Hate Me, Witch! – Chapter 73

Shaya and Sylvia’s figures disappeared from the Grand Duke’s Mansion underground.
Everything around them was changing at a dizzying pace.
When the surroundings finally stabilized, they were no longer in the gloomy and cold underground hall.
Instead, they found themselves in an ordinary civilian house in the Outer City of the Royal Capital.
Due to its location on the outermost edge of the residential area, this house had not been trampled by the earlier calamity of beast tides, thus preserving its intact appearance.
Dim candlelight burned in the room, serving as the sole source of light.
At this moment, Sylvia, held in Shaya’s arms, had closed her eyes.
The continuous “blinking” had been quite unpleasant.
Each blink was equivalent to experiencing a turbulent spatial distortion. If performed consecutively, the dizziness induced was more than ten times greater than that experienced by fighter jets during high-altitude maneuvers.
Shaya, already possessing Third Ring strength and benefiting from the spatial Affinity bonus from the Sparkle Soul Pact, could handle the side effects of multiple blinks without issue.
However, Sylvia was not yet a Beast Tamer, and her physical condition was no different from that of an ordinary person.
Furthermore, she had just experienced a massive loss of vitality, her body was already extremely weak and on the verge of collapse, and she was only barely holding on through sheer willpower.
Now, enduring the turbulence of spatial distortion again, coupled with being held by someone she trusted.
The indescribable sense of safety and satisfaction flooded Sylvia’s body and mind, causing even her last trace of defiance to disappear as she fell unconscious once more.
Despite this, Sylvia’s hands still tightly gripped Shaya’s neck, unwilling to let go of this sole source of support even in her sleep.
There was not a trace of color on her plain white cute face, and it was smudged with some dust, yet a peaceful and happy smile graced her lips.
The moment Shaya picked her up, happiness once again filled Sylvia’s previously hollow heart.
She felt as though she had once again become the most cherished treasure in the world.
Even if she were to die peacefully in Shaya’s arms like this, Sylvia would have no regrets, perfectly content.
“But I went to such great lengths to save you, even treating a peak Fifth Ring expert, and even a slumbering Ancient God, as imaginary enemies—”
“It wasn’t so you could die with a happy smile in my arms.”
Shaya looked at Sylvia, who had a sweet smile on her face, and couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.
He crouched down and gently released the arms Sylvia had wrapped around his neck.
Then, he laid the maiden’s soft body onto the plain white bedding in the room.
Sylvia’s condition was dire.
Although visually, Shaya had intentionally avoided vital points with the wound from the previous attack, and it had now been healed by restorative potions.
However, looking deeper, Sylvia was like a deflated rag doll.
The Bronze Cross seal had been shattered, and the Twilight Divinity it contained had been plundered and devoured by the sealing array below during the ascension ritual.
Even though the ascension ritual was interrupted at the last moment, the damage to her soul origin had already occurred.
That flaw was like a bottomless black hole, continuously devouring the last remaining vitality within Sylvia’s body.
Her life at this moment was as precarious as a candle flame in the wind.
When that last trace of vitality was completely gone, Sylvia’s fate would naturally come to an end.
This was the destiny of a key.
Once the door sealing the Demigod was opened, the key, having lost its purpose, would naturally only face the end of being broken.
Flickers of light flashed.
Shaya took out item after item from his Spatial Pocket.
There were healing potions contained in glass bottles, as well as scrolls sealing skills.
Without hesitation, he smashed all the potion bottles and tore up the scrolls that sealed healing-type skills.
Either Holy or emerald radiance lit up.
In an instant, the entire civilian house was filled with an unimaginably rich life aura, stimulating even the weeds outside to grow wildly.
Sylvia’s complexion improved slightly amidst this resurgence of vitality, but it soon dimmed again.
Her life aura continued to fade.
It was flowing away at a pace that was not too rapid, but still irreversible.
High-grade healing potions and skills could mend physical wounds.
However, when facing damage to the soul origin, they could only provide temporary relief, ultimately failing to address the root cause.
“If this were one of those single-player romance games I played in my previous life… then at this very moment, the heroine would probably miraculously open her eyes one last time before her death.”
“Then, after completing her final farewell, she would pass away peacefully with a smile in the arms of her beloved.”
“And finally, there would be the line about how life has its joys and sorrows, just as the moon waxes and wanes, and that life is inherently flawed and imperfect. The game would end amidst a shower of player-induced tears.”
Shaya chuckled self-deprecatingly.
In reality, he could simply leave now.
The task of betraying Sylvia had been completed, and the task settlement pop-up had already appeared in his mind, but he hadn’t had the chance to view it.
From the very beginning, Shaya’s objective in entering this Historical Echo was merely to complete the beginner’s quest.
Now that the objective was achieved, there was not much remaining value within this Historical Echo, and rationally, it wasn’t worth Shaya taking further risks.
Besides, for people in the real world, Historical Echoes were merely like a game.
In Shaya’s previous life, becoming overly invested in the story of a game would undoubtedly earn one labels like “obsessed” or “too invested.”
He could choose to exit the game at this point, or accompany Sylvia through the final moments of her life, witness the game’s Normal END, watch the tragic game CG, and then leave.
After exiting the Historical Echo, he naturally wouldn’t have to deal with the Azure Court Duchy’s catastrophic flood. After all, in the real world timeline, the country had already perished, leaving only a few lines in historical scrolls and ancient texts.
“But I am simply that kind of greedy person who despises tragedy.”
Shaya whispered the words silently.
The saying goes, “All the splendor experienced in life must ultimately be repaid with loneliness.”
However, he adamantly refused to be the protagonist in a romance novel who could only weep as his beloved girl died, powerless to do anything, regretting it for the rest of his life, and repaying the past splendor with loneliness.
Even if you became powerful later, ascended the throne bathed in the blood of a Dragon King, what would be the point if the person was already dead?
Even if this was just a Historical Echo, just a game.
But since he had invested so much effort in preparation, Shaya’s goal was naturally singular.
He leaned down, caressing Sylvia’s plain white cheek, wiping away the ash and dust that had settled on the maiden’s face.
The next moment, Shaya’s figure dissipated, vanishing from the civilian house.
Only his unfinished words echoed in mid-air.
“Then.”
“Let this imperfect story—”
“Be turned into the shape we desire.”
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