Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 87: Act First, Report Later—Imperial Privilege

Viscount Lorie stared at the revolver before him, his face drained of all color.

He didn’t know what had gone wrong.

The deal he had struck with the Spiritual Abyss Demon, which had never once failed him—

Had lost its power.

But the cold, undeniable reality was right in front of him.

The first five shots were blanks.

Now—

He was facing the final round.

The entire City That Never Sleeps was dead silent.

Thousands of eyes were locked on Lorie as his expression twisted in uncertainty.

Finally—

His face steadied.

His withered lips curled into a forced smirk.

"It seems there was a... mistake in this wager."

"That was my failing as the House."

The moment he spoke—

Everyone understood his intent.

He was going to cheat.

Or rather—

Flip the table entirely.

Everyone knew how disgraceful this was.

But—

They also had to admit that it was effective.

The Spectator’s role was only to witness the wager itself.

But once the game ended—

They would not interfere with how the terms were enforced.

That had always been the Spectator’s stance.

And as the casino’s owner, if Viscount Lorie was truly determined to refuse payment—

No one could force him.

As the saying went—

"The referee, the judge, the witnesses, the organizers—all belong to me. What are you going to do about it?"

Yes—

This would destroy his reputation.

Yes—

It would shatter the credibility of Sins &Thorns.

But given the choice between losing face and losing his life—

Anyone would know which to pick.

The spectators erupted into chaos.

Some were awed by Xia Ya’s insanity.

Others lamented that such a legendary wager would end in cowardice.

But at the gambling table, Viscount Lorie’s face suddenly changed.

Because—

At that very moment—

He felt something devouring his soul.

A shudder of horror ran through him.

His spiritual power dimmed instantly.

If this continued, it would soon become nothingness.

"Are you insane?! I already agreed to pay you five hundred souls—"

"You know what my resources are! Five hundred souls are nothing to me!"

His spirit screamed in rage—

But the only answer was a cold, emotionless whisper.

"That was the past."

"Now—"

"You have lost the ability to fulfill your contract."

"A defaulter’s soul—is also part of the transaction."

The demon’s voice was devoid of mercy.

And in the next instant—

Another piece of Lorie’s soul was torn away.

A searing pain unlike anything he had ever felt.

His already aged, withered features twisted into an even uglier grimace.

Losing at Russian Roulette wasn’t a death sentence for Lorie.

If he refused to pay, no one could force him.

At worst, the reputation of his casino would be ruined.

But what truly terrified him—

Was that his ultimate trump card had just betrayed him.

Yes, at this moment, he didn’t have six hundred souls immediately on hand to pay the demon.

But with his vast wealth and underground influence—

If he went all out, he could still gather the required sacrifices from across the Western Continent.

And yet—

From the demon’s words—

It was clear that such an option no longer existed.

The demon had already decided—

That he was no longer worthy.

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Another chunk of his soul was torn away.

Lorie was only a Fourth-Ring Beastmaster.

He had never trained his spiritual power properly.

He had only ever relied on the demon’s contract.

And now—

Under the backlash of a broken pact—

He had no resistance whatsoever.

"I understand…"

"I understand…!"

Through the agony of his soul being consumed, Lorie stared at Xia Ya with bloodshot eyes.

With a shaking hand, he lifted the revolver—

And aimed it at himself.

This mystery player was weaker than him.

There was no way he could have cheated in front of a Sixth-Ring Spectator.

The demon’s contract had been honored.

His luck had been boosted.

That was the unbreakable law of all Abyssal transactions.

Which meant—

Even if the probability was minuscule,

There was only one possible explanation left.

The final live bullet—

Was a dud.

Even in the modern Imperial armory,

With precise mass production,

There was still a 0.03% to 0.07% chance of a misfire.

That was why Xia Ya had fired four times without consequence.

From the very start—

This match had always been a stalemate.

There had never been a winner or a loser.

Lorie’s hands shook as he raised the silver revolver.

His twisted smirk barely held together.

"I admit it..."

"You truly won."

"But I… have not lost."

His aged fingers pulled the trigger—

His bloodshot eyes locked onto Xia Ya.

"I will remember you."

"This will not end today. From this day forward—"

Bang.

A burst of fire from the barrel.

And the next instant—

Flesh exploded.

A headless corpse collapsed onto the gambling table.

The casino erupted into chaos.

One moment—

The gamblers had groaned in disappointment, thinking Lorie was going to walk away.

The next—

They watched as the man who had ruled this casino for decades

Had his head blown off in front of them.

Xia Ya gazed at the lifeless corpse,

His expression unreadable.

Because just before Lorie pulled the trigger—

He had felt a presence watching him.

A faint gaze, observing from the Spiritual Realm.

A presence that reeked of corruption.

Something connected to the Abyss.

Perhaps—

It had been Lorie’s trump card.

Out of curiosity, Xia Ya had equipped the title 'Blasphemer'—

Then activated 'Crimson Tainted Blood' and 'Darkborn'.

And in that moment—

The presence instantly recoiled—

As though it had just glimpsed something terrifying.

It fled like a frightened deer,

Leaving behind only fear—

And a hint of reverence.

It must have mistaken him for something else.

Perhaps—

A newborn Evil God from the depths of the Abyss.

Or perhaps—

An Evil God’s child, disguised as a human.

And immediately after—

Viscount Lorie had fired upon himself.

Saving Xia Ya the trouble.

"He had the ability to trade for luck—"

"And yet, he still lost."

At the gambling table, the white-robed Spectator—‘Forest Watcher’ Soros—turned to Xia Ya, his voice as calm as a chant.

Despite standing mere steps away from Viscount Lorie’s bursting head,

Not a single drop of blood or gore had touched his robe.

The moment the spray of flesh should have reached him—

A soft, white glow silently emerged, repelling all filth and corruption.

Soros met Xia Ya’s gaze.

His expression remained serene.

"This was not an illusion."

"The ability you just used—"

"Like his—directly interferes with fate itself."

"But your interference—"

"Was far deeper. Far more absolute."

Xia Ya rose from his seat, stretching lazily as he turned away from the table.

"Maybe. Who knows."

As he walked, a line of azure text surfaced in his mind.

[Your Limited-Time Transcendent Skill Experience Card: ‘Izanagi’ has expired.]

‘Izanagi.’

The ability he had unlocked using the card—

The skill he had used to help Yin adapt to higher-tier abilities.

A power that could—

Rewrite any misfortune into mere illusion—

And make only the favorable outcomes real.

Technically, it still fell under illusions and ocular techniques.

But to Xia Ya—

It had already crossed into the domain of Time Manipulation.

A skill that could, in the truest sense—

Alter fate itself.

The moment he had spun the revolver’s cylinder,

He had activated ‘Izanagi.’

He had erased the countless timelines where he took the bullet—

Leaving only the one minuscule possibility where Lorie died instead.

Then, he had manifested that reality.

Of course—

A fate-altering ability this absurd had severe drawbacks.

According to its original mechanics, the cost of activating it was permanent blindness in one eye.

Meaning that under normal circumstances,

A person could only use it twice in their lifetime.

Because they only had two eyes.

But after Xia Ya had modified it for Yin—

With enough mastery, the cost shouldn’t be as extreme.

Even so—

The side effects would still be significant.

Luckily—

The temporary skill card had nullified the drawbacks.

Otherwise, he never would have wasted such a trump card on someone as insignificant as Viscount Lorie.

As Xia Ya brushed past Soros, he did not stop walking.

He wasn’t surprised that Soros had managed to deduce the nature of his power.

After all—

The man was a Sixth-Ring Beastmaster,

And a Spectator, no less.

If he couldn’t pick up anything, he would’ve been disgracefully incompetent.

"Fine. Let him guess all he wants."

"At most, he’ll figure out that I can ‘manipulate fate.’"

"But the details? He can waste his own time trying to figure those out."

"You’re interesting."

Soros’ voice floated from behind him.

"In all my years as a Spectator—"

"You are one of the rarest anomalies I’ve ever witnessed."

"Perhaps—"

"We will meet again."

"And that day may not be far off."

Xia Ya waved dismissively, not even bothering to look back.

"Enough with the cryptic nonsense."

"I already have enough mysterious weirdos in my life—I don’t need another one."

The past few days, he had encountered too many of these types—

People who loved speaking in riddles and vague prophecies,

Never explaining anything directly,

And instead letting the listener agonize over every word—

Only for them to turn out to be right by coincidence later.

So—

Xia Ya’s philosophy toward cryptic bullshit remained the same:

"You can say whatever you want—"

"I’ll pretend I never heard it."

"I refuse to waste time making unnecessary guesses."

Xia Ya stepped onto the lower floor of the casino.

And the moment he appeared—

The once boisterous, chaotic gambling hall fell into absolute silence.

Countless eyes, filled with reverence and unease,

Fixed upon the half-masked figure before them.

From the corner of the room—

A golden-haired girl silently rose to her feet—

And without a word, began following him.

"Now do you understand—"

"Why Her Highness chose him as our leader?"

Diris’ lips curled into a subtle smile as she spoke to Nightingale and Dark Raven.

Then, without hesitation—

She followed Xia Ya’s steps.

Nightingale nodded in silent understanding—

And with the grace of an assassin, vanished into the shadows, keeping up effortlessly.

But—

Just before she left—

She glanced at her sister, puzzled.

Dark Raven—

Was still seated.

Only after a long pause did she awkwardly stand up.

Her long legs pressed together slightly—

Her fingers subtly tugging down her skirt—

As though trying to cover something up.

On her usually pale face—

A faint blush had appeared.

"Sister, are you okay?"

Nightingale blinked at her, confused.

But before she could ask further—

Dark Raven quickly cut her off, her voice forcibly stern.

"I-It’s nothing."

"I just... need to stop by the restroom."

"Tell the commander I’ll catch up."

Xia Ya and his group walked through the vast casino—

And the spectators, as if by instinct, parted before them.

After a few moments,

They arrived at the edge of the casino,

Before a metallic wall.

Xia Ya reached out,

Knocking three times on what seemed to be a seamless surface.

A moment later—

The sound of machinery shifting echoed.

A hidden door quietly slid open,

Revealing a descending passageway—

Leading deep underground.

"Sir,"

A sharp voice called from behind him.

A towering man in a uniform,

Radiating intimidating power,

Stepped forward.

"Although you won the wager, this area is restricted."

"Outsiders are not permitted beyond this point."

This was the second-in-command of Sins &Thorns.

A direct agent of the Borgia Family.

Officially, he was Viscount Lorie’s deputy—

But in reality—

He was Borgia’s watchdog,

Far more powerful than Lorie himself.

And now—

Although he had been shocked by Lorie’s sudden death—

His instincts told him that Xia Ya’s actions had to be stopped.

The secrets buried in Sins &Thorns’ underground vault

Were too dangerous.

If they were exposed without preparation—

Even the Borgia Family would suffer serious consequences.

The man lunged forward—

His hand reaching out to stop Xia Ya—

His tone polite,

But his intent murderous.

To him—

Anyone bold enough to march straight toward the casino’s darkest secrets

Was an enemy of Borgia.

Killing him here—

Would be the easiest solution.

But in the next moment—

A brilliant silver glow erupted.

Boom—!

A blazing silver spear struck him like a thunderbolt,

Hurling him dozens of meters into the air—

Before slamming him into a distant wall.

Cough—

The burly man violently spat out blood, chunks of his shattered organs spilling onto the floor.

His eyes shot open, filled with disbelief as he stared at Xia Ya’s unmoving figure in the distance.

"Who the hell are you people—"

"How dare you attack someone inside a noble’s property?!"

He roared in shock.

Earlier, he had been dealing with other affairs and hadn’t witnessed the wager firsthand.

All he knew was that Viscount Lorie was dead—

And he had rushed to the scene only after the fact.

At first, he had assumed Xia Ya was just a reckless gambler—

And that Lorie had simply lost control and gotten himself killed.

But now—

It was clear.

These people weren’t here to gamble.

From the very beginning—

They had come for Sins &Thorns itself.

No—

For the Borgia Family behind it.

"Let’s not spread misinformation."

Xia Ya’s calm voice echoed through the hall.

"Yes, this place did belong to Viscount Lorie."

"But now? Lorie is dead."

"And he died fairly, honoring his wager.Self-inflicted, no less."

"He left behind no transfer of ownership—no will, no contracts."

"Which means that, under Imperial Law—"

"The ‘Sins &Thorns Club’ is now an ownerless property."

"And as per the Empire’s enforcement regulations, a legally recognized law enforcement agency—"

"Has the authority to investigate ownerless properties."

"During such investigations—"

"If anyone obstructs the process, or poses a threat to the enforcers' safety—"

"Then the enforcers are granted unlimited self-defense rights."

Xia Ya spoke with a steady tone, his words slicing through the silence.

Then—

He reached into his coat and casually pinned a badge onto his chest.

A silver-white emblem, gleaming in the dim casino light.

A silver sword and the World Tree intertwined upon a shield.

The moment the burly man saw it—

His pupils shrank in terror.

He knew what that insignia meant.

As one of the Borgia Family’s agents, he was well aware of the history behind it.

That symbol—

Had once loomed over every scheming noble house like an unshakable storm cloud.

Even now—

Even after its name had faded from history for centuries—

The fear it once instilled had never truly disappeared.

"Of course—"

"All that legal jargon is meaningless."

Xia Ya smirked.

"To put it simply—"

"The Swordbearers act first—report later."

"Imperial privilege."

His voice was casual, but his words carried an undeniable weight.

"If you’ve got a problem with it—"

"Feel free to file a complaint with Her Highness the Imperial Princess."

The burly man’s mouth opened, as if he wanted to protest.

But—

In the next instant—

A flash of silver streaked through the air.

A blazing spear of light—

Tore through his body.

His form disintegrated in an instant—

Erased, along with his very consciousness.