As soon as Soren finished speaking, a tall, slender figure stepped out from the treeline.
The woman had sharp, short black hair and striking heterochromia—one red eye, one blue—that caught the moonlight. A faint scar across the bridge of her nose didn't ruin her beauty. Instead, paired with that slightly raised chin, it gave her a wild, dangerous edge.
Lady casually swung the massive rocket launcher over her shoulder by its strap, the oversized weapon making her movements look effortless.
The motion stretched her crisp white shirt tight across her chest. Black tactical straps hugged her waist and torso, accentuating every curve.
Her tactical pants clung to her powerful legs, the holsters on her thighs pressed into firm muscle.
"Like what you see?"
Her mismatched eyes locked onto Soren without a hint of shame, the corner of her mouth curling into a half-smile.
Any normal guy would've been blushing or staring. Soren? Not even close.
Growing up around Lady and Trish had given him nerves of steel. If he didn't have this kind of self-control, he would've ended up in the hospital years ago.
"Ahem. That gear looks good on you, Lady sis."
Soren smoothly shifted his gaze away.
"Lady!" Patty squealed in delight the moment she recognized her. She rushed forward and threw her arms around the older woman.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?! You just show up out of nowhere!"
Patty complained while happily nuzzling into her.
Lady ruffled Patty's blonde hair, her expression softening.
After calming Patty down, she stepped up and pulled Soren into a tight hug.
The moment they separated, her eyes narrowed.
Lady reached out and lifted the silver streak in Soren's hair. "What the hell happened to your hair?"
Her brows furrowed with clear worry.
"Just a side effect of my demon bloodline awakening," Soren said casually, brushing the hair back.
Lady studied him for a few seconds. Once she confirmed there was nothing wrong—and that he actually seemed more stable than before—she finally relaxed.
She glanced around at the deathly silent town below and smirked. "So after all this time, you're just gonna make me stand here in the middle of nowhere while we catch up?"
…
Several hours later.
Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, Poho County.
Early morning light filtered into the restaurant. The animatronic bear in the top hat on stage still stood in the same pose.
If you looked closely, there seemed to be some dark stains on its fur.
Crack—
The sound of glass shattering suddenly rang out from their booth, drawing curious stares from the locals eating breakfast nearby.
"You're telling me that idiot Dante actually sent you—a normal kid—on high-risk jobs?!"
Lady's fingers tightened. The glass in her hand exploded, sending ice water and shards across the table. Fire burned in her mismatched eyes.
"Lady, calm down…"
Patty jumped, quickly grabbing napkins and frantically wiping up the mess.
Soren, sitting across from them, quietly scooted his chair back a few inches. He hid his smirk behind a sip of Coke, the corner of his eye twitching.
In the last few minutes, he'd given Lady the full dramatic retelling—Silent Hill, the battle with the Creeper, and how they burned that twisted little town to the ground.
As a respectable professional, Soren swore he didn't enjoy throwing his elders under the bus.
But Lady kept pressing for details, and as the helpless junior, he had no choice but to tell the truth.
(He may have spiced it up just a little. He downplayed his own role and really highlighted Dante's decisions.)
Sorry about this, Uncle Dante.
Soren made the sign of the cross in his heart. You're the one who dumped the entire office's mess on me and didn't even leave me a decent weapon.
Father's debt paid by the son. Uncle's debt paid by the nephew. Next time they met, that RPG was definitely coming straight at him.
…
At the same time, deep in the endless abyss of Hell.
BOOM!
Two blurred figures slammed into each other at blinding speed.
Dante, in his red coat, had just swung Rebellion when a sudden chill ran down his spine.
In that half-second of hesitation, a powerful blue magic-infused kick smashed into his chest.
Dante flew back like a cannonball, smashing through two rocky mountains before skidding to a stop.
"Too slow, Dante. Losing focus in battle is beyond stupid."
Vergil hovered above the ruins, Yamato in hand, staring coldly at his brother.
"…Some bastard is definitely talking shit about me behind my back."
Dante spat, climbed out of the rubble, and rolled his shoulder. "Alright. Guess I gotta take this a little more seriously."
He flipped Rebellion in his grip and stabbed it straight into his own gut.
The sword greedily drank his blood. Violent red demonic energy exploded into the sky.
Vergil's lips finally curved into a smile.
"Now that's more like it, Dante. If you want power, this is how you claim it!"
With a flick of his wrist, he drove Yamato into his own stomach as well!
CLANG!
The two blades collided. A terrifying shockwave flattened everything within a hundred meters.
Locked in their power struggle, Dante grinned around his sword. "By the way… hasn't Hell been a little too lively lately?"
"You mean that idiot son of the Hell Lord?" Vergil scoffed, pressing harder with Yamato. "Boring."
"Aren't you gonna do anything about it? If that kid brings his army topside, the human world's gonna get wrecked."
Dante clicked his tongue. "If the old man were still around, he'd be pissed."
"Human lives mean nothing to me," Vergil said coldly. He erupted with demonic power and shoved Dante back, pointing his blade. "Right now, I'm only interested in cutting you down."
"Ha! Perfect! Let the brats up top deal with their own problems!"
Dante laughed and charged forward again.
"Yah!"
…
Back at the Devil May Cry office, if Dante was the unreliable deadbeat boss, then Lady was basically Soren's half-guardian.
This woman—who had taken up demon hunting after her own father was corrupted by demons and murdered her mother—was completely human. Yet with her terrifying firepower and insane combat instinct, she killed demons more viciously than most actual demons.
From the time Soren was little, Lady had always doted on him. She was extremely protective. Hearing that Dante had been dumping dangerous work on the kid? Of course she lost it.
"Uh… it's not actually as bad as it sounds," Soren coughed, trying to save a little face for the unreliable man.
"Under all that pressure, I managed to awaken my demon bloodline. So… silver lining?"
"Hmph! No wonder that coward ran away from the office."
Lady took the napkins from Patty and wiped her hands, still scowling.
Soren suddenly understood. So Dante didn't just run to dump the workload on him—he was also scared of Lady and Trish coming back to beat his ass.
"By the way, Lady," Soren quickly changed the subject, "what are you even doing out here in the middle of nowhere without telling anyone?"
"You haven't even gotten your lecture yet and you're already interrogating me?"
Lady leaned back against the booth, pulled out a special encrypted phone from her pocket, and slid it across the table toward Soren.