The Phantom Witch

The woman was angry at Bruce's remark. No one had ever displayed that level of blasphemy in front of her. She looked coldly at Bruce, hoping that he would die under her attack.

Bruce tried to understand the woman's rune, but he couldn't decipher anything. Which meant that the woman was using a law that he was not familiar with.

Seeing her mocking face, Bruce grunted and mustered all of the runes that he could think of to negate the attack.

The runes collided and an explosion the size of a country occurred. The magnificent palace was destroyed but the throne still remained in place with the woman sitting on it gracefully.

The woman narrowed her eyes slowly when she detected that Bruce was alive.

Bruce on the other hand was not in a good shape, his hair and clothes were tattered. The rune created by the woman had such a destructive nature to it that he couldn't help but wonder what law she applied to create it.

Seeing Bruce's thinking face, the woman couldn't help but chuckle. As a promise to the Dragon God, she had to provide guidance to those who are worthy of his inheritance.

Though Bruce's manner was rude and childish, she deemed that he was worthy since he managed to conjure runes to protect himself against her attack. Any other being at his level would have been evaporated from this world.

"Don't think too hard because you've never seen this type of power before" The woman's tone was much softer than before.

Bruce turned around to look at the woman on the throne. He thought that she would ignore him the entire time. Why was she telling him about her attack?

"I shall answer your previous question"

"You may refer to me as the Phantom Witch. Ruler of the Arcane Realm"

"Phantom Witch…" Bruce muttered.

"Why are you called a witch when you are so beautiful" Bruce asked innocently.

"Because all beings in the universe fear me" Her eyes began to glow blue.

Bruce was shocked to see what was happening in front of him. The destroyed palace returned to normal again.

"Don't be so contend that you manage to learn my name because that doesn't mean you will be able to defeat me"

"Many godlike beings have tried in the past and none have succeeded"

Bruce didn't like that she was bragging about her glory, so he threw her an unexpected question.

"What about The Monarch?"

"Have you ever defeated him?"

"What?!" The woman changed her expression for the first time.

"How do you know about The Monarch?" She released her aura to squeeze Bruce tightly.

Bruce gulped because he didn't know that he would get such a reaction from her. He popped his shoulders and got out of her control.

The Phantom Witch started to remember what Bruce did to negate her attack. He conjured countless elemental runes to counteract her own attack. Those elemental runes comprised all elemental laws in the universe.

"Just like him…" The Phantom Witch started to get emotional.

'Don't tell her about my existence' The Monarch's voice rang out in Bruce's head.

Bruce complied with The Monarch's wish and tried to play it cool.

"Oh, that was just me babbling like an imbecile. Please ignore everything" Bruce scratched his head looking like an idiot.

However, how could a godlike being like the Phantom Witch missed what just happened. Bruce clearly reacted to something after she questioned him.

She looked toward the sky and conjured a powerful rune that blocked the outside world from seeing inside the palace.

The Dragon God saw what happened and tried to intervene, however, he couldn't break through the rune. This meant the Phantom Witch used her real body's powers to create this rune. Why would she do that?

"What is your name?" The Phantom Witch walked down from the throne and stood in front of Bruce.

Looking at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life, Bruce didn't know what to do. He waited for The Monarch to give him an answer, but nothing came to his head.

Bruce decided to be honest and gave her his real name.

"Big sister, my name is Bruce Stellae"

"Bruce Stellae…" The Phantom Witch muttered the name over and over again.

Her aura quickly rose to the level of Worldly Supreme which shook the entire world.

"Phantom Witch, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The Dragon God screamed in rage.

He clearly felt that the Phantom Witch was interfering with his trial using her real powers. This was not something that they agreed on. Furthermore, since he already died, the fragment of his soul cannot stop her. Even if he was alive, he was not sure if he could defeat her.

The Dragon God sighed and only hoped that she would not harm Bruce in any way.

Bruce immediately stayed on guard upon seeing his opponent's aura raising rapidly. However, in front of the Worldly Supreme, his powers were useless.

The Phantom Witch knocked Bruce unconscious to inspect his soul. Before she could do anything, The Monarch came out of Bruce's body.

"You don't have to do that, Isabelle" The Monarch looked at her gently.

"Bruce, you're alive…" Isabelle began to tear up.

"No, I'm already dead" Bruce shook his head.

"What…" Isabelle couldn't believe the love of her life truly died.

The Monarch began to narrate everything that happened when he fought against the Overlords. Excluding the part when he met the Celestial.

"But how are you inside his body?" Isabelle couldn't make sense of the situation.

"He is my reincarnation and somehow, my soul was sealed with his along with my memories" The Monarch shook his head.

"How is that possible?" Isabelle was flabbergasted because she had never heard of anything like this before.

"Everything is possible when that person is involved"

"Who?" Isabelle asked.

"The Celestial"

Isabelle gasped upon hearing the name of the ultimate ruler of the universe.

"So, you're fated to disappear when the seal is broken" Isabelle's tears started to fall from her flawless face.

"I should have been dead a long time ago, Isabelle"

"Looking after my reincarnation was truly something I never expected when I woke up"

"But it provided so much peace that I never knew before"

"This kid is a much better man than I was when it comes to family and romance" The Monarch laughed.

"Bruce…" Isabelle wanted to hold him in her arms once more, but she couldn't.

"Isabelle, I wish that you won't treat him as me because he is his own person"

"Mhm, I understand" Isabelle nodded.

"Looks like he will take the legacy of the Dragon God. What a lucky guy"

"I'm not so sure actually…" Isabelle disagreed with The Monarch's prediction.

"Oh? Are you going to fail him?"

"No, I will teach him properly everything about runes magic"

"I have full confidence that he will be able to defeat the version of myself that was supposed to be his opponent"

"However, I am not so sure if he would be able to defeat the last opponent of this trial"

"Oh? Who is that?" The Monarch was intrigued.

Isabelle replied quietly.

"WHAT? The old dragon managed to get him to agree to this?"

The Monarch was quite surprised at the answer.

"Well, that person did owe the old dragon a favor back then"

"I see. Well, if the kid has what it takes to reach the pinnacle, he will have to defeat that person" The Monarch began to fade.

"It's really good to see you again Isabelle. This is probably the last time we will see each other"

"It's good to see you as well Bruce" Isabelle smiled The Monarch faded away.

'But I wouldn't say that this is the last time we'll meet each other'

'After all, I will have you by my side forever this time'

Isabelle's eyes turned pitch black similar to those of Sophia back then. She looked at Bruce who was still unconscious with nothing but desires in her eyes.