Hitman with a Badass System

Azazel was surprised by Rowena's words and took a few moments to formulate a fitting response. He knew they must be in some blunder if they chose to contact the Dark Lord. Hence, Azazel wanted to gauge how desperate they were before informing the Dark Lord.

"And the Dark Lord will settle the debt in time. Unfortunately for you, Holy Maiden, he doesn't work for the Skyhall,"

Rowena took a step forward and stood beside Noah. Her eyes glistened with cold murderous intent.

"I give you five seconds to call Ghost," Rowena snarled as Azazel let out an amused smile.

"And what would happen when your countdown reaches six?" asked Azazel.

"Nothing. But soon, you will see me in the dark ocean, bringing the entire might of Skyhall to your doorstep. Your head will be the first one to roll down,"

"Is threatening us the best way to ask for help, Holy Maiden?" another voice appeared as they saw Azazel turn around and bow. The next moment, Noah and the others saw Gaya, the Dark Queen, stand before them in her dark suit of armor.

"Azazel, we always settle our debt," Gaya looked over her shoulder and said to Azazel. Then, she turned her gaze back to Rowena and Noah.

"You must be in some pretty desperate situation to ask for our help. Let's just say your clans have nothing to do with us. Why would we help you? What's in it for us?" Gaya rubbed her chin.

"You said it yourself, you always settle your debt. My sister saved Ghost's life, and it's time he returns the favor," said Noah.

"Forgive me for thinking this might be an elaborate trap to capture the Dark Lord, Noah. Your pretty wife tried that, and it didn't turn out well, did it? Now explain to me why I shouldn't think that way?"

"Because Ethan is dying," Diana stepped forward and answered Gaya instead of Rowena or Noah. When Gaya heard Diana, her brows slightly arched up in surprise. She slowly waved her hand as the floating card turned a bit toward Ethan.

"He will be there," Gaya's words completely taken aback Noah and Rowena by surprise. They expected to negotiate or atleast threaten her, but she glanced at Ethan for a moment and agreed to help them.

"Thank you," Diana said as tears trickled down her eyes.

"I hope for your sake you and your teacher don't play with your father's life," After Gaya spoke these words, her figure vanished into thin air. The card fell down to the ground as they all stared at the place where Gaya was for a few seconds without batting an eye.

******************************************************

"My lady," Gaya turned around to see Azazel. The demon butler was just as confused and surprised as Noah.

"Forgive me for questioning you, my lady. But why did you agree to help them?" asked Azazel.

"Did you see their faces? They are desperate," Gaya's face lit up.

"Imagine the world knowing that Noah, the Supreme Guardian, needed the Dark Lord's help. People who support Noah would go nuts when they realize he struck a deal with the Dark Lord to save his father. Plus, when Skyhall hears the Holy Maiden allowed the Dark Lord into her own home, we can expect some very big backslashes from her elders," Gaya devilishly chuckled.

"Whoever tried to kill Ethan has done us a huge favor. Inform Nadia Hall about this. Tomorrow morning, I want to see the headline The Supreme Guardian struck a deal with the Dark Lord to save his family. He went for our weapons, and I am going straight for his credibility. I wanna see that bastard's face when he realizes we completely fucked up his loyal base," Gaya couldn't keep her excitement bottled. If Azazel wasn't there, she would have bounced up and down, celebrating Noah's desperate situation.

"Has he returned from his little trip?" Gaya asked Azazel.

"Yes, my lady. He is currently meditating in the garden,"

"I'll go meet him then," said Gaya. Eventually, Gaya reached the sword hilt mountain top and saw Michael meditating with his eyes closed. Nightmare was peacefully sleeping behind him, cuddling Vedora. By the time Gaya reached Michael, the sky had rumbled in the distance as she sensed the upcoming heavy storm. Despite the weather, Michael remained calm and completely focused on keeping his mind empty. What surprised Gaya was the dark swords. They stood on each side like guards while radiating crimson-red lightning bolts. She could feel the electricity in the air around him.

"Human," Gaya called Michael in a husky voice as his eyelids moved slightly. It took Michael a few seconds to slowly open his eyes.

"You are not gonna believe what just happened," said Gaya. Michael saw her eyes glowing with excitement and became curious.

"Give me a second," Michael stood up as the dark slowly flew into his sheath. He then proceeded to brush off the dust from his black coat and adjusted his sleeves.

"I just talked to Noah Winston," As soon as Gaya said these words, Michael was taken aback by surprise. His brows arched up. For a moment, his mind couldn't apprehend her words. Without keeping Michael in the dark, Gaya told him everything. Michael didn't even bat an eye hearing the story. Michael walked to the mountain's edge and glanced at the stormy dark ocean before him.

"Ethan was one of the few people who helped us without an ulterior motive," Michael said, remembering all his conversations with Ethan. He couldn't help thinking of Diana either. For some reason, he felt a strange connection with Diana and Ethan. Besides, Rowena did save his life when the Blood Prince almost punched him to death. So he naturally felt indebted to Rowena, and he hated the feeling of being indebted to someone else. That was the reason why Michael always avoided taking loans from the system.

Although Noah was his arch nemesis, his conscience didn't allow him to ignore Noah's plea for help. Michael knew how hard it must have been for Noah to seek his help out of all people. Furthermore, Ethan and Diana always treated him well, like he was one of their own. Plus, this was a great opportunity to gain thousands of badass points as well as ruin Noah's image among the people. After taking a few long moments to gauge the plus and minuses of visiting Noah's home, Michael finally agreed to help him.

"Nightmare," Michael looked over his shoulder and called out his dragon. Nightmare opened his eyes and slowly rose up to his feet without waking up Vedora. Since Nightmare was in his true form, he cast a large shadow on the ground, which trembled as he walked toward Michael.

"We are going to Pen Town, buddy," Michael said, rubbing Nightmare's warm chin.

"I am coming with you," Gaya firmly said.

"Keep your eyes open when we reach there. I have a feeling this assassination attempt has something more to it," said Michael. As much as Michael loved causing trouble for Noah, he didn't wish his parents to die. Michael would never wish someone to be an orphan as he knew what that life would be like. Part of him blamed Noah for failing to protect his parents and loving family. Every time one of Noah's family got themselves into trouble, he had to save them. If anything, Noah should feel grateful toward him.

********************************************

Meanwhile, Noah's team of elites rushed to his home as soon as they heard what just happened during the baby shower. The word of the assassination attempt on Ethan's life spread through the kingdom like wildfire.

"Supreme Guardian!" Neela entered the hall with the others.

"We are already sweeping the kingdom as we speak for the assassin. We will find him," said Neela. She clenched her fist, seeing all the blood on Noah's pure white robes and on the ground. Rowena completely ignored the guardians and sat beside Ethan, keeping the wound closed with the ice. Sabrina sat next to Rowena and held Ethan's hand as tight as she could. On the other hand, Diana remained without shedding a drop of tears. She firmly believed the Dark Lord could save Ethan's life. Diana's mind imagined new ways of killing the assassin and whoever sent him. After taking care of Ethan, tracking down the assassin would be her top priority. Even if the assassin ran to the edge of the world, she would find him and show him what would happen if someone dared to touch her family.

"You guys secure the parameters and keep everyone away from Ghost,"

Neela and the others creased their brows as they couldn't believe what they had just heard.

"Did you say Ghost, Supreme Guardian?" asked Neela.

"He is the only one who could lift the curse put on my father," said Noah.

After Neela and the others heard Noah, their minds went blank. As a result, complete silence swept across the hall until Neela opened her mouth.

"You cannot do this, Supreme Guardian. There must be another way," said Neela.

"What if this is all his plan? How can you know he wasn't the one who sent the assassin?" asked Neela.

To their surprise, it was Diana who answered Neela, not Noah.

"He didn't," Diana simply said as everyone turned their gazes toward her.

"My lady-"

Diana raised her hand, abruptly cutting Neela's words short.

"If he wanted Ethan dead, he would be six feet down on the ground by now," Diana said without bothering to hide her killing intent. The murderous rage in Diana's eyes startled Rowena as she had never seen her mother like that. Granted, Ethan was just stabbed, and her mother was not in her usual self but still, the murderous aura Rowena felt around Diana completely surprised her. In Rowena's eyes, Diana seemed like a new person.

"Find the assassin and figure it out. If you find him first, he will be alive," Diana openly issued a threat, giving no shit about the guardians. The one before them at that moment was not Diana but Harriet Hunt. Just a glimpse of her former self freaked the hell out everyone, including Noah and Rowena.

"I will face the consequences of my actions later. For now, this is my order. Go and secure the area and do not make any moves on the Dark Lord," Noah ordered his team.