Over the next few days, Sephirot simply stayed at the Agency, waiting for Nico to finish the new weapons while experimenting with new ways to use his demonic power.
In his spare time, he would perfunctorily deal with Patty's harassment.
The young girl mentioned over the phone that she planned to visit the orphanage where she grew up next week.
As a child who came from that place, she made a habit of providing aid and support to the orphanage.
Not only that, she sternly warned Sephirot that she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him when she came back last weekend.
This time, he had to clear his schedule in advance and behave himself while accompanying her.
Sephirot agreed readily, then immediately turned around and left a message for Morrison, asking him to keep an eye out for any particularly lucrative commissions.
—--
One early morning, Sephirot leaned back on the sofa, holding a pale purple knife in his hand.
However, the knife's form was highly unstable; after a few seconds, it dissipated into the air.
"Too little demonic power."
Sephirot whispered to himself.
This was a direction he was exploring by referencing the Summoned Swords...
Guiding demonic power outside the body and shaping it directly into a weapon.
But now, it seemed he had been a bit too idealistic.
Simply maintaining a stable external release of demonic power was already exhausting enough, let alone imbuing it with the hardness and sharpness required of a weapon, or figuring out how to make it strike an object without shattering...
These were all things he had to figure out on his own.
For now, Sephirot could only create a decorative little knife that lasted a few seconds.
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the Agency's door.
Sephirot opened the door to find a woman in a suit standing outside, radiating an aura of brisk efficiency.
"Angela Dodson."
The woman flashed her law enforcement credentials, her gaze scanning Sephirot and the Agency behind him.
"I heard that your agency has a one-hundred-percent completion rate for commissions."
Hearing that familiar name, Sephirot immediately recalled certain plot points. He asked tentatively:
"Your sister... is Isabel?"
Angela's gaze instantly turned wary. "Have you investigated me?"
"Actually, Constantine told me."
Sephirot shifted the blame without blinking.
If this woman had come looking for him, it was likely related to her sister Isabel.
Judging by her reaction, she had probably already hit a wall with Constantine.
Which meant that the day Mammon planned to descend upon the human world was fast approaching.
"You actually know that bastard?"
Angela cursed.
"Ma'am, if you're here to investigate the cause of your sister's death, I can give you the answer directly."
Sephirot leaned against the doorframe, his tone flat. "It was suicide."
Angela's sister, Isabel, was a natural psychic, possessed of a "Ying-Yang Eye" that allowed her to see spirits and demons.
But because of this, she had been chosen to serve as the vessel for the birth of Mammon, Son of Satan. To prevent Mammon's success, Isabel had leapt from the roof of the mental hospital in despair, hoping to thwart Mammon's plans.
"Bullshit!"
Angela's emotions flared instantly, and she shouted, "She was a devout Catholic. How could she possibly commit suicide?!"
In Catholic doctrine, suicide is an unpardonable mortal sin.
The soul of a suicide is destined to fall directly into Hell, and they are not even permitted a proper funeral.
Angela sneered, her voice laced with irony: "Is this how you achieve your so-called one-hundred-percent completion rate? By simply slamming the door on these troublesome matters?"
"Reverse psychology doesn't work on me, lady."
Sephirot shrugged, completely indifferent to her mockery.
Internally, he was somewhat speechless. *Why aren't you going to harass Constantine instead of coming to find me?*
To make this troublesome police officer back off, Sephirot casually quoted an astronomical figure:
"You want me to take this case? Fine. Ten million US dollars, no credit..."
"Deal."
Angela stared straight into his eyes and agreed immediately.
This Agency had been recommended to her privately by a colleague at the precinct.
More than half of the reason that guy had been able to bust so many low-level thugs was because of this place.
Furthermore, as a detective, her intuition told her something.
This man had not only just blurted out Isabel's name, but he also knew scumbags like Constantine.
This was absolutely not some ordinary agency getting by on scams and deception.
He had quoted such a ridiculous number clearly intending to make her give up.
Which, ironically, proved one thing to her.
It proved that this man did indeed know something; he had the ability to reach into a mysterious world invisible to ordinary people.
*?*
This woman's decisiveness actually took Sephirot by surprise.
He looked the suit-clad woman up and down, asking skeptically, "As far as I know, you're just an ordinary cop. Where are you getting that kind of money?"
"Both Isabel and I have property in our names. Now that my sister is dead, I can sell it all. It's enough to cover the fee."
Angela's tone was firm.
Sephirot looked at her and fell silent.
He suddenly realized a problem he had previously overlooked.
According to the original plot, after losing Isabel as a vessel, Mammon eventually set his sights on her twin sister, Angela, who shared the same psychic constitution, intending to be born through Angela's physical body.
It was only a pity that, at the final moment, Constantine turned the tables by summoning Mammon's own father, Satan, causing the entire plan to fail.
His initial thought had been to help Mammon manifest, then slay him while he was at his weakest to obtain the system's kill points and Mammon's corpse materials.
But if Mammon were to manifest successfully, the woman in front of him named Angela would be in danger.
A woman who was supposed to survive in the original story would become a corpse because of his greed for points and his interference.
Sephirot's brow furrowed slightly as a hint of hesitation entered his heart.
He could disregard deaths that were destined to happen, and he could stand by and watch tragedies that had nothing to do with him.
But he could not bring himself to personally cause the death of an innocent person for his own benefit.
Sephirot looked at the mission rewards in his mind.
[Mission Description: As a precursor to the descent of darkness, Mammon attempts to cross the boundary and turn the human world into his private hunting ground.]
[Mission Objective: Stop Mammon's descent ritual.]
[Mission Reward: 10,000 points, bloodline awakening degree: 5%, Mammon's Original Sin Demon Soul ×1.]
Just stopping Mammon's descent ritual yielded such a generous reward.
If he could manage a kill, the rewards would only be more substantial, perhaps even allowing him to reach the threshold of Devil Trigger.
Only then would he truly have the power to protect himself in this world.
"Even if I take the commission, the fact remains that your sister committed suicide. This money will just be thrown away," Sephirot reminded her. "Furthermore, if you insist on investigating this... you will die."
"Then I will die for the truth."
Angela looked at him without backing down.
Seeing her "refuse to turn back until she hit a wall" attitude, Sephirot lowered his gaze and stopped wasting words on persuasion.
There was no reason to push away ten million US dollars delivered to his doorstep.
As for the plan to hunt Mammon, he didn't intend to give that up either. Those reward points were something he was determined to get.
"Fine. Follow me."
(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 provide the context needed to understand them without leaving the page.
CHARACTERS
Angela Dodson — A police detective and Isabel's twin sister. She arrives at the Agency demanding answers about what she believes is her sister's murder, refusing to accept the official ruling of suicide. Like Isabel, she carries an innate psychic gift that later makes her Mammon's secondary target.
Isabel Dodson — Angela's twin sister. A natural psychic whose ability to perceive demons made her the designated vessel for Mammon's descent. To prevent it, she jumped from the roof of a psychiatric facility and died. In Catholic doctrine, suicide is an unforgivable mortal sin, condemning her soul to Hell, which becomes a central tension of the film's plot.
POWERS & ABILITIES
Summoned Swords — Vergil's signature technique in Devil May Cry. He can manifest phantom blades made of concentrated demonic energy, directing them at enemies from a distance. Sephirot is using this ability as a conceptual reference point while developing his own method of shaping demonic power into a solid weapon outside his body.
CONCEPTS
Ying-Yang Eye — A Chinese folkloric concept (陰陽眼, "Yin-Yang Eye") describing the innate ability to perceive ghosts, spirits, and supernatural entities invisible to ordinary people. Used here to describe the psychic sensitivity shared by Angela and Isabel Dodson, adapted from the film's framing of their ability to see and cross into the supernatural world.