"Bye!" Serena said, walking out the back door of the concert hall. Her friend ran to the door and shouted: "Serena, take care!
Serena looked back, gave an enigmatic smile, and covered herself with her heavy coat. She began to walk through the darkest streets of New York with absolute calm, as if nothing in the world could hurt her. The snow began to fall harder. She lit a cigarette, but soon huffed in irritation.
"Damn it..." she grumbled, as the wind blew out the flame.
Meanwhile, the group followed her from a distance, jumping between rooftops.
"Sensei Nobaru, are you sure this woman is the Emotion Controller?" Fukuoka whispered. "She just gave alms and food a moment ago... she seems like just a normal person."
After forty minutes of pursuit, Serena arrived at a deserted port area. The group watched her from the top of a warehouse. Serena was down there, alone, hands in her coat pockets, staring at the dark waters.
"This woman isn't the one we're looking for. We're wasting time! Let's take advantage of being in New York and do something else," Fukuoka complained.
Suddenly, the water began to bubble violently. A black submarine emerged from the depths, and the hatch opened.
"And now? Do you still think she's just a pretty little girl?" Nobaru asked with a stern look.
Down below, Serena looked irritated.
"You took too long!" she complained.
"Miss Serena, we had a small technical problem, but it has been resolved," replied one of the terrorists disembarking.
At that moment, dozens of people began to appear at the port, walking in a random and robotic way. They were the victims, totally controlled by Serena, entering the submarine in a line.
Before any student could react, Yagato was no longer at the top of the building. He appeared walking calmly along the pier, stopping a few meters from the villain.
"Serena, your show ends tonight," Yagato said.
"What?! When did Sensei Yagato leave?" Fukuoka exclaimed, surprised.
"It's just like him not to wait for the team... Let's go!" Nobaru ordered.
Serena looked at Yagato and smiled, recognizing him.
"The handsome guy from the audience... What are you doing here? Don't tell me you came to kill me?"
"Exactly that."
"What a pity. You are so beautiful, but you're going to have to die," Serena replied, without changing her tone of voice.
The terrorists opened fire on Yagato, but he moved like a shadow, dodging every projectile with ease. Serena began to laugh as the rest of the team jumped from the building to surround her.
"How interesting... so your team has arrived."
"Serena William, you are under arrest for stealing so many hearts!" Fukuoka shouted, trying to catch his breath after the run.
"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Serena replied coldly. She took a leap backward and ordered her men: "Get out of here as fast as possible! Leave the rest to me."
She extended her hands and shouted:
"Seal Break: Enchanted!"
Several energy hearts appeared in the air and flew toward the group. Nobaru and Yagato, aware of the danger, dodged with extreme agility, but the students were caught by surprise.
"Dodge!" Nobaru shouted.
"It's just a heart, what can it do?" Yoshi replied, thinking he had resisted the blow.
Ville, Fukuoka, Nanai, Zaren, and Zulian were hit by the hearts.
"See? I told you it did nothing," Yoshi smiled confidently.
But in a second, everyone's expression changed. They fell to their knees simultaneously. Their eyes turned completely black, and dark blood tears began to flow. They let out piercing screams, as if they were being pierced by a thousand invisible knives.
"I warned you!" Nobaru stirred her teeth. "Seal Break: Nullifier!"
Nobaru's Nullifier began to act. Her technique was capable of removing any spell, but there was a cost: she absorbed the "curse" into herself. Although the intensity was lower and not lethal for her, Nobaru felt the immediate impact of her students' pain coursing through her own body.