Unknown Component

The following day, Sophia only had to attend one lesson early in the morning, and after she was finished, they were called to go to Camille's office.

When they arrived, they noticed that Zac and Megan were also there, but none of them knew the reason why they were called.

After Camille greeted them and guided them to the skyscraper's elevator, the handler started pressing different buttons for different floors.

Zac thought that the woman was trying to play a prank on them and have them stop on every single floor. 

However, Camille was pressing the buttons in a particular order, making a small secret compartment on the side of the elevator pop open, showcasing another button with no floor tag.

When the platinum-haired woman pressed the secret button, the elevator began moving down, taking them to an underground floor that could only be accessed by the people who knew the secret elevator code.

"This is the lab…" said Camille as the doors opened.

Dante and Zac were impressed, as the room had white tiles that seemed to glow blueish, and everything looked spotless and neat.

The girls, on the other hand, had been there before, so their reactions weren't as enthusiastic as the boys.

While making their way along the white corridor, they could see inside the rooms as they all had one large window panel for observers.

In some rooms, scientists were working with machinery while others moved toxic substances around, and the warlock got even more curious about the reason Camille called them there.

After reaching a specific room with no windows for spectators, Camille approached the console on the side, which scanned one of her eyes before the automatic door slid open.

Inside, a woman wearing a white robe was sitting in front of a large console with a window panel behind the desk.

The woman had long, disheveled dark hair and shadows under her eyes that portrayed insomnia—and as she took one puff of her cigarette, she turned her head to acknowledge the visitors.

"Everyone, this is my good friend and one of the best scientists in Novaria, Paige Sutton," said Camille, introducing the group to the woman.

"Hmm? Is this the guy you mentioned, Cami?" said the scientist, getting up from her chair and gazing at Dante up and down.

The warlock didn't flinch at the woman's attention and stood still as she walked around him with a hand on her chin and the cigarette on her lips.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Dante Shadowvale," he courteously said.

"Yeah, yeah. Likewise," Paige replied indifferently, putting her hands on the warlock's chest and rubbing them with curiosity.

"Hmmm, not bad. You are in really good shape…" she continued, rubbing his abdomen and feeling Dante's defined abs.

Zac and Sophia seemed to blush at the scientist's inspection for completely different reasons. The blonde always wondered how the warlock's body looked, and Zac just couldn't believe that Dante kept getting approached by attractive women.

'Lucky bastard!' thought Zac.

When Camille calmed the scientist down, saying that she could inspect Dante later, she explained the reason she brought the group to the laboratory.

The handler had received a new drug from Detective Alice, which was found on the corpse of one of the gang members who died during Dante and Megan's raid.

"Detective Alice…?" Zac muttered, remembering that it was the name of the detective who approached them on campus.

"You know her?" Camille inquired, so the group told her of the time she asked a few questions.

However, Camille chuckled, saying that she expected nothing less from her friend with a prideful tone.

'I see… They truly are good friends,' Dante thought, seeing that Camille oozed positive energy when talking about the detective.

Paige was added to the conversation to explain the components that were found in the unknown drug, which were all illegal substances.

"I analyzed the pill and divided the components into their individual forms…" the scientist explained, signaling at the window panel.

The testing room was divided into the study and the testing section.

The study section is where they found themselves when they entered the room, which was the area where scientists would observe from the window into the testing room.

Inside the testing section, the group could see four small tables, each of them with a transparent box in the center that held a drop of liquid.

Paige elaborated further, explaining that the first component was called "Energonix," which boosted metabolism and enhanced people's muscular endurance.

The second component was "Neuroblitz," a compound that augmented a person's neurotransmitters and adrenal response, giving them heightened alertness and accelerated reflexes.

The third one was called "Vitalyte." A unique formula that was relatively new in the mafia underworld, and it could accelerate the ATP production in a person's body, providing them with a constant source of energy for intense physical activities.

The last component, however, still needed to be discovered.

"I did all the testing possible on that last component, and I couldn't figure anything out. I know for a fact it's blood, but we couldn't match it with any living being…" Paige explained.

While the scientist summarized the information to the group, Dante saw that there was umbra flowing from the unknown component.

Camille, who had her suspicions about the supposed blood drop, asked Dante to take a closer look at it, allowing the warlock to enter the testing room with Paige accompanying him.

"This is demon blood…" said Dante.

The warlock hadn't even had a whole minute since entering the testing room, but he could recognize the blood instantly due to the umbra that flowed from it.

Nonetheless, while Zac and Sophia seemed the most shocked about the information, none of them knew the implications of drinking demon blood.

Paige, who was still skeptical of the warlock, inquired how he could recognize it so easily. While Dante could see that her expression looked tired and indifferent, the positive energy radiating from her let him know that the woman was exceptionally curious.