Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 665 - 59: The Final Battle

Half a month later.

The day had finally arrived.

Watched by the people, Charlotte walked forward step by step, lifting her head to see the Divine Tree reaching into the clouds. The parts covered with metal expressions had restored to their original state, and the tree, symbolizing the lifeline of the Kingdom, once again brimmed with vitality.

Behind her were Black Steel, Lady Fengweidie, her father, and every City Lord she had interacted with in this time; Charlotte could feel the weighty gazes pressing on her shoulders. At this moment, atop the Divine Tree, someone was waiting for her arrival.

After completing the trial of the Black Dragon clan, her companions had grown rapidly. To this day, even Black Steel had fallen by her hands, suggesting she might already possess the qualifications to become the Kingdom's strongest Summoner. However, Charlotte knew that the true "strongest" resided at the top of the Divine Tree, overlooking the world.

Too much had happened over the past month.

After the invasion of the mechanical creatures, the inhabitants of the Kingdom were pleasantly surprised to see the rules set by the Crimson Queen gradually reviving. A group of people claiming to be forest priests arrived at the Royal Capital, bringing with them methods to cure the mechanical plague, and many wanderers were healed. The survivors within the Royal Capital spontaneously began reconstruction work.

As the concept of "death" was once again eradicated, the Summoners of various cities, under the joint appeal of several City Lords, united to launch a siege on the Rocket Team. The City Lords personally led the charge, systematically destroying the Rocket Team. Just two days ago, upon returning from her training, Charlotte dismantled the Rocket Team's last hideout.

Thus, the grand turmoil of the Rocket Team was officially declared over. The poachers were imprisoned in the jails of various cities, and after the comprehensive victory in this war, they would be judged according to their crimes.

But before that, there was one final battle left.

"Little White!"

Charlotte called out her companion's name. The white dragon, now grown into an adult form, transmitted a firm gaze to her. Their rapport had reached a level where words were unnecessary to understand each other's intentions. As Lady Fengweidie had put it, this was the highest realm a Summoner could achieve.

The City Lords were all amazed by her rate of growth, yet only Charlotte felt that the journey had gone somewhat too smoothly. She encountered almost no setbacks; every step forward felt like it had been orchestrated.

She could only attribute this to the Crimson Queen.

Despite her demise, she was still safeguarding this world through some unknown means.

Charlotte mounted the back of the white dragon, which spread its wings, flying straight toward the tree crown under the people's watchful eyes.

『Plane: Tree Crown』

『Environment: Stable (Anomaly coefficient: 99.7%)』

『Faith System: Argos』

Atop the tree crown, Ethan looked on satisfied at the fruits of his labor over the past days. Through constant exploration, he had gained a deeper understanding of the setting of powers.

He heard the approaching roar of a dragon, walked out of the treehouse, and saw Charlotte and the white dragon crossing the dense branches, arriving before the reconstructed treehouse. Since their last meeting, she had changed significantly; her golden hair was tied into a neat ponytail, her clothes replaced by more combat-friendly leather armor, and her blue eyes no longer confused but firmly staring at him.

"It seems you're ready."

Ethan wasn't surprised by Charlotte's arrival, even her timing had been prearranged so as not to disrupt their leisurely lunch. Every trial she faced, every bit of training she underwent was meticulously designed by him. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

For Ethan, this feeling was curious, as though he had crafted a hero himself, and now, after passing all trials, she stood before him with her fully-leveled companions.

And he was to greet this final battle as the ultimate Boss guarding the "Demon King City".

『Fantasy Dragon (Dragon/Fire), Level: 100』.

The dialogue box appearing above the white dragon said it all.

"Is this all?"

Charlotte asked, hoping Ethan would reveal more to her.

Details like his mysterious identity, his purpose, and why he was waiting for her atop the tree crown.

Lately, Charlotte had this premonition, suspecting that the world's changes were due not to the Crimson Queen's shelter but to Ethan's actions. The gradually reviving Divine Tree corroborated her hypothesis. The forest priests from the Royal Capital mentioned that Ethan and those mechanical creatures had occupied the Divine Tree. Yet, per their assumption of Ethan's malevolence, he should have continued to corrupt the tree, and when they finally broke through the mechanical creature's encirclement to get here, they should have seen a forest of steel instead.

However, even the Crimson Queen's treehouse had been fully repaired now.

Sunlight pierced through the leaves, casting its rays here, and new fruits hung from the Divine Tree, depicting a scene of flourishing prosperity.

"What else? You can save your victory speech for later, but before that..."

Under Charlotte's puzzled gaze, a black baby dragon climbed onto Ethan's shoulder, curiously peeking at her.

This was clearly not the scene she had imagined. According to destiny's guidance, at their reunion, this black hatchling should have matured into a giant beast under mechanical control, their destined showdown between fantasy and reality commencing here.

Charlotte saw the spreading red glow ascend to the sky, transforming into a rain.

Compared to the day the Crimson Queen fell, this rain was much gentler, and as it fell upon her, it surprisingly felt warm.

"What did you do?"

She asked with a frown.

"The same thing as that day."

As time passed, Charlotte finally noticed the peculiarity — some of the rainwater among the clouds had frozen, forming a red ice layer that froze the entire sky, blocking out the sun and dyeing the whole sky red. She couldn't see the end of the ice layer; it seemed to shroud the entire Kingdom within.

Then Charlotte saw herself in the ice layer's reflection.

Riding atop the white already dragon, she confronted the one who killed the Crimson Queen, the leader of the Rocket Team.

This was an earth-and-sky phenomenon even the Crimson Queen hadn't triggered. At this moment, all the Kingdom's residents could see, through the ice layer, the imminent final battle.

Charlotte took a deep breath, "I, Charlotte, in the name of the City Lord of Moon Forest, challenge you!"

"Come on."

Ethan's response was still brief.

In the next moment, Charlotte heard the sound of space shattering.

She saw cracks appearing out of thin air, slicing this world into countless pieces. In this fragmented world, there were no physical rules. The sky fell to the ground, the ground became the sky, everything within her sight was cut into fragments, and behind those cracks was eternal nothingness.

Yet this time, she did not retreat.

"Go for it, Little White!"

...

...

Several days later, in a tavern in the Royal Capital.

"Hey, hey, did you hear? Charlotte repaired the Divine Tree, and everything's gotten better."

As soon as people entered, there was a constant buzz of conversation.

It had been many days since that battle, yet the people of the Kingdom seemed still immersed in the echoes of the fight, unable to extricate themselves. A tipsy man with a white scarf was fervently recounting the events of that day, saying that in that battle, this world had transitioned from destruction to rebirth.

The fragmented world, enveloped in the Kingdom's scarlet frost.

The land beneath their feet was thrown into the sky after fracturing, and their consciousness flickered, sometimes in reality, sometimes cast into the void.

The world was left with only three tones: white, scarlet, and black.

Every collision of these colors seemed to trigger geographical changes: mountains were leveled, oceans were blocked, scenes that stretched the limits of their imagination, and in that calamity, they were trapped in a cycle of life and death until...

The falling meteor pierced the ice above people's heads, bringing sunlight back to their world once again.

"Meteor Swarm, that's the name of that move!"

Spittle flew as the man with the white scarf gestured animatedly, surrounded by listeners. They needed his storytelling to fill the deep sense of unreality inside, helping them to believe they had seen the same scene and that...they still truly lived in this world.

Some people also brought news of the Olede royal family.

This is perhaps one of the few regrettable things—ritualists in the woods healed Olede the Eleventh, and at the very first moment after the war ended, Minister Ferrock appeared in the square of the Royal Capital, attempting to deliver an inspiring speech.

But this time, what responded to him was a flood of rotten eggs.

The Olede royal family was still unyielding, continuously attempting to restore the Olede dynasty these days. However, their various actions appeared like clowns to the surviving people. By treating those who were hysterical at times and pretentiously solemn at others like comedians, they brought much amusement to their lives.

The truly meaningful news for them was that under Charlotte's leadership, City Lords gathered to discuss the future direction of the Kingdom. People felt that the royal family was of no significance in such a world. At Lady Fengweidie's suggestion, the Summoners formed an organization called "Alliance," which, every four years, would select the four most outstanding Summoners as managers of the Alliance, who would also be the defenders.

If any Summoner could defeat these four outstanding Summoners, they would be awarded the title of Champion.

A new round of competition had begun.

Summoners who were enthusiastic about battling monsters embarked on their journeys after the cuckoo birds spread the news. To qualify to challenge the Alliance, they first needed to challenge various City Lords and earn their approval. Upon victory, they would receive a local-themed badge, acknowledging their strength and passion.

Some people also discussed the head of Team Rocket, Sakaki.

After the final battle, Sakaki's whereabouts were unknown, and no one knew where he had gone.

Some believed he was dead, while others thought he was hiding, waiting for the right moment to act.

Ethan sat at the bar counter, with a middle-aged uncle enthusiastically chatting beside him, "You seem young to already have so many monster partners. Are you planning to challenge the Alliance? I tell you, the opponent to particularly watch out for is Lady Fengweidie; her fog tactics are indeed tricky. I suggest you make a trip to Misty Forest County first; perhaps you'll find a way to counter those fog tactics there."

For Ethan, making others fail to recognize him wasn't difficult.

No need for disguises, just a slight tweak in the "rules" allowed the Kingdom's residents to distinguish him from Sakaki.

His gaze passed over the man beside him, focusing on the dialogue box that appeared:

'Plane: Canopy'

'Environment: Stable (Anomaly Factor: 100%)'

'Belief System: Argos'

"Meow~"

The cat on his shoulder let out a somewhat sweet sound, urging him.

They had completed their work on this plane; the intelligence had been submitted to the guild headquarters this morning.

Ethan stretched at the bar, leaving behind some coins.

It was time to clock out.

He walked out of the tavern, leaving the heated discussions behind.

As he brushed past, the golden ponytail-clad girl suddenly realized something, she turned her head to glance at Ethan's retreating figure but soon looked away again.

Surely just a trick of the eye.

The girl rubbed her slightly fatigued eyes and also set off, heading in another direction.