Release that Witch

“What did Nana say?”

Nightingale walked into Roland’s bedroom and asked Anna who was by the bedside.

“Nothing seems to be wrong… Everything is stable—breathing, heartbeat, and body temperature; it’s like he’s asleep, but…”

But there’s just no way of waking him up.

Nightingale fell silent. Last night, no one expected the victory celebration banquet to end this way. Back then, Anna was the first to react. She made the guards and the God’s Punishment Witches seal off the area. Following that, she called for Tilly, Wendy, Iron Axe, and company. She was probably the only person who could do all of that in such a composed manner when faced with such appalling news.

Unfortunately, these measures did not improve Roland’s unconscious state.

“The Seagull has just taken off. Its destination, City of Glow of the Kingdom of Dawn.” Nightingale changed topics. “If Lightning sends the letter in time, we will be able to bring Nightfall to the floating island in about three days.”

“Yes, there should be enough time,” said Anna with a nod.

Roland didn’t have a God’s Punishment Witch’s body, and with him unable to have his meals, he needed Nightfall’s Seed of Symbiosis to remain alive. The pickup point was chosen to be at the City of Glow so as to save time. Lightning and Maggie were much faster than a glider; thus, giving Neverwinter sufficient time to first summon Nightfall and then send her to the Kingdom of Dawn’s capital where she would meet up with them.

And this was Anna’s idea as well.

If there was a silver lining in all of this, it was that this wasn’t the first time she was encountering something like this. Back then, after the battle with the Church’s Zero, Roland also entered a long period of unconsciousness. His symptoms were identical to his present state.

That sleep connected him to the Realm of Mind, allowing him to create the massive Dream World. And this instance was likely related to the legendary Origin of Magic.

“What do we do next?” Nightingale could not help but ask.

At present, the ones privy to the information were the various higher-ups on the floating island. If they were to make a return to Neverwinter, there was no way to keep it under wraps indefinitely. Once the news spread, just stabilizing the situation would take quite a lot of effort. This not only greatly delayed the development of the subsequent plans, it would also introduce new variables to the demons and the Sky-sea Realm.

But heading to the Bottomless Land according to plan was extremely risky. After all, Roland was the only person who was connected to the Realm of Mind. And if he ultimately didn’t regain consciousness, they would be thrown into a dilemma, which would make things worse.

Apart from Anna, she didn’t know who else could make the choice.

Anna quietly looked at Roland who was lying on the bed, as though she had forgotten all that was happening around her. After a long while, she said slowly, “Continue with the plan.”

Although her voice was soft, it had zero hesitation.

“If it’s him… that’s what he will say. Many people were sacrificed for this rare opportunity. Even if the road ahead is unknown, we have to give it a try. If we were to return because of this, we can’t guarantee that Roland will definitely wake up. Yet, the Sky-sea Realm, which has already invaded the Blackstone region, will definitely not stay there waiting for us. In the situation of him remaining unconscious in perpetuity, I’m afraid that we will not be able to launch another new expedition.”

As expected of Anna… Neverwinter couldn’t help thinking. To be honest, she was more inclined to heading for the Bottomless Land. Even if Roland’s unconsciousness was very likely to be related to the Realm of Mind, then compared to the Origin of Magic and Neverwinter, clearly the former had a higher chance of resolving the problem. However, reasoning was one thing; a choice needed someone to shoulder the responsibility. Even if the others knew this, it wasn’t necessary that they were able to shirk off being conservative and choose to double down by continuing the advance.

What’s more, she didn’t hesitate or show any signs of being lost.

Just as she was prepared to say something else, Tilly came in.

The latter’s expression was somewhat heavy. “Hackzord is here.”

…

At the bottom of the floating island, the region of the God’s Stone’s core.

“I never expected the day of me loading up on Red Mist in human territory will come.” After Sky Lord reinstalled the filled-up gas tank into his body, he took a deep breath. “It tastes pretty good.”

“I also never imagined myself to be capable of tolerating having two demons stand before me.” Eleanor looked at the duo coldly. “Just the thought of having a chance to exact revenge for the Union after centuries makes me have trouble curbing that urge.”

“First, most of our time was spent in the Blackstone region. We didn’t participate in the war against the Fertile Plains. Second, doing so isn’t beneficial to you, the Union, or humanity. Therefore, you shouldn’t be venting your anger on us,” Hackzord said as he spread open his hands.

Silent Disaster swept her gaze at him. “If you would just shut up, she wouldn’t have such an impulse.”

“Leave if you are done. The person you are looking for is already here.”

After leaving the sealed Red Mist Pond and walking into the empty cave, Hackzord could not help but frown.

He saw many people. There were Witches, carriers, and human soldiers in uniform. The only person missing was the King of Graycastle, Roland.

“What’s the meaning of this,” he asked gravely.

With the Deity of Gods having just fallen and the human clinching a tremendous victory, this sentence filled with an interrogative tone instantly tensed up the atmosphere.

“I’m Anna, Roland’s wife, Queen of Graycastle.” Anna walked through the crowd and stood in front of Hackzord. Hackzord’s height was nearly double hers, and it was made more apparent when they stared at each other. “An accident happened to His Majesty Roland, so he’s temporarily unable to meet you.”

Following that, she recounted Roland’s continued state of unconsciousness and the connection to the Realm of Mind in a concise manner.

Hackzord first revealed a surprised expression before it turned nasty.

“So are you saying that the person my race came to an agreement with no longer exists?”

“First, I need to correct what you’ve just said,” Anna said without skipping a beat. “Roland is only unconscious, and has not encountered any life-threatening danger. Secondly, all of us know what the agreement is. Even if he doesn’t wake up, I will execute it in his place!”

“Little girl, do you know what you are saying?” Sky Lord laughed in his rage. “That’s something which can be done only by someone chosen by the Oracle. You aren’t even able to enter the Realm of Mind, but you wish to represent him? Darn it… Valkries was wrong. If this is the counterattack of God, then everything is over—”

“No, you’re wrong,” Anna interrupted. “There’s no need for me to enter the Realm of Mind because Roland is currently in the Dream World. Regardless, he will proceed onward towards the goal. And I will represent him in executing the rest.” She paused before continuing, “I will continue the floating island’s journey to the Bottomless Land. Meanwhile, Graycastle will provide reinforcements to ensure that the plan will be successfully carried out. Of course, this will need your assistance.”

“What a joke—”

“This is not a joke, but the only response in a crisis!” she said without yielding. “The agreement will not end, nor will it be nullified. Viewing it from another angle, Roland has already reached the Bottomless Land ahead of us. What we need to do is rush over; otherwise, there’s no way of stopping the Divine Will and ensuring our races’ continuity!”

“Heh, sure sounds nice.” Hackzord sneered. “A kingdom’s operation isn’t simple. I understand the weight and importance the King of Graycastle has on you humans. I’m also aware of the allure power has on humans. Now that he isn’t around, do you think you can control everything with you alone, and not let the entire system descend into chaos?” He looked at the people behind Anna. “By letting a young lady in her twenties become the representative of Graycastle… don’t you have a better candidate? Or are you naive enough to think that just by her status alone, she will be able to…”

Speaking midway, Sky Lord’s voice gradually softened.

He saw that everyone’s gazes were on him. Even though no one replied his question, silence was also a form of answer at times—the girl before him represented humanity.