Richard watched as Robert’s van drove into a warehouse.

"What is he planning?"

He could secretly enter but just as Robert and the others were unaware of his magical abilities, Richard too was unaware of theirs.

"The world has become the best battleground for magic"

Ragnar commented as he too calmed down.

He wanted to charge and raze their enemies quickly but he was not an idiot. He may have been a berserker, a frontline warrior who charged headfirst into combat with complete disregard for his own well being.

But the situation now and the battles he fought in the past were different.

This was not the open fields of Europe and it was not the age of magic.

It was the age of science and they were in the middle of a city.

The last thing they want is to have the world’s eyes on their magical activities.

Moreover, they still did not have a proper grasp on the warehouse.

What kind of traps were laid by Robert? What kind of plan did he have to head here?

Richard was well aware that Ragnar had "sniffed out" Robert’s van and it was unlikely that Ragnar’s obvious movements would not be noticed.

Even if Robert was an idiot, his actions showed that he was making some educated decisions. Whether it was him changing for the better and becoming a true mastermind or someone else giving him orders...

Richard didn’t care, what he truly cared about was getting answers and he wouldn’t be able to get any if he runs in guns blazing and end up destroying everything and killing everyone.

What he needs is capture, subjugation.

He already lost himself with the fake Andrea. He can’t let his emotions cloud his judgement for a second time.

’At least... I need to know where she’s buried’

He didn’t want to hope for the best, he was already preparing for the worst. A rational decision, as having a bitter taste in his mouth after the ordeal was much better than having to break down due to failed expectations.

"How about my pets? I have a few that could check things out"

Cindy proposed while summoning a tiny bat-like creature and presenting it to the group.

"If you deal with masking its presence and completely ensuring even a barrier won’t detect it, then I could focus on controlling it and having its vision projected so we could see inside the warehouse"

Her proposal was not bad, Richard didn’t need to think twice as he immediately answered-

"Let’s do it"

With that, Richard, Hana and Ragnar worked to extend a barrier that would wrap around Cindy’s pet bat.

Although it was a rather complex technique, since the pet was closer to a "magical construct" than an actual living being. All Richard had to do was deal with it the same way he dealt with the tools he created.

Moreover, he already had experience dealing with magical tools that have spirits in them.

All Richard had to do was enchant the pet with a barrier that prevents detection. Strong enough to give the bat a level of perception blocking that was similar to the one he used when invading his former office.

After the bat was successfully enchanted, Cindy tested her projection of the shared vision and the group watched as Cindy created a projection similar to the one the Goddess loved to show but what she projected was the view reflected in the bat’s eyes.

"Could be better but that’s good enough"

Richard said nothing but Ragnar was quite the critic, Cindy did not let it get to her though, truly the mark of an adept witch.

Still, Hana was quite volatile for being someone from a mystical background.

While Ragnar was a berserker, that was only him channeling his madness towards action. His mind was calm while his body was wild. Richard did not understand his reasoning and just choked it up to the man being "crazy".

Still, despite the preparations done, a problem still arose.

"How will it enter?"

Richard looked at the warehouse and found it to be tightly sealed. Not airtight but sealed enough to block out the entry of the bat.

"It could phase through walls, I didn’t make it to fight but to act as my eyes"

"Ears?"

"That’s how it moves"

Cindy explained that the bat could share its vision with her as it was technically "blind". The bat could not see, its eyes were like magical cameras that were connected to Cindy.

It sounded a bit too evil and extra but-

"Bonding with a living being to share their vision is something that few people could do"

With those words, Richard felt another layer of mystery on the methods of magic. But it also showed him more of its "limits".

Limits which rarely affected him but were likely to affect others.

But knowing about those limits allows Richard to know what his advantages were and predict how his opponents would react.

It’s like knowing how many bullets your enemy has, if you count and find out that they’re out, you could just walk to them without cover.

Of course, that’s only if they are alone and you know that they only have one gun on their being.

Still, the small bit of information should come in handy.

As he pondered over such things, the bat quickly entered the warehouse and what they saw was-

"!!!!"

Richard’s attention was quickly directed at the person standing in the middle of the warehouse.

The storage boxes and all other equipment were pushed aside and only a single spot light shone down from the ceiling.

Below, directly under the white light was Robert, but he was not alone.

Next to him was a chair and on it sat a naked woman- a woman who Richard could immediately recognize no matter what-

"ANDREA!"

Unable to control his emotions, Richard called out to the woman, fortunately, a barrier was already erected around them and Ragnar moved to restrict the young man who was about to go ballistic.

Andrea was covered in scars, even Ragnar could tell what kind of torture she had gone through and her state made it obvious what kind of horrors she was subjected to. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The blank gaze stare said it all.

But even in such a state, the woman covered in scars and looked like she had completely lost it was still moving her mouth.

She was not begging for help or reprieve but Ragnar could read it.

"Damien"

"Huh?"

Richard froze, he looked up at Ragnar who didn’t mince his words as he explained.

"She’s repeating one thing, the name "Damien"- even in such a state"

"!!!"

*BURST*

A powerful burst of mystical might clashed, Ragnar suppressed Richard making it hard for the young man to move.

The ladies all looked at Ragnar, questioning him why he had to say such things now?

"He would have heard it either way, the man is taunting you Richard, one wrong step and it’s you who’ll be dying today"

Ragnar’s words were imbued with a soul splitting force, it was not loud but the power pierced through the rage that was clouding Richard’s mind.

A sudden calm washed over Richard as he stared at the projection.

This was the first time that his emotions were truly let go- no, maybe it was the first time that the Goddess did not intervene.

She would always come out at the most inappropriate of times, bringing with her a weird air that would leave everyone speechless.

Even her teasing and whispers were made to not only drive a nail in Richard’s thoughts but it also worked to make him turn his focus away.

A type of hypnosis that Richard willingly accepted but now, the Goddess remained silent and the one to make a move was Ragnar.

Realizing what he almost did, Richard forcefully suppressed his rage.

Whatever suffering Andrea experienced, he would give back to Robert tenfold and then-

"Whoa"

"He’s crazy..."

"That madman"

Hana, Cindy and Ragnar all spoke in succession, the projection showed a rather horrifying scene as all the men in the warehouse and even Robert himself pointed their guns at Andrea.

"Come out Damien, if you don’t come out, little Andrea would go bye bye"

Ragnar read Robert’s lips, Richard did not even bother to ask how he learned English so quickly and just stood up calmly.

His restraints were released and he already resolved himself to make a move.

"Stop"

But before he did, Richard stopped Ragnar and the others.

"I’ll do this myself"

Cindy was about to say something but seeing as Ragnar only nodded at Richard’s words, the young witch could only roll her eyes as she cursed under her breath-

"men"

She didn’t have any feelings about what Andrea went through or what torture the poor woman experienced.

All she wanted was to prevent any extreme situation from happening.

Yet, seeing as even Ragnar accepted, she could only go along with it- but not before preparing herself.

Aside from the single bat, she already summoned a few more of her pets, they secretly snuck into the warehouse the same way as the bat did but these weren’t for surveillance.

Cindy can’t walk around with three wendigo-like monsters 24/7 now can she?

But she also needed them to be on the ready.

Summoning needed a marker, a point of reference and Cindy herself is a waypoint for her summons.

But that did not mean that she could only set herself as that waypoint.

Some of her summons did not have any combat power or surveillance ability but they did function as waypoints.

Those summons of hers all flew into the building and positioned themselves at the perfect areas to act.

Of course, none were set to protect Richard, he could protect himself, if he can’t then that’s all he was worth.

Richard did not bother to explain himself, seeing as everyone took a step back, he finally made his move.