Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-644

Ethan spread his golden metallic wings, shielding Alicia. Each feather in the wing resembled a well-made kunai. The wings spell was given to him by Harriet recently. She modified the spell when she was in Awor before meeting Ethan. Since the vampires were vulnerable to sun rays, she modified the wings to create golden rays similar to sun rays. He cast the spells to kill the mages who were bombarding him. That was his sole intention. But he was stunned when Duke Avon leaped back to the darkness, away from the golden rays.

"When you see a vampire, cast this spell and run away," Diana's words sounded in his head.

Ethan creased his brows. The vampires were called the night rulers for a reason. According to Diana, who almost hunted the vampire kind to extinction in Awor, the vampires were extremely strong during the night. They harnessed power from the dark sky. So Harriet hunted them during the daytime when they were at their weakest. Coupled with Harriet's Light Flames, she was an absolute bane to the vampire kind.

"Duke Avon. Just stand down. We can find a way to cure you," Unlike Alicia, Ethan did not underestimate Avon. Instead of fighting Avon head-to-head, Ethan tried to back away from Avon. After all, the golden wings would fade away after ten minutes.

"Cure? Why do I need a cure? I've never been better," Duke Avon growled.

"I can see the spell wearing off. I always respected you, Ethan. So I will give you a choice. Turn around and leave. I will let you live. But she is mine," Avon took a step forward. As he said, the golden light radiating from the wings slowly dimmed. In the ten minutes duration, Ethan spent five minutes fighting the mages. So he only had five more minutes before the wings disappeared. At that time, he would be powerless in front of Avon.

Hearing Avon's words, Ethan's eyes glimmered with killing intent.

"I will kill you," Alicia threatened Duke Avon. If it weren't for Ethan standing between them, Alicia would have leaped onto Avon for another round. Even a vampire couldn't make Alicia afraid.

As the three of them were talking, the two armies were in a deadlock behind them. Although Xavier slew one commander, the other two commanded the surrounding soldiers to focus their attacks on Xavier. They did not want Xavier to reach Duke Avon. However, they tried to get to Avon when they saw Alicia and Ethan, only to get halted by Xavier.

Seeing his wings losing their glow, Ethan started to think of a way to escape Duke Avon. He knew there was no chance of him defeating Duke Avon. It was impossible without a Primordial Flame. Surprisingly, the Flame fair commanders and the soldiers held well against Xavier. So he had to face Duke Avon alone somehow.

"Give me your sword and leave the battlefield. Tell the guardians above that the Duke of Flame fair has turned into a vampire," said Ethan with an authoritative tone. Honestly, he couldn't believe Noah when he said the Guardian guild had gone completely incompetent and corrupted. However, he could understand why Noah said those things. The Soul Refiners floating above the battlefield completely failed to recognize Avon as a vampire. The dark robes, regeneration, and the way he avoided bright golden light should have at least made them wonder. Yet, Ethan saw no interference from the guardians.

But in Guardian's defense, this was just another day at work for them. They had seen countless wars, and this wasn't any special to them. Hence, they were just meditating in the sky rather than focusing on the battlefield.

"Uncle," Alicia hesitated to leave Ethan with Avon.

"It's an order, Alicia," Ethan's voice turned grave. He literally had no time to argue with Alicia. The sooner she gets out of this place, the better. At Least if she informed the guardians, they would do something about Avon.

Slowly stepping back, Ethan grabbed Alicia's sword forcefully. Finally, the golden wings lost enough light for Duke Avon to attack Ethan.

"Go!" Ethan pushed away Alicia and blocked Avon's hand with Alicia's silver sword. Ethan's hand felt numb as he got pushed several steps back. Despite everything, Ethan was glad to fight Avon alone. If the duke was with his commanders and soldiers, it would be exponentially hard to fight him. That was why Ethan decided to fight Avon until Alicia informed the guardians about Avon.

When Alicia finally decided to leave the battlefield, Avon dashed at Ethan. His kin underneath the dark hood burnt due to the golden light surrounding Ethan. Yet, it wasn't powerful enough to slow him down. To Avon's surprise, Ethan moved almost as fast as him. Caught off guard by Ethan's speed, Avon brought his arms in front of him intuitively. But Ethan slashed his sword at Avon's thigh and flapped the golden wings with enough power to push Avon several mets back.

Using this opportunity, Alicia took off from the ground like a rocket. However, Avon surprised Ethan by shooting a dark arrow out of his arm. The arrow penetrated Alicia's leg and knocked her off from the sky. Blood spurted out from her leg as she growled.

"Alicia!" Ethan screamed. He was about to dash at Alicia when Avon fired another dark arrow towards Ethan. The dark arrow perfectly blended with the darkness. An oblivious man wouldn't be able to see the arrow at all. However, Ethan was no oblivious man. He swung his sword at lightning speed, cutting the dark arrow in halves. After cutting the arrow, Ethan threw the silver sword at Avon. He wanted to keep Avon as far as possible from Alicia. The sword soared through the air until it penetrated Avon's chest. The sword's one end was sticking out of Avon's back. Dark blood oozed out of the wound. But Avon just smirked.

"You are better than her," Avon said. His voice had the mix of both shock and respect. Not in a million years Avon thought Ethan to fight like a freak. If he wasn't turned into a vampire, there was no way he could have defeated Ethan in a battle. Furthermore, he hadn't cast any spell except the golden wings. Ethan fought with pure skills he sharpened through his years of adventuring.

Ignoring the pain, Avon slowly pulled out the sword. Blood kept spraying out of the wound. While Avon stuck with the sword, Ethan flicked his wrist as a sparkling blue potion appeared in his hand. He quickly tossed that potion to Alicia.

"Take it!" Ethan ordered Alicia. For a moment, she looked at the potion blankly. But soon, a deep hatred glimmered in her eyes. The potion was made by Ghost, the man who destroyed her brother's life. She would rather die than take that potion. Her momentary hesitation was enough for Avon to completely pull out the sword. The wound closed up in a blink of an eye.

"She is food. You're not," Avon tossed the sword aside. Instead of attacking Ethan, Avon waited for the golden wings to completely fade away. The golden wings flickered and soon, it disappeared from Ethan's back. Once again, darkness fell over them. With no golden wings and swords, Ethan stood no chance against an Elder Vampire. THe golden wings may have disappeared but the spark of fight blazed in Ethan's eyes brighter than before. No matter the odds, Ethan wouldn't let Avon kill his daughter in law. As long as he draws breath, Avon had to go through him to get to Alicia.

Ethan cracked his fists, preparing himself for a fight to the death.

"Alicia, can you do me a favor?" asked Ethan.

"Get out of here and tell Noah to turn me back to human soon," A tired smile escaped his mouth.

Tears rolled out of Alicia's eyes. She looked over her shoulder to see her grandfather fighting almost twenty men at the same time. He was getting bombarded with spells and attacks.

Before Alicia could answer Ethan, Avon disappeared and appeared in front of Ethan. Without giving any time for Ethan to react, Avon kicked Ethan in the abdomen. Ethan managed to block the kick using his hand. A glimmer of surprise emerged in Avon's eyes. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Ethan grabbed Avon's head and headbutted the vampire repeatedly. Ethan felt like he was hitting his head against a metal door.

When Avon retaliated by head butting Ethan back, Ethan's eyes blurred. He coughed up blood. But his blurriness only lasted for a moment. Avon grinned broadly.

"You have exceeded my expectations, Ethan. Now I see how all your children turned out to be freaks of nature," The Duke's eyes turned predatory.

"But enough of this little dance," Avon channeled his arch energy to his fists. A dark mist surrounded Avon's body as his strength shot through the roof. He wasn't planning to hold back anymore. Alicia felt the surrounding grow darker as the seconds ticked by. Her mind analyzed the dark area and estimated its range. Twenty meters. Now that Avon had unleashed his power, it would be impossible for Ethan to defeat Avon.

Avon grabbed Ethan by his neck, licked the blood oozing down from Ethan's forehead. The sweet taste of blood was nothing like he had ever tasted. Even the most expensive wines could not hold a torch against the taste of fresh blood. A devilish grin appeared on Avon's face.

"LET HIM GO!" Alicia screamed from behind. She dashed toward Avon, crushing Ghost's healing potion under her feet. However Avon had no intention to waste his time anymore. He raised his hand, blasting Alicia with a beam of dark energy.

Ethan on the other hand tried to free himself from Avon's clutch but the vampire was simply far stronger than him.

"You have no idea the mistake you're about to make," To Avon's surprise, Ethan smirked. There was not a single shred of fear in his eyes.

"I am done making mistakes," Avon snickered. His fangs once again grew longer.

Avon's fangs were just an inch away from Ethan's neck when a bright streak of lightning flashed across the area. The very next moment, a strong gust of wind blasted Avon, sending him flying for several meters. Hitting the ground, Ethan groaned in pain. He wondered what the heck just happened. Soon, a calm voice reverberated in the area.

"Sorry for the delay in the shipment, Lord Ethan," As soon as Ethan heard the voice, a smile emerged on his face.

"Ghost,"