Modern World Warlock

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—You 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—unless 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.

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! —Somehow…' 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.'