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Jack waited silently. Neither Ethan nor Gwen made an attempt to speak. Jack frowned, his gaze shifting to Sam. "You’re the leader, Sam. So, tell me—who proposed this plan?"

Sam’s eyes widened as he felt the weight of Jack’s stern gaze. He took a deep breath. Remaining silent seemed to only fuel Jack’s anger further. Sam lifted his head; at the very least, he would take the blame instead of his friends.

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"I-I suggested it," Sam admitted seriously, his voice trembling. Jack’s anger deepened, and his eyes grew colder. "Do you have any idea what happened because of you?"

Sam shook his head, unsure. Jack laughed bitterly and turned on the television. When the screen lit up, Sam’s eyes grew wide.

"’Do not summon the Devil,’" the Pope was saying to a reporter. Sam bit his lip as he heard the Pope’s words.

"Innocent people have died because of the Devil’s presence," the Pope declared solemnly. His words made the three friends feel utterly crushed. Seeing that Jack had taken responsibility for all the consequences weighed heavily on them.

"Today’s events were not only incredible but also catastrophic for humanity," the Pope explained calmly, almost reverently. Even Gwen understood the Pope’s intentions. He was using the situation as an excuse to rally all Christians under his cause by invoking Lucifer.

"That’s why I’m calling on all humanity to take precautions and prevent Lucifer from roaming freely," the Pope stated firmly. Sam was at a loss for words. They were about to be declared enemies of all Christians.

"Today—" The host was wrapping up the interview with the Pope when Jack turned off the TV. Crossing his arms, he frowned angrily. "It’s not just the news channels. Social media is buzzing with talk about us."

Sam felt like sinking into the ground at Jack’s words. He could barely summon the courage to speak. Jack noticed this and sighed. "Raise your head. This was bound to happen eventually. Your reckless actions just sped things up."

"Now, who’s going to tell me they tried to play the hero?" Jack asked again. This time, his tone wasn’t angry; he encouraged them to speak. Eventually, Ethan decided to step forward.

"It was me," Ethan admitted, taking full responsibility. He had been deeply disturbed by the thought of the Monster roaming freely, so much so that he couldn’t hold back and arrived earlier than planned to confront it.

Jack’s plan had been to capture Terry while he was escaping at night. At that point, Jack could have easily taken him down—at least until the three friends had intervened prematurely.

Now, it didn’t matter. Terry had turned out to be stronger than expected. They had struggled to stop him, gotten arrested, and the entire world had learned the truth.

They had betrayed Jack’s trust. Acting like naive children, they had played at being heroes. Just because they had some power, they thought they could stop the Monster.

"I was worried about the Monster endangering innocent people," Ethan explained quietly. "Gwen and Sam only followed me. They didn’t want to come at first, but they came because I insisted. You know the rest."

Jack nodded and looked at Ethan silently, his expression unreadable. Ethan could only hope Jack wouldn’t grow angrier.

"What made you do it?" Jack asked calmly, pressing Ethan for answers. "Did you decide to play hero and save the innocents?"

"No! We—" Gwen began, but Jack’s sharp gaze silenced her, and she lowered her head. Turning back to Ethan, Jack repeated his question. "Tell me. Why? Did you really think you could be heroes with your little power?"

"I was foolish," Ethan admitted, acknowledging his mistake. "We went to save them and stop the Monster from killing innocents."

"So, you decided to play the hero," Jack said calmly, a hint of mockery in his tone. Ethan wanted to deny it, but Jack cut him off. "I’ve heard enough. You can be quiet now."

Ethan, seeing Jack’s commanding gaze, was reminded that Jack was no ordinary man. He sank back into the couch in silence. Jack turned his back to them, staring at the wall in thought.

"Remember my words," Jack said coldly. "We are not heroes. Even if dozens or hundreds of people die, if it risks your lives, you will not go to save them."

"Didn’t you give us our powers to protect the innocent?" Gwen asked hastily. Jack frowned. "I gave you power to hunt Demons, not to be heroes."

"This is not a game," Jack explained calmly to Gwen. "We had a plan, and you failed it by disregarding it."

Jack then looked at them with disappointment. "The worst part is that you betrayed my trust. You ignored my trust to play at being heroes."

As the three friends stared at the ground, Jack chastised them. "If something like this happens again, I will take your powers away. You’ll go back to being ordinary mortals."

Sam frowned with worry and looked at Jack. "But—"

"Don’t speak. Just listen," Jack said firmly, cutting Sam off. "I need serious warriors, not teenagers playing hero."

Gwen bit her lip, wanting to respond. Enduring half an hour of scolding wasn’t pleasant, but she had to bear it. After all, they had made a mistake from the start. Trying to justify it would only anger Jack further.

"I don’t enjoy putting you down like this," Jack sighed. Then, looking at them seriously, he added, "You’re no longer kids. You have potential, power, and skill. So start acting like mature adults."

"Do you understand me?" Jack asked calmly. When no answer came, he raised his voice. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes!"

"Good. From now on, I’m increasing your training." Jack issued commands, and the three friends nodded obediently. Without saying another word, Jack turned into a cloud of smoke and vanished, leaving the three of them alone.

******

"Patrick," Jack said calmly, standing before the FBI Deputy Director. They were currently on the roof of a house. Patrick, holding a stack of documents, turned to Jack as he approached.

"Lucifer," Patrick said calmly, showing no fear in the presence of someone who claimed to be the Devil himself. Jack, at the very least, appreciated that.

"Have you found the runaway child?" Jack asked with a frown. Patrick paused for a moment before shaking his head in disappointment. "Unfortunately, he escaped, leaving a trail of destruction behind him."

"Shame," Jack muttered, visibly irritated by Terry’s escape as he looked at Patrick. Patrick continued, "The Director underestimated him and paid the price. Apparently, he thought he could capture the Monster."

"Fool," Jack scowled. He wanted to get rid of this incompetent man as soon as possible. His faint killing intent seeped out slightly. "When will this idiot be removed from his position?"

"The Prime Minister is working on it as we speak," Patrick replied, sharing Jack’s disdain for the Director. "The Director is stubborn, but no matter how much he resists, he’ll be removed from office tomorrow."

Jack, looking into Patrick’s determined eyes, smiled. "Good. In that case, I think we should revise the terms of our agreement."

Patrick nodded gravely. "The conditions for the establishment of the Paranormal Defense Agency, or PDA for short, are ready on our side."

Handing the documents to Jack, Patrick waited patiently for him to review them. As Jack read through the terms, something caught his eye.

"According to this clause, the Agency will be under the UN’s jurisdiction?" Jack frowned and looked at Patrick, waiting for an explanation. "Explain."

Despite Jack’s almost commanding tone, Patrick quickly responded. "The UN insists that no agency should operate without oversight. They’ll request reports for major decisions, but trust me, they won’t interfere with your work in any meaningful way."

Seeing that Jack was still not entirely satisfied, Patrick elaborated further. "You’ll have UN protection, unlimited support from the US, a $50 billion fund, the ability to requisition as many soldiers as needed, and even order equipment."

Jack smiled. "Good. But I want to add one clause."

Patrick looked at him with curiosity, wondering what he would request. The fact that Jack only wanted to add a single clause was, in itself, a relief. "What is it?"

Jack’s smirk widened into a grin. "I want complete control over bases in any country under the UN’s jurisdiction."

"Complete control? How so?"

"Simply put, I don’t want the host country imposing its sovereignty over military zones." Jack didn’t want countries trying to take advantage of the situation. No matter how cooperative and friendly they seemed, there would always be opportunists among them.

Patrick, feeling a headache coming on, still agreed. He trusted Jack. Jack had the ability to intimidate entire nations if necessary.

"Fine. Then the deal is done," Jack said, shaking Patrick’s hand. Patrick smiled. "The agency will begin to form tomorrow. It just needs one signature."

Jack nodded and examined the space where he was supposed to sign. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why isn’t the name filled in here?"

"I thought you might want to choose an alias to keep your identity hidden," Patrick explained calmly. After all, the name Lucifer wasn’t exactly reassuring. Jack understood Patrick’s reasoning and thought for a moment.

There was no point in using his real name, Jack, anymore. He intended to leave his old life behind. The name Lucifer had been a spur-of-the-moment choice. Maybe it was time to change it.

"Lucifer... Lucifer..."

"Did you say something, Patrick?" Jack asked, startled, hearing the name echo in his mind and thinking Patrick had spoken to him.

"I didn’t say anything," Patrick replied, frowning, confused by Jack’s question. Jack paused when Patrick denied speaking.

"Never mind, I must have misheard."

Jack decided to write "Lucifer" once more instead of coming up with a new name, resolving to leave all other names behind. A voice in his mind seemed to encourage the choice.

As if the name Lucifer was meant to be, Jack embraced it and accepted it fully.

(Author’s Note: From now on, his name in both worlds will be Lucifer. Seth will only serve as a secondary name, with Lucifer as his primary identity.)