A coven is the closest to a hive-mind humans can achieve without losing their identity. They share a soul, memories, and pain, making their bond unbreakable. A Witch that loses her coven is more horrifying than any death.

~Cailleach, the Veiled Hag of Winter

Crow didn’t bother going back to the library after that. He had everything he needed and didn’t want Zoe wandering around because he was about to abolish his previous techniques. It also meant he’d have to drop his Sione persona for a little bit, which was even riskier. If he couldn’t rebuild fast enough, there might be questions he couldn’t avoid answering.

“Y-you are going to do what!?” Zoe asked. She looked even more frightened than he did because the support she relied on would be gone. Even if it was short-term, she’d need to stay in this courtyard with him. There was a locking function for each dorm explicitly used for closed-door cultivation—mostly so people couldn’t see the evil things happening.

“You heard me. It has to be done.”

“Is that what you were working on all week?”

“Yes, but I’ve worked on it for much longer than a week. I’ve decided to commit to it and complete all the loose ends. Most of the week was spent doing risk analysis on the process involved. One thing is clear—I don’t have a choice. My instincts tell me that if I don’t do this, I’ll probably be buried in this place.”

“What about my sisters?”

Crow flushed, thinking about the picture again. The beast inside him admitted the scene excited him, but Zoe gave him an unfamiliar feeling at the moment. It felt like he was the prey and she was the ravenous beast, making him wonder if this was how his wives felt in front of him. It was likely his imagination, but her sketch made him see her differently. It was a strange reversal.

“Why are you worried about them?” Crow asked cautiously. “It isn’t like closed cultivation for a week or so is unusual.”

“Because I am their High Priestess, head of our coven.”

Crow’s mouth fell open, and he didn’t have a way to reply to that. Because of his mom, he understood the importance of what she’d just admitted. To a coven, their High Priestess wasn’t just their sister—she was like their mother, daughter, and aunt—their goddess. Every one of the sisters in a coven would lay down their life for their High Priestess.

In retrospect, he’d kept Zoe at a distance and paid attention to his own issues, or he’d have seen all the clues earlier. It wasn’t like they had avoided his dorm. All of them had a certain level of subservience to Zoe.

“I understand…” Crow muttered and thought through a few ideas and realized he only had one option, but it came down to trust. “What happens if people don’t return from the forbidden area?”

“Nothing. The guards don’t monitor that place. Like us, they stand out front of it for their obligations and aren’t required to make any reports. Most of them stand to the side and cultivate, ignoring everything else. The gates close on their own, and the guards are allowed to leave once they shut.”

“What about the day we left?”

“That guy was one of Ku’s confidants. He probably told him that I was there. That is the only reason he questioned us—he was probably promised he could have… a taste of me.” Zoe’s face flushed red, but her glittering eyes didn’t look away from Crow.

“Your coven can come.”

“Really?” Zoe asked, but Crow felt something was off with the way she asked.

“Yes, but we’ll need to go to that temple where I saved you. I’ll show you a secret, but you have to promise your coven won’t mention it. Also, would it be weird if we all went there for an obligation?”

“Trust me, they won’t talk after we leave that place. And there shouldn’t be any issue because my coven and I used to do that chore all the time. Besides, sometimes people get brave enough to explore in groups. As I said, the guards don’t even pay attention as long as no one vandalizes anything.”

“Bring them here in the morning. We’ll all go together. Be mindful of that scar-face guy—I’m positive he’ll come for you and soon.”

Zoe nodded and left.

The next day, Crow stepped out of his dorm to see the thirteen women of the coven surrounding him. Other sect members were walking by, giving them all a strange look. Suddenly, he felt his premonition might not be his imagination at all.

Shaking off those thoughts, they went and received their obligation before heading toward the temple. As Zoe said, the guards didn’t stop them. Crow shook off distracting thoughts and tried not to look at the dozen women nearly as beautiful as Zoe.

Cia, Crow’s mom, told him when he was young that Hex Witches had hideous faces. Their rituals violated the communion, and they were punished for it, which is why most Hex Witches knew charm spells that could change their appearance. He couldn’t sense any charm or mana, so he assumed that none of them performed any Hex arts. And they all really did look like sisters with their dark hair and bewitching eyes. Crow found it easier to tell them apart by their body shapes.

Crow’s head snapped back as he scanned the path behind them.

“What is it?” Zoe asked in a low voice.

“Not sure, but I sensed a mana disturbance. Let’s move quickly because if we are being followed, they are still a ways back,” Crow replied and picked up the pace. They reached the temple a little sweaty, but he still didn’t stop until he opened the secret door. It wasn’t a secret he wanted to give away, but the more he thought about what he had to do next, it was a no-brainer. He knew that no one could scan or sense anything down here, even if he didn’t know why. It was probably the safest place he could perform his task.

He wasn’t worried about this place getting discovered by accident but about what happened after. Fourteen people disappearing from within the sect for a week might not be mentioned since they were all outer disciples, but reappearing might pose a problem.

“W-where are we?” Minnie asked. She was Zoe’s closest sister and probably the one with the most direct attitude. Her feisty nature was humorous.

“A secret place I found. I’m not sure how much you know, but I need to rebuild some of my techniques which means I need to abolish what I’d done previously. One of those is related to my disguise, which you should know—”

“Yeah, yeah, you are Crow, son of Maddox. We already know,” Minnie interrupted him without a care in the world. She was also the woman in the library with them yesterday, so she definitely saw Zoe’s sketch, which had Crow’s real face on it. Crow looked over at Zoe, who shook her head. “She didn’t tell me. My bloodline ability is awakened, and my sense of smell is sensitive.”

“Huh? You can tell who I am by my smell?”

“You are unfated, not scentless.”

“But how do you know my scent?”

“It is like a seer’s ability. I just know it’s you.”

Crow was scratching his head because he had never suspected such an ability existed.

“It isn’t meant for tracking people, but for potion brewing—maybe even alchemy. I can smell the individual ingredients.”

“Is she for real?” Crow asked Zoe while pointing at Minnie.

“She is, but I didn’t realize it was that powerful.”

Crow sighed and dropped the disguise. The other women looked over curiously, seeing the person their entire sect was hunting down standing before them. None of them seemed surprised, meaning Minnie had already spilled his secrets. He wasn’t too worried about that part because a coven had little to no secrets among them.

“Heh, what would the elders think if they could see this?” The feisty girl laughed after winking at Crow. She distracted him by prancing around him like he was a mythical creature in a cage. It was her large breasts with a decent bounce that drew the eye as she circled him. And it wasn’t him looking because he could see the other girls staring too. “You’re better looking in person.”

“Reign in your hormones, Minnie,” Zoe said, grabbing her sister’s shoulder and pulling her back. “Where do you want to do this?”

“Deeper in. Just in case something I do causes a big reaction.”

“What kind of reaction?” Minnie asked.

“Heaven’s Wrath,” Crow replied, and a few of the girls stepped back. “Relax, I’m unfated, which you should have realized already. It is hard to find me.”

Crow led them down to Donovan’s old hangout. Without the gold present, it was a decent-sized room. Before he went through his process, he warned them about the areas he hadn’t explored, the back exit, and the beasts he ran into.

“I’m not going to say don’t explore, but if you do, be careful. There is a secret in this forbidden area that your sect’s elder buried. I recommend you move about in groups and watch for traps.”

Zoe followed Crow to where he’d spend the next few days. He pulled out an old bed, not one of the big luxurious ones, but something plain. After he laid down on it, he did some breathing and meditation to bring his mental and physical state to its peak.

“I’m going to start,” Crow informed Zoe before submerging himself deep into his consciousness. This was the scariest part of the process because he’d have to go deep enough to cut off his other senses.

Six hours later, his body was profusely sweating, so Zoe and a few of her sisters removed his clothes and laid them aside. She spent most of her time beside him, using a damp towel to keep him clean. Hours after that, they had to tie him down because of the thrashing, moans, and self-harm. Black blood oozed out of his pores, and his skin bubbled and peeled away. It wasn’t glorious work keeping him clean, but the coven was meticulous about it. While it looked painful, none of the harm was permanent as his flesh sealed itself up instantly.

“Is this guy insane?” Minnie whispered.

“I wish I could say yes, but I’m afraid it is much worse than that,” Zoe sighed.

“Worse than insane?” Another sister asked. “What’s worse than that, death?”

“No… a genius,” Zoe nodded thoughtfully, and Minnie burst out laughing. A few of the coven sisters chuckled along with her.

“Are we still going forward with our other objective?” Minnie asked while wiping the blood off Crow’s face. She glanced at Zoe, who was biting her lip. Eventually, her small hands clenched into fists, and she nodded.

“Yes, but it stinks in here now, so we’ll set up the ritual in the warehouse area.”

“We obey, High Priestess,” Minnie and the other sisters replied, bowing their heads toward Zoe before filing out of the room and preparing.