Hitman With A Badass System

Chapter 1396 : Gaya, The Fledgling God

Meanwhile, Gaya's transformation was reaching its climax in the forest. The black, oily substance continued to ooze from her pores, pooling on the ground around her, the stench of it making Fayeth's stomach churn.

And then… the sky… cracked.

Bolts of lightning, not the pale blue of Kranar's pathetic little sparks, but a deep, vibrant purple, shot across the sky, illuminating the swirling storm clouds that were gathering above them. These weren't normal storm clouds. They were darker, more… menacing, their edges tinged with a sickly green that spoke of something ancient and powerful. Despite his armor and power, Michael felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, the static electricity in the air making his skin tingle.

He could sense the celestial energy pouring into Gaya, a torrent of raw power that was… reshaping her, transforming her, elevating her to a level beyond mortal comprehension.

Fayeth watched, speechless, as the light around Gaya intensified, her body shimmering, her features… shifting.

And then, Michael saw them.

Figures, moving in the distance. Shadows flitting through the trees. And above, in the swirling storm clouds… more shadows.

Another bolt of purple lightning split the sky, illuminating the figures above, revealing their forms… dragons. Griffins. Their wings outstretched, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly light.

"What's… happening?" Fayeth whispered, her voice barely audible over the roar of the wind, the crackle of the lightning.

Michael, his gaze fixed on the sky, didn't answer.

Fayeth, following his gaze, saw them too. The shadows in the clouds. The… beasts.

"Holy…," she breathed, her eyes widening in disbelief.

And then, they landed.

One of them was a massive dragon with deep crimson scales and two horns protruding from its head like wickedly curved daggers. Its eyes burned with a golden fire, and landed a few feet from them, the ground trembling under its weight. Beside it, a griffin, its feathers a mix of white and gold landed with a soft thud, its wings folding gracefully behind it.

Fayeth, instinctively, reached for the pendant she wore around her neck, a small, silver amulet etched with Ava's symbol.

But the dragon and the griffin ignored her as their attention was focused solely on Gaya. To Michael's shock and surprise, they spread their wings, creating a protective barrier around her. And then… more came.

Dragons of all shapes and sizes, their scales shimmering with every color of the rainbow. Wyverns, their leathery wings beating the air, their barbed tails twitching nervously. Giant eagles, their eyes sharp as razors, their talons glinting in the dim light.

Not only dragons but a lion's roar, deep and resonant, echoed through the forest, followed by a chorus of howls, growls, and screeches as more and more beasts, drawn by the power of Gaya's ascension, converged on the clearing. Michael saw tigers, their stripes glowing with an unnatural luminescence, padding silently through the undergrowth. He saw deer, their antlers entwined with vines and flowers, and a three-headed serpent, its scales shimmering with a rainbow of colors, slithered through the trees. He even saw a bear with wings lumbering towards them.

All of them formed a circle around Gaya as though they were focused and redirecting the celestial energy to her in a more controlled manner.

"They… they escaped," Fayeth breathed, recognizing some of the creatures from Agra's collection. The griffons, their wings clipped, their proud heads bowed… the unicorns, their horns sawn off, their coats matted with blood… they were here, whole, healed, their eyes blazing with a newfound freedom.

"Seems like it," Michael murmured, his gaze still fixed on Gaya. The circle of beasts had tightened, their bodies pressing closer and wings creating a canopy of feathers and scales that blocked out the remaining light from the sky. It was growing darker, colder, within their protective embrace.

At that moment, Gaya coughed again, another spasm wracking her body, but this time, the black ooze erupted from her mouth was less black. And the light around her was intensifying.

"She's almost… there," Michael said.

And just as he spoke, a voice, sharp and urgent, crackled in his ear.

Click.

"Ghost! What the fuck is going on in the Verdant Sanctuary?! Seraphene's spy hubs are going crazy! Energy fluctuations off the charts! What did you do?" Pink shouted.

She had been monitoring Seraphene's network of spies by hacking into her server crystals, with Vedora's help and sifting through the endless chatter, the gossip, the intel. But a few minutes ago, all hell had broken loose. The safe house, with its scrying mirrors, and its listening devices had been bombarded with alerts, and warnings of some event unfolding in the Verdant Sanctuary.

And since she knew Ghost and Gaya were there, it didn't take a genius to connect the dots. Wherever those two went, chaos followed. It was practically their calling card.

Sighing, Michael decided to answer Pink later, once Gaya's ascension was complete. It wouldn't be long now. The energy fluctuations were stabilizing, the light around her dimming, the black ooze flowing less… enthusiastically.

Then, finally, Gaya's eyes fluttered open.

[Congratulations to the host for completing the quest "Unlock the Godhood of the Goddess of Monsters". Gaya is now a Level 1 Fledgling God]

Michael grinned. "Showtime," he murmured, reaching out to help her up.

But before he could touch her, a massive lion, its mane a golden halo in the dim light, stepped forward, nudging Gaya gently with its head, helping her to her feet. She stumbled slightly, her legs still shaky, and a nearby deer, its antlers entwined with flowers, moved quickly to steady her, its large, gentle eyes fixed on her face.

Michael stared at the scene, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. A lion and a deer… working together? Now that was something you didn't see every day.

Gaya, her gaze sweeping across the circle of beasts, her brow furrowed in confusion, blinked.

"What the fuck… just happened?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"You became a goddess, that's what happened," he said, gesturing towards his armor, which was now covered in the black, glittery goo she'd… expelled during her transformation.

Gaya's eyes widened, the memories of the sudden, overwhelming pain, the… expulsion… of… something… the strange, rubbery taste in her mouth… coming back to her in a rush.

And then… the voices hit her.

A thousand, a million, a billion voices, whispering, chanting, roaring… all at once. It hit her like a goddamn freight train, a cacophony of sound that made her head spin, her knees buckle.

"Argh!" she screamed, clutching her head and her legs buckling beneath her.

Sensing her distress, a griffin, moved swiftly to her side, its powerful wings wrapping around her, holding her steady.

Michael watched with a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He knew what she was experiencing. The sudden influx of prayers and voices was overwhelming. He'd been there himself and it wasn't pleasant.

Slowly, Gaya's trembling subsided, the griffin's wings still wrapped around her, offering comfort, protection. She looked around, her gaze sweeping over the circle of beasts, her eyes widening as she took in… the dragons, the griffins, the… bear with wings. She could feel… something… coming from the dragon, a… connection, a voice trying to reach her, but it was… muffled, distorted. She wasn't strong enough yet. She needed to level up before she could truly hear creatures like dragons.

But the other beasts… they were clear. She could hear their whispers, their pleas, their… pain. She met the gaze of the deer that had steadied her, saw the kindness, the gentleness, in its large, brown eyes… and the… sadness.

She reached out, instinctively, her hand resting on the deer's soft fur.

"What's… happening?" Fayeth whispered with a mixture of awe and confusion.

"She's… talking to the deer," Michael replied, watching the exchange with a knowing smile. He knew, from his own experience, that gods could communicate with their worshippers, with those who believed in them. And Gaya's worshippers… they were the beasts. The creatures. The monsters.

And then, Gaya heard it.

The deer's voice was soft and trembling which echoed in her mind.

"They… they hunted us, Goddess," the deer whispered, its eyes filling with tears. "My… my family. My mate. My fawns. They… they killed them. For… sport."

"They chased us," the deer continued, its voice choked with emotion. "Hunted us down. Laughed… as they… tore us apart. They… they said… we were… abominations. That we… didn't belong in… Ava's sanctuary. They… they corrupted the forest… poisoned the water… turned our home… into a… a graveyard."

A wave of fury, unlike anything Gaya had ever felt before, surged through her. It wasn't just anger. It was… wrath. A primal, all-consuming fury that made her blood boil, her muscles tense, and her very being vibrated with power.

This was the wrath of the Goddess of Monsters.

"Those… fuckers," she growled, her voice low, dangerous, her eyes blazing with a cold fire. "They'll pay. They'll all pay."

And in that moment, Gaya changed.

She knelt down, her crimson eyes meeting the deer's, her voice a low, dangerous growl.

"I will avenge you," she whispered, her hand stroking the deer's soft fur, her touch surprisingly gentle despite the fury burning in her eyes.

"I will wipe those… bastards… from this land. I will paint the ground with their blood. They will… suffer, just as you have suffered. They will… beg for mercy. And I… I will show them… none."

Fayeth, watching the exchange, felt a chill run down her spine. It was a… different kind of chill than the one she felt when the God of Darkness spoke of killing. There was a primal fury in Gaya's voice that made even Michael's threats seem tame.

But she also understood. Gaya wasn't just a woman anymore. She was a goddess. And those beasts… those creatures… they were her worshippers and essentially her children. And she had the power to destroy and unleash a vengeance that would make even Agra's cruelty seem merciful.

With Agra gone, there was nothing, no one, to stop her. She could… cleanse this domain, purify it with the blood of those who had… defiled it. And Fayeth, though her heart ached for the lost, for the innocent… she couldn't help but feel a flicker of… grim satisfaction.

They deserved it. Those bastards. Every last one of them.