Sephirot stood in the night breeze, looking back at the manor where police lights flashed in the distance, his gaze darkening slightly.
His logic was simple: since he needed to investigate these people, wouldn't Richard be a ready-made breakthrough point?
Moreover, the man had shown unprovoked hostility toward him during their conversation.
Faced with someone like that, Sephirot wouldn't feel any moral burden even if he had to use brutal methods for interrogation.
But what he never expected was that a supposedly ordinary businessman would have actually signed a contract with a demon.
Once a specific keyword was triggered, it would cause an explosion; even his blood contained a lethal toxic curse.
He summoned the system panel in his mind.
[Main Quest: Darkness Approaches]
[Quest Description: Forces lurking in the shadows are paving the way for the descent of the abyss.]
[Quest Objective: Completely eliminate the mysterious organization behind the scenes.]
[Quest Reward: To be calculated based on final completion and exploration progress.]
Looking at these lines of text, Sephirot rubbed his brow.
Richard's self-destruction, the stiff-moving guests at the banquet, and the technological facilities discovered earlier...
All sorts of clues pieced together, pointing directly at this group of wealthy elites and politicians.
Even if they weren't the masterminds driving Darkness Approaches, there was a high probability they were working for some mysterious organization.
And since they likely had all signed similar demonic contracts, torture and forced confessions would be useless.
He had to find a new point of entry for his investigation.
Thinking of this, Sephirot continued scrolling down the system panel.
[Darkness Approaches Point Quest: Ambition of the Demon Prince]
[Quest Description: As a harbinger of the approaching darkness, Mammon seeks to cross the boundary and turn the human world into his private hunting ground.]
[Quest Objective: Stop Mammon's descent ritual.]
[Quest Reward: 10,000 points, bloodline awakening degree: 5%, Mammon's Original Sin Demon Soul × 1]
He just didn't know who exactly stood behind them...
Was it a demon? Or some cult?
Even Mammon, Son of Satan, was merely a harbinger of Darkness Approaches.
If he wanted to kill Mammon and claim the rewards, he had to find a way to investigate the background of these people and clear the mines in advance.
If these people were the masterminds facilitating Mammon's descent, who knew what trump cards they were still holding?
—--
By the time he returned to the Agency, dawn was beginning to break.
The main door, which had been blasted apart by magic arrows, had been replaced with a new one through his efforts over the past two days.
At that moment, a young man was pacing anxiously back and forth on the street outside the door.
The man wore a sharp suit, though his brown hair was somewhat disheveled.
His expression was tense, and every few seconds he would glance back at the empty streets, as if afraid of being discovered by something.
Hearing footsteps, the man snapped his head up. When he saw Sephirot walking toward him in a dark red trench coat, he froze for a moment. Then, his face lit up with joy, and he hurried forward to meet him.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Sephirot?"
The man spoke with desperate urgency, introducing himself: "I'm Alex, Alex Le Domas."
"My family's business is mainly in the board games and card industry..."
Sephirot glanced at him. The scent of incense drifting off the man was the same as the one from last night's banquet.
He had likely been waiting here ever since he left the manor.
Sephirot gave a slight nod and pulled out his keys. "Whatever it is, come inside and talk."
Once they were seated on the Agency's somewhat shabby sofa, Alex rubbed his hands together restlessly, his gaze darting around.
"So, tell me. Why have you been camping outside my door since the crack of dawn?"
Sephirot poured two cups of freshly boiled water and pushed one toward him.
Alex gripped the cup with both hands, the warmth calming his nerves significantly. "I accompanied my father to the private dinner hosted by Mr. Braddock last night."
"While I was there, I heard some rumors about you. I heard you possess certain... special abilities that ordinary people don't have."
"Therefore, I have a request I'd like to commission you for."
Sephirot leaned back against the sofa and nodded, signaling for him to continue.
"I want you to stay with my wife throughout our wedding tomorrow."
Alex gritted his teeth as he stated his demand.
Sephirot: "?"
Realizing how easily his words could be misinterpreted, Alex waved his hands frantically and added:
"No, to be precise, I want you to protect my wife personally starting at midnight after the wedding ceremony. I need to ensure she survives her wedding night safely."
The expression on Sephirot's face turned peculiar.
A newlywed couple doesn't go to their bridal suite to celebrate, but instead hires a private detective to provide close-up protection for the wife?
What kind of bizarre kinks did these high-society people have?
Was he supposed to become part of their "play"?
"That's it?"
Sephirot looked at him.
"That's it."
Alex nodded.
Sephirot's expression flattened again.
When things are this abnormal, there's always a catch. In a world crawling with demons and monsters, the simpler a task sounded, the more lethal the danger hidden behind it usually was.
"Mr. Le Domas, if you don't clearly explain the circumstances behind this bizarre request, I can't take this case."
Sephirot's tone was calm. "I don't do business in the dark."
Alex looked conflicted. After struggling for a moment, he chose the favorite tactic of the wealthy:
"Can't I just pay you? Two million... no, five million US dollars! As long as you can guarantee Grace's safety tomorrow night, you can name your price."
"It's not a matter of money," Sephirot refused decisively.
Granted, he was currently so broke he could barely keep the lights on. Because of that meteorite, he hadn't even found the courage to open his system panel to check the repayment progress of The Debt-Ridden Sparda side quest.
But he didn't need to look to know that his debt had hit an all-time high.
Money was important, but staying alive was more important.
After the ordeal with Richard, Sephirot now harbored a deep suspicion toward these high-society tycoons.
If this weird commission to guard someone's wife was just a prank by an ordinary person, it would be one thing.
But if it involved getting sucked into a vortex of angels and demons...
Getting out in one piece wouldn't be so simple.
Unless the reward could wipe out his debt entirely and the client came clean about everything, he was absolutely not going to touch this mess.
"If you intend to keep hiding things, you can leave now."
Sephirot raised his hand and pointed toward the door.
Alex remained in his seat, his face turning pale and then flushed.
As the young master of a prestigious family, he had never been given such a blunt invitation to leave.
He had only heard rumors about this detective's actual strength and was internally filled with doubt.
But thirty years ago, he had witnessed that nightmare with his own eyes.
Desperate screams and blood often haunted his dreams.
Now that it was his beloved Grace's turn to enter those doors, he could not stand by and watch history repeat itself.
Sephirot sat quietly across from him, watching the emotions shift across Alex's face as he took a sip from his water cup.
A moment later, Alex took a deep breath and spoke slowly:
"Thirty years ago, I watched my family hunt down my Aunt's new husband through the manor like he was a wild animal."
(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.
SOURCE UNIVERSES
Ready or Not — A dark comedy horror film. Grace, a young woman, marries into the Le Domas family, a dynasty that built its vast fortune on board games and playing cards through what is implied to be a Faustian pact with a mysterious figure called Le Bail. The family's tradition requires every new member to draw a card from an antique box on their wedding night. Most draws are harmless (chess, checkers, Old Maid). But if the new member draws "Hide and Seek," the entire family must hunt them through the estate until dawn, or face supernatural retribution. Alex Le Domas is Grace's husband, the only family member who genuinely loves her and hoped she would not draw the deadly card. This chapter introduces Alex and Grace as the fanfiction's next crossover arc.
CHARACTERS
Alex Le Domas — Grace's husband. In the film, he is a conflicted figure, raised within the tradition, deeply in love with an outsider he has brought into it, and terrified of what the night may bring. His desperation in this chapter, seeking outside protection before the wedding night even begins, reflects this same conflict.
Grace — Alex's fiancée and the film's protagonist. She has no knowledge of the Le Domas tradition. In the film, her survival depends entirely on her own resourcefulness as the family closes in.
CONCEPTS
The Le Domas wedding night tradition — Every new member of the Le Domas family must draw a card at midnight on their wedding night. The belief (held by most of the family as absolute truth) is that failure to complete the hunt before dawn will bring catastrophic consequences on the entire family as a result of the founding pact. The "thirty years ago" incident Alex references is the last time a new spouse drew "Hide and Seek."