"Scott?"
Sephirot frowned slightly. *Who was that?*
Seeing Sephirot's completely blank expression, Richard felt a surge of blood boil in his chest.
His only son had vanished on East Route 9, leaving behind neither a body nor a trace.
And this man before him, the one he had identified as the prime suspect, hadn't even bothered to remember his son's name!
If it weren't for Mr. Armitage's strict orders forbidding him from seeking revenge...
If it weren't for those damn Dark Web assassins, who had vanished into thin air after taking the contract...
Richard was on the verge of an outburst when he suddenly seemed to receive some kind of instruction. His expression stiffened, and he forced himself to swallow his rage.
"Mr. Sephirot," he began, "as a professional who deals with those things year-round, what do you think of... demons?"
"I look at them with my eyes," Sephirot replied flatly.
"..."
Richard's breath hitched. He gripped the sofa armrests tightly, suppressing the urge to pull out his handgun.
"Let me rephrase that."
Richard took a deep breath. "What I mean is, what are your thoughts on demons integrating into human society?"
Without waiting for Sephirot to answer, he continued.
"Mr. Sephirot, the human body is too fragile, and life is too short. A random disease or accident can take everything away."
"What if... there was a way to help us discard human weakness? To obtain eternal life and power transcending that of ordinary men, and use it to establish a new order..."
"Sounds like a third-rate cult's multi-level marketing pitch to swindle people out of their funeral savings," Sephirot sneered.
These people had gone through so much trouble to invite him here, yet they hadn't breathed a word about the meteorite in the suburbs or the astronomical compensation.
Instead, they were sitting here talking to him about their views on demons and evolution.
Clearly, they just wanted to recruit him.
It seemed the destructive power he had displayed made them wary enough to grant him the privilege of being courted at the table.
Sephirot glanced again at the camera in the corner.
The mastermind behind this was certainly cautious, choosing not to show his face even for a recruitment attempt.
*What were these people really after? Eternal life through demons?*
And then there were those lethargic guests downstairs.
The information he could piece together was currently too fragmented, but one thing was certain: these people were definitely involved in some underhanded deal with demons.
He needed to find a way to investigate this thoroughly to avoid being inexplicably dragged into some disaster.
—--
At the same time, inside another heavily guarded private estate in Los Santos.
A massive screen displayed the conversation between Richard and Sephirot in real-time.
Several men in suits stood before the screen.
"Richard's composure is gone. He can't even manage basic emotional control."
One of the men, holding a glass of whiskey, shook his head. "Hatred has turned him into a fool." "He was always meant to be a disposable asset used for testing the waters."
The man sitting on the leather sofa spoke in a flat tone.
If Richard were here, he would surely recognize him as the one in power who had forbidden him from seeking revenge against Sephirot...
Dean Armitage.
"But he didn't seem to think much of the ideas Richard proposed."
The man holding the whiskey glass frowned, his voice laced with worry. "If he goes back and tells the one at the Agency about what happened today..."
"How many swings from that man's blade can our current contingencies actually withstand?"
At the mention of that man, the atmosphere in the room instantly froze.
Armitage looked at Sephirot on the screen and said, "In a direct confrontation, everyone in this room combined couldn't stop a single strike."
"But who said we were going to provoke him?"
Armitage continued, "As long as we aren't stupid enough to forcibly open a Gate of Hell in Los Santos, that man won't interfere with the internal power shifts of human society."
"Then why did we go through all this trouble today, even pushing Richard out to test Sephirot...?"
"Because we didn't understand Sephirot's temperament."
Armitage watched the screen with cold eyes as Sephirot walked away composedly. "If he were a reckless fool, like when he summoned those meteors a few days ago..."
"He might actually have drawn that man into the fray. If that happened, our entire strategic deployment would have to change."
He paused and pressed a button on the remote in his hand.
The footage on the screen began to rewind, freezing on a frame of Sephirot quietly observing the abnormal guests in the dining room.
Then, it showed the moment in the study where Sephirot had inadvertently glanced toward the hidden camera.
"But as you can see, he didn't just sense the abnormalities in those rejects; he was sharp enough to spot the surveillance."
Armitage smiled. "It's obvious he isn't just 'not a fool'; he is intelligent and suspicious."
"Now that his suspicions are raised, he will definitely investigate the background of those rejects and look into the forces backing Richard."
The man with the whiskey glass seemed to understand.
"Then let him investigate."
Armitage stood up and straightened his suit, his gaze profound. "The greatest weakness of an intelligent man is the unwavering faith he has in his own judgment."
"Let him waste all his time on those investigations."
"By the time he peels back the layers of the puzzle and actually finds his way to us..."
"Our plan will have long been completed."
"By then, even if he uncovers everything, it will be too late."
—--
A few hours later, the banquet concluded.
Richard stood at the manor entrance, wearing a formulaic smile as he saw the guests off one by one.
The moment the last luxury car drove away from the estate, the smile vanished from his face.
Just thinking about Sephirot's superior attitude, acting as if Richard were beneath his notice, made the fury in his heart flare up uncontrollably. But that man's methods were like a bucket of cold water, dousing the flames of his revenge.
Richard strode back into his study, fury and humiliation intertwining until everything he laid eyes on became an eyesore. He grabbed an expensive ornament off the desk and hurled it violently against the wall, venting his emotions.
Only after the outburst did he suddenly realize that the vast study had somehow been plunged into total darkness.
"Where is the butler? Why are the lights off?!"
Richard cursed loudly, but no one responded.
"Mr. Richard, there is no need for such a temper."
A cold voice suddenly rang out from the darkness.
"Who's there?!"
The hair on Richard's neck stood on end as he scrambled to hit the switch on the wall.
As the lights flickered on, he saw a mass of fluid shadows coiled in the corner of the study, vaguely outlining a blurry human silhouette.
"A demon?!"
Richard kept his eyes fixed on the shadow while slowly reaching toward the edge of his desk, quietly pressing the alarm button.
The entire estate immediately erupted with the blaring of sirens.
His expression froze, and he cursed inwardly: *Damn it, what incompetent company made this piece of junk?!*
*Wasn't this just forcing the opponent into a desperate, all-or-nothing move?!*
However, Richard did not panic; he intended to speak first to stabilize the situation.
"What do you want–"
The shadow spoke suddenly, cutting him off: "I'm actually quite interested in that 'evolution' you were talking about."
"We have a little time before the police arrive. We can enjoy ourselves thoroughly."
"It's you?! Se–"
Richard's pupils shrank, and he instinctively reached for the handgun in his drawer.
But by the time he could react, he had been hoisted into the air by an icy hand, ensuring his final syllable remained unspoken.
—--
A few minutes later.
Sephirot stood in the middle of the trashed study, looking down at Richard, whose limbs had all been broken.
For Richard, those few minutes had felt like an eternity. The agony radiating from his limbs brought the pampered man to the brink of fainting.
The piercing sirens continued to wail, yet no sounds of security guards' footsteps or the breaking down of doors came from outside.
His mental defenses finally crumbled.
Just as Richard opened his mouth, gasping for breath and prepared to utter a certain name...
His head suddenly began to swell, expanding like an inflating balloon.
Sephirot's expression shifted as he sensed demonic power manifesting inside the man's body.
His form blurred into an afterimage as he smashed through the window, charging out of the study.
BOOM!
The sound of exploding flesh echoed behind him. Blood sprayed in every direction from the blast, corroding the entire room.
The night wind howled as Sephirot's figure appeared on a road just outside the estate.
He looked at the police cars already surrounding the manor in heavy layers, his expression grim.
"I was careless."
(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
Dean Armitage — First introduced in chapter 35. The patriarch of the Armitage family and architect of the Coagula body-snatching conspiracy. This chapter reveals his full operational scope: he directs a network of high-society collaborators from behind the scenes, uses proxies like Richard Braddock to test potential threats, and has been actively monitoring Sephirot's abilities to assess the risk he poses to their plan.
CONCEPTS
The "rejects" / lethargic guests — The dinner guests observed by Sephirot whose bodies cannot keep up with commands from their brains (mouths opening before the glass reaches their lips, forks moving before the knife) are Coagula victims: individuals whose original consciousness has been suppressed and replaced by a transplanted one. The neurological lag reflects the transplanted mind's incomplete adaptation to its new body. Armitage refers to them as "rejects," implying failed or suboptimal transplants.