Modern World Warlock

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.

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—and 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.