Hitman with a Badass System

Chapter 655: Uncovering the truth about Gaya’s mother

After Azazel tied up Puma against the lone apple tree in the pocket dimension, Michael appeared before him with a potion.         

    

“Where are you?” Michael heard Gaya’s voice in his head.     

“Just having a meeting with Azazel, baby,” said Michael. He created a dome around him so Puma wouldn’t hear him.     

Initially, Michael thought about informing Gaya. However, he changed his mind as he didn’t want to raise Gaya’s hopes up in case Puma was lying or talking about another Naga. Luckily, Michael had the truth serum that he used on Victor in the system storage.      

“What is this place?” Puma asked Azazel.     

“You,” When Puma turned his gaze to Azazel, his brows arched up. Despite the pain, Puma could feel some strange energy radiation from the man dressed as a butler. Especially the sound of a heartbeat. He had lived as a vampire for almost a hundred years, but he had never heard such an abnormal heartbeat.      

“What are you?’ Puma’s fangs grew out. He tried to regenerate his arms, but something prevented his ability to regenerate. Furthermore, Puma wondered how Ghost used arch energy inside the void line. Unless Ghost was a vampire, there was no chance he could have used a spell. But Ghost was no vampire. He saw him walk in the sunlight without wearing any dark cloaks to cover his face.     

“You’re probably wondering whether I am a vampire or not, right?” Puma heard Ghost’s voice. As though Ghost had read his mind, he asked the same question Puma asked himself.     

“I am not a vampire,” Ghost answered. There was a peculiar calmness to his voice.     

“But I am something much more,” the dark night somehow turned darker when Ghost uttered these words. Puma looked around to see something that could help him locate where he was. Several questions appeared in his mind.      

“You kind has been bothering me for some time. Look, I killed one when he attacked me first. Then, Duke Avon, he stole something that belonged to me. In these two scenarios, your kind crossed my path. I didn’t do shit to you people,” Michael walked around the tree with his hand behind his back.      

“Now see, I was back on Awor, sleeping with my girl. I don’t spend enough time with her, but does she complain, no,” Michael stopped, facing Puma in his eyes. Michae placed his hand on Puma’s shoulder,     

“So whenever she asks me something, I go to hell and heaven to get that for her. Luckily for you, you have something she wants,”     

Puma growled like a wounded animal. However, continued to converse with Puma.     

“Tell me about the Naga you mentioned earlier. In return, I  will let you go and meet your boss for a peace talk,” said Michael. Honestly, Michael had no intention of letting Puma go. However, if the vampires were up for it, he could go for a peace talk. The Dark Lord could hunt down the bloodsuckers while Ghost could be at peace with them. After all, the Dark Lord had too many enemies and his Order was still not at the place to fight them all.     

To Michael’s surprise, Puma began to laugh.     

“You think I am stupid human? You used arch energy within the void line. You brought me here, which is definitely something you keep hidden from the rest of the world. You wouldn’t have shown these if you intended to let me go. So go ahead, kill me. A hunter should always prepare himself to be hunted. I won’t tell you shit,” Puma spat the blood clinging to his throat on Michael’s face.      

“I wish you hadn’t done that,” as soon as Michael said these words, he stabbed Puma’s neck with the needle in his hand. He slowly injected the truth serum into his bloodstream. The only downside of using it was that Puma would die in an hour.      

Azazel stood beside him, looking at Puma growl. He wondered what the vampire knew for his master to bring him here in his Ghost persona. Besides, Azazel noticed the cold killing intent in his eyes. As Puma said, Azazel also knew Ghost has no intention of letting him go. But it was a pity that Puma took the hard way. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have earned a quick painless death from his master. Silence fell over them. Except for Puma’s groan, they heard nothing.      

After almost ten minutes of utter silence, Michael’s question broke the silence.     

“What’s your real name?”      

Puma’s eyes turned from predatory to submissive. He stopped squirming.      

“Corbin,” said Puma.     

“What do you know about the Naga you mentioned earlier?” asked Michael. He wanted to know about the Naga more than who sent Puma after him.     

“A rogue vampire. Elder Lenora wanted me to hunt her down quietly,” Michael’s veins bludged up under his skin. His eyes immediately turned predatory.      

“Did you kill her?” asked Michael. Azazel saw bolts of golden lightning crackling around his hands, threatening to kill Puma.          

    

“She escaped,” said Puma. Finally, Michael sighed in relief.      

“Tell me more,” Michael threatened Puma.      

“Who was she?”      

Michael stared at Puma for his answer. Everything around him seemed to have slowed down. Puma’s answer could help Michael find Gaya’s mother if the naga Puma ordered to hunt was indeed Gaya’s mother.     

“Adelia, Adelia Ashton. The queen of Nagaland,” Michael’s heart skipped a beat. Shocking was an understatement. How could Gaya’s mother be a vampire? Was she turned? Was that the reason Adelia left Gaya? So many questions emerged in Michael’s mind.     

“What do you mean she was a rogue vampire? Adelia wasn’t a vampire,” Michael grabbed Puma’s throat. Unknowing to Michael, a layer of darkness appeared around him. Azazel noticed the changes but chose not to say anything in front of Puma.     

“A rogue vampire. They don’t obey the clan rules. They are rogues, living with the mortals, doing what they like when they like. Whenever their actions threatened to expose the clan to the outside world, the elders would put a hit on them. That was what happened,” said Puma.      

“Who turned her?” asked Michael. This time, his voice became demonic. Without using any devices, his voice sounded demonic. Fortunately, Puma wasn’t in a state to rationalize or use his brain.      

“I don’t know,” said Puma.      

Since he was under the influence of the truth serum, there was no possibility of Puma lying. Still, it was hard for Michael to believe.      

“When did you last see her? ” asked Michael. According to Gaya, Adelia died when Gaya was six years old. That meant she had died twenty-three years ago. Although Michael didn’t believe Adelia really died, a solid proof of life could prove that Adelia was alive and sometimes help them find Adelia.     

“Tell me exactly when you tried to hunt her?” asked Michael.     

“Twenty-two years ago,”      

Michael loosened his grip on Puma’s throat. His legs automatically took a few steps back.      

“She faked her death. Adelia didn’t die that day,” Michael mumbled under his breath.      

“My lord, if I may,” Azazel asked. Since he noticed Michael was in shock, Azazel wanted to give his master a break and continue the interrogation himself.     

“Go on,” Michael nodded. He needed to inform Gaya. He didn’t know how she was going to react. Nonetheless, she needed to know the truth about her mother.     

“Do you know where she is now?” asked Azazel.     

“No,” said Puma.     

“If you want to find her again, where do you look, and who do you question?” asked Azazel.     

“I’d start with Elder Lenora. She put the hit on her. So if anyone knows something, it’s Elder Lenora,”      

Michael recalled seeing the elders in the surveillance room in the dark forest. When he visited the castle of vampires, he bugged the entire castle. So he knew every single Elder vampire. If his memory served him right, Lenora was the red-haired vampire. Now that Michael thought about everything, he had never seen Puma in the castle. Because the vampire death squad only visited the tavern, which was a pocket dimension attached to the vampire castle, Michael’s Spyders never caught them.     

“Who else knows about Adelia Ashton?” asked Azazel.     

“I don’t know,” answered Puma.     

“Let me rephrase my question. Is there anyone who might know about Adelia?” asked Azazel.         

    

Michael locked his gaze on Puma.      

“If Elder Lenora put an open contact, the other death squad members might have gone after her,”     

Michael clenched his fist.      

“Death squad? Who are they?” asked Azazel. Judging by the name, it was evident they were some kind of assassins the vampire elders used to kill whoever stood in their way or hurt their kind.     

“Assassins. Each had their own way of tracking and killing targets. I am one of them,”     

“Who else is in the death squad?” asked Michael.     

“Bear, Spider, Snake, Gray Wolf, and White Wolf,”     

Michael inquired about each and everyone from Puma. If Michael didn’t have the system, he would have been dead right now. Puma was not at all an easy foe to go against. In fact, with the teleportation talisman, Puma could hunt almost anyone in the world. If the others were anything like Puma, Adelia would have been in real trouble. No wonder she faked her own death, thought Michael.      

It was time to bring Gaya to meet Puma. But before he teleported back to Awor, Michael forced the blood tonic down Puma;’s throat. In case Puma used some tactic to escape this place, Michael could kill him with a snap of his finger. It was reassurance,     

“Keep an eye on him,” Michael said to Azazel.     

Then, Michael disappeared into thin air. The scenery quickie transformed around Michael. When he appeared in his room in Voldigards castle, he noticed Gaya peacefully sleeping. He took a deep breath and walked to her side.     

“Gaya,” Michael gently brushed her face.     

“What? Come to bed,” she groaned, half asleep.     

“Wake up. There is something you need to know,” Sensing the seriousness in his voice, Gaya slowly opened his eyes. Michael sat on the bed beside her.      

“What is it?” the sleepiness in Gaya’s eyes instantly vanished. In its stead, a glimmer of worry glistened in her eyes.      

“I caught someone who met you mother,”