'Did they hastily recruit someone just to fill the numbers? Isn't that a bit too dangerous?' Denise mused as she knew that this mission was completely different from other tasks that could be found in the city.

The battle they might face requires high-level coordination to combine their attacks against a single entity or what they suspected as a vampire. Making such coordinated attacks with new people was not easy.

'Well, it's their squad that will suffer. I just hope we won't get implicated.' She mused as she listened to the others' discussion.

As they continued chatting, Denise realized that the Justice Hammer squad had a member who was a former member of the Order of Fatality.

His name was Kai, and he was a young man with brown hair and green eyes. He had a mysterious and aloof personality, and he rarely spoke. He had left the cult a few years ago and joined the Justice Hammer Squad. He had a unique physique that made him a decent practitioner of Combat Arts. He became an Aura Master who could wield almost any type of weapon, and the Spell Models he got from the Order were all destroyed by the Arcanist Guild to ensure that he would not fall into madness.

Leonel and the others were certainly surprised and curious about Kai. They wondered what kind of life he lived while he was still part of the Order of Fatality. It seemed to be an interesting topic.

They wanted to ask him, but they didn't want to offend him or cause trouble. After all, they had all just met today, and it was not appropriate to just talk about his past.

Meanwhile, the Marsden City's Squads sat not too far from the Revenant Squad.

It appears that Elsa, the leader of the Revenant Squad, had a connection with the leader of the Pulsating Heart Squad named Zoe

Suddenly, Denise heard Lotus' voice echoing inside her head.

After a gentle nod, she immediately informed Leonel of the situation.

"There were twelve creatures emitting bloodlust approaching from that direction" Denise warned.

"Evil Creatures?" Leonel asked.

"I don't think so My Dark Spirit did not mention." Denise replied.

"Got it. Let me handle this." Leonel said as he immediately warned the rest of the squad members, including the others.

"What? Are you sure about that?" Drake felt offended as it appeared that Leonel was telling them that they didn't have proper detection abilities and failed to detect the approaching enemies.

"Yes They're still not inside our Magic Zone, so we won't be able to sense their presence yet. However, it shouldn't take long before you notice them as well. I don't have the time to argue. Our squad will take care of them." Leonel said, and before Drake could even reply, the Torrent Squad already left, which was followed by the Fire Elementalists of the Blaze Fan Squad.

As Denise and the squad reached the enemies, they discovered that they were not Evil Creatures!

"Variants?!" Denise was stunned as she hadn't anticipated these beings would show up here!

They were products of Dark Alchemy and knew that they required some sort of maintenance. They couldn't just stumble here.

As a Dark Alchemist herself, she was sure that she was not wrong.

"Leonel! They are Tier 2 Variants and they have a Dark Stone in their bodies that enables them to use Dark Spells. They are immune to weak Spells and physical attacks, so we need to use combination spells." Denise quickly informed.

Leonel appreciated her for the information. With this in consideration, everyone quickly devised a plan.

They decided to split into two teams. One team would distract the Variants and lure them into a trap, while the other team would ambush them and launch a powerful attack.

Leonel's Torrent Squad would lure the Variants, while Roy's Blaze Fan Squad would lead the second team.

Leonel used his Mystica Arts to create illusions, while Thorne used noises that attracted the Variants' attention.

Denise and the others also showed themselves as they pretended to be scared and ran away from them, leading them to the place where Roy's Squad was preparing their Tier 2 Spells.

'Since they're all Fire Elementalists, they should have enough firepower.' Denise mused.

The Variants, who had their mouths stitched, followed them, thinking they were easy prey.

They didn't notice the hidden Formation Art that was hastily set up by the Blaze Fan Squad.

As soon as all the twelve Variants entered the circle, they immediately activated the Formation. The Formation was only a type of buff, but it was very useful for Fire Elementalists. After all, this circle weakens the resistance of the target against fire!

Soon, several Fire Spells were thrown at them

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As Leonel's squad turned around, they saw the Variants get caught on fire.

The area was filled with fire and smoke, and some Variants were blown away by the force of the explosion from the Fire Spells.

Some of them were killed instantly, while others were wounded and burned. They tried to escape, but they were blocked by the debris and rubble and the Spells from the Torrent Squad.

'It seems easy' Denise mused as she saw how they trapped the Variants so easily

Nevertheless, she continued helping them clean up the Variants.

The Variants were hit with numerous Spells from several Arcane Paths. They were torn apart by the rocks, wind blades, mystic hands, and ghost hands...

"It's done I can't feel their presence anymore. However, is it normal for them to appear here?" Leonel muttered.

"Not really. They had decent fighting capabilities because of their durability, but they were just laborers of Dark Alchemists. I can only guess that there's a Dark Alchemist nearby." Denise replied.

The smoke dissipated at the small crater they had made.

They were hoping to find the remains of the Variants, but to their shock, a black entity that looked nothing like a human was lying at the bottom of the crater and wasn't giving off any energy.

As they used their Magic Zones to scan the area again, the entity abruptly opened its red eyes!

"W-what is"

"Argh I'm paralyzed!"

"Is it a Restriction Spell?"

All the fourteen Arcanists were immobilized! And that wasn't all, a sinister force began to spread as they all trembled in terror. What they had encountered was a creature that was beyond their level!

'This is bad We're doomed.' Leonel thought in his mind, but as he felt his life slipping away, a heavenly lightning bolt suddenly descended on the creature.