Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-1316

The colossal dragon's eyes, glowing red, pierced through the darkness of the sky, each glowing orb as large as a brigantine ship. Even the hardened warriors on Nithroel's ship felt a deep, unsettling fear as they watched the spectacle unfold.

"Shit, what is that?" one of the elves in Nithroel's ship exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the sky.

"Are those eyes? They're massive!" another shouted, the terror evident in his voice as he gaped at the colossal figure emerging through the clouds.

As the giant shadow became more discernible, the other dragons in the sky began to shift, gracefully gliding away to clear a vast space in the skies. It was as if they were showing reverence or perhaps fear, making way for something far more powerful than themselves.

Michael watched with a frown as the mammoth dragon descended, its sheer size and the power it radiated making it clear this was no ordinary beast. Even from a distance, the energy it exuded was overwhelming. But Michael felt a chill when he received the system notification.

[Warning!]

[The system has detected the aura of an ancient beast!]

[Caution is advised as the approaching dragon is identified as an ancient beast!]

Michael's vision blurred with the flurry of red notifications. The simple fact that the colossal dragon, now slowly descending through the clouds, was not just any dragon but an ancient beast, sent shivers down his spine. However, the only silver lining was that none of the notifications advised Michael to flee, indicating he still had a chance of winning.

As the shadow grew darker and larger, Michael shrugged off the unease, the soft click of sword sheathes sounding from his armor. Then, the two dark swords emerged, and Michael unsheathed them.

Finally, as the clouds evaporated due to the dragon's heat radiation and the temperature rose several degrees, they all saw the dragon with their own eyes, the ancient beast in its full glory.

The dragon that emerged from the dissipating clouds was a behemoth, its presence commanding the sky. Its scales shimmered with a deep, reddish-brown hue, each one as large as a shield, armored and edged like jagged mountain rock. Its eyes, glowing fiercely red, pierced through the dim sky, radiating a malevolent intelligence.

As it descended, the dragon's expansive and powerful massive wings beat with such force that the air seemed to shudder. Flames danced along the edges of its mouth, casting a sinister glow that highlighted its rows of razor-sharp teeth, each as long as a sword.

"By the stars, look at the size of that beast!" gasped an elf from the deck of Nithroel's ship,

"Those scales... they're like iron plates. How do we even begin to fight something like that?" Another, clutching his weapon tightly, muttered in awe and fear.

As the dragon roared, a sound that echoed like thunder across the battlefield, even the bravest souls among them felt a tremor of fear. Its tail, thick and powerful as a battering ram, swept through the air with an effortless grace that belied its destructive potential.

"So, you're the terror they've hidden away. Let's see if you're as tough as you look," he said under his breath while his hold on the swords tightened. And when the elves in the ship thought the situation could not get any worse, the dragon raised its colossal head slightly as the ominous glow building in its throat signaled an impending disaster. With a guttural roar that shook the heavens, it unleashed a stream of flames that cut through the sky like a molten river. The fiery onslaught sped toward Nithroel's ship with a terrifying ferocity.

Panic ensued Inside the ship as Nithroel made the split-second decision to abandon the ship because she could tell that there was no saving from the dragon. "Evacuate immediately! Use the emergency portals, now!" Her crew scrambled, their faces etched with fear as they rushed to activate the shimmering portals that flickered into existence throughout the vessel.

Just as the dragon's flames reached the ship, a translucent energy shield sprang up around it, glowing briefly under the intense heat. For a precious few seconds, it held the inferno at bay, a testament to its strength that had withstood attacks from Celestial and Half-Celestial cultivators in past battles. However, the dragon's fire proved too potent, and the shield shattered spectacularly, its fragments dissipating into the air like glass under a hammer's blow.

The ship had no chance to recover…It was engulfed by the relentless flames and turned to ash before it could even begin to fall from the sky. The sight of such a powerful vessel disintegrating in mere moments laid bare the dragon's fearsome power. Below, onlookers could only stare in horror as the last remnants of the ship vanished, leaving behind a trail of smoke and a stark reminder of the dragon's power.

On the other hand, Michael, who had used shadow teleportation to escape the flames, reappeared away from the dark cloud of ashes where Nithroel's formidable ship had just hovered. It seemed surreal to many Skyhall angels and Mazeroth students; one moment, the ship loomed in the sky like an indomitable beast, and the next, it was reduced to a cloud of ash by the dragon's breath.

"Holy fucking shit," Thrain muttered, his voice a mix of awe and fear. They all felt a stroke of luck that they had managed to convince Harry to return to the castle instead of following his father into the battle. If not, they might have been engulfed by those devastating flames.

Silence hung heavy for a few moments, with many eyes fixed on the dragon, while others scanned the dark sky in search of the Dark Lord. Harry was the first to spot the vague outline of his father, who was hovering far from the smoldering ash and the dragon's fiery path. However, a chill ran down his spine as the dragon turned its head, its piercing gaze locking with Michael's in the darkened sky.

"Looks like I've got myself a real fucking battle on my hands," Michael cracked a grin with a devil-may-care swagger.

But unexpectedly, a pulsating energy burst forth, clearing the cloud of ash with a powerful shock wave that sent the nearby Skyhall angels scattering in disarray. As the dust settled and visibility returned, Michael's eyes widened in surprise, not only at the clearing sky but at the figure who now dominated the scene.

It was Nithroel, but not as he had last seen her. Gone were her elegant blue dress and flowing golden locks, replaced by gleaming silver armor that hugged her perfect frame. In one hand, she wielded a long silver bow, and a quiver bristling with arrows was strapped to her back. Her hair was pulled back into a no-nonsense ponytail, and her demeanor had shifted from regal empress to the ferocious Goddess of the Hunt she truly was.

"Well, seems like the empress is pissed at the dragon," Michael commented, a smirk playing across his lips as he observed Nithroel's fiery demeanor. He remembered the proud look in her eyes when she gave him a tour of her warship, and now that it was destroyed, her fury seemed as palpable as the heat from the dragon's breath. Michael was relieved to sense the ship's emergency teleportation protocols activate just in time, whisking away not only the elves but also his demons, sparing them from the devastating inferno.

The dragon, massive and imposing, regarded them both with an amused, almost arrogant look in its fiery eyes. As Nithroel flew up to his side, hovering with the grace of a seasoned warrior, Michael turned to her with a light chuckle.

"So, how do we deal with this overgrown lizard?" he asked with a hint of dry humor in his voice.

"And don't tell me you don't know how to hunt this, Goddess of the Hunt,"

Nithroel's brow furrowed as she studied the colossal dragon before them. As the Goddess of the Hunt, she had faced and hunted countless creatures and beasts, including a few ancient beasts. Her prowess and the kills made her the Goddess of Hunt, but the ancient beasts were notoriously dangerous adversaries; even gods of high levels often avoided direct confrontations with them. Despite her storied past, she now lacked the peak powers and resources she once wielded in the realm of gods. Slaying a dragon of this magnitude was an impossible task under these constraints.

Nevertheless, Nithroel's gaze didn't waver with fear; instead, it sparkled with the cunning and determination that had once made her one of the most powerful gods. She knew that while outright killing the dragon might not be feasible, she still possessed enough tactical acumen and knowledge to potentially turn the tide in their favor.

"I have a plan," Nithroel stated confidently.

But when Nithroel was about to share her plans, the dragon caught both off guard by speaking to them.

"God of Darkness and The Goddess of Hunt…What a unique sight to behold…" The dragon's voice was so deep and ancient that made the very air tremble. For a few moments, Michael and Nithroel didn't respond. But the gears in Michael's head began to turn. If he could talk to the dragon, he could drag this long enough for Nithroel and him to come up with a plan, and if he played his cards right, he could even reveal a few cracks in the dragon's armor both figuratively and literally.

"You want to talk…Let's talk…" Michael calmly said.

"But it seems only fair that you tell us who you are or atleast your name, after all, we cannot address you as dragon, right?" Michael calmly asked.

"You may address me as Azurith, the King of Dragons…" the dragon rumbled, marking the return of the dragons to the mortal realm.