Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 144: Xia Ya, Speedrun Begins

Sacred Calendar, Year One, Aisgania.

Beneath the sky, upon the land.

Pitch-black Undying Metal turned into flowing liquid.

In Xia Ya’s eyes, tiny runes from the alchemical matrix were slowly rotating.

Alchemical formulas were being cast onto that flowing Undying Metal, and under Yui’s control, they gathered at Xia Ya’s feet, forming one ink-black metallic platform after another.

Those ink-black platforms floated in midair, and each time Xia Ya stepped forward, the platform behind him would collapse into scattered particles, then gather ahead of him to form a new step.

Step after step, a staircase of metal took shape in the void.

And so Xia Ya climbed that staircase, walking step by step into the night sky.

Amidst the starry night, a hazy city appeared faintly in a sea formed by the converging stars.

“So this is... the City of a Thousand Years, spoken of in the legends of Aisgania?”

Xia Ya’s steps were calm, yet his speed was anything but slow.

You could say choosing Yui for his Fifth Soul Pact was truly the right move.

With the alchemical matrix’s ability to control liquid Undying Metal, Xia Ya had filled a major gap in his previous capabilities.

He now truly possessed high-mobility combat across land, sea, and air.

Let alone the sky—after inputting blueprints for underwater vehicles into Yui, even diving into the ocean’s deepest depths wasn’t entirely out of reach.

As random thoughts drifted through Xia Ya’s mind, howling stormwinds swept across his face at high altitude, ruffling his black hair.

But his steps never faltered, unwavering as he walked toward the city shrouded in night.

Clearing the final act of a Historical Echo was never an easy feat.

According to the system, the Historical Echo of the “Cangting Ancient Kingdom” was just a beginner quest, but even so, despite meticulous preparation, the final battle against Norton—or rather, the Twilight Half-Body that had taken over Norton—had left Xia Ya utterly drained, unconscious for three full days.

And this time, Aisgania was on a whole other level.

On just the first two entries, the enemies had already jumped from pseudo-Titled-tier beings like Norton under divine blessing to genuine Legends—and not just one.

Not to mention the historical ripple effects caused by Xia Ya’s own actions.

This Historical Echo had already veered far from its original course.

The True God from the Abyss, “Crimson Moon,” and the now more divine than human Isadella... both might now stand against Xia Ya.

And this time, Xia Ya’s goal wasn’t simply to complete a system quest—

He aimed to correct a distorted history.

And return Isadella, who had become Queen of the Imaginary Belt, safely to her rightful timeline.

A mission so difficult, it bordered on the impossible.

Thankfully, Xia Ya’s greatest asset—was information.

If the original Aisgania Historical Echo was veiled in the fog of time, obscuring the truth...

Then now, after obtaining the Knowledge Grail—

The thousand-year-old historical mist had already melted away like morning haze for Xia Ya.

Before reentering the Historical Echo, Xia Ya had stayed in a hotel room in the Arcane City of Lokiah, spending weeks querying the Knowledge Grail.

He absorbed every detail, every shred of intel related to ancient Aisgania.

Then, with Yui’s computational support, those details were simulated and projected millions of times in Xia Ya’s mind.

Out of over a million BadEnd routes leading to destruction, one single path was found—

The only route to a “Happy End.”

And now, what Xia Ya needed to do—

“Is speedrun this Historical Echo... called Aisgania.”

“…Speedrun.”

——

Xia Ya’s steps were steady, yet not the slightest bit slow.

The eternal-night sky city had started as a blurry silhouette above the clouds.

But now, the outline of the City of a Thousand Years gradually came into clear view.

Xia Ya leapt lightly, landing steadily on broken stones near the floating city’s perimeter, alchemical runes in his eyes gently spinning as the ink-black Undying Metal, “Dracoserpent Mercury,” behind him dissolved and returned to his Spatial Pocket.

Tap.

Tap.

Xia Ya wove his way through giant shattered rocks around the edge of the City That Never Sleeps, occasionally leaping, like walking through an asteroid belt in space.

Moments later, the giant floating debris vanished, replaced by a massive and majestic bronze gate.

This was the gate of the City That Never Sleeps.

Through it, one could glimpse palace clusters looming beyond.

And as Xia Ya arrived—

The bronze gate in the floating palace creaked.

Then slowly swung open.

Clearly, the master of this ancient city had already noticed Xia Ya’s presence.

Xia Ya wasn’t surprised. He calmly accepted the invitation and walked step by step into the palace of night.

——

Judging by the dark outer style of the palace, it wouldn’t be odd if inside stood two rows of heavily armored guards and a towering throne, with a stern-faced lord seated above.

But as Xia Ya turned a corner, the scene before him suddenly brightened.

What appeared was a not-so-wide expanse of emerald grass, dotted with pink flowers and anchored by a tree thick enough that several people couldn’t wrap their arms around it.

Beneath the shade of that tree stood a weathered swing.

A girl with black hair and golden eyes, clad in a dark classical dress, sat quietly upon the swing, swaying gently in the morning breeze.

Behind her were stacked books, and on her lap, she was carefully reading one.

Her features were delicate, but her golden eyes seemed veiled by the night, slightly hazy.

Amidst her pitch-black hair, two faint protrusions were just visible, and the deep shadows of her attire shimmered in and out of sight.

Though layered, her long gown wasn’t overly complex, embedded with flecks of starlight, like a midnight sky.

Her body appeared somewhat translucent, faint ripples shimmering around her, and her face seemed veiled in sheer mist—hazy, yet stunningly beautiful.

She gently extended a hand, and a colorful butterfly, as if summoned, fluttered around above before carefully landing on her pale fingertip.

After toying with the butterfly for a while, she finally lifted her eyes to look at Xia Ya, her pale golden gaze filled with both confusion and slight caution.

But more than anything—was curiosity.

Like a black cat, gracefully stepping forward, sizing up an unfamiliar guest in her domain.

“Welcome... stranger,” she said in a clear, pleasant voice—

Only to be cut off by Xia Ya’s voice before she could finish.

He, too, was studying the black-dressed girl before him.

After a moment, a slight smile appeared on Xia Ya’s face.

“Actually, we’ve met a few times already. Doesn’t quite make us strangers, does it?”

“And even though you already knew everything that had happened, you still pretended to be naive, quietly watching me stumble around in the dark like some clueless fool.”

“Who would've thought the one hailed as the Queen of the Night, ruler of the Gray World in the Western Continent... would secretly have such a mischievous side.”

“Wouldn’t you agree…”

Xia Ya chuckled.

“Miss Augustina?”

——

As Xia Ya spoke those words.

He clearly saw the girl in the black dress blink.

The clarity and innocence that had filled her beautiful eyes shrouded in night were gone.

In their place was an ancient depth, as if they had transcended the flow of time itself.

The aloof darkness and shadows that once veiled her gaze faded slightly, revealing an inner crimson-gold glow, molten like lava.

The girl in the black dress looked deeply at Xia Ya.

And in the next moment, as if she had confirmed Xia Ya wasn’t probing but making a confident assertion—

Her delicately furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and her entire presence changed dramatically.

Her body, her features, even her aura hadn’t changed in the slightest, and yet Xia Ya could clearly feel—

The girl before him was no longer that innocent young maiden.

But rather, a queen ruling over darkness and secrets.

“Though I did consider it... that you might recognize that the Black Princess of Aisgania and the future Augustina were the same person, based on appearance or aura alone.”

“But... how did you know that I currently possess memories from the future?”

Her once-gentle girl’s voice was gone.

A husky, languid tone echoed through the quiet garden.

And by her words, she clearly admitted she was none other than the “Queen of the Night,” Augustina.

For the first time, a flicker of surprise crossed Augustina’s crimson-gold eyes.

Even Throne-tier or demi-gods might sense the flow of the River of Time to some degree, but that didn’t mean they could casually traverse it...

If they could, Sylvia would’ve long since traced time itself to uncover the truth of the Cangting Ancient Kingdom, and wouldn’t have had to seal herself in the White Tower for five hundred years.

Even most True Gods couldn’t accomplish such a feat.

Otherwise, whenever faced with an enemy, they could just time-travel to when their foe was weakest and erase them—that’d be outright cheating, a broken mechanic.

Aside from some unknowable, possibly non-existent tier beyond True Gods, time travel always required ancient Holy Relics born at the dawn of creation.

Like the Holy Sword.

Or perhaps…

“If I’m not mistaken, the Shadow Council possesses the Holy Relic known as the ‘Sands of Time.’ Many intel verifications are done using that artifact.”

Xia Ya said softly, “And I know the ‘Sands of Time’ has another use.”

“That is, to consume all the stored temporal sand within it to send one’s consciousness to a moment in the past where their physical body once existed.”

“Miss Augustina, I assume you used such a method to send your consciousness into the past.”

As Xia Ya finished speaking, the light in Augustina’s crimson-gold eyes burned even hotter.

“Not long ago in this current timeline, you still had to visit the Shadow Council to buy even basic historical intel.”

“But now, you even understand the full function of one of the oldest Holy Relics, the Sands of Time.”

The girl in black studied Xia Ya with her crimson-gold eyes. “You’ve obtained an omniscient-type Holy Relic too?”

“‘The Fool’s Grand Library,’ ‘The Fate Tablet,’ ‘The Observer’s Diary’... or is it that damned cup that never shuts up?”

——

The Fool’s Library, the Fate Tablet, the Observer’s Diary... those are all omniscience-type Holy Relics too?

Hearing Augustina’s question, Xia Ya couldn’t help but ponder.

None of these items were listed in the Sands of Time shop’s exchange options... is it because they’re locked, or just completely unobtainable?

Also—

“That damned cup that never shuts up.”

Seems like Little Snitch Cup never had a good reputation to begin with.

Wait, judging by Augustina’s tone, it wasn’t just something she’d heard about—she’d actually interacted with it, maybe even suffered because of it.

According to Little Snitch Cup, it had been lost for over two thousand years... hiss, Augustina’s origins might be even older than Xia Ya had imagined.

No wonder, in her eyes, even his main wife was just a “young girl.”

That would make Augustina’s age…

Xia Ya carefully tucked that impolite thought away.

He’d been burned by Sylvia before—these Throne-tiers had terrifying mental perception. If his emotions wavered just a bit without proper defense, there was no telling when one of them might eavesdrop on his thoughts.

Xia Ya’s expression didn’t change: “Your Excellency Augustina, truly worthy of being the greatest intel dealer... Queen of the Gray World. You got close to the truth so quickly.”

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Across from him, Augustina’s posture relaxed once more.

Her pale fingers tapped the air.

In the next moment, pitch-black shadows wove behind both her and Xia Ya, forming two seats.

“If you’ve obtained an omniscient Holy Relic, then I imagine you’re well aware of what you’re about to face.”

Augustina leaned against the shadowy throne, scrutinizing Xia Ya with her crimson-gold eyes.

“You risked so much to return to this Historical Echo. I assume... it’s to save that little girl, Isadella.”

“But you need to understand one thing.”

Her eyes paused on Xia Ya’s face for a moment, then turned away, no longer meeting his pitch-black gaze.

Instead, she looked down from the City of a Thousand Years to the vast land of Aisgania below.

That was once Aisgania’s royal capital, and now the site of the White Chalk City under construction—Camelot.

“That Knight King has already severed her ties to both past and future.”

“Using the power of the Holy Sword, she carved out her own Imaginary Belt outside the River of Time.”

“Unlike me—I merely used the Sands of Time to send my consciousness back. The powers and authority I wield are the same as before, and I remain constrained by correction force, unable to act too far out of line.”

“But she, as Queen of the Imaginary Belt, now exists outside of history. There is no ‘weaker’ version of her to exploit.”

“Even if you went through all that trouble to return to the first year of the Sacred Calendar… the Isadella you’re going to face won’t be the knightly girl from your memories. She’ll still be the Crimson Empress—corroded by a thousand years of time, more divine than human, her obsession twisted by the Crimson Moon.”

“Even if you reveal your true identity as Kayin, under the Crimson Moon’s distortion, it might not mean much… everything might still be irreversible.”

Augustina gazed down at the vast land below, speaking softly.

“Even so, are you still going to save her?”

“Of course. In my hometown, there’s an old saying—every sip and every bite, all predestined.”

“If it’s karma I caused, then it’s my responsibility to set it right.”

“If I don’t… then I wouldn’t be myself.”

Xia Ya replied without hesitation, not the slightest trace of doubt in his voice.

He didn’t stand on ceremony either, and sat right down on the shadow-forged seat behind him.

But right after, Xia Ya turned his gaze toward the black-dressed girl in front of him.

“Though, you were wrong about one thing.”

“I didn’t come back just for her—I'm also here for you, in this City of a Thousand Years.”

Xia Ya paused slightly, then continued softly under Augustina’s somewhat startled gaze.

“My Fourth Soul Pact… and that strange immortality.”

“They’re because of you, aren’t they, Miss Black Princess?”