Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 74: Bloodmoon Sword Demon

"Armor Fusion."

Or rather—

"Phantom Armament Manifestation."

A skill coveted by every melee-oriented Beastmaster, granting immense enhancements to all combat parameters, allowing a human to match—or even surpass—summoned beasts of the same tier in direct combat.

But mastering this skill was exceedingly difficult.

Apart from a rare few ancient species, which could be considered Holy Relics, that were naturally born with this racial ability—such as Ailora’s Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad—

Most summoned beasts could only acquire Armor Fusion through arduous training.

Moreover, Armor Fusion demanded an extremely high Soul Pact synchronization rate between Beastmaster and summoned beast.

Only when souls reached complete resonance could the beast fuse seamlessly with its master, becoming their sword and shield, as if it were an extension of their own body.

Xia Ya had long envied Ailora, who fought clad in silver armor, a valiant Silver Knight in battle.

His decision to contract Little Silver Spirit as his third Soul Pact partner had largely been influenced by its metal attribute, which made it an ideal candidate for Armor Fusion.

And now—

With the help of the Advanced Armor Fusion Elixir—

Xia Ya’s long-held dream had finally become reality.

But of course—

Defeating an Ancient God was no simple feat.

Even if this god had weakened over time—

Even if it remained sealed—

Even if it resided within a crippled human vessel, further weakened by the Black King’s divine decree, reducing its power to less than one percent of what it could unleash at its peak—

Armor Fusion alone would not be enough.

Within Xia Ya’s mind, his system interface began rapidly flooding with notifications.

【Crimson’s racial ability "Tainted Blood" has broken through its proficiency limit, upgrading from "Perfect" to "Transcendent."】

【……Upgrading from "Transcendent" to "Master-Level."】

【Crimson’s racial ability "Darkborn" has broken through its proficiency limit, upgrading from "Perfect" to "Transcendent."】

【……Upgrading from "Transcendent" to "Master-Level."】

Xia Ya ignored the mission rewards from the final stage of his Beginner Quest.

Instead, he immediately invested all of the accumulated experience points—

Directly into Crimson’s skill panel.

And not just into any skills—

He chose the two abilities that most people would consider worthless, or even harmful:

"Tainted Blood" and "Darkborn."

As the stat boosts finalized, Xia Ya’s blood-red armor began to shift—

Scorching crimson markings seared across its surface, leaving behind ancient sigils that burned like embers.

Xia Ya did not recognize these markings—

But through his soul link with Crimson, he understood their origins.

They were inscriptions in Ancient Abyssal Script—

A language akin to Old Draconic or Elder Elvish—

Where each character was a symbol of power, capable of altering the very laws of reality.

And Ancient Abyssal Script was the oldest tongue of the Abyss.

At the same moment these runes manifested on his armor—

A whisper echoed in Xia Ya’s mind.

An infinitely distant, unfathomably deep murmur—

A whisper far more deranged than any Evil God’s utterances Xia Ya had encountered before.

It felt as if it came from the very depths of the Abyss itself.

Even with his vast experience dealing with corrupted artifacts and his expertise in illusion magic—

Even with his honed mental fortitude—

Xia Ya still felt his entire body rebel.

It was as if his flesh were on the verge of breaking apart, about to sprout crimson blossoms of blood or mutate into grotesque, pulsating growths.

But at that exact moment—

The suffocating Twilight Aura that had once weighed upon him—

Suddenly felt welcoming.

As if it was no longer an external force—

But rather, an extension of himself.

A force he could command with just a thought.

Xia Ya took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the creeping mutations.

He knew that in the face of such Abyssal Whispers, he wouldn’t last long.

At most—ten seconds.

Within that time, his soul would be completely devoured, reduced to a mindless Abyssal slave.

But ten seconds was enough.

The blood moon’s radiance, the Twilight Aura—

All of it was flowing into Xia Ya.

Fusing with his crimson armor.

Being converted into pure magical energy, stored within his body.

This was why Xia Ya had invested in "Tainted Blood" and "Darkborn."

Ordinarily, these abilities were purely negative traits—

A constant burden on Crimson, forcing it to suppress their effects, stripping it of the elemental phase-shifting ability that most Elemental Species possessed.

But the very fact that these abilities existed on his system skill panel meant they were more than just weaknesses.

And right now—

Before the vast tides of Abyssal Power—

Xia Ya used these high-tier racial skills to wrest control of the battlefield.

To turn the enemy’s own domain into his advantage.

In the distance—

The Twilight Incarnation, still possessing Norton’s body, stared in disbelief.

For the second time, this ancient being experienced genuine shock.

Even though it was limited to a human vessel—

Even though its affinity with the Abyss was far lower than that of its true form—

This battlefield was still infused with its remaining Divinity and Authority.

A Six-Ring cultist would have no chance of wielding the Abyssal power so freely unless they had physically mutated from years of deep devotion.

Yet now—

Before its very eyes—

A human who hadn’t even reached the Fourth Ring had gained the Abyss’s favor.

It allowed Xia Ya to draw upon its power freely.

If not for the fact that it had devoured Norton’s memories—

If not for its knowledge that this boy was a pureblood human—

The Twilight Incarnation would have assumed that Xia Ya was a newborn Abyssal deity, personally blessed by the Abyss’s will.

…

Xia Ya’s gaze locked onto the Twilight Incarnation—

Who was now staring at him, dumbfounded, as it realized its own power had been stolen.

Xia Ya knew—

He couldn’t maintain this state for long.

Once his sanity gauge hit zero, he would truly become nothing more than a muttering, mindless "Child of the Abyss."

So—

He had one chance.

"Then—let’s begin."

With those final words—

Xia Ya fell into complete silence.

His golden irises dimmed—

Returning to pitch-black.

And in those dark pupils—

The light vanished.

The ripples of thought faded.

Not just his voice—but even his emotions were sealed away.

Just like in training—

Xia Ya used Tsukuyomi to lock away his rational mind—

And handed over full control of his body to the combat instincts passed through his Soul Pact with Crimson.

Their soul synchronization was absolute.

At this moment—

Within the suffocating Twilight Aura—

Xia Ya’s body and mind became one with the battlefield.

And in the very next instant—

A raging azure flame erupted around him.

Mana boiled. Soul ignited.

"Bloodburn."

This was the skill that Little Silver Spirit, now named Crimson, had created in its youth—

A desperate technique devised to compensate for its stunted growth, caused by the curse of corruption.

With its fragile, flawed body, it had forged this ability to fight powerful enemies—and one day, to take revenge.

Even at First Ring, Crimson had used Bloodburn to threaten Silver, who was already at Third Ring back then.

And Xia Ya—

His Beastmaster talent was far from flawed.

It was brilliant.

Both his mana reserves and soul quality vastly surpassed those of Beastmasters of his tier.

And now—

Body ignited. Mind ablaze.

At "Perfect" proficiency, Bloodburn no longer had lifespan-reducing side effects.

On the contrary—

Its power grew stronger with the strength of his will.

The crimson single-handed sword in Xia Ya’s grasp flared with azure flames.

Not as a raging inferno, but as fine, lightning-like lines—

Veins of power, delicate yet unfathomably dense, etching luminous patterns around the crimson blade.

Mana coiled around the edge of the sword in a spiraling vortex, gathering—

Drawing in the vast, stray Abyssal energy saturating the Twilight World—

Condensing it all into the blade’s edge.

Then—

Xia Ya raised his sword.

There was no flourish to his stance.

Compared to the flashy techniques used by the knight students of Saint Roland Academy,

His movements were almost too simple—plain, even.

And in the very next instant—

The sword fell.

A single slash.

…

The Twilight Incarnation, possessing Norton’s body, snapped out of its daze—

And looked up.

And in that moment—

All it saw beneath the blood moon—

Was a monstrous, blood-red demon.

More vile, more chaotic, more mad than even an Evil God.

And—

The blade descending upon it.

A strike so simple, so plain, so unadorned—

Yet perfectly executed, sealing every possible avenue of escape.

A single slash that tore across the sky—

A crimson thunderbolt that split heaven and earth.

For the first time—

A god called "Twilight" felt fear.

Gods do not die.

For they are embodiments of the world’s concepts.

Even if all of West Continent’s Legendary-tier powerhouses gathered—

Even if the true Black King, wielder of the Judgment Edict, descended in person—

They could not truly kill the concept known as Twilight.

Even if someone wielding absolute power erased every trace of Twilight’s divine energy from the world—

It would eventually return, reborn from the distant Starrealm.

But—

Divinity and Authority could be stolen.

Twilight would always be Twilight.

But the one who wielded Twilight’s dominion—

Could be replaced.

For those who tread the Path to Godhood, Divinity and Authority were their most precious treasures.

They would rather shatter their own godhood than let it fall into another’s hands—

Lest a false god rise to usurp their throne.

Ten years ago—

The Twilight Incarnation had been careless.

It had allowed a fragment of its Divinity to be severed, cutting it off from its true form—

Giving rise to the Key—Sylvia—

And leading to its imprisonment by the Branstat Family.

And now—

It had made the same mistake again.

Its opponent was merely a boy who hadn’t even reached the Fourth Ring.

But this time—

The Twilight Incarnation’s mistake was even greater.

In the ecstasy of breaking free, it had poured every last shred of its remaining Divinity and Authority into this single vessel.

And in the rising flood of terror—

It spoke ancient words of power.

Golden Twilight radiance surged outward—

Manifesting layer upon layer of Abyssal barriers, shielding it from the incoming slash.

But—

It was futile.

In the blink of an eye—

The blood-red demon that Xia Ya had become had devoured over 70% of the Abyssal energy in the area.

The sealed Abyss below still held an infinite reservoir of power—

But replenishing it took time.

The remaining 30%, even if fully mobilized, stood no chance against the 70% Xia Ya had already seized—

Especially with Bloodburn amplifying its power.

BOOM—

BOOM—

The sword light descended, carving straight through each divine barrier in its path.

Then—

It reached Norton’s aged, monstrous head.

And in the next instant—

The crimson meteor of the sword’s descent collided with the black flames of Amaterasu—

And both ignited at once.

…

Sound ceased.

Then—

Color vanished.

The world fell into absolute silence—

Leaving only the roaring azure mana and the blazing black flames.

Light surged.

Light raged.

The surging radiance churned into vortex after vortex—

Consuming Norton’s distorted form,

Devouring the night itself.

The ground melted instantly.

Every molecule of the vessel’s body was exposed to the scorching impact.

Had it been just a normal slash and mana explosion, Norton’s transformed body might have regenerated—

Its divine factors allowing it to reform from the destruction.

That was how it had survived the underground explosion earlier.

But—

This time—

It was different.

This time—

Its self-healing was utterly useless.

The black flames of Amaterasu burned everything away.

Before its divine factors could activate,

They were incinerated to ash.

Ordinary fire could never burn divine factors.

But the Twilight Incarnation recognized something within these black flames—

A power on its level.

A force it knew all too well.

"Ashen!"

"It’s you—Ashen!"

"You’ve allied with the Empire?!"

"I won’t forget this! This is only my half-body—when I—"

But before its vengeful screech could finish—

The black flames and azure mana surge consumed everything.

And dragged it into oblivion.

…

No one knew how much time passed before the storm subsided.

Twilight shattered.

The Blood Moon vanished.

Dust settled—

Revealing the clear moonlight and endless stars above.

Norton’s body was gone.

In its place—

A deep, abyssal sword scar split the earth.

At its bottom, black flames still burned, melting stone into liquid, flowing like a molten river.

And in the spot where the Twilight Incarnation once stood—

A glow began to gather.

Until it coalesced—

Into a crystal-like chess piece, gleaming with Twilight’s radiance.

A relic containing all of its remaining Divinity and Authority—

"The Star Chalice."

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