79: Chapter 79 Voodoo Queen!

As Shaun Black was calculating, Madison, in the passenger seat, turned her head and asked Cordelia, "The Voodoo Queen, is she still alive?"

Cordelia nodded, "She has lived for a very long time, a bit shorter than Fiona, but long enough."

"Her power comes from the swamp, from those things buried deep underground. She is different from witches; a witch's power comes from her bloodline, while her power comes from Death itself, from the dead."

Shaun Black glanced at her through the rearview mirror, "Does she have a grudge against Fiona?"

Cordelia was silent for a moment, "Not a grudge, a transaction."

Cordelia had no information on that, only saying, "But regardless, the swamp is Marie Laveau's territory. If the treasure is there... if you bury your own things in someone else's home, what would they think?"

Madison snorted, "She wants that treasure?"

Cordelia shook her head, "What she wants is respect. Witches have never taken her seriously. They think Voodoo is low-class, barbaric, something for ordinary people to play with. Marie Laveau has held that grudge for a long time."

Madison asked, "Then why would the treasure be on her territory?"

Cordelia gave a wry smile, "I don't know. Perhaps because when the treasure was buried back then, this wasn't her territory yet. The swamp is the swamp; anyone could come here."

"Later, she came, turned this place into her own, and the treasure ended up in her hands."

So that's it!

Shaun Black digested this, but felt something was still not quite right.

For one thing, if the Voodoo Queen held the witches' treasure, could it be that she didn't know it herself after all these years?

In that moment, Shaun Black felt... Joseph White's investigation might have had some issues.

Of course, it wasn't to say that Joseph White could deceive him even after becoming an undead, just that perhaps the information he obtained while alive wasn't entirely accurate.

...

Shaun Black drove at full speed, and soon, the car reached the end of the road.

Ahead was an overgrown clearing, and further on was the edge of the swamp.

The trees grew denser, the ground became wetter, and the air was filled with the scent of rotting vegetation.

Shaun Black stopped the car, and the three of them got out.

The morning mist hadn't dissipated yet, and grayish-white fog drifted between the tree roots.

Cordelia stood by the car and closed her eyes.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and said, "She is inside. I can feel her."

She paused, her expression shifting, and added, "However... there is someone else."

The three of them followed Cordelia's sense deep into the swamp.

The ground grew wetter, and their shoes made squelching sounds as they stepped into the mud.

The trees grew denser, and the fog became heavier.

Cordelia walked in the lead with quick steps, the hem of her long dress stained with mud.

Madison followed behind, uncharacteristically without complaint.

Shaun Black walked at the back, looking around as he went...

With his current magic, he could feel something moving within the fog. It wasn't the wind; it seemed alive, like a silver thread.

The silver thread turned a corner ahead, winding around a huge, ancient oak tree. Its roots dug into the muddy water like claws, and the bark was carved with symbols, mostly covered by moss.

Behind the tree, the fog suddenly dispersed.

Shaun Black saw them.

Two people were standing in the clearing.

Fiona Goode was facing them, her deep red dress standing out jarringly in the gray, murky swamp.

Her hair was loose, she wore no makeup, and her face was terrifyingly pale, but her back was straight as a rod.

Opposite her stood a Black woman.

The woman was half a head shorter than Fiona, wearing a colorful long dress, a vibrant headscarf, and a necklace of bones around her neck, each one unique.

Her face was very old, with wrinkles as deep as tree bark, but her eyes were frighteningly bright.

She looked at Fiona, a trace of a smile at the corner of her mouth, as if looking at an old friend, or perhaps like looking at prey.

Marie Laveau.

The Voodoo Queen!

The distance between the two was no more than three meters.

Neither moved; neither spoke.

The air seemed to have solidified; even the fog dared not approach them.

Cordelia's footsteps stopped.

"Fiona!"

Fiona did not turn back.

Her voice came from the front, very soft, but every word felt like shards of ice: "Don't come over."

Marie Laveau laughed.

But that smile... it had to be said, it was the ugliest smile Shaun Black had ever seen.

One could see the wrinkles on her face unfolding layer by layer, like a dried-up riverbed.

"Supreme Witch," she said, her voice raspy like sandpaper grinding against wood, "You have finally come. I have waited for you for a long time."

Fiona looked at her, "Where is the treasure?"

Marie Laveau tilted her head.

"Treasure? Your treasure?" She laughed, "You buried your own things in my yard, buried them for over a hundred years, never asking if I was willing, and now you come to take them back?"

"Those are the witches' things."

"This is my place." Marie Laveau's voice was not loud, but every word fell like a stone, "Every inch of mud you step on, every breath of air you take, every tree you see, is mine. Your treasure is also mine."

Fiona clenched her hands, "You dare."

Shaun Black couldn't help but mutter to himself!

If even Fiona herself didn't know where the treasure was, how could Marie Laveau be so clear about it?

Had she known all along?

Strange... very strange!

While Shaun Black was muttering to himself, a hint of murderous intent seemed to well up in Marie Laveau's black eyes...

She then said, "Supreme Witch, your power is fading! I can smell it; you are like a candle about to go out, extinguished by the slightest breeze."

"In your current state... what right do you have to negotiate with me?"

Fiona did not back down.

She looked at Marie Laveau, a fire burning in her eyes, "Because I am the Supreme Witch! The Supreme Witch never retreats!"

Marie Laveau paused.

The two stared at each other, two forces clashing, probing, and tearing at each other.

Shaun Black could feel his intermediate magic surging within him, like water meeting fire.

Cordelia stood to the side, her face deathly pale, "Fiona, don't..."

Fiona didn't listen.

She raised her hand.

The movement was very slow, very labored, as if she were lifting something very heavy.

Her fingers were trembling, but she was doing it.

Marie Laveau watched her without moving, the smile at the corner of her mouth deepening.

She then said, "You struggle even to light a fire, and you still want to fight me?"

Fiona's fingers stopped in mid-air.

Her face turned even whiter, and her lips were trembling. That ball of fire in her palm flickered once and extinguished.

Her hand dropped, her shoulders slumped.

The Supreme Witch, having lived for over three hundred years, having killed more people than Marie Laveau had buried, now... she couldn't even light a fire.

Marie Laveau laughed and said, "Fiona Goode, you are old."

Fiona didn't speak.

She stood there, her deep red dress drifting slowly in the fog like a flag about to fall...