Modern World Warlock-Chapter 293: The Mafia Enters the Necropolis (Part 1)

When the day for the mafia to travel to the checkpoint outside Limsa arrived, the groups split into different smaller teams to cover more space in the necropolis.

The Omega and Gamma teams traveled together to the checkpoint. When they landed on the pad near the metal tower where the NSS was keeping track of the city, they were greeted by Marcus, the chief of operations.

"Oh? The chief himself came over to greet us," Megan commented.

"Well, it came to my attention that my subordinates made your last scouting mission more difficult. I deeply apologize for that," Marcus politely said.

As the chief glanced to the side, Moe and Paula, the senior and field agents, approached the group and bowed their heads in repentance for declining their help during their first meeting.

Dante glared at the agents for a moment, inspecting their aura, and noticed that the pair were genuine with their apology, which was good, but the warlock also thought it was strange for them to switch their opinions so quickly.

"I would say these two learned their lesson… The cost was quite high, though," Marcus commented, guiding the group inside the watchtower.

The chief explained that after Dante and Megan left the NSS checkpoint to scout the area by themselves, the agents took it personally and decided to investigate on their own.

However, when a group of ten agents entered the necropolis, one survivor managed to return alive, only for him to die after telling the horrors he had seen.

Since Moe was the senior agent in charge of the operation at the time, the guilt fell solely on him, as he was the one who commanded the group to investigate the necropolis without any protective talismans.

Paula was a mere field agent, but the fact that she shared her superior's opinion weighed on her as well, and after getting scolded by the chief and the director of the NSS, the two of them realized the huge mistake they had committed.

Marcus kept briefing the Jade Dragons on the situation when the other mafia factions began to arrive.

Lindsey, Curtis, and even Imera arrived a few minutes later, and the sibling leaders looked healthy and ready for the mission.

The Azure Rebels sent twenty androids along with Lexia, who wanted to be part of the mission as she had been one of Netherius' victims and knew how much the souls of the dead were suffering under his command.

The vampire clan, who didn't count as a mafia faction, also arrived by helicopter a few minutes later, and Asphodel had brought her entire family along with her—except for the two fledglings, who stayed at the Jade Palace with Camille and the twins.

The chief noticed that all of the mafia members were wearing a chain necklace with a small pendant, and he deduced that they were the supposed talismans that protected them from the thick air of the necropolis.

Unfortunately, while Imera and Asphodel had crafted dozens of talismans, they didn't have enough to give to all the NSS agents. Besides, they had to keep a few extra handy in case someone lost theirs.

Once all of the mafia teams had gathered, the chief gave them a summary of the horrors they witnessed in the necropolis.

The NSS had found ghouls, skeletons, and weird flesh structures that released poisonous gas.

The structures seemed to be placed in strategic positions, but the undead were simply patrolling around without a set destination or path, which was worse for the NSS as they couldn't predict their movements to catch them by surprise.

Still, when the chief described the groups of monsters they had seen, Dante thought that it was a low number. Considering all of the souls that Netherius had taken from Limsa, the warlock expected at least ten times the number of enemies.

"He is probably gathering souls for a different objective…" Asphodel muttered, also finding it strange that such a low number of monsters were present.

"They could also have been sent somewhere else. We just don't know where…" Dante replied, placing a hand on his chin.

"Or both," Imera interjected.

Between Dante, Imera, and Asphodel, there weren't many things that Netherius could hide from them, as they were all experienced mages from the same world. Nevertheless, it was that same knowledge that made them more wary of the necromancer.

Before splitting into smaller groups, Dante gave the members of his team a soul shard attuned to his soul, telling them to shatter it on the ground if they were in trouble.

The warlock also gave a soul shard to the vampires, the GTS siblings, Lexia, and one for Marcus, who was staying at the watchtower with the rest of the NSS agents.

It was the first time that the chief held a magical object in his hand, and he didn't think it looked like anything special, as it was just a crystal that seemed slightly more shiny than others. However, Marcus wasn't as oblivious as his subordinates and took Dante's warning seriously.

"I'll go in alone first. If I see anything strange, I'll let you know," Dante said to the mafia members, pointing at his earpiece.

Everyone's earpieces were linked to each other, even Marcus, who couldn't be left in the dark about the events, or it could prove dangerous for the agents at the watchtower.

"Are you sure?" Megan asked.

"Yeah. I'll be able to move faster if I go alone…" Dante confidently replied, receiving a nod from Megan.

The moment that Dante's obsidian feathered wings appeared behind his back, the NSS agents were startled, and some of them even grabbed their weapons out of instinct.

Marcus raised his hand, commanding the agents to lower their weapons, and as Dante glanced at everyone and gave them a cheeky smile, he waved his wings and flew up high in the air.

It took a few seconds for everyone to return to their posts, staring at the warlock flying in the distance and entering the necropolis.