pissed!"
"Sephirot, come back quickly. I want a big meal to compensate for my wounded heart!"
"Alright alright, on the way, on the way..."
Sephirot glossed over it, and before Patty could start a new round of scolding, decisively said, "Hey? I can't hear you, the signal's not good, hanging up now, talk face-to-face!"
"Beep."
After hanging up, Sephirot looked at the call display lighting up again on the screen, expressionlessly pressed the mute button, and tossed the phone aside.
Though scolded, he didn't feel annoyed.
After living in Silent Hill for a few days, that oppressive atmosphere was uncomfortable even for Sephirot.
Now arguing over these trivial matters actually relaxed him a lot.
"Huh..."
Sephirot shifted to a comfortable position, about to nap for a bit, suddenly sensed a slight fluctuation in the dark power within him.
"Alessa? Are you awake?"
Sephirot tentatively asked in his mind.
"Yeah..."
A weak voice rang in his mind, "After leaving Silent Hill, the consumption of forcibly expanding the Otherworld was more than I imagined."
"But just now I felt a strange power flowing into my body. It felt good."
"Strange power?"
Sephirot froze. Where did that come from?
Then he realized.
Was it because the energy overflowing during his bloodline awakening was absorbed by Alessa residing within him?
Sparda, being a top-tier demon in Hell, his power indeed would be a great supplement for dark creatures like Alessa.
"Good to be awake."
Sephirot didn't dwell on it much. He watched the streetlights rapidly receding outside the car window, the alternating light and shadow sliding across his face.
"Rest well, Alessa."
"When we get there, I'll show you the modern city of humans. It's much livelier than Silent Hill."
—--
Night falls in Los Santos.
The shimmering puddles reflect the city's prosperity, distant police sirens rising and falling.
After bidding farewell to James, Sephirot walked toward the Agency.
From his left shoulder extended a purple giant skeletal hand, holding two steaming oversized pizza boxes.
Beside him, Alessa floated low to the ground in her new dress, curiously observing the flashing neon signs and buildings around her.
Sephirot thought her old, worn-out clothes were too outdated, so he simply used the final payment James gave him to buy her a new outfit.
He wasn't short on money now.
"Alessa, maybe walk on the ground."
Sephirot held a freshly bought strawberry sundae, scooping a large spoonful into his mouth. This icy, sweet sensation brought him immense satisfaction.
Every time he returned with Dante, he indulged in this taste.
He mumbled, "Even though this alley is quite secluded and few people come by, if someone happens to see you floating in the air, it might scare them."
Alessa looked up at the giant skeletal hand extending from within him, remained silent for a moment, then nodded:
"Oh."
Though she agreed verbally, she stubbornly maintained her floating height a few centimeters above the ground.
Just as the two were about to pass through a gloomy alley, a few sloppy figures swayed out from the shadows.
They held baseball bats and spring knives, wearing malicious smiles on their faces.
"Yo, man, what tasty thing are you holding? In this late night..."
But when they clearly saw the purple glowing giant skeletal hand on Sephirot's body, their expressions changed, and they all turned to leave.
"Fk! Let's go!!"
"Tch."
Sephirot looked impatient, reaching out to catch the falling pizza boxes.
The giant skeletal hand beside him instantly crossed over ten meters, grabbing the few hoodlums trying to escape in its palm, lifting them into mid-air, then violently slamming them down.
"Ah!! My leg!"
Several screams rang out in succession.
He skillfully pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hey? It's me, Sephirot."
"No demons, just caught a few small-time hoodlums. Yeah, right in the alley next to Red Grave Avenue."
The other end of the call was a detective who often collaborated with Dante.
Due to his profession, he wasn't unfamiliar with the existence of demons and even delegated some cases to the Agency.
"Thanks, Sephirot. Just hit this week's quota." The voice sounded somewhat tired, "I'll treat you to a meal sometime."
—--
Red Grave Avenue.
This was an old street located at the border between the slums and the commercial district, and Dante's Agency was also opened here.
Sephirot stood before the familiar building, looking up at the already darkened Agency signboard, sighing: "Sure enough, the power's out again."
Pushing open the heavy door, inside the Agency was pitch black, only a few candles flickered with faint light, carrying an eerie aura.
Suddenly.
"Click."
A beam of light abruptly shone from below, illuminating a pale little face.
"You dare hang up on me?!"
Patty held a flashlight beneath her chin, exaggerating her expression, her tone ghostly, "You actually know how to come back? I waited for you the entire day, you know?!!"
"Wow!"
Though this little trick couldn't scare Sephirot, he cooperatively stepped back half a step, pretending to gasp and pat his chest.
"Lady Patty, startling people can really scare someone to death, especially in a haunted house like this during a power outage."
Patty looked smug, snorted coldly, and turned off the flashlight.
Using the faint candlelight from the table, Sephirot saw the Agency's miserable state.
Besides the sofa and desk, any decorations of even slight value had vanished; it could be said the house was stripped bare.
"Is Dante still not back yet?"
Sephirot asked.
"If he dares to come back, I'll definitely pluck out all his beard!"
Patty, thinking of all her carefully selected items being sold off, was about to explode.
But under the moonlight, she noticed Sephirot's torn trench coat and the scent of blood emanating from him.
(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.
PLACES
Red Grave City — The main setting of Devil May Cry 5, a fictional European-style city located in the United States. In this story, the Devil May Cry Agency operates on Red Grave Avenue, a street within the broader city of Los Santos. The name is a direct nod to the DMC5 setting, carrying its associations with demon incursions and devil-hunting activity.