Hate me, Miss Witch!-Chapter 30 - 27: Trade?

Shiayar’s calm words echoed in everyone’s ears. The previously noisy campus fell into a peculiar silence in a flash, leaving only the crackling sound of the surrounding pillars of fire.

No one had expected Shiayar to say such a thing, not even the arsonists from the Ashes Cult. The tense atmosphere, like a drawn bowstring ready to snap, had been well established. They were all prepared for a fierce battle to erupt at any moment. Who would have thought the leader on the opposing side would suddenly signal surrender?

It was like throwing a punch that had built up for a long time into a wad of cotton, leaving an indescribably uncomfortable feeling.

The Arsonist leader was also stunned for several seconds before anger touched his ugly, acid-corroded face beneath the black robe. "Are you playing me?"

Even ants cling to life. Who would actively seek death? Even the most naive children of the Empire understood one principle: the only choice when facing an enemy was to tighten one’s grip on the weapon in hand.

The more one compromised, the more one gave up resistance, hoping for the enemy’s mercy and false promises, the faster one would perish. Furthermore, the Ashes Cult had nothing to do with mercy; they never expected to deceive anyone with sweet words and slick talk.

He didn’t believe that a senior student from St. Roland Academy wouldn’t understand this principle.

Across from him, Shiayar raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "So you actually figured out I was lying to you? Not bad."

"It seems my judgment was not wrong. You’re indeed different from the ordinary arsonists. You’re a logical, smart, high-tier arsonist."

For some reason, although Shiayar’s words were clearly complimentary, to the Arsonist leader, they sounded more grating than all the other students’ curses and roars.

A flash of anger crossed his eyes, and he was about to lose control. But then he saw Shiayar hold up his hands slightly. "Alright, since you’re a smart man, I won’t hold back any longer. So, let’s make a deal."

Shiayar turned sideways, extending his hand to point at Dyres, who was not far away with a scythe against her fair neck, and then at the ash-covered, shivering students of the civilian faction under the vigilant watch of the arsonists in the background.

"Release the fire formation’s seal and let them go free. In exchange, I’ll give up resistance and voluntarily enter the altar to become the sacrificial offering for your fire ritual."

...

The Arsonist leader glanced at the pitiful Dyres beside him and then at Shiayar. A spark of realization flashed through his mind.

So that’s how it is. It all made sense now.

Although Shiayar and Enola indeed had the capability to assault the altar, even if they did manage to break it and escape the fire formation’s seal, countless students were still restrained. In such chaos, how many students could be rescued would truly be left to fate; escaping with even half of them would mean they were incredibly lucky. Especially this girl named Dyres, who was almost certain to die...

Now that he thought about it, although they were elite students of St. Roland Academy, in the end, they were still just hot-blooded youths. Still immature, living in an ivory tower like the Extraordinary Academy, they had never faced the cold, cruel reality of society, nor tasted the bitter wine of betrayal. Therefore, they still believed in that ethereal thing called love. They still held illusions about words coined by wandering poets—such as ’rescue,’ ’sacrifice,’ ’companions’—dreaming of becoming heroes who could protect and save everyone. freёnovelkiss.com

In an instant, as he looked at Shiayar, countless associations filled the Arsonist leader’s mind. In Shiayar, he thought he saw his own past. He saw the village boy who once dreamed of becoming a champion of justice and remembered the village girl named Cuihua at the village entrance.

But soon, the Arsonist leader’s gaze turned cold again, eradicating all distractions. There’s no such thing as eternal vows of love; they’re just sweet nothings used to manipulate hearts. Only ashes and flames are the truly eternal presences in this world. And if you want to be a hero, you first have to see if you’re qualified.

The Arsonist leader looked at Shiayar, his voice hoarse as he spoke, "Trade your one life for the lives of hundreds of them? What kind of idio—"

But before he could finish, Shiayar ruthlessly interrupted him. "Are you saying... I’m not worthy? I— Am not worthy enough to be traded for this bunch of rookies?"

Shiayar’s words had yet to fade. The Arsonist leader realized that this youth, who had always seemed shrouded in mist and difficult to see through, had suddenly lifted his restrictions.

Layer upon layer of mist vanished. That dazzling, scorching soul essence was now exposed, without any cover, within the Arsonist leader’s spiritual perception.

In an instant, the Arsonist felt an overwhelming sense of trepidation. It was like an ant facing a mountain... No, even such an analogy seemed too pale. It was like an ancient ape looking up at the sky for the first time, seeing the boundless Sea of Stars.

The Arsonist leader hadn’t yet snapped back from his trance when his ear caught an urgent mental message from his own cult leader.

"Quick, agree to his terms!"

「Outside the wall of fire.」

The Ashes Cult leader, mounted atop the Magma Giant, who hadn’t spoken a word even when fighting two 4-Ring Masters, finally spoke for the first time—all for a student not even at the 3-Ring level.

As a High-Order 4-Ring expert, his spiritual power was strong enough to dominate a Sovereign Rank Pet Beast. Consequently, his spiritual perception was far clearer than that of his 3-Ring subordinate. It was just a fleeting glimpse, but in that instant, the Ashes Cult leader felt as though he saw a shining star—brilliant and scorching, yet so clear, deep, and mysterious.

This discovery made the cult leader’s hands tremble with excitement. He even momentarily lost control over the Magma Giant, allowing Colonel Zieg’s Earth Battle Bear to land a series of Earth Element Combo Fist attacks. Large pieces of molten rock fell to the ground, burning huge holes, but he paid it no mind.

Although the Lord of Ashes was indeed somewhat mad by nature, which also affected the mental state of his Ashes Cult followers, the very existence and development of the Ashes Cult as a power suggested that the God of Ashes indeed had needs for worldly benefits.

And the greatest among these needs was for intelligent souls. The more mysterious, powerful, and pure the soul, the higher its value as a sacrificial offering for the fire.

That’s why they had gone against the norm this time, not attacking remote areas, but instead directly targeting the unguarded St. Roland Academy. Because compared to those weathered adults—souls tinged with the reek of coin from life’s corruption, or stained with dust from enduring harsh privations—only the souls of these students in their ivory tower were somewhat purer.

Indeed, the quality of St. Roland Academy’s students hadn’t disappointed the cult leader; the young lady who had formed a contract with the pure white unicorn was an unexpected delight. But—compared to Shiayar, all the others seemed rather insignificant.

"Agree to his terms! His value to the Sovereign alone far surpasses the sum total of all the others. His soul is the best nourishment for the Sovereign... I will hold off those two 4-Ring Masters outside with all my might. Remember, even if we all die in battle, we must drag this out until the fire sacrifice ritual is complete!"

After hastily leaving these few mental messages, the cult leader refocused his energy on the battle. He was already facing two opponents, and his momentary distraction just now had given Colonel Zieg and Professor Karn an opening to thrash him soundly.

If he remained distracted, he’d likely be defeated before long. His own death in battle was a small matter, but if it caused the Sovereign to lose a prime opportunity to restore himself, he feared he wouldn’t find peace even after ascending to the Divine Kingdom.

「On the other side.」

The Arsonist leader, having received the mental message, turned around to see the black-haired, black-eyed youth looking at him with a half-smile. His spiritual power had, at some unknown point, retracted, once again shrouded in layers of mist, difficult to discern.

Only those deep black eyes remained, reminding the Arsonist leader of the silent, starry sky he had glimpsed before.

Shiayar yawned. "So—shall we make a trade?"

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