Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-1332

"Behold," Erael intoned, her hands weaving intricate patterns in the air.

A shimmering portal materialized, revealing a soul floating in ethereal beauty. Golden hair flowed around delicate features, reminiscent of Eve. The sight stirred something in Michael's chest, but his face remained impassive.

As Michael gazed at the soul, a familiar voice echoed in his mind:

[Does the host wish to scan the soul for authenticity and find the location of the soul?] [The process requires 10 million badass points. Does the host wish to continue?]

Without hesitation, Michael mentally agreed. His badass points dropped from thirty million to twenty million, a price he deemed worth paying.

Meanwhile, the Skyhall elders who were watching Michael intently, mistook his silence for emotional turmoil. But they had no idea of the unseen process unfolding within his mind.

[The Scanning and finding location will be done in five minutes…]

Hearing the system's notification, Michael shifted his focus from the soul to the three elders before him. A hint of amusement played at the corners of his mouth as he broke the silence.

"Please, elaborate on this notion of wanting half the mortal realm," he said, his tone deceptively light.

The elders exchanged glances, momentarily taken aback by his sudden shift in demeanor. Finally, Devdan cleared his throat.

"We propose a division," he stated, his voice steady. "Awor continent and Ozer continent for us, while you retain Elon, the Southern continent, and everything in between."

Michael's eyebrows shot up, momentarily caught off guard by the sheer audacity of their request. These bastards had some nerve, he thought, asking for the two most valuable pieces of the mortal realm pie.

Awor, the crown jewel of the continents, was Nithroel's domain - rich in resources, blessed with diverse climates, and fertile as hell. It wasn't even his to give away, and even if it were, he'd sooner eat his own shadow than hand it over to these conniving pricks.

Then there was Ozer, the beating heart of trade and commerce. Slapping those two continents together made for a landmass that dwarfed Elon and the Southern continent combined. It was like asking for a mansion and throwing in a cardboard box as a 'fair trade'. Michael almost snorted at their clever little ploy with the Southern continent. Home to Mugashuku, the colossal four-headed hydra that was sucking up Arch energy like a cosmic vacuum cleaner. The Skyhall elders were clearly not keen on tangling with that particular beast. Sneaky bastards.

And Elon? That tiny sliver of land barely qualified as a continent. It was the participation trophy of territorial negotiations.

As Michael processed this ridiculous proposition, he struggled to keep his face neutral. These elders were either delusional or had balls of steel. Either way, he was looking forward to crushing their absurd expectations.

After hearing their proposal, Lenora's patience snapped like a twig. She threw her hands in the air, her vampiric fangs bared in a snarl of anger and disbelief. It was rare to see her this riled up, but the sheer audacity of their request had her itching to leap forward and rip their throats out, maybe sample some celestial blood while she was at it.

On the other hand, Elidyr was so shocked he seemed to have forgotten how to form words, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

Even the dark army soldiers, their obsidian armor gleaming ominously in the ethereal light, were exchanging bewildered glances.

"Fucking hell, are these idiots for real?" one muttered under his breath.

"They've got some brass balls, I'll give 'em that," another chuckled darkly.

Finally, Michael broke the silence, an amused smile playing on his lips. "Are you seriously expecting me to agree to this deal? What, did you pregame this negotiation with a barrel of Elven wine?"

Erael and Devdan exchanged uneasy glances, knowing full well they were asking for the lion's share. They were banking on the Dark Lord's concern for Jasmine and fear of their mysterious "contingencies" to make him consider their outrageous proposal.

But before they could respond, Thorfinn, the dwarf, jumped in, his voice gruff and challenging. "Listen here, you overgrown shadow. You don't like our terms? Fine. We can do this the hard way. We'll blow these continents to kingdom come before you can blink. You've already fucked the mortal realm with your eternal darkness bullshit. So what's a few more explosions, eh? We're not going down without taking everything with us!"

"If Jasmine doesn't move your heart, then perhaps she might..." Devdan's lips curled into a foxish smile as he watched Michael's reaction. Then, he nodded at Erael, a glint of triumph in his eyes.

With a wave of her hand, Erael transformed the portal mirror's image. The shimmering visage of Jasmine's soul slowly morphed, revealing a sight that made Michael and his companions frown in confusion and shock.

There, bound by chains at her wrists and ankles, was a young woman. Her pale skin was marred with bruises, her black hair a tangled mess. Cuts crisscrossed her face, and her tattered clothes hung loosely on her frame. It took Michael a moment to register who he was seeing - Rowena Winston, Noah's big sister and, by extension, his own elder sister.

But before the full weight of this revelation could sink in, the image shifted again. Behind Rowena, a massive dragon materialized. Its scales shimmered a deep, menacing red, and its maw gaped wide enough to swallow Rowena whole without so much as a hiccup.

"Holy shit," Lenora breathed, her earlier anger giving way to stunned disbelief.

Elidyr's face paled, his eyes darting between the image and Michael. "This... this can't be real," he muttered.

The dark army soldiers shifted uneasily, their earlier bravado replaced by a tense silence.

Michael's face remained impassive, but inside, his mind was reeling. These bastards had managed to capture not just Jasmine, but Rowena as well? And what the fuck was that dragon? He'd known the Skyhall elders were cunning, but this... this was a whole new level of fuckery.

As the implications of this new development sank in, Michael realized the game had just gotten a hell of a lot more complicated. He needed time - time to process, time to plan, and most importantly, time for the system to finish its scan.

Looking at the shock on Michael's face, Thorfin's sadistic grin widened as he savored the moments. "Oh, you like our little pet? Nasty piece of work, that one. Has a real taste for playing with its food, if you catch my drift."

The dwarf's words painted a grim picture of Rowena's captivity. Those bruises and scars weren't just for show - they were a testament to the dragon's cruel nature. Every dragon had its own personality, and this red bastard circling Rowena? It was the kind that got off on inflicting pain, toying with its victims like a cat with a mouse.

As Michael absorbed this information, a cold fury settled in his gut. These three idiots had just signed their own death warrants. They thought they were being clever, but all they'd done was push him past the point of no return.

Without hesitation, Michael mentally commanded the system to locate Rowena as well. The familiar notification popped up in his mind:

[Does the host wish to locate Rowena Winston in addition to Jasmine Voldiguard?]

[This additional process requires 20 million badass points. Current balance: 20 million. Does the host wish to proceed?]

"Do it," he thought, not giving a damn about wiping out his badass point balance. He'd earn it back tenfold when he crushed these smug bastards.

As the system began its work, Michael kept his face impassive, not letting on that he was about to turn the tables on these self-righteous pricks. They thought they had him cornered, but little did they know, they'd just handed him the key to their destruction.

Finally Michael tore his gaze away from Rowena's battered image, fixing the three elders with a cold stare. His mind raced through the losses he'd endured - Eve, his best friend, gone; his mother, a hostage to that bastard Andohr; Noah, his own brother, dead by his hand because of their manipulations. He'd be damned if he'd lose Rowena too.

Sure, they didn't have the typical sibling bond, but he remembered clear as day how she'd thrown herself in front of that Celestial cannon beam to save his ass. Everyone else feared and hated him as the Dark Lord, but she'd risked it all for him. He owed her, and he felt the weight of responsibility for her current state.

With a calm that belied the fury churning inside him, Michael spoke, his voice as cold as a midwinter night. "You're thinking I can't find her, right? But what if you're wrong? What if I've already found where she is?"

The shock on the elders' faces was almost comical. Their smug expressions crumbled, replaced by disbelief and a hint of fear.

"Bullshit!" Thorfinn, the dwarf, was the first to find his voice but the tremor in his voice betrayed his uncertainty. "You're bluffing, you have to be!"

Just as the tension in the room reached its peak, a familiar ping echoed in Michael's mind.

[Scan complete. Soul of Jasmine Voldiguard authenticated as Eve's younger sister. Location of Jasmine's soul and Rowena Winston marked on environmental map.]

As the information flooded his consciousness, a cold, predatory grin spread across Michael's face. The elders' expressions shifted from shock to dawning horror as they realized they'd miscalculated badly.

"Deal's off," Michael rose from his thronend menacingly he announced with dark promise. "And now... you're going to die."

Before the elders could react, Michael unleashed his power. The vast hall plunged into an impenetrable darkness, his Death Range engulfing everything. The elders' panicked curses were cut short as the oppressive blackness closed in around them.

"Fuck!" Thorfinn's muffled voice echoed in the void, tinged with terror.

Erael's attempt at a defensive spell fizzled out before it could form. Devdan's usually smooth voice cracked as he shouted, "Wait, we can still--"

But it was too late. The three elders knew, with bone-deep certainty, that their games and manipulations had finally caught up with them. They'd pushed the Dark Lord too far, and now they were about to pay the ultimate price.