Modern World Warlock

It had been a little over a week since Master Hayato's arrival, and everyone in the Omega and Gamma teams had been training hard—except for Dante, who had a new addiction to the hammock in the inner garden.

As the warlock relaxed and played with his BeamDeck, he suddenly heard Zac yelling his name from afar.

"Danteeeee!" Zac shouted, rushing to the inner garden.

"What's up?" The warlock casually replied.

"Megan disappeared!" Zac exclaimed with a worried tone.

Dante quickly got up from the hammock and asked for details—and Zac noticed it was the first time he had seen his friend make such an expression.

"We were training like normal, and then a shadow cloud appeared beneath her…" Zac explained.

When the shadows appeared, they covered all of Megan's body and dissipated, leaving no trace of the brunette.

"Oh… I may know what it was," Dante replied, feeling a bit relieved.

____________________

On a typical high school day, Lina, Jake, and Tommy were finished with their lessons and met in the school's hallways before walking home.

The three teenagers were still in contact with the Jade Dragons—mostly with the Omega Team members, who had saved them two times already.

As the trio made their way to the courtyard, they noticed a large group of people gathering around the entrance, making them wonder if Dante had come to visit them again.

However, as they approached the commotion, they noticed that a group of thugs were beating up a group of senior students from their school.

"Wh-what is this…? A gang fight?" Lina pondered aloud.

The group of four thugs were sitting on top of the students, punching their faces and slamming their heads against the ground.

Lina looked to the side for a moment, and when she turned back, she noticed Jake and Tommy rushing towards the scene.

"Get away from my senior, asshole!" Jake shouted, punching one of the thugs in the face and getting him off the student on the ground.

The senior students were bleedy and bruised all over, lying on the asphalt, seemingly half-dead.

"Oi, what's this? It looks like the students in this school don't respect the mafia!" said one of the thugs in an arrogant tone.

"Stupid kid! You dare mess with the Emerald Serpents? We own this fuckin' city now!" The thug who received the punch exclaimed as he stood up, rubbing his cheek.

"Emerald who!?" Jake sarcastically replied.

As Jake and his opponent started exchanging blows, Tommy punched one of the thugs before getting kicked in the stomach.

The two boys were doing their best when fighting against the older kids. Nonetheless, they couldn't keep their momentum for long, as the thugs had the advantage in numbers.

At one moment, Jake was grabbed from behind by the arms while one of the thugs punched him several times. Meanwhile, Tommy was pushed to the ground, making him kick up so that his opponents couldn't lock him against it.

The rest of the students were nervously watching the scene, but nobody else had the guts to interfere.

Lina kept fidgeting her fingers, and as soon as she noticed Jake's bleeding mouth, she quickly opened her backpack and pulled out the old soul shard that was given to her by Dante.

The girl never got to use her shard, and after the ordeal with the demons was finished, she was allowed to keep it as a memoir. Still, Megan told her to use it if they were ever in trouble.

Tired of seeing her friends getting beat up by random thugs, Lina walked back out of the people's line of sight and shattered the crystal against the ground, producing a cloud of shadows that materialized Megan in the center.

When Megan appeared, she was wearing a sports bra and baggy sweatpants, considering she was in the middle of training when she got teleported.

"Hmm?" She hummed, calmly scanning her surroundings and seeing Lina beside her, holding back her tears.

For someone who had been whisked away from their location without notice, Megan seemed exceptionally composed. As she approached the worried teenager, Lina didn't say a word and simply pointed at the commotion.

*Thud* Jake fell on his rear after receiving a kick from the thug, wiping the blood trailing down the side of his mouth.

"What's this?" Megan's voice could be heard by everyone watching the fight.

Jake and Tommy instantly turned their heads, recognizing the cold but somewhat soothing voice.

"Sorry, sis…" Jake muttered, gritting his teeth.

"Sis!? You called your sister to come help you fight!?" The thug said with a mocking tone, letting out a laugh.

The four assailants kept chuckling until one of them noticed the dragon tattoo on Megan's torso, which was clearly visible due to her outfit, making the man halt his laughter as his complexion got pale.

"A-Are you…?" The man muttered, not finishing his sentence.

As Megan took a closer look at the beat-up students, the silent thug urged his companions to look at her tattoo.

It was a known fact among mafia gangs in Novaria that the leader of the Jade Dragons could be recognized by the dragon tattoo they had on their bodies.

For that reason, citizens in Novaria who wanted to get tattooed wouldn't opt for any dragon designs, as they didn't want to get confused or entangled with the criminal gangs.

The leader of the group gritted his teeth with indignation. "How dare you have that tattoo!? You fake!" he shouted.

"We are the Emerald Serpents, the ones who will take the free spot left by the Jade Dragons!" The leader continued.

"Free spot?" Megan asked, her gaze sharp and her tone severe.

All it took was Megan's simple glare to make the four thugs flinch momentarily. Still, the leader ordered his goons to attack her.

The rest of the students watching got even more nervous, shouting at their "big sister" to run away. Nevertheless, Megan didn't move from her spot, maintaining a carefree pose.

"Time for a quick lesson…" Megan muttered as the thugs rushed towards her.