Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-876

** DBS and AHSS will be resumed from 20th this month and ROLE 2 will be updated from April 1st**

Somewhere in the realm of Sea folks, a couple of figures roamed around in a dungeon-like room with bluish lamps and chairs. This dungeon extended part way under the ocean, giving the light in the room a blue tinge. The room had lots of low-backed black and dark blue leather sofas, skeletons of giant fish, and dark wood cupboards. One of the wooden tables had a bowl filled with blood on it. The room had quite a grand atmosphere but also quite a cold one.

One of the heads of House Gladwrath sat before the glass window and glanced at the bustling city before him. This underwater city made any city on the land pale in comparison. Hundreds or even thousands of buildings built with glass and lit with luminescent mushrooms gave the entire city a grand appearance. From afar, one could see the sparkling dome around the city, keeping the ocean water from flooding. Not that the sea folk couldn't breathe underwater, but many buildings could not withstand such pressure. They would shatter into pieces if the dome didn't exist. After all, the city was located at the bottom of the ocean. One who wasn't a Sea Folk would not survive the ocean's pressure despite their cultivation level. Only a higher up in the Sea Folk hierarchy could bring outsider to the city, and even then, the visitor must be at least a Fusion stage cultivator. Otherwise, the sheer pressure would crush their organs to a pulp, turning them into a bloody mess.

"We might get some backlash if the land walkers heard of our recent actions, Gruzal," said a man with large eyes, fish-like mouth, and hands with thin skin between fingers, which enabled the Seal Folk to move through the ocean swiftly.

"What do you think they would do? Weak doesn't fight back, Gllelus," said Gruzal. Gruzal was one of the Sea Folk kind who had the head and upper body of an elf and the tail of a fish. Their bodies were built to swim through the ocean faster than any kind, and while they were in spaces without water, they would float above the ground. Those who broke through the Core Strengthening stage could transform their tails into legs and grow wings to fly. However, the proud and traditional members chose not to, as they thought transforming their bodies was a sin. Gruzal's kind was called the mermons, one of the ancient races in the Sea Folk realm. Currently, Gruzal and Gllelus were plotting against the House of Halrid.

The Sea Folk race had three superpowers among them; two were part of the great eight clans. The two great clans were the Water God Hall and Sea Serpent Hall. Although Arctic Hall was a powerful clan, it wasn't a great eight clan. It didn't become a great eight clan mainly because it was divided into three houses; the House of Halrid, the House of Gladwrath, and the House of Bigmag.

Mutrad, the recent subordinate of Michael, hailed from the House of Halrid. The higher-up in the Arctic hall ordered him to apprehend the Dark Lord. But due to the internal conflict within the three houses, catching the Dark Lord went down on their priority list. The main reason for this conflict was House Gladwrath's hatred toward House Halrid and their hunger for power. The two houses always hated each other and had tension between them. Thanks to Gruzal's recent discovery, he found a way to gain the upper hand over the House of Halrid as well as the House of Bigmag. Unfortunately, his discovery required someone's blood, the blood of a spirit child.

"Would you please relax, Gllelus," Looking at the worried look on Gllelus's face, Gruzal reassured him with a carefree smile.

"I have my doubts about Eratos. He is not right in the head, and you know it. Besides, he is a human. How can we trust a human with a pivotal task such as this, Gruzal?" Gllelus questioned Gruzal.

"He is a human. That's exactly why I sent him instead of one of ours. But don't forget Eratos's history with the child's mother. The rage within him drives him to do whatever is necessary," said Gruzal.

"You are yet to tell me why you ordered him to bring the mother instead of the child," Gllelus asked Gruzal.

Gruzel let out a foxy smile before flicking his wrist. A silver platter holding two glasses and a bottle of wine hovered toward them. Gruzal picked up the bottle and poured the wine into the glasses. Then, he handed one glass to Gllelus and floated to the window. His friend followed him behind and joined him, looking through the window.

"So?" Gllelus tilted his head to the sight.

"I sent someone the child trusts like its family to bring it here. Eratos just had to ensure there were no loose ends," Gruzal shocked Gllelus.

"Did you really think I would trust Eratos with the child? Everyone knows he is not right in the head. It made him the perfect person to deal with the child's mother, but when it comes to the spirit child, I won't let him near it anywhere," said Gruzal.

Gruzal took a long sip of wine and looked at the children swimming around his citadel. Some of the children waved at him as he waved back. On the outside, no one would expect Gruzal to be so cruel. In reality, Gruzal was one of the most dangerous and evil men in the entire Sea Folk realm. Unfortunately, an innocent spirit child ended up in his target circle.

"What about Mutrad, Gruzal? Is he anywhere close to catching him? What if he learns about all this? We cannot let him step into our world," Gllelus's eyes glimmered with fear as he uttered these words.

"The child and the mother are not in the mortal realm. One is in the Fire realm and the other in the Akilan realm,"

Gllelus heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Gruzal. The last time he heard, the one he feared the most was in the mortal realm. Gllelus was one of the few who were terrified of the prophecy and the stories behind that man. Many, like Gruzal, never believed in those stories and prophecies. Instead, they believed he was just a man who could be killed if the push came to a shove.

"Like I always say, Gllelus. We don't have to fear him even if he comes into our world. He is just a mortal who bleeds. And if he bleeds, we can kill him," Gruzal snickered.

"I know you don't believe in the prophecies. But all I am telling you is, do not underestimate him,"

"Why are we suddenly talking about the Dark Lord?" Gruzal rolled his eyes.

"He abandoned his child and its mother a long time ago. Except for us and probably the Supreme Guardian, no one knew the Dark Lord had a spirit child with Lailah Alden. Contrary to what everyone says, I think that human is incompetent to be the Supreme Guardian. Why else he left the mother and child alone instead of taking them into custody?" Gruzal took another sip of wine and continued questioning Gllelus.

Unlike Gruzal's thought, Noah left Lailah and the spirit child alone, knowing they could do nothing to help him catch the Dark Lord. Furthermore, Noah didn't want the child to be branded as the dark spawn and live his life like the enemy of the world. Instead, Noah wanted the child to have a normal childhood and life as he had. But despite Noah's all good-hearted thoughts, he made the mistake of removing the Spyder from the spirit child's neck. He intended to erase all the Dark Lord's influence on the child, including the spying contraption. By destroying the SPyder, Noah secluded the child from everyone else, including the Dark Lord. Since he removed the Spyder and assigned guardians to monitor Rainbow island, Azazel could not keep an eye on Harry.

When Azazel reported losing the feed to Harry and Lailah to Michael, he told Azazel to leave them alone. Michael ensured no one except Noah knew about the spirit child. At first, Michael wanted to sneak into a rainbow island, rig the place with Spyders and continue to keep Lailah and Harry in surveillance. In fact, he managed to sneak past the guardians and reached Lailah. But when Lailah met Michael, her eyes blazed with fear. She didn't even let Harry see Michael's face. When Michael approached her, she asked him to leave them alone for the sake of Harry's safety and made him promise he wouldn't interfere with Harry's life as Michael initially told her. To be honest, Michael didn't blame Lailah for thinking they were better off without him because that was true. That day before he left for Gondolin, Michael cut all his connections with Lailah and left them alone. So one could only imagine how pissed off the Dark Lord would be when he learns the plot against Lailah and Harry.

"Maybe he didn't want to piss off the Dark Lord," Gllelus muttered.

"Don't be a spineless coward, Gllelus. Once we use the spirit child's blood to locate the artifacts, we will be strong enough to become a great eight clan. This is our ancestors' plan, and we will not fail them," Gruzal firmly said. His eyes were filled with confidence and resolve. No matter what happened or who stood in his way, Gruzal would never back off from his plan. He had been working too hard for too long to abandon everything because of some children's stories about the god of darkness.

As Gruzal was discussing his plans with his best friend, he heard a voice in his head.

"My lord, Eratos has located Lailah Alden in the Fire Realm. He is on his way to apprehend her," Gruzal heard the voice of his subordinate. These words put a bright smile on Gruzal's face.

"Eratos found Lailah, Gllelus," Gruzal told his friend with a smile. Gllelus couldn't help feeling excitement coursing through his veins. If Gruzal successfully completed the ritual, there would be nothing to stop them from becoming a great eight clan. He just hoped the Dark Lord would be in the dark, knowing nothing about the disappearance of the spirit child and its mother. But little did he know the Dark Lord was on his way to Eratos with a god's vengeance.