Hitman with a Badass System

As Michael concealed himself in the darkness, a figure descended from the rooftop and landed beside the round table where the immortals once sat. It was none other than Evan. Shock was evident in his eyes as he saw the beheaded bodies of the immortals, and fear crept into his expression.

"What... What happened here?" Evan's voice trembled as he took in the horrifying scene. Michael couldn't help but smirk at Evan's reaction, noting the unstable energy radiating around him like a ticking time bomb.

The last time they clashed, Michael had been at godhood level 1 and had to resort to using Victoria, Evan's fiancée, as a hostage to gain the upper hand. However, this time, Michael was at the Celestial stage with godhood level 2, making him more powerful than Evan. Despite them both being at godhood level 2, Michael's strength surpassed Evan's several times over.

As Evan carefully inspected the lifeless bodies, he couldn't find any signs of struggle or evidence of the perpetrator. Unbeknownst to him, Michael remained hidden in the dark corner, a calculating smile playing on his lips.

Meanwhile, Michael retrieved several powerful runic parchments from his storage, each designed by Elidyr and acquired through the system store at the cost of five million badass points. With precision, he placed the parchments on the nearby wall, watching as the runes came to life, vibrating before melding into the stone.

As the room remained shrouded in an eerie silence, Michael's neck cracked audibly as he prepared for his encounter with Evan once more. The sound echoed through the chamber, catching Evan's attention. His heart pounded in his chest, and his eyes widened in shock and fear when he saw the figure emerge from the darkness.

The air around them felt charged with tension as Michael and Evan locked eyes. Evan couldn't believe what he was seeing – the Dark Lord, who he thought was dead, now stood before him, alive and more powerful than ever. Fear and disbelief washed over Evan as he faced the formidable enemy who he thought died.

Terror gripped Evan's heart as he stammered, "Ghost…"

"I go by the name Dark Lord now," Michael replied calmly, his voice sending chills down Evan's spine.

With each step Michael took forward, Evan stumbled back, his fear intensifying. The combination of the fear toxin in the air and the shock of seeing the Dark Lord alive made Evan tremble uncontrollably.

"You… are… dead… No…" Evan mumbled in disbelief. He vividly remembered witnessing Noah strike the Dark Lord with the god-killing arrows, leading to a fiery explosion. Unbeknownst to Evan, the two god-killing arrows Olivia gave to Noah during the final moments of the war were actually fakes. In a clever twist, Olivia had entrusted the real god-killing arrows to Michael. So when Noah struck Michael with the five original god-killing arrows and the two fakes, the genuine arrows remained inert. It was all part of Michael's elaborate plan to fake his death with a spectacular explosion and secure all the authentic god-killing arrows for himself.

"I am indeed dead. I am just your deepest fear," Michael taunted, toying with Evan's emotions. For a moment, Evan felt convinced that the Dark Lord standing before him was a manifestation of his worst nightmares.

"No!" Suddenly, Evan shook his head vigorously, as if trying to break free from the grip of fear. Summoning his courage, he lunged at Michael, aiming a desperate punch at his face. But just as his fist approached Michael, it was caught mid-air by the Dark Lord, who wore an unsettling smile.

"I am indeed dead. I am just your deepest fear," Michael taunted, playing with Evan's emotions. For a brief moment, Evan's mind succumbed to the idea that the Dark Lord was nothing more than a manifestation of his worst nightmares.

"No!" Suddenly, Evan shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake off the fear that had consumed him. Summoning every ounce of his courage, he lunged at Michael and threw a furious punch towards his face. But before the blow could land, Michael effortlessly caught Evan's fist, flashing a twisted smile.

"Evan, did you miss me?" Michael's chilling words echoed in Evan's mind, reminding him of the horrific scene where the Dark Queen had forced Victoria to drink the blood tonic against her will.

Although Michael had no intention of fighting Evan seriously, he couldn't resist testing his newfound powers, using Evan as a mere practice dummy to display his strength.

"You cannot be alive. I saw you explode into bloody mist," Evan growled, still struggling to accept that the Dark Lord stood before him, very much alive.

"Don't believe everything you see and hear, Evan," Michael retorted. With a swift and powerful punch, he struck Evan right in the chest, sending him hurtling through the air until he collided with the wall.

The fear toxin coursing through Evan's veins slowly began to lose its grip as anger and the pain of losing Victoria overwhelmed him. Two weeks after the Dark Lord's supposed defeat, Victoria had traveled to meet her family on the Awor continent after her encounter with Salesi. Tragedy had struck as she was ambushed and slain by a Bone Dragon. Since then, Evan had been relentlessly tracking down the Bone Dragon's origins, leading him to the immortal council's headquarters atop Mount Gallion. The connection between Victoria's death and the council heightened Evan's fury and determination.

"What do you think?" Michael sneered, his taunting words further provoking Evan's anger. Unbeknownst to Evan, the tragic death of Victoria was not the doing of the Dark Queen or the Dark Lord, but rather a manipulative scheme orchestrated by Salesi's death squad.

(Read Chapter 1024)

When Salesi saw the devastation in Victoria's house following the Dark Queen's visit, she cunningly devised a plan to exploit Evan's emotions. Believing that the Dark Queen had harmed Victoria and would use her life as leverage, Salesi ordered her death squad member, Stormwing, to stage Victoria's death as an accident.

As per Salesi's orders, Stormwing led the Bone Dragon, which had previously escaped from the immortal council, to Victoria's location, orchestrating the fatal encounter. When Evan arrived, all he found was a pool of blood and the heartbreaking sight of Victoria's severed wrist, spared by the jaws of the vicious creature.

Consumed by overwhelming grief and seething with fury, Evan's heart was now consumed by the pursuit of vengeance. In his anguish, he became a relentless hunter, relentlessly tracking the Bone Dragon with a determination bordering on madness.

As Michael snickered arrogantly, Evan's grief and anger reached its breaking point, firmly convinced that the Dark Lord was responsible for Victoria's tragic death. Blinded by his emotions, he didn't even consider the possibility that someone else might be behind the horrifying act. Fate, it seemed, had brought Evan face to face with the one he believed had taken everything from him.

"BASTARD!" Evan's anguished scream tore through the air as he lunged at Michael once more. His fists flew like a wild storm, driven by the madness of loss and despair. But Michael was no ordinary opponent; he deftly evaded every punch and kick with ease, his movements fluid and precise.

With the help of the powerful runes, the mountain concealed their battle from prying eyes, forming an illusion that shielded them from the outside world. But even within the illusion, Evan's fury and desperation were palpable.

As Evan's relentless assault continued, Michael sensed that his opponent had yet to unleash his true power. Tauntingly, Michael questioned Evan's choice of fists over spells and godly abilities.

"Is this how you fight a man who killed your love?" Michael sneered, blocking Evan's punch effortlessly and retaliating with a deadly black bolt of lightning. The powerful surge of energy sent Evan hurtling through the air once again, a painful reminder of the one-sided nature of their battle.

As Evan's desperation escalated, he channeled all his power into a grand display of spells. The air crackled with energy as he unleashed overwhelming forces, causing the hall to tremble and the very ground beneath them to quake.

First, Evan conjured a tempest of swirling winds that tore through the hall, shattering the marble walls and tossing debris into the air like deadly projectiles. The winds howled with fury, threatening to consume everything in their path.

Next, he summoned celestial flames that burned with an intensity beyond imagination. The flames danced and twirled, creating a fiery inferno that threatened to consume the entire space.

But as Evan's onslaught continued, Michael calmly raised his hand and an energy shield dome formed around him. The responsive shield, a testament to his newfound power as a level 2 god, grew in size and strength. The shield expanded, encompassing the entire hall, and its luminescent glow intensified, emanating an aura of invincibility.

The clash of their powers was a spectacle to behold. Evan's spells collided with the resilient energy dome, but they failed to penetrate its formidable defense. The swirling winds and raging flames struck the dome, only to be dispersed harmlessly around Michael.

With each failed attempt, Evan's frustration grew, and he unleashed even more potent spells. He tried to bring down the energy dome with bolts of celestial lightning and torrents of freezing ice, but nothing could breach the shield's impenetrable barrier.

Meanwhile, Michael remained composed, his eyes cold and calculating as he analyzed Evan's every move. His dark armor glimmered, absorbing the impact of Evan's attacks effortlessly.

As the battle raged on, it became apparent that Evan's rage had clouded his judgment. Michael's mastery of darkness and his strategic use of the responsive shield gave him an undeniable advantage. With each futile attempt, Evan's confidence waned, and the reality of facing a truly living Dark Lord began to sink in.

The power of Michael's responsive shield astonished even him. As Evan's relentless spells crashed against the shield, it absorbed nearly 90% of their destructive force, leaving Michael unharmed behind his dark armor. The hall became coated in a layer of frost from Evan's icy spells, but it seemed to have little effect on the Dark Lord.

The runes Michael had placed earlier concealed the battle from outside detection, ensuring that no one would interfere or sense the immense clash between the two gods. Evan, infused with powers beyond his own, tried desperately to match Michael's might, but it was clear that he was nowhere close to being a true god like Michael.

In this confrontation, Michael realized that only the true gods from the realm of gods could stand a chance against him and pose a real challenge, especially those who were at or above the level 3 godhood. Evan's power, gained by grace that was not his own, proved inadequate against the might of the Dark Lord.

As the battle continued, Michael's calm demeanor contrasted sharply with Evan's growing frustration and desperation. Each strike from Evan's spells was effortlessly countered by the responsive shield, leaving Evan feeling powerless in the face of such overwhelming darkness.

"My turn,"

With a sinister smirk, Michael's hands crackled with power as he raised them, preparing to unleash his own devastating spells. From his palms, sharp wind blades surged forth, slicing through the air with deadly precision. Accompanying the wind blades, bolts of dark lightning erupted, crackling and searing through the atmosphere. But that was not all – the very air above Evan seemed to obey Michael's command, as more lightning bolts materialized from thin air, raining down with electrifying force.

As if the spectacle wasn't enough, a ring of dark flames erupted from Michael's body, encircling him in a blazing inferno. The flames were no ordinary fire; they were infused with dark flames, consuming everything in their path with unrelenting fury. The force of the spells was overwhelming, creating an awe-inspiring display of raw power that left the entire hall trembling.

Evan's eyes widened in horror as he found himself surrounded by the deadly onslaught of wind blades, lightning bolts, and infernal flames. Desperation and fear etched across his face, but there was nowhere to run – he was trapped within the swirling tempest of Michael's wrath.

The wind blades tore through anything they touched, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The dark lightning bolts crackled with energy, striking Evan from all directions, filling the air with blinding flashes of light. Meanwhile, the ring of dark flames incinerated everything in its path, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake.

The hall that was once a symbol of power and authority now lay in ruins, torn asunder by the force of Michael's spells. The walls crumbled, and the elegant decorations were reduced to mere debris. The once grand and dignified space was now a scene of chaos and devastation, a testament to the unmatched power of the Dark Lord.

As the dust settled and the echoes of the spells faded away, Evan lay defeated amidst the ruins of the hall. His body was battered and broken, and his spirit was crushed by the overwhelming might of the Dark Lord. Michael stood tall amidst the destruction, his dark armor glistening with power, a silent but formidable force that had left Evan utterly powerless.