Hitman with a Badass System

(A few moments ago)

After Diana took the children outside to her garden, Ethan spent his time socializing with all the guests and giving his blessing to Katherine. Andrews's son was still in his arms and refused to leave. The little boy loved Ethan more than he loved his parents.

"Come on, Keith. Come to papa,' Andrews tried to take the boy away from Ethan as he noticed the royal carriage of King Porter parked outside. Soon, the sound of heavy boots and metal armor clanking grew louder and louder as King Porter entered the hall with his loyal soldiers leading the way. After the royal guards escorted Porter inside, they bowed and joined the royal guards of other nations, leaving their kings to socialize with the others.

As soon as King Porter arrived at the hall, King Crawford Bredia, Katherine's father, welcomed his fellow king with a broad grin. The two of them embraced each other as a sign of respect and firmly shook each other's hands.

"I am so glad you could make it, Porter," King Bredia said, still keeping Porter's hand in his. It had been a year since Porter saw Bredia, who looked much younger and seeped with vigor. The reason for King Bredia's transformation was Andrews and Katherine. Although he was still the king of Bredia, Andrews, and Katherine took care of most things. Under their rule, Kingdom Bredia prospered despite the monstrous growth of Bradford under the rule of the Sunrise sect. The fact that the Dark Lord hailed from the Sunrise sect and he loved Rivertown like it was his own made Bradford untouchable. Noah may have shut down the Majestic and Hades, which used to be the pillars of the economy in Bradford, yet Claire found new means of revenue through farming and trading.

Like weed gets the water poured for the crop, Kingdom Bredia benefitted from the trade routes Claire created. Even merchants from other continents visited Rivertown and Bradford to trade and exchange gifts with the most powerful sect in the Elon continent.

"How is Princess Chanel?" King Bredia asked Porter.

"She is doing perfectly fine, thanks to the gods," said Porter and quickly turned his gaze toward Ethan to avoid further questions regarding Chanel and her curse. King Porter was standing in the Holy Maiden and Supreme Guardian's home, and the last thing he wanted to talk about was something related to the Dark Lord.

"Lord Ethan," Porter greeted Ethan,

"The little one," Porter couldn't help pinching baby Keith's chubby cheeks.

"King Porter, didn't we tell you to come with your family? Where is Queen Clarice and Princess Chanel?" asked Ethan.

"I know, Lord Ethan. But Clarice had taken Chanel to her father's home. Chanel is still not ready to venture outside the kingdom,"

"I understand," Ethan patted Porter on the shoulder. As they were conversing, some of the representatives of Royal Land arrived at the baby shower and showered Katherine with lavish gifts. Even the Holy Church sent people to attend the event just to curry favor with the Holy Maiden and the Supreme Guardian. Almost every single noble family in the Elon continent attended the event regardless of their busy schedules. Since Diana was not the best when it came to socializing, Ethan met and greeted each and every guest while keeping Keith from crying out loud.

While Ethan was attending to the guests, Natalia Winston went outside to receive the cake they had ordered from the beast kingdom in Awor Continent. The beastmen had some of the best cooks in the entire world, including three 6-star Chefs. Ethan had to call several favors to get this special cake from the beastmen kingdom. The cake was taller than Natalia herself and covered with a special box made of thin planks.

"Take this inside," Natalia ordered the Winston manor guards to take the cake inside. The guards rolled the box as gently as they could. At that moment, everyone thought the box contained a human-sized cake resembling Katherine.

"Finally," Ethan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the golden wooden box. The moment the guards brought the cake inside, its fresh aroma and sweetness made everyone salivate for a piece. As Ethan vowed to himself, he brought nothing but the best to the baby shower.

"Keep it close to Katherine," said Emelda. One by one, the guests who had newly arrived went to Katherine and smeared sandal paste on her face. The hall brimmed with joy and positive energy as Ethan forgot all of his problems and celebrated the baby shower with everyone else. Emelda smiled, looking at Ethan, laughing and joking around as he was used to before he learned everything about Diana's second son. Emelda wished they could stay like this forever. Although she was not cruel enough to say Dean didn't deserve a loving family, she didn't think the Dark Lord could have a happy ending after everything he had done.

When Emelda went to the doorway to the garden, she saw Diana talking to her children. Emelda gawked at them for a moment and decided not to approach them. By the time she returned to Katherine's side, the soon-to-be mother tucked Emelda's sleeves. Katherine motioned Emelda to give her ears.

"Can I get something to eat?" Katherine whispered into Emelda's ears.

"Just wait for a few minutes, darling," Emelda gently kissed Katherin on top of her head. She looked around, noticing a few new faces approaching Katherine to give their blessings. Eventually, when everyone in the hall had done their part, Emelda gestured at the guards to open the box containing the cake.

"Everyone, please gather around. We are going to cut the cake now," Emelda's voice swept across the hall, silencing the crowd.

"Go and bring Diana and the others," Ethan ordered one of the maids before strolling toward Emelda. Keith played with Ethan's ears, trying to chew them. All the kings, nobles, and elders of various sects gathered around Katherine as Emelda waited for Diana to arrive.

"They will be here. Go on, open the box," Andrews said. Then, Emelda twisted the knob attached to the side of the box and watched the box sling open. A dim light appeared in the box, along with the sound of a baby's cry, before the wooden box crumbled into tiny pieces, revealing the cake inside. Katherine and the others were stunned to see the cake that looked exactly like Katherine. The beastmen chefs poured their hearts and souls into the cake as they etched every single detail about Katherin into the cake. If it wasn't for the golden icing and cherries on top of the cake, one would have mistaken the cake for the real Katherine.

"Here you go," Emelda picked up a knife with a golden bow tied around it and handed it over to Katherine.

"Carve out a nice piece of yourself," the crowd chuckled, hearing Emelda's words. Katherine gawked around for a moment, searching for Diana and her children.

"Where are they?" Ethan mumbled. He was about to step aside from the crowd when he saw the cake trembling. As a former adventurer, Ethan developed an ability to sense an imminent threat. For some reason, his instincts screamed at him as he pushed Katherine away from the cake. To everyone's shock, a black hand punched through the cake from within and tried to stab Ethan.

Ethan immediately grabbed the hand, twisting it.

"Argh," Ethan heard a muffled groan. He put in enough strength to break the wrist, but the assassin ignored the pain as he dashed out of the cake, destroying it completely in the process. The assassin raised his other hand as an evil-looking dagger oozing dark red smoke appeared in his hand. He brought down the dagger at Ethan. Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Except for Ethan, no one reacted in time and called for the guards. They were too startled. Meanwhile, Ethan moved his body to the side, evading the dagger by an inch. He kicked the assassin in the chest to put some distance between them. Baby Keith was terrified of the dark-robed assassin and began to cry. Every fiber in Ethan's body prioritized keeping Keith safe over everything, including his own life. The assassin was extremely agile and noble. He leaped into the air and cast a spell as a bright light flashed across the room, blinding everyone.

Ethan closed his eyes but covered Keith with both his hands and held him closer to his chest. Suddenly, Ethan felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Despite the excruciating pain, Ethan didn't let go of Keith. The assassin stabbed Ethan a couple of times until Ethan managed to grab the assassin's wrist and twist it. The dagger slipped off the assassin's hand as Ethan stomped the ground with enough force to make the dagger bounce up. Before the assassin could react, Ethan grabbed the dagger in one hand and stabbed the assassin in the shoulder.

Ethan heard the assassin groan as the bright flash finally faded away.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Emelda screamed when she snapped back to reality and saw Ethan collapse down to the ground. So much blood gushed out of Ethan's stomach, turning the floor beneath him wet and red. The assassin was nowhere to be found. When the guards rushed to Ethan's side, it was too late.

"Keith!' Andrews and Katherine screamed out loud as Andrews plucked Keith from the ground and held him closer to his chest. Seeing Keith safe in Andrew's arms, Ethan heaved a sigh of relief.

"Search the area!" King Bredia roared as he dashed toward Katherine. The Winston manor guards immediately surrounded the family while the royal guards rushed to their master's side.

"Ghhhhrgg," Ethan tried to speak, yet no words escaped his mouth. The pain was too much to bear, as it felt like he was being eaten from the inside. He could feel his life force slowly leaving his body. Every breath he took made the pain worse. When he was in pain and realized he was dying, he only saw one thing before his eyes, his family.

"Dia…Dian…" Ethan mumbled. If he was about to die, he wanted to see Diana one last time before he closed his eyes.

"Father!" Sabrina pushed through the crowd and shouted when she saw Ethan. This was the dream she had last night. She saw her father die in her arms as she watched the light of life, leaving Ethan's eyes helplessly in her dream.