Agnes paused, then put on her harmless, friendly-neighbor smile again. "Aren't you Mr. Wick? I remember you."
"From Vanity Fair magazine."
The harmless-looking Agnes scratched her head. "I quite like reading it."
"Really?" John remained noncommittal. "What an honor."
His gaze fixed on the blonde woman. Judging from her back...
Well, he couldn't tell.
John hadn't seen his sister in years, either.
He drew the Elder Wand, and a sharp gleam flashed through Agnes's eyes.
"This place certainly is unusual."
John glanced around, murmuring to himself, "Is it because of the church?"
Creatures from other dimensions existed in this world, and naturally, so did demons and angels.
Sorcerers sometimes borrowed power from those two dimensions.
It was possible that traces of a being born in another dimension lingered here.
John glanced at the motionless woman and stepped forward.
Agnes's smile grew more sincere as John approached the figure who might be his sister.
The woman noticed someone approaching, too, and slowly turned her head.
The moment their eyes met, a smile appeared on his sister's face.
It was eerily unnatural, like a marionette's.
The next second...
A Shield Charm burst into being before John, blocking the tentacles reaching for him.
Through the gaps between the tentacles, he saw his sister's body split open, countless tentacles emerging from within.
A mass of uncanny purple energy hurtled toward John.
Without even turning his head, John let the energy strike him. His amulet flared again, blocking the blow.
He looked back impassively and saw Agnes, the friendly neighbor, with her hair whipping about and purple light swirling around both hands.
Agnes smiled, but this time, her smile carried a sinister, mesmerizing charm.
"Since you're here, stay a while, Mr. Wick."
Two masses of purple energy coiled around the shield, rapidly eroding its magic