"Does it matter?"
Sephirot's tone was calm.
Fiona stared at him, silent for a long time.
Earlier, on the plane, she had only thought he was unusual. Someone who could resist her Clairvoyance was a rare find.
She had considered recruiting him into the academy to serve as her personal advisor.
A perfect replacement for her current mute butler, who knew far too many of her secrets.
But now, this prey had somehow learned of her situation through unknown means and was turning the tables, putting pressure on her.
A sense of humiliation and fury rose within Fiona.
Once, in her bold and fiery youth, she had made every witch in New Orleans bow before her. And now, she was being forced to submit by a young man?!
Though she craved youth with all her being, her pride would never allow an outsider to toy with her so casually.
A mesmerizing pink light drifted through her eyes.
Sephirot felt a mental force, far stronger than what he had experienced on the plane, sharpen into a dagger and stab toward him.
"You really do insist on learning the hard way."
His gaze turned cold, and his figure dissolved into an afterimage.
The pink light in Fiona's eyes had not even faded before Sephirot seized her by the throat, lifting the high and mighty Supreme Witch into the air.
The intense feeling of suffocation twisted Fiona's expression.
Her hands clawed at Sephirot's fingers as the mana within her body surged at full force.
The flames in the fireplace exploded outward, forming a fire dragon in midair that opened its jaws to bite Sephirot.
The entire house trembled under the Supreme Witch's mana; furniture ripped itself from the floor and flew at Sephirot from every direction.
Sephirot felt the chill at his back, his expression unchanged.
He drew his right arm back slightly, purple magic sheathing the entire limb.
Partial Devil Trigger!
Then, he drove a punch directly into Fiona's abdomen.
"Bang!"
The shockwave rippled out from the point of impact, tearing apart the fire dragon behind him.
The concussive force penetrated Fiona's body, blasting the wall behind her to pieces.
"Guh..."
Fiona spat out a mouthful of blood, her telekinesis spiraling out of control.
In midair, the furniture lost its momentum and crashed to the ground.
Sephirot released his grip. Fiona clutched her stomach with both hands, collapsed on the floor, and curled up in agony.
He looked down at her, completely unconcerned that this single punch might kill her.
As the Supreme Witch, if she could not even withstand one ordinary punch, her death would be meaningless.
Besides, even if he did kill her, he could simply take the body and strike a deal with the Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau.
"I am negotiating with you calmly, Headmistress."
Sephirot said, "I will come find you again tomorrow. I hope you will not do anything else foolish."
With that, he turned and left the villa.
The night breeze was slightly cool.
Sephirot pushed open the door and walked into a bar.
Inside the bar, the lights were dim and the crowd was teeming.
The magic mark he had left on Madison earlier had remained here.
His trip to New Orleans had originally been to build his own intelligence network.
His original plan had been to recruit Marie into his fold; he simply had not expected to run into Fiona.
But now that he had this coven of witches, he could adjust his strategy accordingly.
—--
An old fox like Fiona was a master of calculation. Collaborating with her was no different from dancing with a serpent; sooner or later, she would bite back.
Since that was the case, it would be better to help the young and innocent Zoe rise to power.
Once she became the Supreme Witch, he could kill Fiona and have all of Fiona's mana inherited by Zoe.
Then, he could take Fiona's corpse and use it to bring Marie into his alliance.
By that time, the witch factions within the New Orleans region would naturally all fall under his control.
This was also the reason he had chosen not to kill Fiona.
Sephirot skirted the dance floor, declining invitations from several women asking him to dance, and followed the flow of magic toward the back exit.
Just then, a flustered figure suddenly crashed into him from the side.
"Sephirot!"
Zoe blocked his path. "Madison is gone! She was just here!"
Sephirot pushed through the obstructing crowd and continued toward the back exit. "Come with me."
Pushing open the door, they found a dark, shadowy alley behind it.
Several young men in baseball jerseys were gathered together, leering wickedly.
And Madison lay unconscious on the ground, her clothes still mostly intact.
Just as they were unfastening their belts, ready to move in, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Gentlemen, this place really isn't suitable for that kind of thing."
Sephirot stepped out.
They froze at first, but after confirming Sephirot was alone, lewd, malicious grins spread across their faces.
"Hey, bro. I'm from the fraternity."
One of the young men whistled, sidling up as if to throw an arm around Sephirot's shoulder, but his hand stealthily reached behind his back.
"Want to join in the fun? I guarantee you, this chick is wild."
The only response the young man received was a fist filling his vision.
Without even a grunt, the guy crumpled limply to the ground.
Before the remaining thugs could react, Sephirot had already vanished from where he stood.
In just a few exchanges, the fight was over.
"Madison!"
Zoe, who had just squeezed out of the bar, kicked one of the dead attackers and rushed forward to embrace her unconscious companion.
"Are you all right?"
Hearing Zoe's shouts, Madison slowly opened her eyes.
After taking in her surroundings, her body stiffened, and then she shoved Zoe away, bracing herself against the chain-link fence to stand upright. "Oh? A knight in shining armor?"
Before she could finish speaking, her legs gave out, and she involuntarily pitched forward.
Sephirot sidestepped just slightly, reaching out to grab her arm and steady her.
"You really are..."
Madison gritted her teeth and glared at him furiously.
—--
The next morning.
Sephirot returned to Miss Robichaux's Academy with the two girls.
As soon as they entered, Madison left without so much as a word of greeting, her high heels clicking away.
Zoe silently followed behind him.
The living room had been restored to its original state, showing not a single trace of the battle that had taken place there last night.
Fiona sat on the sofa, a cigarette between her fingers, her haughty, superior air fully restored.
But when she looked at Sephirot, there was still a flicker of fear and venomous hatred in her eyes.
"Have you thought it over?"
Sephirot spoke.
Fiona nodded. "You will have to tell me the method first, or let me see it."
"No problem."
He took the lead, walking outside.
Fiona and Zoe followed; surprisingly, Madison, who had originally gone back to her room, had changed into a cool, skimpy outfit and caught up with them.
The Mercedes was already parked outside the villa.
"Where to?"
Fiona, sitting in the passenger seat, turned her head to look at Sephirot, wedged between Zoe and Madison in the back seat, a hint of contempt flashing in her eyes.
Sephirot looked at her. "If I remember correctly, there is a place you witches call holy ground?"
Fiona's brow furrowed slightly at his words.
She hesitated before speaking. "You mean... the site associated with Mary Oneida Toups?"
Sephirot nodded. "That's the one."
Centuries ago, that place had once been the residence of a witch and the only legal sanctuary for witches' descendants.
Later, this holy land was bought by a noblewoman.
And Marie Laveau's husband, a Black man, had also been killed by the noblewoman who bought this land.
Grief-stricken and furious, Marie Laveau forced a specially concocted potion down the malicious woman's throat in revenge.
This potion could bestow the curse of "immortality."
Then, she buried the noblewoman alive underground, condemning her to suffer the agony of suffocation and darkness for all eternity.
And the burial site was this very holy ground, regarded as a historical relic by the witches.
The immortality method Sephirot was about to reveal to Fiona was the noblewoman who had lived for centuries.
As for the secret potion recipe?
That was a headache for Fiona to figure out on her own.
Listening to Sephirot confirm the destination, Fiona could not help but feel puzzled.
If Sephirot had not shown up, she had originally planned to take that group of newly enrolled witches on a field trip to that place in a few days anyway.
Apart from a few dilapidated houses and a history about the noblewoman's slaughter of Black people, there was nothing particularly special about it.
She never expected that the secret Sephirot spoke of, one sufficient to grant her immortality, was actually hidden in this place so well known to all witches.
How many secrets did this man know that she herself did not?
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — LORE 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 / LOCATIONS
Mary Oneida Toups — A real New Orleans occultist known as the "Witch Queen of New Orleans." In AHS: Coven, Fiona's reference points to Popp Fountain in City Park, a place associated with Toups's coven and treated by the witches as sacred ground.