Lower District, Los Santos. Inside an abandoned factory.
Dim candlelight flickered. Papa Midnite sat coiled upon a beast hide, eyes shut in meditation.
Before him, dozens of believers also had their eyes tightly closed, their hands forming one bizarre Voodoo hand sign after another.
Footsteps approached, and all the believers opened their eyes in unison, turning their gazes toward the entrance.
As they recognized the visitor's face, a flicker of wariness crossed their fierce eyes.
The image of this uninvited guest walking in last time and blowing Papa Midnite's head off with one hand was still burned vividly into their memories.
Papa Midnite slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at Sephirot's conspicuous silver-white, choppy hair, and his eyelid twitched.
That disaster at the Psychiatric Hospital, which entangled Heaven and Hell, he had experienced firsthand.
Now, looking at the one who started it all, all he wanted was to stay as far away as possible, preferably having no intersection whatsoever for the rest of his life.
"That new hairstyle is rather distinctive. Dyed it yourself?"
Papa Midnite forcefully suppressed the unease within him. This was his turf now, and there was nowhere to run. "What are you doing here today?"
Sephirot walked up to Papa Midnite, casually kicked a believer aside, and sat down. "Relax. I'm not here looking for trouble today."
"So you're here to repay your debts?"
Papa Midnite let out a cold snort, tightening his grip on his Voodoo cane.
"The tab stays open. I'm not going to stiff you."
Sephirot cut straight to the chase. "I came today to ask if you have any divination experts here."
Papa Midnite stared at Sephirot for a long time, trying to determine whether this calamity-bringer was here to wreck his place or genuinely asking.
After a moment, he spoke. "I won't do this myself, but I can recommend someone."
"Who?"
"Marie Laveau. A self-proclaimed Voodoo Queen."
At the mention of this name, Papa Midnite's tone carried a subtle note of wariness, almost imperceptible.
"An old hag who's lived for centuries. When it comes to Black magic and divination, she truly possesses considerable skill."
He casually pulled a blank sheet of paper from a nearby cloth bag, wrote down an address, and tossed it to Sephirot.
"New Orleans. There's a barbershop there called Cornucopia. You can find her there."
"Does she have any rules or requirements?"
Sephirot tucked the card into his pocket. Dealing with a Voodooism old monster like this, he still needed to be a bit careful.
Papa Midnite didn't answer directly, merely sneering. "You'll find out when you get there."
The next day, Sephirot arrived at Los Santos International Airport early.
He had left Carrie back at the Agency.
Although Carrie still couldn't control the energy within her body, leaving her by Patty's side meant they could look after each other, enough to handle ordinary people.
Besides, Uncle Dante and Vergil were both there. He had absolutely nothing to worry about.
Sephirot stood in the departure hall, gazing at the airport's massive glass wall.
He suddenly recalled the people he'd encountered last time he was about to board a flight.
"Come to think of it, by now, those unlucky bastards marked by the Grim Reaper should all be mostly dead."
Sephirot muttered to himself inwardly.
Besides, even if something went wrong with the plane today, even if it broke apart at thirty thousand feet, he would still be able to land safely.
Today was not like the old days.
Entering the business class lounge, Sephirot found a seat and began sorting out his next objectives.
First and foremost, naturally, was to go to New Orleans and find that Voodoo Queen, to have her help track down whoever was pulling the strings behind that armed squad.
The second matter was to wait for Constantine's investigation results.
The third was to find time to contact Nico, to see if there was an opportunity to go find her, and have her forge him a custom Devil Arm.
Just then, a woman wrapped in a black overcoat and wearing sunglasses caught his attention.
She sat with an elegant posture, legs crossed, flipping through a fashion magazine, exuding an air of authority from head to toe.
At her side was a young girl who looked somewhat ill at ease, apparently still a student.
Sephirot let his gaze linger on the two of them for a few extra seconds.
He couldn't say why, but he kept feeling that the woman in sunglasses seemed to harbor a strange energy fluctuation within her body.
Not demonic power, nor the sacred aura of angels, but a far more ancient force.
The woman seemed to sense Sephirot's gaze; she lifted her head and swept her eyes over him briefly.
The corner of her mouth curved into a charming smile, and she raised her five fingers, painted with bright red nail polish, giving a soft little wave in Sephirot's direction.
The boarding chime sounded, and passengers began to file onto the plane one after another.
As Sephirot followed the flight attendant's guidance to his seat and sat down, a familiar scent of perfume drifted over.
The woman in sunglasses was, by sheer coincidence, seated right next to him.
"Coincidence? Or deliberate?"
Sephirot glanced at her. Once the woman sat down, she simply took a fashion magazine out of her bag and began flipping through it on her own, showing no intention of engaging with him at all.
He decided not to trouble himself about it either, so he leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and waited for the plane to take off.
"Sephirot? That sounds like a rather odd name."
After the plane had smoothly settled into cruising altitude, the woman beside him suddenly closed her magazine and spoke softly.
Sephirot opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her.
He was not at all surprised that she knew his name, he simply smiled slightly. "You know me?"
"I don't."
The woman removed her sunglasses, revealing a pair of eyes full of allure and the weight of years, a smile playing at her lips: "I've just gotten to know you."
Sephirot looked at her face and found it inexplicably familiar.
The woman continued to ask: "You don't look like a New Orleans local. What are you going there for?"
"Before asking questions, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
Sephirot replied.
Fiona let out a light laugh and extended her right hand, clad in a black silk glove: "A formal introduction. I am the headmistress of Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, Fiona Goode."
Sephirot looked at the face before him, still retaining the charm of fading youth, and at that distinctive school name, and then connected it to the strange power within her body.
Witches' Coven?!
His heart jolted with shock; no wonder this person before him looked so familiar.
Behind the scenes, Fiona also held another identity: Supreme Witch.
In every generation, only one Supreme Witch was born.
As the name alone made clear, she was the embodiment of power, responsible not only for leading the entire Coven, but also serving as the guardian of all witches.
Sephirot's mind rapidly recalled the stories surrounding this academy.
A group of witches fighting for the title of Supreme Witch, resorting to all sorts of treachery against their own teammates.
Even this very headmistress, in order to achieve immortality and hold onto the Supreme Witch title, had started engaging in internal strife, harming her own students.
Thinking of this, Sephirot couldn't help but curl his lip.
Rather than a Witches' Coven, it might as well be called a Coven of Shenanigans.
Ever since she had introduced herself, Fiona had been observing Sephirot's expression.
Seeing him curl his lip with a look of sheer disdain, a trace of displeasure rose in her heart.
A power began to emanate from her body.
In that very instant, Sephirot keenly sensed a hidden spiritual force trying to worm its way into his brain, attempting to spy on his thoughts.
(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.
SOURCE UNIVERSES
American Horror Story: Coven (AHS Season 3, 2013) — A horror anthology series set in present-day New Orleans, following a coven of witches descended from the Salem witch trials who have been hiding in plain sight for centuries. The season centers on Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, a school that serves as a refuge and training ground for young witches. Its central conflict revolves around the search for the next Supreme Witch, the one witch per generation who embodies all magical powers, and the ruthless political maneuvering of the current Supreme to retain her title at any cost.
CHARACTERS
Fiona Goode — The Supreme Witch and headmistress of Miss Robichaux's Academy at the time of AHS: Coven. Brilliant, vain, and ruthlessly self-serving, Fiona is obsessed with staying young and clinging to her power. She is fully aware that a new Supreme is emerging to replace her (a process that drains the vitality of the outgoing Supreme), and she will go to any lengths, including harming her own students, to prevent this. Her telekinetic and mind-reading abilities are among the most powerful in the coven. The "hidden spiritual force trying to worm its way into his brain" at the end of the chapter is her attempting to read Sephirot's thoughts.
Marie Laveau — Based on the historical Voodoo Queen of New Orleans (1801-1881), Marie Laveau in AHS: Coven is an immortal Voodoo practitioner who has lived for centuries through a pact with the Voodoo god Baron Samedi. She runs a hair salon in New Orleans as a front and commands formidable dark magic, placing her in an uneasy rivalry with the witches' coven. Papa Midnite's barely concealed wariness at her name reflects her reputation as someone not to be taken lightly.
PLACES
Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies — A historic mansion in New Orleans serving as the school and sanctuary of the Salem witch coven in AHS: Coven. Admission is restricted to young women with supernatural abilities. It is named after its fictional founder and appears as a large antebellum-style house.
CONCEPTS
Supreme Witch — In AHS: Coven, the Supreme is the one witch per generation who is born with the full range of magical gifts (the Seven Wonders). As a new Supreme comes into her power, the current Supreme's vitality and abilities begin to fade, which is why Fiona Goode views the younger witches around her as existential threats rather than students to protect.