《Modern World Warlock》


 Chapter 1 - 1: Stranger

    In the midst of a monsoon that poured down on the streets, a woman''s heartbeat raced in tandem with her footsteps as she rushed at full speed through a labyrinth of dark alleys.


    The glowing neon lights were her primary source of light, among the usual thundering that lit the sky every few seconds.


    She was wearing a hoodie that covered her long, brown hair and a half-mask, only leaving her pearly, green eyes visible.


    "Don''t let her get away!" a man wearing a ski mask shouted from one of the alleys as dozens of others followed behind.


    The woman jumped over a wall to an adjacent street, which was just as narrow as the one before, and kept running at full speed, hearing gunshots behind her that ricocheted from the walls.


    ["Turn left ahead."] A woman''s voice chimed in the runaway''s earpiece.


    Just as she turned into a street filled with closed-off shops, the woman kept running while doing parkour to avoid the boxes obstructing her way. Still, her pursuers weren''t giving up and kept shooting.


    Suddenly, amid the chaos, the sky lit up for a moment with a purple light that startled everyone in the vicinity.


    The runaway girl looked up and noticed a figure plummeting from the skies, crashing down in the narrow street right in between her and the gang pursuing her.


    The thugs stood still momentarily as the dust and smoke settled, seeing the figure of a man standing up in the center who was disorientedly holding his head.


    ["Megan, who is that!?"] Asked the woman on the radio, who had been watching everything from a small camera encrusted on the runaway girl''s jacket.


    "I don''t know¡­" Megan replied, detailing the mysterious man.


    He had dark hair and foreboding red eyes, wearing nothing but baggy pants and a necklace that dangled on his bruised chest.


    The man was quite tall, and his muscle structure made it seem like he had been working out his entire life, with a lean but defined body that was covered in old and new scars.


    A drop of blood trailed down his temple while he scanned his surroundings, glancing at Megan to his left and the gang of thugs to his right.


    Just as his gaze landed on the men, they felt a rush of fear in their bones that made them point their guns at him.


    ["Megan, get the hell out of there, now!"] The radio woman exclaimed, but Megan''s body was frozen with unsettling fear and confusion. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The thugs, driven by adrenaline and terror, decided to shoot without warning as soon as the man lifted his arm and pointed his palm at them.


    The first bullet of the dozen pierced through the stranger''s hand into his right shoulder, causing a momentary wince on his face.


    Before any other bullet could get to him, he uttered a single word, "Destro."


    In an instant, a surge of an invisible force emanated from his pierced palm, and everything in front of the stranger imploded and disintegrated into thin air, leaving the narrow street like an empty canvas of destruction.


    The gang members and the projectiles that traveled at him had evaporated from existence, along with twenty meters of asphalt that were now missing from the street and the facade of the walls and windows on the adjacent buildings.


    "Cami¡­ Did you see that?" Megan asked the woman on her earpiece with a confused tone and her eyes widened in shock.


    The stranger grunted and lowered his arm, using his left hand to dig into his wound and remove the bullet from his right shoulder.


    He squinted and looked at the projectile covered in his blood before dumping it on the floor and turning his head, seeing that Megan was still standing there.


    The man took a step forward towards her, but his legs wavered momentarily, making him halt his movements and let out a tired sigh before plummeting face down on the floor.


    ["Megan, change of plans. Get that guy out of there and bring him here."] said the woman on her earpiece.


    "I was already going to do that¡­" Megan replied indifferently.


    ____________________


    After the stranger passed out, he reminisced about the moments before he found himself plummeting from the dark skies into the narrow alleys.


    He was in the middle of a flaming battlefield with his three companions¡ªa bronze-skinned elf with white hair wielding a staff and wearing an elegant robe that showcased her thighs; a bulky man wearing an armored harness and oversized shoulder pads, holding a massive axe behind his back; and a man fully clad in black leather armor, wearing a mask that left nothing but his eyes uncovered.


    The party of four found themselves tired and wounded before a giant monster that was seemingly made of shadows, the evil god Zaratross, who had just killed and absorbed the power of his siblings to destroy the world of Terra.


    The skies were lighting up with colorful lights shrouded by the smoke and ashes that rose from the battle, and as the party rushed toward their enemy, they were prepared to attack one last time.


    "Soren!" the stranger shouted at the axe wielder, who skillfully avoided a meteor shower of attacks that landed around him as he approached the giant with inhumane speed.


    "I got it!" the burly man yelled back, jumping high in the air with his superhuman ability and striking Zaratross in the chest with his axe.


    Simultaneously, the black-armored man landed on the side of the monster''s torso and using the two swords he was wilding in each hand, he stabbed the giant and slid down, leaving a massive wound.


    "Sylas, step back!" the elf woman shouted at her dual-wielding friend.


    After being struck by the two party members, Zaratross released a dark energy around his body that repelled the two melee warriors away from him, destroying part of their armor and making them crash with a force that shook the ground.


    "Dante, I''ll try to get his attention away from you. Get ready!" the elf exclaimed at the stranger as they were the last two standing.


    She had used the time that Zaratross was busy fighting the two warriors to charge a powerful spell, gathering energy from the environment around her and her staff, which emanated a powerful and threatening aura.


    However, as she released a massive blast of magical energy like a light beam, Zaratross extended his palm and covered his face from the spell, producing an explosion that caught the elf in its wake.


    "Faelyn!" the man shouted with a worried tone, seeing his friend getting blasted away from her position.


    "I have no choice¡­" the crimson-eyed man muttered to himself as a black and purple aura emanated from his body.


    Using the last of his strength, the stranger launched himself at Zaratross, who tried to stop him with one hand but was pierced by the sheer force of the energy that covered his body.


    As he landed on the giant''s chest, black and purple lightning appeared around him, shocking the evil god and making him halt his movements.


    "Dante, stop!" the elf woman shouted as she tried to stand up weakly.


    "Don''t do it. We haven''t lost yet!" shouted the warrior, utterly covered in his blood.


    "I''m sorry, Faelyn, Soren, Sylas¡­" the man muttered.


    "Ultimate-Destro," he continued, generating a massive blast that resembled a black hole and disintegrated everything that came in contact with it.


    In his last moment, the man found himself floating in a white, empty space, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a humanoid creature staring at him.


    "Aamon?" he asked with confusion.


    Aamon was known as the demon of life, and he was a beast who had the body of a wolf, the head of a night hawk, and the tail of a serpent. However, in his humanoid form, all he had was the tail, the fangs, and the black wings.


    "Dante¡­ Looks like you activated our contract¡­" Aamon said with a deep and unsettling voice.


    "How? It should have been impossible to save me from that¡­" Dante commented, seemingly indifferent to his fate.


    "It was difficult. I could only fulfill it thanks to the Celestial Alignment Convergence¡­" the demon explained.


    During his encounter with Zaratross, the sky was lit up with colorful strands of glowing energy, a phenomenon that happened in his world every few decades.


    "The convergence creates a bridge between realms. My only option to save you from certain death was to send you through it," Aamon continued.


    "So, I''m alive?" Dante asked.


    "Barely. Though you could say that the Dante who lived in Terra is dead¡­" Aamon replied.


    The man shrugged and said that he didn''t mind if his life ended there, as he believed he had died in the best way possible¡ªsaving his friends.


    Nonetheless, the demon wouldn''t break his contract.


    "I''ve fulfilled my part of the deal¡­." he said, snapping his fingers and making him and the white space around them disappear.


    In the blink of an eye, Dante found himself plummeting down from a dark and rainy sky into an unknown street, utterly dazed and confused.

 Chapter 2 - 2: Dante Shadowvale

    When the stranger opened his eyes after passing out in the middle of the street, he found himself lying in bed with his wounds covered in bandages.


    Both of his wrists were cuffed, and there was a solid plastic band that was holding him down to the bed, preventing him from sitting upright.


    The bed was in the middle of a seemingly abandoned warehouse, which he couldn''t recognize as the architecture was new to him.


    He moved his head from side to side and spotted different figures who were looking at him from the shadows, with one of them approaching slowly.


    After his sight adjusted, he detailed a beautiful, platinum-haired woman with brown eyes wearing a tight black dress that accentuated her figure. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The woman looked confident, and even though she had two hooded men behind her with rifles in their hands, her demeanor wasn''t threatening to the stranger.


    "Good, you are awake!" she exclaimed, but Dante was still in a daze from his world transfer and didn''t reply.


    "I''m Camille Winter. We have some questions for you, so I''m hoping you''ll cooperate with us¡­" the woman continued.


    Camille asked him a few basic questions¡ª"What''s your name?" "Where do you live?" ¡ªbut the man was too entranced in his own business to pay attention to her, even as her lackeys were threatening him with assault rifles.


    "Where am I?" he casually asked, ignoring all of the questions that Camille had been asking him.


    One of the men got angry at his indifference and pointed his rifle straight at the stranger''s head, but Camille gently grabbed the muzzle and lowered it.


    "This is a warehouse, but the exact location isn''t important," she replied.


    "Hmmm¡­" he mumbled as he delved into his own thoughts.


    ''I don''t feel any malice coming from her¡­''


    "Did you treat my wounds?" the man continued asking, making Camille nod in confirmation.


    "You know? For someone who fell from the sky and got shot, your body was in pretty decent shape," the woman replied with a friendlier tone.


    "Well, yeah, I used a spell to harden my body before impact¡­" he nonchalantly said, making Camille and her lackeys drop their heads laterally in confusion.


    "A spell, you say?" the young woman asked skeptically.


    "D-do you not know what a spell is?" the stranger answered with another question, feeling a bit shocked at the fact they didn''t believe him.


    Without saying a word, he cast the same incantation that hardened his body and sat up on the bed, ripping the solid plastic band that was meant to prevent him from making that very motion.


    The men pointed their rifles at the stranger in disbelief, saying that the plastic band was used in max-security prisons to keep the most dangerous criminals from attacking the personnel.


    The fact that he was able to rip them apart just by sitting up while supposedly being wounded was enough to make the rest of the men hiding in the shadows of the warehouse come out with their weapons.


    With dozens of hooded soldiers pointing guns around his bed and a few snipers aiming at his body from the top corridor, the stranger stayed calm and showed no bloodlust or intent on fighting back.


    Camille raised her hand and waved it back, signaling the soldiers to stand down as the crimson-eyed man stretched his arms while his wrists were still cuffed.


    "Miss Camille, right?" he asked, keeping a casual tone as he inspected the bandages covering his chest.


    "Camille Winter, Handler of the Winter family¡­" she replied, expecting a reaction from the man, but all she got was a raised eyebrow from him.


    "Is that your noble title?" he asked.


    "Noble? What are you even talking about?" she asked back, covering her face with a bit of embarrassment.


    "Oh, so you are not? It''s rare for commoners to have family names, so I just figured-" he tried to explain but was cut off by Camille.


    "Okay, stop right there. Let''s reel it back. I told you my name, so now it''s your turn."


    "I''m Dante Shadowvale, Specialist Warlock¡­" he calmly said.


    "Hmmm, never heard of that family name¡­" Camille pondered aloud.


    "That''s because it''s a place, not a family name¡­" Dante answered, explaining that commoners used the region they were born in as last names, while only nobles had family names.


    The warlock could see the faces of confusion, not only on Camille but on her lackeys, who kept staring as if he were crazy.


    Their reactions made him remember his interaction with Aamon, where he was told that his body was sent through the celestial alignment convergence to another realm.


    "Umm, could you tell me which nation is this?" Dante asked, only adding to the people''s perplexion.


    "We are in Novaria," Camille answered thoughtfully, understanding that Dante wasn''t lying or acting like a fool.


    "I see. So I did land in another world¡­" he muttered, standing up from the bed, tugging the chain in his cuffs, and breaking them apart.


    The men pointed their weapons once again after witnessing his inhumane strength, but Camille waved her hand and took a small step forward. "Did you say you landed here from another world?" she asked.


    "Yeah, and honestly, I have no idea what''s happening right now. So, if you could give me some information about this place, I won''t take any more of your time¡­" the warlock politely said, pointing his palm at the ground and producing an arcane circle that glowed with a purple hue.


    Not letting Camille respond, the warehouse shook lightly, and a small column made of obsidian stone rose from the ground, portraying black skulls on its sides and a bowl at the top.


    The column went up to Dante''s waist, and as everyone in the warehouse kept staring at him dumbfoundedly, he raised one hand over the obsidian piece.


    In a quick motion, the warlock used his other hand to slice his palm open, pouring his blood into the bowl and making the adornment skulls'' eyes glow.


    ''I saw that. His hand looked as sharp as a blade for a quick second!'' Camille thought, keeping her eyes locked on the man.


    After the bowl produced a blinding light, a black, hollow stone with a calming greenish energy was atop the column, replacing the blood that was poured mere seconds before.


    "I appreciate you taking care of my wounds. I probably won''t use this entire healthstone¡­" Dante commented as he grabbed the stone from the altar, which slowly retracted back into the earth until it disappeared.


    The warlock clenched the stone tightly in his fist, and a subtle green mist enveloped the wounded areas in his shoulder along with the rest of his torso.


    *phew* "All done¡­" he said as he started to remove the bandages around his body.


    "Uhh, you probably shouldn''t do that-..." said a woman holding a rifle next to Camille, but the platinum-haired woman stopped her, observing the warlock and noticing that his wounds had healed entirely.


    *pfft* "Hahahaha!" Camille burst into laughter.


    "I''m glad I have people here to see this with me, or else I would have thought I was crazy¡­" she said while still slightly chuckling in disbelief.


    Camille took a deep breath to calm her laughter and approached the man before stretching her hand.


    "You said you were Dante, right? I think we can help each other out," she said confidently with a smile.


    While the warlock was interested in knowing everything about the modern world, Camille wanted to learn more about the magical realm, so they shook hands and came to an agreement to satisfy each other''s curiosity for the time being.

 Chapter 3 - 3: Specialist Warlock

    After Dante and Camille shook their hands, the deal that symbolized their new partnership was official.


    "By the way, who brought me here?" the warlock asked as he let go of Camille''s hand.


    "Was it the girl I saw running from those weird guys with masks?" he continued.


    Before Camille could answer, another woman stepped away from the shadows and walked up to him. She had long, light brown hair tied up in a ponytail and emerald green eyes.


    She wore a jacket, a crop-top that exposed her toned mid-riff, and had a dragon tattoo on the side of her torso.


    Her expression was serious, and her eyes were sharp, locking them with Dante, who stared at her momentarily before letting out a sigh of relief. "Good. You are alright¡­" he said.


    "What? How do you know it was me?" the green-eyed girl calmly asked, detailing the fact that she was covering her face.


    The warlock raised an eyebrow. "How is covering your face enough to deter someone from sensing your aura?" he asked in return.


    "Besides, it would be pretty hard not to remember those eyes¡­" Dante continued, not realizing that his words could be taken as an attempt at flirting.


    Megan was unfazed by the comment, focusing more on the fact that she was recognized when she believed her cover to be flawless.


    "Either way, thanks for the help," said the warlock with a smile, making her sigh in defeat.


    "No, thank you¡­" Megan muttered apprehensively.


    "Heh, she was in kind of a pinch before you crashed down in that alley like a meteor. Which, by the way, seems like you have a story to share with us there¡­" Camille interjected, her eyes brimming with interest. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Someone bring Dante some clothes. We are going home!" she shouted, making all of the armed men inside the warehouse scatter.


    Before leaving the building, Camille removed the cuff rings from Dante''s wrists and gave him a complete set of clothing containing a pair of underwear, pants, a t-shirt, and a jacket.


    Outside, a caravan of black SUVs waited for them, and after Dante admired the first cars he had ever seen, he jumped on the back of one with Megan and Camille.


    "This is an interesting vehicle. How does it work?" he asked as he grazed his hand on the leather seats.


    Camille gave him a brief lesson on vehicular engineering, and even though Dante wasn''t familiar with many of the terms she used, he was competent enough to have a basic understanding of it.


    After a few minutes on the road, the warlock was entranced by the sight of the neon lights from the buildings that illuminated the busy streets.


    "So, you said you were a wizard?" Camille asked, interrupting him from admiring the sight of the new world.


    "No, not a wizard. A warlock¡­" he replied, but Megan and Camille shook their heads, unaware of the difference between them.


    "Well, a wizard uses mana to cast spells. I use ''umbra'' for mine¡­" he elaborated.


    Mana was a type of energy that could be found naturally in the air, which wizards from his world used to cast a variety of spells.


    The powers that warlocks possessed were much different, as they relied on an energy called "umbra," which was produced from the negative emotions of living beings.


    Moreover, he explained how wizards had a wider amount of "schools" to learn magic from, while warlocks only had three¡ªdestruction, affliction, and demonology.


    "Well, then, what''s the difference between your spells? Apart from using different types of energy¡­" Camille inquired, paying close attention to the warlock''s explanation.


    "Hmm, I suppose that a big difference is that we can summon demons and use their powers as our own with a contract¡­" Dante replied while holding his chin.


    "Demons!?" Megan exclaimed with her eyes slightly widened in shock.


    "Uhh, yeah. I mean, it''s thanks to a demon contract that I''m able to communicate with you. I don''t even know what language we are speaking right now¡­" the warlock continued, scratching the back of his head with a bit of embarrassment.


    Megan seemed more unsettled than Camille, who asked Dante to go into more detail.


    He explained that he entered a contract in the past with a demon called Forneus, who gave him the "demon tongue," which allowed him to understand and speak any language.


    "I see. That''s quite useful¡­" Camille muttered as she listened attentively.


    "What about that thing you did in the alley? Was that also a contract of some sort?" she continued asking, referring to the spell that Dante used to erase the gang members who were pursuing Megan along with a chunk of the street.


    "No, that wasn''t a contract. That was a spell called ''Destro.'' It''s a pretty high-ranking spell from the school of destruction," he said.


    Warlocks were only able to learn spells from three different types of schools, and most of them focused on one kind. However, Dante was a specialist warlock, which meant he had talent for all three.


    "Okay, your turn now. Tell me more about this place¡­" said the warlock with a friendly tone.


    He was in a country called Novaria, located in the Atlantic Ocean, between North America and Europe.


    It was a diverse nation with people from all over the world, and most of the citizens spoke English.


    "Novaria¡­ That''s a nice name," he muttered. "What about this world? Does it have a name?"


    "Earth. What about yours?" said Camille.


    "Mine was called Terra."


    "Isn''t that Latin for Earth?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "What''s Latin?" the warlock replied with another question.


    The platinum-haired woman placed her hand across her face with a slightly frustrated expression, realizing that accommodating the warlock into the new world would be more challenging than she expected.


    It only took them a few more minutes before arriving at their destination, which was a tall skyscraper that left Dante speechless, noting that it would have been impossible to make something like that without magic in his old world.


    "We are just making a quick delivery here. Let''s keep talking later¡­" said Camille after they had entered the parking lot, where a man wearing a black suit was waiting for them.


    Without saying a word to him, Camille rolled down the window and gave the man a flash-drive before he nodded and walked away.


    After rolling the window back up, she glanced at the driver sitting ahead of them. "Alright, Jonathan. Take us to the bar¡­" she said with a smirk, making the driver obey her command without a second thought.

 Chapter 4 - 4: Midnight Bar

    After Camille dropped the suspicious flash drive in the hands of a suited man in the parking lot of a skyscraper, they were taken to a street that was closed off to vehicles.


    "You can walk, right?" Camille asked the warlock, who felt exceptionally good for someone who had gotten shot mere hours before.


    The driver left them at a lively commercial street with bars, restaurants, and nightclubs that had people queuing in line outside.


    "Welcome to Moonlit Boulevard," continued Camille as she stepped out of the car with Megan.


    Dante followed the two women closely as they walked along the busy street, where the music from the different nightclubs mixed with the chatter of the people, making the warlock intrigued as he glanced around him.


    "Why are those people in line? Are they giving free food or something?" he asked his two guides.


    In Dante''s mind, the only reason why people would queue in line to enter an establishment in his past world was whenever those places offered free food for the poor.


    "That''s a nightclub. It''s a party establishment with music, drinks, and sometimes food¡­" Camille explained, but the warlock couldn''t understand why someone would wait to enter a building where they had to pay for stuff when they could simply go somewhere else.


    The platinum-haired girl chuckled at his unorthodox way of thinking, and after walking for a few minutes, they stumbled upon a stairwell tucked away on the side of the street beneath the neon lights.


    At the bottom, a sign reading "Midnight Bar" hung atop a red door that led to the underground establishment.


    It was a sizeable area with an elegant facade and jazz music playing from the speakers on the ceiling, slightly muffled by the sound of clinking glasses and laughter from the guests.


    As soon as they entered, all of the workers turned and bowed politely toward Camille, making Dante notice that they were all women.


    Camille brought Megan and the warlock to her office in the back, where she had a large couch for them to sit on while they waited for her to do something on her laptop.


    A few minutes passed, and Megan was explaining to Dante what a laptop and the internet were when suddenly, they were interrupted by a waitress entering the office with a cart filled with bottled drinks.


    She offered them both beverages, but Megan only asked for a glass of water while Dante was still deciding what to choose.


    The cart had wine, beer, vodka, rum, gin, among other liquors. However, in between those bottles, he noticed one that said "orange juice." sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was supposed to be used for mixing drinks, as nobody would ever order a glass of orange juice at a fancy bar, but the warlock was ignorant to these things and was led wholly by his curiosity.


    "How is this orange juice so good!? I''ve never had a drink this sweet¡­" he said as he happily used a straw for the first time, confusing the waitress.


    Camille was looking for a place for the warlock to stay and asked him what type of space he needed, but all he asked was for an "inconspicuous open space."


    "Like, a backyard where your neighbors can''t see you?" the woman inquired.


    "Yeah, that works. You told me magic wasn''t common here, so maybe it''s better if I don''t show it carelessly. Right?" said the warlock.


    "No, it''s not that it''s not common. It''s just not a ''thing'' here. When someone talks about magic in this world, they are talking about fictional stories or magic tricks from a magician¡­" Camille elaborated.


    "Huh? Then what is that spell that was placed on Miss Megan?" Dante asked, making Camille halt her typing and alerting Megan, who sat straight with a serious gaze.


    "What do you mean?" the handler asked.


    "There is a strange flow of ''umbra'' flowing from her body. At first, I thought it was a spell that one of you cast on her. But actually, now that I see it closer¡­ What is that?" the warlock explained as he extended his hand to grab Megan''s.


    However, as soon as he coated his hand with ''umbra'' and made contact with her, he felt an electric discharge as black electricity slightly burned his hand.


    Camille stood up from her seat with haste, asking if they were okay. Meanwhile, Megan was frozen in shock as she didn''t understand what had happened.


    "Oh, it''s a curse¡­" Dante muttered with a nonchalant tone, waving his smoking hand from side to side.


    "What!?" the two girls exclaimed in unison.


    "Hmm, have you been near a demon at some point in your life?" the warlock asked, keeping his casual tone while the two women seemed more distressed.


    They hesitated for a brief moment, and Dante understood that they either couldn''t or didn''t want to talk about it, so he just skipped to his next question and asked Megan if she wanted to get rid of it.


    Megan nodded fervently, and after the warlock took a deep breath, he reached for her hand once again, except this time, there was no black electricity from their contact.


    "I see¡­" he said after a few seconds, explaining that the curse that was placed on Megan had been on her body for a long time.


    Nevertheless, it wasn''t hurting her in any way, as he said that it was known as the "hunter''s curse."


    "This type of curse doesn''t cause any ill effects. All it does is tell the hunter the location of their prey¡­" he elaborated.


    Megan widened her eyes with terror and flinched, but Dante maintained his grip on her hand and whispered, "Dispell," producing a gust of wind around their bodies that lasted a brief second.


    "Done. No more hunter''s curse," he said, letting go of her hand and taking another sip of his orange juice.


    Still, even though Megan was freed from the mysterious curse that plagued her body, the two women were still clearly stressed about it.


    "Cami, if I had that curse on me¡­ Is it possible that ''she'' got it too?" Megan asked, but Camille didn''t respond. Instead, she hastily pulled out her phone from her pocket.


    "Bring Sophia to Midnight, NOW!" she ordered her lackeys before gazing back at Dante, who was slurping the bottom of his glass with the straw without a care in the world.

 Chapter 5 - 5: Megan Dunlap

    Dante was happily drinking his second glass of orange juice while Megan and Camille discussed the "hunter''s curse" with each other.


    They knew its origin, but it was a story that they had never told anyone apart from a few selected people, as it was utterly unbelievable and would easily mark them as crazy.


    However, after witnessing Dante using his supernatural powers, they thought that he might be the only one who would believe them.


    Megan was the daughter of a man called Ganon Dunlap, who was the leader of the Jade Dragons¡ªa mafia organization that worked with both criminals and the police force.


    The Jade Dragons offered protection to several districts in the city of Novis, the capital. However, after a certain event that happened eight years in the past, the organization disappeared and was replaced by the Blood Dragons.


    Megan was 15 years old, and she was living in a massive mansion where dozens of members from the Jade Dragons resided with their families.


    Among those families, Leonardo Ragucci, known as the right-hand man of Ganon, lived with his blonde daughter Sophia.


    The two girls were the same age, and being the only ones who had something in common inside the mansion, they became best friends the very first moment they met.


    Megan and Sophia shared a room together, and one night, they were woken up by a loud sound in the mansion.


    Wearing their pajamas, the duo left their room to investigate the sound, but the eerie silence and the lack of guards in the hallways gave them an unsettling feeling.


    Megan had been training her entire life to become the next leader of the Jade Dragons, so she could tell that there was something wrong happening in their home.


    Knowing that Sophia was the opposite of her in that sense, she urged her friend to stay in the room and hide while she looked for her father.


    The blonde girl hesitantly agreed, and Megan started rushing through the empty, dark hallways until she reached her father''s office, where she knew he would be present as he was always there.


    In her mind, her father would be sitting behind the desk, imagining how he would ask her what was troubling her and calm her down.


    Nevertheless, when she burst through the door, the sight couldn''t have been more different from what she had in mind.


    A tall monster with horns and obsidian skin stood behind the desk, holding Ganon''s lifeless body by the neck, leaving Megan utterly perplexed at the sight.


    Her eyes widened and filled up with tears while her body was stiff and cold from the terror that overtook her, and as the monster turned its head to glance at her with its glowing red eyes, she heard the voice of a man calling her from the hallways.


    "Megan, get away from there!" the man shouted, tackling her to the side.


    Simultaneously, an obsidian spike flew out of the office aimed at the girl, but after being tackled by Leonardo, it ended up taking his left arm.


    "Mr. Leonardo!" she exclaimed as she glanced at the man, who was bleeding profusely from his left side.


    "Here¡­" he muttered in pain, using his good hand to give Megan an earpiece.


    "Get Sophia and run¡­" he continued, standing in the middle of the hallway and facing the office.


    As soon as Megan put on the earpiece, she heard the voice of Camille, who was 20 years old at the time.


    They had only seen each other on a few different occasions whenever their parents met, but Megan had nobody else to trust in that situation.


    ["Megan, if you can hear me, go back to your room and get Sophia!"] Camille exclaimed in her ear.


    "Mr. Leonardo¡­ I-..." she tried to speak up, but the man cut her off.


    "There is no time, Megan. You must leave, NOW!" he shouted as the monster broke through the door''s frame that was too small for it to pass.


    Instinctively, Megan started running away from the scene and fixed the earpiece hanging on her side, hearing the sound of a blade cutting through flesh, followed by the grunts of Leonardo behind her.


    When she reached her room, Sophia was sitting in a corner, where she was ready to crawl under the bed in case she needed to hide.


    Megan didn''t have time to say anything to her and simply grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the corner.


    "Where to!?" Megan asked with distress.


    However, the monster had already reached their room and broken through the solid frame as if it were made of cardboard, leaving them with no other exits.


    ["The window!"] Camille exclaimed.


    Megan knew that they were on the third floor of the mansion, but her survival instincts kicked in quickly.


    Without thinking twice about it, she hugged Sophia to protect her from the broken glass and jumped through the window that led to the backyard, turning around mid-air so that Megan was the one to fall on the ground.


    The impact broke Megan''s left arm and one rib, but the adrenaline she had allowed her to keep moving, holding Sophia''s hand and rushing to the gates in the yard while the monster roared loudly from the room.


    As the two girls ran, they noticed the members of the Jade Dragons were in the middle of combat with another gang. Luckily, they were shooting each other quite far from their position, so they were able to get out of the mansion from the back. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ["The black SUV, quick!"] Camille instructed.


    After the two girls boarded the car, they were taken to a safe location in the capital, where Camille took care of them until they were 18.


    Dante was intrigued by the story and listened attentively to Megan. Still, he understood why they were telling him about it, as their description of the monster sounded very similar to a demon.


    "What do you think? Is it possible it was a real demon?" Camille asked the warlock.


    "I don''t see how it would be impossible¡­" he replied.


    Dante explained that the energy he used to cast spells, ''umbra,'' was also used by demons to cast their own.


    From the very little he had seen of Earth, he could tell that the mana supply in the air was relatively low compared to his old world. However, the flow of ''umbra'' was at the same level, or even higher than in his past world.


    "A wizard would probably have a hard time casting anything powerful here, but a warlock or a demon don''t have that problem¡­" he continued.


    It wasn''t that there was more negative energy on Earth than in his world. On the contrary, since life on Earth was much better, there was also a vast amount of positive energy.


    However, having such a dense population compared to the cities in Terra made the supply of ''umbra'' more prominent on Earth.


    "I''m still unsure what''s common and what isn''t here. But the description you gave me of the monster sounded an awful lot like a demon, and if there aren''t any other beasts that look like that in this world, then that''s the most possible explanation."

 Chapter 6 - 6: A Warlock’s Wish

    After Dante gave the two women his input on the event where a demon chased Megan, Camille asked him if there was a way to kill one.


    "Of course. Demons don''t die from old age, but they can certainly be killed," said the warlock.


    Going deeper into his explanation, he said that warlocks had the ability to kill a demon''s soul, as killing them with normal means would just send them back to hell.


    "Demons are very vengeful creatures, so sending them back to hell is just like setting a timer for them to come back and hunt you¡­" he continued.


    As he kept explaining the different ways he had to kill a demon, they were interrupted by the same waitress from before, who was guiding a woman with short, blonde hair into the office.


    The woman was wearing pajama shorts and a cropped tank top, showcasing bags under her beautiful blue eyes, which were a sign that she had been woken up in the middle of her slumber.


    "Dante, this is Sophia Ragucci¡­" Camille introduced the two.


    The warlock recognized her name from the story that Megan had told him a few minutes prior to her arrival¡ªthe second girl who survived the demon''s attack.


    Sophia was a bit confused, but she still extended her arm to shake Dante''s hand, who held it abruptly while staring into her eyes.


    The blonde woman felt a little nervous at the warlock''s gaze, thinking that his crimson eyes were beautiful and scary at the same time.


    "Yup, she also has it¡­" Dante muttered as he grabbed Sophia''s palm with both of his hands.


    "Dispell¡­" he continued, producing the same gust of wind as before.


    Sophia was perplexed at what just happened, thinking that it was a magic trick and that a vent had been placed somewhere in the office to create that effect.


    Camille asked Megan to explain everything to Sophia, but the brunette didn''t know where to even start without sounding absolutely crazy,


    Luckily for her, Sophia trusted Megan''s words, no matter how insane the things she said were.


    As the two childhood friends talked on the side of the office, Camille approached the warlock, still looking quite distressed. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Dante, you said that curse was a tracker. How long did they have it for?" the handler asked.


    "Hmm, I can''t say for sure, but it looks like they had it for years. You hadn''t encountered any demons since that time, correct?" he replied, inquisitively placing a hand on his chin.


    "Correct."


    "Then it was probably placed on them the night of the attack¡­" the warlock said.


    Camille suspected that was the case, but she wanted to make sure. However, now that the curse had been dispelled, she wondered if the demon would come looking for them.


    If the monster had been tracking them for years, then it was safe to assume that it knew the location of their apartment.


    Moreover, the curses were cleansed at Midnight Bar, so it was possible that they would come looking for them as it was the last place the two women were tracked.


    "The bar is compromised¡­" Camille muttered, ordering the waitress to close down the establishment for the night.


    As the waitress rushed out of the office, the platinum-haired woman stood closer to the warlock.


    "Dante, I want to ask you something. Now that you are here in this world, what is it that you want?" she asked, her gaze locked onto his crimson eyes.


    The warlock closed his eyes and reminisced about his life in Terra, his old world.


    He spent a long time training to become a powerful warlock, traveled through hell for a few years, fought thousands of demons, and protected his world from tyrants, monsters, and evil gods.


    It was an eventful life and one that he didn''t regret living. However, it wasn''t a peaceful life, and now that Dante had the chance to live a second, he wanted to live it more leisurely.


    "You know? When I was 25 years old, me and my friends received a blessing from a goddess¡­" said the warlock, recounting a story from his past world.


    During the times that he was traveling the world with his party, they ended up saving a city from the grips of a powerful demon.


    After the battle, the four of them were visited by a goddess, who chose them as the protectors of Terra, giving them a blessing that stopped their aging.


    Dante and his party weren''t immortal, as they could still die, but their bodies would never age and would keep the same appearance for eternity.


    However, even after being given all the time in the world, the warlock and his party could never enjoy the peace they brought to cities in Terra, as they were always on the move, from one battle to another.


    He was seen as a villain in some places, while others looked up to him as a hero, but his reputation was never something he personally cared about.


    He had only been on Earth for a few hours, but in that short amount of time, he could feel that his body resumed aging, which meant that the goddess'' blessing didn''t reach that world.


    Back in Terra, Dante put up with all of the battles because he believed that he would eventually live peacefully.


    He didn''t mind battling for a few hundred years if it meant he could relax for a hundred more, but obviously, that didn''t come to pass, as he ended up sacrificing himself to kill an evil god on the same day of his 225th birthday.


    "Now that I know this new life of mine is limited, I want to live it peacefully. That''s what I want," said the warlock as he finished telling his story to the handler.


    He wasn''t in the body of an ageless 225-year-old man anymore but in the body of an ordinary 25-year-old.


    Camille chuckled a little, "We have similar goals, then¡­" she commented.


    "I know we already had a deal, but I''ll do it again. Dante, let''s work together and achieve our peaceful lives!" she exclaimed, shaking hands with the warlock.


    "I''ll be under your care for some time, so I''ll help out with anything I can," he replied with a smile, making Camille blush slightly at his unapparent gentleness.


    *Ahem-* "Very well then, for starters, you will be staying with Megan and Sophia!" Camille exclaimed, catching the attention of the two girls on the other side of the office.


    "Wait, what!? We don''t have space for him at the apartment," Megan refuted.


    "So? Just have him sleep on the couch for now. It''s not like he is going to be there forever¡­" Camille replied.


    Megan was grateful to Dante for helping her out earlier in the alley, but she didn''t feel comfortable taking him to her apartment, as he was basically still a stranger to her.


    Sophia didn''t seem to have a say in the matter and just kept staring at Dante with a curious gaze, still processing the information about him that Megan had summarized for her.


    "Look, I understand, but Dante is the only person who can see and sense this ''umbra'' energy¡­" Camille explained.


    With the tracking curse cleansed, there was a possibility that the demon would try looking for them at the places they frequent the most, so having Dante with them would add a layer of protection.


    Megan reluctantly agreed, and as the establishment was cleared of guests, they guided the warlock to the back exit, where another black SUV was waiting for them.


    "I''ll visit tomorrow to bring a change of clothes and some other stuff that you are gonna need to make your life in this world a bit easier¡­" said Camille to Dante as he boarded the car.


    "Thank you, Miss Camille," the warlock politely replied.


    "Please, just call me Cami or Camille. I''m not much of a fan of honorifics¡­"


    Once the car drove away, the platinum-haired woman called one of the servants to approach her, instructing her to "beef up" the security around the bar.

 Chapter 7 - 7: Sophia’s Breakfast

    It was 3 am at night when Dante was riding in the back of the SUV with both Megan and Sophia sitting in front of him.


    There was an awkward silence at first, as the two women didn''t know what to talk about with the warlock. Still, Dante didn''t mind it since he was looking out the window, admiring the view.


    "Sorry for waking you up so suddenly, Sophie. I know you have class early in the morning¡­" said Megan after seeing the blonde woman yawning.


    "It''s okay. I still don''t really know what''s going on¡­" she replied, as it was difficult to believe that the man before her was from another world.


    Still, the warlock couldn''t blame them since he believed he would have also doubted someone who claimed to be from a different world.


    While Sophia had only witnessed him doing a simple dispel of a curse, Megan was the one present when he erased a bunch of gang members from existence.


    "Class? There''s an academy here?" Dante asked after listening to Megan''s apology.


    Instantly, Megan could tell that whatever academy he was talking about was different from the university that Sophia attended.


    The blonde girl explained that she was going to college to study culinary arts and business, surprising the warlock.


    In his past world, only people who were learning magic or wanted to become scholars were able to attend the academy.


    Sophia looked somewhat interested in talking about the universities from his world, but Megan interrupted them as the car arrived at their drop-off location.


    The two women lived in a large residential building that had four floors, each of them with a dozen apartments where mainly college students resided.


    After taking the elevator to the fourth level, Dante showed his admiration for the engineering of the machinery, saying that elevators in his world worked with the magic of wizards. However, he still preferred the one he was riding at that moment.


    Nevertheless, the two girls were too tired to listen to his bicker, and after Sophia let out a yawn, Dante remembered that he hadn''t slept for three whole days.


    "Three days? What are you talking about? You got here a few hours ago¡­" said Megan, not understanding the warlock entirely.


    "Well, yeah, but I wasn''t sleeping when I got sent here¡­" he replied.


    At that moment, the brunette remembered the state in which Dante appeared, with his tattered clothes and his body full of cuts and bruises. Still, she decided not to inquire about it.


    "Alright, this is our apartment. It''s pretty small, but it should be fine for you to stay a few days¡­" Megan commented as she opened the door.


    It was a small apartment specifically made for two to three people, as they were meant to be residences for college students to rent.


    They had a kitchen, a living room with one couch and a flat-screen TV, two bedrooms, and one bathroom.


    Even then, the architecture was wholly new to Dante, making the humble students'' apartment look somewhat fancy to him.


    "You''ll sleep here. Hold up, let me get you a pillow¡­" Megan continued, pointing at the couch in the living room.


    The brunette went to her room for a few seconds, but before she grabbed what she was looking for, Sophia called her from the living room.


    "Ummm, Meg?" the blonde said.


    When Megan came out with a pillow for the warlock, she noticed he was passed out on the couch, using one of the adornment cushions to pose his head.


    "He just fell asleep in an instant¡­" Sophia muttered as the two women stared at Dante, who was peacefully slumbering on their couch.


    *sigh* "He did say he hadn''t slept for three days¡­" Megan continued, covering the warlock with a bedsheet before going to her bedroom. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ____________________


    The following morning, Sophia woke up to the sound of her alarm clock and got up from her bed with vigor, ready to start her day.


    On her way to the bathroom, she noticed Dante sleeping on her couch, making her realize that the events from the previous night were not a dream.


    She had been woken up and brought out of her house in the middle of the night by Camille''s men, and she attributed everything that had happened to it being a simple dream.


    Still, the sight of the warlock peacefully sleeping refuted her delusions.


    After she changed from her pajamas into a sundress, she silently walked to the kitchen, not wanting her stomps to wake Dante up.


    She glanced at the warlock for a moment, and while she still believed that he had a somewhat scary appearance, she thought he had an "honest face," comparing him to Megan and Camille.


    ''He said he hadn''t slept for three days. I wonder if he ate something¡­'' Sophia thought while preparing her breakfast.


    Every morning, the blonde student would wake up and make breakfast for her and Megan, leaving it inside a plastic container for the brunette to eat whenever she woke up.


    However, seeing that they had a guest, she pulled out an extra container for Dante.


    ''An omelet would be nice¡­'' she thought before cracking the eggs against the pan.


    Inside the omelet, she added pieces of bacon, green peppers, and onions, creating an enchanting aroma that traveled through the apartment in mere seconds.


    ''Nghh, I hope this isn''t too loud.'' Sophia thought as she grunted, believing that the sizzling from the pan would wake the warlock up.


    Nonetheless, it wasn''t the sound that made Dante open his eyes but the smell of a dish that he had never tried before.


    "It smells good¡­" the warlock muttered as he sat up straight on the couch, letting out a long yawn.


    "Oh, uhhh, good morning. Sorry to wake you up!" Sophia nervously exclaimed.


    "No, no. I''m sorry. Seems like I passed out without even noticing¡­" he courteously replied.


    "It''s okay! You seemed pretty tired. Are you hungry?" the blonde asked, feeling relieved at the politeness of the warlock so early in the morning.


    "Umm¡­" Dante hummed, not wanting to bother her. However, he was betrayed by the sound of his stomach growling.


    Sophia couldn''t help it and let out a chuckle, realizing that Dante was as much of a human as her, even if he claimed to be from a completely different world.


    "Come, sit here. I''ll serve you a plate," she said, prompting the warlock to stretch his arms and accompany her to the kitchen counter.


    Noticing that the man was looking curiously at the ingredients she was using, she remembered his comments the previous night at the bar and served him a glass of orange juice.


    "This is called an omelet. It''s an egg-based dish, but I added some veggies and some bacon to it. E-enjoy!" said Sophia, handing the hearty breakfast plate to the warlock.


    He had a little over three days without eating anything, and as his body got taken over by the dish''s aroma, he began chowing down his meal.


    The blonde woman smiled, as it always made her happy whenever other people enjoyed her food. Still, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing, startling the warlock.


    "Camille? It''s pretty early for you to be calling me¡­" said Sophia as she picked up the phone.


    "No, that''s not what I mean. Of course, you can call me any time!" she continued, being obviously teased by the platinum-haired woman on the call.


    "Oh, you are here!? Yes, come on up!"


    A few minutes after hanging up, Dante had devoured his plate before Camille reached the apartment carrying two large bags behind her.


    "Cami, everything okay?" Sophia asked the woman, who had a smirk on her face.


    "Everything''s great. I was in a hurry to get here before you went to class¡­" Camille replied.


    The two bags she carried were filled with men''s clothing for Dante, along with a few other essential products he would need, such as a toothbrush and deodorant, which were items that were wholly unknown to him.


    "Don''t take this the wrong way, Dante, but when was the last time you took a shower?" Camille asked the warlock, who raised an eyebrow in confusion.


    "A what now?" he replied.


    "You know, a bath. When was the last time you cleaned your body?" the woman clarified.


    "When we healed your shot wound, we had to scrub your body quite a bit to get all that dirt off¡­" she continued.


    "Umm, I guess I dipped in a river about a week ago. It''s not exactly a bath, but I did clean myself¡­" said Dante, unsure about his answer, making both Camille and Sophia shiver at the thought of it.


    *sigh* "I got some work to do¡­" Camille muttered.

 Chapter 8 - 8: A Warlock’s Clean-Up

    After Sophia left the apartment accompanied by four of Camille''s bodyguards, the platinum-haired woman called upon two of her servants, who had been patiently waiting outside.


    Their names were Rina and Rona, two mature women who were twins and who had taken care of Camille ever since she was a baby. They were two of her most trusted servants, and she considered them to be mother figures for her.


    Believing that there was no one better to teach Dante about hygiene and fashion in their world, she told them the whole situation, and they agreed to the task.


    That entire morning, the two fifty-year-old women taught the warlock how to take a shower, brush his teeth, and all other essential everyday activities.


    While the servants had severe expressions on their faces, they were visibly pleased with the warlock''s competence. He might not have been from their world, but it only took him one brief explanation to understand anything being taught to him.


    They ended their lesson by giving Dante a haircut in the living room. Still, Camille expressed her liking for his slightly long hair, so all the two middle-aged servants did was level it so that it wouldn''t look as messy.


    During the haircut, Megan left her room freshly woken up, wearing pajama shorts and a cropped, white tank top that showcased her toned midriff.


    "Ah, Megan. What do you think?" Camille asked the brunette, pointing at Dante, who was sitting in a chair surrounded by small strands of his hair.


    *yawn* "Handsome, I guess¡­ Did Sophie leave breakfast for me?" Megan replied, searching the kitchen for the container that the blonde prepared for her beforehand.


    "Handsome she says. That''s not bad coming from her," said Camille with a smile on her face, feeling proud of her work.


    After Megan ate her food and changed into a more casual outfit, she asked Camille for her real reason for visiting their apartment, knowing that teaching Dante about hygiene wasn''t her only objective.


    Camille confirmed her thoughts and said that teaching Dante those things in the morning was simply the most efficient way to spend their time while they waited for Sophia to return from her classes. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I need you guys to move apartments, so I''ll be helping you with that today¡­" explained Camille.


    The two women couldn''t be tracked anymore after Dante removed the curse from their bodies, but that didn''t mean that they didn''t know the location of their home.


    Camille''s idea was to rent another apartment in the same complex for the two women and leave Dante in the old one, knowing that he would be able to fend off any demon that showed up.


    The new apartment was on the opposite side of the building, and the two college students didn''t have that many things, so moving all of their stuff would be relatively simple.


    By noon of that day, Sophia returned from her classes and was surprised at Dante''s clean new look. Even though his appearance hadn''t changed much, she could still tell the difference.


    Before they could start moving their stuff to the new apartment, the blonde prepared lunch for everyone present.


    "Oh?" Dante perked up, seeing Sophia turning on the heat of the stove.


    "What are you cooking now, Miss Sophia?" he asked, clearly interested in her cooking process.


    "It''s called spaghetti and meatballs," she replied while seasoning the ground beef.


    Of course, the warlock had never heard of such a dish, but seeing the amount of positive energy that emanated from her whenever she was cooking made him believe that Sophia was truly passionate about it.


    When Dante tried his first bite, his eyes widened and lit up with excitement, as he didn''t think that he could taste something better than the omelet he had had that morning.


    It hadn''t even been twenty-four hours since he arrived in the new world, but he felt like he was already living quite peacefully.


    Once everyone was done eating, Camille''s servants packed all of Megan and Sophia''s things in boxes and started moving them to the new apartment with Dante''s help.


    *Phew* "All done!" Camille exclaimed after everything was set up in the new apartment.


    The platinum-haired woman gave Dante a smartphone, giving him a brief explanation of how it could be used to communicate with people all over the world.


    The warlock compared them to magical artifacts that certain kings used in his past world to communicate during war times, but on Earth, almost everyone had access to these devices.


    Camille was glad that Dante was able to pick up on things quickly, as she was afraid at first that he would be similar to a caveman.


    She could deduce that Dante''s past world wasn''t as technologically advanced as Earth was, so she wasn''t sure how he would fare with all that new information. Nevertheless, she ended up being pleasantly surprised.


    "Hey, Dante. Just to confirm¡­" the platinum-haired woman said.


    "What is it?" he asked as he fiddled his finger on his new smartphone''s touch screen.


    "You can beat this demon for sure, right?" she asked, feeling a bit guilty at the fact that she was leaving him in the compromised apartment.


    The warlock raised his gaze, looking sharper than before, and locked his eyes with the handler.


    "If there is anything I know how to kill, it''s a demon," he replied, confident and serious.


    Camille felt a strange sensation for a brief second, a mix of fear and relief. Still, she smiled at the warlock''s conviction. "Then I''ll trust you to keep protecting the girls," she muttered lowly so that the two women wouldn''t listen.


    "Oh, Sophie¡­" the handler called, making the blonde woman approach them.


    "Is it okay if you take Dante to the campus with you? Having him around might be better than the four bodyguards I sent today," she asked, trying her best to convince her.


    "Umm, yeah. I- I think I could show him around¡­" she replied.


    The blonde wasn''t afraid of spending time with the warlock. Instead, she was simply insecure about her tour-guiding skills.


    "I''ll be in your care then, Miss Sophia," Dante politely said.


    "O-okay! But you can just call me by my name¡ªor Sophie!" she clarified.


    After Dante had dinner with the three women, he walked back to his apartment with Camille, who had something she wanted to show him before she left the building.


    The handler had ordered her servants to bring a large number of books to Dante''s apartment, ranging from world encyclopedias and dictionaries to kid''s tales and popular novels.


    Noticing the stack of tomes filled with the information that Dante wanted so badly, he thanked Camille wholeheartedly and picked up the first one on the pile.


    The woman chuckled. "It was no problem. In case anything happens, you know how to call me, right?" she asked.


    Dante nodded. "Yup. Just go on contacts, then scroll to "C" for Camille, and then I press the green button to call¡­" he explained.


    Camille chuckled again, thinking that the warlock was pretty charming when he was trying his best to explain something that she considered so common.


    "Let me know how your day at the campus goes tomorrow. See ya''!" she continued, waving goodbye and leaving Dante alone, who was excited to begin reading the pile of books left for him.

 Chapter 9 - 9: Novis University

    It was 7 am when Sophia woke up to her alarm blaring loudly, seeing that she had a message from Camille sent the previous night.


    "Don''t forget to take Dante with you today!" the message read.


    After going over her morning routine, she prepared three breakfast sandwiches¡ªone for her, one for Dante, and the last one for Megan, who usually woke up by noon.


    Placing the containers in a paper bag, she left her apartment and went up the stairs to the fourth floor of the building, making her way along the corridor and knocking on Dante''s door.


    To her surprise, the warlock was fully awake and ready to accompany her.


    He had been reading the books that Camille left for him and only managed to get a few hours of sleep. Nonetheless, he was excited about exploring the city with Sophia.


    When the two of them left the building, a neighboring lady greeted them with a hearty "good morning," catching the warlock by surprise, as he wasn''t expecting random strangers to be friendly to him.


    It wasn''t a long walk to the campus since their apartment was supposed to be located in an area where mostly college students lived. Still, Dante was glad to finally walk around the city during the daytime.


    He was amazed by the different traffic laws that people had to follow, stopping at a red pedestrian''s light and admiring its usefulness.


    "I''ll ask my professors if you can be there for one class. If they say no, then¡­" Sophia spoke up, not knowing how to finish her sentence.


    "No worries. I can keep myself entertained while I wait for you," Dante replied.


    When they arrived at the campus, Dante praised the architecture of the building, which had an older facade than the rest of the city.


    Novis University, or NU, was one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in all of Novaria, where only the most talented or richest people attended.


    While they made their way to the business building, where Sophia''s first class took place, the blonde noticed that Dante was catching the attention of most students, and she could hear them whispering rumors to each other.


    "Is that a movie star?"


    "Must be a model¡­"


    "Is that guy a student here?"


    Sophia felt a little embarrassed. She knew that Dante was handsome, but she wasn''t expecting his appearance to catch so much attention.


    She considered that the people of Novaria were relatively attractive, so seeing a tall man with dark hair and crimson eyes wouldn''t be that big of a deal.


    Nonetheless, she couldn''t have been more wrong, as the students believed that the warlock was a famous star visiting their college.


    "Umm, Sophie. What''s a movie star?" Dante asked, getting closer to the blonde, who blushed and was startled by his sudden approach to her ear.


    "Y-you heard that, too?" she asked, her cheeks getting even redder.


    "Well, if they wanted to keep it a secret, they should have whispered lower. Don''t you think?" the warlock said, giving the blonde a gentle smile.


    Sophia chuckled at Dante''s lighthearted comment and thought that the best way to explain it would be by watching a movie with him.


    "Didn''t you have actors in your world?" she inquired, wholly forgetting about the fact that the other students were still staring at them.


    "Of course, we had actors. I went to a few different theaters back then¡­" Dante replied.


    "Well, this is basically the same. Except they record it and add visual effects to make it more realistic¡­" she elaborated.


    While Sophia and Dante kept walking to her classroom, she kept naming different genres of movies, wondering what the warlock would like better.


    However, Dante didn''t have a preference, as he said he had to give them all a try to see what he liked.


    Sophia smiled as the lightbulb atop her head lit up with an idea. "Then that settles our plans for this weekend. Let''s have a movie marathon!" she exclaimed, holding the warlock''s arm from excitement. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other students who were watching started whispering to each other immediately, thinking that Dante must have been Sophia''s boyfriend.


    "Well, it makes sense why a man like him would be interested in Sophia¡­" a female student said, praising the blonde for her beauty.


    Nonetheless, one man seemed displeased at the warlock''s presence with the girl.


    *Tch* he scoffed. "And who the hell does that guy think he is?" he said to his buddies standing beside him.


    Feeling like someone was releasing a small amount of umbra, Dante turned his head and made eye contact with the man for a brief second.


    ''Huh, I guess that guy doesn''t like me¡­'' the warlock thought.


    ''Is that jealousy? Envy? They are kind of the same thing¡­'' he continued.


    Dante could get a relative idea of a person''s feelings by the amount of umbra or positive energy that flowed from them, so he knew that the man wasn''t truly a threat, making him turn back around and ignore his gaze.


    When they reached the classroom, Sophia asked Dante to wait in the hallway while she asked her professor permission to have him as a guest in the lesson.


    It didn''t even take a minute of waiting for the warlock to be approached by a woman accompanied by two of her friends.


    "Hey there, I''ve never seen you around. Are you a new student, by chance?" the girl asked, looking up at Dante, who towered one head over her.


    The girl had long, wavy brown hair and light blue eyes that glittered brightly. She wore a red sundress that accentuated her curvy features and had a visible stack of pamphlets peeking out of her bag.


    "Oh, excuse me. I''m just a guest," the warlock politely replied, thinking that he was standing in the way of the girl and taking a step back.


    The woman chuckled lightheartedly. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to come off like that. My name is Victoria," she said, stretching her hand.


    Dante felt relieved for a moment after realizing that the woman was just being friendly with him and shook her hand while introducing himself, omitting the part where he said he was a warlock, as advised by Camille.


    "Dante? That''s a cool name¡­" said Victoria while twirling the tip of her hair.


    "A-Anyways¡­ I work at the Firewater nightclub in Moonlit Boulevard, and it''s my job to give these out to people, so¡­" the girl continued, pulling out the heavy-looking stack of pamphlets from her bag.


    [Firewater Nightclub - Saturday Mega-Party


    Join us from 8 pm - 6 am.


    Free entry, no cover!


    Drinks 50% off!]


    "We have these every weekend, so if you had no plans, you should pay us a visit!" explained Victoria as the warlock gave the flyer a quick read.


    "Hmm, my apologies, but I do have plans for this weekend¡­" Dante muttered.


    "Aww, that''s too bad. But you can join us any other Saturday!" She replied, slightly blushing at the warlock''s politeness.


    At that moment, Sophia came out of the classroom to get Dante inside after getting approval from her professor.


    "Oh, hi, Tori!" the blonde said with a smile.


    "Sophie! How long have you been hiding your boyfriend from us?" Victoria replied with a teasing tone.


    While it looked like an innocent joke, Dante felt a slight fluctuation of umbra flowing from the woman when she said it.


    ''Jealousy again? It''s very light¡­'' the warlock thought.


    "No, no¡ªit''s not like that. Dante is, uhh, a friend from abroad!" said Sophia while blushing.


    "I see. Well, I was just inviting him to Firewater this Saturday, but it seems he has plans already¡­" Victoria continued while stowing away the rest of her flyers.


    "You do?" Sophia asked, turning her head to look at Dante, who seemed confused at the blonde''s question.


    "Didn''t you say something about a movie marathon?" he asked, but the blonde had utterly forgotten their conversation mere minutes before.


    "Ooh, a movie marathon, just the two of you, huh?" Victoria teasingly said while smirking at Sophia.


    The blonde girl felt flustered and nervously explained that Megan would also be present, so it wasn''t what the woman was thinking.


    While the beautiful brunette laughed it off, they were interrupted by a man calling for her from the other side of the hallway while approaching them.


    He was as tall as Dante, with a faux hawk hairstyle that kept his hair straight up and organized¡ªand dark eyes that highlighted his masculine features.


    The man wore a leather jacket and knee-ripped jeans, and as he arrogantly called for Victoria''s name out loud, Dante recognized him as the jealous random man from before.


    "Hey, babe. Who is this loser? A new student?" he said while placing his hand on Victoria''s shoulder, making the woman shiver with discomfort.


    "Ugh, hey Turner¡­" said Victoria as she softly slapped his hand away from her body.


    "His name is Dante, and he is a guest, so don''t think about doing anything stupid," the woman continued, making Turner visibly angry by her comment and cold demeanor toward him.


    "A-anyways, we should go inside. The lesson is about to start," Sophia interjected, wanting to get out of the uncomfortable situation.


    "Oh, come on, Sophie. How long has it been since we had a good chat?" replied Turner, posing a fake smile on his face.


    As the man stretched his arm to grab Sophie''s shoulder, Dante acted first and moved her out of his reach in a dissimulated manner.


    "I can''t wait to spectate the lesson. Let''s go, Sophie¡­" the warlock said, gently pushing the blonde into the classroom with him.


    "I''ll join you," said Victoria, who usually sat at the front of the class but decided to switch it up for that day.


    "It was nice meeting you, man," Dante commented, leaving Turner alone in the hallway as the three of them left his sight.


    Luckily, Victoria was a business student from the same year as Sophia, so she wasn''t just avoiding Turner¡ªshe genuinely had to attend her lesson.

 Chapter 10 - 10: The Stench of Envy

    "Alright, everyone, we have a guest attending our class today, so let''s not embarrass ourselves in front of him," said the macroeconomics professor, who was a woman in her mid 30''s


    "Thanks for having me. My name is Dante, and I''ll make sure to spectate quietly," the warlock politely introduced himself to the class.


    "Is he an actor or something?"


    "Where did that hot guy come from?"


    "I heard he was accompanying Sophia¡­"


    The whispers of the students filled the room, making the teacher slam her desk to shut them up. Still, the professor herself couldn''t help but think that Dante was indeed handsome.


    The warlock sat in the back, with Sophia on one side and Victoria on the other¡ªand while he tried his best to understand the lecture, he believed he was missing context, not knowing many of the terms they used.


    Dante ended up spending the lesson reading through Sophia''s giant textbook, starting from the very first page of the tome and making Victoria somewhat confused.


    She didn''t know anyone who would read the entire textbook for a class, as she was used to opening it on whatever page was necessary for her homework. Still, she found it charming in a strange way.


    When the lecture was finished, Sophia had to walk to the culinary arts building, where her next lesson took place, saying their farewells to Victoria for the time being.


    Luckily for Dante, the culinary class was a practical one where the students had to cook different recipes, and they welcomed any guests to attend the end of their lessons to try out the food made by the students¡ªtaking place in the middle of the afternoon, it was the perfect place to have lunch for free.


    Still, the warlock was allowed to attend the entire lesson, where he couldn''t get his eyes off Sophia, who seemed highly focused on her cooking.


    Meanwhile, some of the other female students had trouble concentrating as they couldn''t stop gazing at Dante in the back of the room.


    The pair attended two more business lessons right after, during which Dante tried his best to assimilate what was being taught. Nevertheless, he could tell that there was a lot of information he was missing, making him not understand the topic entirely.


    After the last class was over, Sophia guided Dante to the library and asked him to wait for her while she quickly returned a textbook she had rented.


    Not letting the warlock have a moment to himself, he was approached by Turner, who was coincidentally walking by the building.


    "Out of the way, new-face loser," said Turner with an arrogant tone.


    "Ah, my apologies," Dante replied, indifferently taking one step to the side without even gazing at the man.


    "What? You think you are hot shit!?" Turner continued, stepping in front of Dante to have him acknowledge his presence.


    Nonetheless, the warlock didn''t flinch at his threatening approach. Instead, he raised an eyebrow with slight disgust on his face.


    "Man, you reek of envy. Please step away from me," said Dante with a strangely severe and polite tone.


    While his comment sounded insulting, the envious umbra that flowed from Turner produced a literal stench that only Dante could perceive, so he wasn''t lying when he said he reeked.


    "What the fuck did you just say to me!? I''m affiliated with the mafia, bitch¡ªI could make you disappear if I wanted!" Turner exclaimed, catching the attention of other students walking by.


    However, just as he finished his sentence, the bully felt a heavy weight on his shoulders as shivers ran down his spine, gazing at the warlock, who was staring at him with a condescending glare.


    "All done¡ªoh, what''s going on here?" Sophia interjected, erasing in an instant the pressure that was making Turner sweat from fear.


    "Nothing much. This guy here wanted to ask me something¡­" Dante replied with a lighthearted tone.


    "So, are we done here?" he asked, looking back at Turner sharply.


    The bully nodded slightly, still sweating from the horrific sensation, prompting the warlock to give him a gentle pat on the shoulder before joining Sophia in their walk back to their apartment.


    "What did Turner ask you?" Sophia inquired while they waited for the pedestrian light to turn green.


    "Hmm, I don''t know. I don''t think he likes me," replied Dante as he attentively observed the traffic light.


    "Well, he doesn''t like anyone. Only the girls in his class," Sophia said.


    "Really? But I didn''t see him in any of the lectures."


    "We don''t have all of our classes together. I only share one lesson with him on Mondays¡­" Sophia clarified.


    When they finally reached the apartment building, Sophia told Dante that she would bring him dinner later and walked to her new apartment on the third floor while the warlock made his way to the fourth.


    ____________________


    "I''m home!" exclaimed Sophia as she entered her home, where Megan was lying on the couch, watching TV.


    "How did it go?" Megan asked, turning her whole body to gaze at her friend.


    "Great! It was kind of funny seeing Dante learning about college," Sophia replied, letting out a chuckle.


    "Is that right?" Megan asked, this time with a sarcastic tone.


    The blonde pondered out loud if Megan disliked Dante, but the brunette didn''t know how to express her feelings towards the man.


    "It''s not that I dislike him. He is honest and polite, which is nice and all. But¡­" Megan explained, remembering the scene where Dante erased a group of gang members along with a piece of the street in the blink of an eye.


    Even when the warlock ended up helping her at the time, it was hard not to fear his powers. Moreover, he said he could summon demons, and Megan''s only experience with one made her even more wary of Dante.


    Sophia had heard the whole story from her friend, but the fact that she hadn''t seen it in person made it easier for her to trust the warlock.


    "I understand what you mean. But I hung out with him all day, and I really don''t think he is a bad person¡­" said Sophia with a somewhat dejected expression.


    "Honestly, there were times I felt like he was sad," the blonde continued.


    Megan couldn''t understand how someone that powerful would feel sad, but then she remembered the state in which the warlock arrived, riddled with bruises and cuts, making her believe that he must have been going through a difficult situation.


    The brunette sighed in defeat. "I guess I''ll have to get to know him more¡­" she said, prompting Sophia to smile brightly. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You are in luck. We are doing a movie marathon this Saturday!" the blonde exclaimed.


    While Megan didn''t share a sliver of her excitement, she felt glad any time that Sophia was happy, agreeing to accompany them in their plans.


    Later that night, Sophia was preparing chicken curry with rice for dinner, and Megan noticed that she had a portion on the side inside a plastic container.


    "Is that for Dante?" the brunette asked indifferently.


    "Yup. I told him I would bring him dinner, so¡­" Sophia replied while stirring the curry pot.


    "Wanna come with me?" the blonde asked.


    Megan was hesitant, but she didn''t want to leave Sophia alone, so she agreed to go with her up to their old apartment, where Dante had been staying.


    When they arrived, Megan raised her hand to knock on the door, but Dante told them to come in before she could touch the wooden surface.


    Inside, they saw the warlock surrounded by open books and pieces of paper with mathematical equations scattered around the apartment.


    "Apologies for the mess. I was reading this math textbook and wanted to put it to practice¡­" said the warlock with his usual politeness.


    "No worries. I brought dinner!" the blonde replied with a smile, making her way to the kitchen counter.


    Megan detailed some of the equations written on the papers on the floor, and she could tell that it was college-level math¡ªthe type an engineer would have to study.


    "Have you just been studying math?" the brunette asked.


    "No, no. I was just finished with the history books, so I thought I should familiarize myself with other topics," he replied.


    At that moment, Sophia opened the plastic container, and the smell of curry enveloped the apartment, making the warlock salivate at the enchanting aroma.


    "Still, this is impressive. You are a scarily quick learner¡­" continued the brunette, picking up one of the paper sheets and examining it closer.


    "Really?" the warlock asked, his voice muffled by his mouthful of curry and rice.


    *Gulp* He swallowed, leaving a tiny grain of rice stuck to his cheek. "There is still more I need to learn. Hopefully, I keep it up," he continued, slightly smiling at Megan.


    While the brunette didn''t showcase many emotions, the sight of Dante smiling with food plastered on his cheek amused her a little.


    ''Maybe Sophia was right¡­'' Megan thought.

 Chapter 11 - 11: Movie Marathon

    It was a late-night Friday, and Camille was sitting in her office, located on the highest floor of a skyscraper.


    She was rewatching the footage that was taken from Megan''s hidden camera the night that Dante arrived in their world, replaying the scene where he made a chunk of the street implode along with the thugs that were shooting at him.


    Rina and Rona, Camille''s two most trusted servants, interrupted her session to bring her some refreshments, making the handler ask about their opinions on the footage.


    The middle-aged women didn''t express their disbelief with their faces, but their eyes widened slightly enough for Camille to understand that they were surprised.


    Camille had told them about the events that led her to meet Dante, but that was the first time they witnessed him casting a spell¡ªand a very powerful one, at that.


    The servants couldn''t believe that the sweet and polite young man that they helped clean up was the same one from the video, expressing their concern for Camille''s safety.


    "Young man, huh?" Camille muttered.


    The platinum-haired woman was the only one who listened to Dante''s story about his former "ageless blessing," so she was aware that the warlock had lived much longer than a mere 25 years.


    Nonetheless, she thought it would be rude to her new friend if she divulged his real age, deciding to keep it a secret.


    "I think Dante might be the only one who can truly put an end to this. I wonder if this is all a coincidence¡­" Camille muttered, switching her attention back to her laptop.


    "Did you get any news from the hacker?" she continued.


    The servants shook their heads in unison. "He hasn''t replied. Should we send a notice?"


    "Nah, let''s give him a few more days. I''ll pay Dante a visit tomorrow to see how his time with Sophie went¡ªalso, I need to know if he has seen anything strange around there," the handler replied.


    Before the servants left the high-rise office, Camille asked them to get another pile of books to bring to the warlock the next day, suspecting that he had probably read through most of them by that point.


    ____________________


    Early in the afternoon of Saturday, Sophia and Megan arrived at Dante''s place, carrying a bag with snacks, soda, and a pile of DVDs.


    Sophia was excited to see Dante''s reaction to his first movie, and while Megan didn''t visibly share that enthusiasm, she was secretly intrigued by the same thing.


    When they entered, they noticed the warlock was reading a book about fantasy, but his expression showed a sign of indignation as he scrolled through the pages.


    "Why does this book say that elves live in the forest?" he asked the two girls, who lowered their heads laterally in confusion at the same time.


    "Ummm, that''s a fantasy book¡­" Megan replied, explaining that everything that was written in there wasn''t meant to be real in their world.


    "Wait, so there aren''t any dragons on Earth either?" Dante asked.


    "No. Did you have elves and dragons in Terra?" Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Of course!" Dante replied, halting his words for a second and gazing back at the book.


    "One of my best friends was an elf¡­" he continued, his words laced with a somber tone.


    At that moment, the two girls felt some of the pain that the warlock had been hiding inside of him.


    ''How did I never think that he had loved ones in his other world?'' Sophia thought, slightly frowning.


    It was the first time that he mentioned another person from his world to them, and while Sophia would have loved to know more about the real elves, she thought it was a topic the warlock wouldn''t enjoy.


    *Ahem* "Well, good news. We brought movies with elves and dragons in them, so you can tell us more about the real ones while we watch them," Megan said with an indifferent expression.


    Still, it was her best try at cheering up the warlock¡ªand it worked, as Dante let out a chuckle, saying it sounded amusing.


    The interaction between the two left Sophia puzzled, knowing that Megan wasn''t the type of girl to joke around or cheer people up.


    Megan was a cold woman who had quite an intimidating appeal stemming from both her beauty and demeanor. However, there was a small group of people that Megan treated much nicer than others¡ªwith Sophia and Camille being among them.


    Surprisingly, she could tell that Dante was now part of that small group, warming her heart and making her even more excited for the marathon.


    As the trio spread the movies on the table like a deck of cards, they gave Dante a quick synopsis of each of the options, but they were interrupted by Camille, who had arrived without notice to visit the warlock.


    "Oh, I wasn''t expecting you girls to be here," said the platinum-haired woman as she entered the apartment.


    She was glad to see that Dante was learning more about their world, and she thought that a movie marathon was a great idea to teach him about pop culture.


    "You wouldn''t mind if I joined you, right?" the woman asked the trio, who had no qualms with having her there.


    Rina and Rona followed their mistress inside the apartment, with one of them holding a documents folder and handing it to their boss, who focused her attention on the warlock.


    "Here you go, Dante. You are going to need this if you want to live here peacefully¡­" said Camille as she slid the folder to the warlock.


    "It''s a Novaria passport, an ID card, and a birth certificate," she continued.


    "Did you talk to Forger?" Megan interjected with a question for Camille.


    "Yeah. I had to pay double to get it done this quickly," the woman replied.


    Noticing that Dante was a little confused, they gave him a quick run-down of the use of each of the forged documents, explaining that it would be troublesome if the police requested them while he had nothing to show them.


    Once the warlock stowed away his new personal documents, he remembered he had something to give to Camille, rushing to the other side of the living room to pick up his jacket.


    "I forgot to give you this. It''s not much, but I recharged it to make it last a bit longer¡­" said Dante as he pulled out an obsidian stone with green sparkles from his jacket''s pocket.


    Camille recognized the rock as the one Dante used to fully heal himself from the wound after getting shot, which he summoned in front of her while they were in the abandoned warehouse.


    "If you or anyone close to you is hurt, just squeeze the stone tightly¡­" the warlock explained.


    The healthstone only worked on physical injuries, so they wouldn''t be able to use it to heal illnesses. Still, Dante expressed that if she ever got sick, he could still help her out.


    When they were done catching up, the group had their list of movies ready for the evening.


    While the warlock enjoyed an entire night of cinema, the three girls fell asleep after the first few films, with Camille leaning on Dante''s shoulder and Sophia hugging Megan like a pillow.

 Chapter 12 - 12: Detectives Alice and June

    It was early in the morning in the Novis police headquarters when a woman with long, dark hair walked through the hallways with poise and confidence, making her way to her captain''s office.


    Without knocking, the woman entered the room and found her superior sitting behind his desk, finishing his conversation with a young officer.


    "Ah, Detective Alice!" the captain greeted the woman, seemingly unbothered by the way she barged in.


    "I heard the murder case in Naela went swimmingly. Great job, as always," the captain continued.


    "Thank you, sir. They told me you got something new for me," the detective replied.


    "Yes. I do have a case for you, but before I give you the details, let me introduce you to one of our newcomers¡­" the captain continued, focusing his attention on the young female cop sitting in front of his desk.


    The girl had short, light brown hair, and her excitement was palpable in the room as she stared at the detective.


    "Detective Morris, it''s a pleasure to meet you!" she exclaimed, hastily standing up from her seat to greet the woman.


    "My name is June Lockhart. I''m a new probationary detective," she continued.


    "Hmm, Captain?" Alice questioned her boss as she shook the young cop''s hand.


    "I know, I know. You don''t want another partner, and I can understand that, but give June a chance¡ªshe reminds me a little bit of you¡­" said the man with a friendly tone.


    Alice seemed hesitant, but she didn''t have a choice when her superior was asking her so nicely to take care of the rookie detective.


    The role of probationary detective was given to newcomers who wanted to get into the criminal investigation branch of the police.


    Every probationary detective was partnered with an experienced officer, who would mentor them in the ropes of the job and test their knowledge occasionally.


    After spending at least six months with their partner, the mentor would report back to their superiors to see if they were ready to become full-fledged detectives.


    Once Alice apprehensively agreed to mentor June, they left the office and were given a folder with the documents of the case they were assigned.


    "Sorry, I didn''t mean to step on your toes¡­" June said as they walked along the hallway.


    "I did ask Captain Slacks to put me with someone who would be okay having me¡­ I''m sorry," she continued. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The girl could tell that the detective wasn''t the least bit excited about working together, and she didn''t want to be a nuisance to someone she idolized.


    "You don''t have to apologize," Alice replied with a cold tone.


    "You see. When he said he would make me your partner, I got really excited¡­" said June, looking to the side as she felt too embarrassed to gaze at the detective.


    "Why is that?" Alice asked.


    "Well, you are the main reason I joined the police force. I saw that article in the news five years ago when you took down an entire network of drug trafficking and¡­ I suppose I was inspired," the young cop replied.


    *Sigh* Alice exhaled, feeling a bit guilty for treating the girl so coldly, and turned around to look at her.


    "It''s okay. I''m just not used to having partners, but I''m sure we''ll get along," said the detective, giving June a gentle pat on the head that made her blush before they kept walking to their office.


    As the two women sat in front of a computer and scrolled through the evidence, they had a face of concern and confusion.


    They were looking at a picture of the chunk of the alley that Dante had utterly destroyed the night he arrived, but they couldn''t understand how it formed.


    "Could it be some sort of bomb?" June pondered aloud.


    "A bomb that doesn''t burn?" Alice replied with another question, noting that there weren''t any burnt marks in the area.


    "It looks too neat. See that?" the detective continued, zooming in on the destroyed street.


    "Maybe they used some sort of tool?" June kept pondering.


    "Check this out. It says there''s a witness," Alice replied, standing up from her seat and picking up her jacket.


    "W-where are we going!?" June asked, following her mentor and picking up her jacket and cap.


    "To Teko District. Let''s see what the witness has to say¡­"


    ____________________


    When the two detectives arrived at Teko District, they got to the alley that was destroyed by Dante, which construction workers were already fixing.


    Still, one-half of the road was demolished, and Alice confirmed that it was impossible for a bomb to produce that kind of damage.


    The witness in the report said to live on the fourth floor of an adjacent building, and when the detectives knocked on their door, they were surprised to see it was an old man who didn''t look younger than eighty years old.


    After the old man politely invited them inside, he served the detectives a cup of tea and told them everything he had seen.


    That night, the old man heard a commotion caused by gunshots that woke him up. However, hearing those sorts of sounds in Teko District was pretty standard, as it was an area controlled by a gang called "Red River."


    Despite its commonality, the old man walked to his window and spotted a hooded figure running from a pack of thugs, but their chase was interrupted when a man plummeted from the skies into the alley.


    "I saw the sky light up with colors, and this man just suddenly appeared crashing down¡­" the old man explained, making the two detectives a bit skeptical about his tale.


    "He got shot by the thugs, but then I saw him raise his hand and ''boom!'' ¡ª they were all gone," the witness continued.


    June had taken note of everything the old man said in a little notebook, even when she found his tale to be wholly unrealistic and crazy. Still, she had to treat it as a witness testimony.


    When the two women left the apartment, they returned to the area that was being fixed by the construction workers and started pondering the different options they had to solve the case.


    "That wasn''t very helpful. All I got of interest is the Red River gang¡­" said June as she read through her notes.


    "June, what do you know about the mafia?" Alice asked, inspecting the torn-down facade of the buildings that hadn''t been fixed yet.


    "Umm, I know there are four families, and each of them has smaller gangs that work for them, correct?"


    Alice nodded but elaborated her point even further.


    There were four mafia families who dominated most of the underworld dealings in Novaria, and each of those families had control of different provinces and districts.


    Red River was a gang that worked for the Blood Dragons, who were an unofficial mafia family that rose to power eight years ago.


    "Unofficial? Aren''t they criminals? How can a mafia family become official?" June asked, realizing that she knew less about the criminal world than she expected.


    "Well, if a Stellar family doesn''t recognize them, then they aren''t official¡ªmeaning that the other mafia groups won''t do any deals with them," Alice replied.


    The mentor detective elaborated further and explained that the "Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter" families were the ones known as the Stellar families.


    Each of them had a representative they referred to as "the handler," who were people with access to information that not even high-rank government officials were aware of.


    "The Winter handler used to work with the Jade Dragons who controlled this area, but after the Blood Dragons took over, they were never recognized¡­" Alice continued.


    "Does it make a difference, though? Aren''t they both just criminal organizations anyway?" June asked, taking notes of everything her mentor said.


    Alice replied by saying that the Jade Dragons, while they certainly committed crimes, also worked with the police from time to time. Thanks to them, Novis was considered one of the safest cities in the world at one point in time.


    On the other hand, the Blood Dragons were the complete opposite, as their crimes not only overshadowed those committed by the Jade Dragons, but their extreme secrecy made it difficult to know much about them.


    June had taken note of everything, but she still felt stumped on how to continue the case, feeling like her clues were getting cold.


    Nevertheless, Alice pulled out her phone, and the rookie detective knew that her mentor must have had an idea.


    "I''m calling an old friend. She might be able to give us some clues about this¡­" Alice muttered, showing the name "Camille" on her phone''s screen.

 Chapter 13 - 13: Zac Pearce

    It had been a few days since Dante had his movie marathon with the girls, and both he and Sophia had gotten used to their daily routines.


    Dante was technically working as a bodyguard for the blonde, but he enjoyed going out every morning and spending his time on campus, believing that it was a peaceful place for him to keep reading the pile of books that Camille left for him.


    He hadn''t felt anything strange around their apartment ever since he started living there, but the warlock didn''t let his guard down, not wanting to put the girls in danger, feeling like he owed them for caring for him.


    The warlock couldn''t keep attending every class with Sophia as a guest, so he would wait for her nearby, reading whatever book he had at the time.


    He had noticed that not many people approached him anymore, which wasn''t the case at first, where he would get interrupted every few minutes by curious students entranced by his looks.


    It''s not that he didn''t enjoy talking to people, but he still didn''t mind some solitude when reading. Besides, he spoke daily with the people he felt owed to, which held the most priority in his head.


    One day, after accompanying Sophia to her classroom, he looked around for a bench to read on.


    Noticing that none of them were fully unoccupied, he sat next to a male student who was playing video games on his portable console.


    At first, the warlock tried focusing on his book, but he could faintly hear the game''s soundtrack coming from the student''s earbuds, piquing his curiosity.


    The man had brown, slightly reddish hair, wearing a pair of glasses and casual clothing that could have been considered fashionable by others¡ªwholly immersed in his game.


    "Yes, a new record¡ªAh! Who are you!?" the man muttered as he turned his head, noticing Dante peeking over his shoulder.


    "Oh, apologies. That thing you were doing looked interesting," Dante replied.


    "What? My BeamDeck? Oh, you have a good eye, my friend!" the man exclaimed with excitement.


    "This bad boy is the newest model that came out. It has a one terabyte SSD, HDR OLED display with anti-glare glass, 240-hertz refresh rate, 24-hour battery runtime, and I can change the color of the buttons LED lights¡­ cool, huh!?" he enthusiastically continued.


    Dante had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Nevertheless, he found the man''s passion for the console pretty compelling, making him want to learn more about the "BeamDeck."


    "Ah, sorry. I started rambling¡­" said the man, scratching the back of his head with a slightly awkward smile.


    He introduced himself as Zac, and he was a computer science student who was making time until his next class began.


    "I''m Dante," the warlock replied, shaking his hand and scooting closer to him.


    "Dante? I think I heard some students talking about you. Are you the movie star guy?" Zac asked, detailing the warlock for the first time and thinking that he definitely looked like one. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Heh, no. I don''t think I''m talented enough for acting¡­" he replied, making the two of them share a quick laugh.


    "Are you a student?" Zac continued.


    "No, I''m kind of like a bodyguard for someone, so I just wait out here while they finish their lessons¡­" said Dante.


    "You? A bodyguard?" Zac pondered out loud, placing a hand on his chin and inspecting the warlock up and down.


    "Hmm, I guess you are pretty tall, and your eyes are sort of intimidating¡ªthat should fend off a few thugs, no doubt¡­" he muttered.


    Dante chuckled again, thinking that Zac was a pretty funny guy, and after sharing a few chuckles, he offered the warlock to try his portable console.


    "May I? I''ve never played a video game," the warlock commented, making Zac express some indignation.


    "Huh? You''ve never played a video game? Like, never ever?" Zac replied with another question.


    Dante had read some vague information about game development from a technology encyclopedia that was given to him, but he had never seen one in person.


    The pair spent one-and-a-half hours playing games, with most of that time being Zac explaining to Dante how to play. Still, it was a refreshing experience for both.


    "Oh, here you are!" said Sophia, who was finished with her lessons for the day.


    "Hi, Dante!" Victoria commented, walking beside her blonde classmate.


    The warlock apologized for not checking the time, but the two girls laughed it off, saying that he seemed to be having fun.


    On the other hand, Zac couldn''t believe that two of the most beautiful women on campus were casually speaking to Dante.


    "Ladies, this is Zac Pearce¡ªZac, this is Miss Sophia and Miss Victoria," the warlock said, introducing his new friend to the pair.


    "Pearce¡­?" Victoria muttered, approaching the man a little more and inspecting him closer.


    "The guy who got the highest score for the all-paid scholarship?" the brunette asked.


    "Uhh, y-yep. That''s me," Zac nervously replied, deviating his eyes slightly to the side so he wouldn''t stare at Victoria for too long, feeling like her beauty was blinding.


    "Ohh, impressive!" she said, praising the man for his skills.


    Dante didn''t know what a scholarship was, but not wanting to embarrass himself in front of the other students, he saved his question for the walk home with Sophia.


    "I gotta run to the library. I''ll see you guys tomorrow. It was a pleasure, Zac!" said the brunette after some small talk, bidding farewell to the group.


    ''Sh-she remembered my name!'' Zac thought, mesmerized at Victoria''s beauty and demeanor.


    "We should get going, too. See you tomorrow, Zac," Dante followed up, waving at his new friend as he walked away.


    "Did¡­- Did I just make a new friend?" Zac muttered to himself, clenching his BeamDeck tightly in his hand with a smile before hastily picking up his bag and walking to his lesson.


    ____________________


    "Hey, Sophie. What''s an all-paid scholarship?" Dante asked the blonde girl as they crossed the busy streets.


    She explained that Novis University had a program where, every few years, new students were allowed to take a test, and whoever got the highest score would get all their essential needs paid for by the college.


    It was common for people from lower-income households to take the test since most of the students at NU had wealthy families and could easily afford the education along with their needs.


    Novaria had dozens of public universities that provided free education. Still, the prestige of attending Novis University is what made it so expensive, as all graduates from there were guaranteed to succeed.


    "I see. So, Zac was the one who got the highest score last time¡­" Dante muttered.


    "Mhmm. I had never seen him until today, but I heard a rumor when he passed the test¡­" Sophia continued.


    The rumor said that Zac''s mother had a terminal disease, and since they were from a district called Dewmore, known for being one of the poorest areas in the country, he never had the resources to treat her.


    After Zac got the highest score in the test, the university placed his mother in one of the best hospitals in the capital, where she had been staying during his college life.


    However, no cure had been found for her disease, so the best they could do was keep her alive for a bit longer.


    "Incurable disease, huh¡­?" Dante muttered to himself.


    "What was that?" Sophia inquired.


    "It''s nothing¡­" he replied.

 Chapter 14 - 14: Camille Winter

    It was early in the evening when Detective Alice brought her new partner, June, to a rooftop restaurant located at the top of a skyscraper in Novis.


    The place was fancy, and there weren''t many guests, which was a testament to how exclusive it was.


    After the two waited for over twenty minutes, Camille Winter arrived, making all of the servers greet her with the utmost respect.


    "Alice, it''s been a long time!" the platinum-haired woman said as she approached the table of the two detectives.


    "It really has. How are you doing, Cami?" Alice asked, clearly familiar with the woman.


    "Not too bad. Who is the cutie with you?" Camille continued, referring to June.


    "She is my new partner, so please go easy on the teasing," the detective replied.


    The handler chuckled and sat down in front of the two women, ordering a glass of water before they could ask her any more questions.


    "I''m just going to cut down to the chase. That thing at Teko District¡­ What happened?" Alice inquired.


    "Hmm, you are going to have to be more specific. Lots of things happen everywhere all the time, you know?" said Camille with a somewhat sarcastic tone.


    "Please, Cami. We don''t have time for games¡­" Alice replied with a more severe tone.


    "Okay, let''s say I did know what you are talking about. Why are you asking me? Why not capture and question a gang member?" the handler said.


    "You are seriously asking me that when you know what happened last time I tried that?" the detective asked, confusing June, who inquired about what happened.


    A few years after the Blood Dragons took control, the gangs that worked under them, like Red River, were formed.


    One day, one of the gangs committed terrorism by blowing up part of a building, and Alice managed to capture one of the culprits, who belonged to a gang called "Scarlett Bullet."


    However, before they could even transfer the man to a police department, he took a cyanide pill and killed himself, as they preferred to die rather than divulge any information.


    "What could they be hiding that they would do that¡­?" June pondered aloud, making the two detectives gaze at Camille.


    "Guys, I may have a clue, but even I don''t know everything," she replied, shaking her hands in denial with a smile.


    "Wow, that was the first truthful comment you''ve said since you got here," Alice remarked, making the handler chuckle at how much the detective knew her.


    The detective asked June to show Camille her notes when they were speaking to the witness, and Alice noticed that the woman''s face changed for a very brief moment, making her understand that she knew more than she led on.


    "See that witness testimony? It''s crazy, right? ¡ªA man with black hair and red eyes fell from the sky, pointed his palm at some thugs, and destroyed everything before him¡­" said Alice, repeating word for word what was in the document.


    "It does sound pretty crazy, but not impossible¡­" the platinum-haired woman replied.


    *Sigh* "Cami, just tell me what''s going on?" the detective continued, her tone friendlier than before.


    "I''ll tell you when it''s time, Alice¡­" Camille replied, her voice sounding serious with no room for negotiations.


    June felt a little offended at the fact that Camille spoke to her superior that way, but Alice was wholly indifferent to her attitude as if she had seen that side of her plenty of times before.


    "Let me ask you something, detectives. Would you like it if the Jade Dragons took back their position?" the handler asked with a sharp gaze.


    The rookie wasn''t sure what to answer since she didn''t live in Novis during the times that the Jade Dragons ruled the underworld, so she had no way to compare the two criminal organizations.


    "Yes, but only if they operate like they used to back in the day," Alice replied confidently.


    Camille nodded, returning the soft smile to her face. "Good. Then, I''ll contact you when it''s time," she said, standing up from her seat and waving farewell to the pair.


    "Miss Alice, who was that?" June asked her superior as they watched the platinum-haired woman leave.


    "That was Camille Winter. The handler of the Winter family¡­" she said, almost whispering her answer.


    "WHAT!?" June exclaimed, standing up from her seat and slamming the table with both hands.


    "Should we follow her!?" the rookie inquired.


    "No. Unless you have a death wish¡­" her superior replied.


    June took a deep breath and calmed herself, sitting back down and asking Alice how she knew Camille.


    Alice was born and raised in the poor district of Dewmore, and being surrounded by crime all the time was what made her want to become a police detective.


    When she was sixteen, she saw a group of men harassing a little girl, and Alice stepped up to them so they would leave her alone.


    While the little girl ran away, the thugs punched Alice in the face and slammed her against a wall at the side of the alley, where they planned to take advantage of her.


    However, a group of men wearing suits appeared out of nowhere and knocked out the group of thugs, allowing a girl of the same age to approach Alice and help her up.


    "Are you okay? Don''t worry, I''ll make these guys suffer greatly!" the platinum-haired girl said while pumping her fist.


    Alice was entranced by the girl''s beauty and gentle demeanor. Likewise, Camille believed that Alice was a brave girl for stepping up to those thugs, so they became friends almost instantly.


    After two years, when the pair turned eighteen, Alice expressed her wishes to join the police force, which slightly disappointed Camille at first, as she wanted the detective to be on her team.


    Nevertheless, the handler respected her wishes, and while they were on opposite sides, they still maintained their friendship.


    "I know it sounds strange coming from a police detective, but I trust Camille''s judgment," Alice commented after telling her story.


    June was in disbelief, not expecting her superior to utter something like that. Still, she felt glad knowing that they could potentially get to the bottom of the case.


    ____________________


    After Camille left her meeting with the detectives, she made her way to Dante''s apartment, holding a small envelope in her hands.


    When she knocked on the door, she found the warlock alone in the living room. However, instead of reading a book like he always did, he was looking at his smartphone attentively.


    "Getting familiar with your phone?" the handler asked, sitting beside him on the couch. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Sort of. Sophia taught me how to look up stuff on the internet, but there are some things I don''t understand¡­" Dante replied.


    "Like what?"


    "Well, I got this message saying I won a giveaway, but when I pressed it¡ªit sent me to this other site that has nothing to do with it¡­" the warlock explained.


    Camille placed her palm on her face and sighed. "That''s a virus, Dante. You shouldn''t click those¡­" she said.


    "What were you trying to look for?" she continued.


    "I met this cool guy at the campus who had a video game machine called BeamDeck¡­" Dante explained.


    He was looking for the price of the console as he was considering getting one for himself, but when he saw that the price was 700 kepi, his search turned to "how to make money?"


    "And that''s how you landed on this phishing site¡­" said Camille, finishing his story.


    Still, Camille had visited Dante to give him something important, and it seemed like she arrived at the perfect time.


    "Now that you have all your documents, I opened a bank account for you¡ªhere is your debit card," the handler said, handing the envelope to Dante.


    The warlock knew about the use of cards and banks since he had read a lot about them, and he attended a few economy classes as a guest, so he wasn''t totally ignorant of how they worked.


    Camille said that she would transfer money to his account every few weeks so he didn''t have to worry about running out, and while the warlock felt extremely grateful, he also felt a bit of guilt.


    ''I don''t feel like I''ve done anything for these people. Why do they treat me so nicely?'' he pondered.

 Chapter 15 - 15: A Bully’s Warning

    A few days after Dante opened his bank account, he was at NU''s campus with Sophia, Victoria, and Zac.


    The four of them had created their own little group who would hang out in between their lessons, and while they were having lunch together, Dante expressed his wishes to buy a BeamDeck.


    Sophia offered to take him to the store, but Victoria and Zac wanted to tag along, as they were free for the rest of the day.


    When the group was leaving the campus, Dante felt a slight fluctuation of umbra coming from behind, making him turn around and notice Turner staring at him with a hateful look.


    ''Oh, it''s just the same guy¡­'' the warlock thought, ignoring the bully and catching up with the group.


    It was the first time that Dante attended a mall, which surprised both Victoria and Zac, as it was rare for someone living in an urban city to have never visited a mall.


    "Man, sometimes it feels like you have experienced the wildest things except for the most basic stuff¡­" Zac commented.


    Once Dante bought his new console, they all went to an ice cream place to have dessert, and the warlock noticed that Zac was hesitant to order.


    Remembering the story about him being from a poor family, he understood that his friend didn''t have the money to spend on frivolous things¡ªand while ice cream wasn''t exactly a luxury item, it was for Dante.


    He knew that Zac had to work two jobs for months to be able to buy his BeamDeck, and not wanting him to spend more, Dante thought about ordering an ice cream for him.


    The warlock could tell that Zac was attracted to Victoria since he extruded a crazy amount of positive energy any time her attention was directed toward him.


    Nevertheless, he could feel a little umbra flowing from him, which stemmed from embarrassment.


    ''I guess he feels shame for not being able to afford it¡­'' Dante thought, turning around to order dessert for his friend.


    Still, before the warlock could speak up, Victoria went ahead and ordered a second strawberry tart ice cream for him.


    "You should try this one, Zac¡ªah, but since I''m making you try it, it''s on me!" said Victoria, making the redhead man blush awkwardly. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, Dante inspected the flow of energy that oozed from Victoria, and he realized that the girl was lying.


    She wasn''t paying because she wanted him to try her favorite ice cream flavor but because she knew about his financial situation.


    ''I see. She didn''t want Zac to feel shame, so she used that excuse to buy it for him¡­'' the warlock thought with a smile.


    Victoria didn''t expel the same amount of positive energy when talking to Zac as he did, so it was clear to Dante that she wasn''t in love with the man. Even so, it wasn''t pity either.


    ''Admiration? ¡ªyeah, that seems likely¡­'' Dante pondered as he kept reading the flow of energy from Victoria.


    That night, when Dante returned home, he added Zac to his friends list on his BeamDeck and played his first online game.


    ____________________


    The following day, Zac woke up early in the morning inside his small studio apartment with a smile on his face.


    He felt happy about his time at the mall, and even though he had only known Dante for a very brief period of time, he was grateful to have met him.


    His scholarship paid for the rent of his apartment, but it was much further from the campus than any of the other students'' residential areas, so he had to take the subway early in the morning to get to his classes on time.


    When he arrived on campus, he was making his way to his first lesson when a hand pulled him by the shirt into an empty classroom, locking the door behind him.


    Turner and three of his buddies were facing Zac with their arms crossed and threatening gazes, making the environment entirely uncomfortable for him.


    "Did you have fun yesterday?" the bully asked Zac with a condescending tone.


    "Wh-what?" he nervously said.


    "Are you playing dumb with me, you poor loser!?" Turner shouted, getting face to face with Zac, who held his backpack apprehensively in silence.


    "Stay the fuck away from Victoria, that''s my bitch. Got that?" he continued, making Zac clench his fists with frustration.


    "I''ve been saying this to the other students, but I didn''t think I would have to say this to a fucking loser like you¡ªstay away from Dante and the blonde bitch he works for, too," said Turner, stepping away from Zac''s face.


    The redhead man felt angry and frustrated, wondering why someone would deprive him of the new friends he had made in college. "What if I don''t?" he muttered, making Turner gaze back at Zac with disgust and anger.


    "Are you trying to join your mother in the hospital?" he angrily said, grabbing Zac by the collar of his shirt and pushing him to the side, making him tumble to the floor as Turner''s friends laughed and left the classroom.


    Later that day, Dante arrived on the campus with Sophia and met with Victoria by the entrance, where they made their way to the classroom.


    Before getting to the building, the three spotted Zac walking just a short distance away from them.


    "Heeey, Zaaac!" Victoria shouted while waving her hand, but the redhead didn''t acknowledge her and kept walking without looking back.


    "Huh, maybe he didn''t hear me¡­" Victoria muttered.


    However, Dante felt an abnormal amount of umbra coming from his friend, and he knew that he definitely heard Victoria''s voice. Still, he decided to keep that to himself.


    When the two girls entered their classroom, Dante went back into the courtyard, holding his BeamDeck in hand and searching for Zac, who was sitting alone on a different bench that they never used.


    "What''s up, Zac? Wanna play some games?" the warlock casually said, ignoring the umbra that flowed from his friend''s body, thinking that some entertainment could cheer him up.


    "No, sorry¡­" replied Zac, picking up his backpack and promptly leaving the area.


    ''Hmmm, that umbra wasn''t directed at me¡­'' thought Dante, pondering about what could have happened to Zac that left him so depressed.

 Chapter 16 - 16: A Warlock’s Promise

    Early in the morning during the weekend, Dante paid Sophia and Megan a visit to their apartment to have breakfast.


    Most days, Sophia brought it to the warlock''s apartment, but Dante started to feel guilty after a while, so he wanted to switch it up.


    Strangely, Megan was also awake, which was rare for the brunette to be up so early.


    She wore a tank top that stuck to her skin, showcasing her toned and smooth midriff, sports leggings, and running shoes.


    "Are you going somewhere, Miss Megan?" the warlock asked.


    "Yeah. I''m going to the gym¡­" she replied, leaving an awkward silence for a brief moment.


    "Wanna come?" Megan asked, her expression looking indifferent. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dante heard about what a gym was from Victoria one day on campus, and he had been interested in going to one, as he was curious about the machinery that people on Earth used to train their muscles.


    "Oh, that''s a great idea! ¡ªyou should go, Dante," Sophia exclaimed.


    Ever since the day they had the movie marathon, Sophia wanted Dante and Megan to socialize more.


    She believed that Megan needed to have more friends who could support her, and seeing that she had somewhat opened up to Dante gave her hope.


    The two girls went to Dante''s apartment to help him choose a gym outfit, with the excuse that he didn''t know what to wear.


    Still, it''s not like he had many options in the suitcase that Camille gave him, so he ended up wearing a pair of sweatpants and a slightly oversized tank top.


    Noticing that the brunette was walking to the campus, the warlock pondered if they were going in the right direction.


    "We are. I have a membership with the gym there," Megan replied.


    She wasn''t a student at NU, but that didn''t mean that she couldn''t pay for the gym membership, and since it was the closest to their home, it was her best option.


    "I see. So, you are not interested in any of the studies they teach¡­" Dante commented, placing a hand on his chin.


    "I guess so. I''m only here for Sophie," said Megan.


    "Then, Miss Megan, if I may ask¡ª What is it that you want?" the warlock asked, polite as always but with a more serious tone than usual.


    Out of the people that he felt owed to, Megan was the only one who was still a mystery to the warlock.


    He knew that Camille wanted a peaceful life like him, which was a vague idea, but the warlock accepted it nonetheless.


    Sophia was looking forward to opening her own restaurant after graduation, and it was a goal that Dante considered would fit her perfectly.


    Still, he knew nothing about Megan other than the fact that she survived a demon''s attack eight years ago.


    "Hmm, what I want¡­" she muttered, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and gazing sharply at Dante''s eyes.


    "Why do you want to know?" Megan asked.


    The warlock stood silent for a second, entranced in the woman''s emerald eyes. "Because you helped me," he replied, not stammering a single word.


    Megan kept silent, inspecting Dante''s crimson eyes to see if she could spot a hint of lying, making her let out a sigh as she could tell that the warlock''s words were genuine.


    "Do you remember that story I told you the night you arrived?" she asked, resuming her walk to the gym.


    "Of course¡ªthe one with the demon," he calmly said.


    "Right. That same day, the Blood Dragons attacked all of our bases¡­" Megan explained.


    The attack wasn''t focused just on them but on her entire organization, which ended up wiping them out as the Blood Dragons took their territories.


    While Megan kept telling the story, Dante could feel a dark umbra flowing from her body, which was the negative emotions she felt when retelling the events.


    "I understand, Miss Megan," he said, stopping his walk and prompting the brunette to turn to him.


    The warlock held her hand and kneeled, making Megan blush while her face kept an indifferent expression. "What are you doing?" she asked.


    "For the help you have given me. I promise to wipe out your enemies and bring you back to your rightful place¡ªI give you my word as Dante Shadowvale," he said confidently.


    "Stand up, dude. People are watching¡­" Megan replied, and while her face didn''t show any emotions other than a slight blush on her cheeks, the positive energy that flowed from her told Dante otherwise.


    ____________________


    When the pair arrived at the gym, their looks garnered the attention of other members.


    Some students recognized Dante, and others recognized Megan since she was seen with Sophia quite often.


    In between those people, Turner and his buddies were present, as they attended the gym frequently to stay in shape.


    Dante noticed the bully after feeling the umbra flowing from him, noting that it had gotten stronger since the first time they met.


    ''I guess he hates me more now¡­'' he thought.


    "What should we do, boss? Wanna jump him outside?" one of Turner''s lackeys asked.


    "Don''t be stupid¡ªDon''t you see who he is with?" the bully replied, referring to Megan.


    The bully met Megan during Sophia''s first day of college, where the brunette had accompanied her since her friend felt nervous about starting her lessons.


    Turner immediately tried flirting with Sophia on her first day, but Megan shot him such a sharp glance that made him think otherwise.


    One night, while he was out in a nightclub, he saw the two roommates getting harassed by a group of men, and he witnessed how Megan beat the four men unconscious with ease.


    From that point forward, he decided to be careful around her. Still, it was that same fierce personality that attracted him, making him even more jealous of Dante, who seemed to get along with her pretty well.


    "Alright, this machine is to train your back muscles¡­" Megan explained to Dante, who inspected the machinery curiously.


    "I see. So, I choose a weight¡­" the warlock muttered, inserting the metal pipe into the heaviest weight possible, which marked 100 pounds.


    "Uhh¡­" Megan tried to interrupt, wondering if the warlock understood the value of the weights.


    "And then I pull," he continued, pulling down on the bar and lifting the 100 pounds with complete ease, catching the attention of the bodybuilders in the gym.


    "Oi, bruh. That was impressive¡ªyou should train with us!" said a burly man whose muscles looked like they were about to burst.


    Dante politely declined, saying that he was already training with someone.


    "Ahaha! No problem, brutha''. Still, you should at least sign in to the squatting competition¡ªyou too, Megan," said the bodybuilder.


    "Oh, you know each other?" asked Dante.


    "Of course, we know her! Megan won the mixed martial arts tournament, and she lifts here frequently!" he explained.


    *Sigh* "Fine, I''ll join¡­" the brunette muttered.

 Chapter 17 - 17: Warlock at the Gym

    After the friendly bodybuilder approached Dante and Megan, he guided them to the desk to sign up for the squatting competition, which was still a few hours away from starting.


    The man introduced himself as Chad Robinson, and once the pair wrote down their names, he returned to his routine, saying he would meet with them later.


    "Oi, how much do you think that guy is lifting?" a man asked his friend, looking at the mirror that showed Dante behind them doing chest presses.


    "There''s at least 400 pounds on each side of the barbell¡­" his friend replied.


    Dante''s routine was catching the attention of the gym attendees, and while Megan was also impressed at his strength, her face maintained the same cold expression.


    Once they were done using the machines, Megan walked to another side of the gym into another room, separated from the rest of the machinery.


    It was an open space with different hooks on the ceiling for people to hang punching bags, and while Dante was a bit confused, Megan thought it was better to show its utility in practice.


    The warlock stood silently on the side of the room, watching the brunette practice her martial arts against the large, heavy punching bag in the center.


    Her stance was anything but graceful, but her explosive punches and slicing kicks had Dante entranced, making him think otherwise.


    He was familiar with physical combat, as he had to practice in his past world to survive, but no martial art resembled the one Megan was practicing.


    *Bam!* The sound of a final punch echoed in the room, making the sweaty Megan turn her head towards Dante.


    "Wanna try?" she asked, letting out a tired sigh.


    "I could¡ªphysical combat was never my specialty, though¡­" he replied, approaching the punching bag.


    "Well, with that strength, I doubt much technique is needed to knock someone out," said Megan, her comment sounding like a joke, but she was totally serious.


    Dante let out a somewhat sad smile as he remembered his two party members and best friends, who specialized in physical combat.


    ''I wonder what Sylas and Soren would think of this¡­'' he pondered.


    Megan noticed the warlock''s change in attitude and asked if he wanted to learn some techniques, making him perk up with anticipation.


    After removing the punching bag from the center of the room, they stood face to face, with Megan raising her arms into a guarding stance while the warlock maintained his casual posture.


    "Alright, first lesson¡ªalways have your guard up," said Megan, launching herself at Dante and going for a kick in the face.


    However, the warlock moved his head back and avoided her leg by an inch, making the brunette follow up with a series of punches.


    Still, Dante kept avoiding and deflecting her fists with the back of his hands as if he was slapping them away before she could hit him.


    "Huh, you got incredible combat sense and fast reflexes, but your movements are kind of annoying¡­" said Megan as she took a quick backstep.


    "What do you mean?" Dante asked.


    "It''s like you are not even trying," she replied, making the warlock turn his eyes to the side as if he was hiding something.


    "Is that it? Fine¡­ I''ll take the challenge," she muttered, sharpening her gaze and solidifying her stance.


    As soon as the brunette bolted from her position towards Dante, his eyes widened slightly at the speed of the woman.


    The fact that she wasn''t using any type of magic to boost her movements was a testament to how much she had trained.


    He could still deflect her fists with the back of his hand, but not without feeling a bit of pain as he wasn''t using any magic to protect his body.


    At one point, Megan went for a punch in the gut, and the warlock lowered his guard to protect himself. Nonetheless, it was a feint, and she followed it up with a lateral kick to Dante''s face.


    In that split second, the warlock managed to catch Megan''s leg right before it connected with his cheek.


    *Phew* he muttered.


    But the brunette jumped and spun in the air quickly, making Dante lose his grip on her leg as she used her other to slam his face, turning his gaze to the side.


    Dante held his chin perplexedly, where Megan''s kick left a little mark. Still, he wasn''t angry about being struck but in complete awe of the woman''s techniques.


    "Gonna take it seriously now?" she asked, her gaze cold but her tone somewhat friendlier.


    With a smirk, the warlock turned his face back and raised his arms, imitating her guarding stance.


    "Thanks, Miss Megan¡ªI was starting to lose my edge," he said.


    "We are sparring partners now. Just call me Megan or Meg," she replied, followed by a quick step as she went on the offensive once again.


    ____________________


    After the pair spent a few hours practicing their moves against each other, Chad called for them back to join the squatting tournament, which was about to begin.


    The objective was for each competitor to raise the weight from the previous one by whatever amount they wanted¡ªif they managed to complete one full squat, they would move on to the next round.


    Each contender drew a ticket with a number, and Dante ended up last while Megan was second to last, meaning they would be the ones lifting the most at the end of each round.


    It started relatively simple, with a total weight of 250 pounds, which slowly increased as the participants took their turns.


    When Megan was up, she squatted 400 pounds, which Dante later increased to 450 during his turn.


    A few of the contestants were eliminated in the second round, and when Megan''s turn came back up, she ended up squatting 650 pounds, although it was not easy for her.


    Still, she gained the praise and cheers of the bodybuilders who were spectating, showing their respect towards her.


    In Dante''s second turn, he asked for the maximum amount of weights that the barbell could hold to be added to it, which confused the referee and other participants. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That could be dangerous. We can''t do that¡­" said the judge.


    "It''ll be fine! ¡ªI''ll allow it!" Chad interjected.


    He judged people by the way they lifted, and he was the one who witnessed Dante lifting the maximum amount of weights on the back press machine before recommending him to join the tourney.


    It was those same judging skills that made him understand that Dante wasn''t the type of man to talk without having something to show for it.


    "Alright, it''s ready!" said one of the bodybuilders, who was helping carry the weights to the barbell.


    "That''s one thousand pounds!" exclaimed another strong man.


    Once Dante held the bar and squatted down, he felt like he could lift a bit more weight, but that didn''t mean that it was easy, as he felt a slight cramp on his thigh that made him stop momentarily.


    "You got this, bruh!" a bodybuilder exclaimed.


    "PUUUUSH!" another one shouted with the veins popping out of his neck.


    The spectators started clapping and hyping up the warlock. While their yells sounded sort of aggressive, the positive energy that radiated from the strong men genuinely had an effect on him.


    Joining the men in their shouts, Dante let out a battle cry as he rose, completing one full squat of 1,000 pounds, making the spectators cheer loudly.


    While the bodybuilders celebrated by patting Dante on the back and shaking his hand, the warlock could feel a cloud of umbra in the mix, coming from Turner and his buddies, who had been spectating the tournament from the opposite side of the room.


    *Tch!* "Let''s get outta here¡ªThis gym is shit anyways," said Turner, gritting his teeth and leaving the building with his lackeys behind him. Nevertheless, Dante didn''t even notice him go as he was already ignoring them.


    ____________________


    Dante was given the 1st place prize, and after the tournament was over, he said his farewells to the group of bodybuilders and left the gym with Megan.


    "Thanks for bringing me with you. I had a lot of fun¡­" said Dante, holding a trophy with a small golden statuette that had the shape of a weight.


    "I got this nice golden trophy, too," he continued.


    "It''s made out of plastic, so don''t think you can sell that for a high price or something¡­" Megan replied.


    However, the warlock was thinking about putting it on one of the empty shelves in the apartment, which used to hold Megan and Sophia''s stuff until they moved to the third floor.


    "I didn''t think the place used as training grounds could have such a friendly environment," Dante commented.


    "It''s not always that rowdy¡­" said the brunette.


    "Really? Hmm, I wonder what got everyone so excited all of a sudden¡­"


    "Yup¡­ I wonder," Megan said with a slightly sarcastic tone, which wasn''t easy to decipher since her eyes kept the same cold gaze.

 Chapter 18 - 18: Dante’s First Mission (Part 1)

    During one afternoon, Camille was sitting in her office when Dante and Megan arrived at her request.


    Before starting their conversation, Camille ordered one of the servants to bring some juice for the warlock, and while they waited for them to return with the refreshments, she explained the reason for their visit.


    "Dante, do you remember the day you got here when we passed by that parking lot?" the platinum-haired woman asked.


    "In the giant building¡ªthe skyscraper, yeah?" he replied.


    The warlock had been reading plenty of books since he arrived, and Camille was glad to see that his vocabulary was adjusting to that of their world.


    She explained that she had given the man in the parking lot a flash drive, which contained information on the whereabouts of a gang known as Red River.


    However, not anyone could access the information, as it had strong security measures that only the most talented hackers could get through.


    "I had a large team of hackers working on this the past few days, and they were able to finally crack it," Camille elaborated.


    "I see¡ªand what would you like me to do?" Dante asked.


    "Well, I was going to send Megan to do her thing, but I think having you around could be useful," the handler replied.


    She elaborated further and said that while they had the location of certain Red River bases, there were only a few that were worth their time.


    "We have no idea what this guy looks like, but your objective is to kidnap a man that goes by the codename of ''Pozo,''" Camille continued. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The building they were infiltrating was a supposed drug warehouse where the gang hid a large part of their stash. Still, Camille expressed her disinterest in the drugs, as she only wanted the man alive.


    After giving her clear instructions to the pair, they understood their mission, which would take place later that night.


    "Oh, and Dante¡­ Try not to use your magic unless it''s necessary," Camille said before they left her office.


    When the two made their way back home, Dante noticed that Megan was strangely noncombative about him being assigned the same mission as her.


    Out of the people who knew Dante''s real identity, Megan was the one who trusted him the least. However, those feelings seemed to be dissipating, as she showed no objection to him joining.


    "By the way, Dante. I know Cami said this to you, but do NOT use your ''destro'' spell unless I ask you to¡ªit''s too destructive¡­" Megan commented as they walked.


    "Ah, it''s not always like that. I can adjust the potency of the spell to destroy much smaller targets," Dante explained.


    "That''s good to know. But still, don''t do it unless I tell you to," the brunette replied. Her tone was cold, but the positive energy that came out of her body was visible to the warlock.


    "Understood," he said with a gentle smile.


    ____________________


    After midnight, a van passed by to pick up Dante and Megan from their apartments and left them one block away from the building they needed to infiltrate.


    Megan was wearing the same black, tight outfit she used when she met Dante for the first time, covering her long brown tresses and mouth, leaving only her emerald eyes exposed.


    The warlock wore a black hoodie that left his face uncovered. However, it was still difficult to detail any of his features in the dark other than his glowing, crimson eyes.


    Using a corner for cover, they spotted two thugs standing in front of the building, which looked like it was abandoned. Nevertheless, Dante could feel a thick cloud of umbra oozing from the place.


    "Leave those to me¡­" Megan whispered, using the shadows to silently walk up to the men.


    With a quick motion, the brunette kicked one of the thugs in the back of the head and knocked him unconscious. Then, she grabbed the other from behind with her arm against his neck, tightly squeezing until he passed out.


    ''Nice¡­'' the warlock thought, genuinely admiring Megan''s techniques.


    When the brunette signaled him to move forward, Dante was about to go through the front door before she stopped him, pointing at a broken window on the first floor of the building.


    The pair had no problem climbing the wall, and Megan peeked inside the window first to look for cameras.


    Once she made sure it was clear, they both entered the musty room that seemed to have been locked for years, but there were a few wooden crates lying around that said otherwise.


    Megan opened the door leading to the hallway and instantly spotted a camera that was placed right on top of them, recording everything except that small blind spot they were at.


    *Sigh* "Lucky¡­" Megan whispered, thinking of a way to bypass the cameras.


    Suddenly, she heard noises coming from the hallway and saw that two thugs were making their way out of another room.


    "Yeeeah, bring me some too!" a man exclaimed.


    "Huh? Come get it yourself!" another replied as he walked towards the pair.


    While Megan quickly hid behind the door, Dante stood to the side of the room, prompting the woman to signal him to move out of the way.


    Nevertheless, the warlock wasn''t planning on getting caught, and right as the two men went into the room, he imitated Megan''s kick to the back of the head and knocked one out.


    The second thug was about to shout but was met with Dante''s punch on the chin, which made him bite his tongue and fall to the ground.


    Megan relished the opportunity and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, stained by the blood that came out of his mouth.


    "We are looking for Pozo. Scream for help and see what happens¡­" she said with an intimidating tone.


    Still, the man had a defiant look and didn''t say a word to the pair, making Dante a bit uneasy for a brief moment as the umbra flowing from him looked strange.


    "Wait¡­" said the warlock, but the thug opened his mouth wide and quickly ingested a pill he had inside his lips.


    Megan stepped back with a slight shock, seeing that the thug started convulsing as his eyes rolled back with red foam coming out of his mouth.


    "He is dead¡­" Dante whispered.


    "Yeah, I can see that¡ªwhat the hell did he eat?" the brunette pondered.


    "Oi, what''s taking so long!?" said another thug in the hallway, slowly walking towards their room.


    At that moment, Megan noticed that the camera had a small light that lit up whenever it captured someone with its lens, leading her to deduce that the camera had facial recognition.


    "I have an idea¡­" she whispered to Dante, who looked almost too excited to be there.

 Chapter 19 - 19: Dante’s First Mission (Part 2)

    After the last thug in the hallway entered the room, the man was promptly knocked out by Megan, who had an idea to bypass the security system in the building.


    She believed that the camera had facial recognition technology, as it lit up whenever someone was on its line of sight.


    "If the cameras can recognize the people who can enter the building, then they probably don''t have someone watching the monitors¡­" Megan explained.


    "Hmm? How do you know?" Dante asked, not comprehending the brunette''s train of thought.


    "Those cameras are the ones we used in our bases. They were made specifically for the Jade Dragons¡­" she replied.


    The old mafia family had adopted facial recognition cameras a long time ago, which would scan the body features of anyone it captured.


    When the camera''s program captured an unknown person, it would send an alert to a guard, who would quickly check the footage.


    If the guard deemed the unknown person a threat, they would sound the alarm and alert everyone in the building.


    "However, there is one big flaw with the program¡ªIt can''t tell if someone is alive," Megan said, finishing her explanation.


    At that moment, the warlock understood her plan and carried one of the unconscious thugs on his back, making the brunette glad that he was a quick learner. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As they used the bodies of the men to cover their figures from the camera, the pair left the room and slowly walked along the hallway to the other side without looking back.


    When they turned the corner into a staircase, Megan scanned her surroundings and dropped the unconscious thug on the ground as no cameras could spot them there.


    They could hear the sounds of people talking on the ground floor, which only made them turn their attention to the upper floors as footsteps approached the stairs.


    Reaching the third floor, Dante took one step too far and peeked at the empty corridor, seeing a camera on the other side blinking.


    Simultaneously, Megan pulled Dante by the jacket to get him out of sight¡ªbut it was too late, as the facial recognition program caught a glimpse of the warlock.


    "Shit¡­" Megan muttered.


    Not even five seconds later, an alarm started blaring loudly while all of the lights were abruptly turned on.


    "Come on!" Megan exclaimed, quickly rushing up the stairs to the top floor.


    A group of thugs came down looking for them, but the pair easily avoided their attacks and slammed their faces against the wall and ground without stopping their advance.


    When they peeked into the corridor of the 4th floor, bullets started flying and darting from the corner, making Megan take a step back and pull out a pistol from the back of her belt.


    Dante detailed the weapon for a moment, as he had already gotten familiar with guns¡ªespecially after getting shot on his first minute of arriving in that world.


    However, it was that same knowledge that allowed him to appreciate the elegant gun, which had a grayish body with gold and emerald accents in the shape of a dragon, going from the handle to the barrel of the pistol.


    For a brief moment, the bullets stopped, and Megan used the opportunity to peek and shoot, hitting the two uncovered gang members in the chest.


    As the brunette rushed out into the open corridor, Dante followed her closely, but he could feel the hostile umbra from a group of people going up the stairs, making him stop and turn.


    "Shadow whip¡­" the warlock muttered, clapping his hands and creating a set of a dozen whips of black mist that shot out, lashing everything around him.


    As his spell destroyed the windows and partitions, he managed to hit the top of the staircase, making it crumble and blocking the thugs'' access to the last floor.


    ''Something''s wrong¡­'' the warlock thought, feeling like his powers were a bit out of control, but quickly focused on his mission.


    "Last room!" Dante exclaimed, sensing the umbra of someone flowing at the end of the corridor.


    Megan trusted her partner''s callout and kicked the door open, pointing her gun and taking one step forward before halting entirely.


    Dante rushed to catch up with the brunette, noticing that her flow of umbra had gotten strange.


    ''Is she scared¡­?'' he pondered, seeing her eyes in shock as she slowly crouched and put her gun on the ground.


    When he caught up and looked inside, he noticed a bald man wearing a strange vest with a cable connected to a small switch in his hand.


    "Shhh¡­" said the man inside the room, holding the remote tightly.


    "It''s a bomb vest¡­" Megan whispered, gazing at the warlock and seeing his wary expression.


    "Any loud sound will blow us up¡ªtake one step, and I''ll scream," the bald man said with a deranged smirk on his face.


    "He is not bluffing¡­" the warlock muttered to his partner.


    It was the first time that Dante had seen Megan feeling fear, and while her face and posture didn''t show it, he could tell by the umbra flowing from her body.


    ''That''s not his resolve. It''s like he is being threatened¡­'' the warlock thought, glancing at the man.


    Suddenly, the man took a deep breath and looked up. "ASTAROTH, SAVE US!" he shouted loudly.


    "Dante, use it!" Megan exclaimed, covering her face and expecting the worst.


    "Destro," said Dante just as the vest detonated, creating a sound that resonated as if the air and ground were being torn up.


    When Megan raised her gaze back up, her eyes widened in perplexion, seeing that Dante had blown away half of the entire building.


    "Huh?" the warlock said, looking at his hand with a confused expression, seeing that it was trembling as a smoke trail came out of it.


    The pair were standing on the edge of a perfectly half-demolished building, and while the warlock kept calmly inspecting his trembling hands, Megan snapped from her trance and grabbed his arm, guiding him out of the building by jumping down the now-open area.


    After the two ran a few blocks away and made sure that nobody was following them, the brunette looked at Dante, and he thought that the woman would be mad about him destroying everything.


    Instead, she grabbed his hand and inspected it closer. "Are you okay? I saw you looking at your hands back there¡­" she said.


    "Megan, I¡­-" Dante spoke up, feeling guilty about messing up the mission.


    "Explain later. Let''s get out of this area first," she replied, cutting him off.


    ''She is not mad?'' he pondered, seeing that Megan extruded absolutely no umbra towards him.

 Chapter 20 - 20: An Unusual Crime Scene

    Not even an hour had passed since Megan and Dante''s mission went horribly wrong, and they were already standing in front of Camille, who glared at them with an exasperated face.


    *Sigh* "So let me get this straight¡ªThe guy had a bomb vest, so you erased him along half of the building?" the handler asked.


    "Well, I didn''t mean for the spell to be that potent. There is something about the density of umbra in this world that I need to get used to¡­" Dante explained.


    "I told him to use it," Megan interjected.


    "She is just being nice. I told her I could control the potency of the spell, and I couldn''t do it¡ªalso, I was the one who walked into the camera point of view¡­" the warlock continued.


    "Okay, I get it¡ªI''m actually not angry at you for using your magic, Dante. I''m more bothered by the fact they are now using bomb vests," Camille said.


    "Yeah, but I thought we needed that guy alive," Dante replied, still feeling the guilt of his performance.


    "Let me ask you something. You weren''t the type of person to be stealthy in your past world, right?" the handler inquired.


    "Not really. If something required stealth, my friend Sylas would have been the one taking care of it," he replied.


    "He did try going in through the front door¡­" Megan muttered.


    Camille nodded, understanding that the warlock wasn''t used to doing things their way, so she told him that she would adjust the plans of the next mission according to his skills.


    "I already checked with my men, and all the camera recordings were destroyed with part of the building, so there is no trail of you two ever being there¡­" the handler said.


    "Still, I''ll need you to lay low for a few days," she continued, dismissing the pair and sending them home.


    ____________________


    The following day, Detective Alice and her partner June arrived at the scene, with the entire area surrounded by police, preventing citizens from taking pictures of the half-destroyed building.


    "Hmmm, Detective Alice¡­" June muttered, inspecting the damages while reading her notes.


    "I know. It''s the same as in Teko District¡­" Alice replied.


    "There is no sign of a bomb detonating anywhere, no burnt marks either¡ªit was as if the building was cut and removed with precision¡­" said June, engrossed in her own little notebook.


    When checking the reports, the detectives noticed that none of the corpses that were found at the scene were identified.


    "Hmm, must be the Red River gang," Alice deduced, confusing her apprentice.


    "Think about it¡ªTeko District is under the control of Red River, so if the person who destroyed part of the street was hunting down their gang, then there is a big chance that these guys were part of the same group¡­" the detective elaborated.


    June listened to her superior attentively and wrote down everything in her notebook.


    "Moreover, the reports say they can''t identify any of these guys. That has been the case with people from these gangs for a long time.


    They have no names, no birth certificates, no fingerprints¡­ nothing," Alice continued.


    While the two detectives kept inspecting the crime scene, one of the people in the forensic team approached them.


    "Detective Alice!" the man exclaimed.


    "We found this in the pocket of one of the corpses¡­" said the forensic expert, pulling out a plastic bag with a red and yellow pill inside.


    "Was this the only one?" Alice asked.


    The expert nodded, explaining that they tried to do a quick test with the tools they had but weren''t able to identify the unknown drug.


    "Understood, we''ll send it to the lab," June interjected.


    When the forensic expert left the pair to resume their work, the apprentice noticed Alice detailing the pill with a skeptical face.


    "Umm, should I call the forensics lab?" June asked.


    "We are not sending this to our lab," Alice replied, her tone gentle but firm.


    "Wh-what? Why not!?" the rookie detective asked with a little shock. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before answering, Alice walked back to the car to make sure that nobody was listening.


    From experience, the detective knew that sending unknown drugs made by the mafia to the forensics lab would end up being useless.


    The few times that she had done so in the past, the lab wasn''t able to get any results and disposed of the drugs, which ended up making her job much more difficult later on.


    "But, how can they fail at identifying the drug? They are literally a forensics lab!" June exclaimed with a frown.


    "Because our scientists are limited to what they can do when it comes to drug testing and analyzing¡­" Alice replied.


    "Then, what''s the alternative?"


    "Well, if you need information about the mafia, where do you go?" Alice answered with another test question for June.


    "To the mafia themselves¡­?" the rookie replied with uncertainty.


    "Mhmm, you are starting to get it," said the detective while calling someone on her phone.


    "Hey, can we meet again?" Alice asked, and June recognized who she called based on the tone of her voice.


    "Of course, my friend! You got something for me?" Camille asked, her loud voice coming through the speakers and confirming June''s suspicion.


    "Yeah, but I''m not giving it for free¡ªI want the info, too," Alice replied with a slightly more severe tone.


    "Heh, alright. I''m quite busy at the moment, so how about in a couple of days?" the handler playfully said.


    *Sigh* "Sure, but don''t take too long. It''s important¡­" replied Alice with exasperation.


    "I won''t. Send my greetings to your apprentice!" said Camille with a cheerful tone before hanging up.


    Following a brief silence, June spoke up. "Umm, Detective Alice. Is it really okay for us to give that woman the drug?"


    "I know what you are thinking¡ªbut if we want results, then yes. She is the only person we can give this to¡­" her superior replied.


    "Besides, I already told you. I trust Camille''s judgment, even if she is the handler of the Winter family," she continued, turning the car on and leaving the scene.

 Chapter 21 - 21: Zac’s Resolve

    During one Sunday afternoon, Zac was visiting his mother at Novis Hospital like he did every weekend.


    He had been deeply depressed ever since he stopped hanging out with Dante and the girls¡ªand seeing his sick mother only made his feelings more prominent.


    Still, that didn''t stop him from getting the bouquet of flowers he bought for her every visit. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before entering the room, he straightened his back and softly slapped his face, wanting to put up a happy front for his mother before seeing her.


    "Hey, mom¡­" he said with a smile but with a sad tone that contradicted it.


    She had the same light-red hair color as Zac, with a pale and skinny complexion that was clearly an effect of her illness.


    Hearing the voice of her son, the woman weakly opened her eyes with a slight smile on her face, turning her pupils to gaze at Zac.


    "I brought you some flowers¡­" he continued, replacing the dead flowers in the vase with the new ones.


    As he sat next to her bed, the silent woman raised a finger, prompting Zac to hold his mother''s hand, who kept looking at him with a smile that made him feel guilty.


    He looked down apprehensively, and the mother could tell that something was wrong with her son, using all of her energy to tighten the grip of her finger.


    "Sorry, mom¡­ I managed to make friends like you wanted," Zac muttered, his voice breaking the more he spoke.


    "But I-... I don''t think I can see them anymore," he continued, tears rolling down his face as he gripped his mother''s hand tightly with both palms.


    "Just when I thought about introducing you to him," Zac sobbed, feeling the weak grip of her mother getting a bit tighter.


    When he looked up, he saw her smile had been replaced by a frown, as the woman couldn''t handle seeing her son suffering.


    *Tch!* ''I''m so pathetic¡­'' he thought, gritting his teeth.


    Remembering his childhood living in Dewmore, Zac never had any friends¡ªnot because he didn''t try to be friendly, but because his interests never lined up with the people around him.


    To Zac, his mother was the most important person in the world, as she would always comfort him after not being able to make friends and getting bullied on the streets.


    "Zac, one day you''ll find a friend who will turn your world upside-down. But we must fight to keep what''s precious to us¡­" he remembered his mother muttering.


    It was a saying that she would repeat to him constantly, and one that he thought would never happen the more he grew up.


    He didn''t mind living in poverty as long as he and his mother were happy, but one night, she didn''t return home from work.


    When the authorities notified him, they told him they found his mother unconscious in an abandoned warehouse.


    Ever since then, Zac''s mother couldn''t speak, and the only parts of her body she could barely move were her eyes and index fingers.


    Zac was never planning on going to college, believing that he was smart enough to get a job to help his mother pay the bills, but after she was taken to the hospital, he realized he would need a lot of money to treat her.


    That''s when he decided to take the scholarship test for Novis University, which he aced, making the college pay for the care of his mother.


    ''Man, I really am pathetic¡­ Can I not even make my own mother happy!?'' he thought with frustration, gazing back at the ill woman.


    ''No. Who says I can''t? Turner? Fuck that guy!'' he continued.


    His tears stopped rolling down, and after he wiped his face with his sleeve, he looked back at his mother with confidence.


    "My new friend¡­ His name is Dante," Zac spoke up, catching the attention of the woman.


    "Heh, can you believe this guy approached me saying he had never played a single video game in his life?" continued Zac, enthusiastically talking about his shenanigans with Dante.


    "I even met the most beautiful girl I''ve seen thanks to him¡ªAh, but we are not dating or anything. She is just my friend!" the redhead clarified while blushing.


    "I know, I know. You are going to say that I fell in love with her¡ªbut honestly, that might be true!"


    The more he spoke about his experience with Dante and the girls, the more excited he got, making him lose track of time.


    When he gazed back at his mother during a brief pause, she had the biggest smile she had shown ever since she fell sick.


    ''If it will make my mother smile like this¡­ I will absolutely fight for my friends!'' he thought, determined never to make her worry about him again.


    "I promise to bring them one day. I think you would love them, too," he said.


    After his mother fell back asleep, Zac looked up at the ceiling and let out a tired sigh.


    He knew that there could be repercussions if he hung out with Dante again, as he had heard the rumors about Turner being affiliated with a criminal gang. Nevertheless, he was determined to keep his friendship, no matter what.


    "Better to live the life my mom wanted for me instead of being depressed¡­" he muttered to himself before he picked up his things.


    "See you later, mom¡­" he said, leaving the room as his mother slept peacefully with a smile on her face.

 Chapter 22 - 22: Bully Beatdown (Part 1)

    It was early in the morning at Novis University. Zac was running through the hallways of the business building, seeing Sophia and Victoria in the distance, about to enter their classroom.


    "Oh, hey! Have you seen Dante around!?" the redhead asked with urgency.


    "Huh? You are talking to us now?" Victoria replied sarcastically, clearly bothered by Zac''s attitude the past few days.


    ''Right. I''ve been avoiding them for a week¡­'' he thought, lowering his head with repentance.


    "He should be in the courtyard¡­" said Sophia with a gentle tone.


    "Thanks. I- I''ll see you guys later!" the redhead exclaimed, hastily running away from the pair.


    When he left the building, he quickly scanned his surroundings, spotting the warlock reading a book on a bench by himself, prompting him to bolt towards him.


    "Dante¡­!" he said, breathing heavily after running through half the campus.


    "What''s up, Zac?" the warlock greeted him. "Why do you look so tired?" he asked.


    *huff, huff* "I was looking for you all over the place¡­" Zac replied in between breaths.


    "I mean¡ªI''m always around this area¡­" Dante casually said.


    "Right, yeah, of course¡ªWhy didn''t I think of that¡­?" the redhead muttered, making the warlock chuckle.


    "Look¡­ I''m sorry. I''ve been ignoring you for the past week. It''s just that I-..." Zac stopped himself, feeling embarrassed of the reason for his cold demeanor.


    "You wanna play games?" interrupted the warlock, pulling out his BeamDeck from a small backpack.


    Zac bit his lips, slightly frustrated, but he knew that Dante was trying to cheer him up. "Yes, anytime!" he replied.


    After spending a little over an hour playing games, they met with Sophia and Victoria, who had finished their lessons for the day.


    "Miss Sophia, Miss Victoria. I''m sorry for ignoring you the past week!" Zac loudly said to the girls, bowing his head politely.


    "Hmph! I don''t know¡­ Are you?" Victoria replied, crossing her hands and scoffing.


    However, Dante could read the positive energy flowing from the girl, confusing him as to why she was acting like she was angry.


    Noticing that Zac took her comment to heart, Victoria quickly spoke up to clarify.


    *Ahem* "Well, since you ignored me for a week, then you have to help me with my stats homework for one week¡ªit''s only fair!" she exclaimed while slightly blushing.


    *Pfft* Dante chuckled, discovering Victoria''s motivation for her acting. Still, Zac''s eyes sparkled as he wholeheartedly accepted.


    Suddenly, the lighthearted and friendly atmosphere was broken for Dante, who felt a harmful surge of umbra directed in his direction.


    The warlock looked around, momentarily ignoring his group''s conversation, and saw Turner staring his way, surrounded by his lackeys. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''That''s not envy¡­ That''s harmful intent,'' Dante thought, wondering if the bully''s aggression was directed at him.


    "Alright, I gotta go home and work on my essay. See you tomorrow!" Victoria said, hastily leaving the courtyard.


    "I still have one more class. Let''s play online later tonight, Dante," commented Zac as he waved goodbye to them.


    When the warlock made his way back to the apartments with Sophia, the blonde noticed he was a little too quiet since they left the campus.


    "Something on your mind?" Sophia asked, halting her steps.


    "Actually¡­ Yes, I forgot something. I gotta go back," Dante replied, quickly turning around and bolting back to the university.


    "Wha-...?" the woman muttered to herself, watching the warlock running faster than the cars on the streets next to them.


    ''I get it now. That harmful umbra wasn''t directed at me¡ªthat''s why I can''t feel it this far away from the campus!'' thought Dante, skillfully avoiding the other pedestrians on his way.


    When he felt the harmful intent, he thought that whoever wanted to hurt him would follow him home. However, once he stopped sensing the umbra, he realized it was not directed towards him.


    As soon as he reached the campus, his eyes sharpened while he inspected his surroundings, looking slightly up into the sky and seeing the harmful umbra hundreds of meters away from him.


    Noticing that plenty of students were walking around, he knew he couldn''t use a spell to reach the area quickly, so Dante kept sprinting along the courtyards of the university until he reached a small alley next to an empty parking lot.


    Zac sat on the ground with his back against the wall¡ªblood dripping down from his forehead down to his chin.


    His glasses were shattered next to him, and there were splatters of blood spread around the alley, making the warlock understand that he had been struck numerous times.


    Still, Dante''s rage only got more prominent when he saw Zac''s BeamDeck on the ground, with its screen shattered and stained with his blood.


    Turner had one foot on top of Zac''s shoulder, smirking proudly, while three of his lackeys laughed behind him.


    "Hah, Turner, look who''s here!?" said one of the men.


    "Aww, did he come to pick up his friend?" another commented, but Dante wasn''t listening to any of their comments.


    "I told him he would accompany his mother if he ignored me¡ªthink of this as a warning," said Turner, gazing at the warlock.


    However, when his eyes made contact, Turner suddenly felt an incredible pressure around his body, making him freeze and tremble for a moment.


    "Hahaha! I think he is mad," one of the lackeys said.


    "What''s wrong? Too scared to speak?"


    "Let''s just show him a lesson!"


    The three men rushed towards Dante with their fists raised, but the warlock didn''t react to their advances as he slowly walked forward.


    Catching the first punch, Dante squeezed the man''s hand and shattered his bones all the way to their shoulder before kicking him to the side.


    The second man went for a hook, making Dante slightly move his neck back to avoid it, grabbing the man''s arm, breaking it with one squeeze, and throwing him to the side like a ragdoll.


    The third lackey hesitated, so Dante made the first move for him and kicked him in the face, making him spit out a few teeth before falling unconscious with the last pair.


    *Tch!* "Do you even know what you are doing? Huh!?" Turner exclaimed with a mix of fear and anger.


    Nevertheless, Dante kept ignoring him as he caught up to his friend, inspecting his wounds closer.


    He could see small traces of glass stuck to his forehead, so he deduced that the bullies had cracked his skull open with his own BeamDeck, increasing the menacing pressure emanating from the warlock''s body.

 Chapter 23 - 23: Bully Beatdown (Part 2)

    After carefully scanning his friend Zac from up close, the warlock looked back at Turner, who seemed to be trying to combat his own fear of Dante.


    "If your friend had simply followed my orders, he wouldn''t have gotten himself in this predicament¡ªWhy are you interfering with my shit!?" the bully said.


    "Your orders, huh?" the warlock muttered, taking one step and appearing right in front of Turner, startling him.


    The bully took one step back from the shock and tried punching Dante in the face, and while Dante could have easily avoided it, he decided to take the hit.


    Nevertheless, the warlock didn''t even budge an inch, as Turner felt like he was hitting a wall when his fist connected with his cheek.


    "Pathetic," Dante muttered, grabbing Turner''s arm and squeezing it, not entirely breaking his bones yet.


    "Arrghh!" the bully grunted, forcibly kneeling on the ground from the pain.


    "You said you gave an order? Tell me about it, then¡­" said the warlock, his voice cold and his gaze sharp.


    "I just told him to get away from Victoria¡ªshe''s my bitch!" Turner exclaimed, but Dante knew he was lying.


    "Is that so? Then why did he avoid me? ¡ªIn fact, all the other students have also been pretty distant from me. You wouldn''t happen to have something to do with that, right?" Dante asked, his eyes looking even more intimidating to the bully.


    Still, Turner stayed true to his ego and spoke up while trembling and sweating. "So what if I did-..." *crush* ¡ª His sentence was cut short by the sound of his arm''s bones snapping.


    Dante followed it up by punching Turner three times in the face¡ªin a quick succession that didn''t last over one second, breaking his front teeth and nose.


    As the bully fell on his rear and grabbed his bloodied face with his healthy hand, the warlock stepped on his chest and slammed him against the ground.


    "This is my order to you. Don''t ever show your face around me or my friends¡­" Dante said, looking down at the beaten-up Turner with a condescending gaze.


    "There won''t be a second warning," he continued, finishing his sentence and applying more pressure on his leg, depriving Turner of oxygen and knocking him out.


    With haste, Dante looked around to make sure that the bullies and Zac were still unconscious, stretching his hand forward and making the area around him shake momentarily.


    From the ground, an obsidian altar with skull adornments that reached up to his waist came up, making him hold his hand above the bowl atop the pillar.


    Just like he did the night he first arrived, he poured some of his blood into the altar until the skulls'' eyes on the side lit up with a green hue, producing a small healthstone.


    After snapping his fingers, the small altar turned to ash, and Dante quickly approached his friend to treat him before anyone else could find them.


    He gently placed the healthstone in Zac''s palm and helped him tighten his grip around it, making the stone generate a green mist that mended all of Zac''s wound in a few seconds.


    "Wh-what happened here?" said Sophia, who had finally caught up with the warlock but reached him just in time to see all of the bullies beaten up on the ground.


    "A bit of an altercation. I''ll tell you about it later¡­" replied Dante, gazing back at the shattered BeamDeck beside him.


    He knew that Zac had to work two jobs for months to afford the console, and he did it while also taking care of his mother at the hospital.


    When Sophia approached him to help treat Zac, Dante asked Sophia to maintain his grip on the stone for a moment while he checked something.


    The blonde did as requested, but feeling curious about what Dante was doing, she turned around and saw him ruffling through the bullies'' pockets, taking out their wallets.


    "I''m not stealing¡­" Dante commented, but Sophia kept staring at him with suspicion.


    "No, seriously. I''m just getting the money they owe Zac," he continued, trying to explain his actions.


    The three lackeys had 250 kepi between them, which annoyed Dante, as it wasn''t even half of the price for the console. Still, when he checked Turner''s pockets, he got an extra 500 kepi from him.


    Right as he collected the money, Zac opened his eyes and let out a soft grunt, prompting the blonde to quickly grab the healthstone from his hand.


    "Ngh¡­ Wh-what the hell!?" the redhead exclaimed, seeing all of the bullies that were tormenting him a few minutes prior all bloodied and beaten on the ground.


    "Dante, Miss Sophia?" he asked, still perplexed at the scene.


    Zac quickly checked his head, thinking that he was still bleeding from it, but realized that he wasn''t feeling any pain and there were no signs of being wounded. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I think it''s better we all talk somewhere else. How about you come over for dinner?" Sophia said, wanting to leave the scene before other students saw them there.


    The three left the alley after helping Zac pick up all his broken stuff, which seemed to depress him as he knew he had no money to replace them.


    "Well, I did get some compensation, but I don''t think it''s enough to replace all of your stuff¡­" said Dante while they walked to the apartments.


    "Huh? There is no way those guys gave you money," Zac replied.


    "Ehh, you know. Maybe I took it, maybe they gave it to me¡ªdoes it really matter when it''s the money they owe you?" the warlock said, trying to excuse his actions.


    Nevertheless, Zac had been getting used to Dante''s strange logic, so he decided to go with the flow and agree with his friend''s words.


    When the trio got to the building, they went up to Dante''s apartment on the fourth floor, but Sophia took a detour to go to her apartment to grab the food she was going to cook.


    "Dude, you got robbed!" Zac exclaimed as he entered Dante''s empty apartment.


    All the warlock had were piles of books, a couch, a flatscreen TV, and his trophy for winning the squatting tournament¡ªso, naturally, Zac thought that his house had been broken into.

 Chapter 24 - 24: Fantasy Enthusiast

    At Dante''s apartment, the warlock explained to Zac that he was only living there temporarily for his bodyguard job, which was why his home was empty.


    Still, Zac didn''t find that any less suspicious, as his reasoning didn''t make much sense to him.


    "You know? I was still awake when you got there¡­" Zac muttered.


    Remembering the events, after he said his farewells to the group, he calmly made his way to his lesson, only to get cut off mid-way by Turner and his lackeys.


    They dragged him to the alley, knowing that no cameras were around, and their beating began.


    Nonetheless, the last thing he remembered was the voice of Dante talking to the bullies before hearing them wail in pain.


    "Dante, who are you?" the redhead asked, his tone the most serious he had ever been.


    The warlock stood up from his seat and locked eyes with Zac, who was oozing positive energy from his body, letting Dante understand that his friend had absolutely no ill intentions toward him.


    ''Zac was my first real friend in this world, and he stood up against those bullies just to keep hanging out with me¡­'' Dante thought.


    He knew that Camille asked him to keep his identity a secret, but that was to prevent people with bad intentions from approaching the warlock.


    When he saw Zac''s aura, he could tell that the man had genuine affection towards him, reminding him of his old friends from his past world.


    "Zac, I''ll tell you the truth since you are sincerely my friend," Dante replied, maintaining a serious atmosphere.


    *Gulp* "Okay, go on¡­"


    "My full name is Dante Shadowvale, and I''m a Specialist Warlock from the world of Terra,"


    "..." A brief silence enveloped the apartment.


    *Pfft* "HAHAHA, Good one!" Zac exclaimed with tears of laughter while he held his stomach.


    "You are a warlock, and I''m a warrior, arrrgh!" the redhead jokingly continued, loudly chuckling to himself before noticing that Dante stood still.


    "Dude, you are not laughing¡­" he said, raising an eyebrow and pondering if Dante was not trying to make a joke.


    Thinking of a way to demonstrate his claims, Dante pointed his hand at the coffee table and controlled the umbra in the apartment to make the TV remote float on top of it gently.


    With an ecstatic expression, Zac waved his arms around the remote to check for wires and was surprisingly happy to see that it was genuinely floating and it wasn''t a trick.


    "How are you doing this!?" the redhead exclaimed.


    "I''m just controlling the umbra around us. It''s not much, so I can only make small objects like this float¡­" Dante replied, putting the remote back down.


    Zac''s mind started racing, wondering if he was going crazy. However, his curiosity and his fanboy spirit got the best of him.


    "You said ''umbra.'' What''s that? Is it your powers? Do spells have names? Can you re-spec to another class if you get bored? Do you have levels?" The redhead asked incessantly, comparing Dante''s identity to that of an RPG1.


    "Uhh, what?" the warlock asked with a puzzled expression.


    "I thought you were going to tell me you were a secret spy or something. I wasn''t expecting to discover magic!" Zac continued.


    At that moment, Sophia entered the apartment, holding a paper bag with vegetables and other ingredients. However, the two men didn''t notice her as Zac kept asking magic-related questions.


    "Umm, Dante?" Sophia muttered.


    "I know. I told him the truth," the warlock replied, knowing that the blonde was a little worried for him.


    "Ah, Miss Sophia. How did you even find a real warlock!?" Zac asked, directing his barrage of questions towards the blonde.


    "Umm, w-well¡­ It was Megan who ran into him first," she replied.


    Zac had never met Megan in person, but he had heard rumors about her on campus, as she was known as the cold and beautiful roommate of the sweet and caring Sophia.


    "I see. I should ask her. As a fantasy enthusiast, I can''t let this opportunity escape¡­" the redhead muttered.


    ____________________


    An hour had passed, and while Sophia was almost done preparing dinner, she kept listening attentively to Zac''s questions, as she believed she didn''t have the guts to ask Dante for details about his life.


    "Are there dragons in Terra?" he asked.


    "Yeah,"


    "What about vampires?"


    "Yup,"


    "Mermaids?"


    "Mhmm¡­" Dante nodded.


    Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted when Megan arrived to join them for supper.


    "Ah, Meg. Right on time¡ªSit down, I''ll get you a plate," the blonde greeted Megan.


    ''That''s Miss Megan!?'' Zac thought, wondering how Dante was always surrounded by beautiful women.


    "Thanks, Sophie¡­ Who''s this?" the brunette indifferently asked while taking a seat, prompting the redhead to stand up hastily.


    "My name is Zac Pearce. It''s nice to meet you, Miss Megan," he uttered loudly.


    "Likewise-..." she said, but was instantly cut short.


    "Miss Megan, how did you find Dante? Did you summon him!?" the redhead asked.


    "What?" said the brunette, keeping her cold expression and glancing at the warlock.


    "Dante, what is he talking about?" she continued.


    "I told him the truth¡ªbut no, Zac, Miss Megan didn''t summon me," Dante said calmly.


    "So, how did you get here?" Zac asked, turning his attention towards the warlock.


    Sophia and Megan halted their movements and gazed at Dante, as they were curious to know the same thing.


    The two girls never tried to dig too much into Dante''s past since they felt like the warlock''s mood diminished whenever he mentioned something about it.


    Camille was the only person who knew Dante''s real age, and she had kept that information a secret since it was confided to her alone.


    Luckily for the girls, Zac didn''t mind pestering his friend with personal questions, so they used that moment to learn more about Dante.


    "Well, I didn''t come here on purpose¡­" the warlock replied, his voice having a slightly somber tone.


    "There was a natural phenomenon called ''celestial alignment convergence'' happening, which worked as a gate between realms," he continued.


    "Like a portal?" Zac asked.


    "I guess so."


    "But, you said it wasn''t on purpose. How do you enter a portal by mistake?" asked the redhead with genuine curiosity. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *Sigh* "I had a contract with a demon that stated he would save me from certain death one time¡ªI suppose the only option he had to fulfill his contract was sending my body through the convergence¡­" Dante explained.


    Hearing his answer, Megan remembered the first time she met Dante and how he had appeared with his tattered clothes, full of cuts and bruises¡ªcasually mentioning how he hadn''t slept for three days.


    The group understood the implications of his words. He was meant to die and ended up in a completely different world.


    Noticing the slight change in Dante''s mood, the redhead sat his questions aside.


    ''What could Dante have been doing that it was certain he would die¡­?'' the brunette thought, knowing his capabilities.

 Chapter 25 - 25: An Unknown Drug

    The following day after Dante''s altercation with Turner and his lackeys, he accompanied Sophia to campus as always and noticed that more people were approaching to talk to him.


    A group of girls invited him to join the lecture club, seeing that he was always reading books in the courtyard.


    Another group of mostly men also invited him to join the gaming club, but the warlock had to express the fact he wasn''t a student, so he couldn''t join their clubs.


    Still, Dante wasn''t bothered by the attention, as he enjoyed talking to people since he could always learn new stuff from them.


    At one point, he overheard some students talking about the previous day and how a professor found the bullies unconscious on the ground before calling an ambulance.


    "I''m glad those bastards got what they deserved," a student said.


    "Same. But what about the guys who did it? Aren''t they screwed?" another asked.


    "Yeah, they are probably gonna have the mafia on their tails¡­"


    ''Hmmm¡­'' the warlock deeply pondered.


    After Sophia was done with her lessons, they were supposed to visit Camille in her office to explain the events that happened. However, Dante decided to take Zac with them.


    ____________________


    In Camille''s office, the handler inspected Zac closely as Dante and Sophia told her everything that happened that day.


    Meanwhile, the redhead nervously stood still in the middle of the room, wondering how he had gotten to that point.


    "Apologies, Camille. I needed to use my magic to create a healthstone," Dante commented, but the platinum-haired woman wasn''t angry at him.


    "I''m more surprised you told him the whole truth¡­" she replied.


    "Dante, I don''t care if you use your magic or not¡ªin fact, I don''t care if you tell someone that you are a warlock since nobody would believe them anyway¡­" Camille continued.


    "You were lucky yesterday that those bullies took your friend to an alley with no cameras, but that might not be the case in the future¡ªremember that."


    As the handler spoke, Dante could feel the positive energy flowing from her body, making him understand that her words stemmed from her worries toward him.


    Camille asked Dante not to use his powers, not because she was afraid of him but because she was worried that the warlock wouldn''t achieve a peaceful life if his abilities became widely known.


    "I''ll keep it in mind, Camille. Thank you," Dante said politely.


    "Oh, I also heard something curious¡­" the warlock continued.


    He told the handler about the rumors he had heard, saying that Turner had affiliations with the mafia. The bully even said it to Dante''s face one time, but he didn''t take him seriously.


    "I see. That''s why you brought your friend here," Camille said.


    "I still don''t know why I''m here¡­" Zac interjected, making the handler chuckle a little.


    "Dante is worried about you, boy. He wants me to protect you and your family," said the platinum-haired woman with a strangely seductive smile.


    "If it''s not a problem¡­" Dante interrupted.


    The handler agreed to give Zac and his mother protection from whatever gang tried to hurt them. However, she knew that they would probably try to retaliate against the warlock first.


    "Bring them alive if possible¡­" said Camille to Dante, making him nod in understanding.


    ''Bring who alive? How is she going to protect me? Who is this woman anyway!?'' Zac thought.


    Without further explanation, the group left the handler''s office and made their way through one of the corridors leading to the elevator.


    From another hallway, Detective Alice and her apprentice, June, were walking toward Camille''s office, which could be accessed from two different sides to prevent different clients from seeing each other.


    However, Alice knew the inner workings of the hallway mirrors and used her phone to see the blurry reflection of the people leaving Camille''s office.


    ''That''s the Ragucci girl, but who are those two?'' the detective pondered as she detailed the black and red hair of the two men walking beside Sophia.


    When their turn to enter came up, Camille greeted the two detectives warmly and ordered refreshments for them.


    While they waited, Alice took out the pill they found in the jacket of one of the dead Red River gang members and put it on Camille''s desk for her to inspect closer.


    "Seen this before?" the detective asked.


    "No. This is the first time I see this type of drug¡ªWhat do you want for it?" Camille replied.


    "Information. I wanna know the results when you analyze it," Alice said confidently.


    With a gentle smile on her face, Camille agreed to the detective''s deal. Still, the rookie couldn''t understand how her superior placed so much trust in the handler.


    "Half of the building was gone, too. It looked a lot like the street at Teko District¡ªAny clues about that?" the detective continued.


    "Hmm, did you consider a bomb detonated?" Camille replied with another question, her expression unwavering.


    June could tell that the platinum-haired woman was a professional at handling secret information, as her body language didn''t show any signs of nervousness.


    *Sigh* "It wasn''t a bomb, Cami. I''m sure you know that since you probably saw the pictures already¡­" said the detective, breaking her serious front into a more exasperated tone.


    "You said you were going to tell me about Teko District when it was time, but I can''t just ignore it if it keeps happening," she continued.


    "I understand, but I''m not changing my mind," Camille replied.


    Not wanting to push her friend any further, the detectives took their leave, expecting the results of the test in a few days.


    "Now what? We just wait?" June asked her superior as they got into their car.


    However, Alice couldn''t get the sight of Sophia and the two unknown men leaving Camille''s office out of her mind.


    The detective knew the blonde girl since they had met a few times in the past after Camille took her in, and she was aware that she was the daughter of the former right-hand man from the Jade Dragon''s leader.


    Still, she also knew that Sophia was a sweet and caring girl with a clean record, and it wouldn''t have been strange of her to visit Camille to catch up with her benefactor.


    ''I would have paid it no mind if it was just her. But who were the two men?'' Alice kept pondering.


    "Hello?" June spoke up, seeing her superior lost in thought and ignoring her questions.


    "I''ll tell you later. Let''s go back to HQ for now," replied the detective, breaking her train of thought and driving out of the building''s parking lot. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 26 - 26: Warlock’s Training

    After Dante, Zac, and Sophia left the handler''s office, they were told that security measures were going to start that same day.


    Zac didn''t entirely understand what was happening, and as the trio walked back to Dante''s apartment, he inquired about the identity of the beautiful platinum-haired lady. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, when he heard her last name was "Winter," the redhead looked pale, feeling like he had acted disrespectfully towards one of the most powerful people in the country.


    Sophia chuckled at Zac''s worries, explaining that Camille wasn''t the type of person to care for that sort of thing, and the trust the blonde placed in her made Zac feel much better.


    When the group got to Dante''s apartment and opened the door, they were surprised to see all of Zac''s belongings in the living room, neatly packed in boxes.


    "What the hell is this!?" the redhead exclaimed as he ran towards the boxes.


    At the same time, Dante received a call from Camille, putting it on speaker for everyone to listen, and the handler asked the warlock to share the apartment with the redhead and keep him safe until the events died down.


    Zac was afraid that his scholarship wouldn''t pay for the rent there, but Camille had no intention of charging him. All she asked as repayment was that he kept being friends with Dante, and the redhead wholeheartedly agreed.


    Megan arrived a few minutes later and helped the group unpack Zac''s stuff, which wasn''t much, and after they had dinner, the girls went to their apartment.


    *Sigh* "Welp¡­ wanna play a game before going to bed?" the redhead asked the warlock, signaling at his GameStation that was brought by Camille''s men.


    "Actually, there is something I want to do¡­" replied Dante, standing up from the couch.


    "Are there any open spaces where not many people pass by?" the warlock asked.


    "Hmm, I guess a park at this time would be relatively empty¡ªWhy?"


    "I''ll tell you there. Let''s go," said Dante with a commanding tone, making his friend hastily put on shoes to accompany him.


    After walking on the streets for a little over twenty minutes, they reached a park that was near the university campus.


    Zac nervously explained that nobody walked by at that time since it was usually dangerous, and Dante deemed it perfect.


    Dante was still thinking about his "destro" spell and how he couldn''t fully control his power output, as the umbra on Earth was much thicker than in his old world.


    "I need to get used to the umbra of this world, so I''ll use this space to practice," the warlock said, making Zac perk up with curiosity.


    "Right. You said you used some energy called umbra and not mana¡­" Zac muttered.


    "Mana is for wizards. I can control it a little bit, but I''m nowhere near the level of a real one¡­" replied Dante as he waved his hands around, controlling the flow of umbra in his surroundings.


    "The mana in this place seems a bit more abundant than in other parts of the city. Maybe the urbanization of the area prevents the flow of mana freely¡­" the warlock continued.


    Sensing that Zac didn''t comprehend, he elaborated further and said that mana was the energy produced by nature, so there wasn''t much in a highly urban area like the city of Novis.


    On the other hand, umbra was produced from the negative emotions of living beings, and the high population of the city made it harder for Dante to control, as he felt it was too dense.


    "Is that why you blew up that entire building?" Zac asked.


    "I blew up half of it¡ªbut yes¡­" Dante clarified.


    The high density of the umbra made it hard to control, and while Dante knew that he would eventually get used to it, he wanted to make the process faster while practicing in the park.


    "Shadow whip," said Dante, clasping his palms together and generating a black mist from his hands, taking the shape of multiple whips that lashed the trees around him in a random and aggressive pattern.


    "Ugh, see?" the warlock continued, separating his hands and dispelling the shadow whips that had left the trees with deep markings.


    Nevertheless, Zac was perplexed at the spell as it was his first time seeing it, and he didn''t know what was wrong with it.


    "I only wanted one whip to come out, not ten¡­" he said, staring at his hands while opening and closing his fists.


    After two hours of training in the dark park, Dante thought it was enough and made his way back home with Zac. Still, the redhead took one last look at the warlock''s training ground, leaving a few fallen trees and markings on the grass.


    ____________________


    The following day at the campus, Dante and Zac were playing with their BeamDecks in the courtyard as always while they waited for Sophia and Victoria but were interrupted when two women approached them.


    "Hi, do you guys have a moment?" said the woman, prompting the warlock to look up.


    "My name is Detective Alice Morris. I just wanted to have a quick chat, if possible," she commented.


    Dante could feel positive energy flowing from her body, so he understood that she didn''t have any ill intent toward them. However, the rookie detective didn''t have the same aura, as she seemed wary of the warlock.


    Noticing Dante gazing at June, Alice introduced her as her apprentice, and sensing that she wasn''t lying, the warlock agreed to have the conversation with them.


    ''Detectives? Why are they here!? ¡ªCould it be that they know Dante beat those guys up!?'' Zac nervously thought.


    When the warlock showed his ID to the police, Alice commented on how unusual his last name was.


    "Ahaha! Shadowvale is his modeling name. He had it changed for his work¡ªHe is so dedicated," Zac spoke up nervously, trying to make up an excuse for his friend.


    Dante raised an eyebrow, not understanding why his friend was so nervous when talking to the detectives. But in Zac''s mind, he was doing the warlock a favor.


    ''Well, he is handsome. I would''ve believed it if he wasn''t so bad at lying¡­'' Alice thought.

 Chapter 27 - 27: Father and Son

    "So, you are a model?" Detective Alice asked the warlock.


    "Umm, not right now. I''m working as a bodyguard," Dante replied, covering his friend''s lie.


    "Oh, I see. You must work for Camille, then¡­" the detective continued, but the warlock didn''t react to her words.


    "Camille? Hmmm, it rings a bell¡­" said Dante, placing a hand on his chin.


    The warlock knew that Camille was extremely secretive with anything related to her, and Dante wasn''t the type of person to divulge information¡ªespecially not from the person who had been helping him since he arrived in that world.


    Moreover, he was aware that the police weren''t entirely on their side since Camille herself was the one who told him to be careful around cops.


    "You don''t really have to hide it¡ªShe is my friend," Alice replied, and Dante saw that her flow of energy didn''t change, meaning she wasn''t lying.


    Still, before he could continue denying it, Sophia interrupted their talk as she was finished with her lesson.


    "Hi, Miss Alice!" the blonde greeted the detective, giving her a friendly hug.


    "Oh, you know each other?" Dante asked, feeling relieved that he didn''t have to lie anymore.


    "She is an old friend of Camille''s. She was very helpful when Megan and I were living with her," Sophia said with a smile, turning her attention back to the detectives.


    When the blonde inquired why they were there, Alice said that they had been called to look into a fight that happened a few days ago that left four people in the hospital.


    ''That was a lie¡­'' thought Dante, seeing the small flow of umbra that came out of Alice when she spoke.


    Nevertheless, the only one who reacted to her words was Zac, who flinched when he heard her say that, as he suspected that was the reason they were there all along.


    "Oh wow. I hadn''t even heard about that!" said Sophia with an innocent expression that showed no signs that she was lying.


    Dante, the only one who could see the flow of energy around them, realized it was the first time he had seen Sophia lying, and she seemed quite natural at it.


    After the detectives said they would stop taking their time, the group made their way out of the courtyard and returned home.


    Meanwhile, June commented that she found Dante to be suspicious, but she attributed it to his name sounding like that of an evil villain from a movie.


    On the other hand, Alice had a different perspective of the warlock, saying that he reminded her of someone.


    "That guy? I mean, he was sort of handsome but kinda scary¡ªI don''t think he reminds me of anyone¡­" said June as she inspected her notes.


    "I''m not talking about his looks¡ªmore the way he looked at others. It reminded me of Camille¡­" said Alice with a pensive tone.


    "How so?" the rookie asked.


    "People who do bad things for the good of others¡­" replied the detective as she got into their car.


    ____________________


    Late at night, inside a mansion on the outskirts of Novis, Turner stood before a tall and burly man with a clean beard and dark brown hair.


    The man sat behind his desk with a severe expression, listening attentively to Turner, who had his face full of bandages and a cast on his right arm.


    "It was that guy, father. His name was Dante¡­ I heard he lives with the bitch daughter of the Jade Dragons leader," Turner said with a frustrated tone.


    "I see¡­" his father said, standing up and walking slowly towards him.


    *Slap!* Turner dropped to the ground after getting struck by his father.


    "So, the bodyguard of a dead mafia family beat you and your friends?" the man asked, looking down at his son.


    "He is not normal, father! ¡ªHe just appeared on campus out of nowhere!" Turner exclaimed.


    "It doesn''t matter what he is¡ªIf a member of the Jade Dragons disrespects us, then we must teach them a lesson," the father replied, fixing the sleeves of his suit and returning to his seat.


    "Do you think the Blood Dragons are going to favor us if this is known to them?" the man asked.


    "N-no," Turner stammered, still rubbing his cheek and standing up from the ground.


    However, his father smirked. "What if we kill those members of the Jade Dragons?" he asked. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Heheh, then the Blood Dragons would surely favor us!" Turner responded with his eyes widened, letting out a slightly deranged chuckle.


    "You know where they live, right? I''ll make some calls," the father said.


    "You, on the other hand¡­" he continued, opening a drawer behind his desk using a key.


    "You are my son, and I''m a general of the Scarlett Bullets¡ªIf you are weak, then I''m weak," he said, taking out an orange pill container from the drawer.


    "Wh-what''s that?" Turner asked.


    "A gift, my son¡ªfrom the leader of the Blood Dragons," the father replied with a smirk.


    The bully seemed surprised for a moment, but he remembered that the Blood Dragons were the mafia family that annihilated the Jade Dragons, and his father had been trying to curry favor with them for a long time.


    The sudden realization that he could become as strong as a member of the Blood Dragons got to his head, and as he delusionally laughed, his father ordered him to start taking the pills that same night.


    "You are my son. You will take what you want, whenever you want¡ªnobody will be able to stop you¡­" said the father as he handed the pill container.

 Chapter 28 - 28: Unknown Component

    The following day, Sophia only had to attend one lesson early in the morning, and after she was finished, they were called to go to Camille''s office.


    When they arrived, they noticed that Zac and Megan were also there, but none of them knew the reason why they were called.


    After Camille greeted them and guided them to the skyscraper''s elevator, the handler started pressing different buttons for different floors.


    Zac thought that the woman was trying to play a prank on them and have them stop on every single floor.


    However, Camille was pressing the buttons in a particular order, making a small secret compartment on the side of the elevator pop open, showcasing another button with no floor tag.


    When the platinum-haired woman pressed the secret button, the elevator began moving down, taking them to an underground floor that could only be accessed by the people who knew the secret elevator code.


    "This is the lab¡­" said Camille as the doors opened.


    Dante and Zac were impressed, as the room had white tiles that seemed to glow blueish, and everything looked spotless and neat.


    The girls, on the other hand, had been there before, so their reactions weren''t as enthusiastic as the boys.


    While making their way along the white corridor, they could see inside the rooms as they all had one large window panel for observers.


    In some rooms, scientists were working with machinery while others moved toxic substances around, and the warlock got even more curious about the reason Camille called them there.


    After reaching a specific room with no windows for spectators, Camille approached the console on the side, which scanned one of her eyes before the automatic door slid open.


    Inside, a woman wearing a white robe was sitting in front of a large console with a window panel behind the desk.


    The woman had long, disheveled dark hair and shadows under her eyes that portrayed insomnia¡ªand as she took one puff of her cigarette, she turned her head to acknowledge the visitors.


    "Everyone, this is my good friend and one of the best scientists in Novaria, Paige Sutton," said Camille, introducing the group to the woman.


    "Hmm? Is this the guy you mentioned, Cami?" said the scientist, getting up from her chair and gazing at Dante up and down.


    The warlock didn''t flinch at the woman''s attention and stood still as she walked around him with a hand on her chin and the cigarette on her lips.


    "Nice to meet you. I''m Dante Shadowvale," he courteously said.


    "Yeah, yeah. Likewise," Paige replied indifferently, putting her hands on the warlock''s chest and rubbing them with curiosity.


    "Hmmm, not bad. You are in really good shape¡­" she continued, rubbing his abdomen and feeling Dante''s defined abs.


    Zac and Sophia seemed to blush at the scientist''s inspection for completely different reasons. The blonde always wondered how the warlock''s body looked, and Zac just couldn''t believe that Dante kept getting approached by attractive women.


    ''Lucky bastard!'' thought Zac.


    When Camille calmed the scientist down, saying that she could inspect Dante later, she explained the reason she brought the group to the laboratory.


    The handler had received a new drug from Detective Alice, which was found on the corpse of one of the gang members who died during Dante and Megan''s raid.


    "Detective Alice¡­?" Zac muttered, remembering that it was the name of the detective who approached them on campus.


    "You know her?" Camille inquired, so the group told her of the time she asked a few questions.


    However, Camille chuckled, saying that she expected nothing less from her friend with a prideful tone.


    ''I see¡­ They truly are good friends,'' Dante thought, seeing that Camille oozed positive energy when talking about the detective.


    Paige was added to the conversation to explain the components that were found in the unknown drug, which were all illegal substances.


    "I analyzed the pill and divided the components into their individual forms¡­" the scientist explained, signaling at the window panel.


    The testing room was divided into the study and the testing section.


    The study section is where they found themselves when they entered the room, which was the area where scientists would observe from the window into the testing room.


    Inside the testing section, the group could see four small tables, each of them with a transparent box in the center that held a drop of liquid.


    Paige elaborated further, explaining that the first component was called "Energonix," which boosted metabolism and enhanced people''s muscular endurance.


    The second component was "Neuroblitz," a compound that augmented a person''s neurotransmitters and adrenal response, giving them heightened alertness and accelerated reflexes.


    The third one was called "Vitalyte." A unique formula that was relatively new in the mafia underworld, and it could accelerate the ATP production in a person''s body, providing them with a constant source of energy for intense physical activities.


    The last component, however, still needed to be discovered.


    "I did all the testing possible on that last component, and I couldn''t figure anything out. I know for a fact it''s blood, but we couldn''t match it with any living being¡­" Paige explained.


    While the scientist summarized the information to the group, Dante saw that there was umbra flowing from the unknown component.


    Camille, who had her suspicions about the supposed blood drop, asked Dante to take a closer look at it, allowing the warlock to enter the testing room with Paige accompanying him.


    "This is demon blood¡­" said Dante.


    The warlock hadn''t even had a whole minute since entering the testing room, but he could recognize the blood instantly due to the umbra that flowed from it.


    Nonetheless, while Zac and Sophia seemed the most shocked about the information, none of them knew the implications of drinking demon blood.


    Paige, who was still skeptical of the warlock, inquired how he could recognize it so easily. While Dante could see that her expression looked tired and indifferent, the positive energy radiating from her let him know that the woman was exceptionally curious.


    sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 29 - 29: Demon Blood

    After recognizing the unknown component as demon blood, Paige''s curiosity increased, asking the warlock how he was able to tell so easily.


    Sensing that a vague explanation wouldn''t be enough for the scientist, the warlock decided to tell them a story.


    "Have I ever told you guys how warlocks appeared in my old world?" Dante asked, catching the attention of everyone present.


    It was during an era when magic was still primitive, and there weren''t different schools to differentiate them.


    The people who were able to control mana were all referred to as "mages," and as their understanding of magic increased, more mages were coming up with different ways to use it.


    At first, mages couldn''t even see the mana that they were controlling, as it took them years to develop a spell that allowed them to see this natural energy with their own eyes.


    At one point, a group of mages discovered that there was another type of energy that they could control, which was umbra.


    Although they couldn''t see or sense the umbra around them, the ancient mages still managed to use it to cast spells. However, the destructive nature of this magic was deemed too dangerous, and anyone who practiced it became known as a "dark mage."


    Dark mages were exiled to Shadowvale, where they continued studying the use of umbra until a powerful demon visited their small village.


    The demon felt pity for the dark mages, but he still believed that it was an excellent opportunity for him to create a new species that could bring chaos to the world, offering them a contract.


    In the contract, the demon would give the dark mages the ability to see and sense umbra, which was hereditary. In return, he wanted them to keep reproducing.


    After the dark mages agreed, they drank the blood of the demon and became the first warlocks ever to exist.


    Being able to see and sense umbra allowed them to develop their magic even further, and after a few hundred years, they came up with the three different types of warlock schools.


    "Hmm, so that means that drinking demon blood turns you into a warlock?" the scientist asked Dante.


    "Not exactly. They received the ability to see the umbra since they agreed to the contract," the warlock clarified.


    When a person made a contract with a demon, drinking their blood was one way to seal their agreement.


    "And what happens if a person doesn''t have a contract but still drinks the blood?" Paige asked.


    "The person would get an affliction we called ''soulbound enfeeblement,''" Dante replied.


    The sickness would cause full-body paralysis of the afflicted person and remove their ability to speak. However, those were just the symptoms that were visible to non-mages.


    In reality, invisible, ethereal black chains would ensnare their bodies and siphon their life energy to the demon, making them stronger. Still, those were symptoms that only people who could see umbra were aware of.


    Dante told them about the time he was a teenager in Shadowvale when a plague of soulbound enfeeblement was hitting the warlocks in the area.


    In the end, it was discovered that a demon was forcibly feeding his blood to people without a contract to siphon their life energy and become stronger.


    As he finished telling the story, Paige and Camille were both delving deeply into their thoughts.


    The scientist mentioned a strange disease that had appeared a few years ago, but it was mainly people in the poor areas of the country who were catching it.


    Strangely, the description of the symptoms of soulbound enfeeblement that Dante described were the same symptoms that people with the unknown disease had¡ªleaving them fully paralyzed and unable to speak.


    Zac, who had been attentively listening to everything, widened his eyes with the realization that his mother was affected by that supposedly unknown disease.


    Dante felt the small surge of fear and uncertainty from Zac but decided he would ask him about it later, as he was still listening to the woman''s explanation.


    "So, if we connect the dots, we could assume that a demon is feeding his blood to innocent people¡­" Paige deduced.


    "Not directly, though. A demon needs to use other means to feed their blood to non-contractors," Dante responded.


    Demons couldn''t directly force someone to drink their blood in order to siphon their life energy, which is why they would enter into a contract with a selected few and use them to feed their blood to others. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Can demons enter into a contract with more than one person?" the scientist asked.


    "Yes, it has no limits," the warlock replied.


    "Interesting¡­" Camille muttered, who had been silently paying attention to the conversation.


    Everyone came to the conclusion that the gangs working under the Blood Dragons had been feeding drugs to people in poor districts, which was leaving them paralyzed as their life energy was sucked out of them.


    Meanwhile, if a gang member took one of the pills, they would get an incredible boost of power.


    Dante believed that if a person contracted with the demon took the pills regularly, they could eventually get the ability to see umbra like him¡ªand even get to control it if they practiced.


    "That¡­ could be a big problem. Are you saying they are trying to become warlocks or something?" Camille asked.


    "It depends on the contract¡­" Dante explained.


    If the contractor asked for some kind of power from the demon, it would surely need umbra to activate¡ªand after using the power several times, they could get the ability to see umbra naturally.


    Still, being able to control it to cast spells was based on innate talent, so while some of the criminals could potentially have the ability to learn, the majority would most likely never be able to do it.


    When the meeting was over, Dante and his group returned home while Camille kept talking with Paige in her office.


    "There is no other choice but to raid another Red River base¡ªthose guys only had one pill, though¡­" said Paige.


    "Right, they are obviously not the suppliers. Red River is the lowest-ranked gang from the Blood Dragons¡ªin other words, they are mere pawns," Camille explained.


    "If we had the location of one base from a higher-ranked gang, then¡­-" the handler continued, stopping herself and smirking.


    "What?" Paige inquired, noticing the mischievous expression on her friend.


    "Dante told me something funny the other day¡­" Camille replied, letting out a chuckle.


    "Let''s give it a few more days. If nothing happens, we''ll raid Red River again," she continued, smiling confidently.


    Paige shrugged indifferently, knowing that Camille had a plan, and after taking a puff of her cigarette, she went back to her lab.

 Chapter 30 - 30: Late-Night Intruders

    After Dante and Zac returned to their apartment from their meeting with Camille and her scientist, they played games for a few hours before the redhead got ready to sleep.


    The warlock had been sleeping on the couch the entire time, as he felt like none of the two rooms belonged to him since Megan and Sophia were living there not long ago.


    Nonetheless, he enjoyed sleeping on the sofa as he thought it was more comfortable than any bed he ever tried.


    Coincidentally, Zac felt the same way. After he saw that there were still a few of the girls'' belongings in the rooms, he didn''t feel comfortable taking it for himself.


    Luckily, he had a futon that he placed in the living room, so none of the apartment residents were using the bedrooms.


    When the pair was fast asleep, Dante abruptly opened his eyes and gazed to the side, seeing Zac peacefully sleeping on the futon. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The warlock sat up on the couch and sharpened his gaze, feeling like someone oozing a lot of hostility was approaching their home.


    *slap, slap, slap* "Huh¡­ mom?" Zac woke up after Dante gently slapped his face three times.


    "Shhh, don''t be loud," Dante whispered, gazing at the apartment''s front door.


    After the warlock gave his friend instructions to stand in the middle of the living room, Zac reluctantly agreed, knowing that Dante had a plan in mind.


    The silence of the night made it easy for the pair to hear the footsteps approaching their front door, and once the rustling of the lock began, Zac realized that he couldn''t see Dante anywhere.


    With a little bit of panic, Zac wondered if he should hide but remembered that Dante told him to stay completely still in the center of the living room, making a small drop of sweat drip down his temple.


    *Click!* the lock of the door opened, and Zac perked his body while slightly trembling, seeing two men wearing masks entering the apartment.


    As soon as they spotted Zac standing still, the men were surprised and took a cautionary step back, pointing their silenced guns at the redhead.


    Zac closed one eye and looked to the side as if he were waiting for the bullet to hit him.


    However, Dante appeared from the side in the blink of an eye and grabbed the muzzle of their guns, squeezing and breaking them in half before gripping their necks.


    After three seconds of not hearing anything, Zac turned his gaze to the men, only to see Dante holding them in the air by their necks with their feet separated from the floor.


    The two intruders tried scratching and kicking the warlock with their flailing limbs, but Dante''s body was unmovable, not even flinching at their desperate attacks.


    Once they were done struggling and fell unconscious, Dante asked Zac to call Camille, saying that they had gotten pretty lucky.


    While the redhead hastily picked up his phone, Megan suddenly arrived at the apartment''s entrance, huffing and puffing after rushing out of her apartment on the third floor.


    "Everone okay?" she asked with a somewhat shaken expression.


    "Everything''s great," the warlock replied, showing the two thugs knocked out on the ground.


    "Miss Megan, how did you know they were comin¨C..." Zac spoke up as he turned to look at the woman, but as soon he saw her outfit, he shut up and timidly turned back around.


    The shorts and oversized tank top that Megan wore as pajamas barely covered her chest, and while Dante was unaffected, Zac''s face was as red as his hair.


    Megan explained that she had access to the cameras in the building, and whenever someone passed by the hallway on the fourth floor, she would hear a beep on her earpiece.


    She ignored the alerts during the day as there were lots of neighbors who had to walk by, but late at night, she paid close attention to them, even while sleeping.


    A few minutes later, Camille arrived at the apartment with a large group of men and women wearing black suits, who took the two thugs and carried them to their vehicles.


    Still, the night wasn''t over for the group, as Camille asked them to go with her since they could be interested in the information they got from the men.


    It was 3 am at night, and Zac was thinking about skipping the questioning of the criminals. He wasn''t personally a fan of seeing others getting tortured, and he also had classes the next day.


    When the redhead was coming up with an excuse, Camille expressed the importance that he listened to the information, and Zac instantly knew that the woman wouldn''t say that carelessly.


    After a forty-minute ride, they arrived at a large warehouse located on the outskirts of a poor district.


    Inside, they saw the two thugs tied to a chair with the same max-security plastic band around their torsos that was put on Dante on his first night.


    "There you are¡­" greeted Paige, the scientist, who was wearing plastic gloves and a facemask as if she were to do surgery.


    "Hi, Miss Paige," the warlock politely greeted the woman.


    "Hello¡­" the scientist replied with a stoic tone and gaze that contrasted with the cute hand wave she gave the group.


    Zac wondered why the scientist was there, and Camille responded by saying that Paige was one of their best torturers since she knew how to get information from people quickly.


    "Having someone who knows everything about the human body torturing you is much scarier than an idiot who doesn''t know what they are doing, don''t you think?" Camille asked Zac.


    Paige knew what the most sensitive and weakest parts of the human body were, which was why her torturing methods always produced results, as nobody was able to endure her treatment.


    *Gulp* "Y-yeah, I suppose¡­" Zac nervously replied.


    While the scientist prepared her tools on a small table placed next to the thugs, Camille asked her lackeys to wake the prisoners up, making them dump a large bucket of cold water on them.

 Chapter 31 - 31: Hostage Souls

    When the two home invaders woke up from the cold water splash that landed on them, they instantly scanned their surroundings, noticing that they couldn''t move their bodies from the solid plastic band that held them in place.


    Without saying a word, the two of them closed their mouths tightly, making Dante wonder what they were trying to do, as he could see them moving their tongue around their mouths frantically.


    Suddenly, the two thugs widened their eyes with perplexity.


    "What''s wrong?" Camille asked the men with a sinister smile.


    "Looking for something¡­?" she continued, making the thugs sweat nervously.


    Dante, Megan, and Zac were confused about the handler''s words, and Paige, who was still preparing her tools, told them that the prisoners had a cyanide pill hidden in the back of one of their molar teeth.


    However, she had inspected their bodies and removed them beforehand, knowing that they would''ve used them to kill themselves before they could divulge any information.


    As the two prisoners started nervously sweating, Dante noticed something strange from the flow of umbra coming from their bodies and asked Camille''s permission to approach them.


    "What do you see?" the handler asked the warlock curiously.


    "It seems like a curse, but I don''t think I''ve ever seen this type¡­" Dante replied, gazing at the men up and down.


    Camille was afraid for a moment that it was a hunter''s curse, which told the location of the prey to the caster. However, the warlock refuted her worries by saying that it was much worse than that.


    "I''m not sure what the effects are, but it looks pretty advanced¡­ Give me a moment to analyze it," the warlock said.


    Covering one of his hands with a thick mantle of umbra, Dante grabbed one of the men by the shoulder. However, as soon as he made contact, the man had a seizure that caused him to grunt loudly while rolling back his eyes.


    Still, Dante didn''t let go of his grip as he was analyzing the curse that was placed on the man, and he didn''t have any other non-painful way of doing it.


    While the thug kept moving frantically, shaking his head and splashing his saliva around like a wild animal, Dante calmly maintained his firm grasp on him.


    "Huh, so it is what I suspected¡­" Dante muttered, prompting Camille and Paige to ask him to elaborate.


    At that moment, Dante let go of the man''s shoulder, and his seizure instantly stopped, leaving him unconscious with his head hanging down.


    "Looks like these guys had their souls taken hostage¡­" the warlock said.


    "What?" Paige asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "If I had to guess, the curse gives them a condition. If they break it, then their souls belong to the demon," Dante replied.


    "So, that''s why they kill themselves¡­?" muttered Camille.


    The warlock explained that if a demon held a person''s soul when they died, they would be sent to hell for eternity¡ªmaking the alternative of killing themselves while keeping their souls much more appealing.


    The one thug who was still conscious was listening to everything, and his nervousness was more apparent when he understood that Dante wasn''t a normal person. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I can probably break their curse, but it''s my first time seeing it, so I''ll need some time¡­" said the warlock.


    "Seriously?" Camille inquired, not because she was in a rush but because Dante seemed confident.


    "We need the information from these guys, right? ¡ªIf their souls are freed, I''m sure they''ll talk quickly," he replied.


    Paige chuckled a bit maniacally, interrupting their conversation, saying that Dante had been piquing her interest for the first time in years.


    It took two hours for Dante to break the curse from the men, and during that time, Paige kept asking him questions about magic, which he didn''t mind answering.


    Dante explained that controlling umbra to cast spells that could damage the soul were some of the most advanced that warlocks could learn, and it was rare for demons to cast similar spells.


    Destroying a demon''s soul was the best way to erase them from existence entirely, and very few demons were able to protect themselves against those types of attacks.


    At one point, Paige wondered what umbra looked like, as she couldn''t picture it in her head, making the warlock stop his analysis of the curse for a moment.


    "I can show you¡­" Dante replied, approaching the scientist and placing a hand on her shoulder.


    "Umbral sight," he muttered, using his other hand to cover his left eye.


    Paige blinked, and when she opened her eyes, Camille noticed that her left eye was ruby red¡ªjust like Dante''s.


    ''Did Dante lend his eye!?'' she thought.


    Nevertheless, it was the first time that the warlock saw the scientist being genuinely surprised about something, and Paige couldn''t find words to describe what she was seeing.


    "It''s almost like some sort of red smoke is coming from their bodies¡­" said the scientist, scanning her surroundings and looking at everyone''s energy flow.


    Dante told her that, after seeing people''s energy flow for a long time, he was able to differentiate a person''s state of mind purely by the amount of umbra or positive energy they extruded.


    "I see¡ªbut why does Camille''s energy look more blueish?" Paige asked, gazing at her friend on the side.


    "That''s positive energy, which tells you that Camille has no ill intentions towards you¡ªit''s also the source used by priests to cast blessings," he replied.


    While the group was slightly distracted by Dante''s magic lesson, he was still working on the curse analysis, wondering what demon was trying to fetch their souls.


    When Dante finished his analysis of the curse placed on the two thugs, he used a spell that allowed his hand to phase through a person''s body.


    After inserting his hand into their chests, he could feel an ethereal chain inside, which he grabbed and forcefully destroyed with his grip.


    The two men instantly passed out, so Camille ordered her lackeys to dump another bucket of cold water on them, saying that she had no time to wait for their nap.


    "Now we get our answers¡­" the handler muttered.

 Chapter 32 - 32: Thug Interrogation

    With the two thugs awakened and their souls freed from burning in hell for eternity, the handler knew that it would be easier to get information from them.


    Nonetheless, she was not going to be merciful, as they had committed numerous atrocities against Camille''s people.


    The first man got the nails from his hand ripped out with a pair of pincers, but he still didn''t divulge any information about his gang.


    Paige and Camille were focused on one thug, and Dante understood that they were using him as an example for the second one to see what happened when they didn''t answer their questions.


    The scientist continued and moved from the nails to the man''s mouth, forcefully removing only the canine teeth, as she said that they were the most painful to get ripped out.


    When the man started to lose consciousness from the shock, one of Camille''s lackeys used a taser on his soaked body to keep him awake.


    Suddenly, the moment that Paige said that she would move on to the testicles, the man implored them to stop, saying that he would speak.


    "Name of your gang?" Camille asked with a severe tone.


    "S-Scarlett Bullets¡­" the man replied with blood coming out of his mouth, making the platinum-haired woman smile sinisterly.


    Not able to endure any of Paige''s meticulous torture, the man gave a detailed summary of everything he knew about the Scarlett Bullets.


    He had joined the gang two years ago after a group of hooded men approached him on the streets of a poor district, saying they were interested in his skills as a hitman.


    The man accepted to join them since he was poor, and when he was taken to their base, he saw horrors that he could never forget for the rest of his life.


    He described the man in charge of their base as a horned monster¡ªOne that he knew wasn''t from this world. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The monster pointed his palm at the man, and he felt a sharp pain in his body that lasted for a few seconds, followed by a threat that if he ever spoke of anything related to the gang, his soul would belong to him.


    Most of the missions he was given were to feed drug pills to any unlucky pedestrian they could fool into ingesting them. However, he wasn''t aware of the purpose, as they simply followed orders not to lose their souls.


    "I see. Then why are you here?" Camille asked, her sharp gaze locked on the man.


    "I-I don''t know¡­ I was simply told to kill everyone inside the apartment. All I know is that it came from a higher-up," he said as blood dripped down his mouth.


    Camille rejoiced with the information, as they had been tracking the Scarlett Bullets for some time through Red River.


    The thugs only knew the location of one of their bases, but Camille believed that it could be enough to find the location of the others.


    Dante was a bit confused, as he thought that the Blood Dragons were their primary objective, so Camille explained that it wasn''t easy to get to the top rank if they didn''t clear the trash around them.


    Zac wasn''t too familiar with the mafia and the gangs'' culture, so the handler gave them a more detailed explanation.


    There were four mafia families in the country who had control over different districts and provinces, and each of these families had criminal gangs working under them.


    However, it was impossible for anyone to gather information about the families unless they thoroughly investigated the lower-ranked criminals, which was the reason Camille had been raiding the Red River gang.


    She knew that Red River was the lowest-ranked organization working for the Blood Dragons, so she was going up the hierarchy until she could get the details she needed to finish off their enemies.


    Seeing that the sun was coming up, Camille asked her men to take the group to their apartment. However, Zac was still confused about why he was personally invited to be there.


    "You don''t see it?" Camille asked the redhead.


    "The drug they used on people. It leaves them paralyzed and unable to speak¡­" the woman continued.


    Zac understood what she was trying to say, but his brain was trying to deny it, not wanting to believe that his mother might have been forced into drinking demon blood.


    "It''s not just your mother, Zac¡­" Camille said, addressing the redhead by his name for the first time.


    "There are hundreds of people in the capital with the same condition. The government already considers it an epidemic, but they have stayed silent in an effort to find the cure before it could keep spreading¡­" she explained.


    The redhead lowered his gaze, and Dante could feel anger flowing from him, but it wasn''t aimed at Camille¡ªit was directed at the thugs.


    "So¡­ Is there no cure?" Zac somberly asked.


    "There are ways to break it¡­" Dante interjected, wanting to console his friend.


    Zac''s eyes gleamed momentarily, feeling like he could trust Dante''s words as the warlock had been pretty honest with him since the first time they met.


    "Killing the demon should release the curse from the victims," the warlock continued.


    Camille told the group that she was thinking about sending Dante and Megan to raid the Scarlett Bullets'' base once they extracted the precise location, as Dante himself requested.


    The warlock had asked the handler to send him on the next mission she had so that he could redeem himself after deleting half a building during their last raid on Red River.


    However, he asked for a few more days to train, saying that he was still getting used to controlling the umbra from their world.


    It was easy for him to cast spells that didn''t require a lot of energy, but advanced spells like "Destro" required experience to be able to control the amount of power output.


    Camille agreed to Dante''s request but showed interest in his training and wondered if she and Paige could be present to see it.


    "I don''t see why not¡­" the warlock replied, pointing out that Zac had already seen him training a few times.


    Dante wanted his next mission to be flawless, and he didn''t want to lose control of his powers again, as he thought it was embarrassing. Still, he believed that he would regain perfect dominance of his magic with a few more days.

 Chapter 33 - 33: A Warlock at the Laboratory

    The following afternoon, Dante and Megan met with Camille in her office before going to the underground laboratory, where Paige was patiently waiting for the warlock.


    The stoic scientist''s eyes gleamed any time that she saw Dante, but her feelings had nothing to do with love, as she simply was morbidly curious about the warlock''s powers.


    Inside the lab, they had an expansive white room that was used for different tests, separated by a bulletproof glass for spectators to watch.


    Camille asked Dante what he needed for his training, and the warlock stated that he just needed targets to practice with.


    Not even a minute passed, and Camille''s lackeys were entering the testing room, quickly organizing tables and stands with different kinds of targets¡ªfrom bullseyes to tin cans.


    There were also a few ballistic dummies, which governmental institutions used to test their weaponry and study their effects on the human body.


    Ballistic dummies were made of a clear gel for the tissue, imitation bones, and fake organs with fake blood. It was the closest copy to a human body that scientists could use in their experiments.


    Paige had personally asked for the ballistic dummies to be added to the room as she wanted to see the effects of Dante''s magic on a person''s body.


    "I''ll start with a weak spell¡­" Dante muttered, pointing his palm at the ballistic dummy. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Shadow bolt," he said, generating a black mist around his palm that encircled it.


    Camille and Megan seemed surprised, but the scientist''s eyes were wide open as she stuck her hands against the glass with admiration.


    When the warlock slightly clenched his fingers, the black mist encircling his palm accumulated into a sphere and shot out, leaving a trail of black mist behind it.


    As soon as the bolt hit the dummy in the shoulder, it showed that the gel had burnt a little, but the damage wasn''t significant.


    Megan, who had seen the warlock using much more powerful attacks, wondered if Dante was holding back.


    The dummy was pouring out a little bit of fake blood from the wound, but they understood that it wouldn''t be a spell that would instantly kill their opponents, such as "Destro."


    However, the warlock interjected in their conversation, saying that "shadow bolt" wasn''t meant to do much damage, as the most crucial part was the after-effect.


    "What do you mean? What''s the effect?" Paige asked.


    "Getting hit by a shadow bolt hurts, but it leaves an excruciating pain on the point of impact¡­" he explained.


    They couldn''t know if the spell was producing the desired effect since the dummy wasn''t a living being. Still, Dante could see the umbra from his spell flowing from the target''s shoulder, so he knew that it was working.


    Next, he clasped his hands together and aimed them at the same dummy. "Shadow whip," he said, generating multiple black mist strings that released between his two palms.


    A few of the lashes managed to reach the target while the others flailed around Dante, leaving marks on the stone-hard ground, prompting him to separate his hands to stop the spell''s rampage.


    When the spectators looked at the ballistic dummy, they were surprised to see that the couple of lashes that hit it almost sliced it completely in half, making the fake blood and organs pour out from the wound.


    However, when they switched their gazes to Dante, he didn''t seem happy with his performance.


    "I''m not trying to create multiple whips¡­" he said, his voice laced with a hint of annoyance.


    Paige, who was having a blast taking notes and witnessing the warlock''s training, asked him the reason for his umbra manipulation being out of control.


    "It''s the umbra from this world. It''s very dense since the population is much larger than any city I had ever been before¡­" Dante replied.


    He elaborated by saying that it wasn''t a huge problem, as he only needed to get used to the amount of umbra he needed to cast his spells.


    After spending a few hours in the testing room attacking the target dummies, Paige kept attentively watching and taking notes.


    Camille and Megan would come and go, as the handler had different meetings to attend throughout the day and took the brunette with her any time she could.


    At one point, they returned to the testing room with Zac and Sophia, who were done with their college lessons for the day and were also curious to watch the training.


    Dante had left a tin can target for last, as it was the smallest one, and he wanted to use it to practice his precision.


    Lifting his arm to the front, the warlock made a finger gun gesture and aimed directly at the tin can atop a table, which was a mere 15 feet away from him.


    Dante had learned about the gesture from the movies he had been watching, and thinking that it looked pretty cool, he decided to copy it.


    Taking a deep breath, Dante aimed his index finger at the can, using his thumb like a crosshair, and the testing room fell wholly silent.


    "Destro," he muttered.


    In the blink of an eye, the area around the target imploded with an invisible force, producing a wake of dust and smoke that covered the vision from those behind the reinforced window.


    The scientist quickly pressed a button to extract the dirty air from the testing room, and when she was able to see the target, it wasn''t just the tin can that had been destroyed.


    Dante''s spell ended up erasing the table and a small part of the ground under it, and while Paige took notes of it with enthusiasm, the warlock let out a slight smirk.


    "It''s not perfect, but it''s much better than last time¡­ I should be ready in one more day," Dante commented.


    Knowing that he would have to infiltrate another base, he thought that it would be useful to summon a helper who could help him detect demons faster.


    The density of the umbra in the city made it difficult for Dante to search for demonic activity, but he knew of someone who would be able to detect them nonetheless.


    ''I should be able to summon him with this level of umbra control¡­'' the warlock thought.

 Chapter 34 - 34: Cerberus

    While the group spectated Dante''s training, he believed that he had enough control to summon a helper for their next mission. However, his explanation was quite vague.


    "Wait!" Camille interjected, wanting the warlock to elaborate before summoning anything.


    "I don''t mind seeing the pretty lights and shadows from your magic, but I''ll ask you to be careful with what you bring here," she continued.


    Dante remembered that the only experience that his group had with demons was the night their family got attacked, which explained their hesitation in seeing another one being summoned inside their lab.


    *Sigh* "I hate demons too, but there are a few of them that I can promise you will not be a danger to anyone¡­ Unless you want them to, of course," Dante replied.


    Camille crossed her arms and gazed at the warlock with a severe expression, but Dante didn''t feel any sort of malice or anger toward him.


    ''She is excited and scared at the same time¡­'' he thought, analyzing the energy flowing from the handler.


    "What if I summon the friendliest demon I know?" the warlock asked innocently.


    "Huh? The friendliest?" Camille asked with a raised eyebrow, tilting her head laterally.


    "Well, from experience, I''ve never known anyone who doesn''t like this demon," he replied.


    Dante thought that if he summoned a friendly demon that wasn''t as scary as the others, his group could get more used to them and wouldn''t be as doubtful of him when summoning others.


    "Alright¡­" said Camille, giving her permission for the warlock to summon the supposed friendly demon.


    Dante felt the surge of fear that came from his group spectating behind the bulletproof window, but he genuinely believed that they would enjoy the company of said demon.


    As the warlock pointed his hand at the floor, a glowy red pentagram appeared. "Summon: Cerberus," he muttered.


    At that moment, the pentagram glowed brighter with almost blinding intensity, producing a smoke curtain that blocked their vision of the testing room for a second.


    *Woof!* the bark of a dog echoed in the testing room, confusing the scientist and the rest of the group, who still couldn''t see clearly inside from the smoke.


    "Huh, a dog?" Paige asked, impatiently waiting for the smoke to dissipate.


    When the smoke finally faded, they saw Dante crouching and petting a black puppy inside the testing room, happily wagging his tail at the warlock.


    "Umm¡­" Zac pondered aloud, confused at the supposed demon.


    "It''s a puppy!!" Camille exclaimed, her eyes shimmering with happiness as she entered the testing room.


    As soon as she approached the pair, the puppy happily barked at the handler and wagged his tail, making the woman melt from the cuteness as she lovingly patted his head.


    Seeing the platinum-haired woman having fun with the dog, the rest of the group entered the testing room, and they couldn''t contain themselves either, as they thought that the puppy was incredibly adorable.


    Dante gazed at Megan, who always had a stoic expression. However, he could see her cheeks slightly blushing when staring at the puppy, along with positive energy flowing from her body.


    "Yep, I was right. Everyone loves Cerberus¡­" the warlock said.


    "Cerberus!? As in¡­ the three-headed dog!?" asked Zac with a bit of uncertainty. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That same one," Dante replied.


    While the group felt a little apprehension after hearing the identity of the demon, Camille paid it no mind and kept petting the puppy with a smile on her face.


    "H-how does he look so cute?" Sophia asked, still blushing at the sight of the happy dog.


    "He knows that when I summon him, he shouldn''t appear in his true form¡­" the warlock replied


    Paige asked for clarification, piquing her interest, and Dante explained that Cerberus'' true form was a giant three-headed dog.


    However, summoning a giant dog in an enclosed space would be troublesome, so the warlock had asked the dog to always appear in his puppy form whenever he called him.


    "He seems to really like you, Camille¡­" Dante commented, seeing that the dog was extruding more positive energy than usual.


    "Awww, I like him too!" she said, still crouching and playing with the puppy.


    "You should take him with you for some time," the warlock continued.


    "Can I?" Camille pondered with a smile.


    "Yeah. He must have a reason if he isn''t separating from you."


    The group didn''t understand what kind of reason a cute puppy like Cerberus could have, but Camille didn''t hesitate to agree to take him with her.


    ''If I have enough umbra control to summon Cerberus, I should be able to summon ''him''¡­'' Dante thought.


    With the appearance of demon blood in the drugs the mafia was feeding people, the warlock knew that his mission would turn into a demon hunt soon enough, and he had the perfect companion in mind for such a case.


    Dante explained that Cerberus was quite powerful and could easily protect them from most demons that weren''t high-ranked. However, the puppy''s skills were lacking when it came to hunting the demons down.


    "Since Cerberus is the guardian of the Abyssal Gate, he specializes in defending over trailing¡­" he commented, following it up by saying that he had an alternative for hunting.


    Paige perked up with excitement, wondering what kind of demon he was going to summon next, while Zac hoped that it was as friendly as the puppy.


    "He is kind of annoying, but he isn''t a bad guy¡­" Dante described, saying that there was no other demon as friendly as Cerberus.


    ''Annoying?'' Zac pondered, thinking that it was a strange word to describe a demon.


    Giving the warlock his space to perform his summoning spell, they returned to the spectators'' room with Camille carrying Cerberus in her arms, her cheeks blushing with happiness.


    With Dante pointing his palm at the ground again, a red pentagram appeared, faintly glowing as it waited for the warlock''s incantation.


    "Summon: Krom," he muttered, making the seal glow brighter as it released a torrent of smoke once again, prompting Paige to turn on the extractor to regain visibility.


    The group watched expectantly through the window as the fumes went away, showing a small humanoid figure standing before Dante.

 Chapter 35 - 35: Krom, the Imp

    When the smoke of Dante''s second summoning dissipated, the group was able to see a small humanoid monster standing in front of him.


    The creature had two horns on its head, dark red skin, a height that reached Dante''s waist, and deep black eyes.


    "It''s been a long time, Krom," the warlock greeted the demon.


    "Dante, where the hell did you bring me?" the demon replied, taking a more stable stance and looking to the sides suspiciously.


    "We aren''t in Terra anymore," Dante replied.


    "Yeah, I can see that!" said the creature.


    The group kept staring with a bit of shock as the small demon looked more like what they were expecting to come out of the summoning ritual. However, they were more surprised about how eloquent he was.


    Dante gave the signal for everyone to enter the testing room, and while Paige went in hastily with her notebook in hand, the rest of the group was more apprehensive about greeting the monster.


    "Everyone, this is Krom. He is an imp," the warlock said, introducing the creature to the group, who gave their names one by one.


    Imps were demons that were relatively weak compared to others, but they had the ability to teleport anywhere and had a strong sense of demonic activity, making Krom a great companion when hunting demons.


    "Krom can detect a demon up to 10km away from him. I can''t reach that far¡­" the warlock explained.


    Moreover, the fact that he could teleport anywhere could be helpful if they ever wanted to infiltrate a place without much effort, and Camille showed her interest in the monster''s abilities.


    "Hold on. What makes you guys think that I''m gonna help ya''?" the imp asked pridefully.


    "What was that?" Dante asked the demon, gazing at him and producing an intense pressure around Krom that froze him in fear.


    "I-it was a joke, calm down. Jeez¡­" the imp nervously said while innocently waving his hands to the sides.


    Dante told Krom about his situation but kept his explanation somewhat vague by saying that Aamon was the one who sent him there, and the imp instantly understood what he meant.


    Paige brought the demon''s blood sample to Krom after Dante requested it, but the imp didn''t even have to take a closer look to inspect it.


    "I don''t know whose blood this is¡­" Krom said as he crossed his arms.


    The group thought that his answer was useless since they weren''t expecting him to recognize the specific demon. Nevertheless, Dante corrected them by saying that it was vital information.


    "If Krom recognizes the blood, then our problems would be much greater. Not recognizing it means it''s just some small fry¡­" the warlock elaborated.


    "Yeah, small fry compared to you!" the imp clarified.


    Dante wanted to bring Krom with him to his next raid on the Scarlett Bullets'' base, and Camille didn''t see a problem with it as long as he could control the little demon.


    When Krom gazed at the handler and saw that she was happily carrying Cerberus in her hands, the imp took a cautionary step back.


    "Ahh, hah, ha¡­ Cerberus, you are here, buddy!" the imp nervously said, making the puppy bark heartily. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Oh, you know each other?" Camille inquired.


    "He is scared of Cerberus¡­" Dante interjected with an indifferent tone.


    "Of course I am. Look at that beast!" Krom shouted, pointing his little arm at the puppy, who looked even cuter than before to the group.


    "It''s you people who are weird for bringing the guardian of the Abyssal Gates here, not me!" the imp continued.


    Dante covered his face with annoyance and told the imp to relax, saying that he knew that Cerberus wouldn''t do anything to him as long as he didn''t mess with his gate.


    Paige asked if she could dissect Krom for her studies, and the warlock considered it for a moment, making the poor imp freeze in fear. However, he said that it would be a waste since Krom was the only imp he knew personally.


    Later that night, the group returned to their apartments after Camille told the warlock that she would soon give him the details for the next raid, taking Cerberus with her as she was in love with the puppy.


    "You can come out, Krom," the warlock said after entering the apartment with Zac.


    *Poof* A puff of smoke appeared in the center of the living room, materializing the imp, who started curiously inspecting his surroundings.


    "This is your new home?" Krom asked.


    "For now¡­" Dante replied.


    As the imp kept looking around the rooms, he stopped in front of the TV and spotted the GameStation console, giving him a feeling that it was something "fun."


    Zac, who wanted to be a bit friendlier with the demon, turned the console on and explained to the imp what a video game was, and twenty minutes later, the three of them were competing with each other in an intense match.


    Sophia and Megan visited their apartment a few hours later to have dinner with them, and the girls were perplexed at seeing them playing video games with the imp, who seemed to be really into it.


    Dante could feel that Megan wasn''t completely comfortable with the imp around, which was normal for someone who had experienced being attacked by a demon. However, her indifferent expression didn''t show it.


    When Sophia served everyone''s plates, she gave one to Krom without asking, and the imp seemed confused at first.


    "What''s wrong? Do you guys not eat meat?" Sophia asked the imp, seeing the creature hesitating to eat the pork bowl.


    "Can I eat this?" Krom answered with another question directed at the warlock.


    "Oh, right¡ªYeah, you can eat anything that Sophia gives you," Dante replied casually, prompting the imp to dig into his plate aggressively.


    "Why did he ask you like that?" Zac wondered aloud.


    Imps were considered to be annoying since they were known for stealing things, and they were able to teleport away with a single ''poof,'' making them hard to catch.


    One time, after Krom stole and ate all of Dante''s food, the warlock threatened him and told him that whenever he was summoned, he wasn''t allowed to eat anything without his permission.


    Sophia believed that was a bit cruel at first, but the warlock doubled down, saying that she didn''t know how annoying it would be if she got home and there was nothing to eat or drink because the demon ate everything, swaying her opinion a bit.


    "It wouldn''t even be just you who he steals from. It would be all of the apartments in the building¡­" Dante continued.


    Nonetheless, Krom wasn''t bothered by his comments, devouring the pork bowl in seconds as he stuck his face inside it.

 Chapter 36 - 36: Information Share

    For the following three days after Dante summoned Krom, he kept returning to the lab to practice his skills while Paige studied them closely.


    On the first day, Paige told the warlock that she wanted to analyze his body with an X-ray machine, as she wanted to see the difference between Dante''s composition and other humans.


    Still, even when Dante tried to convince the scientist that he was a normal human, she insisted, making the warlock take off his shirt and enter the X-ray machine.


    "Hmmm, you were right. Your body is just that of a normal human¡­" said Paige with a hint of disappointment.


    Next, she analyzed Cerberus, who was brought down to the lab by Camille, and the scientist was surprised to see that the demon puppy had three stomachs.


    "Well, his true form has three heads. Even if his body and organs get smaller, he still eats the same amount of food¡­" Dante explained.


    Paige''s eyes were gleaming with excitement as she took notes, asking the imp to go next.


    Krom was scared of entering the machine, but Dante gave him a severe gaze that changed his mind in an instant, prompting the demon to step into it with caution.


    "Interesting, his composition is similar to a human child, but¡­" Paige commented, writing it down in her notebook.


    "What''s this?" she asked, noticing that Krom''s heart looked like an orb.


    Dante explained that imps had something they called "beads" as hearts, which was a material that could be used for the creation of magical gear and artifacts.


    Every imp had a bead with a different effect, so people who hunted imps wouldn''t know what they would get until after they killed them.


    "You can''t have my bead!" Krom exclaimed, fearfully clenching his chest.


    "We don''t want your bead, man. Relax¡­" Dante replied, his tone slightly irritated.


    ____________________


    During Dante''s training session, Camille returned to her office with Cerberus, telling the puppy in the elevator that they had a meeting with an old friend.


    When she sat behind her desk, she noticed that there was still some time before her guests arrived and asked one of her servants to bring Cerberus some food.


    Camille had asked the warlock what kind of food she should feed Cerberus, and he said that the puppy loved any type of meat¡ªthe bigger the cut, the better.


    The handler took those words to heart, and when the servant returned with a rolling tray, there was a massive cow leg on top that weighed a little over a hundred pounds and was double the size of the dog.


    Cerberus barked heartily and happily wagged his tail as the servant put the plate down, prompting the dog to smell the meat with curiosity.


    ''It wasn''t easy finding a butcher that could sell me an entire cow''s leg¡­ Maybe it''s too much. That might last him for some time,'' Camille thought, turning her gaze at her monitor for a moment.


    Suddenly, she heard a loud growl that caught her attention, and when she quickly turned to look at Cerberus, she saw specks of bone dust around the plate and the cow leg nowhere to be found.


    The puppy walked up to Camille''s chair, still wagging his tail, and the handler noticed the traces of bone and meat on Cerberus'' face, reminding her that this was an infernal beast.


    Still, she couldn''t contain herself from Cerberus'' puppy eyes, so she carried him on top of her legs before using a handkerchief to wipe his mouth with care.


    A few minutes later, Camille''s servants notified her that her guests had arrived, and she asked them to bring them to her office, allowing Detective Alice and June to enter.


    "Huh, you got a puppy?" said Alice as soon as she spotted the dog.


    "Yeah, isn''t he the cutest?" Camille replied.


    Cerberus stared at the two women for a brief moment, approaching Alice and happily wagging his tail, using his charm to make the detective crouch to pet him.


    Camille remembered what Dante had told her about the demon dog and how it could read a person''s intention by looking at their energy flow like him.


    Seeing that the puppy was acting friendly around Alice confirmed that her friend had no ill intentions toward her, and while it was something that she already knew, she still thought it was nice that Cerberus confirmed it.


    However, Cerberus didn''t seem to have those same feelings for the rookie detective, June, and kept smelling her with curiosity as if the dog couldn''t make up his mind about her.


    ''Hmm, I suppose the girl doesn''t fully trust me¡­'' Camille thought, but she wasn''t bothered by her distrust since she believed it was natural.


    "How was the analysis? Did you get any results?" Alice asked, cutting straight to the chase.


    "We did¡ªwe identified all of its components," Camille replied, opening her drawer, pulling out a piece of paper with the test results, and handing them to the detective.


    "Let''s see. Energonix, Neuroblitz, Vitalyte, and¡­" The detective stopped herself, raising an eyebrow as she read the last component of the drug.


    "Demon blood?" she pondered aloud, looking suspiciously at Camille.


    "I know what you are going to say, but I can assure you the results are correct," the platinum-haired woman commented.


    "Hmm, strange¡­ You are not lying," Alice replied, her eyes locked with the handler''s.


    June couldn''t believe her ears and thought that Camille was trying to play games with them by giving them ridiculous information.


    The rookie detective stood up from her seat in frustration, and her courage built up enough to give Camille a piece of her mind, but her superior promptly stopped her as she felt her shoulder being gripped.


    "Calm down, June. I''ll explain later¡­" Alice said, making the rookie sit back down with embarrassment.


    "I''m guessing it isn''t time yet," the detective continued, directing her words at the handler, who shook her head in denial.


    "I see. I''ll let you handle this for now, then¡­" Detective Alice said, shocking her junior with her words. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I appreciate it, Alice¡ªI''ll give you more details soon," said Camille with a friendly smile.


    Before making their way out, Alice petted Cerberus for a bit, and as they went down the elevator and walked to their car, the senior detective couldn''t ignore her junior''s silent treatment.


    "Are you angry?" Alice asked.


    "I just don''t understand. How could you accept such a bold lie to our face?" said June, gritting her teeth.


    "She wasn''t lying, June¡­" the senior detective calmly replied.


    Alice had known of the events that had happened at the Jade Dragon''s residence since Camille told her years ago, but it was never a case that she was able to pursue as it landed in the "supernatural" area of the law.


    "Miss Alice, please tell me why¡­" June said.


    The senior detective let out a long, tired sigh. "If you believe it or not, it''s on you," she said, recounting the events that happened eight years ago when a supposed demon killed the leader of the Jade Dragons.

 Chapter 37 - 37: A Redeeming Mission

    On the third day of Dante''s training in the laboratory, he was checking the progress of his umbra control and asked Paige for a couple of targets to practice.


    Clasping his hands together, Dante cast "shadow whip," which had been giving him a tough time as the spell was generating tens of lashes instead of one.


    However, after practicing for the past few days, the spell produced three strands of shadowy mist that whipped the ballistic dummy, leaving three deep, fatal wounds.


    While the power output was still higher than what he was trying to cast, he was at least able to control the three lashes simultaneously, so the whipping of random things around him had finally ceased.


    Paige never stopped taking detailed notes of the warlock''s training, and just when he felt like he was in good shape to hunt demons, Camille went to the lab to tell him that the raid on the Scarlett Bullets'' base would take place the next day.


    As requested by Dante, Megan and Krom would be the only people accompanying him, as he needed the brunette''s expertise in criminal activity and the imp''s skills in tracking demons.


    On the day of the raid, Megan took her motorcycle out of the garage since it would be their vehicle for the night.


    The warlock had never ridden on one, but he was pretty interested in them after seeing plenty on the streets and movies he had been watching.


    Megan''s motorcycle was entirely black with a carbon fiber front, and while Dante wasn''t easily captivated by women, he couldn''t help but stare at Megan''s figure leaning against the front as she took off her helmet.


    "You like it?" Megan asked with a straight face.


    "Yeah. I guess the bike is nice, too," Dante jokingly replied.


    "Funny¡ªnow get on," said the brunette with a slight smile on her face, handing him a helmet.


    Dante sat behind the brunette and looked for the handles on the sides, and after noticing that they weren''t there, he settled by holding onto Megan''s waist.


    When they arrived at Camille''s office, she gave them the location of a house in a middle-class district, which Megan thought was strange since gangs didn''t normally do that. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the other hand, Dante thought it was perfect as the spaces were enclosed, so he could see how much his umbra control had improved over the past few days.


    "The mission is simple¡­" said Camille.


    They needed to get inside the house and steal anything that could hold information about their gang or the one above them.


    "The Scarlett Bullets are just a stepping stone to the final boss, so try gathering all the information you can. Otherwise, the raid will be useless," Camille continued.


    After giving them the details of their mission, one of the servants entered the office with a new set of clothes and a mask for the warlock.


    He liked his new sneakers since they felt lighter than his current shoes, and the black jacket felt of higher quality. However, the most impressive piece was the mask.


    "Paige made that polycarbonate mask for you. It won''t fall off your face, no matter how much you move¡­" the handler explained.


    Camille was a bit worried about Dante getting identified since he had pretty distinct features, which is why she wanted him to hide his face.


    "The detectives are already looking into this case, and I don''t wanna drag you into a problem with the authorities," she said.


    When nighttime fell upon the city, Dante got on the back of Megan''s bike, and even while they were going to hunt a bunch of gang members, the warlock was mesmerized by the sight of the city lights as he enjoyed the night''s breeze.


    After stopping a block away from their destination, Dante called Krom to his side, making the imp ''poof'' right next to him.


    _____________________


    While Dante and Megan were making their way to the Scarlett Bullets base, Sophia was hanging out in the apartment with Zac and Krom, who were having a heated match on the GameStation.


    "Dude, Krom. You can''t just spam the same move!" Zac exclaimed.


    "Hehe, why not? The game is letting me do it," the imp replied while snickering to himself.


    "I can see why Dante said you were annoying¡­" said Zac, holding his face with exasperation, but Krom simply chuckled in return.


    Meanwhile, Sophia was watching them play from the couch, but she wasn''t paying attention to anything they were saying, as she was preoccupied with her two friends.


    "Stop worrying, girl. Your umbra is distracting me," Krom commented.


    "Wha-?" Sophia asked with confusion.


    "There is no point in worrying about Dante. Do you not know who he is or what?" the imp replied.


    "Ah¡ªspeak of the devil¡­" Krom continued before Sophia could say anything, pausing the game and standing up from the floor.


    "He is calling me now. I''ll be right back," the imp said, instantly poofing out of the apartment.


    "What do you think he meant by that?" Sophia asked the redhead.


    Nonetheless, Zac was still irritated about the imp''s gameplay and didn''t hear a word he said before poofing away.


    _____________________


    When Krom appeared next to Dante and Megan, the imp found himself on a dark street illuminated by a few light posts.


    "What do you need?" said the imp.


    "Look at that house¡­" Dante replied, pointing at the structure across the street.


    "What do you think?" he continued.


    Krom turned his gaze at the house and placed his claws on his chin. "Hmm¡­" he muttered.


    "I can tell there is a demon in there, but I want to know if you recognize him," the warlock clarified.


    "Nah. Don''t know who that is¡­" said Krom, making the warlock smirk.


    "Good¡ªMegan, when I go inside, get closer to the house so we can quickly leave once it''s over," Dante commented, looking at the house with confidence,


    "Do you really not want me to go in with you?" the brunette asked indifferently.


    "Not this time. I want to redeem myself from that last mission," he replied, putting on the hoodie and mask, leaving only his crimson eyes visible.


    As Dante slowly walked towards the house''s front door, Megan and Krom watched from across the street, and while the brunette didn''t show any emotions through her stoic face, Krom could see the umbra of worries flowing from her.


    "You too?" the imp asked.


    "What?" she answered with a question, not knowing what the imp meant.


    "You are worrying about Dante hunting some demon small fry¡­ Seriously, do you guys not even know who he is!?" Krom exclaimed with frustration.


    Still, Megan simply raised an eyebrow with confusion.


    "There''s a reason he is known in hell as Hellslayer," the imp continued.


    "Hellslayer?" Megan wondered out loud.


    *Sigh* "You know what? ¡ªI didn''t say anything. You heard nothing!" Krom shouted, poofing away back to the apartment.

 Chapter 38 - 38: Greater Demon

    When Dante made his way to the house''s front door, he tried peeking through a window but wasn''t able to see anything with the closed curtains.


    The warlock''s jacket had a mini-camera that Camille was using to watch his point of view, and he also had an earpiece connected to Megan and the handler in case they needed to communicate something urgent.


    The brunette kept looking at Dante from across the street, waiting to see how he would enter the house unnoticed, but her expectations were shattered when the warlock grabbed the door''s handle and forced it open.


    ''That''s this plan¡­?'' Megan thought.


    Dante entered the dark home and couldn''t hear a single sound from any of the rooms, but he could feel different sources of umbra, letting him know that he wasn''t alone.


    It was a family home with two floors, so the warlock checked the ground floor first, and as he walked to the kitchen, a hooded man jumped out of the shadows to stab him.


    Nevertheless, Dante was prepared for the surprise attack as he could sense the man''s energy, so he easily avoided his knife, grabbed his arm, and punched him in the neck, knocking him out entirely.


    ''Only one guy down here¡­'' the warlock thought, making his way back to the staircase leading to the bedrooms.


    When he stepped on the first stair, a trap activated, making a spiky metal handle come down from the roof, aimed at Dante''s face. Still, he managed to catch the blade with his bare hands before it touched him.


    ["Careful. These guys are tricky,"] Camille said on Dante''s earpiece.


    Hearing the sound of the trap activating, four hooded men came out of the bedroom with guns, but when they pointed at the staircase, the warlock was nowhere to be seen.


    "Oi, go check downstairs," said one of the hooded figures.


    His companion turned around and took a step towards the stairs, but suddenly, he heard the grunts of his comrades behind him, and he didn''t have time to check on them before feeling a cold hand grabbing the back of his neck.


    "Where''s the demon?" Dante asked, his tone low and severe.


    The man froze in place and shivered, feeling a strong sense of pressure and fear overwhelming his body.


    ''H-How does he know¡­?'' the man thought.


    "I sense a demon in this house. Speak," Dante continued, not leaving room for negotiations as his voice echoed in the thug''s ears.


    "B-b-basement!" the man shouted.


    At that moment, Dante''s hand produced a spark of black electricity, zapping the man''s neck and knocking him out instantly.


    With the house cleared of gang members, Dante walked back down and looked for the door behind the staircase leading to the basement, where he felt the most dense umbra coming from.


    As he calmly went down the stairs, he found himself before a large monster with jet-black skin and horns on his forehead.


    "A greater demon?" Dante asked aloud with indifference.


    The demon was slightly taller than him. His eyes were glowing brightly red, and his body had glowing veins.


    "Who dares disturb my home?" the demon calmly asked, turning around to look at the warlock.


    However, as soon as his eyes spotted the man, the demon took a cautionary step back and raised his arm, assuming a combat pose.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you," Dante commented, taking off his mask and revealing his face to the demon.


    "H-Hellslayer!" the demon shouted nervously.


    "Hmm, it''s been a long time since I heard that¡­" Dante muttered, calmly inspecting the surroundings of the room and taking a few steps forward, making the demon even more nervous.


    "This is my first time seeing you, so I''ll be merciful¡­" he continued, appearing in front of the demon and gripping one of his horns.


    The greater demon hunched his back as the warlock held his horn down, not even trying to fight him back.


    "Name?" Dante asked. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ogmad¡­" the demon replied.


    "Who summoned you here?"


    "A man named Sabelio¡ªhe used traditional dark magic¡­" Ogmad said, fully complying with the warlock.


    "When was that?"


    "Two years ago¡­"


    "Are you the one forcing contracts on innocent people?"


    "N-no. Sabelio said there was a general, and the blood in those pills belonged to him¡­"


    "What general?" Dante continued, not reacting to Ogmad''s answers.


    "I don''t know¡ªIt seems like the contract doesn''t let them talk about him," the greater demon replied.


    Dante smirked mischievously and, still holding onto Ogmad''s horn, slammed his face on the ground with force, leaving a few cracks on the point of impact.


    "And why are you telling me this?" Dante asked, crouching next to the demon and looking down with a condescending stare.


    "A long time ago, I was told by a superior that if I ever encountered Hellslayer, I should cooperate¡­" Ogmad replied, his voice slightly muffled by the ground.


    *Pfft* "Hahaha¡ªwhat a smart guy. Who was that?" said the warlock, genuinely finding the demon''s comments funny.


    "L-Lord Belial¡­" Ogmad said.


    "That guy, huh? Well, it''s your lucky day¡­ Since it''s my first time seeing you, I''ll just send you back to hell¡­" Dante said casually, taking his hand off the horn and standing up.


    "Thanks for being so merciful¡­" Ogmad replied, kneeling and looking down in a repentant pose.


    "Whatever. You know what will happen if you stand against me again?" the warlock asked, looking down at the demon with a sharp gaze.


    "I do. I appreciate it, sir¡ªIt won''t happen again!" the demon loudly replied while looking up.


    "Good. Now don''t move, or it''s gonna hurt¡­" Dante muttered, pointing his palm at the kneeling Ogmad, making him close his eyes with apprehension.


    "Destro," he chanted, blowing up and destroying the demon''s body in the blink of an eye, leaving the monster''s feet intact, which slowly disintegrated into dust.


    "All done here, Camille," said Dante aloud to the woman on his earpiece.


    ["Uhh, yeah. Just get out of there. I''m sending some men to pick up the thugs,"] she replied.


    ''What the hell did I just watch¡­?'' Camille thought after seeing everything in the live feed.


    She stayed silent during the entire ordeal since she wanted to see what Dante was capable of, but she wasn''t expecting the demon to be docile with him.

 Chapter 39 - 39: Camille’s Agents

    After Dante completed his mission of raiding one of the Scarlett Bullets'' bases, Camille kept replaying the video in her office.


    She needed to wait for the warlock to clarify a few things she didn''t understand, but she was curious about the name the demon used to refer to him.


    "Hellslayer¡­?" Camille pondered aloud, catching the attention of Cerberus, who was peacefully sleeping next to her.


    *Woof!* the puppy barked as if recognizing the name.


    "Huh, you know what Hellslayer is?" the handler asked the dog.


    ''Am I really asking the puppy for information right now?'' she thought.


    Cerberus stood up from his little bed and walked to the side of the office, where a decent pile of books was placed in the corner.


    "Oh, those are just books that I still need to give to Dante. I was waiting for him to finish the others¡­" Camille commented, standing up and noticing that the puppy was tapping his paw against a specific book.


    "What is it? You want this book?" she asked, moving the tomes around to uncover it.


    "The Divine Comedy¡­?" Camille wondered after seeing the title.


    *Woof!* Cerberus barked again, wagging his tail as if the woman had found what he was trying to show her.


    "I see. You want me to read this?" she asked the dog, who barked in confirmation.


    ____________________


    Early the following day, Dante and Megan were brought to Camille''s office to discuss the warlock''s questioning of the demon.


    For starters, Camille gave the pair good news and said that they were able to locate another Scarlett Bullet''s base from the men they captured inside the home. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The handler was glad that the mission went smoothly. Since the warlock managed to complete it quickly, the police were never called to the scene.


    "Now that you have the good news. Let''s talk about that demon you talked to¡­" said Camille to Dante.


    "He said he was summoned by a man named Sabelio, who used traditional dark magic. What does that mean?" the handler continued.


    Dante calmly explained that summoning a demon with traditional dark magic meant that they were using human sacrifices and blood pentagrams.


    "If the summoner is using traditional dark magic, then we can safely say he is not a real warlock¡­" Dante elaborated.


    Warlocks were mages who could see the emotional energy of people and animals, which made it easier for them to control that energy for their spells.


    However, that didn''t mean that they were the only ones able to control it, as traditional dark magic allowed normal people to do it, too, even if they couldn''t see the umbra around them.


    "I''ve already looked into Sabelio, but we haven''t found any information about him¡­" Camille said.


    "Ogmad told me that the blood in the pills was from a General, but if that were the case, Krom would''ve noticed when he inspected it¡­" Dante commented.


    "What exactly is a General?" Megan asked.


    The warlock elaborated and said that hell had ten demon kings, and each of them had a group of demon generals working under them who commanded different legions.


    With the generals being some of the strongest demons in existence, it would be simple for an imp to differentiate its blood from that of another demon.


    "And since Krom said he didn''t know whose blood it was, we can assume there is more than one demon giving out their blood. Correct?" Camille concluded.


    "That''s right," Dante confirmed with a gentle nod.


    Camille seemed to type something on her laptop, then raised her gaze at Dante with a curious look.


    "Can we talk about that ''Hellslayer'' title he called you?" the handler asked, not knowing if it was something Dante felt comfortable sharing.


    Dante let out a heavy sigh with an exasperated expression, saying that it was a "nickname" that demons had given him a long time ago.


    Noticing that the warlock wasn''t elaborating any further, Camille decided to leave the matter aside and showed them the location of their next raid.


    "A nightclub?" Megan asked after seeing the pictures.


    "It''s called Devil''s Den¡ªquite fitting, if you ask me," Camille replied.


    The handler explained that the nightclub was located in another district that was quite far from their home.


    She already had her people scouting the place, and she said that their security was at least five times heavier than the family house Dante raided.


    "I''m sending three of my people with you this time¡ªjust to make sure that everything goes well," Camille continued.


    At that moment, the trio that the handler referred to entered her office, introducing two tall men and a pink-haired woman.


    The men had the same neat haircut and wore black suits with sunglasses, silently standing beside the girl in the middle with their backs straightened.


    The pink-haired woman also wore a black suit, and while her height and body build made her look much weaker than the men, Dante could tell that the girl was much stronger by the simple look at the energy flowing from her.


    "This is Tyler, he is also Tyler, and she is Maya¡­" said Camille, introducing the trio to Dante and Megan.


    "They are both Tyler?" Dante asked, a little confused but amused, making the two men nod simultaneously.


    "I''m glad to be working with you. Tyler doesn''t speak much, so I''ll be doing most of the talking¡­" Maya politely said with a nonchalant expression.


    ''Which Tyler?'' Dante pondered, seeing that the woman referred to the two men as one.


    "Maya is one of my best agents. She was on standby in another district that had some unusual activity, but this raid is more important at the moment¡­" Camille explained.


    The warlock was curious to know what kind of abilities Maya could have to be considered one of Camille''s best agents.


    From his perspective, Megan, who didn''t use any type of magical abilities, was skilled enough to raid some of the gangs'' bases by herself, so he was interested in seeing Maya in action.


    Still, he kept his thoughts to himself, knowing that he would be able to witness them during the raid on the Devil''s Den nightclub.

 Chapter 40 - 40: Devil’s Den Nightclub

    The following night, after Dante and Megan met Maya, they were on their way to the Devil''s Den nightclub to begin their raid.


    It was an underground nightclub, so the group didn''t have to wear any expensive clothes to fit in with the crowd.


    When the group got into the subway that would take them to the district they needed to go to, Maya gazed at the warlock for a moment, remembering what Camille told her about him.


    Before their mission started, Camille called Maya to her office and told her that Dante wasn''t a normal person and that whatever she saw from him, she needed to keep a secret.


    The woman was confused since she had never heard the handler say something like that, and she suspected that Dante might have been a cyborg or a fake human made in a lab.


    Still, when she gazed at Dante sitting peacefully in the subway wagon with Megan next to him, she believed that Camille might have been exaggerating, as the warlock looked like a normal human being.


    While on the subway, Maya showed the group a map on her phone of the inside of the building, explaining that it had three floors. However, those were only the rooms that they knew about.


    "I say we split up once we are inside¡­" Megan commented.


    "I agree. It''ll be easier to move if it''s just one or two people," Maya replied.


    When the group arrived at their stop, they had to walk a few blocks down the road to reach the entrance of the nightclub, which had a line of people outside waiting.


    "Tyler, we need high ground¡­" said Maya, making the brunette and the warlock wonder who she was talking to.


    Nonetheless, one of the men took the command and walked away from their group without saying a word.


    "What''s Tyler going to do?" Dante asked, making the pink-haired girl point at the tip of a building across the street.


    "Oh, I see¡­" he replied.


    With their earpieces ready, Maya asked the group to give their weapons to the other Tyler, who would look for a backdoor to bring them in without having to go through security at the main door.


    Maya pulled out two small knives strapped to her leg and a silenced pistol from behind while Megan took out her engraved gun and gave them to Tyler.


    When the man stood before Dante with his open palm, the warlock said he had no weapons on him, surprising Maya.


    ''Is this guy serious?'' The pink-haired woman pondered, knowing that nobody would be crazy enough to go against a gang without any weapons.


    As Dante stood in line with the two girls, he could feel a strong torrent of umbra flowing from inside the building, and he deduced that a demon was inside. However, he couldn''t call Krom to confirm it since they were surrounded by people.


    Inside, the techno music was playing loudly, and the number of people on the first floor made it difficult to walk around freely. Still, when Maya spoke, the group was able to hear her clearly through their earpieces.


    "I''ll go check the third floor," Maya said.


    "I''ll take the second. Dante, you should-..." Megan replied, stopping herself when she turned to look at the warlock and saw a group of women surrounding him.


    "Are you here alone?"


    "Come join us!"


    The warlock stayed calm and looked to the sides, ignoring the women''s invitations and noticing that Megan produced a small amount of umbra from anger as she made her way to the staircase.


    "Sorry, ladies. I''m here with someone, but thanks for the invitation," Dante said, politely rejecting their advances.


    Nevertheless, the group of women was flustered by the fact that Dante even responded to them, wholly forgetting that they had been rejected as the warlock walked away.


    *Phew* "Alright, I''m free," said Dante to his group, who could hear him in their earpieces.


    ["Good. As I was saying¡ªYou should look around the first floor and let us know if you find anything strange."] Megan said.


    The warlock didn''t know where to start since the first floor was so filled with people that simply walking around was difficult, and there was a high concentration of umbra that didn''t allow him to pinpoint the location of the demon.


    ["Backdoor is on the second floor,"] said a man''s voice through the earpiece.


    ''Huh, was that Tyler?'' Dante pondered, hearing the man saying his first words to them.


    ["Got it. I''ll be there,"] Maya replied.


    As the two women met with Tyler to secretly retrieve their weapons, Dante slowly made his way closer to the DJ booth, spotting a backstage area behind the black curtain and a security guard keeping people away from it.


    ''Hmm, if I knock that guy out, everyone will see it¡­'' Dante thought before suddenly having an idea.


    Quickly turning around and seeing the group of women who approached him before, the warlock returned to them with a gentle smile.


    "Excuse me, ladies. Could I ask you for a favor?" Dante politely asked, charming the group of women, who perked up with anticipation at his request.


    After giving his instructions, the group of women approached the security guard, catching his attention with a flirtatious act and making him turn away for a brief moment¡ªenough for Dante to sneak past him to the backstage area.


    One more guard saw Dante in the back and, thinking that he was a lost customer, approached him to guide him out of there.


    However, as soon as the guard got close to the warlock, he gave him a quick chop in the front of the neck, knocking him out in an instant.


    Besides a few tables with beverages and snacks for the DJ, all there was backstage was a metallic, sliding door.


    Dante recognized the console next to the door as the one Camille had in her building, which could only be opened with eye scans or fingerprints.


    ''Let''s see if I''m lucky tonight¡­'' Dante thought, dragging the body of the unconscious guard to the console beside the sliding door and placing his fingers on it.


    *Beep!* The console''s light turned green, opening the door abruptly.


    "Nice. I was lucky," Dante muttered, confusing his group, who could still hear him on their earpieces.


    ["What do you mean?"] Maya asked for clarification, but Dante couldn''t reply as he had entered the room.


    Inside, a group of men were sitting down on different tables playing cards, with piles of cash in the center and half-naked women sitting on their laps.


    The room was hazy from the tobacco smoke, making the bar counter at the back of the room somewhat hard to see.


    Nonetheless, as soon as Dante stepped inside, all of the men turned their attention toward him, stopping everything they were doing and staring at him silently.


    "Who the fuck is that?" A man broke the silence.


    "I came to gamble, guys. Don''t mind me¡­" Dante replied nonchalantly, stepping further into the room and stopping after a tall man stood in his way. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I don''t remember inviting you," said the man with a menacing tone.


    "Oh, so you are the host? That makes things easier¡­" The warlock replied, letting out a smirk.


    "Wha-?" The man spoke up but was cut off by Dante''s punch in the gut, which sent him flying straight into the bar counter, shattering half of the bottles behind it.


    At that moment, the women who were accompanying the men dropped to the ground as the thugs stood up from their seats and pulled out their weapons. However, the warlock had already clasped his hands together.


    "Shadow whip," he muttered, producing a dozen whips made of black mist that lashed all of the men with precision before they could point their weapons at him, slicing their bodies in half.


    *Tch!* Dante scoffed. "Too much force¡­" he muttered with a slight air of disappointment, scanning the room that was painted in red.

 Chapter 41 - 41: Shadow Demon

    After Dante quickly cleared the room of thugs by unintentionally slicing their bodies in half, the women stayed on the ground, covering their heads with fear.


    Megan and Maya had been listening to the warlock on their earpiece, and after retrieving their weapons from Tyler, they made their way back to the first floor to assist him.


    Seeing the immovable security guard in front of the backstage area, Maya used Dante''s strategy and began flirting with the man, catching his attention and allowing Megan to sneak past.


    When she entered the backroom, she found the poker tables flipped with the bloodied corpses lying around, the half-naked women shivering in fear, and Dante holding an unconscious man by the neck next to the demolished bar counter.


    "Megan, this was the leader¡ªI knocked him out before he killed himself," said Dante with a nonchalant tone that contrasted with the brutal scene around him, dropping the man like a sack of potatoes on the ground.


    Noticing that a second metallic sliding door beside the bar required fingerprints to open, the warlock dragged the supposed leader''s body and placed his hand on the console.


    "He is here¡­" Dante muttered, letting Megan know that the demon was behind the door.


    The brunette hesitated for a brief second as the door slid open, but the warlock had an evil smirk on his face that caught her attention.


    ''Is he enjoying this¡­?'' She pondered, breaking her focus when she saw the metallic door closing behind Dante''s back.


    While Megan rushed to the door to get it to open again, the warlock found himself in an utterly dark room where he couldn''t even see his hands when he looked down.


    ''Demon sight¡­'' Dante thought, activating a spell that allowed him to see in the dark as his crimson eyes glowed slightly.


    Detailing his surroundings, he noticed two groups of women whose bodies were stacked on different sides of the room.


    ''That group is dead¡­'' he thought after inspecting one of the piles of corpses.


    However, when he approached the second, his eyes widened in shock as he could see black ethereal chains around the women''s bodies.


    ''Soulbound enfeeblement? ¡ªThey fed demon blood to these women¡­'' he continued his train of thought.


    Sharpening his gaze, Dante stood in the center of the room. "Come on out, already!" he shouted.


    Right on cue, a shadowy figure appeared from the darkness right behind the warlock, launching an attack that was easily stopped as Dante tightly gripped the black mist with one hand.


    "A shadow demon, huh?" Dante muttered, dispersing the shadowy mist and making the body of the creature materialize.


    The humanoid demon was pale and skinny, with deep black eyes, horns, and claws that oozed a dark aura from them. Still, Dante was unamused, and as he held onto the demon''s wrist, he stared down with a menacing aura.


    "Hmm, do I know you?" the warlock asked, making the demon grit his teeth with apprehension.


    "Well, all shadow demons look similar¡­" he continued, pulling the demon''s arm while kicking him in the chest, ripping his extremity as his body was flung to the wall in the back of the room.


    "H-Hellslayer¡­" Uttered the monster before coughing blood from the force of Dante''s kick.


    "Abyssal chains," the warlock replied, generating a pair of obsidian chains that rose from the ground and snared the demon''s body.


    "Nghh!" The creature tried to force his way out of the chains, but his body didn''t budge an inch.


    "You still think you have a chance against me?" Dante asked with a condescending tone.


    "You are just a shadow demon. Know your place," he continued, grabbing him by the head and making the monster feel a fearful pressure on his shoulders.


    "Name?" Dante asked.


    "Ruzen¡­" the demon muttered.


    "Doesn''t ring a bell. Who''s your superior?" inquired Dante, but the demon bit his lips with apprehension. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I see. You can''t say¡ªIt''s probably Astaroth anyways¡­" the warlock said, making Ruzen flinch from his accurate guess.


    At that moment, the sliding door to the backroom opened after Megan used the unconscious bodyguard''s fingerprints, gazing at the pile of women''s corpses on one side and the unconscious lot on the other.


    She quickly took out her pistol and turned on the flashlight attached to it, pointing it at the center, where Dante was holding the head of the ensnared shadow demon.


    The sight of the monster made the brunette stop her movements briefly. Even though the creature was missing an arm, coughing blood, and unable to move due to the chains around his body, Megan still felt an uncanny sensation.


    Nonetheless, it only lasted for a second before she turned her attention to the group of unconscious women, placing her fingers against their necks to check for their pulse.


    "Those girls were fed demon blood. The ones on the other side are dead¡­" Dante explained to Megan.


    While still forcefully gripping the demon''s head, he said that there were different ways to cleanse the "soulbound enfeeblement."


    "Talented priests could lift the curse, but the most effective way to save everyone is killing the demon who is siphoning their life energy," the warlock commented, sharpening his gaze and locking his eyes with Ruzen.


    "Is your blood being fed to these women?" Dante menacingly asked the demon.


    However, Ruzen gave him a defiant look as if he decided he wasn''t going to answer, making the warlock smirk.


    Staying calm and composed, Dante raised his right hand beside him, allowing the demon to get a good look.


    "Black Flame," the warlock muttered, producing a black and white fiery blaze that covered his right hand.


    Megan observed attentively, noticing that the flame in his hand barely generated any light, and pondered the difference between that spell and "destro," which she had seen a few times.


    Still, while the brunette indifferently admired the strange fire, the demon''s eyes widened with fear as his body began shivering uncontrollably.


    "Th-that''s¡­-" Ruzen stammered, biting his tongue in panic.


    "What? Did you think I would send you back to hell after you did all of this?" Dante asked, cutting him off from speaking further.


    When he finished his sentence, the warlock placed his flaming hand against the demon''s chest, and his body caught on fire in an instant, letting out a loud, painful scream.


    Megan could see how the black fire seeped within the demon''s body, with his eyes and face producing a white glow as it was burnt to ashes.


    A small crystal orb appeared mid-air just as the demon''s body turned into dust, which the warlock caught before it fell to the ground.


    Maya arrived in the backroom shortly after, her face in shock from seeing the corpses of the thugs in the gambling room.


    While the pink-haired agent only managed to see Dante putting out the black flame on his hand, she could tell that something strange had happened. Nevertheless, she decided to hear their explanation later.

 Chapter 42 - 42: A Demon’s Soul

    After Maya found Dante and Megan in the backroom of the nightclub, she called Camille and asked for an "extraction group."


    The warlock was confused, but he was aware that the pink-haired woman knew what she was doing.


    Since they managed to take down the thugs without alerting the security in the building, Camille wanted to take the group of unconscious women with her, and after a few minutes, the nightclub was suddenly shut down by police.


    However, the fake police were all Camille''s men in disguise, who retrieved the thugs'' corpses and cleaned the area for when the real police arrived, allowing Dante and his group to leave the building without suspicion.


    When the group boarded the subway to take them back to their district, Maya asked the warlock about what had happened in the backroom.


    Dante knew that the woman was Camille''s trusted subordinate, but he was still unsure if he should divulge his magic to her.


    "It''s fine. We can just talk when we get to Camille''s office¡­" Maya commented, noticing the warlock''s doubts.


    ____________________


    When the group arrived at Camille''s office, Dante was warmly greeted by Cerberus while the rest sat down on the couch.


    "Alright, Dante, give us the summary. Are those women going to be okay?" Camille asked casually.


    "Yeah. They were fed the blood of the shadow demon that was there. I destroyed his soul, so the curse is cleansed¡­" Dante explained, pulling a small, gray crystal orb from his pocket.


    "What''s that?" Camille asked.


    "It''s the demon''s soul. Absorbing it can make a person stronger¡ªThough, this one is pretty useless¡­" the warlock replied.


    "I saw the curse on the women get lifted after I killed him, but if he had other victims, they should be healed as well," he continued.


    "I see. That''s good to know¡­" said Camille, giving the results of their investigation.


    All the women who were drugged were prostitutes hired by the thugs, and since prostitution was illegal in Novaria, there was nothing they could do to report any abuse toward them.


    Still, from the information that Camille gathered, she concluded that the women were tricked into taking the pills with demon blood and then abandoned inside the dark room with the monster.


    "The corpses of the women we found were intact, besides a few bruises here and there¡­" Camille elaborated. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The demon probably sped up the life-siphoning curse, and their bodies weren''t able to resist¡­" Dante interjected.


    He elaborated and said that speeding up the process of sucking someone''s life energy would give them a quick boost to the demon''s abilities, but it would end their targets'' lives much faster.


    On the contrary, if the demon kept the curse going for years, their power-up process would be slower, but they would end up gathering more energy in the long run.


    "I get it. The faster they suck their life energy, the weaker the boost they are going to receive." Camille commented.


    As the warlock and the handler kept discussing out loud, Maya and the two Tylers could barely comprehend the conversation.


    "He didn''t tell me who his superior was, so I''m guessing he was bound to a contract¡ªMost shadow demons work under Astaroth, though¡­" said Dante, making the platinum-haired woman inquire about the demon''s identity.


    Astaroth was a demon general who worked for Satan, one of the demon kings of hell, and Dante suspected him of being the one planning the distribution of his blood.


    The warlock said that, usually, demons didn''t mind revealing the names of their superiors since it was supposed to instill fear in their opponents.


    However, the fact that the demon didn''t name Astaroth made it almost too obvious for Dante not to suspect him.


    *Ahem* "Can we please get some context?" Maya interrupted, catching the attention of Dante and Camille, who were too entranced in their conversation.


    "Right, I should have started with that¡­" Camille replied, turning her gaze to the warlock.


    "Dante, I''ll tell them about everything¡ªIs that okay with you?" the handler asked.


    "Yeah, I don''t mind. I only kept everything a secret since you recommended it¡­" he nonchalantly replied.


    Camille chuckled. "I forgot how honest you are," she said.


    "Well, it''s not easy to lie to a warlock since we can read people''s emotions, so everyone in my hometown didn''t have a choice but to be honest all the time¡­" Dante explained.


    After the handler got all the information she needed from Megan and Dante, she told them to go home and rest while she spoke with Maya and the two Tylers, starting from the moment the warlock fell from the skies.


    ____________________


    On their walk home, Megan couldn''t get the sight of the demon burning out of her mind, and when they stopped at a red pedestrian light, she asked the warlock what the black fire was.


    Dante calmly described his ability, saying that it was a "specialist spell" since it required extensive knowledge of all the warlock''s schools of magic.


    "Demons fear the black flame since it burns absolutely everything, including their souls¡­" he continued.


    If he had used "Destro" to kill Ruzen, the demon would have gone back to hell, and his curse would have stayed active on the women he captured and drugged.


    However, since he used the black flame to destroy his soul, the demon was erased from existence, and the curse was lifted from his victims.


    "What about that little crystal?" The brunette asked.


    "That''s what happens when you destroy a demon''s soul. They produce a soulstone that you can absorb to gain more power¡­" he replied.


    Taking the crystal orb out of his pocket, he showed it to Megan before squeezing it and shattering it into dust, producing a gray mist that enveloped the warlock''s body momentarily before dissipating.


    "Did you absorb it? Do you feel stronger?" Megan asked, stepping closer to Dante to inspect him.


    "I don''t feel anything. As I said, this demon''s soul is weak, so it''s pretty much useless for me¡­" he replied.


    Warlocks could also use soulstones to cast spells that were impossible without a catalyst. Even so, Dante said he had no interest in it, as those spells were evil in nature.

 Chapter 43 - 43: Old Journal’s Hint

    *Crash! Clink, clink, clink* The sound of a glass cup shattering against the wall echoed inside a mansion.


    "What the hell do you mean that our people at the Devil''s Den disappeared!?" exclaimed Turner''s father to a servant.


    "That''s what the informant said, Mr. Joseph," the servant replied, hiding his nerves behind a stoic expression.


    "What about the camera footage!? Is there nothing!?" the man asked with frustration.


    "They said police arrived and shut down the venue that night¡­" said the servant with his head lowered.


    "Raaargh!" the boss shouted with anger as he swiped the laptop and paperwork on his desk to the side, slamming his fist down on its surface.


    "I already talked to my contact in the police force. He said that no officers were sent to the Devil''s Den yesterday¡­" Joseph muttered under his breath.


    Trying to regain his composure, the man took a deep breath and gazed back at his servant.


    "What about the hitmen we sent to kill the Jade Dragon girl and her accomplice? Why are they taking so long for such a simple task!?" The boss asked.


    "T-they haven''t returned, sir¡ªand we haven''t been able to communicate with them," the servant nervously replied.


    As Joseph''s face got red from anger and the veins on his forehead popped out, he let out a roar while throwing his large desk to the side of the office with ease.


    "How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Sabelio!?" he shouted at himself before gazing to the other side of the office.


    Turner, his son, had crawled in a fetal position against the corner of the room, with a visible dark aura emanating from his body.


    "My son''s treatment will end soon. I''ll ensure he makes a name for himself in this family¡­" the boss said, approaching Turner in the corner.


    When the man got closer, he detailed the black veins that had appeared on his son''s body, which seemed to palpitate simultaneously to the rhythm of his heart.


    Turner had his eyes shut while gritting his teeth, heavily breathing as he felt a sharp pain in all of his bones.


    "Once the side effects are over, my son will take what belongs to him¡­" Joseph said, letting out an evil smirk.


    "Maybe this isn''t too bad. If Turner ends the Jade Dragon woman, we''ll surely get Sabelio''s favor," he continued, turning his attention back to the servant.


    "Did the informants not say anything about Ruzen? He was using that place to increase his powers¡ªI find it hard to believe he wasn''t noticed¡­" Joseph commented.


    "No, sir. They found no trace of the demon or any of the bodies he used," said the attendant.


    With his rage and frustration satiated, Joseph calmly walked back to his chair, which was wholly uncovered as he had thrown the desk to the side of the room.


    "I''ll have to make a call, then. If Ruzen escaped, we need to find him ASAP¡ªHowever, if he was killed, we need to watch ourselves," the boss explained.


    ____________________


    Late at night, Camille was in her office at the top of a skyscraper, admiring Cerberus'' cuteness as the puppy played with a stuffed animal.


    She was interrupted by her two attendants, Rina and Rona, who said they had found something important for the lady, showing her an old diary.


    "Lady Camille, you said you couldn''t find anything about the man named Sabelio. Correct?" Rina asked.


    "Correct. Why? Did you find anything?" Camille said, focusing her whole attention on her servants.


    "I thought I had seen it somewhere before, so I checked Lady Megan''s grandfather''s journal¡­" the woman explained, handing the tome to Camille.


    When the platinum-haired woman read the page that was marked by her attendants, she widened her eyes in shock when she noticed that Sabelio was not only an old friend of Megan''s grandfather but a member of the Jade Dragons.


    In the diary, Alan Dunlap, Megan''s grandfather, talked about the decline of his friend''s mental health after reading a certain book.


    "It says that Sabelio wanted to incorporate a cult into the Jade Dragons but was stopped by old man Alan¡­" Camille read.


    Alan couldn''t understand why his friend showed so much interest in dark magic, and after they had a heated fight, Sabelio left the family.


    "I''ll call Megan and her group to come over tomorrow. Dante might have some clues about this¡­" said Camille with a tired tone, closing the tome and focusing back on Cerberus.


    The following day, the warlock made his way to Camille''s office, accompanied by Megan, Sophia, and Zac, who were also called by the handler to attend.


    As soon as they arrived, Camille handed the journal to them, explaining what she had found when reading it.


    "We had been looking into that Sabelio guy after Dante got his name from the demon, but we couldn''t find anything until now¡­" The handler explained.


    She suspected that Sabelio was the leader of the Blood Dragons and that his attack on the Jade Dragons eight years ago was an act of revenge for the treatment Alan gave him in the past.


    However, she couldn''t understand why it took so long for Sabelio to act since Alan had been long gone by the time he attacked their bases.


    "I''m guessing it took him a long time to complete the summoning rituals¡­" Dante interjected. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The warlock elaborated and said that since Sabelio was summoning demons using traditional dark magic, it would require a lot of time and sacrifices to complete.


    "When I summon a demon, I control the umbra around me to create a passage for them to go through¡ªThe more powerful the demon I summon, the more power I have to transfer to it¡­" Dante explained.


    "However, with traditional dark magic, you would have to sacrifice people atop a blood pentagram, accumulate the umbra on it, and use it as a catalyst to summon the demons," he continued.


    Dante remembered the demon Ogmad saying that a general had been summoned, and he said that it could easily take hundreds of sacrifices to bring a demon general to the world.


    "I understand. So, it probably took him years to get his revenge since he was preparing through all that time¡­" Camille commented.

 Chapter 44 - 44: Zac’s Contract (Part 1)

    After Dante and his group discussed the contents of the journal with Camille, the handler said that she would keep looking for information and let them know when the next raid would happen.


    Thanks to the warlock''s latest mission, they captured one of the gang members and managed to save the women who were having their life energy drained before they perished like the others.


    Luckily, the women remembered everything that happened to them and retold the story to Camille and her lackeys with the utmost detail.


    Meanwhile, Dante and Zac gave their farewells to the two girls and went up to their apartment, where the warlock noticed a strange umbra flowing from his friend.


    "What''s wrong?" the warlock asked.


    "Huh? Oh¡ªnothing. I was just wondering why Miss Camille called me to her office too¡­" replied Zac, his voice mixed with confusion and sadness.


    "Maybe she just sees you as part of the team, you know?" Dante commented as he sat down on the couch.


    "But why? I haven''t done anything. All my skills are useless when it comes to this type of thing¡­" Zac said, lowering his shoulders.


    "I''m not a fighter, I''m not nearly as strong as you guys, and I''ve never shot a gun in my life," the redhead continued.


    "Well, you do have other talents, but if you want, we could train together," Dante said casually.


    "Dude, all of my bones would break if I got punched by you¡­" Zac replied.


    "What the hell do you think I am? I wouldn''t use any body-enhancement spells if we are practicing physical combat," the warlock clarified.


    Still, Zac wasn''t convinced about his offer, so Dante came up with another idea that could sway his opinion.


    "What if you do a contract with me?" Dante asked.


    "Huh? Like a legal contract? Or a demon contract?" the redhead replied with another question.


    "I guess it would be like a demon contract, though I''m not a demon¡­" the warlock said with uncertainty.


    "You guess? Is that even a thing? Can a person do a contract with a warlock? What would I even get from it?" the redhead asked incessantly.


    "To be honest, I''ve never done it, but I think I can make it work¡­" Dante replied.


    Explaining his train of thought, the warlock believed that he could give his blood to his friend and share some of his abilities with him.


    He said that he had absorbed the soul of hundreds of demons in the past, which could be detrimental to someone who wasn''t adept at controlling umbra.


    Absorbing a demon''s soul would bring torment and nightmares to whoever got it, but if they were powerful enough, they could reduce these effects.


    Giving an entire demon''s soul to Zac could kill him since he had zero umbra control. However, the warlock''s blood wouldn''t have that effect on him, considering that Dante was giving it to him willingly.


    Wanting to put his idea into action, the warlock stood up from the couch and asked Zac to accompany him to the park where he had been practicing his magic the past few days.


    The redhead was still hesitant about his friend''s plan, but he still went along with him.


    At the park, the warlock looked around to make sure that nobody was watching and pointed his palm at the ground, producing an arcane circle where a black column with skull adornments rose up to Dante''s waist.


    It was the same altar that he used to create the healthstones with his blood, and while Zac was aware of the effects of the stones, it was the first time he saw where they came from.


    "This is called the Shadow Well," said Dante, noticing Zac''s curious look. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Is that the thing you use to make the healthstones?" the redhead asked, making the warlock nod in affirmation.


    "Healthstones isn''t the only thing I can make with it, though. Look at it as a material synthesizer¡­"


    "A what?"


    "Hmmm. Basically, I can offer the bowl different things that it considers a ''material'' and produce something from it," Dante elaborated.


    He wanted to create a small, pill-sized orb with a little bit of his power infused into it, but since he had never tried it, he asked his friend to wait for a few minutes while he figured it out.


    After pouring his blood into the bowl numerous times, Dante kept waving his hand and fiddling his fingers, explaining to the redhead that the best way to develop a new product from the Shadow Well was to experiment.


    "I see¡­" Zac muttered, nervously sitting down next to a tree as he spectated the warlock.


    However, after more than an hour, Zac''s nerves were replaced by boredom, wondering if Dante would finish his experiment that same night.


    "It''s done," said the warlock, grabbing a small orb from the center of the well.


    "Wait, really?" Zac asked, hastily standing up.


    "I think so¡ªit feels like it''s stable¡­" Dante commented as he detailed the red, shiny orb in his hand.


    It was a perfect sphere, and its red, bright color and size made it look like a piece of bubblegum to Zac.


    When the warlock handed it to his friend, he inspected it closer and noticed that it felt quite fragile.


    "Yeah, don''t drop it¡­" Dante said, urging him to eat the orb.


    "Eat it? It''s made of glass!" Zac exclaimed, explaining that normal humans couldn''t digest crystal.


    Dante responded by telling him that it wasn''t the same type of crystal, but Zac still wasn''t convinced and asked what kind of effects it would have on his body.


    "You told me that if I was a warlock, then you were a warrior, right?" Dante asked.


    At that moment, Zac remembered the day he found out about Dante''s powers and how he jokingly said that he was a warrior, thinking that his friend was referring to a videogame at that time.


    He never expected that the sarcastic comment he made would determine the ability he would get from Dante, and as he stared at the orb, Victoria appeared in his head.


    Remembering the frustration he felt when Turner told him to get away from her, calling her "his bitch," and beating him up for simply having friends, the redhead made up his mind and hastily placed the orb in his mouth.


    *Gulp* Zac forcefully swallowed.


    *cough, cough* "Some water would have been nice¡­" the redhead commented with a small tear forming in his eye after coughing loudly.

 Chapter 45 - 45: Zac’s Contract (Part 2)

    When Dante and Zac walked back to their apartment after having completed their contract, the redhead kept looking at his body as if he was expecting something to happen.


    "Strange. I don''t feel any different¡­" the redhead muttered.


    "That''s a good sign. I once absorbed the soul of a demon that paralyzed me for a week¡ªit was quite painful, too," said Dante with a casual tone.


    "So, you are just telling me about this risk now!?" Zac nervously asked.


    "Don''t worry. I only applied a little power to it to make sure it was safe¡­" the warlock replied.


    As he elaborated, he went into detail about the process of making the orb and how he used a small piece of a demon''s soul in the mix, which would improve Zac''s physical abilities.


    However, hearing that he had eaten a piece of a demon''s soul left the redhead in shock, wondering if it was truly safe for him.


    "I processed the soul with my magic. There is almost no malice in it, so you won''t have the nightmare side effects¡­" Dante continued, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk momentarily.


    "By the way, do you see anything different?" the warlock asked his friend.


    "Hmm, everything does look a little blurry¡ªWait, don''t tell me I''ll have a side effect that makes me blind!" Zac exclaimed, nervously taking off his glasses.


    "Huh? Everything looks clear¡­" the redhead muttered, realizing that his vision had improved.


    Dante nodded in approval, saying that his vision also counted as physical abilities, so Zac wouldn''t need to wear glasses anymore.


    ____________________


    The following morning, the pair woke up in their living room a few minutes before Sophia arrived with breakfast for them.


    As the redhead helped Sophie set up the table, she inquired why he wasn''t wearing his glasses, and Zac wasn''t sure how to respond.


    "We made a contract yesterday. His vision will probably be slightly better than the average person''s¡­" Dante interjected, answering the question for him.


    "Umm, what?" Sophia asked, wholly confused.


    The warlock explained to her everything they were doing the previous night, and she looked somewhat concerned, but Dante kept reassuring her that it was safe. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even when the blonde wasn''t aware of all the different risks that came from absorbing a demon''s soul or ingesting their blood, she knew that it wasn''t something that ordinary people could do.


    Zac chimed in to say that he felt perfectly fine, alleviating Sophia''s worries before they made their way to the campus.


    After Dante waited in the courtyard with his BeamDeck for his friends to finish their lessons, he met up with Victoria and Sophia to go to the cafeteria.


    "Have you guys noticed that Turner hasn''t shown up on campus for days? It feels so peaceful¡­" Victoria commented, sounding relieved.


    "Why did he keep bothering you?" Dante asked, saying that he knew that Turner liked to go after pretty girls, but he seemed especially attached to Victoria.


    "We went on a date in high school. Once¡­" she replied.


    "Honestly, I only said yes because I was scared of him back then," Victoria continued.


    She told the warlock that, during her time in high school, the bully was even more aggressive toward people and would lash out whenever things didn''t go his way.


    Any time that another man approached Victoria, Turner would end up beating them up, and it happened so many times that Victoria ended up isolated from the rest of her classmates out of fear.


    "He got a bit more tame when we started attending college, but he kept threatening people around me¡­" Victoria explained.


    ''Yeah, I remember that¡­'' The warlock thought.


    At that moment, they were interrupted by Zac, who arrived full of vigor and instantly noticed Victoria''s apprehensive demeanor.


    "What happened?" The redhead asked, seemingly worried for the girl.


    When Victoria turned to see Zac, she chuckled, saying that everything was fine and extruding a vast amount of positive energy.


    ''Hmmm, it seems she likes Zac even more now¡­'' The warlock thought.


    "Did you change your glasses to contacts?" Victoria innocently asked the redhead.


    "Uhh, yeah!" he replied, hiding the truth from her since she wasn''t aware of Dante''s true identity.


    "Looks good¡­" Victoria muttered, turning her gaze away while blushing.


    "Th-thanks!" said the redhead, his face showing the same color as his hair.


    After an awkward silence ensued, Victoria broke the ice by talking about her job and how they were having another event on the weekend, inviting them to attend.


    The warlock seemed interested since the only time he went to a nightclub in the modern world was to kill a shadow demon, and he wanted to know what the authentic experience of a nightclub was like.


    Camille hadn''t planned anything for Dante on Saturday, so he saw no problem in accepting her invitation, to which Zac and Sophia joined.


    Later that day, after Dante and Zac returned to their apartment, Megan knocked on their door, wearing her cropped tank top and leggings, asking Dante if he wanted to go to the gym.


    "Yes. I was actually going to ask you," Dante replied, turning his gaze at the redhead.


    "You are coming too, Zac," the warlock continued, but Megan''s beauty had briefly hypnotized the redhead.


    "Oh, you are talking to me?" he asked, slightly shaking his head.


    "Yup. Come on, we''ve gotta test your skills," Dante replied, beckoning him with his hand.


    Megan, who wasn''t aware of the contract between the two friends, inquired about Dante''s insistence for Zac to accompany them, so the warlock explained everything to her.


    However, the brunette didn''t seem shocked or worried about the redhead¡ªshe was more interested in what he could do now.


    "It should only increase his physical abilities. It was my first time doing it, but I think I did a pretty good job," Dante explained.


    "Oh, I thought you would make him capable of casting spells¡­" Megan said, somewhat indifferent.


    "Well, not exactly. Zac has no umbra control, so if I gave him an ability that needed it to activate, it would be pretty useless¡­"

 Chapter 46 - 46: Megan’s Request

    After Zac accompanied Dante and Megan to the gym on campus, the redhead expressed his lack of confidence, as he only attended a gym when he was in high school.


    Nonetheless, Dante knew that his nerves would fade away once he tested his own skills.


    For starters, the trio went into the martial arts room, which Dante and Megan used to practice their physical combat since it was quite spacious.


    "Alright, Zac. Try to evade my attack," said Dante to his friend as they both stood in the center of the room, with Megan watching from the side.


    "W-w-wait¡­!" Zac exclaimed, but the warlock was already rushing forward.


    Suddenly, Dante stopped right in front of the redhead and turned his body to give him a roundhouse back kick, and while everything happened in a mere second, time seemed to get slower for Zac.


    Out of pure intuition, the redhead took a casual step back and stumbled as Dante''s kick grazed his face, avoiding it altogether.


    "Huh¡­?" uttered Zac in confusion.


    "Not bad. Your reflexes are quite sharp," Dante commented.


    "Uhh, no. I think I just flinched and got lucky¡­" Zac replied.


    "Even if you weren''t thinking about evading, your body moved on its own. That kick would have shattered your skull if it landed¡­" Megan interjected, watching the two attentively.


    "Dante, let me try," she continued, stepping to the center of the room.


    When the brunette launched herself at Zac, she opened with a sidekick aimed at his body, making him jump vertically two meters in the air to avoid it.


    Megan was surprised at the height of his jump, but as soon as he landed, she took the opening and struck Zac''s chest with her open palm, pushing him back and making him fall on his rear.


    "He definitely has some superhuman reflexes, but it doesn''t mean much without technique," said the brunette, stretching her hand to help Zac stand up. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "My body is just reacting¡­" Zac commented.


    Seeing that she would have to start from the beginning, Megan brought a punching bag and gave the redhead a few tips when it came to fighting.


    Still, all her expectations were shattered when Zac punched the sandbag hard enough to rip it open and fling it to the other side of the room.


    "Ouch¡­" Zac said, looking at his fist throbbing from the pain.


    "Your body isn''t used to that much strength. You just have to keep practicing to the point where it doesn''t hurt your fists anymore," Dante casually said as he inspected his friend''s hand.


    When the warlock turned his gaze towards the brunette, he saw her curiously scrutinizing the punching bag on the ground.


    "I suppose we''ve gotta pay for that¡­" the warlock noted, scratching the back of his head.


    "Dante¡­" Megan replied, ignoring his comment while standing up, locking her emerald eyes with his.


    "Let''s do a contract," she continued with a straight face.


    The warlock stayed silent for a moment, focusing his sight on the energy flow that came from the woman, and he could tell that she was dead serious.


    "Alright," he said without restraint.


    "Not even going to think about it?" Megan asked.


    "What''s there to think? I trust you. If you guys ever had any ill intention towards me, I would have noticed long ago¡­" Dante explained.


    Megan gave him a slight smile, making the warlock flinch momentarily and turn his face away¡ªan interaction that Zac witnessed closely.


    ''Was he embarrassed?'' the redhead pondered.


    He had seen Dante interacting with lots of different women since they became friends, and it didn''t matter how attractive they were. The warlock didn''t show any sort of romantic interest and never got flustered by their words.


    ''Hmm, maybe I misunderstood,'' Zac thought, leaving the matter aside.


    After the trio practiced their fighting technique for a few more hours, they showered at the gym''s facilities and walked to the apartments.


    It was still early at night, so the group decided to wait until after dinner to go to the park for the contract between Megan and Dante.


    Sophia, who heard about their plans, decided to accompany them as she was curious to see Dante''s powers.


    Later that night, the group of four arrived at the empty park and walked to the area that Dante used as training grounds, which still had the markings and fallen trees from last time.


    "It won''t take me as long as Zac''s¡­" Dante commented, pointing his palm at the ground and summoning the Shadow Well.


    Clenching his hand tightly above the obsidian bowl, the warlock squeezed until blood dripped inside of it, making Sophia recoil a little while Zac and Megan seemed more indifferent at the sight.


    Believing that Megan''s body could intake a higher amount of power than Zac''s, Dante began waving his hand in a circular motion atop the well, producing a shadowy, purple mist from it.


    ''Zac said he was a warrior, so a physical enhancement seemed appropriate. Megan is a different case, though¡­'' Dante thought, engrossed in his spell.


    The warlock knew that Megan already had impressive physical abilities for someone who wasn''t using any type of magic.


    She was adept at mixed martial arts and had great aim when shooting, reminding him of an old friend who used to be an assassin called Sylas.


    With a smirk, Dante increased the intensity of his spell, producing more of the shadowy strands as he got a sudden spark of inspiration.


    However, while a small purple orb started to form inside the obsidian bowl, the warlock felt a shock on the left side of his chest, making him grit his teeth in pain.


    Noticing the unfinished orb was cracking, Dante focused and maintained his arm above the well, using his other hand as support to keep it up.


    The earth trembled a little, making the warlock''s companions a bit worried after seeing a drop of blood coming out of his nose.


    Nonetheless, the warlock pushed through the pain and didn''t let go of the spell, creating a shockwave that knocked everyone around on their rear, including Dante.

 Chapter 47 - 47: Megan’s Contract

    After the shockwave from the Shadow Well knocked everyone down, they slowly stood up, afraid that it would do it again.


    On the other hand, Dante approached the well and grabbed the shiny purple orb on top of it with a tired expression.


    "It''s done¡­" *cough* Dante cut himself off as he coughed out a bit of blood on the back of his hand.


    "Are you okay!?" Sophia exclaimed as his three friends ran up to him with worried faces.


    "I''m just a little tired. This one was a bit harder to make," Dante replied, trying to put up a fake smile to hide the excruciating pain plaguing his body.


    "Here it is¡­" he continued, handing the purple orb to Megan.


    The brunette momentarily looked at the pill-sized shiny sphere, getting it closer to her eyes to see the tiny electrical currents inside it.


    "Umm, this is safe. Right?" Megan asked.


    "I made sure it was¡­" Dante vaguely replied. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Is that why it took such a toll on your body?" The brunette continued, almost as if she could read his mind.


    The warlock turned his gaze to the side and waved his hand to make the Shadow Well disappear before explaining in detail.


    Since Dante had to process the souls of demons that he had absorbed, he had to take all the malice and nightmares from them before infusing them into the orb.


    Splitting the soul of a demon into different categorized pieces took a lot of umbra and willpower, so he expressed that it was common for his body to react that way. Nevertheless, his explanation didn''t make the group any less worried.


    "I have this on me!" Sophia exclaimed, looking into her bag and pulling out a healthstone.


    "Oh, this is the one we used to heal Zac. Thanks, Sophie¡­" said Dante, squeezing the stone and producing a green mist that enveloped him.


    *Gulp* The group heard Megan swallowing the orb, making them turn around to see the woman completely unbothered.


    "How did you not choke!?" Zac asked, remembering how much he coughed after swallowing his orb.


    "I don''t feel anything¡­" Megan replied, ignoring the redhead''s question.


    "That''s good. Let''s wait until tomorrow to test it out," Dante said as his body healed slowly.


    ____________________


    The following day, Dante accompanied Sophia to her lessons as usual and then visited Camille''s office after the woman sent the group a text message.


    When they arrived, they found the platinum-haired woman sitting behind her desk with Cerberus on her lap, asking the group to sit down while she spoke.


    "We''ve been looking into all the clues we have. Turns out that Turner guy wasn''t lying when he said he was connected to the mafia¡­" Camille explained.


    After the ordeal at Novis University, where Dante beat up Turner and his lackeys, Camille started investigating him, and she didn''t see anything strange in the bully''s records.


    However, when she started investigating his father, the handler found some inconsistencies that made her believe the information was fake.


    "Joseph Schwartz, the owner of Celest Bank. He inherited his fortune and business from his father, and he is known as a competent leader¡­" Camille continued.


    "When we tried to backtrack some of his records, we couldn''t find the source. From experience, this means that they hid their real information," said the handler.


    Camille concluded that the thugs that were sent to Dante''s apartment were most likely sent by Turner''s father, which she expected would happen if the man truly was connected to the mafia.


    "Those two assassins were from the Scarlett Bullets, so it''s safe to say Joseph is part of that gang," she said.


    The handler also questioned the man Dante brought from the nightclub, who was the leader of the group of criminals stationed there. Nevertheless, he genuinely had no idea who Joseph was.


    After briefing them on the information they had, Camille explained the next part of her plan to lure out the other gangs targeting them.


    "I bought a house for you guys. It''s pretty close to your apartments, so you will still be able to walk to campus¡­" the handler said, surprising the group.


    Before anyone could ask questions, Camille kept talking, saying that the apartment was already too compromised to stay there. Still, that didn''t mean the new house was safe.


    Her plan was to have the group of four move into the new house in a very public manner, leaving the details of the sale in the public domain for everyone to see.


    Then, she would plant security guards all around the area to look for anyone suspicious that could target their new home.


    "If we take down the Scarlett Bullets soon, we are going to need a clue for the ones ranking above them. I think this could help us lure them out¡­" Camille continued.


    Zac was the only one who seemed a bit troubled by her plan, as they were basically the bait for dangerous criminals to get them. However, seeing the others'' calm composure made him relax a little.


    "It''s not like I''m leaving you in the middle of a piranha-infested lake. The house will be overly protected, I guarantee it," Camille stated.


    After the handler was done with her piece, she was about to dismiss them from her office, but they still wanted to talk to her about the contract that Megan and Zac made with Dante.


    "A contract¡­?" Camille pondered aloud, prompting the warlock to explain in detail.


    "I see. I thought Zac was just wearing contact lenses, but it''s his vision that got better¡­" she muttered after hearing Dante.


    Megan commented that she wanted to test out her physical skills, and suddenly, Camille received a call on her phone from Paige, the scientist.


    "Uh huh¡­ So, you heard everything?" said Camille while speaking on the phone.


    "Alright, alright. I''ll send them there¡­" she continued, hanging up.


    "Paige wants you to test your abilities in the lab. That might be a better idea than doing it in public," said the handler, redirecting her attention to the group.


    Without any objections, the group made their way to the elevator, taking them to the secret underground lab under the skyscraper.

 Chapter 48 - 48: The MET Room

    When the group arrived at Paige''s lab, the disheveled scientists received them at the elevator''s door and guided them to another testing area.


    "As soon as I heard you made a demon contract with Dante, my entire body perked up!" the scientist said with enthusiasm, which contrasted with her tired and scruffy appearance.


    While walking to the room, Paige inquired about the process for making the contract. She had heard the gist of it when the warlock talked about it with Camille, but the scientist wanted to know every little detail.


    Dante began explaining the intricacies of dividing a demon''s soul in order to remove the harmful side effects, and as he kept talking, Megan and Zac entered the testing room.


    The warlock, Sophia, and Paige were looking at them from an adjacent room behind a bulletproof window, where the scientist had a console in front of her.


    "This is one of my newest inventions¡ªthough I haven''t used it much, I think it''s perfect for this occasion," Paige said, speaking into a microphone for Zac and Megan to hear.


    "I call it the MET room. That''s short for Multicombat-Experience-Training room," she continued.


    With the console on her side, Paige could change the conditions inside the MET room to almost anything she could think of.


    "The conditions¡­?" Zac pondered aloud.


    "Yes. For example, let''s say you wanted to practice your moves in the middle of a monsoon¡­" Paige replied, pressing a button in the console.


    At that moment, the MET room got slightly darker, and the square tiles on the ceiling slid open, revealing a machine that produced and sprayed water all over, simulating a real monsoon raining over Zac and Megan.


    From the walls, another machine produced strong winds, making the pair cover their faces and stand their ground while Dante and the others watched from the viewing room.


    "Anyways, you get it now¡­" said Paige, pressing a button to end the simulation.


    As the room lit back up and dried up, Zac and Megan stood in the center, completely soaked, prompting the scientist to ask the servants for a change of clothing.


    After the pair left the room for a few minutes, they returned with dry clothes, letting Paige continue with her explanation.


    "Apart from environmental conditions, I can also have you practice against different situations. For example¡­" Paige commented, pressing another button on her console.


    Megan and Zac prepared themselves for the worst, turning their gazes and seeing one of the walls'' tiles sliding and showcasing two mounted crossbows.


    "These crossbows will follow your moves and shoot every once in a while. Let''s see how you deal with them¡­" Paige explained.


    Zac panicked a little and stared at the crossbow aiming at him, attentively waiting for the moment it took the shot to move away.


    Meanwhile, Megan slowly walked to the side with an indifferent expression, but her gaze was solely focused on the weapon.


    The warlock noticed that Sophia clasped her hands together, sensing a bit of unease coming from her body. However, Dante didn''t feel nervous at all, as he knew that the crossbows would be no match to the pair''s new enhanced reflexes.


    After a few tense seconds, the crossbows shot simultaneously, with one arrow flying toward each.


    Zac took one step to the side right before the arrow could hit his chest, making the projectile hit the back wall.


    Megan, however, took a different approach and managed to catch the arrow with her bare hands, prompting the scientist to start writing it down in her notebook hastily.


    Sophia was impressed and clapped for her friends with a smile on her face. While Dante was satisfied with the results, he knew that the two of them were capable of more impressive feats.


    Still, Paige was only getting started, as she had dozens of conditions and situations that she wanted to test.


    For her subsequent trial, she kept the crossbows active and loaded them with a new arrow before turning off the lights, leaving them in complete and utter darkness.


    There wasn''t a single speck of light inside the MET room, as Paige wanted to test their other senses other than their vision.


    *Click!* The group heard the sound of the crossbows releasing the arrows.


    Dante smirked before Paige could turn the lights on and was surprised to see that Zac successfully avoided the arrow while Megan caught it again.


    *Phew* "I couldn''t see anything. I just moved when I heard the ''click,''" the redhead commented, wiping a drop of sweat from his forehead.


    "Huh¡­ That didn''t happen to me. It was a bit dark, but I could still see," Megan replied, catching the attention of the scientist, who turned to Dante for an explanation.


    The warlock said that while the process for making the orbs was the same, he had used different demons'' souls for each, as they both had different strengths.


    "Zac once told me that he was a warrior. Even though he wasn''t totally serious, I could sense that his comment had some sort of truth to it, so I made sure that his orb focused on physical attributes that would benefit a warrior¡­" Dante elaborated.


    "Megan is already adept at physical combat and pretty strong for someone who doesn''t use magic. So, I made her orb focus on more stealthy abilities. She still gets a physical enhancement from it, though, so it''s not like I completely replaced those effects," he continued.


    Paige kept writing down everything the warlock said, finding it fascinating how Dante accommodated his contract to fit the user perfectly.


    "Of course. There wouldn''t be a point if I gave them an ability that they couldn''t master¡ªActually, I think that could probably kill them," the warlock replied.


    After the scientist enthusiastically wrote down the word "death," she asked the warlock if he had any requests that he wanted to see tested in the MET room.


    "Hmm, can you make it so that a gun is shooting at them?" Dante asked nonchalantly, shocking Sophia and Zac.


    "Heh, heheh, hehehe! Finally, I''ve been waiting for someone to ask me that!" Paige replied, chuckling like an evil villain.


    Nonetheless, Dante could sense a vast amount of positive energy flowing from the scientist, and he found it strange how someone could be so happy about testing a gun on someone.


    ''She has absolutely zero malice. This woman is driven solely by her curiosity¡­'' The warlock thought, letting out a slight, satisfied smile. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 49 - 49: Bait Home

    The following day, after Megan and Zac practiced their new abilities, Camille''s plan to move them to another house was set in motion.


    Zac and Sophia had to attend their lessons at Novis University while Dante and Megan helped move the boxes from their apartments into the truck.


    Their new home wasn''t even ten minutes away from their old building, which was perfect as they still wanted to be close to the campus.


    When they arrived, Megan and Dante seemed satisfied with the house''s facade. It looked like a modest family home with a small flower garden in the front and tall hedges around its perimeter.


    It was located in the corner of the street, and Dante could feel the presence of people watching them from the top of the buildings surrounding it.


    "Is that¡­ Miss Maya?" Dante pondered as he glared at the top of a building across. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Camille chuckled. "As expected of Dante¡­" she said.


    "Yes, the one over there is Maya. The two Tylers are taking care of the street on the other side, and I have two more agents in the adjacent buildings¡­ I told you this place was going to be overly protected," the handler clarified.


    Inside the home, Camille gave the pair a tour, starting from the ground floor after entering through the main door.


    There was a small living room with two couches and a flat-screen TV next to the dining table, followed by the kitchen area and the door leading to the backyard.


    "Dante said he wanted an open but somewhat inconspicuous place. Check this out¡­" Camille commented as she opened the back door.


    The backyard was wholly surrounded by tall hedges that obstructed the view of the property, with a single wooden picnic table placed on the side of the green grass.


    "Mhmm, this is perfect," said Dante with a nod of approval.


    Back inside the house, they went up to the second floor, which had four bedrooms¡ªeach with its own bathroom.


    One of the bedrooms was slightly bigger than the others, as it was supposed to be the master bedroom, so Dante suggested that Megan take it for herself. While the brunette didn''t care what room she got, she didn''t deny Dante''s proposition.


    On the third floor, they had a small study lounge with a couch, a desk, and two circular windows that allowed them to see the house''s front and back.


    "This is nice¡­" said Dante as the group went back downstairs.


    "It''s almost sad that it''s being used as a bait house," Megan commented.


    Still, Camille wasn''t done with her tour, as she had one more thing to show them on the first floor¡ªa set of stairs hidden behind the staircase wall leading to a dark basement.


    Before going down, the handler pressed the light switch next to her and guided the pair to the bottom.


    The air was damp and humid. The brick walls were slightly eroded, and there were a few wooden cupboards with nothing on them.


    In the corner of the room, Camille pushed a random brick on the wall, activating a contraption that showcased a hidden passage behind the worn-down wall.


    "This is an emergency tunnel. It leads to a warehouse three blocks away¡­" Camille explained.


    "I got some agents there too, so even if someone were followed through the tunnel, they would get a big surprise on the other side," she confidently continued.


    After the tour of their new home was finished, Dante and Megan started unpacking their things, although the warlock didn''t have much to organize.


    A few hours later, Sophia and Zac arrived at the new home, making the redhead nervous, thinking that he would have to start paying rent.


    ____________________


    A few days after moving in, Camille kept calling Zac and Megan to practice their skills at the lab, where Paige could keep studying them.


    The scientist wanted to test Megan''s accuracy with her pistol, so she was brought into the MET room alone while Zac and Dante watched from the safe room.


    With the press of a button, Paige made dozens of different targets appear all around Megan, half of which slid across the walls while the others were static in place.


    Before shooting a single bullet, the brunette closed her eyes and raised her gun forward, surprising the three spectators.


    Without opening her eyes once, Megan aimed and shot at the targets out of pure intuition, hitting a bullseye and shattering them all.


    "Dante, how did she do that!?" Paige asked the warlock with enthusiasm. However, Dante was just as surprised as the others.


    "Heh¡­" Dante scoffed with a chuckle.


    "I can''t say I''m completely sure, but I have a theory¡­" he continued.


    Since it was the first time that he had done a contract with other people, there were a few variables that Dante didn''t fully comprehend. Still, that didn''t mean that Zac and Megan were in trouble.


    "Do you remember how I said that being a warlock was mostly determined due to innate talent?" Dante asked, making the scientist nod fervently.


    "It''s pretty much the same thing for wizards, warriors, and priests. However, since the people in this world don''t perceive these energies, they never really know if they have the talent to control them¡­" the warlock explained.


    The first warlocks to ever appear in his old world were people who had the talent to control umbra, but they couldn''t see this energy until they were exiled and made a contract with a demon.


    When those warlocks were able to perceive the umbra around them clearly, their magic and skills developed much faster.


    "So, you are saying that Megan is developing the skills you gave her even further?" Paige asked, writing it down in her little notebook.


    "That''s what I think. These targets are not living beings, so they don''t extrude any umbra¡­ Even I would have trouble locating them with my eyes closed," Dante replied.


    "But there is something about Megan''s keen senses that allows her to find these targets without even looking at them¡­" he continued.


    Zac was listening to Dante''s explanation attentively, wondering if he would also be able to develop his skills and clenching his fist with determination.

 Chapter 50 - 50: Zac’s New Weapon

    After Megan demonstrated her skills inside the MET room, it was Zac''s turn to enter. However, Paige expressed her concerns about not giving the redhead a weapon to use.


    "Uhh, well¡­ I''ve never shot a gun in my life, so I doubt it would help me," Zac nervously said.


    "Huh? Who said anything about a gun?" Paige asked.


    "Weren''t you a warrior? Why would a warrior use a gun?" the scientist continued, pressing a button in the console and opening the wall inside the MET room to showcase a small armory room.


    Contrary to the sleek, modern design of the room with white tiles and blue glowing trails, the weapons inside were old and dusty.


    There were a few axes, javelins, swords, katanas, glaives, and other variations of these models. Nevertheless, the redhead fixed his sight on a metal bat in the corner of the room.


    "What''s this doing here?" Zac asked as he picked up the baseball bat, which seemed to be in better condition than all the other weapons.


    "Oooh, good eye!" Paige exclaimed.


    "That''s an old invention of mine¡ªIt''s made of an alloy that combines chromium and titanium, making it the hardest and lightest baseball bat in the world!" the scientist proudly explained.


    "Although, are you sure that''s what you want to pick?" Paige asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Well, I''ve never used any of those weapons before, so I wouldn''t know what to do with them, but I''ve swung a bat before¡­ My mom took me to the batting cages a few times when I was a kid," Zac replied with a nostalgic tone.


    Respecting his decision, Paige closed the armory and pressed another button to start Zac''s training, opening the tiles on the floor from where a dozen dummies came out.


    They were the same ballistic dummies that Dante used to test his spells, but Paige made them slide across the room at high speeds.


    While getting hit by one of the dummies would feel like a car was hitting Zac, the scientist wasn''t done and pressed another button, making a couple of guns extrude from the ceiling with their crosshairs on the redhead.


    Zac got nervous and gripped his bat tightly as a drop of sweat dripped down his temple, focusing on the dummies'' movements, which started to feel slower the more he stared.


    The moment the guns fired their shots at Zac, he took a quick step forward and swung his bat laterally with all his strength, striking one of the dummies in the head and ripping it clean off the rest of the body.


    The guns shot again, and the redhead took a step to the side to evade them, swinging his bat with one hand backward and hitting another dummy in the stomach area, entirely halting its frantic movements.


    Paige noticed that Zac only moved whenever the guns shot at him, which was clever of him, but it also showed a pattern.


    ''If he were fighting against real people, they would have already noticed what he is doing¡­'' Paige thought.


    Not wanting the redhead to learn bad habits in combat, the scientist pressed another button to switch it up in the middle of the test run, making the guns shoot at different time intervals.


    Zac''s movements got more frantic as he evaded the bullets flying at him but kept his focus on the dummies, which he kept destroying with a single blow.


    Right as he struck the last dummy, a final bullet was shot from the wall nearest to him, and for a brief moment, time seemed to slow down for the redhead.


    ''I don''t have time to move¡­!'' Zac thought, raising his arms forward horizontally with his bat, which caused the bullet to hit and rebound off it.


    "Nice job!" Paige exclaimed into the microphone, startling Zac inside the MET room.


    *Phew* "How am I still alive¡­?" Zac pondered out loud, making Dante chuckle slightly.


    When the redhead turned around and saw the state of the room, he stood in shock for a few seconds, wondering if it was truly him who destroyed the ballistic dummies with such ease.


    The dummies were meant to imitate a human''s body, and seeing that some of their heads had flown off made him scared of his own strength.


    The floor and walls were painted with the fake blood that sprayed from the dummies, but it still gave Zac an ominous feeling about it, scared that the scene could become real in the future.


    When Paige and Dante entered the MET room to inspect the destroyed dummies closer, they noticed that the ones who kept their heads had most of their bones shattered.


    "It''s safe to say that if you ever need to hit someone in the head with a bat¡­ Umm, maybe hold yourself back a little, eh?" Paige jokingly said.


    Zac handed the chromium bat to the scientist, who raised an eyebrow and looked at him with slight confusion.


    "This is your weapon now. Keep it," Paige said.


    "Th-the bat is my weapon!?" Zac asked.


    "Why not? You handled it well¡­" Dante interjected as he kept inspecting the damage on the ballistic dummies.


    "Not every warrior wields blades and axes. My friend used to wield clubs all the time," the warlock continued.


    Not able to refute any of Dante''s claims, Zac accepted the chromium bat and took it with him back to their home, placing it next to his bed.


    ____________________


    Later that night, Dante, Zac, and Krom were playing video games in the living room, with Megan indifferently watching their match from the couch while Sophia cooked dinner for everyone.


    Getting enchanted by the smell of her cooking, the trio paused the game and approached the blonde, who was working on a set of pastries in a half-moon shape.


    "What''s this called?" Dante asked, standing beside Sophia, who got slightly flushed at his sudden approach. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Th-these are called empanadas. They are dough pastries that can be fried or baked, and they have different fillings¡­" the blonde said.


    "These have ground beef, these have melted cheese, those have curry potatoes¡­" Sophie continued, passionately pointing at the different pastries on the kitchen board.


    By the time the group sat down to eat, the blonde remembered that she had invited Victoria to their home the next day as they needed to study for their upcoming tests.


    *Cough, cough* Zac choked on his empanada, grabbing his glass of water and chugging it down.

 Chapter 51 - 51: Victoria’s Invitation

    The following evening, Dante, Zac, and Megan returned home from their training at the laboratory, finding Sophia and Victoria in the kitchen.


    "Hey guys!" Victoria greeted the trio as they entered.


    "H-hey Tori!" Zac replied, slightly blushing.


    "What were you guys doing? You look a bit roughed up¡­" the visitor asked, noticing the minor marks and bruises on Zac and Megan''s body.


    "W-we were at the gym," the redhead replied, quickly making his way to his room to take a shower.


    Victoria chuckled after seeing Zac running upstairs, turning around to keep on helping Sophia with dinner preparations.


    "How was the study session?" Megan asked as she sat on the kitchen counter.


    "Pretty good. Honestly, we might ace this test," Victoria replied.


    Megan let out a slight, satisfied smile that caught Dante''s attention before she went upstairs to take a shower.


    A few minutes later, the group sat around the small dining table and served themselves some of the stew that Sophia had prepared with Victoria''s help.


    "Oh, by the way, Meg. I already invited everyone here, but there is a big event on Saturday at Firewater¡ªso, of course, you should join us!" Victoria said.


    Megan raised her eyes from her plate to look at the smiling brunette with her indifferent gaze. "Sure¡­" she coldly replied.


    Nonetheless, Victoria beamed with happiness at her response, saying that she couldn''t wait to have fun with everyone there.


    After they had dinner, Victoria said her farewells and made her way out. However, seeing that she had to walk a few blocks to the subway station, Zac decided to accompany her, as it was dark on the streets.


    While the pair walked away, Dante felt Maya''s presence moving along with them, so he knew that the agent was guarding them from the rooftops of the buildings without them being aware.


    "Thanks for walking with me¡­" Victoria commented with a slight blush on her cheeks.


    "It''s no problem!" Zac loudly replied, looking away from the woman as his heartbeat got faster.


    "Everyone has been avoiding me on campus lately, so I''m glad that you guys are still talking to me," the brunette continued, making Zac turn to her with a serious expression.


    "Avoiding you?" he asked, although he had a pretty good idea of what she meant.


    "Yeah. It''s gotten harder to hand out my pamphlets. One girl even said she didn''t want to die and ran away from me¡­" Victoria explained.


    Seeing her speak so somberly made Zac frown. He remembered when Turner beat him up for simply talking to Victoria, and while he didn''t give up on hanging out with his friends, he could understand why others wouldn''t want to mess with Turner''s threats.


    ''What can I even do for her?'' The redhead pondered.


    "A-anyways, sorry to dump all that on you¡­" Victoria continued, getting closer to the subway station.


    "No, Tori. It''s fine," Zac said with a severe tone that surprised the brunette.


    "I promise, no matter what, that I and the others will not leave you alone¡­" he continued, glaring confidently at the woman as they stood in front of the train tracks.


    Victoria''s eyes got watery, and she held her neck up to look at Zac''s determined expression, letting out a heartfelt "thank you" right before the subway arrived.


    As the brunette waved goodbye from inside the wagon, the redhead waved back with a smile that was quickly erased as soon as she left his sight.


    ''How can I stop this¡­?'' he thought.


    He knew that the only reason he was able to be there with Victoria was Dante, whose presence not only gave him the courage to stand up to Turner but also saved him from being gravely injured by the bullies.


    ''If it weren''t for Dante, I probably would have stopped talking to her, too. Dammit!'' He thought as he clenched his fists with anger.


    Turner hadn''t been to the campus since his encounter with the warlock, and while he was happy about it at first, he was starting to get worried.


    ''Maybe he is planning something¡­ Or could he be embarrassed to show his injuries to the others?'' the redhead pondered.


    Remembering the saying his mother always repeated to him¡ª "We must fight to keep what''s important to us," ¡ªZac was resolute in protecting Victoria from anything that came her way.


    ____________________


    While the redhead accompanied Victoria to the subway station, Dante helped Sophia clean the dining room as Megan flopped on the couch. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hey, Sophie. How did you and Victoria meet?" the warlock curiously asked.


    "Hmm? Well, we met during our first year of high school¡­ But after the whole ''thing'' happened, Megan and I had the rest of our classes at home," the blonde explained.


    "We kept talking with each other on social media, but we only started hanging out when we started college," Sophia continued.


    "Hmm, I see¡­" said Dante, inquisitively placing a hand on his chin.


    "Why do you ask?" the blonde interrupted his thoughts.


    "I was just thinking. That Turner guy said he was telling people to stay away from Victoria, but I don''t think he said that to you¡­" the warlock commented.


    "Of course, he didn''t¡­" Megan interjected, raising her head from the couch''s cushion to look at the pair.


    "If he is going around saying he has ties with the mafia, then he probably knows who we are. The Jade Dragons may be dead, but that doesn''t mean that any gang can come for us¡­" Megan explained.


    "Still, how would he know? Do the other gangs have a picture of you guys?" Dante inquired.


    Megan got up from the couch and raised her shirt, showing the green serpent dragon tattoo on the side of her torso that trailed along her defined figure.


    "This is the mark of the Jade Dragon''s leader. Anyone who is in a real criminal organization knows what this is¡­" Megan replied.


    "I see. So, the guy was scared of you, that''s why he didn''t threaten Sophia¡­" Dante muttered while inspecting the tattoo, making the brunette shrug.


    "Even if he did. That won''t stop me from hanging out with Tori!" Sophia exclaimed proudly.


    Seeing the blonde''s reaction, Dante felt another fluctuation of positive energy coming from Megan, piquing his curiosity about what the brunette was thinking as he couldn''t recognize her emotions.

 Chapter 52 - 52: Saturday Plans

    A few days later, Megan and Zac were training at the laboratory when they got called to Camille''s office.


    The handler had found Joseph Schwartz''s mansion, located inside a rich neighborhood on the outskirts of Novis, and was preparing a mission for the three of them.


    "Let''s do it on Saturday night since we know Joseph is home at that time," Camille explained.


    "Saturday?" Zac wondered aloud.


    "Oh, don''t worry, Zac. You are not going with them¡­" the platinum-haired woman replied with a gentle smile.


    "Ah, well¡­ I wasn''t nervous about the mission¡ªI just remembered we had plans on Saturday," Zac commented, scratching the back of his head.


    Camille inquired about their plans, so the trio told her that Victoria, who was one of the organizers, had invited them to go to an event at Firewater nightclub.


    At that moment, Camille called one of her servants into the room, bringing a pile of stacked papers that were heavily placed on her desk.


    "Hmmm, Victoria, Victoria¡­" The handler muttered as she scrolled through the documents with her fingers.


    "Aha!" Camille exclaimed, pulling one of the papers out of the pile.


    "Victoria was the girl that Joseph''s son wanted to date back in high school. The document says the kid developed an unhealthy obsession with the girl¡­" the handler explained as she read the document.


    "Yeah, I could deduce that much after seeing him¡­" said Dante, prompting Camille to delve into her thoughts.


    "Our informant said that Joseph was planning a move on Saturday, and his son hasn''t been seen after the altercation with Dante on campus¡­" the handler muttered as she organized her thoughts.


    "So, do you think they are planning something with Victoria?" Dante asked, making Zac tensely clench his fists.


    "I can''t say for sure, but I''ll send a few agents there, just in case¡­" Camille replied. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the trio walked back home, Dante noticed Zac''s umbra flowing from his body, and he could tell that his feelings stemmed from anxiety.


    "What''s wrong?" the warlock asked his friend.


    "I''m just nervous¡ªHere I thought I was going to have a fun weekend with Tori¡­" Zac replied with a bit of disappointment.


    "Hmm, I get the feeling you''ll be able to do that after the mission is over," Dante casually said.


    ____________________


    When Saturday arrived, Dante and Megan met at Camille''s office, where a driver took them to the rich neighborhood on the outskirts of Novis.


    Meanwhile, Zac and Sophia were getting ready to go to Firewater nightclub, and as the redhead waited in the living room for the blonde to finish dressing up, he heard a knock.


    Opening the front door, Zac found a beautiful woman with peach-colored hair, wearing a somewhat short dress with a nice leather jacket and an unamused expression on her face.


    "You must be Zac¡­" The woman commented, inspecting the redhead up and down with her gaze.


    "Y-yeah?"


    "I''m Maya. I''ll be joining you two tonight," she continued.


    "Oh, Miss Camille and Dante told me about you¡­" said Zac, stepping aside to allow the woman to enter.


    The agent explained that Camille had sent her and the two Tylers, but they would stay outside of the venue to keep an eye out.


    Zac got a little nervous from her words, as she was talking as if something was bound to happen. The redhead knew that Victoria could be in danger, but he wasn''t expecting anything crazy to happen in a public space.


    Still, the simple fact that Camille was being cautious made him somewhat anxious.


    After Sophia went downstairs wearing wide-leg pants and a fashionable blouse, she greeted Maya with a hug, making Zac understand that the women had known each other for some time.


    While the three of them were on the subway, Maya handed Zac and Sophia tiny earpieces.


    "Here, put these on¡­" the agent commented.


    Inspecting the earpiece closer, Zac noticed that it was almost entirely made of plastic, and it was small enough to stick to the side of their ears without it being seen on the surface.


    "These were made so no metal detector can find them¡­" Maya explained.


    A moment later, Zac turned to look at the two Tylers, who were inconspicuously sitting a few seats away from the group, and noticed that one of them was carrying his chrome baseball bat.


    "Umm, Miss Maya¡­?" Zac asked, but his gaze was fixed on the bat, letting her know what he wanted to ask without him finishing his sentence.


    "We brought it just in case you need it, but don''t worry about it. Tyler will take care of it," said the pink-haired agent.


    "O-Okay¡­" he nervously replied.


    When they arrived at the nightclub, they saw a long line of people waiting to get inside and Victoria standing next to the bouncers at the door, acting as the hostess.


    As the brunette spotted her two friends walking by, she waved at them and signaled with her hand to approach her, making them skip the line.


    "I''m so glad you guys made it!" Victoria exclaimed, seeing Maya behind them and introducing herself.


    "Dante and Megan wanted to apologize¡­" Sophia said with a bit of apprehension.


    "It''s okay. Those two must be busy¡­ I''m happy that you guys made it," Victoria clarified, making Sophia smile warmly.


    During all this time, Zac was speechless, not able to get his eyes off Victoria, who was wearing a short blue dress that matched the color of her eyes and a pair of large, ringed earrings.


    Her clothing was similar to what Maya was wearing, but Victoria''s voluptuous figure had the redhead wholly hypnotized.


    "You are looking handsome, Zac!" Victoria said with a playful tone, looking up slightly to lock her eyes with his.


    The redhead was wearing gray jeans and a buttoned, short-sleeve shirt, which wouldn''t have been considered the most fashionable.


    However, Victoria couldn''t help but notice that Zac''s arm muscles looked a little bigger and more defined, wondering if he always had that kind of body.


    "A-anyways, let''s get inside!" the brunette continued, bringing herself back to reality after getting hypnotized by Zac''s body.

 Chapter 53 - 53: Mansion Raid

    After Dante and Megan were taken to the outskirts of Novis, which was a little over forty minutes by car, they arrived at a street that had large mansions next to each other. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The pair wore earpieces connected to Camille, and their jackets had small cameras where she could see their point of view.


    When the driver stopped in the middle of the street, Camille told them that Joseph''s security extended out of his residence, so the pair would have to walk a few blocks to get there since going with the car would be too obvious.


    Megan was wearing her usual outfit that completely covered her body except for her eyes, while Dante wore a set of jogger pants, a T-shirt, a jacket with a hoodie, and the mask that Camille had given him.


    "We look pretty shady already¡­" Megan commented as they stood on the sidewalk.


    "How do you wanna do this?" She continued.


    "Hmm, let''s see¡­ Krom, come here," Dante replied, calling the imp to his side, appearing with a ''poof'' right next to them.


    "What? I was in the middle of an intense online match! If this messes with my rank¡­" the imp complained.


    "You''ll be back in a second, man. Relax¡­" Dante replied.


    "Tell me. Feel anything strange on this street?" he asked the imp.


    "Ehhh, lots of umbra. I think there might be one weak demon out there¡­ The rest is just weirdos," Krom stated, his gaze fixated on the street.


    "Weirdos? What do you mean?" Megan asked.


    "I don''t know, I haven''t seen them! I can just tell by that umbra that they are weirdos!" The imp replied, seemingly out of patience.


    "Noted. You can go back," Dante said, making the imp "poof" away without saying goodbye.


    "So, what''s the plan?" Megan asked.


    "How about¡­ I''ll go to the front gate and catch their attention while you enter from the back?" the warlock replied with another question.


    "Alright¡­ Cami, you there?" said the brunette to the handler on their earpiece.


    ["I''m ready,"] Camille replied, sitting in a dark room with monitors all around her and the ones in front of her showing the live feed from Dante and Megan''s hidden cameras.


    When the pair got close enough to the mansion, they separated so the woman could get to the back entrance as Dante stood in front of the main gate across the street.


    Two men were stationed behind the gate with rifles hanging from their shoulders, and after seeing Dante suspiciously staring at them, one of them spoke up.


    "Hey you, move along!" The guard shouted.


    Dante didn''t budge an inch from his spot, tapping his foot against the ground as if he were waiting for something.


    "Did you not hear me!? Hey, you!" The guard yelled again.


    ''Five¡­ four¡­'' The warlock counted in his head, his gaze locked on the mansion.


    *Tch* "Screw it. I''ll go out there and tell him!" said the guard to his companion, opening a smaller gate on the side.


    As the armed man walked outside and crossed the street to approach the warlock, he simply leaned against a tree.


    ''Three¡­ two¡­'' he kept counting.


    "Hey, are you deaf!? You can''t be here," said the guard, standing mere feet away from Dante.


    Suddenly, the guard stopped talking as Dante forcefully grabbed his cheeks and covered his mouth with one hand, making the guard freeze in fear.


    "Apologies, sir. I''m here to cause a ruckus," the warlock said politely, throwing the guard against the gate from across the street.


    "Eh? What the-!?" The second guard exclaimed after being startled by his buddy crashing against the metal bars.


    When the guard turned to look at the entrance, Dante was vaulting over the tall gate, not giving him enough time to aim his rifle at the warlock before getting knocked out by a kick in the face.


    "Hmmm, this could work¡­" Dante muttered, grabbing the loaded rifle from the guard''s body.


    Turning his body to the mansion, the warlock pulled the trigger and started spraying bullets all around the area with no particular target in sight.


    However, after emptying the entire magazine, an alarm started blaring loudly as thick metal panels slid down from the house''s frame, covering the main entrance and the windows.


    "Not really what I had in mind¡­" Dante said to himself.


    ["That security system was made by an old friend¡­ It shouldn''t be easy to break in, but that logic doesn''t apply to you, right?"] Camille said in the warlock''s earpiece.


    With a smirk on his face, Dante approached the main door protected by the durable metal and calmly pointed his palm at it.


    "Destro," he muttered, making the structure before him shake and crumble for less than a second before imploding, raising a cloud of dust and leaving the main entrance completely open.


    The alarm was echoing inside the mansion, and right as the warlock stepped inside, bullets started flying toward him from all directions, making him rush deeper into the hallways to avoid the projectiles.


    While running, Dante found himself in an open living room with a set of stairs leading to the second floor, surrounded by columns and men wearing black suits pointing their rifles at him from the upper floor.


    Quickly taking a back step, the warlock retreated into the hallway and waited a few seconds for the men in suits to chase him down.


    "He is not armed. Go, go, go!" one guard shouted.


    Nonetheless, as soon as the dozen guards descended the stairs, Dante stepped inside the room and pointed his hand at the group.


    "Destro," he muttered again, blasting away with an invisible force one of the columns beside him, along with the dozen guards and a chunk of the staircase.


    Camille was attentively watching the pair infiltrating the mansion, and she wondered how Dante decided who to kill or spare, as he didn''t seem to have any remorse when erasing the gang members from existence.


    She had witnessed the warlock knocking out the guards at the front gate, but the rest of the guards inside were being massacred, piquing her interest.


    The woman didn''t personally care if the enemy lived or died, considering all of those guards to be mere pawns. Nevertheless, she still wanted to understand Dante''s train of thought.

 Chapter 54 - 54: Obsidian Arm

    After Dante created a massive diversion in the front side of the mansion, Megan used that moment to stealthily enter right before the security system locked all doors and windows behind a metal screen.


    Finding herself inside a small kitchen with nobody working on it, the brunette bolted out of the room and rushed through a somewhat narrow hallway.


    ["Those must be the servants'' rooms¡­"] Camille commented on Megan''s earpiece.


    Thankfully, all of the guards were busy going to the front to deal with Dante, so the woman was able to breeze through the mansion without encountering anyone.


    On the other side of the hallway, she passed by the dining room and found a set of stairs leading to the second floor.


    While the mansion only had two floors, they were quite expansive, with each of them having dozens of rooms and hallways that were easy to get lost in.


    As she ran up the stairs, a pair of suited men appeared from around the corner, seemingly wanting to go down. However, they weren''t able to point their weapons at Megan before she grabbed their heads and slammed them on the ground simultaneously.


    The red lights of the alarm were the only illumination in the hallway. Still, the darkness wasn''t a problem for the brunette anymore, so she kept moving confidently to the opposite side where the guards were going.


    Suddenly, as she bolted past a random door, she quickly jumped to avoid getting hit by it as it was blasted away from its hinges with an incredible force.


    "Hmm?" Megan hummed as she gazed back, seeing a massive monster with an obsidian arm that looked like it was about to burst from its size.


    ["What the hell is that!?"] Camille exclaimed on the woman''s earpiece, unable to get a clear picture from Megan''s camera as it was pretty dark.


    However, the brunette could clearly detail the monster, making her hesitate for a moment.


    It had the appearance of a man that seemed to have half of its face warped with its own shoulder, which carried a massive arm clad in obsidian, armor-like skin.


    The arm made his body look completely asymmetrical, and the skin on his face was perpetually being pulled to the side, giving him an eerie and uncanny appearance that made Megan''s skin crawl.


    Nevertheless, she recognized the obsidian skin, as the demon that killed her father looked similar, except the demon''s body looked much less deformed than the disgusting beast that stood before her.


    Letting out a deafening screech, the monster rushed towards Megan with his armored arm in front, wanting to tackle the woman.


    With a sharp gaze and concise movement, the brunette stepped aside and avoided her opponent''s mindless advance, quickly pulling out her pistol from the back of her belt and shooting the monster in the ribs as it rushed past her. Still, it was to no avail.


    Turning around and waving his obsidian arm back in a quick motion that destroyed the walls beside him, the monster sent a flurry of debris toward Megan, which caused her to raise her arms in a defensive stance to protect herself.


    However, the monster followed it up with a tackle from the same obsidian arm, launching Megan back and making her crash into a side table with a vase that was entirely shattered.


    ["Meg!"] Camille shouted in her earpiece as the monster approached her for another attack with the intention of finishing her off.


    Nonetheless, as he went to grip her body, Megan quickly spun and grappled his obsidian arm, making the monster wave it around frantically to get her off.


    When the monster started smashing his arm that the brunette was hugging tightly against the windows, she pulled out her gun and pointed it at the monster''s face, who couldn''t protect himself as she was riding his only defense method.


    Crystal shards rained on Megan''s body, but her aim didn''t budge from its position, shooting a single bullet to the deformed head that splattered the walls behind them with his blood, instantly killing him.


    *Sigh¡­* Megan tiredly exhaled, rolling to the side off of the monster''s body and stretching up.


    ["Meg, status!?"] Camille said loudly on her earpiece.


    "I''m fine¡­" Megan replied, gritting her teeth as the cuts on her back stung.


    ["You are on the east side of the mansion. Dante is on the west, but he is moving towards you. Try to meet up in the middle,"] The handler directed.


    Camille, who was sitting behind several monitors, could see their location through the GPS on their phones. However, she still didn''t know the exact layout of the mansion, so her directions were purely based on intuition.


    ____________________


    Dante, who had just killed a dozen guards, went up the stairs to the second floor and sensed Megan''s umbra on the opposite side.


    However, as soon as he was about to rush towards her, he felt another eerie presence coming from an unknown source, catching his attention and making him turn around.


    From the darkness of the hallway, a man with a massive obsidian arm came running at high speeds toward the warlock, who calmly tilted his head laterally with confusion.


    "What the hell are you¡­?" Dante casually asked, but the humanoid monster didn''t have the ability to communicate, as it simply kept mindlessly moving forward.


    When the monster got close enough, Dante took a single step to the side with his hands in his pockets and kicked him on the ribs, flinging him to the wall.


    "Hmm, I see¡­" Dante muttered, detailing the humanoid monster as it got up from the floor.


    Just like the one that had attacked Megan, the man''s face had warped into his massive, obsidian arm, giving him an unproportionate body size and disgusting appearance.


    "How much demon blood did you drink¡­?" Dante asked himself, knowing that the monster wouldn''t respond. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Well, not like you can say anything¡­" he continued, shrugging and pointing his palm at the monster, who was starting to rush back at him.


    "Destro," the warlock chanted, destroying the monster''s body and the wall behind him, leaving a single severed obsidian hand on the floor.

 Chapter 55 - 55: The Mansions Owner

    After Megan and Dante cleared their path of enemies, they met up in the middle of the second floor, where another hallway connected.


    "That looks like it hurts¡­" Dante commented, seeing the cuts all over Megan''s arms and back, which she received after being slammed against the windows.


    "Here," he continued, giving her a healthstone that he had in his pocket.


    The brunette nodded silently as thanks and squeezed the stone, letting out a green mist that shrouded her wounds momentarily before healing them entirely.


    "What were those things?" Megan asked.


    "I''m not sure, but I sensed demon blood inside of them¡ªHonestly, I''m quite curious myself," the warlock replied in a casual tone that didn''t fit their current situation.


    As they reached a pair of large, double doors, Dante placed both of his hands in the center and started pushing them slowly.


    Right as the doors showed a peek of the interior, a bullet flew from inside the room straight to Dante''s face, making the warlock whip his head back.


    Megan widened her eyes in shock, thinking that Dante had been shot in the head. Nevertheless, when Dante looked back down, he had bitten the bullet, which was still letting out smoke.


    *Ptoo* The warlock spat out the bullet to the side with a smirk, forcefully opening the double doors and rushing inside the office, kicking the man with the pistol in the gut and flinging him to the back wall, over his desk.


    The brunette shook her head to bring herself back to reality, still somewhat shocked at Dante''s prowess, following him inside the office and seeing Joseph lying against the wall.


    "This must be the guy¡­" Dante muttered to his companion.


    "Cami?" Megan asked the handler on their earpiece.


    ["Yeah, that''s Joseph Schwartz¡­ See if you can get any information from him,"] Camille said.


    The warlock scanned his surroundings and saw a butler in the corner of the office, sitting on the ground and holding his knees, shivering with fear.


    "Wh-who the hell are you¡­?" Joseph asked, holding his stomach in the area where Dante''s kick landed.


    "Sir, we are the ones asking questions¡­" the warlock nonchalantly replied, glaring back at the man.


    "First question, where is the demon in this house?" Dante asked, shocking Joseph with his bluntness.


    *Tch* "I don''t know what you are talking about¡­" Joseph responded.


    Dante tilted his head laterally and turned to look at Megan, who was glaring at Joseph with a sharp and intimidating gaze.


    "Is this guy serious?" Dante asked his companion, who shrugged the question off. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The warlock slowly approached Joseph, still trying to stand up from the floor, and stepped on his chest with some pressure.


    "Are you stupid or something? Were you expecting us to leave just because you said you didn''t know anything?" The warlock asked sarcastically.


    Joseph let out a smirk while struggling to breathe from the pressure on his chest. "You don''t know what you are messing with, boy¡­" the man muttered.


    At that moment, from Dante''s shadow, an ashen white demon materialized behind him with massive claws that went straight for the warlock''s neck.


    "Dante!" Megan exclaimed, but her warning wasn''t needed, as Dante caught the demon''s arm without even turning his gaze at the creature.


    "Boy?" Dante asked Joseph, still gripping the demon''s arm before pulling it and severing it from his body, splashing black blood all over the man.


    The demon took a few steps back and howled in pain, but Dante hadn''t even looked at the monster once, dropping the severed, white arm next to him.


    Joseph''s eyes widened with shock and fear, unable to utter another word as the warlock looked down on him with a cold and condescending gaze.


    "You are the one who doesn''t understand," said Dante, finally turning around and grabbing the demon by one of his horns.


    "Another shadow demon, huh? Let me guess¡ªyou can''t say whose orders you are following¡­" the warlock said, forcefully holding down the monster by his horn.


    The shadow demon gritted his teeth in pain and remained silent at his question, prompting Dante to crouch down and bring his face closer to the demon''s.


    "You are the second shadow demon I''ve seen around here. You guys are making it too obvious¡­" Dante whispered, making the monster shiver with fear momentarily.


    "Now, you better answer this next question for your sake," he continued, raising his hand slightly to the side. "Black flame," he muttered.


    As Dante''s hand was covered in a black-and-white fire, the demon began shaking and tugging his head back, desperately trying to get away from the warlock. However, his resistance was in vain.


    "Has your blood been fed to anyone?" Dante asked, his voice sounding more intimidating and commanding than ever.


    "N-no, I swear!" the demon exclaimed with terror laced in his voice.


    "Get that away from me! I don''t want to vanish!" the monster continued.


    "See? That wasn''t so hard¡­" Dante commented, closing his flaming fist and making the dark fire dissipate.


    "Don''t ever cross paths with me again. Understood?" the warlock said.


    The demon nodded fervently with a hint of desperation as Dante stood back up, pointing his palm at the monster kneeling before him.


    "Destro," he chanted, destroying the entirety of the demon''s body along with a small chunk of the flooring.


    Joseph and his butler were frozen in terror, as the man standing in the center of the office was powerful enough to subjugate and destroy a demon with barely any effort.


    "Was it okay to kill him without him answering who his leader is?" Megan asked.


    "True, he didn''t really say anything, but it''s already pretty obvious that their leader is Astaroth¡­" Dante replied.


    ''What!? How does he know that name!?'' Joseph thought as he recoiled in horror.


    "It''s obvious?" Megan asked with sarcasm.


    "Astaroth is the leader of the shadow demons in hell¡­" The warlock said.


    Focusing his attention on the brunette for a moment, he explained that Astaroth was a general for the Demon King, Satan, and he commanded the largest legion of shadow demons in hell.


    "I had my suspicions when we found the first one, but seeing two of them would be pretty rare if it wasn''t Astaroth behind it," Dante continued.


    "That makes some sense¡­ Not that I know much about hell," Megan said, her voice unamused.

 Chapter 56 - 56: Joseph’s Execution

    With the shadow demon in the mansion destroyed, the warlock redirected his attention back to Joseph, who couldn''t move an inch from the fear coursing through his body.


    ''What the hell is happening? Where are the Ruby Vipers!?'' Joseph thought, remembering the phone call he made after his two hitmen were captured.


    His plan was to assassinate Megan to gain favor with the Blood Dragons. However, the hitmen never returned, and his operation at the Devil''s Den nightclub mysteriously disappeared, prompting him to call his superiors for support.


    "Wanna take it over, Meg?" Dante asked, looking back at the brunette who was keeping an eye on the terrified butler.


    "Sure¡­" She calmly replied, stepping forward and revealing her face to the man with her pistol in hand.


    "You¡­" Joseph muttered, detailing the woman''s eyes and hair color and recognizing her as the next-in-line for the Jade Dragons'' leader position.


    "Were you the one who sent those assassins to the apartment?" Megan asked, her tone cold and severe.


    "No," the man replied, gritting his teeth with apprehension.


    "He is lying," Dante interjected.


    "Who asked you to do that?" the woman continued.


    *Tch!* "Nobody! It was a matter of respect¡­" Joseph said, locking his eyes with Megan''s.


    "Respect? Why? Because someone beat up your son after he brutally beat another student?" The brunette said, her tone unwavering.


    "My father was right. The mafia world isn''t the same¡­" she muttered, the barrel of her gun pointed straight at Joseph''s head.


    "What the hell do you know about the mafia? You are just an orphan girl¡­" Joseph muttered, but Megan didn''t react to his words.


    "I saw your record. You have quite a lot of businesses doing illegal practices and laundering money¡­ Where is your actual contribution to your territory?" The brunette asked, confusing the man.


    "Figures, you don''t even know what I''m trying to say¡­" she continued.


    "A mafia family doesn''t do crime for profit. They commit crimes to regulate their territories and use that money to improve the lifestyle of the people living within," Megan said confidently.


    Meanwhile, Dante had stepped back to stand beside the terrified butler and listened attentively to Megan''s explanation, letting out a slight smirk from the woman''s confidence.


    "That''s stupid! Why would I use the money from my businesses on other people!?" Joseph exclaimed.


    "You are not fit for this, old man¡­" Megan replied, placing her finger on the trigger.


    ["Wait, wait! We need more information on his higher-ups,"] Camille interrupted.


    "I don''t think that will be needed¡­" Dante responded, his gaze fixed on the butler.


    "The boss is cursed, so he won''t be able to say anything until I break it¡­ However, this man isn''t cursed at all," the warlock explained, crouching next to the butler, who couldn''t look at Dante out of fear.


    [''Right, but how much does he know?''] Camille asked.


    "Hey, sir. How much do you know about the Scarlett Bullets'' schemes?" Dante politely asked the shivering man.


    The butler was hiding his face and widened his eyes when he heard the warlock asking him a question so close to him, making him nervously look up and notice Dante''s nonchalant smile.


    "Please don''t kill me. I have a daughter¡­" The butler said.


    "That''s nice. What''s her name?" Dante asked with genuine curiosity.


    "S-Sarah¡­" he replied with a somber tone.


    "I see. You must truly love your daughter," the warlock commented, seeing the positive energy flowing from the man when speaking about her.


    The butler locked his eyes with Dante''s, and a chunk of his fear went away. Even when the young man crouching before him had the most intimidating aura he had ever felt, he also believed it was sort of comforting.


    "I¡­ I know everything," the butler said with a little more confidence.


    "Shut the hell up, Lawrence!" Joseph shouted from the other side of the room.


    "If you say anything, I''ll kill you and your family, I swear!" the boss continued frantically.


    "And how are you gonna do that?" Megan calmly interrupted the man, pointing the barrel of her gun at him.


    Joseph stopped talking and narrowed his eyes with fear, but Megan took another second to detail the old man, remembering the events that happened eight years prior.


    During the attack on her home that ended up killing most of the Jade Dragons members, she remembered seeing Joseph shooting at her people while she ran away with Sophia.


    "You were there, weren''t you?" The brunette asked, her voice a bit raspy from anger.


    ["Extraction team arrived,"] Camille interrupted.


    At that moment, everything felt silent to Joseph, and the only thing he could clearly listen to was Megan''s cold, intimidating voice.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter if you were. Time''s up," she said.


    *BANG!* A gunshot echoed in the room as Joseph''s brain splattered against the wall.


    Right after Joseph died, Dante spotted a small amount of positive energy flowing from the butler.


    ''Is he relieved?'' the warlock pondered.


    Unfortunately, Lawrence''s body was still petrified with fear, prompting the warlock to carry him like a sack of potatoes out of the residence.


    As they ran past one of the corpses of the mutated men, the butler inquired if they were the ones to kill them, which the pair confirmed. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "There were only two of them, though¡­" Megan muttered, making Lawrence widen his eyes in shock.


    "Th-there should have been a third," the butler stammered.


    "The boss'' son was going through a much harsher treatment than those men," he clarified.


    "The son? Where is he right now?" Dante inquired.


    "He said he was going to get what he wanted all this time and left a few hours ago¡­" Lawrence replied.


    "Cami!" Megan shouted.


    ["I''m on it¡ªI''m calling Zac!"]


    ____________________


    When the pair hastily left the mansion that still had its alarm blaring, they found a couple of black SUVs waiting for them right at the entrance.


    "Hmm?" Dante hummed as he turned his attention to the top of a building a few streets away.


    "What''s wrong?" Megan asked after escorting the butler into the car.


    "I felt someone watching us for a brief second¡­ It''s gone now," the warlock replied before getting into the car.

 Chapter 57 - 57: Panic at the Nightclub

    From the top of a building a few streets away from Joseph''s mansion, a young boy was overlooking the scene with a dissatisfied expression.


    "Aww man, I got here too late¡­" he muttered.


    The boy had dark hair and crimson eyes, similar to Dante''s, and an innocent-looking face.


    When Dante and Megan hastily left the mansion to get on a couple of black SUVs waiting for them, the boy spotted the warlock turning his gaze towards him, making him feel an overwhelming sense of danger.


    In less than a second, large bat wings appeared from the boy''s back as he quickly flew away to a safer location. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hiding on the rooftop of another tall building, the boy sat down with his eyes widened with fear.


    ''That man is dangerous¡­'' the boy thought.


    Suddenly, he heard the sound of wings flapping nearby, catching his attention as another young kid flew down to the rooftop¡ªA little girl of the same height with dark hair and crimson eyes.


    "Asher, what''s wrong? Did you complete the task?" The girl innocently asked.


    "No. I got there too late¡­" the boy replied with a pout.


    "Really? But I sensed you flying away¡­" the girl continued before getting interrupted.


    "There was someone dangerous there, Amara," Asher commented.


    The girl crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow with suspicions, inquiring if the boy wasn''t making it up for failing his task.


    "I''m not making it up!" He exclaimed.


    "Fine, I''ll go see it too, then," the girl said in a somewhat arrogant tone.


    "No, sis, wait! I''m serious¡­ Let''s just go back for now," Asher exclaimed with a hint of terror in his voice.


    ____________________


    At Firewater Nightclub, Zac and his group were guided to a table reserved for them on the side of the venue.


    The redhead had heard rumors that it could cost up to one thousand kepis to get a table. However, since Victoria was one of the owners, it was free of charge for them.


    When they arrived at their seats, they were given a complimentary vodka bottle on the house, which Zac knew was expensive, making him feel slightly guilty about it.


    Two large bottles of orange juice accompanied the service, and as Victoria handed a cocktail to Zac, she noticed he looked nervous.


    "Everything all right?" she asked the redhead, her voice muffled by the loud music.


    "Y-Yeah! I just¡­ I''ve never had expensive alcohol like this," Zac replied, speaking loudly so his voice could be heard.


    In reality, Zac had only gotten drunk once when he was eighteen. He believed that drinking was a social activity, and since he had been distant from others his entire life, he never had anyone to share that experience with.


    "Well, there is always a first time for everything," Victoria said, getting closer to Zac''s ears so that he could clearly listen to her voice.


    *Clink* Zac and his group cheered with their cocktails before taking a sip.


    ''Hmm, it barely tastes like vodka¡­'' The redhead thought, chugging down half of the glass.


    Thirty minutes later, the group downed half of the vodka bottle, and while Zac was laughing and having a good time with Victoria and Sophia, Maya kept a more serious expression as she scanned the venue.


    Zac stood up from his seat and got out of the booth, prompting the pink-haired agent to ask him what he was doing.


    "I just gotta pee real quick¡­" the redhead replied, his cheeks blushing from the alcohol in his system.


    "Okay, then," Maya commented, allowing the redhead to stumble slightly through the dance floor to the restrooms.


    As Zac got inside a toilet booth and closed the door, he let out a long sigh, his vision tumbling from side to side.


    *Phew* "Much better¡­" he muttered after finishing.


    Suddenly, his drunken thoughts were interrupted when he heard a loud ''bang'' outside the restroom, followed by the desperate screams of the guests.


    ''Was that a gunshot!?'' Zac thought, bolting out of the bathroom and finding the venue in chaos as people were trying to get out simultaneously.


    The redhead stood on his tippy toes to get a better overhead look, searching for his group as the people around him were pushing each other to the exit.


    "I see Sophia¡­" The redhead muttered, seeing the blonde in their booth.


    Using his arms to push the people out of his way, Zac walked towards Sophia, who had a terrified expression on her face.


    "Zac!" The blonde shouted as she spotted the man in the sea of people.


    "I''m here!" He shouted back as he reached the table.


    "He took her!" Sophia exclaimed.


    The redhead knew what she meant exactly without her having to spell it out, desperately asking which way they went.


    Sophia pointed at the back exit, saying that Maya had followed them. Before Zac could rush out of the venue, the blonde urged him to be careful, as the bully looked completely different.


    Going in the contrary way to the rest of the people in the venue, Zac pushed them away as he vaulted over the tables, finding it difficult to move without hurting the guests next to him.


    When he reached the back exit, he kicked it open and got to the dark alley behind, where Maya was pointing her gun to the side.


    "Tori!" Zac shouted and turned, widening his eyes with shock and fear at the sight.


    Turner, who used to be an average-looking man, was much taller than before.


    He wasn''t wearing a shirt, which showcased the black veins coursing through his body that reached the left side of his face.


    His left arm was disproportionate to the rest of his body, looking like his muscles were about to burst, and his left eye was glowing with a red hue that made his appearance even creepier.


    Turner was holding Victoria by the neck against the wall with his massive left arm, and after Zac noticed the rips on her dress while struggling to breathe, his mind went entirely blank.

 Chapter 58 - 58: Zac Vs. Turner

    As soon as Zac exited the nightclub from the back exit, he found himself in a dark alley, where the mutated Turner had taken Victoria.


    Maya had a small pistol that she managed to get inside the venue and was aiming straight at Turner''s head.


    "Let her go," Maya commanded the bully, who seemed too entranced in Victoria''s beauty to notice her.


    "Ehehehe¡­" Turner chuckled maniacally.


    His mutated arm had grown large enough for it to grip Victoria''s body, and when Turner used his other arm to rip part of her dress, Maya pulled the trigger to get him away from the girl.


    Nonetheless, when she looked back at Turner, all he had was a drop of blood coming down the side of his face where the bullet hit him.


    ''What the-...'' Maya thought, shocked that the man had endured a shot in the head.


    Still, the attack was enough to make Turner acknowledge the people around him, making him turn his gaze away from Victoria.


    Seeing Maya didn''t seem to have any effects on Turner, but when his eyes spotted Zac, his demeanor changed from a chuckling pervert to an aggressive maniac, letting Victoria go as he launched himself at the redhead.


    "You, you¡­ It was because of you!" Turner shouted while rushing. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zac was still in shock at Turner''s transformation, and even when all of his senses and reflexes asked him to move away, his mind went completely blank.


    Before he could realize it, Turner was bashing him with his oversized arm, hitting him from the front and flinging him back against a large trash dump.


    Maya unleashed the rest of her bullets on Turner, and while they seemed to do a bit of damage, the man wasn''t reacting to the pain.


    *Click* Maya heard the sound of her empty mag, prompting her to take a step back.


    Nevertheless, Turner used that opportunity to attack the woman, waving his massive arm to the side and breaking a few of her ribs before she was launched against an alley wall.


    "Stop!" Victoria shouted with tears in her eyes, not wanting to see other people get hurt because of her.


    The voice of the desperate brunette caught Turner''s attention, quickly running back to her and gripping her with his arm even tighter than before, cutting the woman''s oxygen intake.


    Zac''s vision was slightly blurry from the strike he received, and as he moved the trash bags away from him to stand up, he saw a person waving at him from the top of a building adjacent to the alley.


    ''Who is that?'' Zac wondered.


    Suddenly, the man at the top of the building took out a chrome bat that reflected the moonlight, revealing the man''s identity to Zac.


    ''It''s one of the Tyler guys!'' He thought as his chrome bat was dropped from the top.


    With a quick motion, Zac did an acrobatic kip-up to stand up and caught the bat before it hit the ground, fixing his eyes back on the bully.


    Turner held Victoria tightly, making her struggle to breathe while slowly ripping parts of her dress with his other hand with a perverted expression.


    As soon as the bully''s hand grazed the woman''s thighs, Zac''s eyes burned with absolute rage, holding his bat with both hands.


    With a single quick and powerful step, Zac launched himself at Turner and swiped his bat upwards like a sword, making the bully drop the woman as he took a few steps back.


    Turner was slightly shocked at his retreat. When he gazed at his attacker, he saw Zac holding Victoria''s waist with one arm while holding his bat in the other, pointing it at Turner with a clear expression of anger.


    The woman wasn''t sure how to react since, in her eyes, she was in Turner''s clutches for a brief moment before being in the safety of Zac''s embrace.


    Seeing that Turner was getting ready to attack again, the redhead let go of Victoria''s waist and got into a more stable stance, holding his bat forward horizontally to protect himself.


    The bully rushed ahead with his oversized arm to tackle Zac like the first time. However, the redhead was unmovable this time around, keeping his feet stuck to the ground as he endured his opponent''s push.


    Suddenly, Turner let out a shout of anger and desperation before starting a barrage of attacks on Zac, which he skillfully protected against with his bat.


    *Clink! Clank! Clink!* The sound of the chrome hitting the bully''s armored skin echoed in the alley.


    In the middle of the onslaught of attacks, Zac noticed that the oversized arm glowed red for a moment, making him feel a surge of danger.


    ''What''s that feeling?'' He pondered, raising his bat to the side to protect himself against the next strike.


    When the red glowing arm made contact with his weapon, Zac felt a sudden blast of energy hitting his body and forcefully flinging him back into a wall, destroying a piece of it that made the debris crumble on the redhead.


    "Zac!" Victoria worriedly shouted.


    A few seconds passed while Turner kept staring at the dust cloud coming from the area where Zac crashed, turning his face away, believing that the redhead was finished.


    However, Zac appeared rushing out of the debris with blood dripping down his face and a rageful expression, holding his bat with both of his hands and jumping in the air to strike his opponent in the face.


    The bully raised his skinnier arm to protect himself, but Zac''s attack was packing a lot more power than before, breaking his forearm bone.


    When Zac was about to follow it up with another pummel, Turner shouted like a wild beast and generated a shockwave that pushed the redhead back a few meters.


    ''Is that¡­ umbra?'' Zac pondered, keeping a sharp, focused gaze on the man.


    The redhead couldn''t see or sense the umbra that living beings produced. However, he was aware of how it felt as he had been training with Dante, and Turner''s attack felt somewhat similar.

 Chapter 59 - 59: A Bully’s End

    Zac and Turner kept exchanging blows with each other in the dark alley, with the bully''s attacks getting stronger by the second.


    The redhead had adopted a defensive stance and was using his chrome bat to deflect and protect himself against most of Turner''s punches. Nevertheless, he wasn''t able to catch all of them.


    Victoria kept watching Zac fighting, feeling both shock and fear as his movements were impressive, but Turner''s appearance was too disturbing for her to try to make sense of what was happening.


    At one point, Zac pummeled Turner''s face with his bat while receiving a punch in the gut, making him cough some blood as the bully stepped back.


    The redhead placed a hand on his stomach, the pain freezing his movements momentarily. Without being able to retake his breath, he received another tackle that pushed him against a wall.


    "Dammit¡­!" Zac muttered, seeing Turner standing before him.


    ''Come on, I need to protect her!'' The redhead thought while gritting his teeth.


    Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared around Turner''s face, quickly dissipating and revealing Krom standing on his shoulders.


    "Krom¡­" Zac muttered as he stood up.


    The imp made a quick motion with his claws and placed them on Turner''s eyes, swiping to the side to deprive him of his vision.


    Turner raised his arms with his eyes closed to catch the imp, who had already ''poofed'' away, letting out a grunt of pain and annoyance.


    Relishing the opportunity, Zac grabbed his chrome bat lying next to him and hit the bully in the chin. However, the redhead''s attacks had lost some of its explosive power, allowing Turner to grab him by the neck with his oversized arm.


    Zac placed one hand right beside his neck, getting caught in Turner''s grip and preventing him from getting asphyxiated. Still, the man''s strength was making it difficult for the redhead to keep it up.


    "Why, why, why, why¡­ Why do you keep standing in my way!?" Turner yelled, his voice deranged and devoid of reason.


    "With this power¡­ I will get everything I want when I want it¡ªI can kill and fuck anyone I want, so why is a poor insect stopping me!?" he continued, making Zac grit his teeth as he struggled to keep Turner''s grip from choking him.


    "Shut the hell up, monster¡­" Maya said, her voice catching both Zac and Turner by surprise.


    The pink-haired agent was standing beside the bully, hugging the side of her torso with one arm as a drop of blood trailed down the corner of her mouth.


    On her other hand, she was holding a pistol with a long, thick barrel, aimed point-blank at Turner''s temple.


    In that brief stand-off that felt like a whole minute to them, Turner let go of Zac to attack Maya.


    "Hyaaa-..." *BANG!* The loud and deep sound of her pistol interrupted Turner''s shout as the agent pulled the trigger faster than he could catch her.


    Zac took one last look at Turner''s deformed body after it flopped on the ground, but the redhead didn''t feel a shred of compassion for him.


    *Tch!* Maya scoffed, putting one knee on the ground as she held her torso in pain, prompting Zac to approach her worriedly.


    "I''m fine. Just a few broken ribs¡­ Go check on the girl," Maya muttered between breaths.


    When Zac turned to get Victoria, he spotted the girl sitting on the ground with her back against the wall. Tears were rolling down her face, and her dress was barely keeping it together.


    "Tori!" Zac exclaimed, running towards the girl.


    Still, after Victoria saw the redhead covered in wounds and blood, her crying started to get worse but was halted when Zac hugged the woman.


    "I''m glad you are okay," He muttered in her ear, opening his eyes and seeing that he was staining her dress and skin with his blood.


    "Ah, sorry!" Zac said, trying to let go of the hug, but Victoria''s arms were wrapped tightly around him.


    As they shared an embrace, Sophia abruptly exited the nightclub, arriving in the alley and seeing Zac''s wounds.


    "Zac, here¡ªTake this¡­" The blonde said, handing him one of Dante''s healthstones.


    "Wh-what''s that?" Victoria asked between her sniffles.


    The redhead immediately recognized the stone and urged Sophia to give it to Maya, who was struggling with her wounds on the other side of the alley.


    With a determined expression, Sophia nodded and ran to the other side of the alleyway, showcasing her bare feet as she took off her heels to move faster.


    "Here, Maya. Squeeze this¡­" The blonde explained as she placed the healthstone in Maya''s palm.


    "Sophie¡­ This is a rock," Maya commented while grunting from the pain.


    "Did Cami not say anything? Squeeze it!" Sophia insisted, making the agent comply.


    When the green mist started to pour out of her hand, the agent was startled momentarily, but Sophia held her hand to prevent her from dropping the stone.


    *Sigh* "Yeah¡­ I remember what Camille told me about this," Maya said as her wounds healed.


    A few seconds later, one Tyler came around Maya''s position to pick her up while the other Tyler brought an oversized coat for Victoria to cover herself.


    The woman had been so entranced by her fear that she hadn''t noticed that her dress was almost entirely ripped apart and that she was showing a little too much skin for her comfort. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Eeek!" Victoria shouted, grabbing the coat and quickly putting it on with embarrassment.


    "Thanks, Tyler," Zac said, receiving a nod from the silent man in return.


    When the group walked towards Turner''s body, Victoria looked away with fear while the others inspected it, getting interrupted by police sirens arriving at the nightclub.


    "We have no time. We should take the body¡­" Maya commented, getting ready with the two Tylers to carry the corpse.


    "Hands up!" A woman''s voice echoed in the alley, alerting the entire group.


    As Maya turned around with her hands in the air, she noticed two female police officers approaching them, and she was familiar with one of them.


    "Detective Alice¡­ Long time no see," the agent greeted them with a cold expression.

 Chapter 60 - 60: New Roommate

    After Zac and his group were interrupted by Detective Alice and June, the redhead believed that he would be going to jail.


    However, he recognized the detectives since they were the ones who asked Dante a few questions at their campus.


    ''Didn''t Camille say that this woman was her friend?'' The redhead pondered.


    As Alice spotted the deformed corpse on the ground behind the group, she gazed back at Maya without keeping her aim away from her.


    "Seems like something crazy happened here. Let us take the corpse, and I''ll let you walk away¡­" Alice negotiated.


    "I don''t think I''m allowed to do that¡­" Maya replied, her cold demeanor irking the rookie detective.


    "I can see why you would say that, but we can''t just let you take that body now that we''ve seen it. You understand my position, right?" Alice said calmly.


    Before Maya could respond, her phone started ringing, prompting the agent to gaze at Alice, who nodded to give her permission to answer.


    "Mhmm¡­ All right," Maya said before hanging up, not even taking thirty seconds of their time.


    "You can take the corpse," said the agent right after hanging up.


    "Huh?" June hummed, confused at her sudden change of heart.


    "I see. Camille doesn''t need it¡­" Alice muttered, lowering her gun and approaching the group.


    "You guys look a bit roughed up. Get out of here quick," The detective urged the group, pointing at the back alley she used to get there.


    After Alice explained that the only patrol car on that side would be hers, the group thanked the detective and left the scene, walking to an adjacent street where a large SUV picked them up.


    While the group was inside the vehicle that was taking them to their house, Victoria kept shivering from the traumatic experience.


    Zac, wanting to console her, raised one hand and felt a sharp pain in his bones that stopped him.


    "Are you okay!? I''m so sorry, Zac¡­" Victoria muttered, clasping the redhead''s hand as he gritted his teeth.


    "It''s not your fault, Tori," he replied with a slight smile that clearly showed he was in pain.


    When the group arrived at their shared home, they met with Camille, who was sitting on the couch waiting for them.


    As soon as the handler saw Zac''s wounds, she gently tossed a healthstone she had in her pocket at him.


    Victoria was astounded to see the man''s wounds heal in mere seconds, but it wasn''t the craziest thing she had seen that night.


    "It''s been an eventful evening¡­" Camille said, greeting the group.


    Victoria, who had been good friends with Sophia, knew that Camille was her guardian, but the woman wasn''t aware of her true identity as the Winter handler.


    "I''m glad to see everyone is okay. We need to talk to Victoria¡­" Camille continued.


    Now that the brunette had seen monsters and magic, the handler believed that it would be better to tell her the truth and ask her to keep quiet about it later.


    Fortunately, the fact that the group was already friends with Victoria played in their favor, knowing that the woman wouldn''t divulge their secrets.


    "It''s going to be a long explanation, so get comfortable¡­" Camille said, making the entire group, who already knew the story, sit down with Victoria to listen to it.


    ____________________


    Moments later, Dante and Megan arrived at the house, with Megan''s clothes slightly shredded in her back area after being flung through different windows.


    "We are back," they said in unison as they entered the home, finding Camille talking with Zac and his group.


    "Ah, perfect. So, anyways, I think Victoria should move in here for the time being¡­" The handler said, and while Zac and Tori were surprised at her words, Megan and Dante didn''t react.


    With everyone present, the handler gave them a status report of their mission that night.


    Joseph was called a "general" of the Scarlett Bullets, which meant that he had contact with the people who were higher ranked than him.


    From what Dante and Megan discovered, the gang was using the demon blood pills to give their members more power in exchange for their sanity.


    After the pair left the mansion, Camille''s men entered and took the corpses of the two drugged thugs for testing in the lab, although one of them was a single severed arm since Dante erased him with a "Destro" spell.


    Moreover, they had taken Lawrence, the butler, as a peaceful hostage since the man said that he would do everything to collaborate with Camille as long as he and his daughter were spared.


    "Shouldn''t we have taken the son''s body, too?" Maya asked as she was the one who had to relinquish the corpse to the cops.


    "It''s fine. We already have two test subjects¡­" Camille replied.


    "Besides, I owe those two. It''s good to throw ''em a bone from time to time," she continued.


    The handler also got her hands on a computer inside Joseph''s home, which she had sent to her hacker team to decipher as everything was encrypted.


    "Let''s rest for a few days while we gather more information. Don''t be too lax, though. Remember, this home is still bait," Camille explained.


    Since their house only had four bedrooms, Sophia excitedly said that she would share Megan''s room so Victoria could take hers.


    Still, the amount of information that Victoria had received that night was overwhelming, leading her to believe that she wouldn''t be able to sleep after all those events.


    Ten minutes later, the woman fell asleep on the couch, prompting Zac to pick her up and take her to her bed.


    "How was it?" Dante asked the redhead right as he exited the woman''s room.


    "H-how was what?" Zac replied with another question.


    "Your skills, man. I heard you and Maya got pretty beat up," the warlock clarified.


    "Oh, right¡­" the redhead muttered, looking down.


    "I don''t know. I just acted on instinct¡­ Whatever Turner did to his body made him dangerously strong," he continued, clenching his fists. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Do you feel bad for him?" Dante asked.


    "No¡­ In a way, I feel like he could have been a normal guy if his father wasn''t such a piece of shit¡ªBut I don''t regret protecting Tori," Zac said.


    Their conversation was taking place right outside Victoria''s new room, and the woman had listened to their words carefully while pretending to be asleep, making her feel a mix of emotions between sadness and relief.

 Chapter 61 - 61: Sabelio’s Briefing

    Somewhere on the outskirts of Novis, an old cathedral stood tall in the center of a small town''s plaza, where a single figure wearing a large hooded cloak sauntered towards the building.


    It was an old man with a prominent hunched back and a cane to support him, with his facial features shrouded by the hood except for his long, gray beard.


    When the man reached the massive double doors of the cathedral, two younger men wearing the same type of cloak opened them for him, entering the building solely illuminated by the moonlight coming in from the mosaic windows.


    A group of hooded men were sitting on the benches directed at the altar, not moving or reacting to the old man slowly walking through the corridor in the middle.


    Behind the altar, the man went through another door into the bedroom chambers, which were situated beside a staircase that led underground.


    After walking down the torch-illuminated path, he reached an expansive basement with long, cobblestone columns and walls.


    At the back of the room, a tall, humanoid figure sat atop a pile of human bones.


    The creature had two long horns coming out of its head, pale white skin, sharp red glowing eyes, a strong body, and long black hair that cascaded down its back.


    "Sabelio. What brings you here?" The creature asked with a deep, intimidating voice.


    "My king. It seems we lost Joseph¡­" The old man replied with reverence in a scratchy tone.


    "I see. That''s unfortunate¡­" the monster uttered with indifference.


    "The twins got there too late. They said there was a dangerous man with the attackers," the old man continued.


    "A human?" the creature asked, his voice sounding more interested.


    "I believe so. Joseph had asked the Ruby Vipers for support in killing the remaining Jade Dragons, but we never received confirmation of the deed¡­" Sabelio elaborated.


    "We also seem to have lost all of Red River," he continued.


    "Hmm, so the Jade Dragons found a way to stand against us. Is that what you are saying?" the demon asked.


    "It''s speculation. Joseph''s computer was taken from his home, so the Ruby Vipers are already working on tracking it down. We also found out that the Jade Dragons'' survivors moved to another home after the attempt¡­" The old man continued to share his information with the monster.


    The massive demon stood up on the pile of bones and slowly walked down to the ground, standing before Sabelio.


    "It''s time to release Erebos before they exterminate the Scarlett Bullets. Tell the Ruby Vipers to get involved," the demon commanded.


    "I didn''t think too much about my hunters'' curse being dispelled at first. Let''s send more soldiers to the last location it picked up," the creature continued, his orders clear to Sabelio.


    "It shall be done, King Astaroth¡­" the old man politely replied, bowing before the monster.


    ____________________


    The following day after the raid on Joseph''s mansion, Dante and all of his roommates visited Camille''s office at her request, wanting the warlock to help Paige with the analysis of the drugged gang members'' corpses.


    When they arrived at the laboratory, they were surprised to see Lawrence, the former butler of Joseph''s mansion, waiting for them while speaking with Paige and Camille.


    The man introduced himself to the rest of the group with a polite bow before thanking Megan and Dante for sparing his life.


    However, the warlock seemed confused about the butler''s gratitude. "What do you mean sparing?" he asked.


    Lawrence got a little nervous, but the man spoke up with courage.


    "Even when I was your enemy, you didn''t punish me¡­" the butler replied.


    Nevertheless, Dante was still genuinely confused, as he honestly didn''t think that he had done anything that deserved his gratitude.


    "Why would I punish you? You had zero ill intent towards us," the warlock clarified his point of view.


    Explaining a bit further, he told the butler that, as soon as he entered Joseph''s office, he could instantly tell that Lawrence wasn''t a threat.


    "How could I ''spare'' someone that was never a threat to me? You didn''t even think about attacking us¡­" the warlock continued.


    "In fact, you seemed relieved after Joseph died," said Dante, making the butler bite his lips with a bit of apprehension.


    ''I see¡­ This man is even more impressive than I thought,'' Lawrence thought, feeling a sense of admiration for the warlock. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With a gentle smile, the butler admitted feeling a sense of freedom after Megan pulled the trigger.


    Lawrence had worked as Joseph''s main butler for a little over ten years, and he was present at his master''s decline as he slowly descended into corruption.


    After Lawerence was present in the first meeting with a powerful demon, Joseph threatened to kill his daughter to keep the butler silent.


    While most of the Scarlett Bullets'' members took the drugs mixed with demon blood, Lawrence never sealed any contracts or took any narcotics, so the man was free to speak about all his experiences.


    The butler told the group that Joseph wasn''t the true leader of the gang, but he could have been considered the second in command.


    "You see¡­ Right after the Blood Dragons took their spot, they sent a demon to become the leader while Mr. Joseph became his right-hand man," Lawrence explained.


    However, he had only seen the demon once, saying that the monster was always in hiding.


    "Do you know his name?" Dante asked.


    "It was Erebos," the butler confidently said, making the warlock narrow his eyes.


    "Sounds familiar?" Camille asked after listening to the man''s story.


    "If I remember correctly, Erebos was a high-ranked incubus," Dante muttered.


    "What''s that?" Megan interjected, her expression indifferent but her voice hinting curiosity.


    "It''s a demon who feeds from people''s dreams and nightmares¡­ It can be quite a pain in the ass to deal with them," the warlock replied, scratching the back of his head with annoyance.


    When the group asked Lawrence about the incubus'' whereabouts, the butler said he had no clue where he was hiding. However, he knew that Joseph''s computer had that information.


    "My team is already working on decrypting the PC, but it might take them a few more days¡­" Camille said.

 Chapter 62 - 62: Allied Teams

    After Lawrence gave all the information he had on the Scarlett Bullets, the group moved on to the analysis of the drugged thug''s corpse.


    Paige had the body strapped on a hard bed, even though it wasn''t necessary since the monster was dead. Still, the scientist didn''t want to risk it.


    "Krom, come here," Dante said aloud, making the imp appear with a ''poof'' right beside him.


    "What!?" The imp asked with impatience.


    "What do you think?" the warlock asked, pointing at the corpse on the testing table.


    The little demon turned his head and cringed as he took a step back, detailing the asymmetrical body with an expression of disgust.


    "So, these were the weirdos I sensed¡­" Krom muttered.


    "Can you recognize whose blood they took?" Dante asked again.


    The imp approached the corpse and raised his right arm, pointing a single claw at its chest and slowly inserting it, making the darkened blood ooze out.


    Right as the blood of the deceased man made contact with Krom''s claw, the imp widened his eyes with fear and recoiled back.


    "As-Astaroth¡­!" Krom exclaimed, holding his bloody claw with apprehension.


    "Hmm, as I suspected¡­" Dante muttered, placing a hand on his chin.


    "That''s the demon general you mentioned, correct?" Camille inquired, receiving an affirmative nod from the warlock.


    "Okay. This is what we''ll do next¡­" the handler continued.


    Lawrence told the group that Joseph had asked the Ruby Vipers for help after his first assassination attempt failed. However, he never received their support.


    This meant that the Ruby Vipers were aware of their actions, and the handler suspected they would retaliate soon.


    Moreover, the Red River gang had been completely eradicated by Camille''s men, which wouldn''t be overlooked by their higher-ups.


    "Retaliation from them is pretty much inevitable¡­" the handler said, reminding them that they were staying in a bait house and they should be alert.


    "Now that warfare will be more common, I want to introduce you guys to the rest of our teams. We wouldn''t want to have a misunderstanding in the middle of a shootout¡­" Camille said, guiding the group out of the lab.


    "Our teams?" Dante asked with curiosity.


    While they rode the elevator, Camille explained the hierarchy of power in her organization.


    The Winter family used to be the guarantor for the Jade Dragons, which allowed them to do business with the other Stellar families.


    "Stellar families?" Dante pondered.


    "Even I know what that is, man¡­" Zac interjected.


    The four Stellar families were known as the most powerful in the country, and each of these families was the guarantor of a mafia organization.


    When the Blood Dragons took over the Jade Dragons'' spot, Camille never recognized them as such, keeping her support for the remaining survivors¡ªMegan and Sophia.


    "Why would they think that you were going to blindly help them after that?" Dante asked, noticing that Camille''s body produced an unnatural amount of umbra for her usual demeanor. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That''s not really important right now. The point is that all of the specialized groups that worked for us back then stayed with us¡­" the handler explained, avoiding the warlock''s question.


    The elevator left them at an expansive, empty parking lot, where a large group of people were patiently waiting for them.


    As soon as they spotted Camille entering the area, the people gathered quickly and split into different batches.


    "Thanks for coming, everyone. I know we''ve been pretty busy lately, but today is a special occasion," the handler said loudly for everyone in the parking lot to hear.


    Zac felt a little nervous seeing the intimidating looks of the men and women that stood before them, but he got slightly more calm when he saw Maya and the two Tylers in one of the groups.


    Camille introduced each group of people separately, starting with the ones who gathered on the left side.


    "This is Team Alpha. They are our specialists in guerrilla warfare¡­" she said.


    The team had a dozen members, with their leader standing in front. They wore tactical suits, bulletproof vests, and helmets with visors attached.


    The leader introduced himself as "Alpha One," which was the codename he used as all of the members'' true identities were secret.


    He was as tall as Dante, with short dark hair and an eyepatch on one eye, which didn''t fully cover the vertical scar that trailed behind it.


    Camille told the group that the Alpha Team was the one responsible for eradicating the Red River gang.


    After Dante raided the family home where a greater demon was hiding, Camille''s men found a hard drive with information on their other bases. Ever since then, the Alpha Team worked as exterminators.


    Next was Team Beta, which only had one representative present¡ªa bald man with a large frame wearing a black suit.


    "This is Randy, the leader of the Beta Team. They specialize in internal security, so I couldn''t bring the entire group here, or the building would have been unguarded¡­" Camille said.


    Besides Randy, a group of six people waited patiently for their turn, getting introduced to the warlock as the Delta Team, also known as the "hacker team" for Camille.


    "Team Delta doesn''t have a leader. They handle all cybersecurity issues independently," the handler explained.


    Standing next to the hackers, Maya waited for her turn, tapping her foot impatiently, while the two Tylers stood beside her with indifferent expressions.


    "You already know these guys, but they are Team Gamma. They are our infiltration and assassination team¡­" Camille said.


    ''These few people¡­?'' Zac pondered.


    Even though he knew that Tyler and Maya were experienced, he thought that having only three people on their team was too little for the jobs they took.


    The handler quickly explained that Team Gamma used to have a dozen members, but most of them perished when the Blood Dragons raided them years ago.


    Standing next to the pink-haired agent, a group of men wearing nice, expensive suits showed reverence when Camille approached them.


    The handler introduced them as Team Epsilon, who were pawns that had infiltrated high-rank government positions.


    Dante didn''t seem too surprised by Team Epsilon, but Zac and Victoria were quite perplexed.


    It was hard to believe that one of its members was a mayor for a district in Novis and another was a representative who worked closely with the prime minister.


    Next to the fancy middle-aged men in suits, Paige took deep puffs of her cigarette, muttering under her breath that she wanted to return to the lab.


    "This is Team Zeta. You already know them, but they are our research team," Camille said.


    Paige led the Zeta Team, which had ten other scientists working under her. However, Paige didn''t care about leadership and was more focused on her own inventions than guiding her group.


    "Last but not least, we have Team Kappa¡­" Camille continued while guiding Dante''s group to the right side.


    The Kappa Team was known as the "extraction and clean-up team."


    They were the ones who picked up Dante and Megan from their missions and deleted any evidence that they were there.


    The team was led by "Neil," who seemed like a man in his mid-thirties with blonde hair, light-colored eyes, and a lean physique.


    "After all those jobs, it''s nice to finally meet you," Neil said to Dante and his group with a soft tone of voice and a warm smile.

 Chapter 63 - 63: The Omega Team

    Once Camille had introduced all of the teams that were still working for the Jade Dragons, she stood in the center for everyone to listen to her words.


    "I didn''t bring you all here to introduce you. I did it to inaugurate our new team formation!" the platinum-haired handler explained.


    ''Huh?'' Zac pondered, getting a bad feeling.


    "From now on, Dante, Megan, and Zac will be the first members of Team Omega¡­" Camille continued.


    Megan and the warlock didn''t seem to react to her words, but Zac looked utterly defeated.


    "Right now, as you all know, we are going against something that isn''t exactly human¡­" Camille continued her explanation. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The handler said that if they went to war with the Blood Dragons without knowing what they were fighting against, it would most likely end with all of them dead.


    However, now that certain individuals had gained superhuman abilities, she thought it best to keep them in the same specialized group.


    "What do you say, Dante? Will you lead the Omega Team?" Camille asked the warlock, her eyes showing clear determination.


    Dante let out a gentle smile. ''That confidence is quite contagious¡­'' he thought.


    "I''ll do it," he replied, prompting the other teams to clap in celebration.


    The Omega Team would be the group responsible for any supernatural encounter, a task that Dante and Megan had already been doing.


    However, Zac didn''t comprehend why the handler lumped him in with the group, as he didn''t even consider himself part of Camille''s men.


    "Umm¡­" The redhead muttered, raising his hand to ask the handler a question.


    "Zac, come talk to me after this," Camille replied, not even giving him a moment to ask anything.


    After the quick inauguration, the redhead followed Camille''s orders and went to her office at the top of the skyscraper.


    The handler sat behind her desk, petting Cerberus on her lap with a nonchalant expression. Meanwhile, Zac nervously waited for the woman to say something.


    "What are your plans after college?" Camille asked, keeping her gaze on Cerberus.


    "Uhh¡­ Get a job, make money, take care of my mother¡­" The redhead replied.


    "So, are you not okay being a part of the Omega Team?"


    "I-it''s not like that. I''m a bit honored you considered me¡­ I just can''t compare to those two," Zac replied with a sad tone, looking down.


    "Then why did you make that contract with Dante?" Camille continued asking, her attention now on the redhead.


    "I¡­ I wanted to protect someone. The contract seemed like my best option," he hesitantly replied.


    Camille knew perfectly well that the person on Zac''s mind was Victoria, and she could tell that the redhead had a confidence problem, which wasn''t uncommon for someone who had been bullied while growing up in a poor district.


    Still, Zac wasn''t an average person anymore, but she needed to have the redhead see that for himself.


    "Do you think Victoria won''t be targeted again?" Camille asked, shocking the redhead.


    "Sure, the individual harassing her is dead now, but the Scarlett Bullets still have their leader¡­" she continued explaining.


    "Listen, Zac, I''m not trying to put you in a tough spot, but right now, you are one of the few people in this country who can even stand against these monsters¡­"


    The handler elaborated, saying that if he hadn''t been at Firewater Nightclub, not only Victoria but Maya and Sophia could have died.


    "I know it''s not easy to see your own potential when the people around you try to bury it. That''s why I think you would be a great addition to our team¡­"


    The redhead clenched his pants with apprehension and anger. "M-my mother''s sickness¡­" he muttered, making the handler nod in understanding.


    "Mhmm, we talked about this briefly before, but I think you are aware now that your mom''s sickness happened after she was given demon blood¡­" Camille said, prompting Zac to grit his teeth.


    The handler had investigated Zac and his mother closely ever since he became Dante''s friend.


    After the raid on the Devil''s Den nightclub, where Dante saved a group of drugged prostitutes, she noticed that their symptoms were exactly the same as Zac''s mother''s, making it almost impossible for it to be a coincidence.


    When Zac made the contract with Dante, the thought of "revenge" never even crossed his mind. All he wanted was to protect Victoria.


    However, the situation looked completely different now, as simply thinking of a demon cursing his mother made his body hot with rage.


    Taking one deep breath to calm himself down, the redhead exhaled and locked eyes with the handler.


    "I''ll do it¡­ For my mother, for Victoria, and for my friends," he confidently said, making Camille smirk with satisfaction.


    "It''s official now, then. Let''s build our easygoing, peaceful life!" the handler exclaimed enthusiastically, followed by a happy bark from Cerberus.


    ____________________


    When Zac returned home, he found Dante and Krom playing video games in the living room, with Megan lazily lying on the couch watching their heated match.


    In the kitchen, Sophia and Victoria were cooking dinner together with bright smiles on their faces, making the redhead stop momentarily to savor the serene environment.


    ''This is what I''m fighting to protect now¡­'' Zac thought with a gentle smile on his face.


    "Krom, you keep doing the same move over and over¡­" Dante said with an annoyed tone, breaking Zac''s peace of mind.


    "So? The game wouldn''t let me do it if it wasn''t allowed!" The imp replied with a smirk.


    "He did the same thing to me!" Zac interjected.


    "Hehehe, why are you guys so mad? Just learn how to counter my move!" Krom said, confidently putting his hands on his waist with a victorious pose.


    Victoria gazed at the redhead discussing with the warlock and the imp, letting out a chuckle as she believed the sight to be quite funny.


    ''It was a bit hard to get used to the demon, but seeing them talking like that is pretty amusing¡­'' Victoria thought, chuckling to herself in the kitchen.

 Chapter 64 - 64: Shared Nightmare (Part 1)

    A few days after Team Omega had been officially created, Sophia was cooking a snack for her friends and went to the backyard to look for Dante.


    When the blonde stepped outside, she was surprised to see the warlock in front of a Shadow Well, waving his hands above it as a purple mist spread around him.


    Megan was sitting on the steps leading to the door, posing her chin on her hands with a bored expression as she spectated Dante''s activity.


    Krom stood next to her, getting excited as Sophia walked outside with a tray of ''churros'' that had sugar sprinkled on them.


    "What''s he doing?" Sophia asked her friend.


    "He said he is trying to bait the incubus out of hiding¡­" Megan replied, explaining that they had been there for two hours.


    "Hmmm, how?" Sophia asked, prompting the warlock to answer.


    "The Shadow Well can make more things than just healthstones and soulstones for contracts¡­" Dante explained.


    "An incubus feeds from people''s dreams and replaces them with nightmares¡­ But, if someone is already having a nightmare, that''s even better for them," he continued.


    As the warlock kept talking, the Shadow Well produced a blinding blue light, and a crystal the size of Dante''s fist appeared atop the bowl.


    "One down¡­ Three more should do the trick," Dante muttered, prompting the women to inquire about the crystal.


    "It''s a catalyst¡­ In simpler terms, I infused umbra that would attract the incubus to us," he replied.


    Dante''s plan was to place the catalysts in different areas of the house, which would make the umbra flowing from it irresistible to almost any demon.


    "So, we need to sleep to get this monster to come out?" Megan asked, not entirely satisfied with the plan.


    "Kind of¡­ You need to find the incubus in your dream to wake up," Dante vaguely explained.


    *Sigh* "Can you be more clear?" Megan asked again.


    The warlock apologized to the girls in advance, saying that everyone in the house would have nightmares that night. However, he promised that he would be able to catch the incubus before he could get to anyone else.


    Megan didn''t doubt Dante''s words, as she had seen first-hand what he was capable of, especially when dealing with demons. Still, she couldn''t help feeling somewhat nervous.


    Later that night, Zac and Victoria arrived home from the hospital after the brunette accompanied the redhead to visit his mother.


    While the group had a nice, peaceful dinner, Dante casually told them that they would be having a nightmare.


    Victoria was silent and confused, not entirely comprehending how the warlock knew that. Zac, on the other hand, nervously asked what he meant.


    "I''m hunting the incubus tonight, so I needed a nice bait to get him to come out¡­" Dante replied, his words not calming the redhead.


    "H-How am I supposed to sleep knowing I''ll have a bad time!?" Zac exclaimed.


    "Hmm, good point¡­ Maybe I shouldn''t have said anything," replied the warlock, placing a hand on his chin.


    A few hours later, when the group had gone to their respective rooms to rest, Sophia and Megan couldn''t even close their eyes from the anxiety.


    "I guess Zac was right. It''s not easy to sleep when you know it''s gonna be bad¡­" Sophia muttered to the brunette lying next to her.


    After Victoria moved into the house with them, Sophia gave her room to her friend so that she could share the master bedroom with Megan, as they had been sharing a room since they were children.


    The bed in the master bedroom was much larger than the others, so the two women fit perfectly without obstructing each other.


    Megan exhaled deeply and forcefully closed her eyes, saying that she would try to count sheep to fall asleep.


    Sophia chuckled, saying that she would try the same method, hugging Megan like a pillow.


    The other house tenants weren''t in a better position. Zac had his eyes wide open while Victoria kept rolling from side to side.


    When everyone in the house finally fell asleep, Dante''s catalyst glowed a bit more intensely.


    At that moment, Megan found herself in a completely unknown territory, dazedly looking around with confusion.


    She was standing atop a small hill overlooking a hellish landscape where she could see demons of every kind and size fighting and tearing each other to shreds.


    The red skies were decorated with black, thunderous clouds, and the air felt hot and heavy.


    "This must be the nightmare¡­" Megan muttered as she inspected her body.


    "Ahhhh!" Sophia''s voice could be heard not too far from Megan''s location.


    "Sophie!?" The brunette exclaimed, rushing to the area where the shout came from.


    As she quickly ran, she met Sophia face to face, who was running from a skinny, red demon that was following the blonde woman around.


    When Megan caught Sophia in her hands, she glared at the demon with sharp eyes, intimidating the monster, who hesitated and walked away from the girls.


    "Wh-where are we¡­?" Sophia asked her friend.


    "I think this is the nightmare Dante talked about¡­ Wait, does that mean this isn''t real?" Megan pondered.


    "No, no. I''m real!" The blonde exclaimed.


    "Are you?" Megan asked, raising an eyebrow and pinching the blonde''s cheeks.


    "Owie, owie!" Sophia said as she rubbed her red cheek.


    At that moment, they heard another woman screaming beside a tall, obsidian rock, prompting the girls to look for her.


    The pair recognized Victoria''s voice, and when they turned, they found the girl sitting against the rock, holding her knees in fear.


    "It''s okay, Tori. We are here!" Sophia comforted the woman, sitting next to her and gently placing her hands on her shoulders.


    "Wh-what is this place?" Victoria asked, her body shivering uncontrollably.


    *Poof* A cloud of smoke popped before the women, where Krom appeared in the center.


    "This is hell¡­" The imp said.


    "Krom, what the hell is happening?" Megan asked with a severe tone.


    "The entire house is sharing Dante''s nightmare. Honestly, I would rather not be here at all¡­" Krom replied. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Sharing his nightmare?" Sophia pondered aloud.


    The imp elaborated, saying that when Dante made the crystals in the Shadow Well, it took part of his conscience and memories, which the artifacts then shared with everyone in the vicinity.


    "So, what now?" Megan asked, the sounds of the chaotic landscape echoing in the back.


    "We wait for Dante to catch Erebos. As long as we are all here, the incubus won''t be able to resist¡­"

 Chapter 65 - 65: Shared Nightmare (Part 2)

    While Krom accompanied the three women who had become trapped in Dante''s nightmare, Zac found himself alone in a volcanic cave.


    Lava cascades illuminated the obsidian space, pouring down into a pool of lava bubbling below the stone trail.


    "What the hell is this!?" Zac shouted into the void, his stress levels going up by the second.


    Slowly making his way along the obsidian path, Zac spotted the light of the surface at the end, increasing his walking speed to a jog.


    "Where am I? What was I doing before I got here¡­?" The redhead pondered out loud while jogging towards the light.


    Right at that moment, he remembered the previous night, making him stop briefly.


    ''Is this a nightmare?'' Zac thought.


    The redhead pinched his arm and realized that he could feel pain, but he wasn''t waking up.


    "It''s so strange¡­ It''s like my body is telling me this isn''t real, but my brain thinks it totally is," he muttered to himself.


    When he reached the cave''s exit, Zac was perplexed to see that he was in the middle of a lava lake, where a single large platform with the cave entrance stood in the center.


    He looked to the side and saw a massive serpent swimming in the magma, making him take a preemptive step back.


    Noticing that there wasn''t a single path or stepping stone he could take to get out of the center of the lava lake, Zac placed his palms on his face with exasperation.


    "Should I just wait?" He pondered.


    "It''s hot as hell in here¡­" Zac continued, waving his shirt so he could get some air.


    *Poof!* Krom appeared right beside the sweating redhead.


    "Jeez, man. You are pretty unlucky¡­" The imp said, crossing his arms.


    "Krom? Wait, no. This is a dream¡­ You are not supposed to be here," Zac commented, heavily breathing as the hot air made him dizzy.


    The imp quickly explained the situation and how the nightmare was being shared with everyone in the house.


    "We need Dante to reach a certain point in the nightmare for the incubus to show himself¡­" Krom continued.


    "So¡­ I just wait here?" Zac asked with a hint of disappointment, drenched in sweat.


    "It shouldn''t take him too long¡­ Probably," the imp replied.


    ____________________


    Somewhere else in the hellish landscape, Dante found himself before a prominent black castle, where hordes of demons gathered in its surroundings.


    The warlock''s presence alerted the monsters, but the mere pressure from his body halted the demon packs in their tracks.


    As Dante walked up to the long bridge leading to the castle''s entrance, a ten-foot-tall demon stood before him with a massive sword on his shoulder.


    With a cold glare, the warlock locked his crimson eyes with the demon, making the monster step aside to make way for him to safely pass¡ªbowing his head as a sign of respect.


    Keeping his hands in his pockets and his hoodie above his head, Dante walked up to the entrance of the castle and kicked it open with force, slamming the large double doors to the sides.


    "Always the same nightmare¡­" Dante muttered to himself.


    As soon as he took one step through the doors, a loud bell could be heard ringing all through hell, producing an earthquake and a gust of wind that heavily blew against Dante.


    When he looked back up, he saw all of his friends had appeared right beside him.


    "What the-...?" Zac pondered, feeling completely disoriented.


    Krom, who had appeared inside the castle with the group, explained that they were brought to the next stage of the nightmare.


    "Sorry, guys. I wasn''t sure it would use my nightmares¡­" Dante said to his group.


    Megan noticed the warlock''s somber tone, and his expression was so severe that the brunette could barely recognize him.


    She had seen Dante smiling and acting excited during life-threatening situations and couldn''t help feeling a bit surprised at his demeanor.


    "Why are you so sweaty?" Sophia asked the redhead.


    "Don''t ask¡­" Zac replied with an over-exaggerated sad expression.


    Suddenly, their attention was caught as a copy of Dante entered the castle, wearing a set of robes that were stained with blood and an expression filled with anger.


    "Huh¡­?" the redhead hummed, confused.


    "It''s happening now," Krom replied.


    When an incubus wanted to feed from a person''s nightmare, it would make them relieve the most painful memories they could find to bring despair to their targets.


    As a result, the umbra that flowed from the nightmare would be much more appetizing for the demon.


    "So, this is Dante''s memory¡­?" Megan asked, making the imp hesitate for a response.


    Dante watched with a cold stone face as his past reflection entered the castle, keeping his arms crossed as he ran past him.


    The warlock''s copy stood in the center of the room and looked down, his expression going from rage to pure despair, kneeling defeated on the ground. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No¡­Please, no," Dante''s copy muttered.


    The group watched attentively, not knowing why the warlock''s reflection was acting that way since there was nothing inside the room other than themselves.


    It was the first time they had heard Dante''s voice breaking like that, and when Megan gazed at Krom, she noticed the imp was trying to avoid looking at the past reflection as if it made him feel pain.


    When Dante''s copy let out a tear, Sophia was the first to notice the drop splashing on the floor.


    "Now," Dante said simultaneously to the teardrop falling.


    Waving his arm to the side, the space beside Dante shattered like a glass window, revealing a rift that seemed to lead to a dark space.


    The warlock inserted his arm into the rift and pulled out a creature from the neck, shattering the space even more.


    As soon as the demon''s body was revealed, the nightmare came to an abrupt end, and the warlock was inside his room, holding the incubus by the neck against the floor.


    "You must be Erebos¡­" Dante muttered as the demon struggled to breathe from his grip.

 Chapter 66 - 66: The Incubus, Erebos

    As soon as Dante pulled out a creature from the rift next to him, the whole nightmare shattered like a glass panel, waking up everyone in the house.


    Megan opened her eyes and instantly bolted out of her room, making her way to Dante''s bedroom and opening the door.


    When she entered, she found the warlock holding the demon by the neck, pinned down to the floor.


    The incubus had small horns and a bald, somewhat oversized head. His face looked wrinkly and unsettling, with narrow eyes and a long nose.


    His skin was dark gray, seemingly coated with a layer of grease that made the ugly creature slightly glisten.


    "Is that the incubus?" Megan asked.


    Dante nodded in confirmation, squeezing the demon''s neck tighter as the rest of the roommates gathered outside his door to look.


    Sophia flipped the light switch on to get a better view, and when the group was able to detail the monster, they felt disgusted and unsettled by his appearance.


    "H-Hellslayer¡­" The demon muttered, struggling to get the words out as Dante kept his tight grip around his neck.


    Without letting go, Dante brought the demon downstairs and went out to the backyard, where he threw him on the ground.


    "Abyssal chains," the warlock muttered, producing obsidian chains that rose from underground and ensnared the demon''s extremities.


    The incubus shook his body, trying to get away from Dante to no avail. Looking up, he saw a cold, condescending stare that made the ugly creature freeze in fear.


    "W-why are you here!?" the incubus asked, his voice sounding like that of an old man who had smoked for over fifty years.


    "Did you just ask me a question?" Dante replied, his tone severe and slightly sarcastic.


    The demon bit his lips with apprehension and looked away from the warlock''s gaze, thinking of a way to negotiate his escape.


    Megan and the other roommates were watching from the back door. While the brunette seemed a little indifferent to the scene they were spectating, Sophia seemed troubled by it.


    The blonde had never seen Dante with such a serious look on his face, and the way he acted with demons was utterly different from how he treated other people.


    Anytime Dante hung out with Sophia, he was soft-spoken, polite, lighthearted, and charismatic. Now, however, she saw the warlock''s ruthless side¡ªunforgiving of any demon.


    "Black flame," Dante muttered, making a finger-gun gesture with a small black flame lit at the tip of his index finger.


    "You know who I am, and you still tried to use my own nightmares¡­ It''s personal now," he commented.


    As Dante released the fire on his finger right into the demon''s head, his entire body began burning while screeching, leaving a small pile of dust on the grass.


    The group spectating stayed silent, not knowing what to say, prompting the warlock to break the ice.


    "I suppose that takes care of the Scarlett Bullets¡­" Dante said with a smile, which Sophia could see was hiding sadness behind it.


    The blonde remembered the scene she saw in the nightmare, where the copy of Dante entered the castle with a desperate expression, kneeling and crying.


    She knew that wasn''t the real warlock, but if those were his nightmares, she believed they must have had some meaning.


    When Dante went back inside, Megan called Camille on her phone to tell her about the recent events while Sophia fiddled with her hands.


    "Umm¡­" The blonde muttered.


    "What''s up, Sophie?" The warlock casually asked as if nothing had happened.


    Without saying anything, Sophia gave Dante a tight hug that caught him by surprise, embracing his back and placing her head against his chest.


    "I just thought you might need a hug¡­" she muttered, her voice muffled by Dante''s clothes.


    The warlock let out a gentle smile and placed one hand on the blonde''s back, returning her hug and feeling genuine gratitude for her concern towards him.


    ____________________


    Inside a dark cathedral on the outskirts of Novis, Sabelio stood before the demon Astaroth, who sat atop a pile of hundreds of bones. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "My king¡­ Erebos is dead," Sabelio said with both reverence and stress.


    "I see. They''ve found a way to hunt him down¡­" Astaroth replied, his tone deep and severe.


    "He said he was going out to feed himself, but he never returned," the old man explained.


    "Then, it will be our turn to act soon. How bothersome¡­ I would have liked to feed on souls for one more year or two," said Astaroth, standing up from his bone throne.


    The demon gave the order for the Ruby Vipers to "go all out." Meanwhile, Astaroth was going to speed up the process of his life siphoning.


    The country of Novis had been going through a small outbreak of an unknown disease, leaving people completely paralyzed and unable to speak.


    However, ordinary people were unaware of the reality of the disease, which wasn''t a natural occurrence but the ploy of a demon who used criminal gangs to feed his blood to random citizens forcefully.


    "A little over two thousand souls¡­ Not bad," Astaroth commented.


    "It''s a shame I''ll have to absorb them quickly," he continued.


    Astaroth raised his arm and produced a black mist, which slowly started to encircle his massive figure as the veins on his body got more pronounced.


    "No matter¡­ Once this batch is finished, we''ll just look for more!" Astaroth exclaimed with a wicked smile.


    The power coursing through his body was making the demon laugh uncontrollably, shaking the structure around them.


    Sabelio stared at the demon in awe, his old bones trembling from excitement and fear, sharing an evil smile with the monster.


    "I''ll get everything prepared," Sabelio said, bowing with respect before leaving the underground room with a satisfied expression.


    ''Heh, this is it¡­'' Sabelio thought as he walked up the stairs.


    ''Just you watch, Alan. I''ll make sure there is nothing left of your family!'' the old man continued, stopping in the middle of the staircase momentarily to chuckle like a maniac.

 Chapter 67 - 67: The Divine Comedy

    The following day, after Dante killed Erebos, Camille asked everyone to go to her office to talk about the next steps they would take.


    Erebos was considered the leader of the Scarlett Bullets, but Camille suspected that the demon was placed in that position due to his powers and not his knowledge when it came to criminal activity,


    "Right now, Team Delta is working on deciphering the data that we got from Joseph''s mansion¡­" Camille explained.


    Team Delta was the small group of hackers who had worked for the Jade Dragons in the past, and they were responsible for locating all the enemy bases that Dante and Megan had raided.


    "It seems it might take them a while to get the information. They said that the Ruby Vipers'' and Blood Dragons'' cybersecurity was pretty strong¡­" the handler continued.


    Camille then told the group that Team Alpha was raiding the remaining bases of the Scarlett Bullets, not wanting to leave any loose ends.


    After briefing the group on their status, Paige called Dante, Zac, and Megan to the laboratory, saying that she wanted to conduct new tests on them.


    Meanwhile, Sophia stayed in Camille''s office, nervously fiddling her thumbs.


    "What''s on your mind, Sophie?" The handler asked.


    "I was just thinking¡­ About that nightmare we shared," Sophia replied with a sad tone.


    Camille hadn''t heard all of the details from the events of the previous night. All she knew was that everyone in the house shared a single dream where Dante hunted the demon down.


    The handler didn''t believe that the elements in a nightmare would be relevant since it wasn''t real, so she didn''t inquire further when she was told about it.


    However, seeing that Sophia was a little distressed made her change her mind, piquing her interest in what they witnessed.


    "We appeared inside this dark castle, and a reflection of Dante ran inside¡­ He looked¡­ different," Sophia muttered.


    As the blonde explained in more detail, she commented how she thought it was strange that Dante''s reflection was crying when there was nothing inside the castle.


    "Hmm, maybe it was incomplete," Camille muttered.


    "I thought so, too!" Sophia exclaimed, saying that she could tell that Dante''s reflection was clearly looking at something. They just couldn''t see what it was.


    Camille exhaled deeply and gazed at Cerberus, who was peacefully sleeping on his bed beside her desk.


    "You know, this little buddy showed me something interesting the other day¡­" The handler commented.


    After Camille heard the name Hellslayer from a demon, Cerberus guided the woman to a certain book she had on a pile that was meant to be given to Dante.


    "It was an ancient poem from like the 1300s called the Divine Comedy¡­ The author describes what hell, purgatory, and paradise look like. But that wasn''t what caught my attention¡­" Camille explained. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the last pages of the tome, there was a small story that was supposedly written by the same author.


    He used the same description of hell to talk about the miserable fate of a man who had to travel alone through the "Inferno" in order to save his beloved, who had been kidnapped by one of hell''s rulers, Satan.


    However, at the end of the story, after the man killed countless monsters and fought against all demon kings, his beloved couldn''t be saved as she was already dead.


    Sophia listened to the story attentively, wondering out loud if it had to do anything with the warlock.


    "Well, you see¡­ The man''s name in the story is ''Dante,''" Camille replied, shocking the blonde.


    "I-it could be a coincidence!" Sophia exclaimed.


    "It could be, but then why did Cerberus show me that book in particular?" Camille continued, leaving the blonde silent and clenching her pants.


    Suddenly, their talk was interrupted by the handler''s phone ringing, which Camille calmly answered.


    "What!?" she exclaimed, standing up abruptly from her seat and worrying Sophia.


    "I''ll be there!" the handler continued, hanging up the phone as a small sweat drop came down her temple.


    "What happened?" The blonde asked with an anxious tone.


    "It''s Zac''s mom. Apparently, her condition got much worse overnight¡­" Camille replied, shouting a command to the servants to prepare a vehicle and get Zac and the others from the lab.


    When the redhead heard the news, he bolted out of the MET room towards the elevator, with Dante and Megan following closely behind.


    During the car ride, the warlock sensed an incredible amount of umbra coming from Zac, which stemmed from his overwhelming anxiety.


    Dante hadn''t met Zac''s mother, but he suspected that the woman had been drugged with demon blood since her symptoms were the same as the other victims.


    However, he was expecting the woman to get better after he had destroyed the souls of some of the demons that were siphoning the lives of people.


    ''Maybe she was given Astaroth''s blood¡­'' Dante thought.


    When the group arrived at the hospital, they ran up to the room and entered behind Zac, who hurried to his mother''s side to hold her hand.


    The doctor that was present left the room to give the group some privacy with the woman, who was breathing heavily with her eyes closed, feeling pain in her body that made her arch her back.


    The electrocardiogram beside the woman was beeping rapidly, a sign that her heart was mere minutes away from stopping, but Zac''s friends couldn''t do anything but watch from the side of the room.


    Dante, on the other hand, seemed furious when his eyes gazed at the ill woman, catching Megan''s attention.


    From the warlock''s perspective, he could see ethereal, burning black chains ensnared around her body that rapidly extracted her life force.


    "Krom¡­" Dante called the imp, who poofed inside the room.


    The tense atmosphere instantly enveloped Krom, preventing him from making any funny comments as he glared at Zac''s mother.


    The imp took a step back, his eyes widened in shock, and clenched Dante''s sleeve with his claw in apprehension.


    "Poor woman¡­" Krom whispered.


    "How much time does she have left?" Dante inquired, his eyes sharp and his tone serious.


    "An hour¡­ At most," The imp replied, frustrating everyone in the room.

 Chapter 68 - 68: Zac’s Mother

    While Dante and his group stood behind Zac, who was letting out his tears next to his mother, Krom said that the woman''s life force was leaving her body rapidly.


    "Is it Astaroth''s blood?" Dante asked the imp.


    Krom nodded confidently, though his body kept shivering from the demonic umbra flowing from the woman.


    The warlock deduced that Astaroth opted for the option of gathering less strength by quickly absorbing the lives of his victims.


    When Dante hunted the shadow demon that was hiding in the Devil''s Den Nightclub, he explained to Camille and his group how the demons'' life siphoning worked.


    If a person had been forcibly fed a demon''s blood without a contract, they would be afflicted by the "soulbond enfeeblement" condition, leaving them paralyzed as the demon absorbed their life force.


    At that point, the demons had two choices:


    They could increase the speed at which they absorbed their victim''s life force, which would give them a quick boost to their abilities.


    Or, they could prolong the curse for years, giving them a much stronger boost in the long run.


    Dante knew that Zac''s mother had been afflicted with soulbound enfeeblement for years, so the fact that the curse had started to rapidly take away her remaining life force was a sign that Astaroth was preparing for something.


    "Isn''t there anything we can do¡­?" Victoria muttered to herself, loud enough for the others to hear.


    The brunette felt frustrated and sad. The impotence of knowing that there was nothing she could do to save Zac''s mother made her tears roll out uncontrollably.


    "The best way to free them from the curse was killing the demon¡­ Right?" Megan replied, looking down with a hint of disappointment.


    The group was aware that even if everyone in the room hastily looked for Astaroth, it would take much longer than an hour to find him. Moreover, Dante was the only one who could fight the monster, so it wouldn''t make sense for the others to encounter him.


    Camille was checking her phone with a somber expression, seeing that the news was talking about the illness, prompting Sophia to turn on the TV inside the room.


    ["This is Nova News, coming at you with the recent developments from the people infected by an unknown disease¡­"] The news anchor stated.


    ["We are getting reports that thousands of patients'' conditions got worse overnight. The doctors have no idea how to stop the symptoms¡­ They say ''to the families of the ill, be prepared for the worst¡­''"] the anchor continued, making everyone in the room grit their teeth.


    The scene then changed to a reporter on the streets, interviewing random people outside a hospital.


    ["What do you think of the recent developments of that unknown disease? Doctors say it can''t be cured¡­"] the interviewer asked.


    ["Well, you know? It''s sad for the patients and the families¡­ But if that disease was contagious, wouldn''t this be the best outcome? ¡ª Ah, sorry! That sounded very insensitive-..."] the random interviewee was cut off.


    ["And there you have it, folks. People believe that with all the infected dead, it won''t be possible for it to spread,"] the news anchor said, irritating everyone inside the hospital room. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ["We salute all the infected for their sacrifice-¡­"] the man continued, getting cut off by Sophia, who angrily shut down the TV.


    While the girls grumbled in a corner, Camille approached Dante, who stood in the center of the room without taking his gaze off the ill woman.


    "What do you see?" the handler asked.


    Without saying a word, the warlock placed his hand on Camille''s shoulder and covered one of his eyes, sharing his vision with her.


    When Camille gazed at Zac''s mother, she saw her body producing a massive, dark red cloud as ethereal black chains burned her skin, sending shivers down her spine.


    As she took a preemptive step back from the overwhelming pressure, Camille''s shoulder lost contact with Dante''s hand, returning her vision to normal.


    *Tch!* The handler scoffed, biting her lips in exasperation.


    Dante took another look at his redhead friend, crying and kneeling on the ground next to his mother while holding her hand.


    Victoria was silently crying in a corner while Sophia was trying to comfort her. Megan stood on the side, looking somberly at the floor, and Camille was tapping her foot with frustration as she bit her nails.


    ''This feeling¡­ So unpleasant,'' the warlock thought.


    "Camille, please lock the door¡­" Dante said, taking a few steps forward toward the ill woman.


    The handler complied and locked the room with everyone inside, wondering what the warlock was thinking.


    "This isn''t a curse I can break with a warlock''s ability¡­ A powerful priest from my world could have," Dante commented, but Zac wasn''t listening to his friend.


    The warlock gently placed his hand on the redhead''s shoulder. "Stand back, Zac¡­ Just for a moment," he said, his voice soft and reassuring.


    Zac covered his face with his arm, embarrassed from the tears that kept rolling down his cheeks, and took a step back.


    Taking one deep breath, Dante looked up slightly and closed his eyes, making the background hospital noise wholly silent.


    "Sorry, Beatrice¡­ I''ll have to borrow your powers for a bit," the warlock whispered, with Zac being the only one able to listen to him.


    Dante followed his words by placing his hands together like a cup, where a radiant, white light generated in his palms.


    ''That looks way different from his usual powers¡­'' Megan thought.


    Anytime the brunette saw Dante casting magic, she noticed that the energy that gathered around him had a purple and black hue. However, this spell produced a completely different color that didn''t match any of his previous casts.


    As the light being held by Dante''s palms got brighter, it blinded everyone inside momentarily, spreading a white and green mist around the room that felt warm to the touch.


    Krom took a few steps back, and Camille noticed that the imp looked somewhat shaken, making her wonder why the demon was so apprehensive when Dante''s spell seemed relatively inoffensive.

 Chapter 69 - 69: Beatrice

    After the hospital room was shrouded with the warm mist that was being produced by Dante''s spell, the light got even brighter as trails of steam began appearing from the warlock''s body.


    Suddenly, the group noticed that Dante''s hair was slowly turning completely white, drastically changing his appearance. Still, they kept silent since the warlock seemed quite focused.


    When his hair looked as white as snow, the steam and warm mist began gathering all around his body, producing a fuzzy figure of a woman.


    ''A ghost¡­?'' Camille pondered with a mix of shock and curiosity on her face.


    A few seconds later, the figure got clearer, and the group was able to detail the long, light-brown hair cascading down the ghost woman''s back.


    ''Wait¡­'' Camille thought, her eyes widening as she kept staring at the figure of the mysterious woman.


    ''That looks like¡­ Megan!?'' The handler continued her train of thought, switching her gaze to the brunette to look for any distinctions between them.


    The rest of the group noticed the exact same thing, even Megan, who silently watched Dante cast his spell.


    The ghostly woman had Megan''s body features but wasn''t an exact copy.


    While they shared the same light-brown hair color and shiny emerald eyes, their facial expressions and body build diverted. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Megan''s body was toned and fit, with her muscles clearly defined. Her demeanor could be seen as indifferent to people who didn''t know her, which stemmed from her perpetually cold stare.


    On the other hand, the mysterious ghost seemed to have a softer body build, even though the group couldn''t fully detail her as her figure was somewhat blurry, and her expression had a soft and warm smile that could make anyone feel welcome.


    The ghostly woman trailed around the room for a moment and stopped behind Dante, embracing him from the back with her arms over his shoulders, gently burying her face in the warlock''s neck.


    When Dante raised his palm and pointed it at Zac''s mother on the bed, the ghostly woman''s figure held his arm up and let out a loving smile that made everyone in the room skip a heartbeat.


    From the warlock''s hand, another radiant light shone brightly, shattering the ethereal black chains into dust and completely dispersing the dense umbra flowing from the ill woman.


    Right after breaking the curse, the mystical woman disappeared, leaving tiny golden sparkles in the room and restoring Dante''s hair color.


    The entire group stayed silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say to the warlock, who wore a somber expression for the entire duration of his spell.


    *Beep¡­ Beep¡­* The electrocardiogram returned to normal.


    Zac abruptly stood up, wanting to thank Dante for what he had done, but the warlock interrupted him before he could speak.


    "The curse is gone¡­ Give her until tomorrow to rest," Dante said, his tone slightly defeated.


    "If it''s alright with everyone, I''ll go back home a bit earlier¡­" the warlock continued, turning his gaze towards the rest of the group.


    Camille nodded in understanding, and after Dante left the room, the group approached Zac and his mother to check on them.


    "She really does look better¡­ Her skin regained some color," Camille commented, making Zac clench his fists.


    The redhead was feeling a mix of emotions. He was happy because his mother''s condition had not only stabilized but completely healed.


    However, he couldn''t help feeling a little sad after witnessing Dante''s spell, but he couldn''t tell why.


    "Krom¡­ What was that?" Zac asked the imp with a bit of hesitation.


    "Uhh¡­ I-I''m not allowed to talk about it," Krom replied, seemingly scared.


    The group gazed at Krom, noticing his unease, and unanimously decided they wouldn''t ask him more questions.


    They understood that Dante ordered Krom not to speak of whatever he had done, and the group didn''t feel like prying into the warlock''s life, especially when it seemed to hurt him.


    "I heard he called her ''Beatrice¡­''" Zac muttered, making the imp widen his eyes with shock.


    "Did you just say - Beatrice?" Camille inquired, placing a hand on her chin.


    The redhead nodded in affirmation, and the handler turned her gaze to the imp, who was shivering after hearing the woman''s name.


    "I see¡­" Camille muttered.


    "What is it?" Megan asked, knowing that the platinum-haired woman had come to a conclusion.


    "Well¡­ Sophie, do you remember the story I was telling you about in my office?" the handler asked the blonde.


    "Yeah, the one about a man named Dante who goes to hell to save his beloved. Wait¡ªdon''t tell me¡­" Sophia replied.


    Camille nodded apprehensively. "His beloved''s name was Beatrice¡­" she said.


    The rest of the group was slightly shocked to hear that information, inquiring more about the supposed story that Camille read.


    The handler explained that the book didn''t have a long or detailed tale, as it was mostly a poem with a short story in the back.


    The poem described the features of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, while the short story talked about a man named Dante, who went to war with all of hell to save his beloved.


    In the story, Dante annihilated countless demons and traveled through the hellish landscape for years, and when he managed to reach his beloved, she was already dead.


    Dante then killed the demon king who took Beatrice hostage, and the story ended with him burning in hell for eternity.


    "It was pretty vague¡­ Honestly, I only read it because Cerberus recommended it," Camille said after telling the group the short story.


    "I thought that it was a coincidence that they shared the same name, but if he called her Beatrice¡­" she continued, tiredly placing a hand on her chin.


    "Please¡­ Don''t say that name to him," Krom interjected, his voice filled with fear.


    The group looked at the imp silently for a moment, noticing that his usual bothersome and cocky attitude had completely ceased, switching to a sorrowful and submissive demeanor.


    ''It must be really bad. I''ve never seen Krom act like that¡­'' Zac thought.

 Chapter 70 - 70: A Mother’s Love

    In the middle of a blizzard that was falling down a frozen wasteland, Dante gritted his teeth as he walked along the icy ground.


    The warlock was wearing a set of black robes and a hoodie. His eyelashes were frozen, and his fingers looked ice-bitten.


    A giant demon with long horns burrowed from the icy ground, prompting Dante to cast a spell that released a black thunder from his palm, leaving a gaping hole in the demon''s chest.


    "Beatrice¡­" Dante muttered, clenching his robe and tightening it to get slightly warmer, continuing on his path ahead.


    Suddenly, the warlock opened his eyes and found himself in his room with an unamused expression.


    *Sigh* "Another nightmare, huh?" he muttered to himself before standing up from the bed.


    After healing Zac''s mother from her curse, the warlock returned home and went to bed early as he didn''t feel like talking. Nevertheless, he was feeling more energetic that morning.


    When he went downstairs, Sophia was preparing breakfast and told Dante that Zac had stayed at the hospital the previous night.


    "I see¡­ I should go check on them," said Dante, taking a bite from his croissant.


    "I''ll go with you. I don''t have class today¡­" Sophia joined.


    When they arrived, they were pleasantly surprised to see Zac''s mother sitting straight up on her bed, eating the food from the tray with a smile on her face.


    The redhead sat beside her bed, his eyes gleaming with happiness at seeing his mother in such good health.


    "Oh, hey, guys!" Victoria greeted the pair, arriving at the hospital room with a bag.


    "I was just getting some water and snacks¡­" the brunette continued.


    "Tori, I thought you were home!" Sophia exclaimed.


    Victoria chuckled with a little embarrassment, saying that she returned to the hospital in the middle of the night as she was worried for Zac and ended up spending the night there.


    Zac noticed his friends at the door and urged them to come in, wanting to introduce his mother to the group.


    "Ah, you must be Dante!" The woman happily exclaimed when she spotted the warlock.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Miss¡­" Dante politely replied, approaching the bed and bowing slightly in respect.


    The woman playfully chuckled. "I''ve heard so much about you. It seems like you truly are a polite young man¡­" she said.


    "I''m Clara Pearce. Thanks for being such good friends with my son," the woman continued with a solemn tone.


    Dante seemed slightly surprised at Clara''s words when he felt his hand being clasped by the lady.


    Clara Pearce could have been considered a "young" mother, as she was only forty-three years old, and Dante felt like the woman''s hands were incredibly soft and warm.


    The warlock smiled gently. "I should be the one thanking him¡­" he said.


    "Dear, thanks to you, I get to spend more time in this world¡­ I''m sorry I put you through so much trouble," Clara commented, almost whispering.


    ''What is this feeling?'' Dante pondered, sensing a positive emotion that he couldn''t recognize.


    "No worries, Miss. I was only doing what I could for my friend¡­" the warlock replied, trying to diminish the importance of his accomplishment.


    Clara clasped Dante''s hand a bit tighter. "You truly are a kind man¡­" she said, her tone somewhat somber.


    "You''ve worked hard, haven''t you?" The woman asked, her question slightly shocking Dante.


    It was as if the woman knew everything about the warlock''s life, or at least that''s how Dante felt. However, he was sure that there was no way for Clara to be aware of that information.


    At that moment, the warlock faintly gasped as he understood her point of view.


    ''I get it now¡­'' Dante thought.


    Clara didn''t need to know anything about him to see the hardships he had endured, and the woman was so genuine with her feelings that the positive energy he felt was the "love of a mother."


    Dante gently smiled, placing his other hand on top of the woman''s, who was still clasping his hand somewhat tightly.


    It was the first time in his life that he felt the love of a mother being directed at him, all coming directly from Clara, who barely even knew him.


    "Thank you," Dante said in a soft tone of voice.


    The rest of the group in the room weren''t sure why Dante was grateful to the lady, but Clara simply smiled back at him.


    "I''m glad. The color around you changed¡­" the redhead woman commented, catching Dante''s attention. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The color around me?" the warlock asked aloud, prompting Clara to nod.


    "Mom, what do you mean?" Zac interjected.


    "Miss Clara¡­ Can you see those colors around everyone?" Dante calmly asked the woman.


    After confirming the warlock''s suspicions, he placed a hand on his chin as he delved into his thoughts.


    Clara said that ever since she woke up without her illness, she was able to see colors around people, and the woman could intuitively tell that the colors matched a person''s emotions.


    "Zac¡­ Somehow, your mom developed a warlock''s sight," Dante said to his friend, shocking the redhead.


    "Those colors she sees are the umbra and positive energy flowing from people¡­ It must have been some kind of effect from Astaroth''s blood," the warlock continued, pondering different theories about how it could have happened.


    "Interesting!" Camille exclaimed, loudly entering the room with Megan walking behind her.


    "Oh, Cami, you are here!" Sophia greeted the handler.


    The platinum-haired woman confidently approached Clara on the bed, introducing herself as Camille Winter, expecting a reaction from the redhead.


    However, Clara was seemingly hypnotized by Camille''s demeanor. "Such a beautiful young lady¡­" she muttered.


    Camille blushed slightly after hearing the compliment and explained that she wanted to offer Clara a job.


    However, now that the handler knew that she had other abilities, she reconsidered the position she was offering.


    "I had heard from your son that you used to take on cleaning jobs, so I thought you could work with my maid team¡­ But I think you might be a better addition to the Zeta Team," Camille explained.


    The Zeta Team was a group of researchers led by Paige, and knowing that the scientist would be delighted to have a woman with otherworldly abilities on her team, she offered her the position.

 Chapter 71 - 71: The Detectives’ Report

    A few days after Clara''s recovery, the news about the thousands of people who had died of the unknown disease around the same time was spread around Novaria.


    The only survivor of said disease was Clara Pearce, whose name was deleted from the hospital records by Camille''s men so she wouldn''t attract any attention.


    During one afternoon, Camille was reading through some documents in her office when she received a visit.


    ["Boss, Detective Morris and her companion came to see you,"] said a man on Camille''s speaker phone.


    "Let them in¡­ I already know why they are here," Camille replied.


    When the detectives arrived, they were served a cup of tea by one of Camille''s servants, but before they could take a sip, the handler gave them a sealed folder.


    "Here¡­This is what you are looking for," Camille said.


    Detective Alice silently took the folder and opened its contents, widening her eyes in shock as she read the documents.


    *Sigh* "We never had a chance to figure this out on our own, did we?" Alice asked the handler.


    "Mhmm, if you couldn''t analyze the drug, there was no way you could analyze that thing¡­" Camille replied.


    The senior detective passed the documents to her companion, June, who read its contents attentively, not wanting to miss any details.


    After Alice and June brought Turner''s deformed body to the police laboratory, the forensics department couldn''t figure out what chemicals had caused the man to become a monster.


    Since the experts weren''t allowed to analyze certain illegal drugs, they couldn''t recognize the substances inside Turner''s body, leaving the detectives with an almost blank statement.


    However, Camille''s documents provided a fully detailed explanation of how and why those changes occurred.


    ''I can''t believe this¡­'' June thought, but she didn''t mean the report on the demon''s blood. She was more surprised at the fact that Camille already had the results with her.


    "Cami, can you elaborate already?" Alice asked the handler.


    "Hmm, let''s see¡­ Where to begin?" Camille pondered aloud.


    "I suppose you should know that Red River and the Scarlett Bullets are dead," the handler said.


    Rookie Detective June widened her eyes in shock as two of the most dangerous gangs in Novis had been eradicated, giving her a sense of impotence.


    In June''s mind, the police should have taken care of the gang problem, so she wasn''t a fan of Camille''s activities. Nonetheless, she was still impressed.


    The information in the report was hard to believe, and June knew that the police department wouldn''t be able to do anything about it as it delved into the supernatural.


    "The report says they used ''traditional dark magic'' rituals to summon the demons¡­" June commented, explaining that there wasn''t a law against demonic rituals since they weren''t supposed to be real.


    "Ah, but what if they were sacrificing people for these rituals?" Camille implied.


    "That would be murder¡­" June replied with a serious tone, understanding what the handler meant.


    Still, the most surprising part of the report was found on the second page, where they read about the thousands of people who had died the previous day of the unknown disease and realized that they had been drugged with demon''s blood.


    June hastily stood up from her seat in shock while Alice stared at Camille with a hint of worry.


    "Is it time? Is that why you are telling us all of this?" The senior detective asked.


    "I''m not sure if it''s time or not, but this conflict is only going to get messier from here on out¡­ So, I thought it would be better if you guys know what''s truly happening," Camille replied confidently.


    "Cami, how did you even figure this out¡­?" Alice asked.


    She knew that the information on the report wasn''t something that her scientists could have compiled without the help of an expert on the matter.


    "Ah, that I can''t tell you¡­" The handler replied with a gentle smile on her face. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Understanding that Camille wouldn''t give them anything more than what was on the report, the detectives thanked the handler and left her office with the documents in hand.


    "What should we do now?" June asked her superior.


    "We''ll investigate the case as mass murder. That way, we''ll be able to borrow more men and resources¡­" Alice replied.


    She explained to June that if they reported the case as a demon attack, it would be considered a supernatural occurrence and could potentially be discarded from the investigation.


    However, if they said that a gang was drugging and killing people with the intent of doing something supernatural, then the case would get more track with the department.


    ____________________


    After Camille finished her meeting with the detectives, she took the elevator down to the laboratory, where Paige studied Clara''s abilities.


    The redhead woman was inside the MET room, with Dante and Paige watching from the spectators'' room.


    Contrary to Megan and Zac''s training, the woman was sitting comfortably in a chair with a large desk in front of her.


    The table had a few objects of different sizes and weights on top of it, and Clara was waving her hand as if trying to move them with telepathy to no avail.


    "How''s the test going?" Camille asked the pair.


    "Quite interesting¡­" Dante replied, keeping his gaze on Clara in the other room.


    "Dante''s theory is that Astaroth''s blood must have had a side effect on their victims. But since Clara is the only survivor, we can''t really confirm that hypothesis¡­" Paige commented, her focus solely on the redhead woman.


    "And what''s she doing right now?" Camille kept asking, seeing the woman still trying to move the objects with her mind.


    "We are testing to see if she can control the umbra she sees¡­" said the scientist.


    The warlock explained that when a person was able to perceive umbra and mana, it was much easier to learn how to control them.


    Now that Clara could clearly see the energy that flowed from living beings, he believed there was a high chance that the woman would be able to control some of that power.

 Chapter 72 - 72: Surprise Attacks

    Inside a dark room filled with computer monitors showing strings of complicated code, six individuals were glued to their screens as they quickly typed on their keyboards.


    "Any luck breaking through that firewall?" a man asked.


    "Nothing yet¡­ This might take a few weeks," another replied.


    The hackers at Team Delta were tirelessly working to crack the PC they took from Joseph''s home, but the machine''s cybersecurity system was giving them a hard time.


    Suddenly, all of the hackers received a pop-up message on their screens reading "GET OUT," confusing the group as they didn''t know who could be messing with their equipment.


    A few seconds later, one of the men noticed a pair of drones hovering right outside their windows with machine guns attached to them.


    "Everyone get dow-" *Plap!* The man''s sentence was cut short as a bullet went through his head.


    Following the first kill, the drones unleashed a rain of bullets inside the hackers'' office, drilling holes in their bodies that left them unrecognizable and destroying all of their equipment.


    ____________________


    While the attack on Delta Team was happening, Camille was sitting in her office at night with Cerberus when she noticed the puppy got distracted by something on the window.


    "What is it?" she pondered aloud with a smile, thinking that the dog was curious to look down.


    However, her smile was quickly erased when she saw two drones flying near the building next to hers.


    *Grrr!* Cerberus growled angrily at the drones.


    "Oh no¡­" Camille muttered.


    Following her words, the two drones flew straight into the other building through the window, unleashing a massive explosion that blasted chunks of debris and glass on the streets.


    The handler stood still with widened eyes, witnessing the skyscraper right next to hers being terrorized.


    "Mistress, are you okay!?" Rina and Rona exclaimed as they hastily entered her office.


    "We need to evacuate¡­ Let''s use the underground passage," Camille said with a commanding tone, approaching her desk and pressing a button that made an alarm blare all throughout the building.


    As all the personnel in the skyscraper used the stairs to go down, Camille gritted her teeth with anger, pulling out her phone to alert Dante and his group.


    However, she noticed she had a message from an unknown number, which shouldn''t have been possible as her private phone number was confidential.


    [r u alive??] the message read.


    "Hmm¡­" The handler hummed, pondering who was texting her.


    As she kept going downstairs with the rest of the building''s employees, Lawrence, Joseph''s former butler, caught up with Camille.


    "L-Lady Camille¡­ What''s happening?" The butler asked.


    "We were targeted by a drone attack," the handler replied, not stopping her descent for a moment.


    Lawrence didn''t understand what she meant, as it was the building next to them that was terrorized.


    Of course, it was common for the surrounding buildings to have their employees evacuate for safety reasons, but Camille''s answer didn''t sound like that.


    "That building was our front¡­" Camille muttered to the butler as they kept descending the stairwell.


    Since the work that happened at Camille''s skyscraper was meant to be wholly secretive, all of the paperwork was falsified to say that those operations were happening in the building next door.


    If anyone ever tried to dig deep into Camille and her connections to the point they found out her office location, they would get the address of the other building, essentially turning it into bait.


    At that moment, Lawrence understood how the handler knew the attack was directed at them, as whoever the aggressor was, they were targeting the Winter handler.


    When the employees gathered in the underground parking lots, they were sent to different SUVs that started driving away through a tunnel instead of going out to the streets.


    Camille boarded one of the vehicles with Lawrence and her two personal servants, and just as she checked her phone, she received a call from Megan.


    "We got a problem," The handler and the brunette said simultaneously at the start of their call.


    "I see. I''ll send someone to pick you guys up¡­ We are moving out of the skyscraper for now," Camille said on the phone, telling Megan about the targeted attack on them.


    After hanging up, she received another message that Midnight Bar had been bombed. Luckily, nobody was inside, as the handler had closed down the venue for weeks.


    She also read another message stating that the Delta Team had been eliminated by a drone attack, making the woman bite her lips in anger.


    "Multiple attacks, huh?" Camille muttered, her expression unamused.


    ["Sorry about ur hackers. I tried to warn them :( "] A new message read on Camille''s phone.


    It was the same unknown number that was asking her if she was alive minutes earlier, but the handler misinterpreted the text as a threat.


    ["Are you responsible for this?"] The handler replied.


    ["No!!! I don''t think I''m your enemy,"] The unknown texted back.


    ["So, who''s this?"]


    ["Call me Trinity¡­"]


    ''Hmmm, I''ve heard that name before¡­'' Camille pondered, trying to recall where she had seen it.


    The unknown entity cut to the chase and said that she knew they were looking for the Blood Dragons. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ["I tried to warn ur hackers, but those bastards have a cybersecurity expert working for them,"] Trinity said.


    ["For what it''s worth, I managed to crack their security, so I copied the PC''s hard drive to my machine."] Trinity continued.


    While the hackers at Delta Team ended up failing to decrypt the secret information in Joseph''s computer, eventually getting them all killed, Trinity was able to hack into it remotely and complete the cracking of their code.


    ["What do you want?"] Camille texted, knowing that the information wasn''t free.


    ["I want all of BD dead¡­"] Trinity said, a reply that arrived almost instantly.


    ["Some money would be nice too :3 "] Another message followed up a few seconds later.


    Camille stretched her neck laterally, a mix of annoyance and anger coursing within her.


    ''If I weren''t in such a foul mood, I would''ve found this person interesting¡­'' The handler thought, letting out a tired gasp.

 Chapter 73 - 73: A Simple Sentence

    The same night that Camille''s targeted attack happened, Dante and his friends were hanging out in their home.


    They had been waiting for the Delta Team to crack Joseph''s computer in order to raid the next gang standing in their way.


    After everyone had gone to their rooms to get some rest, Dante went to the backyard and sat on a garden bench, looking up at the sky.


    "Are you alright?" Megan asked, stepping outside with the warlock.


    "Hmm? Yeah¡­ I was just thinking how I can barely see the stars from here," Dante replied.


    "Yeah, big cities don''t have the best starry skies to look at¡­" replied Megan, her voice indifferent as usual. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The brunette approached the bench and sat next to Dante, focusing her gaze on the man.


    "I meant if you were alright after the whole ordeal with the incubus¡­" Megan clarified with honesty.


    Dante let out a somewhat sad smile, still looking up at the sky, utterly contaminated by the city''s illumination, and kept silent at her question.


    Megan let out a tired and long gasp. "You know? One of the main reasons I decided to become the leader of the Jade Dragons was thanks to Sophie¡­" she commented.


    The warlock turned his gaze to the woman, who told her story without looking back at him.


    Ever since Megan was born, she was fated to become the leader of the Jade Dragons as she was Ganon''s first daughter.


    As such, she received combat and shooting training as soon as she was able to hold a gun in her hands. Nonetheless, she didn''t wish to become the next leader.


    When Megan met Sophia, the brunette had fun for the first time in her life, as the blonde was the only person who treated her like a normal kid.


    Sophia was also subjected to combat training as a child, but the demands and objectives that were placed on her were much easier to achieve than what they gave to Megan.


    By the time the two girls shared a room, Megan was getting fed up with her training and thinking about running away from home when she got older. However, she changed her mind when Sophia praised her efforts.


    "Meg, I know that you''ll be the best leader ever¡­" The blonde muttered to her.


    The brunette turned her head back down and made eye contact with Dante. "It''s stupid, right? A simple sentence was all it took to make me change my mind¡­" she said.


    "I don''t know why she said that to me at the time, but it made me want to become the best leader just for her," Megan continued.


    The warlock listened attentively to her story, slightly smiling and feeling glad that he got to know Megan a bit more.


    Dante knew that the woman was only telling him her story so that he felt more comfortable sharing his, and he believed it was a fair trade.


    *Sigh* "A very long time ago, I left Shadowvale to become an adventurer¡­" Dante commented.


    When the warlock was 17 years old, he left his hometown and went to another city to register himself at the Adventurers'' Guild.


    In his past world, registered adventurers would group together to take on requests, increasing their chances of survival and success. However, since Dante was a warlock, nobody wanted to add him to their party.


    "People didn''t trust warlocks back in my world¡­ Not that I can blame them, though," Dante explained.


    Considering that warlocks used demonic magic for their spells, it was understandable that people would be wary of them.


    Even after Dante tried to politely introduce himself to other adventurer parties, they were either scared or disgusted by him, prompting him to take on requests on his own.


    Dante took on novice adventuring requests for an entire year until one day, he was approached by four individuals at the guild while he was eating lunch.


    "Are you the famous Specialist Warlock?" A woman with long, braided, light-brown hair and emerald eyes asked, slamming the table with urgency.


    "Yeah¡­?" Dante replied with disinterest, noticing that the woman was wearing white priestess robes.


    "Are you here to exorcise me or something? I''m not a demon¡­" the warlock continued.


    The priestess raised an eyebrow, confused at the warlock''s question. "Why would I try to exorcise a human?" she casually asked.


    Catching Dante''s attention, he looked up and locked eyes with the priestess, momentarily hypnotized by her beauty.


    "We are here to ask you to join our party!" The woman exclaimed, shocking the young warlock.


    Confidently introducing herself as "Beatrice," the priestess presented the rest of her party¡ªA female elven mage, an assassin, and a tall, burly warrior.


    Dante wasn''t sure if he should accept their invitation, expecting them to get scared of him whenever he used his powers. Nonetheless, a simple sentence from the priestess was the only push he needed.


    "I can tell you''ll be a great partner. Let''s go!" Beatrice said with a smile on her face that was almost too radiant for the warlock to see.


    Dante nostalgically smiled as he told Megan the story, finding it funny how he could recall something so clearly when it had happened over 200 years ago.


    Megan recognized Beatrice''s name as the one the warlock muttered at the hospital, but she decided not to mention it, feeling quite satisfied after hearing the story of how they met.


    Suddenly, before the pair could continue their conversation, Dante sharpened his gaze and turned his head to the side.


    "What''s wrong?" Megan asked.


    "Something''s coming¡­" the warlock replied, standing up from the bench.


    Right at that moment, a puff of smoke appeared beside them as Krom teleported to their location in the backyard.


    "Dante!" the imp exclaimed.


    "I know. I feel it, too," Dante said in a cold tone.


    Megan couldn''t sense anything, but she took the warning seriously and stood up, carefully scanning her surroundings.


    "Other side!" Krom shouted, prompting the warlock to rush back into the house, run through the living room, and exit through the front door.

 Chapter 74 - 74: The Harpion Twins (Part 1)

    During the night that the simultaneous attacks happened in Midnight Bar, the Delta Team''s hideout, and Camille''s bait office building, agent Maya was sitting on her spot atop a building, guarding Dante''s home with a sniper rifle.


    Suddenly, she saw Dante bolt out of the house from the front door, alerting her and requiring her to use her sniper scope to search the streets.


    ''What''s happening?'' She wondered, moving the scope from side to side and finding the street wholly empty.


    When her crosshair landed back on Dante, she witnessed the warlock casting a spell that produced black feathered wings to extrude from his back.


    With one flap of his wings, the warlock flew all the way up to Maya''s altitude, shocking the woman who followed his movement with her gaze.


    As Dante hovered slightly above Maya, the moon behind him highlighted his winged, dark silhouette, and all she could see were his crimson eyes.


    For a brief moment, Maya believed that her life was in danger, as Dante''s form and expression were quite intimidating. However, she noticed that the warlock was looking at something behind her.


    Before Maya could turn around, Dante flew past the agent and caught the figure of a young boy with wings on his back by the neck.


    "That was close¡­ He was coming for you, Miss Maya," Dante muttered, shocking the agent, who was wholly unaware of the boy''s presence.


    "Nghh!" The boy tried to release himself from Dante''s grip.


    *Tsk* The warlock clicked his tongue in annoyance, slamming the boy head-first into the ground, leaving him unconscious.


    As Dante let go of his neck, he pointed his palm at the demon boy on the floor when he felt another presence approaching at high speeds.


    Calmly turning his gaze to the side, Dante took a single step back, avoiding the surprise flying kick of a young girl with the same body features as the boy. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Right after easily evading the girl''s attack, Dante caught her mid-air by the hair and threw her to the side against a couple of AC units.


    "Asher!" The girl shouted, prompting the boy, who was pretending to be unconscious, to attack Dante while he was distracted.


    Nevertheless, Dante caught the boy''s claws before they could get to his neck and slammed him against the ground several times like a rag doll.


    The girl went back on the offensive to stop Dante from hurting her twin brother, but the warlock simply avoided her attack and kicked her in the stomach before catching the girl with his other hand.


    As Dante stood holding the two young-looking demons by the neck in each hand, Maya returned to her senses.


    "Two harpions, huh?" Dante muttered.


    "Harpions?" Maya asked, shocked and confused.


    "They are the spawns of harpies¡­" the warlock vaguely replied.


    Seeing that the boy was looking more roughed up than the girl, the warlock asked with an intimidating tone if they had been feeding their blood to anyone, making the harpion girl shake her head in denial.


    "It''s your lucky day, then¡­" Dante muttered, dropping the young demons on the floor and pointing his palm at them.


    "Wait!" Maya shouted, catching the warlock''s attention and delaying the demons'' execution.


    "Hmm? What''s wrong? Do you have another question for them?" Dante inquired.


    "Well, yes¡­ But also, I don''t think you should kill those two," Maya replied, her body still slightly in shock.


    "These two are dangerous demons¡­" the warlock said.


    "I get that¡­ I can see it too," Maya continued, gazing at the young demons'' bat wings.


    "But, I''ve known Camille for a very long time¡­ She likes cute things," the agent said.


    "Huh?" Dante hummed, raising an eyebrow and gazing back at the young demons.


    ''Cute? They are harpions!'' he thought.


    "Look, let''s just talk to Camille first and see what she wants to do with them¡­ You might not see it, but those two kids are indeed kind of cute," Maya commented with a straight face.


    *Sigh* "Sure¡­ It''s not like they can do anything if I''m around anyway," Dante replied with a somewhat defeated tone.


    The pink-haired agent realized that she had found a new thing about the warlock that she didn''t know about.


    For someone who could summon demons and use their powers, the warlock truly hated them with passion, to the point where he could easily kill two kids without remorse, as long as they were demons, of course.


    Dante grabbed the two young demons in his arms and asked Maya to ride on his back, taking them down to their home''s front door.


    Megan, who followed the warlock outside, seemed slightly shocked at the sight of the two beaten-up kids with wings on their backs.


    When the two kids were commanded to sit on the couch, the two demons nervously complied while Megan sent Camille a message.


    "Uh, oh¡­" Megan muttered when she looked at her phone.


    "I don''t think Camille can come tonight," she continued.


    The brunette received a detailed message about the different simultaneous attacks they had endured that night, prompting the warlock to turn his head to the twin harpions.


    "Ah, so it was a planned attack¡­ You were sent to kill our security and keep us here. Is that right?" Dante asked the twins.


    *Gulp* "We¡­" The girl tried to speak up, going fully silent as the warlock stood before them with a menacing gaze.


    "Tell us your whole plan, or else¡­" Dante continued.


    With an apprehensive tone, the girl exposed the plans for that night, saying that there were four places that had been targeted¡ªCamille''s office, the Delta Team''s hideout, Midnight Bar, and their home.


    ''I suppose the bait home did work¡­'' Dante thought.


    "Was it Astaroth who sent you?" The warlock casually asked.


    "N-not exactly¡­" the girl replied.


    She elaborated and said that they had been summoned by a man named Sabelio, who used Astaroth to intimidate them into working for him. However, Sabelio ended up sending them to work under a different demon.


    "M-Malgaroth¡­!" the girl said, fear plastered on her face as shivers ran down her spine.

 Chapter 75 - 75: The Harpion Twins (Part 2)

    Inside a dark cathedral on the outskirts of Novis, Sabelio wore his usual hooded robes as he went down the staircase to Astaroth''s underground hall.


    "Sabelio, how did it go?" The demon asked, not even greeting the man.


    "All of the attacks went smoothly¡­ However¡­" Sabelio replied.


    The old man explained that their attack on Midnight Bar had been in vain, as nobody was inside the building when the bomb detonated.


    Besides, even after riddling the office building with bullets, they couldn''t confirm the death of Camille or Megan, which made Sabelio believe that they were still alive.


    On the bright side, their attack on the hacker group was a success, and they had all been eradicated, leaving the Jade Dragons group without a cybersecurity team.


    "What about the harpions?" Astaroth asked.


    "We haven''t heard back from them. My king, should I send someone to look for them?" Sabelio said reverently.


    "No need. They are most likely dead¡­ I want you to find out who is killing my demons. Although, I doubt they are able to do anything about the ones that are left," Astaroth replied.


    "I''ll do my best, my king¡­" said Sabelio, bowing before the monster.


    ____________________


    The following morning, after the attempt on their home, Zac woke up and went downstairs as the scent of breakfast guided him.


    When he arrived at the living room, he noticed two black-haired kids sitting on the dining table next to Dante, eating sandwiches.


    "Hmm?" Zac hummed, but it was too early in the morning for his mind to process the image.


    Calmly sitting down on the kitchen counter, he greeted Sophia and Victoria with a good morning as the two girls prepared food for the others. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So, uhhh¡­ Who are these children?" The redhead finally asked, turning around to take a better look.


    "They are harpions¡­" Dante casually replied.


    "Oh, okay¡­ And what is that?" Zac asked again.


    "Harpy spawns¡­ Basically, they are demons," the warlock said, expecting a reaction from his friend.


    "Umm, Dante, are you sure about that? They look like normal kids¡­" the redhead asked skeptically.


    As the harpion twins had their bat wings hidden, they truly resembled a couple of normal, human kids, so Dante couldn''t blame Zac for not believing him.


    "I would have guessed they were your siblings¡­" Zac continued.


    "What?" Dante asked, slightly taken aback by the comment.


    "I mean, look at them! They have the same hair and eye color as you¡­ Is it really that crazy for me to think that?" said the redhead as he got closer to the twins.


    "They are not my siblings. They are demons¡­" Dante muttered, his tone somewhat severe.


    "Right, my bad¡­" Zac apologized, noticing that his words weren''t being taken as a joke like he wanted to.


    Meanwhile, the harpion twins devoured their sandwiches without a care in the world, not paying attention to the conversation between the warlock and his friend.


    When all of the house residents were in the living room, accompanied by Maya and the two Tylers, they were briefed on the events of the previous night.


    Zac was worried about his mother, but she evacuated safely with the rest of the Zeta Team, led by Paige.


    Camille told the group that she would be visiting them at their home, so they had to wait for the handler until late in the afternoon.


    When the platinum-haired woman arrived, Dante instantly noticed the flow of umbra coming from her, making him understand that Camille was extremely angry. However, her face didn''t show it.


    "So, those are the children you mentioned?" Camille asked Maya, who nodded in response.


    The harpion twins stood close to each other, looking up at the handler standing before them with a cold stare.


    Camille crouched to get on the same eye level as the twins, maintaining her poker face as she pinched their cheeks.


    "Nngh¡­" the children complained in unison.


    At that moment, Dante felt a fluctuation of positive energy coming from Camille as the woman was enjoying messing with the harpions.


    "Hehe¡­ cute," the handler muttered.


    ''They kinda look like little copies of Dante¡­'' she thought, keeping those words silent.


    "Just a reminder that they are both beasts from hell¡­" the warlock said, but Camille ignored him as she patted them on the head.


    After messing up their hair, the handler asked Dante if it was possible for her to make a contract with the twins, saying that she wanted to employ them.


    The warlock had already made sure that the harpions didn''t have a contract with Sabelio, so there wasn''t anything that could prevent them from making one.


    Fortunately, Sabelio and Astaroth considered the harpion twins to be too young to follow their commands, even if a contract bound them, so they allowed them to have more freedom when completing their requests.


    Dante concluded that Astaroth simply threatened the young demons into working for him, as making a contract with them could have gotten them killed much quicker.


    "Hmm, how does that make sense? Wouldn''t he be able to control what they can and can''t say with a contract?" Camille inquired.


    The warlock used his relationship with Krom as an example, explaining that he didn''t have a contract with the imp.


    Dante knew about the imps'' cowardly nature, so he believed that if he were to make a contract with Krom that stated that he had to keep a secret, the demon wouldn''t last long.


    "I see¡­ It''s better to have them freely working since they have a better chance at staying alive," Camille concluded, making the warlock nod in agreement.


    With a smirk on her face, the handler turned around and gazed back at the kids, asking for their names in a gentle tone.


    "I''m Amara!" the girl exclaimed.


    "I''m Asher¡­" the boy followed, his voice sounding more nervous.


    "I''m Camille, but you can call me Cami¡­" the handler said, her body producing a warm and positive energy.


    "So, how about it? Wanna work for me?" the woman continued.


    The twins made eye contact with each other, using their telepathy to communicate with their thoughts.


    ["What do you think, Amara?"]


    ["This lady feels nice, and she is part of ''his'' team¡­"] the girl replied, gazing at Dante from the side of her eye.


    ["Do you think he can win?"] the boy asked.


    ["I don''t know! But the food is better here¡­"]


    The two young demons kept talking with each other using their minds, leaving the handler waiting for an answer.


    "They are pondering if we can beat Astaroth¡­" Dante commented, shocking the twins.


    "Harpions can be deceiving and treacherous, so they''ll join whichever side they think will ultimately be victorious," he continued.


    Asher and Amara stayed silent as a small drop of sweat came down their foreheads. However, Camille smiled even brighter than before.


    "Then you should definitely join us," the handler commented.


    With the mixture of good food, a warm reception, and a powerful ally, the harpion twins decided to betray their bosses to stay with Dante''s group.

 Chapter 76 - 76: Camille’s Investigation

    As the harpion twins got comfortable inside Dante''s home, they ate chips from a bag with happy expressions while Camille asked them a few questions. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Do you kids know of a person named ''Trinity''?" the handler asked.


    "Hmm, nope¡­" Asher replied, his voice muffled by the chips in his mouth.


    "Who''s that?" Megan pondered aloud.


    Camille showed her the messages she had received from an unknown number during the attacks, who seemingly tried to warn the Delta Team about it.


    However, since the handler had no idea who it was on the other side of the screen, she didn''t trust any of Trinity''s words.


    "Hey, isn''t that the famous hacker? I remember seeing it in the news¡­" Zac interjected, telling the story of how a hacker named Trinity had taken down several government websites in the past.


    "They were also the ones who leaked all the information about those artists committing assault," the redhead continued.


    Camille remembered hearing the name a few years ago when those events happened, as she was interested in meeting the hacker. Nevertheless, they had been silent for a long time, so the handler had utterly forgotten about their existence.


    Leaving the Trinity matter aside momentarily, Camille asked the twins to tell her everything they knew about the Blood Dragons and their subordinates.


    At first, when they were summoned by Sabelio into the world, the harpions were considering rebelling against him and setting themselves free. However, Astaroth''s presence was enough to intimidate them from even trying.


    "You can rebel against the person who summons you?" Zac asked out loud, prompting Dante to respond.


    When a person summoned a demon, they had to be strong enough to hold themselves against the creature they brought.


    "Demons are monsters that think only about themselves and their satisfaction. If the summoner proves to be weaker than them, they could just kill the caster and set themselves free into the world¡­" the warlock explained.


    In his past world, the majority of the cases where he had to hunt a wild demon happened because someone summoned a creature that was too powerful for them to control.


    "The only people who can bypass that condition are ''demonology warlocks'' since they have a good amount of spells that allow them to control and manipulate the demons they bring¡­" Dante continued explaining.


    "Huh? So, you used a spell to manipulate Krom?" Zac asked.


    "No. I don''t use those types of spells¡­ I think they are weird," Dante casually replied.


    The redhead didn''t understand what he meant, as he thought that a spell to control and manipulate demons was quite useful.


    "I only summon demons I''ve met before and that I know are on friendly terms with me. Having a bunch of mindless creatures fighting for me just sounds annoying¡­" the warlock said.


    "You know? That''s kinda thoughtful of you¡­" Zac replied.


    "Is it? I just don''t like demons enough to make me want to summon more of them," said Dante.


    Finishing his explanation, the group turned their attention back to the harpion twins, who were still happily eating from the bag of chips.


    Camille inquired about the orders they received from Astaroth, and the harpions said that they were sent to work for a demon named Malgaroth.


    Malgaroth, answering Joseph''s request for help, sent Asher and Amara to his mansion. Nonetheless, they arrived too late at the scene.


    When they returned with the news, Malgaroth told the twins to go back to Sabelio, who ordered them to attack Dante''s home to keep his group occupied while the other attacks happened.


    "Do you know that demon?" Camille asked the warlock, who seemed displeased after hearing its name.


    "I met him a very long time ago¡­ He is a nasty one," Dante replied, his tone more serious.


    "Kids, do you know where that demon is?" Camille asked, prompting the harpions to nod apprehensively.


    "What is it?" the handler asked again, sensing the evident distress in the twins'' demeanors.


    "They are scared of Malgaroth, of course¡­" Dante interjected.


    The warlock told the group that Malgaroth was known as "The Braineater," which he thought was an inaccurate title since the demon ate all of the organs and not just the brain.


    "The last time I saw him, I was a kid¡ªI think I was around 14 years old¡­?" Dante muttered to himself, inquisitively placing a hand on his chin.


    The harpion twins revealed Malgaroth''s hideout to the group, which was located in the sewers of Novis.


    Coincidentally, Sophia and Victoria had been hearing rumors on campus about a monster living in the sewers, but they thought it was just a ghost story that students liked.


    "What do you think, Dante? You are the leader of the Omega Team¡ªIs this something you can handle?" Camille asked.


    "Yeah, probably¡­" The warlock replied nonchalantly.


    Asher and Amara approached Dante with curious eyes, prompting the warlock to gaze at them with indifference.


    ''He doesn''t like these kids, huh?'' Camille thought as she watched Dante interacting with the twins.


    "I don''t get it, Amara. Do you?" Asher commented.


    "No¡­" the girl replied.


    "What are you talking about?" Zac interjected.


    "Big brother looked super scary before, but now he looks super weak!" Amara replied.


    Zac turned his head slightly to hide his smile, containing his laughter after hearing the girl calling Dante "big brother."


    *Ahem* The redhead cleared his throat. "Why would you think that he is weak?" he asked.


    "Big brother''s umbra was going ''whoosh!'' before," Amara said, adorably raising her arms to show them how they perceived the warlock''s energy.


    "But now it''s like ''Shhh,'' you know!?" the girl clarified, moving her arms inwards, signaling that Dante''s energy had decreased.


    Zac gazed at the warlock, expecting him to give him a clear answer as he wasn''t sure what the little girl meant.


    *Sigh* "I don''t go around extruding all my umbra¡­ That would just make people avoid me," Dante replied.


    Dante''s umbra was so overwhelming that he had to suppress it at all times.


    If he walked around without suppressing it, ordinary people would feel discomfort just from being close to him, even when they weren''t supposed to perceive this energy.


    For a demon, seeing someone with so little umbra flowing from them meant that they were weak. In reality, being able to do such a feat took years of extensive training and discipline.


    "No fair!" Amara exclaimed.


    "Yeah, big brother is cheating!" Asher continued, agreeing with his sister.

 Chapter 77 - 77: The Hacker, Trinity

    While the group kept talking with the harpion twins, Camille inquired if they knew the hacker that managed to track the Delta Team.


    Asher and Amara had never seen the hacker in person, but they knew that his name was "Spook," and he was responsible for tracking down Joseph''s PC, which ended up sealing the fate of all of Team Delta.


    The twins didn''t know the location where Spook was hiding, leaving Camille with no other choice but to bargain with the stranger who was sending her messages¡ªTrinity.


    Without wasting another second, the handler called the unknown number and put it on speakerphone for everyone to hear.


    On the other side of the line, a person with a shrill and high-pitched voice picked up, greeting everyone and introducing themselves as Trinity.


    "Why do they sound like that?" Dante pondered.


    "They are using a voice changer¡­" Zac replied.


    ["I suppose you are ready to talk to me¡­"] Trinity said.


    "We are. You probably know this already, but we seemed to be out of a cybersecurity team," the handler responded.


    ["I''m sorry about that. I really tried to tell them¡­"] said the hacker with a regretful tone.


    Camille asked Trinity what their objective was, as nobody would willingly enter into a gang war like that.


    ["I told you. I want the Blood Dragons dead,"]


    "Why?" The handler followed up her questions.


    ["Does that matter?"]


    "Yes. I don''t employ half-hearted people¡­" Camille commented.


    For the Winter handler, people''s ambitions were important when bringing them into her organization. Someone who joined a gang war because it was "fun" wasn''t someone she could trust.


    ["There''s a man who works for BD called Spook¡­"] Trinity said.


    The group turned their gazes at the twins, who mentioned that name mere minutes before the call with the hacker.


    ["We used to be a team of sorts¡­"] the hacker continued.


    A few years prior, Trinity and Spook hacked several of the government websites and leaked secret gossip from a group of movie stars to the public.


    The two hackers didn''t know each other in real life, but they got along together pretty well as they shared a common interest.


    One day, the pair received an anonymous request to hack a hospital''s database and remove a doctor''s name from the records.


    They didn''t get the person''s details, as they needed to accept the job so the client could divulge the information.


    Trinity was against it at first, saying that doctors hadn''t done anything wrong to them to warrant their actions. Understanding that the targeted person would most likely disappear, they declined the offer.


    However, Spook received a second offer from the unknown client, tripling the pay for the job.


    The following day, Trinity received notice that their father had disappeared, and the hacker instantly knew what had happened. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ["You see. My father was a doctor at that hospital¡­"] Trinity commented, shocking Camille.


    When the hacker started to look for their father''s whereabouts, they noticed their name had been taken off the database, and when they followed the trail, they discovered it was Spook who did it.


    From that point forward, Trinity didn''t speak with Spook again, tracking his movements in secret until they figured out who their employer was¡ªThe Blood Dragons.


    ["Is that full-hearted enough for you¡­?"] Trinity asked on the phone after telling their story.


    Camille stretched her neck laterally, picking up her cell phone and getting it closer to her face.


    "Sounds like you got yourself a deal, young lady¡­" Camille replied.


    ["W-What¡­!?"] Trinity asked, a hint of nervousness in their voice


    "You can hide your voice all you want, but don''t think it can fool me entirely¡­" the handler said with a smile.


    After some back-and-forth between Camille and Trinity, the hacker said that she would send her the decrypted information from Joseph''s PC.


    ["I should warn you¡­ These documents are quite disturbing,"] Trinity commented.


    ____________________


    Once the phone call was finished, Camille told the twins to stay at home with Dante and his group, much to the warlock''s annoyance.


    The handler made a phone call, and a group of individuals arrived a few minutes later with mattresses for the kids to sleep on.


    "You know harpions can sleep while standing, right?" Dante asked, completely unamused.


    "Just because they can doesn''t mean they want to!" Camille replied.


    ''I don''t think it makes a difference to them, but whatever¡­.'' The warlock thought.


    After preparing the upstairs study room for the twins, Camille wanted to speak with Dante, Megan, and Zac¡ªThe Omega Team.


    Asher and Amara had given them the location of the demon called Malgaroth, who was residing in the sewers of the city.


    There were different methods they could use to get inside, but the easiest and most common one was next to the Novis Canal.


    The twins explained that whenever they went to see Malgaroth, they used the big, gated entrance next to the river, so Camille knew they referred to the canal.


    Supposedly, it was the closest to the demon''s location, and now that they had been attacked, it was their turn to retaliate.


    Camille wanted to get the mission done as soon as possible, knowing that it was only a matter of time until more people died to the demon.


    "Let''s do it tomorrow night, then¡­" Dante said confidently.


    "We can''t. The Kappa Team is going to be busy for at least two more days¡­" the handler replied.


    The Kappa Team handled all clean-up and extractions whenever they went on a mission, and considering that they wanted to keep all supernatural occurrences a secret, they were needed for the operation.


    However, they were currently busy dealing with the clean-up of their targeted locations, as they needed to remove all evidence that could link back to anyone from the Jade Dragons.


    "On the bright side, we''ll have all the information from Joseph''s PC by then¡­" Camille continued.


    Later that night, Dante went to the backyard and summoned a Shadow Well, where he began to produce a couple of healthstones to give to his group.


    After the night that Zac and Maya fought Turner, he felt slightly guilty about not giving them more ways to heal and protect themselves.


    In his mind, it didn''t cost him anything to create the healthstones, and Dante felt grateful for the company of his friends, so he decided he would make them as often as possible to keep them safe.

 Chapter 78 - 78: The Novis Canal

    As the days passed by, Camille was able to return to her office with all of her personnel.


    The Kappa Team ensured to make it seem like the office that was blown up was Camille''s, and while they couldn''t fake her death, they could trick the Blood Dragons into thinking that the handler had gone into hiding.


    Unfortunately, innocent people were caught in the blast, which soured Camille''s mood as she didn''t expect her opponents to be so direct.


    When the handler spoke to the harpion twins a little more, they mentioned the presence of another demon who was working with Malgaroth, who went by the name of "Nihilor."


    However, none of the kids knew where they were hiding as they had never seen him, so Camille decided to worry about him later.


    By the time she received all the information from Trinity, she discovered that Nihilor was stationed in a small district on the outskirts of Novis.


    The handler asked Dante if he knew Nihilor, but the warlock denied it, saying it was the first time he heard that name. Nevertheless, the twins told them that he was a "corruption fiend" with whom the warlock was well acquainted.


    "Corruption fiends feed from¡­ Well, corruption," Dante explained.


    These demons were capable of darkening their targets'' minds, tempting them into committing morally decaying acts for the sake of wealth and power. The more corrupted a person, the stronger the fiend would become.


    Camille and the group decided to leave the matter of Nihilor after dealing with the demon in the sewers.


    "I''ll send the Alpha Team and the Gamma Team to scout that area¡­" Camille said.


    When nighttime arrived, the Omega Team trio was preparing to go to the sewers, wearing a new set of "raid clothing" that Camille had specially ordered for them.


    Megan''s full-body suit now had a few black titanium plates on her forearms, shins, and shoulders, which went all the way up to her neck to protect it.


    When Megan pressed a small button on the side of her arm, the titanium plate on her neck would expand and cover the bottom half of her face, which was a good feature to hide her identity.


    Zac was given a pair of fireproof pants and a jacket laced with chromium particles to make them somewhat durable against physical attacks, and the redhead was happy to accept them.


    Dante, on the other hand, received a hooded jacket that looked almost exactly like the one he had been wearing the whole time, with the only difference being the chromium particles added to it.


    He was still holding onto the mask that Camille had given him, but he didn''t think he would need it that night since they weren''t going to a public space where other people could see him.


    All of their clothing had a mini-camera and a microphone that sent the live feed directly to Camille and Paige, who was going to help the handler monitor the mission.


    The Kappa Team drove the trio to the Novis Canal, which was a large river that traveled through half of the city.


    On the end of the canal that flowed into the ocean, tourists and visitors gathered daily as it was a beautiful area.


    However, on the opposite end, the canal flowed underground into the city, making up over 50% of the Novis'' sewer system.


    When Dante and his group arrived at the area, they took a look down at the canal from the sidewalk before jumping up the rail and sliding down the cement walls that had a 45-degree angle.


    The sidewalk that followed next to the canal was wide enough for a few cars to fit, and as they leisurely walked along, they spotted the sewer''s entrance at the end of the trail.


    A large cement wall cut off the water from the canal to prevent it from mixing with the sewer water, and a tall gate with metallic bars blocked the entrance to people.


    "Look, there¡­" Zac pointed at the furthest side of the gate, where a blonde teenage girl seemed to be nervously standing alone.


    "What''s a girl doing here at this hour?" the redhead continued.


    "She seems nervous¡­ Maybe a little scared, too?" Dante commented as he examined the girl''s energy flow from afar.


    "Hey, you!" Megan shouted, alerting the girl and making her turn abruptly.


    "Ah, sorry. I''ll be leaving soon!" The girl replied with urgency.


    As the teenage girl hastily grabbed her backpack, she was about to run away before Megan caught her by the arm with an unmovable grip.


    "Hold on¡­ What were you doing here?" Megan asked, her cold voice and expression making the girl even more nervous.


    "Now, now¡­ It''s okay. She isn''t one of them," Dante interjected after inspecting the girl''s umbra, prompting Megan to let go of her arm.


    The teenager explained that she and two of her friends heard the story about the monster in the sewers while they were in school, and they had decided they were going to hunt the monster down.


    However, when the trio arrived, the girl was too scared to continue and stayed outside waiting for her friends.


    "It''s been thirty minutes, and they still haven''t come back. I tried calling them, but I don''t think they have service in there," the teenager said.


    Dante shared a severe look with his group, who understood that the kids were most likely going to be dead.


    "Stay here¡­" Dante muttered.


    "A-are you going inside?" the girl asked, slightly shocked since the trio didn''t look like workers.


    The warlock nodded affirmatively. "We''ll be back in a bit," he said without even looking at the girl.


    On the side of the gate that was next to the arching entrance, a few of the gate''s metal bars were missing, leaving an opening that was more than big enough for anyone to use.


    The sewers had a somewhat old structure, made in ancient times, which was slowly modernized as the world evolved.


    The stone walls had been reinforced with cement and steel beams, and their only light source was the small electric lamps that were hanging every few meters away from each other. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, the only one who was slightly bothered by the darkness was Zac, who had a great 20/20 vision but didn''t have the ability to see in the dark clearly like Megan and Dante.

 Chapter 79 - 79: Into the Sewers

    When Dante and his group got deeper into the sewers, the smell got too overwhelming for his companions, making them put on their masks since they had a "respirator" function.


    Megan''s bodysuit mask worked perfectly for it, while Zac used an ordinary gas mask after Camille told the redhead that his custom one was being made.


    The warlock wasn''t too bothered by the odor, saying that he had smelled even worse. Besides, scent was a crucial tool when hunting demons.


    "A tool? All I''m getting is distracted with this shitty smell!" Zac exclaimed.


    "Yeah. Right now, it smells like shit, but there is also a hint of blood and dead bodies¡­" Dante replied.


    While the foul smell slightly bothered Dante, he needed his senses to be able to predict more accurately what they would find ahead.


    As they walked a bit further, they noticed the brown water in the canal had a copious amount of blood mixed in it, making the trio sharpen their eyes and senses with caution.


    A few steps ahead, they found a mangled male torso floating in the water, missing the head and all of his extremities.


    The redhead gagged at the sight, and Megan squinted with disgust. Dante, however, maintained an unamused expression.


    "It''s only going to get even nastier from here on forward¡­ You guys might want to wait for me outside with the girl," the warlock commented. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m not going anywhere," Megan confidently replied.


    Zac considered turning around and going back, but when he turned to look at the dark path behind him, he thought it would be better to simply stay close to Dante.


    Gently slapping his face to bring himself back to the mission, the redhead gazed at the warlock and stated that he would keep going all the way to the end.


    ''This is my team now. My friends¡­ I can''t just run away,'' Zac thought.


    "Dante, about those kids¡­-" Megan muttered.


    "I wouldn''t keep my hopes up¡­" The warlock replied in a more somber tone.


    "Cami, are you seeing this?" The brunette asked the handler, who was watching everything from the cameras in the trio''s clothing.


    ["Yes. Please be careful¡­ There isn''t much that I can do for you once you go deeper inside,"] Camille said.


    As the group kept making their way along the sewer canal, Zac inquired how the warlock knew Malagaroth.


    After Asher and Amara said his name, Dante commented that he had met the demon when he was a kid, and the redhead was curious to know how that even happened.


    "It was a very long time ago¡­" The warlock said.


    Dante was a fourteen-year-old boy living with his master in a small wooden house in Shadowvale.


    At that point, Dante was training to become an official "Specialist Warlock," but his powers were nowhere near what they were now.


    Encountering wild demons in Shadowvale wasn''t uncommon, as many warlocks would lose control of their summons and prompt the others in the area to deal with it.


    However, when Dante and his master got to a small village in Shadowvale, they found all of the citizens were brutally murdered.


    The small town was wholly painted red with the blood of the warlocks, and the stench of death kept anyone¡ªeven animals, away.


    "And this thing was responsible?" Zac asked, attentively listening to the story as they kept walking.


    Dante nodded, saying that when they followed the umbra trail, they met the demon Malagaroth.


    "I couldn''t do much at the time since he was stronger than me, so my master ended up taking care of him¡­" the warlock continued.


    "Did your master send him back to hell?" Megan interjected with another question.


    "Well¡­ My master tried to destroy his soul, but we were quite unlucky," Dante replied.


    When Dante''s master cast a "black flame" spell to destroy Malagaroth''s soul, they noticed the demon was wearing a pendant that he had stolen from the warlocks he massacred.


    The "soul pendant" was an item that warlocks could synthesize in the Shadow Well, using a similar method to how Dante created the healthstones.


    This pendant would protect the wearer''s soul once before shattering, so even after being burned by the black flame, Malgaroth''s body returned to hell thanks to the necklace.


    "Honestly, this is all happening due to my master being so sloppy with his work¡­" Dante commented, slightly annoyed.


    Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a man''s desperate shout, prompting the trio to bolt in their direction.


    ''That voice sounded sort of young¡­'' Zac thought, wondering if it could be the teenagers.


    While running down the dark sewer hall next to the canal, they spotted one of the teenagers running towards them with a horrified expression.


    *Huff, puff* "RUN!" The teenager shouted as soon as he noticed the Omega Team.


    However, none of them stopped their advance, and all the teenager could see in that brief moment was how Dante rushed past him, generating a loud noise behind him.


    The teenager stopped in his tracks and turned around, seeing Dante holding a shadow demon by the throat against the wall.


    "Ugh, you guys are pissing me off¡­" Dante muttered to the demon.


    The creature was confused and horrified that a human could hold him down so easily, with the sheer pressure extruding from his body wholly paralyzing the demon.


    "W-what¡­ The monster¡­" the teenager muttered, his eyes widened in shock and his body shivering in fear.


    "Are you friends with that girl outside?" Megan asked the boy, placing her hand on his shoulder.


    "Y-yes, Lina! Is she okay!?" The boy asked with urgency.


    "She is fine. She is waiting outside¡­" the brunette replied in a softer tone.


    The boy was confused. He didn''t know who the trio were, thinking that they were just college students investigating the monster''s story like he was.


    However, seeing them acting so calmly in such a bizarre situation made him think otherwise.


    Megan pondered aloud if they should let the boy run outside, but Dante denied her plan.


    "We shouldn''t split up from here on out¡­" The warlock said, not receiving any reciprocation from his team.

 Chapter 80 - 80: Umbra Perception

    After Dante caught a shadow demon that was following the teenager, he squeezed his neck tighter and asked how many more demons were hiding ahead.


    The demon replied between breaths that there were two more, aside from his boss.


    "Why were you following this kid?" the warlock asked.


    "L-Lord Malgaroth¡­" the demon tried answering.


    "I see¡­ So you lure people in here for Malgaroth to eat," Dante continued. "Did you feed your blood to anyone?" he asked.


    "N-No¡­ I was not allowed," the creature replied, struggling to get a single breath.


    "And how many people have you lured to Malgaroth?" Dante asked, his tone intimidating and severe.


    The shadow demon bit his lips, barely uttering the word "sixty," prompting Dante to light up his hands with black fire that instantly scorched the demon''s neck before spreading throughout his body.


    The teenager was still perplexed, rubbing his eyes in disbelief after seeing Dante completely destroy the monster.


    "M-Mister!" the boy yelled, catching the warlock''s attention.


    "My friend, Tommy¡­ He was hit with something up ahead!" the teenager continued.


    The boy didn''t know anything about Dante, and he was still quite confused about his situation. However, he could tell that the warlock was strong enough to hold himself against the sewer monsters, so he subconsciously asked him for help.


    "Take us there," Dante replied, allowing the boy to step ahead of them as a guide.


    As they kept walking, Zac and Megan noticed a reddish, ethereal smoke coming from the deep end of the sewer, making them stop for a brief second.


    "What''s that?" Megan asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Hmm?" Dante turned to look at his companions with curiosity.


    "You see it too, right? That red smoke?" Zac asked the brunette.


    "W-what red smoke?" The teenager asked the pair, as he could barely see anything with the light from his phone.


    "Huh, you guys see it?" Dante pondered aloud.


    "Of course I do. It would be difficult NOT to see it¡­" said the brunette. "What is it?" she continued.


    "That''s umbra," Dante answered, placing a hand on his chin.


    Megan and Zac weren''t supposed to be able to perceive umbra, as it was something that only warlocks and certain mages could do.


    While they couldn''t sense the umbra flowing from an ordinary person, the evil energy that was coming from the deepest part of the sewer was so dense that they were able to see it.


    The pairs'' perception of the umbra wasn''t as clear as Dante''s, who mentioned he had spotted the "red smoke" ever since they entered the sewers. Still, he was impressed that they could sense it at all.


    "It''s definitely got something to do with the soulstones I gave you¡­" Dante commented.


    "Hmmm, honestly, this might make it harder for you guys," he continued.


    The warlock explained that, sometimes, ignorance was bliss. Now that the pair would be able to tell the power level of their opponent, he believed that it would make it harder for them to act.


    On the other hand, if they hadn''t been able to perceive the demon''s umbra, then they would have encountered the monster with more confidence.


    "Don''t let it bother you. I''m here¡­" said Dante, resuming their jog, guided by the teenager.


    After a few more meters, the umbra flowing inside the sewer halls got even denser, giving Megan and Zac an eerie feeling that made it harder for them to advance.


    ''It feels cold. It''s like my mind is yelling "danger!" at me from all directions¡­'' Zac thought.


    ''So, this is what he meant by saying that ignorance is bliss. If I couldn''t see this umbra, it would be easier to keep walking¡­'' the redhead continued.


    At one point, they reached an area where the canal was shallow, divided by a rusty metal gate that was half destroyed.


    "Here!" the boy shouted. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Dante went through the broken gate, he spotted another teenager with red hair like Zac, impaled to the wall by an obsidian spike that went through the right side of his chest.


    "Tommy!" the boy shouted, but his friend didn''t react.


    The teenager was unconscious, but Dante could see that his heart was still beating.


    "He lost a lot of blood¡­" Dante muttered, flicking his finger against the obsidian spike and shattering it into dust, catching Tommy''s body before it hit the ground.


    Zac quickly approached them and took out a healthstone from his pocket, putting it in Tommy''s hand and squeezing it, generating the healing green mist that slowly covered the teenager''s body.


    A few seconds later, the boy opened his eyes slightly, seeing the face of his friend and Zac beside him.


    "Jake¡­?" The boy whispered, instantly falling asleep right after.


    "So, your name is Jake?" Dante asked the kid.


    "Uh, yes! Sorry, I didn''t introduce myself!" He urgently replied.


    "Don''t worry about it¡­" The warlock said in a soft tone.


    Turning his attention to the microphone with Camille, he told the handler that he would be borrowing Cerberus for a little bit.


    The puppy was peacefully sleeping on his bed before getting caught and teleported away to Dante''s location via a summoning spell, appearing inside the sewers looking a bit dazed.


    "Sorry, buddy. I need your help for a moment," Dante apologized to the dog, giving him a few pats on the head.


    The puppy adorably shook his head and body, letting out a hearty bark that symbolized his eagerness to help.


    "Please escort these kids outside. I''m counting on you," said Dante.


    "Wh-what?" Jake muttered, shocked that a cute puppy had suddenly appeared in there.


    "Follow the dog. I promise he will keep you two safe," the warlock replied.


    ''I-is this puppy really going to do that!?'' Jake thought, gazing at Cerberus, who waited for the teenager to start walking.


    As Jake carried his unconscious friend on his back, he took one last look at the trio who helped him and followed Cerberus to the exit.


    "Now then, we are getting close¡­ How are you two holding up?" Dante asked his companions.


    "Well¡­ I''m holding, that''s for sure!" Zac replied, a small sweat drop coming down his temple.


    Megan crossed her arms with a displeased look in her eyes. "It truly feels nasty in here," she muttered.


    With the pair being able to sense the dense umbra coming from Malgaroth, their bodies kept reacting with caution and disgust the deeper they walked.

 Chapter 81 - 81: A Low-Ranked Fiend

    As the trio kept advancing inside the sewers, the cloud of umbra got denser, and the disgusting feeling that Megan and Zac sensed was more profound.


    At one point, the stone ground was wholly covered in a strange, pitch-black flesh that shrouded the entirety of the structure.


    "Eww, what the hell is this!?" Zac asked aloud, finding the fleshy environment absolutely nasty.


    "It''s Malgaroth''s ichor¡­" Dante replied.


    "What''s that?" Megan pondered.


    The warlock explained that "ichor" could be considered to be Malgaroth''s blood.


    The demon fed himself from the organs of people, and he would use their blood to create a substance that slowly spread and infected his territory.


    "And what does it do?" The brunette asked.


    "Once we step on that flesh, he''ll be able to determine how strong and how far we are from him," the warlock said. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Wouldn''t that be a problem if he senses you? What if he runs away?" The redhead interjected.


    "He won''t notice me, don''t worry about that¡­" Dante vaguely responded.


    *squish, squish* The sound of their footsteps on the black flesh gave Zac shivers of disgust. "Ugh, man¡­" he muttered.


    "Sorry, Camille. I know the shoes are new, but we might have to throw them away after this¡ªActually, burn them instead," Zac said into his mic.


    When they had traveled a few more meters, the group noticed the water from the canal descended to a lower trail, leaving the trio in a more expansive and dry area, entirely corrupted by Malgaroth''s ichor.


    On the walls, severed body parts were stuck and arranged to the black flesh in a perturbingly artistic way, depicting bloodied pentagrams and demonic stars.


    Zac gagged at the sight of the different arms and legs, holding his stomach so he wouldn''t throw up. Meanwhile, Megan widened her eyes and hesitated to move for a brief moment.


    "I told you guys. It''s only going to get nastier from here until we get to him¡­" said Dante, seemingly unbothered by the sight.


    A few more meters ahead, spikes extruded from the flesh on the ground, with the severed heads of people at their tips arranged in a line along the sewer walls.


    Megan noticed that all of them had been deformed beyond recognition. None of the heads had eyes, and the black ichor had corrupted them, giving them an even more disturbing appearance.


    At the end of the line of severed heads, the trail split into three, with the path in the center leading to what seemed like an open space.


    However, Dante sensed something coming from the left hallway and took a quick detour.


    *Crack* The group heard the sound of bones breaking around the dark corner ahead of them, making them increase their pace.


    Dante got to the corner first and turned, spotting a creature with red skin crouching on the side, tearing apart the corpse of a woman as the monster chewed on a couple of fingers.


    Zac and Megan arrived just a few seconds later, the sight instantly making the redhead gag again with disgust.


    "A fiend¡­" Dante muttered, catching the attention of the demon.


    As the red-skinned creature stood up from the ground with a menacing aura around him, his horns lit up in flames.


    He was as tall as Dante, although his horns made him look slightly taller. His bodybuild was quite burly and defined, and his eyes glowed with an eerie yellow hue.


    "What''s this? Another group of explorers?" The fiend asked with a deep tone of voice.


    "See, this guy is a fiend, but he is actually a low-ranking fiend¡­" Dante said to his companions, wholly ignoring the monster before him.


    "A high-ranked fiend usually has wings, and they have about double or triple the power from a low-ranked," the warlock casually continued.


    Zac and Megan listened to his words, but they couldn''t ignore the tall demon in front of them, who was visibly getting annoyed at Dante''s treatment.


    ''Why are these people not running away?'' The demon thought.


    Not giving Dante a chance to finish his explanation, the fiend extended his arm to grab Dante by his jacket. Nevertheless, the warlock slapped his hand away with an indignant expression on his face.


    "Get your dirty claw away from me¡­" The warlock muttered.


    A simple sentence was all it took for the fiend to notice the amount of overwhelming umbra flowing from Dante.


    "Y-you¡­ Where did all that umbra come from!?" The fiend shouted. He didn''t know who Dante was, but he could tell that he was much stronger than him.


    "What do you mean? This umbra is all over the place," Dante vaguely replied, slowly approaching the demon, who couldn''t move an inch as his aura had him frozen in place.


    "You''ve made quite a mess here¡­" said Dante, placing a hand on the demon''s shoulder in a seemingly gentle manner. However, his touch made the fiend even more nervous.


    "How many?" The warlock asked.


    "Th-thirty-five¡­" the fiend replied.


    The red-skinned demon alone had eaten 35 people in total, without counting any of the victims that were given to Malgaroth.


    Most of the fiend''s victims were youngsters who went to the sewers after hearing the story of the monster living there, wanting to record it and put it online.


    Dante then asked who summoned the demon there, and he replied by saying that "King Astaroth" had brought him there himself.


    "King¡­?" *Pffft* "Ahahaha!" The warlock let out a sarcastic laugh.


    "Alright, I''m starting to see the big picture here¡­ Who would have guessed that a coward like Astaroth would be called king," Dante continued.


    As the warlock turned around to look at his companions, he signaled them to return to the intersection so they could keep moving towards Malgaroth, and the fiend looked a bit relieved for a second.


    The demon thought he would be spared after answering the warlock''s questions. Nonetheless, as the trio walked away, Dante looked back for a moment and shot a thin, black fire laser from the tip of his finger that hit the fiend on the head, causing his entire body to burst into flames.

 Chapter 82 - 82: Malgaroth, The Braineater

    After destroying the fiend''s soul, the trio returned to the intersection and switched paths to the center one, leading to an open area.


    When the hallway opened up for them, they found themselves in a large room with a circular platform in the center, surrounded by a deep fall that led to the sewer canal.


    Hundreds of pipes met in this room, flowing the sewer water into the underground canal that seemed to go around the vicinity.


    Malgaroth''s ichor corrupted the entire area. Its black flesh covering the walls and floor, palpitating like a heart.


    "Woah, I didn''t know our sewer system was this complex¡­" Zac muttered, slightly surprised at the size of the place.


    Dante agreed with his friend, saying that it was indeed impressive while scanning his surroundings.


    As the trio walked a little more towards the metal bridge that led to the platform in the center, they felt an overwhelming sense of danger as the umbra got denser.


    On the platform, Malgaroth''s ichor started to move and twirl, making Zac cringe at the disgusting sounds it made, materializing a tall and fat monster atop the grates on the floor.


    "That must be him¡­" Zac muttered, slightly nervous.


    When the monster appeared, Zac and Megan could barely keep themselves standing as they found the umbra flowing inside the room to be quite unbearable.


    The creature that appeared was at least 8 feet tall, with dark gray skin and green glowy eyes. His belly was the biggest part of his body, held by his four legs that gave the monster an uncanny and disturbing appearance.


    "Humans¡­ Your curiosity has led you to me," Malgaroth said in a deep tone that was hard to comprehend.


    "It wasn''t curiosity¡ªmore like annoyance¡­" Dante replied, surprising the demon as no other human had been able to overcome their fear of speaking to him.


    As the monster gazed at the warlock, his eyes widened slightly. "I''ve seen you¡­" he muttered.


    "Yeah?" Dante sarcastically asked.


    "You¡­ You are that piece of shit''s student¡ªXander!" Malgaroth shouted, his voice making the structure tremble.


    ''Xander?'' Megan and Zac thought in unison.


    The demon took a deep breath to calm himself, staring at the warlock while he inserted his arm into his own belly, pulling out a curved blade from his inside, covered in blood and ichor.


    "I see¡­ I didn''t recognize you at first since you are weaker now, even when your eyes changed," said Malgaroth.


    ''His eyes changed?'' Megan pondered.


    "But this is perfect. Who would have thought that I could get my revenge on Xander in this world!" the demon continued.


    The trio stood across the metal bridge that led to the platform where Malgaroth was standing, and as the demon pointed his sword at the group, they felt an ominous amount of umbra gathering around his blade.


    "Dante¡­?" Megan asked, expecting the warlock to do something about it.


    "Don''t move. We''ll be fine," Dante calmly replied with his hands in his pockets.


    At that moment, the umbra that gathered on his sword materialized into a physical substance, resembling trails of blood floating all around it that flew straight at the trio.


    Nonetheless, the projectiles dissipated into thin air before reaching their targets, surprising the demon and Dante''s companions.


    "What¡­?" Malgaroth pondered aloud, not knowing why his spell had suddenly deactivated.


    "Is that truly all the umbra you can control?" Dante loudly asked with a smirk on his face.


    Zac and Megan turned to look at the warlock, noticing that the umbra that was flowing from his body was at least ten times the size of the one flowing from Malgaroth mere seconds before.


    "Dante¡­ wh-what is that?" Zac asked, his body trembling from the energy that the warlock produced.


    In his mind, he knew that Dante wouldn''t hurt him or Megan, but his body reacted intuitively to the ominous aura that oozed with ferocity. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The warlock used that moment to teach his companions a lesson, reminding them of the time he explained that umbra was the energy that only demons and warlocks could control.


    "Now, what would happen if I just simply controlled all the umbra here?" Dante asked.


    "You leave the demon powerless?" Megan replied with uncertainty.


    "They are not entirely powerless, but most of their spells won''t really work," he continued his explanation.


    "That''s impossible!" Malgaroth angrily shouted, pointing his blade back at the group and trying again. Still, he had the same result as his projectiles dissipated.


    ''Wait¡­ So, Dante just ''stole'' all of the umbra present in this place!?'' the redhead wondered.


    "Man, I thought after all this time you were going to be a bit stronger. You ate all those people for what?" Dante asked in a mocking tone.


    The demon shouted in frustration, and the warlock turned to look at his friends for a moment. "By the way, there''s a weak one behind us¡­" he said.


    Megan and Zac quickly turned around and didn''t see anything, but they didn''t doubt Dante''s words and prepared their weapons.


    As the duo took a few steps back to look for the missing demon, Dante began slowly walking across the metal bridge toward Malgaroth.


    Knowing that his spells wouldn''t have an effect on the warlock, Malgaroth used his sword to break the bridge, but Dante simply jumped and got atop the platform without much effort.


    Standing before the massive monster, Dante looked up at him unamused, while the demon seemed somewhat scared, clenching his sword tightly.


    "I see now¡­ You were suppressing your umbra," the demon said.


    Dante nodded. "Mhmm, it wasn''t something I could when I was fourteen¡ªI guess you fell for it," he said.


    "No matter. You may be strong, but you are nowhere near Xander¡­ Even if you kill me, the new king will just bring me back," Malgaroth continued.


    "New king? Is that Astaroth?" the warlock inquired, remembering he had heard the fiend mentioning it.


    "That''s right. One of Satan''s right-hand men has taken the lead¡­ You may be Xander''s student, but you have no chance," the demon explained.


    *Sigh* "It was funny the first time I heard it, but now it''s just sad¡­" Dante replied, disappointed.


    "Hmm?" Malgaroth hummed with confusion.


    "Let me catch you up to date, dumbass.¡ªBlack Flame," Dante said, showing his palm lighting up with black fire.

 Chapter 83 - 83: Xander’s Teachings

    When Dante showed Malgaroth a burning black flame hovering gently atop his palm, the demon prepared himself by clenching his sword tightly.


    "You had that relic on you back then, right?" Dante calmly asked, receiving no answer from his opponent.


    Before going on the offensive, the warlock reminisced about the time he first met Malgaroth.


    A young fourteen-year-old Dante was walking along a trail that traveled through an expansive dead field. Beside him, a tall man wearing a black gilded robe guided the warlock to their destination.


    "Xander, why are we going to the Serpent Village?" Dante asked.


    "How many times do I gotta say this? Call me ''Teacher'' or ''Master,''" The man corrected him.


    "And, we are hunting a demon, obviously¡­" Xander continued.


    Dante''s teacher had dark purple hair and crimson eyes, which were common features for warlocks to have. However, the man was soft-spoken, and his gentle demeanor was utterly different from that of the others living in Shadowvale.


    When the pair arrived at the village, they found everyone had been massacred, and their body parts were nailed to the houses'' walls in strange patterns.


    Before stepping into Malgaroth''s ichor, which covered the entire village, Xander turned to Dante and showed him how to trick the demon.


    "Do you see my umbra?" The man asked.


    "Mhmm¡­" Dante hummed affirmatively.


    From the warlock''s eyes, he could see a dense and powerful aura flowing from his teacher''s body, slowly getting weaker and smaller until it was almost entirely gone.


    "You can hide your umbra!?" Dante exclaimed in surprise.


    "It''s not easy, but if you ever want to leave this place, it''s a skill you are going to have to master¡­" Xander replied.


    As the two of them walked along the squishy, black flesh covering the ground, they arrived at the largest building in the village, where most of the ichor was gathered.


    Inside, they found Malgaroth snacking on the bones of the deceased, displeased that he had been interrupted by two "weak" warlocks.


    Nonetheless, as soon as Xander released all of his pent-up umbra, the demon instantly prepared to fight, realizing that the man was hiding his strength all along.


    "You bastard¡­ You tricked me!" Malgaroth exclaimed.


    After a quick exchange where Xander easily deflected the demon''s blade with his bare hands, he used the "Black Flame" spell to end his life.


    However, right as Malgaroth''s body turned to dust, they spotted a small cubic stone falling on the ground and disintegrating along with the monster.


    "Oh, I didn''t see he had one of these¡­" Xander commented, scratching the back of his head with a bit of embarrassment.


    "What is that?" Dante asked, looking at the black ichor dispersing.


    "It''s a ''soul shield.'' He must have stolen it from one of these warlocks he killed¡­" Xander replied.


    Back in the present, Dante smirked as Malgaroth stood before him, initiating the fight with an overhead attack of his blade.


    The warlock stepped sideways to avoid it and kicked the sword to the side, shortening the distance between him and the demon and punching him in his massive gut.


    Malgaroth was pushed back a few meters from the blow, making the demon hurl a small amount of ichor from his mouth.


    Dante bolted towards the demon again, but Malgaroth stabbed his sword against the black flesh on the ground, making the ichor covering the platform move as if it had come to life.


    Sharp spikes started to extrude from the ichor beside Dante, trying to stab him to stop his movements. Still, Dante dodged the black flesh stakes and used his burning hand to destroy the ones he couldn''t avoid.


    At one point, Dante had several spikes that were about to strike him as Malgaroth simultaneously attacked with his curved blade.


    Dante smirked, releasing a small nova of black fire that burned away all of the ichor around him, followed by a quick step forward that landed him right in front of Malgaroth''s belly. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let me get that relic¡­" the warlock muttered, using his hand covered in black flame to strike the demon through, inserting his hand into his stomach.


    Malgaroth shouted in pain, shaking the sewers'' structure. Meanwhile, Dante had a wicked smile on his face, gritted his teeth, and forcefully pulled his arm out of the demon''s belly, holding a stone cube in his hand.


    The demon grunted in pain as his darkened blood spilled out of his guts, gushing out and falling through the grates on the ground.


    "So, you had another one of these, huh?" Dante muttered, looking at the cube he was holding, his arm wholly covered by Malgaroth''s ichor.


    "You bastard¡­ Xander!" Malgaroth shouted.


    "Even now¡­ You only have eyes for my teacher," said the warlock.


    "Open your eyes¡­ There is someone you should fear much more right in front of you," he continued, his voice echoing inside the demon''s head.


    At that moment, Malgaroth gazed at Dante, slowly detailing his figure. His crimson eyes stared at him like daggers, and his overwhelming presence made him falter.


    "You¡­ you are Hellslayer!" The demon exclaimed, holding the hole in his stomach that kept oozing ichor out and widening his eyes.


    "You noticed a bit late¡ªI can''t blame you, though. You weren''t there at the time¡­" Dante replied, making a finger gun gesture with the black fire at the tip of his finger.


    "Goddammit¡­!" Malgaroth yelled, his voice going silent as the black flame projectile shot out of Dante''s finger, going through his head.


    "Xander¡­" the demon whispered as his body and the ichor covering the whole area turned into dust.


    "Still saying my teacher''s name, huh?" Dante muttered with a displeased expression, letting out a tired sigh.


    When the warlock turned around, he noticed that his friends had gone back into the sewer hallway, sensing their umbra going wild.


    ''They must be fighting¡­'' he thought.


    Stretching his neck to the sides, Dante took a big leap from the platform back to the surrounding area as Malgaroth had destroyed the metal bridge.


    ''They''ll be fine, but I should probably go to execute the demon¡­'' Dante pondered, slowly walking back to his friends'' location.

 Chapter 84 - 84: Team Omega’s Growth

    After Dante told Megan and Zac that another demon was lurking behind them, the pair turned around and decided to hunt it down while Dante took care of their boss.


    The pair noticed that their bodies felt a bit relieved when they got further away from Malgaroth, but they could still sense danger nearby.


    When they returned to the hallway covered in ichor, they scanned their surroundings, ignoring the severed body parts stuck to the walls.


    Suddenly, Zac felt a presence right next to him, prompting his body to move on its own and placing his chrome bat horizontally in front of him.


    There was nothing next to the redhead, but just as he defended himself, a claw strike landed right on his weapon, producing a momentary shower of sparks.


    "What the-!?" Zac exclaimed, noticing the shadow demon that had appeared beside him.


    Waving his bat upwards, Zac pushed the demon away from him, allowing Megan to pull out her gun and shoot at the monster, hitting him on the ribcage before hiding back in the shadows.


    "Th-that''s a shadow demon¡­ I think," Zac muttered, scanning his surroundings to look for the monster.


    With her senses sharpened, Megan gazed to the side and fired a random bullet at the wall, confusing the redhead. Just as her bullet made contact, the demon materialized from the shadow behind her.


    "Megan!" Zac exclaimed.


    However, the woman was prepared for the attack. She moved her head to the side to avoid the demon''s claws and spun around, giving him a roundhouse kick that flung him against the wall.


    As the creature quickly composed himself and grabbed his head in both disbelief and pain, Zac rushed at the monster with his bat in hand, his expression showing a hint of nerves while gritting his teeth.


    The shadow demon moved back with urgency and avoided Zac''s overhead attack, surprised that a couple of humans were giving him a tough time.


    Nonetheless, the redhead''s advance didn''t stop there, following it with a horizontal attack on the demon''s face that broke one of his horns and fangs.


    When the demon stood up, his eyes were glowing red from anger, screeching loudly and making the pair cover their ears.


    With a quick motion, the demon warped inside the shadows and appeared beside Megan not even a second later, using his claws to stab her.


    *Shunk!* The brunette raised her forearm and received the demon''s claws with it, stabbing through her arm and making her clench her fists to endure the pain. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Heh¡­" the shadow demon cackled, believing that he had caught the woman.


    Thankfully, Megan''s new raid suit was quite durable. Even though it couldn''t fully protect against the sharp claws, it was good enough to reduce the amount of damage she took from it.


    When the demon realized that he couldn''t remove his claws from her arm, he gazed back at Megan, who used her other hand to aim at the demon''s head with her gun at point-blank.


    "That hurt¡­" she muttered, her eyes cold and uncaring.


    *Bang!* A single bullet came out of her pistol, leaving a gaping hole in the demon''s head before collapsing on the ground.


    As the corpse began to turn into dust, the pair noticed that Malgaroth''s ichor covering the whole area was also fading away, making the human body parts that were stuck to it fall on the sewer grounds.


    *Euch* Zac gagged, the sight of the severed body parts flopping on the ground giving him a nasty and uncomfortable feeling.


    Not even a minute later, Dante arrived at their location, where Zac was holding himself against a wall while trying not to puke.


    "Oh, you guys killed it?" the warlock casually asked.


    "I shot him in the head¡­ That means he is still alive, right?" Megan replied with a slightly tired tone.


    "Kind of. ¡ªYou sent him back to hell¡­" he said.


    "Will that be a problem later?" the brunette continued.


    "I doubt it¡­ What''s he going to do? He is just a mere shadow demon anyway," Dante replied.


    The warlock had the intention of destroying the demon''s soul, but he felt better knowing that his two friends managed to hold themselves against the creature and execute him before he got there.


    ''They may be growing way faster than I expected¡­'' Dante thought.


    When the trio started to walk back to the exit, Camille spoke to them on their earpieces and said that the Kappa Team was already entering the sewers to clean up all the bodies.


    ''Oh, fuck that job¡­'' Zac thought, feeling relieved that he was placed in the Omega Team instead.


    Outside, the three teenagers, accompanied by Cerberus, who was happily sitting on the girl''s lap, were still waiting for Dante and his group to exit the sewers.


    The redhead boy, who went by the name of Tommy, was still unconscious next to his friends, but all of his wounds had been healed.


    "Hmmm¡­" the brown-haired kid hummed as he impatiently tapped his foot on the ground.


    "They''ll come out from this side, right?" he asked the girl.


    "P-probably¡­ I''m not sure," she replied.


    *Woof!* Cerberus happily barked, wagging his tail from side to side.


    The girl chuckled at the puppy''s cuteness. "I think he is trying to tell us that they are okay¡­" she muttered, caressing Cerberu''s back.


    Suddenly, the dog abruptly stood up from the girl''s lap and jumped down on the ground, approaching the sewer''s gates with an adorable skip.


    *Woof!* Cerberus barked again.


    "Hey, buddy!" Dante''s voice could be heard coming from the other side of the gate, alerting the teenagers.


    As the trio got out, the puppy jumped on Dante''s arms and licked his cheek, prompting him to try moving his blood-soaked arm away from him.


    "Wait, Cerberus¡ªI''m all dirty!" the warlock exclaimed, but the dog ignored his complaints.


    The teenagers chuckled at the scene, feeling relieved and happy about seeing their saviors safe and sound.


    "D-did you guys see the monster?" The girl asked.


    "We did¡­ He won''t be killing anyone else," Dante confidently replied.


    *Sigh* "I see¡­" the teenager muttered, feeling extremely glad¡ªan emotion that didn''t go unnoticed by Dante.

 Chapter 85 - 85: Camille’s Father

    After the group guided the teenagers out of the canal, Zac carried the unconscious boy on his back until they got to a street, where an SUV sent by Camille was waiting to pick them up.


    Before boarding, Lina and Jake bowed in front of the trio, thanking them from the bottom of their hearts for saving them.


    It wasn''t customary for people in Novaria to bow when saying "please" or "thanks," as they only did that when they felt an extreme amount of gratitude toward others. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dante and his companions felt a bit embarrassed about the gesture, but they were still glad that the three of them managed to get away safely.


    Camille was aware of the teenagers'' ordeal and wanted to speak to them personally. However, it was already too late at night for a group of high-school kids to be wandering around, so she decided to call them while they were in the car.


    When the teenagers hopped in the car with their unconscious friend, they waved goodbye at the trio while it drove away.


    "Th-thank you for picking us up!" Lina said aloud for the driver to hear.


    The silent driver didn''t reply back. Instead, he just gave the girl a thumbs-up while keeping his gaze on the road.


    Suddenly, a phone rang inside the car, and when the driver picked up, the teenagers were able to hear Camille''s voice on the speakers.


    Dante and his group stayed on the street for a few more minutes after the kids left, waiting for a second SUV to pick them up when the warlock felt a set of eyes staring him down.


    "Hmm?" Dante hummed, turning his gaze to the top of a skyscraper.


    "What''s up?" Zac asked his friend, getting surprised when he saw him casting a spell.


    "Wings of the Fallen¡­" Dante muttered, producing a set of black, feathered wings to come out of his back.


    "Y-You can fly!?" Zac exclaimed with widened eyes, as this was the first time he had witnessed that spell.


    Megan, on the other hand, saw it once when the warlock captured the harpion twins, so the woman wasn''t as surprised.


    When Dante took to the skies, he quickly made his way to the top of the skyscraper, where he felt the ominous presence. Nevertheless, it disappeared before he arrived.


    The warlock used his microphone to ask Camille if the twins were home, and the handler confirmed it, so Dante knew that someone else had been watching them.


    ____________________


    Later that night, the trio returned to Camille''s office to discuss the events, and the warlock instantly noticed the woman''s foul mood from the umbra flowing out of her body.


    "Great job, guys. You even managed to save those kids¡­ I''m glad," the handler said.


    "Everything alright?" Megan asked after listening to her somber tone.


    *Sigh* "We got the rest of the information from Joseph''s PC¡­" Camille replied, asking the trio to take a seat.


    "Megan already knows this story, but it''s time that you guys listened to it since it might be relevant later¡­" the handler continued.


    "Do you guys know why the Jade Dragons lost against the Blood Dragons?" she asked, her question directed to Dante and Zac, prompting the men to shake their heads in denial.


    "All I know is that they suddenly attacked all of their bases at the same time¡­" Zac said.


    Camille explained that the Winter family had been allied with the Jade Dragons for four generations, and her father, Ethan Winter, used to be good friends with Ganon Dunlap and Leonardo Ragucci, Megan and Sophia''s dads.


    Their friendly relationship kept both families afloat for a long time, and their presence in Novis genuinely improved the citizens'' quality of life.


    By the time Camille was 20 years old, she had learned everything she needed to become the next handler of the family and started helping her father as his right-hand woman.


    When working with her father, she realized that Ethan was slowly changing his attitude towards everyone around him.


    Ethan, who used to be friendly and soft-spoken, had suddenly become a rude and violent man, cutting businesses from the Jade Dragons without an explanation.


    Wanting to protect her little sister from her father''s violent snaps, Camille sent her to study abroad in secret¡ªsomething that Ethan didn''t even notice.


    "I didn''t know you had a sister¡­" Dante commented, attentively listening to the woman.


    "I do, but I want to keep her as far away as possible from all of this," Cami replied.


    One day, Camille was suspicious of her father''s next move and decided to spy on him while he was on a phone call, where she heard the man divulging all the information that had to do with the Jade Dragons.


    Camille didn''t know what was happening to her dad, but she couldn''t keep waiting and allowing him to keep destroying their family.


    Without her father''s knowing, she talked to the employees and servants she knew would stay on her side if she had to separate from her father, laying out a plan for them to follow.


    On the day of the attack, Camille entered her father''s office like nothing, raising zero suspicions towards her.


    Ethan was chuckling to himself on his desk, which made Camille feel a bit repulsive at her father''s attitude.


    "Camille, we''ll be even more powerful after today!" Ethan exclaimed, receiving no answer from the woman.


    "I see¡­" she replied, stacking a few papers to make it seem like she was diligently working.


    "Once the Blood Dragons take over, our businesses will only keep growing..." *click¡­* the man continued, stopping when he heard a gun unlock behind him.


    "What''s this?" Ethan asked, not turning his face around to look at his daughter.


    Camille pressed the cold steel barrel against the back of his head, her expression showing anger as tears poured out of her eyes.


    "Why are you doing this, Dad!?" she asked with frustration.


    "For pow-... powe¡­-" Ethan tried speaking, but his voice wasn''t finishing the sentence.


    "I¡­ Don''t¡­ know," the man said as he struggled to get the words out of his mouth.


    Camille widened her eyes, confused, angry, and sad, not knowing what was happening in her father''s mind.


    As she momentarily hesitated, Ethan turned around and grabbed the pistol''s muzzle, pointing it at his forehead.


    His hands were trembling, with one half of him wanting to fight off his daughter while the other hand maintained the pistol aimed at himself.


    "Dear¡­ shoot," Ethan whispered, still struggling to get a few words out.


    Camille closed her eyes after gazing at her father''s face one last time, her tears trailing down her cheeks like a waterfall, pulling the trigger and ending the man''s reign for the time being.

 Chapter 86 - 86: Corruption Fiend

    Right after Camille shot her father in the head, she quickly took command of all the communication systems and talked to Leonardo Ragucci, telling him of everything that had happened.


    A few minutes later, Leonardo passed the call to Megan before sacrificing himself to halt the monster from catching her, and the handler gave her instructions on how to escape with Sophia.


    Moreover, Camille knew that there were some servants working for the Winter family who shared the same strange ideals that Ethan had been following, so she ordered the servants on her side to eliminate them.


    "All this time, I thought that my dad had gone crazy¡­" said Camille as she finished telling the story to the Omega Team.


    "Or, maybe that''s what I wanted to believe," she continued, grabbing a document from her desk and passing it to the trio.


    As the three of them read the contents, their eyes widened in shock as it revealed the cause of her father''s change.


    "Nihilor¡­" Dante muttered.


    The group had heard the name from the harpion twins, who mentioned that Nihilor was working with Malgaroth. However, the kids hadn''t interacted with him.


    They knew that Nihilor was a corruption fiend with the ability to change a person''s state of mind to make them commit horrible crimes and immoral acts.


    From the document, the group connected the dots and realized that the demon had controlled Ethan Winter in order to have him betray the Jade Dragons.


    When Camille reminisced about her father''s last moments, she remembered that the man had seemingly broken out of the demon''s control for a brief second, making her grit her teeth with anger.


    "If I had known he was being controlled, I would have tried something else¡­" the handler muttered in a somber tone that no one in the group was used to hearing from her.


    Dante kept a straight face when detailing the umbra flowing from Camille¡ªutterly different from how it usually looked.


    ''Sadness, anger, frustration¡­ Yeah, none of those fit Camille,'' the warlock thought, getting quite furious himself.


    Camille took a deep breath to calm herself, but when the warlock mentioned that he felt someone watching them leave the sewers, the woman''s stress returned.


    "Did they follow you?" the handler asked.


    "No. They left as soon as I went to check¡­" replied Dante.


    Camille and the warlock placed a hand on their chin, thinking for a few seconds in silence as they both widened their eyes simultaneously and looked at each other.


    "The kids!" they exclaimed in unison.


    ____________________


    The following day, the Omega Team got picked up early in the morning from their home, taking them to another district where the school was located.


    Unfortunately for Zac, he had to skip his lessons that day, but the redhead wasn''t feeling nervous about it since he was confident he could pass without going.


    When the SUV left the trio a few streets away from the school, they walked for a bit while scanning their surroundings, looking for anything that looked suspicious. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "This place is more¡­ Umm, peaceful?" Dante commented.


    "Well, we are pretty far from the bustling of the city. Residential areas always feel more calm¡­" Zac said.


    As they made their way through a narrow street with houses on both sides, Dante noticed Megan''s umbra seemed slightly different.


    "Is something bothering you, Megan?" the warlock asked.


    "I was just thinking about what we spoke with Cami yesterday¡­" she coldly said.


    "Yeah, it was hard to sleep after that," Zac commented.


    Megan stopped walking, prompting the two guys to halt along with her. "Just think about it for a second¡­" she said with a serious voice.


    "She killed a person she loved, thinking that she was doing the right thing, only to be told that it was some demon who controlled him all this time¡­" The brunette continued, her voice hinting at a bit of frustration.


    "And worst of all, if she hadn''t done that, Sophia and I would have died eight years ago with the rest of the Jade Dragons¡­"


    Megan''s words were striking Dante and Zac like daggers to their chests, making them realize that they hadn''t tried to put themselves in the handler''s shoes.


    Dante was already thinking about destroying Nihilor''s soul, but he was now considering torturing the demon before ending his life.


    "I''m sorry¡­ I guess I just see Camille being so strong and confident all the time that I couldn''t put myself in her position," Zac said in a regretful tone.


    After the group got their emotions in check, they kept walking along the residential street until they could see the high school building a few blocks ahead.


    When they reached the open gates, the group noticed that the classes had started, as no students were walking around.


    "Alright, then. Let''s check this place out¡­" Dante said, but just as he was about to leisurely enter the school, Zac placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.


    "What are you doing?" the redhead asked.


    "Exploring the school? Looking for demons?" Dante replied with another question.


    "Dude, you can''t just go into a school if you have no business there. People are going to think you are a creep or something!" Zac explained.


    "Huh, why? I''m just looking around¡­" the warlock said, genuinely confused.


    "Yeah, man. I know that, but for the people who don''t know you¡ªyou are just a random, grown-ass man walking around a building full of minors¡­ You see what I mean?" Zac continued his explanation.


    "If someone asked you what you were doing in there, what would you say?" the redhead asked.


    "Umm¡­ Looking around?" Dante replied.


    Zac facepalmed himself in exasperation, remembering that Dante was almost incapable of lying.


    "Look, let''s just wait here for a moment. Besides, you can sense if anything is in there, right?" the redhead suggested.


    "Probably. I could call Krom to make sure," the warlock said.


    After the trio walked behind an alley near the school, Dante called the imp to their side to inspect the building, but when Krom said that it was clear, he instantly poofed back home, where he left his video game paused.

 Chapter 87 - 87: Astaroth’s Scheme

    On the night of Malgaroth''s demise, a tall demon was watching Dante and his group leave the scene from the top of a skyscraper.


    The creature had pitch-black skin and eyes fully coated in gold. He had bat wings on his back and large, white horns extruding from the top of his head, which went down his spine all the way to his tail.


    His body was as bulky and defined as the bodybuilders Dante met at the gym, and the demon''s demeanor seemed quite calm when spotting the warlock on the street.


    As soon as Dante lifted his head towards the skyscraper, the demon flapped his wings and left the area in an instant before getting caught.


    "Hmm, interesting¡­" the demon muttered to himself as he flew away.


    After flying for some time, the demon passed by a sign that read "Highpoint Town," arriving at a plaza with a cathedral in front. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A few hooded figures were walking around the plaza, wholly ignoring the demon''s presence. As the creature approached the cathedral''s entrance, two of these men opened the doors for him.


    More hooded figures were sitting on the church''s benches, their hands clasped in prayer, while Astaroth stood tall before the altar in the back like a divine entity.


    "Nihilor¡­ Did you complete the task?" Astaroth asked, his deep voice echoing inside the cathedral.


    "I was too late, my king. By the time I arrived, a group of humans were leaving the area, and Malgaroth''s aura had disappeared," Nihilor replied.


    Astaroth''s eye slightly twitched with annoyance, but the demon remained calm and asked Nihilor if he had seen the humans who did it.


    "I did¡­ However, I cannot say who it was that killed Malgaroth," Nihilor said, explaining that none of the people who left the sewer should have been able to defeat the monster.


    Still, there was one man who was able to feel his presence at the top of the building, giving Astaroth a description of Dante.


    "Crimson eyes, huh?" Astaroth muttered, inquisitively placing his claw on his chin.


    The demon boss explained that having red eyes wasn''t common in that world and remembered a set of eyes of the same color that once sent heavy chills down his spine.


    "But, there is no way he would be here¡­" Astaroth continued.


    Nihilor seemed curious about his boss'' thoughts and inquired what he meant.


    "You''ve heard of Hellslayer, correct?" Astaroth asked.


    Nihilor nodded affirmatively, saying that he didn''t know a single demon who hadn''t heard the story.


    Moreover, he didn''t believe that Dante could be "Hellslayer," as the umbra flowing from him didn''t seem powerful to the demon at all.


    Astaroth mentioned that some warlocks would suppress their aura to socialize with other humans and warned Nihilor not to underestimate him.


    Still, while Nihilor was confident that the man wouldn''t be much of a threat, Astaroth ordered the Ruby Vipers to keep drugging people with his blood.


    "If it truly is Hellslayer, then having more power isn''t a bad idea¡­" the demon said.


    Nihilor delved into his thoughts momentarily, thinking that his superior was paranoid, but was brought back to reality when Astaroth asked him about the others who were present at the scene.


    The demon couldn''t fully describe Megan because her suit covered her most recognizable features, but he mentioned a redhead and a group of younger ones who left the scene before the others.


    Astaroth smiled mischievously. "Younger ones?" he asked.


    Nihilor smiled back, saying that he knew where the kids gathered, and asked his boss what he wanted from him.


    "See if you can get them to tell you more about that crimson-eyed man¡­ You can do as you wish with the bodies," Astaroth commanded.


    After Nihilor received his orders, he bowed before Astaroth and left the cathedral, prompting Sabelio to enter the scene as he watched from the side of the room.


    "Sabelio¡­ You''ve served me well," The demon commented.


    "You honor me with your praise," Sabelio replied, bowing with reverence.


    "Prepare a few more summoning rituals," Astaroth coldly said.


    The old man got a bit nervous at his words, as every summoning required the sacrifice of dozens of people.


    Sabelio didn''t feel remorse about killing innocents but was mostly afraid of getting caught since the police were getting showered with reports of a missing person.


    "You are worried? I thought it was clear that this ''police'' wouldn''t have a chance against us¡­" Astaroth commented, feeling the slight discomfort in Sabelio''s umbra.


    The old man sighed with a hint of relief. "You are right, my king¡­ Maybe it was my human nature to feel worried," he said.


    After stating that he would prepare the rituals in the following days, Sabelio sauntered out of the cathedral and met with a group of hooded strangers in the plaza, where he gave a detailed description of Astaroth''s command.


    ____________________


    The following morning, while Dante and his group had gone to the high school to ensure the teenagers were safe, Camille worked tirelessly in her office.


    She was communicating with Trinity, who had been working on decrypting more secret information about the Blood Dragons.


    The hacker ended up finding a digital address that allowed her to connect to another computer, which supposedly belonged to Sabelio. However, she couldn''t break through the firewalls Spook placed.


    Apart from learning about Nihilor''s past actions, Camille and Trinity discovered that the Novis police were completely ignoring most of the "missing person" cases they received.


    The handler knew that cops wouldn''t take any "supernatural" cases seriously, and most of the time, they would be thrown in the trash. However, some of those documents seemed like real cases that were purposely ignored.


    ["My friend went to the sewers and hasn''t come back¡­"] read one of the ignored reports that Camille was investigating.


    "That doesn''t sound like a supernatural thing¡­ Why would they deliberately ignore it?" Camille muttered to herself.


    "Well, I know why¡­" she continued, letting out a tired sigh.


    ''I should call Alice¡­'' Camille thought, looking at her phone on her desk with a severe expression.

 Chapter 88 - 88: High School Students

    On an average school day, a group of three teenagers met at the rooftop of the building to discuss the events they had witnessed the previous night.


    Lina, the blonde girl, was fawning over Megan as she thought the woman was "badass." Jake, on the other hand, believed that Dante was even more badass after seeing him destroying a monster with his bare hands.


    Tommy, the redhead of the group, didn''t see the faces of his saviors. However, he remembered seeing Zac momentarily after waking up inside the sewers before falling unconscious.


    "Man, they were so cool¡­" Jake muttered, slightly excited about their encounter.


    "Do you think we''ll see them again?" Lina pondered.


    Jake shrugged, saying that he doubted it as the mysterious woman who called them in the car was very clear when she asked the teenagers to keep everything a secret.


    "Maybe they were like¡­ A group of secret spies or something," said the girl, prompting the group to chuckle for a bit before looking down apprehensively.


    "I''m so glad they were there¡­" Lina continued, her voice slightly breaking.


    "We¡­ We were really going to die," Jake replied, reminiscing of the horrible sights he witnessed inside the sewers.


    Tommy clenched his chest in the area where he had been impaled, wondering how it was possible for the strangers to heal his wounds so quickly.


    Even after Jake explained that the redhead man used a stone to cure his injuries, the whole idea of it was too hard to imagine for Tommy.


    When the bell rang, the students returned to their classrooms for their final lessons of the day.


    A few hours later, the trio met at the building''s exit and went into the courtyard together, seeing a small commotion happening around the gates.


    "What''s happening there?" Lina pondered aloud.


    Students were gathering around someone next to the gate as if a movie star had arrived at their school, piquing the teenagers'' curiosity.


    After getting a bit closer, they were surprised to see Dante and his group standing in the center of the commotion, with a bunch of teenage girls asking them questions. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Are you looking for someone?" A random girl asked.


    "I can help out!" Another one interjected.


    At that moment, Dante spotted the three teenagers staring at him in the distance with perplexed faces.


    "Ah, Jake!" Dante exclaimed, waving at his group in the back.


    As Jake and his friends approached the warlock, the rest of the female students started to spread out, voicing their disappointment about being unable to guide the handsome stranger.


    "Hey, Lina. Do you know those guys? Who are they?" A girl asked the blonde.


    "Umm, yes. They are¡­ uhh¡­ our tutors!" Lina replied with uncertainty while stammering her words.


    "Ehh? You are so lucky!" the girl continued, prompting Lina to quicken her pace towards the warlock to escape from the conversation.


    "Wh-what are you guys doing here?" Jake asked the Omega Team with a hint of nervousness.


    "We were just checking in on you guys¡­" Megan replied before Dante.


    Lina praised the trio for being so thoughtful and said that they felt perfectly fine, making Dante smile slightly with satisfaction, knowing that the girl wasn''t lying.


    ''It doesn''t seem like they''ve been targeted yet¡­ That''s good,'' the warlock thought.


    The teenagers guided the Omega Team to a park near their school, with a few swings and a slide that looked a bit old.


    "Not many people come here¡­" Jake said after arriving.


    However, Dante mentioned that the area was too open and that they should go somewhere more private.


    The teenagers were a little nervous about the warlock''s request, which Dante instantly noticed and clarified, saying he would leave and come back so the kids wouldn''t be nervous around him.


    Dante was used to people avoiding him in his past world, so he didn''t overthink it or get offended whenever someone didn''t want to be around him.


    Still, once the teenagers realized that their presence wasn''t needed for whatever the warlock wanted to do, they changed their minds and said they would accompany him.


    After guiding the group to a construction site, Lina said that it had been abandoned for a few months so nobody would know they were there.


    During the entire time that the teenagers spent with the Omega Team, Tommy didn''t say a word.


    He could only recognize Zac as the man who supposedly healed his injuries, but the other two were complete strangers to him.


    When the group stopped in an expansive area surrounded by construction materials, Dante politely introduced himself to the teenagers as a "Specialist Warlock," followed by his two friends, who simply gave their names.


    "I''m Jake, but you guys already knew that¡­" the teenager said.


    "I''m Lina! I don''t think I ever got the chance to properly introduce myself," the girl followed up.


    "I''m¡­ Tommy," the redhead teenager said with apprehension.


    "Thanks for saving us¡­" he whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.


    As the group was starting to feel more comfortable around the Omega Team, Dante began casting his spell to produce a Shadow Well, alerting the teenagers when they spotted the black column rising from the ground.


    "Don''t worry, it''s not dangerous¡­ Probably," Zac said to the teenagers to calm them down.


    After the column with the obsidian bowl on top was fully erected, Dante raised his arm and squeezed his palm with force, drawing a bit of blood into the basin.


    The teenagers widened their eyes with fear, but the lack of reaction from Megan and Zac made them slightly more accepting of the situation.


    The warlock sensed the teenagers'' unease and apologized for showing them the process without asking if they were comfortable looking at blood.


    "N-no worries! We are just a little surprised¡­" Jake replied.


    Once Dante was finished pouring the blood from his hand into the bowl, a purple aura manifested on his arm and twirled around the shadow well, fusing with the blood and creating three tiny black crystals.


    ''All that blood is gone¡­!'' Tommy thought, inspecting the shadow well.


    "What are those crystals?" Megan asked, noticing it was the first time she saw the warlock create them.


    "It''s a ''soul shard,''" Dante replied.


    As the warlock gave one of the black crystals to each of the teenagers, he explained that if they were ever in trouble, all they had to do was throw the crystal on the ground with force to shatter it.


    It was a vague explanation, and none of them understood how a small crystal could protect them.


    Nevertheless, they had already seen too many things that were hard to believe, so they didn''t have the mental capacity or the guts to keep questioning Dante about it.

 Chapter 89 - 89: Missing Police Reports

    While Dante and his group were hanging out with the teenagers, Camille sat in her office, rapidly tapping her foot against the floor as she attentively read something on her laptop.


    Cerberus noticed the woman''s distress and paced around the office in solidarity when they were interrupted by one of Camille''s servants, notifying them of Detective Alice and June''s arrival.


    "Hey, are you alright?" Alice asked as soon as she entered the office.


    "Take a seat¡­" Camille replied, her eyes sharp and her tone severe.


    ''She''s furious¡­'' Alice thought, remembering that she had only seen Camille that angry a few times in the past.


    "We heard about the bombing¡­ I''m glad you got out safely," Alice continued.


    "Right¡­ With dozens of innocents dead because of it," said Camille, focusing her full attention on the detectives.


    "Have you guys not received any reports about a monster in the sewers?" the handler inquired.


    "I don''t think so. Even if we did, you know what happens to those cases¡­" said the black-haired detective.


    Whenever the police in Novaria received a report about something supernatural, they either ignored it or sent one person to investigate.


    It was a way to protect themselves against discrimination lawsuits, as people could claim that they were doing a religious ritual and interfering with it would be unjust to freedom of speech.


    A report about a "monster" in the sewers was never going to get any track in the police department. However, if dozens of people disappeared inside, then they would be obligated to act.


    "So, you haven''t seen any reports about all those missing people that went in the sewers?" Camille asked.


    "We get those types of reports every day. They are handled by the patrol, not us, though¡­" Alice replied.


    The detective explained that "missing person" cases were quite common since even a child getting lost at the mall could be reported as such.


    "I get that. You can''t send your best detectives to every single missing person case¡­ But I''m talking about dozens of people who were in the same area," the handler clarified.


    Alice and June stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt Camille, who was talking to them with a severe tone that had the rookie somewhat petrified.


    "I''ll make a police report right here, then¡­" she continued.


    When Camille said that they had found a little over 150 dead bodies in the sewers, the detectives widened their eyes in shock.


    "Forty of those were kids between 15 and 20 years old. The rest were sewage workers¡­" Camille said with a cold tone.


    ''That many¡­!?'' June thought, her body trembling from anger.


    "You wouldn''t have been able to do anything against that monster anyway. But if you do get more of those cases, send them to me¡­" Camille said, her words sounding like a command rather than a question.


    "W-wait, we can''t just give you the details of a police report!" June exclaimed a bit nervously.


    "Sure you can. You guys have already shown that you are incapable of dealing with this. So, if you want to have fewer victims, you better give those cases to me," Camille replied, leaving no room for negotiations.


    Alice interjected, saying that she had no problem in sharing the reports with Camille. However, she made it clear that they weren''t aware of how many people had gone missing in the sewers.


    "If I had seen all those reports, I would have definitely gone to check it out¡­" Alice muttered.


    "Detective Alice¡­ are you saying that¡­?" June asked.


    "There is a mole in the police," Camille finished the rookie''s sentence.


    From their experience, they knew that whenever criminal cases were being swept under the rug, it was due to corruption in the police force. Still, Alice couldn''t think of anyone she found suspicious in the precinct.


    Camille let out a tired sigh, realizing that she would have to be more open with the detectives if they wanted to get to the bottom of the problem.


    "What I''m about to tell you is real. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. However, considering what we have seen, you might not have such a hard time believing it," the handler said.


    "The supposed monster inside the sewers was a demon called Malgaroth¡­" she continued.


    The handler told the detectives that her people were able to get rid of the demon, omitting all information that connected to Dante and his group.


    Camille thought that it was important for the detectives to know what they were fighting against, but giving them Dante''s information wasn''t relevant to them.


    When the handler warned them about Nihilor and his powers to corrupt people, she mentioned that someone in the police force could have been subjected to the demon''s spell, which was the reason for all those cases being ignored.


    "Do you have any clues on that Nihilor demon?" Alice inquired.


    "I have someone on their tails right now. I wouldn''t recommend you guys look for him¡­" the handler said.


    Detective Alice was one of the best in the police force for many reasons, one being that she was quite talented in martial arts and had excellent aim¡ªskills she improved while living with the handler.


    Camille compared her strength to that of her agent, Maya, who got quite a beating when fighting the drugged Turner at the nightclub.


    While they were much stronger and faster than ordinary citizens, they weren''t a match for a real demon, so Camille urged them to stay away from them and to leave it to the expert.


    "Focus on finding the mole. I''ll focus on Nihilor¡­" Camille commented.


    After the handler gave the detectives all of the details she knew about the demons and their hierarchy, Alice and June left the office in a state of shock.


    The information they had received was ridiculous and unbelievable, but it came from arguably the most trusted source in the whole country.


    "June, don''t mention this to anyone¡­" Alice muttered to her companion.


    "Of course not! ¡ªThis all feels so strange, though¡­" June replied.


    The rookie detective was baffled to see that the investigation, which started with searching for who had destroyed a building, had turned into a web of police corruption and demons.


    At that moment, June''s words made Alice realize an important detail.


    "If someone in the police is working with the demons, they wouldn''t have sent us to check the damages¡­" Alice commented.


    "I see. So, the demons weren''t responsible for what happened in Teko District¡­" June muttered, placing a hand on her chin as she delved into her thoughts. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 90 - 90: Soul Shard Attunement

    After Dante handed his dark crystals to the teenagers, Zac gave the idea of going to the arcade together.


    The Omega Team needed to stay close to the kids to protect them against any demon that targeted them, but if they could simply hang out, then their job would be easier.


    The teenagers accepted the invitation and made their way to a popular arcade that was a few minutes away by subway.


    When they arrived, Dante''s interest was instantly piqued by all the different machines, lighting up the place with different-colored lights and sounds.


    "Hey, big bro. Wanna go against me!?" Jake asked the warlock, who had his attention on a fighting game.


    *Pfft* Zac scoffed with a smile and turned to the side, thinking that it was hilarious that someone else had called Dante "big bro."


    The redhead thought that Dante would be bothered by it the same way he was when Asher and Amara called him that. However, the warlock seemed totally unbothered by it this time.


    ''I guess he doesn''t like it when demons call him that¡­'' Zac thought.


    "Sheesh, big bro is actually pretty good!" Jake exclaimed, quickly smashing the buttons on his side.


    Zac spotted Tommy approaching a different machine with a rhythm game where two people could play as the guitarist and drummer.


    "Need a partner?" Zac asked the kid, who shared his same hair color.


    "S-sure," said Tommy.


    Meanwhile, Megan and Lina watched them play games for a few minutes with unamused expressions, not feeling particularly attracted to any of the machines.


    Nonetheless, when Lina''s eyes gazed at the ice cream stand in the back of the arcade, her eyes lit up just enough for Megan to notice, guiding the girl over so she could get her a snack.


    Dante turned momentarily, seeing Megan stoically eat her ice cream while Lina had a smile on her face.


    Not even her perpetual cold expression could hide the clear positive energy that Dante saw flowing from the woman''s body, making him smile a bit.


    ''She is always so thoughtful¡­'' Dante thought, getting distracted for too long and realizing that he had lost the match against Jake.


    "Hehe, if you snooze¡ªyou lose," Jake said as the victory screen appeared.


    Dante chuckled and spammed the rematch button, thinking that he needed to make a few adjustments to the soul shards he had given to the teenagers.


    Later that night, the group happily left the arcade, feeling a bit more comfortable around Team Omega''s company.


    While on the subway ride back, the warlock borrowed the soul shards he gave to Lina and Tommy, believing that they should have been attuned to Megan and Zac, respectively.


    When Dante looked at the kids, he could see that only Jake felt comfortable around him. However, he easily deduced the reason why that happened.


    Out of the three teenagers, Jake was the only one who witnessed Dante killing a demon with ease without breaking a sweat.


    On the other hand, Tommy only caught a glimpse of Zac after he saved him inside the sewers, so it was natural for him to feel more attached to the redhead.


    "Can you guys put a drop of your blood on these shards?" Dante asked his friends.


    "Huh!?" Zac hummed in disbelief.


    "Not a lot¡ªIt only needs one drop¡­" the warlock clarified.


    With a little pin, Megan poked the tip of her finger and stained the shard with her blood, making the crystal glow for a moment as it absorbed it.


    Zac gulped somewhat nervously as he repeated the process on Tommy''s shard, prompting Dante to hand it back to the teenagers when they were finished.


    "By the way¡­ Why did you guys go to the sewers that night?" Megan asked the kids. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lina explained that the story about the monster in the sewers had become quite popular with high school kids, and it was a challenge that was appearing all over social media.


    A few weeks before, an older kid from their school had gone missing, and the rumors said that he had disappeared inside the sewers.


    "I guess we were just dumb and naive¡­" Lina commented, looking down with a hint of sadness.


    Megan knew that it was common for teenagers to do stupid things without thinking about the consequences, so she didn''t hold it against them for being curious.


    "I understand. I mostly asked to see if someone was coercing you guys into going in there," the brunette replied.


    The teenagers denied being influenced by someone in their decision, which gave the Omega Team a relieved feeling.


    After the group arrived at their station, they accompanied each of the kids to their homes, which were quite close to each other.


    ____________________


    Late at night, in the police headquarters, Alice and June were going through a large deck of files stacked on their desks.


    "Are these all of them¡­?" June asked her superior with perplexion.


    "Yep. These are all the ''missing person'' reports," Alice said, her expression cold and focused.


    The detectives had gone and taken out all the reports that were ignored by the police, realizing that many of them had gone missing inside the sewers.


    "How come nobody noticed this?" June pondered aloud.


    Alice kept reading through the different documents, noticing that most of them had supernatural causes listed as the cause of disappearance. While this made it easier for police to ignore the report, they still should have acted after receiving it numerous times.


    As the senior detective flicked through the documents, she found a report of a missing 17-year-old kid who was last seen entering the sewers.


    "Oh, I went to that school!" June commented.


    "Hmm, that could work¡­" Alice replied, leaning back on her chair with a tired expression.


    "We''ll go check it out tomorrow. Maybe some of the kids there have some information that''s missing from this report¡­" the senior detective muttered.


    "Got it¡­ Still, I can''t believe these were all ignored," June said, slightly frustrated.


    "Mhmm¡­ We might need help in sniffing out the mole in here," Alice continued, closing her eyes to take a nap on her desk.

 Chapter 91 - 91: The Detectives’ Trail

    The following day, after the Omega Team bonded with the teenagers, they went back to the high school at their request, saying that they wanted to go to the arcade again.


    Dante and his group arrived an hour before their lessons were finished, but the trio didn''t mind waiting outside the school gates.


    The rest of the teams working for the Jade Dragons had been busy clearing out the remaining members of the Scarlett Bullets.


    Paige was hard at work with her research, accompanied by Zac''s mother, Clara, while Camille and Trinity were working together to decrypt more information on Joseph''s PC.


    The Omega Team was supposed to be on standby, but knowing that the teenagers could be in danger, they decided it was better to stay close to them for some time.


    As they were peacefully waiting, they spotted two figures walking towards them, and the trio recognized the detectives, Alice and June.


    Dante remembered the woman as the one who asked him a few questions on campus with Zac. However, the redhead had also met her after the incident at Firewater nightclub, when she took Turner''s corpse with her.


    On the other hand, Megan knew the woman from the days before she was even a cop¡ªback when she lived with Camille.


    "Megan?" Alice pondered aloud as she approached the group with her companion beside her.


    "Huh, Alice? What are you doing here?" the brunette replied with another question.


    "Probably the same thing as you. Cami told us about the sewer incident¡­" Alice said, turning her gaze towards Dante and Zac.


    "How are you boys doing?" she asked.


    As the warlock and his friend politely greeted the detectives, Dante detailed the aura flowing from them, seeing that the senior detective had no ill intentions, while June didn''t have a sliver of trust for any of them.


    "So, Cami told you about the demon¡­" Megan commented, prompting the detective to nod affirmatively.


    "We are more worried about the ignored cases at this moment, but it ties to the supposed demon," Alice replied, explaining that they were investigating the disappearance of a kid from that high school.


    "If the report said he was lost in the sewers, then I''m afraid he is dead¡­" Dante said with a serious tone.


    "I thought so... I wasn''t expecting to find the kid, but maybe some information on why they decided to go in there," the detective explained.


    "If you are not here for that reason, then what are you all doing here?" June interjected, her voice hinting at great suspicions.


    "Uhh¡­" Zac hummed, thinking of a lie to say to the cops.


    "Big bro!" their conversation was interrupted by Jake''s shout, coming from the other side of the school''s gate.


    ''What? Big bro?'' June pondered, turning her gaze and seeing the three teenagers quickly approaching the Omega Team.


    "Ready for the arcade?" the teenager asked.


    "Yeah, I''m good to go," the warlock said with a soft smile.


    When the teenagers noticed the detectives, they quickly greeted them and introduced themselves, saying they were first-year students.


    "It''s nice to meet you all. We won''t hold you back from your plans," Alice said, allowing the group to walk away.


    Right as the group turned a corner, June took out a tablet from her bag and looked up the names of each of the teenagers.


    "Hmm, nothing about an older brother¡­" the rookie detective muttered as she scrolled through the page.


    "So, it was more of an endearing nickname¡­ Interesting," Alice said, placing a hand on her chin.


    The senior detective believed that Dante was somewhat cold and intimidating. However, any time she spoke to him, the man was polite and soft-spoken.


    ''If I hadn''t met others like him, I would probably be suspicious of him, too¡­'' she thought.


    Even so, the detective''s hunch was telling her that the group of teenagers was key to their case, as she knew that Cami wouldn''t have assigned Megan and the others there for no reason.


    When Dante and his group arrived at the arcade, he sensed the presence of the two detectives nearby, so he knew that they were being followed.


    However, since their aura didn''t show a hint of bloodlust or ill intent, Dante ignored their presence entirely.


    After spending a lovely evening at the arcade once again, the Omega Team escorted the teenagers home while the detectives followed them from a distance. Still, their lack of ill intent had the warlock completely unbothered by their trailing.


    "Well, their addresses match the ones on the registry," June commented as they watched Lina enter her home.


    "Let''s stay around here for a bit¡­" Alice muttered, ordering June to stay close to Lina''s home while she checked on the other two''s houses.


    ____________________


    A few hours after returning home, Lina was lying down in her bed, texting in a group chat with both Tommy and Jake.


    Camille ordered the teenagers not to speak about any of the events they witnessed on their phones, so they used code words to refer to different things when texting each other.


    After reminiscing about their fun time with the Omega Team, Lina shut her eyes and fell into slumber.


    Suddenly, a dark and eerie shadow appeared beside her window, seeping through the cracks like smoke inside the girl''s room and materializing a tall, burly monster.


    A few seconds later, the demon with obsidian skin and strong bodybuild stood in the center of the pink-decorated room, staring at the slumbering Lina, who was wholly unaware of the danger lurking beside her. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, Lina felt her breathing cut off, making her abruptly open her eyes and sending her mind into an instant state of shock when she spotted the demon asphyxiating her.


    No words or screams could come out of her mouth, gazing to the side and seeing the soul shard too far away for her to grab.


    ''I''m¡­ going to die!'' The girl thought, closing her eyes and succumbing to her fate as the demon placed his other hand on her head.

 Chapter 92 - 92: Corruption

    After Jake was escorted home by Dante and his group, he greeted his parents and prepared himself to sleep.


    As the boy was lying in bed, he texted his friends Lina and Tommy on their group chat, where they reminisced about the good times they had with the Omega Team.


    At one point, Lina sent the boys a good night message and fell asleep. However, Tommy and Jake were feeling quite energetic, so they kept chatting on their phones for a while.


    It had only been a few minutes since the girl left the conversation when the boys noticed a message appearing at the bottom of the chat box.


    ["Lina is typing a message¡­"]


    ["LOL, Lina can''t sleep either."] Jake posted on the group.


    Tommy chuckled while lying on his bed, patiently waiting for the girl to say something.


    ["Guys, I''m scared. Can we meet at the park?"] Lina said on the group chat, alerting the two boys as the message looked urgent.


    Hastily getting up from his bed, Jake put on a jacket and shoes before sneaking out of his window to avoid waking his parents up.


    The teenagers had been living on the same peaceful residential street since they were babies, and while they weren''t direct neighbors, they were quite close to each other.


    It only took Jake and Tommy a few minutes to arrive in their pajamas at the dark park. There was a playground with a few swings, a slide, and a sandbox on one side and an open grassy area on the other.


    "She is still not here?" Tommy asked, arriving at the park mere seconds after Jake.


    "Do you think she is okay? It''s not normal for her to ask us to meet in the middle of the night¡­" Jake said.


    "True¡ªthat''s mostly your thing," Tommy jokingly commented.


    After waiting for a few minutes, the boys heard footsteps coming toward them, making them turn and notice Lina standing a few meters away from them.


    The girl''s hair was down, covering the top half of her face in a somewhat sinister manner. She was wearing her pajama dress without shoes and stood still for a few seconds with her arms hanging on the side.


    "Lina, are you alright? It''s a bit chilly¡­ Here, use my jacket!" Jake said as he approached the girl.


    ''What''s this eerie sensation¡­?'' Tommy thought, keeping his gaze locked on the girl


    In a sudden change of attitude, Lina smiled warmly and thanked Jake for his concern, making the boy blush a little from embarrassment.


    Unbeknownst to the teenagers, Detective Alice and June had followed them to the park after seeing them leaving their homes, hiding behind a short brick wall by the entrance.


    "What the hell are they doing here at this time?" June whispered to her superior.


    "I have no idea. I saw the kid leaving his home through the window, so it''s safe to say they want to keep this a secret," Alice replied, keeping her voice down and perking her ears to listen to their conversation.


    "So, Lina, why did you call us here? What happened?" Tommy inquired.


    ''Hmm, the girl called them both here¡­'' Alice pondered.


    The girl gazed at her redhead friend with widened eyes and an uncanny smile that startled the boys for a moment.


    "Lina¡­?" Jake muttered.


    Suddenly, they were interrupted by a deep voice praising Lina for a job well done, prompting the teenagers to turn around hurriedly.


    As soon as their bodies turned, they were instantly frozen in fear as a heavy pressure could be felt on their shoulders, which came from the tall monster standing before them.


    "Wh-what are you¡­?" Jake stammered, his voice breaking from the absolute fear coursing through his body.


    "Now¡­ I would like you to tell me everything you know about Hellslayer," the massive demon said with an intimidating tone.


    ''Who!?'' Jake thought, utterly confused at the demon''s words.


    Putting his hand in his pocket, Jake began to look for the soul shard given to him by Dante.


    *Stab!* The sound of a knife interrupted Jake, making him feel a painful sting on his back that dropped him to the ground.


    "Lina, what the hell are you doing!?" Tommy shouted, seeing that the girl had stabbed Jake in the back.


    The blonde''s expression showed a wicked smile as she got on top of Jake''s back, pulling out the knife and going for a second stab.


    *Shunk!* Jake''s right shoulder received another knifing.


    "Arrrghh!" Jake screamed in pain.


    "LINA STOP!" Tommy shouted again from the bottom of his heart.


    The demon began chuckling at the sight and said that he was quite entertained, his comment sounding like he was praising the kids.


    By the park''s entrance, Alice and June were also frozen in fear after the demon''s appearance, hiding behind the brick wall with sweat trailing down their temples.


    Their guts were telling them to run away and not look back, but their minds couldn''t leave a group of teenagers alone with a monster.


    After taking a deep and calm breath, Alice pulled out her pistol and showed herself to the demon, pointing it straight at the monster.


    "Nobody moves!" Alice shouted, prompting June to come out of hiding with her gun. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The presence of the detectives caught Lina''s attention for a moment, and Tommy relished the opportunity to try to get her off Jake''s back.


    However, as soon as he approached her, the girl turned around with a furious expression and sliced his hand, making the boy stand back cautiously while holding his palm in pain.


    The detectives walked inside the park a bit more, with Alice not budging her aim from the monster for a single second.


    Meanwhile, June pointed her weapon at Lina, noticing that the girl was crying while still holding onto the bloodied knife.


    "Please¡­ shoot¡­ I don''t want¡­ to hurt my friends anymore¡­" Lina muttered, her voice stopping after each word.


    "Don''t shoot!" Jake shouted while bleeding on the ground.


    June''s hand trembled slightly, remembering that Camille told her about the demon who could corrupt people.


    The creature laughed again. "So entertaining¡­ A cop is about to kill a kid," he said.


    Alice gritted her teeth with anger and shot at the demon, hitting him in the chest. Nevertheless, the wound healed almost instantly, leaving the woman in shock.


    Following her discharge, the demon pointed his claws at Alice, and she was flung forcefully towards the creature, stabbing her gut with his sharp nails.


    As Alice was impaled, she coughed blood, and her body went limp, allowing the monster to lift her up like a trophy skewered in his claw.


    Tommy stood on the side in utter shock and disbelief.


    On one side, the detective had been stabbed by the demon. On the other, her friend was being controlled and was imploring to die as she was killing his other friend.


    Detective June was trembling from fear and anticipation, and the pain in Tommy''s hand from the slice was getting more prominent.


    It was as if time had slowed down momentarily for Tommy, who remembered the face of Zac, his savior, and grabbed the soul shard in his pocket.


    He knew that it was an artifact given to him by Dante, but the kid didn''t have the same type of attachment to the warlock as he had with the redhead.


    With his mind wholly blank, the teenager threw the crystal against the ground and shattered it, generating a black mist that spun furiously at the point of impact.


    "Huh¡­ what the hell?" Zac asked himself as he appeared in the center of the dark park.

 Chapter 93 - 93: Crystal Shattering

    During the night that Nihilor had controlled Lina''s mind, Dante and his group arrived at their homes and were peacefully hanging out in the living room, telling stories about their latest mission.


    A few hours later, half of the residents in the house had gone to bed, except for Zac, Dante, and Megan, whose schedules were more nocturnal.


    The two guys were playing video games on the TV when suddenly, a black mist appeared around Zac, furiously spinning around his body and making him disappear in a second.


    As soon as Zac appeared in the park after Tommy shattered his soul shard, the man was confused and disoriented.


    Still, the umbra flowing from the demon instantly shrouded his body and senses, making him perk up with fear and anticipation.


    Zac quickly scanned his surroundings, seeing Lina crying on top of Jake, with June pointing her gun at her and the demon holding the impaled Alice in his hand.


    ''What the fuck is happening here!?'' Zac pondered.


    At that moment, the possessed Lina went for another stab at Jake, but Zac''s reflexes made him move on his own, taking a quick step and appearing beside the girl, holding her hand from going down.


    The girl instantly tried to attack Zac the same way she did Tommy, but the redhead easily kicked the knife off her hands and pulled her off Jake''s back.


    Zac held Lina by the arms, who shook and tugged with force, trying to get away from his grasp. However, Zac could see the tears on her face, and the man knew that the girl was suffering.


    June took the opportunity to point her gun at the demon, her face showing evident anger as she detailed the body of Alice impaled in his claws.


    "Bah, how boring¡­" the demon muttered, pointing his free hand at June.


    Zac could see small trails of umbra coming from the demon, which he was only able to detail when the energy was very strong and condensed.


    When the monster pointed his claw at the rookie detective, he could see the umbra gathering around the woman.


    ''It''s going to pull her towards him¡­'' Zac thought, analyzing the flow of energy by pure intuition.


    Holding Lina tightly, Zac took another quick step that landed him between June and the demon, making the energy pull the redhead and Lina towards him instead.


    However, before the demon could stab Zac, he turned mid-air while still holding the girl in his arms and kicked his claws strongly enough to break them, making the monster step back.


    "Not bad for a human¡­ You are quite strong," the demon said.


    Zac didn''t reply, still holding onto Lina, who seemed to quiet down in her struggle to get away from him as she was in a state of shock from the quick and sudden movements that the redhead was making.


    Even so, he couldn''t let her go, or she would keep trying to stab her friends.


    "Hmmm, could it be¡­?" the demon pondered aloud.


    "Dispell your mind-control on the girl, now!" Zac shouted at the demon, making him chuckle a little.


    "I didn''t think that Hellslayer would ask me for something," the demon said condescendingly.


    "Huh?" the redhead hummed with confusion.


    "Let the detective down!" June shouted in desperation, her hands trembling as she aimed at the monster.


    Still, even though her bullets wouldn''t do much damage to the demon, he placed Alice''s body in front of him as cover, wanting the rookie to shoot through her superior.


    Zac took that brief second that the demon stopped looking at him to pull out a healthstone from his pocket and threw it to Tommy, signaling with his head to give it to Jake, who was still bleeding on the ground.


    As Tommy caught the black stone and took a step forward, the demon pointed his claw at the kid, making him stop and brace himself with fear.


    Nevertheless, the demon''s attack never reached Tommy, as Zac had rushed forward, still holding Lina, and kicked the monster''s arm back, interrupting him before he could cast any spells.


    When Tommy got to his bleeding friend, he placed the healthstone on his palm and heard Zac yelling at him to squeeze it.


    "Tommy¡­ my crystal," Jake muttered as the green healing mist covered his body.


    The redhead boy was perplexed by the magic from the healthstone but brought himself back to reality and grabbed Jake''s crystal, which he had been trying to pull out of his pocket from the moment they saw the demon.


    *Prang!* The crystal shattered, producing the same black, revolving mist as before.


    In the center, Dante''s figure appeared standing tall, calmly looking around and scanning the situation.


    Tommy was sitting next to Jake, who was covered in blood, but his wounds had been healed.


    Zac was holding the possessed Lina in his arms, and June was producing an incredible amount of umbra while pointing her gun at the demon.


    ''That''s the man who sensed me¡­'' the monster thought, feeling a minimal amount of umbra flowing from Dante.


    The warlock took a single step and appeared right beside Zac and Lina, placing his hand on the girl''s head. "Dispell," he said, producing a gust of wind that enveloped them for less than a second.


    Lina fell unconscious right after, making Zac let out a sigh of relief as he gently put her down.


    When Dante stood up from his crouching position, he gazed at the demon with his eyes sharpened, noticing the impaled Alice in his claws.


    "Hey, is this a joke?" Dante asked.


    "Hmm?" The demon hummed, moving his head laterally with a puzzled expression. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You dare show me a mere illusion?" Dante continued, his severe tone cutting through the air.


    "An illusion? But¡­ I definitely hit him!" Zac exclaimed, pointing at the demon''s broken claws.


    The monster laughed loudly, saying no human had ever seen through his illusion magic. Moreover, Dante was able to dispel his mind-control over Lina in an instant, gaining the demon''s praise.


    "How unfortunate to have those abilities but still be this weak¡­" the monster said, swallowing his words as soon as Dante released his suppressed umbra.


    The pressure coming from the warlock made the air feel heavy for everyone around him, including June and the teenagers, who kneeled on the ground from the weight it posed on them.


    At that moment, the demon saw Dante''s real power overshadowing his own umbra, as he could only see the man''s crimson eyes staring him down menacingly.


    ''This¡­ this is the real Hellslayer,'' he thought.

 Chapter 94 - 94: Alice’s Kidnapping

    When Dante released his suppressed umbra in front of the massive demon''s illusion, the monster took a step back with a hint of fear.


    "What''s wrong? I thought I was weak¡­" Dante commented with a mocking tone.


    "Why are you scared? Aren''t you just an illusion anyway?" he continued, slowly walking towards the demon with his hands in his pockets.


    As the warlock stood right before his tall and burly body, he looked up with a severe gaze and saw that there was no umbra flowing from the impaled Alice.


    ''She is also an illusion¡­'' Dante thought.


    "Where is the detective?" he asked, confusing June, who was frozen in place in the back next to the teenagers.


    "Hahaha! My name is Nihilor, and I''m the strongest corruption fiend-!" *Boom!* The monster was swept away by Dante''s destro spell, turning the illusion into dust.


    "I didn''t ask¡­" Dante muttered.


    "Alice!" June exclaimed, rushing towards the area where the demon disintegrated.


    "That wasn''t the real detective. She was also an illusion¡­" the warlock clarified as tears swelled up in the rookie detective''s eyes.


    "Wh-what do you mean? I saw her getting stabbed!" June said desperately.


    "It was a pretty complex spell¡­ There are trails of the real detective''s umbra around here, so it''s not like she was always a fake," Dante continued explaining.


    From what he could deduce, the demon switched the real Alice with an illusion the moment he attacked her.


    While this meant that there was a chance she was still alive, Alice was still missing, making June punch the ground with rage and frustration.


    "I couldn''t do anything¡­" she said, breaking down in tears.


    Zac was taking care of Lina and Jake, who had fallen unconscious after the ordeal, noticing that Tommy''s hand was still bleeding from Lina''s previous attack.


    "Here¡­ Your turn to heal," said the redhead, passing the healthstone to the kid.


    When Tommy squeezed the stone and felt the green mist healing his wound, a few tears rolled down his cheeks.


    "Th-thank you, big brother¡­" Tommy said in between sniffles.


    "Ahh, hey, don''t cry. It''s alright!" Zac replied while waving his arms.


    ____________________


    As soon as Zac and Dante were teleported out of their homes, Megan called Camille to inform her.


    A few minutes after Nihilor''s illusion was destroyed, a large SUV arrived at the park to pick everyone up and take them to the Jade Dragon''s headquarters.


    The skyscraper that Camille used for all her operations was still up and running since their enemies believed that they had blown up the real offices.


    When they arrived, the teenagers were sent to rest in a lovely guest''s room while the Omega Team and Detective June went up to the handler''s office.


    "Where''s Alice¡­?" Camille asked.


    June clenched her pants with frustration, gritting her teeth and looking down apprehensively.


    "He took her," the detective replied, making Camille''s eye twitch slightly with rage.


    "Who is ''he''?" Camille inquired with an even more serious tone.


    "It was Nihilor," Dante interjected.


    The warlock explained the situation in detail, saying that Nihilor had sent an illusion to do his bidding.


    Killing the illusion wouldn''t do much damage to the demon, as it would stun the monster for two or three seconds at most.


    Nihilor had corrupted Lina''s mind to make her murder her friends and gather information about Dante and his group. However, when the demon realized that Lina didn''t know much about them, he decided to use her for his amusement.


    "Corruption fiends use the people they corrupt to entertain themselves¡­" Dante said with a bit of apprehension, knowing that Camille wouldn''t like to hear those words.


    "What about Alice? Why did he take her?" The handler asked.


    "I don''t know¡­ If I had to guess, they probably plan to siphon her life energy," Dante replied with a bit of uncertainty.


    Thanks to Trinity, Camille had the location for many of the warehouses and bases that the Ruby Vipers used in their affairs. However, she hadn''t conducted any attacks with the other teams since she was afraid there could be more demons.


    The information was relatively new, so she decided to wait for more of the PC to be decrypted and see if she could find any more hints. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nevertheless, Alice''s kidnapping caused the handler to rethink her choices, as she started to consider attacking all of the locations at the same time.


    Dante could see the irregular umbra flowing from the woman with a mix of different emotions.


    ''Rage, sadness, frustration, desperation¡­ Love?'' the warlock thought.


    Still, in the sea of the woman''s emotions, there was one he perfectly recognized¡ªa burning hatred for demons.


    "Dante¡­" Camille muttered.


    "Is it possible to make this demon suffer¡­?" she asked, her gaze still down and her voice stone cold.


    While the air felt heavy inside the office, Camille''s words were music to Dante''s ears, who approached the woman and kept his expression serious as a sign of respect.


    "It''s not simple making a demon suffer, considering they live in hell¡­" the warlock said.


    "Figures," Camille replied, turning around as she started to think of another method.


    "Ah, but that doesn''t mean I can''t do it¡ªI just have to show them something worse than hell," Dante continued, catching the handler''s attention once again.


    "I''m listening¡­" she muttered.


    Dante asked for the location of all the Ruby Vipers'' bases that they had found, as it didn''t matter if there was a demon inside since they wouldn''t be able to match him.


    Meanwhile, he wanted Megan and Zac to keep training in the MET room with Paige''s help.


    "You don''t think they are ready?" Camille asked.


    "I would just prefer if they get a bit more comfortable with their abilities," Dante replied.


    The warlock believed that Zac could have beaten Nihilor''s illusion by himself. Although he was handicapped by Lina''s mind control, he still had a chance to destroy it¡ªAll he needed was a bit more practice and confidence in his skills.


    "What about her?" Camille inquired, gazing at Detective June, who seemed tired and defeated.


    "Umm¡­ I don''t know. This woman doesn''t trust me at all," replied Dante, slightly unamused.

 Chapter 95 - 95: Miss Clara’s Peaceful Training

    The following day, after Dante and Zac saved the teenagers from Nihilor''s illusion, Camille sent a member of the Epsilon Team to speak with their parents.


    The Epsilon Team specialized in infiltrating governmental positions of power, and they worked as a fountain of information and influence.


    The teenagers'' parents were told a half-truth, as the Epsilon members explained that their children were being targeted by a dangerous gang, so the government would be taking care of them.


    Moreover, the handler ordered a few of the members from the Alpha Team to protect the homes of the kids, just in case the demon decided to go for their families.


    The Gamma Team, led by Maya, was still guarding Dante''s home, knowing that a second attack was possible.


    Since the harpion twins never returned from their mission, it was safe to say that the Blood Dragons took them for dead and would try a second time again. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hmm, the house with Maya and the twins should be enough for the time being¡­" Dante muttered.


    "Wait, wait¡­ We are not going to make the kids fight," Camille replied.


    To the warlock, Asher and Amara were two harpion demons. However, in Camille''s eyes, they were just two ten-year-olds who happened to be stronger than other humans.


    Even though Dante disagreed with the handler''s opinion, he understood her point of view, as the woman wasn''t used to seeing young-looking demons like them.


    "Well, I suppose it won''t be a problem if Zac and Megan are there anyway¡­" the warlock said.


    While Dante and Camille kept coming up with a plan, she mentioned that she wanted to look for Trinity''s father, who was supposedly a doctor who had disappeared a few years ago.


    The handler found it strange that the Blood Dragons targeted a single individual doctor from the thousands they could have chosen, so she knew that there was more to the man.


    Even after she asked Trinity, the hacker didn''t know the purpose of her father''s kidnapping.


    Later that day, Dante went to the laboratory to check on his friends'' training and was pleasantly surprised to see Clara accompanying the scientist.


    The redhead woman had been going through her own type of training ever since she got out of the hospital. However, the process for her was entirely different from Zac and Megan.


    Since Clara was able to perceive the umbra in the environment after being under Astaorth''s curse for years, Dante believed that she would soon be able to control it.


    Dante described her as a "forged warlock," as that was the name that was given to people who developed the ability to see and control umbra without being directly related to any warlock from Shadowvale.


    On the other hand, Megan and Zac couldn''t perceive umbra as clearly as Clara, as they weren''t in a contract with a demon but with Dante himself.


    The pair could see it whenever it was condensed in a single area, but they couldn''t see the constant umbra flowing from all living beings. Still, even without being able to perceive it continuously, they could manage to control it with practice.


    While Clara''s training revolved around her sitting in front of a table trying to move stuff around with umbra, Megan and Zac''s training revolved purely around combat.


    "I hope you are doing well, Miss Clara," Dante politely greeted the woman.


    "I''m doing amazing, all thanks to you!" said the woman with a warm smile.


    The warlock was curious to see how much she had improved in the last few days, as he wasn''t able to personally coach her when she started¡ªAll he could do was give Paige a list of training methods for her to recreate with Clara.


    However, now that he had a bit of spare time, he wanted to give the woman a few more tips to make it easier on her.


    Dante sat on one end of the table, where a few cups were placed on the surface for Clara to move with her powers.


    When the redhead woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she pointed her palm at one of the cups, and the warlock widened his eyes with surprise for a brief second.


    Clara''s body didn''t produce much umbra, as the woman didn''t seem to have any ill thoughts or feelings.


    Dante had known a few people like that in the past, but none of them were warlocks, who usually had a higher amount of negative feelings than others.


    Nevertheless, Clara was manipulating the faint umbra in the air to make the cup gently levitate from the table¡ªa feat that Dante found impressive.


    Paige, who had seen the warlock''s expression during the test, inquired about his thoughts.


    The warlock explained that controlling the umbra in the environment was much more complex than using the umbra flowing from one''s own body.


    "If I cast a spell using my own umbra, I can cast it much faster and more efficiently than if I were to gather the faint energy in the air for a spell¡­" Dante elaborated.


    The umbra that flowed from all living beings would stay in the environment for some time before dissipating. However, these umbra currents were too weak to be used efficiently.


    "Miss Clara''s body doesn''t produce much umbra, so she intuitively manipulated the flow in the air¡­ That takes a lot more skill," Dante continued.


    "What does that mean for her?" Paige asked.


    "Well, we can do the test to see her affinity¡­" he replied.


    Dante continued explaining and said that once a warlock learned how to manipulate umbra at a basic level, they could do the test to see which kind of warlock school of magic they were the most talented at.


    The scientist''s eyes lit up with excitement, asking what they needed to conduct the test immediately.


    "Hmm, simple. We just need a cup," Dante casually replied.


    Still, Paige didn''t question the warlock and called the servants outside the testing room, asking for ten cups.


    ''One was enough, but alright¡­'' Dante thought.

 Chapter 96 - 96: Warlock’s Affinity Test

    When the servants inside the laboratory returned with the cup that Dante needed to conduct the affinity test, Megan and Zac arrived.


    The pair had been training in the MET room, but when the redhead heard that his mother was going to take the test, he bolted out to see it.


    "This test isn''t dangerous, is it?" Zac asked the warlock.


    "I wouldn''t put your mother in danger like that, man," replied Dante, placing a hand on his shoulder for reassurance.


    After the servant placed a nice, clear, and somewhat large cup in the center of the table, Dante gave a brief explanation of the test and the meaning of the results.


    "Krom¡­" he said, calling the imp to his side.


    "What!? Why do you always call me in the middle of a ranked match!?" the imp exclaimed as soon as he appeared in the lab.


    "I need you to pour some of your blood in that cup," Dante casually said.


    "Aww, man¡­ Couldn''t you ask Cerberus to do it?" Krom asked with an annoyed tone.


    Still, the demon walked up to the table, raised his palm above the cup, and used his claws to squeeze some of his blood inside.


    Once the cup was filled halfway, Dante gave the imp a healthstone to cure his palm, and Krom instantly poofed away back to the house.


    "Is that all you need?" Paige inquired.


    "Mhmm, we are ready," the warlock confirmed, elaborating on how the test would go.


    The warlock''s affinity test required the individual to pour umbra into the demon blood inside the cup. Depending on the blood''s reaction, the person''s affinity would be revealed.


    There were three affinities for the warlocks.


    "Destruction warlocks are experts in¡­ well¡­ destroying things," Dante explained.


    Their magic revolved around disintegration, evaporation, explosions, or any sort of spell that could cause irreparable damage.


    "Demonology warlocks are better at handling demons and summoning them¡­" he continued.


    These warlocks relied on the demons they summoned to do their bidding, and most of their powers came from the contracts they would sign with them.


    "Then, there are affliction warlocks, who are probably the most dangerous ones¡­" said Dante.


    Affliction warlocks were experts in casting curses and spreading diseases. However, they were also more adept at synthesizing magical artifacts with the Shadow Well.


    "Hmm, why is the affliction affinity considered the most dangerous? Wouldn''t a destruction warlock be much more scarier?" Zac asked with genuine curiosity.


    Dante explained that, in Shadowvale, more than 99% of the people who lived there were warlocks, and curses weren''t something that they could break as easily as priests.


    When an affliction warlock''s experiment would fail, it would almost always leave a wake of curses and diseases that the others in Shadowvale couldn''t cleanse even if the caster were killed.


    On the other hand, a destruction warlock was easier to control since killing them would stop them from rampaging.


    Paige wrote everything down and wondered if the presence of a priest would really change the outcome of a curse.


    "Of course it would. You guys saw me casting a priest''s spell once¡­" replied Dante, making the group remember the time he healed Clara at the hospital.


    ''That was a priest''s spell? How?'' Zac pondered. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, before they could keep asking him questions, Dante guided Clara to the table and asked her to pour umbra into the blood inside the cup as he talked about the results and their meanings.


    If the blood evaporated, their affinity would be "destruction."


    If the blood turned pitch-black, it was "affliction."


    If the blood''s content decreased slightly, that meant she had absorbed it, which would be "demonology" affinity.


    "What about ''specialists''?" Paige asked, knowing that was Dante''s category.


    The warlock reminisced of the time he was a little kid living in an orphanage in Shadowvale.


    His teacher, Xander, was sitting on the ground with him, holding a wooden cup with blood in it.


    "Now, let''s see if my hunch is correct¡­" Xander muttered.


    When the young Dante pointed his hand at the cup, trails of black electrical currents appeared around it, producing a bit of smoke that shrouded them momentarily.


    "Hah, it seems I was right!" Xander exclaimed, seeing that the cup hadn''t gone through any changes.


    Dante told the group about his memories, and the scientist was stunned to know that the effect of a specialist warlock wasn''t as flashy as the others.


    "The thing is¡­ Since a specialist warlock has an affinity for all three, the umbra doesn''t know what to do with the blood, so it produces a reaction that looks like black electricity," Dante elaborated, making the scientist write it down in her notebook with haste.


    As the group was filled with anticipation, they got closer to Clara and the table to get a better view of the test.


    "Whenever you are ready, Miss Clara," said Dante.


    The redhead woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pointing her hand at the cup and hovering it a few centimeters above it.


    It took a few seconds for Clara to manipulate the umbra in the air and place it inside the cup¡ªa process that Dante watched closely.


    Suddenly, the blood started to bubble as if it was being boiled, getting darker every second until it looked like the cup was filled with a viscous, thick, shadowy liquid.


    "Hmm, affliction¡­" Dante muttered.


    Zac seemed a bit worried by the test, as Dante had just mentioned that affliction warlocks could be the most dangerous. Nonetheless, when he thought about the other two alternatives, he believed that affliction was still the most peaceful one.


    The redhead didn''t want his mother to summon demons or obliterate entire buildings with magic, so affliction seemed like the best choice for her.


    Dante, sensing the uncertainty in his friend''s umbra, said that he would teach Clara spells that could genuinely help them and would stray away from any curses.


    He still thought about teaching her a few offensive spells to protect herself in the future, but the fact that the woman would be able to use the Shadow Well efficiently could be a game-changer for their entire group.

 Chapter 97 - 97: Umbra Control

    After Clara finished her affinity test, Dante asked the woman to get some rest while he trained with Zac and Megan for a bit.


    The warlock wanted to get more of their potential out in the open, and he had an idea of how to achieve it. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the trio returned to the MET room, Paige and Clara followed them along and stayed on the spectators'' side.


    "What do you need me to do?" Paige asked, but Dante said that they didn''t need anything, as the pair would be sparring against him.


    *Gulp* Zac swallowed nervously.


    "Do you guys remember the story I told you about how the first warlocks were created?" Dante asked the pair.


    "A group of dark mages were exiled, and then they made a contract with a demon to be able to perceive umbra¡­ something like that, right?" Zac said.


    "Yes. However, they were already able to manipulate umbra¡ªthey just couldn''t see it¡­" Dante replied.


    The demon who gave the first warlocks his sight didn''t give them the ability to control umbra, as they could already do it.


    Megan slightly widened her eyes in surprise. "So, you are saying we could use that umbra?" she asked.


    "You already are using it a bit. Of course, you can''t see it, though¡­" Dante continued.


    ''We are!?'' Zac pondered in shock.


    The warlock stretched his legs and got himself in a fighting stance, which Megan taught him. "Come at me like you want to kill me," he said.


    When the pair got themselves ready, Dante took a quick step and appeared beside the two, using his palms to produce a force that pushed them against the side walls.


    Megan landed horizontally on her feet against the wall, crouching and propelling herself towards the warlock.


    Meanwhile, Zac plastered his back against the wall and dropped to the ground momentarily. ''Ouch¡­'' he thought.


    Dante avoided Megan''s retaliation with his forearm, making the woman respond with a barrage of kicks that had him take a few steps back.


    As the warlock gave his redhead friend a side-eye, he saw him quickly approaching from the back for a surprise attack, which made Dante smirk.


    Before Megan and Zac could land a blow, the warlock waved his hand to the side and flung their bodies along to one end of the room.


    "Did you guys not sense that attack?" the warlock asked the pair as they rose from the ground.


    "Kind of¡­ But my body doesn''t know how to react," Megan replied.


    Dante explained that he wasn''t casting any spells and was simply controlling the umbra around them to push them away.


    "These types of attacks are the easiest to block. You just have to focus on condensing your energy on the side where it''s coming from," the warlock said.


    "But, I can''t even feel my own energy¡­ How do I control it?" Zac pondered aloud.


    ''I see¡­ Megan is more methodical, and Zac follows his intuition,'' Dante thought.


    "Megan, if I tell you to focus your umbra to your right side¡­ Can you do it?" the warlock asked.


    The brunette exhaled deeply and closed her eyes, and Dante could see how the reddish smoke that flowed from her body moved to the right side.


    "Am I doing it?" Megan asked indifferently.


    "Mhmm¡­ You did it," said the warlock with an affirmative nod.


    "Now, your turn, Zac¡­" he continued.


    However, as soon as the redhead took a deep breath to focus, Dante rushed to his right side and waved his hand, producing a wave of umbra to push Zac aside.


    In that brief second, the redhead raised his right forearm out of pure intuition, feeling a gust of wind slightly blowing his hair.


    Zac expected to get flung against the wall again, but when he noticed that he hadn''t moved from his spot, he stood in shock.


    "You did it," Dante said with a smile.


    "I did¡­?" Zac muttered.


    "It is as I expected. Megan seems to get the concepts when explained to her, while Zac seems to follow his gut¡­" the warlock said.


    He followed up by saying that they needed to learn from each other, as Megan was relying on methodology too much, and Zac wasn''t even aware he was using umbra.


    "Meg, you should try to listen to your gut feeling more often¡ªSometimes, our bodies know more than our brains¡­" Dante commented.


    "Zac, anytime you are attacking or defending, you should try to understand the concept of it¡ªFeel the flow of energy going out of your body to better understand it¡­" he continued.


    Dante explained that the only reason that Zac was able to break Nihilor illusion''s claws was because his kick was charged with umbra. Nonetheless, the tense situation he found himself in didn''t allow him to pay close attention to his movements.


    After giving his complete analysis and suggestions to the pair, he told them to keep sparring against each other, and he would check on their progress every few days.


    "What are you going to do in the meantime?" Megan asked.


    "I''ll start looking for that dark-haired detective¡­ Alice," said Dante.


    "Camille seemed pretty distressed about it, so I want to get it over with quickly," he continued.


    The warlock had a promise with Camille that they would both help each other in achieving peaceful lives.


    When he sensed that Alice''s presence was almost a requirement for the handler to feel at peace, he felt a sense of responsibility in saving her, as it was part of his promise.


    "I''ll start looking for her tonight¡­ I think I''ll pay the kids a visit before then," Dante commented.


    After the warlock left the laboratory, he took the elevator to the guests'' room of the skyscraper, where the teenagers stayed the night.


    The apartment had a modern and sleek design. It had four bedrooms with king-sized beds, a jacuzzi overlooking the city, an open kitchen, and an expansive living room with a 70-inch TV.


    "Big bro!" Jake exclaimed as Dante walked in, seeing the teenagers having lunch in the living room, with both Rina and Rona standing beside them.


    The warlock politely greeted the servants who had helped him in the past and checked on the kids'' well-being.


    "Hehe, we are all feeling much better now!" Jake said, flexing his arms to show his muscles.


    "Th-thanks for saving us again, big bro¡­" Lina interjected, looking down with embarrassment.


    "Don''t mention it¡ªIt was thanks to Zac being there," Dante said, patting the girl on the head.


    As the warlock retracted his hand, the positive energy flowing from Lina surprised him for a brief moment.


    ''Such honest and genuine gratitude coming from a child¡­ Can''t say I''m used to this,'' Dante thought.


    ''Well¡­ I don''t hate it either,'' he continued, letting out a slight smile.

 Chapter 98 - 98: The Mole in the Police

    The following day after Alice''s disappearance, Detective June arrived at the police headquarters early in the morning with a tired expression and bags under her eyes.


    The woman was angry and desperate to look for Alice, so she instantly went to her captain''s office to ask for his help.


    Captain Slacks was in charge of one of the biggest Novis Police Departments, and he was the one who paired June with Alice after recognizing the woman''s talents.


    As soon as the man heard that the senior detective hadn''t appeared, he began a massive search, ordering all the patrols to look for Detective Morris.


    June hadn''t reported the incident the moment it happened since Camille suggested she kept it a secret, knowing that a mole was inside the police.


    Nevertheless, the detective trusted her captain, who had been a good mentor to her ever since she joined the police academy, and believed that he could help immensely in looking for Alice.


    When June left her captain''s office, she went through all of the documents that Alice had been reading about the cases of missing people, searching for a clue about her whereabouts.


    Nevertheless, she couldn''t find anything of substance.


    *Tch!* The detective angrily clicked her tongue.


    ''I really don''t want to depend on those guys¡­'' June thought.


    Even though the captain had ordered dozens of police patrols to look for Alice, she knew that the monster that kidnapped her wouldn''t be that simple to track down.


    She reminisced about the moment she was at the park when Zac and Dante materialized from the shadows and fought the demon on equal terms.


    June witnessed the demon getting shot and healing himself, so she couldn''t understand how the warlock and his friend were able to hurt him without any firepower.


    When she first started working with Alice, the senior told her the story of a demon who had attacked and exterminated the Jade Dragons.


    While the story described the monster''s appearance, June thought that it was exaggerated and that the demon was most likely a very ugly and strong person.


    However, it was hard to ignore the sight she had seen at the park, which completely refuted her thoughts.


    ''It''s obvious those guys know what we are up against¡­ and they have the means to fight them, too,'' June pondered.


    As she kept delving deep into her thoughts, she grabbed and shook her head with frustration. "Damn it¡­" she muttered.


    The woman couldn''t bring herself to trust anyone from the Jade Dragons, with Camille and Dante as her two primary people in mind. Still, she understood it was her only option.


    By dusk, June was still in the office, reading through the different police reports of missing people that had been ignored for months.


    One of them mentioned a couple who had disappeared in the middle of a highway, leaving their car running on the side of the road.


    "Hmm, this is an interstate highway¡­" June pondered aloud.


    It was the only case that took place in that area, and June knew that the highway had exits leading to a few small towns on the Novis'' outskirts before reaching another province of Novaria.


    The detective planned to send a few patrols to those residential areas to look for any suspicious activity, grabbed the report, and made her way to her captain''s office.


    *Knock, knock, knock.* "Captain¡­?" June asked, getting no response from the other side.


    Believing that it was urgent, June opened the door and thought about waiting inside so that she could explain her new plan.


    ''He is usually here around this time¡­ Where is he?'' she pondered.


    After sitting across the desk, June noticed a corner of a piece of paper peeking out of a filing cabinet.


    On any other typical day, she wouldn''t have paid attention to it. However, the rookie detective was so stressed and frustrated that she couldn''t help fixing the peeking document.


    When she opened the cabinet, she found dozens of unarranged files that had seemingly been placed inside with urgency as they had a few folds and scratches.


    ''Since when has the captain been this messy¡­?'' June wondered, grabbing the first file and widening her eyes in shock.


    ''This¡­ A missing person case from two days ago!'' she thought in disbelief.


    With haste, June started to go through all of the jumbled files, noticing that all of them were recent cases of people disappearing, and none of them said anything about supernatural stuff.


    ''No¡­ It can''t be,'' June thought, getting interrupted as the office''s door opened abruptly.


    "She is here, guys!" a random officer exclaimed.


    June nervously turned around to speak up about her findings, but Captain Slacks entered before she could say anything, and the girl ate up her words out of fear.


    "Place Detective June under arrest for the murder of Detective Alice," the captain ordered, prompting two policemen to enter the office and grab the woman''s arms.


    "What!? No!" June exclaimed, tugging her arms from the men to no avail.


    "You guys don''t get it¡ªIt''s the captain that has been hiding the reports¡­ He is the mole!" June shouted, prompting one of the policemen to slap her in the face.


    The detective was in shock momentarily from the blow, drawing a bit of blood from her lips and gazing to the side, seeing that the two policemen were smiling.


    ''These bastards are moles too¡­'' she thought, gritting her teeth with anger.


    "You should have just worked on the case I gave you¡­" Slacks commented.


    "Captain, you are being mind-controlled by a demon!" June shouted, trying to get the man to come to his senses.


    However, when the captain turned around, his face was wholly unrecognizable to the woman, as his eyes were sharp and severe. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All of her memories with the captain had the man smiling warmly and supporting her through the police academy. Now, it showed disdain and hatred for her.


    "Hmm? What makes you think I''m mind-controlled?" the captain asked.


    "You¡­ what are you saying!? You are not like this, captain!" June continued, making the man scoff with laughter.


    "Take her away," he said, prompting the guards to drag her to the cells forcefully.

 Chapter 99 - 99: Imprisoned Detective

    On the same day that Dante conducted the warlock test for Clara and trained with Zac and Megan, he paid a visit to the teenagers in the skyscraper guests'' room.


    After hanging out with the kids for a few minutes, Camille called Dante to her office after receiving a message from Trinity.


    "Hey¡­ oh, what happened?" said Dante as soon as he entered the handler''s office, sensing her worried umbra.


    "Trinity sent me a message¡­ She can''t track June''s phone anymore," Camille commented.


    "Uhh, June?" he asked.


    "The rookie detective," the handler clarified.


    "Oh, right¡­ The woman who doesn''t trust us at all," the warlock said, unamused.


    "Yeah¡­ her," Camille muttered, placing a hand on her chin.


    "I don''t get it, though. Why are you so worried about her? That woman doesn''t want our help," Dante commented, sensing that the umbra around Camille was quite strong.


    Camille let out a slight smile. "I know that¡­" she said.


    From Dante''s experiences, whenever someone didn''t want his help, he complied. Warlocks were able to sense a person''s true intentions and feelings, and having someone who utterly distrusted him didn''t motivate Dante to want to help.


    The reason he felt instantly comfortable around Camille and Megan was because he could sense absolutely zero malice coming from them.


    When they asked him for help, their words were genuine, and their gratitude was real and palpable.


    In his past world, warlocks were feared by most, so it was rare for him to receive those types of emotions directed at him from someone else.


    After Dante gave Camille his point of view, she nodded in understanding. "I get it¡­ If I could see someone''s true feelings toward me, it would probably prevent me from acting," she said.


    "Still, my gut has never failed me, so I''ll keep listening to it until it''s wrong¡­" the handler continued. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Camille got in contact with a member of the Epsilon Team, who was undercover working for the Novis Police Department.


    When she asked about June''s whereabouts, the man sent her a full police report that stated that June had been incarcerated for killing Alice, slightly shocking the handler.


    "I see¡­ So it must be Captain Slacks," Camille deduced.


    The handler had investigated June''s entire life, and she knew that she was Captain Slack''s favorite after becoming the fastest rookie to complete the academy training.


    The fact that she was jailed for something as ridiculous as murdering her superior made it almost too obvious for Camille to resolve.


    Moreover, they put her behind bars without evidence, which was something that only a high-ranked officer could do if they were corrupted enough.


    "I want to get her out of there¡­ It''s only a matter of time before she is silenced," the handler said.


    The rest of the Jade Dragons'' teams were busy with their gang war and protecting their home, so Camille considered asking Dante to see if he could possibly get her out.


    "Hmmm, I guess¡­ I''m not very compelled to help that woman, but I did say I would help you," said Dante.


    "Thank you, Dante. I promise I''ll make it up to you," Camille said with a slight smile.


    "How should I approach this, though? I''ve never been to a prison here¡­" Dante commented.


    "I did watch that one movie with Sophie about the brothers who escape from prison¡­ But they do it with a spoon from the inside, so it''s probably not the best reference," he continued.


    "She was sent to Barretto¡­ That''s one of the highest-security prisons in the country," Megan replied as she checked the report.


    A few minutes later, Trinity sent Camille a detailed map of the prison, which she opened on a big screen behind her desk.


    "This is the side where the solitary confinement cells are at¡­ She is probably going to be sent to one of those," the handler explained, pointing at the map.


    The warlock was planning on attacking some of the Ruby Vipers'' bases that night, but his plans had changed entirely.


    After finishing their scheme, Dante was given a new set of clothing for the night.


    He would have to wear the full mask that Camille had gifted him, which now was connected to both the handler and Trinity so they could guide him at any time.


    As for the rest of his outfit, Camille told him to choose whatever he felt more comfortable in.


    ''If this were anyone else, I would have asked them to wear tactical armor¡­ lots of it,'' Camille thought, knowing that the warlock didn''t need that much protection.


    When Dante was ready, he wore a black jacket, black pants, and a black shirt underneath, which was a standard color for someone to wear whenever they were about to commit crimes.


    "You get in, you grab June, you get out¡­" Camille said.


    Later that night, Dante left the skyscraper inside an SUV conducted by Neil, the leader of the Kappa Team.


    "Got a difficult mission tonight, eh?" Neil casually commented as he drove.


    "Hmmm, I''m not sure if it will be difficult yet¡­ It''s certainly different," Dante replied.


    "Hah, you are pretty calm for someone about to break into a high-security prison. It seems Maya was right about you¡­" the driver said.


    "Hmm? Miss Maya?"


    "Yeah, from the Gamma Team, you know? She said you were pretty reliable and always stayed calm in crazy situations," Neil clarified.


    Nevertheless, the warlock didn''t know how to take the compliment, as he was used to people speaking awful things about him behind his back.


    "You seem pretty calm, too, Mister Neil," Dante said.


    "Well, you know, at a certain point in my life, I just kinda stopped giving a shit," Neil replied, his words producing a small amount of umbra that were detected by the warlock.


    ''Hmm, he isn''t lying, but he also isn''t telling the whole truth¡­'' Dante thought.


    Still, the warlock could sense that whatever that "truth" was, it wasn''t detrimental to him or the Jade Dragons, so he decided to ignore it and respect Neil''s privacy.

 Chapter 100 - 100: Prison Break (Part 1)

    It was late at night inside the prison of Barretto, where some of the most dangerous criminals in Novaria resided.


    At the end of a long hallway, Detective June found herself inside a solitary confinement cell, wearing her orange prisoner uniform as she lay down on the cold cement floor.


    The girl had a few bruises on her face and arms after receiving a beating from the guards who detained her.


    Her eyes were swollen from the tears she had been shedding, and her throat was as dry as a desert.


    *Sob* "Alice¡­ I''m sorry," June muttered to herself.


    Shortly after she was detained inside Captain Slack''s office, she was instantly transferred to Barretto, which wasn''t the usual procedure.


    The woman had been falsely accused as a murderer and incarcerated without evidence, so she understood that her captain was pulling the strings to have her excommunicated as quickly as possible.


    ''I''m utterly powerless¡­'' she thought.


    June remembered how Zac and Dante were able to stand against the demon that impaled Alice.


    She didn''t trust them, but the woman still admired and envied their strength, replaying in her mind the moment when Dante turned the demon into dust with one hand.


    As the woman crunched her body into a fetal position, she heard footsteps coming toward her cell, making her perk up with fear and anticipation.


    The detective was aware of the poor treatment that the prisoners received inside Barretto, and after being beaten and dumped in solitary confinement, she believed that her torment for the day was over.


    Unfortunately, when she peeked through the small hole in the iron door, she spotted two guards snickering as they leisurely approached her cell.


    "Heheh, who would have guessed that the captain was going to abandon her student," said one of the guards, spinning a set of keys on his finger.


    "He did say to ''do as you wish with her''¡ªDon''t mind if we do, cap''n," said the second guard, letting out a perverse laugh.


    "She is only 21, right? That''s prime meat right there!" the guard replied, depravedly licking his lips.


    June clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she heard the men talking while walking towards her, a mixture of fear and regret overwhelming her body.


    ''If I had just followed the Winter handler''s plan¡­'' she thought, tears forming under her eyes.


    "Wakey, wakey, detective¡­ We are here to feed you!" one of the guards exclaimed, continuously slamming his baton against the wall.


    Still, the men''s lack of a food tray in their hands made it clear that they were speaking loudly to mask their real intent.


    ''Please¡­ I beg you. If there is any god out there, please¡­ HELP ME!''


    ____________________


    A small distance away from the prison, an SUV was parked on the side of a highway, as it was the safest place for Dante to be dropped off without raising suspicions.


    "Are you sure you don''t want me to wait for you around here?" Neil asked the warlock, who stretched his arms and legs as he got out of the vehicle.


    "Yeah, I''ll just take her directly to the city¡­" Dante confidently replied.


    "Gotcha. If you need my help, then just let the boss know, and I''ll come right back to get ya''," Neil said before driving off.


    When Dante hopped over the safety fence on the side of the highway, he put on his mask and cast his "Wings of the Fallen" spell, producing a pair of shadowy, black feathered pinions to appear on his back.


    With a single flap, the warlock rose high in the air and spotted the prison nearby, launching himself in its direction at high speeds.


    There were four towers on each corner of the prison''s squared territory, separated by tall, iron fences with a razor wire on top that could also electrocute any climbers.


    While flying above the building, he could clearly listen to Camille''s voice in his ear through his mask, guiding him towards the south side of the prison, where the solitary confinement cells were located.


    "Is this really a high-security prison? This looks a bit too easy¡­" Dante said on his microphone.


    ["It''s the best one in the province. Not in the whole country, though,"] Trinity interjected in the intercoms.


    "I see. Thanks, Miss Trinity¡­ Either way, there doesn''t seem to be anything in there that could pose a problem," Dante said, still suspended a few hundred meters in the air above the prison grounds. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ["If you are confident, then go ahead and do as you wish,"] the handler commented, watching the live feed from Dante''s mask.


    When the warlock got closer to the southern part of the prison, he sensed a high density of umbra coming from a single area, raging with fear and desperation.


    ''That''s her¡­'' Dante thought, recognizing the aura as that of the rookie detective.


    Even though Dante didn''t have X-ray vision that allowed him to peek inside, he could see the expansive red cloud of umbra flowing from the woman, allowing him to locate her position accurately.


    Her energy was overflowing with fear, regret, sadness, rage, and disgust¡ªa conglomerate of negative emotions.


    However, he could sense two more clouds of umbra that were approaching the woman, but the emotions that the warlock read from those clouds were entirely different.


    ''Malice, perversion¡­ Ugh, nasty,'' Dante thought, analyzing the aura of the guards.


    "It seems like you were right in sending me here, Camille," Dante spoke up.


    ["Is that right?"] the handler said on the intercom.


    "I can sense two of the worst kind of people getting closer to her¡­" Dante continued.


    ["As I said, do as you wish. Although, if they are the worst kind, you might as well take them out,"] Camille replied.


    The handler didn''t exactly know what Dante meant by "the worst kind of people." Still, she trusted his instincts and judgment, so she didn''t even bother asking.


    Trinity, who was watching the live feed from an unknown dark room, pondered the entire time how the warlock was able to fly¡ªmore than that, she wondered how he would infiltrate the place.

 Chapter 101 - 101: Prison Break (Part 2)

    When the two prison guards arrived at June''s cell, they opened the iron door and allowed the light from outside to enter the room.


    The detective stood against the back wall of her cell, gritting her teeth and raising her arms, ready to fight back against the perverse guards.


    One of the men was holding a baton, gently slamming it against his palm in a threatening way. The other man had a rope, which he kept stretching as if he was showcasing its durability.


    "Now, detective¡­ You don''t want to fight us," a guard said.


    "Stay the fuck back!" June shouted, a vein popping out of her neck.


    The perverted and evil smiles that the men had were the only thing that June could clearly see in that dark room, and as the two guards slowly approached her, she closed her eyes, full of regret.


    *boom¡­ boom¡­ BOOM!* The rumbling sounds of explosions could be heard inside the cell, alerting June and the two guards.


    "What was that?" A guard asked.


    "Meh¡­" the other one shrugged, turning his attention back to the detective. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, the entire solitary confinement cell imploded all around the detective, as the walls and iron door were turned into dust.


    Some of the debris flew straight at the guards'' faces, while June seemed to be enveloped by an invisible energy that disintegrated any piece of rock flying her way.


    When the destruction ceased, the two guards stood in shock as they saw the completely intact woman standing in the center of the destroyed room.


    The back wall had an opening that led through the prison all the way to the outside courtyard, and the side walls and iron door had been utterly deleted.


    "Wh-what the fuck did you do!?" A guard exclaimed, pulling out his gun from his holster.


    Nonetheless, as soon as he pointed his weapon at the detective, his entire arm was blown away by the same invisible force, making the man cry out in pain while kneeling on the ground.


    From the hole in the back wall leading to the courtyard, Dante appeared, wearing his full mask so that the cameras wouldn''t identify him as his jacket flowed against the wind current.


    When June saw the man, she felt fear for a brief moment as Dante''s crimson eyes glared at the guards with an intimidating aura.


    "Apologies. I didn''t mean to startle you¡­" Dante commented.


    ''I know that voice!'' June thought, recognizing the warlock.


    The alarms of the prison started ringing as the red lights on the walls spun rapidly, making the second guard pull out his gun.


    "Hey¡­ What the hell were you two about to do?" Dante asked the guard, noticing the rope and baton on the floor.


    "Shut up. Hands up, now!" the guard shouted.


    "Shoot me, coward," Dante defiantly said.


    *Bang!* The guard shot, making the man let out a nervous smile.


    However, when he looked back at the warlock, he was holding the bullet in his palm, flicked it with his thumb, and threw it back at the guard, hitting him in the chest with a force just as strong as a gun.


    "You two are the worst kinds of people that could ever exist¡­" Dante said, stomping on the face of the guard with the bullet wound.


    "Did you become policemen so you could safely commit your atrocities? Honestly, sometimes humans can be worse than demons¡­" he continued.


    The guard who lost his arm reached for his companion''s gun but was kicked in the face by June, who snapped out of her shock to help Dante, slightly surprising him.


    "Destro," he said, blowing away the other arm of the man.


    Dante could have obliterated their bodies along with the cell with the very first destro he cast. However, the warlock couldn''t resist making horrible people suffer before their deaths.


    ["Dante, you gotta move quickly¡­"] Camille said on the intercom.


    "Hmm, you two are lucky¡­" Dante said, casting a final destro that turned the two guards into dust.


    June was perplexed and scared but somehow relieved¡ªemotions that the warlock was able to sense.


    "I know you don''t trust me, but I''m here to get you out¡­ If you want," Dante commented.


    "So, it is you¡­ I knew it," June replied.


    "Umm, yeah. It is me¡­" the warlock said, scratching the back of his head, expecting the woman to tell him off.


    ''Hmm?'' Dante''s attention was caught by the woman''s flow of energy, which seemed a bit different than before.


    June still didn''t entirely trust the warlock, but she still held her hand out as if asking for help, prompting Dante to intuitively hold her hand and carry her in her arms like a princess.


    "What are you doing!?" she asked, her cheeks slightly flushed.


    "I sensed that you wanted my help¡­ It was only for a brief second, but it was there," the warlock said with a smirk.


    "Let''s get you out of here, detective," he continued, asking the woman to brace herself.


    "Brace myself for whaaaaaaaat-" June''s screams echoed in the prison as Dante bolted out to the courtyard through the gaping hole he had created in the building.


    ''What the hell is this speed!?'' the detective thought.


    When they got out in the open, large groups of guards were gathered around the hole in the wall, pointing their weapons at the warlock.


    "Put the woman down and get on the ground!" a policeman yelled.


    "Miss, brace yourself again," Dante muttered.


    This time, however, June listened to his warning and held tightly onto his neck, seeing the black feathered wings that appeared on his back.


    ''Woah¡­'' June thought, her eyes widened with surprise and admiration.


    With a single flap, the warlock rose dozens of meters into the air and launched himself straight out of the prison grounds, spinning a few times mid-air to avoid the bullets that flew towards him.


    June closed her eyes out of fear, but when Dante''s flying stabilized, she opened them and found the night city in the distance quite beautiful.


    The woman couldn''t see Dante''s face with the mask, but the warlock had a satisfied expression, as he could feel the woman''s gratitude while flying away.

 Chapter 102 - 102: The Captain’s Home

    After Dante flew away from the prison with Detective June in his arms, they reached the downtown area and landed on a building''s rooftop.


    ["I asked the Kappa Team to leave a bag there with a change of clothes,"] Camille said on the intercom.


    Behind an AC unit, the warlock found the backpack filled with women''s clothing and passed it to June so that she could remove the orange jumpsuit.


    "Thanks¡­" the detective muttered, looking to the side with embarrassment.


    "Oh, right¡­ Apologies," Dante replied, turning around to give the woman privacy when changing.


    As the woman removed her orange uniform and put on the jeans, blouse, and jacket that was left for her, she asked Dante why he had saved her.


    "Well, I was asked nicely by a friend¡­" he replied.


    "Was it Camille Winter?" June asked again.


    ["Feel free to talk to her about anything¡­"] Camille interjected on the intercom, allowing Dante to say what was on his mind.


    The warlock nodded affirmatively, and June looked down with apprehension. "Sorry¡­" she muttered.


    "I ruined everything¡­ I couldn''t help Alice and got myself in this mess," the detective continued.


    Sensing that the woman had already finished changing clothes, Dante turned around to make eye contact with her.


    ''That''s quite a lot of regret¡­'' he thought, detailing the umbra flowing from June. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The rookie detective explained that she had been betrayed by her captain, which was exactly what Camille suspected from the beginning.


    "I feel so dumb¡­ If I would have listened to Alice, none of this would''ve happened. She told me to trust the Winter handler, but I couldn''t bring myself to do it!" June exclaimed as the tears rolled down her face.


    "Miss¡­" Dante spoke up, abruptly stopping his sentence as he felt like the umbra of the woman who wholly distrusted him had changed.


    *Sigh* The warlock exhaled. "I can see that you trust me a little bit now¡­ Miss June, do you know where your captain lives?" he said.


    June was surprised to hear Dante''s question. Nervously nodding, she said that she had visited the captain''s family a few times while she was at the academy.


    "Camille, what do you think?" Dante asked the handler, who had been listening through the warlock''s microphone.


    ["If you still have energy, go ahead,"] Camille replied.


    As Detective June gave the address of her captain''s home, Trinity and Camille looked it up to provide Dante with directions on how to get there.


    "Wh-what are you going to do?" June asked.


    "Hmm? I''m paying him a visit, of course¡­" Dante replied.


    Before making his way to Captain Slack''s home, the warlock picked up June and flew down to a lone street, where an SUV with a Kappa Team member was waiting to pick the woman up.


    "Are you sure you''ll be alright?" June inquired.


    ''Is she¡­ worried about me now?'' Dante thought, scoffing with a soft laugh.


    "Why are you laughing!?" the detective exclaimed.


    "I just think you are a bit funny¡ªIt kind of reminds me of Zac¡­" Dante commented.


    ''Who?'' The woman thought.


    "Don''t worry about me. You just saw me plow through a prison¡­ I doubt your captain''s home will give me any troubles," the warlock said as his black wings appeared on his back.


    When Dante left the scene, Trinity gave him directions toward the corrupted police captain''s mansion.


    The man lived in a large house in a wealthy gated community with his wife and two children.


    Captain Slacks was sleeping peacefully next to his wife, his home utterly silent late at night.


    *Crack¡­* A faint sound came from the bedroom wall.


    *Crack¡­* A second time, prompting the captain to open his eyes slowly.


    ''What was that¡­?'' he thought, slightly dazed.


    *Crack¡­!* The sound of the wall rupturing became louder, making the man sit up in his bed with haste.


    As his gaze faced the window, he saw the silhouette of a man with dark wings on his back, hovering outside while his crimson eyes peeked from his mask.


    "What in the hell is¡ª!" *BOOM!* An invisible force imploded the entire wall, leaving the bedroom exposed to the outside.


    The captain''s wife woke up and screamed in fear as Dante gently landed on the ledge he had created himself.


    Glaring at the two individuals inside, the warlock shook his head in disappointment.


    "How unfortunate¡­ For a piece of shit like you to have such a sweet wife," Dante commented.


    The warlock could see the two different flows of umbra inside the room. The woman''s umbra showed no malice or ill intent¡ªutterly clean and serene.


    ''This lady wouldn''t even hurt a fly¡­'' Dante thought.


    On the other hand, Captain Slacks'' umbra was overflowing with malice and murderous intent¡ªa sight that made the man look no different than a demon to Dante.


    When the man tried reaching for his gun on his bedside table, Dante took a single step and appeared beside him, grabbing him by the hair and forcefully slamming his face on the floor, breaking his nose and a front tooth.


    One slam was all it took for Slacks to lose consciousness, and as Dante picked him up like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder, he turned around to look at the woman one more time.


    "Apologies, Miss. Your husband has been working with demons and is responsible for the death of thousands¡­ You have my condolences," Dante said, flying away with the man.


    ["Why did you say that to her?"] Camille asked on the intercom.


    "I don''t know¡ªI felt sorry for her¡­ That woman had a nice and warm energy flow. I guess I don''t like seeing people that innocent get hurt," he replied.


    Camille smiled after hearing his answer, feeling like she understood the warlock''s feelings a little better after the interaction.


    Getting back on track, the handler guided Dante to a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, where they were going to interrogate Captain Slacks.


    Thankfully, Dante''s flying allowed him to get there in a few minutes. However, he still had to wait half an hour for Camille and June to show up.

 Chapter 103 - 103: Slacks’ Interrogation

    When it was very late at night in the outskirts of Novis, Camille arrived at the warehouse where Dante was waiting with the unconscious police captain.


    The handler brought along Detective June, as she believed the girl deserved to be there, a few members of the Alpha Team, and Paige, who would take care of the torture.


    As Captain Slacks was stripped of his clothes and left in his underwear, he was tied to a metal chair in the center of the warehouse.


    *Splash!* A member of the Alpha Team dumped a bucket of cold water on the man, making him gasp loudly as he abruptly opened his eyes.


    "What¡­!? Where am I!?" Slacks shouted.


    "Silence!" Camille yelled back, showing her face to the man.


    "You¡­ The Winter bitch¡ªugh!" the man said, instantly getting punched in the face by the Alpha Team member standing beside him.


    "That''s alright. He can call me whatever he wants¡­ It''s not like he is going to be talking to anyone ever again after this," Camille said, her gaze cold and severe.


    The captain widened his eyes slightly, realizing the situation he was in, and turned to look back at the handler.


    "We''ve worked together in the past, right?" Camille asked.


    "Well, you didn''t work directly with me, but you did with my father," she continued.


    "You know what''s crazy? I only just learned recently why my father suddenly changed his attitude¡­" Camille said, turning to look at Dante.


    "What do you think? Is he corrupted?" the woman asked the warlock.


    However, Dante had already analyzed the man''s body, and he could confirm that Captain Slacks was NOT under Nihilor''s mind control.


    "I see¡­" Camille muttered, lowering her gaze with anger.


    "He did all of this willingly," the handler continued.


    As Paige and the Alpha Team members prepared the table with all the torture tools that the scientist needed, the captain got more agitated and raised his voice.


    "Wait, wait. I have a family to take care of!" Slacks shouted, making Camille raise an eyebrow in disbelief.


    "All of those missing people had families, too, but you didn''t think twice about feeding them to a monster," the handler replied, her stone-cold voice slicing through the air.


    The captain gritted his teeth. "You stupid bitch! I''m the captain of the police¡ªDo you think you can get away with this!?" he shouted, receiving another punch in the face that knocked out a tooth.


    "Let''s start with an easy question¡­ Where is Alice?" Camille asked.


    "Heh, I don''t know¡ªugh!" the captain got punched in the gut.


    June and Dante were watching from the dark side of the warehouse, away from the man''s gaze, and the warlock noticed the sad umbra flowing from the detective.


    Paige began torturing the man for answers, starting with the nails in his hands. However, even after taking an entire hand''s worth of nails, the captain didn''t want to speak.


    When the scientist asked for the captain''s underwear to be removed, two cables were connected between his legs, making the man cry out horribly in pain. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a little over forty-five minutes of torture, Captain Slacks decided to tell them how he got to that position.


    Slacks worked closely with Camille''s father during the Jade Dragons'' era. Although they weren''t friends, they didn''t have a bad relationship.


    That''s how the captain ended up meeting Sabelio, who went to him after leaving the Jade Dragons and asked him to join a cult.


    At first, Slacks was skeptical and thought about denying Sabelio''s invitation, thinking that the man had gone crazy.


    However, as a police officer, he decided to check it out in case he needed to get involved, so he accepted Sabelio''s invitation as a way to infiltrate the cult.


    Captain Slacks was blindfolded and taken into the back of a car that drove him to an unknown cathedral, taking his blindfold off once he was inside.


    When Slacks first met the demon Astaroth, he felt incredible fear that prevented him from uttering a word to the monster.


    Astaroth promised that the people in their cult would live promising lives. Nobody would be able to take them down, as the demon proclaimed himself one of the kings of hell.


    The captain didn''t know what to do. He knew that he was no match for the demon, even if he called for reinforcements.


    Before he was taken back to the precinct, Astaroth showed his interest in the captain, saying that they needed a smart man working with them.


    The demon could see the captain''s umbra, so he knew that the man had the potential to become a powerful ally to them¡ªHe was simply indecisive.


    Nonetheless, when Astaroth showcased his powers and destroyed a building with one spell, Slacks understood that there was nothing that could match the demon''s strength, so he decided to join them in order to stay safe.


    As time passed and the Jade Dragons were exterminated, the captain slowly became an Astaroth fanatic, genuinely believing that he could reach greater heights if he worked for the demon.


    When a group of the gang called Red River was suddenly eliminated the night Dante arrived in their world, the captain called Detective Alice and June to take care of it. Not because he wanted to find the culprits but because they were messing with Astaroth''s business.


    June clenched her fists with anger, realizing she had been used as a pawn by one of the people she trusted the most.


    "It''s unfortunate¡­ They were both good detectives," Slacks commented, prompting June to come out of the shadows.


    "June¡­!" the captain said, his eyes widened in disbelief.


    "You¡­ You piece of shit!" June shouted, punching the man hard in the face and splashing his blood on the metal chair.


    *Ptoo* Slacks spat out more blood. "Is that a way to treat your mentor?" he asked.


    "Shut the fuck up!" *Slam!* June screamed in anger, closing her fists so tightly that her arms shivered, striking Slacks numerous times in the face.


    The rest of the people present in the warehouse didn''t say a word, allowing the woman to vent her frustrations on the captain.


    They had gotten his side of the story, but there was still vital information that they needed to extract from him, so Camille reminded the rookie detective to go easy, as they couldn''t have the man die on them so quickly.

 Chapter 104 - 104: Alice Meets the Demons

    On the night of Alice''s disappearance, Nihilor took the unconscious woman to Highpoint Town on the outskirts of Novis.


    When the dark-haired detective opened her eyes, she found herself tied up and carried by Nihilor''s tail.


    ''Ugh¡­ What happened¡­?'' Alice thought.


    ''I shot at the monster and then¡­'' she continued pondering, halting herself as she spotted her surroundings.


    Nihilor was walking on a dark street towards a plaza, where a group of hooded men were chanting unrecognizable words around a pentagram on the floor.


    As Alice''s gaze swept over the plaza, she couldn''t help but shudder. The scene was populated with demons who had skinny figures, long horns, and obsidian skin¡ªreminiscent of the fiend that Dante had vanquished in the depths of the sewers.


    Gazing to her other side, she spotted a couple of ashen-skinned demons, with half of their bodies merging into the shadows in the ground.


    The detective felt a surge of fear, which Nihilor sensed, and turned to look at his captive.


    "Hmm? You are awake¡­" Nihilor commented, moving his tail to get the woman closer to his face.


    ''She must be quite strong¡­ I was expecting to have her sleep for a few more days,'' the demon thought.


    "Where are we¡­?" Alice asked, trying to put up a brave front.


    However, her umbra gave her true feelings of horror away, making Nihilor laugh and throw the woman against a light pole next to the plaza.


    Alice felt a sting on her ribs, where a bit of blood poured out as she tried sitting up on the ground.


    ''I did get stabbed¡­'' she thought, putting pressure on the wound.


    As soon as her back straightened, the demon encircled her neck with his tail, prompting the detective to use her other arm and place it between his grip to allow her to keep breathing.


    "You are so scared but still so defiant¡­" Nihilor said, raising the woman in the air with his tail.


    "What''s this about?" A deep voice echoed in the plaza, making all of the hooded men turn and kneel.


    Alice couldn''t see who was speaking at first, but as Nihilor kneeled and moved his tail, she was able to detail the figure of the massive demon standing before them.


    "My king, I have news¡­" Nihilor commented.


    "The children in the sewers didn''t know anything, but I encountered the man who killed Malgaroth," the demon continued, describing Dante''s appearance.


    "So, it truly is Hellslayer¡­" Astaroth muttered.


    Still, Nihilor expressed his doubts about the man''s identity as the real "Hellslayer."


    "He was slightly powerful, but I cannot see that man being even close to your level, my king. Besides, he had the support of another who could wield umbra¡­" Nihilor explained.


    While Astaroth seemed more worried about Dante''s presence in the city, Nihilor kept underestimating him and thought about ways to kill him.


    A few seconds later, Sabelio arrived at the plaza''s meeting, kneeling before Astaroth and seeing the woman hanging from Nihilor''s tail.


    "Why did you bring that woman here!?" Sabelio exclaimed, slightly confusing the two demons.


    "What''s the matter, Sabelio?" Astaroth inquired.


    The old man explained that Alice was one of the best police detectives in Novaria, and she worked directly under Captain Slacks.


    Messing with the police was risky, as their location could be leaked if they decided to use all of their resources to look for the detective.


    The cult had been targeting random civilians purposely to avoid having the police involved, as Captain Slacks was already busy enough hiding all of the reports from missing people.


    "Bah, Nihilor you idiot! Why did you bring that woman here!?" Astaroth angrily asked.


    "I was not aware, my king! I only brought her to feed on her soul¡ªThis woman is quite strong!" Nihilor replied loudly but with apprehension to defend himself.


    "I''ll talk to Slacks¡­ If I remember correctly, Detective Alice had a partner¡­" Sabelio commented.


    "Stay away from her!" Alice interrupted the bunch after hearing them mention her partner.


    "Nihilor, silence your pet!" Astaroth commanded, prompting the fiend to slam his tail on the ground, hitting Alice''s head against the pavement.


    Blood dripped down Alice''s forehead, and her vision got blurry from the strike. Still, she stayed conscious and listened to the demon''s schemes.


    Changing the topic, Astaroth asked Sabelio if he had completed the tasks he had been given, and the old man nodded affirmatively.


    "All the succubi were summoned successfully, my king," Sabelio commented.


    "Good. What about the wraiths?" The massive demon asked, prompting the old man to nod again.


    Astaroth chuckled, his laugh deep and unsettling. He said that their preparations were almost finished and commanded Sabelio to speak with Captain Slacks to make sure that Nihilor''s actions were swept under the rug. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Sabelio politely bowed in front of the demon, he took one last gaze at the bloodied detective hanging on Nihilor''s tail.


    ''What a shame¡­ After Slacks told us she could find information from the Jade Dragons, she ended up crossing us,'' the old man thought.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t feel an ounce of guilt or regret, as he had been sacrificing too many people to care who was next.


    That same night, Sabelio called Captain Slacks and gave him an update on their status, telling him about the different kinds of demons that had been summoned to help them.


    Moreover, he told the captain that Nihilor captured Alice after the two detectives met with the demon.


    ["What the fuck!? I thought you said you wouldn''t mess with my department!"] The captain exclaimed on the phone.


    "I can''t do anything if she attacks the demon. They''ve brought this upon themselves!" Sabelio replied.


    "The rookie will probably come to you¡ªYou know what to do," the old man continued.


    Captain Slacks gritted his teeth and said that he would get it done before hanging up the call.


    The following morning, before Detective June came to the office, Slacks spoke to two policemen who were under the corruption effects of Nihilor, explaining that they would have to imprison the detective in a few hours.


    Before June even reported Alice''s disappearance to her captain, the man had already filed a report to have her incarcerated in Barretto that same evening.


    Of course, he never expected that she would break out later that night.

 Chapter 105 - 105: The Blood Dragons’ Scheme

    Late at night, inside the warehouse where Dante and his group were interrogating Captain Slacks, June was seen wrapping a bandage around her knuckles after unleashing a barrage of punches on her mentor.


    Slacks'' face was slightly disfigured, missing a few teeth and the nails on his right hand.


    "There''s no point in me telling you anything¡­ You can''t win," Slacks muttered, blood dripping down his mouth.


    "They have summoned a large number of those monsters¡­ Succubi, wraiths, fiends, harpies¡­ Heh, what can you even do!?" the captain continued.


    Camille gazed at Dante as the man listed the different types of demons that were being summoned, but the warlock didn''t seem bothered by any of the names mentioned.


    "What do you think?" she asked.


    "Those are all pretty annoying¡­ I guess the wraiths would be the most dangerous," Dante commented, placing a hand on his chin.


    The captain found it strange that Dante would describe the demons as "annoying," making him remember the warning Sabelio gave him about a man with dark hair and crimson eyes.


    "You¡­ kid," Slacks beckoned the warlock.


    "What is it? You got something to say to me?" Dante asked as he approached the man.


    "Are you the one they called ''Hellslayer''?" the captain asked, his voice raspy but direct.


    ''Hellslayer¡­?'' June pondered, remembering that Nihilor had said that name when he attacked them.


    "Mhmm, that''s me," Dante coldly replied.


    "Heh¡­ hehehe¡­ ahahaha!" Slacks chuckled with a deranged laugh.


    "It''s all because of you! ¡ª If you hadn''t shown up, that monster wouldn''t have taken such drastic defensive measures¡­" he continued.


    "Hmmm, you say that, but Malgaroth had already eaten over a hundred citizens before I got here¡­ What''s your excuse for that?" Dante refuted his accusation.


    "Astaroth stole the souls of thousands of people, and you are telling me that wouldn''t have happened if I hadn''t arrived? Seriously, sir, don''t make me laugh¡­" the warlock continued, his voice condescending but polite.


    "I may not know anything about you, but the mere rumor of your presence was enough to make the king nervous¡­ Even so, I don''t think you have a chance against them," Slacks said.


    Dante smirked. "Is that right? I still haven''t heard you name any demon that could get close to matching me, though¡­" he said, releasing his suppressed umbra before the man.


    Ordinary people couldn''t see his overwhelming aura, but any time the warlock released it, it created a heavy pressure around him that made people''s bodies shiver and gave them the urge to run away.


    As Dante''s body was encased in his formidable umbra, not only Captain Slacks but Camille, Paige, and June felt like they were in danger, freezing them in their spots.


    The Alpha Team members that were present took out their weapons out of pure instinct. Still, Camille was able to keep herself together and ordered them to lower their aims.


    When the warlock suppressed his umbra back inside his body, Slacks'' eyes widened in pure shock, realizing that he had indeed joined the losing team.


    "I see now¡­ If there is no hope for me, then at the very least¡­" the captain muttered, revealing the location where Nihilor took Alice.


    The man said that Nihilor had taken an entire abandoned building on the outskirts of Novis, where he stored all of the people who were drugged with his blood.


    A corruption fiend would feed from the negative emotions that came from the people they corrupted after making them commit horrible atrocities. However, they would have more power if they had siphoned the lives of people directly.


    It was common for demons to feed on the souls of humans they deemed strong, as their spirits would give them a more significant boost than those of a person without talents or ambitions.


    Captain Slacks didn''t know the exact address of the abandoned building, but the general knowledge he had was enough for Trinity to look it up.


    The hacker had been listening and watching the captain''s interrogation the entire time, and now that the man was spewing everything he knew, she sent a message to Camille, asking her to inquire about her father.


    Trinity''s father had disappeared two years ago, leaving no trace behind as his name was deleted from the hospital records as if he had never worked there.


    From the information that Trinity and Camille gathered, they found out that he was the only doctor whom the Blood Dragons targeted.


    "Ah¡­ I do remember the doctor," the captain muttered.


    Two years ago, Sabelio was searching for a doctor who could do a specific surgery¡ªone that could switch his heart for a demon''s.


    Of all the surgeons they investigated, Sabelio believed Dr. Sylva had the qualifications to safely conduct the surgery.


    At first, Sabelio approached the doctor in a friendly manner. However, when he went into detail and explained the surgery he was looking to get done, Doctor Sylva declined.


    The doctor was simply told that he would have to conduct a heart transplant surgery, but they never mentioned whose heart he would be switching, so he started to suspect Sabelio of his intentions.


    A heart transplant wasn''t a surgery that doctors could just "do," as it had to go through numerous people and permissions to get accepted.


    When Doctor Sylva decided to report to the police the strange meeting he had with Sabelio and his suspicions of an illegal heart transplant taking place somewhere in the city, it backfired on him.


    Captain Slacks had been working with Sabelio and the demons for some time, so when he received the doctor''s report, he hid it and sent it to Sabelio, who then targeted the doctor out of fear that he would keep trying to expose them. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That''s when Trinity received the unknown message to delete a doctor''s information from a hospital, which she declined, but her partner Spook ended up accepting.


    While hearing the story through Camille''s microphone, Trinity gritted her teeth with anger as a tear rolled down her cheek.


    The last thing that Captain Slacks heard about the doctor was that he had been corrupted by Nihilor and forced to complete the surgery on Sabelio. However, he didn''t know his fate after that.

 Chapter 106 - 106: Camille’s Brainstorm

    When dawn arrived at the city of Novis, Dante and his group were finished with Captain Slacks'' interrogation.


    Camille asked June what she wanted to do with the man, believing that the detective should be the one to choose his fate.


    "I want him to be put in solitary confinement¡­" June said, wanting her captain to go through the ordeal that he was going to put her in the first place.


    The handler thought that it was a fair punishment and ordered the Alpha Team to lock up the man in a secret prison that the Jade Dragons used, located under the skyscraper.


    They wouldn''t be able to place him in a real prison until they were finished with the Blood Dragons, so their own jail was the best option.


    After returning to Camille''s office, the handler told June to rest in one of the guests'' rooms in the skyscraper while they planned their next course of action.


    The group had the location of the abandoned home where Nihilor was keeping his victims. However, they also had the addresses of eight different Ruby Vipers'' bases.


    While Captain Slacks didn''t know where Astaroth and his men were summoning demons, he knew the reason why.


    The man told them that the Blood Dragons were planning to sow chaos in Novis so that Astaroth and his men could act as the heroes who saved it.


    Back in the days of the Jade Dragons, the citizens respected the mafia family as they provided protection to the citizens from smaller criminal gangs. However, the public didn''t have the same emotions towards the Blood Dragons.


    The dealings of the mafia families were like urban legends in Novaria¡ªtales that people talked about while not fully believing their contents.


    When the Jade Dragons were exterminated, the rumors of the Blood Dragons being a gang of cold-blooded murderers spread throughout the city.


    Astaroth didn''t care about his image at first, but his mind changed when Sabelio explained that they needed the trust of the citizens to be able to conduct their business in Novis without interruption.


    From that point forward, the Blood Dragons became extremely secretive about their crimes, following a long-term plan that would allow them to establish themselves as the leading mafia family.


    While their plans made sense to Dante and Camille, they still didn''t understand why Sabelio had summoned Astaroth in the first place.


    The demon was too powerful for him to control, essentially making Astaroth the true leader of the Blood Dragons.


    Camille remembered reading the diary of Alan Dunlap, Megan''s grandfather, who wrote that his friend Sabelio had been going insane after feeling threatened. However, the man didn''t go into specifics.


    ''What could have threatened that man to such an extent that he would kill a bunch of people to summon a demon¡­?'' the handler pondered while leaning her elbows on her desk.


    Gazing at Dante, the woman told him to get some rest since he hadn''t slept and must have felt exhausted after an eventful night.


    "I''m not feeling too tired. Besides, you haven''t slept either, right?" Dante commented with a slight smile.


    The handler smiled warmly at the warlock, stating that she wouldn''t be able to sleep even if she wanted to¡ªespecially now that they had Alice''s location.


    "Should I go right now to get her back?" Dante asked.


    "I would love to say yes, but I also don''t want to put you at risk in the middle of the day¡­" the handler replied.


    "Risk of what?"


    Camille pressed a button on the side of her desk, causing the wall behind her with a whiteboard hanging to cave in and slide, switching to a TV screen.


    When she turned it on, the news station was reporting on Barretto''s prison break, with dozens of reporters surrounding the building and interviewing inmates and guards.


    "You see? They are already looking for a masked man¡­ Even though Trinity deleted all of the footage from the cameras, it seems there were a few witnesses," Camille said.


    "Besides, now we know they are planning on attacking public spaces with those new demons they are summoning¡­ It wouldn''t be smart to have you too far from our group," she continued.


    It was only a matter of hours before the kidnapping of Captain Slacks would be made public, and knowing that there were other policemen who had their minds corrupted was giving Camille a bad feeling.


    The handler was worried that the Ruby Vipers would try to attack their bait home again, knowing that it failed the first time when they sent Asher and Amara.


    "Well, the twins could take on a low-ranked demon by themselves¡­ But the captain did mention succubi and wraiths," Dante commented.


    "I told you. I don''t want to make the kids fight," Camille said.


    "I understand that¡ªI wouldn''t make them fight a succubus or a wraith anyway since they would probably die¡­" Dante continued.


    *Sigh* "The thing is¡­ I can''t kill a succubus," he said in a disappointed tone. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Are they THAT strong?" Camille pondered aloud, widening her eyes at the warlock''s words.


    "No, no. I mean¡ªthey are strong, but it''s not a matter of power. I just promised that I wouldn''t kill any¡­" replied Dante.


    Camille wanted him to explain in more detail, but first, she wanted him to suggest a solution, as she didn''t even know what succubi were capable of.


    "Succubi are lust demons. They seduce their prey and enchant them with their fake appearances, eventually hypnotizing and turning them into their slaves," Dante explained.


    "And what do you mean you ''promised'' not to kill any of them?"


    "I have a deal with the succubus queen¡­ Now that I think about it, I should probably summon her to have her control her subordinates," Dante said, placing a hand on his chin.


    "Is she dangerous?" Camille continued asking.


    "Yeah, very¡­ But I don''t think she would try to do anything as long as I''m around,"


    *Sigh* "Come, let''s go to the laboratory, and you can tell me more about this succubus queen¡­" said the handler as she stood up from her seat.


    When the pair got into the elevator, Camille asked if the queen had a name.


    "Lilith¡­" Dante muttered.

 Chapter 107 - 107: Lilith, the Succubus Queen

    When Dante and Camille arrived at the laboratory, they found Miss Clara practicing her umbra control as Paige took notes of her improvements.


    The redhead woman liked practicing early in the mornings since Megan and Zac trained in the afternoons, and she enjoyed watching them spar.


    Paige told the woman to take a small break when she spotted Dante and Camille, not because Clara was tired but because Paige was curious as to what the pair were going to do.


    "You are summoning a new demon!?" The scientist asked, her eyes shimmering with excitement.


    Dante nodded affirmatively. "Her name is Lilith. She is the Queen of Succubi," he said.


    Paige had been reading dozens of old books depicting demons ever since Dante summoned Cerberus and Krom.


    The scientist had a vague knowledge of the creatures since she didn''t consider them real until Dante''s arrival. Even after a demon attacked the Jade Dragons, she believed that it was a mutated man who caused it¡ªthat is, until Dante proved her otherwise.


    Now, Paige had read any religious tome and fantasy tale she could find where demons were mentioned, wanting to get more familiar with them.


    "Succubus¡­ Those are like sex demons, right?" the scientist inquired.


    "Yes. They are lust demons¡­ In the same way that Nihilor can feed himself by corrupting people''s minds, a succubus can feed herself by absorbing life energy through sex," Dante explained.


    "I met their queen a long time ago, and we came to an agreement where I couldn''t kill more of her succubi¡­" the warlock continued.


    ''More of them? How many did he kill before that?'' Camille pondered.


    With the group knowing that Astaroth was summoning succubi from hell to support him, Dante was sure that the queen could stop them and even turn them against him.


    The group trusted Dante''s judgment and allowed him to complete the summoning inside one of the laboratory rooms¡ªthe same one where he summoned Krom and Cerberus.


    As the warlock pointed his palm at the floor, a large pentagram appeared, glowing brightly and producing gusts of wind that traveled inside the room.


    "This one looks a bit different¡­" Camille muttered, noticing the black electrical currents coming out of the pentagram.


    Dante''s hand was encased in shadows, enduring the pressure coming from the arcane pentagram. Still, he kept a composed and focused expression.


    "Summon: Lilith," Dante said.


    When the shadows gathered above the pentagram, it turned into a pitch-black dome that slowly dissipated, showcasing the attractive figure of a woman standing in the center.


    She was as tall as Dante, with long, midnight-purple hair that cascaded down her back and large, bat-like wings.


    The woman was hovering a few centimeters in the air with her wings stretched all the way, gently placing her hand on the warlock''s cheek and caressing it.


    Dante didn''t react to her touch and kept a serious demeanor as the shadows that had brought the woman there started to disappear along with the pentagram.


    "Dante, my love!" The demon exclaimed, launching herself at the warlock and hugging him dearly.


    After she spoke, Paige and Camille were able to detail the woman closely.


    Her skin was slightly gray, and her eyes were a mix of purple and pink, which the women found both beautiful and intimidating.


    She was wearing a black dress that could have been considered lingerie by Camille, as it was a simple, black lace that barely covered her intimate parts.


    "You can come in¡­" Dante said aloud as the demon rubbed her cheeks against his lovingly.


    As soon as the sliding door opened, Camille and Paige entered the room and received a powerful and intimidating glare from the female demon, hugging Dante tightly. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Relax, I''m going to introduce you¡­" the warlock said, grabbing the woman''s arm and separating her from his body for a moment.


    "Lilith, this is Camille Winter and Paige Sutton¡­ They are my friends, so be nice, alright?" Dante continued, introducing the queen of succubi to the pair.


    "It''s nice to meet you!" Paige exclaimed, approaching the succubus and inspecting her body closer.


    Lilith didn''t budge an inch and allowed the scientist to detail her body features, rubbing the demon''s stomach, arms, and legs¡ªthe same way she had done with Dante when she first met him.


    "Umm, Dante¡­ What is this woman doing?" Lilith asked, her face unamused while Paige paced around her.


    "She is studying, don''t mind her¡­ I called you here for something important," the warlock replied.


    "Aww, is that right? I thought you wanted to see me¡­" the demon said, making puppy-eyes to the warlock.


    "Yeah¡­ no, that''s not it," he coldly replied.


    "Hahahah, you haven''t changed one bit¡­ That''s why I love you so much!" Lilith exclaimed, hugging the warlock again and squeezing her breast against him.


    "I''m serious. There are some of your succubi here who are working with Astaroth¡­ If you don''t stop them, then I can''t honor our deal," Dante explained, gently separating the woman from him again.


    "Oh, yeah¡­ I did let him borrow a few of my subordinates," Lilith mentioned, placing a finger on her chin.


    "Okay, I''ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you didn''t even know what Astaroth has been doing," Dante said.


    "Of course not. Why would I care what that idiot does?" Lilith replied while crossing her arms.


    "Alright, let''s take care of it, then¡­" Dante continued, making his way towards the exit.


    "Wait, before I do anything¡­ Where the hell did you bring me!?" The succubus exclaimed, finally realizing that she couldn''t recognize the world she was in.


    *Sigh* "I guess there is a lot to explain¡­" the warlock muttered.


    When the group took the demon to Camille''s office to tell her about the situation she was in, Lilith happily greeted Cerberus.


    "Cerberus, it''s been a while!" she said, petting the dog.


    "How have you been?" she continued.


    *Woof!* Cerberus happily barked and wagged his tail, pointing his head at the handler.


    "Hmm?" Lilith hummed, glaring at Camille for a brief moment with a curious look.


    "I see¡­" she muttered.

 Chapter 108 - 108: The Curious Succubus

    The morning Lilith was summoned in the laboratory, she was taken to Camille''s office so that she could catch up on recent events.


    Having only known the fiery depths of hell and the warlock''s previous world, Terra, Lilith found herself amazed by the technology surrounding her.


    Still, she showed competence when different concepts were explained to her, similar to Dante.


    ''Demons adapt really fast to their surroundings, huh?'' Camille pondered as they talked to Lilith.


    When they revealed the full extent of Astaroth''s actions against the Jade Dragons and the reason he was using her succubi, the queen understood the situation.


    "I see. You summoned me on time, then¡­ If my deal with Dante were broken, I would have been so sad," Lilith commented, clasping her hands and making a fake sad face.


    "What would you like me to do with those? Punish them?" the queen asked.


    "Actually, I think it would be better if they just work for us from there¡­" Dante commented.


    Lilith smiled mischievously. "Sounds fun¡­" she said.


    The queen explained to the handler that she could sense her subordinates'' presence from anywhere in the world as they were all bound to her by blood.


    "I can sense five of them on this continent¡­ But there are ten of them in total in this world," Lilith said.


    "If they are not in this country, then it''s not our problem¡­" Camille coldly replied.


    "Mhmm, then it is only five of them¡­" the queen continued.


    Lilith explained that she could forcefully teleport the five succubi to her location and was prepared to do it right inside Camille''s office.


    However, the handler stopped her and asked her to do it inside the laboratory so that the researchers from the Zeta Team could keep studying it.


    Before they could move on to the lab again, Dante told Lilith to turn into a more human form, as she still had her claws, horns, tail, and wings out in the open¡ªnot to mention her gray skin.


    Dante knew that the queen would eventually get curious about the world and would want to go out exploring, so having a human form would be the best choice.


    A wave of shadows appeared around the woman, encasing her entire body and shrouding it from the others'' view momentarily.


    When the shadows slowly dissipated, Lilith looked like an ordinary but also extremely beautiful woman who didn''t look older than twenty-five.


    She still had her midnight-purple hair and eyes, but those weren''t as much of a problem as her demonic features.


    "Hmm? What do you think? Pretty sexy, huh?" Lilith commented, winking at Dante and turning around to showcase her entire body.


    Dante kept a stone-cold face, showing not an ounce of interest for the queen.


    On the other hand, Camille flushed slightly at the woman''s beautiful features. Still, the fact she was still wearing her exceptionally revealing outfit played a role in her flirting.


    "And look at this¡ªI got a hybrid form, too," Lilith continued, making her wings and horns appear on her body while the rest of her features stayed human.


    "Hmmm, if you are going out in the streets, we are gonna need to give you some clothing¡­ At this rate, you''ll be taken to jail for indecent exposure or something," Camille commented, ordering her servants to bring different sets for the queen.


    Lilith was confused at first since she believed that there was no problem with her outfit, but when the servants entered the office carrying different types of fabric, her interest was piqued.


    "So many colors and different styles!" Lilith exclaimed.


    Camille thought it was fascinating how demons would show interest in human things that she would have never thought they would care for.


    She didn''t have many references, but seeing the queen get so fixated on fashion reminded her of Krom and how the imp had gotten addicted to video games.


    After the handler and the succubi queen sat down for a few minutes to check out the outfits, Lilith ended up choosing a pair of pants and a crop top, saying that she would look for more clothing artifacts later.


    Once the queen was dressed up, they returned to the laboratory so Lilith could call her subordinates to her.


    When they arrived, they met with Megan and Zac, who had gotten up early to train at the MET room.


    Zac had been skipping classes for a few days, but the redhead wasn''t worried about his exams as he was confident he could ace them anyway.


    "Oh, hey, guys. Let me introduce you to Lilith¡­" Dante casually said, introducing the Queen of Succubi to the pair.


    "Lilith! I''ve heard that name before¡­ in books and video games¡­" Zac said, feeling embarrassed by the way he finished his sentence.


    "The queen of succubi?" Megan pondered aloud, not comprehending what her title entailed.


    "We''ll get into that later¡­ She is going to be helping us for a bit," said the warlock.


    As Lilith gazed at the Omega Team, she had a cold expression that turned to curiosity.


    "Dante, this woman¡­" Lilith muttered as her eyes locked on Megan, but she quickly stopped herself from ending her sentence. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *Sniff* The queen smelled something in the air, approaching Megan and Zac, holding each of their heads from behind and pulling them towards her.


    In a somewhat provocative manner, Lilith placed her nose right beside Megan''s neck and sniffed gently, receiving no reaction from the brunette.


    Then, she switched her attention to Zac, who got as red as a tomato when he felt the soft blow of Lilith''s breath on his neck.


    "Heh¡­ Dante," Lilith muttered, letting go of the pair.


    "Why do these two smell so much like you?" she asked.


    "It''s a bit of a long story¡­ I''ll tell you everything once we are done with your subordinates," Dante replied, making the queen chuckle.


    "My interest just keeps rising by the minute. I wonder what you''ll show me next¡­" Lilith said, glaring at the warlock with provocative eyes.


    Dante sighed tiredly, urging the queen to keep walking to the room so they could get their task done.


    "Fineeee, but I expect some sort of compensation, you know?" Lilith said in a mocking tone.


    "No. This is part of our deal¡­ If you don''t do it for free, I''ll just rip your subordinates to shreds," Dante severely said.


    "Hehe, yes! Get angry with me! You know I like it when you do¡­" the queen continued with a provocative look.


    Dante took a deep breath to calm himself down, feeling tired from not sleeping and annoyed by Lilith''s antics.


    Meanwhile, Zac couldn''t believe that there was yet another gorgeous woman who stuck to Dante, showing no shame in saying her dirty thoughts aloud.

 Chapter 109 - 109: Lilith’s Subordinates

    After the group guided Lilith to an open room in the laboratory, Dante and the queen went inside while the others watched from the spectators'' room.


    When Lilith stood in the center of the room, she closed her eyes and turned into her hybrid form, making her horns and wings come out of her body elegantly while a purple, shadowy aura surrounded her body.


    "My sisters¡­ come to me," the queen muttered, producing a strong gust of wind inside the room and a blinding red light.


    The people spectating covered their eyes momentarily, and when they looked back, they spotted five women standing in the room with Dante and Lilith.


    Each of them was tall, voluptuous, and had an alluring beauty as if they had been brought out from a model''s magazine.


    ''If it weren''t for the wings and horns, it would be pretty hard to believe they are demons¡­'' Camille thought.


    As soon as the five succubi appeared, they kneeled before their queen with reverence and respect.


    "Yes, my queen? What do you need from us?" said one of the women.


    "Hmm, you all seem to be doing well¡­" Lilith muttered, asking them what they had been doing lately.


    Another succubus spoke up, explaining that they had been summoned by an old man named Sabelio, describing him as "not sexy at all."


    The five succubi had been summoned after Sabelio sacrificed fifty people, and the women were thinking of rebelling against the old man since they didn''t find him sexy. However, when they realized that he was following Astaroth''s command, the succubi changed their minds.


    "Why are your succubi following Astaroth''s orders?" Dante inquired, gazing at the queen with suspicion.


    "Because he asked me, of course¡­" Lilith replied.


    The queen said that she had received a message from an imp that came from Astaroth himself, saying that he would give Lilith a group of shadow demons if she let him borrow a group of succubi.


    "It didn''t seem like a bad deal. How was I supposed to know that he would stand against you?" the queen continued.


    "We are sorry if our actions caused any problems!" another succubus stated.


    Dante asked the group of women what they had been ordered to do, and they said that they had been placed in a strip club, where they could easily enchant men with their powers and lure them to other demons to feed on their souls.


    Luckily, the succubi had been there for a few days, so there weren''t that many people who fell victim to them.


    The warlock inquired further, wondering if the women knew about Astaroth''s next steps.


    The group already knew that Astaroth wanted to send some demons to commit terrorist acts so he could later have the Blood Dragons come in and act as the heroes. Nonetheless, they didn''t have any locations for these attacks.


    When Lilith explained that their task was now to spy on Astaroth and the other demons, the women seemed a bit hesitant.


    "My Queen¡­ A-are you sure?" A succubus asked.


    "Are you doubting my decision?" Lilith asked back, producing a powerful and intimidating pressure that made her subordinate shiver with fear.


    "N-no¡­!" the woman replied.


    Lilith took a deep breath and explained to her subordinates that their deal with Dante was worth at least 100x more than her deal with Astaroth.


    "Would you rather mess with Astaroth or Hellslayer?" the queen asked.


    *Gulp* "Definitely Astaroth¡­" the succubus replied.


    When the succubi stood from their kneeling positions, Camille and Paige entered the room.


    The scientist went straight for the women and started inspecting their bodies the same way she did with everyone.


    On the other hand, Camille stood next to Lilith and Dante and told her about her plan.


    With the succubi working for them from the inside, it was only a matter of time before they got to the location where Astaroth and his cult were hiding.


    The succubi were summoned in Highpoint Town, but they didn''t know the name or the exact location of the place, so the only hint they could give out was that there was a cathedral in the area. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They mentioned the presence of other demons there, but the group had already gotten that information from Captain Slacks.


    Camille then gave the queen and the rest of the succubi a summary of their war against the Blood Dragons, telling them how she found Dante and how the warlock made a contract with Megan and Zac.


    "I would like it if your subordinates can keep us updated with Astaroth''s movements¡­" Camille said to the queen.


    The five succubi looked worried for a moment after the handler spoke, thinking that their queen wouldn''t take those words too kindly.


    However, Lilith gave Camille a nod of approval and said that she could easily get that done, surprising the five women.


    ''Our queen took a random woman''s suggestion! Who is this lady?'' One of the succubus wondered.


    "You heard her¡ªYou''ll come here every day and tell these people what Astaroth is doing," Lilith commented to her subordinates.


    After the five succubi bowed down to their queen, Lilith snapped her fingers and returned them to their previous locations.


    "Alright, that''s done¡ªNow, what should I do?" Lilith pondered aloud.


    "That''s all I needed. You can go back now," Dante commented.


    "Ehhh? But I just got here today, and this is a new world!" the queen replied, puffing her cheek.


    Dante crossed his arms defiantly as Lilith gave him an angry look. Meanwhile, Camille thought about a different option for the queen.


    "Would it be okay if you helped protect some of our people?" Camille asked.


    Lilith turned her attention to the handler and approached her, asking for more details.


    "Well, we have a house that we''ve been using as bait¡­" Camille said.


    The handler explained that she was thinking about moving Sophia and Victoria out of that house, as their bait had already been taken.


    The home that Dante was using with his group could be attacked again at any moment, so Camille suggested that Lilith protect it.


    "Dante said you were powerful, so if you are there, then the others can stay at the house without trouble," the handler said.

 Chapter 110 - 110: The Queen’s Task

    After Camille asked Lilith if she could protect their bait home, the queen stayed silent for a minute, placing a hand on her chin as she delved into her thoughts.


    "I suppose so¡­ That sounds horribly boring," Lilith muttered.


    "You''ll have a lot of opportunities to go out and explore. I just want the people living there to be safe¡­" said the handler.


    Pondering between her two options of going back to hell or taking care of a house, Lilith said that she would do it. However, she threatened to leave and explore the world on her own if she got too bored.


    "Dante, are you okay with this?" Camille asked.


    "Yeah, it''s whatever¡­ Are you ready to save the detective?" Dante asked back, sensing that Camille''s umbra had gotten a bit more confident than before.


    Camille nodded. "The tables are turning¡­ Let''s use that to our advantage," she said.


    Suddenly, Lilith perked up and extended her wings, sharpening her gaze with full alert.


    "I sense two demons here¡­" the queen said.


    "Oh, yeah¡­ Those are the harpion twins¡ªdon''t mind them," Dante casually replied, making the succubus queen calm down.


    Asher and Amara had been going to Camille''s skyscraper every day, where they received lessons from one of the servants since the handler thought that giving children an education was important.


    Even though the twins were ten years old, they acted a lot more immature for kids their age as they knew almost nothing about humans, which is why Camille decided to educate them.


    "Huh, what a strange woman you are¡­" Lilith said aloud, but Camille took those words as a compliment and smiled.


    "I guess there''s a first time for everything¡­ I never thought I would meet anyone willing to take harpions under their wing¡ªthose are savage beasts from hell, you know?" the queen commented.


    "It''s fine. They are just two little cute kids," Camille said, making Lilith chuckle.


    As the group left the laboratory, Camille told Dante to take Lilith home and get some rest.


    "I''ll meet you there later tonight¡­" she said, preparing themselves to save Alice from Nihilor''s clutches.


    ____________________


    When the warlock arrived at their home with Lilith early in the afternoon, they found Sophia and Victoria in the kitchen preparing lunch.


    "Hi, Dante, welcome back!" The blonde happily greeted the warlock, noticing the woman entering behind him.


    "Oh, hi there!" Sophia exclaimed from the kitchen at the new visitor.


    Lilith scanned her surroundings and scrutinized every little detail inside their home with a serious expression, gazing at the women and squinting a bit.


    "This is Lilith. She is going to be protecting this house for some time¡­" Dante said, introducing the queen.


    To both Sophia and Victoria, the succubus queen looked like an ordinary woman. Of course, they noticed how enchantingly beautiful she was, making Victoria think that Lilith was a famous idol.


    "She is a demon¡­ Just thought I should get that out there," Dante commented, sensing the uncertainty in Sophia and Victoria''s umbra.


    ''She is a demon!? But¡­ Krom is a demon, too!'' Victoria thought, wondering how Lilith could be so beautiful while the imp looked scary. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *Sniff* Lilith took a deep whiff of Sophia''s cooking, making her mouth salivate as she approached the blonde woman.


    "I''ve never smelled such an appetizing aroma¡­ What is this?" the queen asked, checking the contents of a large pot where chicken curry was slowly cooking.


    "Are you guys hungry? Five more minutes and the food is ready," Sophia said with a smile.


    The queen''s curiosity had been piqued by the blonde''s cuisine, so she took a seat behind the kitchen counter to wait for her dish.


    "I feel like we haven''t hung out in a few days¡­" Sophia commented while serving the plates.


    "It''s been a little busy. It won''t be much longer, though¡­" replied Dante.


    "We should plan something fun for when this is all over," Sophia continued, placing the plates before Lilith and Dante.


    "What do you have in mind?" the warlock asked as Lilith began stuffing her face.


    "Hmm, well¡­ We have a small break soon, so we could do a little trip to the beach!" Sophia suggested.


    "Ohhh, I like that!" Victoria excitedly interjected.


    *Bang* Lilith slammed her fists on the kitchen counter, catching everyone''s attention.


    "This¡­ This is so good!" the queen exclaimed, her eyes shimmering with happiness.


    "Dante, you''ve been eating this delicacy, and you didn''t even invite me!?" she continued.


    "Honestly, I didn''t even know you liked food that much¡­" Dante unamusedly replied, taking a bite of his plate.


    After the pair had their fill, Dante said that he would take a nap since he hadn''t slept for over 30 hours, walking up to the couch in the living room and lying down.


    Meanwhile, Sophia and Victoria needed to study for their upcoming exams, so they courteously asked Lilith if she wanted something else before their session.


    "Hmm, can''t say I do¡­ Allow me to observe for some time," the queen said.


    Sophia and Victoria looked at each other and shrugged, seeing no problems with having the woman accompanying them as long as she didn''t distract them.


    When the trio went up to the study room in the house and sat around the table, Victoria gazed at the purple-haired demon with interest.


    "Miss Lilith¡­ Are you really a demon?" Victoria asked.


    The brunette''s experience with demons had been relatively tame compared to what the others had seen.


    It took her a few days to get used to Krom''s presence without feeling scared about his looks, but that didn''t happen with Cerberus and the twins.


    In fact, since Victoria had never seen the harpion twins doing anything demonic-like, she was having trouble believing that they were "savage beasts from hell," as Dante put it.


    "Heh¡­ That''s another first," Lilith muttered, standing up from her seat and gently raising her arms to the sides.


    "Behold, woman!" the queen exclaimed as shadows encased her body, making her wings come out her back and take a large part of the room.


    When the pair detailed Lilith, they gazed at her gray skin, horns, tail, and wings. Two vertical black marks under her eyes, which glowed with a warm purple hue.


    "Do you still doubt me?" Lilith asked with a proud tone.


    "So pretty¡­" Victoria muttered, catching Lilith''s attention.


    "Do you find this pretty?" the queen asked, folding her wings and slightly flushing.


    "Ah, I don''t mean that as an insult or anything!" Victoria continued, nervously waving her arms.


    Lilith chuckled and turned her body back into her human form, sitting before the two women and posing her chin on her palm.


    "Sophia and Victoria, right? I''ll remember that¡­" the queen said with a smile.

 Chapter 111 - 111: Dante and Lilith’s Old Deal

    After a few hours of napping, Dante woke up to the sound of cars arriving outside his home, sensing the umbra of Camille approaching.


    When the handler entered the home, Sophia and Victoria came down to greet her, with Lilith walking behind them.


    "I see you all got acquainted," Camille commented.


    "Mhmm, I''ve grown fond of these girls, so I''ve taken it upon myself to shield them," Lilith declared, placing her arms behind Sophia and Victoria''s shoulders.


    "Yeah¡­ Alright," Camille said, slightly confused as that was what she was supposed to do from the beginning.


    Behind Camille, Detective June entered the place, excusing herself as she went through the front door.


    Thanks to the information they obtained from Captain Slacks, they knew the location where Alice had been taken.


    On the outskirts of Novis, there was a colossal factory building that had been abandoned for over twenty years, and the police captain said that was the place where Nihilor took his victims.


    Camille deployed a drone to scout the area, but it couldn''t detect anyone near the building, so she couldn''t give Dante a detailed description of their defenses.


    Moreover, Trinity had sent warning letters to most news stations in Novaria, warning them about terrorist threats in public spaces.


    They knew that telling the news stations wouldn''t deter the Blood Dragons from committing their terrorist acts, but the handler thought that it could at least lower the number of victims if they made it public.


    The five succubi, who were currently undercover with Astaroth, didn''t know the exact location of Highpoint Town, so they described the area to the handler, explaining that there was a large cathedral in front of a plaza.


    When Camille gave that information to Trinity, the hacker said that there were several small residential areas with cathedrals, so their search wasn''t much shorter.


    Still, the hacker made a list of every area on the outskirts of Novis with a cathedral and passed it to the Jade Dragons.


    After Camille gave the summary, Dante nodded in acknowledgment and gazed at Detective June.


    "Ummm¡­" the warlock muttered, thinking of a way to politely ask the woman why she was there.


    "Yeah¡­ She wants to talk to you," Camille said before Dante could speak up.


    As the warlock approached the seemingly nervous detective, the woman looked up into his crimson eyes confidently.


    "I want to accompany you!" June exclaimed.


    Dante didn''t react to her words, but to the umbra she extruded, sensing a mixture of uncertainty and bravery that he found somewhat admirable.


    ''She is terrified but still wants to go save her superior¡­ This woman could''ve been an extraordinary warrior in my world,'' Dante thought, letting out a smirk.


    "Sure," he said.


    "I promise I won''t get in your way, and I''m also good with a gun¡­ Wait¡ªyou said yes?" June pondered aloud, slightly shocked that Dante accepted so quickly.


    The woman wasn''t aware that all Dante needed was a good look at someone''s umbra to understand their full intentions¡ªno words were ever required to convince him of something, only ambition.


    "Good. Whenever you are ready, Neil is waiting outside to drive you guys," Camille said to the pair.


    June went out first, and as Dante was about to follow, Camille grabbed him by the shoulder. "Sorry for making it more difficult on you¡­ Can you ensure that June is safe?" she whispered.


    "Heh, I got it. I''ve never left anyone behind, you know?" Dante replied.


    Once the pair got inside the SUV with Neil behind the wheel, Camille took out a laptop and sat behind the kitchen counter, plugging her earphones into the machine.


    While Dante was going to the abandoned factory, Megan and Zac were sent to one of the Ruby Vipers'' bases to raid it, so Camille had two different live feeds open on her computer.


    "Oh, I see¡­ With this machine, you can see what Dante is doing," Lilith commented as she inspected the handler''s laptop.


    Sophia and Victoria were curious to watch the live feeds just as much as Lilith as they had never seen them in action, prompting everyone in the house to take a seat around Camille and her computer.


    While they waited for the respective groups to reach their destinations, Sophia asked the succubus queen how she was acquainted with Dante.


    "Oh, we go way back¡­" Lilith commented.


    The queen explained that, a very long time ago, Dante was traveling through hell and had to go across her territory.


    Lilith, the Succubus Queen, was the sole ruler of the territory in hell known as Lustreth, where all succubi resided.


    When the warlock tried to cross, the queen felt defied and sent her forces to deal with him, which consisted of five hundred thousand succubi. However, Dante ended up wiping out 30% of her troops.


    "Thirty percent!?" Sophia exclaimed. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''That''s one hundred and fifty thousand killed!'' The blonde thought as she did the math in her head.


    "You should have seen him. He looked so sexy as he ripped to shreds thousands of my subordinates!" Lilith commented, blushing and moaning slightly with a smile.


    Camille, Victoria, and Sophia were a bit unsettled by the way she described Dante as being sexy as he killed thousands of succubi, but they quickly remembered that they were talking to a demon.


    "Still, as much as I would have loved seeing him kill all of my sisters¡ªas the ruler, I couldn''t allow that to happen¡­" Lilith continued.


    She explained that she had to meet Dante before he could continue his rampage and ended up making a deal with him, where she gave Dante free passage through her territory forever as long as he didn''t kill any more of her sisters.


    "That''s¡­ interesting," Camille muttered.


    "You are not angry at him about that?" the handler continued.


    "Angry? Dear¡­ That''s what made me fall in love with him!" Lilith replied with a mischievous smile.


    For the succubus queen, seeing a man so savagely overpower her sisters was something that she had never seen before.


    "Mmmm, that wicked smile he makes when he is about to kill a demon¡­" *slurp* Lillith said, licking her lips provocatively and chuckling to herself.


    ''What a crazy story¡­ It would almost be funny if it weren''t for the whole genocide¡­'' Camille thought.

 Chapter 112 - 112: Alice and Camille

    Inside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Novis, the demon Nihilor walked along the decaying, dark hallways.


    Detective Alice was hanging by her feet from the monster''s tail, unconscious as her head dripped blood on the ground, leaving a trail behind. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Two hooded men came out of a room at the end of the hallway to greet the demon, bowing down with reverence without saying a word.


    "How are my carriers?" Nihilor asked.


    "They are developing just as planned, my lord," one of the men said, gazing inside the room beside him.


    It was an ample space where dozens of women were lying naked on the cold, hard ground, and all of them had one feature in common¡ªa black protuberance that was swelling from their stomachs like a pregnant belly.


    Some of the women were wholly unconscious, and the ones who were awake had blank expressions without any glimmer in their eyes.


    "Good. I''ve brought a stronger specimen, so make sure this one''s life is siphoned for a few days¡­ We wouldn''t want her body to reject me," Nihilor said, his command slightly intimidating.


    As the demon dropped Alice on the ground like a sack of potatoes, the hooded men carried her to an adjacent room, where more women were crucified to the wall. However, none of them had the dark and unsettling swelling on their bellies that the women in the other room had.


    *Tink, tink, tink!* "Ngh!" Alice grunted as she felt a sharp pain in her hand, weakly opening her eyes to see the hooded man nailing her palm to the wall with a hammer.


    The detective was too weak to say anything, gritting her teeth while enduring the pain when one of the men noticed.


    "She''s awake¡­" the man muttered.


    "Hmm? No matter¡­ She''ll go to sleep again soon," the other replied, extending Alice''s other arm.


    *Tink, tink, tink!* "Ngh!" A second large nail went through the detective''s palm, leaving her body hanging from the wall.


    Alice couldn''t utter a word and had her eyes half-open, scanning the area around her and looking at the women in the room who were sharing her fate.


    ''What is this¡­?'' The detective thought.


    Suddenly, one of the men forcefully opened her mouth and used a syringe to spray a dark red liquid inside, making Alice choke and swallow.


    Trying to maintain consciousness, the detective squinted and detailed the faces of the hooded man before her body gave out.


    ''I hope June is doing okay¡­'' she thought.


    ''Cami¡­ I''m sorry,'' the detective continued.


    As Alice slowly lost consciousness, she reminisced about her time with Camille when they were younger.


    After 16-year-old Alice was saved from a pack of sexual predators by Camille and her men, they became close friends as the two admired each other.


    It wasn''t a secret that the two girls were close. They lived together for a few years and would do almost any activity together.


    Ever since Alice was a little kid living in the poor district of Dewmore, she wished to become a police detective so that she could catch all the bad guys in her district.


    Of course, her objective was on the complete opposite end of where Camille was headed, as her friend was meant to become the next handler for the Winter family.


    Alice had seen the Winter family working with the Jade Dragons during the years she lived with Camille, so she was aware of the good deeds that they did for the city.


    Nevertheless, Alice wanted to follow her dreams, and even after she spoke to Camille about her ambitions, her friend was supportive and understanding.


    "Alice, it doesn''t matter to me if you become a cop, a secret agent, or even the goddamn prime minister¡ªknow that you can always count on me," a young Camille said to Alice.


    After a few years, Alice graduated from the police academy and became one of the youngest rookie detectives in the country.


    Captain Slacks, who saw her potential, put her as a partner of a senior detective called Lenny, and her career as a detective officially began.


    One year later, Alice and her partner Lenny were cornered by a criminal gang, shooting the senior detective in the head right in front of Alice''s face.


    However, before the criminals could execute Alice, Camille and her men arrived at the scene and cleared the area, saving the young detective once again. Even though she never asked Camille for help, she still managed to arrive to protect her.


    In the detective''s mind, she had been lucky she was saved the first time when she was sixteen. The second time was an even luckier moment, so she believed that there would never be a third.


    From that point forward, Detective Alice worked alone and became an efficient officer, not wanting to rely on Camille''s help, thinking that her luck streak with the handler was over.


    "Cami¡­" Alice muttered with one last breath before falling wholly unconscious.


    ____________________


    As dusk started to settle in the city of Novis, Dante and June were riding in the backseat of the SUV driven by Neil.


    "Hah, not a single day''s rest, huh?" Neil said in a friendly tone.


    "As far as I know, you aren''t getting any either, right Mister Neil?" Dante commented, making the man chuckle.


    "I guess you are right. It is what it is, you know?" the man continued.


    June was nervously fiddling her fingers as the men had a friendly conversation, pondering how the warlock could be so calm.


    It had been two nights and three days since Alice''s kidnapping, and the rookie detective was fearing the worst outcome.


    Dante could feel the woman''s uncertainty flowing from the umbra in her body. Still, he decided not to talk about it since he believed it was a natural response.


    When June started to attach a silencer to her pistol and sub-machine gun, Dante curiously watched the woman prepare.


    "Those are silencers, right?" Dante asked.


    "Yeah¡­" replied June, diligently putting the attachments on her guns.


    "Nice. It''s like that one movie with the secret spy guy¡­" Dante casually said.


    "What?"


    "Oh, you haven''t watched it? It was pretty fun," he continued, making small talk that made the detective forget about her worries for a few seconds.

 Chapter 113 - 113: The Abandoned Factory

    When the night enshrouded the city of Novis, Dante and June were left on a rural street that was less than a kilometer away from the abandoned factory.


    "Do you want me to wait here?" Neil asked the pair.


    "Yeah, this place is fine," Dante casually replied as he put on his mask.


    Neil had parked beside a few trees, which were the only thing that could slightly hide the car. The rest of the road was wholly barren, with the abandoned factory not too far in the distance.


    "How are we going in?" June inquired, strapping an extra pistol on her leg.


    "I was thinking from the top¡­ However, Miss June, are you prepared for what you are about to see?" Dante said with a serious tone.


    From the warlock''s perspective, the abandoned factory was oozing with an ominous amount of umbra, so he already knew that the sight would be brutal.


    Dante was used to seeing those sorts of scenes since he was a child living in Shadowvale, but he was competent enough to understand that ordinary people didn''t have the same tolerance for brutality.


    As June gave a confident nod, the warlock cast his "Wings of the Fallen" spell, making the black wings extrude from his back.


    "Is it okay if I carry you?" Dante politely asked.


    The detective thought about the time he saved her from prison, carrying her without asking, which completely contrasted her current situation. Of course, she understood it was an emergency back then, but she still thought it was amusing.


    After giving the warlock another confident nod, he carried June in his arms and flew up into the skies with a single flap of his wings.


    The pair could see the whole factory from above, and while June looked for a way to get inside unnoticed, Dante counted the different umbra coming from within.


    "There''s six of them¡­ Two are more dangerous than the others," Dante muttered.


    "Six demons!?" June asked in shock.


    "No. I sense six humans with horrible intentions¡­ But two of them feel kind of like those mutated thugs who worked for the Scarlet Bullets," Dante explained.


    "We can deal with six of them¡­" the detective said.


    "I sense a lot more people inside. Two dozen at least, but¡­" the warlock continued, briefly stopping himself.


    "But what?"


    "They are doing something to them¡ªI can''t tell what it is, though," Dante replied, flying down closer to the factory.


    When the pair reached the ground, they found a back door that was locked with a huge metal bar from the inside.


    Dante considered using "Destro" to destroy it, but seeing that June was looking at a window made him change his mind.


    ''She wants to be silent, so let''s follow her lead for now¡­'' Dante thought.


    As the woman skillfully lockpicked the broken window''s safety lock, she slid it open and entered the building, with Dante following closely behind.


    They were on the ground floor, surrounded by abandoned machinery covered in rust and graffiti, hearing nothing but the sound of the wind flowing inside the expansive room.


    The detective had her pistol ready, holding it with both hands while scanning her surroundings.


    Dante, on the other hand, stood still for a moment as he sensed someone approaching the area, prompting him to take cover behind a pillar. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As soon as June noticed the warlock hiding, she took cover behind one of the machines and saw a hooded man with a flashlight walking alone.


    ''Alright¡­ I''ll get him by surprise,'' June thought.


    However, just as she got out of her hiding spot and aimed her pistol at the man, Dante was already asphyxiating him with one hand around his neck.


    *Crack¡­* The man''s neck snapped, followed by his limp body hitting the ground.


    "One down," Dante muttered.


    June widened her eyes in disbelief. Not only was Dante capable of using magic, but he was incredibly fast, too. Moreover, he snapped a man''s neck with a single grip so she could tell that his physical strength wasn''t normal.


    When the pair walked through the hallway from where the man came, they found a set of stairs leading to the second floor.


    "Up here," Dante said, prompting the detective to follow him as he took the lead.


    The floor on the second level was covered in iron grates, which made masking their footsteps more difficult as each step echoed in the hallway. Nonetheless, Dante kept walking confidently through the dark factory.


    As they passed by a rusty iron door that was seemingly locked, Dante halted his steps and turned to gaze at it.


    "What is it?" June whispered.


    *Sigh* Dante exhaled, expecting the worst while slowly opening the door, producing a loud creaking sound that echoed in the halls.


    "Eh? Who are you¡ª!!" A hooded man tried to exclaim but was silenced by Dante, who bolted inside the room and forcefully grabbed the man''s face, making him kneel.


    June ran in behind the warlock with her pistol, widening her eyes in pure shock as she noticed her surroundings.


    A little more than a dozen naked women were lying on the cold ground. Their stomachs were swollen by a black, twisted protuberance that was palpitating in a vile, disgusting way.


    The detective wanted to scream, but her instincts knew better, making her grind her teeth with anger as she stomped toward the hooded man under Dante''s grasp.


    "What the hell are you doing to these women?" June asked, forcefully pressing the barrel of her gun against the man''s head.


    Dante let go of his grip slightly to allow the man to speak, wanting to confirm if his suspicion was correct.


    "Th-they are Dark Carriers¡­" the man nervously said.


    The warlock widened his eyes with a bit of shock¡ªa reaction that nobody was able to see due to his mask hiding his expressions.


    "What does that mean?" June continued asking, tapping her gun against the man''s head.


    "It means these women are going to give birth to ''pisacas,''" Dante replied, his tone cold and severe.


    "H-how do you know that?¡ªnghh!" the hooded man said, instantly getting his neck gripped by the warlock.

 Chapter 114 - 114: Dark Carriers

    After the hooded man revealed that the women were ''Dark Carriers,'' the warlock snapped his neck, as he knew everything he needed. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    June took a deep breath and lowered her gun, gazing back at the unconscious women on the side of the room.


    "Mister¡­ What did they do to them?" June asked.


    "Nihilor inseminated these women with a dark seed¡­ When they give birth, they''ll die, and the ''pisaca'' that comes from their bodies will eat their corpses," Dante explained.


    The detective gasped and lowered her eyes. Even though she didn''t know what a ''pisaca'' was, everything Dante said sounded awful.


    ["Dante, what''s a pisaca?"] Camille interrupted the pair, speaking on both of their earpieces.


    The warlock explained that a pisaca was a demon born from pure evil. They solely ate humans and could sometimes use fire magic.


    Pisacas were so chaotic and destructive to everything that even the demons from hell had to fight them, eventually leading to their extinction.


    However, certain demons were able to birth these pisacas using dark seeds, which could only be found in the "Cannibal Forest," located deep in hell.


    "When you say ''inseminated''¡­ D-does that mean?" June wondered, expecting the worst.


    "It''s not as it sounds. Fiends don''t have reproductive organs, so the insemination is done with magic¡­ It''s still extremely painful, though," Dante clarified.


    ["Can it be cured?"] the handler asked.


    "I¡­ could do that," Dante replied with a bit of hesitation.


    Approaching one of the carriers, Dante inspected their bellies a bit closer and clicked his tongue with dissatisfaction.


    ''The warlocks'' procedure would be to kill all of these women instantly¡­ But that''s because we don''t have the ability to cleanse evil¡­'' Dante thought, uttering Krom''s name to summon him there.


    "What!?" The imp whispered in an annoyed tone as he poofed inside the room.


    "Oh¡­ Oh, no¡ªno, no, no¡­" Krom continued, gazing at the women beside him and withdrawing his hands in fear while pacing around a small area.


    June took a few cautious steps back from the imp, finding his appearance to be quite intimidating. However, his slightly cowardly demeanor made up for it.


    The warlock apologized to the detective for making her uncomfortable by summoning Krom, which the woman found a bit ridiculous since the entire situation was already grim.


    "What do you think?" Dante asked the imp.


    "I think you should kill all these women before the pisacas are born. They don''t have much time left," Krom replied, a little desperate.


    "What?" June interjected, taken aback by Krom''s suggestion.


    "Thought so¡­" Dante muttered, but before he could clarify his train of thought, he sensed someone approaching and gazed at the door.


    "Stay close, Krom¡­" the warlock said.


    "Bah, alright," the imp replied, waving his arms with discontent and poofing out of the room.


    As the footsteps coming from the hallway became louder, Dante and Detective June hid behind the door, waiting for the man to enter.


    "I brought another dose¡­ What the-..." the hooded man said while entering the room, noticing his dead comrade on the floor.


    The man widened his eyes and took a step back, feeling like he had hit a wall behind him. He shivered, slowly turned around, and met the warlock''s crimson eyes staring him down through his mask.


    "Another dose of what?" Dante asked, his voice clear and intimidating.


    "B¨Cb-blood¡­" the man replied, utterly frozen in place from the fear he felt.


    "Let me see," the warlock continued, opening his palm before the man.


    With cold, shivering hands, the man handed the syringe filled with a dark red liquid, wondering why he was complying with the warlock''s request.


    As Dante raised the syringe closer to his face to inspect it, he looked back at the hooded man with an unamused expression, to which the man could only see his red eyes locked onto him.


    "What are you doing?" Dante asked, slightly confused.


    "P-p-please don''t kill me. I''m just following orders¡­" the man replied, his voice breaking from terror.


    The warlock tried to speak up to say that was not what he meant but was interrupted by June, who placed the barrel of her gun behind the thug''s head.


    "Speak. Whose orders are you following?" the detective asked.


    The pair knew the answer, but it was protocol for police to double-check and confirm that their intel was correct.


    "It''s a demon¡­" the man replied as tears started to roll down his cheeks.


    "Please¡­ I don''t want to die¡­" he implored the pair, making Dante cross his arms with discontent.


    "Tell me how to save these women, now!" June said, gritting her teeth so that her voice wouldn''t get too loud.


    "I''m sorry¡­ I don''t know¡ªI don''t know," he replied, looking down with repentance.


    The detective clicked her tongue and lowered her aim, looking at the women to her side for a brief moment.


    "Miss¡­" Dante said, but the detective didn''t acknowledge his words, as she was trying to come up with a way to save the victims.


    Suddenly, the repenting man pulled out a knife from his sleeve and lunged at the detective, making the woman hastily turn around and kick the knife from his hand, followed by a judo grab that knocked him down.


    "You are a good actor¡ªbut I didn''t graduate as one of the best detectives for nothing¡­" June muttered, holding the man on the ground with her knee as she held her weapon aimed at his head.


    "Oh, you knew he was lying?" Dante commented, feeling a bit relieved that the woman didn''t fall for the man''s acting.


    Dante could tell from the very moment the man said his first nervous words that he was lying, as his umbra showed clear bloodlust.


    However, when he saw the detective''s umbra, he could tell that she was also lying, so he decided to wait and see what she would do.


    "Of course, I knew. This bastard had a face that told me he was prepared to die," June replied.


    ''Interesting¡­'' Dante thought.


    The hooded man laughed maniacally, stating that the pair would die that night along with all the other victims.


    "Hahah¡­ I''ll see you in hell," the man said, opening his mouth and fiddling his tongue, taking a piece of poison hidden behind one of his molar teeth.


    When the man began convulsing, the detective stood up expressionless and waited beside Dante for the man to die.

 Chapter 115 - 115: Nihilor’s Arrival

    With three out of six cultists dead in the factory, Dante started to walk out of the room filled with ''carriers'' when he got stopped by June. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Wait¡­ What are we doing with these women?" she asked.


    "We have to clear this space first¡ªThere are more women in another room, so it will be better if we can have them all in one place," Dante explained.


    He told the detective that, even though his only option as a warlock was to kill the carriers before they gave birth to the pisacas, he stated he had another method that could save them.


    His words made June feel a bit more relieved, and as her confidence grew, Dante guided the woman out into the dark hallway.


    Suddenly, Krom appeared right in front of the pair, startling the detective, who pointed her gun at the imp out of pure reflexes.


    "Dante¡­ Something is coming," Krom said.


    "Hmm, I can''t sense it yet¡­ We have some time. Let''s move," Dante commented, speeding up his pace to a jog.


    Krom poofed out of the factory as the pair''s footsteps could be heard all over the hallway, reaching a large double door at the end and kicking it open.


    When the detective witnessed the scene in the room, her eyes widened in pure shock and disbelief.


    A dozen women were nailed and crucified against the walls of the room, covering a large portion of the area.


    They were all unconscious with their stomachs exposed, showing a carving with a diamond shape around their belly buttons.


    "Alice!" June exclaimed, noticing the detective in the middle.


    Her face was utterly stained with her blood, dripping down all the way to her feet. She had a stab wound on the right side of her torso and bruises all over.


    As June scurried and looked for a way to bring the detective down, Dante turned his gaze back to the entrance, sensing a person bolting towards them.


    ''That''s pretty fast¡­'' Dante thought.


    A second later, a hooded man appeared behind the opened double doors, his face shrouded by the darkness.


    "Don''t move!" June exclaimed, pointing her gun at the man.


    "Another mutated human¡­" Dante commented, unamused.


    At that moment, the man grabbed his coat and ripped it off with one swing, showcasing his defined body that was covered in black veins.


    The detective was slightly taken aback, seeing that the veins resembled the ones on Turner''s corpse. However, the stranger didn''t go through the same body disfiguration.


    In the blink of an eye, the assailant took a step and plunged towards the detective at an incredible speed, leaving the woman no time to react. Nevertheless, the man was halted by a firm grip on his wrist.


    After the cultist struggled a few times to release himself from Dante''s grasp, he was flung against the iron doors back into the hallway.


    When he stood up, blood came down the man''s head as he looked down in confusion, wondering how someone was able to stop him.


    "Not bad¡­ I wanted to take your arm¡ªI suppose you guys perfected your drug," Dante muttered.


    "You know nothing!" the thug shouted, followed by Dante pointing his finger at him with a gun gesture and a loud ''boom!'' that blew off the entire top half of his torso.


    "Now they know we are here," Dante commented, turning around and waving his hands, controlling the umbra to release the nails that held the women to the walls.


    As the unconscious victims fell on the floor, Dante took out a healthstone from his pocket and gave it to June, telling her to make the detective squeeze it.


    Even though Dante could tell that the women were cursed with demon blood, he knew that the healthstone wouldn''t cleanse them. However, it would still cure the wounds that marred their bodies.


    "Where are you going?" June asked, seeing that the warlock was walking out of the room.


    "Nihilor is coming¡­ I don''t want to hurt anyone here by mistake," he replied, sensing a fountain of umbra flying towards them.


    When the warlock walked to the hallway, he jumped down to the ground floor, where colossal machines surrounded him, abandoned and covered in graffiti.


    To the side of the room, large double doors that led to the outside opened abruptly, showing the silhouette of a massive demon solely illuminated by the moon.


    "Huh? So you actually showed yourself¡­" Dante commented, stepping out of the shadows into plain sight.


    "The supposed Hellslayer¡­ I knew you would be here after I heard about the police captain," Nihilor replied with an arrogant tone.


    "Yeah? And you still decided to come to me?" Dante mockingly asked.


    "What are you? Brave or stupid?" he continued.


    "Sharp tongue. I''ll have to show you some manners," Nihilor calmly replied, raising his palm and pointing it at Dante.


    The warlock took off his mask and exhaled deeply, gazing at the demon with a cold look that made him hesitate momentarily. Still, Nihilor went ahead and cast his spell.


    "Shadow grip!" The demon shouted, but just as his magic was about to materialize, Dante released all of his suppressed umbra and absorbed the energy surrounding them.


    Nihilor widened his eyes in disbelief, wondering how his spell didn''t activate and seeing the overwhelming pressure that extruded from the warlock.


    "How disappointing¡­ Is that your level of umbra control? Pathetic," Dante muttered.


    ''What¡­!? So, he wasn''t even using half of his power to destroy my illusion!?'' Nihilor pondered.


    "Let''s get this over with. I still got some things to take care of¡­" Dante continued, irking the demon.


    Nihilor felt powerless, an emotion he had only experienced a few times in the presence of the most formidable demons he knew. However, the demon was confident that he could defeat the warlock if he managed to cast a single spell.


    ''I''ll have to bring one of ''them'' to grab his attention¡­'' Nihilor thought.


    However, his planning was interrupted as Dante clapped his hands together and appeared right in front of him, kicking Nihilor in the face with such force that the massive monster was flung through a wall outside.

 Chapter 116 - 116: June’s Close Call

    While Dante gave Nihilor a beating in the courtyard of the abandoned factory, June used the healthstone that was given to her and placed it on Alice''s hand, helping her superior squeeze it.


    As the green mist came out of the stone, the rookie detective was startled for a second but calmed down when she noticed the wounds slowly healing.


    Once Alice''s injuries were closed, June carried the rest of the unconscious women, placed them beside her superior, and used the stone to heal them, too. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Nghh¡­ Ju-ne?" Detective Alice muttered, her voice raspy and weak.


    "I''m here, detective. It''s going to be alright¡­" June replied, hearing the loud battle sounds coming from Dante''s location.


    ["June, the Kappa Team will arrive at the factory soon to help move out the victims,"] Camille said on the detective''s earpiece.


    "Understood!" June replied, standing up and guarding the double doors to the room.


    The detective knew that there were still two enemies inside the factory, one of which was as strong and quick as the previous mutant, so she pulled out the submachine gun that was strapped around her and aimed at the door from the side of the room.


    The echoes from Dante and Nihilor''s encounter got slightly lower, allowing June to hear footsteps rapidly coming towards her that halted abruptly right outside the room.


    June couldn''t see the person, but she was sure it was an enemy since she hadn''t heard Camille or Dante talking on her earpiece to say otherwise.


    Taking a few silent steps towards the door, the detective leaned a bit to peek outside, only to be met by a swift barrage of bullets coming from an assault rifle, prompting her to duck and take cover behind the thick walls quickly.


    "You idiot. That room is filled with future carriers!" an unknown voice shouted from outside, reprimanding the shooter.


    ''What is that¡­?'' June pondered, listening to the voice, which sounded too uncanny to be natural.


    "I''ll do it¡­" the voice continued.


    June clenched her submachine gun tightly and gulped a bit nervously, expecting the unknown man to at least take a few seconds to enter. Nevertheless, he appeared inside the room almost instantaneously, making the detective open fire.


    *Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta* "Ugh!" June scoffed in pain while stopping her bullet barrage, feeling the fist of the assailant hitting her in the stomach and flinging her against the wall.


    As her back crashed with the cement, June spat out a few drops of blood and tried to stay standing, reaching out for her submachine gun and noticing that it had been thrown to the other side.


    "June¡­" Alice muttered, barely conscious to witness the scene.


    The thug took a few defiant steps toward the detective, who had her back against the wall with no room to escape.


    The man had the same black veins as the previous assailant, making the detective understand that he was a mutant under the effects of demon blood.


    After the forensic lab at the police department wasn''t able to determine what caused the change in the bodies of the drug users when studying Turner''s corpse, the detectives could at least discover that their heads were their weak spots.


    Quickly drawing her silenced pistol, June got her weapon knocked off her hands again as the man appeared right before her, slapping it away, gripping her neck, and raising her in the air with her back scraping the wall.


    "This city will not fall¡­" the man muttered as he asphyxiated June.


    However, the detective didn''t have time to make sense of his words, as the firm grasp around her neck was mere seconds away from snapping it.


    Using one arm to reach for her belt, she opened the buckle and pulled out a small dagger, catching the assailant''s attention.


    Nevertheless, by the time the man saw the weapon, June had already used it to stab him under his chin, making the blade come out from inside his mouth.


    "Aarrghh!" he shouted in pain, dropping the woman while a gush of blood came out of his mouth, along with pieces of his shredded tongue.


    June caught her breath once again as the thug angrily pulled out the dagger from his chin, rushing at the detective and kicking her in the ribs.


    She managed to protect her side with her arm, but the force was too strong for her to sustain, breaking her arm and flinging her against a wall with a window that she shattered with the back of her head.


    As the detective sat on the ground and took a deep breath, she endured the pain and gazed back at the man, who rushed at her again and used the small dagger to stab her broken shoulder.


    "Raaagh!" He shouted maniacally, pulling out the dagger from June''s shoulder and going for a second stab.


    At that moment, June recoiled her leg and reached for her shin, pulling out a small pistol with a wide barrel and inserting it under the man''s jaw.


    *BANG!* A loud sound echoed in the room as the brains of the assailant were splattered behind him, making his limp body flop on top of the detective.


    *Huff, puff* June took a few deep breaths before pushing the man''s body off of her, weakly standing up and walking back towards Alice.


    "June¡­ Are you alright?" Alice asked with a breaking voice.


    "I''ll be okay¡­" the rookie replied.


    "June¡­ June¡­!!" Alice said, her voice getting a little more desperate.


    "I''m here," June tiredly muttered, getting shocked when she felt her superior reaching for her gun and shooting over her shoulder.


    When the rookie heard a ''thud'' behind her, she turned around to see the last hooded cultist dead on the ground with half of his face blown off by Alice''s shot.


    ["June, the Kappa Team is almost there!"] Camille said into the detective''s earpiece, prompting her to smile with a bit of relief.


    ''Somehow¡­ I feel like I can leave the rest to ''him,'' June thought, sitting next to Alice to rest her wounds, unable to heal as the healthstone had turned to dust after curing all the other victims.

 Chapter 117 - 117: Nihilor and the Pisaca

    While June protected herself against the last two thugs inside the factory, Dante was in an expansive courtyard, flinging Nihilor around like a rag doll.


    Seizing the demon''s face with his palm, Dante dragged him across the ground and unleashed his "Wings of the Fallen" spell, propelling Nihilor into the sky and hurtling his colossal body down like a meteor.


    As Nihilor crashed on the ground, a wake of dust and dirt arose from the impact location, prompting the demon to quickly look for a way to escape.


    Nevertheless, his senses were getting overwhelmed by Dante''s pressure, not leaving the demon with a second to breathe.


    Any time that Nihilor tried to cast a spell, his magic wouldn''t materialize as Dante hoarded all of the umbra in the area for himself.


    Nihilor''s umbra control wasn''t refined enough to compete with Dante''s, and as he kept receiving a beating, he decided he would use his last resort option. However, it proved to be harder than expected.


    Dante wasn''t leaving the demon alone for even a second, clearly playing around with him as he smiled wickedly and laughed at the demon''s futile attempts to fight back.


    "Hahaha! Come on, fiend¡­ Show me something!" Dante exclaimed with a grin as he hovered a few meters above the demon, crashing down and landing with both of his feet on Nihilor''s stomach, breaking the ground beneath him.


    *Bam, bam, bam!* Dante''s ground and pound fists against Nihilor''s face resounded in the area, each punch slightly disfiguring the demon.


    "Hahah¡­ Hahahaha!" Dante laughed without stopping his barrage of attacks.


    ["Dante¡­!?"] Camille exclaimed on the warlock''s earpiece, making his expression change instantly from a wicked smile to his usual serious gaze. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The handler and Trinity had been watching the entire scene¡ªTrinity from her secret location and Camille from her laptop at the bait home.


    Sophia and Victoria covered their eyes multiple times while watching, as it was the equivalent of watching a horror movie but in reality.


    Lilith, on the other hand, seemed excited and slightly aroused anytime Dante used his powers, completely unbothered about the situation they were dealing with.


    "Apologies¡­ It seems I got a bit too involved," Dante said with a polite tone, confusing the demon under him as he didn''t know he was talking on his microphone.


    Placing both of his hands on each of Nihilor''s arms, the warlock uttered a spell, "Break¡­" he said.


    *Crack, guish!* The bones on Nihilor''s arms cracked into pieces, followed by Dante pulling them apart and ripping them off the demon''s torso.


    "Aaaarrrghh!" Nihilor shouted in pain as his dark red blood gushed out of his severed shoulders.


    "Is there a location where you want me to take him?" Dante asked the handler.


    ["There are a few people from the Alpha and the Zeta team preparing a warehouse¡­ Would that work?"] Camille asked back.


    When Dante told her that it would be no problem, he heard a faint ''clink'' coming from the demon, making him turn around and see a small, crystal orb being held with his teeth.


    ''A soulstone¡­'' Dante thought.


    *Crack¡­* Nihilor bit on the orb, producing a red arcane pentagram right beside him that oozed with powerful umbra.


    *Tch¡­* "Really?" Dante asked, clicking his tongue with a disappointed tone.


    "Haha, curse you, Hellslayer!" Nihilor shouted as he sat up on the ground, still missing his upper limbs.


    ["What''s that!?"] Camille inquired, sounding a bit worried.


    "He had a soulstone and used it to cast a summoning spell¡­" Dante replied, getting into a more stable stance as the demon materialized on top of the pentagram.


    The monster was tall and looked scrawny. Its skin was a light shade of beige, and its face had no features other than a singular hole with a flame lit in the center.


    "A pisaca¡­" Dante muttered, his expression turning into a wicked smile.


    The monster released a deafening sound that could be heard all over the factory, followed by a powerful fireball directed at the warlock.


    "Shadow wall," Dante muttered, waving his hand up and raising a wall from the ground before him.


    *BOOM!* The pisaca''s projectile hit the barrier, exploding and splitting into dozens of fire strands that traveled around the shadow wall. Still, Dante stayed calm and waited for the fire to dissipate.


    Camille and the other spectators were shocked at the monster''s power¡ªall except Lilith, who showed her excitement at watching Dante deal with the demon.


    "Destro," Dante cast as he closed his range with the monster, rushing towards him at full speed.


    The pisaca waved its arm and deflected the "destro" spell, which the warlock expected, leaving the monster with an opening.


    "Black flame," Dante muttered, placing his palm against the pisaca''s body.


    However, the monster released a wave of hellfire around its body that caused the warlock to take a step back.


    "Hah, aren''t you ashamed? This mindless monster is at least trying¡­ What about you?" Dante asked Nihilor with a mocking tone.


    The demon clenched his teeth with anger, trying to use umbra to heal his severed arms to no avail, as the pisaca and Dante were hoarding all of it.


    "Anyways, as I said, I have other things to take care of¡­" Dante commented, clapping his hands and appearing beside the pisaca.


    "Soulshock," Dante said, generating strands of black lightning in his hand that shot out and hit the pisaca, making the monster halt its movements completely.


    Dante followed it up with a kick to the monster''s face that pushed it all the way to the walls of the factory.


    Then, with a wicked smile on his face, he turned to look at Nihilor and grabbed him by the leg, flinging him across the courtyard and making him crash against the pisaca.


    When the dust from the crash location settled, another fireball was hurled at the warlock, which he avoided as he rushed at his enemies, leaving an explosion behind him.


    ''I should go check on the detective¡­'' Dante thought, landing a punch on the pisaca that destroyed the wall behind it and sent it to the abandoned machinery room.

 Chapter 118 - 118: Torment Maiden

    After Dante crashed inside the factory once again by making the pisaca go through the wall, the warlock grabbed Nihilor and threw him inside with them.


    As Dante quickly entered the building, the pisaca instantly attacked him with its body fully encased in flames. Nonetheless, the warlock flung Nihilor across and hit the pisaca before it could get to him.


    "Hahah¡­" Dante chuckled¡ªa laugh that only Camille and Trinity were able to hear from his microphone.


    The warlock was enjoying himself, avoiding the flames of the pisaca while simultaneously using Nihilor like a punching bag.


    Throwing Nihilor''s body against a large machine, Dante sensed the pisaca charging another fireball. However, his smile was wiped from his face when he noticed the monster aiming at the second level, where June and Alice were located.


    When the monster released the fireball, a massive shadow wall appeared and covered the area from the explosion, making Dante turn with a sharp gaze toward the pisaca.


    "Hey, brainless¡­ Did you just try attacking someone other than me?" Dante muttered. His volume was low, but Nihilor and his pisaca could clearly hear his voice.


    "Good job. I almost allowed you to rampage for longer¡­" he continued, slowly walking towards the monster.


    The pisaca couldn''t move from its spot as a heavy pressure fell upon its body, getting heavier the closer Dante got.


    "You are extinct for a reason¡­ Stay that way," Dante said, covering his hand with black flame and punching through the monster''s gut, making it combust as its soul burned.


    With the pisaca''s body turned to dust, Dante gazed at Nihilor on the ground. His face was swollen and disfigured from the barrage of punches he received earlier, and both of his arms were missing.


    "Now¡­ Your turn," Dante commented.


    Nihilor believed that the warlock would execute him, but he had a different plan for the fiend.


    Placing his hands together to make a symbol, Dante gave Nihilor another wicked smile. "Torment Maiden," he muttered, producing strands of shadows to appear around him.


    As the shadows traveled on the ground and placed themselves under Nihilor''s body, a massive structure rose behind him, making him levitate and allowing him to see the spell that materialized.


    It had the same obsidian facade as the Shadow Well, with the shape of an iron maiden torturing device that seemed to be expertly carved to look like it was smiling evilly.


    When the Torment Maiden''s eyes glowed red, the double doors opened abruptly before Nihilor, showcasing its inside filled with obsidian spikes that were oozing with black smoke.


    "No¡­ Why are you not killing me!?" Nihilor shouted with desperation.


    "There''s a different plan for you¡­ Do you know a man named Ethan Winter?" Dante asked, referring to Camille''s father.


    Nihilor widened his eyes in disbelief, remembering how he was ordered to corrupt the man eight years ago in order for him to betray the Jade Dragons.


    "What''s it to you!? You are not even from this world!" Nihilor yelled as his body was slowly dragged inside the iron maiden.


    "So? I''m just doing my friends a favor," replied Dante.


    "Besides¡­ It doesn''t matter where I''m at¡ªI''ll always hunt down your kind," he continued, smirking at the demon before the doors forcefully closed with Nihilor inside the torture device.


    "AAARRGHH!" The demon''s screams of pain and agony echoed loudly in the abandoned factory as his blood gushed out from the iron maiden''s eyes, dripping down like tears on her carved, wicked smile.


    When the structure slowly merged in the shadows and disappeared from the surface, Dante quickly made his way back to the room on the second floor, where June was waiting for him.


    As he ran up the stairs, he sensed the umbra of more people walking in the hallways. However, he could tell that they didn''t have ill intentions towards him or the detective.


    Arriving at the room with the dark carriers, Dante was surprised to see that Neil and a couple of members from the Kappa Team had transferred the women who had been crucified there.


    June was sitting on the floor next to Alice, with a member of the Kappa Team inspecting her injuries and putting pressure on them.


    "Here¡­" Dante muttered, approaching June and handing her another healthstone he had in his pocket.


    "Heh¡­ How many of these magic rocks do you have?" June asked the warlock with a slight smile on her face.


    "A lot¡ªactually¡­" Dante replied, returning the warm smile to the woman as he reminisced all the nights he had been synthetizing healthstones in his backyard.


    "Miss June told us to gather all of the victims. She thought it would be easier to move the injured here¡­" Neil interjected.


    "Mhmm, good job. These women could burst at any moment, so it''s better not to touch them at all," Dante said, making the Kappa Team members a bit proud of their prudence.


    "What now?" Neil continued.


    "Give me a moment¡­" replied Dante, walking to the center of the room while the Kappa Team members gathered at the door. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lilith, who was still attentively watching the scene from Camille''s laptop, widened her eyes and took a small, cautious step back.


    "He''s¡­" the succubus muttered with a severe tone.


    "Lilith?" Camille asked, turning to the queen and seeing that she was looking away from the screen with a cold expression.


    When Camille watched the live feed again, she noticed Dante was using the same magic he used to heal Clara''s curse.


    ''Are demons not allowed to see this?'' Camille pondered, reminiscing about the time the warlock used that magic for the first time and how Krom looked away for the whole duration of the spell with fear.


    Any time Camille was present to witness Dante casting his warlock spells, she always felt a small sense of unease, which Dante explained was common since his magic used umbra.


    However, when Dante used the unknown magic that turned his hair white, the air felt warm, cozy, and serene¡ªthe complete opposite of his usual spells.


    Moreover, there was the ghostly woman who would appear whenever he used that magic, and while Camille had her suspicions about her identity, she didn''t want to bother Dante with past experiences.

 Chapter 119 - 119: Factory Cleanse

    When Dante stood in the center of the room, surrounded by the dark carriers and the drugged women, a wave of calming energy enveloped the area.


    June was squeezing the healthstone Dante had given her, and as her injuries healed, she gazed at the warlock and widened her eyes with surprise.


    ''That feels¡­ nice?'' June thought.


    A white and golden mist materialized and wrapped around Dante''s body, gradually changing his dark hair to a bright white color.


    Neil and the rest of the Kappa Team couldn''t contain their expressions from being utterly perplexed, and when Dante''s transformation finished, a gust of wind gently blew against everyone''s heads.


    Dante''s presence extruded an uncanny sense of divinity, stemming from the ghostly woman who materialized from the mist and held onto the warlock''s shoulders.


    "Beatrice, forgive me¡­ I need you again," Dante muttered, his words perfectly clear on his microphone for Camille to hear.


    The ghostly woman placed herself before Dante''s face, giving him a warm smile that showed no resentment for him¡ªcontrasting with his apologetic attitude towards her.


    The warlock smiled sadly and closed his eyes, prompting the figure of Beatrice to gently place her forehead against his, producing a wave of warm and somewhat luminous air that focused on the victims.


    June watched how the waves traveled across the room, witnessing the dark bumps in the women''s bellies slowly disintegrating into thin air, leaving a trail of golden glitter behind, and turning their bodies back to normal.


    With no dark carriers left in the room, the waves of warm air focused on Alice and the drugged victims, shattering the dark chains ensnaring their bodies that were only visible to the warlock.


    Dante noticed that Alice''s chains looked a bit loose compared to the others, making him ponder if the woman had slightly released herself from the curse with pure determination.


    As the last woman was cleansed, Dante gave his thanks to Beatrice''s figure, who posed her lips against his before vanishing, returning the warlock''s original hair color back.


    "All done, Camille. Where should I take Nihilor?" Dante spoke up to the handler on his earpiece.


    ["Ah, yes. I''ll ask Trinity to guide you¡­ It''ll take me a bit longer to get there, though,"] Camille said.


    "Everything okay?" Dante inquired.


    ["Yeah, I just have to keep overseeing Megan and Zac''s mission¡­"] she replied.


    "How are they doing?"


    ["Well¡­ They are a little busy,"] Camille said, her voice sounding slightly worried.


    "Do you want me to go check on them?" Dante continued.


    ["No, no. I don''t think they are in danger¡­ They are just¡­ busy,"] Camille clarified.


    Dante didn''t fully get it, but he didn''t feel troubled as long as they weren''t in danger.


    ____________________ S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During Alice''s rescue of the abandoned factory, Zac and Megan were sent to accompany Maya in raiding a base of the Ruby Vipers.


    The base was located in an abandoned construction site near the poor district of Dewmore, where Zac grew up.


    While on the train ride, the redhead was a bit apprehensive about the mission and clenched his bat.


    ''Come on, Zac¡ªMegan used to do this by herself without a contract with a warlock,'' he thought, trying to calm down his nerves.


    Maya, who usually guarded the bait home with the two Tylers, went along with the Omega Team since Lilith was present in the house, so Maya''s protection wasn''t needed.


    "Are you from Dewmore, Zac?" Maya asked.


    "Yeah¡­ I moved out three years ago to attend college," he said.


    "Mhm, same here¡­ Although I moved out about 12 years ago," the agent replied with a nostalgic tone.


    Zac was surprised to hear that and wondered out loud how she ended up working with Camille.


    Maya was an orphan in Dewmore who used to be quite violent as a child. The pink-haired girl beat up an older kid in the orphanage when she was only 11 years old, so she was alienated by the other children and caretakers for her demeanor.


    By the time she was 16, she was still living at the orphanage, but since nobody wanted to care for her, she found a job as a fighter for an underground gambling site.


    One night, after winning her fight against a professional MMA fighter, she was approached by a man who wanted to adopt her.


    The man''s name was Fernando Luz, and he was the leader of the Gamma Team from the Jade Dragons.


    Maya was wary at first, but the man ended up convincing her when he told her that she could finally leave Dewmore.


    When Maya was brought to the Jade Dragons residence, she was instantly placed in the Gamma Team under her adoptive father''s supervision, who treated the supposedly savage girl like his true daughter.


    The Gamma Team had dozens of members back then who treated Maya like their little sister, including the two Tylers, who were quiet but thoughtful with her.


    Zac listened to the story and felt pretty relieved that Maya could get an opportunity like that when she went through so much.


    However, he knew that the current Gamma Team was composed of only three of them, making him bite his lips with a hint of sadness, as the people in that story were murdered by the Blood Dragons.


    Maya noticed the redhead''s apprehension, so she continued her story, saying that when the Blood Dragons attacked the residence, Maya was only able to escape with the help of her adoptive father.


    The pink-haired agent was ready to fight back, but Fernando knew that it was futile and ordered the two Tylers to get Maya to safety without looking back¡ªan order that the men took without a second thought.


    "That''s why we fight, Zac¡­" Maya said.


    "We all have a reason to be here, and I''m sure you do too," she continued.


    "I¡­" Zac uttered.


    ''Why do I fight? These were the bastards who made my mom miserable for years¡ªI fight for my friends¡­ and my family!'' The redhead thought, confidently clenching his fist.


    "I do¡­ I do have a reason," he replied to Maya, making the agent smile with satisfaction.

 Chapter 120 - 120: Zac’s Anger

    When Zac and his group arrived at the construction site, the redhead wondered why such a big project had been abandoned.


    Maya explained that the Jade Dragons used to fund residential projects in the Dewmore district when they were in control of the capital, and the unfinished building was one of the projects left after the Blood Dragons attacked.


    It was meant to be the first of many they would build. However, all they could get done was the structure''s frame before getting abandoned for lack of funding.


    Camille could have kept funneling money into the project, but needing to keep a low profile, she couldn''t continue any of the past Jade Dragons'' projects until they retook control.


    The agent''s words seemed to have an effect on Zac, who glared angrily at the construction site, thinking of what could have been if more people from Dewmore had better lives.


    "The mission is to clear everyone out¡­ I''ll go through the back with Megan, and Zac will take the front with Tyler¡­" Maya explained to the group, laying out her plans.


    ''Which Tyler?'' Zac pondered, but when he saw the two of them standing beside him, he shrugged it off.


    The construction site was surrounded by a tall, plastic wall, which was meant to keep pedestrians away. However, it also acted as a way for the criminals inside to hide their presence.


    Law enforcement officers rarely made their way through Dewmore, so it was simple for a group of criminals to use any abandoned building as their base of operations.


    Megan and Maya walked through a dried-out grassy patch to reach the back of the building''s frame, where the brunette climbed up the wall to peek inside.


    "I see four¡ªThree on the ground and one in the upper level¡­" Megan muttered.


    "Gotcha. I''ll take the top one," Maya replied.


    In a sudden burst, one of the large plastic tiles of the wall was forcefully pushed inside by Megan''s kick.


    Maya pulled out her silenced pistol and shot the man in the upper level right in the head, making the limp body fall to the ground floor.


    Megan, using her customized gun, shot three bullets that landed on three heads, taking out the back guards in less than five seconds.


    The plan was to meet in the center of the ground floor and use the ramp to go up, so the two women started making their way there, expecting to see Zac and the two Tylers.


    However, as they got closer to the center, they could hear shots coming from the front of the construction site, followed by ''clink'' sounds and grunts of pain.


    "Go, go!" Maya hurried her partner, getting surprised when they reached Zac''s group.


    The redhead had seemingly gone mad as he was rushing through the entire site at incredible speeds, hitting the thugs in the face with his bat and obliterating their skulls with one strike.


    One of the criminals unloaded his entire clip on Zac, but the man moved too fast and in an erratic way that made it impossible to get a hit, meeting the body of Zac''s chromic bat with his face.


    *Huff, puff* Zac took deep breaths as the last thug fell, suddenly coming to his senses and realizing what he had just done. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The redhead''s body was trembling a little, but it wasn''t from fear. ''What was what¡­?'' he pondered.


    Even though Zac was in a crazed state, he clearly remembered everything that happened in those few minutes.


    He was thinking about Maya''s story, about his mother, his friends, and his district being forgotten, making Zac feel an overwhelming sense of anger that he had never felt before.


    At that moment, when the two Tylers brought down one of the plastic wall tiles, Zac''s eyes were producing a red mist that seemingly clouded his vision.


    He clenched his teeth and showed his strong bite like a wild animal, prompting the guards to start shooting at him.


    Nonetheless, the redhead disappeared from his spot and emerged right beside the first criminal, using his bat to break his head.


    The rest of the thugs followed, shooting their weapons to no avail as the redhead dominated the entire area with his speed and ferocity until they were all dead.


    "Are you good?" Megan asked Zac, noticing the strain on his body as he was sweating quite profusely.


    "I think so¡­ I''m like¡ªsuper tired, though," replied Zac in between deep breaths.


    The group knew that Zac had done ''something,'' but they couldn''t figure out what it was, so they decided they would ask Dante later.


    ''Did I use magic? Was that some sort of ability¡­?'' Zac continued pondering as he and his group cleared the building.


    ____________________


    While Zac and his group completed their mission, Dante was flying alone through the city toward a warehouse that Camille had chosen.


    Trinity was giving the warlock directions in his earpiece, and as he got closer to his destination, the hacker pondered where Nihilor was.


    Since she had access to the live feed, she had seen everything that happened in the abandoned factory, and it was hard for the woman to believe everything she saw, even when it was documented live.


    The warlock answered plainly and said that Nihilor was trapped, not wanting to give too much information to the hacker.


    From Dante''s perspective, he could easily choose who to trust by meeting them in person as he would instantly perceive their intentions.


    He only trusted Trinity''s words since Camille asked him to¡ªand he trusted Camille.


    However, Dante had never met, seen, or even heard Trinity''s real voice, as she used a voice changer every time they spoke.


    The warlock knew about her father being kidnapped, but even then, he didn''t feel comfortable sharing information with someone he had never met.


    ["So, you are a warlock¡­?"] Trinity asked on his earpiece.


    "Yep," Dante said.


    ["Cool¡­ What else can you do?"] The hacker continued.


    "Miss Trinity, don''t get this the wrong way, but I don''t really want to share anything about me with you¡­ At least not now," replied Dante, his tone polite but severe.

 Chapter 121 - 121: A Hacker’s Identity

    When Dante arrived at the warehouse with Trinity''s guidance, he sat on a small bench to wait for the handler to arrive.


    Meanwhile, Trinity kept asking Dante questions about himself, which the warlock kept avoiding, not knowing if she was asking out of curiosity or malice.


    ["Okay, okay¡­"] Trinity said, followed by a ''click'' sound.


    ["How about now?"] She said, her voice sounding like that of a young woman.


    "Oh, that''s your real voice?" Dante asked.


    ["Yup!"] Trinity replied.


    "But how do I confirm that? What if you just changed your voice again?" Dante inquired.


    ["Ngghh, fine. I''ll tell you my full name!"] Trinity said, grunting with annoyance.


    Dante knew that her last name was "Sylva" since that was the missing doctor''s name. However, when Camille and her people tried to search for him and his family, there were no records of him having a daughter.


    ["My full name is Aria Sylva"] The woman said, explaining that she had deleted all proof of her existence in Novaria.


    When her father was kidnapped, she knew that she was running the risk of being targeted by the same people, as Aria was the only family that the doctor had, so she hacked into different government databases and deleted herself from them.


    "I''m sorry you went through that¡­" Dante said, feeling slightly guilty about his cold treatment of the woman.


    ["It''s fine¡­ You are literally the only one who knows this, so please keep it a secret!"] Trinity exclaimed.


    "Ehh, I''m not exactly a good liar¡­" Dante commented.


    ["Great, that doesn''t make me feel any better¡­"] the woman said.


    "Well, why are you telling me this of all people?" the warlock inquired.


    Trinity explained that, after seeing the warlock taking down the demons, she believed that he was the key to defeating the Blood Dragons.


    The hacker wanted nothing more than to get rid of their gang, and after Slacks revealed that her father could still possibly be alive, the woman was doing everything she could to locate him.


    ["I have dozens of drones flying around residential areas on the outskirts of the city¡­ When I find my father, could he be cured?"] Trinity asked, her voice sounding a bit sad.


    "I¡­ can''t promise anything," Dante said.


    Captain Slacks told them that Nihilor had corrupted the doctor to make him perform surgery on Sabelio, but he didn''t know what happened to him afterward.


    "Killing Nihilor should, in theory, break the corruption curse on his victims," Dante continued.


    Still, the results of the victims getting cleansed could vary.


    "If a person returned to normal while they were sleeping, then that would be their best-case scenario. However, if a person suddenly becomes aware of the evil things they are committing while surrounded by demons, then they could easily get executed." the warlock elaborated.


    While Nihilor wouldn''t be able to keep corrupting anyone else, keeping him alive inside his ''Torment Maiden'' would maintain the curse on his victims.


    Trinity understood and dropped the matter, thanking the warlock for explaining and saying that she would return to her work.


    A few minutes later, Camille arrived at the warehouse accompanied by Paige, a few more scientists, and a couple of members from the Alpha Team.


    "Alright, shall we get started?" Dante politely asked the handler, who nodded confidently.


    In the center of the expansive and empty warehouse, Dante pointed his palm at the ground and chanted, "Torment Maiden," causing the shadows to gather in one spot where the tall structure rose.


    Different from the first time it appeared in the factory, the entire frame of the iron maiden was covered with Nihilor''s blood.


    Camille had seen the spell from the live feed, but seeing it in person was pretty intimidating, as the face carving on the front was eerie and unsettling.


    "What kind of magic even is this?" Camille pondered aloud.


    "This? This is considered a ''demonology'' spell for warlocks," Dante casually replied.


    Camille hadn''t asked for details, but the warlock still elaborated, saying that the Torment Maiden was technically a beast he summoned from hell.


    Torment Maidens were created by fusing the soul of a blood demon with an iron maiden, turning it into an inanimate object that would feed from the blood and pain of its victims.


    Moreover, it was made so that the unfortunate individual trapped inside would never perish from their wounds. Instead, they would feel excruciating pain until they were released by their captors.


    Camille and Paige were surprised to hear that, as it made the Torment Maiden sound like the best torture method there could be, and the warlock agreed with them.


    "It leaves the individual alive so it can keep feeding on their pain and suffering for however long it wants¡­ Or until I release them," Dante continued.


    When the warlock snapped his fingers, the double doors of the Torment Maiden opened, revealing the skewered body of Nihilor inside.


    The demon was missing both of his arms and had orifices all over his body that were oozing with a strange, shadowy energy.


    *Wheeze* Nihilor exhaled tiredly.


    The sight of the demon covered in his own blood made Camille smile with a bit of mischief in her eyes.


    "Thanks, Dante. This is exactly what I asked for¡­" The handler said, keeping her sharp gaze on Nihilor.


    After taking a few steps to approach the monster, Camille looked up and locked her eyes with him.


    "Dante, can you close and open the door for each question that this ''thing'' doesn''t answer?" Camille inquired.


    The warlock smirked, sharing the handler''s evil smile. "Of course," he said, snapping his fingers and shutting the Torment Maiden close.


    "AAARRRGHHH!" Nihilor''s screams filled the warehouse as more blood poured from the iron maiden''s face, prompting Dante to snap his fingers again to open the doors. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *Huff, puff* The demon breathed heavily as torrents of blood came out of his injuries.


    "Are you gonna say something?" Camille asked the demon, crossing her arms and shooting a cold glance at him.


    *Huff* "What¡­" *puff* "Do you want from me¡­?" Nihilor asked, his voice broken and defeated, not showing a hint of his previous arrogance.


    Camille grinned and showed her teeth. "I want you to answer everything I ask, got it?" she said, her tone slicing through the air.

 Chapter 122 - 122: Nihilor’s True Intentions

    After Camille gave her instructions to the injured Nihilor, she questioned his motives for kidnapping Alice instead of killing her at the park.


    The demon replied by stating that he saw potential in the woman. Thus, he decided to capture her.


    "Potential for what?" Camille asked.


    "To become a powerful carrier¡­" Nihilor said as blood dripped down the sides of his mouth.


    Camille wanted to know the reason why he was trying to bring the demons known as "pisacas" to the world when they were so chaotic that not even hell wanted them around.


    Nihilor was a fiend who always dreamed of controlling his own legion of pisacas, thinking that he could become the next king to replace Satan.


    With that objective in mind, the fiend traveled to the "Cannibal Forest" in hell and gathered dark seeds that he could use to create the extinct demons.


    However, when Nihilor tried turning other demons into carriers, he noticed that their body constitutions didn''t serve as suitable vessels, so he had to come up with another way to birth the pisacas.


    That''s when Astaroth proclaimed himself as the new "King of Wrath," which prompted Nihilor to meet with him as he wanted to assess his powers.


    After realizing that he didn''t have a chance to beat Astaroth, he offered his services to the archdemon, who took the fiend under his wing.


    A few months after Astaroth was summoned to the modern world by Sabelio, the archdemon became obsessed with the umbra on Earth, stating that it was the purest and densest negative energy he had seen.


    With this new obsession in his mind, Astaroth summoned Nihilor to Earth so that he could use his mind-corruption powers for his benefit, and Nihilor agreed as he wanted to test humans as potential vessels for pisacas.


    Astaroth was never aware that Nihilor was trying to create pisacas since the fiend planned on overtaking his position and told Astaroth that he was merely siphoning the lives of his victims to become stronger.


    Camille listened closely to the demon speaking, turning to look at Dante to confirm that he was telling the truth, to which he nodded affirmatively. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why did you corrupt my father? What did he have to do with your plans?" The handler asked with a severe tone.


    "Your¡­ father?" Nihilor asked.


    "Dante," Camille called the warlock, making him snap his fingers and shutting the Torment Maiden close again.


    "Aaarrghhh!" Nihilor''s screams filled the warehouse before the spiked doors re-opened.


    "Ethan Winter¡­ The guy you corrupted to betray the Jade Dragons!" Camille exclaimed, clarifying who her father was to the demon.


    "I see¡­ Something felt familiar," Nihilor muttered.


    The fiend explained that he had nothing personal against her family as he was simply following the orders he was given by Astaroth, who wanted to take the place of the Jade Dragons.


    "Why would a demon that powerful want to become the leader of a mafia family!?" Camille asked in a louder tone.


    "I wondered that myself¡­" Nihilor replied, his tone defeated.


    By the time the fiend was summoned to Earth, Astaroth was already convinced that he needed to take the Jade Dragon''s spot¡ªsomething that Nihilor inquired about with him later on.


    Astaroth explained that Earth was a much more developed world than Terra, and if a demon as powerful as him created a giant fuss, every other country would know about it in a matter of hours.


    Nihilor couldn''t see how that would be a problem since the humans wouldn''t be able to do anything against him, but when Sabelio interjected their conversation and spoke about nuclear weapons that could destroy an entire city, he understood Astaroth''s position.


    ''Hmm, so Sabelio halted Astaroth from going on a rampage by threatening him with nuclear weapons¡­?'' Camille pondered.


    "Why did Sabelio summon Astaroth?" she asked the fiend.


    "He said¡­ He didn''t want to let this country fall," Nihilor replied.


    "Fall to who?" Camille continued, making the fiend shake his head in silence, as he didn''t know to whom Sabelio referred.


    Camille turned to look at Dante, who nodded affirmatively again, confirming that Nihilor was telling the truth.


    The fiend''s work for Astaroth was nothing but a side gig for him. His true objective was to overtake Astaroth''s position with his own legion of pisacas, so he never cared for Sabelio''s intentions.


    From the things that Camille read in Alan Dunlap''s journal and the information that Nihilor was giving, she knew that Sabelio had gone through some sort of traumatic experience that made him look for a way to summon demons.


    Moreover, the man said that he was doing it so Novaria wouldn''t fall, which only left the handler with more questions. Still, she had to move on to other topics.


    "What happened with the doctor¡­?" Camille asked.


    Trinity, who was listening to the conversation from Dante''s microphone, perked up with anticipation as she heard Camille speaking.


    "Ah, yes¡­ Sylva¡ªhe was helpful," Nihilor muttered.


    "What do you mean?" Camille continued.


    When Nihilor came to an impasse with his research on creating dark carriers, Sabelio spoke to him about a doctor that he needed to corrupt since his skills were unmatched.


    After the fiend corrupted Doctor Sylva, they used his skills to conduct a heart transplant surgery on Sabelio.


    Then, Nihilor used him to develop a method that wouldn''t kill the vessels he used as dark carriers.


    Later on, he was sent to Highpoint Town to help with the creation of the drugs that the thugs were using to dramatically increase their speed and strength.


    The doctor was vital to almost everything that the Blood Dragons were doing, and the man had been doing it all under Nihilor''s mind control.


    "Why Highpoint Town?" Camille asked, making the fiend reveal that it was the place where Astaroth had been staying.


    Trinity instantly started to type on her computer, redirecting the drones scouting the outskirts to go to Highpoint Town.


    "Is he still there?" the handler continued.


    While Nihilor didn''t know the fate of Dr. Sylva, he could tell he was still alive, as he was still receiving faint nourishment from the corruption in his mind.

 Chapter 123 - 123: Dark Warrior

    When Nihilor revealed everything he knew about the Blood Dragons'' schemes, the group discovered the name of their main base of operations¡ªHighpoint Town.


    Camille asked Dante how long Nihilor could stay inside the Torment Maiden, and the warlock replied by saying that he could stay there for eternity or until Dante released him.


    However, if Dante wanted to use it again on someone else, he would have to free up some space by either releasing or killing Nihilor.


    The handler didn''t believe that they could get any more information from the demon, but she didn''t want to end his life yet, as she wanted him to suffer for all the horrible atrocities he committed.


    With a snap of Dante''s fingers, the Torment Maiden closed again and released gushes of blood from its gaps before merging back into the shadows.


    "We should go to the office¡­ Everyone needs to hear this," Camille said, prompting everyone in the warehouse to leave the place.


    That same night, Dante met with Zac and Megan, who had returned from their mission at the construction site near Dewmore.


    The Omega Team waited inside Camille''s office as the handler prepared a full report for them, and Zac told the warlock about the strange occurrence that happened during his mission.


    "I was just like¡ªa little angry¡­ But my body felt so powerful¡­" Zac muttered, inspecting his hands.


    "Hmm¡­ I''d have to see it to give my opinion," Dante said.


    Megan caught the attention of one of Camille''s servants and asked her for the recording of her gear.


    She had witnessed Zac going wild for a few seconds before he took everyone down, so she knew that her recording had a clear picture of the redhead.


    When the servant brought them a tablet with the recording, the three of them scooted closer together and watched the video.


    The footage was shot from Megan''s perspective when she arrived at the center of the construction site, where Zac resembled a wild beast as he rushed around the area, striking the enemies with his bat.


    The recording didn''t show the flow of umbra in a person, so the warlock wasn''t able to determine Zac''s emotions in detail, which would have helped him in figuring out what was happening. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What were you thinking at the time? You said you were angry?" Dante asked his friend.


    Zac told him that he was talking with Maya on the subway ride there, and the conversation left him thinking about his reason for fighting.


    "I felt angry about the treatment my friends had received¡­" Zac muttered.


    "I see¡­" replied Dante, smirking somewhat mischievously.


    "What is it?" Megan inquired, noticing the warlock''s amused face.


    "Zac, you told me you were a warrior, right?" Dante replied with a question to the redhead.


    "Right. I mean¡ªI was kidding back then, but yeah¡­" Zac said.


    "Well¡­ That was basically an ability that warriors from my world could use," commented the warlock.


    Dante explained that warriors from Terra always differed as each of them could use a different type of energy for their abilities.


    "Ohh, like a sub-class?" Zac wondered aloud, comparing the warlock''s world with a video game.


    However, now that Dante was familiar with the terms after having played games with Zac, he agreed with him.


    Warriors who could control umbra were known as "dark warriors," and most of them were unnaturally created by warlocks or demons.


    Dante said that when a warrior was able to control umbra, they would travel to Shadowvale to make a deal with a demon so that they could get the ability to see this energy.


    "Demonology warlocks made a lot of money summoning demons for some of those warriors to make contracts with¡­" Dante commented.


    Since Zac had made a contract with Dante, he gained the ability to control umbra, which made him a dark warrior.


    "Woah¡­ that sounds cool," Zac said, his eyes widened with surprise.


    Still, Dante wasn''t done with his explanation, telling Zac that once a dark warrior had mastered all of their umbra abilities, they were given a new title.


    "Berserker¡­" Dante said with a smirk.


    Zac recognized that name from the many games and anime he had watched, as they were always depicted as extremely powerful beings who would lose themselves in their rage and become unstoppable.


    Once again, Dante agreed with his friend, saying that berserkers were some of the most violent and mighty warriors in his world, and rage was a significant factor in their strength.


    "That ability you used¡­ I can''t say for sure since this is just a video, but I think it was called ''Zerk,''" Dante continued.


    "So¡­ I''m a berserker?" Zac wondered aloud, still a bit shocked by Dante''s story.


    "Umm, no¡­ Not yet," the warlock replied, explaining that once Zac was able to use those abilities voluntarily, then he would become a real berserker.


    ''This is surprising¡­ I didn''t think he would be able to do that,'' Dante thought with intrigue.


    Their analysis was interrupted by Camille, who entered her office with a tablet that had all the information they had gathered.


    Highpoint Town was a small residential area located an hour away from the city, atop a small hill next to a preserve of forest animals, and was one of the oldest towns in the country.


    The only building of interest in the whole town was the cathedral in the plaza, which supposedly was built over a thousand years ago by a religious group that vanished.


    The residents of the area used that building as a city hall, where they would often conduct meetings and events for all the locals.


    "It has a school, a small clinic, two or three markets¡­ Basically, a small little haven away from the city," Camille said as she described the place.


    Trinity flew a drone above the area and mapped it out before quickly retreating, afraid that another demon would see it.


    "We need to act fast before they realize that Nihilor is gone¡­" Camille said.


    The Blood Dragons already knew they had captured Captain Slacks, so it was a matter of time before they retaliated.

 Chapter 124 - 124: Camille’s Layout

    On the same night that Nihilor exposed Astaroth''s plans to Dante and his group, Camille called Lilith to come to her office since she wanted to speak with the five succubi who were undercover with Astaroth.


    Sophia and Victoria had gone to sleep, so the succubus queen brought out her wings and arrived at the skyscraper in a few minutes.


    "Great job, Dante¡ªI was watching the whole time," Lilith said with a smile.


    "Thanks. Let''s get this over with¡­" replied Dante, wholly uninterested.


    When Lilith pointed her palm at the floor of the laboratory, five beautiful women materialized from the shadowy smoke.


    The women wore revealing attires, which caught Zac by surprise as he turned red out of pure embarrassment.


    "Well, with everyone here¡ªthis might be a good time to introduce my subordinates¡­" Lilith commented.


    The first succubus she introduced was named Zarina, and she was the most powerful out of the five as her umbra control was the most refined.


    "That''s Ravenna, Sable, Lilura, and Isolde¡­ Say ''hi'' to my new friends," Lilith said, with the last part of her sentence sounding like an order for her subordinates.


    "Alright, since Zarina is the strongest, I''ll give her the task," Camille said with a severe tone.


    The five succubi were supposed to be working at a strip club to lure men and give them Astaroth''s blood, which explained why they were wearing thongs with a thin strap covering their chests.


    Nevertheless, they hadn''t lured anyone after Lilith and Dante told them to stop. Instead, they had been trying to collect more information to give to the Jade Dragons.


    When Zarina reported what they had seen, she explained that the behemoth had been successfully summoned under the town''s cathedral, making Zac flinch as he recognized the name from the many games he had played.


    "Behemoth¡­? As in, those huge monsters?" the redhead asked.


    "Mhmm¡­ It sort of looks like a massive dog-gorilla-elephant," replied Dante, making everyone in the room raise their eyebrow.


    Zarina continued her report and said that a "banshee" had also been summoned, making Dante click his tongue with annoyance.


    "A banshee¡­ Like, the ones that scream super loud!?" Zac inquired, getting more restless.


    "Yeah. They are easy to kill but hard to attack¡­" Dante commented. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Besides those additions to Astaroth''s army, thirty fiends, thirty shadow demons, and ten wraiths had been summoned.


    Camille looked at Dante as if pondering if it was something he could handle, receiving a confident look from the warlock that made her smirk.


    "This is what we''ll do¡­" the handler said aloud.


    Her plan was to give Zarina three of the soul shards that Dante could make in his Shadow Well.


    These soul shards would be attuned to each of the members of the Omega Team, and at a specific time the next day, Zarina would break them and have the trio infiltrate Highpoint Town.


    It was the same type of shard that he gave the teenagers, which would teleport the person attuned to the crystal to their location.


    While Dante and his group would weaken them from the inside, the rest of the combat teams would go to Highpoint Town with their armored vehicles and heavy weaponry.


    The succubi revealed that Sabelio was planning a terrorist attack the very next day, which gave Camille another idea.


    "Let''s block their exits," the handler said.


    When Trinity used the drone to map out the current layout of the area, they discovered a police checkpoint on the road leading to the town.


    Camille suspected that the police working there were mind-controlled, so they couldn''t be trusted. However, her plan was to have the Kappa Team take their spots and act as the cops, preventing anyone from leaving the town.


    After laying out the entire plan and distributing it to all of the different teams, everyone went home to rest for the final battle.


    ____________________


    The following morning, Detective Alice opened her eyes when she felt a gentle caress of her hair, finding herself lying on a nice bed with Camille lovingly petting her.


    "Cami¡­?" Alice asked, slightly confused but relieved to see her friend.


    "It''s me," the handler replied, her tone soft and gentle.


    "Mmm, that feels nice¡­" the detective muttered as Camille kept on softly stroking her head.


    Suddenly, she widened her eyes and sat up abruptly on her bed, wondering if June was okay.


    "She is perfectly fine¡ªshe is just resting," Camille said, allowing the woman to flop back down.


    *Sigh* "How did I even survive?" The detective asked.


    Camille told her everything that happened at the factory in detail. Alice could remember a few things, like seeing June there, but she couldn''t remember much of anything else.


    "And how are the victims?" Alice asked.


    "They are all healthy and resting¡­ We still have to conduct a few tests on them to make sure they don''t have any side effects active in their bodies," the handler explained.


    Alice was relieved to hear those words, but she still felt heartbroken about her captain''s betrayal, knowing that his corruption had spread around other cops.


    The news about Alice''s murder at the hands of June had spread throughout the city, so if one of them tried to return to the headquarters, they would certainly get intercepted.


    Besides, June was considered a high-class criminal after she was broken out of prison, putting her high up on the list of the most wanted criminals in Novis.


    "Heh, so we can''t go back¡­" Alice muttered.


    "Not right now, no¡­" Camille said.


    "But, just so you know¡­ My offer is still there if you want to take it," she continued.


    "And what about June?" the detective inquired.


    "Of course, the offer is for her too¡­" the handler replied.


    Alice placed a hand on her chin and shut her eyes for a moment, clenching her sheet with a bit of apprehension.


    "After I abandoned you¡ªwhy do you keep trying to help me?" Alice asked, her voice laced with remorse.


    "Abandoned me? When? ¡ªAll I remember was telling my friend to follow her dreams," Camille said.


    The detective had always felt like she left her best friend to become a cop, which ended up leading her to her captain''s betrayal.


    On the other hand, Camille never left her side, as she always kept receiving help from the handler, even during her time as a detective.


    ''I wonder¡­ If I had made this choice back then¡­'' Alice thought, gazing back at Camille.


    "When do I start?" Alice asked, making Camille smile brightly and gently embracing her.

 Chapter 125 - 125: Preparations

    It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and Dante was having breakfast with his roommates.


    The atmosphere in the house was a bit tense since everyone knew that the raid on the Blood Dragons would happen that night, so everyone ate their food in silence.


    "Why is everyone so worried, Asher?" The little harpion girl asked her twin.


    "Don''t know," the boy replied, stuffing his face with diced fruit.


    "Hey, big brother. Why is everyone so worried?" Amara directed her question at the warlock.


    "We are killing Astaroth tonight¡­ It''s normal for humans to be anxious about things like that," Dante replied without gazing at the girl.


    "Hehe, don''t worry humans. The three of us siblings can easily handle our kind!" the girl exclaimed proudly.


    "I''m not a demon¡­" Dante commented, wholly unamused.


    "Huh? But you said that humans feel anxious, and you are not anxious at all, big brother¡­" Amara continued, making the warlock exhale tiredly.


    Sophia noticed Dante''s discomfort and interjected the conversation, saying that since Dante had fought many demons, he didn''t feel anxious like the other humans.


    The blonde knew that the warlock didn''t like it when people thought he wasn''t a human. Even though it wasn''t something that he had discussed with her, she could tell by his demeanor that he genuinely despised being called a demon.


    "Bleeh, dumb Amara, we already knew that!" Asher mocked his sister, sticking out his tongue.


    "Sh-shut up!" the girl yelled, preparing herself to fight with her brother.


    Suddenly, the twins felt a set of eyes placed on them that froze their bodies. When they turned to the side and noticed Dante''s cold stare, they sat back down in silence and continued eating.


    "Umm, take care, you guys," Victoria said, gazing at Zac.


    *Gulp* Zac swallowed his food. "W-we''ll be fine!" he said, trying to look brave in front of his crush.


    In reality, Zac was the one who was the most nervous at the table, as he could barely get any sleep when he thought about all the different demons that were named by the succubi.


    ''Wraiths, a banshee¡­ a fucking behemoth! Dude, all I have is a bat¡­'' Zac thought.


    At noon, the entire group went to Camille''s skyscraper to prepare themselves for the mission.


    All non-combatants were staying at the building for that night, which was a safety measure as most of their security personnel would be attending the raid at Highpoint Town.


    When they arrived, the Omega Team went to the laboratory, where Paige gave them a black robe with a hood, which was a copy of the one the people at Highpoint were wearing.


    "From the images Trinity took, we saw that all of the people in town are wearing these¡­ I suppose it is to identify each other as part of their cult," Paige explained.


    Since the Omega Team would be infiltrating the town, she thought it would be useful for them to meld with the crowd.


    "Hmm, this could work¡­ But there is still a problem," Dante commented as he inspected the robes.


    They would be infiltrating a town with demons who could see umbra and determine a person''s intentions, so the robe would only work to disguise themselves from other humans.


    Dante was able to suppress his umbra and make it seem like he was one of the random cultists. However, neither Zac nor Megan knew how to do that, and their umbra was much more powerful than an ordinary human.


    "As soon as a demon takes a good look at them, our cover will be finished," Dante continued.


    "Good point¡­ I suppose you have something in mind?" Paige asked.


    The warlock smirked confidently and said that he would get started right away, entering one of the testing rooms and summoning his shadow well in the center.


    First, he synthesized the soul shards that they needed to give to the succubi at Highpoint Town.


    Then, he produced a small soulstone that glowed with a dark-green hue, which he put inside his pocket.


    After that was done, he grabbed the three robes, folded them, and placed them inside the bowl atop the shadow well, making the fabric produce a strange shadowy energy that quickly dissipated.


    "I placed a suppressant on the robes. It will make Zac and Megan''s umbra look weaker, so it won''t be easy for a demon to know their intentions¡­" Dante explained.


    Still, he said that if a demon stared at them for long enough, they could potentially see through the spell, so they still had to keep a low profile.


    "What about the green stone?" Paige inquired.


    "Oh, I made a soulstone with ''dispell'' on it¡­ Just in case we need to free someone from Nihilor''s mind control," the warlock replied. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nihilor was still trapped inside Dante''s Torment Maiden, and they didn''t want to end the demon''s life yet since it could put the people of Highpoint in danger, so they decided to leave his execution for later.


    When Dante made the shadow well disappear, Zac and Megan poked their fingers to smear a little bit of blood on their soul shards and had Lilith call Zarina to pick them up.


    "Break them at 9 pm¡­" Camille said to the succubus, who understood her task and returned to her previous location.


    After they were done with their preparations in the lab, they went to a large meeting room where all the combat groups were gathered.


    Camille wanted Dante to give everyone a brief description of the demons they could encounter at Highpoint Town, along with their weak spots.


    Not all bullets were effective against demons, but the high-caliber ones were enough to hurt them and halt their movements for a bit.


    "A demon''s head is their biggest weak spot, so always aim for that¡­ Some demons have multiple hearts, so targeting their chests is useless. Besides, they can have skin as tough as steel," Dante explained.


    The combat teams listened closely to the warlock, and even Alice and June attended the meeting. However, they wouldn''t be joining the raid as Camille didn''t allow it, saying that they needed to rest and would stay with her at the skyscraper.

 Chapter 126 - 126: Lilith’s Entertainment

    After the night settled in the city of Novis, a group of hooded men were driving a pair of SUVs out of Highpoint Town. Each vehicle had four men inside, and their trunks were filled with rifles and bombs.


    As they exited the small town''s limits, they spotted a police checkpoint ahead and slowed down until they came to a complete stop before the officers.


    "It''s me," the driver said to the cop with familiarity.


    "Ah, yes¡­" the officer replied, waving his hand.


    At that moment, the two SUVs were riddled with silenced and accurate shots that shattered the windows and hit all of the hooded men inside.


    The officer removed his hat and latex mask, revealing himself to be Neil, the leader of the Kappa Team, and congratulated his group for another job well done.


    Neil and his team had taken out the real police officers who were stationed at the checkpoint and had prevented three different groups from leaving the town with guns and bombs.


    The bullets they were using were non-lethal and had a substance that made their targets fall into a deep slumber.


    Camille wanted to separate the people who were mind-controlled and the people who followed the demons voluntarily, as depending on their status, their fates would be different.


    The handler didn''t think it was fair to punish the people under Nihilor''s mind control, so she wanted to capture as many of the cultists alive and have Dante analyze them later.


    After two members of the Kappa Team hopped on the driving seats of the SUVs, they drove off, and Neil returned to his spot, waiting for the next group to exit.


    At Camille''s skyscraper, the non-combatant teams and guests were gathered inside a large command room that was on one of the highest floors in the building.


    The room was filled with screens showing different camera perspectives, as almost every single member who was going to the raid had a camera on them.


    Camille sat in the center of the command room behind an arched, long desk with June and Alice on each side.


    The teenagers, Tommy, Lina, and Jake, were sitting on one side of the room, still in shock at the amount of screens around them.


    Paige, Clara, and the rest of the Zeta Team were sitting at the back, where each of them had an individual screen before them.


    Asher and Amara sat on the corner floor, with Rina and Rona beside them, teaching the children math while feeding them pieces of chocolate.


    Lilith, the Succubus Queen, stood right behind Camille, excitedly waiting for the action to begin with a glass of wine that she had procured from one of the servants.


    "This is great. We get to see Dante from this far away¡­" Lilith commented.


    *Sigh* "I wish you people felt as festive as I do¡­" the queen continued, taking a sip from her wine.


    "Umm, Miss Lilith¡­ Why are you drinking wine?" Sophia innocently asked.


    "What do you mean? Wine goes well with entertainment, no?" Lilith answered with another question.


    Sophia couldn''t respond since she obviously didn''t see the situation as entertainment, making Lilith chuckle as she saw the blonde''s umbra.


    "I just don''t know why you are all so worried¡­ Getting preoccupied about Dante fighting a demon seems like a major waste of energy," Lilith said, taking another sip of her wine.


    "Krom said something similar to me once¡­" Sophia commented.


    "Seriously. It''s like you guys don''t even know him," Lilith continued, slightly shocking the group, who realized the queen''s words weren''t wrong.


    They knew ''some'' things about Dante, but they were also aware that there was a large part of him that they didn''t know anything about.


    The rest of the servants in the skyscraper were gathered on another floor as operations in the entire building had ceased for the night. Still, they took on any request that Camille gave them.


    The handler asked for a servant to bring a certain book to the command room¡ªthe Divine Comedy. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "This is all we know about him¡­" Camille said, handing the book to Lilith.


    The queen glanced at the tome and widened her eyes momentarily, wondering where they had found such a thing.


    "You haven''t even read it, though," the handler said.


    "This book has umbra oozing from it¡­" Lilith replied, putting down her glass of wine and skimming through the pages.


    "Hmm¡­ It''s not quite right," the queen muttered.


    "What isn''t?" The handler followed up.


    "It skipped everything, and the ending is completely wrong!" Lilith said with a hint of indignation.


    Camille remembered that, at the end of the short story at the back of the Divine Comedy, it was stated that Dante burned in hell for eternity after failing to save his beloved.


    Of course, the handler knew there was some sort of lie to it since Dante was with them, but she thought that it was a way for the writer to make their story more dramatic.


    "Ugh, they don''t even mention me in this!" Lilith exclaimed, feeling even more indignation.


    "Lilith, can you tell us what happened?" the handler asked with a bit of curiosity, wondering why the queen would be mentioned in the story in the first place.


    "I could, but have you guys thought about asking him directly?" The queen inquired.


    "It just doesn''t feel like it''s something that he would want to talk about¡­" replied Camille.


    "So? It''s not like he is going to kill you or something¡­" Lilith playfully said.


    "Right. It''s called being considerate of others'' feelings," the handler refuted.


    The two women continued discussing for a few more minutes, during which Sophia contemplated asking Dante directly more about his life, genuinely wanting to get to know him better.


    Meanwhile, the teenagers heard the conversation, making Jake sneakily take the Divine Comedy book and bring it to his side with his friends, where they began reading the contents with a bit of excitement.


    Nonetheless, their faces turned sour the longer they read, realizing that it wasn''t a happy adventure story about a warlock fighting demons¡ªbut a sad, painful story about a man who lost his beloved to them.

 Chapter 127 - 127: Highpoint Town

    The night of the raid on Highpoint Town, the Omega Team waited inside Camille''s office for their soul shards to be shattered.


    Zarina''s instructions were to break the crystals at 9 p.m., and when the clock struck the time, the succubus diligently smashed the shards on the ground, bringing the trio to her location.


    Dante and his group found themselves inside an abandoned home wearing their black, hooded robes, where Zarina greeted them with a bow.


    "Where are the other four?" Dante asked the demon.


    "They''ve gathered at the plaza¡­ King Astaroth wanted to discuss the next step since Nihilor is gone," Zarina replied.


    "Do you think he is a king?" Dante asked in a more severe tone.


    "I¡­ What?" the succubus muttered with confusion.


    "You called him ''King Astaroth.'' Do you really think that coward measures up to Satan?" Dante continued.


    Lilith, who was watching everything from the command room, asked Camille for a microphone to speak to Dante, to which the handler complied.


    ["Dante, can you stop teasing my subordinate? She wasn''t around back then¡­"] the queen said on the warlock''s earpiece.


    "Fine¡­" said the warlock.


    "Still, you should stop calling him a ''king.'' Astaroth is nothing but a coward," he continued.


    "I''m sorry¡ªI''m only 75 years old, so I never got to meet King Satan," Zarina said with an apologetic tone.


    "Good. He was a piece of shit¡­" Dante commented.


    ''Are they talking about THE Satan?'' Zac pondered, afraid to ask aloud.


    "Anyways, shall we get started?" Dante asked, prompting the succubus to guide them out of the abandoned house to the streets of Highpoint Town.


    The group didn''t see any other person walking around for a bit until they reached the main road, which crossed through the whole town.


    As they walked along the main street, they passed by several hooded individuals, which Dante could tell were mind-controlled. Still, they let them be, as it wasn''t time for them to reveal themselves.


    When the group got closer to the plaza in the center of the town, they took a turn and entered an empty building with only six stories, reaching the rooftop, from which they could see the plaza from above.


    ''Uh, oh¡­'' Zac thought as he peeked down at the plaza, filled with demons and hooded cultists.


    The fiends were standing in organized rows, facing the cathedral before the plaza, awaiting for their king to come out.


    Zarina split from the Omega Team to meet with her succubi sisters, who were at the plaza, raising her eyebrows at them to signal that Dante and his group were inside.


    "Those are all fiends, right?" Zac pondered.


    "Yeah¡­ I can also sense some shadow demons down there," Dante replied.


    "H-how many are ''some''...?" The redhead inquired, slightly nervous about hearing the answer.


    "Nihilor and the captain said there were thirty¡­ It feels like it''s a little more," Dante explained. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zac and Megan remembered their fight against a shadow demon in the sewers of Novis, where the two of them had to fight together to kill a single one of them, so knowing that there were over thirty of them was pretty nerve-racking.


    While the trio started waiting at the rooftop for Astaroth to appear, Dante took out the green soulstone from his pocket and handed it to Zac.


    "Why are you giving me this?" The redhead asked.


    "You are going to look for the doctor, so use that if you need it," Dante casually replied.


    "Huh!? Like¡­ alone!?" Zac inquired, getting a bit restless.


    Camille suspected that the demons were keeping Dr. Sylva at the town''s clinic since it was the best place where he could conduct his surgeries.


    Even if they found him, the man would be under Nihilor''s mind control, so Dante gave Zac his soulstone that he had charged with a powerful "dispell" cast.


    "You''ll be fine, man¡­" Dante muttered, noticing his friend''s nervous umbra.


    After Zac took a deep breath to calm down, he took the soulstone and said that he would try his best, going back down the stairs to the ground floor.


    A few minutes after the redhead left the rooftop, the doors to the cathedral opened, and an old man with a hunched back came out of the front.


    "Hmmm¡­" Dante hummed with curiosity as he laid his eyes on the man.


    "What is it?" Megan pondered.


    "That guy is a forged warlock¡­" he replied.


    A ''forged warlock'' was the name given to people who got the ability to see and control umbra without being directly related to warlocks from Shadowvale.


    Zac''s mother, Clara, was a forged warlock after she gained those abilities from being drugged with Astaroth''s blood for years, so Dante pondered what method the old man had used.


    "That''s definitely that ''Sabelio'' guy¡­" Dante commented, saying that he could sense an abnormal heartbeat.


    The group knew from the information they gathered that Sabelio had gone through a heart transplant surgery, and the fact that he was the only one with a demon heart made it pretty obvious to the warlock.


    Behind the hunched-back man, a massive figure left the cathedral, his frame barely fitting through the double doors.


    He had ashen white skin and a burly build. Two long horns extruded from his head, and a long, black mane flowed down his back.


    The demon was at least nine feet tall, with his horns making him look a bit taller, and as he walked outside to the plaza, everyone present turned their heads and bowed with reverence toward him.


    "There he is¡­" Dante commented with a mischievous smirk.


    "Silence, for the king is about to speak!" The old man shouted, even though everyone was already silent.


    "We''ve had our number dwindled the past few days¡­" Astaroth''s deep voice echoed in the plaza.


    "We''ll bring blood and chaos to this city until they return my subordinates to me!" Astaroth shouted.


    The archdemon knew about Nihilor and Captain Slacks'' disappearance, but the demon was at least aware that Nihilor was alive since his mind-control spell was still active on his victims.


    His plan was to terrorize different parts of the city by sending his men in an effort to exert pressure. Nonetheless, they were all intercepted right at the town''s exit without their knowledge by the Kappa Team.

 Chapter 128 - 128: Empty Threats

    While Astaroth stood before his subordinates at the town''s plaza, Dante and Megan watched from the rooftop.


    After giving a large group of hooded men the order to terrorize the city, they began carrying weapons to their cars as the demon directed his words to the rest of the individuals present.


    The fiends and shadow demons were patrolling the town, making sure that everyone acted according to Astaroth''s plans.


    The wraiths would stay circling around the plaza''s area since Astaroth considered the cathedral to be his palace, and he wanted the best protection possible.


    Suddenly, while explaining his scheme, Astaroth turned to both sides as if looking for something.


    "Where is that damn banshee!?" The demon asked in general.


    "Apologies, King Astaroth¡­ I placed her at the clinic," Sabelio replied, making the demon nod with satisfaction.


    "I see¡­" The demon said, acknowledging the old man''s words.


    "Did you send the messages to the news stations?" The demon inquired.


    "Yes, King Astaroth¡­ I''ve made sure they received it," Sabelio replied.


    The group who were watching and listening to everything from Camille''s skyscraper instantly used one of the screens to watch the news stations, where the hosts were talking about a series of messages that they all received.


    ["In our breaking news!


    Stations around the country have been receiving threat messages from a mafia family.]


    ["They say:"


    ''We are the Blood Dragons, and Novis is under our protection.


    We will not tolerate our members getting eliminated or kidnapped.


    To the Jade Dragons: You have 24 hours to give us back our people.


    For each hour that passes, a random location in Novis will suffer the consequences.'']


    ["So, there you have it, folks! Are these empty threats, or are the people of Novis about to suffer the effects of a mafia war?


    We''ll keep you updated after this commercial break!"]


    When the screen started showing a commercial for a face cream, Camille shut it off with an annoyed expression.


    ''God, that anchor is so obnoxious¡­'' The handler thought.


    The Blood Dragons'' threats were real, and they would have started with their chaos if the Kappa Team hadn''t intercepted all of the terrorist groups when they left their town.


    The Alpha, Beta, and Gamma teams were meant to enter the town whenever Dante and his group needed backup, so they waited on the highway near the entrance for their signal.


    After Astaroth had relayed his thoughts to his subordinates, he returned to the cathedral and closed the doors, allowing the demons and cultists to resume their activities.


    "Will Zac be okay? They said the banshee was at the clinic¡­" Megan pondered aloud.


    "Hmm¡­ I''m honestly not sure¡ªI was hoping there would be fiends or shadow demons there. But, if it''s ''fear'' that he is going against, then it should be fine¡­" Dante commented without looking worried in the slightest.


    The brunette raised an eyebrow, not fully understanding what he meant. Nonetheless, she was getting used to it, knowing that she would eventually get her answer anyway.


    Megan and Dante went back down to the ground floor and out to the streets, slowly making their way to the plaza, when they spotted a hooded man walking in the opposite direction of them.


    The pair gazed at each other as if they could speak telepathically, and just as the man passed by next to them, they grabbed him and pulled him into a dark alley to the side.


    *Gasp* The man gasped with fear as Dante grabbed his neck against the wall.


    "Hmm?" The warlock muttered, releasing his grip when he noticed the man''s umbra.


    "You are not mind-controlled¡­" He continued.


    "Wha-... How do you know that?" The unknown man said in shock.


    "It doesn''t matter¡ªYou answer my questions¡­ Why are you working for Astaroth?" Dante said with a severe tone.


    The man looked to both sides to make sure that nobody could hear him and explained that he was simply following orders since he didn''t want him and his family to die.


    When Astaroth arrived at Highpoint Town, all of the residents were taken and brought to the plaza, where Nihilor began using his magic on several of them.


    However, the demon decided to leave some people alone, as he wanted to use them as leverage.


    The man lived with his wife and his teenage son, and when they were mind-controlled by Nihilor, he was told that he needed to follow every order, or they would make their family kill themselves in front of him.


    Dante could tell that the man was telling the truth, so he took a step back to make him feel less threatened, allowing Megan to interject.


    "Why would they do that? Isn''t that a liability for them?" She pondered.


    "Yeah, but demons feel good when there is natural umbra flowing around them, so having people live in fear is invigorating for them," Dante explained.


    The warlock told the man to return to his duties and act calmly since a demon would know he was hiding something if he acted too nervously.


    "Y-yes!" the man exclaimed, making his way out of the dark alley.


    "Are you sure that was a good idea?" Megan asked.


    "Yeah, he won''t be talking about us¡­" Dante replied confidently after analyzing the man''s umbra.


    While Dante and Megan kept walking around town, the warlock was able to notice that quite a few people weren''t under Nihilor''s mind control, as the umbra flowing from their bodies came from a deep-rooted fear.


    When the pair got closer to the plaza, they were halted by a tall fiend who stood before them with a menacing aura while looking down at them.


    "Names?" The demon asked.


    Megan bit her lips, not expecting the demons to have a list of the residents'' names. Still, she didn''t have time to think when she saw Dante placing his hand on the fiend''s shoulder.


    The demon froze for a moment as the warlock got closer to his face, muttering the words ''Hellslayer'' and making the fiend widen his eyes with pure shock.


    "What will it be? Death or betrayal?" Dante asked the fiend in a low volume. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Be-Betrayal¡­" the fiend answered with a shivering voice.


    "Good¡ªOut our way, then¡­" Dante said, pushing the fiend aside as he kept on walking toward the plaza.

 Chapter 129 - 129: The Decaying Clinic

    When Zac left the rooftop overlooking the plaza, his heart pounding, he started inconspicuously walking to the clinic while Trinity guided him through his earpiece.


    The redhead didn''t know the exact address of the building, so he was counting on the hacker''s guidance to get him there quickly, not wanting to face off against any demons if possible.


    ["Turn left at the next street,"] Trinity said.


    After diligently following her words, Zac spotted the clinic a block away from him, making him momentarily stop as he thought of a way to enter without being noticed.


    Zac tried to find some inspiration as he reminisced about the different times he had encountered a demon with Dante, realizing that he was never stealthy about it and wondering if he would have to enter by force.


    The clinic''s facade was decaying from the apparent neglect of its care, but Zac noticed the lights were on through the windows, spotting a figure passing by.


    ''Alright¡­ So, there are people inside,'' The redhead thought, believing that staying in the dark would be his best choice.


    Trinity mentioned that there was an emergency exit on the side of the building and guided the redhead toward it, walking through a grassy patch to reach it.


    *Clank, clank* "It''s locked¡­" Zac muttered as he tried to shake open the door.


    ["Well, break it! You are strong, right?"] Trinity replied on his earpiece.


    "Dude¡­ These doors aren''t meant to be open that easily," said the redhead, annoyingly kicking on the metal frame to prove his point.


    However, his supposedly weak kick was enough to shatter the lock and forcefully push open the door, leaving the redhead perplexed.


    *Ahem* "Nevermind¡­" Zac muttered as he entered the building.


    The redhead was hiding his bat in his black robe, which covered his entire body down to his feet and shrouded his face with the hood.


    As he walked along the dark hallways of the clinic, he spotted another hooded cultist walking towards him.


    ''Act natural¡­ Ignore him¡­ I''m one of you guys, look!'' Zac thought as he kept on walking, looking down slightly to make sure the hood covered his face.


    After crossing the man and walking past him, the redhead felt a bit of relief until he heard the man directing a question.


    "Hey, you¡­ What are you doing here?" the man asked.


    ''Shit, shit, shit¡­'' Zac thought, slowly turning around and searching his pockets.


    "King Astaroth told me to give this to the doctor¡­" Zac answered, pulling out the green orb that Dante had given him through his robe, keeping his bat hidden.


    "What''s that?" the man asked with a dubious expression.


    "I don''t know¡ªYou wanna go ask him yourself?" The redhead refuted, making the man a bit nervous.


    "Erm, no, no. If King Astaroth ordered it, then we shouldn''t pry¡­ The doctor is on the third floor," the man said, turning around nervously and continuing on his way.


    "Phew¡­" Zac sighed as he wiped a small drop of sweat from his forehead.


    ["Good job, dude. I didn''t think you would pull that off,"] Trinity commented on his earpiece.


    "Same¡­" he replied with a mortified expression.


    After slightly shaking his head to calm his nerves, Zac made his way to the staircase and went straight to the third floor, where he noticed a flickering light coming from one of the rooms.


    ["What''s wrong?"] Trinity asked, noticing that Zac stopped moving.


    "It''s, uhh¡­" he stammered, noticing the red smoke flowing from the room.


    Zac instantly recognized a feeling similar to what he saw in the sewers, where the umbra was so dense that he and Megan could clearly see it.


    Dante had explained that it was a side effect of their contract with him, where they were able to control umbra but not see it¡ªunless it was very powerful and condensed.


    *Gulp* Zac swallowed nervously, not knowing what he would find, cautiously walking towards the room.


    When he peeked, he saw a group of people lying on beds placed on the sides of the room.


    The beddings were wholly stained with blood, seemingly fresh, and the patients were either unconscious or wheezing in agony. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Standing beside one of the victims, a man with blueish hair stood tall, completely expressionless, and with his eyes void of any emotion.


    ["That''s him!"] Trinity exclaimed loudly on Zac''s earpiece, her voice laced with desperation.


    Still, Zac didn''t move from his spot as his instincts were telling him to halt, assessing the situation that seemed too suspicious to him.


    The powerful umbra wasn''t flowing solely from the man but the whole room, so the redhead believed that there could have been a demon inside.


    As the redhead stood straight, he took a deep breath and walked inside the room, prompting the doctor to gaze at him with his expressionless face unchanged.


    *Gulp* "King Astaroth has ordered me to guide you somewhere else¡­" Zac said, trying his best not to sound nervous.


    The doctor replied with a simple, depressed nod, putting his tools aside and following Zac out of the room.


    ''This is working! ¡ªSomehow¡­'' The redhead thought.


    When the pair walked past a janitor''s closet, Zac turned around and tackled the doctor inside, closing the door and pulling out the soulstone.


    The doctor fell on his rear and looked at the redhead without a single shred of emotion, unbothered by the situation.


    "Alright¡­ Dispell," Zac said, pointing the small orb at the doctor.


    ''Wh-why is nothing happening¡­!?'' he wondered, getting confused and scared at the lack of feedback.


    At that moment, Zac realized that Dante never told him how to activate the spell inside the soulstone, making him rub his head with frustration.


    Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside. "Shh¡­ King Astaroth said that you shouldn''t talk," Zac said to the doctor.


    Still, it didn''t seem like the man was going to speak any time soon, as he simply kept gazing at Zac, devoid of any expression.


    "Hey Trinity¡­ Can you connect my earpiece to Dante?" the redhead whispered on his microphone, wanting to ask the warlock how to use the ''goddamn soulstone.''

 Chapter 130 - 130: Zac Vs. Banshee

    After the redhead spoke with Dante and received his instructions on how to activate the soulstone, he was told that he needed to apply a small amount of umbra to it.


    "Apply it? How?" Zac pondered.


    The warlock explained that it was a very small amount of umbra that was needed and to simply focus on it, which the redhead thought was easier said than done.


    As he placed the soulstone near the doctor, he closed his eyes and imagined his own umbra flowing into the orb.


    *Crack, swish!* The soulstone shattered as the pair was enveloped by a gust of wind.


    When Zac opened his eyes, the soulstone dust in his hand was blown away, and he noticed the doctor''s shocked expression.


    "Ah¡­ I¡­" The doctor stammered as his rationality came back, breathing heavily.


    Zac knew that this could happen since Dante warned him.


    Someone who had been corrupted for years and committed atrocities wouldn''t feel a thing while they were still mind-controlled. However, once the spell broke, everything they had done weighed on their souls.


    "Sir, it''s okay¡­ Breathe in, breathe out," Zac said to the man.


    The doctor shivered, stammering random words that came to his head as his mind was filled with the awful surgeries he had been doing.


    "Your daughter sent me. Let''s get you out of here, sir," Zac continued, surprising the man.


    "A-Aria¡­?" The doctor said, his voice breaking and his blue eyes producing a few tears.


    "Mhmm, I''ll get you to safety¡­ Stay close," Zac replied with a bit of confidence. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the pair left the janitor''s closet, Zac turned his head to both sides to make sure that the hallway was empty and guided the man through it.


    Dr. Sylva was trembling with fear, his eyes still widened in shock. Still, the man noticed that his savior was also shivering under his black robe, which he thought was sort of admirable.


    As they went down the stairs, Zac was relieved that they didn''t bump into any other cultists and reached the ground floor.


    On one side, there was a large reception area, and on the other, a long hallway with small emergency rooms.


    "Let''s use the emergency exit¡­" Zac muttered, guiding the man through the hallway with the emergency rooms.


    Halfway through their trek, Zac felt an ominous aura coming from the reception behind them, making the redhead stop in his tracks as a drop of sweat came down his temple.


    *Gulp* Zac nervously swallowed as he turned around.


    He could see a small trail of umbra, but it wasn''t nearly as powerful as the one he felt in the sewers.


    *Ahem* "Let''s hurry," Zac said, increasing the pace of his walk with the doctor.


    Right as he turned to continue on his way, the pair instantly halted when they saw the figure of a ghostly woman standing at the end of the hallway.


    They couldn''t detail her facial features, as they could only see her dark silhouette hovering slightly above the ground.


    "Wh-what¡­?" Zac muttered, but before he could finish his sentence, he felt a wave of power coming towards them, prompting the redhead to push the doctor inside one of the emergency rooms on the side.


    As soon as the doctor fell on his rear inside the room, an extremely loud screech echoed in the building, generating a sound wave that shattered all of the windows in the hallway.


    Zac took out his bat and placed it horizontally forward to protect himself, but the sound waves were too powerful, flinging him back all the way to the reception and crashing against a wall.


    *Beeeeeep¡­* Zac had an incessant ringing in his ears, making him bleed from them slightly as he stood up from the ground.


    When he looked up, the figure of the shadowy woman had gotten closer to him, allowing him to see her pale complexion and her red, spiraling eyes.


    Her body seemed to be wearing a dress made of pure shadows, and the black demonic markings on her body and face gave her an even more foreboding appearance.


    ''Could this be¡­ the banshee?'' Zac pondered.


    Before he could do anything, the woman let out another loud shriek that made Zac cover his ears in pain and kneel on the ground, gritting his teeth as he felt his head was about to explode.


    "Stop¡­" Zac muttered as he struggled with the sound, which made the entire building''s structure shake.


    The banshee sharpened her eyes while still screaming and increased the volume by double.


    With each of the sound waves coming from her mouth, Zac felt like he was getting hit by numerous cars¡ªone after the other. Still, he didn''t faint.


    "I said¡­ STOP!" Zac shouted loudly, his voice overshadowing the banshee''s for a brief moment as his eyes produced a red mist.


    In the blink of an eye, the enraged redhead appeared beside the banshee with his bat in hand, slamming it against the demon''s torso and flinging her across the reception desk.


    *Huff, puff* Zac took a few deep breaths as the incessant shouting halted, turning to look at the banshee.


    Noticing that the demon had been stamped against the wall, Zac''s expression softened. "Sorry¡­" he muttered.


    "But you started it!" He continued, quickly running back to the doctor.


    Dr. Sylva was startled, but the man regained his composure when Zac stretched his hand to help him up, urging him to hurry as they needed to leave as quickly as possible.


    At Camille''s tower, everyone had been attentively watching Zac fighting the demon and rescuing the doctor.


    Victoria couldn''t help showing his admiration for him, while his mother acted quite worried about his safety.


    "He moved so fast¡­" June commented.


    The rookie detective had seen Zac fighting against Nihilor''s illusion one time, so she knew that the redhead was skilled. However, she wasn''t expecting him to be superhuman like Dante.


    The teenagers were watching the whole scene as if they were at the movies, pumping their fists and cheering for their big brothers.


    On the other hand, Asher and Amara paid zero attention to the screens while busily drawing on their coloring books.

 Chapter 131 - 131: Black Rain

    Inside the cathedral at Highpoint Town, Astaroth paced around the expansive altar room when Sabelio entered the building.


    "Sabelio, have the attacks commenced?" The archdemon asked.


    "They should''ve started by now, My King¡­ I haven''t received any updates," Sabelio replied.


    "What about the news?" Astaroth continued.


    "They showed our message loud and clear, My King¡­ But, there has been no more news after that," the old man said.


    The archdemon frowned and ordered Sabelio to mobilize all the other teams at the same time, as he didn''t want to wait any longer.


    After the old man bowed with reverence, he called a group of hooded men to relay his orders to them.


    Meanwhile, Dante and Megan were walking towards the plaza beside the cathedral, wearing their black robes as a disguise.


    As they walked, they passed by other hooded cultists, noticing that all of them looked drained and tired.


    Dante could tell that there were several of them who weren''t under Nihilor''s mind control, and the umbra of fear and despair extruding from their bodies was enough for him to understand that they were Astaroth''s hostages.


    "Hmm, it could be helpful if we could get these people far from the plaza¡­" Dante muttered.


    ["The combat teams are ready to enter the town whenever¡ªon your signal,"] Camille replied on his earpiece.


    "Well¡­ we might need them in a few seconds," Dante commented, seeing a group of fiends making their way in the direction of the clinic.


    Dante wanted at least one of the teams to focus on getting the people far from the cathedral and the plaza, knowing that his fight with the demons could get a little messy.


    As Camille contacted the Beta Team to conduct the rescue of the citizens, the Alpha and the Gamma teams got inside their armored vehicles and started riding to town.


    ''Zac should be able to handle those fiends¡­'' Dante thought, smirking and gazing at the plaza, which was a block away from the pair.


    Dante glanced at Megan momentarily, noticing that the woman''s umbra had a mix of anxiety and fear. However, her face was just as stoic as ever.


    "Be alert of the wraiths more than anything," Dante commented as they kept walking.


    "You''ll know they are wraiths if they are holding a blade¡ªusually a scythe," he continued.


    The warlock had forgotten what it meant to feel fear for a demon, so he wasn''t sure how to make the brunette feel more confident apart from giving her tips.


    Megan knew what the warlock was trying to do, aware that he could see her true emotions, making her smile slightly as she stretched her arms and neck, ready for the battle.


    "Got it," she said, acknowledging the warlock''s suggestions.


    When the pair arrived at the plaza, they walked to the center of the platform and stood beside an obelisk monument, which wasn''t taller than ten feet.


    Knowing that the combat teams were closing in on their location, Dante decided to reduce the number of enemies, as he didn''t want to have any casualties from his side.


    Megan wanted to look for Sabelio, who had gone inside the cathedral with Astaroth, so Dante told her to hide near the building''s exit, as he was going to make them come out.


    While Megan walked away from the warlock toward the cathedral, Dante waited a few seconds and muttered, "Wings of the Fallen," producing his black wings to come out of his back through his hood.


    The people around Dante were startled, seeing him take flight high in the air with a single flap of his wings.


    Simultaneously, the fiends and shadow demons that were guarding the area witnessed the scene, gazing up at the skies and freezing in fear.


    Dante''s silhouette slightly covered the moon, his wings extended and his crimson eyes glimmering in the dark, looking down at the entire plaza.


    His overwhelming umbra could be felt by every single demon present in the area¡ªsome of them freezing in fear while others seemed more hostile.


    "I''ll say this once¡­!" Dante said loudly, his voice perfectly discerned by the people and the demons.


    "Any demon who stands against me will suffer a horrible fate¡ªReturn or die by my hand," the warlock continued.


    The crowd of cultists and demons stood silent for a brief moment, not knowing how to react to the bold words of the powerful stranger.


    "No words¡­?" Dante asked, letting out a wicked grin. "Perfect," he said.


    Extending one hand to the side, a black flame appeared on the warlock''s palm, gazing back down at his targets¡ªa group of ten fiends near the stairs to the cathedral.


    "Black rain," Dante uttered.


    In an instant, a dark cloud materialized right on top of the demons and began raining down black flame projectiles on them.


    The fiends shouted in pain and agony as their bodies and souls burned to a crisp, filling the plaza with their suffering. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The black flame kept raining down incessantly at bullet speeds, leaving nothing of the ten demons that stood there before.


    Dante chuckled, trying to contain his wicked laugh and gazing at a group of shadow demons, who instantly merged back into the shadows when they noticed the warlock looking at them.


    "Heh¡­" Dante scoffed, widening his eyes with a grin as he found his next target. "Abyssal chains," he said.


    At that moment, the plaza''s platform shook momentarily as the demons were forcibly brought out of the shadows by Dante''s chains, which ensnared their bodies.


    "Did you think the shadows would let you escape?" he asked the demons, not expecting an answer from them.


    Pointing his finger at the group of bound demons, the shadowy cloud appeared above them, raining down bullets of black flame and making the demons yell in agony.


    The cultists who weren''t mind-controlled began running away in fear, while the ones under Nihilor''s control simply watched in shock.


    ''I''m having too much fun¡ªI should calm down a little¡­'' Dante thought as he looked at the people running away.


    ''Well, at least this makes splitting them a bit easier,'' he continued, smirking with satisfaction.

 Chapter 132 - 132: Chaos at the Plaza

    As soon as Dante''s massacre of the demons started, the people spectating at Camille''s tower couldn''t help but wonder why he seemed to have so much fun when killing them.


    Camille had witnessed the warlock fighting several times, and he always seemed to enjoy himself when killing a demon. On the other hand, he didn''t showcase the same attitude when fighting humans.


    "Oh my¡­ so sexy!" Lilith exclaimed, admiring the warlock''s skills.


    "Why is big brother laughing? Is he having fun? I wanna have fun!" Asher commented.


    Lilith chuckled at the harpion kid, agreeing with him and saying that it seemed sort of fun.


    "By the way, Camille, why didn''t you send those children with Dante?" Lilith pondered.


    "Because they are kids¡ªThey shouldn''t be worrying about these things," the handler said.


    Lilith dropped her head to the side in confusion, wondering if the woman was aware that young harpions could be even stronger than their predecessors¡ªthe harpies.


    However, before she could voice out her confusion, Camille spoke up.


    "Has Dante always enjoyed killing demons like this?" she asked.


    "Heh, not at all¡­ When I first met him, his face showed nothing other than pure rage and hatred¡ªso hot," Lilith commented.


    "I see¡­" Camille said, turning back around to focus on the screens.


    "Hoh? You don''t want to know what changed him?" Lilith asked with an alluring tone.


    "No. I''ve got a good grasp on what it could be¡ªIf I''m curious, I''ll ask him later," the handler replied, making Lilith smile with intrigue.


    As they kept watching the live feed, the group noticed Dante flying down to a group of hooded cultists.


    When the warlock started his onslaught on the enemies, the people who weren''t mind-controlled started running away, believing that a demon was going on a rampage.


    Dante could hear some of their desperate words as a man tried to convince his brainwashed family to get away from the plaza.


    ''Hmm, I must look scary¡­'' Dante thought, flying down towards the man and his family.


    As soon as he landed before them, the woman and her son glared at the warlock blankly, their eyes devoid of color.


    The man was startled and begged for forgiveness, making Dante feel a bit awkward while analyzing their umbra.


    "Dispell," Dante muttered, releasing the mind-control spell from the mother and the son, making both of them instantly widen their eyes in shock.


    A gust of wind enveloped them momentarily, and the father closed his eyes in fear, thinking that they would all be executed.


    Nevertheless, when he heard the gentle words of the warlock, he opened them again in surprise.


    "Run towards the town''s exit. There are people there that can help," Dante said, giving the man a confident nod.


    The father, instantly changing his demeanor toward the warlock, thanked him dearly and nodded back with confidence, grasping his wife and child''s hands as he guided them away from the scene.


    The warlock noticed that there were other brainwashed citizens walking around, seemingly not paying attention to the chaos he was raising.


    Moreover, they didn''t have someone trying to get them out of danger, so he couldn''t dispell their mind control just to leave them there in shock.


    Suddenly, Dante felt a presence coming towards him and calmly turned around, jumping high in the air to avoid a blade strike directed at him.


    "There you are," Dante muttered, detailing the monster that tried to attack him.


    It resembled a skeleton wearing a long, grey hood. It hovered above the ground, had no legs, and wielded a long scythe.


    In the blink of an eye, the monster bolted from the ground up and appeared right before Dante in mid-air, making the warlock smirk.


    "You wraiths are always eager to die¡­" Dante muttered, pointing his finger-gun at the monster as it waved down his scythe.


    "Destro," Dante continued, instantly deleting the wraith''s body as the wave of destruction reached the ground, leaving a crater in the plaza.


    Two more wraiths appeared from the sides, one of them carrying a double-edged sword and the other a spear. Still, Dante flapped his wings and moved back to avoid them.


    "Rapture!" Dante shouted with a grin, waving his hand to the side.


    *Shink!* An invisible slice cut through both wraiths as they charged toward the warlock, severing their bodies in half.


    Dante let out a satisfactory smile after seeing three more wraiths coming his way, pondering if he would have to make more noise for Astaroth to come out.


    Meanwhile, Megan had reached the stairs to the cathedral, taking advantage of the chaos that Dante was creating to avoid running into any demons.


    When she went up the stairs, she peeked through a window but saw nobody in the altar room, so the brunette decided to sneak in.


    Once she was inside, Megan gazed at the altar in the back of the room and noticed a strange emblem engraved on it, but she couldn''t recognize it.


    It didn''t belong to any of the religions that existed on Earth. Still, Megan was never a religious woman, so she thought that maybe she was just ignorant of other cultures.


    As she inspected the altar room, she spotted a few dried-up blood splatters and trails on the walls and floor leading to the door at the back of the altar. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Megan gazed at the door, she could see the umbra flowing from within, which instinctively told her body to stop.


    ''It''s getting worse¡­'' Megan thought, seeing the umbra cloud getting larger and more dense.


    At that moment, she heard footsteps coming from the other side, making her prepare herself as the sounds of Dante''s chaos were getting louder by the second.


    The door behind the altar opened as Sabelio walked out, taking small steps with his hunched back and looking up to see Megan.


    "What are you doing here? Don''t you have a task!?" Sabelio loudly asked, not recognizing Megan with her black robe on.


    ''This old man is Sabelio?'' Megan pondered, noticing that the man could barely walk.


    "Yeah, I have a task¡­" she replied, pulling out her gun and pointing it at the man.

 Chapter 133 - 133: Sabelio’s Motivation

    When Megan pointed her pistol at Sabelio, the old man was momentarily confused until she took down her hood to reveal her face.


    "You¡­!" Sabelio said with anger, grinding his teeth.


    "Do you know who I am?" Megan asked, her expression cold and her gaze piercing.


    "How could I not? You are a carbon copy of ''him''..." the old man replied.


    "You are just as stubborn as them. If Alan had simply listened to me¡­!" he continued.


    "Why would my grandfather listen to you?" Megan cut him off.


    "You ended up betraying him and proving him right¡­ You are an insect that doesn''t deserve to be in the mafia," she said, her expression still cold and unwavering.


    "Girl¡­ You and your ancestors are too naive," Sabelio muttered in response.


    "You don''t know the threats looming over Novis¡ªThis is the only way to protect it!" the man shouted.


    Megan couldn''t comprehend the man''s words, as it made no sense to her how summoning a powerful demon would protect the city.


    She thought about ending Sabelio''s life right there, but she was curious about what made him take such drastic measures.


    Surprisingly, the old man seemed open in sharing, saying that it had all started twenty years ago when Megan was just a baby.


    Alan Dunlap was the leader of the Jade Dragons at the time, and he was known all throughout the country since his deeds genuinely made the city of Novis one of the best in the whole world.


    Sabelio worked closely with Alan, acting as his right-hand man for a long time. He was a passionate man who had a deep love for his city, so working with Alan was the most fulfilling thing he could do.


    One day, there was an event known as the Stellar Reunion, where the handlers of the Stellar families would meet in one place to discuss their affairs.


    The leaders of the main four mafia families were also invited to these meetings, so Alan attended with Sabelio and Camille''s grandmother, the Winter handler at the time.


    During that meeting, Sabelio realized that their strength was lacking compared to the other three mafia groups, and the man felt threatened¡ªespecially when he saw one specific person who made his skin crawl.


    On the other hand, Alan didn''t seem worried at all, which made Sabelio get somewhat angry at him, saying that he wasn''t looking at the big picture.


    "You worry too much, Sabelio¡­ There is no reason for us to fight them," Alan said after hearing the old man''s concerns.


    Still, Sabelio couldn''t get the idea of them going to war with another mafia family out of his head, knowing that they would be extinguished if it happened.


    One rainy night, Sabelio decided to take a stroll along the empty streets when a man spoke to him from an alley.


    "You are Sabelio, correct?" The mysterious man asked.


    Sabelio realized that it was a member of the Onyx Cartel, one of the four mafia groups, which was supported by the Summer family.


    "What do you want?" Sabelio asked, displeased with seeing one of them in their territory.


    "I bring a message," the stranger replied, taking out a thick book from his bag.


    Sabelio grabbed the book skeptically and noticed that it had no title¡ªit was just a tome with no description.


    Before he could ask what the contents of the book were, Sabelio was grabbed from behind and knocked unconscious.


    When he opened his eyes, he found himself tied to a chair in a dark room with members of the Onyx Cartel sitting around him.


    Sabelio didn''t have a single scratch or bruise on his body, which surprised him momentarily before getting his attention caught by the eerie presence in front of him.


    "What the hell happened to you, Darius?" Sabelio asked the mysterious figure.


    As Darius stepped out of the shadows, the bandages that covered his body became fully visible to Sabelio, who carefully scrutinized the man.


    However, when he gazed at his uncovered glowing eyes, he felt a chill down his spine and an overwhelming sense of horror.


    At that moment, Sabelio was given two options:


    He could get twenty years to become the leader of the Jade Dragons, or the Onyx Cartel would forcefully take their position from them. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sabelio didn''t understand why they were going to such lengths, as those threats could create animosity with the other mafia families.


    "We are giving you the tools to complete the job¡­" Darius said, his voice deep and intimidating.


    The old man kept telling Megan the story, which everyone at Camille''s tower could hear through her microphone, leaving everyone silent as they paid close attention.


    "So, then what? You decided to summon demons and kill everyone to save yourself?" Megan asked, her aim not budging an inch from the man.


    "NO!" Sabelio shouted.


    During the night that he was kidnapped by the Onyx Cartel, he saw ''something'' that made the man so scared that he couldn''t refuse their task.


    "I told Alan to listen to me¡ªwe could have all saved ourselves!" Sabelio said, speaking loudly and desperately.


    "Your father was the same¡­ They couldn''t see the true danger!" he continued, his anger apparent.


    "What did you see!? What was in the book!?" Megan asked, yelling out her questions with a commanding tone.


    "Aaarghh. Shut it!" Sabelio answered with an altered war cry, releasing a wave of umbra that was clearly visible to Megan.


    The brunette was a bit surprised at the fact that she could see Sabelio''s umbra, as it was only meant to be visible when it was highly condensed.


    Sharpening her gaze, Megan understood that the old man wasn''t as frail as he looked, pulling on her trigger several times.


    However, the bullets stopped abruptly mere centimeters away from Sabelio, suspended in the air for a few seconds before dropping to the ground, making the old man straighten his back.


    As he seemed much taller, he opened his robe to reveal the repulsive protuberance on his chest, beating to the rhythm of his heart.


    Sabelio had a few hairs on his head, and his face could barely be recognized as a human. Moreover, his slightly deformed body seemed to be caused by the demon''s heart beating loudly in his chest.

 Chapter 134 - 134: Megan Vs. Sabelio

    Right after Sabelio showed his deformed body to Megan, he prepared himself to attack her and was surprised to see the woman bolting towards him.


    ''How can she move so easily!?'' Sabelio pondered, knowing that the umbra he released would have made any ordinary person freeze in fear.


    However, in Megan''s eyes, Sabelio''s umbra wasn''t even a tenth of what she had seen flowing from Dante, so she didn''t feel afraid of the old man.


    In the blink of an eye, the brunette jumped and landed a flying kick on Sabelio''s chest, pushing him back against the walls of the cathedral.


    Still, even though Megan expected to break a few of his bones, she noticed how strong his body truly was, as the man was simply pushed back without receiving any significant damage.


    "How¡­?" Sabelio muttered.


    "You can control umbra!?" he continued, widening his eyes in disbelief.


    Megan didn''t respond and kept a serious gaze, taking out a dagger from her waist and crossing her arms in a combat-ready pose.


    Sabelio, still shocked, decided to test the woman''s mettle, pointing his palm at her and generating an arcane pentagram behind him.


    Megan detailed the arcane circle, which slightly wobbled while producing a red glow, and compared it to the ones that Dante created, looking uniform and static.


    ''His umbra control isn''t refined enough¡­'' Megan pondered, not allowing the old man''s spell to scare her.


    "Shadow bolt!" Sabelio exclaimed, producing a shadowy mist to accumulate in his palm before shooting it at Megan.


    The brunette bolted forward toward the projectile, shocking Sabelio for a brief second as he couldn''t believe the girl''s fearlessness.


    Megan had seen the shadow bolt spell a few different times when Dante used it at the lab, and she remembered him saying that it was a weak spell.


    When the projectile got close enough to her body, she waved her dagger to one side and accumulated her umbra on it, deflecting the entire shadowy orb to the side of the cathedral.


    Sabelio gritted his teeth and widened his eyes again, confirming that the woman before him could indeed control umbra. However, she wasn''t a forged warlock like him.


    After Megan caught up with Sabelio, she sliced horizontally and caught his arm, making the man take a quick step back and boost himself with umbra to distance himself from his opponent.


    "What the hell are you!?" Sabelio asked.


    "Hmm¡­" Megan pondered for a moment without moving from her combat stance.


    "Beats me¡­" Megan replied with a cold tone.


    She knew that Zac was always excited to know what "class" he had become after making the contract with Dante, and she was present when he discovered that he was a dark warrior who would eventually become a berserker.


    However, Megan couldn''t care less about what title represented her, so she never bothered to ask. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I only wanted the power to take what belongs to my family¡­ If it makes me a dark warrior, a fake warlock, or a demon¡­ I don''t give a shit," Megan continued, her severe voice ringing in her opponent''s ears.


    *Tch!* Sabelio clicked his tongue with frustration.


    "If only ''he'' thought the same as you¡­" the old man muttered, his voice laced with a hint of sadness.


    "What demon did you make a contract with!?" he continued.


    "None¡­ I didn''t have to sell my family and friends to a demon," Megan replied.


    Sabelio exclaimed that it was impossible to make contracts with anything other than demons and that she had most likely summoned a powerful demon to help her.


    His words made the brunette even angrier than she already was, feeling like Sabelio was insulting Dante.


    "If I had known that you had the guts to do something like this, I would have collaborated with you¡­" Sabelio said.


    "To think that Alan''s granddaughter would summon a demon¡­ heh¡­ heheh," the old man chuckled, his laugh slightly deranged.


    "He is a human," Megan uttered, her words instantly silencing Sabelio as her tone got a bit raspy from anger.


    "Wha-...?" The man asked with confusion, seeing that the umbra flowing from Megan had risen to double the amount it was before.


    "I said¡­ he is a human," Megan repeated, taking a single step that made her appear in front of Sabelio in the blink of an eye.


    The old man gasped and pointed his palm at Megan, but before any magic could be produced, his forearm was severed by her dagger with a swift slice, which Sabelio couldn''t even perceive happening.


    Blood gushed out rapidly from Sabelio''s arm, making him boost himself with umbra to move away from Megan and jump atop the beams holding the cathedral''s roof.


    "Ugh¡­!" Sabelio grunted as his demon heart glowed slightly brighter, pumping with force a few times as his severed hand regenerated.


    Megan widened her eyes with a bit of shock since she had never seen magic that could heal someone so quickly, and the man wasn''t using any healthstones.


    ''It must be that demon heart giving him these abilities¡­'' Megan thought, keeping her gaze locked on her opponent.


    When Sabelio clasped his hands together, the brunette winced, recognizing that pose from Dante.


    "Shadow whip!" Sabelio exclaimed, generating a single shadow strand that appeared between his palms before getting directed at his opponent.


    Megan avoided the first lash and vaulted a few times to prevent the continuous whip strikes from hitting her.


    After reaching the wall, she used the structure to boost herself and leap on the beam where Sabelio stood.


    At that moment, the man panicked as he couldn''t protect himself from Megan''s attack and moved his hands frantically, destroying the timber foothold and making them land back on the ground.


    Debris landed around them and produced a cloud of dust that shrouded them for a moment. Instantly, the force of the clash between their umbra dispersed the dust, showing the two unleashing a barrage of attacks on each other.


    The benches of the altar room were either destroyed or flung to the sides, the pillars were being demolished, and the windows were shattering.


    Suddenly, they felt an ominous force that made the two combatants freeze in their spot as a sense of impending danger loomed over them.

 Chapter 135 - 135: Dr. Sylva’s Rescue

    During Megan''s encounter with Sabelio inside the cathedral, Dante was hovering above the plaza after killing three more wraiths, making an expression that showed a hint of disappointment.


    "Ordinary wraiths are weaker than I remember¡­" He muttered to himself.


    More than half of the demons in the plaza were frightened of Dante, so they weren''t attacking or moving from their spots.


    *Sigh* "Boring¡­" he said, pointing his finger at another group of fiends and making the black rain come down upon them.


    ["Dante, Zac is approaching your position!"] Camille said on his earpiece.


    "That was quick," Dante commented.


    On a dark street leading to the plaza, the redhead and the doctor ran along to escape from the banshee at the clinic.


    Zac knew that his strike wasn''t enough to kill the demon, but he prioritized the doctor''s safety and decided to run away with him.


    Dr. Sylva was still in shock from all the events and only followed Zac after knowing he was acquainted with his daughter. Otherwise, the man wouldn''t have had any ambitions to keep on living.


    "Kid¡­ who are you?" the doctor asked as they kept jogging.


    "My name is Zac, sir," he replied, but his answer wasn''t enough to clarify all of the doctor''s questions.


    When the redhead stopped abruptly, he told the doctor to halt for a moment, seeing a pack of five fiends running towards them.


    ''Oh, man¡­ That''s quite a lot,'' Zac nervously thought.


    Still, he knew he couldn''t falter, or the doctor would die. Moreover, his daughter was watching everything, so he felt like he had to protect him at all costs.


    Taking a deep breath, Zac clenched his bat tightly and bolted forward towards the fiends, who didn''t stop their advance.


    As he avoided the first claw slice, Zac slammed his bat against the fiend''s torso and flung him away before deflecting a second attack from another demon.


    Each time that Zac''s chrome bat clashed against the demon''s claws, a shower of sparks lit up the area, leaving the doctor perplexed at the man''s reflexes and strength.


    ''Strange¡­ these guys move way slower than the dummies at the MET room,'' Zac thought while waving his head back to avoid another attack.


    When the redhead slammed his bat against the face of one of the demons with an overhead attack, he shattered its skull as an explosion of blood sprayed on him and his surroundings.


    The demon''s body started disintegrating as its soul returned to hell, making the other four fiends a bit more apprehensive about fighting the redhead.


    Zac gasped, slightly surprised that his attack was enough to kill the demon, making him a bit more confident about fighting the rest.


    The four fiends gritted their teeth with anger, making their claws grow bigger before launching themselves at Zac simultaneously.


    ''Oh, no!'' Dr. Sylva thought, believing that Zac wouldn''t be able to do anything against their coordinated attack.


    Nevertheless, Zac skillfully avoided their offense and answered back with his own set of strikes, leaving him stained with the blood of his opponents.


    *Huff, puff* "Alright¡­ that worked," Zac muttered, turning to look at the doctor to check on him.


    "Everything okay there?" The redhead asked. However, Dr. Sylva was standing perplexed, his jaw wide open in shock.


    ''How is it possible for a human to move like that!?'' The doctor pondered.


    When Zac urged Dr. Sylva to keep moving, the man brought himself back to reality and followed the redhead closely, understanding that he was his only hope of getting out of the town safely.


    After running for a few minutes, the plaza was visible in the distance a few blocks away, making the doctor widen his eyes with fear, decreasing the speed of his pace.


    "What''s wrong?" Zac asked the man.


    "Isn''t¡­ ''he'' at the plaza?" Dr. Sylva answered with a question.


    "Do you mean Astaroth?" The redhead asked again, wanting to clarify.


    After the doctor nervously nodded affirmingly, Zac commented that his friend was at the plaza, so they would be safer there.


    ''His friend¡­?'' Dr. Sylva pondered, deciding to trust the redhead.


    He couldn''t know for sure who his friend was, but if they were as powerful as Zac, then the doctor believed that it was still possible to escape.


    As they got closer to the plaza, they heard a loud chuckle echoing from the site, making the doctor shiver with fear as the sound of wailing demons obscured the laugh.


    "That''s him. We are getting closer!" Zac exclaimed with a bit of excitement.


    Still, before they could make their way toward the chuckling Dante, Zac froze for a second, sensing an ominous umbra behind.


    Quickly turning around to check on the doctor, he spotted a hooded shadowy monster rushing towards him from behind, holding a scythe high up in the air.


    Zac felt like time slowed down, allowing him to assess the situation.


    It was the first time he had seen that type of demon, but judging by the weapon in its hand, the redhead knew it was a wraith.


    The doctor was unaware of the danger looming behind him, and Zac wondered if he would have enough time to reach him, bending his knees and producing a powerful mist under his feet. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The redhead''s eyes locked in on the monster, his gaze focused, letting out a trail of steam from his mouth as he took a deep breath.


    When the doctor turned around, sensing that something was quickly approaching him, he was bathed by the sparks generated by Zac''s bat clashing with the wraith''s scythe.


    ''How did he get there!?'' the doctor pondered, remembering that Zac was standing meters away in the opposite direction.


    With a quick exchange of blows, Zac protected himself from the demon''s offense, but the wraith was much faster than any other monster he had faced before, landing a few slices on his arms.


    Zac landed a frontal kick that pushed the wraith away, looking down at his injuries and seeing his arms bleeding profusely.


    ''The cuts aren''t that deep¡­ Why is he bleeding so much!?'' The doctor thought as he witnessed the encounter.

 Chapter 136 - 136: Zac Vs. Wraith

    After Zac managed to get some distance from the wraith, he noticed his arms wouldn''t stop bleeding.


    However, he stayed calm and put his hand in his pocket, squeezing the healthstone inside and closing his wounds.


    The doctor witnessed his cuts magically healing but couldn''t understand how Zac was pulling it off, thinking that the redhead had regenerative powers.


    ''Okay, it''s just one¡­ I can handle it¡ªI think,'' Zac thought.


    The wraith was faster and stronger than any demon he had faced, but after clashing his bat against their scythe, he had a good measure of the demon''s power.


    When the two adversaries charged at each other once more, the street erupted into a cacophony of chaotic sounds, along with sparks that illuminated the dark area as their weapons violently clashed together.


    Zac kept up with the demon''s movements for a few seconds until the wraith sped up his attacks, slashing the redhead vertically and cutting down from his forehead to his torso.


    Blood gushed out forcefully from Zac''s wound, and the demon meant to follow it up with another attack. Still, the redhead was able to avoid it skillfully and kicked the wraith in the face, slightly cracking its skull.


    ''It hurts¡­'' Zac thought, unable to see from one of his eyes as the slash had trailed through it.


    As he moved his arm down to squeeze the healthstone in his pocket, the intelligent demon knew what he was trying to do and rushed to attack him, leaving Zac unable to heal his wounds.


    Focusing on avoiding the monster''s attacks, Zac jumped around the street, using the parked cars on the side to slow down the wraith''s advance.


    Nonetheless, the demon''s scythe was able to cut through the cars with a bit of ease, making Zac kick one of them and push it with force against the demon.


    *Shink!* A bright slice appeared in the center of the pushed vehicle, breaking it in half as the demon''s scythe glowed with a strange, white aura.


    ''Is this thing still powering up!?'' Zac pondered, ducking and jumping to evade the wraith''s follow-up attacks, which were slicing the light poles like cardboard.


    After a long back jump that gave Zac some room to breathe, he looked down and noticed a sewer manhole right beneath his feet.


    The wraith was dashing forward, so Zac acted quickly and used his bat''s handle to leverage open the heavy, iron lid.


    Grabbing the 250-pound lid with one hand, he spun one time and threw it like an Olympic disc, prompting the monster to raise its scythe to defend.


    As the heavy iron cover crashed with the wraith''s scythe, its weight and force caught it by surprise, hitting the demon in the shoulder.


    By the time the wraith caught up to Zac, he had used the healthstone to heal his eye, grasping his bat with both hands and tensing his muscles. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *Guish!* Another torrent of blood came from Zac''s shoulder after receiving another vertical slice from the demon.


    However, when the wraith tried to retract its weapon, the redhead strained his muscles and prevented it from moving, slightly agitating the demon.


    With his eyes producing a red mist that clouded his vision and the demon''s scythe stuck in his right shoulder, Zac gazed at the monster before him and raised his bat with his left hand.


    The last thing the demon could see was the raging expression on Zac, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain as he slammed his bat on its face, shattering it and making the rest of its body turn to dust.


    *Sigh¡­* Zac let out a long, tired gasp before squeezing his healthstone again, healing his shoulder and making the stone disintegrate.


    The redhead didn''t have a way to cure his injuries anymore, but he didn''t seem too worried as the plaza was already nearby.


    "Let''s go, sir!" Zac said to the doctor, who was still in shock after witnessing the encounter.


    When they arrived at the plaza, the pair was a bit confused at the sight, seeing that the hooded cultists were standing around in shock while looking up at the sky.


    Meanwhile, the packs of demons that were meant to be patrolling looked scared and frozen in place.


    In the skies, a figure with shadowy wings came flying down towards the pair, shocking them for a brief second before seeing it was Dante.


    "You found him, good job!" Dante said with a smile that contrasted with the eerie sight behind him.


    Knowing that Dr. Sylva was an essential pawn for the demons, Camille gave Zac the mission to extract him from town.


    Still, he wouldn''t have to run all the way to the highway as the Beta, Alpha, and Gamma teams were already entering the area, so he was asked to leave the doctor with them.


    ____________________


    Meanwhile, in the decaying clinic where Zac found Dr. Sylva, the figure of a woman rose from the debris in the reception.


    She had wavy black hair and a pale complexion, with grey eyes, bony fingers, and black nails.


    As the woman stood up, she held her head with discomfort and clicked her tongue with annoyance.


    "What the hell was that¡­?" the woman pondered aloud.


    "That asshole said that humans in this world don''t use magic¡­ Grrr, that liar!" she continued, talking to herself in the dark, destroyed reception.


    "Was it a berserker? No¡­ He didn''t seem to be complete," the woman said, placing a hand on her chin.


    A hooded cultist entered the reception and was startled by the sight of the woman. Still, he nervously reported that the redhead man was seen making his way to the plaza.


    ''If Astaroth sees I failed¡ªI''m dead¡­'' The woman thought, widening her eyes as she quickly left the building.


    When the woman stepped on the dark streets, shadows encased her body and turned her into an ethereal form, hovering above the ground as her eyes turned into red spirals.


    With a dash, the woman began flying at a low height toward the town''s plaza, wanting to get her revenge on the dark warrior who defeated her.

 Chapter 137 - 137: Dante’s Old Acquaintance

    After Zac reached the town''s plaza and met up with Dante, he was told to keep moving with the doctor towards the city''s exit, where a group from the Beta Team would get the man out.


    Before the redhead continued on his way, Dante turned his head to the street where his friend came from, sensing someone approaching at high speeds.


    As the warlock spotted the silhouette of the woman flying towards him, he dropped his head laterally with confusion.


    "Hmm, that banshee¡­" Dante muttered.


    Zac noticed the danger approaching and apologized for not finishing off his opponent, as he was prioritizing getting the doctor out of the clinic.


    "You did well," the warlock replied with a smirk.


    Suddenly, the demon halted in mid-air, a little over twenty meters away from Dante, seemingly analyzing him.


    ''She stopped¡­!?'' Zac thought.


    "Dante¡­?" The banshee muttered with shivering lips.


    "Long time no see, Saris¡­" Dante casually replied.


    "Y-you¡­ what are you doing here¡­?" The woman nervously continued.


    "I''m here to kill Astaroth¡ªWhat are you going to do?"


    "I¡­ What? How?" Saris asked, utterly confused about the situation.


    "You know each other!?" Zac exclaimed.


    "It''s a bit long to explain right now¡­ So, are you helping Astaroth or me?" Dante asked the familiar banshee.


    The woman didn''t respond. Instead, she looked down apprehensively for a moment, making Zac believe that she would choose to side with the demons.


    Nonetheless, his expectations were completely shattered when the banshee rushed to Dante''s side to lovingly hug him, turning her demonic form into a more humanoid one.


    ''Are you fucking kidding me¡­!? Another hot girl just clung to Dante in the middle of this situation!?'' The redhead thought.


    "I was all angry about that berserker breaking my ribs, but now that I know he is your subordinate, I forgive him," Saris said, her arms around Dante''s shoulders.


    "He is my best friend, not my subordinate¡­" Dante replied, holding the woman''s arms and separating her from him.


    "Right, whatever¡­" Saris said with a hint of jealousy.


    Suddenly, both Dante and Saris turned their heads to the cathedral with severe expressions.


    *Prang!* The mosaic windows shattered as Megan was flung out of the building, landing on the plaza''s platform.


    "Megan!" Zac shouted, running to her side. However, after taking a few steps, he was halted by an overwhelming presence coming from the cathedral.


    The brunette clenched her healthstone in her pocket and healed the cuts on her body and face, standing up with a cold gaze as the cathedral''s doors opened abruptly, showcasing the massive body of Astaroth walking out.


    Behind the archdemon, Sabelio walked with his back straightened and his demon heart fully on display.


    Dante flew towards the pair and hovered in the air at Astaroth''s eye level, letting out a smirk.


    "Hellslayer¡­" Astaroth muttered.


    "General coward," Dante replied with a mocking tone.


    "How dare you!?" Sabelio shouted with indignation, prompting the warlock to look down on him with a condescending stare that showed nothing but disdain for the old man.


    "Silence¡­ You think yourself a warlock? When did I say you could direct your words to me? Insect¡­" Dante said in an intimidating tone.


    Sabelio widened his eyes with fear and shock as he wasn''t expecting ''Hellslayer'' to be so arrogantly powerful, and the man''s instincts were telling him that if he talked back, he would die.


    "Hellslayer!" Astaroth interjected with a shout.


    "What? Man, I''m right here¡­" Dante said, picking his ears with annoyance.


    "Why are you here? I did not meddle with your business¡­" The archdemon asked.


    "Ah, but you did¡ªSure, it might have been unintentional, but what''s done is done," Dante said while shrugging.


    "Besides, I''ve heard you''ve been calling yourself a king¡­" Dante continued, sharpening his gaze.


    "How could a coward like you take ''his'' position?" he said, his mocking tone slicing the atmosphere.


    Sabelio grunted with anger and pointed his palm at Dante, feeling offended at the words that the warlock directed at the archdemon.


    "Shadow bolt!" Sabelio shouted. However, nothing materialized from his spell, making him wince in horror.


    ''This man¡­ He is hoarding all of the umbra around us!'' Sabelio thought, seeing the dark energy flowing solely around Dante and Astaroth.


    Dante thought about killing Sabelio instantly, but when he gazed to the side and saw Megan and Zac, he believed they needed the practice.


    "Old man¡­ You are going to need at least a hundred more years of training to stand against me," Dante said condescendingly. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the blink of an eye, the warlock appeared right beside the old man, landing a punch with the back of his hand that sent the man flying towards the obelisk in the center of the plaza.


    "No interruptions," he said, turning around to face Astaroth.


    "Hmm? Impressive¡­ You do seem stronger than last time," Dante commented to the archdemon, looking up at his face while standing before him.


    Even though Astaroth towered over Dante by three meters, the demon seemed more apprehensive of the encounter, raising his hands in a defensive stance.


    "Heh, show me what you can do now¡­ fake King of Wrath," the warlock muttered, appearing right in front of his opponent''s face.


    "Destro," *BOOM!* The entire entrance of the cathedral was blown away while Astaroth was forcefully pushed inside the building.


    The demon protected himself with his forearms, which let out a thin trail of smoke after receiving the attack.


    "No damage, huh? Not bad¡­" Dante casually commented as he walked inside the cathedral.


    "Hellfire!" Astaroth shouted, creating a large circle area beneath the warlock that glowed red for a brief second.


    Dante quickly moved away from the arcane circle, followed by a flaming pillar of dark fire that appeared from the center, scorching the remaining facade of the church''s entrance.


    Before Dante could answer with another attack, he noticed the strange symbol carved on the altar at the back of the room and widened his eyes in shock.


    "This church¡­" Dante muttered, recognizing the symbol as the one from the Pantheon of Four, who were the gods of Terra.

 Chapter 138 - 138: The Mysterious Cathedral

    At Camille''s tower, the non-combatant groups were watching the raid going down in real-time, wondering how Dante managed to tame the banshee.


    Lilith, who was also familiar with the demon, explained that Saris had met Dante around the same time that he met the succubus queen, so she was well acquainted with him.


    Yet, one question lingered in the handler''s mind, a dispute that she couldn''t shake off¡ªWhy did Dante persistently label Astaroth as a coward?


    Camille didn''t understand why he did it at first, thinking that he had given him that nickname as his scheme with the Jade Dragons was a cowardly move.


    However, after hearing him say it so many times, she believed that the warlock had been calling him that for way longer.


    "Well, he isn''t wrong¡­ Astaroth was, indeed, a coward," Lilith commented.


    It happened over a hundred years ago when Dante was traveling through the hellish lands to hunt down the Demon King, Satan.


    As he crossed an area surrounded by hellfire and lava waterfalls known as Ragerift, he was halted by a towering demon standing in his way¡ªGeneral Astaroth.


    Dante''s playful and sadistic nature was non-existent at the time, glaring at the archdemon before him with disdain.


    Astaroth was one of the ten demon generals working under the King of Wrath, Satan, and he had been sent by his superior to kill the warlock.


    However, when he stared into Dante''s crimson eyes that oozed a malevolent aura, the archdemon hesitated, knowing that his soul would be destroyed.


    In his eyes, the human warlock standing in front of him seemed scarier than any of the demon kings, making him believe that Dante would truly complete his quest of killing Satan.


    Not wanting to share the same fate as his other general comrades, Astaroth decided to betray King Satan and avoid conflict with Dante.


    Still, as Dante walked past the massive archdemon, he gave his single and last warning to never stand against him.


    "Eventually, Dante killed Satan and his other nine generals, so Astaroth was labeled a coward for not fighting for his king¡­" Lilith said.


    "I see¡­ And then he became the new king since he was the only one who survived," Camille deduced.


    "Well, no¡­ Not exactly," Lilith clarified.


    Whenever a demon killed a Demon King, the victor would obtain the title of the deceased king and rule over their lands.


    This meant that after Dante killed Satan, he became the new King of Wrath. Nonetheless, the warlock was utterly indifferent about the title and rejected it, leaving Ragerift without a ruler.


    Dante had been the only human ever to murder a Demon King, but the rules still applied to him as warlocks and demons shared the same type of magic.


    After Dante returned to his world, Astaroth took the chance and started ruling over Ragerift. However, his power was nothing compared to the other demon kings who were still alive.


    "So, he is just a substitute? Is it really that easy to take the king''s spot?" Camille pondered aloud.


    "As long as the demon is powerful enough to cast the ''Malevolent Art,'' then they are official contenders for the king''s seat¡­" Lilith replied.


    "Malevolent Art?" Camille inquired.


    "Ugh, he hasn''t even told you about those?" Lilith answered with a slightly annoyed tone.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter¡­ You will see soon enough," the queen continued, gazing back at the screens.


    When the succubus noticed that Dante was inside the cathedral, she spotted the same strange symbol on the altar and froze momentarily.


    "Camille¡­ what is that place?" Lilith asked, her curiosity turned to concern.


    "The cathedral? It''s just an ancient building¡­ Why?" Camille asked back, sensing the succubus anxiety.


    "That''s the symbol of the Pantheon of Four¡­ The gods of Terra," Lilith said, shocking everyone in the room.


    Paige bolted up from her seat as her cigarette fell on the floor, her eyes shimmering with interest, saying that it was a huge discovery.


    However, Lilith clicked her tongue and frowned, asking why such filth was present in that world.


    ____________________


    Inside the cathedral at Highpoint Town, Dante stood frozen momentarily when he spotted the insignia of the gods from his previous world.


    His smirk turned sour at the sight of the emblem as he scanned the rest of the church''s aspect, seeing that one of the unbroken window mosaics portrayed the appearance of a goddess he was familiar with.


    "Aelara¡­" Dante angrily uttered under his breath, turning his gaze back at the archdemon.


    "What is this place, Astaroth?" Dante asked, his tone and expression cold and unchanging.


    Astaroth stood firm, saying that he didn''t know the origins of the mysterious holy place as it wasn''t relevant to him.


    The simple fact that the church belonged to the Pantheon of Four was enough for the archdemon to defile it with his presence.


    "Heh, well¡­ We can agree on some things," Dante said with a smirk.


    "Let''s tear this holy place down," he continued, grinning wide and locking a ferocious gaze on Astaroth.


    In the blink of an eye, the two appeared in the center of the altar room, with Dante releasing a powerful discharge of black lightning while Astaroth produced a wave of hellfire, blowing away the last remains of the building''s windows.


    Dante followed up his moves with a kick in Astaroth''s chin, then a punch in the gut that pushed him to the back of the room. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That fighting style¡­" Astaroth muttered.


    "Not bad, huh? I''ve been learning some martial arts," Dante said, proudly smirking as he showed off the moves that Megan taught him.


    Outside in the plaza, Sabelio stood up from the ground with a bleeding skull after getting blasted away by Dante''s backhand, finding himself before Zac and Megan.


    The old man looked to the side and saw Dr. Sylva shyly hiding behind a potted dead tree on a platform, making him grind his teeth with anger.


    "What the hell do you think you are doing?" Sabelio madly muttered.


    It was Zac''s job to get the doctor to safety, but he didn''t want to leave Megan alone at the plaza with Sabelio and the rest of the demons around.


    Anxiously, the redhead decided he would protect Dr. Sylva while supporting Megan in battle, wondering if he could even manage to do something like that.

 Chapter 139 - 139: The Banshee, Saris

    While Dante and Astaroth demolished the cathedral with their encounter, Megan and Zac were outside facing Sabelio.


    The redhead moved back to stay close to the doctor, afraid that a demon would try to incapacitate him, and his hunch was correct.


    As he stood beside Dr. Sylva, he sensed a couple of shadow demons approaching, materializing from his shade with their claws ready to strike.


    However, Zac skillfully deflected their attacks and slammed his bat against the demon''s faces¡ªone by one.


    Sabelio noticed Zac''s skills, comparing them to Megan''s and deducing that the redhead was a dark warrior, as his moves were more explosive than the brunette''s, which were faster and held more bloodlust in them.


    The old man felt slightly frustrated, as Megan and Zac were the perfect examples of the type of soldiers he wanted for the Blood Dragons.


    In a fit of anger and bitterness, Sabelio extended both of his arms, displaying his demon heart widely and generating two arcane pentagrams behind him.


    "Shadow bolt!" Sabelio shouted, making the two arcane circles produce a couple of shadowy projectiles that flew straight toward Megan.


    She bolted forward and avoided the first shadow bolt. With the second coming straight to her face, Megan raised her dagger and made her blade slightly touch the old man''s magic, waving it to the side and deflecting it to the ground.


    As Sabelio''s projectile shattered the platform, the old man charged another wave of attacks but felt a sudden sense of danger that made him duck.


    *Shink!* Sabelio heard the sound of a blade behind him, realizing that he had avoided an invisible slice that cut the scaffolding at his back.


    Looking back at Megan, he noticed that the woman had waved her dagger horizontally from a little over five meters away.


    ''This girl¡­ She is using the umbra to shoot out her dagger slices!'' Sabelio thought, a mix of admiration and frustration. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old man couldn''t help mentioning that if Megan had been the head of the family twenty years ago, he wouldn''t have felt the need to betray the Jade Dragons.


    Sabelio felt cornered back then, as Megan''s grandfather didn''t want to tap into the forbidden power¡ªleading to his betrayal, as Sabelio believed they would be wiped out by the other mafia families.


    However, after all that, Megan ended up using umbra to fight against him, which Sabelio found ironic.


    "No¡­" Megan replied.


    "I wouldn''t have summoned any demons¡­ Much less sacrifice others to do it," she continued, her cold glare locked on the old man.


    "You say that because you are not aware of the danger¡­" Sabelio replied, changing his stance and getting ready for another advance.


    "I''ll focus on the danger ahead of me first," Megan said, rushing towards Sabelio for another onslaught of attacks.


    While the pair exchanged blows, Zac kept fighting off the shadow demons and fiends that were trying to catch Dr. Sylva, who sat against the tree with a mortified expression.


    *Bam, bam, pow!* Zac smacked three more demons out of his sight as trails of sweat came down his face.


    When the redhead turned his head to the half-destroyed obelisk in the center, he spotted the banshee sitting on top of it, posing her chin on her palm with utter boredom.


    "Hey¡­!" *bam!* "Miss¡­!" *bam, bam!* Zac tried calling the woman while striking the demons around him.


    The banshee, Saris, looked like a human while sitting on the obelisk, completely different from how she showed herself to Zac for the first time.


    Still, knowing that the demon was friends with Dante made him think that she would be willing to lend a hand.


    Nevertheless, Saris didn''t show a speck of interest in their encounter, yawning and looking away.


    "Hey, Miss Banshee!!" Zac roared, unintentionally making his voice echo loudly in the entire plaza.


    Even the people at the skyscraper had to take off their earpieces momentarily as his shout startled them all.


    "You are loud, kid. What!?" The banshee asked with annoyance.


    ''Oh, I''m the one who is loud!?'' Zac thought, hitting another fiend in the face.


    "I was just thinking¡­ Can you, uhh¡ªgive us a hand?" Zac asked the demon.


    "Huh? Why would I do that?" Saris replied with a frown of disdain.


    "Besides, you broke my ribs earlier¡­ hmph!" she continued, turning her head with a scoff.


    "You started it. I could have died!" Zac said, still fighting off the demons rushing at him.


    "Meh¡­" Saris shrugged off his words, irking the redhead.


    "I''m sure Dante will be thankful if he knows you helped us¡­" Zac muttered, making the cold, bitchy demon widen her eyes with full attention.


    "Really?" Saris asked.


    "Yeah, we are his team, you know?" Zac replied, feeling a little guilty since he didn''t think that Dante would be thankful at all.


    Saris seemed impressed and shocked for a brief moment. ''Dante''s team¡­'' she thought, standing up at the top of the obelisk with a proud pose.


    "Hmph! It seems there is no other option¡­ If it''s Dante''s team, then I suppose I could lend a hand," the banshee commented.


    ''A tsundere banshee¡­ God save us all,'' Zac thought.


    Suddenly, Saris went down to Zac''s level and turned to look at a pack of tens of demons rushing towards them, making the redhead and the doctor instantly shut their ears.


    After the banshee inhaled, she screamed and let out a powerful sound wave that blasted away the extremities of the demons and pushed them off the plaza.


    Seeing the trail of destruction, Zac pondered aloud why she hadn''t used such an attack against him, to which Saris responded with a cold glare.


    "I did¡­" The banshee said.


    ''Huh!? I took that attack head-on?'' Zac pondered, surprised that his body didn''t implode like the demons.


    When Zac requested Saris to defend Dr. Sylva, she agreed and waved her hand with disinterest, allowing the redhead to support Megan, who was fighting Sabelio on the other side of the plaza.


    Camille pondered if it was okay to leave the doctor with Saris, but Lilith reassured her that the banshee wouldn''t stand against Dante, no matter what happened.

 Chapter 140 - 140: Sabelio’s Offensive

    When Zac approached Megan and Sabelio, he found the two exchanging attacks without rest.


    Megan was using her dagger while Sabelio controlled the umbra around him to protect himself and shoot out spells.


    The old man''s umbra control wasn''t as refined as Dante''s, but it was still enough to halt Megan''s blade from reaching him.


    Zac noticed that Sabelio was only using the "shadow bolt" spell, which he had seen Dante use before, and knew that it was meant to be a low-rank spell.


    He was a bit more afraid at first since Sabelio was a forged warlock, so he didn''t know if the old man would cast the overwhelmingly powerful spells that Dante used. Still, seeing that he was solely relying on shadow bolts made him relieved.


    As Megan and Sabelio kept releasing a barrage of attacks that were almost too quick to see, the redhead waited for the perfect opening.


    If he barged in the middle of their onslaught, he could get caught between their attacks, so he patiently waited for a few seconds for the old man to make a mistake.


    At one brief moment, Zac spotted Sabelio''s arm going a bit too far up, which left him with the perfect opening, bolting at high speeds toward the man and slamming his ribcage with all of his might.


    Sabelio covered his side with umbra to cushion the strike, but the force still sent him flying to the side.


    "Did that work?" Zac pondered aloud.


    When Sabelio rose from the dust cloud with a frown, his demon heart pounded a few times and regenerated his broken bones, making him let out a tired gasp.


    "I was not expecting this¡­" The old man muttered under his breath.


    Suddenly, the umbra around Sabelio abruptly powered up, making Megan and Zac brace their weapons as they could see the old man''s energy violently flowing around him.


    His arms were turning into an obsidian color while claws grew on his fingers. His eyes had turned wholly red, and his posture seemed much better than before.


    "Only by making these risky decisions, we''ll have enough power to defend ourselves¡­" Sabelio muttered.


    In an instant, several pentagrams appeared in the air around Sabelio, glowing brightly with a red hue as the man opened his arms widely.


    "Shadow Bolt Barrage!" Sabelio shouted, releasing dozens of shadowy projectiles from his arcane pentagrams.


    Megan and Zac bolted away from their positions in opposite directions, avoiding the explosive bolts that were landing on the ground.


    As the redhead rushed around the plaza, waiting for another opening, he noticed Sabelio''s glare directed at him, pointing one palm at Zac.


    "Vile Taint," Sabelio said, creating a shadowy circumference beneath Zac''s feet, covering a small area around him.


    Zac took a split-second decision and stepped to one side, barely managing to get his body out of the darkened area before it blew up and unleashed a shadow explosion.


    The shadows grazed Zac''s body and flung him against the obelisk, making him quickly stand up and prepare himself for a follow-up attack.


    However, Megan had intercepted Sabelio, forcing him back while unleashing a barrage of slices with her dagger, hitting his arm and generating a kindle of sparks that shocked the brunette.


    ''His skin got much tougher¡­'' Megan thought.


    Sabelio''s close-combat experience wasn''t enough to hold himself against Megan, so he knew that his best choice against her would be to get more distance from her.


    The old man had focused on Zac at first, as his strength and ferocity were too unpredictable for Sabelio. Nonetheless, he was starting to fear Megan''s combat experience much more.


    At one moment, Megan''s quick attacks made Sabelio tumble¡ªan opportunity that Zac didn''t miss, appearing right beside the man with his bat tightly grasped with both hands.


    Still, right as his strike landed, Sabelio protected his head with his strengthened forearm, taking the hit that didn''t move him from his spot and producing a shockwave at the point of impact.


    As Sabelio used the umbra to propel himself back away from his opponents, Zac rushed towards him head-on, making the old man point his palm at the redhead.


    "Creeping Death!" the old man shouted.


    Zac covered himself with his bat, focusing his umbra on his front side to protect himself from the spell. However, he suddenly felt an excruciating pain that made him feel as if he was being skinned alive. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The redhead''s physical body wasn''t going through any visible changes, but Sabelio''s spell made their opponents feel like it was real.


    When Sabelio thought that he had a brief moment to breathe, Megan appeared rushing from his flank, using her dagger to ''cut'' the arcane pentagrams floating around her opponent.


    Sabelio quickly pointed his hand at Megan to cast another spell, but his palm was stabbed through by her dagger in an instant, brutally slicing to the side and taking three of his fingers.


    ''What¡­!? My skin is supposed to be as strong as steel!'' Sabelio desperately thought, wondering how the woman was able to cut through his defense.


    Moreover, she had used her umbra to shatter half of the arcane pentagrams that Sabelio was using to cast his multiple spells, leaving the old man perplexed at her level of umbra control.


    It took him years to materialize any kind of spell after making a contract with Astaroth, and while Megan wasn''t casting any, she was still capable of stopping him with only a few months of experience under her belt.


    ''Coating her physical attacks with umbra isn''t something you can just learn without guidance¡­ That man,'' Sabelio thought as he grunted, releasing a wave of umbra around him to push Megan back a few meters.


    "Who is he¡­?" Sabelio asked under his breath.


    "Hmm?" Megan hummed.


    "Who taught you how to control umbra!? Was it that ''Hellslayer''!?" The old man exclaimed, somewhat agitated.


    "Where did he even come from!? How did you summon him!?" He continued, losing his mind by the second.


    Megan gazed at the man with a cold, unchanging glare, stating that she didn''t know any ''Hellslayers,'' nor did she know how to summon anyone.


    "Liar!" Sabelio shouted, noticing a fluctuation of umbra in the woman.


    Of course, Megan knew that demons used the term ''Hellslayer'' when referring to Dante, and that lie was detected by Sabelio. However, she genuinely didn''t know how to summon anyone.


    "I was just lucky I made a friend¡­" Megan replied, crossing her arms with her dagger in hand, preparing for another advance.

 Chapter 141 - 141: Dark Rogue

    As Megan and Sabelio continued their battle in the plaza, Zac was trying to recover from the spell that was still plaguing his body.


    Sabelio used a spell called "Creeping Death," which he had never seen Dante use before, so he wasn''t sure what was happening to him.


    During one exchange between Megan and the old man, she skillfully took her healthstone out of her pocket and threw it towards Zac, landing right in front of him.


    The redhead quickly squeezed the healthstone, which instantly healed the few bruises and cuts he had. However, the excruciating pain wasn''t going away, making him grit his teeth while enduring it.


    ''Damn it¡­ It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!'' Zac thought with a bit of desperation.


    "Hmmm, serves you right!" Saris interjected, sitting beside Zac with a mocking tone as the redhead kept struggling with the pain.


    Zac didn''t reply and just stayed kneeling on the ground, looking down and clenching his fists.


    ["Dr. Sylva was picked up by the Beta Team!"] Camille said on everyone''s earpiece, which explained why the banshee had gone to mess with Zac.


    *Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta* *BOOM!* A barrage of gunshots and explosions could be heard not too far from the plaza as the Alpha and Gamma teams were driving down the main road, taking out any demons they saw with their high-caliber rounds.


    "Nghh¡­" Zac grunted in pain, making the banshee gaze at him, seemingly uninterested in his struggle.


    "It lasts for a minute¡­ Just wait a few more seconds," she said, still unamused.


    ''A minute? Okay¡­ I can do that¡ªprobably.'' Zac thought, his entire body tensed in pain.


    Sabelio, hearing the commotion that the other teams were creating, got nervous and began attacking desperately, which only made his attacks easier to evade for Megan.


    While his spells weren''t as powerful and destructive as Dante''s, the old man had a large amount of umbra to use, so his barrage of low-ranked spells got stronger.


    When Megan appeared less than a meter away from Sabelio with her dagger, she noticed a shadow darkening the ground beneath them.


    Her position wouldn''t allow her to get away from the area, so instead of avoiding the attack, she accumulated a vast amount of umbra in her weapon, slicing upwards and catching Sabelio''s shoulder.


    Blood gushed out from the old man''s wound, but he didn''t hesitate to cast his spell.


    "Vile Taint," he muttered, making the darkened ground that was covering the area release an explosion of shadows.


    Zac widened his eyes in shock after seeing Megan getting shrouded by the explosion, fighting off the pain to stand up.


    The banshee looked a bit impressed at Zac''s prowess and kept attentively looking at him. ''Three, two¡­'' she thought.


    A second later, Zac bolted away from his position at high speeds with his bat in hand, rushing towards the shadowy explosion.


    The two combatants were still standing in front of each other, but Megan looked a bit more worn down than her opponent after receiving his spell head-on.


    Some of the shadows were stuck to her body, giving her a burning sensation from head to toe. However, she didn''t falter and kept her gaze locked on Sabelio.


    The people at Camille''s tower were worried when they saw Megan getting caught up in the spell, not knowing if she would be able to resist it.


    Clara, who had been training as an affliction warlock, remembered hearing the name of the spell in one of the study materials that Dante left for her, so she deduced that Sabelio was the same type of forged warlock as her.


    Camille needed clarification, and Clara explained that "Vile Taint" created a small explosion of burning shadows, which would stick to their victims and keep burning them for some time.


    Still, Clara said that the pain they produced was supposed to be unbearable, and seeing that Megan had half of her body covered by them was pretty shocking.


    *Gulp* "Megan¡­?" Zac asked his teammate, seeing her standing still, holding her dagger deep in thought as blood dripped down her head.


    Sabelio''s heart pumped, trying to heal the slice on his shoulder. However, when he noticed that it wasn''t fully regenerating, the old man got a bit desperate.


    Megan glared at her opponent, her eyes sharp and cold, making Sabelio feel like everything around him had turned dark¡ªand all he could see were Megan''s emerald eyes staring him down.


    ''W-what is happening¡­?'' Zac pondered.


    The redhead was able to see the umbra when it was highly condensed, and at that moment, he could only see the overwhelming pressure extruding from Megan''s body.


    "Huh? Interesting¡­" Saris interjected, standing beside Zac and startling him.


    "Wh-what is?" The redhead asked.


    "A dark warrior and a dark rogue in the same team?" the banshee asked with a bit of sarcasm.


    ''A dark rogue?'' Zac pondered, turning his gaze back at Megan.


    Suddenly, a massive explosion coming from the cathedral caught everyone''s attention, making them turn with shock.


    The building was crumbling down as its massive structure was encased in a wave of hellfire that lit up the area.


    Pillars of fire rose violently from within, going up higher than the crumbling roof while the walls were blasted away.


    "How¡­?" Sabelio muttered, watching the scene in shock as he knew that Astaroth and Dante were inside.


    Zac was just as shocked as his opponent, wondering if Dante was truly okay.


    On the other hand, Megan watched the explosion and glared back at her opponent, seemingly uninterested in the cathedral''s destruction.


    When Sabelio sensed Megan''s overwhelming bloodlust, he quickly turned around and released a barrage of shadow bolts toward her.


    Nevertheless, Megan raised her dagger and sliced the air to the side, making all of the projectiles turn and hit the ground beside her.


    ''She deflected all of them!'' Sabelio thought, widening his eyes in shock as Megan''s power kept growing during their battle.


    Still, their interruption wasn''t over. Before Megan could go on the offensive, an earthquake hit the plaza, alerting Sabelio.


    "This means¡­" he muttered, unable to finish his sentence when another loud explosion came from the cathedral. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the group looked at the building, they saw Dante flying upwards with a grin on his face while a giant monster appeared from the cathedral with Astaroth riding on top.


    "Behemoth¡­" Sabelio uttered, feeling a mix of fear and admiration for the giant beast.

 Chapter 142 - 142: An Old Man’s Final Warning

    After Megan and Sabelio''s fight was interrupted by the chaos and flames overtaking the cathedral, a giant monster appeared from within, jumping up while trying to catch Dante.


    Emerging from the cathedral''s shattered facade, the monstrous entity began its relentless pursuit of the warlock, who was leading it further away from the plaza where Zac and Megan stood.


    Zac was shocked by the sight, slightly shivering after seeing the sheer size of the beast.


    "I can''t believe this¡­" Sabelio muttered.


    "You truly cornered us," he continued, knowing that the behemoth was their last resort plan.


    Megan didn''t reply and kept her gaze on the old man, with half of her body burning with shadows from Sabelio''s previous attack.


    In the blink of an eye, Megan took a quick step and appeared before Sabelio, slicing the air numerous times and generating air slices that caught her opponent''s frame.


    Sabelio took a few long steps back, releasing a barrage of shadow bolts to reduce the woman''s speed. Still, they were of no use, as Megan skillfully avoided all of the projectiles.


    Zac clenched his bat, ready to intercept the old man at any moment.


    "Zac¡­" Megan uttered in a cold tone.


    "Y-yeah?" The redhead asked.


    "This one is mine," she replied, not taking her eyes off Sabelio.


    Zac wanted to ask if she was sure of that, but seeing her cold and determined expression made him believe that it was useless to ask, as Megan had already made up her mind.


    "Vile Taint!" Sabelio shouted again, releasing numerous explosions around Megan''s location.


    Nevertheless, the woman moved away from the area with a speed that Sabelio couldn''t discern, landing a powerful kick on his demon heart.


    Megan''s kick wasn''t strong enough to smash the heart, but it still gushed out blood as Sabelio let out a war cry, producing even more arcane pentagrams around him.


    "I won''t let Novis fall!" The old man exclaimed, releasing an abnormal amount of shadow bolts that shot all over the plaza, seemingly hitting random spots.


    Zac and the banshee had to move away so as not to get caught up in the reckless attack, and when he looked up to see Megan''s condition, his eyes widened in shock.


    Without moving from her spot, Megan sliced the air in a quick succession of attacks and deflected all of the projectiles that came toward her, producing a wake of destruction and debris around her.


    At one moment, her eyes sharpened as she barely touched one of the shadow bolts with her blade, and instead of being parried to the side, it went back straight to Sabelio, hitting him in the chest.


    ''She returned the spell!? How!?'' Zac pondered.


    Sabelio grunted as his chest started burning, making his demon heart pump to reduce the pain. Still, it wasn''t as effective as the first time.


    The old man wasn''t sure why his regeneration wasn''t working as effectively as before, deducing that Megan''s attacks were so powerful that he couldn''t heal them completely.


    Moreover, he could feel his umbra drastically decreasing since he was using all of it to combat the woman.


    ''I''ll have to do it¡­'' Sabelio thought, extending his arms and merging all of the arcane pentagrams around him into a single, large one.


    As Sabelio stood tall before Megan with a massive magic circle behind him, he pointed both of his palms at her with determination.


    "Ultimate Shadow Bolt!" Sabelio exclaimed, producing a massive blast of shadowy energy that shot like a laser beam toward Megan.


    The old man had his vision obscured by his own spell, seeing the black energy covering his front and making him smile with satisfaction, thinking that it was over.


    *Shink!* A bright light cut the shadowy beam in half.


    It was a moment that lasted a split second, but Sabelio was able to detail every move, noticing Megan appearing right in front of him after slashing his spell into two.


    Her eyes were cold and uncaring¡ªand half of her body was burning with shadows. Still, the resilient woman sliced upwards and slashed Sabelio''s demon heart.


    The force of the umbra in her strike forcefully pushed Sabelio into a wall next to the stairs that led to the burning cathedral. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sabelio sat with his back against the wall, bleeding out from his demon heart that was struggling to keep pumping life into the old man.


    Megan calmly walked up to her defeated opponent and stood before him, her body still burning with shadows.


    "Heh¡­ It''s over, then," *cough, cough* Sabelio said, coughing blood.


    "Disappointed?" Megan asked.


    "Not at all¡­ This is what Novis needs," the old man said before coughing more blood.


    "Why? What made you do this?" Megan calmly continued.


    "The Onyx Cartel, girl¡­ Beware-" *cough, cough* Sabelio replied in his last struggles.


    "Please¡­ protect Novis," he said, hanging his head down as he let out his last breath.


    Right at that moment, the shadows that were covering Megan''s body and burning her dissipated into thin air as the caster was dead.


    "You bastard¡­ We are not doing this for you," Megan replied to the dead man before she collapsed with her back against the ground, letting out a tired sigh.


    "Megan¡­" Zac called his teammate from the side, looking around him and noticing that they were still surrounded by a few demons.


    Most of them were fiends and shadow demons, so Zac was feeling a bit confident. However, when he spotted two wraiths coming their way, he perked up with full alertness.


    Suddenly, the two wraiths were encased in a large shadow orb, which made them disappear, wholly confusing the redhead.


    ''Could it be they were connected to Sabelio somehow?'' Zac pondered, seeing that not all the demons were being whisked away.


    *Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta* The sound of a rifle echoed loudly, making Zac turn to find the Gamma Team approaching them.


    Maya was running at the front, shooting a fiend in the head with a heavy rifle while approaching Megan to check on her.


    As the agent got to the brunette, she was relieved to see her awake, breathing tiredly from exhaustion.


    "Let''s get you out of here¡­ We wouldn''t want to be around if Dante and that huge monster come back," Maya said, carrying Megan in her back and making their way out of the plaza.

 Chapter 143 - 143: The Behemoth

    Inside the cathedral, Dante and Astaroth were demolishing the place with the sheer force of their spells clashing against each other.


    "Rapture!" Dante shouted as he waved his hand to the side, shooting an invisible air slice that Astaroth was able to block with his arm, leaving a long slash mark in the wall behind him.


    "Not bad¡­" Dante commented, seeing that his spell barely caused a scratch on Astaroth''s arm.


    "I told you, Hellslayer¡­ I''m the King of Wrath now¡ªThese spells won''t hold me back," Astaroth said, his tone sounding more humble when speaking to Dante.


    Dante grinned with excitement and tensed his muscles, realizing that Astaroth was much more powerful than the first time he met him.


    "Let''s hear it, then¡­" Dante said.


    At that moment, the air around them fell silent, and both the warlock and the archdemon uttered the same words simultaneously.


    "Malevolent Art: Wrath," they chanted in unison.


    In the blink of an eye, a giant flaming explosion encased the cathedral, blasting the remaining pillars holding the ceiling and causing the entire structure to catch fire.


    A massive, fiery wing extruded from Dante''s back with shadowy strands connected to his right arm, releasing waves of hellfire every second that scorched everything around the warlock.


    Dante''s right arm was encased in shadows, and his fingers were long claws with hellfire oozing from them, which went up all the way to his shoulder.


    His opponent was no different. Astaroth''s ashen-white right arm was fully encased with fire and shadows¡ªand had a giant flaming wing coming out of his back that burned its surroundings.


    As they rushed forward to attack, their claws met in the middle, creating a force that prevented them from colliding and producing a nova of hellfire that kept destroying the church.


    "Hahaha, it''s been a while!" Dante said loudly, reveling in the chaos and destruction around them.


    The archdemon didn''t seem to hold the same enthusiasm, but his proud and arrogant demeanor was nowhere to be seen when fighting the warlock.


    When they retracted their claws, they both instantly followed up with a barrage of quick attacks. However, Dante was faster than Astaroth and managed to slash the demon''s face, making him take a cautious step back.


    "Come on¡­ I''m already here, so you might as well use everything you got," Dante commented with a bit of a cheeky smile, knowing that Astaroth still had something else under his sleeve.


    Astaroth smiled back. "You are correct¡­" he muttered, raising his left arm in the air.


    "Awaken, Behemoth!" The archdemon shouted, producing an earthquake that momentarily shook the entire town.


    From the bottom of the church, inside the expansive underground room, a massive pentagram appeared, releasing a powerful energy that materialized a giant monster.


    Sensing the danger coming from beneath him, Dante cast his "Wings of the Fallen" spell and flew up just as the floor crumbled, showcasing the frame of the colossal monster that was jumping toward the warlock.


    The behemoth was a quadruped beast with the face of a dog, the arms of a gorilla, and the body of an elephant.


    While its back legs were short and didn''t allow the beast to stand upright for long periods of time, its forelegs were massively muscular, and its hands looked like that of a giant ape.


    Moreover, it had two long horns coming out of its head and a few bony spikes extruding from its back.


    Right as the beast destroyed the cathedral''s flooring and rose to catch Dante, the warlock grinned while luring the beast away, leaving the flaming cathedral and rushing along an empty street away from the plaza.


    Astaroth got on top of his summoned beast and chased Dante along, shooting waves of hellfire directed at the warlock that landed on the surrounding buildings. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dante was flying at a low height, using the town''s structures to protect himself from the barrage of spells that were coming at him.


    The body of the behemoth demolished everything around it as it kept rushing to catch Dante, flinging cars and light posts away with its massive tail and horns.


    When the warlock kept going straight, he noticed the end of the street ahead, divided by a safety guard so cars would not fall down the cliff on the other side.


    Highpoint town was located at the top of a hill, so it wasn''t uncommon that the streets surrounding it were beside a hundred-meter fall that led to the forest preserve.


    Right as Dante flew straight, the behemoth jumped off the street to try to catch the warlock, making him do a vault in mid-air to avoid it and allowing the monster to fall.


    Still, the warlock was aware that it wouldn''t be near enough to kill a behemoth, so he followed the beast down with his fiery claw prepared and a wide grin on his face.


    However, his attack was met with a clash against Astaroth''s claws, standing atop the behemoth.


    The beast quickly shook its body to get Dante off him and spun with force, making its tail release an airwave that knocked down a couple more trees and pushed Dante back.


    The warlock quickly regained his footing and pointed his claws at both of his opponents.


    "Wrath," Dante said, generating a blinding fiery light that condensed in his palm until it was a tiny sparkle.


    "Release," he continued, producing a giant vortex of hellfire that covered at least thirty meters of space before him.


    When the spell was about to hit the behemoth, the monster let out a loud roar that dispersed the flames directed towards it and Astaroth.


    Nevertheless, the warlock expected it to do just that, and just as it was done roaring, the behemoth saw Dante hovering right in front of its face.


    "Soulshock," the warlock cast, releasing a discharge of black lightning that halted the monster for a brief moment before it swiped its hand to the side, trying to hit Dante.


    After the warlock easily avoided the behemoth''s counter, he realized that the monster had also been fed human souls, as he didn''t remember them being so resilient.


    Finding themselves in the expansive forest preserve that was slowly starting to catch flames, Dante stood before Astaroth, who was riding the towering monster.


    "Heh¡­" Dante scoffed with a laugh, clenching his claws and sharpening his gaze at his opponents.

 Chapter 144 - 144: Malevolent Art

    After Dante lured the behemoth to the forest preserve, the warlock grinned with excitement, feeling like he could go all-out.


    While fighting the other demons, the warlock was slightly constricted in his freedom, understanding that big cities were filled with people and his destructive magic was too dangerous to use freely.


    In his past world, not even the most bustling cities had a population as high and condensed as the capital of Novaria, so he never had the need to restrain his powers as much.


    However, now that he finally found himself in an open space and facing a mighty opponent, Dante couldn''t help but feel excited.


    The behemoth rushed like a bull, charging towards Dante, destroying and knocking down the trees that were on their way.


    Meanwhile, Astaroth kept releasing waves of hellfire from the top of the beast, encasing parts of the forest in flames.


    The camera on Dante, which was transmitting his point of view to Camille and the others at the tower, malfunctioned after being subjected to hellfire for too long, so Trinity controlled a couple of drones to record the encounter from the air.


    As Dante flew towards a small hill, he stopped and turned to face the behemoth, which kept charging at him in a crazed state.


    Astaroth, on the other hand, seemed a lot more calm than his beast, unleashing non-stop waves of hellfire.


    Still, when the warlock stopped, Astaroth knew that the man had a plan and commanded the behemoth to halt.


    Nevertheless, the beast was running too fast for it to stop abruptly, and as it slid on the ground with the momentum of its speed, Dante let out an eerie smile.


    "Burning rush," Dante said, making his right arm, which was encased in shadows and flames, burn brighter and stronger.


    In the blink of an eye, a trail of fire appeared at Dante''s location while the warlock himself was standing behind the behemoth, making Astaroth turn in shock.


    When he spotted Dante grinning behind him with his claws dripping blood on the ground, he noticed that the behemoth had one of its front legs severed.


    At that instant, Astaroth jumped down the beast''s back to face the warlock, expecting to hold him off for some time while the behemoth regenerated its arm.


    With every swipe and clash from their claws, waves of hellfire would rise from their location, scorching their surroundings.


    The spectators at the tower were observing the encounter, and Sophia pondered aloud why Dante''s right arm looked like that.


    "It''s the effect of the Malevolent Art¡­" Lilith replied.


    Malevolent Arts were abilities that were solely reserved for demons and warlocks, and depending on the chant, the effect would be different.


    Of course, demons had to be at least at the level of a demon king to be able to cast it, and most of them were limited to a single malevolent art.


    The malevolent art for wrath switched the caster''s right arm for what demons called the "Claws of Chaos," which had the ability to produce endless waves of hellfire.


    With both combatants using the claws, their fight was fated to be quite destructive, making Lilith smile with both mischief and satisfaction.


    "But, if Astaroth can do it too, does that mean that Big Bro is in trouble?" Jake interjected after listening to the succubus explanation.


    "Heh, kid¡­ Just keep watching," Lilith replied with a smirk.


    When the spectators focused their attention back on the encounter, they saw that the behemoth''s severed arm had fully regenerated and was attacking Dante simultaneously with its master.


    The barrage of attacks coming from the giant monster and the archdemon was enough to make Dante take several steps back to evade them, with his hellfire aura still burning his surroundings.


    At one moment, Astaroth appeared beside the warlock and charged with his claw, making Dante protect himself with his left arm.


    Simultaneously, the behemoth rushed with its horns toward Dante, prompting him to use his claws to stop it.


    Nevertheless, the force of the two attacks flung Dante back, demolishing a line of trees with his body before violently rolling on the ground.


    Seeing that his two opponents were rushing at him without leaving him a second to breathe, Dante sneered with his eyes sharpened.


    "Is that all¡­?" The warlock muttered, raising his claws upwards.


    Astaroth widened his eyes in disbelief and halted his rush, but the behemoth didn''t stop, enraged and focused solely on killing the warlock.


    "Malevolent Art: Greed," Dante muttered with a grin, generating numerous golden portals that covered the sky in a one-hundred-meter radius.


    Another massive wing the size of the fiery wrath wing appeared on Dante''s back. However, contrary to the dark and flaming appearance of his previous malevolent art, this one had a golden hue and didn''t alter any parts of his body.


    "What¡­!?" Astaroth asked himself, witnessing someone using two malevolent arts simultaneously for the first time in his life. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The spectators at Camille''s tower were shocked, not by the implication of Dante using two arts at the same time, but at the beautiful golden portals that covered the area from the skies.


    "Behemoth, halt!" Astaroth shouted commandingly at his beast.


    Nonetheless, the monster was in a complete state of rage that clouded its mind, as its only intent was killing Dante.


    Smiling from ear to ear with a wicked grin, the warlock turned his hand and pointed at the ground with his index finger when the behemoth was less than five meters away.


    From the golden portals in the sky, dozens of weapons of all shapes and sizes started violently raining down on the beast, creating a wake of dust and blood.


    When Dante pointed his finger forward, the rain of weapons started to trail toward Astaroth, who quickly jumped back to avoid getting skewered.


    Sensing that he wouldn''t be able to avoid all of the attacks, the archdemon stood his ground and caught one of the raining weapons, using it to skillfully deflect the rest that came down upon him.


    ''Hellslayer¡­ You cursed monster,'' Astaroth thought, still in disbelief at the fact that Dante could use two malevolent arts at the same time.

 Chapter 145 - 145: Dante Vs. Astaroth

    As the forest preserve next to Highpoint Town was riddled with hellfire and a rain of weapons, Dante and Astaroth rushed through the area, leaving a wake of pure destruction behind them.


    Astaroth, managing to catch one of the weapons that tried to skewer him, wielded it to deflect the rest of the blades, axes, and spears that were shot at him from the skies.


    Still, even after fending off a barrage of strikes, he couldn''t withstand Dante''s relentless advance, who used his searing claws to tear through the archdemon''s torso.


    The demon gritted his teeth and swiped his claws while getting flung back, unleashing four fiery lasers that were homing on the warlock.


    Dante ran around a few trees and used them as cover for the hellfire lasers, pointing down with his left finger and making another set of numerous weapons rain down on Astaroth''s position.


    While the archdemon focused on evading the flurry of weapons crashing around him, he stopped sensing Dante''s presence for a brief second, which was enough for Dante to arrive at his opponent''s blind spot.


    With a grin on his face, the hellfire coating Dante''s claws turned wholly black and white before unleashing a black flame vortex that caught Astaroth''s back, pushing him against a small hill.


    Using his black feathered wings, Dante rushed straight ahead at the crash''s location, leaving a trail of black fire behind him.


    However, before he could reach his opponent, he vaulted to the side to avoid a flaming lance that was aimed at his throat.


    From the top of the slightly demolished hill, Astaroth used his claws to produce hellfire lances that were three to four meters long, throwing them with all of his strength at the warlock.


    Whenever one of Astaroth''s lances landed on the ground, it created a small explosion that made all of the trees burst into flames and implode, releasing burning splinters around them.


    As some of the splinters caught Dante''s cheek, a small drop of blood trailed down to his lips, making his eyes widen with excitement as he continued advancing.


    When their claws met, a blaze of hellfire and black flames surrounded them, shrouding them from the view of the camera drones in the sky.


    A second later, hundreds of weapons kept plummeting from the golden portal above, which avoided Dante''s position while chasing Astaroth.


    Their battle was taking them all over the forest, and the destruction they left in their wake caught the attention of the forest rangers located far away from them, thinking that a wildfire had broken out in the preserve.


    When Astaroth landed on the ground, away from the golden portals, he looked up at the sky and saw the warlock coming down at maximum speeds with his black flaming claws prepared to strike.


    However, the archdemon still had one last reserve¡ªa spell that could only be used once every 500 years.


    With confidence and determination, Astaroth locked his eyes with the incoming warlock and pointed his claws upwards as if he were waiting for the impact. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Mordred Pact: Decimate," Astaroth uttered.


    In that split second, Dante widened his eyes with a bit of shock and hesitated to continue his advance while a bright, red lightning appeared and completely prevented the drone cameras from seeing the outcome.


    Lilith, who was attentively watching from Camille''s tower, seemed to get a bit agitated the moment the red lightning appeared, and seeing that the cameras weren''t able to focus frustrated the queen.


    "What was that!?" Detective June asked, standing up from her seat.


    "It looked¡­ ominous," Alice commented, understanding the irony in her words after everything they had seen.


    Camille, who noticed the succubus queen''s unrest, asked if she knew what was happening.


    "It''s a spell that all demons can use¡ªMordred the Mythical Demon takes body parts in exchange for an immensely powerful attack," Lilith explained with a bit of distress.


    The fact that Lilith wasn''t acting as calm as before made the rest of the group at the tower feel a bit hopeless. Still, when the queen noticed the golden portals weren''t disappearing, she sneered.


    After the cameras finally focused, the group was shocked at the scene.


    Astaroth was still standing before the warlock, although his entire left arm was missing as he gave it as an offering to Mordred. His claws extruded hellfire, but its intensity wasn''t as potent as before.


    Dante stood merely three meters away from his opponent, with his right arm, which used to have his claws encased in hellfire, completely severed almost at shoulder length.


    However, contrary to Astaroth, Dante''s wound was bleeding profusely, making him a bit dizzy as he looked down with a severe expression.


    "You survived¡­" Astaroth said with an exhausted tone.


    Dante didn''t answer, but the demon knew that he was still alive, taking a few steps to approach him and finish him off.


    "Hah¡­ Hahahaha!" Dante chuckled as more blood gushed out of his wound.


    "A Mordred Pact? I didn''t think you had the guts¡­" he continued with a slightly mocking tone.


    Astaroth, who noticed the golden portals weren''t disappearing, ignored the warlock''s taunts as he pondered how he was still holding onto his power.


    "Still¡­ You are gonna need more than one of those to kill me," Dante said.


    Astaroth quickly pointed his claws at the warlock. His eyes widened with desperation while charging a powerful hellfire blast.


    "Malevolent Art: Blood," Dante muttered, grinning with a wicked smile that made the archdemon freeze in fear.


    Suddenly, all of the blood spilling out of his severed arm stopped flowing. Instead, it began gathering around the severed space and regenerated Dante''s arm muscles in a few seconds.


    Right as he regained the mobility of his right arm, it instantly turned to claws and was encased in shadows and hellfire, signaling that his first malevolent art was still active.


    Astaroth was in disbelief while falling into despair. It was already difficult enough for him to fight against a monster that could use two malevolent arts at the same time. Nevertheless, Dante had three active.


    It was magic so powerful that only a few selected demons with the ambition to become kings could cast. Still, the warlock who had no desire to conquer hell could use more than one.


    "HOW!?" Astaroth shouted, his voice echoing in the razed forest.

 Chapter 146 - 146: Hellslayer, Dante

    When Dante used the third malevolent art to regenerate his lost limb, the spectators at Camille''s tower fell into a shocked silence.


    Lilith clasped her hands and happily shook her body from side to side, praising Dante for "being sexy."


    Meanwhile, the rest of the group kept observing, not understanding what it meant to control more than one malevolent art at the same time.


    "Lilith¡­" Camille said, but the queen already knew what she was going to ask.


    "You are wondering why Dante can use more than one malevolent art¡­ Heheh, good question," Lilith replied before the handler could say anything.


    The succubus queen didn''t know exactly what allowed Dante to cast so many malevolent arts at the same time, as not even demon kings were able to do that so easily.


    While it wasn''t unheard of for powerful demons to use more than one, it was pretty much impossible for them to control three.


    Lilith explained that Dante had learned how to use those powerful spells when he was traveling through hell, as she even remembers teaching him the malevolent art of "lust."


    "Back then, he just learned everything through sheer willpower and determination¡­ Since he didn''t have any intentions of conquering hell, I believe that''s what allowed him to learn more," Lilith elaborated.


    Demons were creatures who craved power, so as soon as one of them was able to use malevolent art, they would pour all of their energy into becoming a demon king that matched their ability.


    On the other hand, Dante learned those powers and left hell without feeling attracted to ruling over the demons.


    "Oh, Miss Lilith can do that too?" Victoria interjected, making the succubus queen look at her with a raised eyebrow.


    "Girl¡­ I am a Queen, you know?" The succubus said, seemingly indignant.


    When the group returned their attention to the screens, their vision was clouded as the golden portals started to rain down weapons in the vicinity.


    Astaroth appeared, trying to back away from the dust cloud while Dante chased him down with a wide grin.


    The warlock''s claws extruded black fire, which Dante turned into massive fireballs that he threw at his opponent, raising pillars of black and white flames.


    As the archdemon avoided one of the flaming towers that appeared beside him, a long sword plummeted from the sky and stabbed his left shoulder.


    Blood trailed down Astaroth''s arm, and as the archdemon pondered his next action, the bloodstream suddenly turned solid, shaping itself into small blades and stabbing Astaroth''s entire arm.


    After losing one arm to Mordred and the second to Dante''s malevolent art, Astaroth''s hope in winning the fight started to fade, only to be met with the grinning face of the warlock right in front of him.


    "Black Flame," Dante muttered as his claws reached Astaroth''s torso, releasing a blast of black and white fire that left a giant gaping hole in the archdemon''s torso.


    When the wake of dust slowly settled, the group at the tower was able to detail the whole scene, noticing that Astaroth was still standing.


    The demon, completely covered in blood and missing half of his torso, stood tall in defeat before the warlock.


    Astaroth''s wound was still getting burned by the black flames as his soul slowly disintegrated, but the demon didn''t shout in pain or agony.


    "You fought well¡­" Dante said, praising the archdemon for the first time.


    "Hellslayer¡­ Why are you here¡­?" Astaroth asked, his voice raspy and out of breath. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m not sure¡ªAamon sent me here," replied the warlock, prompting the archdemon to widen his eyes slightly with surprise.


    "I see¡­ So it was bad fortune on my part," the archdemon commented.


    "You could say that¡­ If you hadn''t acted like a maniac, we could''ve avoided all of this," Dante said.


    "Well, it''s not like I was ever expecting you demons to assimilate into a society instead of wanting to destroy everything¡­" The warlock continued.


    "But, you know? You''ve truly committed some atrocities that can''t be forgiven," Dante commented, finishing his sentence with a sharp, serious look.


    "Yes¡­" Astaroth said, fully taking responsibility for the Blood Dragon''s actions.


    The archdemon''s soul was still slowly burning away while he stood tall, gazing at Dante''s eyes one last time.


    "Hellslayer¡­ Dante," the demon said, correcting himself and taking one last air intake.


    "Heh, good luck¡­" Astaroth''s last words flew away with the wind as his body began to disappear.


    Dante pointed his hand at his defeated opponent, and right as Astaroth turned into dust, a small crystal orb appeared and fell on the scorched grass.


    ''This could come in handy later¡­'' Dante thought, picking up the orb and putting it in his pocket.


    When the golden portals in the sky disappeared, and Dante''s right arm returned to normal, a message was heard on the earpieces of all the members of the Jade Dragons.


    ["Astaroth is dead!"] Camille exclaimed on the microphone.


    "WOOOO!!" The Kappa Team, who had been acting as policemen, cheered.


    Megan, who was being carried by Maya on her back, let out a gentle smile of satisfaction.


    Zac jumped with joy as he also ran with the women. Even though he was covered in his own blood, the redhead still had some energy to celebrate.


    Dante could hear the people cheering and laughing on his earpiece, letting out a gentle smile as he looked up at the moon from the run-down forest.


    Still, they had one more task they needed to do, which was to break Nihilor''s mind control of the citizens of Highpoint Town.


    With nobody to give them orders, all of the brainwashed residents stood on the streets in utter confusion, as if their minds were vegetables.


    Camille gave the order to evacuate the residents who were already cured. Meanwhile, the Kappa Team would go to the plaza and gather all of the brainwashed citizens there.


    The handler didn''t have a space large enough to hold all of the citizens, so they decided they would put up a few medic tents in the plaza and remove their brainwashing spell there.

 Chapter 147 - 147: The Banshee and Succubi Recruits

    After Astaroth passed away, it was still midnight in Novis, so the Jade Dragons used the rest of the night to treat the brainwashed citizens.


    The Kappa Team put up dozens of tents in the plaza beside the torn-down cathedral and gathered the people there.


    None of the cultists paid attention to their orders, so they had to be pushed or carried to the plaza. However, there was one person who still held authority over the mind-controlled residents¡ªSaris, the banshee.


    When Dante returned to the plaza with his wings, he noticed the banshee walking around the medic tents.


    "Saris, why the hell are you still here?" Dante casually asked the banshee.


    "Hmph, what do you mean? I''m helping, don''t you see?" Saris replied.


    "That''s not what I meant. Weren''t you summoned by Astaroth?" The warlock continued. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When a demon was summoned, they were linked to the caster¡ªIf the caster died, the demon would be returned to hell.


    The remaining wraiths disappeared after Sabelio died, but Saris was still there, even though her summoner was also dead.


    The banshee explained that Astaroth poured half of the umbra needed to summon her while Nihilor did the other half.


    "Oh, well¡­ We are about to execute Nihilor, so¡­" Dante said with a casual tone, shocking Saris.


    "Wait, wait¡­ But, it''s gonna send me back!" Saris exclaimed.


    "I''m not going to use ''dispell'' hundreds of times to cure all these people¡­ It''s faster if I just kill Nihilor," Dante explained.


    "Hold on a second," Camille interrupted their conversation.


    The handler showed herself at the plaza to command the teams in person, knowing that the threats in the area were gone.


    "Isn''t there a way to keep this lady with us?" Camille asked the warlock.


    "You want to recruit Saris? ¡ªShe is a bit annoying," Dante commented, making the banshee glare at him with a hateful look.


    "I mean¡ªYou are friends with her, right?" The handler inquired.


    "We are not enemies, I guess¡­" The warlock replied.


    In Camille''s eyes, having a banshee on their team could prove quite helpful. However, more than that, the handler felt sorry for the woman.


    Dante could see these emotions flowing from Camille, and he was slightly confused about her feeling pity for a banshee. Nevertheless, it wasn''t the first time that the handler showed compassion for demons.


    "If you want to stay in this world, you will have to join the Jade Dragons," Camille said to the banshee.


    "Is that the same group with Dante and that berserker boy?" Saris asked, making the handler nod affirmatively.


    "Hmph, well, it can''t be helped¡­ I suppose I could lend my powers to your group," Saris replied. Her tone was arrogant, but her cheeks flushed slightly.


    "Hah, why don''t you make a contract!?" Lilith interjected their conversation, her voice coming from the sky as she was flying above the town.


    When the succubus landed on the ground, Saris widened her eyes momentarily, wondering aloud why the queen was there.


    Lilith snapped her fingers and her five succubi subordinates appeared beside her, explaining that she was called to discipline some of her sisters.


    Even though Astaroth summoned the succubi, they were linked to Lilith since the archdemon still had to ask for permission to summon them, so Lilith''s concerns were of higher priority to the succubi.


    Still, Lilith seemed to show a bit of interest in Camille, so she allowed her to make a contract with her five subordinates, giving her full clearance to order them when necessary.


    "You should do the same," Lilith suggested to the banshee.


    Saris placed a hand on her chin with a serious gaze locked on Camille, who gazed back at her with a solemn expression.


    "I see¡­" the banshee muttered.


    "Silver woman, let''s make a contract!" Saris continued.


    "You can call me Camille¡­ And sure, let''s do it," the handler replied.


    With Dante watching over their contract, Camille said that as long as she didn''t hurt innocent people or betray their group, she had full freedom to do what she wanted. However, if her help were ever needed, she would have to answer the call.


    Saris was shocked that those were the only conditions the handler placed, as people usually asked for power or assassination requests.


    "I''m not a warlock or whatever, so I don''t think I have much use for your powers¡­ At least not if I use them," Camille clarified.


    The banshee let out a slight smile as her interest in the handler was piqued, agreeing to the conditions and making their bodies glow momentarily.


    With their pact sealed, the Jade Dragons ended the war with the Blood Dragons with a set of new recruits.


    The five succubi: Zarina, Ravenna, Sable, Lilura, and Isolde. The Succubus Queen, Lilith, and the banshee, Saris.


    Since Nihilor had given the command to his brainwashed victims to follow the orders of Saris, the banshee was able to direct them to the plaza.


    Dante thought they were pretty lucky that Nihilor was planning on betraying Astaroth since it made the fiend too lazy to control his pawns, so he gave the responsibility to Saris.


    Once everyone was gathered, Dante and Camille walked to an alley away from prying eyes, where the warlock summoned his Torment Maiden.


    When the giant, obsidian torture chamber materialized, it was utterly covered in blood, as if it had been dipped into a blood ocean.


    The warlock snapped his fingers, and the doors opened, showcasing the body of Nihilor, also completely covered in his own blood, wheezing in silence with spikes coming out of every part of his body.


    "Whenever you are ready¡­" Dante said to Camille.


    After the handler approached the opened iron maiden, she glared at Nihilor''s bloodied mug one last time, her eyes showing clear hatred and disdain.


    "For my father, and for all the people you killed with your sickening power¡­" Camille muttered under her breath, but her words were clear to Nihilor.


    Dante sensed an incredible amount of killing intent flowing from Camille''s umbra, which was expected, considering she was about to order a demon''s execution.


    "Dante¡­" Camille called the warlock.


    As he slowly approached the skewered demon, he placed his hand on his body before casting his "black flame" spell, burning Nihilor''s soul to a crisp.

 Chapter 148 - 148: Lingering Mysteries

    After Nihilor was executed in the alley, all of the mind-controlled victims returned to their senses at the same time.


    Most of them were silent in shock as all of the memories of the time they were being controlled flowed into their minds.


    Before people could fall into despair and more confusion, the leader of the Kappa Team, Neil, used a speaker to direct his words to the traumatized citizens.


    With a gentle and confident tone, the man reassured everyone present that they had been freed from a curse, which distressed some of the victims while others were more skeptical.


    Neil couldn''t be too descriptive, so he gave a vague explanation, blaming a terrorist group for using narcotics to brainwash them, and the people seemed to buy that idea more than the curse.


    Most of the victims had seen the demons with their own eyes, so they knew that there was more to the story. However, Neil didn''t have time to elaborate and asked them to make a line to get medical treatment if they still needed it.


    While that was happening in the plaza, Dante returned to the demolished cathedral with Camille, who wanted to inspect it closer. Nonetheless, there was barely anything left of the structure.


    The rooms behind the altar burned down, but there were still a few things that could be salvaged.


    Dante carried Camille through the hole in the ground and went down to the basement where Astaroth had been accumulating power, finding the pentagram on the ground that was used to summon the behemoth.


    At the back of the basement, a giant pile of human bones, at least three meters in height, was stacked on top of each other.


    The warlock deduced that they were victims that Astaroth tormented to feed from their umbra, making Camille bite her lips with anger.


    When Dante approached the pile of bones, he sensed a faint flow of umbra coming from beneath it.


    "Umm, what are you doing?" Camille asked with a raised eyebrow when she noticed the warlock digging through the bones.


    Using umbra to move away the remaining bones, Dante found a book at the very bottom.


    "A grimoire¡­" Dante muttered.


    "Could that be the book that was given to Sabelio?" Camille pondered.


    "Hmm¡­" Dante hummed, opening the grimoire, which released a few shadowy strands from within that quickly dissipated.


    "I see¡ªThis is quite primitive¡­" Dante commented while flipping the pages.


    Camille asked for clarification, and the warlock explained that anyone who read the book would learn how to summon a demon with dark magic.


    Moreover, it flooded the readers'' brains with information about Astaroth and the existence of umbra.


    "So that''s how he learned about the demon and the summoning ritual¡­" Camille said, expressing how strange it was that the book was supposedly given to him by the members of the Onyx Cartel.


    Dante wasn''t aware of them, but he still agreed with the fact that it was strange.


    From Sabelio''s words, the Onyx Cartel had given him twenty years to overtake all of the Jade Dragons and provided him with the means to do it¡ªthe grimoire.


    "It wouldn''t make sense to give Sabelio the ability to summon a powerful demon without having the means to oppose it¡­" Camille continued, locking eyes with the warlock.


    "Dante¡­ could there be others like you here?" The handler asked.


    "A few hours ago, I would have said, ''I don''t know.'' However¡­" Dante said, stopping for a moment as he scanned his surroundings, detailing the demolished cathedral.


    "This church was definitely made by someone from Terra. I''ve read everything about the different cultures in this world, and none of them mention the Pantheon of Four¡­" Dante continued.


    *Tch* "I thought I wouldn''t see that damn symbol again," he said, clicking his tongue with annoyance. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Do you wanna be a little more detailed?" Camille asked.


    "Yeah, but I''ll do it with the others present¡ªI''ve been feeling like Sophia and Megan have wanted to ask me something for some time¡­" the warlock replied.


    Camille smiled with contentment and turned her head at the grimoire, wondering what they should do with it.


    "Do you want it?" Dante casually asked.


    "Does it have any use besides giving you a headache?" she answered with another question.


    "Umm¡­ No¡ªA grimoire''s function is to teach a spell or ritual to the reader, but that''s as far as its abilities go," the warlock replied.


    Still, Camille wasn''t sure what to do with the book since she wasn''t as knowledgeable about them as Dante, so she wondered what he would do with it.


    In an instant, the tome in Dante''s hand caught up in flames, reducing it to ashes in mere seconds.


    "That''s what I would do," he said with a gentle smile, which made Camille feel a sense of relief.


    __________________


    The following morning, Highpoint Town was still blocked from the public. However, it was a real police barricade preventing cars from entering and leaving.


    After the incident, Camille made a call to a member of the Epsilon Team, who had a high position within the government of Novaria.


    When the information was passed along to the prime minister, he sent a group called the NSS (Novaria Secret Service) to clean up the police headquarters in Novis.


    Moreover, the reconstruction and maintenance of Highpoint Town started that same morning, and the government compensated all of the targeted victims heftily.


    The case went on the news as a terrorist organization that used a narcotic to brainwash a whole town, and while there was no news on the group that saved them, rumors spread around Novis that the Jade Dragons were back.


    With Dante''s perception, they were able to tell apart the people who worked with the demon willingly and were all sent to prison for life.


    Still, there was one person they couldn''t catch¡ªSpook, the hacker who helped in the erasure of Dr. Sylva''s information, leading to his kidnapping.


    The hacker already had a high bounty on their head¡ªand Trinity did, too. However, her charges were dropped when Camille testified to the NSS that she had been vital to their operation.

 Chapter 149 - 149: The Morning After

    The morning after the incident, Zac woke up in a guest room in Camille''s tower, which resembled a high-class hotel suite.


    As the redhead stirred, he saw Victoria leaning on the side of his bed, sleeping peacefully.


    ''Was she here the whole night?'' he thought, slightly blushing.


    Zac couldn''t remember anything after leaving Highpoint Town in an SUV, so he deduced that he had fallen asleep since he was quite exhausted and was later brought to Camille''s tower to rest. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The rustle on the bed made Victoria open her eyes, looking up at Zac, who was sitting upright, inspecting his body.


    "Oh, good morning¡­-" Zac said, his words getting interrupted by Victoria''s tight hug as she wrapped her arms around his neck.


    The redhead blushed, slightly confused at the woman''s affection but glad that she was pressing her body against his.


    "I''m so happy you are okay," Victoria muttered.


    "Mhmm, I''m perfectly fine¡ªSee?" Zac commented, comfortably rotating his arm.


    When he looked down at his body again, he realized he wasn''t wearing a shirt and got a bit embarrassed. However, Victoria had already taken a peek at his defined physique.


    With a soft touch, the woman placed a finger on the redhead''s left shoulder, where he had a long scar.


    "Ah, I guess this didn''t completely heal up¡­" Zac said, spotting the scar.


    It was the same place where the wraith buried its scythe, and it seemed like Dante''s healthstone wasn''t able to leave his body unmarked.


    "Does it hurt?" Victoria asked, gently caressing the scar with her fingers.


    "N-no," he replied, his face utterly red.


    The pair locked eyes with each other and got their faces closer together as Victoria leaned slightly above the bed.


    *Knock, knock, knock¡­* A loud sound came from the door, instantly getting slammed open as Asher and Amara ran inside.


    "We bring food!" The harpion girl exclaimed.


    "Hmm? Big Bro Zac looks more red than ever, haha!" Asher said with a chuckle.


    When Rina and Rona entered the room after the twins, they spotted Zac and Victoria holding hands on the bed, making the servants understand the situation.


    However, even though the two servers gave them their privacy, the two harpion twins decided to stay in their room to play.


    Megan woke up in another guest''s room in the skyscraper, tiredly opening her eyes and staring at the ceiling for a few seconds.


    Seeing a soft arm wrapped around her, Megan turned to see Sophia sleeping peacefully beside her, making her smile with relief.


    When she turned to the other side, she spotted Dante sleeping on a chair facing the bed with his arms crossed.


    After the brunette got inside an SUV to leave Highpoint Town, she fell asleep and couldn''t remember being taken to the bed.


    Sophia opened her eyes slightly and noticed that Megan was awake, lovingly tightening her grip around her.


    "Good morning¡­" Megan muttered, making Sophia smile while comfortably placing her head on the brunette''s chest.


    Dante opened his eyes shortly after, letting out a smile of relief after seeing the two women happily sitting up on the bed.


    "Did you spend the night there?" Megan asked the warlock.


    "Hmm? Yeah¡­ This seat is quite comfortable," he replied.


    "You could''ve just hopped in the bed¡­" Megan commented. Her words were flirtatious, but her demeanor was cold, as always.


    "I''ll keep that in mind for next time," said Dante with a slight smile.


    "How did everything go after I passed out?" Megan asked.


    "Pretty good. I''m sure Camille will give everyone a summary later¡­" Dante replied.


    Megan let out a long sigh and flopped back down on the bed, saying that she wanted to sleep for a few more hours. However, she was interrupted by the teenagers knocking on the door.


    Tommy and Lina entered first, with Jake rolling a tray filled with food for the trio.


    "Sis, you are okay!" Lina exclaimed, approaching Megan with a worried expression.


    ''Sis¡­?'' Megan pondered.


    When Lina got closer and noticed that both Megan and Sophia were wearing loose tank tops with no bra underneath, she quickly ordered the boys to turn around and not peek.


    Dante wasn''t paying attention to the women''s attire, but he still followed the girl''s command and turned his head to the other side with both Jake and Tommy.


    "Alright, you can turn now," Lina said.


    The teenagers were wholly embarrassed by the fact that two beautiful women were changing clothes behind them. The warlock, on the other hand, seemed to have his mind somewhere else.


    After the group had breakfast inside the guest''s room, they made their way to an ample living room space located on another floor of the building.


    It was an area where Camille used to conduct casual business meetings whenever she didn''t want to bring visitors to her office.


    The room was spacious, with couches and coffee tables on the side and a large screen at the back.


    Dante and his group were the first to arrive, and Megan wondered why they were using that room since Camille always called them to her office.


    "Well, I''ve had this feeling that you want to ask me something¡­" Dante replied, making both Megan and Sophia slightly shocked.


    "I feel like I''ve learned a lot about all of you in the past few months, but you still seem to have some doubts about me," he continued.


    "I-it''s not like we don''t trust you or anything¡­" Sophia interjected, her voice a bit apprehensive.


    "I know¡­ That''s what I mean¡ªYou do trust me, and knowing so little about me is frustrating," Dante explained.


    The reason Camille had called everyone to the large meeting room was because Dante had requested it, wanting to be more open about his past to his friends.


    The warlock clarified that he was never opposed to talking about himself, but he genuinely believed that nobody would care to hear such stories.


    However, as they grew closer, Dante could sense his group having more concerns about him¡ªnot because they didn''t trust him, but because it felt like they didn''t know him.


    Moreover, he said he had to talk with Paige and the rest of the Zeta Team about the findings in the cathedral, so having a large area to discuss it would be better.


    "If this will make your concerns less bothersome, then I don''t see why I wouldn''t answer any question you had for me¡­" Dante continued.


    While Sophia had been more open about her wishes to know the warlock better, Megan secretly wanted the same thing and felt a bit flustered after realizing that Dante could always tell.

 Chapter 150 - 150: Dante’s Somber Summary

    After everyone gathered in the large meeting room to listen to Dante, the warlock took a quick glance at the room to look at everyone''s faces.


    Megan, Sophia, Camille, Zac, Victoria, Clara, the three teenagers, Paige, Maya, the two Tylers, Alice, June, Asher, Amara, Cerberus, Krom, Lilith, Saris, and the five succubi.


    All of them were present, and while most of the demons in the room knew everything about Dante, his words were directed to everyone.


    In the world of Terra, there used to be two gods¡ªArkanos, the God of Creation, and Discordia, the Goddess of Chaos.


    When Arkanos and Discordia created the world of Terra, they also had four godchildren, who became what they knew as the Pantheon of Four.


    Valorn, the God of Courage. Mystara, the Goddess of Magic. Aelara, The Goddess of Light, and Zaratross, the God of Darkness.


    Eventually, an event known as the Godwar began, and the Pantheon of Four rebelled against their parents, sealing them forever.


    "All of this happened thousands of years before I was born, so all I know is what was passed throughout history¡­" Dante explained.


    Different churches and religions started sprouting around the world, some of them praising the entire pantheon while others devoted themselves to a single god of the four.


    After Dante was born to a couple of warlocks in Shadowvale, he was almost instantly given away to an orphanage, so he didn''t remember anything about his parents.


    The children and their caretakers were starving most of the time, but Dante managed to survive until he was six years old, when a man named Xander visited the orphanage.


    Xander conducted warlock affinity tests on all of the kids, and when he noticed that Dante had the talent to become a Specialist Warlock, he took him in and paid the fee to the orphanage to adopt Dante.


    Still, even though he was adopted, Dante never felt like Xander was a father figure to him.


    They lived in a small home in a dark forest in Shadowvale, and Xander would leave for days¡ªsometimes weeks to go adventuring, leaving the young warlock to fend for himself. However, Xander always came back.


    Dante''s teacher wanted him to get out of Shadowvale and become an adventurer like him, so he spent a lot of time practicing how to suppress his umbra in order to be able to enter cities with ordinary people.


    One time, after Xander left for one of his adventures, Dante waited for two whole years for his teacher to return¡ªbut he never did.


    At seventeen years old, Dante had already mastered his umbra suppression and left Shadowvale to fulfill his teacher''s wish of having him become an adventurer.


    "Honestly, I don''t know why I left Shadowvale at that time¡­ I was angry at my teacher for abandoning me, but I still felt like not fulfilling his wish would''ve been a waste of time¡­" Dante elaborated.


    Nevertheless, even after he became an official adventurer, the stigma of being associated with warlocks made it difficult for him to find a party to team up with, so he took on requests by himself for two years.


    One day, a beautiful woman with long, light-brown hair and emerald eyes approached Dante. She was wearing a combat priestess robe that made him believe she was after his head, considering that the church was wholly unfavorable to warlocks.


    However, the woman wanted to recruit him to her party, and since Dante could see people''s clear intentions, he knew that the woman was genuine and accepted her offer.


    "Her name was Beatrice¡­" Dante said, biting his lips with apprehension.


    It didn''t take long for Dante to become close friends with the rest of the party.


    Faelyn, a beautiful elven mage. Sylas, a discrete and powerful assassin. Soren, a burly but friendly warrior, and Beatrice, a kindhearted and fiery combat priestess.


    The five of them took on numerous adventuring requests, taking down huge monsters and demons that prowled the land of Terra.


    Dante and Beatrice started a romantic relationship after months of traveling together. They even considered retiring and having a family in a quiet area, but they still wanted to keep adventuring for a while.


    After the group defeated a powerful monster, a blinding light appeared in the sky, where the figure of a giant woman came down to greet them.


    Her name was Goddess Aelara, and she believed that Dante and his party would be invaluable to Terra''s safety, giving them a blessing to become ageless.


    Dante was twenty-five years old, and after receiving the blessing, he didn''t age a single day older. However, they were bound to keep protecting Terra for as long as there were enemies who threatened it.


    Years later, Satan, the King of Wrath, targeted Beatrice, as the demon was interested in her powers and managed to drag her to hell beside him.


    Filled with rage and hatred, Dante returned to Shadowvale and opened a portal to hell that he personally used to look for Beatrice¡ªa mission that took him years to complete.


    While traveling through the hellish landscape and killing thousands of demons, he got to meet Krom, who ended up supporting him in his mission out of fear.


    Out of the millions of demons who faced Dante in hell, only a very selected few managed to either escape from his grasp or simply switch sides to support him, knowing that the warlock was too powerful.


    In that same quest to look for his beloved, he met Lilith and Saris, who also supported him in reaching Ragerift, where Satan was holding Beatrice.


    However, after years of fighting and finally reaching Satan''s dark castle, all he found was Beatrice''s lifeless body while Satan mocked him for taking too long.


    The King of Wrath had absorbed Beatrice''s life energy and was now able to use some of her powers. Still, the absolute crazed fury and rage that Dante felt made him go on a rampage that shook the very depths of hell.


    By the time the fight was over, Satan''s soul had been destroyed and absorbed by Dante, but the warlock wasn''t done with his mission. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 151 - 151: Renewed Contract

    After Dante killed and absorbed the soul of the King of Wrath, he kept advancing until he reached the Abyssal Gates, guarded by Cerberus.


    However, the guard dog showed zero intentions of stopping him, letting Dante go through the gates as if he had always been allowed to do so.


    On the other side of the Abyssal Gates, a colossal river called the Sea of the Dead flowed before Dante, where the evil souls would go to be reincorporated in hell.


    An ordinary person wouldn''t have been able to enter the sea without withering into a husk, but Dante jumped in and searched for Beatrice''s soul for days until he found her drowning away.


    With no other options, Dante absorbed her powers, making Beatrice''s soul reside inside of him and allowing him to use some of the skills that she had as a combat priestess.


    "That''s why you saw her when I needed to cleanse the curses¡­" Dante said with a sad tone.


    The group had been listening to the warlock tell his story in silence, their attention solely focused on him.


    It was just a summary of what Dante had been through, but the weight of his journey was palpable in the room.


    Before the warlock knew it, he felt two arms embracing the back of his head, seeing that Megan and Sophia had rushed forward to hug him tightly.


    Sophia had a few tears rolling down her cheeks, and Megan shut her eyes forcefully with a frown, but their hug felt warm and enchanting to Dante.


    "I''m sorry¡­ I didn''t want to make you re-live those moments¡­" Sophia muttered.


    Dante chuckled. "That''s fine¡ªI expect to get to know you guys better, too," he said, making the two girls embracing him blush.


    The rest gathered around for a group hug, with Camille taking a picture of everyone huddled up using her phone.


    When the atmosphere in the room was lighter, Paige still had a question for Dante, wondering why the warlock was so eager to destroy the cathedral after realizing it was from the Pantheon of Four.


    "Oh, well¡­ That''s because I despise them," Dante casually replied.


    "But, didn''t one of them bless you and your party?" The scientists pondered aloud.


    "That''s what she called it¡ªit was more of a curse¡­" Dante said with a more serious tone.


    He explained that while the blessing wouldn''t make them get older, it also bound them to every conflict that happened in the world, so it''s not like they could live their long lives in peace. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moreover, the God of Darkness, Zaratross, had gone insane and betrayed his siblings, sealing two of them with their parents.


    "I was fighting Zaratross before I got here¡­" Dante explained.


    The group stood in shock for a brief moment, and Zac asked if that was the opponent he was fighting before getting transported to Earth.


    Dante confirmed it and said that he used a spell that would destroy him and the evil god. However, his contract with another demon prevented him from dying and, instead, sent him to Earth.


    Megan remembered the dire state in which she found Dante for the first time, wholly riddled with injuries, but she never expected that the man was fighting an actual god before arriving.


    "H-How did that even happen?" Zac pondered.


    Dante shrugged with indifference. "People can''t really do anything against the gods, so their problems are of no interest¡­" he said.


    Still, Paige''s eyes were glistening with curiosity, and she was planning on dedicating a reasonable amount of time to discovering more about the Pantheon of Four.


    The scientist believed that if there was one in Highpoint Town, there could be many more scattered around the world, which made her stomach tingle with excitement.


    "Hmm, it is a bit concerning that those churches are here¡­" Dante commented.


    The warlock explained that when he crossed to Earth, the ageless blessing he had received from Aelara was undone, and his body had regained the ability to age.


    This meant that the goddess''s favor didn''t reach that world, and Dante truly enjoyed this aspect of Earth. However, now that he knew that some of the gods'' followers had also crossed, he frowned with annoyance.


    After Paige said that she would keep the warlock updated with any other findings, the group went to the ground floor of the skyscraper, where an ample party room had been set for all of the Jade Dragons.


    All of the teams were waiting for the handler and the others, and right as they arrived, they started their victory celebration.


    During the party, Camille approached the warlock and thanked him for all the help he had given them.


    Dante noticed that her words sounded like a farewell, to which the handler said that he had completed his part of the deal, so she would fulfill her promise of giving him a peaceful life.


    "Umm¡­ Aren''t there still some things to do?" Dante pondered, knowing that there were a few loose ends.


    "You helped us with the demons, Dante, and I''ll always be grateful to you for that¡­ But whatever comes next is different," Camille replied.


    "I don''t want to drag you into an old mafia conflict. This is the best time for you to separate from this whole ordeal¡­" she continued.


    "Camille¡­" Dante interjected, locking his eyes with the woman.


    "What do you think a peaceful life is to me? I don''t actually like being alone¡­" he continued.


    "Besides, do you think I can just live peacefully knowing that my friends are in trouble?" Dante asked with a severe tone and expression.


    Camille was a bit shocked by his words, which made her sigh before she chuckled and apologized in a playful tone.


    "Sorry, sorry¡­ I don''t know what I was thinking when I told you that," the handler said, laughing.


    "You are right¡ªWhen you put it that way, I wouldn''t be able to live peacefully either," Camille commented with a smile.


    With a confident gaze, she said that she would count on Dante for their future endeavors, making him smile and shaking her hand, renewing their deal of bringing peaceful lives to each other.

 Chapter 152 - 152: [Terra] The Warlock’s Party

    It was a cold, snowy night in the Mountains of Taramore, where a large building stood at the tip of the hill.


    The building''s facade was made of a smooth, purple stone, with golden scaffoldings that gave it an air of sophistication, contrasting with its dark and cold surroundings.


    Inside the building, hundreds of thousands of books were stacked on the tall bookcases that surrounded the entire library, which had four floors filled with knowledge.


    In the center of the ground floor, there was a large table with open books and a lone elven woman reading through the thick tomes.


    She had bronze skin and silver hair, and she was wearing a delicate dress with precious gems that extruded a faint energy from them.


    "Faelyn¡­ We''ve been here for months¡ªAre you sure we can find more clues in this place!?" A burly man spoke loudly with frustration, carrying a stack of dozens of tomes and slamming them on the table.


    "Yes, you meathead. There aren''t that many books left, so just keep bringing them to me," Faelyn replied.


    From the shadows in the corner of the library, a slim man materialized, holding another stack of books and approaching the table, gently putting them down beside the elf.


    "At least we know that Dante is alive¡­ Can''t we just hire a warlock at Shadowvale to locate him with a demon contract?" he asked the elf.


    "Did you not hear what the priest said? Dante''s ageless blessing isn''t listed in the holy text anymore¡­ The only way that can happen is by losing it," Faelyn replied.


    The elf explained that the holy text contained the names of everyone who had been bestowed a blessing, and those names would never disappear even if the individuals perished.


    The fact that Dante''s name had disappeared after their encounter with Zaratross led them to believe that the warlock was neither dead nor alive.


    "Even if we hire a warlock, they won''t find him¡­" the elf elaborated.


    "What made you think that Sage Ozin left a hint in his library, though?" The man asked. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I remember hearing my master talk about it briefly¡­ She said that Sage Ozin was researching the Celestial Alignment Convergence¡ªThat was the only natural phenomenon happening at the time of Dante''s disappearance¡­" Faelyn explained.


    "A bunch of pretty lights in the sky? Big deal!" the burly man said loudly and sarcastically.


    "No, meathead. Ozin''s theory is that the convergence is a portal," the elf refuted.


    "A portal where? Are we going to have to look for him in hell again?" The slim man asked.


    Faelyn denied the man''s concerns, saying that if the convergence were a portal to hell, they would get invaded every time it happened.


    In the hundreds of books that the elf woman had read, Ozin explained that he believed the portal could take a person to a world in a separate dimension, away from the prying eyes of the gods.


    "Well, then¡­ We just have to wait for the next convergence and get in that portal!" The strong man said with enthusiasm.


    "The next one will happen over fifty years from now¡­ We can''t wait that long," Faelyn replied.


    "Besides, we don''t know what''s on the other side of the portal¡ªWhat if that dimension has nothing, and we just land into a void?" the elf continued.


    The slim man sighed in defeat and sat beside the elven woman, opening one of the books and sharing the load of the research.


    "Sylas¡­" the burly man muttered in disbelief.


    "The quicker we find the information we need, the faster we find Dante¡­ Just sit down and read, Soren," Sylas said with an indifferent tone.


    "Argh, fine!" Soren grunted, landing his heavy frame on the chair and skimming through one of the books.


    The trio spent a few hours in silence, reading through the pages left by Sage Ozin, and when Soren was about to fall asleep while reading one of the tomes, he found something that caught his attention.


    "Faelyn¡­ Look here," the man beckoned the elf.


    When the elf grabbed the book and glanced at its contents, her eyes widened with surprise, letting out a small gasp.


    "What is it?" Sylas asked.


    The book detailed the experiments of Sage Ozin trying to produce the effects of the Celestial Alignment Convergence in his own tower, and mentioned the names of other mages around the world who had been trying the same thing.


    However, the notes didn''t say if the experiment was a success, and there were many different methods listed, so the book didn''t give the trio a clear answer on what they were looking for.


    "Hmm, we got a few more locations we should check out from this¡­" Faelyn said as she finished skimming through the book.


    "It said that Netherius, Wolfram, Kerm¡­ Even Asphodel was researching the convergence," she continued, naming different people of interest.


    "Half of those names could be pretty troublesome¡­" Sylas commented. However, he still noted that all of those people had one thing in common¡ªnone of them were still around.


    With more objectives in their sights, the trio decided it was time to leave the library after having spent months reading through Ozin''s research.


    Before leaving, Faelyn reminisced about the last moment they saw Dante when he used a powerful spell to destroy himself and the evil god.


    As soon as the spell detonated, Faelyn could sense Dante''s mana disappearing, which was different from how it felt when someone passed away.


    Moreover, the evil god didn''t even die from the attack but was at least weakened enough for Goddess Aelara to intervene, sealing him away with the other gods.


    With doubts about Dante''s death, the elf told the rest of the party her concerns and decided they would investigate a way to look for the warlock.


    Eventually, their search led them to Ozin''s Library, located at the top of a cold, snowy mountain that was riddled with monsters. Nevertheless, it wasn''t much of a challenge for the warlock''s party to reach the area without trouble.


    *Sigh* The elf tiredly sighed and dropped her shoulders lower.


    ''Dante¡­ Where the hell did you go?'' She pondered.

 Chapter 153 - 153: The Jade Dragons’ Next Step

    It had been a little over two weeks since the eradication of the Blood Dragons, and Dante and his friends had been busy with numerous errands.


    Camille had ordered a large residence to be fully remodeled as she wanted to make it the new Jade Dragons'' residence.


    The old one was almost entirely demolished by their opponents, but Camille didn''t think that was a problem since she wanted to have the new home closer to the city.


    While the residence''s construction was ongoing, Dante had to meet with Ex-Detective Alice at the lab.


    A few days after Astaroth''s death, the woman started feeling ill, and Dante noticed that Alice''s umbra had been tampered with and was making it go out of control, which sickened the ex-detective.


    Nonetheless, Dante was able to treat the sickness by absorbing the excess umbra that flowed from her body¡ªgently placing his hand on her back to do so.


    Moreover, Clara learned how to treat Alice during that time, as the woman had been diligently practicing her warlock skills.


    Even though Alice was completely cured, Dante realized that the woman was starting to control umbra involuntarily, making him ponder if she would become a forged warlock like Clara.


    Zac''s mother became a forged warlock due to her body being under the effects of demon blood for years, but Alice was only exposed to it for a little more than a day.


    When Dante reminisced about the time he saved Alice at the abandoned factory, he remembered seeing that she had loosened the ethereal black chains ensnaring her body.


    Normally, that wouldn''t have been possible for someone with no umbra control, so Dante believed that while Alice had a knack for controlling umbra, she didn''t have the innate talent to become a warlock.


    After Alice''s treatment was over, Dante asked the woman if she wanted to make a contract with him¡ªthe same type of contract that Megan and Zac had done.


    He explained to the ex-detective that she had the talent to control umbra but not to become a warlock.


    If she made the contract with Dante, she could control it more effectively, and they could eventually figure out what fighting style suited her best.


    Alice thought about it and said she would give her response when the new Jade Dragons'' residence was finished, to which Dante agreed as he wasn''t in a rush.


    Apart from Clara''s training and Alice''s treatment, Megan and Zac kept training at the lab almost every day.


    Zac was stoked to keep learning more skills that he could use as a berserker, and Megan, who initially didn''t care about her title, was showing interest in the dark rogues'' skills.


    Her interest in her skills started piquing a few days after the battle with Astaroth when the Omega Team was re-watching the old live feeds at Camille''s office.


    In Megan''s encounter with Sabelio, she used a skill called "Killing Intent" without even realizing it. When Dante elaborated and said that the skill slowed down her enemy''s movement due to fear, she began to show more interest in it.


    "Do dark rogues evolve like dark warriors?" Megan inquired.


    "They can¡ªIt''s not very common, but I have seen it before¡­" Dante replied.


    From that point forward, Megan kept practicing her skills at the lab with more enthusiasm, which made the warlock a bit happy.


    When it came to the demons who stayed with the Jade Dragons, they were all put to work in different areas.


    Camille enjoyed Lilith''s company and foresight, but she was too talented and powerful to keep as a guard, so Cerberus kept his job of protecting the handler.


    The five succubi that stayed on Earth had been helping the servants at the skyscraper, but Camille still had some other plans for them.


    Saris, the banshee, spent most of her time at the laboratory watching Megan and Zac practice their skills. Still, she would periodically hang out with the scientists of the Zeta Team to help with their experiments.


    The three teenagers were escorted back home by the Omega Team. However, Camille told them that they were honorary members of the Jade Dragons, so they could count on them for any trouble that they had.


    The first one to arrive at their home was Lina, who still kept the soul shard that was linked to Megan since she never got to use it. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She tried to give it back, but Megan told her to keep it just in case she ever needed it, making Lina smile while placing the crystal close to her heart.


    When the group left Jake at his house, he began getting scolded by his mother in front of the group, and even though the woman seemed furious, all the energy flowing from her was positive, making the warlock smile with satisfaction.


    ''That''s a good mom¡­'' Dante thought.


    The lady thanked the group for taking care of her son, to which they replied by saying they would help anytime.


    After leaving Tommy at his home and watching him also get scolded by his parents, the Omega Team felt relieved and satisfied with the results.


    Most of the victims that were taken by the Blood Dragons were given jobs under Camille''s different companies¡ªonly if they wanted.


    Since they were all from low-income households, the prospect of having a job with a good salary was enough to sway them into joining Camille.


    Dr. Sylva ended up joining the Zeta Team under Paige''s supervision, as the knowledge he had gained while conducting his experiments for the demons could be helpful to them. Still, the man''s trauma was deep, so he had to attend therapy for a long time.


    Moreover, he didn''t get to see his daughter in person.


    Trinity had deleted all of the information that related her to Dr. Sylva, which she had done as a security measure in the past. Nevertheless, she wasn''t keen on seeing anyone from the Jade Dragons in person.


    The hacker agreed to keep working for the Jade Dragons, but she placed the condition that she never wanted to be seen.


    Even if she wanted to meet her father, she knew that there was a chance he would be followed and her location would be leaked.


    Camille wasn''t a fan of her conditions, but she still agreed since Trinity''s skills were invaluable.

 Chapter 154 - 154: New Residence

    On a beautiful Saturday morning in Novis, Camille called all of the Jade Dragons who were in the city to a location in a large residential area near the downtown.


    When they arrived, they found themselves before a tall stone wall with a set of stairs beside it, blocked by a gate.


    One of Camille''s servants opened the gate for Dante and his group, and after climbing up the stairs, they were surprised to see the massive residence before them.


    The main yard stretched for at least fifteen meters, with a fountain on one side that had an emerald dragon pouring water out of its mouth.


    As they followed the stone path to the doors of the mansion, Camille came out of the entrance to greet them with a smile.


    "Welcome to our new home!" The handler exclaimed.


    The house had a modern facade, with the front stretching from one side of the yard to the other.


    When they went through the main doors, they found themselves in an expansive hallway with a glass panel on the back that showcased another garden behind it.


    "Th-this is our new house?" Zac pondered aloud, perplexed at how expensive everything looked.


    Camille explained to the group that the entire residence was only one floor, but the layout was made so that it was easy to transverse without getting lost.


    The wide hallways were laid out to make a square, going around the entire mansion and connecting back with the main entrance.


    As the handler started her tour of the place with a large group of the Jade Dragons behind her, they got to the west hallway that led to the bedrooms.


    There were two bedroom areas¡ªthe north and south¡ªseparated by a yard that could be crossed from one side to another with a sturdy and somewhat elegant bridge.


    "You''ll be able to choose your rooms later. Let''s keep moving for now," Camille said as they passed by the bedrooms.


    When they reached the northern hallway, Camille called it the "entertainment hall" since most of the rooms'' functions were mainly for entertainment purposes.


    There was also a small kitchen and dining area, which could be used for non-important meals, as the main kitchen and dining room were in the east hallway.


    From the large glass panel on one side of the hallway that led to the inner part of the house, the group spotted a large courtyard with a pool, a few beach recliners, and a basketball court beside them.


    "That''s the pool area¡­ We''ll pass through there in a bit," Camille said after seeing the group''s interest.


    When they reached the east hallway, the first room they found was the "spa and sauna," an expansive room divided into men''s and women''s areas and an open hot spring at the back.


    Next to it were the laboratory and training rooms, which were some of the largest in the whole mansion.


    At the end of the east hallway, they passed by the main kitchen and dining room¡ªand arrived back at the southern hallway, next to the entrance.


    From there, Camille took the group to the inner part of the mansion, arriving at what she called the "inner yard."


    Dante noticed a circular room above the center of the area, with two bridges leading to it, making it seem like it was suspended in the air.


    Camille explained that it was the "briefing room," the only room in the house that was elevated from the ground.


    When they walked beneath the bridges, they arrived at the courtyard, which had a pool, a bar, and recliners around it.


    To finish the entire tour, Camille took the group to the briefing room, which was wholly surrounded by windows that could also be used as screens, giving them a 360-degree view of the residence from above.


    "So, what do you think?" Camille asked the group with a proud smile.


    "It''s like a small town¡­" Zac commented, perplexed at the size and sophistication of the place.


    "Well, I expect to get more residents as we rebuild our teams, so it might seem extra large at the moment¡­" Camille said.


    "For now, go pick your rooms¡­" The handler continued.


    The northern bedrooms were for the Gamma, Omega, Zeta, and Delta teams, with the latter having only Trinity as a member who didn''t even live with them.


    The southern bedrooms were reserved for the Alpha, Beta, Epsilon, and Kappa teams, which were bound to get new members soon.


    When Dante and his team went to the northern bedrooms area, the teams quickly scattered as they rushed to pick theirs, leaving Dante deep in his thoughts as he considered which one to take.


    One of the rooms had a sign that said "master bedroom," which meant it was the largest one in the house.


    ''Hmm, I suppose Megan and Sophie will choose that one¡­'' Dante thought, knowing that the two women slept together most of the time.


    Sophia noticed Dante''s doubts, making her playfully smile before whispering something in Megan''s ears.


    As Dante gazed at the two women, he saw Sophia giggling while whispering, making the brunette widen her eyes with surprise for a brief second.


    "Hmm, yeah¡ªI''m okay with that," Megan said after the blonde separated from her ear.


    ''I guess they are done with their planning¡­'' Dante thought, making his way to one of the empty bedrooms.


    "Dante!" Sophia beckoned the warlock.


    "What''s up, Sophie?" Dante asked as he approached the two women.


    "Umm¡­ so, what if¡ªuhh¡­" Sophia stammered her sentence. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You wanna share the master bedroom with us?" Megan interjected, coldly stating what her friend wanted to say.


    Sophia blushed at Megan''s words, but the brunette was wholly unfazed¡ªand Dante wasn''t any different from the latter.


    "Share it? Do we even fit in there?" Dante pondered.


    When the three entered the master bedroom, they realized that the bed was way larger than an ordinary king-size bed.


    Behind the trio, Camille entered the room and chuckled at their perplexity.


    "This is an Alaskan King¡­ It''s one of the largest mattresses that you can get on the market," the handler said.


    When Dante looked at Camille''s umbra, he could sense a strange sense of pride, making him believe that the woman had planned to have the three of them in one room all along.


    Still, seeing that Megan and Sophia genuinely wanted to share it with him, he didn''t see a reason to decline.

 Chapter 155 - 155: The Jade Palace

    The day after Dante moved to the new residence with the rest of his group, they gathered around the entrance gates for Camille to reveal the name of the building.


    When the handler dropped the mantle covering the name, they were able to see the carving with emerald dragons reading "The Jade Palace."


    The group cheered and returned to their rooms to keep unpacking their stuff, but Dante didn''t have much to unpack, so he simply lay in bed playing with his BeamDeck.


    The master bedroom that Dante was sharing with Megan and Sophia was the largest in the entire mansion, and it was almost the size of the apartment where Dante first lived with them.


    All of the bedrooms had their own individual bathrooms, but the one in Dante''s room was larger than the others, with two sinks, a shower, and a tub.


    After he helped his two roommates unpack for a bit, Dante walked outside to the common area of the northern bedrooms and spotted Zac moving a few boxes two doors away from him.


    "Need help?" Dante asked his friend.


    "I got it¡ªI only have these boxes left¡­" Zac replied, stacking three heavy boxes on top of each other and carrying them inside his room.


    Dante followed him inside out of curiosity, wanting to see how he was laying out his room, and noticed that he was hanging a large TV on his wall with his gaming console beneath it.


    "Nice¡­" Dante muttered.


    "Right? And I''ll save that space in the corner for a gaming PC!" Zac commented with excitement.


    "By the way, which room are you taking?" the redhead asked.


    "Oh, I''m in the master bedroom," Dante casually replied.


    Zac squinted his eyes and stared at the warlock. "Isn''t that Megan and Sophia''s room?" he asked with suspicion in his voice.


    "Mhmm, they asked me to share it with them, and the bed is huge, so I don''t see why not¡­" Dante continued, his tone somewhat indifferent.


    "Dude¡­" Zac muttered, looking down at the floor as the shadows covered his eyes.


    "You can''t keep getting away with this!" The redhead exclaimed.


    "Huh? What are you talking about?" Dante asked confusedly, as he genuinely didn''t know what his friend meant.


    "Oh, come on!" Zac scoffed, placing his palm on his face with jealousy.


    After the pair left the room, they saw Victoria moving her things into the bedroom beside them, making Zac offer his help with a bit of embarrassment.


    Dante also helped move a few boxes until they were interrupted by Saris, who was taking a stroll around the residence.


    "I see¡­ So, these are our new rooms," the banshee muttered.


    "Did you pick your room?" Dante asked the demon.


    "Hmm, I could just share the room with the berserker boy¡­" Saris replied indifferently.


    Victoria, hearing her words, widened her eyes with shock as her face blushed, gazing at the banshee.


    "Y-You can''t do that!" Victoria exclaimed.


    "I-if you really need a roommate, then you can share this room with me¡­" the woman continued.


    In Victoria''s mind, it would have been better if the beautiful banshee had slept in the same room as her, as she didn''t know what her intentions were with Zac.


    Dante could sense the small amount of jealousy flowing from Victoria''s umbra, so he decided to help her out and agreed with her suggestion.


    "Hoh? So, It''s like that¡­" Saris muttered, followed by her accepting Victoria''s offer.


    ''They''ve gotten pretty friendly with each other¡­ I''m glad,'' Zac thought, unaware of the mental battle that the women were having.


    The two ex-detectives, Alice and June, arrived shortly after at the common area of the northern bedrooms, instantly choosing an empty room for the two of them without overthinking it.


    Even after their case had been cleared with June no longer being on a wanted list and Alice''s disappearance solved, the two women decided they would stay working with the Jade Dragons.


    They knew that the government had thoroughly cleansed the police department, so it would be extremely rare for them to be betrayed again.


    Nevertheless, they decided they could do more good for the people of Novis if they worked for the Jade Dragons than staying as detectives, and Camille happily took them in.


    However, since Alice was awakening some signs of umbra control, she was placed in the Omega Team, while June was placed in the Gamma Team under Maya''s supervision.


    Later at night, Dante, Zac, and Krom walked to the north side of the mansion, where the "games room" was located.


    There was a pool table, an air hockey table, a dance-pad game, a pinball machine, a few other arcade games, and a large TV with gaming consoles connected to it.


    While the three of them sat on a couple of bean bags and played for hours, Sophia paid a visit to Camille in the briefing room.


    Camille had taken the master bedroom on the southern side, and her new office, which she would use often, was the briefing room in the center of the mansion.


    "Hey, Sophie¡ªWhat''s up?" The handler greeted the blonde as she stepped in.


    "Cami, I was thinking¡­ I promised Dante that we would go to the beach after this whole ordeal was over," Sophia commented, sitting down before the handler.


    Now that their war with the Blood Dragons was over and the college semester was coming to an end, Sophia believed that it was the perfect time to go.


    The blonde thought that Camille would decline at first as she seemed to be quite busy with some paperwork. However, the handler''s eyes widened with revelation.


    "That''s a great idea, Sophie!" Camille exclaimed. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It is!?" Sophia asked back, slightly surprised at her reaction.


    "Well, to be honest¡ªI do have some business in New Arcadia, so we could shoot two birds with one stone if we go with your plan¡­" Camille explained.


    The blonde felt glad that Camille agreed so easily to take a vacation, even if the handler had her own motives for attending.


    "I''ll let the others know!" The blonde said with enthusiasm.


    Camille glanced at Cerberus, peacefully sleeping on a small bed beside her desk, and let out a gentle smile.


    "Seems like we are going on a trip¡­" The woman commented, prompting the puppy to yawn with disinterest.


    Still, Cerberus'' carefree attitude wasn''t something she disliked about the puppy, making her chuckle as she thought it was cute.

 Chapter 156 - 156: Umbra Absorption

    It had been two weeks since the Jade Dragons moved into their new residence, and Dante woke up beside Megan, with a wide gap between them where Sophia usually slept.


    When the trio was deciding which side of the bed to take, Megan and Dante came to an agreement to have Sophia in the middle, as she was the softest of the three.


    However, the blonde would wake up hours earlier than her two companions to make breakfast and go to college, leaving an open space between the two remaining on the bed.


    The group had already been told about the planned trip to the city of New Arcadia, which was located south of Novaria and was known for its beachside lifestyle.


    It was one of the main locations that tourists would visit whenever they traveled to Novaria, as it was also considered one of the safest cities in the country.


    As Dante got up from the bed and stretched his muscles, he reminisced about what Camille told him about the trip, explaining that she wanted to meet with an old business friend.


    When Dante asked for more details, she said that she was friends with the handler of the Autumn family and needed to exchange a few words with her.


    Still, Camille didn''t divulge many details as she wanted to tell everyone at the same time¡ªnot because it was a secret, but because the handler didn''t like explaining things more than once.


    ''Well, today is Sophie''s last exam¡­ So, I suppose Camille will tell us more about it later,'' Dante thought.


    After putting on a casual shirt and sweatpants, Megan opened her eyes and spotted the warlock changing, indifferently sitting up on her bed while muttering a muffled "good morning."


    "Morning¡­" Dante replied, gazing at the brunette and getting stunned for a brief moment.


    The sight of Megan''s disheveled hair and squinting eyes seemed almost too beautiful for him to look at.


    The thin shoulder straps of her tank top were sliding to the sides, and her bare thigh was peeking out of the sheets.


    *Yawn¡­* "What¡­?" Megan asked, seeing that the warlock had his eyes locked on her.


    *Ahem* "Nothing important¡­" Dante replied, feeling a strange sense of embarrassment that he hadn''t felt in hundreds of years.


    When Dante left the room to allow Megan to change, he saw the five succubi leaving a room together.


    "Are you all sharing a single room?" Dante asked them.


    "Yes. We all fit in there quite comfortably¡­" Zarina replied, bowing her head slightly to the warlock.


    "If you say so¡­ Don''t be afraid to use another room if you need more space," Dante casually said, his words surprising the succubus.


    The five demons had been diligently working for the Jade Dragons as not only Hellslayer but also their Queen had sided with them.


    In their minds, only an extremely powerful organization would be able to convince such individuals to join them, so they worked with a slight sense of fear deep within them.


    However, the succubi were confused whenever the people from the Jade Dragons treated them with kindness, as it wasn''t something they were used to, so they didn''t know how to react.


    "Th-thanks¡ªWe''ll keep that in mind," Zarina nervously said.


    ''It''ll take some time for them to get more comfortable around here¡­'' Dante thought.


    After his interaction with the succubi, Dante paid a visit to the laboratory on the east wing of the residence, wanting to check on Clara''s training.


    The woman was capable of summoning a Shadow Well, but it would leave her quite tired after, so she couldn''t practice using it to synthesize anything.


    However, after weeks of practicing, she reached a point where she could summon the well and keep some of her energy, making her excited to start experimenting with it.


    Clara thought about starting with a healthstone, but Dante wasn''t sure if it would be the best option, as it required the caster''s blood to create.


    Even if the woman was determined, she had only recently become a warlock, and Dante knew that slicing their palms open to make blood pour out into a cup wasn''t something that ordinary people could easily do.


    Moreover, if she didn''t practice the process enough times, she could faint while doing it.


    "Let''s practice with this¡­" Dante said, pulling out a small orb from his pocket.


    He explained to Clara that it was a soulstone, which contained the soul of one of the fiends he had killed at Highpoint Town.


    The objective was to purify the orb of the evil umbra inside it, which was similar to what he had done to the soulstone he gave to both Zac and Megan for their contracts.


    However, those orbs were also linked to the warlock, while the fiend''s soulstone was not.


    "I''ve absorbed thousands of demons'' souls, so when I had to purify the soulstone for Zac and Megan, it took me a little more effort than usual¡­" Dante elaborated.


    "However, a fiend''s soul shouldn''t be too heavy¡ªIt''ll still take you a few days to complete, though¡­" the warlock continued.


    Clara seemed excited to begin, asking what the soulstone could be used for once it was purified, and Dante replied by saying that it could be absorbed to increase a person''s skills or powers. However, those effects would vary depending on the soul.


    "You should know¡­ Purifying a demon''s soulstone can be a little¡­ umm, heavy," Dante commented.


    "How so?" The middle-aged woman asked.


    The act of purifying, for a warlock, was absorbing the evil umbra into their own bodies until there was virtually none of it in the soulstone. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Dante purified the soulstones he gave to Zac and Megan, he ended up having nightmares for a few days afterward, so he warned the woman of the side effects and told her not to overdo it.


    "You''ve practiced umbra absorption when we treated Miss Alice, so try doing the same with the stone¡­ If it gets too difficult, stop and continue later," Dante kept explaining, slightly worried about the woman''s well-being.


    Clara treated Dante the same way she treated her son Zac, and the warlock started to feel like he needed to protect her as if she were his own mother.


    He would''ve never cared about another warlock having nightmares after purifying an orb, but he felt different towards Clara since he felt she was too kind to be a warlock.

 Chapter 157 - 157: Training and Relaxation

    After Dante helped Clara with her umbra control practice, he moved on to the laboratory in the Jade Palace, which had a MET room just like the one at the skyscraper.


    When he arrived, he saw Zac and Megan watching the recording of his destructive fight against Astaroth.


    "Are you guys re-watching that again?" Dante asked as he approached the pair.


    His companions, eager to learn and grow, had seen the recording countless times, each viewing revealing new insights into the moves and spells he used.


    Megan wanted to have a better understanding of how to use her abilities, while Zac was simply looking for inspiration on new fighting styles.


    "I see that ''Rapture'' spell that you used is similar to the thing I did with my knife¡­" Megan commented, gazing at the warlock.


    During her battle with Sabelio, Megan waved her dagger and launched air slices made of umbra, but she wasn''t aware of the name of the ability.


    Dante explained that while his spell called "Rapture" was similar to her air slices, they weren''t the same ability.


    "You guys aren''t warlocks, so you don''t really need to chant the name of your abilities¡­" the warlock continued, explaining the differences between his spells and their abilities.


    Warlocks, wizards, or any other type of caster used spells to create their magic. While spells could be used without saying a word, chanting the spell''s name allowed the caster to control the power output much better.


    "Casting a spell without a chant is mostly used in extremely dire situations where you wouldn''t even have time to say a word¡­" Dante elaborated.


    "If I were to cast a ''Destro'' without saying the name, it could either destroy way too much or barely anything," he continued.


    However, non-casters, like warriors and assassins, didn''t use spells but something they called "skills" or "abilities."


    "Skills are different since they don''t require the individual to say the name¡ªIn a way, it''s a bit more difficult to master¡­" Dante said.


    As the warlock switched the video to that of Megan''s fight against Sabelio, he showed them the moment that Megan used a skill called "Killing Intent," explaining how the brunette didn''t have to say anything to activate it.


    "Those air slices were pretty good, but that wasn''t actually a skill¡­ It was more like a weaker version of one," Dante continued, analyzing the fight.


    The warlock said that strong rogues and assassins could use a skill called "Vorpal Blade," which could cut through the very fabric of reality from how powerful it was.


    To demonstrate his explanation, Dante borrowed Megan''s dagger and entered the MET room, where a couple of ballistic dummies were placed at the back.


    Waving his hand to the side with force, a slice made of pure umbra shot out from the dagger and landed on the dummy''s belly, leaving a wide cut.


    Then, he pointed his hand at the dummy beside and cast "Rapture," generating an invisible slash that was much wider than his previous one, severing the dummy clean in half.


    "That''s the difference in potency between your air slices and my ''Rapture'' spell¡­" said Dante to Megan.


    "I can''t use ''Vorpal Blade,'' but I can tell you it''s at least two or three times stronger than my spell," he continued, making the pair a bit surprised.


    "I see¡­ Looks like I still have a long way to go," Megan commented. Her face looked cold, but the energy flowing from her was full of determination.


    Zac raised his hand as if wanting to ask the teacher a question and pondered if he could name his own skills.


    "Name your skills?" Dante repeated, placing a hand on his chin.


    "I mean¡­ I don''t see why you wouldn''t be able to do that, considering someone must have named the skills that are already known," the warlock thought aloud.


    Spells were creations by magic users that required a specific set of instructions for them to work, so having a name attached to them was a requirement.


    On the other hand, skills were intuitive abilities that individuals used unknowingly, and their names were given after they were discovered, so they weren''t a requirement to have.


    Zac smiled with a bit of excitement. "Honestly, sounds fun¡­ I can''t wait to name my abilities," he said.


    "You are the first person I''ve heard say that," Dante replied while chuckling a little.


    ____________________


    After training for a few hours, the Omega Team trio went to the spa room in the Jade Palace, which was in the same hallway as the lab.


    The expansive room was split in two, so the men''s and women''s groups had to go their separate ways at the entrance.


    The first part was the changing room, with a few lockers, benches, and towel dispensers.


    The second part had the sauna and massage tables, leading to the indoor tubs with aromatic herbs.


    Still, Zac and Dante were mostly interested in the final room at the back, which led to the outside hot spring.


    It was a small open area where they could see the night sky, with a stone wall that poured hot water into the pool beneath it.


    A bamboo wall divided the men from the women, but being outside allowed them to hear each other.


    Dante and Zac were the only guys on their side of the hot spring. Megan, on the other hand, stepped outside to find Lilith and the five succubi taking a dip.


    "Oh, Megan, right?" Lilith asked with an inviting gaze.


    "Mhmm, sorry I never introduced myself," Megan replied with a cold tone as she removed the towel around her body, gently stepping into the hot spring. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Heh, don''t worry about it. Dante did introduce us, but it''s not like we care about that sort of thing," Lilith commented.


    Megan shut her eyes as her shoulders dipped in the hot water and sighed with relief, gazing at Lilith and noticing that the queen wasn''t taking her eyes off her.


    "What is it?" Megan asked.


    "That mark on your body¡­ It''s beautiful," Lilith said, approaching Megan and placing a hand around her waist.


    The Succubus Queen was attracted to the emerald dragon tattoo that started at Megan''s waist, trailed along her ribs and left breast, and ended almost at her shoulder.


    Megan didn''t show any restraint to Lilith''s grasp and calmly explained that it was the mark of the leader of the Jade Dragons.


    "Hmm? The leader, huh?" Lilith said with a seductive tone, softly trailing her nails along Megan''s tattoo.


    Still, Megan didn''t show any sign of embarrassment as the queen praised her muscles.


    "Hey, Lilith! Stop teasing my friends over there!" Dante exclaimed from the other side of the hot spring.


    The queen chuckled and called the warlock "no-fun" but said that she forgave him since he was "sexy," separating herself from Megan and returning to her relaxing bath.

 Chapter 158 - 158: The Four Mafia Families

    In the evening, after Dante trained and relaxed at the hot springs, Camille called them to the briefing room to discuss their next steps with the group.


    The handler called only the Omega Team, Lilith, the five succubi, Victoria, Alice, June, and the Gamma Team.


    Saris, the banshee, was also present. Despite her valuable contributions to the Zeta Team''s research, Camille saw her potential for the Omega Team''s missions and wanted her to be part of it.


    "It has come to my attention that you guys were planning a trip to the beach¡­" Camille said to the group.


    "Well, you are in luck because we have some business in New Arcadia to take care of, so we might as well go on a little vacation once we are there!" the handler continued.


    "What''s the business?" Megan asked.


    "It''s a company transfer," Camille replied.


    She explained to the group that before the Jade Dragons were attacked eight years ago, they used to own an entertainment talent agency.


    Since Camille''s father was under Nihilor''s mind control at the time, the man was doing everything to destroy the Jade Dragon''s assets and was selling or closing all of the companies they owned.


    To mitigate the damage, Camille managed to transfer the ownership of some of those companies to an old friend¡ªa woman called Melinda Autumn.


    "The Autumn family, huh?" Megan muttered coldly.


    "Mhmm, if there is anyone I could have trusted those assets with at the time, it was definitely her," Camille said, nodding affirmatively.


    "And are you sure she is just going to give ownership back?" Megan inquired.


    "I already talked to her¡ªwe''ll have a quick meeting to catch up and sign the paperwork¡­" The handler said.


    "She also offered us a nice place to stay while we are there, so let''s use that opportunity to take a well-deserved break," Camille continued.


    Zac was curious to know more about the Autumn woman, and Camille said that they had known each other since they were babies.


    As they were both fated to become the handlers of their respective families, Camille and Melinda always shared a friendly bond with each other.


    Camille made it clear that only the Autumns were their friends out of the four Stellar families, making Zac wonder if they had some sort of disagreement with the other two.


    "The Autumn family favors the mafia called the Golden Twilight Syndicate, or GTS for short¡­" said Camille.


    The GTS controlled the southern part of the country, which was where the beachside cities were located.


    Out of all the mafia groups in Novaria, the GTS was the most similar to the Jade Dragons in terms of how they conducted business.


    "The Jade Dragons and the GTS have always prioritized the protection of the people in our territories¡ªvery different from what the Onyx Cartel and the Azure Rebels do," Camille explained.


    "Of course, now that we are bringing Dante, we''ll be able to tell if the GTS friendship with us is legit or not," the handler continued.


    The trip was going to last ten days, and they were going to be using a private jet to travel there quickly.


    After Camille was finished with her instructions, the groups went to their rooms to prepare their luggage.


    While Dante lay in bed playing with his BeamDeck, Sophia sat on the floor of their room while picking out clothing to take with her.


    Megan grabbed a deck of clothing and quickly picked a few pieces before putting them in her bag. Then, she sat beside Sophia to help with her packing.


    When the warlock paused his game and focused his attention on the women, he curiously asked them for more details on the other mafia groups besides the Jade Dragons.


    Megan replied, saying that the Onyx Cartel were the ones in charge of the west side of Novaria, with their territory being separated by the Lunaria Mountain Range.


    Novaria had an extensive mountain range that expanded from the south to the north, splitting the east and west and separating the north side of the country.


    "If you cross the mountains to the west, you get to the cartel''s territory¡­" Megan explained.


    The Onyx Cartel was one of the biggest sellers and producers of illegal drugs all over the world, but that wasn''t the only business they handled. They were also known for human trafficking, terrorism, and plenty of other things.


    The Azure Rebels were the mafia group in the north, which was the coldest area of Novaria.


    Megan explained that, in the past, the Azure Rebels were formed after a violent dictator had taken control of Novaria, and they were responsible for starting a civil war that freed the country.


    "That was a long time ago, so it''s not like I was even born during that time¡­" Megan commented.


    A few years after the dictatorship in Novaria had fallen, the Azure Rebels began small wars and encounters with the Onyx Cartel and the Jade Dragons, wanting to expand their territory. However, they weren''t successful in their attempts.


    By the time Megan was born, the Azure Rebels group had stopped fighting and focused solely on the creation and distribution of weapons.


    These actions made Megan believe that their group''s ideals had diluted with time, so she saw them as another criminal gang.


    The Golden Twilight Syndicate was similar to the Jade Dragons, as they had legal businesses that gave the citizens more opportunities.


    They would create thousands of jobs and move the economy to balance the lifestyles of the people living in the South, as the GTS had influence over the taxes that people paid there.


    "It''s been a long time since we saw Curtis and Lindsey¡­ I wonder how they look now," Sophia interjected in the conversation.


    "Who''s that?" Dante pondered aloud.


    "The leaders of GTS¡ªThey are two siblings," Megan replied. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hmm, that''s nice. Having more than one leader probably makes it easier¡­" Dante commented.


    "Well, I might be the leader in name, but without Camille, I would be pretty useless when it comes to the business stuff¡­" Megan said.


    "I don''t think that''s a bad thing. We all have our strengths and weaknesses¡­ If it weren''t for you guys, I would''ve just wandered this country for who knows how long?" Dante confidently replied.

 Chapter 159 - 159: New Arcadia

    A week after Camille told everyone the plans for their vacations, they were ready at the gates of the Jade Palace with their luggage in hand.


    It was a pretty large group consisting of Dante, Zac, Megan, Sophia, Victoria, Clara, Maya, the two Tylers, Alice, June, Asher, Amara, Lilith, Saris, Cerberus, Camille, and her two servants¡ªRina and Rona.


    The handler asked Paige and Dr. Sylva to join, but they declined as they were engrossed in their research.


    As the group arrived at the private airport nearest to their home, they were dropped right beside the black jet that would take them to New Arcadia.


    The plane was sleek and modern, able to hold forty-five passengers comfortably inside.


    The harpion twins were a bit restless at first, curious about every little button and switch they could press around their seats until Rina and Rona told them to stop.


    Dante was a bit surprised to see the twins heeding the servants'' requests, as young demons weren''t known for being obedient.


    When he inquired about their methods, the women said that parenting wasn''t any different for human children.


    "All you need is a little reward system," Rina said.


    Whenever the twins followed the servants'' instructions, they would be given sweets or snacks that they loved. If they were naughty, then Rina and Rona wouldn''t give them any.


    It was a simple method, and Dante was genuinely surprised at how effective it was, making him think that Rina and Rona were the wisest on the plane.


    The jet took a little less than an hour to get to their destination, landing at the private airport of New Arcadia.


    *Phew* "That was my first time flying¡­" Zac commented.


    "Me too¡­ I had seen them in movies, but this is pretty incredible," Dante replied, surprised at how smooth their travel was.


    After the group was picked up by a large bus, it drove along a coastal road where they could see the beautiful, sandy beach on one side.


    On the other side, the street with restaurants and bars filled with people wearing bathing suits.


    Camille explained to the group that they were passing by the most popular area in the city, known as "Arcadia Street," which had tons of restaurants, resorts, and a lively nightlife that attracted many tourists.


    When the group arrived at their beachfront hotel, the servants gathered around the bus and started to diligently carry their luggage inside.


    They were staying at the "Golden Twilight Resort," which was owned by the GTS group, and the entire building was solely reserved for the Jade Dragons.


    Each person in the group received a key to their bedroom, and Dante was surprised to see that they put him in a room with Megan and Sophia.


    However, Camille clarified and said that she had chosen the rooms herself, so the same groups from the Jade Palace would also be roommates at the resort.


    After everyone went to their rooms to change into their appropriate beachwear, Camille told Dante and Megan that she would need them later at night as they had a meeting with the GTS leaders.


    During the day, the group spent their time at the beach right in front of their resort, where they had taken a cooler that had beer, water, and fruit juices for everyone. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dante and Zac arrived at the beach before everyone, having changed into their bathing suits quite fast. While Dante was planting a shading umbrella for the first time in the sand, Zac suddenly froze in perplexity.


    "Am I doing this right¡­? Zac?" Dante asked, seeing that his friend was looking away with his eyes widened.


    As the warlock turned his gaze, he saw Victoria, Saris, and Maya approaching them, with the two Tylers walking behind them.


    Victoria was wearing a red swimsuit bra and a beach sarong that highlighted her voluptuous figure, making Zac''s brain melt for a moment.


    Saris, the banshee, wore a black full-body swimsuit, which made her pale complexion glow slightly with the sun. She was much slimmer than the two women beside her, but her figure could''ve still seduced plenty of people.


    Maya, who had a more defined body, wore a two-piece black bikini that showcased all of her defined muscles, catching the attention of the people around them as she walked by.


    While Zac was at a loss for words when he saw the women approaching them, Dante focused his attention on the two Tylers, who were shirtless in bathing shorts and carrying the coolers.


    A few minutes later, Megan, Sophia, and Lilith arrived, and Zac almost fainted again when he saw the woman walking towards them.


    Sophia''s sky-blue bikini seemed like it was about to burst at any moment due to the sheer pressure that the blonde''s breast had on the fabric.


    Megan wore an emerald bikini bra and a sarong with gold and green accents that matched the color of her eyes.


    Lilith, on the other hand, wore a pretty revealing swimsuit that barely covered her intimate parts.


    Megan remembered the moment they were changing when she asked the queen if she was really going to wear that.


    Lilith, who was the Queen of Lust, always wore revealing outfits. The reason she had been using more modest clothing was after Camille warned her that she could get a fine for indecent exposure.


    However, now that they were in a beach city, where most people walked around half-naked, she believed that it would be no problem for her to wear something "sexier."


    Zac thought that he couldn''t get embarrassed any longer, but his expectations were shattered when Camille arrived at the beach with Alice and June.


    The redhead had always seen the handler wearing the same type of tight, short dress, so when she arrived wearing a silver bikini, he felt as if he had seen a goddess.


    Moreover, Alice and June were always wearing their police uniforms, so Zac couldn''t stop watching them confidently walk in their swimsuits.


    The rest of the group arrived shortly after, with Clara helping the servants take care of Asher and Amara, who kept running and playing on the beach''s shore.

 Chapter 160 - 160: The Autumn Handler

    After Dante and his group spent a lovely day at the beach, the warlock was given a suit to wear at the night meeting.


    Dante had never worn clothing like that, and when Megan saw him having trouble with his tie, the woman approached him to help him out.


    Megan wore a blazer jacket with an emerald buttoned shirt underneath and dark pants, and when she stepped before the warlock, he gazed at her eyes and got slightly embarrassed.


    "Here, I got it¡­" Megan said, gently tying Dante''s green tie around his neck.


    "Does it look good?" Dante asked.


    "Mhmm, not bad at all," the brunette replied.


    As Sophia wished them good luck at the meeting and waved, the pair went to the lobby where Camille was waiting for them and boarded an SUV that took them to a skyscraper a few minutes away from the beach.


    While inside the car, Dante pondered if he should use his mask to hide his identity, but Camille denied it.


    "These guys are our allies, so if we bring you in there with your face covered, they might think we don''t trust them¡­" Camille said.


    The warlock understood the handler''s instructions and enjoyed the car ride until they got to their destination.


    "It''s been a long time!" A woman greeted the trio as soon as they entered the building.


    She had long, light-orange hair and was wearing a blazer jacket that showcased the tattoos covering her neck and chest.


    Camille approached the woman and locked eyes with her momentarily, letting out a chuckle while exchanging a friendly hug.


    "It''s good to see you are still alive," the orange-haired woman commented.


    "I did promise I would come back for my companies," Camille replied with a playful tone, turning around and introducing the woman to Dante.


    "This is Melinda Autumn, the Handler of the Autumn Family," she said.


    Dante politely introduced himself as Dante Shadowvale while he analyzed the woman''s umbra, noticing that there was no ill intent towards them.


    "Let''s talk more in the briefing room¡­ The siblings are waiting for us there," Melinda said, guiding the trio.


    When they entered the room, they found two figures waiting for them behind a large table, their golden locks being the first feature that Dante noticed.


    The pair stood up from their seats and turned to look at the trio, making Dante squint his eyes with a bit of suspicion, but he didn''t say anything other than his introduction.


    "I''m Curtis Vercrux, and this is my sister Lindsey¡­ We are the current leaders of the Golden Twilight Syndicate," the blond man said, his tone serious.


    The two siblings looked very much alike, as they shared the same golden hair and golden eyes.


    Even their white suits with golden linings matched the color of their hair and eyes.


    Melinda led the conversation, inviting the Jade Dragons to take a seat so they could discuss their business.


    "As you know, we''ve been managing Camille''s talent agency for the past eight years¡­" Melinda commented.


    When Camille transferred the ownership of several of the Jade Dragons'' companies, they signed a contract that stated that it would be given back when the handler asked for it.


    The contract stated that only Camille could ask for ownership back, so if she had died in the war against the Blood Dragons, all of those assets would have stayed under GTS control.


    Melinda slid a contract across the table, landing before Camille, which the woman signed after skimming through it.


    "Now that the talent agency business is finished, we should talk more important matters¡­" Melinda said.


    "Have you guys had any contact with the people from the Onyx Cartel?" the Autumn handler asked.


    The trio kept their expressions silent and unchanging, knowing that any type of reaction could expose their thoughts.


    "Let me guess¡­ They are bothering you too?" Camille inquired.


    Melinda shut her eyes with a pensive face, making the leader, Lindsey, speak up.


    "We found out that they were entering our territory to kidnap tourists¡­" the girl explained.


    "We don''t know what the hell is wrong with them, but they''ve been getting pretty ballsy lately," Lindsey continued, her tone sounding annoyed and frustrated.


    The brother interjected and said that they were also targeting one of the idols signed under Camille''s talent agency.


    "What?" Camille asked in disbelief. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was highly foolish for mafia groups to mess with people with influence, and they had to resort to it whenever they ran out of options.


    However, the GTS discovered that one of the "Dons" leading the cartel had a crush on the idol, which was the reason there had been three different attempts to kidnap her.


    "Hmm, well, I do think we have enough security to protect her¡­" Camille muttered.


    In exchange for the information, Camille told the GTS group about the Onyx Cartel''s schemes at Novis, not mentioning anything about demons or magic.


    When the Jade Dragons got attacked eight years ago, Camille revealed to Melinda the fact that it was a monster who had attacked them. However, she never had the opportunity to prove it.


    As time passed and Dante arrived on Earth, the mystery of the monster''s origins was revealed to be demons, and Camille thought it would be best to keep all of that information a secret, as she didn''t want other people to be corrupted.


    Nonetheless, even though Camille avoided talking about those details, Melinda still remembered her words about the monster.


    "Cami¡­ What was the monster that attacked you?" Melinda asked directly.


    "I''m keeping that information a secret¡­ For your own good," Camille replied.


    "No. You don''t get it¡­" Melinda muttered in a severe tone.


    "We''ve seen them too¡ªthe monsters," she continued, surprising the Jade Dragon trio.


    Camille was about to inquire more but was stopped by Dante, who gently placed his hand on her shoulder.


    "How did they look like?" Dante asked.


    "I can''t say for sure, but we have a drawing that one of our soldiers made," Melinda said, sliding another piece of paper toward them.


    When Dante looked at the drawing, he thought it looked like a "ghoul," but he kept his words to himself, not knowing if he should reveal it.

 Chapter 161 - 161: The Leaders of the GTS

    While Dante, Camille, and Megan exchanged information with the leaders of the Golden Twilight Syndicate, the warlock kept suspiciously squinting at the two blonde siblings.


    Camille avoided mentioning demons but still revealed to the GTS that the Onyx Cartel was behind the creation of the Blood Dragons.


    "We don''t know their motives, but it seems they were trying their best to wipe us out without fighting us directly," Camille commented.


    "It''s the same for us¡ªWe only just recently discovered they were connected to the kidnapped tourists¡­" Melinda said.


    She clarified her statement by saying that their advances towards their group weren''t as substantial as it was for the Jade Dragons, as they hadn''t had any large casualties. Still, the Autumn handler was afraid that they were just getting started.


    The group decided to end the meeting early so that they could discuss the information, organizing a second one that would take place a few days later.


    "We''ll see you in three days. Enjoy New Arcadia," Melinda said with a friendly smile to Dante and his group before they left the building.


    The trio didn''t say a word until they arrived at their hotel, knowing that even the driver who took them there worked for the GTS, so they couldn''t divulge information carelessly.


    "Let''s go to your room," Camille said.


    When they arrived, Sophia was expectantly waiting for them, wanting to hear how the meeting went.


    "Alright, Dante¡­ Thoughts?" Camille asked the warlock as soon as the door closed behind them.


    During the meeting, Dante didn''t take his eyes off Curtis and Lindsey, the two leader siblings of GTS.


    Camille and Megan noticed the warlock''s strange demeanor, but they couldn''t ask him what was wrong at the time, so they waited until they were alone to ask.


    "Yeah¡­ I was looking at the siblings'' mana flow," Dante replied, inquisitively placing a hand on his chin.


    The women wanted him to elaborate, so he explained that all living beings produced a little bit of mana in the same way they produced umbra.


    However, while umbra was created from negative emotions, mana was a natural source that was constantly produced by living beings.


    "The mana flow in Novis is very faint compared to this place¡­ Probably since we are right next to the ocean, this area gets a nice supplement of mana from the environment," Dante elaborated. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, even though every human possessed a little bit of mana, the energy he detected flowing from the siblings was much stronger, so he suspected that they had had some sort of magical training.


    Camille widened her eyes in disbelief, as she had never heard anything about the GTS being able to use magic. Nonetheless, Dante was utterly sure that a person with no magical knowledge could never have the mana pool the siblings had.


    Hearing the warlock''s words, Megan had a sudden flashback to her childhood to the day she met the siblings for the first time.


    Megan was only ten years old at the time. Curtis was two years older than her, and Lindsey a year younger.


    The brunette always thought that the siblings acted quite arrogant, so she tried to distance herself from them.


    One night, when the GTS stayed at the Jade Dragons'' residence as guests, Megan heard Lindsey crying to her brother, saying that her training wasn''t going as planned.


    The brother patted his sister on the head with encouragement, saying that he would help her practice.


    ''Maybe they aren''t that bad¡­'' Little Megan thought.


    She never discovered what their training was about, thinking that it resembled the same type of combat training that Megan had been doing.


    However, after their recent meeting and Dante''s assessment, she pondered if those old memories had something to do with their current mana.


    "It''s very likely they were being taught magic¡­ Their mana flow wasn''t that big of a deal, but it was still a lot more powerful than a normal person''s," Dante explained after hearing Megan''s story.


    "Dante, are you saying that someone like you is working with the GTS?" Camille inquired.


    "Well, not exactly like me¡­" Dante clarified.


    "I mean, from your world," the handler continued.


    "It''s very possible¡­" Dante said.


    While Dante was able to control a little bit of mana, he was by no means a wizard, so he wasn''t able to teach mana control to the people around him.


    "Could it be that they have a wizard working with them?" Camille pondered aloud.


    "I''m not sure¡­ If it''s a wizard, then they must be pretty knowledgeable," Dante commented.


    "How so?" Asked the handler.


    Dante continued explaining, saying that while the man had the mana of a wizard apprentice, the girl seemed to be an "elementalist."


    An elementalist was a mage who could call upon the spirits of the four elements to help them, making any elemental spell they cast much more powerful.


    "I can''t see the elemental spirits as clearly as an elementalist, but I can still differentiate their mana pretty easily¡­" Dante elaborated.


    "So, you are saying that Lindsey can see these spirits?" Megan asked, imagining the girl looking at ghosts.


    Dante chuckled. "No, no. Elemental spirits don''t have a body or face¡­ I would say they look more like a firefly," he said.


    "Hmm, I do remember that the members of the GTS would ''pray'' to an entity called the Golden Fox¡­ I always thought it was meant to be for good luck, but could that fox be a spirit?" Camille asked, trying to deduce an answer.


    "No, a fox isn''t an elemental spirit¡­ Although, I''ve heard of a Golden Fox before," said Dante, rubbing his chin.


    In the world of Terra, the Golden Fox was one of the Sacred Beasts, known to be an entity that brought good fortune to the people who saw her.


    "Her?" Megan asked.


    "Yes, the Golden Fox is a woman¡­ I saw her one time when I was still a child," Dante replied.


    "Hmm, this got a lot more interesting than what I expected¡­" Camille said with a slight smile on her face.

 Chapter 162 - 162: The Golden Fox

    After Dante and his group left the meeting with the Golden Twilight Syndicate group, Melinda turned her head to the siblings to ask for their thoughts.


    "Megan and Camille looked the same as always¡­ But who the hell was that new guy?" Curtis asked.


    "Camille told me he was one of their new members. He said his name was Dante¡­" The Autumn handler said. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The GTS had already tried looking up more information about the warlock, but all they found were the forged documents that Camille made for him soon after his mysterious arrival in their world.


    Melinda knew that Dante''s information looked too neat to be real, and she was aware of the methods that Camille used to hide their members'' identities.


    Still, even after knowing that the information was fake, they couldn''t find anything else relating to the warlock.


    "He asked us what the monster looked like¡­ Do you think he knows something about it?" Lindsey interjected.


    "It''s possible¡­ Camille told me years ago that the Jade Dragons were attacked by a monster, but she didn''t mention it today," Melinda replied.


    "Let''s discuss it with Granny¡­ She always has some insight on stuff like this," Curtis said as he stood up from his seat.


    As the leaders of the GTS made their way out of the building with Melinda, they were taken to a mansion located at the tip of a cliff beside a beach.


    The residence was elegant, with a slight air of Eastern influence in its architecture and decorations.


    After parking the cars in the clean driveway, Melinda stepped out and carelessly stretched her arms as if she were preparing for a physical activity.


    As the trio made their way through the refined wooden floor, they stopped before two sliding double doors and knocked faintly.


    "Granny¡­?" Curtis asked after knocking.


    A second later, the doors slid open by themselves, giving the trio a glance at the enchantingly beautiful woman sitting on a plush cushion on the other side.


    She looked like a woman in her mid-20s or early 30s, with long, straight golden locks that cascaded down her back and landed on the floor.


    Her golden eyes shimmered brighter than those of the two siblings, and her delicate body was covered in a thin, silky robe.


    Still, not even the woman''s beauty was able to hide her most prominent features¡ªher fox ears and her long, fluffy tail.


    "Curtis, how was the meeting?" The woman asked, her tone solemn and gentle.


    "Granny, there are some things we need to discuss with you," Curtis replied, sitting on the cushion before the woman.


    Melinda pulled out a tablet with a screenshot of Dante and gave it to the woman, who held the device with a raised eyebrow.


    "That''s one of the newest members of the Jade Dragons¡­" Melinda commented.


    Still, Granny didn''t respond and kept staring at the picture, squinting her eyes while the handler kept talking.


    "This is his full name," Melinda continued, swiping the picture on the tablet to the next one, which showed Dante''s information.


    As soon as Granny spotted the name, her eyes widened in shock, followed by a frown that left the woman deep in thought.


    "A warlock¡­?" she muttered, catching the attention of her three visitors.


    "A-aren''t those the dangerous evil mages you spoke about when we were kids?" Lindsey nervously inquired.


    "Yes¡­" Granny replied with a serious tone, making the three perk up with anticipation.


    "But this child seems somewhat familiar¡­ Hmmm," Granny continued, placing a hand on her chin.


    "He seemed to know something about the ghouls when we showed him the picture," Curtis said.


    "I see¡­" Granny replied, standing up from her seat and slowly walking towards the window at the back of her room, overlooking the ocean.


    "Let''s have the next meeting here," the woman said, gracefully waving her tail to the side.


    "Eh!? Are you sure!?" Lindsey exclaimed, afraid that a warlock would attack them.


    "Warlocks were evil, but they weren''t stupid¡ªI doubt he is going to harm us," Granny said, keeping her eyes on the ocean view.


    "Besides¡­ I knew a couple of warlocks who were decent people," she continued, surprising the leaders.


    "Mhmm, I understand¡ªI''ll bring them here in three days," Melinda confidently said.


    After the three guests left the room, Granny took another glance at the tablet with Dante''s picture, softening her gaze.


    ''Ah¡­ It''s that boy,'' The woman thought, letting out a smile.


    ''Kid, what the hell are you doing here?'' She kept pondering with an amused expression.


    ____________________


    *Achoo!* Dante sneezed in his room as he prepared himself to get into bed, wondering if someone was talking about him.


    The following day, after the meeting, Dante and his group went back to the beach to have some fun.


    Nonetheless, Camille couldn''t stop thinking about their conversation with the GTS and approached Dante to ask him more about the monster in the drawing.


    Dante said that, while he couldn''t be one hundred percent sure since it was a drawing, he believed it was a "ghoul."


    "Ghouls are undead monsters that can be created from dead humans or animals¡­" Dante explained.


    "Undead? Like a zombie?" Camille inquired.


    The warlock nodded affirmatively, saying that there were plenty of ways to create a ghoul, so he wasn''t sure of the origins of the monster.


    From his point of view, the monster could have somehow fallen into the Celestial Alignment Convergence like Dante, but he doubted that the ghoul would make rational decisions without a master.


    Zac, interested in the conversation, approached the pair and inquired about the supposed "ghoul," prompting Camille to show him the drawing.


    "Hmm, it looks pretty ugly," Zac commented, inspecting the picture.


    In the redhead''s mind, nothing could be scarier than the faces of the wraiths and fiends he fought against at Highpoint Town, so seeing the drawing of a monster didn''t have much of an effect on him anymore.


    "Camille, we should take Zac with us to the next meeting," Dante said to the handler.


    "Hmm? Yeah, okay¡­" Camille said without hesitation, aware that Dante didn''t suggest ideas at random.

 Chapter 163 - 163: Mana Control

    During one of the free days at New Arcadia, Dante went out to take a walk with Megan and Sophia, arriving at a street beside the beach that was filled with shops and restaurants.


    The warlock felt a little strange when wearing a bathing suit, a sleeveless shirt, and sandals. Still, seeing everyone else wearing similar fashion made him feel more relieved.


    Megan wore jean shorts with her green bikini top, showcasing her toned midriff and legs¡ªand Sophia had a long, cotton skirt around her tight waist and a blue bikini top that matched her eyes.


    The three of them didn''t notice at first, but their appearances were catching the attention of many passersby, who glanced at them with both admiration and curiosity.


    After stopping at an ice cream cart and buying themselves a refreshing snack, they entered a gift shop, where Sophia started to playfully try on different sunglasses for Dante and Megan.


    Once the blonde had taken a few pictures with her phone, they kept walking along the beachside street and arrived at a seafood restaurant, where a captivating aroma caught the warlock''s attention.


    With a smile on her face, Sophia grabbed both Megan and Dante by the wrists and pulled them along with her into the restaurant.


    "Wow, you really like seafood¡­" Sophia commented, surprised to see Dante enthusiastically eating from the different dishes they were sharing.


    Dante, with his mouth half-full, explained that eating seafood in his world was a rare occurrence, as he only had that luxury whenever he was staying at a port town.


    When it came to technology, Terra was thousands of years behind Earth, so they didn''t have the same methods of transportation and food preservation that the humans on Earth had.


    For that reason, seafood wasn''t something that could be found in cities away from the coast, as the meat would spoil before getting to their destinations.


    Sophia endearingly chuckled, "I''ll have to make more seafood dishes when we get back home, then¡­" she said, slightly embarrassing Dante.


    While the trio kept eating, Megan inquired about the mana flow that Dante sensed in the GTS leaders, wondering how he could perceive something other than umbra.


    "To look at someone''s mana flow, I need to focus my own mana in my eyes¡­" Dante explained.


    "It''s an involuntary reaction at this point," he continued, saying that it was second nature for him to look at other people''s energy flow.


    "Hmm, I thought warlocks practiced solely with umbra¡­" Megan said, taking a bite.


    "Yeah, most of them do¡­ I was just lucky I got to meet some people who taught me," the warlock answered.


    When Dante was around fourteen years old, he was practicing his magic outside his small home in Shadowvale when he met a tall, blonde woman with fox ears and a tail.


    The warlock didn''t know who the woman was, but he recognized her animal features as that of a ''Sacred Beast.''


    "You must be the kid Xander is taking care of¡­" The woman said to the young warlock.


    At that moment, Dante understood that the Sacred Beast before him was acquainted with his teacher, so he felt a bit more comfortable around the woman.


    "I don''t know why, but she stayed with me for two weeks teaching me the basics of mana control¡­ Then she left, and I never saw her again¡ªNot like I expected to see her since she was a Sacred Beast and all¡­" Dante said as he reminisced about his past.


    Years later, after Dante had joined his party, an elven woman called Faelyn taught him a few more spells and advanced mana control.


    However, Dante didn''t have the innate talent to become a full-fledged wizard, so he only used mana for basic activities.


    To demonstrate what he could do, Dante grabbed his lemonade and showed the women how it began to frost the surface of the glass slightly.


    Megan and Sophia were a bit surprised. Even though they had seen Dante casting magic multiple times, they could tell that whenever he used mana, his magic looked different.


    "It''s so pretty¡­" Sophia muttered as she inspected the frosted glass.


    "Ice magic was the one I had the most affinity with. It''s not a big deal compared to a real wizard, but it still allows me to cast something small like this¡­" Dante elaborated.


    ____________________ Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Somewhere else around the beachside street, Zac was walking around with Victoria and Saris.


    The redhead found it relieving that the women were being friendly with each other, considering they had completely opposite personalities.


    Victoria was a bubbly girl who liked to smile, could get easily scared, and was kind and caring of other people.


    On the other hand, Saris had a more somber but graceful appearance¡ªand while she had a sharp tongue occasionally, she was very reserved most of the time.


    At one point, the two girls pulled Zac into a clothing shop after seeing the dresses on the display, where they stayed for one hour picking out accessories.


    "Hey, Zac¡­ What do you think?" Victoria beckoned the redhead to the changing room.


    When his eyes landed on the brunette, his face got as red as a tomato in an instant, noticing that she was showing him a laced undergarment that was too seductive for him to handle.


    As the curtain to the changing room beside them abruptly slid open, Saris appeared wearing a two-piece bikini, which made her pale complexion shimmer a bit under the light.


    "Hmph, how''s this?" Saris asked with a hint of arrogance while her cheeks flushed a little.


    *Gulp* "I¡­ Ah¡­" Zac''s brain stopped working, making the two women approach him with confused expressions.


    However, the soft and delicate figures only made the redhead more nervous as they got closer to him, pondering if he was okay.


    Not paying attention to the girls'' concerns, Zac slapped his face three times, leaving his palms marked on his face, and gazed at his companions with determination.


    "You both look beautiful, and my body can''t handle having you so close!" Zac exclaimed, his words reaching the entire shop.


    Victoria and Saris were perplexed for a brief moment, sharing a look with each other before chuckling and returning to the changing rooms.


    ''Were they just teasing me¡­?'' Zac thought with a mortified face.

 Chapter 164 - 164: The Entity at the Golden Castle

    When the day of the second meeting with the leaders of the GTS arrived, Dante, Megan, Sophia, Zac, and Camille were picked up by one of the drivers of the Autumn handler.


    Sophia decided to tag along with the others, as she was also familiar with Curtis and Lindsey, and she just wanted to greet them after a long time.


    However, instead of taking the group to the same building as last time, it took them to a large mansion at the tip of a cliff right beside the coast.


    As they arrived at the residence''s driveway, Dante noticed the fountain in the courtyard with a tall, beautifully made golden fox statue in the center.


    The group praised the architecture of the place as they scanned their surroundings, commenting about the serene environment and how calming it felt.


    "Welcome to the Golden Castle," Melinda said as she stepped into the courtyard to greet the guests.


    "Hi, Melinda!" Sophia cheerfully greeted the Autumn handler, who returned the greeting with a smile and a hug.


    "Sheesh, you''ve grown a lot," Melinda commented, gazing at the blonde''s chest.


    Behind the handler, Curtis and Lindsey stepped outside, greeting the Jade Dragons with a friendlier demeanor than in their first meeting. However, Dante could tell that their friendly words weren''t genuine.


    ''Hmm, I don''t sense any ill intention, but I also don''t sense any good ones¡­'' The warlock thought.


    Still, as Dante kept inspecting the energy flow of the siblings, he noticed that their greeting with Sophia was real.


    ''Was that relief¡­?'' Dante thought, confused about the siblings'' intentions.


    He could see that the GTS members had a certain level of amiability with Sophia, Megan, and Camille. However, they did not trust Zac and the warlock a single bit.


    "I hope that today we can clear any doubts and misunderstandings¡­" Melinda said, guiding the group inside the mansion.


    As soon as Dante took a single step on the wooden floor, he felt a massive source of mana coming from within the house, generating a powerful pressure that froze him in his place.


    "Stop¡­" Dante muttered to his companions, who instantly halted their walk.


    Melinda and the siblings turned around with slightly confused expressions, wondering if they were not going to follow.


    "Dante, what''s wrong?" Camille asked, seeing the warlock perked with anticipation.


    With a sharp gaze, Dante locked his crimson eyes on Melinda and the siblings, releasing his suppressed umbra that made the three widen their eyes in shock.


    They couldn''t see the energy flowing out of his body, but the overwhelming pressure that he produced was enough to freeze them in terror.


    "I''ll ask one time¡­ Who the hell is in there?" Dante asked, his commanding tone leaving no room for small talk.


    As he waited for Melinda and the siblings to ease their shock, Dante turned and warned his group to stay away from the mansion.


    "There is something powerful inside¡­ I don''t know if it''s a trap or something else," the warlock explained.


    Camille took a few steps back out of the mansion, ignoring the servants who couldn''t even stay standing from the overwhelming pressure coming from Dante.


    *Tch!* "What the hell is your deal, Melinda!?" Camille shouted with anger in her voice.


    "Were you planning on assassinating us all this time!?" she continued, enraged.


    Still, Dante''s aura had the three individuals frozen in utter shock, leaving them unable to speak or move a muscle. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''No¡­ Cami, it''s not like that!'' Melinda thought, but the words didn''t come out of her mouth.


    "Ah, I wondered why such a filthy umbral aura appeared in my home¡­" The voice of a woman echoed in the halls.


    Dante winced with suspicion, feeling a strange sensation of familiarity when he heard the woman''s voice.


    From the hallway, a tall, enchantingly beautiful woman with fox ears and a tail appeared, casually walking towards her three stunned companions.


    As soon as the warlock detailed the mysterious woman''s figure, he dropped his shoulders and suppressed his umbra, making Melinda and the siblings gasp as if they had been holding their breaths for minutes.


    When Camille glanced at Dante, she saw his eyes were widened in disbelief, making her wonder what was happening.


    "Imera¡­" Dante muttered in a low tone.


    "Long time no see, little warlock," the woman replied with a slight smile.


    "Granny¡­ You know each other?" Lindsey asked while still catching her breath from Dante''s intimidation.


    "I believe there is a misunderstanding, little warlock¡ªI didn''t ask my grandkids to bring you here for an ambush," Imera clarified.


    Dante was still stunned at the sight of the Golden Fox, remembering that the last time he saw her was when he was fourteen years old.


    "Little warlock? Dante, who is that woman?" Megan inquired.


    "Do you remember that story I told you about the random woman who taught me mana control when I was a kid in Shadowvale?" Dante replied with another question.


    Sophia and Megan were taken aback, and while Camille and Zac wanted to be caught up in the events, Imera asked them to step inside to talk more comfortably.


    The group was taken to a lovely room with a view of the ocean and a small table in the center, surrounded by cushions to sit on.


    Once everyone was comfortable, a couple of servants entered the room and served them a cup of tea and refreshments before leaving them to their business.


    Imera began the conversation by addressing the elephant in the room and introducing herself as "Imera, the Golden Fox."


    In any other ordinary setting, Imera wouldn''t even come out to greet someone, as her existence was solely a secret kept by the GTS.


    However, after she saw the picture of Dante, she knew that the Jade Dragons had some sort of connection to her old world, so she didn''t see a disadvantage in telling them the truth.


    "I wasn''t sure if it was really the same boy I met a long time ago, but when I sensed his filthy umbra, I instantly recognized him," Imera said with a gentle smile.

 Chapter 165 - 165: The Arrival of the Sacred Beast

    When Dante and his group began talking with Imera and the leaders of the GTS, she apologized for the misunderstanding, explaining that she hadn''t had to worry about concealing her mana for a long time.


    Dante politely apologized in return, saying that it had been such a long time since he saw her that he couldn''t recognize her mana, so it was also his fault. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Imera chuckled, wondering why the warlock had become so polite, as he was quite rude when he was a child.


    "Well, after I met my first family of nobles, I realized it would be a hassle to deal with them unless I just said what they wanted to hear¡­" Dante replied.


    Reminiscing of the old times, Dante was seventeen years old when he left Shadowvale and arrived at a human town at the border.


    After buying a map of the area, he started making his way to a big city to register as an adventurer. Suddenly, he saw an elegant carriage being attacked by a small pack of goblins, so the warlock dispatched them with ease.


    Inside the carriage, an old nobleman was shivering with fear, so Dante decided to give him a hand and get him out safely.


    "The monsters are dead, old man. You can come out," Dante said.


    However, instead of being thanked for his assistance, the nobleman was indignant at the fact that Dante spoke so casually to him.


    The nobleman called him a filthy commoner, unimportant trash who dared to speak to a Lord with such a tone.


    Nevertheless, Dante was wholly indifferent to the man''s bickering and ended up leaving him alone with his destroyed carriage.


    Still, the interaction was so annoying to Dante that he didn''t want to go through it again, so he started learning how to properly speak to nobles.


    Imera started laughing after Dante told his story, which surprised the siblings, as it was rare to see the Golden Fox having fun.


    "Aww, that was good¡­" Imera mused, wiping a little tear from her eye.


    "I''m glad you enjoyed the story¡­ Now, we can leave the reminiscing for later¡ªI''m curious to know what the hell are you even doing here?" Dante asked.


    Imera let out a serene smile and gazed out the window, saying that she had fallen into the Celestial Alignment Convergence, which brought her to the shores of New Arcadia.


    The Jade Dragons knew what the convergence was since Dante had told them it was a natural phenomenon that brought him there. However, another force sent the warlock through the portal, while Imera said she ''fell'' into it.


    "You fell?" Dante pondered aloud.


    Imera elaborated and said that she was hunting down a mage called Wolfram, unaware that the man was researching the convergence, trying to recreate it.


    However, during her battle with the mage, she ended up falling into the portal, plummeting from the skies and landing on the beach of New Arcadia.


    A blond man watched the scene and ran to the unconscious woman to offer his help, detailing her fox features and taking her to a safe place where other people wouldn''t see her.


    The man''s name was Marcus Vercrux, the first leader and founder of the Golden Twilight Syndicate. However, the mafia family didn''t exist at the time of her arrival.


    Imera and Marcus ended up falling in love with each other, and their descendants had been the ones leading the GTS ever since, keeping the identity of the Golden Fox a secret.


    "The founder? That must have been a little over a hundred years ago¡­" Camille muttered.


    "Sacred Beasts live for two to three thousand years¡­" Dante replied, shocking the people of his group.


    "No wonder I sensed that mana from the siblings¡­ They are literally your grandchildren," the warlock continued, placing a hand on his chin with amusement.


    "Sorry, Cami¡­ I couldn''t just tell you about this," Melinda interjected.


    "No, no. I overreacted, too¡ªThe thought that a friend could betray me made me lose my cool¡­ Sorry, Meli," Camille said to her friend with an apologetic smile.


    "Uhh, yeah. Apologies for releasing all that umbra," Dante politely said.


    "It''s fine, little warlock. These children needed a reality check¡­ They''ve been quite bigheaded after mastering a few simple spells," Imera said with a face of approval.


    "Now, if you really want to make it up, you could catch me up on the state of Terra¡­ I haven''t heard anything since I got here, you know?" Imera continued.


    The warlock scoffed with a chuckle and said that it wouldn''t be a problem. However, there was something in his mind that was bothering him.


    "You said you arrived a little over a hundred years ago, correct?" Dante asked.


    "Mhmm, that should be about right," Imera nodded.


    "Hmmm¡­ If I were to consider you disappeared one or two years after your visit at Shadowvale, then it would have happened a little over TWO hundred years ago," Dante deduced, shocking everyone in the room except for Imera.


    "Interesting, so while we have the same amount of days in a year, the flow of time is different for each world¡­" the fox woman mused, fascinated by the information.


    With both the Jade Dragons and the GTS finding something in common, the group spent hours sharing information with each other, breaking their barriers of secrecy as they knew they were all on the same side.


    Dante and Camille told them in detail everything that happened with the Blood Dragons, mentioning Astaroth and the atrocities he committed in Novis.


    Moreover, they revealed that it had all started after the Onyx Cartel gave Sabelio a grimoire, which taught the old man how to control umbra and conduct a ritual to summon the demons.


    "There was one place we found, and I wonder if you might know anything about it¡­" Dante said to Imera, mentioning the cathedral built for the Pantheon of Four.


    The Sacred Beast widened her eyes in disbelief, asking if the warlock was sure about it, so Camille showed her a few pictures they had taken after the cathedral was almost entirely demolished.


    In the picture, the insignia of the gods'' pantheon was clear, making Imera scoff with annoyance¡ªan expression that Curtis and Lindsey had never seen their granny do before.

 Chapter 166 - 166: Fire Wizard Vs. Berserker

    As the members of the GTS and the Jade Dragons kept exchanging information, the siblings asked their Granny why she seemed so upset about the cathedral.


    Imera explained that all Sacred Beasts had a grudge against the Pantheon of Four, as they were the ones who sealed the ''true'' gods of Terra.


    Sacred Beasts were a direct creation of God Arkanos and Goddess Discordia, so when the four godchildren turned against their parents and sealed them, many of the ancient races started to resent the pantheon.


    During her explanation, Imera turned to Dante, wondering how he managed to live for so long.


    It wasn''t uncommon for warlocks to extend their lifespans with demon contracts, but Imera could tell that Dante had used another method.


    "Heh, it''s a pretty long story¡­" Dante replied.


    "We have time¡­" Imera said with a gentle smile.


    When Dante told her the story of Goddess Aelara descending and giving the warlock and his party the "Ageless Blessing," Imera angrily clenched her fists, knowing that the blessing was just a trap for the goddess to control her own soldiers.


    Dante and his party were aware of that fact, but they couldn''t deny the goddess at the time, or they would''ve been killed.


    "I''m sorry, little warlock¡­" Imera said with a somber tone.


    Dante shook his head, telling the woman that there was nothing to apologize for, but he still appreciated her sentiment.


    "Honestly, it''s quite relieving to know that you have been here all this time¡­ I thought you were dead," the warlock continued.


    After the group kept talking for a little while, Imera inquired about Megan and Zac''s abilities, as she could sense a strong pool of umbra flowing from them.


    Dante explained that he had made a contract with them, using soulstones that had the remnants of hundreds of different demons he had absorbed in his lifetime.


    Imera found it interesting and praised Dante for his idea, prompting the warlock to ask about the mana control of the two leaders of the GTS.


    "That girl is an elementalist, right?" Dante asked, shocking Lindsey, as nobody outside her family had ever said that to her.


    "And you¡­ Hmmm¡­ A fire wizard?" Dante continued, glancing at Curtis.


    The group was silent for a brief second, with Imera breaking into a light chuckle, praising the warlock for his insight.


    "How about a little spar session between them?" Imera commented.


    "Eh?" Zac hummed with confusion, wondering if they were talking about him.


    After the group spent a little more time listening to Dante and Imera talking about issues from another world, they were guided to a room in the center of the mansion.


    In the middle of the room, an elevator chamber wholly surrounded by glass walls opened up for them, taking them to an underground room beneath the mansion.


    When they arrived, the Jade Dragons noticed that it looked similar to the lab at Camille''s skyscraper, and they even had their own version of the MET room for training.


    Imera wanted to see how her grandkid, Curtis, would hold himself against someone like Zac, so she asked them both to step into the training room.


    The space was expansive, so they had a lot of room to move around. However, there were no obstacles to use for cover, which Zac usually relied upon during his fights.


    As the two men stepped inside and locked eyes, Curtis maintained a serious frown, while Zac seemed a bit nervous, a drop of sweat coming down his temple.


    ''I didn''t know they would make me fight if I accompanied them¡­'' Zac thought, crying in his mind.


    "Where is your weapon?" Curtis asked, his tone slightly arrogant. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Uhh, I left it at the hotel¡­ It''s fine, though¡ªsince you don''t have a weapon either," Zac replied.


    The redhead didn''t mean for his words to sound condescending. In fact, he was trying to be chivalrous by showing that if his opponent had no weapon, then he wouldn''t use one either.


    However, Curtis completely misunderstood his tone. (''Does he think he doesn''t need a weapon to beat me!?'') he thought.


    After the two combatants were settled in their spots, standing a little over five meters away from each other, Imera signaled the start of the fight.


    Curtis raised his palm and pointed it at Zac, making a luminous, arcane circle appear in front of him.


    ''Woah¡­'' Zac thought, admiring the beauty of the magic circle.


    "Fireball," Curtis muttered, making the redhead widen his eyes.


    From the arcane circle before the blond man, fire accumulated rapidly into a projectile the size of a football and was shot straight at Zac.


    The spell seemingly hit the redhead straight-on, producing a cloud of smoke at the point of impact that prevented the spectators from looking at Zac.


    "Hmph," Curtis scoffed, lowering his hand and thinking the battle was over.


    Suddenly, a loud clap could be heard coming from the cloud of smoke, dispersing it away and showing Zac standing in the center of the impact, with his forearm slightly burned from the spell.


    ''That was so cool! An actual fireball spell!'' Zac thought after receiving the attack, unaware that his opponent was shocked at his resilience.


    "What the hell are you?" Curtis asked his opponent.


    Zac raised an eyebrow in utter confusion, wondering why Curtis looked so frustrated after casting such an excellent spell.


    "H-how did he take that fireball head-on?" Lindsey asked her Granny.


    Imera smirked. "That''s because that boy is a berserker¡­ Although, he seems quite unaware of his own strength," she said.


    Lindsey remembered the times she and her brother were practicing magic, and Curtis'' fireball spell would always explode and leave gaping holes in trees before they burned down.


    Nevertheless, Zac had taken the same spell head-on, using his forearm to protect himself and barely getting a scratch.


    The girl wondered aloud if her brother had used less mana, afraid of killing his opponent. Still, Imera denied it, saying that it was the same amount of power and that the redhead was simply too resilient.


    ''What the hell¡­?'' Lindsey thought, staring at Zac with a small hint of fear inside of her.


    Contrary to the confidence that his opponents were perceiving from him, Zac delved into his thoughts for a brief moment.


    ''I should thank him later for going easy on me¡­ A real fireball would probably kill me instantly,'' Zac thought, utterly unaware of the actual situation.

 Chapter 167 - 167: Elementalist Vs. Dark Rogue

    After Zac received the fireball spell from Curtis, the man realized that he would need something more powerful to win and pointed his palm back at the redhead.


    ''Oh, another spell!'' Zac thought with admiration, waiting for the man to cast it.


    "Fireblast!" Curtis shouted, releasing a powerful, fiery blast that covered half of the room where Zac was standing.


    Curtis smirked, thinking that he definitely had him that time. Nonetheless, Zac stood firm and protected himself from the blast by crossing both of his arms in front of him.


    His arms and clothing were slightly black from the burns, but the redhead didn''t seem to lose any mobility from it.


    ''God, that was so cool!'' Zac thought.


    *Tch!* "Are you looking down on me?" Curtis angrily said, clicking his tongue with annoyance.


    "Huh?" Zac hummed.


    Using almost all of his mana reserve, Curtis raised both hands in front of him and produced four different arcane circles behind him. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Fire Barrage!" Curtis shouted, releasing numerous fireballs from the magic circles that were aimed straight at Zac.


    As the projectiles kept shooting at his target, Curtis winced in fear when he saw Zac rushing out of the smoke, avoiding most of the fireballs coming his way.


    ''I need to cast fire dome!'' Curtis thought, but it was too late for him to cast another spell, as Zac had already caught up with his position and landed a punch in Curtis'' gut.


    The blond man was pushed back and fell on the ground, coughing and regaining his breath after he got the wind knocked out of him.


    "Aw, shit. I''m sorry!" Zac exclaimed, running up to his opponent and extending his hand to help him get up.


    ''Who the hell is this guy¡­?'' Curtis thought, looking up at the redhead and accepting the help.


    "Man, your spells are so cool¡ªI wasn''t moving at first because I was in awe!" Zac said with a smile.


    "What?" Curtis asked, utterly confused.


    "I''m talking about your fire spells, man¡ªI wish I could make something as awesome as that!" Zac continued with his praise.


    ''So¡­ He wasn''t looking down on me?'' Curtis thought. *Pfft* "Ahahaha! You are funny," he said, breaking into laughter and hugging the redhead over the shoulder with one arm in a friendly embrace.


    Lindsey was still in shock after the events as the two men kept talking and laughing about their encounter.


    Even though Lindsey was an elementalist, she knew that her brother''s fire spells were much more powerful than the ones she could cast, so she felt a bit insecure about her skills.


    After the men left the room and began getting first aid from the servants at the mansion, Megan and Lindsey stepped into the training room.


    The two girls had known each other since they were children, and while they weren''t friends, they also weren''t enemies.


    They had been through similar training. However, while Megan focused on close combat, Lindsey was being taught mana control.


    "A-are you not using any weapons either?" Lindsey asked.


    "No. It''s too dangerous," Megan replied, her tone and expression cold as always.


    When Imera signaled for the fight to begin, the two girls glared at each other for a few seconds, waiting for one of them to take the initiative.


    Lindsey opened her palms, producing currents of air to revolve around them before waving her arm and releasing air blasts toward Megan.


    The brunette avoided the first few blasts by quickly sidestepping, but Lindsey followed it up with a fireball, making Megan jump acrobatically to evade it.


    Megan noticed how Lindsey didn''t need to chant the name of the spells to cast her magic, which she thought was a bit troublesome as she couldn''t read her moves.


    As the brunette rushed forward, Lindsey raised one arm and produced an earth wall right in front of her, covering her from the dark rogue''s advancement.


    Right as the wall rose up, Megan jumped and kicked it with force, destroying a small piece of it that crumbled. Still, the wall was strong enough to halt her for a second.


    Suddenly, Lindsey made a splashing motion with her fingers, making the entire earth wall shatter and shooting the debris at her opponent.


    A few of the rocks managed to hit Megan, but she still bolted forward and caught up with Lindsey.


    In that brief second that felt much longer to both girls, Lindsey quickly tried to raise an earth pillar beneath Megan''s position, who was mere centimeters away from her.


    However, just as the ground shook slightly, Megan did a quick handstand and kicked Lindsey in the face, avoiding the earth pillar.


    The blonde leader was pushed to the side by the kick''s force, making her fall on her rear and rub her cheek.


    "Are you okay?" Megan asked her opponent, stretching her hand to help her stand up.


    Lindsey looked up at Megan for a moment, reminiscing of the time when they were both children and how the brunette always had the same cold expression on her.


    In reality, Lindsey was always a bit scared of Megan due to her cold demeanor, so she never tried to get close to her.


    However, seeing that she still had a caring and kind side made her regret those decisions as a kid.


    "I''m sorry¡­" Lindsey muttered.


    "Hmm?" Megan said with a raised eyebrow.


    The blonde leader took Megan''s hand with confidence and quickly stood up, placing her face closer to the brunette quite abruptly.


    "Megan, can we be friends from now on!?" Lindsey loudly asked.


    ''What''s up with her¡­?'' Megan pondered.


    "Yeah, I don''t see why not. You are already friends with Sophia¡­" She replied, slightly confused at the woman''s proposal.


    Lindsey smiled brightly and held Megan by the arm, guiding her out of the room so they could get first aid from the servants.


    "You must have put those kids through hell¡­" Imera said to Dante with a smirk.


    "Heh, they had been through hell already. All they needed was a tool to fight it," Dante replied.


    "To think the girl suppressed the umbra on her attack so that her kick wouldn''t break any of Lindsey''s bones¡­ That''s pretty thoughtful of her," Imera commented.


    Dante chuckled a little, knowing that it didn''t matter how cold Megan was¡ªshe had one of the biggest hearts he had seen.

 Chapter 168 - 168: Imera and Xander

    After the sparring sessions were finished, Imera and Dante had satisfied smiles on their faces, prompting the Golden Fox to ask if Dante also wanted to spar with her.


    "I don''t think we have enough space in here¡­" Dante replied.


    "Heh, you are right¡­ Let''s leave it for some other time, then," Imera said, still amused by the recent events.


    Imera invited the Jade Dragons to stay for dinner, to which they agreed as they still wanted to keep talking with them.


    Camille and Melinda were taking care of their business concerns and transfers, passing documents between each other and signing them.


    Megan and Sophia were talking to Lindsey, who was enthusiastically asking Megan questions about her powers.


    Zac and Curtis were laughing and having fun, with the redhead praising the fire spells while the blond praised his strength and resilience.


    On the other side of the table, Dante and Imera sat across each other, and the fox woman suddenly turned serious, glaring at the warlock.


    "So, now that you are here¡­ What''s your objective?" Imera asked, keeping a low volume.


    "My objective?" Dante pondered, letting out a slight smile.


    "I just want to live peacefully¡ªMy ageless blessing is gone, so I would like to spend the rest of my time relaxing and having fun¡­" he confidently replied.


    Imera smiled with satisfaction at his response, knowing that warlocks rarely lied. Moreover, she trusted Dante''s words, as he was the pupil of her good friend, Xander.


    When the warlock heard the name of his old teacher, his expression turned a bit sour, but that didn''t stop Imera from asking about him.


    "The last time I saw him, I was fifteen years old¡­" Dante replied, his tone holding back his anger.


    The fox woman widened her eyes in shock, reminiscing very old memories with Xander, where the man asked her to personally visit Shadowvale and teach Dante mana control.


    Imera was taking care of an animal sanctuary in the world of Terra when it started getting attacked by demons who wanted the "core" of the forest.


    They met during the demonic attack after Xander arrived and helped the Sacred Beast clear the sanctuary of all demons.


    Xander was a lone adventurer without a party, and even though he was a warlock, Imera knew he could trust the man, so they became friends who would call on each other for help occasionally.


    Several years later, Xander mentioned that he had a pupil living in Shadowvale, and Imera scolded him for leaving the kid alone in such a place.


    "That boy will be the most powerful warlock in the world¡­ All he needs is to leave that forsaken place," Xander said with a hopeful smile.


    When Xander asked Imera to teach Dante mana control, she was initially hesitant but then felt curious about the boy and decided she would do it.


    A few months after Imera taught Dante the basics of mana control, she met Xander for the last time in a small town near Shadowvale, so she believed that the man was on his way to visit his pupil.


    "You were right. That boy has incredible potential¡­ How did you even find him?" Imera asked Xander as they shared a few drinks.


    Xander smiled. "A friend asked me for a favor, so I complied¡­" he said. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''ll tell him everything about his parents when he is old enough to leave Shadowvale¡ªHis only worry right now should be learning how to suppress that monstrous umbra of his¡­" Xander continued.


    After that final meeting with Xander, Imera had her encounter with the mage Wolfram, where she fell into the convergence and arrived on Earth.


    When Imera blinked a few times, she was brought back to reality and glared at the warlock in disbelief.


    "Dante¡­ Did he never tell you?" Imera asked, and the warlock knew she was serious as she addressed him by name.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about¡­ So, I guess not," he replied.


    Imera tried to remember any details that Xander had given her back then, but the man never revealed any of the secrets he had about Dante''s family tree.


    Moreover, Xander never even mentioned this information to Dante, so he was wholly unaware that his teacher needed to tell him something important.


    "Dante¡­" Imera muttered with a somber tone.


    "It''s fine¡ªIt was a long time ago¡­ At this point, I don''t think I''m interested in knowing what he had to say to me," Dante said.


    Once the group had dinner, they organized another meeting for another day and were driven back to the hotel.


    In the car, Dante noticed Zac was trembling a bit from excitement, wondering why his friend looked so nervous after the meeting.


    "Don''t you get it, dude? That was a real fox lady!" Zac exclaimed.


    "Huh?" Dante hummed.


    "Look, Dante¡­ There are men in this world who have been searching for a catgirl all their lives," Zac explained.


    "They have?" the warlock sarcastically asked.


    "That''s right¡ªand not only catgirls but any pretty woman with animal features¡­" Zac continued.


    Suddenly, the redhead widened his eyes as an idea appeared in his head.


    "Dante¡­ C-could it be that your world had bunny girls!?" he asked, his tone slightly desperate.


    "Umm¡­ no," Dante replied, shattering all of the redhead''s expectations.


    "Although, I do remember there was a Sacred Beast like Imera called the Moon Rabbit¡­ I''ve never seen her, but I suppose she could have the features of a bunny," the warlock continued, placing a hand on his chin.


    Still, while Zac was joking around, he still inquired why Curtis and Lindsey looked like ordinary humans if they were descendants of Imera.


    "That''s because a human can''t create another Sacred Beast¡­" Dante replied.


    When two Sacred Beasts had a child, it would come out as another Sacred Beast. However, if a human were added to the mix, then the children would be human.


    "Hmm, it''s a bit sad¡­ Miss Imera has lived through her beloved, her children, and her grandchildren dying of old age," Sophia commented with a sad frown.


    "Well, to be fair, she knew what she was getting into when she married a human¡­ But I do agree that it''s quite sad," Dante said.

 Chapter 169 - 169: Mafia Alliance

    A few days after Dante''s meeting with Imera, the group prepared themselves for a final meeting before they had to return to Novis.


    Unexpectedly, the GTS meeting was relocated from Imera''s mansion to the more formal setting of the hotel''s conference room.


    All of the Jade Dragons who were present were invited to the meeting, and besides Imera and her two grandkids, ten more individuals walked into the room behind them.


    Fortunately, the room could hold a little over fifty people inside, so they were still pretty comfortable.


    When Dante spotted the extra members of the GTS walking in, he detailed their attires, which all had golden linings and accessories.


    ''They aren''t called the Golden Twilight Syndicate for nothing, I suppose¡­'' Dante thought.


    To start the meeting, Curtis stood before everyone present and introduced himself as one of the leaders of the GTS.


    Curtis explained that, for the past two years, they had been dealing with different kidnapping attempts on an idol who worked for their talent agency.


    However, now that the company was being transferred to its original owners¡ªthe Jade Dragons¡ªhe wanted to warn them of the potential risks.


    The GTS was sure that the culprits were from the Onyx Cartel, but they didn''t want to start a war with them, as they suspected that they were hiding something extremely dangerous.


    When Curtis showed the drawing of the ghoul, he explained that it was a monster that couldn''t be easily summoned or created, and if the Onyx Cartel had more of those working for them, they would have to come up with a way to eradicate them.


    ''He is right¡­ An undead creature here is bad news,'' Dante thought.


    After exchanging information relating to some of the locations for the Onyx Cartel''s bases of operations, the meeting was finished.


    Imera approached Dante as he stood up from his seat, glaring at him with a somewhat disapproving expression.


    The fox woman was wearing a white and golden hood that covered her fox features, knowing that it could attract people''s attention, even if they thought they were fake.


    "What''s up?" Dante asked.


    "Can you explain to me why the hell is the Succubus Queen here? Also, is that Cerberus¡­?" Imera asked.


    "Yeah, I summoned them¡­ They are fine. Don''t worry about them," he casually replied.


    At that moment, Imera abruptly held the warlock''s cheeks and turned his face to make direct eye contact, staring down his pupils with a severe glare.


    *Sigh* "I see now¡­ You went to hell," Imera commented, prompting the warlock to break eye contact.


    As the fox woman released her grasp on his cheeks, she said that she wouldn''t ask for any details. "I''m glad you are safe¡­" Imera said, leaving the conference room.


    Still, in her mind, the Golden Fox felt devastated at the fact that Dante had to go through something so painful. Even if she didn''t know the details, she could read people''s eyes like a book.


    Imera even found herself blaming Xander for never returning to meet the young warlock, wondering if he truly abandoned him.


    The two mafia groups had entered into an official alliance after the meeting, which meant that they would share their forces if any of them got in trouble.


    The Jade Dragons and the GTS never had a bad relationship, but it was the first time in history that two mafia families entered into an official alliance, so it was considered a big deal.


    Before Imera and her grandkids left the hotel, Dante gave them each a healthstone that he had created as a gift, hoping that they wouldn''t need to use it.


    The fox woman inspected the black stone momentarily and smirked with satisfaction, praising Dante for a refined synthetization.


    The GTS leaders were confused at first, but after getting a brief explanation of how they worked, they wholeheartedly thanked Dante for the gift.


    When the final day arrived, the Jade Dragons were taken to the private airport and returned to Novis, where the rest of the mafia family was waiting for them at the Jade Palace.


    Dante entered his room with both of his roommates walking behind him, and Sophia instantly jumped and flopped face down on the bed.


    "Nghh, even though there was some work stuff, I had a pretty good time," Sophia said, her voice muffled by the pillow.


    "I never thought I would see Imera again¡­ I''m still a little shocked about it," Dante commented.


    ''Is he shocked?'' Megan pondered, noticing that Dante looked the same as always.


    "By the way, why did Camille ask for those documents for a talent agency? I knew she had a lot of businesses, but that one seems a little different from the rest¡­" Dante inquired.


    The warlock was barely aware of what a talent agency was, but he still couldn''t see how it could benefit the Jade Dragons.


    Sophia rolled over with her face up, saying that it was one of the first companies that Camille had created.


    "You see, famous artists get a lot of attention from people all over the world, and back then, there were plenty of talented artists who were receiving awful treatment from their agents¡­" Sophia explained.


    When Camille was eighteen years old, there was a huge scandal about a talent agency coercing both their male and female talent into doing all sorts of unspeakable things.


    Camille thought it was absolutely repulsive, so she decided she would open her own talent agency that would treat their members with the respect they deserved.


    Moreover, the Winter family had connections all over the world, so it wasn''t difficult for the talent agency to find great opportunities for its talented individuals. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I see¡­ So, it''s like a personal thing for her," Dante commented.


    "Yeah, it''s also one of the companies under the Jade Dragons'' command that makes the most money¡ªThat''s why Camille transferred it. Because she truly didn''t want to lose it," Sophia continued.


    "Huh, who would have guessed the world of entertainment would be so vicious¡­" Dante said.


    Sophia looked at him with a more serious expression, clarifying to Dante that the entertainment business was one of the nastiest on Earth.

 Chapter 170 - 170: JADE Talent Agency

    A few days after Dante returned to Novis, he was playing games on his BeamDeck when Camille called him to the briefing room.


    The handler had been busy ever since they got back from their vacation, as she was tidying up everything she needed to manage her talent agency.


    Megan arrived at the briefing room shortly after Dante, prompting Camille to stop her work for a moment to address them.


    "We''ve spoken to all of our clients, so the transfer is officially done¡­" Camille said.


    "I called you both here to ask for your help," she continued.


    Camille had been told that one of the most popular idols signed under her company had been getting harassed and almost kidnapped by the members of the Onyx Cartel.


    She got that information from Melinda, and Camille wanted to ensure the safety of her clients, so she asked Dante and Megan to act as the bodyguards of the artists for some time.


    "Her name is Kim Mi-Yun¡­ She''s gotten quite popular recently," Camille explained.


    Kim Mi-Yun was a Korean singer and the leader of a K-pop band called "Smile." However, contrary to the other idols in the band, Mi-Yun was the only one getting harassed incessantly.


    While Dante and Megan were going to accompany the idols during their stay in Novaria, Camille still had more plans involving the talent agency.


    The name of the company was called "JADE," which was purposely done to warn others not to mess with it, as people knew it was linked to the Jade Dragons.


    When Camille read the reports she had missed the past few years, she noticed there was a scandal that had to be solved away from the eyes of the media.


    Megan asked for more details, and the handler explained that it had to do with the modeling branch of the agency.


    "Apparently, a lot of my models were being threatened by the CEOs of other companies, asking for sexual favors in exchange for being more heavily promoted," Camille elaborated.


    Her plan was to use Lilith and the other succubi as models and infiltrate the corrupt companies to take them down from within, and Dante believed that it was a sound strategy.


    Lilith and her succubi were extremely attractive in their human forms, so Camille was sure that they would become popular quickly, which would attract the attention of the perverted CEOs.


    While Camille still had more projects to take care of, she wanted to start by freeing JADE from any obstacle.


    "For now, you two are going to be accompanying the band on their tour around Novaria¡­" Camille said.


    "There are two concerts that are going to be up north in the Azure Rebels territory, so be careful when you are there¡ªThe rest should take place in the GTS and our territory," the handler continued.


    After the mission briefing was done, Dante and Megan returned to their rooms, where Dante started to look up information about the K-pop band out of curiosity. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Megan was changing outfits to go to the gym when she heard the pop music coming from Dante''s smartphone, making her turn her head and see the warlock squinting while watching the music video.


    "What do you think?" Megan asked with an indifferent tone.


    "Umm¡­ It''s pretty catchy, and the band members are all attractive¡ªIs that normal for K-pop bands?" Dante asked.


    "Pretty much¡­ What type of music do you like the most?" said the brunette.


    "I really liked the music that was being played at Camille''s bar¡­ You know? The first night I got here," Dante replied.


    "Jazz?"


    "Yeah, that one had a nice melody," Dante continued.


    Megan found the warlock''s words to be quite innocent, and even though she kept a cold expression, she thought it was a cute side of Dante.


    "By the way, can you tell me more about that monster?" Megan asked.


    "The ghoul from the drawing?"


    Megan nodded affirmatively, saying that they didn''t delve too much into the topic and wanted to be on her guard if she encountered it.


    "Hmm, honestly, I still have a hard time believing that a ghoul could get to this world¡­ I suppose it''s not impossible," Dante muttered, placing a hand on his chin.


    "Is it dangerous?" Megan pondered.


    "Yes, very dangerous¡ªThey feed on humans to the point they leave nothing behind¡­" Dante said.


    The warlock told Megan a story that had happened over fifty years in the past, at least from Dante''s perspective.


    Dante and his party had been traveling for days on a dirt road when they found a town in the distance, which made the adventurers feel at ease as they could finally stay at an inn.


    However, when they passed through the deserted gates, they realized that the entire town had been abandoned.


    There were remnants of an attack, as many of the buildings were damaged, but it didn''t seem to be severe enough for all of the citizens to flee.


    Dante decided to get some water from the well when he heard a strange cracking noise coming from the bottom.


    At that moment, he saw strands of umbra flowing from the well, prompting him to peek inside and find a ghoul feasting on the remains of an unfortunate couple.


    The warlock deduced that a horde of ghouls attacked the town, and the couple tried hiding at the bottom of the well. However, the monsters had a keen sense of smell to human flesh, so hiding was to no avail.


    The ghouls had eaten all of the citizens, and the monsters had already moved on to the next city, leaving behind the one unfortunate ghoul who decided to jump into the well.


    Megan was taken aback by the story, which sounded like the plot of a horror movie. Still, Dante clarified by stating that it was a very small town with low security, so a city like Novis or New Arcadia wouldn''t easily fall prey to a horde of ghouls.


    "In the best-case scenario, one or two ghouls got caught up in the convergence and fell into this world¡­" Dante said.


    "And in the worst?" Megan asked.


    "In the worst-case scenario¡­" he replied, pausing for a brief second.


    "A necromancer is here," he said with a humorless tone.

 Chapter 171 - 171: Don Vincent

    Somewhere on the western territories of Novaria, deep within a rainforest, a group of armed soldiers were guarding an open drug laboratory.


    The workers had their wrists cuffed with long chains, their clothing was tattered and shredded, and their cheeks were concave from evident malnutrition.


    On the other hand, the guards looked quite formidable, wearing tactical gear that covered their entire bodies and faces, leaving only a glimpse of their eerie, white eyes.


    As the enslaved workers loaded the drug packages into a small plane, a tall, burly man with an imposing aura stood outside, watching the process while smoking a cigar.


    The man, who had a bald head and a mustache, was wearing an expensive-looking suit that contrasted with the rest of the attires of the people around him.


    "Don Vincent, the loading is finished," said one of the armed soldiers.


    The bald man took a puff of his cigar and frowned. "About time¡­ I got shit to do," he said.


    When Don Vincent boarded the plane next to the pilot, who also wore tactical gear that shrouded his identity, they took off and started to leave the jungle.


    Not even five minutes into the air, Don Vincent pulled out his phone from his pocket and stared at the home screen with a somewhat deranged expression, making him breathe heavily.


    The pilot acted like nothing was happening beside him, but Don Vincent couldn''t keep his eyes off his phone''s wallpaper, which was a picture of the idol Kim Mi-Yun.


    After flying for an hour, the small plane landed on a dirt runway, where another group of soldiers unloaded the cargo and transferred it to a few trucks.


    Still, Don Vincent didn''t pay attention to the subordinates and kept staring at his phone screen, only to get brought back to reality when he received a call.


    "Hey, did you contact them?" Don Vincent asked as soon as he picked up the call.


    The person on the line seemed to give the bald man a set of instructions, which Vincent understood and nodded.


    After Don Vincent left the secret airport in a sports car, he drove to a seemingly abandoned warehouse, where two individuals were waiting for him at the entrance.


    One was a tall man, a little over six feet high, with white hair and red eyes that were slightly covered by the hoodie he wore.


    Beside him, a short woman stood with an imposing aura, wearing two ponytails and sharing the same hair and eye color as the man.


    The woman could have easily convinced people she was a teenager if it weren''t for her confident and severe expression.


    "Don Vincent¡­?" They asked as the bald man got out of his car.


    "Mhmm, and you are?" Vincent asked in return.


    "You can call me Number 2. The woman here is Number 4¡­" The man replied.


    Don Vincent knew that the two individuals had real names, but they referred to themselves as numbers when talking to their clients.


    When the bald man approached them and showed them his phone''s wallpaper, the two individuals stared at the picture with utter indifference.


    "Is that the target?" Number 2 asked.


    "Yes¡ªand it is imperative that she is alive!" Don Vincent clarified.


    The bald man spoke in detail, explaining that the idol was going to be touring around Novaria. However, she wouldn''t perform in any city on the western side of the country.


    "Obviously¡­ This place is a shithole," Number 4 commented.


    Vincent glared at the woman with a bit of disdain, feeling offended at her words. Still, she brushed it off and doubled down, saying that no artist would put themselves in danger by coming to such a place.


    After Vincent took a deep breath to avoid arguing with the girl, he continued giving his instructions.


    "Finish the request, and I promise that the Onyx Cartel will have your back at any time," Don Vincent said, leaving the place.


    After Vincent left, the two individuals remained at the abandoned warehouse with pensive expressions for a few more minutes.


    "What do you think, Laurent?" the girl asked.


    "I''m looking it up¡­ It says this woman is signed under the JADE talent agency," he replied, scrolling his finger on his phone screen.


    "Hmm, so it''s the Jade Dragons company¡­ They are trying to make it obvious to keep us away," the girl said, placing a hand on her chin.


    "Yeah, but they supposedly had a struggle not long ago, so maybe their protection isn''t as tight as when the GTS was managing it¡­" Laurent explained.


    "Then, we just wait for the perfect moment¡­ Seriously, how hard could it be?" The girl said in a slightly arrogant tone.


    "Irina, you shouldn''t underestimate others just because we are strong. Remember what Mother said?" The man commented.


    "Yeah, yeah¡­" Irina replied indifferently.


    "Well, either way, let''s go talk to Mother and see what course of action we should take¡ªI don''t trust the cartel, but having them owe us a favor could be useful," Laurent said.


    ____________________


    At the city of Novis, inside the Jade Palace, Megan and Dante were brought into a changing room, where a tailor was taking the warlock''s measurements.


    Dante didn''t know what the whole ordeal was for, but he just went with it and complied with the tailor''s requests, who ended up making an excellent suit for the warlock.


    Camille explained that both Megan and Dante would need two outfits when working as security for Kim Mi-Yun.


    One was a suit that was made with a material that allowed them to move freely without feeling constrained by the fabric, which was the outfit they would have to wear the most.


    The second was an elegant, tailored suit for Dante and a beautiful black cocktail dress for Megan.


    The brunette pondered why she would need such a dress, and Camille explained that there were a few events in between concerts that they would have to attend. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "A lot of rich families are going to be hosting a few formal parties, and they invited the idols, so obviously, it''s your job to accompany them¡­" Camille explained.

 Chapter 172 - 172: Idols’ Security

    On a beautiful morning in the city of Novis, Megan and Dante were waiting at a private airport for the members of the K-pop band to arrive.


    Both of them were dressed in their finest black suits. Underneath the blazer, they wore a black buttoned shirt and a vibrant jade-green tie¡ªCompleting their ensemble with polarized sunglasses.


    "Hmm, I should have practiced my Korean¡­" Megan commented as they kept waiting.


    "Didn''t Camille say that half of the band members speak English as well?" Dante wondered.


    "Yeah, I guess so¡ªCommunication is important, so if I need to say anything complicated, I''ll just leave it to you¡­" she said.


    Megan knew that Dante was able to speak any language since he had the "Demon Tongue," which he had gotten from a contract with a demon a long time ago, so she knew she could at least count on him to express her words if needed.


    After the band arrived, Megan and Dante stood up to greet them and saw a woman with disheveled hair running toward them.


    *Huff, puff* "Are you the JADE security?" The woman asked the pair.


    "Yes, we are here to escort the band during their tour," Megan replied.


    ''What''s up with this lady?'' Dante thought, seeing that the woman looked extremely tired.


    She introduced herself as Nicole Slalon, and she was the JADE manager who was put in charge of managing the band by Camille.


    She wore a gray suit with a pink shirt underneath, and her crooked glasses bounced on her nose whenever she moved.


    As Nicole inspected the bodies of the two security closer, she nodded with acceptance. "You guys will do," she said.


    When Nicole introduced them to the band members, Megan and Dante greeted them politely and introduced themselves, prompting one of the idols to notice Dante''s excellent Korean.


    ''So, that''s Kim Mi-Yun¡­'' Dante thought, detailing the leader of the band.


    The warlock understood why the woman had so many admirers, as she extruded an air of elegance and beauty that was hard to come by. She was kind to all of her fans and brightly smiled when greeting the pair.


    The band used the private airport since the public one would have been blocked by all of the fans coming to see them, and when they boarded the SUVs, they were taken to Camille''s tower.


    The idols were only meant to stay there until their concerts in Novis were over, knowing that Camille''s skyscraper was one of the safest places in the city.


    As the group was guided to their rooms, Camille greeted them and met with the manager, Nicole, in her office.


    ''Hmm, this has been pretty easy¡­'' Dante thought, wondering if the women were actually in danger.


    The warlock expected someone to appear as soon as the idols came out of the plane, but everything had been peaceful after they arrived.


    Megan, noticing Dante''s boredom, explained that it would be rare for someone to try anything weird in their territory.


    "Once we are out of Novis, the real work begins¡­" Megan muttered.


    ____________________


    While the idols were getting comfortable in their rooms, Camille met with Nicole to give her a summary of the events that had happened.


    Nicole was a member of the Epsilon Team and was given the manager position at the JADE talent agency by Camille.


    While the woman technically worked for the mafia, her position was completely legit, as she was responsible for a lot of the growth in the band''s popularity.


    "You wanna discuss about those two securities you sent? Is that really enough?" Nicole asked with a casual tone. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Huh? No, don''t worry about them¡ªI wanted to talk about a new project¡­" Camille replied.


    Nicole was a little taken aback at the fact that Camille had ignored her question, but she couldn''t contain her curiosity about the new project.


    The handler wanted to use the modeling side of her agency to create a new line of perfume and clothing, using Lilith and the succubi as the main models.


    "Wait, wait¡­ If all you need is models, we have a dozen working for us," Nicole commented.


    However, Camille explained that it wasn''t about the models but the people who were hiring them.


    Camille''s plan was to turn Lilith and the succubi into popular models. That way, they would get invited by the corrupted CEOs of other companies and easily take them down.


    "Seriously¡­ You are going to put these beautiful young women in danger like that?" Nicole asked, seeing a picture of Lilith.


    Camille chuckled. "Leave it to them¡­ They are not as young and innocent as they seem," she said.


    While Nicole wasn''t aware of all the details that had happened with the Blood Dragons, the woman knew that it had to do with supernatural beings. Still, she didn''t care about those things, as the woman was a self-proclaimed workaholic.


    "I mean, if you say so, I trust you¡­" Nicole said.


    "But you already have your plate full with ''Smile,'' so I wanted to ask you to suggest a good member to manage the models," Camille continued.


    Nicole answered that she had a few different people in mind, making Camille smile with satisfaction.


    After Nicole left the office, Camille patted Cerberus on the head as she delved into her thoughts.


    ''I suppose it''s time to bring the Midnight Bar back¡­'' she thought, smirking with a bit of mischief.


    "What do you think, Cerb? Should I ask Sophia and Victoria to take care of it?" The handler asked the dog, who was peacefully resting on her legs.


    "Hmm, maybe I should ask Zac to join them, too," she continued.


    Cerberus happily wagged his tail and sat up, still on the handler''s legs, looking up at her with an expectant gaze.


    *Woof!* he barked.


    "Arrghh, so cute!" Camille exclaimed, hugging the puppy tight in her arms.


    When the woman regained her composure, she placed Cerberus on the floor and began working on her computer with a mischievous smile.


    ''Heh, I''ve gotten better at multi-tasking¡­'' she thought.

 Chapter 173 - 173: Dante’s First Concert

    When the day of the first concert arrived, Dante and Megan woke up a bit later than usual, knowing that they would probably have to stay awake the entire night.


    Since they were meant to stay close to the band at all times, the pair spent the night in one of the guest rooms at the skyscraper, which Sophia hated as she was left alone at the Jade Palace.


    After the pair got dressed in their suits, they followed the band around the building, where they had lunch and prepared themselves to go to the venue.


    None of the idols directed more than a few words to the pair, but Dante could see in their flow of umbra that they didn''t do it out of arrogance or malice. Instead, they seemed a bit nervous.


    ''Those past kidnapping attempts must have scared them quite a bit¡­'' Dante thought.


    After boarding the bus and arriving at the large venue, Dante was surprised to see the size of the area, wondering if the band had truly sold out the tickets.


    Megan confirmed it, and Dante explained that he would have a harder time reading people''s umbra if there were so many of them gathered in one place. Still, there was nothing he could do about it.


    As the band was escorted to the dressing rooms, Dante instantly felt the presence of a person bolting towards them, making him take a quick step forward.


    Kim Mi-Yun didn''t even notice it, turning her head as she felt a faint gust of wind blowing her hair and spotting Dante holding a man by the collar of their shirt.


    The man kept loudly screaming the idol''s name, and his white t-shirt read, "I heart Kim Mi-Yun," desperately asking for a picture with the band''s leader.


    "I''ll get this guy outta here¡­" Dante casually said, his grip on the fan unmoving.


    Still, as he turned around to drag the intruder out of the venue, Kim Mi-Yun stopped the warlock and said that she could take a picture.


    Dante was slightly confused, wondering why she would give the man any attention, as it would only motivate others into doing the same thing.


    ''I get that she is kind, and this guy probably went through a lot of effort to get in here, so she feels a bit guilty about that¡­'' Dante thought as he kept staring daggers at the man taking a selfie with the idol.


    ''But if she allows anyone to get close to her, I''ll have to be more attentive,'' he continued pondering.


    Even if the warlock didn''t agree with the way the band treated their fans, he knew he didn''t have a say in it, as he was just supposed to protect them.


    Fortunately, the man ended up being a decent person and thanked the idol for the picture before allowing himself to get escorted out of the venue and receiving a fine.


    Dante and Megan stood outside the dressing room for a few hours, waiting for the idols to change and get ready while the venue started to fill with people.


    "Hey, Dante¡­ Can that ghoul monster be ordered to kidnap someone?" Megan asked.


    "Nah, they only kill and eat people¡­ If a ghoul were intelligent enough to follow an order like that, they would be some other type of undead creature¡ªwhy?" said Dante.


    "Just wondering¡­ At least I know if I see one, I''ll just instantly kill it," she replied.


    "Were you thinking of sparing them?" Dante asked, finding it somewhat amusing.


    "It''s not like that¡­" Megan clarified.


    The brunette explained that after Saris joined them, she felt a bit conflicted. Not because she was a former enemy but because Megan thought she would''ve killed the banshee instead of letting her live like Zac did.


    "I get it¡ªYou wouldn''t want to kill an old acquaintance of mine," Dante said.


    Megan nodded, confirming her concerns and making Dante chuckle a little.


    "Look, first of all, I don''t know any ghouls, so rest assured that you can kill them without remorse¡­" The warlock said, still smiling from the amusement.


    "Don''t be scared of fighting any monster or demon just because you think they might know me¡­ If you are in danger, you fight back," he continued.


    "If you would''ve fought and killed Saris, I wouldn''t hold any grudge against you¡ªAs far as I know, she attacked Zac without trying to talk to him first, so if she had died, it would''ve been her fault," Dante explained.


    Megan felt a little bit better after talking with Dante, but she still thought that she would be careful when encountering otherworldly beings.


    After an hour, the venue was bustling with people, and the stage was set for the band to enter.


    When the idols walked by Megan and Dante, they noticed how serious and professional they looked, as they were staring into the crowd with all of their focus.


    In reality, Dante was trying to read the flow of umbra in the venue, checking for any irregularities. However, the place was packed, so he had to concentrate heavily on sensing malicious intent.


    On the other hand, Megan was looking at their faces, as she could usually read people''s expressions to know if they were scheming something.


    When the show began, Dante was slightly perplexed at the performance, seeing the people singing along with the band and dancing around under the colored lights. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So, this is what a real concert looks like¡­" Dante muttered, catching Megan''s attention.


    "Yeah, the view would be much better from the front, though¡­" Megan said as the pair stood backstage, away from the eyes of the spectators.


    "Hmm, still, I can see why someone would pay to see this," the warlock continued.


    Fortunately for them, the concert ended without any obstacles.


    A man tried to get on stage at one point, but the venue''s security dealt with him in no time, so Dante and Megan simply enjoyed the concert from the backstage area.


    With their first concert being a success, Dante started to feel like the job would be quite easy, unaware of the mysterious group that was scheming the kidnap of Kim Mi-Yun.

 Chapter 174 - 174: An Innocent After-Party

    After Dante and Megan successfully completed their first night as bodyguards for the K-pop band without an issue, they were driven to a hotel located near the outskirts of Novis.


    Their next destination was the city of Arcgate, which was the biggest city neighboring the capital. Located on the eastern side of Novaria, it counted as the Jade Dragons'' territory.


    The population in Arcgate was quite dense, as it was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and the architecture of the buildings was sleek and modern.


    When Dante and his group arrived at the concert hall that was going to host the event, the warlock was perplexed at the modern design of the building. Meanwhile, Megan was scanning her surroundings to look for any flaws in the area.


    A few hours before the show, Dante and Megan were sitting outside the dressing rooms when Nicole, the band manager, approached them.


    "I just needed to let you guys know that we have to go to an after-party after the concert," Nicole said before hastily walking away.


    The pair were aware that they would have to attend these after-parties at some point, and Camille had given them a few instructions related to them.


    All of the after-parties were hosted by wealthy Novarian families, and while Camille didn''t have a problem with most of them, she knew that a few could be considered troublesome.


    Dante pondered if the band couldn''t just simply decline the invitations, but they were getting paid quite a lot to attend, so it was difficult for them not to show up.


    Moreover, their presence at those parties always had a good effect on their popularity, as people would post pictures and videos interacting with the band members.


    The handler told them that the band was still allowed to say no, so the fact they were attending was their choice.


    After the concert was over, the group had to change clothing at the venue before leaving for the next event, and Dante and Megan got to wear their new outfits.


    The band members were all wearing beautiful dresses with different colors and fabrics that were sure to catch people''s attention.


    Dante had a fitted suit that made him look more like a model than a bodyguard, and Megan wasn''t any different, as she was wearing a dress that left one of her thighs exposed, giving a glimpse of her toned muscles.


    Even the band members were a bit surprised when they saw their security looking sleek and elegant, but they still seemed apprehensive about talking to their bodyguards.


    When the group arrived at the large mansion residence in a limousine, the people standing outside the front door started taking pictures with expectant faces, waiting for the idols to come out.


    Kim Mi-Yun stepped out of the vehicle first, with the other band members following closely behind.


    There was a red carpet placed all the way from the driveway to the main entrance, and as soon as the idols walked on it, they were showered by camera flashes from all directions.


    Dante and Megan, who were walking a few meters behind the band, covered their faces a bit from the blinding lights, and the warlock noticed how none of the band members flinched at the flashes.


    ''They must be used to this¡­'' Dante thought.


    "Hey, hey¡­ Who are those two behind Smile?" A random paparazzi asked.


    "Are they famous artists too?" Another one said.


    "Those two could easily be movie stars!"


    ''Hmm, deja vu¡­'' Dante thought, as he could hear the words of the people around them, which reminded him of his time guarding Sophia at the college campus.


    Even when the paparazzi didn''t know Dante and Megan''s identities, they decided to shower them with pictures, too.


    Inside the mansion, they were greeted by the owner of the house, who was a rich middle-aged man whose daughter was a fan of the band, so he wanted to invite them to meet her.


    Dante could read the man''s umbra, seeing that he was telling the truth and that his intentions were indeed to have his daughter meet Smile, making him feel at ease.


    The little girl was twelve years old, and as she took pictures and showed how much she knew the band''s choreography, Dante could see the idols'' positive energy flowing from them.


    As the pair watched the band gently interact with the little girl, Dante felt a sudden flow of umbra coming from outside the house, making him abruptly turn his gaze toward the window.


    Megan, who was the only one who noticed the warlock''s sudden movement, asked what happened.


    "I sensed something strange, but it''s outside¡­" Dante muttered.


    "A person?" Megan asked.


    "Yeah, I don''t think it was a demon," he replied.


    The warlock decided to go check out the outside while Megan stayed with the band, making his way through the house into a kitchen that led to a backyard.


    There were a few people gathered in the back, drinking and socializing, but Dante had his attention turned to the mansion''s gate, which seemed to lead to a small forest area.


    Large and expensive mansions didn''t usually have neighbors right next door, so all of their surroundings were woods. However, this made it easier for Dante to search for a specific umbra as there were fewer people condensed in one place.


    When Dante made sure that nobody was looking at him, he quickly ran to the gates on the side and vaulted over them, landing outside the mansion''s territory.


    The warlock took a deep breath and scanned his surroundings, but he couldn''t see or sense the same surge of umbra from before.


    "Krom¡­" Dante called the friendly imp to his side.


    *Poof!* "Man, every time you interrupt my ranked matches!" Krom exclaimed as soon as he appeared beside the warlock.


    "Do you sense anything strange around here?" Dante asked, ignoring the imp''s complaint.


    The imp looked around for a moment with an annoyed expression, freezing for a brief second and turning his gaze to the dark forest in the distance.


    "There was something here, but it wasn''t a demon, and it''s completely gone¡­" Krom said. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 175 - 175: Northern Novaria

    After Dante called Krom to see if he could detect any monsters or demons near the mansion where the after-party took place, the imp didn''t get any results.


    Krom could tell that whatever passed by wasn''t a demon or a monster, which made it more difficult for him to track.


    Fortunately, the after-party kept going without trouble, and the band safely returned to the hotel.


    Two weeks passed since the after-party, and Dante and Megan had attended ten different concerts around the east and southern sides of Novaria.


    During that time, Dante kept thinking about the mysterious umbra he felt at the mansion, so he tried to stay focused at all times.


    However, nothing happened for those two weeks, which made him believe that he had been overthinking it.


    Still, all of the concerts had taken place in the eastern and southern sides of Novaria, and Camille told them that those would be the safest areas for them, so they couldn''t lower their guards.


    Only after those two weeks passed did the idols start to feel more comfortable around Dante and Megan, noticing that the two of them had been working hard to keep them safe.


    Kim Mi-Yun personally thanked the pair after a concert, and her beauty and honesty made even Megan blush a little.


    The following concerts would take place in two cities up north, which was the Azure Rebels territory.


    Since it was a pretty long way and they had to cross over the Lunar Mountain Range, the group took a private plane that would leave them there; otherwise, it would''ve taken them three days on the tour bus.


    The northern side of Novaria was a bit colder than the rest of the country, which had to do with the chilly winds that flowed from the north of the globe into the area.


    The mountain range that split it from the rest of Novaria halted the northern winds from spreading south, so the freezing breeze stayed up north.


    When the group landed at the private airport in the city of Cerulis, they were taken to a hotel to spend the night and prepare for the following day.


    Nonetheless, since the hotels up north weren''t under the protection of the Jade Dragons or the GTS, the pair had to be extremely attentive to their surroundings.


    All of the five band members had their own private room in the hotel, which was expected, but Dante thought it made their jobs a bit harder. Fortunately, the rooms were right next to each other, so he wouldn''t have to memorize five different room numbers.


    Megan and Dante were sharing a room close to the idols, and when they made sure they weren''t needed anymore, the warlock called the imp to the room.


    *Poof!* "Arrgh, again!" Krom exclaimed after ''poofing'' inside the room.


    "Are you just always playing a ranked match?" Dante pondered.


    "Yeah, so?" Krom asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.


    "I need you to stay here tonight and let me know if you sense anything strange¡­" Dante said to the imp, ignoring his complaints once again.


    "Fine, but I''m bringing my GameStation!" Krom said, poofing away and returning a few seconds later, holding a gaming console in his hands.


    When Dante and Megan lay on the bed, the two felt a surge of exhaustion and fell asleep while Krom played games on the room''s TV.


    Suddenly, the warlock felt something sharp poking his cheek, making him open his eyes and squint in confusion.


    "Dante¡­" *poke, poke* Krom said, gently tapping his face with his sharp nail.


    "What¡­? I don''t care about your game, man," Dante replied, still half asleep.


    "I sensed something strange¡­" Krom commented, prompting the warlock to vault out of the bed and wake Megan with his abrupt movement.


    The imp nervously shook his hands, explaining that the presence was gone, but he had definitely felt a surge of umbra for a few seconds. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dante deduced that it was the same presence he had felt at the after-party two weeks prior since it had also appeared for a brief second before dissipating.


    After making sure that none of the idols were in danger, they continued sleeping until early in the morning, when the pair had to accompany the band to a fan meet and greet.


    Later that day, they arrived at the venue and began guarding the dressing rooms as usual, waiting for the band members to get ready.


    When the concert was halfway done, Dante felt the same surge of umbra coming from the crowd, which made him take a stance as if he were ready to rush onto the stage.


    Still, as soon as it disappeared, the warlock calmed down, knowing that a person wouldn''t try to kidnap an idol in the middle of their concert when most people were recording them.


    After the show was finished, the group boarded another tour bus that would take them to the next city overnight and leave them at the hotel.


    The bus had installations for them to rest, but Dante felt a bit uneasy after sensing the strange umbra during the concert, so he stayed awake for the ride.


    At one point during their travels, the driver stopped at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, which had two gas pumps and a small shop.


    Gas stations in the big cities of Novaria usually had an attendant who would help customers fill their vehicles. However, resting areas in the middle of highways didn''t have these employees, so the driver had to step out to do it himself.


    Everyone inside the bus was asleep except for Dante, who watched the middle-aged man fiddling with the gas pump.


    When Dante noticed that the man wasn''t planning anything weird and was genuinely filling up the tank, the warlock decided to step out of the bus to get some fresh air.


    "We''ll get there in less than two hours," the driver said to Dante with a friendly tone.


    "Sounds good. Thank you, sir," Dante politely replied.


    Suddenly, the same surge of umbra could be felt on the highway coming towards them, and while the driver was wholly unaware and kept filling the tank, Dante perked up with anticipation.


    ''Are they finally going to show themselves¡­?'' Dante pondered.

 Chapter 176 - 176: The Mysterious Pursuers

    As the bus driver refilled the tank at the rural gas station, Dante sensed a surge of umbra coming towards them from the highway.


    Not wanting to scare the middle-aged driver, the warlock said that he would buy a bottle of water at the gas station''s shop, which the driver thought was strange since they had all sorts of refreshments inside the bus.


    However, instead of walking to the store, Dante walked around the bus to stay away from the driver''s point of view and rushed to the street without being spotted.


    The highway was a double-sided road, so the warlock knew that their pursuers would have to drive through one lane, making him stand in the middle.


    He felt a bit glad seeing that he had a rocky wall on one side and a pine forest on the other, and as the distant flow of umbra got closer, he was able to detail the small car traveling towards him.


    ''All that umbra in that little car¡­?'' Dante pondered.


    Inside the vehicle approaching the warlock, two fully masked individuals spotted Dante standing in the middle of the road.


    The driver had his entire face shrouded with a black mask, but his crimson eyes and white hair were still somewhat visible.


    Beside him on the passenger''s seat, a short woman with two ponytails hastily adjusted her white mask, which utterly covered her face.


    "Is that the fucking security guy?" The girl asked.


    "I suppose this is our chance," the man replied.


    Dante was expecting the driver to crash into him so that he could throw the car to the side of the road, as the intentions of the people inside the vehicle were already evident simply by their umbra.


    However, the car decided to stop a few meters away from him, prompting the passengers to exit the vehicle.


    "Are you okay there, buddy?" The driver asked the warlock, slowly approaching him with his companion.


    "Hmmm, you two are not human¡­" Dante casually muttered, placing a hand on his chin.


    The two strangers halted their steps, confused at the accuracy of the warlock''s words, who thoughtfully scrutinized the individuals.


    "Hey, fuckhead, you must be drunk¡­ I''ll put you to sleep real quick!" The girl shouted.


    ''Fuckhead¡­?'' Dante thought, raising an eyebrow and dropping his head laterally.


    The girl was about to rush straight at her objective but instantly froze as Dante released his suppressed umbra, making the two strangers feel immense pressure around them. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''Wh-what¡­ Who is this guy!?'' The girl thought as all she could see was a looming shadow with two crimson eyes staring down at them.


    "Number 4!" The driver beckoned her companion.


    However, when she looked up, Dante was standing right in front of her, making the woman shiver in fear and bite her tongue, unable to raise her gaze to see his face.


    "That''s it?" Dante asked, his tone deep and intimidating.


    At that moment, seeing that his companion couldn''t move a muscle, the driver launched himself at the warlock.


    His hands turned into claws, and his target was set for his neck. Nevertheless, Dante raised his right hand and gripped the driver''s arm before his attack could land a scratch.


    Keeping his composure, the warlock punched the man in the gut and pushed him against the rock wall on the side of the road, turning his attention back to the girl, who was still restricted from moving out of sheer horror.


    *Phew* "Almost ripped his arm apart¡­ I don''t really want to taint this outfit," Dante commented, feeling glad that the blazer that was made for him still looked intact.


    "Maybe I should''ve taken it off¡­" he continued, getting interrupted by the girl, who mustered all of her courage to attack the warlock.


    However, Dante simply took a step to the side, leaving the girl clawing the air and receiving a kick on the ribs that flung her in the same direction as her companion stamped to the cliff.


    Only the lights from the vehicle illuminated the surroundings, but Dante could still see the two strangers standing up from the ground, holding their bodies in pain.


    "Number 4¡­ We might have to run," The man said.


    "Ugh, fuck¡­" The badmouth girl replied, spitting out some blood with a distasteful expression.


    "I can''t have you run so quickly¡­ I would like to ask who hired you first," Dante interjected their conversation.


    His words sounded polite, but the energy flowing from his body said otherwise to the strangers.


    "Hmm, no heartbeat¡­ But you are also not undead, so you are not the people we are looking for," Dante commented.


    The two attackers were perplexed at the warlock''s words. They''ve never met anyone who could read them so clearly, even when they tried hiding their identities.


    Understanding the danger before them, the two individuals quickly pulled out a small gem from their pocket and tightly squeezed it, encasing them in shadows that teleported them away.


    Dante placed a hand on his chin inquisitively, looking back and seeing that they had left the car running in the middle of the road.


    Not even thirty seconds later, Megan arrived at the scene. She woke up after feeling Dante releasing his suppressed umbra, which was strong enough for her to discern all the way from the bus.


    "What the hell happened here¡­?" She asked, looking at the abandoned car and the crumbles on the cliff.


    The warlock explained that they were being followed, and the attackers were seemingly planning to catch them by surprise at the gas station, so he went ahead and stopped them before the band could see them.


    "I would''ve waited for them at the gas station, but I didn''t want the girls to see the attackers getting killed¡­" Dante elaborated.


    "And¡­ where are the two?" Megan pondered.


    "They teleported away, but it wasn''t a soulstone¡­" he replied.


    "It seems like they had gems with a spell enchantment¡­ That''s pretty advanced," Dante continued.


    Megan didn''t understand the difference between Dante''s soulstones and an enchanted gem, so the warlock said that he would explain in detail on the bus, as the band had already been waiting for him for a few minutes.

 Chapter 177 - 177: Vampires and Gemstones

    When Dante and Megan returned to the bus, Kim Mi-Yun quickly approached them with a worried expression, asking the pair if everything was okay.


    "We heard a loud crash¡­" the idol said.


    "Ah, no worries, ladies. The sound was just a rock from the cliff falling on the road¡­" Dante replied as his eyebrow twitched a little.


    ''Damn, he truly is bad at lying¡­'' Megan thought.


    Kim Mi-Yun didn''t really buy Dante''s story, but she didn''t pry any further, feeling glad that the security guards were safe.


    Dante could sense genuine concern about their safety coming from the band members, and he couldn''t understand why.


    "Oh, I don''t think you were there when Camille talked about it¡­" Megan commented.


    She explained that the previous security guards who worked for Smile were killed when trying to protect Kim Mi-Yun from getting kidnapped, so the band members were still traumatized by those events.


    "I see¡­ That''s why their umbra shows so much concern for us," said Dante.


    When the bus finally kept moving, Megan reported the incident to Camille on her phone, but she ended up passing the call to Dante so he could explain in more detail.


    The warlock could tell the two individuals weren''t humans or demons since they didn''t have a heartbeat. However, they also weren''t brainless undead monsters.


    Moreover, the warlock got a glimpse of some of their body features, so he had an educated guess.


    "They looked like vampires¡­" Dante said on the phone, making Megan raise an eyebrow.


    The brunette wondered if he meant the same vampires from the movies who liked to suck blood, and Dante said that they were pretty similar.


    The warlock had seen a romantic vampire movie that Sophia wanted to watch. However, he spent over half of the movie correcting the writers on their vampire knowledge.


    Contrary to how the movies and media portrayed them, Dante explained that vampires only drank blood to either heal their wounds quickly or to get a strengthening boost for some time.


    "Do they turn into little bats and fly away, too?" Megan asked. Her question sounded sarcastic, but she was dead serious.


    "Hmm, some of them could shapeshift¡­" he replied.


    "And do they turn others into vampires if they bite them?" Megan continued.


    "Kind of¡­ The process is a little more complicated than that," Dante explained.


    Vampires in Terra had different categories, as not all of them had the same level of power and experience.


    Once vampires became powerful enough, they evolved into powerful beings that were referred to as "Mother" or "Father," respectively¡ªand they were the ones who could turn humans into vampire fledglings.


    "I''m guessing none of the attackers was the Mother or Father¡­" Megan commented.


    "Yeah, no¡ªEven I would have trouble fighting a vampire like that¡­" Dante continued.


    The brunette continued her questioning and inquired about the supposed gem that they used to escape the area.


    Dante explained that gemstones could store mana inside them, allowing mages to activate them and use magic without spending their own mana.


    However, experienced mages could enchant these gemstones with a predetermined spell, making it so the user only had to pour a small amount of energy to use it.


    "They had a ''Shadow Exit'' spell attached to the gem¡­ It''s not going to send them back home, but it took them far away from me," Dante elaborated.


    Camille, who was still on the phone listening to the whole conversation, interjected and asked Dante if he was capable of enchanting gemstones, but the warlock denied it.


    "I can probably charge a gemstone with mana, but it would take me days to fill one¡ªAnd if you want a predetermined spell, I could do something basic¡­" Dante replied.


    Still, there were a couple of people who would be able to charge the gemstone much quicker than him¡ªthe leaders of the GTS.


    "If we ask Imera for help, I don''t think she would decline¡­" he continued.


    Camille said she would think about it, as she mostly asked out of curiosity. However, knowing that it could actually help the Jade Dragons made her truly consider it.


    After the call was finished, Megan asked a few more questions about the vampires, knowing that there was a big chance that they would see them again.


    "Does garlic work against them?" Megan asked.


    "What? Garlic? Why would a vegetable be a vampire''s weakness?" Dante asked, unaware of the urban legends on Earth.


    "What about a wooden stake to the heart?" Megan pondered.


    "Umm, that would hurt them, sure¡­ But they don''t have a heartbeat, so it won''t instantly kill them," he replied.


    Megan was slightly annoyed that everything she knew about vampires was utterly fake. Nonetheless, she was glad to have Dante with her, who seemed to know what he was talking about.


    Their next destination was a city called Ventis, which used to be the old capital of Novaria.


    It was one of the largest cities in the country, and its territory was fully under the control of the Azure Rebels, the mafia group who were favored by the Spring family.


    While the Jade Dragons didn''t have friendly relations with the Azure Rebels, they also weren''t at war with each other. Still, Megan urged the warlock to be careful. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The schedule was to spend three nights at Ventis.


    On the first day, they would have to accompany the band to a meet and greet at a large mall, where they would sign autographs and take pictures with fans.


    At night, they had another formal party at the stadium''s owner''s mansion, where the band would perform.


    The second day was the day of the concert, which meant they would be busily running around the entire time.


    On their last day, they would have to attend a meeting with another entertainment agency, which was considering sending Smile on a tour around America.


    The warlock believed that the job had been pretty simple up until that point. However, knowing that they had two vampires on their tail made him reconsider.


    ''I don''t think those two can give us a lot of trouble¡­ But if they bring backup, then it won''t be as easy,'' Dante thought.

 Chapter 178 - 178: The Perverted Movie Producer

    Somewhere in the northern territories of Novaria, behind a giant billboard overlooking a lone highway, two shadows suddenly appeared and materialized the two assailants who tried to fight Dante.


    *Gasp!* "Laurent, what the fuck was that!?" The girl angrily shouted, desperately catching her breath.


    "I''m not sure¡­ It felt like we were fighting a demon," Laurent replied.


    After the two attackers used their gemstones to escape the area, they were taken ten kilometers away from their last location.


    "Ugh, that was the first time I had to use my ruby¡­" The girl commented with a frown.


    "Hmm, now we know they have a demon working for them¡­ If we can avoid him, then we can still complete the task," the man said, rubbing his chin.


    The scratches and bruises that were left from Dante''s encounter started to slowly heal up, prompting the pair to jump down the billboard.


    Laurent explained that the document they were given said that the band would stay at Ventis for three days, so they still had time to come up with a plan to avoid the supposed demon.


    "Should we tell Mother about this?" The woman asked.


    "Let''s not bother her with these trivial missions¡­ The demon caught us by surprise that time, so let''s come up with something different," he replied.


    ____________________


    When the tour bus arrived in Ventis late at night, the group was taken to their hotel rooms, where they slept for a few hours before it was time to take the band members to their meet-and-greet.


    Fortunately, the event took place during the day, which was beneficial for them since vampires couldn''t use their full strength under the sunlight.


    Dante knew that the best way to fight a vampire was to catch them during the daytime. The problem was actually finding them at those times.


    Still, he didn''t let his guard down and scrutinized every single fan who approached the band to ask for their autographs, reading their flow of umbra with his utmost attention.


    By the time the event was over, the group went back to the hotel to have lunch and rest until nighttime, when they got dressed to go to the formal party.


    The host was a man called "Jerry Jenkins," who was known to be one of the biggest movie producers in the world. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jerry invited the members of Smile to his party to break a deal with Kim Mi-Yun and have her perform in some of his films.


    When the group arrived, they were glad to see that the paparazzi weren''t allowed on the premises, and Megan noticed other movie stars and music artists among the crowd.


    Although the brunette was uninterested in popular figures, she was still surprised to see so many of them gathered in one place.


    After the band walked through a beautifully decorated garden leading to the front door, they were received by none other than the host himself, Jerry Jenkins.


    As soon as the man greeted the idols, Dante scoffed and frowned, catching Megan''s attention.


    "What is it?" Megan whispered to the warlock.


    "This guy reeks¡­" Dante replied.


    Jerry greeted all of the band members individually and shook their hands, utterly ignoring the two security guards behind them. Still, neither Dante nor Megan were offended by that.


    "Let me give you guys a quick tour of my home!" Jerry said.


    During their walk, the group passed by an open bar serving drinks, where Jerry raised his hand to order one for each of the idols.


    Dante noticed a fluctuation in the man''s umbra, and just as the women received their drinks, he stepped before them and asked them not to drink it.


    The warlock spoke in Korean so that Jerry wouldn''t understand him, and surprisingly, the idols heeded his words and made an excuse that they couldn''t drink a day before their concert.


    Jerry seemed annoyed at Dante''s intervention, but the warlock kept his polite act and explained that the ladies had to be in their top shape for the show.


    "Did they spike the drinks?" Megan asked the warlock, whispering.


    "I''m not sure what they did, but I know for sure that they did something weird," he replied.


    The two securities were now paying even more attention to their surroundings, walking closely behind the band as they were taken for a stroll around the residence.


    When the group returned to the living room filled with guests, Jerry invited Kim Mi-Yun to his office, saying that he wanted to propose a deal for a role in his movies.


    Kim Mi-Yun hesitantly agreed to the invitation, and as Jerry guided her to his office, Dante walked closely behind her while Megan stayed with the rest of the band.


    Jerry was so entranced in his plan that he didn''t notice the warlock following them until they entered the room.


    "Do you mind? This is a private meeting," Jerry said to Dante, waving his arm as if shooing him away.


    "No problem, sir. Part of my job is being discreet¡ªYou won''t even notice I''m here¡­" Dante politely replied without moving an inch from his spot.


    Dante could see the evident ill intent in Jerry''s umbra, so there was no chance that he would leave Kim Mi-Yun alone with him.


    "You are just a mere security guard. Don''t you know who I am? I''m Jerry fuckin'' Jenkins! If I tell you to leave, you get out¡­ Capicci?" The man said, clearly angry at Dante.


    The warlock calmly turned his head to look at Kim Mi-Yun, giving her a gentle smile and asking her to step outside the office for a moment in Korean, to which the woman agreed with a nod.


    "Where is she going!?" Jerry asked loudly.


    As soon as the girl stepped outside the office, Dante closed and locked the door, prompting Jerry to start sweating nervously.


    Taking a few calculated steps forward, the warlock stood before Jerry, who was one head shorter than him, staring him down with his intimidating crimson eyes.


    "What''s wrong, fool? You were speaking to me so high and mighty mere seconds ago¡­" Dante muttered in the man''s ear, letting out an evil grin that gave him shivers and froze him in fear.


    "This is what you are going to do¡­ You will give Miss Kim Mi-Yun the role in your movie, and you are going to pay her triple the amount you had planned¡­" Dante said.


    "Also, you are not allowed to see her, ever¡­ If you break any of these conditions," he continued, locking his eyes with the shivering man.


    "I''ll show you hell," Dante uttered, his deep tone of voice resonating inside Jerry''s head.

 Chapter 179 - 179: Secret Bomb Threat

    After Dante had a quick word with Jerry Jenkins, the warlock opened the door to his office and allowed Kim Mi-Yun to rejoin them.


    The woman noticed that Jerry was profusely sweating while shivering, unable to get over Dante''s fearful intimidation.


    With haste, Jerry told the idol that he would be sending the contract to her manager in a few days, which left the woman a bit confused as she hadn''t negotiated the terms.


    Still, Kim Mi-Yun didn''t argue and took the deal before returning to the party, where Megan and the rest of the band were hanging out.


    "Thanks for the help, oppa," the idol said to the warlock, which caught him a little by surprise as he knew that the term "oppa" was used as an honorific title of endearment.


    "Heh, no problem," Dante replied with a gentle smile, prompting Kim Mi-Yun to blush.


    When the group finally left the party and returned to the hotel, Dante and Megan called Camille to give her a summary of the events.


    The warlock coerced Jerry Jenkins into giving the idol a better deal for his movie, and he also managed to prevent him from assaulting the woman.


    "Great job!" Camille praised the warlock.


    The handler had already heard about the supposed vampires that tried to attack them at the gas station, and she called the leaders of the GTS to see if they had any information about them.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t know anything about a group of vampires, so the two mafia families were in the dark.


    ____________________


    The following day, the group was allowed to wake up a bit later than usual since they didn''t have any activities in the morning.


    Still, early at noon, they were taken to the stadium where the concert would take place and began their preparations.


    While the band members were in the dressing room, Dante said that he would take a quick look around the area and left Megan guarding the door.


    The warlock mostly looked around out of curiosity, admiring the architecture of the massive building and seeing the line of people going inside the stadium.


    As he kept strolling by the food and beer stands, he felt a sudden surge of umbra coming from one of the seats overlooking the field, so he quickly made his way to its location.


    It was a bleacher located almost at the very top of the stadium, which were the seats further away from the stage. However, when Dante turned his attention to that side, he didn''t see anyone.


    Nevertheless, he still walked up to the row of bleachers in the back and spotted a strange, brown bag with cables coming out of it.


    It was shaped like a rectangle, and Dante noticed it was pretty heavy when lifting it up and rotating it to see a blinking red light.


    ''Hmmm, I don''t think I should leave this here¡­'' Dante thought.


    ''Oh, I know!'' He continued, taking out his phone and taking a picture of the strange device.


    After sending the picture to Megan, he instantly received a call from the brunette.


    ["That''s a bomb, Dante!"] Megan exclaimed on the call, telling him to bring it to her quickly.


    The warlock complied, and not even thirty seconds later, he returned to the dressing room and showed the bomb to Megan.


    "Hmm, looks like a custom C4¡­" The brunette said as she inspected the device.


    "What do I do with it?" Dante pondered.


    Megan took a few seconds to reply as she pulled out a small pocket knife and unscrewed a part of the bomb holding the cables.


    "I see¡­ It''s an easy one," she muttered.


    "Hmm?" Dante hummed, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.


    Using the same pocket knife, Megan confidently sliced one of the red cables, which made the blinking light turn off.


    "There¡­ It''s deactivated," Megan said.


    "Wait, what? How do you know?" Dante asked.


    The warlock couldn''t sense any umbra or energy coming from the bomb, so he didn''t know how Megan knew which cables to cut.


    "You rely too much on your umbra vision¡­ Of course, a device like this won''t produce energy like a person," Megan replied.


    She explained that she had been through bomb defusion training as a kid, so she knew a thing or two about them.


    While she didn''t consider herself an expert, she was glad to see that the C4 had basic wiring, so it was a simple job for her.


    With the bomb threat gone, Megan called Camille to ask her to look at the stadium cameras to check who placed the C4 there. However, the handler was quite busy at the moment, so she delegated the task to Trinity.


    Luckily, Trinity was quick and sent the feed to both of their phones, noticing that it was one of the individuals who attacked Dante on the highway.


    "They probably wanted to use the C4 as a diversion¡­ You know? Blow up the back of the stadium to send all security there while they kidnap the idol," Megan commented.


    "I see, so without the bomb, we don''t really know what they are going to do¡­" Dante replied, placing a hand on his chin.


    The pair thought about giving the stadium security a description of the individuals so that they could deny entrance if they saw them.


    However, Dante couldn''t detail any of their features clearly enough to give a perfect description of them. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moreover, if they were vampires, they wouldn''t be stopped by something so trivial as a security guard preventing them from entering, so they decided against it.


    If they had reported the incident, the concert would have been canceled and rescheduled for another day, so it wouldn''t have been any better, as the bomb threat could have simply happened again.


    Their best option was to stay silent about the bomb and let the show continue to lure out the kidnappers.


    When nighttime finally arrived in the city, the concert was mere minutes away from starting, so Dante and Megan escorted the band from the dressing room to the backstage area.


    Kim Mi-Yun noticed how serious the two security guards had become, which initially made her nervous. However, remembering the time Dante stepped up for her against Jerry Jenkins relieved her worries a bit.

 Chapter 180 - 180: Attempt at the Stadium

    When the show at the stadium started, the cheers and yells of the crowd showered the whole event.


    It was the biggest concert of the tour, and Dante roughly calculated that there were at least three times more people than in the previous concerts.


    The pair stayed attentive after finding the C4 explosive to prevent another one from being planted, and by the time the concert started, it was all clear.


    While the band kept singing and dancing, Dante was focused on looking at the crowd, searching for a sudden surge of umbra. However, the sheer amount of people gathered in one place made it difficult for him.


    The concert kept going without trouble, and when they started playing the final song of the set, Dante and Megan prepared themselves to get the idols out of the venue as quickly as possible.


    From a tall building near the stadium, Number 4 and Number 2 stood on the roof, watching over the light show coming from the site.


    The girl with the ponytails casually sat on the edge of the building, holding a remote control in her hands while the man kept his arms crossed.


    "As soon as you hear them thanking the crowd, press the button," the man said.


    A few seconds later, the voice of Kim Mi-Yun could be heard coming from the venue, thanking all of the fans for seeing them, prompting the girl to press the button on her remote.


    *Click¡­* *Click¡­* "Hmm?" the girl raised an eyebrow after pressing the button two times.


    *Click, click, click, click* The girl repeatedly spammed the button.


    "Laurent, are you sure you did this correctly?" She asked.


    "Of course I did¡­ Irina, are you sure you are pressing the button hard enough?" The man replied with another question.


    "Are you fucking serious? I''m about to break your shitty remote!" Irina said with an irritated tone.


    *Tch!* "Did they disarm it? Why wouldn''t they evacuate the entire stadium if that was the case¡­?" Laurent pondered aloud.


    "It seems we have no other choice¡­ Let''s go," he continued, putting on a mask to cover his face.


    The girl followed Laurent''s lead and put on her own mask before they released their wings from their back, which resembled those of a large bat.


    "If you see the demon, you know what to do!" The man exclaimed at the girl as they flew towards the stadium.


    ____________________ sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While Dante and Megan escorted the band to the limousine that would take them to the hotel, the warlock felt a surge of umbra approaching rapidly.


    The limo was surrounded by fans taking pictures of the idols, but Dante could still sense the dangerous aura getting closer, giving Megan a silent glance.


    Right as the last idol entered the vehicle, Dante quickly closed the door, startling the band, who were expecting the two securities to go in after them.


    "Meg¡­" Dante muttered.


    "I see them," she replied, looking up into the sky and spotting two winged figures flying to their location.


    Megan thought about pulling out her pistol and shooting them down, but there were still plenty of people around, so shooting a gun at the sky would make them panic.


    Dante also considered shooting different spells at the attackers, but remembering Camille''s suggestion not to use his powers in front of others so willingly, he decided not to cast them.


    Their best option was to wait for the attackers to make their first move. That way, all of their actions later would be considered self-defense.


    At one moment, both Dante and Megan raised their guards and covered themselves against a powerful drop-kick from the attackers.


    The man landed his kick on Dante while the girl tried hitting Megan. Nonetheless, the two security guards were able to defend themselves without trouble.


    The ground underneath them shook a little and shattered around the warlock''s position, making all of the spectators around them excited, thinking that it was all some kind of after-show.


    When the two attackers stepped away from their targets, Dante and Megan were able to detail their features a bit more clearly, although their faces were still covered by their masks.


    "Hey girl, are you a vampire or something!?" Megan asked her attacker.


    The short woman was taken aback at her words, wondering how she knew about the existence of vampires.


    "Huh, it seems that way¡­" Dante replied.


    "As expected of a demon¡­ Though, I can''t understand why you are protecting these women," The man said.


    ''Demon?'' Dante thought, slightly offended.


    "Listen up, demon¡­ Join us instead of working for these arrogant artists. I''m sure an ugly monster like you would prefer our line of work," the girl commented.


    "You are lucky to receive this offer. Demons shouldn''t be working with human-" *SLAM!* the girl''s sentence was cut short after Megan landed a flying kick on her face.


    The attacker was pushed back and rolled on the ground momentarily, raising her gaze and seeing Megan''s cold expression.


    "He is not a demon," Megan angrily muttered.


    The attacker widened her eyes in disbelief, wondering if Megan had gotten angry for calling her partner a demon.


    On the other hand, Dante felt strangely relieved when he saw Megan getting angry in his stead, which reminded him of his old party from his old world.


    Back then, Dante had numerous encounters with people who would randomly call him a demon or try to kill him simply for being a warlock.


    However, every time it happened, his friends would stand up for him before he could respond to the insults.


    Truthfully, Dante didn''t care much about how others perceived him. He didn''t like being called a demon, but it also didn''t make him as furious as his friends.


    With a smile on his face, the warlock gazed at his opponent, making him take a cautious step back.


    ''That woman said he isn''t a demon¡­!? How is that even possible?'' The man thought.


    ''Could it be a bluff?'' he continued, putting one hand in his pocket and pulling out a small gemstone.


    ''I''ll have to try this out¡­'' The attacker thought, clenching his gem tightly.

 Chapter 181 - 181: Vampire Sentinel

    As Megan and her attacker kept fighting and pushing themselves around, the spectators who were watching the idols leave started recording the event, thinking that it was part of the show.


    When Dante''s attacker pulled out a gemstone from his pocket, the warlock knew that he would use it to cast a spell.


    Still, instead of avoiding it or protecting himself against it, Dante waited for his opponent to use it, feeling curious about what magic was inside the gem.


    "Demonic hold!" The man shouted, making the gem glow for a brief second.


    "..."


    ''Nothing happened!'' The man thought, starting to feel more desperate.


    "Did you just try using a spell to imprison low-ranked demons on me?" Dante asked, raising an eyebrow.


    *Tch* The attacker clicked his tongue and took another step back.


    *Pfft* Dante scoffed and looked to the side, covering his mouth while trying to hide his laughter.


    "What the hell are you¡­?" The white-haired man asked.


    "I''m a human, of course¡­" Dante replied with a cheeky smile. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If that''s all you have to show me, then I''m afraid we gotta end this soon¡­ You''ve already wasted a lot of our time," he continued.


    In the blink of an eye, Dante appeared before his attacker and gave him an uppercut that launched him up into the air.


    "Woooo!" "Waaaow!" The people cheered as they kept recording with their phones.


    Megan and her opponent were more evenly matched, but the brunette''s close-combat experience was much greater, so she began to overwhelm the vampire girl with a barrage of fists and kicks that she couldn''t fully protect from.


    "Arrgh, fuck it¡ªI''m doing it!" The girl suddenly shouted.


    "Number 4!" Her companion yelled even louder as if he was scolding her.


    The two attackers had a few bruises and cuts on their bodies, and the man''s mask was starting to crumble, prompting them to fly upwards to get away.


    ''Hmm, we should at least question one of them¡­'' Dante thought, making a finger-gun gesture with his hand and pointing it at the two vampires trying to fly away.


    "Shadow Bolt," he muttered, releasing a small shadowy projectile that traveled to its target at the speed of a bullet, hitting the girl''s wings.


    Before she could fall to the ground, Dante cast "Wings of the Fallen" and made his black wings appear behind him, allowing him to catch the girl in mid-air as she plummeted down.


    Right as he caught the girl, she tried to claw the warlock''s face. Still, he simply whipped his head back to avoid it and cast "Abyssal Chains" on her, materializing black chains that ensnared her body.


    The girl''s companion tried to assist her, pointing both of his palms at Dante and producing several magic circles to appear beside him.


    Dante realized that the man was about to use a barrage of spells on him, but Dante had hundreds of people watching from the ground, so if he avoided them, they would get hit and die.


    "Crimson Barrage!" The man shouted.


    "Shadow Wall," Dante cast in return, generating a massive black veil that covered a wide area, protecting the people below him from the burning blood projectiles.


    When the attack ceased, the shadow wall disappeared, and Dante returned to the ground while holding the captured assailant with him.


    The people kept cheering and clapping, praising them for the "after-show," which confused the pair at first. However, they realized that the fans'' version of the events benefitted them.


    Dante took the girl to an SUV that the ordinary security guards were using, and Megan went into the limousine to explain to the idols what had happened.


    The women were in shock after witnessing their fight, knowing that it wasn''t a scripted show and that they were actually in danger.


    Kim Mi-Yun noticed Megan''s bleeding knuckles from one of the attacks she dished out, and the woman asked for the first-aid kit so that she could take care of it.


    ''Hmm? Why does she look so worried about me? It''s just a little cut¡­'' Megan pondered, seeing Kim Mi-Yun cleaning and bandaging her hand.


    On the SUV that followed the limousine, Dante sat in the back with the masked girl, using that chance to remove it from her and detail her face.


    The girl didn''t look over sixteen years old, but her facial expression and demeanor said otherwise.


    Her long white hair and crimson eyes were a clear hint that she was a vampire, and when Dante saw her fangs, he confirmed his suspicions.


    "You must be a sentinel¡­" Dante muttered.


    The girl widened her eyes in disbelief, realizing that the security guards knew a lot more about vampires than she thought.


    "Your companion was a bit stronger¡ªProbably a vampire lord, right?" Dante continued.


    "How do you know those terms!? Who the fuck are you!?" the badmouthed girl asked.


    Dante knew that vampires had different clans, but all of the clans had the same categorization for their members.


    The patriarch was always at the top, responsible for creating more vampires to join their clan.


    The elder vampires were the most powerful subordinates that the patriarchs had and would usually take their superior''s role if something happened to them.


    Vampire lords were nowhere near the level of an elder vampire, but they were still the strongest out of the rest of the subordinates.


    Sentinels were relatively new vampires, with most of them not being over twenty years old.


    At the bottom of the categories, vampires would be called "fledglings," and these were the weakest and new additions to the vampire clan.


    Most fledglings were children under sixteen years old, so vampire clans didn''t use them as pawns. Instead, they preferred to train their fledglings until they evolved into a sentinel.


    While Dante wasn''t entirely sure that his guesses were correct, he could tell what the category of their attackers was simply by witnessing their power level.


    "Sorry to say, a sentinel and a vampire lord isn''t enough to take me down¡­" Dante commented.


    The girl bit her lips with apprehension, feeling a bit nervous about her situation, but she couldn''t move a muscle with the abyssal chains around her.

 Chapter 182 - 182: The Badmouthed Vampire

    When Dante returned to the hotel with Megan and the K-pop idols, the brunette accompanied the band to their rooms before she went to hers.


    Inside, Dante was talking with the vampire girl, who was still entangled in abyssal chains while sitting on a chair.


    "Ugh, what are you perverts going to do to me!?" The girl exclaimed.


    "Perverts? You are the one trying to kidnap a woman¡­" Dante refuted, crossing his arms.


    "Fuck you, bitch. I''m just doing my job!" The girl continued.


    "Are curse words the only thing she knows?" Megan pondered aloud, irking the vampire girl.


    "Yeah, she is quite annoying¡­" Dante replied, making the vampire girl even angrier.


    "She won''t even tell me her name¡ªShe keeps saying she is Number 4¡­" he continued.


    "What a stupid name," Megan said, purposely mocking the girl to make her mad.


    "Oh, fuck you guys. It''s Irina!" The vampire exclaimed, her face red from anger and embarrassment.


    "Okay, Irina¡­ And you are a sentinel, right?" Dante asked.


    "Fuck you," Irina replied.


    "I''ll take that as a ''yes,''" said the warlock.


    Dante wanted to know how a sentinel vampire appeared on Earth.


    Now that he knew that The Golden Fox had ''fallen'' into the convergence by mistake and landed on Earth, he thought it was possible for vampires to go through a similar experience.


    "Where are you from?" Dante asked.


    "Arcgate, born and raised," Irina replied with a serious expression.


    "So, you were born here¡­" Dante muttered, placing a hand on his chin.


    Megan noticed that the warlock had something in his mind, prompting her to inquire about it.


    Dante explained that, at first, he believed that Irina and her companion were from Terra, but knowing that the woman was born in Novaria changed his perspective.


    "I see¡­ So, it was a patriarch who came to this world," Dante commented, making Irina widen her eyes.


    Megan was a little lost, so Dante gave her a brief summary of the vampire categories and explained that only the patriarch could create new vampires for their clan.


    "What''s your Father''s name?" Dante asked, his tone and gaze piercing through Irina.


    The girl dropped her defiant expression and looked to the side. "Just kill me," she said with a defeated tone.


    "Oh, could it be a matriarch this time?" Dante continued casually asking, ignoring the girl''s words.


    When Irina heard the word "matriarch," Dante noticed a small surge of umbra flowing from her body, so he deduced that he was correct.


    "Kill me¡­" Irina repeated. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Shut up for a moment. I''m thinking¡­" Dante replied, waving his hand as if Irina''s words were distracting him.


    The warlock thought about the fact that she called herself "Number 4," so it was easy to conclude that they were given numbers related to their power levels.


    "How many numbers are there?" Dante asked.


    "Kill me¡­" Irina replied.


    "Does your Mother count as a number?" he continued.


    "Kill me¡­" Irina repeated her answer.


    Any question that referred to the vampire clan was met with an invitation to kill Irina, so Dante and Megan gave up and decided to ask about the client who ordered the kidnapping of Kim Mi-Yun.


    Irina was silent at the question, which was a step forward from being told to end her life after every sentence.


    Still, while the pair were able to discover that the vampire clan was uninterested in the idol, they didn''t get a clear answer as to who ordered it.


    *Yawn* "Well, let''s keep talking tomorrow¡­" Dante commented, stretching his arms.


    Megan followed suit, and as the two changed into comfortable clothing, Irina blushed with embarrassment and indignation, calling the pair shameless for changing while she was still inside the room.


    Moreover, seeing that Megan was in her panties, wearing a tank top with no bra¡ªand that Dante was shirtless, wearing a set of sweatpants made the vampire even more embarrassed.


    Before she knew it, the lights in the room were off, and both security guards were peacefully sleeping while Irina stayed bound to the chair, facing the bed.


    ''Who the fuck are these people¡­?'' Irina thought.


    ''Why do they know so much about us? And why haven''t they killed me?'' She continued.


    It was evident to Irina that she wasn''t dealing with ordinary humans, but she also knew they weren''t demons since their "Demonic Hold" spell didn''t have any effects on Dante.


    Even if Dante were a high-ranking demon, the spell would have given some sort of feedback after casting it. Nevertheless, absolutely nothing happened when it was targeted at the warlock.


    Irina couldn''t see a lot of mana flowing from them, which made her deduce that they were using other types of energy for their spells.


    ''I get it, they use umbra! That''s why we thought he was a demon¡­'' Irina thought, widening her eyes in realization.


    Reminiscing her encounter with Megan, she noticed her prowess in close combat, so she wondered if the brunette was some kind of dark warrior.


    However, she also saw her stowing away her pistol when changing outfits, making her realize that Megan wasn''t going all-out against her.


    Irina and her brother, Laurent, thought that Dante would be the only obstacle standing in their way. Still, she told herself that she wouldn''t underestimate the pair again.


    The following morning, Megan opened her eyes and lazily rolled on the bed, heavily placing one leg on top of Dante''s stomach and waking him up as he coughed a little.


    "My bad¡­" Megan said, slowly retracting her leg.


    *Yawn* "It''s alright," Dante replied, closing his eyes again.


    "Bad morning, fuckheads," Irina said, making the pair open their eyes with annoyance.


    The vampire was still bound to the chair while facing the bed, staring at the two with an arrogant frown.


    "Creepy¡­" Megan muttered.


    "It''s not like that! Vampires don''t sleep, you dumbass!" Irina exclaimed, angrily shaking her head while blushing.


    "Do you want the TV remote or something?" Megan asked.


    "Ughhhh¡­" The vampire scoffed in defeat.


    Irina felt annoyed at some of their words, but she was mostly confused as to why they treated her so casually. Still, she decided she couldn''t let her guard down and kept planning a way to escape.

 Chapter 183 - 183: Irina’s Deal

    The day after Dante and Megan captured the vampire, Irina, they called Camille to inform her of the events.


    The group still had to spend one more day in Ventis since they had a meeting with international music producers. However, Camille decided to postpone that meeting and bring the group back to Novis as soon as possible.


    From the way that both vampires treated each other during their attack, Dante could tell that they were pretty close, so there was a high possibility that they would try to rescue Irina.


    Camille, not wanting to endanger the band but also not lose the vampire, gave the command to return to the capital that same day.


    When the group arrived at the private airport, Dante had a quick talk with Irina before getting out of the car.


    The vampire''s body was still bound with Dante''s abyssal chains, but the warlock didn''t want to attract attention, so he told Irina that he would remove the chains if she cooperated.


    Irina thought that she could easily make her escape if the warlock removed the chains, but when she gazed back at him, she noticed he was staring her down with a cold look.


    "Don''t try anything funny¡­" Dante muttered.


    The vampire had no other choice but to follow Dante''s instructions, and when the chains disappeared, she calmly followed him to the plane and boarded it with the rest of the group.


    While on the flight back, Megan received a message on her phone with a link, and when she opened it, she saw it was a video from the events after the concert.


    The video''s point of view seemed to be recorded by one of the spectators who thought the fight with the vampires was part of the show, and it was racking up hundreds of thousands of views.


    "Uhh, so this video is all over social media¡­" Megan commented, showing it to Dante.


    The warlock could be seen shooting a shadow bolt and flying upwards with his black wings along with the two vampires. Fortunately, his face wasn''t discernable by simply watching the recording.


    "Let''s see the comments," Megan said, scrolling down on her phone.


    ["Nice show, but this shit is so fake!"]


    ["You can see the cables holding the actor''s wings LOL!"]


    ["Cool effects¡­"]


    ["Kim Mi-Yun, my QUEEN!!"]


    "Hmm, everything seems fine¡­" Megan continued after reading the comments, realizing that nobody suspected that the fight was real.


    "Hmph, humans always try to look for a logical explanation for things they can''t comprehend," Irina commented with a smug tone.


    "Hmm? You are more talkative today¡­ Ready to tell us who hired you?" Dante asked, making Irina turn her head to the side and ignore his question.


    When the group landed on Novis, they were picked up by a pack of black SUVs that took them to Camille''s skyscraper. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The handler considered sending everyone to the Jade Palace, but she still had tasks to complete at the tower, so she decided to send everyone there.


    The band was sent to their rooms to rest. Meanwhile, Dante and Megan took Irina to Camille''s office, where the handler wanted to ask the girl a few questions.


    The handler introduced herself to the vampire, making her a bit surprised, seemingly recognizing her last name.


    "Look, my offer is simple¡­ Tell us who hired you for how much, and we will simply double your reward," Camille said with a casual tone.


    "They offered us three million¡­" Irina apprehensively replied while looking to the side.


    Camille let out a whistle. "So, how about six million for the information?" she asked.


    "I¡­ Need to think about it," Irina replied, holding her arm with apprehension.


    Dante interjected and said that Irina was a sentinel vampire, so she wasn''t the one to make these decisions.


    "Who should we talk to, then?" Camille inquired.


    A few minutes later, one of Camille''s servants brought a phone into the office, handed it to Irina, and told her that she could use it to call someone.


    The handler clarified to the vampire that she was only allowed to speak about the offer, and if she revealed her location or their identities, then the negotiations would be finished.


    Irina ended up calling her companion, whom she referred to as "Number 2," and the man picked up the call with distress in his voice.


    The vampire calmly explained the situation, telling him that she had been captured and was offered six million dollars to reveal who hired them for the kidnap.


    The man asked who it was that captured her, but Irina replied with silence, making him understand that she was being monitored.


    Number 2 said that he would call again in a few minutes and hung up. Still, not even three minutes passed by before he called again, accepting the deal.


    Irina had gotten permission from her superiors to speak, so there was nothing holding her back anymore.


    She explained that they had been hired by a man named Vincent Muro, who was one of the "Dons" of the Onyx Cartel.


    "Did he ask for the two of you specifically?" Dante asked.


    Irina shook her head and denied it, saying that it was her clan that received the mission, and she was simply chosen to complete it along with her partner.


    From Irina''s point of view, Vincent was a disgusting man who was paying exorbitant amounts of money to fulfill his fetishes, and while kidnapping a beautiful young woman wasn''t her favorite activity, she still had to complete the task given to her.


    "Are vampires always this money-hungry?" Camille asked the warlock.


    "Not really¡­ Vampire clans were quite wealthy back in Terra, so they didn''t work as mercenaries like these guys," Dante replied.


    Irina protested their words, saying that her clan wasn''t broke. "Mother likes to buy lots of frivolous things, so we have to maintain our savings high¡­" she commented.


    After the negotiations, the group decided to send the vampire clan an address of an abandoned warehouse where they were going to release Irina with her six million dollars.

 Chapter 184 - 184: Succubi Celebrities

    After Dante and his group made a deal with the vampires to free Irina, they chose to give her away during the day so they wouldn''t be at their full power.


    At night, Irina was taken to one of the guest rooms in the tower, where Dante used his abyssal chains to ensnare her once more.


    They couldn''t risk having the vampire walking around the tower or escaping and revealing its location, so they had no other options but to bind her to a chair.


    Irina seemed defeated and wasn''t talking as much as when she got captured, so Dante turned her chair to face the TV mounted on the wall.


    "There¡­ It should be less boring like this," Dante commented, but the girl didn''t seem interested in watching anything.


    "Why didn''t you just kill me?" Irina pondered aloud, making Dante raise an eyebrow.


    "Because you attacked us with an aimless objective¡­" He replied, making the vampire turn her gaze towards him.


    Dante briefly explained to Irina that he could read a person''s intentions by simply looking at them, and he could tell that the vampires were following orders that they didn''t necessarily want to do.


    "It''s pretty easy to tell the difference between someone who wants to kill me, someone who is prepared to die to kill me, and someone who doesn''t even want to be there¡­" The warlock elaborated.


    "What the hell are you?" Irina asked.


    However, Dante decided not to answer that question since it wasn''t part of their deal, grabbing the remote control for the TV and placing it right beside Irina''s fingers, allowing her to change the channel if she wanted.


    "See you tomorrow," he said, waving goodbye to the vampire and leaving the guest room.


    ____________________


    While Dante and Megan were working as security guards for the band Smile, Lilith and her succubi were undertaking another mission that Camille had given them.


    A new brand of perfume and clothing was about to open under Camille''s ownership, and the succubus queen had been busy taking model pictures for the promotion of the company.


    On the first day that Lilith showed up at the photo studio with her subordinates, the photographers were delighted to see such beautiful women.


    It didn''t even take a week for the promotional pictures to spread, making it to billboards on congested highways.


    One of the giant billboards portrayed Lilith wearing lingerie and holding a perfume bottle in her hands with the word "Succubus," which was the name of the new perfume line.


    It only took a few days for the pictures to go viral on the internet, and people were discussing the beautiful and mysterious model that appeared seemingly out of nowhere¡ªLilith.


    Camille knew that the Succubus Queen''s appearance would be enough to catch people''s attention, but she wasn''t expecting it to be so quick.


    Moreover, Zarina and the other subordinates were also getting quite popular after modeling for the new clothing brand, which they called "Queen."


    As the handler checked social media to see people''s reactions to the models, she noticed that the succubi already had their own international fan club, which was a pleasant surprise for her.


    "I thought it would take at least two months to get to this point¡­ Not a few days," Camille commented.


    The handler could tell that if they kept going at that rate, Lilith and her subordinates would start receiving offers from other agencies soon enough, which was their main objective.


    Meanwhile, Zac had been training his abilities daily at the laboratory in the Jade Palace with Alice.


    The ex-detective had gained the ability to slightly control umbra after she was exposed to Nihilor''s blood, but she was nowhere near the level of the others.


    Dante offered to make a contract with her the same way he had done with Zac and Megan, but Alice asked for some time to think about it.


    However, seeing the difference in her skills with the redhead made her reconsider her decision, believing that making the contract wouldn''t be a bad idea.


    When Alice discussed it with June, she thought that her companion would be against the contract. Nevertheless, she was surprised to see that June was actually in favor of it.


    The rookie didn''t trust Dante a single bit at first, but after everything she had gone through with the warlock, she genuinely believed that he wasn''t a bad person.


    June used Zac and Megan as examples, talking about their abilities and how it was their trust in Dante that allowed them to grow so much.


    "I wonder what kind of fighter you would become¡­" June commented, remembering how Zac was meant to be a dark warrior and Megan a dark rogue.


    Alice decided to sleep it off and think about it in bed, and when she woke up, she had completely made up her mind.


    "I''ll do it¡­" she muttered to herself before getting out of bed.


    Unfortunately, she chose her option when Dante wasn''t in the city, as he was touring with the K-pop idols, so she had to patiently wait for his return.


    Still, the fact that she had made up her mind gave her even more motivation when training at the lab.


    Clara, Zac''s mother, used all of her time training with the Shadow Well, cleansing the few soulstones that Dante left for her before going on the tour.


    However, the woman ended up shattering expectations and managed to cleanse all of the soulstones in a few days.


    Not wanting to stop her training while waiting for Dante to return, Clara thought she would experiment by producing healthstones, which required her blood to be poured into the well.


    The woman knew that Dante didn''t want to teach her this method so soon since he didn''t want her to hurt herself when pouring out the blood. Still, Clara was determined to get stronger. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the woman spent two hours synthesizing a single healthstone, her energy depleted considerably and made her faint from exhaustion, giving her a reality check on the ceiling of her abilities.


    She remembered that Dante could make dozens of healthstones in one hour, so she decided to aim for the same heights.

 Chapter 185 - 185: The Mountain Vampires

    Somewhere on the northern side of the Lunar Mountain Range, between the territories of the Jade Dragons and the Azure Rebels, a large and modern mansion could be seen high up in the mountains.


    Inside one of the rooms, a woman with long jet-black hair and hints of white sat proudly on a large cushioned chair, smoking tobacco from a pipe that made the room a bit hazy.


    Her eyes were dark red, and her body extruded an air of poise and elegance that could catch anyone''s attention.


    Sensing a couple of footsteps approaching her room, the woman spoke up and allowed the visitor to enter before they could knock.


    A young man who didn''t seem to be over twenty-one years old entered the room. He had light blond hair and shared the same dark crimson eyes as the woman.


    "Ezekiel¡­" The woman greeted the visitor.


    "Mother, we spoke with the people who captured Irina¡­" said the blond man with a serious tone.


    "Mhmm, and?" The Mother asked.


    "It seems we reached an agreement for now. They''ll release Irina along with six million dollars in exchange for telling them who ordered the kidnapping¡­" Ezekiel explained.


    The woman placed a hand on her chin and delved into her thoughts, commenting on how it was a very steep price to pay for such information.


    "I''m a bit surprised they were able to capture and talk to her¡­ Irina isn''t the most social among us," the blond said.


    "Heh, I see¡­ They want to lure us out," Mother mused.


    "My, my¡­ Should I go pick up my little sister?" A woman interjected the conversation, entering the room with a smile on her face.


    "Claudia, do you want to go?" The Mother asked with a severe tone.


    "I was thinking I could break her out¡­ Laurent said there were a couple of people who were troublesome, but that shouldn''t be a problem!" Claudia confidently replied.


    In the report that Laurent sent the vampires, he explained that there was a man who fought like a demon, but the "Demonic Hold" spell didn''t work on him.


    When Mother watched the viral video that was spreading online showing Dante and Megan fighting the two vampires, the woman squinted as she tried to detail the warlock''s face. Nonetheless, the video''s resolution didn''t help.


    "So, a warlock made it here¡­" Mother muttered.


    "That''s a warlock!?" Ezekiel exclaimed, his eyes widened with interest.


    The graceful woman elaborated and said that warlocks were pretty dangerous and shouldn''t be underestimated.


    "Honestly, I''m glad Irina is still alive after encountering him¡­ This man looks experienced," she continued, raising her gaze and calling for "Balthazar" to come to the room.


    A few seconds later, a dark-skinned man with long silver hair entered the room, wearing a sleek jacket and sunglasses, even though it wasn''t bright inside. He seemed to be in his mid-30s, but the cane he held in one hand and the hair color made him look slightly older.


    "You called, Mother?" Balthazar asked as he entered the room.


    "Yes, I want you and Claudia to accompany Laurent with the exchange¡­" Mother replied.


    "All of the top three!?" Ezekiel pondered aloud.


    Claudia asked if they should bring the head of the warlock, considering that Mother was sending her most powerful children. However, the woman utterly denied her idea.


    "Do not fight the warlock¡­ Unless he attacks first, of course," she said.


    Mother was sending her best three out of caution, but the main objective was bringing Irina safely back home.


    "If these two work for the Jade Dragons, then there is a chance we will encounter them again¡­ The Onyx Cartel seems to be targeting them, so we can use that rivalry to make money from both sides," Mother explained.


    The vampires didn''t favor any mafia group over the others. As long as they paid, the vampire clan would fulfill the service they were asked to provide.


    "Will the cartel do business with us again if we don''t finish the previous job?" Ezekiel asked.


    Mother chuckled, explaining that they never guaranteed the cartel that they could complete their task.


    The fact that the cartel called the vampire clan instead of kidnapping the idol by themselves made Mother believe that they didn''t have the means to do it. At least not quietly.


    Moreover, the man who hired them, Don Vincent Muro, had switched his target recently, as the man apparently became obsessed with a new model that appeared in Novaria a few weeks prior.


    *Sigh* "Seriously, why do we have to take jobs from these people¡­?" Ezekiel said with a dissatisfied tone. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mother let out a gentle smile. "Something I''ve learned from this world is that money can have more leverage than power¡­" she said.


    ____________________


    On the day of Irina''s exchange, the vampire was sitting in a room bound to a chair when she heard a ''poof'' next to her, making her turn her head to find Krom.


    "Eek, what the fuck are you?" Irina asked, disgusted by the imp''s appearance.


    "Huh? I''m an imp¡­ Are you dumb or something?" Krom replied, just as rude as her.


    "Eww, ugly!" The vampire shouted.


    "Look who''s talking, blood-sucking fiend!" Krom refuted, pointing at the girl in a mocking tone.


    The warlock interrupted their discussion as he entered the room, finding Krom and Irina looking at each other with defiant glares.


    "Krom, are you messing with the hostage?" Dante asked.


    "She started it!" The imp defended himself.


    When the warlock gazed at Irina, he remembered all of the curse words and insults she hurled at everyone around her, so he believed Krom.


    "Come on, Dante¡­ Do I really have to guard this woman?" The imp asked.


    "Just for a bit¡ªWe are taking her to her people in a few hours," Dante replied.


    Krom stomped the floor with annoyance but said that he could manage to do it for a few hours. However, he went to pick up his BeamDeck first, or he would''ve been bored out of his mind.


    ''What did that ugly shit call him? Dante?'' Irina thought.

 Chapter 186 - 186: Hostage Trade

    In the afternoon at Novis, while the sun was still shining brightly over the city, Dante and Megan took Irina to a warehouse on the outskirts, where the exchange would take place.


    Apart from Dante and Megan, a few members of the Kappa Team were on standby near the warehouse, just in case the vampires tried anything funny.


    "Well, Miss Irina, it was fun¡­" Dante said with a slightly sarcastic tone.


    "Fuck you," she replied.


    The pair was standing outside the warehouse, with the vampire still bound by the abyssal chains, which made her wonder how long they lasted.


    Unbeknownst to her, Dante''s abyssal chains periodically absorbed some of Dante''s umbra.


    In a typical setting, a warlock wouldn''t be able to hold that spell for more than two hours. However, Dante had so much umbra flowing from him that he could maintain it for a few days.


    After waiting for thirty minutes, an SUV arrived with three individuals stepping out of the vehicle.


    Dante recognized the driver as Irina''s companion, whom she called "Number 2." Even though the man had his face covered with a mask, the energy flowing from him was exactly the same, so Dante instantly recognized him.


    As he scrutinized the other two individuals, the warlock deduced that the dark-skinned man was the strongest of the bunch.


    "An elder vampire¡­" Dante muttered, catching Irina''s attention, who gazed at him with a bit of shock.


    "Let''s see¡­ If that guy is Number 2 and he is a vampire lord, then that woman next to him would be Number 3, right?" Dante asked the group, pointing at the vampires.


    "And if you are 2, and she is 3¡­ Then that makes this guy Number 1," Dante continued, pointing at the dark-skinned man.


    "Not a bad deduction¡­ We are here for our little sister, if you don''t mind," said the elder vampire in a calm, polite manner.


    "Mhmm, here you go¡­" Dante replied, snapping his fingers and making the abyssal chains disappear.


    "She is a bit feisty and rude, but she behaved alright¡­" The warlock commented as Irina walked to the vampire''s side.


    The vampires didn''t reply and walked back to their vehicle without taking their eyes off Dante and Megan, and as they drove off the site, Dante seemed to be deep into his thoughts.


    "What do you think?" Megan asked, wanting to hear the warlock''s opinion. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The guy with the cane looked pretty strong¡­ He might be stronger than you and Zac," Dante commented.


    "So¡­ It''s time to train, I suppose," Megan replied with a disinterested tone.


    While they were on the ride back to the Jade Palace, Megan pondered if releasing Irina was the best thing to do, as she knew a little more about them now and could use that information to attack them again.


    However, Dante was sure that the vampire''s leader already knew of the warlock''s existence since the video from the concert had gone viral.


    A vampire that was powerful enough to create their own clan must have been familiar with warlocks and demons, so he believed that they wouldn''t try to mess with them again.


    "Did you fight a lot of vampires back in your world?" Megan asked.


    "I don''t know if it''s a lot, but I did encounter a vampire Father one time¡­" he replied.


    It was an event that had happened a little over a hundred years ago from Dante''s perspective.


    He and his party were traveling to a city called "Lumen," which was known to have a vampire clan called the Blood Moon Clan governing it.


    The Father of the clan was Nicodemus, a powerful man who not only governed his city fairly but also created a clan with hundreds of vampires.


    Dante had been to the city of Lumen numerous times at that point. However, on his last trip there, he found the entire city involved in chaos.


    Nobody knew why, but Nicodemus had gone berserk and destroyed the entire city and killed over 90% of the citizens and all of the vampires in his clan.


    When Dante and his party found Nicodemus, he was about to deal a finishing blow to the last vampire alive from his clan but was promptly stopped by the warlock.


    After they all worked together to kill Nicodemus and stop his frenzy, the sole vampire survivor revealed the truth of what had happened.


    The young vampire decided to betray her clan after their Father killed one of her older sisters, whom she loved. So, in order to take revenge, the young vampire destroyed absolutely everything.


    "Damn¡­ And you guys helped her kill Nicodemus?" Megan inquired, wholly immersed in the warlock''s story.


    "Yeah, well¡­ To be fair, Nicodemus was a piece of shit¡ªWe just kind of endured his actions since Lumen was a nice place," Dante replied.


    "What about the vampire survivor?" Megan asked.


    "We let her go¡­"


    Dante and his party were familiar with the vampire woman, and they didn''t feel like killing anyone else at that point, so they healed her wounds and allowed her to leave.


    "Hmm, so you do have a soft spot for vampires¡­" Megan commented, placing a hand on her chin.


    "Hah, maybe I do¡ªThey may not look like it, but vampires are surprisingly considerate when you talk to them¡­" he replied.


    When the pair arrived at the Jade Palace, Megan was still thinking about Dante''s words, saying that she wouldn''t be able to beat the elder vampire, so she decided to go to the MET room to train.


    Inside the room, she found Zac and Alice training against the dummies and Miss Clara practicing her umbra control with a Shadow Well.


    ''Everyone looks motivated¡­'' Megan thought with a slight smile on her face.


    "Ah, Megan! Can you help me give Miss Alice a few tips?" The redhead beckoned the brunette.


    Meanwhile, Dante visited Camille in the briefing room to give his report on the vampire exchange.


    The handler wanted to know if the vampires were related to the strange monster that had appeared in the South¡ªthe ghoul.


    Nonetheless, Dante refuted her suspicion, explaining that vampires didn''t use undead monsters to do their bidding.

 Chapter 187 - 187: Vampires’ Meeting

    When the vampire sentinel, Irina, was taken back to their mansion in the northern mountains, she entered a room where her seven siblings sat around a table with their Mother in the back.


    "Irina, I''m glad you are back home safe¡­" Mother said with genuine concern.


    "Thanks, Mother. It was all thanks to you guys not abandoning me," Irina replied, slightly bowing her head.


    "As if we would ever do that," Mother said with a cheeky smile, pointing with her hand at one of the chairs and inviting Irina to sit down.


    "Now, tell us what you saw¡­" she continued.


    Irina explained that the JADE talent agency did belong to the Jade Dragons, as they suspected, and their security could cast magic.


    At first, the pair thought the man was a demon, so they tried using "Demonic Hold" to halt his movements, but the spell didn''t activate.


    The matriarch of the vampire clan already knew about the existence of a warlock, not because she had confirmed it but because it was the most probable explanation.


    "Ah, I did hear his name¡­ He was talking to an ugly imp beside me," Irina commented.


    "What was it?"


    "I think the imp called him¡­ Dante?" Irina replied with a bit of uncertainty.


    While none of the vampires reacted to the name, the Mother widened her eyes in disbelief, asking Irina about the man''s looks.


    "Umm, he was pretty tall and had dark hair. Also, his eyes were red like ours, but they looked lighter¡­" Irina replied.


    Laurent intervened in the conversation, as he had also seen Dante in person, and said that the warlock had an extremely powerful presence that almost prevented him from moving a muscle.


    Irina, on the other hand, literally couldn''t move when she stood before him, so the vampire warned the others not to be too careless around him.


    While the eight vampires discussed the events with each other, their Mother was silent in deep pondering, prompting her older child, Balthazar, to ask what she was thinking about.


    With a mischievous smile, the vampire Mother said that they had received two more requests from the previous clients, the Onyx Cartel.


    When she saw who the targets were, Mother thought about declining the offer as she didn''t want to involve her children with the mafia after Irina was captured. However, something about Irina''s report made her change her mind.


    One of the targets was the new supermodel, who was becoming famous all over the world despite only being in the industry for a little over a month.


    "Wait, don''t tell me¡­ Do they want to kidnap Lilith!?" Ezekiel, another vampire sentinel, asked.


    "Do you know her?" Laurent inquired.


    "Of course I do¡­ She is like the hottest woman in the world at the moment," Ezekiel confidently replied.


    When the vampire sentinel pulled out his phone and started showing the online modeling pictures of Lilith, the siblings looked at it for a brief moment and blushed a bit, wondering how a woman could be so alluring.


    "I know¡­ I''m a big fan," Ezekiel commented.


    When the Mother looked at the pictures, she placed a hand on her chin and smiled, saying that it looked interesting.


    "Who''s the second target?" Balthazar asked.


    "The leader of the Jade Dragons¡­ A woman named Megan Dunlap," Mother replied, taking out her phone to show the picture to her children.


    As soon as Irina looked at the picture, she abruptly stood up from her seat, revealing that she was the one working as security with Dante.


    "You shouldn''t underestimate her¡­ She is quite skilled," Irina said.


    The difference between the jobs was that Lilith was meant to be kidnapped and sent to Vincent, while Megan had to be assassinated.


    Irina bit her lips with apprehension, which her Mother noticed.


    "What''s wrong, Irina?" Mother asked.


    "Nothing¡­ I''m just wondering why the cartel wants her dead so badly," the sentinel replied.


    Irina spent three days with her captors, and during that time, she wasn''t tortured or beaten up for information.


    She didn''t see anyone other than Dante, Megan, Krom, and Camille, but she knew that there were a lot more people at the building where they held her captive since she could hear footsteps outside her room.


    While she was bound alone to a chair, both Dante and Megan would casually speak to her, which confused the vampire as she was meant to be their enemy.


    "Are you feeling guilty that we are targeting them after they treated you well?" Mother asked.


    "I¡­" Irina hesitated to answer.


    "Good¡­ I raised you guys to be compassionate, not mindless killing machines," Mother confidently said, making all of the vampires turn their gazes toward her.


    "We take on these requests because they are lucrative, but I never wanted my children to do something they don''t desire¡­" she continued.


    "If there is an option where you fight and die and an option where you talk it out and live, then I would prefer you choose the latter," the Mother said, prompting her children to agree with her wholeheartedly.


    The vampires decided to accept the requests from the Onyx Cartel. However, Mother made it clear that she didn''t care about the results and only wanted her children to come back alive.


    Even though they had failed the previous task they were given, Vincent was surprisingly lenient with the vampires and understood the difficulties of kidnapping a popular idol.


    Still, the man decided to hire them again as he believed they were the best choice for the job.


    The Mother of the vampires could tell that the cartel was trying to use their clan to destabilize the rival mafia factions, and since she didn''t care about the mafia hierarchies, she didn''t see a reason to decline their requests.


    Nevertheless, after hearing the name "Dante," the woman seemed to have a change of heart.


    Not only was she more cautious about the requests, but she showed genuine interest in the warlock. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the meeting with her children was finished, the Mother stayed in the room for some time, watching the viral video of Dante''s encounter with the vampires and chuckling to herself.

 Chapter 188 - 188: Disposable Blood

    It had been a few days since the Jade Dragons gave Irina back to their family, and Dante was hanging out in the inner garden of the Jade Palace.


    As he lay on a hammock tied between two trees and relaxed while watching the clouds in the sky, he heard someone approaching, catching his attention.


    "Here you are¡­" said ex-detective Alice as she approached the hammock.


    "Were you looking for me?" Dante asked.


    "Mhmm¡­ I''ve been thinking about your last offer," Alice commented, making Dante sit up to make eye contact with her.


    After Alice was subjected to Nihilor''s blood, she was able to control umbra slightly, but her abilities didn''t put her close to Zac or Megan''s level.


    The woman didn''t have the innate talent to become a warlock, so even if she could master the umbra control, she wouldn''t be able to cast spells.


    Dante offered Alice the same contract he had given Zac and Megan, where he gave them a soulstone that had been cleansed of the demon''s wickedness and brought out their potential.


    He explained that, in a typical setting, warlocks would ask for something in exchange while making the contract, but Dante didn''t need anything from them, so he didn''t have any conditions for accepting.


    Initially, Alice said she would think about it, as it sounded like an important decision that would affect the rest of her life.


    However, seeing the difference in skills between her and the other members of the Omega Team allowed her to make her decision quicker.


    "I want to do it¡­ The contract," Alice stated confidently.


    "I see¡ªAlright," Dante casually replied, standing up from the hammock.


    "That fast?" Alice asked, a bit perplexed at his easygoing nature.


    "I was the one who offered the contract in the first place¡­ I''ve seen you fight, and I''ve read your umbra plenty of times¡ªThere is nothing more for me to think about," he replied.


    Dante knew that Alice was a woman who held to her view of justice. She became a detective because she wanted to punish people who committed evil deeds, which Dante thought was a fine objective.


    "Truth be told, I decided I wanted to do this a few days ago, but you weren''t here¡­" Alice commented as they walked to the laboratory.


    "Heh, even better. If you still want to do it after a few days, then you must be sure of your decision," Dante said with a smirk.


    When the pair arrived at the lab, they found Zac and his mother inside one of the rooms, with the redhead asking the woman to rest.


    "Please, mom¡­ You look tired¡ªJust rest for a little!" Zac exclaimed. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Clara was focusing her power on the Shadow Well before her, where her blood was slowly swirling as she moved her hand above it.


    "I almost have it¡­" The woman muttered, clenching her teeth as she struggled to control the umbra.


    Dante crossed his arms and waited for the woman to finish creating a healthstone, which left Clara on her knees and leaning on the Shadow Well for support.


    "Miss Clara¡­" Dante said, startling the woman for a second as if she had gotten busted.


    "Dante, please tell my mom to take it easy!" Zac exclaimed.


    The warlock approached the well and picked up the healthstone, putting it closer to his face as he inspected it.


    "Huh¡­" Dante uttered, his voice hinting at interest and curiosity.


    Clara seemed a bit embarrassed, remembering that Dante had personally asked her not to practice making healthstones since he didn''t want the woman to hurt herself.


    "Miss Clara, I understand that you want to get more powerful, but there are reasons why I don''t want you using your blood for this¡­" Dante said with a gentle tone, kneeling before the woman, who was still leaning from the well.


    "Your blood¡­ well, everyone''s blood is more precious than mine¡ªI can regenerate the blood inside my body quite fast, so it''s more disposable than yours," he continued.


    "Wh-what do you mean, dear?" Miss Clara asked, still tired from her previous spell.


    "Yeah, I wanna know too¡­ What do you mean your blood is more ''disposable''?" Zac interjected.


    Dante explained that, after losing a certain amount of blood, it could take a day for the blood volume inside a human''s body to be replaced.


    However, the warlock''s blood volume regenerated almost instantly, so he could use his blood to cast several spells without repercussions.


    Moreover, Clara would be more prone to getting sick the more she used her blood to practice, as the red and white cells could take weeks to be fully replaced.


    Before Dante arrived on Earth, he didn''t know the scientific reason for warlocks getting sick after constantly using their blood to practice their spell casting.


    Thankfully, one of the books that Camille gave him was a science book, so he familiarized himself with the concept and came to that conclusion.


    "That''s what I mean when I say your blood is more precious¡­ Mine is easily replaceable," Dante said.


    "Dear, when you say it like that, it sounds a bit sad¡­" Clara muttered, patting Dante''s head like her own son.


    "Hold on¡­ Why do you regenerate your blood so quickly, then?" Zac inquired, placing a hand on his chin.


    "Erm¡­ It''s sort of an effect from my Blood Malevolent Art¡­" Dante casually replied, but he could see that his friend wanted a deeper explanation.


    For Dante to master the malevolent art of blood, he had to trade all of the blood in his body and replace it with the blood that coursed in the place known as "The Infernal Bloodsea," located deep in hell.


    When he made the pact, Dante felt as if his body was burning from the inside for weeks until he eventually managed to control the pain.


    "So, the blood inside of you isn''t yours¡­?" Zac pondered, slightly confused.


    "It is mine¡ªIt just has the curse of the Infernal Bloodsea," Dante replied.


    "Well, I don''t really get it, but if this means my mom can stop cutting her palm, then great!"

 Chapter 189 - 189: Alice’s Contract

    After Dante explained to Clara why practicing creating healthstones with her own blood was a bad idea, he decided it was time to give her another method for training.


    "It''s time to learn some spells¡­" The warlock commented.


    Paige, who had been monitoring Clara''s training, took notes of all the spells and wrote down the effects in a cheat sheet so that it would be easier for her to practice when Dante wasn''t around.


    Once he gave his instructions, the warlock asked Clara for the cleansed soulstones she used to practice her umbra control, and the woman gave him three orbs.


    Each orb was a different color¡ªred, blue, and clear¡ªwhich prompted Paige to ask Dante the reason for the various colors.


    The warlock elaborated and said that the colors varied depending on the demon''s soul inside the stone.


    "Are those the same ones that Zac and Megan had to eat to make the contract?" Paige asked.


    "Almost¡­ The ones I gave them were soulstones that had an amalgamation of demon souls inside¡ªcleansed of malice, of course¡­" Dante replied.


    "Zac and Megan didn''t have any umbra control abilities when they ingested the orb, so I used my blood as a catalyst to control the output to a level they could manage," Dante continued.


    The scientist kept taking notes of the warlock''s explanation, and when she pondered what he would do with the three soulstones that Clara cleansed, he decided to show them.


    After summoning the Shadow Well, Dante placed the three orbs inside the bowl and hovered his hand above it, slicing his palm and pouring blood into it.


    As he circled his hand around the bowl, he explained that he was fusing the three orbs together into one. Still, he was also going to add a few more soul pieces of other demons he thought would be helpful.


    Clara was the only one in the room who could clearly see Dante''s synthetization process, as she could discern the flow of umbra going out of his body into the well.


    ''Woah¡­ The difference is overwhelming,'' Clara thought, admiring the warlock''s power level.


    When she cleansed the orbs, she could see small trails of umbra coming out of her body and being directed at the bowl on top of the well.


    However, Dante''s umbra seemed like a torrent of overwhelming energy, giving the woman a glimpse at the vast gap between their abilities.


    After a few minutes, the process was finished, and Dante picked up a yellow soulstone from the bowl, getting it closer to his face to scrutinize it in more detail.


    "Mhmm, looks good¡­" Dante muttered, nodding with satisfaction.


    "Here you go, Miss Alice," he continued, handing the soulstone to the woman.


    The rest of the individuals in the room were a bit confused, so Alice addressed everyone present and said that she had decided to make a contract with Dante, surprising them.


    Paige''s eyes lit up with excitement, and Zac pondered what "RPG class" she would get, unsure of the ex-detective''s abilities.


    After Alice took a deep breath, she started munching on the orb, which made an unsettling cracking sound.


    *Gulp* "Now what¡­?" Alice asked after swallowing.


    "Now we wait¡­ Let''s meet up here again tomorrow at the same time," Dante commented.


    ____________________


    A few hours later, Alice went to her room in the Jade Palace, and her roommate June asked about the soulstone and the contract with Dante. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, Alice explained that it hadn''t affected her yet and confessed that she was a bit nervous from the wait.


    After June expressed her excitement about watching her abilities the next day, the pair shut off the lights in their room and went to sleep.


    That night, Alice had a vivid dream where she found herself walking behind Dante in a hellish landscape.


    "What the¡­? Hey!" Alice shouted at the warlock, but the man didn''t react to her words as if he couldn''t hear them.


    Dante was walking slowly towards a pair of massive double doors that were at least twenty meters tall and had two blood waterfalls on each side.


    When the warlock stood tall before the entrance, the heavy doors began to open slowly, generating a loud screeching sound as they scraped the ground.


    Alice shut her ears and flinched but still couldn''t stop watching the scenery. Even though she could tell it was a hellish landscape, it was something she had never seen before.


    Suddenly, the scenery around her changed, and she found herself behind Dante once again. This time, however, he was facing an expansive lake with boiling blood.


    The woman couldn''t see where the lake ended, a testament to its sheer size. The thick blood was bubbling from the heat, and the vapor that came out of it produced a sickening stench.


    "Sanguinax¡­ I''ll do the contract," Dante''s reflection said as he faced the blood sea.


    ''Who¡­?'' Alice pondered.


    As the boiling blood accumulated in a single spot, the figure of a person with no facial features appeared, letting out an eerie, deep laugh that resonated in Alice''s mind.


    "Tainted blood of the warlock¡­ I accept," said the foreboding figure.


    At that moment, Dante started to walk into the lake, creating a sizzling sound as his feet stepped inside, shocking Alice, who was watching everything from behind.


    ''Is this a memory of how he got his blood abilities¡­?'' Alice thought.


    When she looked back at the warlock, he was gritting his teeth in pain as his body had been fully submerged under the boiling blood.


    Suddenly, she heard a loud explosion that splashed liters of blood all around the area, followed by a loud scream by Dante.


    The warlock was in excruciating pain as all of the blood inside his body was forcefully extracted, making strands of blood come out of his eyes and mouth.


    Alice kept watching in utter shock, and just as Dante''s body seemed to be lifeless, the boiling blood began to flow into him just as violently as it came out.


    The burning blood from the Infernal Bloodsea made the warlock''s body burst into flames for a brief moment. Nevertheless, he kept withstanding the pain.


    The woman could see that even Dante''s eyes were burning from the flames as he kneeled on the ground, screaming in pain and tightly clenching his fists.


    "Alice!" The woman heard a voice calling her.


    "Alice!" she heard it again, and at that moment, she let out a gasp and opened her eyes.


    "Ngh¡­ June?" Alice muttered, seeing her roommate standing in front of her with a worried expression.


    "Are you okay? You were sweating and rolling around¡­" June said, placing a hand on Alice''s forehead to check her temperature.


    *Sigh* "Was that a nightmare or his memories¡­?" Alice pondered aloud, telling her roommate what she saw while sleeping.

 Chapter 190 - 190: The Mysterious White Blade

    The day after Alice ate the soulstone made by Dante, she went to the laboratory to meet with him and test her new skills.


    June and Megan were curious and accompanied her¡ªand when they arrived at the lab, they found Paige and Dante setting up the MET room for Alice.


    For the first test, they wanted to check Alice''s strength and speed levels, so they made a few of the ballistic dummies inside the room move around frantically.


    However, similar to Megan, Alice already possessed close-combat skills, so it was easy for her to avoid the dummies.


    As soon as her fist made contact with the head of one of the dummies, the force of her punch made the target''s neck whip backward.


    "If that were a person, they would be dead¡­" Paige commented, noting how the dummy''s fake neck bones were all shattered.


    It was evident that Alice had an abnormal physical strength, but her level didn''t match that of Zac, who was still stronger than her.


    Moreover, while Alice was much quicker than Zac, she wasn''t as fast as Megan, making her somewhat of a mix between the two.


    While Dante and Paige kept studying the trio, the warlock noted that Zac was the strongest but took too many attacks head-on. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Instead of trying to avoid the attacks, Zac would cross his arms in front of his face for cover and use brute force to counter them.


    Megan, on the other hand, was the quickest and avoided almost every attack that came towards her, only retaliating when she had an opening.


    Alice had both qualities. She was physically stronger than Megan but not as much as Zac, so she was able to take some of the attacks head-on like the redhead.


    However, she was quicker than Zac, so she avoided a lot more strikes than him but fewer than Megan.


    "Hmm, it seems like her abilities are more balanced," Paige commented, writing it down in her notes and taking a puff of her cigarette.


    After she was done with a few rounds against the dummies, Paige opened the armory room to allow the woman to choose a weapon.


    Alice was initially confused, explaining that she already knew how to use guns, which were her primary choice of weapons, so she didn''t comprehend why she had to pick another one.


    Dante explained that, depending on what type of weapon called to her, they could determine what style of fighting best suited her.


    As the woman scanned her surroundings inside the armory, she seemed a bit dissatisfied when she noticed that a lot of the equipment looked ancient and deteriorated.


    "Why are you guys hoarding all this trash?" Alice inquired, making the warlock shrug.


    "It''s not trash. Those are all treasures that were excavated by archeologists, okay!?" Paige clarified, slightly taken aback by Alice''s comments.


    "Sorry, sorry¡­ As I said, I already have my gun, so I don''t think any of these weapons will¡­- Hmm?" Alice stopped herself as her eyes landed on a weapon at the back of the room.


    It was a white, double-edged short sword with an ornamental handle, making the woman think that the blade was made of ceramic, as it looked cleaner than the rest of the weapons.


    Seeing Alice interested in one of the weapons, Dante sneaked a peek inside the armory, and his eyes widened when he saw the glowing, white blade in the back.


    "Miss Paige¡­ Why do you have that here?" Dante asked, his voice laced with concern.


    "Huh? As I said, those weapons are all relics excavated by archeologists¡­ There are only two or three in there that were created by me," Paige replied, pointing at Zac''s bat, which was one of the weapons she produced.


    Dante explained that white weapons were used by angels or servants of the church in Terra, so he was genuinely perplexed to see one in the armory of the Jade Dragons.


    ''Angels¡­!?'' Zac pondered.


    As Alice felt attracted to the blade, Dante couldn''t stop her and decided to see the weapon''s reaction, nervously swallowing his saliva.


    When the woman grasped the handle of the sword, she picked it up and raised it closer to her face to inspect it, finding the white metal pretty.


    Suddenly, the pristine white blade began to turn obsidian black, slowly changing the color of the weapon and its ornaments.


    "Wh-what is happening?" Alice asked with concern in her tone.


    *Pfft!* "Ahahah!" Dante let out a laugh, confusing everyone around him.


    "You guys just keep shattering my expectations," he said, still chuckling.


    Paige asked for clarification and waited a few seconds for Dante to compose himself, not understanding why he found the weapon''s color transformation to be so amusing.


    Dante explained that holy weapons¡ªor white weapons¡ªcould be corrupted by a small group of people.


    "Holy weapons like those are quite strong against warlocks and demons¡ªAnyone who uses umbra, really¡­" said Dante.


    "But, what would happen if an angel or a priest were able to control umbra?" Dante asked the group.


    "It corrupts it?" Zac replied with uncertainty.


    Dante nodded affirmatively, saying that it reversed the effects of the holy weapons, which made them more powerful against angels or individuals who could use ether for their magic.


    Ether was the opposite energy of umbra, which was produced from the devotion of the people to the gods. Positive feelings also produced ether, but it was mostly generated from reverence for the gods.


    "So, does that make Miss Alice something like a dark angel?" Zac asked.


    "Well, no¡­ You can''t just become an angel," Dante denied his guess.


    "Miss Alice is a dark paladin," he continued, and the only one who reacted with awe and surprise was Zac.


    "A paladin¡­?" June interjected, unaware of what a paladin even was.


    ''Seriously¡­ this is getting more interesting,'' Dante thought with a smirk.


    All of the memories that the warlock had about paladins were quite awful, but he seemed satisfied with Alice''s result.


    Before the woman could test her new black blade, Paige asked Dante to give her more information on paladins and all of their variants, as she wanted to write it down in her notes.

 Chapter 191 - 191: Dark Paladin

    After Alice chose her blade, she was sent alone to the MET room to test her skills.


    The woman stated that she had never used a sword in her life since it wasn''t a necessary practice to become a detective. However, Dante clarified to her that they were simply testing her limits and learning how to use a sword would come later.


    "Let''s start with some targets¡­" Dante muttered to Paige, who pressed the buttons on the command center.


    When the room had a dozen ballistic dummies, Paige pressed another button to have them frantically move around the room.


    One of the dummies came directly at Alice, making the woman take a step back that looked quite graceful, and waved her arm to the side, slicing off the dummy''s arm clean.


    "Th-that looks sharp¡­" Zac commented, noticing that Alice''s slash didn''t have that much force in it, almost as if she was just waving around the blade without using any strength.


    As the woman kept slicing and dicing without any form in particular, the last remaining dummy was sent head-on toward her at high speeds.


    However, instead of avoiding and slashing it, she solidified her stance and stabbed the dummy from the front before it could reach her, producing a massive, dark blast that came out of her sword and obliterated the dummy.


    "What was that¡­?" Alice asked, huffing tiredly.


    The rest of the spectators had their jaws wide open, except for Megan and Dante, who seemed more pleasantly surprised at Alice''s power.


    "That was pure, concentrated umbra," Dante replied with a cheeky smile.


    The warlock explained that once Alice had gotten used to controlling her umbra, she could start learning a few abilities for paladins.


    Different from Zac and Megan, who were a dark warrior and a rogue, paladins were able to cast spells by chanting their names.


    Since paladins were somewhat of a mix between a warrior and a priest, they had a lot of flexibility in battle, as they could be on the vanguard or the rear of the group.


    "Of course, your spells as a dark paladin are different from a holy one¡­" Dante elaborated.


    While the warlock explained, Camille arrived at the lab, excited to see Alice''s powers. However, she was a little disappointed when she found her inside the room with all the destroyed dummies.


    "Aww, I missed it¡­" Camille said.


    After Dante gave the handler a quick summary of the nature of Alice''s power, she smiled with a satisfied expression. Still, the warlock thought she would need a bit of help in her training.


    "Camille, are there any sword-masters in this world? I know these types of blades aren''t really used by soldiers in this world¡­" Dante asked.


    "Hmm, I''m sure there has to be someone out there who still practices medieval sword techniques¡­ But would that be the best choice?" Camille pondered.


    "Well, I don''t really know¡ªI''m not a swordsman. We just need someone who can train Miss Alice," the warlock replied.


    Camille said that she would take care of it, as she already had an idea in her mind, so Dante decided to leave the matter of the sword-master to her.


    "You said she would also be able to cast spells, right?" Zac asked.


    "Right."


    "Umm, and how is she going to learn them?" The redhead continued.


    Dante had taught Zac and Megan how to use some of their abilities, but the warlock stated that he didn''t know all of them, so they would eventually have to figure them out themselves.


    On the other hand, paladins shared a lot of the spells they used with priests, and while Dante wasn''t an actual priest, he had the soul of one inside of him, so he knew from the basics to the most advanced spells.


    ''Ah, I had forgotten about that! ¡ªIf I remember correctly, Beatrice used to be a combat priestess or something like that¡­'' Zac thought.


    "When Miss Alice gets better with her weapon, I''ll teach her a few spells that she will be able to use," Dante said, and the group believed it was a great idea, so there were no objections.


    ____________________


    Later that night, after Zac took a bath, he went to his room to get some rest. However, he was a bit restless and decided to look at his phone.


    While scrolling through social media sites, he saw a few ads with Lilith on them, advertising the new line of perfume.


    ''Sheesh, they''ve been working hard¡­'' He thought, blushing a little at Lilith''s sexy pictures.


    Suddenly, out of sheer curiosity, Zac looked up information about the demon of greed, wondering if it had anything to do with the malevolent art that Dante used against Astaroth.


    The redhead had spoken about it with Dante before, wondering how he managed to learn those spells that were seemingly reserved for the demon kings.


    However, Dante''s answer was pretty vague, as he said that he had to fight some demons and make contracts with others, but he never specified more than that.


    "Hmm? Mammon the Hoarder King?" Zac read on his phone, thinking that it was a terrible name.


    "Personification of greed who rules over a vast land filled with treasures from countless worlds¡­" Zac continued reading, widening his eyes with perplexion.


    He thought that if he had read that information a year ago, he would have simply taken it as a mythological tale.


    However, knowing that there were indeed other worlds made the seemingly random information about the demon more accurate for him.


    When looking at the pictures and drawings, he noticed that they all depicted the demon in completely different ways, so Zac couldn''t get a clear picture of his features.


    "Hmm, what about Satan¡­?" Zac muttered to himself, looking up information about the king of wrath.


    The redhead felt a bit awkward while reading the demons'' stories, as he was taking them at face value when, in the past, he would have thought they were cool fantasy tales. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He knew that Dante had supposedly killed Satan, but nothing on the internet said anything about the demon being dead.


    ''Well, I don''t know what I was expecting¡­'' he thought, locking his screen and falling into slumber.

 Chapter 192 - 192: Sword-Master

    A few days had passed since Alice began practicing with her sword, and while Dante was taking a nap in the inner garden''s hammock, he was called to the briefing room by Camille.


    "We have a guest coming over today¡­" The handler said.


    After Dante asked for a sword-master who could train Alice, Camille called a group of mercenaries who had been around for hundreds of years.


    Camille had connections all over the world, and when she heard that she needed to find a sword instructor, she could only think of one organization that still used blades effectively in that day and age.


    "Their name is Kuroi Tengu," Camille said.


    It was a swordsmen and ninja organization that formed during the Edo period in Japan around the 1600s, and they were still doing well in the present, so Camille decided to contact them.


    Fortunately, the Kuroi Tengu had worked with the Jade Dragons'' first generation, allowing the handler to contact them easily, as they weren''t easy to find.


    "Understood. What do you want me to do?" Dante pondered.


    "Not much. Just take a good look at him and tell us if he is trustworthy," Camille replied.


    After a few hours, the guest arrived at their home, and Dante, Megan, and Camille greeted him at the front door.


    He was a tall man, his frame lean and a bit muscular. His attire consisted of a traditional black hakama and keikogi that allowed him to move swiftly. Still, his most striking feature was the tengu mask he wore, crafted with great detail.


    The mask was a deep red, with a long, beak-like nose and a stern expression of vigilance.


    His hair was black and short, tied into a traditional topknot that left a few strands of hair hanging from the side of his mask.


    "Nice to meet you. My name is Takeshi Hayato¡­" The man politely introduced himself with an accent.


    When Dante introduced himself, he noticed that he could barely read the man''s umbra. He could sense that Hayato didn''t have ill intentions, but he couldn''t read his emotions, and the mask covering his face didn''t make it easier.


    "I''m Camille Winter¡­ It''s good to see the Kuroi Tengu are still doing well," the handler said.


    "Ohh, Winter-sama! Your contributions have always been a great help," Hayato said with an enthusiastic tone, which contrasted with the look of his mask.


    The swordsman revealed that Camille had been sending them donation money to their organization for years. However, this was the first time that she had called them for help.


    The handler explained that she liked to have a good relationship with people she considered could be helpful at any point in her future, so it''s not like she was donating the money without an ulterior motive.


    Nevertheless, the Kuroi Tengu were grateful to her for the support, so they didn''t mind if the woman had her own motivation for helping them.


    After Hayato was shown around the mansion, he was taken to the training rooms, where Alice was already practicing her skills.


    "Alice, this is Takeshi Hayato¡­ He is going to be your instructor for some time," Camille said.


    The woman introduced herself, but Hayato was focused on her blade, asking her to do a few air slices as he wanted to see how fast she could handle it.


    Facing one of the ballistic dummies, Alice held her sword with both hands and lunged forward, slicing horizontally and severing the dummy''s head with one swing.


    Camille clapped with a bit of excitement after seeing her friend, but Hayato raised his shoulders and crossed his arms with discontent. Even though they couldn''t see his face, his emotions were still evident.


    "WRONG!" Hayato shouted, startling everyone.


    Placing one hand on the handle of his katana that was hanging on his waist, Hayato asked Alice to strike him with the same attack.


    "Umm¡­ Are you sure?" Alice asked, afraid that she would hurt the swordsman.


    "Alice-san¡­ Don''t underestimate the Kuroi Tengu," Hayato replied, his tone severe.


    ''This man¡­'' Dante pondered, unable to finish his train of thought as Alice prepared herself to attack her new teacher.


    As soon as she launched herself forward and waved her arm horizontally with a powerful strike, a loud ''clink'' sound could be heard in the room as Alice''s blade completely halted beside Hayato.


    When the woman noticed what was happening, she saw her teacher had unsheathed five centimeters of his katana and used that small gap to block Alice''s attack.


    Gazing at Hayato''s mask, she felt a sudden dangerous sensation and jumped back, quickly gaining distance from him.


    "You see, Alice-san? I only needed a small part of my blade to block such an attack¡­" Hayato said.


    ''Heh, as I suspected¡­ This man is a monster,'' Dante thought, mischievously smiling.


    The masked teacher explained that, while their swords looked different, he still had a lot of techniques that he could teach Alice, and the woman officially accepted him as her new teacher. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While Hayato would practice swordsmanship with Alice in the mornings, he showed interest in participating in the training with the other members, and Dante believed it was a great idea.


    The warlock recognized the man''s abilities and knew that having him train with the others would benefit them in the future, so he didn''t see an issue with it.


    Dante wasn''t able to read the man''s umbra very clearly, so his intentions were still somewhat of a mystery to him. However, as soon as the man started teaching swordsmanship, his umbra became fully visible to the warlock.


    ''It''s as if his body was entirely disconnected from the different magical energies in the world¡­ But now, he is overflowing with passion for teaching,'' Dante thought.


    Believing that he could learn something new from Hayato, Dante also decided to join the training sessions with him.


    He had been accompanying the Omega Team occasionally when they practiced their skills. However, his interest was piqued.


    He was mainly curious to know how Hayato managed to hide his intentions so well when he wasn''t supposed to be able to control umbra or mana and thought he could figure it out by training with him.

 Chapter 193 - 193: Kaminari Weapons

    A few days after Master Hayato''s arrival, Dante had been attending his lessons with Alice out of curiosity.


    He wasn''t participating at first since he wanted the sword-master to focus on teaching Alice the basics before he could interrupt their lessons.


    The warlock noted that Hayato was using blunt swords when sparring with Alice, and he hadn''t unsheathed his katana a single time since arriving at the Jade Palace, not even when showing his student a few basic swings.


    He also noted he hadn''t seen the man''s face as he was always wearing his tengu mask, but the warlock didn''t care as much as seeing the sword.


    After one session with Alice was finished, the warlock decided to inquire about the man''s sword, saying that he felt something strange coming from it. However, it wasn''t any type of magical energy¡ªsuch as umbra or mana.


    "Ah, you have a good eye!" Hayato said.


    "This is a ''Kaminari Weapon,''" he continued.


    Showing his sword inside its scabbard, the sword-master explained that Kaminari Weapons were created by the Kuroi Tengu.


    All of the weapons were produced with the strongest alloys in the world and would electrocute their targets with a shock of two hundred million volts.


    "Two hundred million!? That''s a bit overkill¡­" Alice commented.


    Hayato replied that their weapons were made to kill their targets without fail, and Dante understood why the man did not use his katana during training with Alice.


    Nonetheless, the sword-master''s words only made Dante more interested in his abilities, so he asked the man for a spar session with him.


    Zac and Megan, who were training in the adjacent room, heard their conversation and stopped their practice to watch Dante and Hayato.


    Clara and Paige didn''t want to miss it either, so they happily sat in the spectators'' room, where June and Maya joined them, curious about the match.


    When the warlock and the sword-master stood before each other, only a few meters between them, Hayato tilted his head laterally while inspecting Dante.


    "I see¡­" Hayato said in Japanese.


    "Even though you are not using a weapon, I can still feel the danger from standing before you¡­" he continued, placing a hand on the handle of his katana.


    "Not using my full strength would be insulting," Hayato muttered, unsheathing his katana from the scabbard.


    Everyone watching could hear the crackling of the electricity coming from the blade, generating strands of lightning around it that made it look more dangerous than it already was.


    Dante could feel a faint essence of mana coming from the weapon, but he could tell that its functionality wasn''t done with magic but science.


    Initially, the warlock suspected that the weapon had been enchanted with lightning magic, but after he was able to take a closer look, he realized it was man-made power.


    As the warlock got into a close combat stance that Megan taught him, Hayato held his katana with both hands and slightly bent his knees.


    "Begin!" Paige shouted from the spectators'' room.


    In the blink of an eye, the two combatants appeared in the center of the room, ready to attack each other.


    However, the moment Dante was about to unleash his fist, he felt the sudden urge to evade the incoming attack, noticing that Hayato''s movements were faster than his.


    The warlock bent his back to avoid the horizontal slash, vaulting backward and kicking Hayato in the chest. Still, the man blocked the attack with his arm.


    ''This guy is fast¡­'' Dante thought.


    Hayato followed up his advance with a relentless barrage of attacks, making the warlock concentrate with all of his focus, knowing that a mere cut from the blade could be lethal for him.


    Dante wasn''t using any spells, but he was accumulating umbra in his physical attacks to make them stronger. Nevertheless, Hayato''s skills proved to be the real deal, as the man either avoided them or fully blocked them.


    ''Hmmm, is it possible¡­?'' Dante thought.


    At that moment, Hayato went for an overhead strike that came crashing down at lightning speeds toward Dante, making him point his palm and unleash a blast of umbra to push him back.


    Hayato crossed his arms to protect himself from the invisible force, surprising Dante, who widened his eyes with perplexion.


    "Heh¡­" The warlock scoffed with a smirk, keeping his palm pointed at Hayato.


    "Rapture," Dante chanted, unleashing an invisible slice that traveled straight at the sword-master, shocking the spectators.


    Still, Hayato clenched his katana and sliced upwards with a rising strike that split the invisible attack in two, leaving two broad cuts in the wall behind him.


    "You can see it!" Dante exclaimed with excitement.


    "You can see my umbra, right!?" he continued, but Hayato seemed a bit confused at his words.


    The sword-master explained that he didn''t ''see'' anything. However, he could feel a strange energy that was coming towards him, so he simply decided to cut it down.


    "What¡­?" Dante muttered in disbelief.


    Hayato decided to stop the sparring match for a moment as he explained his technique.


    While the man didn''t know what kind of energy Dante was using against him, it didn''t mean that he couldn''t feel it.


    "I''m a simple man. If it can be cut, I do it¡­" Hayato said.


    Dante thought that the man''s abilities were a bit ridiculous, as it was the first time he had met someone who could effectively protect himself against his spells without using any type of magic.


    Still, as ridiculous as it sounded, Dante acknowledged that the man had incredible talent, letting out a carefree chuckle.


    "I could teach you how to improve your senses. However, you must tell me about that strange energy you are using¡­" the sword-master said, evidently interested in knowing how umbra truly worked.


    "That sounds like a good deal to me," Dante replied, shaking the man''s hand.


    Hayato said they would start that same night, and when the warlock pondered what type of exercise they would do, he said that they needed to practice ''meditation.''


    Dante was familiar with meditation since he had to do it a lot when learning how to suppress his umbra. However, he understood that Hayato''s method focused on a different type of energy.


    Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 194 - 194: Lina’s Soul Shard

    It had been a little over a week since Master Hayato''s arrival, and everyone in the Omega and Gamma teams had been training hard¡ªexcept for Dante, who had a new addiction to the hammock in the inner garden.


    As the warlock relaxed and played with his BeamDeck, he suddenly heard Zac yelling his name from afar.


    "Danteeeee!" Zac shouted, rushing to the inner garden.


    "What''s up?" The warlock casually replied.


    "Megan disappeared!" Zac exclaimed with a worried tone.


    Dante quickly got up from the hammock and asked for details¡ªand Zac noticed it was the first time he had seen his friend make such an expression.


    "We were training like normal, and then a shadow cloud appeared beneath her¡­" Zac explained.


    When the shadows appeared, they covered all of Megan''s body and dissipated, leaving no trace of the brunette.


    "Oh¡­ I may know what it was," Dante replied, feeling a bit relieved.


    ____________________


    On a typical high school day, Lina, Jake, and Tommy were finished with their lessons and met in the school''s hallways before walking home.


    The three teenagers were still in contact with the Jade Dragons¡ªmostly with the Omega Team members, who had saved them two times already.


    As the trio made their way to the courtyard, they noticed a large group of people gathering around the entrance, making them wonder if Dante had come to visit them again.


    However, as they approached the commotion, they noticed that a group of thugs were beating up a group of senior students from their school. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Wh-what is this¡­? A gang fight?" Lina pondered aloud.


    The group of four thugs were sitting on top of the students, punching their faces and slamming their heads against the ground.


    Lina looked to the side for a moment, and when she turned back, she noticed Jake and Tommy rushing towards the scene.


    "Get away from my senior, asshole!" Jake shouted, punching one of the thugs in the face and getting him off the student on the ground.


    The senior students were bleedy and bruised all over, lying on the asphalt, seemingly half-dead.


    "Oi, what''s this? It looks like the students in this school don''t respect the mafia!" said one of the thugs in an arrogant tone.


    "Stupid kid! You dare mess with the Emerald Serpents? We own this fuckin'' city now!" The thug who received the punch exclaimed as he stood up, rubbing his cheek.


    "Emerald who!?" Jake sarcastically replied.


    As Jake and his opponent started exchanging blows, Tommy punched one of the thugs before getting kicked in the stomach.


    The two boys were doing their best when fighting against the older kids. Nonetheless, they couldn''t keep their momentum for long, as the thugs had the advantage in numbers.


    At one moment, Jake was grabbed from behind by the arms while one of the thugs punched him several times. Meanwhile, Tommy was pushed to the ground, making him kick up so that his opponents couldn''t lock him against it.


    The rest of the students were nervously watching the scene, but nobody else had the guts to interfere.


    Lina kept fidgeting her fingers, and as soon as she noticed Jake''s bleeding mouth, she quickly opened her backpack and pulled out the old soul shard that was given to her by Dante.


    The girl never got to use her shard, and after the ordeal with the demons was finished, she was allowed to keep it as a memoir. Still, Megan told her to use it if they were ever in trouble.


    Tired of seeing her friends getting beat up by random thugs, Lina walked back out of the people''s line of sight and shattered the crystal against the ground, producing a cloud of shadows that materialized Megan in the center.


    When Megan appeared, she was wearing a sports bra and baggy sweatpants, considering she was in the middle of training when she got teleported.


    "Hmm?" She hummed, calmly scanning her surroundings and seeing Lina beside her, holding back her tears.


    For someone who had been whisked away from their location without notice, Megan seemed exceptionally composed. As she approached the worried teenager, Lina didn''t say a word and simply pointed at the commotion.


    *Thud* Jake fell on his rear after receiving a kick from the thug, wiping the blood trailing down the side of his mouth.


    "What''s this?" Megan''s voice could be heard by everyone watching the fight.


    Jake and Tommy instantly turned their heads, recognizing the cold but somewhat soothing voice.


    "Sorry, sis¡­" Jake muttered, gritting his teeth.


    "Sis!? You called your sister to come help you fight!?" The thug said with a mocking tone, letting out a laugh.


    The four assailants kept chuckling until one of them noticed the dragon tattoo on Megan''s torso, which was clearly visible due to her outfit, making the man halt his laughter as his complexion got pale.


    "A-Are you¡­?" The man muttered, not finishing his sentence.


    As Megan took a closer look at the beat-up students, the silent thug urged his companions to look at her tattoo.


    It was a known fact among mafia gangs in Novaria that the leader of the Jade Dragons could be recognized by the dragon tattoo they had on their bodies.


    For that reason, citizens in Novaria who wanted to get tattooed wouldn''t opt for any dragon designs, as they didn''t want to get confused or entangled with the criminal gangs.


    The leader of the group gritted his teeth with indignation. "How dare you have that tattoo!? You fake!" he shouted.


    "We are the Emerald Serpents, the ones who will take the free spot left by the Jade Dragons!" The leader continued.


    "Free spot?" Megan asked, her gaze sharp and her tone severe.


    All it took was Megan''s simple glare to make the four thugs flinch momentarily. Still, the leader ordered his goons to attack her.


    The rest of the students watching got even more nervous, shouting at their "big sister" to run away. Nevertheless, Megan didn''t move from her spot, maintaining a carefree pose.


    "Time for a quick lesson¡­" Megan muttered as the thugs rushed towards her.

 Chapter 195 - 195: The Lioness and the Rabbits

    When the four random thugs rushed towards Megan, the students spectating got nervous, afraid that they were about to see the woman get beat up.


    Nevertheless, when she caught the first punch aimed at her face, she twisted the thug''s arm and broke his bones before pushing him back with her foot.


    A second attacker tried to punch her from the other side, but she quickly turned around and caught his arm as well.


    The thug believed that Megan was about to break his arm like she did with his friend, but the woman simply held him in place as he was unable to free himself from her grasp.


    While holding the second attacker, Megan sensed an attack coming from behind, where a third thug with a wooden bat approached her.


    Keeping her cold demeanor, she turned around and used the seized man as a shield just as his companion was about to strike, hitting his friend in the face and knocking out a few teeth.


    "Aw, shit!" The thug exclaimed, realizing what he had done.


    With a furious expression, the man clenched his wooden bat and went for another strike at Megan, who still hadn''t moved from her starting position.


    Still, it was to no avail, as Megan easily caught the bat with her bare hands, yanked it out of the man''s grasp, and instantly slammed it against his face, breaking the bat in two.


    The only one left was the leader, who started nervously sweating after seeing his friends getting absolutely dominated.


    "Y-You bitch! We are the Emerald Serpents-..." The leader exclaimed, getting cut off mid-sentence.


    "Who? Is that a cheap bootleg name for your group?" Megan interrupted.


    "At least we are not fakes!" The leader replied, taking out a small pocket knife.


    *Sigh* Megan tiredly exhaled, slowly taking a few steps towards the leader, who held his knife in front of him with shivering hands.


    "You know? Cleaning up small, rookie gangs isn''t my job¡­" Megan uttered, each step making the leader more nervous.


    Even though the man was holding his pocket knife, he couldn''t muster the guts to attack Megan, who stood two meters away.


    From his perspective, the woman looked like a lioness whose piercing glare prevented him from moving a muscle, while he and his companions were small rabbits before her.


    "Quit playing around with your bullshit little gang, kid¡­" Megan said, getting her face closer to the leader.


    "If I hear or see you again in my territory, you are all dead," she whispered, instilling a deep fear in the thug that made him drop his knife.


    "Good dog¡­ Now kneel," Megan said with a commanding tone, and the man complied without hesitation.


    The spectators were in awe after seeing Megan taming the thugs with such ease, and she even made them apologize to their victims while prostrating on the ground.


    The random gang known as the Emerald Serpents wouldn''t show their faces ever again, as their group was disbanded on the same day, afraid that they would get targeted by the Jade Dragons.


    Megan gave Lina a healthstone that she had in her pocket, telling her to use it to heal the wounded students when nobody was watching.


    "Sis¡­ Thank you!" Lina said, fidgeting a bit nervously.


    The brunette noticed the girl''s unease and smiled, gently patting her head, which made Lina hug her in response. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m sorry I brought you here¡­" Lina said.


    "It''s okay. I told you to keep the shard for this type of situation," Megan replied, her tone softer than usual.


    The students who witnessed the scene started cheering, and when Megan listened to the police sirens approaching the school, she knew it was her cue to leave.


    "Come visit the new residence any time," Megan said. Her words were welcoming, but her expression was back to her coldness.


    "Also, send Camille a message and tell her I''m on my way back¡­" she said, quickly leaving the area.


    As Megan made her way to the subway station, she thought that Zac was probably freaking out after disappearing in the middle of their training.


    Suddenly, she felt a strange shiver going down her spine, making her turn her body with haste. However, she couldn''t see anything of interest.


    ''I don''t think I imagined that¡­'' Megan thought.


    ____________________


    From the top of a building, the vampire Ezekiel was nervously hiding behind the parapet, wondering if Megan had seen him.


    When the vampires received the request to assassinate Megan, they decided to look for information about her first, as they didn''t want to be surprised like what happened with Dante.


    After the vampires contacted a hacker to help them out, they received information that the Jade Dragons had had an encounter at the high school in the past when Nihilor kidnapped Alice.


    Moreover, they were also given the address of the Jade Palace and Midnight Bar, so the vampires decided to split up and guard those areas.


    The sentinel, Ezekiel, was the one sent to the school area, and he didn''t think that he would find Megan so quickly.


    Initially, Ezekiel was utterly bored while overlooking the school. Still, the random thugs did him a favor and managed to lure Megan out for him.


    When the sentinel contacted his group, wondering what he should do, his older brothers told him to stand by and tail Megan without attacking her.


    Ezekiel thought that they were being a little overprotective. However, when Megan used her intimidation tactics on the thugs, it also affected the vampire.


    *Gulp* ''Irina fought that woman¡­?'' he thought, nervously hiding behind the building''s parapet so that Megan wouldn''t see him.


    Ezekiel could tell that Megan was stronger than him, and even though he could potentially win a fight against her, it wouldn''t be possible if it was a one-on-one battle.


    ''She could have easily killed Irina, but all they did was talk to her¡­'' the sentinel pondered.


    Feeling more curious about Megan, Ezekiel followed her from afar to ensure the brunette wouldn''t detect him until he arrived at the rooftop of another building near the Jade Palace.

 Chapter 196 - 196: The Elder Vampires Plan

    After the vampire sentinel, Ezekiel, followed Megan back to her home, he landed at the rooftop of a building, where two of his siblings were waiting for him.


    Balthazar, the strongest of the vampire clan besides Mother, was peacefully smoking from a wooden pipe while sitting on the edge of the roof, facing the Jade Palace in the distance.


    Beside him, a girl who seemed around the same age as Irina sat on the ground, listening to music on her earphones while bobbing her head to the beat¡ªher name was Madeline, and she was also a vampire sentinel.


    "So, the target was transported to the school by one of the students?" Balthazar asked Ezekiel, who was giving them a summary of what he had seen.


    "That''s how it looked¡­" Ezekiel replied.


    The vampires were trying to learn Megan''s daily routine, which would allow them to pinpoint the best moment to attack her. However, the woman didn''t seem to have a clear schedule.


    "Can''t we just use the kids as bait?" Madeline asked, still bobbing her head to the music in her earphones.


    The two male vampires looked at each other, considering that Madeline''s plan could work. Still, they had to wait for the perfect moment to act.


    Fortunately for them, on that same evening, the three teenagers arrived at the Jade Palace, and the vampires confirmed that they would be able to use them.


    ____________________


    After the ordeal at the high school, the teenagers had to talk to the police to explain what had happened, and they ended up taking the thugs to jail.


    Remembering that Megan had invited them to the Jade Palace at any time, the kids took her invitation that same day, arriving at the residence early in the evening.


    Camille greeted the teenagers and gave them a quick tour of the mansion until they arrived at the small kitchen near the bedrooms, where Sophia was cooking dinner while Dante watched her work.


    "I heard you got into a fight," Dante said to the teenagers.


    "Erm, well¡­ sort of," Jake replied, scratching the back of his head with a somewhat sad smile.


    "I ended up losing anyway and wasting Megan''s time¡­" he continued.


    "Same¡­ I barely did anything," Tommy commented.


    Lina puffed her cheeks with a pout, exclaiming that the two boys were being too hard on themselves.


    "If you hadn''t intervened, those senior students would have been sent to the hospital¡­ or worse," Lina said.


    "Hmm, I see¡­" Dante muttered with a gentle smile.


    "Then, why don''t you guys come over and train?" The warlock asked.


    "Can we!?" Jake inquired with starry eyes, evidently excited about the prospect of training with the Jade Dragons.


    "Umm, actually, I don''t know¡­ But I don''t see a reason why Camille and Megan would decline¡­" replied Dante.


    Lina nervously said that she wanted to see her big sister, so Dante guided the teenagers to the training area, where Megan and Zac continued the practice that was interrupted.


    When they arrived at the laboratory, the teenagers noticed that there were a lot more people training in different rooms.


    Miss Clara was practicing her spells with Paige, who was taking detailed notes beside her.


    June and Maya were sparring against the two Tylers, and Alice was practicing her sword skills with Master Hayato.


    After spectating the group, Lina greeted Megan wholeheartedly, which made Dante notice the girl''s clear admiration for the brunette.


    Still, he could see that the teenager wanted to ask them something, but they were too shy to say it.


    "I¡­ I wanted to ask for another crystal!" Lina exclaimed while blushing.


    The soul shard that Lina used to teleport Megan to her location had been shattered, and Lina explained how having the crystal with her always made her feel safe.


    She was reluctant to ask for another one since she knew that Dante had to cast a spell and stain the crystal with a drop of blood, and she didn''t want to be a bother to them.


    Nevertheless, the girl genuinely felt much safer having the crystal around, so she mustered her courage to ask for another one.


    "Oh, yeah, I don''t mind¡­" Dante casually replied.


    "C-can we get one too?" Tommy interjected, prompting the warlock to nod affirmatively.


    After the warlock produced three new soul shards and attuned them to Zac, Megan, and himself, he gave them to the teenagers to keep safe. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once they were finished, they all had dinner together in the large dining room before Camille sent them home in an SUV.


    On the ride back, the teenagers felt glad that they were able to hang out with Dante and his group one more time.


    They thought they wouldn''t be involved with them after the problem with the demons had been dealt with, but hearing that they were able to visit and train with them at any time made them pretty excited.


    Unbeknownst to the trio, a group of vampires was following them home, so they all arrived at their places and went to bed, giving their pursuers a precise location of their homes.


    "We do this tomorrow night," Balthazar said.


    The dark-skinned elder vampire had large, bat-like wings coming out of his back, hovering in the air above the residential street where the teenagers lived.


    His silver dreadlocks trailed down his back, and his sunglasses fully covered the color of his eyes, even though it was nighttime.


    "Why don''t we do it right now?" Madeline asked her big brother, catching up to him mid-air.


    "It''s getting late¡­ Depending on how much time they take, we could end up fighting the target in the daytime," Balthazar replied.


    The vampires'' powers were depleted by half if they were under the sunlight, so most of their schemes took place at night.


    Knowing that it could take hours for Megan to meet up with the teenagers if the vampires kidnapped them, there was a chance that she would arrive early in the morning, which would be detrimental to their plan.


    Therefore, Balthazar decided to act early the following evening, ensuring that they had enough time to complete their job.

 Chapter 197 - 197: Kidnapped Teenagers

    The following day, after the teenagers visited the Jade Palace, they were done with their daily lessons as they walked to the courtyard.


    "Hey, you guys!" A student beckoned the trio, quickly approaching them.


    It was one of the senior students, a tall and well-built young man, who was friends with one of the thugs'' victims and wanted to express his gratitude for their intervention.


    "I wasn''t there to see it, but I heard that everyone was just watching them get beat up while you guys actually stepped in¡­" The senior student said.


    "Thank you. I wish everyone had your courage¡­" he continued.


    The trio nervously waved their hands, explaining that it wasn''t a big deal as they just moved without thinking, but that only made the senior student like them more.


    "If any of you ever needs my help or that of your seniors, don''t hesitate to ask me, alright?" said the student.


    He introduced himself as Larry, and he was part of the student council, so he could genuinely help them with their school activities.


    Once Larry gave his farewell, the trio left the school and started walking home, feeling a sense of relief after their talk with their senior.


    None of them expected to be thanked for their intervention, considering that they had also lost the fight. However, finding out that someone commended their efforts raised their spirits.


    To celebrate, the teenagers decided to stop by the arcade before going home and thought about inviting Dante and his group.


    However, they had seen how busy everyone looked the previous day¡ªexcept for Dante¡ªso they postponed their invitation for another time.


    When they left the arcade, nighttime had fallen in the city, and as they walked through the residential street, the teenagers felt a bit unsettled.


    Tommy realized that he hadn''t seen another person walk past them for over five minutes, which was strange as it wasn''t late.


    Suddenly, they saw the figure of a man holding a walking cane, slowly walking in their direction.


    ''Finally, a person¡­'' Tommy thought, slightly relieved.


    As they got closer, Tommy noticed the man''s silver dreadlocks, which he thought looked pretty stylish.


    ''Why is that old man wearing sunglasses? He doesn''t seem like he is blind¡­ Ah, maybe I''m just ignorant,'' Tommy kept pondering as they walked.


    Right as the trio walked past the mysterious man, Tommy saw a faint shadow appearing from the man''s cane, prompting him to stop.


    In the blink of an eye, the shadow spat out three small needle-like projectiles that hit Jake and Lina in their necks, instantly knocking them out.


    However, since Tommy managed to stop right before the attack, his eyes widened in shock as he saw his two friends collapsing on the ground.


    ''What the-...!?'' Tommy thought, glancing at the dark-skinned man, who seemed surprised that the teenager avoided his spell.


    "Impressive¡­" Balthazar said.


    Still, Tommy''s mind had gone blank from the shock as he lunged to punch the elder vampire, only to get hit on the chin with his knee¡ªknocking him unconscious.


    Ezekiel and Madeline, the two vampire sentinels accompanying Balthazar, arrived at the scene mere seconds later, wondering how one of the kids had dodged the sleeping spell.


    Balthazar agreed with his younger siblings, saying that it was indeed interesting. However, they had no time to fool around, as the plan for Megan''s assassination was set in motion.


    ____________________


    When Jake opened his eyes, he found himself bound to a chair with a rope, seeing his two friends sitting with their backs against his.


    ''Wh-where are we¡­?'' Jake thought, scanning his surroundings.


    However, he was unable to see much, as the only illumination in the room was the faint glow of the moon coming from the tall windows.


    *Psst* "Guys, wake up!" Jake said, loudly whispering and shaking his body.


    His abrupt movements were enough to make his friends open their eyes, instantly making them panic as they wondered where they had been taken.


    "It was that guy with the sunglasses and the white dreadlocks¡­" Tommy said, feeling a sharp pain on his chin from the previous kick.


    "You kids are somewhat familiar with magic, huh?" Balthazar''s voice could be heard in the dark room, startling the teenagers.


    "Wh-Who are you!?" Jake inquired, turning his gaze to see the man walking towards them.


    "There is no need to be scared. You are not our target, after all¡­" Balthazar replied.


    ''No need to be scared? Seriously!?'' Lina thought.


    "Are you a demon? Do you want revenge for your friend?" Tommy interjected, prompting the elder vampire to drop his head to the side in confusion.


    "Hmm, there must be a misunderstanding. It''s not like we are glad to kidnap a group of high schoolers¡­" Balthazar said.


    "Wait¡­ So, you are not a demon?" Lina asked, making the dark-skinned man shake his head in denial.


    "With all due respect, sir. If you are not a demon, why the hell are we here!?" Tommy asked, evidently getting impatient.


    "I suppose you could say you were just unlucky to be related to our target¡­" Balthazar said.


    Lina widened her eyes in realization, knowing that their supposed target must have been someone from the Omega Team¡ªand considering that Megan was the only one who had hung out with them in public recently, she suspected she was her target.


    "Leave our big sister alone!" Lina exclaimed.


    "No can do, kid¡­" Balthazar said, pulling out the soul shards that were given to the teenagers from his pocket.


    "Give that back!" Jake shouted, shaking and tugging the rope around his wrists.


    Balthazar grabbed one of the shards, knowing that it was linked to Megan, and Ezekiel and Madeline entered the warehouse.


    "Is everything ready?" The elder vampire asked his younger siblings.


    "Mhmm, the others are ready to be summoned in case of an emergency, too¡­" Ezekiel replied.


    "Wh-What are you planning!?" Lina interrupted the vampires. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "We are bringing our target to us," Balthazar replied, his gaze turned away from the teenagers.


    ''Damnit¡­ Do they know how our shards work!?'' Jake pondered, gritting his teeth with anger.

 Chapter 198 - 198: Megan and Zac Vs. Vampires

    It was early in the evening at the Jade Palace, and the Omega Team had finished their training for the day.


    When the group made their way to the bathing area to take a shower, Dante noticed that Megan was keeping her heirloom dagger with her and inquired about its purpose.


    "I got teleported away the other day¡­ I don''t want that to happen again while I''m unarmed," Megan replied.


    "So, you are just keeping your dagger on you at all times?" Zac asked.


    "I''ll try¡­" Megan said, leaving Zac perplexed as he couldn''t imagine himself walking around at all times with a baseball bat.


    Suddenly, as if the brunette had known all along, her body was encased in shadows for a brief moment before disappearing from their sight.


    "No way¡­" Zac muttered.


    The redhead had seen Megan getting whisked away a day before, so he instantly knew what had happened to her, prompting him to turn around and return to the practice room to pick up his weapon.


    "What if we get teleported next!?" Zac exclaimed as he ran.


    On the other hand, Dante went to the briefing room to tell Camille about Megan''s teleportation.


    The only person who had a soul shard linked to Megan was Lina, so it was evident that it was the girl who had used the crystal. However, if all the teenagers were in trouble, then Zac and Dante would''ve been summoned, too. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ____________________


    Inside the warehouse where the teenagers were being kept hostage, the elder vampire stood away from them as his siblings took different strategic positions.


    Madeline was sitting at the top of a metal railing near the ceiling while Ezekiel was hiding in a dark corner, facing the center of the room.


    When Balthazar dropped and shattered Megan''s soul shard, the shadows appeared and materialized the woman in a few seconds.


    Megan stood in the center of the dark warehouse and quickly scanned her surroundings, feeling glad that her vision allowed her to see in the dark with ease.


    "Sis, it''s a trap!" Jake shouted.


    Right at that moment, a needle-like projectile came straight towards Megan''s neck at a high speed. Nevertheless, the brunette avoided it by dropping her head to the side.


    Quickly drawing her dagger, Megan sliced upwards and deflected a second projectile before clashing her blade against Balthazar''s hand, which had turned into sharp claws that were as tough as metal.


    The pair exchanged blows for a few seconds without any of them landing a significant attack, and when Megan took a step back to regain her footing, the two younger vampires appeared from their hiding spots.


    As Ezekiel and Madeline lunged at Megan, she ducked Ezekiel''s attack first and waved her hand to the side, producing an umbral slash that traveled straight toward Madeline.


    Ezekiel landed on the other side after missing his attack, while Madeline stopped moving and held her shoulder in pain as the slash managed to land.


    ''This won''t be easy¡­'' Megan thought, noting that the dark-skinned man was much more powerful than what he had shown her.


    The two vampire sentinels were annoying, but she could keep up with their movements. However, if they kept attacking at the same time as the elder vampire, Megan would be in a real pinch.


    The teenagers kept desperately tugging their ropes as Megan and Balthazar moved around the warehouse, relentlessly attacking each other to no avail.


    Tommy noticed that Megan wasn''t using all of her strength since he had seen her fight the demons and knew she could use more destructive abilities.


    ''Are these two holding back so they don''t hurt us by mistake!?'' Tommy pondered.


    While the redhead teenager didn''t know the extent of Balthazar''s powers, he knew that he was definitely holding back, as he could keep up with Megan''s speed, making him wonder why their kidnappers were being considerate of them.


    "Sis, that man has the other soul shards!" Jake exclaimed, still struggling to get out of his binds.


    Focusing her sharp eyes on Balthazar''s lower pocket in his jacket, Megan sensed a small fluctuation of energy coming from it, rushing for an attack and targeting the vampire''s pocket.


    Balthazar scratched Megan''s cheek, drawing a small drop of blood. However, it was a small price to pay for the brunette to make one of the shards fall on the ground.


    Right as it shattered, the shadows appeared and swirled momentarily before dissipating, showing a confused Zac standing in the center.


    Fortunately, the redhead managed to reach his baseball bat before getting teleported to the warehouse, so he felt a bit safer with his weapon.


    "Not bad¡­ You targeted the shards so you could get reinforcements," Balthazar said.


    "Who is this guy? And why does he look so cool?" Zac asked.


    "It''s the vampire that picked up Irina when we released her," Megan replied.


    "Really? I thought they would leave us alone¡­" Zac continued, clenching his bat.


    "I do appreciate you sparing my little sister, but I still have a job to do¡­ It isn''t personal," Balthazar said.


    "Okay, well¡­ I might break open your skulls with my weapon, but it isn''t personal!" Zac replied with a slightly sarcastic tone.


    In the blink of an eye, Zac moved to the side and avoided an attack by the vampire sentinels, who started to pursue him around the warehouse frantically.


    Meanwhile, Megan and Balthazar placed their focus on each other, releasing a barrage of slices and stabs that kept getting deflected and avoided by the two of them.


    When Zac landed with his feet on the wall, he used it to propel himself forward, hitting Ezekiel in the stomach and flinging him all the way to the other side of the warehouse, producing a cloud of dirt at the point of impact.


    Madeline used that opportunity to claw Zac''s back, believing that the berserker would go down from the attack.


    Nonetheless, it backfired on her, as Zac quickly turned around, enduring the pain, and slammed the baseball bat on her ribs, sending the vampire woman crashing against the main entrance out of the warehouse.


    Madeline held her ribs as she slowly stood up, pulling out a small gemstone from her pocket.


    ''I guess Mother was right¡­'' Madeline thought, infusing mana into the gemstones.

 Chapter 199 - 199: Vampires’ Reinforcements

    Right after Madeline was forced out of the warehouse by Zac''s attack, the vampire sentinel used a gemstone to cast a spell, producing a white mist that summoned three of her vampire siblings to the scene.


    Irina appeared first, rushing towards Madeline and asking if she was okay with a worried expression.


    "I''m fine¡­ I just need a moment to heal up," Madeline said.


    "Laurent, Claudia¡­ Be careful with those guys," she continued.


    Irina turned to look at the warehouse, where they could hear the sounds of the battle between Megan and Balthazar brewing inside.


    Initially, Irina believed that her big brother Balthazar would be enough to complete the job, as he was the only elder vampire of the clan.


    Laurent and Claudia were the next in line, as they were a vampire lord and lady, respectively, so they were more powerful than the sentinels.


    Irina, Ezekiel, and Madeline were the only three vampire sentinels, and Irina wasn''t meant to be part of the assassination mission since she had been compromised with the Jade Dragons already.


    However, the fact that she had been summoned as reinforcements made her believe that Megan and her group were stronger than she ever expected.


    Laurent inquired if the warlock was also inside, and Madeline denied it, explaining that it was another man with a baseball bat, which left the vampire lord a bit perplexed.


    Suddenly, their scheming was interrupted as Ezekiel was forcefully pushed out of the warehouse, rolling on the ground and landing in front of his older siblings.


    When Zac stepped outside to check on the two sentinels with his baseball bat resting on his shoulder, he nervously stopped when he noticed there were five vampires instead of two.


    "Uhhh¡­ You guys wanna talk this out?" Zac asked with an awkward tone. Still, he knew his words had no weight as he felt the killing intent coming from the vampire group.


    In the blink of an eye, Laurent had appeared before Zac and tried to claw his face, but the redhead reacted quickly and avoided it by whipping his head back.


    Still, Claudia, the vampire lady, followed it up with a kick that the redhead couldn''t evade, hitting him in the chest and flinging him back inside the warehouse.


    The five vampires ran inside, only to find Megan and Balthazar exchanging attacks that were almost too quick for the vampires to discern.


    Irina recognized Megan and thought about attacking her from behind, but she hesitated after remembering how the brunette treated her when she was a hostage.


    She didn''t know if it was her pride as a vampire that made her feel that way, but she didn''t want to interfere with Megan''s fight.


    As Balthazar and Megan clashed their attacks, they were both pushed back and regained distance from each other, with Megan skidding right next to Zac. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I didn''t think I would see you again this soon¡­" Megan said to Irina, who stood slightly behind her siblings.


    "Shut up! It''s not personal, okay?" Irina replied.


    "You guys keep saying that, but it does feel pretty personal, you know?" Zac commented.


    ____________________


    After Megan and Zac were teleported out of the Jade Palace, Dante quickly went to the briefing room to tell Camille of the events.


    The warlock believed that if both of them had been summoned using the shards, he would surely get summoned, too. However, after a few minutes, he suspected their opponents were trying to separate him from the rest.


    Camille called Trinity and gave Dante an earpiece to speak to her¡ªand the hacker explained that she could locate Megan and Zac as she was tracking their phones.


    When the hacker looked up their location, she noticed that they were both in the same place, prompting Dante to cast his "Wings of the Fallen" spell and fly away toward the abandoned warehouse.


    While flying, Dante asked Trinity if she could see other people near Megan and Zac, but the hacker said that she could only see their location, giving him a brief explanation of how a GPS worked.


    "Well, can you track other phones?" Dante asked.


    "Who are you looking for?" The hacker replied with a question.


    The warlock elaborated and said that the only people who had a soul shard linked to them were the teenagers¡ªLina, Tommy, and Jake¡ªso Dante wanted to know if they were also present.


    Fortunately, since the three teenagers had to stay with the Jade Dragons for a few days during the war with the Blood Dragons, they had all of their information available, making Trinity''s work easier.


    When the hacker looked up their phones to track their locations, she confirmed that the teenagers were in the same area as Megan and Zac.


    ["How would the kidnappers know about your soul shards, though¡­?"] Trinity asked on Dante''s earpiece.


    "I''m not sure¡­ Even if they were people from this world, the whole concept of the soul shard shouldn''t be easy to comprehend without a little guidance," Dante replied.


    ["So, the culprits are from Terra, like you¡­"] Trinity deduced.


    "Most likely¡­ Hopefully, it''s the vampires," Dante continued, confusing the hacker, as she couldn''t understand why he was rooting for the enemies to be vampires.


    The warlock explained that, while vampires could be scary, they were also quite intelligent, so it wasn''t impossible to talk and negotiate with them.


    After encountering the vampires that tried to kidnap the idol, Kim Mi-Yun, he could tell that they didn''t have a lot of motivation to complete their task.


    ["So, do you think that since they show little interest in their kidnapping, you can negotiate with them?"] Trinity inquired.


    "Yes. If Kim Mi-Yun were somehow important to the vampires, they wouldn''t have let her go so easily¡­" Dante commented.


    However, the vampire clan ended up caring more about their missing sentinel than completing their job, so Dante was certain that he could come to an agreement with them.


    ["Hurry up¡ªYou are close!"] Trinity said, guiding the warlock on the last stretch leading to the abandoned warehouse.

 Chapter 200 - 200: Vampire Mother

    As Zac and Megan were rushing around the warehouse at high speeds, the pair decided to split the opponents between themselves.


    They knew that Balthazar was the strongest of the vampire group. In fact, he was stronger than Zac and Megan together.


    Laurent and Claudia were around their level, and while the three sentinels wouldn''t have been a problem by themselves, they were quite troublesome when supporting their older siblings.


    To split the group into something Megan considered fair, she lunged at Balthazar with all of her strength and began unleashing a barrage of slices and stabs with her dagger that prevented any other vampire from getting close to them.


    Meanwhile, Zac was left fighting the group of five, using his chrome bat to deflect two attacks from the sentinels before charging at Laurent.


    Still, it was to no avail, as Laurent and Claudia were perfectly synchronized, so any time that he found an opening to exploit, he would get blocked by another vampire.


    Their encounter kept going for minutes, and nobody in the warehouse had unleashed their full power, almost as if they were sparring the whole time.


    Zac had received a few claw attacks on his arms, but they weren''t anything severe, making him ponder if they were going easy on him.


    ''I can''t get angry like this!'' Zac thought.


    The redhead''s berserker abilities became natural to him whenever he was in a life-or-death situation. However, his body wasn''t recognizing the current events as "dangerous enough for him to die," so he couldn''t tap into his berserker powers.


    After both Megan and Zac had been worn out a little by their encounter, the vampires gained distance from them and gathered near the entrance of the warehouse.


    Zac was about to take a step forward to charge at them but halted immediately after sensing a powerful presence appearing right behind their opponents.


    The vampires stood tall, although their clothing was slightly tattered, and made way for the figure of a woman to enter the warehouse.


    Megan and Zac froze momentarily, sensing an incredible amount of power flowing from the mysterious woman, reminiscent of Dante.


    The pair could tell that it wasn''t the same energy that came from Dante as it didn''t feel like pure umbra, but it was still pretty overwhelming for them.


    "So, that''s the target, huh?" The woman said, her voice strangely soothing.


    As she kept walking forward, the pair was able to detail the woman''s features, and they instantly understood that she was a vampire of even higher rank than Balthazar.


    "Megan¡­?" Zac whispered, his hands trembling.


    "I know¡ªWe have no chance against her," Megan replied, glaring at the vampire and raising her guard.


    The mysterious woman wore a black leather coat and corset, highlighting her slim waistline, black pants, and tall boots.


    Her long hair was black with white accents, and her foreboding, dark red eyes were as sharp as a blade.


    "Wh-Who are you? Why are you targeting Megan?" Zac nervously asked.


    "Hmm, who''s this?" The vampire leader asked, turning around to look at her children and utterly ignoring Zac.


    "He arrived from one of the shards, so he is probably part of the Jade Dragons," Balthazar replied.


    "Huh, not bad¡­" The woman commented, rubbing her chin and glancing at the redhead.


    "I wanted to talk for a bit, but seeing my children hurt is making me change my mind¡­" She continued.


    ''Children¡­?'' Megan thought, remembering Dante told her that vampire clans were led by a Mother or a Father.


    Even though none of the vampires had any severe injuries, the woman seemed displeased at the few bruises she spotted¡ªespecially on the sentinels.


    *Gulp* Zac nervously swallowed and raised his baseball bat forward, and just as Mother turned her attention to them, he felt a shock as if his body was telling him to run. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Megan-...!!" The redhead shouted, instantly getting interrupted by a punch in the throat that shattered his windpipe.


    The brunette tried to kick Mother as soon as she appeared before Zac, but the woman simply waved her hand and slapped her kick away, leaving her unguarded.


    Without being able to reach the ground, Megan received a blast of energy that flung her to the side, followed by a stab on her shoulder from a blood projectile that resembled a blade, nailing her against the wall.


    When Megan glanced at her left shoulder and noticed the red blade, she tried to pull it out with her right hand, but as soon as she touched it, she felt it burning her hand, prompting her to let go of it before scorching her fingers.


    Zac was having trouble breathing after getting punched in the throat, but he didn''t stop and rushed at Mother with his bat in one hand, clenching his teeth with a furious expression.


    "A berserker¡­?" Mother muttered, deflecting the redhead''s attacks with her hands.


    "How curious," she continued, avoiding the baseball bat aimed at her face and releasing another blast of energy that pushed Zac back.


    The redhead skidded across the ground and used his bat to slow down the force of the push until he was fully stopped.


    Glancing at Megan, he felt glad that his diversion worked, as the brunette had freed herself from the wall, and her killing intent was palpable all over the warehouse.


    The rest of the vampires got a bit nervous, noticing Megan''s killing intent was quite overwhelming, even for Balthazar. Still, Mother didn''t flinch at her threat.


    Without saying a word, Megan grabbed her dagger and took a defensive stance. In the blink of an eye, she had rushed and appeared a mere two meters away from her opponent.


    Mother widened her eyes in surprise, and when Megan slashed the air with her dagger, the environment around them seemed to warp momentarily, releasing a wave of energy in the shape of a massive slice that cut through the fabric of reality.


    "Mother!" The sentinels shouted with worried tones.


    Nevertheless, Megan could see the vampire smirking mischievously as the air slice traveled toward her, making her wonder if they should try escaping instead.

 Chapter 201 - 201: Asphodel

    While Megan and Zac were trying to stay alive against Mother, Dante was flying at high speeds towards the warehouse, guided by Trinity.


    ["There!"] Trinity exclaimed in Dante''s earpiece, signaling his close arrival at the abandoned warehouse.


    The warlock could see a few marks on the walls from the outside, and he recognized them as slices produced by the skill "Vorpal Blade," making him wonder if Megan had managed to master it.


    As he got closer, he could see the different flows of umbra coming from each individual inside the warehouse, and he was able to recognize both of his companions and the teenagers.


    ''I see the kids are all in one corner¡­'' Dante thought, scrutinizing the umbra.


    When he looked at Megan and Zac''s flow of energy, he could tell that they were hurt, as there were slight signs of pain coming from their umbral aura.


    Still, there was one individual inside that made Dante hesitate for a brief moment, realizing that their mana and umbra were being suppressed.


    ["What''re you gonna do?"] Trinity asked on his earpiece.


    "First, let me get rid of all these structures blocking my sight¡­" Dante muttered, pointing his palm at the warehouse.


    He hovered above the building with his black wings extended and could see each individual''s different umbral auras.


    "There are seven enemies¡­ One of them is Irina, so I suppose the rest are her vampire clan," Dante whispered on his microphone as he inspected the area.


    It was easy for the warlock to recognize a person without even seeing their face, especially if Dante had seen their umbral flow before. Thus, it was quite easy for him to recognize Irina inside the warehouse.


    "Well, I won''t be holding back¡­" Dante said.


    "Destro," he continued, releasing an invisible blast that completely erased the warehouse''s structure.


    When the cloud of dust dissipated slightly, all the people inside the warehouse were out in the open, in a square area with not a single wall or pillar near them.


    Dante had aimed his spell so that it would destroy the warehouse and all of the vampires inside. However, the seven vampires were still alive, as an ethereal, red barrier protected them from the blast.


    The teenagers were startled by the sudden explosion, but when they looked up and saw Dante, they smiled brightly and optimistically.


    Zac and Megan were bleeding a bit from their heads, with Zac bending one knee on the ground and using his bat to support his weight.


    The pair felt glad when they spotted Dante. However, as soon as the warlock landed on the ground, his eyes got sharp and intense, locking his vision with Mother''s.


    "Seriously¡­?" Dante muttered.


    "Hoh? After all this time, is that how you want to say hello?" Mother said, waving her hand and removing the protective barrier around the other vampires.


    "Asphodel¡­" The warlock said in a low tone of voice.


    Mother smiled mischievously, saying that she was glad that the warlock remembered her name, confusing absolutely everyone else present.


    ''Why am I not surprised¡­?'' Zac pondered, realizing that he had seen a similar scenario before.


    "Ah, but I can''t be too sure that you are the real Dante I know¡­" Mother continued, her tone somewhat playful.


    "What are you talking about? Of course, you know it''s the real me," Dante replied, crossing his arms. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hmm, I won''t know for sure until you take ''that'' out¡­" Asphodel said.


    "Uhh, phrasing?" Zac commented in jest, still holding his torso in pain.


    Dante placed a palm on his face with exasperation, letting out an annoyed sigh.


    "You really haven''t changed at all, huh?" The warlock asked Mother.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about. As long as you don''t show ''it'' to me, you are not the real Dante¡­" Asphodel commented.


    "And, if you are not the real Dante, then you are my enemy," she continued, her words sounding like a threat.


    "As annoying as ever¡­" The warlock replied.


    None of the individuals present knew what they were talking about¡ªneither the vampires nor the members of the Jade Dragons had a clue.


    When Dante and Asphodel locked eyes with each other and sharpened their gazes, the woman spoke up first with a mischievous smile on her face.


    "Mythic Relic: Kali," Asphodel muttered, producing an intense vortex of energy around her that made everyone cover their faces.


    The vortex seemed to be a mix of shadows and blood, rising upwards like a pillar that was at least ten meters tall.


    Just as quickly as the vortex appeared, it dissipated, showing Asphodel standing in the center, holding a thin, red, and elegant rapier.


    Zac and Megan looked at the weapon and were startled when they noticed a vast amount of umbra flowing from it. Still, Dante didn''t budge.


    Placing the blade close to her face and pointing it at the warlock with an evil smile, Asphodel stated that it was Dante''s turn, to which he sighed in annoyance.


    "Mythic Relic: Hades," Dante muttered, generating a vortex of black flames around him that rose just as high as Asphodel''s.


    The vampire Mother smiled brightly with excitement, and when the vortex of energy disappeared, Dante was standing in the center, holding a scythe that was slightly taller than him over his shoulder.


    The scythe''s blade was encased in black flames, and the sheer pressure that it produced was enough to make everyone else freeze in their boots.


    "Hahah, it is you!" Asphodel exclaimed, grinning with excitement.


    "I told you¡­" Dante replied, clearly annoyed by the vampire.


    As the two stopped speaking, they locked gazes and clenched their weapons tightly.


    In the blink of an eye, the two clashed their relics, generating a shockwave that blasted everyone else away from them, followed by a cacophony of blades and flames striking each other.


    Megan took that opportunity to help the teenagers untie themselves, as the previous blast had broken the chairs they were sitting on.


    On the other hand, Zac was watching their encounter with perplexion, wondering what kind of weapon the warlock was using.


    Dante always stated that he didn''t use any weapons as he wasn''t proficient with them, but now that he was clearly waving around a flaming scythe, the redhead was incredibly curious about it.

 Chapter 202 - 202: Vampire Acquaintance

    After Dante and Asphodel clashed their Mythical Relics against each other one last time, the two backed away from their advance and made their weapons disappear.


    "Is that enough?" Dante asked the vampire.


    "Mhmm, I''m satisfied with that¡­ If we keep going, we''ll take down half the district with us," Asphodel commented with a smile.


    *Sigh* "Finally, we can talk," Dante said, slightly relieved.


    "What the hell was that!?" Zac interrupted, walking slowly towards them after being blasted away.


    The rest of the vampires also approached their Mother with care, and Irina shared the redhead''s curiosity, as they didn''t know what those weapons were.


    "Really? You are more curious about that dumb weapon than knowing who this woman even is?" Dante asked his friend.


    "Erm¡­ well, I''m curious about both¡ªthe weapon looked cool, though," Zac replied, slightly embarrassed at his words.


    *Sigh* "First of all, congratulations on becoming a Mother¡­" Dante said to the vampire, who smiled and thanked him.


    "Second, what the hell are you doing here?" he continued.


    "Hmm? The same thing you are doing¡­" Asphodel replied, letting out a smirk.


    "Living a nice peaceful life away from the prying eyes of the gods¡­ It''s quite nice, isn''t it?" The vampire commented.


    Dante nodded and silently agreed with the woman, but he explained that he was sent to that world after an accident involving God Zaratross.


    "Oh? You''ll have to tell me more about that later¡­" Asphodel said, evidently interested in the information.


    "How did you get here, anyway?" Dante asked, prompting the vampire to smile mischievously.


    "I stole Wolfram''s research notes¡­" Asphodel replied.


    The warlock seemed a bit shocked at her answer, and she explained that while Wolfram was a "magic maniac," his notes were incredibly useful to her.


    "It seemed like Wolfram couldn''t find a catalyst strong enough to open the convergence, so I used Nicodemus'' heart to do it," Asphodel elaborated.


    "I see¡­ That was pretty smart," Dante said, praising the vampire as he inquisitively rubbed his chin.


    The warlock commented that he wasn''t aware that Wolfram had been researching the convergence, as it was never a topic that interested him while living in Terra.


    "Guys, can you slow down¡­ Who the hell is Wolfram, and if you are buddies, why the hell was she trying to kill us!?" Zac interjected, still holding the side of his torso.


    Dante grabbed a healthstone from his pocket and gently threw it to his friend, who began healing his wounds while listening to Asphodel.


    The vampire Mother answered by saying that her clan had been taking on dangerous or illegal jobs for a while and had been recently hired to assassinate Megan.


    However, after Asphodel watched the video of Dante repelling Irina at the concert, she had her suspicions that he was the man she knew. Thus, she decided to take the assassination request to lure Dante out and check for herself.


    "C-Couldn''t you just talk to us?" Zac inquired.


    "Eh? Where''s the fun in that? If I wanted to kill you kids, I would have done it way before Dante arrived¡­" Asphodel replied with a slightly arrogant tone.


    "No, no¡ªHe has a point. You could have used my soul shard instead of making me fly all the way here¡­" Dante said, agreeing with his friend.


    Asphodel ignored the warlock''s comments and looked to the side with a guiltless expression, explaining that she had to play it safe as she wasn''t sure it was Dante.


    "So, now that you know, will you tell us who hired you?" Megan asked, intruding on the conversation.


    "Heh, maybe¡­ If Dante were our official ally, then I would gladly share the information," Mother confidently replied, smiling evilly and glaring at the warlock.


    "It''s not like we were ever enemies or something¡­ But either way, I''m not the one who makes those decisions here," Dante casually replied, scratching the back of his head.


    Asphodel chuckled and said that they could talk it over. However, she needed an answer in no more than three days, as they had another request they needed to complete.


    "And that second request also has something to do with us?" Dante inquired.


    "Heh, perhaps¡­" replied Asphodel.


    After the warlock hesitantly agreed to talk with the rest of the Jade Dragons about making an alliance with the vampires, Asphodel seemed to beam with happiness, exclaiming that it would be "just like the old days."


    "Also, congratulations to you too¡­ I see you got rid of that ageless ''curse,''" the vampire Mother commented.


    "It wasn''t on purpose, but I''m definitely glad it''s gone¡­" replied Dante with a gentle smile.


    "Heh¡­ Ahahaha!" Mother broke into laughter.


    "That''s right, Dante. Do you know what''s the most appealing part of this world? The fact that the gods are not meddling with anyone''s business!" Asphodel shouted with enthusiasm.


    "Even if there''s a god in this world, they do not interfere with living beings¡­ This is how it should be!" she continued. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''Man¡­ Everyone in Terra really despises the gods,'' Zac thought, reminiscing about the Golden Fox and how she also showed her disdain for them.


    The redhead had yet to meet someone who wasn''t absolutely repulsed by the gods of Terra and pondered that maybe the god of Earth was the one doing it right.


    "I can''t disagree with that¡­ Although, I did find a church for the Pantheon of Four in this world," Dante commented, shocking Asphodel.


    "Huh, we''ve found other structures like that as well¡­" she replied, placing a hand on her chin.


    The two groups decided to leave their business for another day, with Dante and Megan promising to give the vampires an answer to their meeting request.


    Dante didn''t have a problem working with them since he was familiar with the leader. While Asphodel wasn''t someone that Dante would call his friend, she wasn''t someone he considered his enemy either.


    Still, the warlock preferred to work with the vampires, as he knew that if he fought against Asphodel, they could raze half of a district to the ground.


    After escorting the teenagers back to their homes, the group returned to the Jade Palace, where Camille was waiting for them to discuss the events.

 Chapter 203 - 203: Asphodel’s Past

    The following day, after Dante, Zac, and Megan had their encounter with Asphodel, they went to the briefing room to talk to Camille.


    Alice and the Gamma Team were also called to the room so they could give their input, and the handler started the meeting by asking Dante how he knew the vampire Mother.


    Dante had told Megan a brief story about her when they were working as security guards for the idols, but he never mentioned the vampire''s name.


    Back in Terra, Asphodel and her older sister, Selene, were vampires who belonged to the Blood Moon Clan, which governed the city of Lumen.


    Dante and his party enjoyed visiting Lumen from time to time, as the vampire clan genuinely took good care of the city.


    The leader of the clan was a vampire Father called Nicodemus, and while Dante always considered him to be a prick, he still admired the way he governed Lumen.


    Dante remembered meeting Asphodel and her older sister when they were still vampire sentinels, and the two of them grew and became vampire ladies around the same time.


    However, while Asphodel kept improving her powers, Selene seemed to come to a standstill. It didn''t matter how much she trained, her power level stayed the same.


    By the time Asphodel evolved into an elder vampire, she rose in the ranks until she was in the top three of the strongest vampires in the clan.


    Nicodemus, seeing that the youngest of the sisters had more talent, considered Selene to be a failure, saying that the older siblings should always be stronger.


    Without telling Asphodel, the vampire Father killed Selene and put her head on a spike as a way to shame her for her supposed failures, which was the catalyst for Asphodel to go berserk and destroy everything.


    The moment Asphodel glanced at her sister''s head, her mind went completely blank, only regaining her consciousness after razing Lumen to the ground and killing all of the vampires in the Blood Moon Clan.


    Dante and his party were coincidentally arriving in the chaotic city when they spotted the tired Asphodel on the ground and Nicodemus rushing towards her to execute her.


    They didn''t know the details of what was happening, but they knew Asphodel, so they decided to help her, believing that it was Nicodemus who had gone berserk.


    After working together to kill the vampire Father, the exhausted Asphodel revealed the truth to them and how she was the culprit for all the destruction.


    Still, Dante''s party didn''t regret helping her against Nicodemus, as they thought they would have gone berserk if the same thing had happened to them.


    Asphodel was later hunted by the church and its holy knights, but after the woman disappeared, she was deemed dead while the church took the credit for slaying her.


    Nevertheless, Dante always knew it was a lie, as he could clearly see the priests'' umbra whenever they lied about them slaying the vampire fugitive.


    "And she ended up here¡­" Camille said after listening to Dante''s story. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Mhmm, but she came here willingly while looking for a way to escape from the church," Dante replied.


    *Sigh* "Why are all these troublesome magical people suddenly appearing?" Camille asked herself aloud.


    Dante explained that Asphodel had been living on Earth for a little over fifty years, and she had been building up her own clan, so it wasn''t like she had just arrived.


    "Since you are the only one who personally knows Asphodel, what do you think? Should we ally with them?" The handler asked.


    "I would rather work with them, yes¡­" he replied.


    "Okay, hypothetically speaking, if Asphodel were to betray us, could you defeat her?" Camille continued.


    "Umm¡­" The warlock pondered momentarily.


    "Honestly, I think we would end up killing each other¡ªand the damage to the city would be immeasurable¡­" Dante explained.


    The warlock''s specialty was killing demons, so when it came to fighting other magic users, there were many of them who were just as strong as Dante.


    "In other words, we definitely want the vampires on our side¡­" Camille commented.


    "What do you think, Megan? You were their target yesterday," the handler continued.


    Megan wasn''t bothered by the fight, but she didn''t like the fact that the teenagers were dragged into it.


    The brunette could tell from the very beginning of their encounter that Balthazar wasn''t trying to kill her, as she could sense that the man wasn''t even using half of his power.


    "If they just wanted to spar with me, they should''ve simply asked¡­" Megan said.


    "We could bring those concerns to them. Vampires are usually affable with the people they like," Dante interjected.


    The rest of the people present didn''t seem to mind the alliance with the vampires, knowing that it would be better for them in the future.


    Moreover, Asphodel had information relating to people who were targeting the Jade Dragons, so even if the alliance were short-lived, they would still benefit from it.


    The group knew that the man who hired the vampires was most likely one of the leaders of the Onyx Cartel, as they had been involved with the Blood Dragons.


    They were also the ones who wanted to kidnap the idol, Kim Mi-Yun, by hiring the same group of vampires, making their search much narrower.


    "Asphodel also mentioned that they were hired for another job related to us, so there is even more we can learn from her¡­" Dante said.


    "Hmm, alright. Contact them and bring them here tomorrow," Camille confidently replied.


    Nobody in the briefing room was against the idea of befriending the vampire clan. Considering they had demons working with them, vampires didn''t seem that scary.


    After everyone left the briefing room and returned to their activities, Camille looked at a framed picture inside the drawer of her desk. In it, a young Camille was holding her baby sister while her father carried them both.


    *Sigh* "Dad¡­ If you could see this mess, what would you say?" The handler muttered to herself.

 Chapter 204 - 204: Vampire Guests

    It had been two days since Dante and Asphodel reunited at the abandoned warehouse, and the servants at the Jade Palace were scurrying around to leave the mansion utterly pristine.


    The vampires agreed to meet with the Jade Dragons during the day, which was Dante''s idea.


    The warlock explained that when a vampire was willing to meet with you during the daytime, it meant they trusted you, as those were the moments they were at their weakest.


    Asphodel mentioned that she would bring her entire clan, and Dante was a bit worried at first, remembering her past clan had over a hundred vampires.


    Nonetheless, Asphodel''s clan only had eight children as it was relatively new, so the warlock left his worries aside.


    Camille briskly ordered the servants to prepare the courtyard for the meeting, as there were going to be too many people to fit them in the briefing room.


    "Oh, and put some shaders here. We wouldn''t want our guests to catch up in flames¡­" Camille said to her servants as they placed down a couple of parasols in the courtyard.


    When the vampire clan arrived, they looked elegant and snazzy in their impeccably tailored suits, with Asphodel walking in the front. She held two young vampires in her arms, and Camille couldn''t help thinking they were cute.


    The children didn''t look over seven years old, but they both possessed the clear features of vampires, making the warlock realize that they were vampire fledglings.


    Dante and his group also wore their tailored suits for the occasion, and once the informal meetings were done, they were guided to the courtyard to begin their business talks.


    When Asphodel stepped outside, she noticed Asher and Amara, the harpion twins, playing in the garden with a football while Rina and Rona supervised them.


    "Erm¡­ Are those harpions?" Asphodel asked Dante, who was walking beside her.


    "Ah, yeah¡­ It''s a long story, but they''ve been living with us for a few months now," he replied.


    Under the shades in the courtyard, Lilith and the other succubi were waiting for the meeting to start, and Asphodel halted her steps again when she saw the Succubus Queen.


    The vampire Mother didn''t seem scared or intimidated. Instead, she looked confused, wondering if the supermodel they were requested to kidnap was, in fact, a demon queen.


    "Again¡ªLong story¡­" Dante commented.


    Most of the Jade Dragons were present at the meeting, except for a few Epsilon Team members who couldn''t leave their positions and Beta Team members who had to maintain security at all times.


    Asphodel and Camille introduced themselves first, and the vampire Mother followed it up by presenting all of the members of her clan.


    Balthazar was her oldest, and he was the only elder vampire in the clan. Since he was the strongest of the siblings, he used the code name "Number 1."


    Laurent and Claudia were Number 2 and Number 3, respectively, as both were ranked as vampire lords and seemed to be in their mid-20s.


    Irina, Ezekiel, and Madeline were the three vampire sentinels. Irina was the oldest at seventeen, Ezekiel was sixteen, and Madeline was fifteen.


    The two little kids in Asphodel''s arms were introduced as Lucilla and Desmond, who were both seven years old and were still vampire fledglings, so they didn''t go outside much.


    After the introduction, the adorable vampire fledglings showed interest in the football, seeing Asher and Amara playing in the garden beside them.


    Camille beamed with happiness and blushed a little, commenting that Lucilla and Desmond could become the twins'' first friends, and Asphodel hesitantly agreed to let them play.


    The handler went ahead and introduced herself to the vampires, cutting to the chase and saying that they were interested in the alliance with the clan. However, Camille wanted reassurance that the vampires wouldn''t betray them.


    "You did give us a bit of trouble, so look at it from my perspective¡­" Camille said.


    Asphodel understood her concerns and decided to tell the Jade Dragons all the information she had as a sign of her commitment to their alliance.


    The man who hired them to kidnap Kim Mi-Yun, Vincent Muro, was the same who later sent them two more requests. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One was for Megan''s assassination, and the other was for Lilith''s kidnapping and trafficking.


    The Jade Dragons already knew about Vincent wanting to kidnap the idol since they had to pay for it during the hostage exchange, but they didn''t think he would be so bold as to hire them again.


    "Is Vincent the only Don of the cartel that you''ve met with?" Camille asked.


    "Yes. It seems like the other two like to lay low¡­" Asphodel replied.


    "So, they are using Vincent as a front?" Megan pondered aloud.


    The vampire Mother explained that they didn''t know the motives for their requests, and she honestly stated that if she hadn''t watched the video of Dante repelling the vampires at the concert, she wouldn''t have thought about meeting with the Jade Dragons.


    Asphodel never planned on killing Megan, but she wanted to lure the warlock to her to make sure that it was Dante and not someone else. Thus, they resorted to kidnapping the teenagers.


    "I''m glad I thought about it¡ªSending my children to kidnap the Succubus Queen would have been a suicide mission¡­" Mother commented.


    At that moment, Camille''s eyes lit up with an idea, gazing at Lilith, who was listening to the meeting with a carefree demeanor.


    "Hoh? Don''t look at me like that if you are not intending to seduce me¡­" Lilith said to the handler with a playful tone.


    "Lilith, how about we let you get trafficked?" Camille asked, ignoring the demon''s teasing.


    "Sounds kinky," Lilith replied.


    "It''s not¡ªBut if we let them take you to Vincent, we could figure out more of the cartel''s plans," Camille explained.


    Considering that Lilith was able to defend herself from almost anyone in the world, she didn''t see a reason why it wouldn''t work.


    Moreover, the vampire clan could maintain a certain level of trust with the cartel by completing the request, which they could use later to exploit them.

 Chapter 205 - 205: Mythic Relics

    As the meeting with the vampires and the Jade Dragons continued, they came up with a plan to allow Lilith to get kidnapped and sent to the cartel''s territory.


    "We should also fake Megan''s death¡­" Camille commented.


    The Zeta Team of scientists was able to create body doubles using the same materials that were used for ballistic dummies.


    By making one that resembled Megan, they could make it look like she was brutally killed and have the vampires take a picture of it as proof.


    "Are you sure you are okay with that? I don''t mind breaking relations with those weirdos¡­" Asphodel casually commented.


    Camille and Dante gave the vampires a brief summary of the past few months and explained that everything that happened with the Blood Dragons was influenced by the cartel.


    "We''ve been their target for years, and they keep resorting to all these cowardly shit¡­ I think it''s time for us to end this rivalry soon," Camille said.


    After exchanging information and devising a plan to retaliate to the Onyx Cartel, the alliance between the vampires and the Jade Dragons was official.


    Dante asked Asphodel if she had given her clan a name, but the woman denied it.


    "After I evolved into a Mother, I had this strange feeling that I was the leader of the Blood Moon Clan¡ªI don''t want to call it that," Asphodel replied with a severe tone.


    The warlock understood and left the matter aside, noting that the name of the clan wasn''t important anyway.


    "Okay, I''ve been patiently waiting for someone to ask, but it seems like the responsibility lies with me¡­" Zac interjected.


    "What the hell were those weapons that you two used during your encounter!?" the redhead asked, referring to Dante and Asphodel.


    The warlock didn''t seem interested in telling, but the vampire Mother beamed with excitement and pride, explaining that they were called "Mythic Relics." S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lilith laughed aloud after hearing that Dante used his relic, confusing everyone around her, as they didn''t understand what was so amusing about it.


    Asphodel explained that Mythic Relics were weapons bound to an individual''s soul, and they were given to them by different entities.


    "An entity? Like a god?" Zac inquired.


    "Not exactly¡­" she replied.


    The vampire Mother elaborated and said that in the world of Terra, entities were the only beings that people couldn''t summon or talk to by any means.


    On the other hand, the gods from the Pantheon of Four were known for showing themselves before the masses.


    If a person ever went through an ordeal that an entity considered worthy, they would bless those individuals with their relic, allowing them to summon it and use it at any time.


    Moreover, each Mythic Relic was unique, so two individuals could never summon the same weapon.


    Zac pondered why Dante never used it, especially during his fight with Astaroth, where he believed it could have come in handy, making the warlock sigh with exasperation.


    "It just brings bad memories¡­" Dante replied.


    During the time that the warlock traveled through hell to look for his beloved, Beatrice, he had killed countless demons to no avail, as in the end, he couldn''t reach her before her death.


    Only after he found Beatrice''s lifeless body did the entity known as "Hades" decide to bless Dante with his relic. However, in Dante''s eyes, it was a mere consolation prize, as he couldn''t care less about a weapon.


    The warlock believed that it was some sort of sick joke from the entity, who was mocking him by giving him a powerful weapon after failing to save his beloved.


    Still, while Dante used his relic to kill Satan and tons of other demons, he hated how it was given to him.


    "The reason I didn''t use it with Astaroth was because I didn''t need it¡­ I would''ve ended up destroying more of the town if I had done that," Dante explained.


    "I see¡­ My bad, dude¡ªI was just curious," Zac said to his friend with an apologetic tone.


    "No problem. It''s not like I was hiding it or anything¡­ I just don''t really think about it that much," the warlock commented.


    With curiosity still plastered all over Zac''s face, he asked Asphodel how she had gotten her Mythic Relic, and the vampire pridefully replied that she received it after eradicating her own clan and city.


    Shortly after the destruction of the city of Lumen and the death of the vampire Father, Nicodemus, Asphodel received Kali''s blessing, which allowed her to summon her relic.


    ''Huh, I can see why the two of them look at their weapons differently¡­ To Asphodel, it was a prize for persevering, while for Dante, it was a prize for losing¡­'' Zac thought.


    After most of their inquiries had been answered, the meeting turned into more of a social gathering, and Dante noticed how Irina was talking to Megan with a much gentler tone instead of hurling insults at everyone.


    The warlock could sense a hint of admiration coming from Irina''s umbra when talking to Megan, and he thought it was pretty amusing as Megan seemed to be some sort of woman magnet.


    Asphodel, Dante, and Camille sat on a table near the garden to watch the kids playing, and the Mother inquired about the cathedral they had found when fighting Astaroth.


    Camille showed her the pictures they had taken of the destroyed church, making the vampire wince with disgust.


    ''Well, I expected that kind of reaction¡­'' Camille thought.


    The vampire Mother told the pair that they had found a similar place in the north of Novaria, and she considered destroying it too, but decided against it as she wanted to study the area.


    "It''s not a cathedral as big as this¡­ It''s a small chapel dedicated to Goddess Mystara," Asphodel commented.


    She had found the chapel a little over twenty years in the past, but she had never seen anyone coming in or out of the building, so she deduced it had been abandoned. Nevertheless, she was secretly keeping an eye on it.

 Chapter 206 - 206: Joint Training

    After the meeting with the vampire clan was over, Camille invited them to stay in the guests'' room for a few nights while they prepared for their plans.


    The following day, the teenagers went to the Jade Palace, where the vampires apologized to the trio for kidnapping them and using them as bait to lure Dante.


    It was the warlock''s idea to have them apologize to the teenagers, knowing that it would reduce the hostility they felt towards the vampires¡ªand surprisingly, it worked.


    By the time Dante went to check on the teenagers, they were having a friendly chat with the vampire sentinels as they were all around the same age, making him feel a bit relieved.


    The Zeta Team was almost done with the dummy version of Megan, and the brunette gave the vampires a copy of her heirloom dagger to show as proof of her death.


    Meanwhile, Trinity had been working on searching for information relating to the cartel, but whenever she was about to hack into a database, a finely coded firewall prevented her from doing so.


    However, Trinity recognized the code, as she had seen it many times before.


    "Spook¡­" The hacker muttered to herself.


    The same person who used to be her hacking buddy, who later betrayed her by siding with the Blood Dragons and aided them in kidnapping her father¡ªthey were now working with the Onyx Cartel.


    ''Could it be they were always working together¡­?'' Trinity thought, considering that the Blood Dragons'' actions were only possible due to the cartel''s influence.


    Not wanting to lose another hacking battle against Spook, Trinity was determined to break through their firewall at any cost, even if it meant losing hours of her precious sleep.


    While the plans were being set in motion, the vampires and the Jade Dragons kept interacting with each other, and their relations seemed to get friendlier as more time passed.


    Dante and Zac would play video games with the teenagers and the vampire sentinels, who kept bantering with each other whenever they lost a match.


    The fledgling vampires joined Asher and Amara in their morning lessons. Even though the harpion twins were three years older than the vampires, they were just as immature as them mentally.


    Balthazar seemed interested in Alice''s training with Master Hayato and eventually started training with them too.


    Laurent and Claudia joined the training with the Omega Team, as Megan and Zac were closest to their power levels, creating a friendly rivalry between the two pairs to see who could get stronger the fastest.


    When the deadline for the vampires to talk to the cartel arrived, Asphodel gave them a fake report, saying that they were working on the requests and that it would be done in one week.


    With that, the Jade Dragons had more than enough time to make sure Megan''s double looked as detailed as possible.


    Since Lilith would be infiltrating the cartel by acting as if she were a captive model, Dante decided to make a soul shard linked to her.


    In case she wasn''t able to return on her own, he could always bring her to his location in an instant by shattering the crystal.


    Camille wasn''t expecting that Lilith''s fame would lead to the cartel, as she wanted to use her to cleanse the industry of corrupt agents.


    However, she wasn''t opposed to it and considered it lucky that one of the Dons of the Onyx Cartel was a weirdo who ordered her kidnapping.


    On that same day that their deadline was set, Camille spoke with Melinda, the Autumn handler, and told her about the latest events and discoveries.


    The GTS had also been investigating the Onyx Cartel for a while, especially after the incident with the ghoul, so Melinda decided to bring the matter to Imera and her grandchildren. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Surprisingly, Melinda called Camille back a few hours later, saying that she would visit the Jade Palace the following day, as Imera wanted her grandchildren to train with the rest, afraid that they would be left behind in terms of power.


    Camille''s initial plan wasn''t to conduct a training boot camp for a week before their mission, but she was still pleasantly surprised to hear the leaders of the GTS wanted to join.


    ____________________


    Weeks before the ordeal with the vampire clan, Curtis and Lindsey Vercrux, the leaders of the Golden Twilight Syndicate, were practicing their magic in the training room of their mansion.


    It had been a few days since they lost their sparring matches against Zac and Megan, and their grandmother had put them to practice every day since then.


    While the siblings were a bit frustrated at their loss, they were more determined than ever to get stronger. It was the first time they had met someone who could not only keep up with their abilities but defeat them with ease¡ªbesides their grandma.


    They kept training hard for some time until they received a call from Melinda, telling them about the events surrounding the cartel and the Jade Dragons.


    When the siblings heard that Megan and Zac were training with a clan of vampires, the pair showed evident interest in joining them.


    Imera wasn''t as excited as her grandchildren about working alongside vampires, but knowing that Dante had given his approval made it easier for her to accept.


    Moreover, now that Imera saw Curtis and Lindsey more interested in developing their skills, she didn''t want to pass up the opportunity for them to grow.


    "Of course, I''ll go too," Imera said to her grandchildren.


    "Wh-What!? For real!?" Lindsey asked, excited and scared at the same time.


    "I can''t just leave you alone with a group of unknown vampires¡­ Besides, I was thinking it was time for me to take a stroll around the country," Imera commented.


    The Golden Fox rarely left her home, and when she did, she would wear a pendant that would hide her animal features behind an illusion.


    The pendant couldn''t fool anyone who was able to see mana at a basic level¡ªbut an ordinary person from Earth would look at Imera as a regular yet enchantingly beautiful woman.

 Chapter 207 - 207: Fake Death and Kidnapping

    During the week of preparation, a small group from the GTS arrived at the Jade Palace to join the training with the vampires and the Jade Dragons.


    Lindsey and Curtis were excited, introducing themselves to the vampire clan as the leaders of the Golden Twilight Syndicate.


    Before Imera greeted the vampires, she wanted to have a word with Asphodel and Dante, so they walked to the inner garden for privacy.


    The two ladies before the warlock didn''t know each other. While Asphodel had heard about The Golden Fox in the past, she never had the opportunity to meet her.


    Imera, on the other hand, knew nothing about Asphodel, which was the primary reason she wanted to talk to her and get to know her better.


    "I see¡­ So, you were a child of Nicodemus," Imera commented as the vampire Mother talked about her past without reservation.


    Learning of Nicodemus'' demise, the Sacred Beast couldn''t help but feel a surge of satisfaction. She revealed that she had encountered him a few times, always finding him to be a despicable person.


    However, his clan took such good care of the city of Lumen that people either ignored or didn''t know about his terrible deeds.


    "Nicodemus always looked at his clan as his own soldier farm¡­ I''m glad that''s over," Imera continued.


    After learning that Asphodel also used his heart as a catalyst to open the convergence and escape to Earth, Imera''s eyes lit up with curiosity.


    Unlike Dante and The Golden Fox, who landed on Earth by mistake or coincidence, Asphodel traveled there of her own volition, which made Imera incredibly curious about the process.


    "I suppose this means we all approve of our groups?" Dante interjected as the two women kept talking enthusiastically with each other.


    ____________________


    As the week passed by and the groups trained incessantly, the preparations for their plans were finished.


    Asphodel ordered her top three vampires to deliver the completed requests to Don Vincent, who would meet up with them on a dirt road that led to the mountain range between the cartel and the GTS'' territory.


    Imera was displeased at the fact that the cartel was using areas near their territory to conduct their business, but the silver lining was that she had her reinforcements close by.


    After the Zeta Team took pictures of Megan''s dummy, all bloody and beaten, they sent them to the vampires, who would have to show them to their client as proof of her demise.


    They were also given a copy of Megan''s heirloom dagger since the clients asked for physical proof.


    When the group looked at the picture, they were surprised to see how authentic it looked.


    Megan''s dummy was impaled against a wall with her guts open, sitting in a pool of blood with her head looking down.


    "Honestly, if I didn''t know this was a fake, I would''ve believed it¡­" Dante commented.


    The second request that Vincent gave the vampires was the kidnapping of Lilith, and while they didn''t know what the cartel''s plans were for her, the vampires had a good guess.


    When the vampires were ordered to kidnap Kim Mi-Yun under Vincent''s request, they overheard the man saying that he always wanted an idol as a sex slave, so they deduced that he had the same plans for Lilith.


    "Sex slaves? In this day and age!?" Zac exclaimed.


    Camille interjected the conversation, explaining that the Onyx Cartel had always used threats and intimidation as their main drive for their members.


    The west side of Novaria had always been under the cartel''s control, as it had the only rainforest in the country, which they used to build illegal drug factories hidden in the dense foliage. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The people who worked in these factories were kidnapped citizens from the small towns in their territory, and the cartel would make them work in exchange for not killing their families.


    At one point in the past, the Onyx Cartel and the NSS (Novaria Secret Service) were in the middle of a war, as the government wanted to put an end to the cartel''s schemes.


    However, the cartel had too many members and resources, so they were able to defend themselves until their war came to a stalemate.


    The government of Novaria, not wanting to waste any more of its resources and manpower, decided to keep them in check by preventing them from leaving the west side of the country.


    "In other words, the government gave away all of that territory to the cartel¡­" Camille explained.


    While there were still a few big cities that had a police force, they couldn''t do anything against the cartel''s forces, so they were essentially useless.


    Lilith seemed excited the more she heard about their opponents, especially when she heard that the man who wanted to kidnap her was planning on making her a sex slave.


    The demon queen wasn''t excited about the idea of being a slave, obviously, but she was attracted to the idea of someone trying to enslave her.


    ''Hmmm, sending the demon queen of lust to punish a rapist sounds like the perfect retribution¡­'' Camille thought.


    To prepare the Succubus Queen for her mission, they dressed her up in casual clothing, which had a microphone and a camera tiny enough that they were hard to see with the naked eye.


    Still, the scientists were afraid that Lilith would take off her clothes, so they gave her a contact lens for one of her eyes, which would record anything she was looking at.


    The video recorded by her contact lens wouldn''t be live streamed to the Jade Dragons as usual since the lens didn''t have a satellite connection. Still, having a recording of her sightings could be helpful to them later.


    Lilith was meant to be delivered to Vincent inside a cargo container, chained by the neck to the back of the crate.


    ''Sheesh, this guy really is a fucking freak¡­'' Zac thought as he saw the chain and choker inside the dark container.


    However, when he spotted Lilith putting on the choker with a slightly sensual expression, he wondered if the demon queen was even more of a freak.

 Chapter 208 - 208: The Slaughterhouse

    After all the preparations for the fake delivery were finished, Balthazar, Laurent, and Claudia were sent to the private airport to take a flight that would leave them closer to the drop-off point.


    When they arrived, they moved Lilith into the shipping container and loaded it on a truck in the back.


    It took them a few hours to reach the marked location, and when they arrived at a barren land beside a dirt road, they spotted a group of SUVs parked in the center.


    Vincent was standing in front of the vehicles with at least twenty goons behind him, holding rifles and covering their faces with ski masks.


    The vampires got out of the vehicle, and Balthazar alone approached Vincent, who took a few steps forward in return.


    "Here is your first request¡­" Balthazar said as he handed a folder filled with pictures of Megan''s dummy.


    Vincent flipped the pages and inspected the photos closer, letting out a smirk of satisfaction, wholly believing they were real.


    After Balthazar gave him the copy of Megan''s heirloom dagger, Vincent laughed, commenting how they should''ve hired the vampires years ago.


    "Now, what about my most important request?" Vincent inquired, glancing at the shipping container atop the truck.


    Claudia and Laurent walked to the back as Vincent followed them, opening the double doors of the container and showcasing Lilith sitting inside, wearing a simple dress and a chain around her neck, stuck to the back wall like a dog.


    The queen was looking down at the floor with her hair covering most of her face. However, contrary to Vincent''s belief that the woman had given up, Lilith was trying to hide her excitement from them.


    "Amazing¡­" Vincent muttered, his mouth watering right as he spotted Lilith.


    When the man tried to get closer and enter the container, Laurent stopped him and closed the doors slightly, saying that Vincent needed to pay them first.


    "Yes, yes¡ªLet''s do it quickly, then¡­" Vincent replied with impatience.


    After a couple of Vincent''s lackeys carried duffle bags filled with money and loaded them into the vampires'' truck, the man approached Balthazar with another request.


    "I was only meant to ask this if you successfully completed the previous job, so I''ll try to be quick," Vincent said.


    "Now that you managed to kill the leader of the Jade Dragons, we want to get rid of her shadow¡ªthe Winter handler¡­" he continued. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Balthazar didn''t show any reactions, but he understood that they were talking about Camille, making it clear that the Onyx Cartel was solely targeting the Jade Dragons.


    "Do you have any information about her that we can use?" Balthazar asked, wanting to find out how much they knew about the handler.


    "We don''t know much. Apart from a few events that happened in the past, we don''t have her current location¡­" Vincent replied.


    "I see¡­ That request might take us some time," the elder vampire commented, attempting to delay their deadline.


    Vincent revealed that he didn''t personally care how much time it took for them to assassinate Camille, as his most crucial request had already been completed.


    Unbeknownst to him, the Jade Dragons were listening and watching the whole exchange from Balthazar''s hidden mini-camera.


    "I''m their next target, huh?" Camille muttered with a smirk.


    After transferring the cargo container with Lilith to another truck, the vampires left the area with their money as the cartel drove the other way.


    Trinity tracked their location since they placed a small tracker under the shipping container and saw how it deviated from the highway into a dirt road.


    The Jade Dragons believed that Vincent was taking Lilith to one of their drug laboratories. However, it ended up being much worse than that.


    ["The only building that way is the abandoned slaughterhouse¡­"] Trinity said on the microphone for Camille to listen.


    The group was expectantly waiting for Lilith to be removed from the inside of the container, as it was too dark inside for the camera to record anything valuable.


    As the double doors of the container opened, Lilith tried her best to act as if she was scared, and while her acting skills were questionable, Vincent and his goons seemed to buy it.


    Two men entered the container and separated the chain from the wall, handing it to Vincent, who yanked on it and pulled Lilith closer like a dog.


    Right as Lilith''s naked feet stepped outside, she found herself in the courtyard of the abandoned slaughterhouse, where the smell of blood was potent, and the umbra coming from the place revitalized her.


    Lilith could sense the umbra of multiple people coming from the buildings adjacent to the courtyard, and she noticed it was more prominent in the building with a sign reading "carcasses processing area."


    Vincent kept staring at Lilith with lustful eyes, noting that the model didn''t look as unsettled as his past victims, which only made him want her more.


    Unable to hold himself back, he guided Lilith to an abandoned shed near the courtyard and ordered all of his lackeys not to interrupt him.


    After forcefully pushing Lilith against the wall in a crazed state, Vincent drooled as he scrutinized her body, excited to see that she wasn''t wearing any underwear beneath her dress.


    The people watching the scene at the Jade Palace were a bit worried about Lilith, with some of them turning their eyes away from the livestream, saying it was hard to watch.


    "Don''t worry about her¡­" Dante said to the group, urging them to pay attention.


    As Vincent kept heavily breathing like a dog in heat, he began his assault by forcefully grabbing Lilith''s breast.


    However, instead of being disgusted or taken aback, Lilith grinned with an evil smile, locking her pink eyes with Vincent''s, who widened his stare as he felt a sudden shock.


    "My¡­ Queen¡­" Vincent muttered, his expression switching from his lustful maniac to wholly indifferent.


    The spectators watching from the Jade Palace were shocked to see Vincent halting his moves, prompting Dante to explain that sexually assaulting a succubus was one of the stupidest things one could do.


    "The moment you touch an erogenous zone without any magic protection, your mind is instantly controlled by her¡­" Dante explained.

 Chapter 209 - 209: Lilith’s Mind Control

    Right after Vincent tried to sexually assault Lilith, his mind was overtaken by her, making the man into a submissive servant for the succubus queen.


    "My queen¡­ What are your orders?" Vincent asked, his tone monotonous.


    "For starters, let go of my body, pig¡­" Lilith replied condescendingly.


    Vincent instantly removed his hand from Lilith''s breast and kneeled down with his forehead against the ground, apologizing for his impertinence.


    Lilith told the pitiful-looking man to stand up, as he had to keep acting as if he were the leader of that place, prompting Vincent to follow her orders diligently.


    "What do you do in this place?" Lilith asked.


    "Here is where I bring my trophies¡­" he vaguely replied.


    Without questioning him any further, the succubus queen believed it would be better to see it in person, commanding Vincent to show her around the slaughterhouse.


    As the man guided Lilith through the courtyard, his lackeys seemed a bit confused at seeing the model confidently walking beside him without any restraints. However, none of them had the courage to bring the matter to their boss, so they ignored it.


    When they reached the building that was used for processing the carcasses of dead animals, Lilith could sense a dense amount of umbra coming from within.


    Inside, she found dozens of women, naked and chained to the walls. Their bodies looked beaten with signs of malnutrition, and when they saw Vincent at the door, they recoiled in fear.


    "What is this¡­?" Lilith asked Vincent.


    "These are my failed trophies¡­" the man replied.


    "Speak plainly, pig¡ªI don''t care about your stupid metaphors," Lilith angrily said.


    Vincent apologized for his insubordination and explained that the women who were being kept in that room were the women who were unable to give birth to children, so he kept them there to have "fun" with them at any time.


    "I see¡­ Keep showing me around," the queen said, sharpening her gaze.


    As they passed by the incinerator room, Vincent commented that it was the place where they disposed of the bodies of the deceased women, prompting Lilith to ask how many had died.


    "Thirty-eight," the man replied.


    After reaching another building that seemed tightly shut down, Vincent said that it used to be the "cooling room," but he had been using it as storage for his most "precious trophies."


    When they entered, Lilith saw that the room had cheap beds all around, with dozens of women chained to their beds.


    A couple of them seemed to be pregnant, but all of them shared the same dead stare of having given up a long time ago.


    The women were wary at first when they saw Vincent, but they noticed he was acting strange as he didn''t shout or hit anyone after entering the room, which was his usual greeting.


    "Are these all the women you captured?" Lilith inquired, receiving an affirmative nod from the mind-controlled man.


    ''Well, then¡­ I suppose I''ll do what Dante would do in my position,'' Lilith pondered, letting out a tired sigh.


    "Round up all your men in the courtyard," Lilith commanded Vincent, who ran out of the building to gather his subordinates.


    After Vincent hastily left the room, the succubus gazed at the captive women and snapped her fingers, producing small shadow blades on the walls that freed them from their chains.


    Half of the women were startled by her powers, while the other half were too traumatized to react.


    When Lilith approached the women who were pregnant, they stared at her expectantly as their brains were still processing what was happening.


    "Would you like me to take care of that?" Lilith asked one of the pregnant ladies, pointing at her belly.


    The woman was confused for a moment, wondering what she meant by "taking care of that," but still didn''t reply out of fear.


    "I''m saying, if you don''t want that thing growing in your belly, I can get rid of it¡­" Lilith clarified.


    The first woman bit her lips with apprehension as tears began to roll down her cheek, muttering a low "yes, please" with a broken voice.


    Lilith gently placed her palm on the woman''s belly, and a black mist appeared between them as soon as she made contact, startling the other women who were watching.


    However, even though the mist looked scary and dangerous, it gave the woman a brief sense of relief.


    "It is done," Lilith said, gently removing her hand from her belly and making the mist disappear.


    When the woman looked at her belly and inspected the rest of her body, she wondered why she felt so light and unhurt, as her body was aching all over before Lilith''s treatment.


    "I''ve returned your body to how it used to be¡­ You are now a virgin again," Lilith replied with a somewhat smug expression.


    "Huh?" The women hummed in unison.


    "Look, I don''t know how much time I have, so let''s leave the explanations for later, yeah?" Lilith said as she approached a second pregnant woman.


    After Lilith used the same treatment with the other knocked-up victims, she guided them outside of the building in an organized line.


    Her next stop was the previous room where the women who couldn''t give birth were being kept, and as they walked by the courtyard, they saw all of Vincent''s lackeys standing in organized rows like a pack of soldiers. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ah, My Queen¡­ I''ve done as you asked," Vincent said, bowing down slightly before the succubus.


    The subordinates were perplexed to see their boss acting so submissive, considering he was extremely abusive and violent. Still, none of them had the courage to ask him if he was feeling okay.


    "Good job, pig¡­ Now tell them to kneel," Lilith replied with a condescending tone.


    "You heard the queen. On your knees, everyone!" Vincent shouted, prompting his subordinates to comply without hesitation.


    Seeing the cartel members act so docile excited Lilith, who placed both palms on her face and breathed heavily.


    *Huff, huff* ''Such dirty men acting like dogs¡­'' Lilith thought, licking her lips and clenching her legs together.


    ''Killing them all will make me climax for sure!'' she continued her unsettling train of thought as her pupils dilated.

 Chapter 210 - 210: The Succubus Queen’s Powers

    At the Jade Palace, the members of the Jade Dragons, GTS, and the vampire clan were watching Lilith''s point of view from the live stream coming from her mini-camera.


    When Lilith "cleansed" the women from the fetuses they were carrying, everyone in the room was shocked, except for Dante, Imera, and Asphodel, who knew perfectly well what Lilith''s powers were.


    "Impressive¡­ They don''t call her Succubus Queen for nothing," Asphodel commented.


    "Dante¡­ explain?" Camille asked, turning her gaze at the warlock, who decided to tell them a folk story from his old world.


    In Terra, there were areas where sexual violence was rampant, and it got so bad at one point that the women from those areas began to desperately pray to Lilith, asking them for revenge against their abusers.


    None of the gods answered their prayers. However, Lilith did, and due to the willpower from the prayers, she was able to materialize herself in Terra and bring despair to the culprits.


    Moreover, Lilith gained the power to mold the bodies of other females from any race so she would remove all impurities left by their abusers and "turn them back into a virgin."


    "So, she is like an entity that kills rapists?" Zac pondered aloud.


    "Well, she is not an entity¡­ She is a demon through and through," Dante replied.


    "Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean¡­" Zac commented.


    ''I guess it makes sense for the Demon Queen of Lust to be the one taking care of lustful sinners¡­'' Camille thought.


    ____________________


    When Lilith had the cartel subordinates kneeling before her in the courtyard of the slaughterhouse, she told Vincent to keep them there for a few more minutes.


    In the meantime, Lilith returned to the carcasses processing building, where the women who couldn''t give birth were being kept naked and chained to the walls of the bloody room.


    The rest of the freed women followed the succubus and were shocked to see the other women chained to the walls, as they didn''t know there were more victims.


    After Lilith quickly inspected the room, she turned around and asked one of the freed women to talk to Vincent and ask him for some blankets or a change of clothing.


    However, the woman seemed terrified of following that command, as they would have to walk to the courtyard and speak to their abuser alone.


    Realizing what she had just asked, Lilith told the women to calm down the chained captives while she returned to the courtyard.


    "Hey, pig¡­ I need some blankets or some clothing for those girls," Lilith said loudly to Vincent in front of his lackeys.


    "Yes, My Queen. Immediately¡­" Vincent replied, turning his gaze to one of his subordinates on the first row and ordering him to gather a dozen blankets.


    While the lone subordinate stood up from his kneeling position and hastily made his way to the storage room, he kept pondering why his boss was following the orders of the new arrival.


    ''He doesn''t even behave that way with the other Dons¡­'' The man thought as he gathered different sets of blankets and clothing.


    After Lilith returned to the previous room and snapped her fingers to free the women from their chains, the rest of the victims helped, giving them blankets and dressing them up.


    While the succubus didn''t have a healing ability, she was able to mold the bodies of females and return them to their state before they were abused, taking care of their bruises and cuts.


    Fortunately, there weren''t any men among the captives since Lilith wouldn''t have been able to heal them with her powers.


    "Everything looks okay¡­ You girls wait here for a bit," Lilith commented after treating the last prisoner. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Wh-Who are you¡­?" One of the girls asked their savior as she walked away, prompting her to turn around and gaze at the group.


    The women had their eyes locked on Lilith, showing evident admiration and gratitude towards her.


    They didn''t know how they were healed or how she freed them with a snap of her fingers, but that didn''t take away from their appreciation.


    "My name is Lilith," she replied with a gentle smile.


    One of the girls gasped in surprise, wondering aloud if she was the new supermodel whose pictures were blowing up online.


    "Heh, shhh¡­" Lilith shushed the group, winking at them with a smile that made them blush.


    After leaving the room and returning to the courtyard, Lilith stood before the forty cartel''s subordinates, who were still kneeling under Vincent''s command.


    "Time for the main dish," Lilith muttered, seductively licking her lips.


    All of the kneeling men felt a sudden shiver down their spines. As they struggled to raise their heads to look up, all they could see was a looming shadow above them with two pink eyes glaring at them eerily.


    Lilith grinned, her smile wide and visible to all of the subordinates, who were wholly frozen in fear.


    "Queen''s Forest," the succubus queen chanted, making the shadows of all the men warp into a single, massive shade under them.


    A second later, sets of thorny, black trunks began to rise from the ground, impaling all of the men and lifting them up in the air as the tree kept growing tall.


    Spiky branches popped out of the trunks, stabbing and slashing more of the impaled subordinates, slowly and painfully ending their lives.


    After the dozens of dark tree trunks had covered most of the courtyard area with all of the dead subordinates impaled at the top, the branches expanded inside of their corpses and made them blow up.


    Right as the trees disappeared in an instant, a brief blood rain fell upon Lilith and Vincent, making the succubus smile with satisfaction.


    Vincent didn''t show a hint of emotions when watching all of his subordinates die in such a painful way¡ªan effect of Lilith''s mind control.


    When the blood-soaked queen glared at Vincent with an evil smile, she began to ponder different ways to make him suffer, trembling with excitement as different ideas came to her mind.

 Chapter 211 - 211: Lilith’s Plan

    After Lilith executed all of the cartel''s subordinates and made it rain with their blood, the spectators at the Jade Palace were shocked.


    "If I had known it would be this quick, I would''ve given Lilith an earpiece to communicate with us¡­" Camille said.


    The handler gave Lilith full freedom in her actions, using Dante as an example and asking her to think like him.


    Since they didn''t know how much security there would be, they opted not to give the succubus an earpiece in the instance she was caught.


    They were able to see and hear everything from her perspective, but they couldn''t talk to her or give her any commands, which was a bit frustrating for Camille.


    Asphodel mentioned that she could contact Balthazar and his team to regroup with Lilith now that all of the cartel subordinates in the slaughterhouse had been dealt with, and Camille agreed with her plan.


    Curtis and Lindsey, who were also watching Lilith''s point of view, made a few calls to their people at GTS to go to the slaughterhouse and pick up the freed victims.


    They were technically on the western side of Novaria, but they were still close to the border with the south, so the syndicate was able to send a few SUVs in an instant.


    ____________________


    ''Hmm, let''s see¡­ What would Dante do?'' Lilith pondered, snapping her fingers and removing the blood stains from her figure.


    The only people who were still present at the slaughterhouse were Lilith, the 20~ freed women, and Vincent, whose mind was utterly under the succubus'' control.


    "Oh, I know!" Lilith said to herself, confidently placing her fist against her palm.


    "Hey, pig¡­ Do you have any bombs?" Lilith asked Vincent.


    "Yes, My Queen. We have grenades and C4 explosives¡­ Although they are not kept here," Vincent diligently replied.


    "I see¡­" She commented, placing a hand on her chin. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''Dante would probably ask for information¡­'' Lilith pondered.


    When she turned her attention back to Vincent, she asked him if he was the sole leader of the cartel¡ªsomething she knew wasn''t true.


    "No, My Queen¡ªThere are two other Dons besides me¡­ Don Darius Alcala and Don Ruben Cortez," the man replied.


    Lilith looked pleased with his answer for a brief moment, but Vincent continued speaking.


    "You should know¡­ Don Darius is actually-... UGH!" He said, getting his sentence cut short as black veins suddenly materialized around Vincent''s neck.


    The veins resembled black roots, which began to asphyxiate the man, making him drop to the ground as an excruciating pain ran through his bones.


    Vincent arched his back and rolled on the dirt a few times, grunting and drooling in agony.


    Still, Lilith stayed calm as she carefully watched the man suffer in front of her, recognizing the effects of that curse.


    "A body-bound pact¡­? Those are rare," Lilith muttered.


    When the agonizing pain finally subsided after two minutes, Vincent widened his eyes and wondered where he was.


    The memories of the last half-hour flooded his brain, making him grit his teeth and frown with rage. However, as soon as he wanted to stand up, he felt a weight on his gut that held him down.


    *Tsk* "No, no¡­ I still need you to be obedient," Lilith commented as she sat atop Vincent''s body.


    Even though the succubus was half the man''s size, he couldn''t get her off, feeling like the weight of a car had been dumped on him.


    "Get off, you bitch! I''ll kill you, you hear me!? You are dead!" Vincent shouted in frustration, shaking his head from side to side.


    "Hoh? But I thought this is what you wanted, right? Having me on top like this," Lilith said with a mocking tone, grinning evilly and placing both of her hands on Vincent''s face.


    "I will hunt you down. I swear!" Vincent screamed.


    "Shhh, yelling like that isn''t sexy," Lilith replied, putting pressure on her index fingers and inserting the tip of her nails in both of Vincent''s temples.


    As the side of his head drew a bit of blood, Vincent''s eyes widened as his brain slowly fell under the succubus'' control once again.


    ''This one shouldn''t be so easily broken¡­'' She thought, removing her nails from his temples and waving them to the side to shake the blood off her fingers.


    "My Queen¡­ Forgive me, I lost control," Vincent said in a monotonous tone, still lying on the ground.


    "Stand up, pig. Only answer the questions that are not related to your pact," Lilith commanded with a condescending tone.


    After Vincent stood up¡ªblood trailing from the side of his head¡ªhe nodded affirmatively to the succubus, ready to answer her inquiries.


    Lilith wanted to know where he kept the bombs, but the man wasn''t able to respond without getting choked.


    She then asked where the main headquarters of the cartel was located, receiving another silent answer.


    ''This is going nowhere¡­'' Lilith thought, suddenly getting an idea.


    ''If he isn''t able to talk, then I''ll just have him show me in person!'' she continued.


    "Alright, piggy, we are going on a date¡­ Take me to the place where you keep the bombs," Lilith said with confidence, prompting Vincent to bow with reverence and walk towards the parked SUVs.


    ''Ah, but I can''t leave those women alone¡­ I think,'' the succubus pondered, grabbing the mini-camera on her clothes.


    "You guys can hear me, right? Should I just wait here¡­?" Lilith said to the camera.


    Not even thirty seconds later, she spotted a vehicle arriving at the slaughterhouse, and she recognized the umbra of the passengers as that of the three vampires¡ªBalthazar, Laurent, and Claudia.


    The vampires said that a group from the GTS was arriving soon to pick up the victims, so Lilith''s work was finished. Still, everyone knew that she was planning something extra, so they lent the succubus a phone to speak to Camille.


    The handler praised Lilith for her work and apologized for the awful experience she had to go through. Nonetheless, the succubus didn''t think too much of it.


    Knowing that Lilith would keep on going with her next plan, the handler told the vampires to give her an earpiece to communicate with her, urging the succubus to be careful.

 Chapter 212 - 212: Lilith’s Gift to the Cartel

    After Lilith received the earpiece from the vampires, she went to Vincent, who was waiting inside a vehicle for the succubus to hop in.


    Balthazar and his group stayed at the slaughterhouse to wait for the GTS members to arrive, allowing Lilith to leave the area.


    Their first stop was the closest cartel base where they were keeping bombs, which was two hours away from their location.


    Lilith tried to keep her questions to the minimum, as she didn''t want her mind-control to break while the man was driving, so she decided to relax in the passenger''s seat until they arrived. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When they got to the place, which seemed to be an abandoned factory, Vincent explained that they used it as a storage for weapons.


    The Onyx Cartel had similar bases all around the western side of the country, but considering they were still near the border with the GTS, they kept a significant amount of weapons in there.


    A couple of thugs were moving heavy boxes inside the building, and when they spotted Vincent, they halted their work and greeted their boss.


    The men saw Lilith walking behind Vincent, but they didn''t dare ask who she was, as she seemed to be close to the man, so they ignored the matter.


    While Vincent gave the succubus a brief tour around their base, she made sure to record all of the different bombs and weapons, asking Camille on her earpiece if she had a suggestion.


    ["Well, what are you trying to do? If you need explosive power, you can never go wrong with grenades and C4¡­"] Camille said.


    After walking around and seeing everything she needed, she commanded Vincent to take a crate filled with grenades while she carried one with C4 inside.


    The rest of the goons who were watching didn''t know what their boss was thinking, and the fact they were too scared to ask was relieving for Lilith.


    Still, she didn''t want to leave all of those cartel members alive, and after loading the crates into their vehicle, she ordered Vincent to gather all of his men in front of the main entrance.


    Fifteen lackeys stood in organized rows of five, standing tall before Vincent and Lilith, who was situated beside his mind-controlled puppet.


    "Let''s do this fast¡­ I''m already getting bored," Lilith said, casting the "Queen''s Forest" spell and ending the lives of the men in an instant, giving them a slow, painful death.


    With another massacre over, Lilith and Vincent returned to their vehicle and drove away, with their next stop being the main headquarters of the cartel''s bosses.


    The mind-controlled man couldn''t say where the base was explicitly located, as his curse would prevent him from speaking.


    However, he was able to give an estimated time of arrival, saying it would take at least twelve hours of continuous driving to get there.


    Lilith wasn''t happy about the long wait, but she had no other choice but to endure it.


    ____________________


    After Vincent drove for hours without stopping, they passed by a large city called Linsa, and Lilith noticed it looked quite dirty and worn down compared to Novis.


    Thanks to the tracking device on Lilith''s earpiece, the Jade Dragons were able to know her precise location, and when Vincent drove to the outskirts of the city, he commented that they were close.


    Before arriving, Lilith commanded Vincent to stop the vehicle so that she could prepare him for his mission.


    Using a vest with velcro straps, she attached ten grenades to the vest and tied ten threads to each of their safety pins.


    On the front and back of the vest, she placed two C4 explosives, which were connected to a single controller.


    "Put this on," Lilith said to the man, who didn''t bat an eye in following her order.


    After hiding his explosive vest under a jacket, Vincent continued driving until they arrived at the driveway of a massive mansion.


    ["Okay, Lilith¡ªWe marked your location on our map. Want us to bring you back?"] Camille said on her earpiece.


    "Hmm, already? I was thinking about taking a look around¡­" Lilith replied.


    ["You are currently pretty famous, so I don''t think it would be a good idea for someone to see you there,"] Camille refuted the succubus'' plan.


    "Fine¡­ Let me just prepare their gift," said Lilith.


    After tying all of the threads connected to the grenade safety pins on each of Vincent''s fingers, she gave him the controller for the C4 and grinned eerily.


    "When you say ''hi'' to your buddies, make sure you pull all these threads and press the button on the controller. You got that?" Lilith explained, prompting Vincent to nod in agreement.


    Before Vincent got out of the vehicle, the succubus grabbed the mini-camera stuck to her clothing and placed it on the man''s chest, believing it would be a good idea to record the inside of the place.


    With his brain entirely under the succubus'' control, Vincent exited the car and walked to the mansion''s entrance, where two guards greeted him and opened the door for him.


    "Don''t teleport me yet. I wanna see the results in person¡­" Lilith said on her earpiece, expectantly waiting for the explosion.


    The spectators at the Jade Palace were watching everything from Vincent''s perspective, thanks to Lilith giving him her camera, and they didn''t seem to find anything out of the ordinary.


    As Vincent walked along the residence''s corridors, the lackeys who walked by bowed toward him, getting entirely ignored by the man, who was focused on reaching the boss'' briefing room.


    It was a room in the mansion where only the three Dons of the cartel and their closest servants were allowed to enter, and the mind-controlled Vincent knew that he would find at least one of his partners inside.


    When he confidently entered the office, two men were sitting across a round table, looking up at Vincent and instantly noticing that something seemed wrong.


    The two figures looked strong and burly, with broad backs and shoulders that covered the faint moonlight entering from the window.


    "Vincent¡­ You are back," One of the figures said.


    "He brings a gift, too¡­" The second man commented.


    "That''s right. This is for MY QUEEN!" Vincent shouted, raising his arms and pulling on the threads attached to the grenades on his vest.

 Chapter 213 - 213: Sacred Art

    The moment Vincent entered the office, he found himself before the two other Dons of the Onyx Cartel¡ªThe two individuals who held the same amount of authority as him.


    The three Dons had utterly different facial features, except for their burly, strong bodies and tall figures.


    When Vincent opened his jacket to showcase his bomb vest, he pulled on the safety pins on the grenades while simultaneously pressing the button to activate the C4, making the two men wince in anticipation.


    From outside the mansion, Lilith witnessed the massive explosion blasting away the walls and windows of the office. However, before she could smile with satisfaction, she felt a sudden surge of energy coming from the building.


    ''What is that¡­?'' Lilith pondered, sharpening her gaze.


    As the Succubus Queen considered entering the mansion to check out the source of the strange energy, she inspected it for a few more seconds and decided against it.


    The flow of energy she saw wasn''t umbra or mana, and it was so condensed and powerful that it reminded her of Dante''s overwhelming aura, making her body reject the idea of getting closer out of pure intuition.


    ____________________


    At the Jade Palace, the large group watched how Vincent entered the mansion and blew himself up in front of the other two leaders of the cartel.


    Even after the explosives went off, the mini-camera attached to Vincent''s jacket was still active. However, it was now pointing at a random spot on the office''s burnt ceiling.


    "Did it work¡­?" Zac pondered aloud.


    At that moment, Don Darius picked up the mini-camera and glared at it severely.


    "After you went through all that trouble with demons, I didn''t expect them to be used against us¡­" Don Darius said to the camera, his voice deep and intimidating.


    The man seemed to be utterly healthy and clean as if he wasn''t present for the explosion that detonated mere meters away from him.


    Moreover, the fact that he was able to see and grab the mini-camera shocked the group who were spectating, as it wasn''t easy to see with the naked eye.


    Without saying another word, Don Darius used his fingers to crush the mini-camera in his hands, ending the transmission.


    "Huh¡­ That man looks a bit different from before," Imera commented, placing a hand on her chin.


    The Golden Fox, who had been around to see all of the leaders from the different mafia families, remembered seeing Don Darius when he was still a teenager, learning the ropes from his father.


    However, even though the man was much older now, she believed his facial expression was utterly different from how it used to be.


    "He certainly looked familiar¡­" Dante muttered.


    "Are we just going to ignore the fact that the explosion didn''t destroy the camera, but that guy just crushed it with his fingers? No¡­?" Zac wondered aloud, receiving silence from the group.


    Before they could keep discussing the results of their mission, Camille heard Lilith on her earpiece, who seemed to have engaged in battle.


    "Lilith¡­!" Camille shouted on the microphone, but she didn''t receive an answer from the succubus.


    ''I got a bad feeling¡­'' The handler thought, turning her gaze towards Dante to signal him to break the soul shard.


    Right at that instant, Dante jumped through the briefing room window to land on the inner courtyard of the Jade Palace, believing he would need ample space to bring the succubus queen back.


    When the soul shard dropped and shattered on the ground, Lilith was transported to his location, generating a vortex of shadows that materialized her there.


    However, when the succubus appeared, Dante noticed she had transformed into her demonic form, catching him by surprise, as he didn''t expect she would go all-out in such a short amount of time.


    Moreover, the warlock brought her back while she was charging a powerful spell, which was about to blast a chunk of the mansion.


    "Lilith!" Dante shouted, trying to bring her back to her senses to no avail.


    When the succubus released her spell, a ring of purple flames appeared around her, quickly expanding and scorching everything in its path.


    *Tsk* ''I don''t have a way to stop that without hurting her¡­'' Dante pondered, clicking his tongue with annoyance.


    Imera, who was watching everything from the hole in the window, used a spell called "Air Walk," which condensed the air below her feet into what looked like small glass platforms, allowing her to walk freely in the air.


    Dante extruded his black wings and rose up so as not to get caught up in the fire ring. When he gazed at Imera, he was surprised to see her mana rising.


    "Sacred Art: Aegis," Imera chanted, producing a blinding light from her palms.


    As Lilith''s ring of fire''s diameter kept expanding, a golden dome appeared around her, slightly bigger than the purple flames.


    Dante recognized the Sacred Art as one of the most powerful "shield" spells, which could only be learned by Sacred Beasts.


    While it was his first time seeing it in person, he felt slightly relieved about it, knowing that Lilith''s attack wouldn''t be able to burn through it.


    When the flames made contact with the golden dome''s inner walls, the fire instantly dissipated, making Lilith fall unconscious in her demonic form.


    "Thanks, Imera¡­ I was about to use other methods," Dante said to the Golden Fox, who was standing in the middle of the air.


    "What made her go berserk like that? I didn''t sense any mind-control on her¡­" Imera asked, knowing that the warlock was more knowledgeable when it came to demons.


    "I''m not sure¡ªShe was in full survival mode. She didn''t even notice we brought her back¡­" Dante replied. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Camille called the servants and medical team to take care of Lilith for the time being, and it wasn''t easy to move her to another room, as she was a little over 7 feet tall, and her wings were massive.


    Still, once they prepared a bed that could hold Lilith''s entire body, she was left to rest, prompting everyone to wait for her recovery, as they wanted to know what pushed her so far.

 Chapter 214 - 214: Survival Instinct

    After Lilith witnessed the explosion inside the cartel''s mansion, she felt an overwhelming pressure coming from within.


    The succubus was curious to know who was producing such an immense amount of energy, but her body was urging her to get away from the area.


    Suddenly, her face shifted to the side as she received a powerful strike from an unknown source, flinging her against a statue on the other side of the driveway.


    Lilith raised her gaze and saw the figure of a woman. However, she couldn''t sense any umbra or mana coming from her, as if she were an inanimate object.


    ''Is that a new toy?'' Lilith pondered, licking the blood coming from the side of her mouth.


    "Target''s vitals undamaged. Reassessing power level¡­" The mysterious woman muttered in a monotone voice.


    The Succubus Queen felt a bit unsettled at the fact she couldn''t read her opponent''s umbra, making her unable to determine their power level.


    However, when a loud voice commanded the woman to halt, Lilith focused her attention on the source of the voice, which was coming from the hole in the wall that had been left by the explosion.


    Don Darius glared at Lilith from the mansion, and in the blink of an eye, large spikes made of bone appeared beneath the earth around her, prompting her to quickly evade them from impaling her.


    ''Bones¡­!?'' Lilith thought, her eyes widened in disbelief.


    The succubus understood that no ordinary person was attacking her, and the overwhelming pressure she felt was enough to push her to the brink.


    After transforming into her demonic form and casting a spell that disintegrated the bone spikes into dust, she noticed Darius'' energy growing even further as he jumped down to the driveway.


    At that moment, Lilith''s survival instincts kicked in, leaving her mind utterly blank and rushing towards Darius, unleashing a rapid barrage of attacks with her claws.


    Still, even though Darius was a large, muscular man, he was able to dodge and deflect all of the succubus'' attacks, pushing her back and preparing himself to cast a spell.


    Lilith was going to cast one in return but was suddenly teleported out of the scene and appeared at the Jade Palace.


    Don Darius stayed calm and canceled his spell when he noticed that Lilith wasn''t anywhere close to his location, jumping from the driveway to the hole left by the explosion, which was situated on the second floor of the mansion.


    Inside the office, Don Ruben looked just as healthy and clean as Darius, still sitting on his chair while the rest of the room was completely destroyed.


    "They got us good, huh?" Don Ruben commented, his tone slightly sarcastic. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two Dons looked at the blood and burnt stains on the spot where Vincent blew himself up, but none of them seemed to care about his fate.


    "Hmm, we can''t afford to lose him now¡­ Not when he was managing the drug labs," Don Darius replied, approaching the spot where the bomb detonated.


    "That''s quite a mess, though. Most parts of his body are gone¡­" Ruben said.


    "That shouldn''t be a problem¡­ I can always borrow body parts from someone else," Darius replied, calling for the mansion''s cleaners to go into his office and collect all of Vincent''s body parts.


    Three servants entered the room¡ªa woman and two men¡ªwho were unfazed by the state of the bombed office.


    Their complexions were ashen pale, and their eyes had a cold, blue hue on them, which made the servants'' appearance quite intimidating.


    As the three cleaners began gathering Vincent''s severed body parts, they stacked them in a corner of the room while sweeping the blood and guts from the floor.


    Any ordinary person would have felt sick by simply being inside the room. Nevertheless, the three servants kept grabbing and moving body parts without any emotion on their faces.


    After stacking all of the body parts in one corner, the servants bowed towards Don Darius, their hands and uniforms utterly stained, and made their way out of the room.


    Vincent''s body was nothing more than a small mound of blood and guts, which made Ruben doubt that his corpse could be used for anything.


    "I''ll just leave that mess to you¡­" Ruben commented, unimpressed by the servants'' efforts.


    ____________________


    At the Jade Palace, after Lilith was sent to the medical room to rest, the different groups began discussing their theories about the cartel.


    It was clear that someone who could use magic was working with them, which was something they suspected ever since their war with the Blood Dragons.


    However, they couldn''t figure out how the leaders managed to survive such an explosion completely unscathed.


    Camille stepped out of the briefing room and went to the inner garden to make a call, with her screen showing the name "Summer" in it.


    ["Camille Winter¡­ What an unpleasant surprise,"] A man said on the line as soon as he picked up.


    "How rude¡­ After all this time, I was expecting some gratitude for my gift," Camille replied, referring to the explosion.


    ["Was that truly what you were expecting?"] The man asked.


    "No. I would''ve preferred if you all dropped dead, but we can''t always get what we want," she replied.


    ["Do you understand the repercussions of making an enemy of the Onyx Cartel?"]


    "Oh, I''m perfectly aware¡­ That''s why I''m convoking a Stellar reunion," Camille muttered.


    ["After creating quite the mess, do you think we would agree?"]


    "It''s not like you have an option. Besides, this all started because of you people, so take responsibility like a man¡­ coward," she said, with a much louder tone before hanging up the call.


    *Sigh* Camille exhaled deeply, calming her anger and hearing a set of footsteps behind her.


    "Oh, Dante¡­ I was planning our next move," The handler said.


    "A reunion?" The warlock asked.


    "Yes. I''ll explain the details to you when everyone else is present¡­" she replied.


    "What about that person on the phone?" Dante continued, curious about the identity of the man.


    "That was Noah Summer, the handler working with the Onyx Cartel¡­"

 Chapter 215 - 215: A Dangerous Presence

    The following day, after Lilith was brought back to the Jade Palace, she woke up in the medical room and instantly used magic to turn herself into her human form.


    One of the doctors¡ªa member of the Zeta Team¡ªasked how she was feeling while the others notified Dante and the rest of her awakening.


    Not even five minutes later, Dante, Camille, and Megan entered the room.


    The two women were more concerned about the succubus'' well-being, while Dante was curious to know what made her go berserk, so their priorities were slightly misaligned.


    After Lilith confirmed that she felt perfectly fine, she stated that there was a very dangerous presence at the cartel''s mansion.


    "We could guess that much¡­ Considering that explosion didn''t even scratch Darius," Megan said.


    "That wasn''t the unsettling part¡ªThat man''s aura was just as overwhelming as Dante''s¡­" Lilith elaborated.


    If her opponent were someone like Dante, who had an immense umbral aura, she wouldn''t have felt intimidated, as umbra control was the demons'' specialty.


    Likewise, if her opponent were a wizard with a huge mana pool, she would have been on her guard, but it wouldn''t have been enough to make her lose control.


    "What else is there? Wasn''t it something called ''Ether''?" Megan pondered.


    Dante interjected and explained that ''ether'' was a type of energy used by priests in his world, and seeing someone with a large pool of ether could certainly be scary for a demon or a warlock.


    Nevertheless, Lilith denied their assumption, commenting that the aura she felt wasn''t ether but ''Spirit.''


    The warlock seemed slightly taken aback by Lilith''s words, leaving Camille and Megan confused, as they weren''t familiar with the concept.


    "There''s only one type of mage that can control Spirit¡­ A necromancer," Dante muttered.


    "You mean¡­ He controls the dead?" Camille asked.


    "Controlling them is one of the most basic things a necromancer can do¡­ Honestly, this is pretty bad," Dante continued, placing a hand on his chin.


    "This explains where the ghoul came from¡­ The one that the GTS found," he continued.


    "Besides, he must have been quite powerful to make Lilith freak out like that, so we can assume he knows advanced necromancy¡­" The warlock kept muttering aloud.


    Camille asked Dante to give Paige every single piece of information that he knew about necromancers, to which he agreed without hesitation.


    Before leaving the room, the handler asked Lilith if she felt better, and the succubus could see a hint of guilt in her umbra, making her chuckle.


    "How cute¡­ I don''t think anyone has ever treated me like this," Lilith replied, her tone a bit seductive.


    Still, her words were true. Lilith was a powerful ruler of hell, so having other demons or people worry for her wasn''t an occurrence.


    However, even though Camille could be considered one of the weakest individuals in the Jade Dragons when it came to physical activities, her aura felt almost as imposing as Dante''s, which Lilith loved.


    "It doesn''t matter to me if you are a queen¡­ You are part of this family, so naturally, I''ll get worried for you," Camille replied.


    Lilith smiled, hinting at a bit of mischief. "I see¡­ My suspicions of you were correct when I met you," she commented.


    "What do you mean?" The handler inquired.


    Nevertheless, Lilith didn''t reply and stood up from the bed, stretching her muscles with a satisfied smile.


    Later that day, the groups kept training their combat skills while Camille went to the briefing room to make a call.


    After the Winter handler convoked a Stellar Reunion, the four leading mafia families in Novaria were preparing their representatives.


    Stellar Reunions consisted of having the current handler of each family show up in person, accompanied by no more than two members of the mafia group they supported.


    It was strictly forbidden to use these reunions as a way to ambush or assassinate their opponents, and breaking this rule could blacklist the culprits from interacting or doing any business with the others.


    While Camille knew she wouldn''t have any trouble with the GTS, she doubted the intention of the other two mafia groups.


    It was clear that the Onyx Cartel wanted to start a conflict with the rest, but she hadn''t heard about the Azure Rebels for a long time, so she decided to give them a call.


    "Hey, Alex¡­ It''s been a long time," Camille said on the phone.


    ["Still alive and kickin'', I see. To what do I owe the¡­ Interesting call?"] The man replied.


    "You heard about the Stellar Reunion?" she asked.


    ["Naturally¡­"]


    "Good. How about we get a drink together before we attend?" Camille inquired. Her tone sounded friendly, but her gaze was sharpened with severity.


    ["I don''t see why not. I''ve been curious about a few things, too¡­"] Alex replied.


    After exchanging a few more words with the man, Camille hung up and was startled when she found Dante standing behind her.


    "Apologies, I didn''t mean to scare you," the warlock said, entering the office.


    "No, it''s fine. I''m just a little jumpy¡­" she replied.


    "Was that the other handler?" Dante asked.


    Camille nodded affirmatively, revealing she was speaking with Alexander Spring, the handler for the Azure Rebels. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She wanted to get a grasp on their stance with the cartel, so she invited Alex to get a drink as a means to gather information.


    If Camille could make an alliance with them, then the cartel would be forced to stop their attacks, or they would have to deal with three mafia groups simultaneously.


    "I''m afraid it might be too late to get them on our side, but I still need to meet up with him¡­" she explained.


    The Stellar Reunion was one month away, giving them a bit of time to plan things out more thoroughly.


    "Of course, my two companions that day will be you and Megan," Camille said.


    The warlock didn''t have a problem with that. In fact, he wanted to attend the meeting as he was curious to meet with the leaders of the cartel.

 Chapter 216 - 216: The Spring Handler

    A little over a week had passed, and the people at the Jade Palace were training diligently every day, along with the GTS leaders and vampires.


    During that time, Lilith revealed that she had been attacked by a mysterious figure at the mansion before she encountered the necromancer.


    The succubus described it as the figure of a woman who appeared out of nowhere and punched her in the face. However, the attack didn''t do much to her other than startle her a bit.


    Lilith commented that she wouldn''t have had any trouble killing her attacker, but she was perplexed when she noticed that no energy was flowing from her as if it were an inanimate object.


    Moreover, the woman wholly halted her movements as soon as Darius commanded her, so the succubus believed it was some kind of undead she had never seen.


    "Hmm, even if they were some kind of rare undead, they would still produce a bit of umbra or spirit¡­" said Dante after hearing Lilith''s explanation.


    After Camille heard the description of the unknown attacker, she placed her hand on her chin inquisitively, remembering old information she had heard from the Azure Rebels before she became the handler.


    When Dante probed her thoughts, Camille, with a hint of secrecy, promised to delve deeper into her memories before sharing them with the group, not wanting to increase their burden.


    A few days later, the day of Camille''s meeting with Alexander arrived, and she was driven to a rooftop bar located on the terrace of a skyscraper in Novis.


    The entire restaurant had been reserved for the two handlers, who sat at the bar counter and ordered drinks from the lone bartender.


    Alexander Spring, the handler of the Spring Family, was a 31-year-old man with short, light-brown hair and blue eyes. He was tall and skinny, but he didn''t look weak.


    His expression looked stern and disinterested, but Camille was aware that he had been like that ever since they were young, so she wasn''t intimidated.


    After Camille got herself a martini, Alex ordered a glass of whisky with no ice, prompting the bartender to leave them alone after serving.


    "So, you''ve been busy, huh?" Alex said, sipping from his glass.


    "Right. I''m sure you''ve heard everything¡­" Camille replied.


    "Versions of it¡­ Though, I wanna know what you have to say about it," he commented.


    Camille locked her gaze with Alexander''s, a sharp and severe glare that left silence hanging in the air for a brief moment.


    "You know? When the four of us were still kids, I didn''t think you would turn a blind eye to this kind of stuff¡­" Camille muttered.


    The handler reminisced about the time she was a 12-year-old, learning the ropes of how to become the next handler for her family.


    Each of the candidates who were going to become handlers for the Stellar families of that generation had to attend classes together until they were 18, and the four of them were sent to a remote mansion in Europe to study.


    Alexander was the oldest, followed by Noah Summer, then Camille, and Melinda, who was the youngest.


    Even if they had a few years between them, they still had to attend the same lessons that taught them about their families'' affairs.


    Since Alexander was the oldest, he always treated the others as an older brother, and for a long time, Camille believed that their generation would be a peaceful one between the mafia groups.


    Back then, Alexander had a strong sense of justice, which was natural for someone who was a descendant of the people who helped free Novaria from a violent dictator.


    For that reason, when the Onyx Cartel used their dirty tricks to create the Blood Dragons and bring conflict, Camille felt disappointed at the lack of interest from her peers.


    She tried to contact Alexander after most of the Jade Dragons were wiped out, but she was ignored.


    Meanwhile, Melinda, who couldn''t directly support them in the battle, as it was considered an internal conflict of the Jade Dragons, was the only handler who extended her arm towards Camille and held onto most of her properties and companies.


    "I had given up on Noah a long time ago, but I didn''t think you would fall so low¡­" Camille commented. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So, I''m giving you this chance to explain. Why did you ignore me eight years ago?" She continued, her cold tone slicing the air.


    Alexander broke eye contact and took a sip from his drink, looking down with a somewhat disappointed expression.


    He could clearly remember the days when he and the other handlers lived and studied together in the remote mansion and how Noah suddenly changed his demeanor toward them.


    Noah was a year younger than Alexander. His hair was dark-green, which was a common characteristic of the Summer family, and he was considered to be the "calmest" of the four handler candidates.


    Still, even with his fame of being tranquil, he suddenly changed one day and began treating the others with hatred and disdain.


    A few years later, Alexander overheard a phone call between Noah and his father, who was the handler of the Summer family at the time, and discovered that his parents were ordering him to break friendly relations with the others.


    Alexander knew from his own parents that the Summer family was stubborn and hard to deal with, but he never expected them to manipulate their child into following in their footsteps.


    The Onyx Cartel was the most hated mafia group in Novaria since most of their operations were illegal and damaging to the communities on the west side of the country.


    However, instead of wanting to improve their reputation by allying themselves with the others, the cartel reveled in their infamy.


    "Camille¡­ As a handler, have you ever seen something that you believe you shouldn''t have?" Alex asked.


    "I''m getting used to it," she replied, thinking of all the unbelievable stuff she had witnessed ever since meeting Dante.


    Alexander clenched his glass tightly with apprehension, and Camille understood that there was something preventing the Azure Rebels from acting freely.

 Chapter 217 - 217: Camille’s Feelings

    After Camille returned to the Jade Palace from her meeting with the Spring handler, she went to the inner garden of the mansion to relax.


    Asher and Amara were playing games with the vampire fledglings and Cerberus¡ªand when Camille sat down to peacefully watch them on a bench, she took a cigarette out from her pocket.


    "I didn''t know you liked smoking¡­" Dante interrupted the woman''s peace, approaching the bench and sitting beside her.


    "Heh, I don''t particularly enjoy it¡­" Camille replied, explaining that she only smoked when she felt sad.


    "I''m guessing the meeting didn''t go that well," Dante commented.


    "It was better than I expected, but not as bad as it could''ve been¡­ You know?" she replied, taking a puff of her cigarette. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Camille explained that the Onyx Cartel had done something to the Azure Rebels that prevented them from acting freely. However, Alexander didn''t¡ªor couldn''t¡ªreveal what it was.


    "Dante, you said a necromancer controls the dead, right?" The handler asked.


    "Yes. Anything related to death¡­ The energy we call ''Spirit,'' which they use to cast their spells, is purely made of souls," Dante replied.


    For a necromancer, the dead were mere disposable tools they used to fulfill their objectives, and their magic allowed them to bypass the souls'' permission.


    "What do you mean?" Camille inquired.


    As an example, Dante pointed at himself and explained that he absorbed the soul of his beloved Beatrice only after she "accepted" his body. However, if the soul of the deceased woman declined, he wouldn''t have been able to absorb it.


    On the other hand, a necromancer''s magic bypassed these permissions and forcefully weaved the souls of the dead into whatever they needed.


    "That sucks. So, the dead can''t even rest in peace?" Camille continued.


    Dante nodded affirmatively with a bit of apprehension. Still, he revealed that there were a few cases where the souls of the dead would willingly serve the necromancer.


    *Tch* "Dante¡­ If you don''t want to, you don''t have to get involved," Camille commented, clicking her tongue and taking a puff of her cigarette.


    "That again? I already told you I want to be involved¡­ Do you expect me to just relax here while you guys are out there fighting a necromancer?" he replied, his tone hinting at a bit of annoyance.


    "Sorry¡­ That''ll be the last time I ask," Camille said.


    Dante could still see traces of sadness in the handler''s umbra, prompting Camille to tell him about her past¡ªduring the times she was learning the ropes on how to become the handler.


    Back then, the four candidates of the Stellar families got along well with each other. Still, she couldn''t remember the exact moment when everything changed.


    "You see¡­ When a new generation of handler candidates appears, they all must become the handlers of their families at the same time," Camille elaborated.


    In the old rules of the Stellar families, it was stated that when the youngest of the candidates turned twenty-one, all four of them would take their seats as their respective handlers.


    However, since Camille had to forcefully take her position when she was still twenty after shooting her mind-controlled father, the other three candidates were forced to start their time as handlers a bit earlier.


    The real shift of handlers was meant to happen two years later since Melinda was still nineteen, but Camille knew she didn''t have all that time to wait and took matters into her own hands.


    "Our generation was supposed to be a peaceful one¡­" Camille said.


    For a long time, Camille felt a bit guilty about her actions, not knowing if the decision she had made was the right one.


    Nonetheless, when she discovered that the Onyx Cartel were the ones scheming behind the scenes, she fully embraced her decision.


    Even though the demon culprit who brainwashed her father was killed, the true offenders were still out there, and she couldn''t forgive them.


    "I know revenge is supposed to be bad for a person¡­ But damn, I want it so bad," Camille muttered.


    Dante gazed at the woman with a curious look. "Who said revenge is bad?" he asked.


    "Heh, I don''t know¡­ Movies?" she jokingly replied.


    While Dante agreed that revenge didn''t usually solve all of a person''s problems, he stated it was still much better than having the lingering feeling inside.


    "Killing Satan didn''t bring Beatrice back to me, but I did feel relieved when I ended him¡­" Dante explained.


    "I understand¡­ I won''t back down from my revenge," Camille said, thanking the warlock for his words.


    After their talk, Rina and Rona took the children back inside the mansion to bathe them, prompting the handler to take her leave while Dante moved to his hammock.


    As he lay down and looked up at the sky in the midst of dusk, he sharpened his eyes when remembering Lilith in her berserk state.


    Lilith was a Demon Queen from hell, and she had a strange condition called "Survival Instinct."


    While it was considered a condition, it was also an ability. However, it wasn''t a skill that Lilith could control willingly.


    Whenever Lilith''s body felt like she could genuinely die, her mind would go completely blank, making her go into a "berserk state" where her speed and strength tripled.


    Dante was aware that one of the reasons Lilith became a queen was because of that ability since she ended up slaying the previous Demon King of Lust while her survival instinct was active.


    He had only seen her in that state two times before. One time when she fought against him, and another time when they fought against a powerful demon in hell.


    However, seeing her in that state for a third time on Earth was somewhat unsettling for Dante, as he never expected there would be someone powerful enough to push her to that limit.


    ''A necromancer that''s strong enough to make Lilith freak out¡­'' Dante pondered.


    ''It couldn''t be¡­'' he continued, gritting his teeth.


    "What a terrible feeling¡­ I should go train with the others¡­" Dante muttered to himself, standing up from the hammock with haste before making his way to the lab.

 Chapter 218 - 218: Stellar Reunion

    A few days passed since Camille met with Alexander, and the day for the Stellar Reunion was drawing closer.


    The Jade Dragons and their allies didn''t stop training for a single day, and after Alice had improved her sword techniques, she was able to join the training with the other members of the Omega Team.


    "A dark paladin, a dark rogue, and a dark warrior¡­ Are we the villains, guys?" Zac jokingly asked when Alice joined their practice session.


    Dante would join their training a few times a week, but he kept practicing on his own late at night when the lab was empty.


    Nobody noticed at first until Paige saw the cameras and started to accompany Dante in his secret training sessions, wondering why the warlock felt the need to train so hard.


    One night, Dante asked Asphodel and Imera to go with him to the lab, as there were a few mana techniques that he wanted to practice.


    When fighting a necromancer, spells that used mana or ether were the most effective against them. On the other hand, spells that were cast with umbra or spirit were equal at most.


    "It''s been a while since I practiced my mana control, so I need a bit of guidance," Dante said to the two women.


    Paige silently watched their training for days, taking notes and listening carefully to all of their comments.


    Ever since the scientist learned that Asphodel traveled to their world willingly, she had been obsessed with learning more about the creation of portals between worlds.


    She wasn''t interested in conquering the land or causing any trouble for the people of Terra, but she was genuinely curious about its culture and environment.


    Still, Paige wasn''t irresponsible enough to put her job aside to focus on studying portals that may or may not work. However, considering she was using her free time at night to learn more about it, she had no problem balancing her time.


    ____________________


    When the month of preparation was over, the day for the Stellar Reunion arrived, and a helicopter landed on the mansion to pick up Camille and her representatives¡ªDante and Megan.


    The meeting was in the city of Novis since it was the country''s capital, which was a tradition that Camille didn''t fully agree with, as she felt uncomfortable inviting the opposing mafia groups to their territory.


    Nevertheless, there wasn''t anything she could do to change the location of the meeting. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The three of them had mini-cameras stuck to their clothing, livestreaming their point of view to the rest of the Jade Dragons at the mansion.


    While they were flying in the helicopter, Camille gave Dante his full mask and asked him to wear it during the meeting, prompting him to instantly agree.


    Dante hadn''t told any of the Jade Dragons'' members about his worries related to the necromancer, knowing that his doubts could have a negative effect on their morale.


    However, he was already considering hiding his face for the reunion, expecting the necromancer to show up as well.


    ''If he happens to know my face, this will be helpful¡­'' The warlock thought.


    Moreover, if the necromancer were able to use advanced magic, he would be able to recognize Dante''s umbra, so the warlock had to suppress it entirely.


    Whenever Dante didn''t suppress his umbra, his overwhelming aura would flow out violently from his body, making any person or animal too scared to even get close to him.


    For that reason, he kept his umbra suppressed at all times to the point where the amount leaking out of his body was that of an ordinary person, making him easy to approach by others.


    Powerful warlocks like Dante would keep their umbra suppressed by a certain margin, but they didn''t have a reason to hide it completely.


    If Dante spoke to a person who was suppressing his umbra in its entirety, he would instantly be suspicious of them, as it was obvious they were suppressing their aura to hide their identities or the fact they were lying.


    Still, completely hiding his umbra was his best option not to get recognized by anyone. As long as he could keep his emotions in check, there wouldn''t be a reason for his umbra to leak out.


    The helicopter landed on top of an open parking lot building overlooking the Novis Canal, seeing that the GTS and Azure Rebels were already there.


    The Golden Twilight Syndicate''s representatives that accompanied Melinda were the two leader siblings, Curtis and Lindsey, who had been training the entire month with the Jade Dragons.


    Imera considered going herself, but she didn''t want to reveal her existence to the other mafia groups yet, so she stayed at the Jade Palace and watched the livestream.


    On the other side of the parking lot, Alexander Spring was accompanied by his two representatives from the Azure Rebels.


    One of them was a man in his late 40s, and he introduced himself as Oskar Heller, the current leader of the Azure Rebels.


    The man was wearing a deep blue suit that matched his dark blue hair, hiding his eyes behind polarized sunglasses.


    He was tall, somewhat burly, and his expression looked stern. However, Dante could sense an evident feeling of nervousness coming from Oskar.


    Still, when the warlock gazed at the Azure Rebels'' second representative, he felt slightly unsettled.


    ''Is that a person¡­?'' He pondered, detailing the evident figure of the woman.


    His eerie sensation didn''t come from the aura of the strange girl. On the opposite, Dante was shocked to see that there wasn''t a single pinch of energy coming from her body.


    ''No umbra, no mana, no spirit, no ether¡­ What the hell is that?'' Dante continued wondering.


    It was as if the woman was an inanimate object, but Dante saw her moving around, so it was clear that wasn''t it.


    The woman had long, dark blue hair, and her blue eyes seemed to shine a lot more than the average person''s.


    Her body frame was similar to Megan''s in both height and strength, but her face looked even more disinterested than the brunette''s.


    After the Azure Rebels told the woman to greet the others, she stepped up and introduced herself as "Sixteen."


    "An android, huh?" Megan muttered, catching Dante''s attention.

 Chapter 219 - 219: Dante’s Unease

    After Camille, Megan, and Dante arrived at the parking lot, they were greeted by the Azure Rebels'' group.


    When the woman accompanying the Spring handler introduced herself as Sixteen, Megan recognized her as an android, leaving the warlock speechless.


    Dante was aware of robots and androids after watching sci-fi movies with Sophia, and he even read a book on robotics that Camille gave him.


    He compared the robots he saw in the movies to the golems from his world, believing that they had some similarities. However, a golem was powered up using magic, while robots had intricate systems made by engineers.


    ''I see¡­ So, she is not producing any energy since she isn''t a person,'' Dante pondered.


    At that moment, he remembered Lilith talking about a mysterious attacker at the cartel''s mansion who managed to land a hit on the succubus without her sensing her presence.


    Lilith said the attack didn''t damage her, but she was startled to find someone who produced zero energy of any kind.


    ''Could it be that one of these androids attacked her?'' Dante thought.


    ''That means the Azure Rebels are working with the cartel¡­'' he continued.


    The warlock was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed it was his turn to introduce himself, but before he could say anything, Camille spoke up.


    "This is ''Black.'' He is one of our new members¡­" The Winter handler said, turning her head and winking at the warlock.


    ''Black? Because of my hair!?'' Dante thought.


    The warlock''s combination of a black jacket, black mask, black pants, and black hair truly made him look like a warrior clad in obsidian, so Camille wasn''t too off the mark with her nickname.


    Both Megan and Camille could sense Dante''s slight unease. He was calm and composed most of the time, so whenever he showed a hint of worry, they could instantly tell by his stance, which seemed less relaxed than usual.


    As the three groups stood on different ends of the parking lot terrace, Dante whispered his suspicion to his group, telling them that he believed someone similar to Sixteen was the mysterious attacker who punched Lilith. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After he explained that he couldn''t sense any type of energy from the woman, Camille widened her eyes in shock.


    "So, it was already too late when I spoke to Alex¡­" Camille whispered, realizing that the Azure Rebels were working with the cartel before she made contact with them.


    If an android was receiving orders from the cartel leaders, then it was safe to assume they were allies and the Azure Rebels were sharing their weaponry, which was their specialization.


    However, she didn''t know exactly how long they had been allied, and she also considered the alternative, which was that maybe they had simply traded an android for something else.


    Right after urging the group to be careful, the last helicopter arrived with the Onyx Cartel representatives, accompanying Noah Summer.


    As the Summer handler stepped out in the open, wearing a tailored suit with a black tie, the warlock inspected him for a brief moment.


    ''Quite an imposing aura. It''s kind of like Camille''s¡­'' Dante thought. Still, there was nothing out of the ordinary with his body energy.


    Nonetheless, his slight moment of relief was shattered the moment the two representatives got out of the helicopter, prompting the warlock to take a step back out of instinct.


    "No¡­" Dante muttered, low enough that only his companions could hear him.


    Camille knew that something was wrong, but she didn''t take her gaze away from the new arrivals, as they would notice her lack of attention.


    However, Megan glanced with the side of her eye and saw Dante''s hand trembling, but she couldn''t tell if it was from fear or excitement since the mask was hiding his face.


    ''What is he seeing¡­?'' Megan pondered.


    Don Ruben had a large frame, making his suit look a bit tight around his muscles. His hair was a shade of decolored brown, and his eyes were teal, which looked artificial as if the man were wearing contact lenses.


    From Dante''s perspective, he could see a massive mana pool surrounding Don Ruben, and he compared it to the mana pool of Faelyn, his old party member, who was one of the most powerful wizards in the world of Terra.


    Moreover, his pale complexion and teal-colored eyes were a clear giveaway to him that Don Ruben was an undead¡ªand a very high rank at that.


    Following Ruben, Don Darius stepped out, and Dante immediately clenched his fists tightly, sensing the eerie and foreboding aura that flowed from the man.


    Darius'' bodybuild was just as big as his companion, although his slicked-back hair was completely white, and his suit was slightly baggier.


    His pale complexion and teal eyes were also present on Darius, but the amount of spirit and umbral energy flowing from him made it clear he wasn''t a simple undead but the necromancer himself.


    Furthermore, Dante recognized the umbra from someone he knew a long time ago, leaving him utterly petrified in place.


    ''Netherius¡­!'' he thought.


    Megan noticed his unease, which became more evident than before, but she couldn''t inquire about it, or the rest would get suspicious.


    ''Keep it together¡­'' Dante pondered.


    He was suppressing his umbra to the point that none of it was leaking out of his body, and now that he knew the person before him could definitely recognize him by his aura, the warlock tried his best to keep it hidden.


    Nevertheless, his emotions of angst and restlessness made it harder for him to maintain his suppression active.


    ''Why the hell is Netherius here!? Why is he in that body!?'' Dante continued, gritting his teeth and struggling to keep his umbra wholly repressed.


    If someone asked him a question and he lied, the small amount of umbra that would come out would be enough for Netherius to recognize him, so the warlock considered staying silent during the entire meeting.


    Still, his sense of danger was flying off the charts, and he began pondering about a way to escape safely and bring his companions and the GTS members along.

 Chapter 220 - 220: The Cartel’s Proposal

    As the Summer handler stepped out into the open parking lot with the two representatives from the Onyx Cartel, he briefly introduced himself before presenting his companions.


    The black-haired man was Don Ruben Cortez, and the man beside him was Don Darius Alcala, two of the leaders of the cartel.


    Still, even after introducing themselves with those names, Dante could tell it wasn''t the real Darius.


    He didn''t know Ruben, but the fact he was an undead made the warlock suspect that someone else''s soul had taken over the body.


    In Dante''s eyes, he was standing before a powerful wizard and necromancer, feeling a bit nervous as their power levels were comparable to his.


    ''My entire being is screaming that is Netherius¡­ But how!?'' Dante wrestled with his emotions, desperately trying to keep his suppressed umbra from leaking out.


    Camille, noticing the warlock''s unease, thought they should keep the meeting short.


    She couldn''t see his face due to the mask, but his stance was enough body language for the handler to perceive his restlessness.


    Since Camille was the handler who convoked the Stellar Reunion, she was the first to speak to the others.


    "You are probably wondering why we are all gathered here¡­" Camille started her speech.


    "Just kidding. We all know why we are here," she continued, gazing at Noah Summer.


    When Camille denounced the Onyx Cartel of warmongering, nobody reacted to her words, as it was information that was known to everyone.


    Still, Noah scoffed with disinterest, saying that the Jade Dragons had no proof to make such claims.


    "Heh, proof? Everyone here knows you guys are pieces of shit, so I don''t think proof is really needed to back up my claims¡­ But if you are so insistent, then I suppose I''ll tell you," Camille replied.


    She had already sent all of the information they gathered to the other mafia groups, except for the cartel, which explained in detail everything they had done in order to create the Blood Dragons and have a proxy war with them on their territory.


    "You went through all that trouble to go to war with us¡­ You might as well just declare it official. Cowards¡­" Camille continued, her voice laced with disdain and hatred.


    Noah clicked his tongue, and Dante could sense that the man was genuinely nervous and annoyed at Camille. However, Noah hid his true feelings behind a stoic mask.


    "As the handler of the Autumn family, I also denounce the Onyx Cartel¡­ You people disgust me," Melinda interjected, her voice loud and clear for everyone to hear.


    When Camille gazed at the Azure Rebel group, she saw they seemed too apprehensive to speak up, confirming Dante''s suspicions that they were working together.


    The handlers had known each other since they were young, and they knew that if there were ever one of them who would try his best to maintain order, it would be Alexander Spring.


    However, his lack of action when it came to denouncing the cartel revealed everything they needed to know.


    "How disappointing¡­" Camille muttered, her eyes glaring at Alexander with disgust, which emotionally hurt the man, as it was the first time that Camille treated him so coldly.


    Being the oldest of the handlers, Alexander always treated the other three like his younger siblings, so being treated with so much contempt by them genuinely hurt him.


    Dante could sense the man''s sadness from his umbra, but he didn''t feel pity for him, considering Camille and her group had gone through hard times, and he was helping the people who hurt them.


    "How''s Vincent, by the way?" Camille asked, turning her attention back to the cartel.


    Noah bit his lips with anger, knowing that the woman was making fun of them. When suddenly, a deep, eerie laugh broke the tension between the groups, sending shivers down Dante''s spine as he recognized the voice.


    "Heheha¡­ Noah, here is where your plan ends," Don Darius muttered.


    "I suppose it does," Noah replied, glaring sharply at Camille.


    "Winter woman, do not worry about Vincent¡­ He will be fine soon," Darius said, his tone and expression utterly severe.


    "Although, I''m interested in that specimen you have¡­" Darius continued, pointing at Dante.


    The warlock stayed silent, knowing that a single word could reveal his identity to the real person inside Darius'' body.


    "Sorry, why is this dog interrupting the meeting? Go play with your rotten corpses, freak¡­" Camille replied.


    It was an unspoken rule that, during Stellar Reunions, only the handlers were allowed to speak at first, allowing them to lay out all of their concerns before asking the opinion of their representatives.


    The group of the Azure Rebels seemed taken aback by Camille''s insults, but the Winter handler stood tall and undeterred.


    Don Darius locked his severe gaze with Camille''s, but instead of being offended by her words, he was amused by them, letting out a scary chuckle.


    ''Huh? What was that fluctuation in his umbra?'' Dante thought, scrutinizing Darius'' flow of energy.


    ''Interest? Attachment? What the hell is happening!?'' he continued, slightly panicking in his mind.


    Still, even though Darius showed a bit of interest in Camille, he kept glancing at Dante with expectant eyes.


    ''Did I leak umbra? No¡­ It''s still suppressed, and I haven''t said a word,'' Dante pondered.


    Darius turned his body to Noah, whispering something in his ear before locking his gaze back on the warlock, who started to feel like he couldn''t move a step or his umbral energy would undoubtedly leak out.


    "Camille, let''s make a deal¡­" Noah spoke up. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Sounds awful, but I''m listening," she replied.


    "If you agree to become Darius'' woman, we will stop all of our attempts¡ªWe''ll even provide this area with protection¡­" Noah said with a straight face.


    Such ridiculous words left everyone else speechless, as Camille had just insulted the man proposing to her mere seconds before.


    The GTS members were appalled, wondering if Noah was kidding. However, those suspicions were instantly cleared when they remembered the type of man they were dealing with.


    The Azure Rebels shared the same shock, except for the android, who kept a stoic expression as if she weren''t even listening the whole time.

 Chapter 221 - 221: The Cartel’s Leaders

    After the Onyx Cartel proposed that Camille become Don Darius''s wife, the meeting went silent for a few seconds.


    Out of all the different things the cartel could have asked, marriage with Camille wasn''t something anyone expected.


    Still, Dante was even more confused than the others. He was the only one who knew Don Darius''s real identity, and a request like that was utterly strange from someone like him.


    Camille scoffed and let out a sarcastic chuckle, breaking the silence and placing her palm on her face with annoyance.


    "I should have guessed you were also going to be disgusting perverts," Camille mockingly replied.


    "Don''t misunderstand me, Silver Lady¡ªThis isn''t something I would lightly ask," Don Darius said, his expression stern and his tone severe.


    "Am I supposed to be honored or something?" Camille asked, sharpening her gaze without expecting an answer.


    "After you were planning on assassinating me¡ªAfter all the pain you brought to my people¡­ Did you really think I would accept such a stupid proposal?" The Winter handler continued, crossing her arms.


    "I''d rather die than let you place a single finger on me," she said, her tone laced with rage. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The rest of the groups kept listening in silence, feeling nervous about Camille''s boldness when it came to talking to the most dangerous man in the entire meeting.


    Dante had never seen Camille in such a state of anger, even after finding out that Nihilor had brainwashed her father, and he was a bit worried that she would entice the man into attacking her.


    Still, Don Darius wasn''t fazed by her words. Instead, the man''s opinion of Camille only seemed to grow.


    Suddenly, Dante noticed another fluctuation of umbra coming from Darius, who turned to whisper something to Noah once again.


    "Camille, let''s look for a peaceful resolution to this whole conflict¡­" Noah said aloud, apparently repeating Darius'' words.


    *Tch!* The Winter handler clicked her tongue in disapproval.


    If the cartel had made that proposal for peace eight years ago, she wouldn''t have thought of it twice and accepted. However, she couldn''t bring herself to do it now.


    Camille was aware that ending the conflict with the cartel was the best option if she wanted to protect the lives of the Jade Dragons'' members, but agreeing to their conditions after everything they had done didn''t sit well with her.


    ''I''m the only one seeking this revenge¡­ How selfish of me,'' Camille thought.


    Dante could feel and see Camille''s uncertainty through the umbra she produced, and he was able to deduce her thoughts.


    Ever since Dante joined the Jade Dragons, he had spoken to every single member at least once¡ªexcept for the members who weren''t around their bases often.


    When the warlock learned about their experiences, he noticed that all of them had something in common¡ªThey had all been a victim of the cartel in some way or another.


    It wasn''t just Camille who held a grudge against them, but the entirety of the Jade Dragons yearned for revenge.


    ''Is she really considering the offer? I don''t think anyone at home will like that¡­'' Dante thought.


    "We don''t want to be at peace with you," Megan interjected into the conversation, taking a step forward and glaring at Darius.


    Camille widened her eyes and gazed at Megan, surprised and slightly relieved of her intervention.


    "As Camille said, you guys are too far gone¡­ Besides, the thought of giving Camille away to someone like you makes me wanna vomit," Megan continued, placing a hand on Camille''s shoulder for emotional support.


    Darius frowned at Megan. Her words weren''t as hurtful as Camille''s, but they somehow managed to offend the man, making it clear that Darius had a strange fixation on the Winter handler.


    "Cami, I''m done with this bullshit," Megan muttered.


    Don Ruben, who had been calmly listening to the group bickering, interrupted the conversation as he said his thoughts aloud.


    "Hmm, rejecting our peace means they must have truly found a way to oppose us¡­ At the very least, something that makes them confident enough to do it," Ruben said.


    ''That man¡­ I don''t know who he is, but I don''t think that''s the real ''Ruben,'' Dante thought, keeping his aura suppressed.


    When Ruben locked his gaze on the warlock, he gritted his teeth and focused on keeping his aura hidden.


    Don Darius had lost interest in him after Camille insulted him, but Ruben was now the one stalking the warlock with his intense glare.


    "You''ve been suppressing your aura this entire time¡­ Impressive," Ruben said, praising Dante in front of everyone.


    A hint of nerves struck the warlock, prompting him to take a deep breath so as not to lose focus.


    "Right¡ªThat specimen over there¡­" Darius muttered, his foreboding expression turning to Dante.


    "You can hide your face and your aura¡­ I''ll reveal it anyway," he continued.


    Dante didn''t reply, as a single word would expose his identity. He thought that he would be able to maintain his aura suppression, but he never expected Darius to use a cheap trick to throw him off balance.


    "How''s Beatrice?" Don Darius asked, slightly smirking at the warlock.


    ''Shit¡­'' Both Megan and Camille thought in unison.


    At that moment, Dante''s suppressed aura was unlocked, making the air in the parking lot heavy and unsettling.


    A single word was all it took for the warlock to lose his focus, and as his umbra violently leaked out of his body, everyone else present took a cautionary step back out of fear¡ªexcept the cartel representatives.


    When Megan gazed back at Dante, she could clearly see the outline of his potent umbra, making his body look like a black shade with his crimson eyes shining brightly through the mask.


    Even Curtis and Lindsey from the GTS were shocked to sense Dante''s power. They were aware he was strong, but they had never felt such an unsettling aura coming from a person.


    As Dante took a few steps forward, he slowly took off his mask, showing his hateful glare toward Don Darius, who seemed amused by the turn of events.

 Chapter 222 - 222: Old Grudges

    "Heheha, this must be fate¡­" Don Darius said with a fake laugh after seeing Dante''s face.


    The man managed not only to make the warlock lose focus on his mana suppression but also angered him enough to make him release all of it.


    "Netherius¡­ What the hell are you doing here?" Dante asked in a deep tone.


    ''Netherius?'' Megan and Camille pondered simultaneously.


    "I could say the same, Hellslayer! Fate must have brought you back to me in order to get my vengeance!" Don Darius exclaimed, his eyes widening with a chilling gaze.


    "Forget the peace. Once I murder you and turn you into my subordinate, I''ll take over and make the Silver Lady my wife!" he continued, getting more agitated by the second.


    The Jade Dragons and GTS representatives were confused at the evident relationship Dante and Darius shared. However, they were more curious about the name the warlock used.


    "That man isn''t Darius¡­ He is a necromancer called Netherius," Dante said aloud. Still, his companions didn''t know the weight that name possessed.


    Camille, suspicious of the second cartel''s leader, asked if Ruben was the real one, but the warlock denied it.


    "I''ve never met the real Ruben, but I know that undead is definitely someone from Terra¡­" Dante replied.


    Don Ruben clapped slowly as if he were mocking the warlock, letting out an eerie smile that sent shivers down everyone''s spines.


    "This is our first time meeting, Hellslayer¡­ My name is Wolfram," the man said.


    Dante was shocked to hear his name. He was a famous wizard in Terra who became infamous after using humans for his experiments.


    The warlock remembered hearing that Wolfram wasn''t an inherently evil person, but the atrocities he committed were all in the pursuit of knowledge.


    Moreover, he was the wizard whom Imera was hunting back in their world¡ªand he was also the one who had his research notes stolen by Asphodel, which she used to travel to Earth.


    ''This is bad¡­'' Dante thought.


    If both Netherius and Wolfram decided to attack at that moment, he didn''t know if he would be able to save his companions.


    The tension kept rising, and Dante could see the hostility in their umbra, so he started preparing and thinking of a way to escape the situation.


    Before the meeting started, Camille told Dante that, no matter what happened, they couldn''t be the ones to initiate an attack on someone during the reunion.


    Stellar Reunions had certain rules that the representatives were supposed to follow, and one of the rules stated that if a group started a violent conflict at the meeting, they wouldn''t be able to conduct business with the others.


    It was a rule made to maintain order during the meetings and to prevent assassination attempts when the handlers were all gathered together.


    However, if the cartel initiated a fight, it would be difficult for the warlock to leave the area unscathed, so he genuinely considered breaking the rules.


    "What a fortunate reunion¡­" Netherius interrupted Dante''s train of thought.


    "I had been thinking of a way to get back at your whole party, Hellslayer¡­ But getting my revenge one by one sounds quite captivating," he continued, his stern expression showing a hint of satisfaction.


    "Huh, who would''ve known? Maybe we do have something in common¡­" Camille muttered, her gaze shadowed with apathy.


    "War it is," she continued, locking her eyes with Noah.


    The Summer handler silently frowned, a brief silence hanging in the air as the tension could be sliced with a knife.


    "As expected of my future wife¡­" Netherius replied, opening his palms and taking a small step back.


    Dante instantly stood in front of his companions, sensing Netherius'' hostility, and prepared himself to protect them.


    "Wait!" Noah shouted, extending his arm to halt Netherius from attacking.


    *Tsk!* "Who cares about those pesky rules? We''ll make new rules when we take over," The necromancer scoffed, annoyed at his handler.


    Suddenly, their discussion came to an abrupt stop when everyone felt the presence of two individuals coming down from the sky, giving Dante a small sense of relief, recognizing the auras approaching.


    When the people at the parking lot''s rooftop looked up, they saw Imera standing in the air, using her "Air Walk" spell to stand on platforms made of solidified wind.


    Beside her, Asphodel looked down with a menacing glare at the cartel''s group.


    Even though it was daytime and the vampire''s powers were halved, her presence produced a constant sense of danger in her opponents.


    "The Golden Fox¡­" Wolfram muttered, angrily grinding his teeth and producing a screeching sound.


    "The treacherous Mother, too," Netherius commented. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the two women slowly descended on the rooftop, Imera stood beside her grandchildren while Asphodel joined the Jade Dragons'' side.


    "Treacherous? How rude¡­ I''m simply siding with my old friend," Asphodel commented with a mocking tone.


    Before anyone else could speak, Imera extended her tail, splitting into seven long golden fox tails, releasing a nova of energy that left everyone stunned for a brief moment.


    Imera stood tall in the center of the parking lot''s rooftop between the four groups, who had their movements forcefully halted by her, and when she spoke, her voice echoed loudly in everyone''s ears.


    "War was officially declared¡­ As the founder of the Golden Twilight Syndicate, we will be joining the Jade Dragons," Imera said.


    "Before you do something foolish, I''ll put an end to this meeting¡­" she continued, snapping her fingers and allowing the others to finally move.


    Most of the people present were shocked after feeling Imera''s power affecting their bodies. Nevertheless, the Onyx Cartel and the Azure Rebels took that moment to turn around and board their helicopters.


    Netherius, who was eager to kill Dante, wasn''t impulsive enough to pick a fight with a Sacred Beast, a Mother vampire, and a specialist warlock at the same time, so he decided to retreat.


    "Wolfram¡­!" Imera called upon the cartel leader as he got on the helicopter, turning his gaze full of hatred toward the fox.


    "I''ll make sure you stay dead this time," Imera muttered. The volume of her voice was low, but Wolfram could still clearly listen to what she said.


    Ignoring her words, the groups got on their vehicles and returned to their territories, leaving the Jade Dragons and the GTS members at the scene.

 Chapter 223 - 223: Mafia War Preparation

    After the Stellar Reunion was over, the Jade Dragons and GTS members returned to the Jade Palace to discuss the outcome.


    Camille and Dante were silent the entire helicopter flight back as the two of them delved into their thoughts with bitter expressions.


    When they arrived, Camille called all of the teams in the mansion, including the vampires and GTS members, and told them to gather in the courtyard.


    An official war between leading mafia families hadn''t happened since before the foundation of the current gangs, so all of the members understood the gravity of the situation.


    After their skirmish with the Blood Dragons, Camille and Megan wanted to increase the size of their teams by recruiting more members, and they had successfully recruited a few of them.


    However, now that they were officially at war with the cartel, finding people willing to fight with them would become much more challenging.


    When Camille directed her words at the people in the courtyard, she expressed her desire for everyone to follow their hearts and allowed anyone who didn''t feel comfortable fighting the cartel to defect from their gang.


    "Some of you might have joined us as a way to help your communities, and those projects will continue¡­ However, I don''t want anyone risking their lives unless they are prepared to do so," Camille said aloud to everyone present.


    While none of the mafia members stepped up, Camille reminded them that they could leave at any time, so it wasn''t a decision they had to take on that same day.


    Dante scanned the surroundings and inspected the people''s umbra, noticing that some of them showed hints of fear. Nevertheless, they also seemed to be brimming with courage and a bit of anger.


    ''Camille tends to forget that most of these guys suffered from one way or another under the cartel''s schemes¡­'' Dante thought. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I also want to apologize for starting the war¡­ Some of you may be against it, and I think it''s natural to be opposed to it," Camille continued.


    "Okay, stop right there¡­" Megan interjected. Her voice was loud, but her expression was indifferent.


    "I was the one who gave permission to declare war," Megan continued.


    Dante understood that the brunette wanted to take the blame for their actions in case they lost the war. However, he couldn''t help feeling a bit guilty.


    He wondered if the mafia families would have solved their problems peacefully if Netherius hadn''t found him, so he spoke up to share the blame with his companions.


    "It was mostly my fault. Netherius- I mean, Darius has an old grudge against me¡­" Dante said.


    Suddenly, their blaming was interrupted by Neil, the captain of the Kappa Team, who raised his hand to politely ask the trio to shut up.


    Dante and his companions were slightly shocked at his words, but Neil explained that they were not blaming anyone or going anywhere.


    "We all have our reasons to be here. The Jade Dragons are a family, right? Then it''s fine to share our burdens!" Neil confidently exclaimed.


    When the warlock heard those words, his eyes widened in realization as his mind drifted to an old memory of the past, where his old party members said something similar to him.


    After Dante lost his beloved, Beatrice, he spent a few more years in hell, killing demons out of spite and becoming even stronger than he was.


    If his party hadn''t gone all the way to hell to look for him, the warlock would''ve stayed there for eternity.


    "This party is like a family, so share your burdens with us!" His party said to the warlock before they took him back with them.


    Remembering the faces of his friends, Dante let out a smile, wondering if they were mad at him for disappearing.


    As the rest of the Jade Dragons'' members agreed with Neil''s comments, Camille and Megan had no choice but to acknowledge their motivation.


    After everyone was dismissed, Camille called a smaller group to accompany her to the briefing room to discuss what they knew about the cartel.


    Dante was the only person who had fought against Netherius in the past, and Imera was the only one who battled Wolfram, making their information quite crucial for the war.


    Inside the briefing room, Asphodel and her top six vampires were present, along with Imera, Melinda, and the sibling leaders of the GTS.


    From the Jade Dragons'' side, the Omega and Gamma Teams were present, as they were the ones who frequented the most battles.


    "First, I''d like it if we could get some information on these supposed ''Netherius and Wolfram'' guys," Camille said to the group.


    They needed to come up with defense and offensive methods, but to do that, they had to be aware of their enemies'' weaknesses.


    "Hmmm¡­ Netherius weakness¡­?" Dante pondered aloud.


    His memories of the necromancer were quite fresh, as his last encounter with him was around forty years ago, which wasn''t much relative to his lifespan.


    In the world of Terra, Netherius looked like a giant monster made of bones after having killed countless innocent people.


    The man was supposed to be a few years older than Dante, but since he didn''t possess the "ageless blessing," he used his necromancy to increase his lifespan with the objective of becoming immortal until he turned into an unrecognizable monster.


    It wasn''t rare for necromancers to resort to those methods, but the fact they always used innocent lives made them into one of the most hated people in Terra, similar to warlocks.


    However, while warlocks mainly were hated by the pantheon''s church and their followers, necromancers were despised by everyone.


    "A weakness¡­" Dante muttered as he kept reminiscing.


    ''Did he even have one?'' he pondered.


    Back in his old world, it took the help of the rest of his party to defeat Netherius, as Dante wasn''t strong enough to do it by himself.


    They all played a crucial role in the battle, and he couldn''t remember exploiting any weaknesses during the encounter.


    ''We fought for over twelve hours¡­ If he had a weakness, it would have ended much earlier,'' Dante thought.