Chapter 389: The King and the Dangerous Witch

“Right here,” Luke finished, tapping his mask with two fingers. “I killed the Witch in the past without even realizing it.”

The silence that followed was almost tangible.

For Luke, the pieces finally clicked into place: The Witch was the Fallen Stone Angel.

The fragments of that mental puzzle, once scattered, locked together with a sharp snap inside his mind, aligning a truth that was both simple and terrifying. Somehow, the Witch was the King’s own weakness, a distorted mirror, a resemblance that became a vulnerable point precisely because it shared the same essence. And with her power, he had awakened an army to challenge the King’s forces, and with the mask, he had inherited immunity to the monster’s skills, allowing him to face it head-on.

“Was the Witch this mask?” Evangeline asked, her voice thick with disbelief.

“Open the system screen,” Luke urged. “Check the main mission notification.”

*Mission Statue Activation Detected*

You have reached the heart of the kingdom, the Grand Capital. Well done, Challenger. The fate of this world now lies in your hands.

Hidden across the vast city lie three ancient mechanisms. They hold shut the castle gates, sealing the path forward. You must find them. Activate them. Only then will the way open. But be warned, the journey ahead will test you.

Each mechanism is protected by one of the Three Lords, sovereigns of their domains and unyielding in their power.

The Orc Lord, who bathes the weak in blood and rules through brute force.

The Beast Lord, whose primal dominion commands the creatures of the wild.

The Midnight Lord, the tireless guardian of the Capital and eternal servant of the throne.

But know this, there is a cost. Once the ancient seal is broken, the Midnight Wardens will never again rest. They will rise and march without end, consuming all that stands in their path. Even the long-abandoned lands will fall once more beneath their shadow. The Midnight Lord himself will awaken, bringing swift and merciless punishment to those who dared to defy the sealed order.

Beyond the castle gates lies a portal, the only exit from this world. But passage through it is not freely given. It is watched endlessly, guarded by forces that do not permit escape without challenge.

At the very heart of the castle, upon a throne forgotten by time, waits the Midnight King. Those who cross into his domain must face the Witch, once sealed away for endangering the balance of the realm. But she is not the final trial. For the one who truly rules these lands watches still, unseen, awaiting the moment to pass final judgment.

The system was laying it out exactly as it had happened. Everything—the reactivation, the guardians, the king’s awakening. It was a script written long before they ever set foot here.

Luke slowed his pace. The final words hovered in front of his eyes, the light reflecting off his sweaty face.

“A king’s domain isn’t the castle,” he murmured, almost to himself. “It’s the kingdom.”

The others glanced at him, confused, but Luke pressed on.

It was a subtle trap— a clue planted by the system from the very beginning, buried between the lines. For the first time, he saw the whole picture that had once appeared only as fragmented, disconnected pieces.

“What that said was that anyone who enters the capital will have to face the Witch,” he explained, his voice growing steadier. “She was the mandatory event tied to the third mechanism—the piece that unlocked the passage.”

Luke realized it wasn’t the castle that the text referred to—it was the moment when he opened the capital gates. Everything had started there, when the city accepted him as part of the king’s domain. By defeating the Witch, he’d gained what he needed to move forward in the tutorial and survive the Midnight War event. The tutorial was a scale. Even a single person could survive it all, provided they defeated the Witch and obtained the mask. With that, they’d have the means to tackle the next events in the tutorial alone.

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Now, the puzzle had aligned, but he was at the final stage. Only the Midnight King remained to be defeated. Yet the doubt still lingered within him.

Are you or aren’t you the Witch? he asked silently, within his own mind.

“I am…” replied the soft, ancient voice within him. It was the angel’s voice. “Just as he was completely sealed, so was I… but now I can communicate with you better. Though still faintly.”