Hate Me, Miss Witch!

Freesta Empire, Deep Blue Territory

Border Town of Reza

Inside a manor near the city outskirts, magical lights illuminated the entire hall.

Xaya sat at a corner table, observing the noisy banquet in the hall.

The attendees of the banquet were young boys and girls, around sixteen or seventeen years old, their faces still carrying the youthful innocence of adolescence. The rough clothes they wore were in stark contrast to the refined nature of the banquet.

"Really lucky, I never thought that right after we arrived in Reza, we'd be taken in by a noble lady."

"Yeah, not only did she offer us food and lodging, but she also promised to recommend us to the Extraordinary Academy. Compared to the stingy lord from my hometown, Miss Anlina is like an angel."

"My uncle even warned me that people in big cities are all bloodsuckers, but now I see that there are still a lot of good people in the world."

"I'm going to make a name for myself in the big city and make my hometown prosperous! I'm carrying the heavy expectations of everyone in the village."

The conversations drifted into Xaya's ears, causing him to feel an impulse to facepalm. Do you really have to plant flags like that for yourselves?

If nothing happens at this banquet, then I'd say it'd be a missed opportunity for all those flags you've just set up.

Of course, if this noble manor were truly peaceful, Xaya wouldn't have come here at all.

Leaning against the table, Xaya quietly snacked on some seeds as he once again confirmed the details of his objective.

Anlina Tazera.

The owner of this manor is a hereditary noble.

Also a second-tier fugitive on the jurisdiction's wanted list, suspected to be involved in several missing persons cases in Reza. The bounty on her in the jurisdiction's secret warrant is 3,000 Rhine Gold Coins.

Of course, his purpose in coming here wasn't entirely for the bounty.

At its core, it was because the light blue screen currently manifesting in Xaya's consciousness was so clear.

[Destiny's Great Villain System]

[Humanity is nothing but beasts that only sing of life after sacrifice, and ignorant, foolish children can only grow into adults through pain. Only blood and death can nourish beautiful flowers.]

[So, let this world experience pain!]

[Newbie Task: Make the innocent and naive daughter of the Duke Cangting, Sylvia Brunestadt, experience betrayal by her loved ones, and in pain and despair, complete her transformation and rebirth.]

This system had appeared in Xaya's mind the moment he awakened his transmigrator memories at the age of eight.

Initially, Xaya was quite calm about the appearance of his "Golden Finger."

Although the system seemed inherently evil, perhaps more suited to dealing with large quantities of rice, it was nothing unusual. After all, there were many transmigrators who weren't simple—some turned into slimes, others into treasure chest monsters, and some even turned into skeleton heads who could only babble nonsense.

There were even those who wanted to quit their hero teams or to become shadow powerhouses... And those who preferred a more stable life, playing as shield-bearers or staff users—those were common tropes too.

It was just about becoming a villain. Who knows, following traditional tropes, maybe the character would be redeemed in the future. Even if not, Xaya didn't care. If he wanted to grow stronger, making some sacrifices was only natural.

He had already mentally tortured the unknown Miss Sylvia countless times, using schemes like "sacrificing the rabbit to cook the dog," "banishing her," and "breaking off an engagement."

This calmness lasted until Xaya scoured the entire continent's map and still couldn't find the words Cangting Duchy.

After searching through the Abyss and Elemental planes, coming up empty-handed, Xaya felt like he was racing toward a "Demon King" ending. Eventually, he finally found a clue.

It was in the imperial library, a dusty old history book containing a short line:

"Cangting Duchy, destroyed by the Dusk Calamity in the year 346 of the Sacred Era."

Now, the year was 902 in the Sacred Era.

This meant that nearly six hundred years ago, the Cangting Duchy had already been reduced to dust.

According to the records, the Cangting Duchy was founded in the first year of the Sacred Era and lasted only a little over three hundred years before it fell. After five hundred years, it was no wonder people had long forgotten about it.

With this as a lead, Xaya also found the historical record of the Duke's daughter Sylvia—

"Pale Silver Witch" Sylvia.

A legendary Beastmaster who had achieved the highest legendary rank five hundred years ago.

After establishing the "White Chalk Tower", she vanished, never to be heard from again.

After confirming the accuracy of these records, Xaya stared at the system panel where the words "Innocent and naive Duke's daughter" were starkly displayed for a long time, unable to speak.

For a while, Xaya couldn't tell if he had transmigrated five hundred years too late, or if this system's reflex arc was five hundred years too long.

Originally, Xaya had planned to completely ignore this unreliable system. But alas, like any human, he couldn't escape the "True Fragrance" law.

When faced with such a rich task reward, he ultimately chose to complete this five-hundred-year-delayed newbie task.

After ten years of relentless effort, Xaya's exploration finally made some progress.

He had specifically traveled from the imperial capital to the border town of Reza for this.

Suddenly, the chatter around him grew quieter and then disappeared.

A woman dressed in luxurious attire appeared at the center of the banquet. She wore a pure white dress, her face gentle and beautiful.

This was the noblewoman who the young attendees had described as angelic—Miss Anlina.

She was also the target Xaya had seen on the jurisdiction's secret wanted list.

As soon as Anlina appeared in the hall, Xaya immediately sensed the decaying aura of death that accompanied her.

"The aura of an evil god."

Xaya instantly became alert, even the seeds in his hand losing their appeal. Woman, you've successfully caught my attention.

Based on the information Xaya painstakingly pieced together from ancient scrolls, the short-lived Cangting Duchy had been destroyed by a calamity caused by the revival of a Dusk God.

Due to the long passage of time, the details of that disaster were lost to history, but it was known that a powerful being had ultimately intervened to quell the revived evil god.

From his gathered intelligence, Xaya suspected that this noblewoman, Anlina, likely possessed a relic or contaminant from the very Dusk God that had been revived in the Cangting Duchy.

And this was one of the final pieces Xaya needed.

That's right, after ten years, countless gold coins, and vast amounts of wealth, Xaya had been working toward a plan that defied all traditional expectations.

He was going to—

[Manipulate History.]