Modern World Warlock

"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—and 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.

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.