Deep in the mountains, inside an underground office.
Sitterson stared at the photos of the ruins on his phone screen, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
"This entire family... they are all irredeemable lunatics..."
The landline on his desk suddenly rang. He picked up the receiver.
A deep male voice came from the other end: "Have the dispatched task force pull back for now."
Sitterson's expression shifted slightly as he hurriedly replied, "Mr. Armitage, that Sephirot has already destroyed several of our containment assets..."
"I will send someone to make contact with him and see what it is he actually wants."
The man on the other end interrupted him bluntly.
"That is all."
Beep.
The dial tone rang out. Sitterson's face turned ashen as he slammed the receiver back onto the cradle.
*Those cowards of the Armitage family!*
Relying on sheer luck, they had mastered the technology of brain transplantation, secretly swapping the bodies of high-ranking politicians to extend their lives in exchange for massive political protection and resources.
Hiding behind the scenes, they could afford to remain calm and collected.
But now, this Devil Hunter named Sephirot had set his sights on them.
An obscure Devil Hunter wasn't enough to make him feel fear.
However, if this matter were to be noticed by the uncle standing behind the boy...
Given that man's style of acting without any restraint or taboo, this entire containment center would likely be uprooted.
When that happened, all the research he had poured his blood and soul into would become someone else's political achievement.
He would either die at the hands of a Devil Hunter or be pushed out as a scapegoat to take the fall.
"You expect me to just sit here and wait for death? In your dreams."
Since conventional armed squads couldn't handle him, he would have to utilize the special assets in the containment vault.
A look of venomous spite flashed in Sitterson's eyes. He pushed open his office door and took the elevator to the deepest part of the underground complex.
The Biochemical Cultivation Zone.
Inside the frigid laboratory, a row of researchers was busy recording data.
Standing before them were several massive cultivation vats filled with formalin.
Inside each vat was a submerged, stitched-together monstrosity.
One of them was his carefully designed masterpiece.
The monster's head and most of its chest had been replaced by an engine; on the front of the engine were three sharp blades forged from alloy.
This was a biological weapon jointly created by the center's engineering and Occultism departments.
They had used sorcery to stitch together the severed limbs of high-ranking demons with modern industrial technology.
The result was a stitched horror that felt no pain and knew only slaughter.
This batch of experimental subjects was originally intended to deal with containment breaches or the escape of imprisoned demons within the base.
But now, Sitterson decided to activate them early to deal with Sephirot.
—--
Los Santos. Sephirot had returned to the Agency.
He lay on the sofa, the television broadcasting a live report from the site of the crater.
"...According to experts from relevant departments, the phenomenon seen in the suburbs this afternoon was actually a rare localized thunderstorm. This unexpectedly ignited underground gas lines, resulting in a series of explosions..."
"As for the reports from some citizens claiming to have seen a falling meteorite, the weather bureau has dismissed these rumors, stating it was merely a mirage caused by light refraction..."
On the screen, the live reporter stood before the deep pit and delivered the explanation with a straight face, making no mention whatsoever of Constantine, the Hodgson family, or any information regarding the exorcism.
Seeing that the authorities had found an excuse to cover it up, Sephirot felt relieved.
He pulled up the system panel and located the Devil Arm he had been eyeing for a long time in the shop, [Alastor].
"Exchange."
After confirming the exchange, Sephirot suddenly realized something and clutched his chest.
"I hope it's not what I think it is..."
A dazzling arc of blue electricity suddenly exploded in mid-air.
A greatsword appeared, its entire length crackling with blue electrical currents.
A winged demon was carved into the hilt of the greatsword, and the sharp, lightning-flickering blade looked like thunder erupting from its mouth.
As soon as the thunder sword appeared, it sensed the Sparda bloodline within Sephirot.
It pivoted in mid-air, transforming into a bolt of lightning as it lunged straight for Sephirot's chest.
"I knew it."
Sephirot was prepared. The demonic power within him coalesced into a giant purple hand in front of him, attempting to seize the rebellious weapon.
But it was useless.
Puchi!
The lightning pierced straight through the Devil Bringer, and the sharp blade plunged into his chest. The force sent Sephirot flying backward, pinning him firmly to the wall of the Agency.
"It seems history is repeating itself."
Sephirot looked helpless; even though he had guessed he was about to take this hit, he couldn't have dodged it if he tried.
However, after drinking Sephirot's blood, the thunder sword Alastor ceased its struggle.
Bang!
The door to the Agency was kicked open.
Nico rushed in excitedly, holding two uniquely shaped weapons: "Sephirot, your weapons are finished!"
The moment she stepped inside, she saw Sephirot pinned to the wall by the greatsword and froze in her tracks:
"Is this some kind of special new trend you young people are into these days?"
Sephirot gave a couple of awkward laughs.
He gripped the hilt, gritting his teeth as he pulled Alastor out of his chest inch by inch.
As the blade left his body, the puncture wound in his chest healed instantly.
Seeing that he was unharmed, Nico held up the weapons in her hands and began her introduction.
"These are twin blades, reforged and polished using the Black Forest antlers you provided, along with some materials from my personal collection."
"Give them a try."
The blades of the twin swords were pitch black with red blood grooves. Sephirot reached out and took them, skillfully spinning the knives; they felt light in his hand.
Based on the curve of the grips, these weapons were clearly designed for a reverse-grip fighting style. Compared to the sweeping, powerful nature of Alastor, these twin blades were clearly better suited for close-quarters combat.
However, aside from the special material and the excellent grip, Sephirot didn't notice anything particularly unusual about the weapon.
As if guessing what was on Sephirot's mind, Nico leaned in and said, "Don't be in such a hurry; the best part is yet to come."
"Try channeling some demonic energy and see what happens when you snap the pommels together!"
Hearing this, Sephirot channeled a trace of demonic energy into the blades.
He brought the ends of the two hilts together, and as purple energy surged to form a connection, the two blades automatically clicked into one.
Empowered by the demonic energy, the blades flipped outward and unfurled.
What were originally two short blades for melee combat had transformed into a uniquely styled recurve bow.
Purple energy extended from both ends of the bow, meeting in the middle to form a shimmering bowstring.
Sephirot gripped the riser with his left hand and pinched the magic string with his right, pulling back.
As a steady stream of demonic energy poured from his body, a purple arrow condensed from raw power appeared on the bow.
He released his fingers from the string.
Whiz...
Boom!
Even with Sephirot's kinetic vision, he could only catch a glimpse of a purple streak of light.
By the time he saw it again, the Agency's front door had already been reduced to a floor full of splinters.
Sephirot looked at this exaggerated destructive force with great satisfaction.
What he lacked most at this stage was precision strikes at mid-to-long range; this weapon filled that gap perfectly.
Most importantly, using demonic energy to condense arrows meant he never had to worry about running out of firepower.
Furthermore, he could feel that as long as he continued to increase the output of demonic energy, the power of these arrows would skyrocket even further.
Sephirot ceased the flow of energy to the weapon, and the bow gave a soft click as it disassembled back into two independent blades.
"It's a great weapon, I like it very much. How much for the modification fee?"
Sephirot stowed the twin blades with satisfaction and pulled out his phone to make the payment.
However, when he saw the balance in his mobile banking app, his expression became somewhat embarrassed.
"What's wrong?!"
From the moment Sephirot took the weapon, Nico had been observing his reaction.
As a Genius Mechanic who pursued perfection, her greatest fear was a client being dissatisfied with her work.
Seeing the sudden change in Sephirot's expression, she grew anxious. "Is the draw weight of the string off? Or is there a problem with the energy conduction?"
"Neither."
Sephirot sighed and silently showed Nico the bank balance on his phone screen.
The money-burning capacity of the Faust Hat far exceeded his imagination. The tens of millions of US dollars he had worked so hard to earn previously had been spent on dropping a single meteorite, instantly wiping out his balance.
Never mind paying for the weapon processing; he couldn't even afford next month's electricity bill for the Agency.
Looking at the phone screen, Nico waved her hand dismissively. "I thought it was something serious. If you don't have the money, just put it on tab. Once you strike it rich with a big contract later, you can pay me back with interest."
"Anyway, I've had enough fun on this trip to Los Santos."
Nico pushed her goggles up to her forehead. "Since the weapon fits you well, I'm getting ready to head to my next destination to find some inspiration!"
Sephirot nodded. "Stay safe. Have a smooth journey."
"See ya."
Nico turned and walked toward the exit, pointing at the mess on the floor as she reached the doorway. "Remember to find someone to reinstall the front door."
Sephirot rubbed his brow as he looked at the door he had just blasted into scrap with a single arrow.
—--
After seeing Nico off, his consciousness sank into the Otherworld.
In the misty forest town, Alessa stood guard beside Valak's corpse.
The body was already much smaller than it had been at the start.
It seemed that the transformation into a Devil Arm was nearing its end.
Sephirot walked over to Alessa's side and, seeing her focused expression, asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"
Alessa stared fixedly at the corpse and swallowed hard. "I want to eat it..."
Sephirot: "..."