Hitman with a Badass System

The moment Michael heard these words, his mind went blank. A ringing sound continued to resonate in his head. Everything from the images of Abras's first meeting with Victoria to the sanctuary burning in front of his eyes flashed across him. His body and hands shivered in pure rage. Meanwhile, Victoria landed near Edith. She looked at Ghost's back, having no idea who was in front of her.

"Lyla," said Michael. The name immediately put a frown on Victoria's face. She used the name to infiltrate the sanctuary. Except for Abras, some elders in the sanctuary, General Booth, and her father, no one outside knew the name she used. But somehow, Ghost uttered the name. Edith, on the other hand, thought he had said her elder sister's name.

Michael slowly turned around. His eyes were bloodshot. All the veins on his face bulged up. Edith also noticed him shivering. Victoria still didn't figure out his identity because of Michael's beard. With a flick of his wrist, Michael took out a dagger. Edith's body tensed up, but Victoria remained calm.

"Do you remember me, Lyla?" asked Michael, surprising Victoria with his question. His voice was cold. Any oblivious man could sense the deep hatred in his tone. But Victoria had no idea. As far as she knew, he was Ghost.

Seeing Victoria have no response, Michael pressed the dagger against his face, slowly shaving the beard. Victoria's heartbeat steadily increased. When Michael shaved his beard completely, her heart skipped a beat. The face of Ghost reminded Lyla of someone she had forgotten long ago, Abras. She simply couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Abras," Victoria mumbled. The last time she saw Abras, she stabbed him in the heart. There was no way he could have survived the slaughter. But not only had he survived, but he also became a heaven-defying prodigy. In the corner of her mind, she doubted that Abras used the Cosmic stream somehow to survive and cultivate. Victoria remembered Abras as a naive, weak, and love-stricken boy from a group who kept the Cosmic stream for themselves instead of using it for the betterment of this world. However, Ghost was the exact opposite of Abras. That was the reason Victoria even considered meeting Ghost and thought about marrying him. He was the perfect suitor and the prince for Thusia. He was brutal, cold, and merciless to his enemies.

"Abras?" Edith took a step back. She recalled everything Victoria told about the sanctuary and what the thusians did to the people who converted the cosmic stream. If Edith was right, Abras was the young man Victoria pretended to be in love with and killed in the end. A necessary action. That's how Victoria justified her actions. Edith was still unclear about how she felt about what Thusians did to the sanctuary. But at least they used Cosmic energy to get rid of the plague that swept across Thusia. If not for the Cosmic stream, her parents would have died. For that, Edith felt eternally grateful to Victoria and King Maxim.

"You survived," Victoria said. Despite the startling truth, Victoria didn't shiver in fear or show any emotion except a slight surprise in her eyes. Although she didn't know how Abras survived, she couldn't let him live. Otherwise, he might expose the Cosmic stream's existence to the outside world.

"What now, Abras? You want to kill me?" asked Victoria. Granted Ghost was strong, but she was stronger. She had Cosmic energy coursing through her veins. Thinking that she had to kill him again, she almost felt pity for him. It seemed like fate really wanted her to kill Abras. The least she could do for him was end his life painlessly. This time, she didn't have to betray him but look him in the eyes and end his life personally.

"Kill you? Hahaha," To her surprise, Ghost burst into devilish laughter. He threw the dagger aside.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it a long time ago. No no no…" Michael shook his head.

"You took something from me. Now I am going to take everything from you," His word sounded awfully murderous. Even from a distance, Edith could feel the killing intent.

On the other hand, Victoria creased her brows. She stepped forward as sparkling blue energy formed a sword in her hand. The sword made of pure Cosmic energy. There was no metal or weapon that could withstand the cosmic energy. She had slain hundreds of enemies using the sword, and it was time to put Abras to rest.

"To do that, you have to be alive," Victoria scorned. She was about to dash forward when Michael surprised her by dashing toward Edith. Victoria didn't expect Michael to target Edith because Edith had done nothing to him.

"Argh!" Edith didn't react in time. His speed caught Edith off guard. Without giving both the girls any time to react, Michael stabbed Edith in the neck with a needle.

"Get away from her!" Victoria raised the sword to cut down Abras.

But suddenly, Edith collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony.

"What did you do?" Victoria's instincts told her to stop.

Edith rolled on the ground. Her scream echoed through the floating mountain. Michael laughed. Victoria rushed toward Edith. When she squatted beside Edith, Michael snapped his finger. To Victoria's surprise, Edith stopped screaming. Michael circled around him like a predator stalking its prey. It took a great effort for Michael not to slaughter Victoria right here and then.

Victoria helped Edith up. Edith's face was completely pale. A second again, she felt an excruciating pain in every corner of her body. It was like she was being stabbed with hundreds of nails at the same time. But the pain disappeared as soon as Michael snapped his finger. Michael finally finished a full circle around them.

"This is just a glimpse of what I am going to do to you and all your loved ones, Lyla," said Michael.

Victoria clenched her fist. She wanted to cut Abras into pieces. She would have given him a painless death, but now, she wanted to make him suffer.

" I want you to see everyone you care about suffer. Brick by brick, one by one, I will dismantle your beloved Thusia in front of your eyes. I will raise everything you built to the ground," Michael slowly said these words.

"You will beg me to kill you, end your suffering. But I won't grant you any mercy. I will kill your family, slowly and painfully. Just like your people did to mine,"

"Leave her out of this," Victoria growled.

Michael tilted his head, staring at Edith for a moment. He then slowly walked toward Victoria. He came close to the point Victoria could feel his hot breath on her.

"Why?" Whispered Michael.

"She had done nothing to you. She's innocent," Victoria snarled. She wanted to punch him in the chest, crushing his heart. However, she was afraid that would kill Edith. And she was right. Michael injected Edith with the blood tonic. If he wished, he could end Edith's life with a single snap of his finger.

Michael didn't hide this. He let both of them know what he had done to Edith.

"I put something of my own inside her. All I need is to snap my fingers to end your friend's little life,"

Victoria gritted her teeth as Michael coldly smiled.

"Or if I wanted, I could enjoy some screaming music,"

Michael simply moved his brow as Edith collapsed to the ground once again, screaming and rolling in pain. Finally, Victoria couldn't see her friend suffer. She clenched the Cosmic sword tighter. She wanted to cut down Abras.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Michael shook his head.

"Patience, Lyla. Do you think I only hold your friend's life in my hand? How's her highness, Valeria?" Victoria's mind went blank.

"Abras," Victoria growled like a wounded animal. Her eyes turned blood red in anger.

"You coward. Release my friend and settle this like a man," said Victoria.

But Michael laughed.

"I am not a man. I am the fucking consequences of your actions,"

Michael glanced at Edith. He willed the system to shut down the nanites in her body. As a result, Edith's pain disappeared.

"You have no idea what we are capable of, Abras. I destroyed your home once. It won't take me long to do it again,"

Michael heard Victoria while he was walking away from Victoria. He was afraid he would lose control and slaughter Victoria right on this floating mountain. He didn't want that. As he explained, he wanted Victoria to suffer. Although killing Vitoria was as easy as snapping his finger, he had other plans for her.

"I will destroy Bradford and everyone in it,"

"Then you better pray you can protect your precious Cosmic stream from all the Great Eight Clans and the Skyhall. Because the moment you raise a finger against me, I will expose your dirty little secret, " Michael turned around with a devilish grin.

"Then, I will make your friend and your mother scream to death. That'd be just a glimpse," Michael slowly ascended to the sky.

"Now go tell your entire kingdom, death is coming," Michael's figure disappeared from Victoria's sight. Silence fell over them. Edith shivered in fear. When she looked into Victoria's eyes, she saw a sign of dread for the first time.

Michael may have bluffed about poisoning Valeria. But the moment he leaves MAzeroth, he plans to order Azazel to inject Valeria with the blood tonic. It'd be difficult but using the Spyders and drones, it wasn't an impossible task either. Azazel was more than enough to finish the task.  Moreover, Michael's threat to expose the Cosmic stream rendered Victoria helpless. Once the Cosmic stream's existence gets out, they would be at war with not just kingdoms but with the great eight clans and the Skyhall itself. Unfortunately, they were still not strong enough to face the Skyhall.

"Vikki, what are we going to do now?" asked Edith. She was pretty shaken up by Michael's threat. She lived long enough to tell he wasn't bluffing. Every word that came out of his mouth sounded like a promise.

"We can do only one thing," Victoria took a deep breath.

"Prepare for the war," said Victoria.