Hitman with a Badass System

Killing the bat was only the first step of his big plan in the demons grave. Michael didn't slow down or seek shelter despite the raging storm and the heavy rain. Granted, the storm and the rain made the terrain wet and walking difficult, but it also terrified the monsters. Everywhere Michael looked, he saw no monster. Even the colossal bull he saw from the mountain was nowhere to be seen. Lightning cracked the red sky, sending heaven's light through the storms. Even the rain came in orchestrated rhythm, appearing as the master of the scene yet arriving on unheard cues. The wind ran as if it had been restrained for time out of mind, and it was determined to outrun any chaser. The sound of it was a strange song, as if howling yearned for a melody. Michael was completely drenched in the rain.

"We've been walking for hours," Sarba said, sitting on Michael's shoulder.

"Don't you have a spare long coat? I hate getting wet," Ayag complained. As she said, Michael wore nothing to cover his upper body except the sheathe on his back. In his deep thinking, Michael didn't hear Ayag and Sarba. Instead, he was more focused on forming alchemy formulas in his head. There were no monsters or a threat to break Michael's concentration. He didn't even mind the raging storm.

"He's not listening to us, is he?" asked Ayag as Cain shook his head. Michael crossed the meadows after almost five hours and saw a lake in the distance. Michael's destination was deep within the lake, according to the system. Thanks to his Alchemist profession, Michael concocted a pill that enabled him to breathe underwater. If it wasn't for the high pressure under the lake, he could have used his mask. Since it wasn't the case, Mciaehl had to connect this pill using extremely rare herbs from his herbal garden in the Sunrise sect.

Even in an eerie place like the demons grave, the lake glistened like a ruby under the red sky. In that land of creeping beauty lay a disc of brightest red. The lake was brighter than the colors of one's dreams. It was the minerals of the glacier that shone cyan, turquoise, and ruby red.

Like a mirror on the wall, it was oval and flat. The surface was forever guarded against the winds by the crown of barren hills around. At the edge, the land met and carried right on as a perfect reflection. Looking up into the sky and down into the water was just the same.

Although Michael sensed several monsters around him, none dared to attack him. Michael had a feeling the red lightning bolts around the dark swords had something to do with it. As usual, he asked the system about these lightning bolts but received no answer from it. Whenever the system went silent when he asked a question, it raised Michael's concern. For instance, the system gave no explanation or answers about the mysterious woman he met outside the demons grave. Sometimes, Michael had to figure things out on his own without the system's help.

"I hope you like getting wet," said Michael as Ayag rolled her eyes.

"I just said I hate getting wet. You are a jerk, Ghost," She bit Michael's ear. Nibbling Ayag's head, Michael walked closer and closer to the lake. With a flick of his wrist, Michael took out a sapphire blue pill and tossed it into his mouth. His muscles immediately ached, especially the back of his ears. It felt like someone was burning his skin with cigarettes. The pain lasted for a few minutes. Then, Vedora saw several gashes appearing behind his ears. Without wasting any time, Michael dived into the lake, swimming deeper and deeper.

As his body moved through the clear water, he was surprised to see the golden sand and the sight around him. The first thing that caught his eye was the variety of sea life. Hundreds of fishes in every color of the rainbow and more swam past him without fearing him. Some big fishes floated lazily as others disappeared with a flick of a bright fin. For a lake in a demons grave, it was artistic, to say the least. Luckily, Vedora didn't need any pill or potion to breathe underwater. They swam along with Michael like expert swimmers. As they were following Michael, their attention turned to the expanse of a coral reef that stretched as far as one could see. They blanketed the golden sand like a colorful bed sheet. Surprisingly, everything underwater was full of color and life. The red light coming from the dark swords illuminated the closest section of the reef, highlighting a formation of corals. Each section of coral was beautifully formed, but none was quite like any other.

Michael was tempted to harvest some and put them in the lake near the castle. However, Michael was the type of person who would rather see a flower in a plant than in someone's head.

"What is that?" Ayag asked her siblings in telepathy, looking at an octopus. The creature peeked its head over through the coral and gawked at them with its big eyes. Soon, the octopus moved through the coral, revealing itself for a moment before shrinking back into a crevasse. A hidden gem amongst corals – one of many. The deeper Michael swam, the prettier the lake turned out to be. Many unknown creatures buried themselves under the sand. The entire lake was like a treasure chest, enclosing unfathomable treasures in ever smallest sliver. Everything was deadly silent around Michael. But this silence was short-lived. Suddenly, they heard a chittering noise. When Michael looked over his shoulder, he saw five creatures that resembled dolphins skim by. With water all around them, they almost seemed to fly, moving effortlessly. Propelling their sleek bodies swiftly forwards with a flick of a gray tail. According to the system, Michael still had a long way to reach his destination. He wondered how the things he needed could exist underwater. A while later, Michael was surprised to see a shipwreck. He wanted to investigate the shipwreck even though it didn't seem to have any treasures. But when he was about to swim toward the wreck, his view was obscured by a huge shark that drifted lazily by, pushing Michael and Vedora aside with the water it displaced. A whale shark, mouth stretched wide to gather food. To Michael's surprise, the shark was at the half Immortal stage. If Michael wanted, he could fight the shark and kill it easily. However, blood might attract more sharks, and if they were also at the Half Immortal stage, he would be in trouble. Like it or not, Michael was in their home ground. Besides, he wanted to reach his destination without wasting his energy. After all, who knew how many enemies he would have to face there?

Michael slowly swam away from the shipwreck and the shark without making any sound. Finally, when he put a safe distance between him and the shark, a swarm of shining goldfish coiled and winded their way past. They lit the underwater like a swarm of fireflies, sending glints of light in every direction. On the golden sand, oysters and colorful shells were scattered everywhere. They were a living explosion of beauty. Limpets glued themselves to rocks, setting themselves in like jewels in a necklace. Michael scooped up a shell from the sand and put it in the system storage as a souvenir.

Eventually, an archway appeared in his sight. It was definitely man-made and contained a realm tear in the center. Unlike the emerald green realm tear that served as the entrance to the demons grave, this realm tear radiated an icy blue light. Michael's eyes were lit with excitement. If everything went according to his plan, he could put an end to their financial blunder. Even the God of Darkness depended on gold coins to grow his army and build his castle.

Michael flapped his legs, dashing toward the realm tear. He was actually surprised, but it made sense. The realm tear made him realize the things he needed were in another realm. A realm within a realm.

"This place keeps surprising me," Michael said to himself as he tried to enter through the realm tear. But an invisible force pushed him away.

"What the hell?" Michael creased his brows.

"What happened?" Ayag asked Michael wordlessly. Unlike Michael, Vedora felt no resistance from the realm tear. Once again, Michael moved toward the realm tear, and this time, he resisted the force. Michael quickly used his X-ray vision to see an energy dome around the archway. Michael unsheathed his dark swords. Then, he swung the swords, cutting the invisible dome. The dark swords cut through the dome. It produced a powerful shock wave that pushed both Vedora and Michael several meters away. Then, the realm tear created a suction force that pulled Michael and Vedora along with gallons of lake water.

Everything around Michael turned dark. But before he disappeared into the realm tear, he caught Vedora and held them closer to his chest with one hand and the dark sword in the other. Lights out for Michael for a few minutes. Even his X-ray vision turned out to be useless. He felt like he was flying through space. Atleast the feeling was familiar. After an unknown amount of time, Michael was thrown onto a soft ground. He coughed up the blood and slowly opened his eyes. His eyes adjusted to the light. Everything looked blurry for a few moments. When Michael was finally able to see his surroundings, he was taken aback by surprise. He was on a mountain cliff, overlooking the massive cliffs and towering fjords that crept through the rainforest. Great scarves of cloud swirled around the blue sky. It was a primeval landscape, vast and forbidding. But this wasn't how Michael would describe the place. To him, this realm was magical, like a fairy tale land. The trees were alien, and most of the realm looked too cyan. There were waterfalls, rivers, and distant flocks of winged creatures.

"What is this place?" Vedora asked Michael. They shared the same dumbfounded look on Michael's face.

"That's weird," said Sarba. His gaze was locked on Michael's dark sword in his hand. When Michael looked at the sword, he saw no red lightning bolts.

But that wasn't the only change Michael noticed. He couldn't feel any energy in the atmosphere. In other words, his cultivation power had betrayed him. Luckily, Michael could still access the system and use the arch energy crystals to power himself up.

"Our god has appeared!" Suddenly, Michael heard a thunderous voice in the distance. Somehow, Michael didn't think it was just a coincidence. Soon, a flock of winged creatures shot to the sky through the rainforest. They were on their way to Michael.