[Ding!]
[Side Quest: Ritual of the Black Forest]: Completed
[Quest Reward: 2000 points, bloodline awakening degree: 2%]
[Current Points: 7000]
[Demonic Bloodline awakening degree: 5%]
A notification sound echoed in his mind, confirming that the Jotunn was thoroughly dead before Sephirot stood up.
With his current bloodline awakening degree increasing, other than his hair turning a bit whiter, there wasn't much of a physical change to be felt.
Perhaps he would have to wait until it accumulated to a certain level before a true qualitative change would occur.
He raised his hands to look at the dark purple magical arms attached to his own, clenching his fists with satisfaction.
This was an inspiration he had stumbled upon while dealing with the three-fingered monster, and a technique he had further developed and refined during the battle just now.
When excessive magic gathered in his arms, the overflowing energy could be drawn out of the body and manifested as extra limbs.
These purple ghost hands were not only able to perfectly attach to his physical body to increase damage; more impressively, because they were constructed from pure magic, they even allowed Sephirot to directly touch and harm intangible spirits.
They could also hover at his sides, acting as independent limbs for defense or attack.
However, this method of using magic had an obvious drawback...
When the magic concentrated in his arms became too immense, the magic dispersed for defense in other parts of his body would decrease.
Perhaps in the future, when his bloodline gathered further and his magic became sufficiently abundant, this externalized magic might be able to cover his entire body directly, forming a set of indestructible Devil Trigger Armor.
Sephirot pulled back his thoughts, kicked the motionless corpse of the Jotunn at his feet, and sighed.
After this demon died, it did not transform into a glowing Devil Arm as he had imagined.
"Still too weak."
Generally, only Demon World lords or special high-tier demons met the conditions to be transformed into Devil Arms, and it required them to either surrender voluntarily or be beaten into submission.
As for something like the Jotunn...
It sounded intimidating, being the son of the evil god Loki and all, but in reality, it was just a Mid-tier demon with severely lopsided abilities.
With a thought, Sephirot tossed the corpse into Silent Hill.
—--
In Alessa's Otherworld, ash fell from the sky.
Now, in addition to the original misty town, a Resort Town had been added to the outskirts of Silent Hill.
Alessa sat on a high point of the newly incorporated town, her chin resting in her hand, watching listlessly as the humans below fled in panic from the pursuit of monsters.
These humans were toys Sephirot had specifically left for her; she had to be careful to control her strength and play with them slowly.
If she killed them too quickly like before, the days ahead would be boring for a long time.
Suddenly, she sensed Sephirot tossing something else into Silent Hill.
Alessa's figure gradually faded into the mist.
When she reappeared, she was already standing before the corpse of the Jotunn.
This was a storage area belonging exclusively to Sephirot. Although he could raise his control authority at any time to restrict her access to this area, Sephirot had not done so.
The daily operation of the entire Otherworld remained under her full control.
Alessa examined the newly appeared corpse.
The spiritual fluctuations emanating from the body captivated her.
She could feel that consuming this thing would be of immense help in increasing her own strength, which would in turn allow her to provide more assistance to Sephirot.
The little girl stared intently at the corpse, her mouth watering as she looked on with desire.
However, she did not rush forward. Instead, she obediently sent a thought to Sephirot, signaling that she wanted to eat.
In the outside world.
Sephirot had returned to the deformed man's logging camp and was currently choosing his preferred mode of transport.
He paused for a moment, feeling somewhat helpless as he processed the message in his mind.
Why was this kid so unpicky with her food? Why did she want to swallow every strange thing she came across?
Still, Alessa claimed that devouring the creature would boost her power, allowing her to better help him later on.
Sephirot gave it some careful thought and decided it was fine.
The Jotunn specialized in the spiritual and illusory, which shared the same origin as Alessa's own abilities; it was essentially an excellent tonic for her.
If Alessa's abilities could be further enhanced...perhaps to the point where she could create illusions or domains in a small area to deprive enemies of their senses...then his future battles would certainly be much easier.
An enemy stripped of their senses would likely not even have time to cry before facing his violence.
As for Nico, Sephirot wasn't worried about being unable to deliver.
She usually only needed specific parts of a demon to craft a Devil Arm, such as the Jotunn's antlers.
As for the flesh, she could eat it if she wanted.
After conveying the instruction to leave the bones and antlers behind, Sephirot stopped paying her any mind.
He selected a relatively new, less dusty convertible coupe from the garage and drove out.
—--
"Want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city? Slapton Quarry has been fully upgraded and renovated! Eden..."
Click.
"Annoying."
Sephirot switched off the commercial broadcast channel that had suddenly cut in.
Two purple ghost hands dutifully held the steering wheel for him, while he personally leafed through a paper map, planning his return route.
A few dozen kilometers ahead lay a town called Slapton.
As luck would have it, the coupe was running low on fuel, so he needed to stop for gas.
He also needed to call a tow truck to bring the car he'd left on the highway back to the town for repairs.
More importantly, it had been a grueling few days since he had traveled here from Los Santos.
He desperately needed an iced strawberry sundae to replenish his sugar levels, and then a decent place to get some proper sleep.
—--
Slapton town.
Most of the buildings here were low-slung and appeared dilapidated due to years of neglect, with dirty pickups and cars parked haphazardly along the roadsides.
The townspeople gathered in small groups, their eyes filled with xenophobia and scrutiny toward any unfamiliar face. On the street corner, a few unemployed youths in hoodies sized up every car arriving from outside the town with gloomy eyes.
"Honey, I heard the scenery at Eden Lake, which they're developing just outside of town, is quite nice."
In the passenger seat of the SUV, a blonde woman was flipping through a travel guide.
Ever since experiencing that nightmare in Silent Hill, Rose and her husband, Christopher, had decided to take their daughter, Sharon, on a road trip to soothe their frayed nerves from that period.
Having just happened to pass through this town, they planned to rest here for two days to relieve the fatigue of their travels.
"Of course. Camping somewhere with good scenery is always better than staying in the middle of town."
In the driver's seat, Christopher smiled, glancing back at his daughter in the backseat with lingering unease, terrified that Sharon might suddenly vanish again.
Sharon hugged her teddy bear tightly, looking out the window with a face full of tension. This backward and dilapidated town gave her a very bad feeling.
"Mom... I feel like the way those people outside are looking at us is really scary."
Sharon caught the eye of one of the youths on the corner; the look in his eyes made her shrink back.
"They don't seem to like us."
"Don't overthink it, baby," Rose said, turning around to take her daughter's hand in a comforting squeeze. "To them, we're just strange tourists. It's normal for them to be a little guarded."
The SUV pulled to a slow stop in front of an inn.
A young man with a somewhat cramped smile stood at the entrance of the inn, wiping the glass with a rag.
Just as Christopher was preparing to get out and ask if there were any vacancies,
A piercing screech of brakes cut him off.
He turned his head.
He saw a red convertible coupe forced to a halt on the road by several teenagers on bicycles.
The car door pushed open, and a young man wearing a Dark red trench coat stepped out.
"Oh! God! It's Mr. Sephirot!" Rose covered her mouth, letting out a gasp of surprise.
Christopher froze for a moment, looking at the young man. "That's the private detective you met in Silent Hill?"
"Exactly, that's him. If it wasn't for Mr. Sephirot, Sharon and I never would have made it back."
Rose spoke with absolute certainty.
Seeing that the group of ill-intentioned youths had already surrounded the coupe, Christopher immediately pushed his door open. "In that case, we have to go help him. Those little punks look like they're looking for trouble."
Hearing this, Rose's expression stiffened. "(⊙o⊙)..."
She looked at her husband's rolled-up sleeves and then a brutal image flashed through her mind...the image of that man kicking a monster clear across a room.
She hurriedly grabbed her husband's arm and shook her head.
"Better not. I think... he shouldn't need our help."
(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 are here to help readers unfamiliar with these universes follow along more easily.
SOURCE UNIVERSES
Eden Lake - A horror story centered on a couple's romantic getaway at a remote lake that turns into a nightmare when they are targeted by a gang of violent local teenagers. The narrative explores themes of class conflict, rural hostility toward outsiders, and the brutality of group mentality. The setting, a seemingly idyllic lakeside location surrounded by unwelcoming locals creates an atmosphere of escalating dread as the protagonists realize there is no escape from their tormentors. In this story, Sephirot arrives in Slapton, the town adjacent to Eden Lake, where he encounters the same xenophobic atmosphere and hostile youths that characterize the source material.