Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 317 Last Wish
"So, your conclusion is...?"

Half of a face wrapped in white bandages was visible through the crack above the divine tree, its eyes peering into the world through the crack.

However, Argos was a decent person and at least knew not to interrupt Ethan and the white cat in his arms when they were cuddling. He waited until the cat was back on Ethan's shoulder before asking.

"Have I been fooled by her again?"

This is Argos's biggest concern right now. As an ancient god, being completely fooled by a human has truly made him lose face.

“She didn’t lie to you. Your deduction is correct, but there’s a small problem with the direction—she and Charlotte are two sides of the same coin, and she did try to deceive fate in this way.”

As he answered, Ethan also felt himself gradually returning to "reality." According to Merlin's theory, this world was the original world in Winter's subconscious. Judging from the rules of the plane, she was in a very pleasant state of mind when she created this plane, so you will almost never encounter danger here.

"direction?"

Argos fell into deep thought. "Where exactly did things go wrong?"

Ethan reminded Him, "At the end of her life, she conveyed the vision of the sacred tree to everyone."

Ethan gleaned the fragmented memories from the adventure log to find out why Crimson did what she did.

The fallen Crimson Queen, the resurrected Old Gods, and the infected and hatched Divine Tree—nothing could be more despairing for the inhabitants of this world, and he himself brought despair to this world.

At least on the surface.

The same thought came to everyone's mind—Ethan murdered the Scarlet Queen.

Ethan didn't believe that Scarlet was willing to burn her life away just to frame him; she should know very well that it wouldn't have any real effect on him.

Ethan noticed Argos's confusion. "Haven't you realized it yet? The prophecy of fate has already come true."

This was a predetermined death, but when the adventure book and the guild's search revealed that Crimson was dead, it meant that Charlotte had broken free from the shackles of fate.

"You mean that human girl?"

Argos was even more confused. "You mean Crimson used her death to free herself from the shackles of fate?"

He could hardly believe his ears, because in his view, Charlotte was nothing more than a puppet that Scarlet had "molded" with a small amount of energy in her spare time, and their relationship was no more intimate than that of the two baby dragons she had raised.

Scarlet is the kind of person who, to satisfy her own perverse pleasures, drives the baby dragon she raised out of the treehouse, and even when they meet again years later, her words are full of mockery.

However, Ethan now tells Him that Scarlet will give her life to save a complete stranger.

This was a huge shock to His worldview.

"Because this time she intends to keep her promise to you, and after all this is over, you will regain your freedom."

Ethan paused for a moment, then continued, "Of course, she couldn't just open the mirror and let you out... She made many changes to this world, and all of these changes are based on your energy. Just imagine what would happen if you, as the energy source, suddenly left this place?"

Argos fell silent, for He did not know the answer to the question.

He had no idea where Crimson had found the spell that could imprison or even divert their energy. This was clearly not knowledge that humans could grasp, and He could only conclude that it was "black magic" from ancient times.

"Although the plane will not be destroyed overnight, the regression of the rules will inevitably cause a huge change, and this civilization will slowly perish."

In Crimson's adventure book, she has performed countless divinations about the future of this plane. The diviners are her guildmates, fellow members of the pioneering team, and possibly the most outstanding archmages in the world. Each time, the results are... less than satisfactory.

"So she needs to prepare for your departure, for someone who can take your place."

"That human girl?"

Argos blurted out, trying his best not to sound too offensive, but the truth was that even Crimson herself couldn't compare to him, let alone Charlotte, who was probably only a fraction of the power of a "puppet". Before Ethan said those words, he didn't even consider Charlotte a real human being.

After all, a human girl who has been reduced to a sacrifice from the moment of her birth has no free will whatsoever.

“She doesn’t need to become as powerful as you, and she never can become as powerful as you. That doesn’t stop others from worshipping her as a goddess. Years later, after the people who lived through this era have grown old, sick, and died, the legend will be passed down throughout the kingdom… Cynthia, do you still remember this name?”

“Cynthia…”

Argos seemed to be deep in thought. After a moment, he awakened some long-forgotten memories. "I remember now, a wild child in the eyes of the villagers, who would sneak out of the village whenever he had a spare moment and venture into the mountains for adventure."

Their meeting was a coincidence.

His interests differ from those of his kind. He prefers dealing with monsters to humans, and by slightly altering even a single detail about them, he can create entirely different products.

When Cynthia found Him, He was conducting related research.

As a human, Cynthia was special. She was neither afraid of herself nor of the modified monsters. Instead of running away, she stepped forward and stared at them with wide, curious eyes.

“Cynthia is my first and only follower.”

"As far as I know, you have many followers, probably the most among you."

“I have never admitted that they came to us on their own.”

Ethan thought that if those fanatical believers heard Argos's unwavering answer, they would be sad for a long time. However, he thought again that Argos was special among the many Old Gods. When the War of the Old Gods broke out, he had already left that plane, so there were almost no records about him. He was not even directly classified as an "evil god".

As for his followers who were ubiquitous on the continent, most of them were attracted by Cynthia.

Whenever the political situation is bad, the number of hunters increases dramatically, much like the thousands upon thousands of Beggar Clan disciples.

Cynthia was also the only one who did not hide her relationship with Argos.

"Not long after you left, a war broke out in that world. After the war, she was given the title of 'Goddess of the Hunt' and has been praised as a mid-level god ever since."

"The goddess of the hunt?" Argos seemed quite pleased with the title. "I knew she had a bright future!"

“I’m saying that Scarlet wants Charlotte to become that kind of person.”

Of course, Charlotte is far from being qualified or prestigious enough right now. The quickest way to unite the people of this world is to create a villain for everyone. This villain must be powerful enough, like a shadow looming over everyone's hearts, forcing them to set aside their past grudges and band together.

Scarlet knew this, and therefore tacitly approved of Argos's previous actions.

Mechanical monsters, an unknown plague—in just a few days, despair had enveloped everyone in the kingdom. And not long ago, even the royal family of Oled and the Royal Summoner's Association were completely wiped out. An unprecedented "villain" has descended upon this world.

Team Rocket, Giovanni Sakaki.

Ethan was filled with mixed feelings. He didn't know if this was fate. Even though he had initially decided to transform Team Rocket into a righteous organization that protected monsters and championed love and peace, the images Scarlet had released shattered his beautiful vision in an instant.

It seems that Boss Sakaki can't escape his villainous identity after all.

The stage has been set up. This was the last thing Crimson did before her death, and it also left Charlotte with a seemingly impossible task. If you look at the current situation from a Pokémon's perspective, her predicament is no different from having to take a partner who has just left the beginner village and is less than level 10 to challenge a villainous organization leader whose six partner slots are full, and five of them are at max level.

Even if Charlotte's white dragon has the potential to be a divine beast, it is impossible for it to overcome the gap in level.

Moreover, he felt that the "base stats" of Winter and the others were no less than those of that white dragon cub.

If Charlotte can win under such unfavorable circumstances, it would be justifiable for people to call her a god.

"But...why?"

Argos finally understood everything, except for Crimson's motives, which was also the part that He found most disconcerting.

Until the moment of death, she was still striving for the continuation of civilization. The crimson that He regarded as insidious and despicable had now become a martyr with a firm will.

"do not know."

Ethan shrugged. "Perhaps this world triggered her memories, perhaps she simply likes it here, or perhaps this is just the meaning she has given to her long life."

Whatever Scarlet's true thoughts were, they have become an eternal mystery with her death.

"What are you going to do?"

Argos lowered his voice.

If it were Him a day ago, He would have brought destruction to this plane without hesitation. Over the past thousand years, He had imagined countless times the scene of breaking the seal and destroying all of Scarlet's beloved possessions. He would have kept Scarlet until the end, so that she could witness the world falling apart.

But now His desire has suddenly become less intense, especially after his conversation with Ethan.

His attention was completely drawn to Ethan, and more than venting his emotions, he was curious about what Ethan, as the "villain leader," would do.

Without a doubt, if Ethan wanted to, he could reduce the civilization that belonged to the Summoners to ashes in a single day.

"I?"

Ethan said, "I'm planning to make a profit."

His investigator rank in the guild was still at the beginner level E, which reminded him of the days when he earned the title of "chicken farmer" in Riverwood. If he had to describe this type of employee in one sentence, it would probably be "a low-level person who can be used as consumables".

Among the many types of tasks offered by the guild, "Saving Civilization" is undoubtedly the most rewarding.

These types of tasks usually don't involve a specific commission; instead, they are additional rewards given to an investigator after they have successfully completed the task.

These awards will only be given to a very small number of people who have made outstanding contributions to the guild and others.

However, the way he completed his mission was quite unique—he was defeated by the "hero" of this world as an evil villain, and from the perspective of the enemy, he witnessed the growth of a nemesis who was also the future god.

"that is it?"

Argos was skeptical.

In reality, deep down, Ethan certainly didn't have the only answer.

He found a design for the Lake Trail in Mistywood County, completed one afternoon by him and others in the office, though it contained many elements of borrowing...

Well, he has to admit it's fortunate the project came to an abrupt end, and this dimension was never successfully seen by the world, otherwise they would have received countless lawyer's letters.

That might have been an idea he planted in Lin Dong's mind, but the time they spent together and the emotions they felt were incredibly real; everything that happened in that office was vividly clear before his eyes.

To him, this civilization was like a broken alarm clock; with a few simple adjustments, he could get it back on track.

Ethan looked up at the crack in the sky. "Now that you've regained your freedom, don't you want to take a good look at this world?"

"Alright."

Argos's voice sounded somewhat pleased, but he concealed his emotions well. "Since you have invited me so sincerely, I will give you that courtesy."

This is probably the first time in a thousand years that He has been able to view the world without being affected by negative emotions.

"I have a few things to take care of before I leave."

Ethan summoned the cat and the little purple bat to him.

Although the fact that Giovanni was the culprit who corrupted the Divine Tree and murdered the Crimson Queen has spread to every corner of the kingdom, to play a true villain well requires more than just a bad reputation. Just like the actors who played villainous bosses in classic movies and TV series, they often send chills down people's spines as soon as they appear on screen, even if they do nothing.

These are all areas where Ethan's knowledge is lacking.

As a law-abiding citizen of the empire, he felt it would be difficult for him to control this temperament.

Fortunately, his team included two wanted criminals who had previously been wanted with bounties exceeding six figures.

"Teacher, Rowena."

He earnestly asked the two of them, "How can I play a truly imposing villain?"

This topic automatically excludes Higanbana and Miss Chloe. They are destined to be forever separated from villains. Even in their monster forms, people will unconsciously regard them as good friends of humans.

"You've come to the right person."

The little purple bat got excited and blurted out, "Leave it to me! I guarantee I'll train you into a tough character who can stop a child from crying just by walking down the street."

(End of this chapter)