Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 70: A Shot Piercing the Clouds!

Xia Ya slowly rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping over the densely packed cultists around him.

In his crimson-gold eyes, the sheer majesty of sovereignty manifested.

Though he stood there, alone and clad in nothing but a windbreaker, to the Twilight Cultists, he appeared as a monarch enthroned upon a distant imperial seat, an army of thousands marching behind him.

Golden ripples spread from beneath his feet.

Invisible. Intangible. Yet at the edges, a brilliant crimson-gold radiance shimmered—expanding outward in all directions from where Xia Ya stood.

Elemental waves, energy attacks, slashes—

Every single attack that entered the domain of crimson-gold light simply… dissipated.

Vanished. Without a trace.

The cult leader's eyes widened in utter disbelief.

He jerked his head up, his lips parting as if to say something—

But in that instant—

BOOM!

His entire body collapsed to the ground.

His dry, withered hands spasmed against the stone beneath him, his joints trembling with an eerie cracking sound.

It was not that Xia Ya’s golden gaze held such absolute power that it forced men to their knees in worship.

As a leader, his faith in Twilight was far more unshakable than that of the other cultists. He would never bow so easily.

But he had no choice.

The solid ground beneath him fractured and splintered, as if some immense, unseen force was pressing down upon him—forcing him into submission.

If he didn’t kneel, his spine would snap in two.

And he was the lucky one.

Those weaker than him were already crushed against the ground, unconscious.

A mist of blood erupted as their fragile human skeletons shattered under an unimaginable gravity, warping even their capillaries beyond recognition.

It didn’t matter if they were Beastmasters or summoned beasts.

Inside the crimson-gold domain of Royal Authority, none were spared.

A domain-type ability…

To sustain a field of such scale while simultaneously suppressing so many high-tier beings, the mental strain must be immense.

Perhaps, just activating it had already drained Xia Ya’s entire spiritual energy.

Maybe he had no strength left to launch an offensive.

And we have numbers on our side—even if we lose a few, once his domain collapses, that will be our chance to strike back.

For the resurrection of the Lord, any sacrifice was worth it.

Such thoughts had barely surfaced in the cult leader’s mind when—

A sound reached his ears.

Like clashing metal, yet carrying the weight of a primordial decree.

A word from a language too ancient, too powerful to be spoken by mortals.

A word that meant—

"Death."

A fraction of a second later.

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.

The command echoed across the entire Royal Authority domain, compelling all life within it—except for Xia Ya and the girl in his arms.

Thud.

Thud.

One by one, bodies hit the ground.

A chilling silence swept over the street—

The only sound remaining was the crackling of fire devouring the ruined buildings.

Xia Ya’s golden gaze dimmed, fading back to its usual calm, abyssal black.

He said nothing.

He simply walked forward, stepping over lifeless bodies, until he stood before the fallen cult leader.

Crouching down, he searched through the corpse—

And retrieved a hexagonal crystal, glowing with a hazy yellow light.

“So this is the thing… that turned ordinary wild summoned beasts into mindless, bloodthirsty disasters?”

Xia Ya examined the strange crystal.

Reflected in the glow of the burning city, the gem’s dusky yellow radiance shimmered, exuding an eerie, otherworldly aura.

Just one look was enough to tell it was worth a fortune.

"If I sell this to the Church of Dawn or the Shadow Council, the starting price would be at least… thirty to forty thousand Rhine Gold Coins."

Xia Ya chuckled softly.

Then—his fingers tightened.

CRACK.

A clear shattering sound rang out as fractures ran across the gem’s surface.

Then, it crumbled to dust.

As the hexagonal crystal was destroyed, the colossal disaster beasts in the distance froze mid-step.

The yellow glow in their eyes vanished, clarity returning—

Confusion flickered in their gazes as they hesitated, no longer driven by an unnatural madness.

But Xia Ya—having casually eliminated the source of their berserk rampage—no longer concerned himself with the chaos in the city.

He had more important matters to attend to.

Xia Ya’s strides seemed leisurely, yet the scenery around him blurred, shifting at unnatural speed.

Soon—

The low, crumbling ruins faded away.

Before him stood a vast, dark, and silent estate.

The Grand Ducal Estate.

Positioned at the very heart of the Cangting Royal Capital, it stood alone—encircled by a small river, isolating it from the rest of the city.

For this reason, the inferno consuming the outer city had yet to reach the estate.

And the Twilight Disaster Beasts, as if sensing something ominous—or perhaps receiving an unspoken command—had deliberately avoided this place.

Thus, the eerie silence of the Grand Ducal Estate stood in stark contrast to the burning ruins outside.

Though separated by nothing but a river—

It was as if the two places existed in entirely different worlds.

Xia Ya’s footsteps echoed through the emptiness of the estate.

Normally, even at night, this grand estate would be illuminated in its full glory.

The house of a Grand Duke could certainly afford to spend a few extra energy crystals on Magitech lighting.

But now—

Pitch darkness.

A silence so deep, it felt as if something lurking in the shadows was watching.

Xia Ya stopped before a door deep within the mansion.

Even through the thick wooden panels, he could smell blood.

He raised a hand—

And knocked. Three times.

Then, after a pause—

Two more.

A moment later—

“Come in.”

From beyond the door, Norton’s voice called out.

Xia Ya pushed it open.

With the metal door now open, the faint scent of blood instantly intensified into a thick, choking stench.

Norton stood in the shadows, his aged frame no longer carrying the frailty he once displayed before his family.

Ambition.

It nourished him, straightened his back—slowly but surely restoring him to the prime of his youth.

In his hands, he idly toyed with a bloodstained dagger.

Behind him, a dark silhouette lurked, its gaze brimming with unspoken killing intent, fixated on Xia Ya the moment he entered.

Then, with a simple flick of Norton’s hand, the oppressive presence vanished, along with the crushing aura locked onto Xia Ya.

This old bastard…

Did he really just eliminate every single elder who opposed him—along with the Twilight Cultists who infiltrated the estate—without making a sound?

Xia Ya cursed inwardly.

The Branstat Family Elders were Fourth-Ring Master-Tier Beastmasters.

The Twilight Cultists sent here were of equal rank.

And yet—all of them had been erased.

Not even a whisper remained.

Of course.

Had Norton not concealed such terrifying power, how could he dare to dream of such audacious ambition?

And now—

With Sylvia, the one and only key, in his grasp—

Twilight was unsealed.

Not through brute force, as the cultists had imagined.

Not by shattering the seal with overwhelming external power.

But through precise, methodical sabotage—

Through a plan woven over a decade—

Through knowledge only an insider could possess.

The long-sealed divine power was not erupting forth.

It was seeping out—slowly, steadily, purified—

And flowing into Norton’s very being.

Yellow light began to rise around him, but his gaze remained lucid.

This was not the violent corruption that turned cultists and beasts into mindless zealots, driven solely to praise Twilight.

No—

Under Norton’s control, the divine power was remolding his body, enhancing him without eroding his reason.

The aura around him swelled, surging higher and higher—

And then—

Pure ecstasy bloomed on Norton’s aged features.

A decade of scheming—

And he had not miscalculated.

He had truly stepped onto the path of godhood.

Of course—

The being sealed beneath the mansion was not a full deity.

It was merely the Half-Body of an Ancient God.

And its power—diminished over time, no longer a fraction of what it was upon descent.

Even if Norton fully absorbed the sealed power beneath the royal capital—

At best, he would reach Legendary Tier.

But—

Unlike other Legendary Beastmasters, Norton possessed something far greater.

This was not just strength.

This was a fragment of a god’s authority.

Given time—

By gathering faith. By filling in the missing piece.

He could transcend legends—

And truly touch the divine realm.

The familiar surge of power stirred Sylvia from her deep slumber.

She awoke to the chilling sensation of cold stone beneath her.

Her violet eyes opened—

And she understood everything.

The surging Twilight energy around her—

And Norton, face alight with fanatic joy, his eyes tightly shut as he absorbed the divine essence.

He was the one behind her betrayal.

Norton.

The one elder who had never looked at her with hate.

The one who always showed concern, always asked about her well-being.

All of it—

A lie.

He had never seen her as a person.

She was never family.

She was a piece on his board, a key in his hand.

Everything—her joy, her grief, the glimmers of hope in her despair—

Had always been someone else’s script.

A girl yearning for light—fumbling through the dark, arms outstretched, reaching for a faint glimmer.

And all the while, the true masterminds stood in the shadows, mocking her performance.

Sylvia lay silent upon the cold ground, feeling the power of the Bronze Cross drain her life away, bit by bit.

The moment Norton seized the last fragment of Twilight’s authority—

Would be the moment of her death.

A key exists only to unlock a door.

Once used—

It is broken.

Sylvia turned her head slightly.

Her hollow gaze landed on the silent, black-haired boy standing nearby.

Xia Ya…

She called to him, though no words left her lips.

Even now—after everything—

In her heart, he was still Xia Ya-gege.

Perhaps it was simply habit.

She should have felt hatred.

But she didn’t.

Compared to the family that had always seen her as a curse—those who wouldn’t even speak to her—

At least Xia Ya had walked with her in the lie.

At least, for a moment, he let her see a glimpse of light.

Even if it was fleeting—

It was enough.

Her life force drained faster.

And beside her—

Norton’s form burned with divine fire, his entire being ignited by Twilight’s power.

He was nearly there.

One final step.

A single step to complete his metamorphosis—

From man to demigod.

Even a Legendary Beastmaster would not look away from this moment—

For it was a feat never clearly recorded in history.

A miracle.

A cataclysmic shift in power.

But Sylvia didn’t care.

She ignored Norton.

She ignored his ascent.

Instead—

Her eyes remained on the boy beside her.

At the very end, she wanted to carve his image into her soul.

Then—

Her eyes widened.

Something changed.

The black-haired, dark-eyed boy—who had stood motionless, face unreadable—

The boy who had not spared her a single glance—

Lifted his head.

In his half-clenched fingers, something formed—

A silver-white firearm.

Sleek. Elegant. Deadly.

The barrel—

Pointed straight at Norton.

A fraction of a second later.

His finger squeezed the trigger.

Click.

The gun roared.

A blazing muzzle flash ignited the darkness.

And—

In the glow of the gunfire—

Sylvia’s lifeless, empty eyes finally reflected light.