Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 133 – The Man Who Brings Ruin, Kayin

Chapter 133 – The Man Who Brings Ruin, Kayin

It was like waking from a deep dream.

Everything within the dream slowly faded away, then fully returned to reality.

Xia Ya felt his consciousness pulling free, bit by bit, from the roaring torrent of the space-time river—and then, gradually, it merged back into the tangible material world.

Just moments ago, he had felt that he was only a breath away from being completely lost in the temporal turbulence.

Thankfully, in the final instant, it seemed that some force had reached out and helped him return to the real node on the current timeline.

“Little Ai!”

“My Little Ai!”

“Do you know how scared I was just now? I almost couldn’t come back.”

Xia Ya reached out to hug her, only to feel a soft and full sensation in his arms.

Given how well he knew Little Ai, he instantly realized something was off.

Normally, if he tried to get affectionate, Little Ai—despite clearly wanting it too—would act all tsundere and rarely take the initiative.

But if he threw in a little emotional vulnerability, acted a bit pitiful and weak to trigger her protective instincts, then the benefits would naturally roll in.

Kisses and cuddles came easy like that, and if he got lucky, he might even get a sweet, soft girl pillow to hug while he slept.

This was a strategy Xia Ya had personally tested. After that time he collapsed in the washroom and was unconscious for three days, Little Ai had stuck by his bedside without leaving for half a month—nursing him back to health with daily “indescribable” methods.

It was heaven.

If it weren’t for the whole “Crimson Rose” Borgia family incident afterward, Xia Ya was pretty sure he could’ve enjoyed a whole year of bed-bound pampering.

But—

Something didn’t feel quite right this time.

It didn’t feel like his flat-chested childhood sweetheart.

It felt more like… his voluptuous main wife from the Spirit Realm.

Xia Ya froze for a moment, then opened his eyes and looked around.

But in the next second, that airy, melodic, wind-chime-like voice echoed in his sea of consciousness.

“It’s okay, Brother Xia Ya.”

“Even if you mistook me for someone else… it’s fine. Don’t be afraid, I’ve always been by your side.”

“Even if you were lost at the end of time, I would still bring you back to this real world—just like I did just now.”

In the room—

Sylvia, who had just realized Xia Ya had mistaken her for someone else, was briefly stunned and confused.

But very quickly, she lowered her gaze slightly, then lifted a hand to gently touch Xia Ya’s face.

Then, Sylvia spread her arms, wrapped them around him, and pulled the boy into her embrace.

She’d been forced to play the role of cat-shaped third wheel for so long—what was wrong with sneaking in a little taste now?

“In the past, it was you, Brother Xia Ya, who pulled me from that dark, lightless swamp.”

As she spoke, Sylvia tenderly cupped Xia Ya’s face in her hands.

His breathing, his heartbeat, the sound of blood flowing—everything was exactly as she remembered and adored.

During those 500 years of self-imposed sealing in the Tower of Pure White, in those endless days and nights, it was the memory of him that kept her soul from withering and rotting.

And now, that figure from her memories stood alive and real before her.

So Sylvia followed the swell of emotion rising in her heart and gently pressed the boy’s face into her warm embrace.

“And now… it’s my turn to protect you, Brother Xia Ya.”

“Don’t worry… with me here, no one can hurt you.”

“Not a Legendary-tier being, not a demi-god, not a Throne-tier powerhouse, not even… a true god.”

Xia Ya: …

Xia Ya: I can’t breathe.

Crack.

Crack.

Ailora’s small fists clenched tightly, her knuckles cracking like thunder.

Sharp pressure sliced through the surrounding furniture, leaving fine cuts on the tables and chairs.

After a long moment, Sylvia finally relaxed her arms and released Xia Ya’s face.

Freed at last, Xia Ya collapsed onto the bed,

The lingering scent around his nose was a faint, milky fragrance unique to the Argent Witch.

Sht.

Legendary-tier.

Sht.

Throne-tier.

「But before that—」

A subtle smile suddenly crept onto Sylvia’s flawless face.

She silently gazed at Xia Ya’s face, a trace of intoxicated fondness in her expression. Pale golden text slowly appeared in the air.

「I want to know…」

「Brother Xia Ya, just what kind of sin did you commit…」

「To have caused the current flow of history to be this twisted.」

…

At the edge of the sky, the night was fading.

The long night had passed, revealing the faint glow of dawn across the horizon.

“And then, Futigon’s army melted away like snow under the light of the Holy Spear’s release.”

“Yeah, that’s about it.”

“In short, it was out of sympathy for the displaced refugees of that land of catastrophe that I acted from the heart.”

“I mean, sure, I was technically a time-traveling scumbag for a bit there, but this time I honestly didn’t even get the chance to do anything.”

Xia Ya sat at the table, looking completely sincere and serious as he spoke to Sylvia.

It was impossible to hide everything.

His childhood sweetheart, Little Ai, was basically a human lie detector with instincts sharper than logic—only Suren could maybe rein her in.

She was a walking, talking cheat detector and betrayal sensor.

Besides, the way he showed off at the Valley of the End earlier had relied entirely on Little Ai’s Holy Spear Release.

Who knew if that thing would report across time to its current owner?

And as for Sylvia—forget hiding anything.

She had literally lived through the Historical Echo. She was the first victim of Xia Ya’s cross-temporal playboy escapades and knew his tricks inside and out.

As a Throne-tier being, she could already exert some influence on history.

So while she might not have seen every detail, she could probably guess at least 60% of what went down.

So Xia Ya decided to proactively confess part of the truth.

Of course, with a bit of creative editing.

He left out things like his immortality and the system...

Instead, he gave a vague account of how, under the name “Kayin,” he had joined the Xiao Organization and played savior at the end of the Old Era a thousand years ago.

Honestly, there wasn’t much to hide in the first place.

Boasting about the epic stunts he’d pulled off a thousand years ago in front of both his main and side wives? Yeah, Xia Ya was actually kind of enjoying it.

As he spoke, a faint gleam flickered in Sylvia’s argent eyes.

Meanwhile, the golden-haired girl clutched a pillow, silently listening in with her ears perked up.

When it came to Historical Echoes, Xia Ya never said much, and Ailora never asked—that was just the tacit understanding between them.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t care about what he experienced in those alternate timelines.

After all, the Tower Master of the White Chalk Tower already had a “prior incident” under her belt.

If some new mystery woman suddenly showed up next time claiming to know Xia Ya from another timeline, she really would start to panic.

The law of “childhood sweetheart loses to the newcomer” had left a lasting impression on her lately.

Originally, Ailora had planned to be a little sulky over Xia Ya hugging the wrong person.

But when she saw his pale, bloodless face, that petty grudge melted into concern.

And so, even if the process was a bit bumpy, Xia Ya still got to enjoy the bliss of resting on Little Ai’s smooth, long legs.

…

「If that was all, it wouldn’t have caused such a drastic disturbance to the River of Time.」

Sylvia’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

Then, pale golden text began to appear in the air, line by line.

「The River of Time’s historical correction force is incredibly strong.」

「Even Throne-tier or Demi-God beings who can partially access past timelines are heavily constrained by historical inertia. Their influence is typically limited to minor, inconsequential events.」

「And even then, once they exit the River of Time, any impact they made begins to fade under the correction force, eventually becoming negligible.」

「But... this time is different.」

「The trajectory of historical momentum itself has been forcibly twisted.」

Xia Ya nodded—he had indeed noticed something unusual about this journey into a Historical Echo.

When he entered the Historical Echo of the Cangting Ancient Kingdom, both entry and exit had been smooth.

He’d never encountered the kind of terrifying spatial turbulence he faced this time.

On his way back just now, the raging temporal waves nearly convinced him he wouldn’t make it out.

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If he had really gotten lost in that space-time chaos, it would have been as good as being exiled to the edge of the Dimensional Abyss.

Even his so-called immortality would’ve been useless—he’d just suffer endlessly in that lonely darkness.

“So then… did something unusual happen during this Historical Echo?”

“But if Sylvia’s right, and even demi-gods can barely interfere with space-time…”

“Then me, a little ol’ Fifth-Ring, even with some tricks up my sleeve, shouldn’t have been able to stir up that much of a storm.”

Xia Ya muttered to himself, lost in thought.

“Could it be that something I did triggered a butterfly effect?”

“A butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the ocean causes a disturbance… and eventually a storm erupts on the other side.”

“So the key now… is figuring out what exactly happened a thousand years ago that triggered this butterfly effect.”

Almost the moment he said that, the golden-haired girl stood up.

Then disappeared through the hotel room door.

This was the unspoken bond between her and Xia Ya.

No words were needed—Ailora already knew what he wanted to do, and went to take care of it.

As for Xia Ya’s safety, while the girl didn’t exactly like admitting it, Sylvia being present meant he was 100% secure.

About ten minutes later—

Click.

The door opened.

Ailora returned, stepping back into the room.

She carried a plain-looking book in her hand, and the look she gave Xia Ya was distant, profound—impossibly meaningful.

She placed the book on the wooden table. “Take a look for yourself, Xia Ya.”

That subtle shift in tone, that sudden use of “Xia Ya,” filled him with a vague sense of dread.

He picked up the book. Its title was: A Brief History of Human Nations in the Western Continent.

A beginner-friendly history book for the general public… would it really contain any deep historical secrets?

Xia Ya was doubtful.

He considered himself at least a half-qualified archaeologist. He’d dug up buried secrets from the dusty corners of history, often sneaking into restricted archives or even tomb raiding himself.

Getting key info from a book made for the average citizen?

That was definitely a first.

Still, out of trust for Little Ai, Xia Ya opened A Brief History of Human Nations in the Western Continent and flipped directly to the page she had dog-eared.

“The Crimson Empire – Fresta Chapter”

Crimson Empire?

Since when did the Fresta Empire have that nickname?

Suspicion stirred in Xia Ya’s heart as he kept reading.

Then, his pupils shrank.

“The Crimson Empire Fresta, founded by the Knight King during the early years of the Sacred Calendar.”

So far, nothing too strange.

But then came the next line:

“Knight King — full name Isadella von Frestberg, formerly known as Artoris.”

“At the end of the Old Era, she purged all of Aisgania, overthrew the Vile King Futigon, and established the Crimson Empire. Ascended to immortality as a human, and has ruled the Empire to this day.”

“In Sacred Calendar Year 302, the Holy Theocracy’s Sacred Court declared that the Knight King, in her pursuit of eternal life, consorted with the Abyssal Ancient God known as the Crimson Moon, and even plotted to desecrate the souls of the dead using forbidden arts…”

“This sparked a Holy War between the Crimson Empire and the Holy Theocracy. The entire Order faction descended into chaos. Countless lives were lost. This conflict became known in history as the Century of Blood.”

“Professor Adams, Dean of the History Department at Floren Academy and an authority on Lost History, spent over a decade conducting deep archaeological research within the Crimson Empire, tracing its origins back to their root.”

“After enduring countless dangers and near-death experiences, he proposed a shocking theory.”

“That the Knight King’s actions, and even the very founding of the Crimson Empire itself… all stemmed from someone she met in Aisgania at the end of the Old Era.”

“Because of this discovery, Professor Adams was awarded the title of ‘Sage’ by the Arcane City.”

“And that ancient figure from the Old Era—who decided the fate of a nation—is now widely referred to in academia as:”

“The Man Who Brought Ruin — Kayin.”

…