Hitman with a Badass System

Lennard sighed. Fear and shock glimmered in his eyes. It had been several months since he first heard someone dangerous had infiltrated the Kane Family. He had been searching for the infiltrator ever since tirelessly. Yet, he found no clue. It was surprising and shocking at the same to know Elder Kane was also searching for the infiltrator. On the other hand, Michael couldn’t believe the made-up story Gaya threw up turned out to be true.

“I’ve known for a while,” said Lennard.

“Elder Kane was a Fusion stage cultivator. By how she described it, the infiltrator must be stronger than him. Besides, he was able to disappear without a trace. If he didn’t stab her, you would have doubted her, right?” asked Michael.

Lennard remained silent for a moment. The silence was enough for Michael. He rose from the side of Gaya’s bed and walked toward Lennard.

“Show me where he was killed. Believe it or not, Elder Kane was a friend. I will help you avenge him by finding his killer. Lead the way,” Michael gestured at Lennard to lead the way. Seeing no other option, Lennard led them to the place where they found Elder Kane dead. Although he doubted Aelia’s story, if there was a slim chance Ghost could find the infiltrator, Lennard wanted to take it. The infiltrator had killed one of the strongest members of the Kane family. If he could kill him so easily, none of the others would be safe anymore.

Gaya followed Michael and Lennard. She recalled every single word Elder Ashton Kane said to her. Little by little, everything made more sense to her. She always wondered why Castien loved Xanali more than her. Now it was clear to Gaya. Xanali was his real daughter, not her. That was why he gave the throne to Xanali instead of her.

“Did he know?” Gaya asked herself. She wondered whether Castien knew she wasn’t his daughter or not all this time. The hallways were riddled with Kane family guards. Everyone looked terrified, especially the maids and servers. Their faces were pale as paper. When they saw Lennard, they bowed with respect and a tinge of fear in their eyes.

Michael silently followed Lennard to Ashton Kane’s room. To Michael’s surprise, the hallway and the room were empty.

“I ordered no one to return to this place after taking his body away,” Lennard said. The death of Elder Kane extremely saddened him.

Michael squatted beside the puddle of dried blood. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he conjured a violet orb of light. Strangely, the moment the light fell on the ground, Lennard saw several footsteps. A bunch of footsteps was clustered around the blood.

“I assume no one can teleport in or out of the castle,” said Michael.

Lennard nodded, “Yes. We have protection runes all over the castle. It’s not possible to use teleportation within these castle walls,”

Michael expected this. He doubted whoever killed Ashton could have teleported. It was not like he had a system at his disposal. Among the cluttered footsteps, Michael noticed a distinct set of footsteps. Unlike the others, this footprint had toes. It was clear that they didn’t wear any boots or shoes.

“You see that?” Michael asked Lennard.

“Why would anyone avoid wearing boots in weather like this?” Michael followed the footsteps. These footsteps came and went in the same direction. Lennard and Gaya followed Michael behind. While following the footsteps through the hallway, Michael noticed strange behavior. Wherever there was a window, the footsteps moved away from it as though the person was afraid of windows.

Everything started to make more sense to both Michael and Gaya. They followed these footsteps to the hall where many elders and soldiers gathered.

“What’s happening?”

“What is that light?”

“Look at the footsteps,”

The people gathered around the hall mumbled. When they saw Lennard, they became silent. Thanks to Michael’s acute vision, the footprints on the hall didn’t confuse him. He was able to follow his target without a hitch. He continued to follow the footsteps out of the hall into another hallway.

“Where was he going?” asked Gaya.

Lennard slightly shivered. Surprisingly, there were no other footprints in this hallway dimly lit by chandeliers. They followed the footsteps until they came in front of a fireplace. The footsteps however went into the fireplace, which meant there was a secret passageway behind this fireplace. Michael turned around.

“Lord Lennard,” Michael looked at Lennard.

Judging by the dark lines on his forehead, it was obvious not many people knew about this passageway. In other words, whoever killed Ashton knew more about the castle than most of the Kane family members.

“Not many knew about this, did they?” asked Michael. It took a few moments for Lennard to snap out of his deep thoughts and nod.

“The cat’s out of the bag, Lord Lennard. Where does it end?” said Michael.

“This passageway will lead you to a small fishing island nearby,” said Lennard.

“I made your job simple, Lord Lennard. Here’s how we find the killer. It’s highly unlikely he suddenly appeared in the castle and knew about every secret entrance and passageway. On the contrary, he must have spent years here,” said Michael as Lennard pushed a brick into the wall. The wall slowly creaked, revealing an opening big enough for a grown man to squeeze through.

Gaya entered the passageway first, followed by Michael and Lennard. They continued to follow the footsteps.

” The first way to find the killer is if he chooses to return to the castle, I will give you a rune to match a footprint with the one here. When you place this rune on a person, if their footprint matches the one here, it will let out a jade light. Otherwise red. Simple enough?” Michael said while following the footsteps. The passageway was dark. Except for the violet light, there was no light source, not even torches.

Lennard nodded as Michael continued.

“There is a good chance he lived among you. So make a list of everyone who knew about this passage. If the killer chooses not to return, summon everyone on the list. Whoever is missing will be your suspect,”

“What if he wasn’t an elder but somehow knew about the passageway?” asked Lennard.

“I’d hope it didn’t come to that,” Michael sighed.

“Why?” asked Lennard.

“Connect the dots, Lord Lennard. Elder Kane was a Fusion stage cultivator, but the killer ended his life in a few seconds. He escaped before she could even see his face. We saw the footsteps avoiding the windows. Why?”

Lennard did not know the answer.

“The killer was avoiding the sunlight, and who avoids sunlight? Vampires,” Lennard halted his steps. His entire body trembled. Shock and disbelief emerged in his eyes.

“No, it can’t. Are you saying a vampire killed him? No offense, Master Ghost, but this is far-fetched,”

“Is it? The guardian guild’s been hiding the fact that vampires are among us forever. If Elder Kane had found out, they would have killed him to keep their existence among you dark. And don’t let these footsteps fool you, Lord Lennard? You might see normal footsteps and think they walked or ran, but in reality, you can’t even see when they move. Those bastards are fast, really fast,” said Michael. He resumed following the footsteps. He gave Lennard some time to think about everything. Unlike Michael, Lennard and ordinary people were terrified of the vampires. The vampires were nearly impossible to kill without godly skills or a primordial flame. Michael doubted anyone in the Kane family had either.

A single vampire could decimate the entire Kane family. Lennard was right to panic and sweat.

“Let’s say you’re right. What should we do next?” asked Lennard after long minutes of deep thinking.

“Nothing, and pretend like you know nothing about them. You will be the next to go if they suspect you know something. So pick a scapegoat and kill him in front of all the family members. Tell him he was the traitor. I’d recommend you go with a corrupted son of a bitch with various criminal activities, you know, for the clear conscience’s sake,”

“But what about the killer? I want that dog killed and hanged for killing Elder Kane,”

“Trust me. He will be,” Michael growled. Although the killer did not lay a finger on Gaya, he killed Elder Kane, a friend of Gaya’s mother. Moreover, the man had answers, and now, they had no way to get them. The more they learn about Adelia, the closer they get to these vampires. Michael wondered what the connection was between Adelia and the vampires.

Gaya remained silent all the way. She was in deep thought. After learning the truth about her father, she was speechless. Eventually, they came to the end of the tunnel. As Lord Lennard said, they stepped onto a small fishing island. Unfortunately, the footsteps disappeared. Because it was winter and night, there was no one outside. All Michael could see were fishing nets, poles, empty baskets, and a frozen lake.

“Lord Lennard,” Michael turned his gaze toward Lennard.

“I said everything I wanted. But at the end of the day, it’s your decision. Make a wise one. I will honor Elder Kane when I finish everything I must,” Michael patted Lennard on the shoulder before ascending to the air with Gaya. In a blink of an eye, Lennard saw Michael and Gaya disappear, leaving a trail of golden lightning.

“Michael,”

“I know everything,” Michael stopped flying above the clouds. He gently cupped Gaya’s face.

“Finding your mother will answer every question you have,” said Michael.

“But Ashton, he said the way is for the Dark Lord to reveal his identity,” Gaya stuttered. She couldn’t ask him to reveal his identity to the outside world. It’d put a target on his back and end his life. Gaya simply couldn’t do it. Michael just smiled.

“It’s okay. Didn’t I promise I would help you find your mother? Now my job has become easier,” Gaya’s eyes welled up. He leaned forward, gently kissing her on the forehead.

“Nothing will happen to your mother or me. It’s me you’re talking about. Not to rub it on your face, but I am a god, and gods cannot be killed,” Michael said with a playful tone to make her smile.

“What about the god killing arrows huh? Don’t be too haughty. We still have no clue what those are,” She purred.

“And who has the answer to that question? Your mother. Everything leads to Adelia Ashton,”