Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 156: About Me Being Called a Two-Timing Bastard

Above the Black Mist.

Xia Ya shifted his body slightly, adjusting into a more comfortable sitting posture.

Behind him, those pale-golden tree branches also swayed and extended with his thoughts, transforming from the shape of a throne into that of a lounge chair.

This strange world made of black mist was a unique place—Xia Ya called it “Above the Black Mist.”

It was unlike the subdimensions and auxiliary planes he was familiar with, or had even personally modified.

“Above the Black Mist” resembled the ashes of the Imaginary Belt that he and Little Ai had turned into their Eden—separated from history, with an independently flowing time-space continuum.

And during those ten years in Eden, apart from his daily meditation, cultivation, and nighttime cuddling with Little Ai, most of Xia Ya’s time was spent exploring and asserting control over this “Above the Black Mist.”

If he had to use one word to describe the current state of this place—

It would be: plush toy.

“Now that I think about it, does this make me a homewrecker?”

“If I’m not wrong, this place should be the very site Golden Dawn uses for its secret gatherings.”

“Those folks probably never expected that sending me an invite back then would result in me completely taking over their home turf.”

There was an inexplicable thrill to it.

So Xia Ya reclined comfortably on his makeshift lounge chair, casting out his mental energy to observe the countless illusory starlight projections taking shape below.

“This one’s alright... probably around three-quarters of a Futigon.”

“That one’s not great. Maybe half a Futigon...”

“Whoa, this one’s spirit strength is like two Futigons—that should already be at the threshold of demi-god or Throne-tier, right?”

“Oh, this one’s spirit power is unreadable, and there’s a divine presence... is this the boss?”

Hidden in the depths of the black mist, Xia Ya critiqued the arriving starlight entities one by one.

From his current perspective, Futigon—the Vile King of Aisgania from a millennium ago—had likely reached the pinnacle of Legendary tier, standing right at the threshold of the Throne.

In other words, the so-called “Legendary Ninth-turn Peak Full-circle Great Completion Realm.”

So using “Futigon” as a unit of power made it easy to gauge others’ spiritual strength.

Anyone clearly stronger than Futigon had probably already stepped into the Throne boundary, or even onto the path of godhood.

That is to say: they were Throne-tier or demi-god.

Anyone weaker was roughly at the level of a veteran Legendary.

Xia Ya had just finished judging them all when he paused, noticing one of the spiritual projections carrying a familiar aura.

“Quasi-Legendary?”

The aura coming from Suren’s starlight body was far stronger than Xia Ya had expected.

If he didn’t count the ten extra years in the Imaginary Belt, this girl had practically clawed her way up to catch up with him and Ailora through sheer willpower within the Holy Court.

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That was seriously impressive, considering how many cheats Xia Ya and Ailora had relied on to power up.

Suren had no access to Historical Echoes, nor did she have a contract with a Holy Lance like Little Ai...

Even with the full backing of the Holy Court, getting this far this fast couldn’t be chalked up to resources alone.

While Xia Ya continued peeking from Above the Black Mist, he saw the one whose starlight strength he couldn’t read clear their throat softly below at the bronze long table.

That person took the seat at the head of the table, looked around, and finally began to speak.

“Let us begin this secret gathering.”

…

A dozen hazy silhouettes, cloaked in black mist, seated themselves at the bronze long table.

“As planned, Golden Dawn will welcome two new members today.”

The figure at the head of the table spoke slowly.

“What’s the current condition of the previous envoy?”

They looked down the table.

“Not good,” someone replied.

“He was given a death command through Word of Power by the Argent Witch and was stripped of all life force.”

“Though we barely kept him alive using a relic of the Goddess of Life, that Word of Power is still active. No healing potion or Summoned Beast skill has any effect.”

“To fully recover, we’ll have to wait until that death command fades—which will take at least five more months.”

The leader nodded slightly.

“A shame. It seems Xia Ya Egut, and that Argent Witch by his side, have no intention of accepting our invitation.”

“Of course, given what we now know, perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing.”

“Even we didn’t anticipate he’d stir up this much chaos.”

“He not only brought back the Second Imperial Princess—who was supposed to perish along with the Imaginary Belt—but also managed to completely kill Crimson Moon... making himself the Abyss’s sworn enemy.”

The leader swept their gaze around the bronze table. After a long pause, they spoke again.

“I imagine many of you have already received intel—”

“The entire Lost Domain is stirring, ready to make a move during the upcoming succession crisis in the Fresta Empire.”

“When the Abyss and the cults clash with the Empire, no matter who wins, the Western Continent will be thrown into chaos. And that means... the opportunity we’ve waited for is finally at hand.”

“The Fourth Era is drawing to a close... soon, the age of untouchable Legends will come to an end.”

“The long-dead mythic creatures slumbering in the starrealm will awaken... angels and saints will once again walk the mortal world, just like in the First Era.”

“And what we must do, is take advantage of this moment of turmoil—”

“To bring back the Eighth Dawn Deity, the Great One, the Golden King—Rhine…”

…

With that declaration from the leader-like figure, a wave of murmurs and gasps swept through the room.

Though most members of the Golden Dawn more or less understood the group’s grand ambition, hearing it stated so bluntly still caused quite a stir—whispers broke out across the black mist.

Even Xia Ya narrowed his eyes slightly.

This figure, who seemed to be the head of the Golden Dawn, hadn’t said much, but the weight of their words was enormous.

The Golden King—Rhine.

Anyone from the Western Continent, from Throne-tier powerhouses and Legends to the most common of commoners, knew that name.

The founder of the Sacred Calendar. The face engraved on every single Rhine gold coin across the continent.

He—no, He—was supposedly the Eighth Dawn Deity, outside of the traditionally recognized Seven True Gods?

This piece of news didn’t exactly catch Xia Ya off guard.

After all, for someone powerful enough to usher in a new era, it wasn’t surprising if they had truly stepped onto the path of godhood—even reaching the level of a true god.

It was just that he’d assumed the Golden King would have chosen the path of the Throne, and being referred to now as the Eighth God clearly meant He had forsaken His human form.

But what truly caught Xia Ya’s attention was the news of the Golden King’s return.

“Tch—”

“Ancient gods slumbering in the Starrealm are waking up, the Abyss is about to erupt, the Holy Spear and Holy Sword are being unsealed one after another…”

“They’re really trying to stir up a storm. Not a single peaceful day left, huh?”

Xia Ya couldn’t help sighing.

Everything pointed to one outcome—blow up the Fourth Era and open the Fifth.

And by the looks of it, this time’s escalation wasn’t even comparable to the catastrophe at the end of the Third Era.

Sure, the end of the Third Era had its fair share of chaos with countless Legends and demi-gods emerging, saints walking the land—but the number of true god resurrections had been relatively limited.

Only Crimson Moon had personally descended—and even then, half-crippled, his courage shattered, barely daring to fight—more like a demi-god at best.

...

“Of course, the Great One’s return will take time. It cannot be completed quickly.”

“That’s why the Western Continent... must fall into chaos.”

“That Second Imperial Princess has been acknowledged by the Holy Sword, and with her strength already breaching the boundary of the Throne, once her coronation is complete, the Empire’s rule will become unshakably solid.”

“So—Isadella von Frestberg.”

“If she’s a being that should’ve been erased by historical correction, then it’s best she stays buried forever.”

On the bronze long table, the leader spoke a chilling decree.

No one voiced any objections.

From ancient times to the present, the purpose of Golden Dawn had always been to “safeguard the correct flow of history.”

And what was “correct”? That, naturally, was for them to decide.

“Those cultists appear to be preparing relics and a divine descent ritual, intending to interfere with the imperial succession through the descent of an Evil God.”

“But divine descent rituals are extremely flashy. If performed in another city, once the god descends and walks the world, it’ll surely attract attention from other Order-aligned forces—especially the Church of Dawn.”

“During the coronation ceremony, the Imperial Capital will be on full lockdown. Smuggling in a large number of cultists won’t be easy...”

After a while, a hoarse voice rose from beside the table.

It came from someone obviously embedded within the Lost Domain, likely deeply connected to the cults—possibly even one of their leaders.

“As for the Church of Dawn... I’ll handle it. The Holy Court will be holding a bishop council during that time.”

“Most of the Cardinal-level Legends will attend. Within twelve hours, no Church Legends will interfere in imperial affairs.”

A withered female voice echoed.

It belonged to the same starlight projection that had entered alongside Suren.

Xia Ya, hidden above the black mist, looked toward her—

Her spiritual power barely reached half a Futigon. Not impressive.

But judging by her words, she clearly held a high position in the Church—no one else would have access to the precise timing of a bishop council. Likely a high-ranking cardinal.

“I can handle the lockdown in the Imperial Capital.”

“But the divine descent ritual and the relic to house the divine faith—those must be carried out by me.”

“In return, once it’s done, I want an unclaimed shard of divinity or a fragment of authority as payment...”

Moments later, another elderly voice joined in.

Wow. What kind of secret organization is this? Might as well rename it Traitor Central.

Xia Ya remained hidden in the black mist, having Yui frantically record the spiritual data of every speaker through their Soul Pact.

Starlight projections were vague, making it difficult to pinpoint their real-world identities, but by recording their traits, Xia Ya could identify them later in face-to-face encounters.

The major Order-aligned factions of the Western Continent had clearly been infiltrated like sieves.

Not just the Church of Dawn with its turncoat cardinals—even the Empire had its share of compromised powerhouses.

You know the saying—

If you see one cockroach in your room, there are probably a hundred more living with you.

By that logic, the Noble Alliance was probably crawling with traitors too.

“Haha... never thought you’d finally come around, old man.”

“No longer stuck obsessing over that so-called Throne boundary—finally ready to step into the Divine Realm?”

The one from the Lost Domain chuckled in his raspy tone, clearly recognizing the last speaker.

“Don’t worry, unclaimed shards of divinity and fragments of authority are rare, but we’ve accumulated some over the past thousand years.”

“It’s just a simple trade.”

The person who’d offered to handle the Imperial Capital’s lockdown said no more, only nodded calmly.

“The relic for channeling faith can be sent to me through the black mist.”

Discussion continued around the bronze long table for quite some time before finally dying down.

Xia Ya didn’t miss a single word—he recorded everything.

The more he heard, the more disturbed he felt.

Orchestrating divine descent, assassinating key figures, infiltrating nations, manipulating wars...

And yet, to these Golden Dawn members, it was all as casual as having lunch.

Clearly, this wasn’t their first time.

Soon after, starlight projections began withdrawing from the black mist and returning to the material world.

Thanks to the separate time flow here, all of these Golden Dawn members would appear to have been absent for only a fleeting moment—no one would notice a thing.

Soon, only three remained in the black mist besides the observing Xia Ya—

The leader, Suren, and the cardinal who’d come with her—a traitor within the Church of Dawn.

“Auriel.”

“And this one, if I’m not mistaken, must be the current Saintess of Dawn?”

Seeing only the three of them left at the table, the leader finally nodded.

He gave Auriel just a glance before fixing his gaze on Suren.

“According to my intel, Xia Ya Egut—who made such a splash at the Borgia family banquet six months ago—had a past connection with you.”

“He once... took you in?”

“Leader, that was many years ago.”

“That Xia Ya Egut is an incorrigible flirt, entangled with several women. He completely ignored Suren...”

“They’ve long gone their separate ways...”

Hearing the leader’s question, Auriel quickly jumped in to explain.

But in the next moment, the figure at the head of the table raised a hand ever so slightly—and Auriel fell silent, not daring to say another word.

“No need.”

He looked down at Suren, who had been quietly sitting there since the start of the Golden Dawn’s secret gathering, never once speaking. His tone was gentle.

“He did, after all, take you in once.”

“Whether you still hold feelings for him, or have already let go, the organization won’t make things difficult for you.”

“In fact, my intention isn’t to harm Xia Ya Egut in any way.”

“On the contrary, Golden Dawn only brings him benefits—nothing bad at all...”

“I intend to offer him a great opportunity. A chance to rise in one leap, to ascend the Throne directly, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods—or even surpass them.”

His voice carried a strange charisma, so calm and refined it made even Xia Ya feel like a spring breeze was brushing past.

“The invitation I sent him previously truly came from the heart. But unfortunately, Xia Ya Egut is far too cautious and didn’t accept it.”

He turned to Suren, speaking sincerely.

“That’s why I invited you to join Golden Dawn. I hoped to use you to express our goodwill toward him.”

“Even though he mysteriously vanished for three months, I know he’s still alive—somewhere in this world.”

“Since your farewell in Lokia five years ago, has Xia Ya Egut ever contacted you again?”

“If so, how did he reach out?”

Suren seemed to sense the sincerity in the leader’s words. A subtle trace of interest crept into her voice as she answered. She blinked gently, her voice soft and timid:

“Actually... I’ve kept in touch with Xia Ya over the years.”

“Oh? And how did you stay in contact?”

The leader’s voice followed promptly.

“Through the Seven Gods.”

Suren’s words held a sense of solemnity and holiness, perfectly matching the image of a Saintess of Dawn.

“Every day when I pray, I offer letters written for him to the Seven Gods of Dawn, asking them to deliver them to Xia Ya Egut.”

“As a Saintess, my prayers have always been heard by the Seven Gods... but I’ve never received a reply from Xia Ya Egut.”

“Clearly, he’s too busy being distracted by the flowers of the Empire to remember me.”

As she spoke, Suren’s expression showed a mix of grievance and indignation.

But soon after, she blinked curiously and looked toward the far end of the bronze long table, at the figure shrouded in black mist.

“Still... if the leader and Your Eminence Auriel both say that Golden Dawn was founded by the Eighth God of Dawn...”

“Then surely, the Great One could simply ask the Seven Gods directly, couldn’t He?”

The moment Suren said this—

Whether it was Auriel or the black-misted leader, their figures visibly froze for a second.

Meanwhile, high above in the black mist, Xia Ya couldn’t help but chuckle.

Classic Suren.

At first, seeing her appear at a Golden Dawn gathering had made his heart sink a little.

He was genuinely worried the girl had betrayed him, secretly aligning herself with an underground group like Golden Dawn.

After all, unlike Airola, he hadn’t known Suren for as long.

Airola was like a blank canvas—pure and easy to understand. After so many years living side by side, the trust between them couldn’t be shaken by time or even death.

But Suren was different.

She was sharp—so sharp, in fact, that even the grand blueprints Xia Ya conceived with his otherworldly perspective were easily understood and even improved upon by her.

Whether it was Yui’s creation, or the development of the Black Knight, Solar Furnace, or Heaven’s Wrath device, none of it would’ve progressed nearly as fast without her.

Suren was a genius, in engineering and in every other field.

But that also meant she was harder to read—this bold, forward girl who’d often teased him through magical transmissions... Was her heart sincere?

But now, he realized—he might’ve overthought it.

Because the Suren he knew was certainly not this solemn, innocent, borderline naive Saintess of Dawn.

Seriously—asking why the Eighth God doesn’t just go and ask the Seven Gods...

Faith was the very sustenance and lifeblood of gods. You don’t just share that.

It’s one priest per god—no god’s going to let some new mythborn deity poach their believers.

If this “Golden King” Rhein, whom Golden Dawn was so set on reviving, really was as noble and righteous as their leader claimed, then Golden Dawn wouldn’t have to hide in the shadows. They wouldn’t have to hold their meetings in secret or carry out their plans in whispers.

Why not just announce it in broad daylight in the Church of Dawn, declare the Eighth God’s presence, and openly split the faith pie?

Clearly, no matter how glorious Rhein may have once been, he was now something that couldn’t stand in the light.

Especially not in the presence of the Seven Gods of Dawn.

Sure, the Holy Calendar and the Church itself were founded by Rhein—but hey, when your subordinate does well, it’s the leader’s achievement. You give them a certificate, maybe name them “Employee of the Month.”

But try climbing onto the leader’s throne or snatching up their worshippers? You’re getting smacked down.

Both Auriel and the leader were clearly caught off guard by Suren’s question.

A moment later, the leader coughed lightly and responded, “When the opportunity arises, I will naturally seek the Great One’s guidance.”

He looked again at the dignified and pious Suren, unwilling to give up. “So he truly hasn’t reached out to you at all in recent years?”

“Not once.”

“Xia Ya Egut is just a fickle, unfaithful scumbag. Always chasing new lovers and forgetting the old ones. With Her Eminence the Silver Witch and the Imperial Princess now at his side, he’s long forgotten about me—the peasant girl from Lokia.”

Suren shook her head firmly.

“If you don’t believe me, Leader, you’re welcome to ask the Seven Gods.”

...

In the end, with Suren spouting “witnessed by the Seven Gods” on one hand and “why doesn’t the Great One just ask them himself” on the other...

Both Auriel and the leader could only sigh in resignation.

They had no choice but to drop the topic.

The starlight projections above the bronze table gradually dispersed.

Only Xia Ya remained, lounging lazily on his reclining chair woven from golden branches.

“‘Fickle scumbag’? I prefer to think of it as loving everyone equally.”

“This is pure love, thank you very much.”

He couldn’t help laughing to himself as he recalled Suren’s final words.

“I just wonder what got her involved in Golden Dawn in the first place... Was it because of Auriel?”

“Well, no matter what...”

“Once Airola completes her breakthrough and we return to the material world, I’ll clear out every hidden danger and lingering threat.”

“Then I can finally march right into the Church of Dawn and propose properly.”

“And if they say no, then I’ll take her by force.”

Just as Xia Ya was about to exit the black mist and return to Eden in the Remnants of the Fantasy Belt—

The black mist before him suddenly surged, rising and falling.

In his ears, a hazy, illusory prayer echoed:

“O lofty and mysterious Black Mist.”

“You are the clouds above the world, the eternal kingdom beyond time, and the fog beyond the laws.”

“As the witness to fair exchange, please deliver this token to the hidden coordinates in the capital of the Fresta Empire in the material world.”