Zoe stumbled back two steps in terror and grabbed Sephirot's sleeve. "Did, did you see that? Something just ran past."
"I saw it."
Sephirot nodded.
"We, we should get out of here. Something's really wrong."
Zoe's face had gone pale.
"Don't panic. This is probably just a welcome ritual the upperclassmen prepared for you."
Sephirot shook off her hand and walked over to the sofa in the center of the living room, taking a seat.
He even adjusted his posture deliberately, ready to enjoy the show.
From the moment he had stepped through the door, he had sensed the several people hiding inside the villa.
The spiritual origin had granted him not only immense mental power but also perception far beyond the ordinary.
Everything lay within his grasp, posing no threat whatsoever.
The figures lurking in the darkness, realizing Sephirot was not afraid of them, immediately grew bored.
So they directed all their scare tactics onto the hapless Zoe.
Several dark silhouettes began darting around the room with eerie shrieks, and Zoe ran through the villa in a panic.
At last, she was pinned down hard on the dining table by several figures that burst out of nowhere.
A bizarre figure in a loose black robe and coat, wearing a bird-beaked mask half black and half white, holding a curved blade, slowly crawled onto Zoe's body.
"O Dark Father, we wish to offer you the blood and life of this pure flesh."
With those words, the figure raised the curved blade high and drove it fiercely down toward Zoe's chest.
"Let me go!!"
In the grip of extreme terror and despair, Zoe screamed.
An invisible wave of force radiated outward from her as the center.
That force not only hurled away the black-robed figures pinning her down but also snuffed out the flames blazing in the fireplace.
Even the candle on the coffee table in front of Sephirot eerily sparked to life, then went out.
Sitting on the sofa, he watched the scene unfold, inwardly marveling.
No incantation needed, no magic circle required, the power of the skill depended entirely on the scream.
Just like Carrie's telekinesis.
The black-robed figures, thrown back by the force, saw that they had truly frightened the new girl and stopped their prank.
One after another, they tossed aside their props, pulled off their hoods and masks.
The first to reveal herself was a tall, strikingly beautiful girl.
She tossed her long hair back with an arrogant look. "Madison."
Beside Madison, an obese black girl also removed her head covering and said, "Queenie."
Last was a girl with features characteristic of Down syndrome, an innocent yet uncanny smile on her face.
"Nan."
Zoe stared at them, still reeling from shock, and asked, "Are you all, students here?"
Seeing them nod, she steadied herself and introduced herself. "I'm, I'm Zoe."
After the brief introductions, the group's eyes all turned as one toward Sephirot, who was sitting on the living room sofa.
Madison swayed her graceful figure and walked over to the sofa.
She bent down, pressed a hand against Sephirot's shoulder, and probed, "Let me guess. What is this handsome man's purpose in suddenly showing up at Miss Robichaux's Academy? Surely he's not here looking for a little girlfriend?"
"Let me guess! I'm best at guessing secrets!"
Madison hadn't even finished speaking before she was cut off by that girl named Nan.
She turned an annoyed glare toward her.
Nan, who had Down syndrome, didn't care at all what she thought.
She clapped her hands and began laughing excitedly, completely oblivious to her, and without waiting for Sephirot's consent, she closed her eyes.
Sephirot leaned back against the sofa and yawned.
He could sense an extremely faint mental power emanating from Nan's body.
But, it was far too weak.
If Fiona the principal's mental power was an ocean, then this girl named Nan was, at most, a single drop of dew.
As that mental power slowly approached Sephirot, with her eyes closed, the corners of Nan's mouth curled into a smug grin.
In her understanding, no secret she wanted to uncover had ever eluded her.
However, the moment her much-vaunted Clairvoyance touched Sephirot, the world changed.
What Nan saw was no imagined private secret, nor any beautiful memory.
It was a world consumed by endless flames.
The sky burned a dull crimson, and the earth was littered with countless severed limbs and broken bodies.
At the end of that mountain of corpses and sea of blood, a pair of eyes like the abyss stared at her in absolute silence.
"AAAAAHHHHH..."
Nan, who had been smiling just a second ago, suddenly erupted in a shrill, miserable scream.
Her hands clamped desperately over her face as she collapsed to the ground. Blood streamed through the gaps between her fingers, dripping down.
Madison, who had been right next to Sephirot, paled and rushed back to check on Nan.
"Nan! What's wrong with you?! Don't scare us!"
Queenie, the black girl standing nearby, also panicked. She crouched down and tried to pry Nan's hands away to see what had happened.
Sephirot sat on the sofa, somewhat exasperated. Heaven and earth could bear witness: he had done absolutely nothing.
This girl, Nan, had brought this suffering entirely upon herself.
A short while later, under Queenie's soothing, Nan finally calmed down.
She slowly lowered her hands, and two trails of bloody tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
They lent an extra touch of hideous ferocity to her already strange-looking face.
"Nan..."
Queenie gasped sharply.
Madison, who had just moments ago looked so concerned, recoiled a few steps in disgust after seeing Nan's ghastly state. "I told you ages ago to stop using that crappy ability. See what happened? Your looks were already defective, and now you've gone blind on top of it. The perfect freak."
"What?"
Queenie looked up in disbelief, glaring at Madison. "What kind of insane nonsense are you talking? Is this really the time for that? Shouldn't we witches be sticking together?"
"Spare me that guilt-trip crap."
Madison rolled her eyes, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her index finger. "She took it upon herself to snoop around in someone else's heart. Ending up like this is exactly what she deserves."
Just then, Nan, who was sitting on the floor, suddenly spoke.
"Shut up, Madison..."
Nan's voice was slightly hoarse. "I can hear what you're thinking."
"The only reason you're angry is because you're jealous I got to know him first, and you're afraid I'll steal him away."
"Right now, your head is full of nothing but schemes to get this white-haired man into bed. You've even already picked out the lace lingerie you're going to wear tonight..."
Exposed in public for what was in her heart, Madison's face instantly flushed crimson.
Shame twisting into fury, she suddenly raised her right hand, fingers splayed at Nan on the floor, and swept it sideways.
Invisible telekinesis howled forth, and Nan's body was hurled into the air, slamming against the wall.
Sephirot watched the farce with keen interest.
They say three women make a drama.
This kind of spectacle, airing each other's dirt at the drop of a hat, trading blows the moment words fail, was far more entertaining than any reality show on television.
Yet Sephirot could also see the flaws in these young witches.
Their power was entirely ruled by emotion, wielded with no discipline whatsoever.
"What are you doing?!"
A sharp female voice rang down from the second floor, shattering the tense atmosphere in the living room.
Sephirot looked up. A woman in a blouse stood at the railing, glaring down at the girls tangled together in the brawl below.
This must be the headmistress Fiona's daughter, Cordelia.
He studied the woman whose features were seven or eight parts Fiona's own, yet whose bearing was utterly different.
Since Fiona was rarely at the school, Miss Robichaux's Academy was essentially run by her in the headmistress's absence.
Cordelia hurried downstairs. Taking in the injured Nan and the chaos strewn across the floor, her brow furrowed tight.
To Sephirot's surprise, the deputy headmistress didn't even bother to investigate who threw the first punch, as if she were already accustomed to such incidents.
She rubbed her temples and gave a weary order: "Queenie, help Nan to her room to rest. Madison, clean up this mess. Now!"
Once the three troublemaking students had been dismissed, Cordelia turned to Zoe and Sephirot.
"I don't know what promises my mother made to bring you to this school."
Cordelia spoke, a note of warning in her tone.
"She will stop at nothing to get what she wants. You must possess something she urgently needs."
"But I advise you, do not make a deal with her. What she gives as a gift often must be repaid with your life."
Sephirot looked at her and smiled faintly.
Another person might have met her words with doubt or skepticism.
But he did not.
The headmistress Fiona's remaining lifespan was nearly spent; she had long been pursuing ways to extend her life.
That was precisely why she had left him at the villa gates and rushed off.
Should the life-extension project she had funded fail, Fiona, cornered and out of options, would set her sights on his young, vigorous body, stopping at nothing to drain his life to lengthen her own.
"Rest assured, madam."
Sephirot rose to his feet and looked at her. "I am a private detective. I only deal in fair transactions."
"Who knows, we might just be able to strike a fine bargain between ourselves."
(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 provide the context needed to understand them without leaving the page.
CHARACTERS
Madison Montgomery — A witch student at Miss Robichaux's Academy in AHS: Coven. A former Hollywood starlet known for her arrogance and selfishness, her power is telekinesis. She is one of the candidates considered for the title of next Supreme.
Queenie — A witch student at Miss Robichaux's Academy in AHS: Coven. Her unique power is that of a "human voodoo doll": any physical harm she inflicts on her own body is transferred to a target of her choosing instead.
Nan — A witch student at Miss Robichaux's Academy in AHS: Coven. Despite having Down syndrome, she possesses powerful Clairvoyance (mind-reading), which allows her to hear the unspoken thoughts of those around her. Her attempt to read Sephirot's mind backfires catastrophically, giving her a glimpse of the demonic carnage in his past.
Cordelia Foxx — Fiona Goode's daughter and the deputy headmistress of Miss Robichaux's Academy in AHS: Coven. Unlike her mother, Cordelia is nurturing, conscientious, and genuinely committed to protecting the students in her care. Her warning to Sephirot reflects her intimate knowledge of Fiona's ruthless nature.