Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-685

After taking the artifact and absorbing the elf's soul, Michael had enough badass points to buy a teleportation scroll. He used it to escape the treacherous ocean. Finally, Michael reached the outskirts of the treacherous ocean. Hovering in the air, he could see the rainbow islands on the horizon. He wanted to visit Lailah, but he chose not to. Meeting them would endanger the whole island. His war with the Skyhall had nothing to do with innocent people living on the island. From the outskirts, Michael just had to use the runic teleportation to reach the Voldigard castle.

The people of Voldigards were busy fixing the broken walls and roofs in the castle. Heavy snowfall blanketed everything. It was knee-high as soldiers had to float above the snow to save time. Some of the servants who were sitting atop the roof, fixing them with nails and hammers, saw Michael, Gaya, and Nightmare in the air.

"Master Ghost is back!" the servants shouted. Everyone looked up at Michael. Without uttering a word, Michael flew straight into the castle. As he reached the hall, Michael saw the Voldigard family gathered in the hall. He saw Jennifer, Lord Julien, and Lady Astrid with several elders of the family.

Lord Julien sensed Michael's presence. He quickly averted his gaze toward Michael.

"Master Ghost," said Lord Julien. A strange expectation emerged within his eyes. Lady Astrid welcomed Michael with a bright smile. Jennifer, on the other hand, looked surprised. She wondered why Michael was here instead of in MAzeroth. Michael glanced at the elders, who looked somewhat bewildered. They opened and closed their mouths as though they had something in their mind to ask Michael.

"Miss Aelia, Nightmare," Lady Astrid embraced Gaya in a gentle motherly hug.

"We'll talk later," Lord Julien dismissed the elders. They all slightly bowed toward Michael before leaving the hall.

"Please make yourselves at home," Lady Astrid gestured at them to sit on the sofa.

"Where is Eve?" asked Michael, plunging onto the sofa beside the fireplace.

"Eve," Lady Astrid called out for Eve.

"Jenni, go bring your sister to us," Lord Julien asked Jennifer. She nodded and climbed upstairs to meet Eve.

"Eve said you went to Mazeroth," said Julien.

"I did. Apparently, there is nothing much to learn in Mazeroth. So here I am," said Michael. He was nonchalant.

"So about Eve, have you-"

"Why do you think I am here?" Michael cut short Julien's words.

"I can lift the curse now,"

Michael's words brought them both shock and delight. Astrid's eyes immediately watered up. Until recently, she didn't know the elves put a curse on Eve. She believed Eve had no talent for reaching the Soul Refining stage. To be honest, she couldn't believe Even when she told them about the curse. But Julien and Eve believed it was the truth. Hearing that Ghost could lift the curse, the father and mother brimmed with joy.

It took Jennifer a minute to bring Eve.

"Ghost," Michael looked up at the stairs to see Eve gracefully walking down. Despite the cold weather, she was sweating. Judging by the smudges on her face and the war hammer in her hand, he could tell she was training as usual.

"What are you doing here?" asked Eve.

"Nice to see you too, Eve," Gaya rolled her eyes. Eve sighed with a smile.

"I thought you were in the Mazeroth,"

"I was," Once again, Michael had to repeat the same words he had said to Julien.

"Let's not waste any time," Michael stood up.

"Lord Julien, do you have a secure room?"

Lord Julien immediately bobbed his head up and down.

"Follow me," Lord Julien and Astrid paced toward a private room in the castle. They used this room for important meetings and conduct shady deals.

"What's going on?" asked Eve.

"I am going to lift the curse on you,"

Eve was shocked, and so was Jennifer. Unlike Eve, Jennifer researched a lot about curses when Eve told her about curses. According to various ancient texts and books, curses were a kind of rune. Some elven runemasters specialized in curses. It wouldn't be an understatement to say each prominent elven family had a runemaster who could curse their foes. But putting a curse on people was not as simple as casting a spell. The runemaster had to get close to the victim, and it would take time to place the curse. In Eve's case, the Filvendor family pretended to check Eve's cultivation talents and put a curse on her soul instead. Poor Eve didn't have any idea that they cursed her.

"I read only the one who put the curse can lift it," said Jennifer while following Julien and Astrid.

"Don't believe everything you read," said Gaya.

Jennifer did not question Ghost. She had seen him overcome the odds against the plague. If he could lift the curse on her sister, Jennifer would be eternally grateful to Ghost.

Eventually, they reached an empty room with no windows or glass whatsoever. Except for the round table in the middle, there was nothing.

"Eve, come forward. Others step back," said Michael.

Julien and Astrid held each other's arms tightly. Their bodies shivered, and their eyes glimmered with concern. Eve took a deep breath. Since this was the first time using the Curse Breaker, Michael was unfamiliar with the procedure. He just placed his hand on Eve's forehead.

"Close your eyes," said Michael. He made up this procedure.

Michael then willed the system to scan her body. He felt a new sensation. Using the Curse Breaker was as easy as breathing. When he touched Eve, he sensed a powerful vibration in her body. Soon, this vibration turned into a scream. Michael focused on the scream. The scream sounded louder and louder to the point his head began to ache.

Unlike them, the others noticed Eve's body trembling. A gust of wind breezed around her, making her hair flutter in the wind. Under their gazes, a thin layer of light emerged on her skin. Finally, Michael grabbed the source of the scream with his mind. The Curse Breaker felt like an extension of his arm.

He grabbed the curse in her soul. A strange rune pulsing within her body. It attached itself to Eve's soul and suppressed the soul's power. Hence, stopping her from reaching the Soul Refining stage.

Under Michael's grab, the rune shattered. As a result, everyone in the room felt a powerful surge of energy around them.

"AHHHHHH!" Eve roared,

"EVE!" Julien and Astrid shouted. They tried to dash forward, but Gaya stopped them.

"Don't,"

The energy surge lasted for a few minutes. Then, the bright light around Eve finally began to dim.

"Open your eyes," said Michael.

Eve slowly opened her eyes. She felt lightweight, as though something heavy had been lifted off of her.

"Is it done?" Eve asked.

"You are curse free," smiled Michael. In a blink of an eye, Eve's family dashed forward. They surrounded her. Julien and Astrid embraced her tightly.

To Michael's surprise, Jennifer grabbed his arms. Her eyes welled up. She was on the verge of crying.

"Thank you," Jennifer squeezed Michael's hands.

"No need to thank me. She's my friend," Michael smiled. He patted Jennifer on the shoulder. Letting the family have some time alone, Michael walked out of the room with Gaya and Nightmare. He returned to the hall and sat on the sofa, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace.

"That went smooth," said Nightmare. Je leaped onto Michael's lap, circling himself into a ball.

"You know we can turn this into a service. Charge millions to lift curses," Gaya pitched her idea.

"Yes, but it will unnecessarily put us in a bad light with the elves. We have to use this power with caution. If the elven families who tend to curse people find out about the Curse Breaker, they might try to kill me. But," Michael snickered.

"I am not going to hide anymore. I just have to be cautious until I reach the Half Immortal stage,"

As they were talking, Eve and her family came to the hall. Their faces were glowing with joy. Lord Julien and Astrid walked toward Michael. He stood up.

"Master Ghost, take this," Lord Julien extended a golden parchment toward Michael.

"What is it?" Michael asked, taking the parchment. He opened it up. The parchment contained words written and signed by Julien. It was a deal to hand over the floating mountain to Ghost. The same floating mountain Michael fought the Fusion Stage reaper. Although Michael liked that floating mountain, he felt reluctant to take it. After all, Michael helped Eve because she was his friend. For the first time since he came to this world, he did something without expecting something in return. One could say this was Michael being a goody two shoes.

"We are giving it to you. Don't be rude. Accept it," Eve came to Michael's side. She punched Michael on the shoulder.

Gaya peeked over Michael's shoulder to see what was written on the parchment. A few moments later, she got so excited. Of course, she didn't show the excitement on her face but deep down, she was bouncing in joy. Moreover, she had already formed several plans to transform the barren floating mountain into their own fortress.

"Are you going to take it or not?" Eve asked with a stern voice.

"Do I have a choice?" Michael smiled.

"No,"

"Then I will take it," said Michael.

As expected, Julien threw a grand feast for Michael, and Astrid made Michael eat up to his throat. Everything went great and joyful until the end of the feast when Eve took out a parchment from her space ring. She tossed it toward Michael.

"Take a look at it," said Eve. Julien once again dismissed everyone in the hall, including Jennifer. Michael noticed the grave looks on their faces. He then slowly opened the parchment.

Dear Voldigards,

The great kingdom of Thusia has declared war against your friend Ghost.

If you aid him in any way against Thusia, you will suffer the wrath of the whole kingdom.

You've been warned.

War Council of Thusia.

Michael clenched his fist. However, it didn't surprise Michael much. In fact, he expected Thusia to make their moves against his allies. Unfortunately for Thusia, their tactics wouldn't work on Michael because Michael didn't plan to use his allies against Thusia. Instead, he would use Thusia's enemies against them.