Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 98: God’s Rejection, Yet You Do Not Dodge

A crimson blade carved through the air, tracing a flawless, natural arc.

Like a blood-red rainbow, it slashed straight down toward Lir.

Watching the incoming strike, a flicker of doubt crossed Lir’s gaze.

There was no shortage of swordmasters in the Western Continent, but most were magic warriors, combining swordsmanship with elemental power.

For example, many would imbue their sacred relic greatswords with the flames of their Fire-type Summoned Beasts, turning every strike into a fire-infused attack—unstoppable and devastating.

But this sword…

Lir sensed no elemental energy, no magical fluctuation.

It was nothing but a simple slash.

Just a plain sword strike, and it intended to stop him?

Lir’s figure blurred, his speed surging—his movements as elusive as a phantom in the night.

A moment later—

His tailcoat-clad form flickered, splitting into three identical afterimages.

Lir wasn’t concerned about Xia Ya’s plain attack.

But he also saw no need to take it head-on.

——"Phantom Body."

It was the racial ability of his Phantom Fox, a skill that allowed him to create illusory duplicates.

If it were mere visual deception, it wouldn’t be of much use in actual combat—there were too many abilities that could see through simple illusions.

However—

Phantom Fox's clones were different.

They were not just illusions—they existed as physical entities.

Or rather—

At any given moment, a clone could become the real body with just a single thought.

This was why Lir had earned the title "Silver Fox."

A master of deception. A manipulator of reality.

His name had struck fear into countless enemies of the Borgia Family.

Many had believed they had seen through his trickery, only to attack the wrong target—their strikes landing on empty air, their balance broken—and in that moment, Lir would strike them down.

This time—

Facing a Fourth-Ring Beastmaster?

There was no exception.

But then—

A fraction of a second later—

The blood-red sword light flashed before Lir’s eyes once more.

——But it was no longer just one.

The sword's path split into three.

——Double Flash.

On top of the first slashing arc—

Two more followed.

One from above.

One blocking both sides.

There was nowhere to escape.

The trajectory of the sword formed a prison, sealing off all three of Lir’s bodies.

"Another illusion?"

That was Lir’s first thought.

But the next moment—

The sharp, searing pain that tore through his flesh told him the truth.

This was real.

Lir was not a close-combat specialist.

Because of Phantom Body, he had invested all his stat points into attack and speed.

Yet—

He still possessed a Six-Ring physique, strengthened through six Soul Pacts.

To be so easily cut through by a mere Fourth-Ring Beastmaster?

It was impossible.

"Then I’ll just switch bodies!"

With a mere thought, one of his phantoms became the real body.

But—

The pain from the sword’s cut did not fade.

"Impossible!"

Lir’s eyes widened in horror.

This broke the very laws of the world.

It ignored the concept of time and space—

Three sword strikes overlapped in the same instant.

This was not an illusion.

Each slash was real.

There was no time to dodge.

No gap for defense.

And in the next moment—

The crimson slash engulfed him.

Thud.

A heavy body hit the ground, landing with a dull thud.

That was what had once been Lir.

Now—

It was nothing more than a lifeless corpse.

Dead silence.

Everything that had just happened seemed complex—

But in reality—

It had all occurred within three breaths' time.

Just moments ago—

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

Everyone had been shocked when Lir, who had feigned support for Hystalia, had suddenly attacked Xia Ya.

Many of the Imperial-aligned guests had instinctively wanted to intervene.

Yet, the Old Nobility faction had subtly stalled them.

On the surface, everyone still wore polite smiles.

But those at the apex of Imperial power understood things far too well.

The moment Xia Ya had said—

"A debt must be repaid. A life must be taken for a life."

He had declared war on the Borgia Family—and by extension, the entire Old Nobility structure.

No one wanted to provoke the Second Imperial Princess by taking action themselves.

But if Lir could do it for them?

They would gladly sit back and watch.

Yet—

No one had expected this outcome.

In just a blink of an eye—

Lir, a Titled-tier Beastmaster—a House Steward so respected even among the Old Nobility—

Had been reduced to nothing more than a cold corpse.

Xia Ya stood over the lifeless body, gazing down at it.

The red glow in his eyes slowly faded.

——"God’s Rejection."

According to traditional Beastmaster understanding, and even system interface mechanics, a single Beast Skill’s maximum proficiency was "Master-Level", followed by "Transcendent."

But that did not mean there was no further progression beyond Transcendent.

At the cost of fifteen Sands of Time, Xia Ya had elevated his already-perfected "Slash"—

And sublimated it into something greater.

"Kami避 (God’s Rejection)."

This was the first Transcendent-tier skill that Crimson and Xia Ya had learned together.

And now—

With his breakthrough to Fourth-Ring, Amaterasu had also evolved from "Quasi-Transcendent" to "True Transcendent."

A skill derived from Slash, God’s Rejection seemed deceptively simple—

Just a basic sword swing.

But as a true Transcendent-tier ability, its effect was—

Unavoidable. Guaranteed to hit.

Like the mythical spear that reversed fate itself.

From the moment the sword was swung—

Lir’s fate was already sealed.

Unless he possessed the power to defy destiny itself—

There was no escape.

"That was the second one."

Xia Ya’s soft voice echoed through the grand hall.

And in that moment—

Everyone understood exactly what he meant.

Lir, as the House Steward of the Borgia Family, had overseen most of Crimson Rose’s affairs.

It was he who had personally delivered the letter inciting Warwick.

And now—

The man who had loyally served the Crimson Rose Family for decades had followed in Warwick’s footsteps.

Xia Ya's gaze swept over the assembled guests—

His expression, terrifyingly calm.

The Borgia clan members, who had been on the verge of action, hesitated.

Of course, they could see that Lir had underestimated Xia Ya—

That he had thought himself capable of easily eliminating him, that he hadn’t even summoned his Summoned Beast.

And, unfortunately—

Xia Ya’s sword technique had been a perfect counter to Lir’s abilities, leading to this disastrous end.

Among Beastmasters, it wasn’t uncommon for a weaker fighter to triumph, given that Beastmasters themselves were physically vulnerable.

But still—

They were shaken.

A Titled-tier Beastmaster had been killed so effortlessly—

Who could guarantee that if they stepped forward, Xia Ya wouldn’t reveal another hidden trump card?

Golden hair flowing, Ailora stepped forward, placing herself before Xia Ya.

Her silver-white knight’s lance tilted forward, aimed at the crowd—

A phantasmal aurora converged upon the tip of her spear.

As if responding to its master’s will, Rhongomyniad shimmered with a blazing silver light.

An ancient, colossal mystery began to awaken within the knight’s lance.

Others might murmur about her identity as the Winter Flower’s last heir.

But in Ailora’s heart, there was never any hesitation.

Many years ago—

They had made a promise.

On that day, she had entrusted her life to the boy before her.

So no matter what decisions Xia Ya made—

Ailora would follow him, clearing away any obstacles in his path.

Whether in poverty or wealth, until the very end of life.

No matter if she had to face mountains of blades and seas of fire—

Or entire armies standing in their way.