Modern World Warlock

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.

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—one 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.