Constantine's eye twitched the second he saw who was standing there.
Speak of the devil…
Soren leaned against the doorframe with a lazy grin. "It's a real shame. I even bought a nice suit just for your funeral."
Behind him, Lady yawned and scrolled through her phone like she was bored out of her mind.
They'd come specifically to find Constantine. They needed intel on the crazy woman who'd been slicing people up across the city—whether she was just another psycho or something demonic wearing human skin.
Both Soren and Lady had just gotten back to Los Santos and were completely in the dark about the current situation. Rather than wasting time digging around for clues themselves, it was much smarter to mooch off a fellow professional's hard work.
Constantine let out a cold laugh. "Last time I saw you, you were just a smart-mouthed human brat. Now you're reeking of demon from head to toe. What, did you go study abroad in Hell?"
"I'm not the one who can't even get into Hell if he tried," Soren shot back without missing a beat.
Soren shrugged and walked over to the bed, looking down at the girl's pained face. "Looks like your skills have really gone downhill. You need a mirror just to deal with a low-tier demon like this?"
In many exorcisms, mirrors weren't just for reflecting light—they could trap demons or open pathways between worlds.
That comment finally got under Constantine's skin.
He took a step back. "Fine. Since you think you're so much better, go ahead and show me how it's done."
"Watch and learn. Free lesson. One time only."
Soren gave a light chuckle. The demonic power of his Sparda bloodline erupted without warning.
A crushing, terrifying aura slammed down on the girl.
Her body began convulsing violently. Pure terror filled her twisted expression.
To the demon nesting inside her, Sparda blood was like staring into an endless abyss. Just the pressure alone was enough to break it.
A few seconds later, a shriveled, half-headed monster finally couldn't take it anymore. Screeching, it ripped its way out of the girl's body.
A scavenger demon—one of the lowest bottom-feeders in Hell. Low intelligence, weak, usually possessed people with fragile wills.
The second it materialized, the creature scrambled desperately toward the door.
Constantine immediately raised a hand and started chanting an exorcism spell.
"By the time you finish reciting that crap, it'll already be two blocks away," Soren muttered.
A short-barreled shotgun had somehow appeared in his hand. Purple demonic energy flooded into the weapon, enchanting the shells.
BOOM!
The gunshot exploded through the room like thunder.
The demon dropped instantly. The demon-enchanted slug blew apart most of its body.
Thick white smoke rose from the corpse as it twitched twice and went still.
Soren glanced at the holy flame rounds in his gun, mildly surprised. Last time against that ancient Creeper, the thing's insane regeneration made these rounds feel underwhelming. Against normal demons though? Pretty damn effective.
Maybe I should try silver tips or high-concentration holy water next time.
Constantine stood there frozen, still holding his exorcism pose with a stiff expression.
Every exorcism he'd ever done involved holy water, salt circles, and risking his life in a brutal fight.
This guy just walked in and blasted the demon to pieces with one shotgun round?
The sheer simplicity and violence of it left him speechless.
…Maybe I should look into making something like that.
By then, the girl's family had finally dragged a big mirror up from the neighbor's place, huffing and puffing.
They didn't see any demon. All they saw was a massive new hole in their living room wall.
But after one look at Soren's ruthless expression, nobody dared ask questions.
"Shall we?" Soren turned to Constantine. "Let's head downstairs and talk somewhere."
Constantine didn't answer right away.
He glanced back at the girl, whose mind was slowly clearing. Then he walked over to her parents and said quietly:
"Start making preparations. She won't make it through the night."
"What?"
The mother—who had just been quietly celebrating that her daughter seemed normal again—immediately fainted on the spot.
Constantine sighed and offered no further explanation.
Even brief demonic possession usually left ordinary people drained and bedridden for weeks. This scavenger demon had been trying to use the girl's body to tear open a gateway between Hell and the human world for a full manifestation.
The girl's life force had already been sucked dry. The healthy color in her face right now was nothing but a final deathbed glow.
After delivering the bad news, Constantine finally followed them into the elevator.
Downstairs.
Constantine lit another cigarette.
"So," he muttered around the smoke, "what the hell do you two want from me?"
"Can't we just drop by to say hello?" Lady said casually.
"…"
Constantine glanced at the woman and wisely chose to shut up.
He'd heard plenty about her reputation on the black market. His entire skill set was built around black magic and rituals, and his body was already half-rotted from lung cancer. He was weaker than most normal people.
Piss her off and one good punch would probably send him straight to meet his maker.
Soren stopped playing around and got straight to the point. "That crazy woman who's been wandering around the city killing people."
"Share your intel with us."
Constantine's eyes lit up with understanding. "So you two are the other team that took the job?"
Once he realized their goal, his face twisted into a sneer. "And why the hell should I hand over information I worked my ass off to get? This is my prey."
"No worries. We didn't actually expect you to be that generous," Soren said with a bright smile.
But that smile made Constantine's stomach drop with a bad feeling.
"If you don't want to share, that's fine. We've got nothing better to do anyway. We can be your full-time bodyguards—24/7 personal protection, Mr. Constantine."
Soren spread his hands innocently.
"…"
Constantine's hand shook so hard he nearly burned himself with the cigarette.
This was already the third or fourth time today he'd felt completely defeated.
He looked at Soren's harmless expression, then at Lady standing beside him, clearly ready to solve problems with violence if necessary.
Constantine had no cards left to play.
His lies and magic were useless against this kind of brute-force bullying.
He couldn't fight them. He couldn't run from them.
Frustrated, he ruffled his messy hair and cursed.
"Fuck it. Follow me."