Another dragon had appeared. Compared to the Dragon of Streaming Destruction, it looked no bigger than a sparrow. However, this terrifying existence had once wiped out all of Paprika’s residents.

Almond murmured, “EggPlant...”

This dragon had originally followed Almond with the intent to kill him. Back then, thanks to EggPlant’s donation, Almond alone had survived while all the Paprika residents died.

Most importantly, this dragon had been trying to kill Almond since the very beginning.

— DAMN

— A wild Eggplant Dragon has appeared!

— Shouldn’t we call it RubySword?

— What is this? LOL

— Holy shit, is it here to kill him again?

— So persistent lmao

— RubySword: ???

In the end, it had returned once again to kill Almond. The dragon instantly swooped down and landed directly in front of him.

Thud.

Only then did the Knights beside him react in shock. They also recognized the dragon.

“A d-dragon? Isn’t that... the one?”

“The Paprika massacre dragon?”

— The dragon that massacred Paprika!

— Massacre dragon

— LOL

— Wait, that one!?

They had all watched the Cheese Craft episodes, so they recognized this dragon. They just hadn’t realized it while it was flying.

“Th-Then, isn’t it here to kill the Lord!?”

Shing!

Radish Servant drew his sword and stepped in front of Almond.

“Damn it!”

“Protect the Lord!”

Whish!

The Knights drew their weapons and faced the dragon. In contrast, Almond curiously stared at the dragon.

‘What is this?’

Almond had already fought this dragon before. He knew it had no mercy.

Back then, it had immediately unleashed its breath when it first appeared. Normally, it would have incinerated them after recognizing them. However, it simply landed and stood there on guard.

Pop.

A head popped out from one of the many tunnels beneath Cheese Village.

“Huh? M-My lord is here! The Lord has come! He’s come to save us!”

Someone had briefly come up to check on the village’s condition and spotted the Combat Team. After that, like a game of whack-a-mole, heads popped out of the ground one after another.

“It’s really the Lord!”

“Lord Almond and the four Knights! The legend was real!!”

High above the Lord and his four Knights, the massive Dragon of Streaming Destruction could be seen. To their eyes, the Knights were already heroes.

“But what’s that dragon!?”

“T-This can’t be... the heavens have bestowed a dragon upon the Lord...”

In moments of crisis, people tended to interpret what they saw how they wanted. A giant dragon flying down and landing before the Lord looked like a divine revelation.

‘I know. I know it doesn’t make sense...’

‘That dragon tried to kill the Lord... Isn’t it about to tear him apart?’

Deep down, they knew that dragon probably didn’t come down in submission. For Cheese Village, such doubts were useless right now. They had to cling to hope no matter how absurd.

Kwarakwarakwang!

Even at this very moment, the Dragon of Streaming Destruction’s breath continued destroying Cheese Village. They had to grasp at straws.

Crunch.

Someone grabbed onto a withered tuft of grass and climbed up from below.

“Huff... huff...”

Not just a head, this time, a full body emerged and stood on the surface.

[Treeana]

Saintess Treeana had awakened from her sleep and hurried after the Knights.

‘Damn it. I logged in too late.’

She had overslept and was supposed to have woken up and reunited with them much earlier. Because of that, she had to travel a great distance, which left her gasping for breath. Even so, she delivered the lines she had prepared.

“Hear me, five members of the Expedition Squad!”

Uuuwoong!

Holy magic activated.

“All beings of this world... will aid you!”

She revealed the meaning of their final stand.

“As you can see, the Dragon of Streaming Destruction seeks to destroy not just you, but everything in this world. All beings of this world not yet tainted by his black corruption... will aid you.”

Thud.

At those words, the dragon that had landed before Almond stepped forward.

Thud. Thud.

It sat before him, folded its wings, and lowered its neck.

Every villager watching from the tunnels below widened their eyes.

“I-It really did...”

“The heavens truly sent a dragon to our Lord!”

“The Lord is an emperor chosen by the sky!”

Their distortion unfolded in real time. The excited villagers flooded the server chat.

[CreamPuff: When Lord Almond stood against calamity, a dragon descended from the heavens...]

[StrawberryShooter: Emperor Almond, chosen by the sky!]

[Lettuce: We can live again!]

Regardless of the truth, their hope blazed.

Treeana raised her staff and declared, “Once more, with our final strength... I will say this.”

She had begged the production team for this.

“Holy Magic... Last Stand!”

Uuuuuwoong!

A translucent, violet dome began to envelop the village.

— DAMN

— Last Stand?

— Not Resolve?

— Something big is coming!!

Ding.

A window appeared before everyone.

[Donation System Restored]

==== ====

5000 won = Health Recovery

10,000 won = Random Buff

100,000 won = Random Monster Summon

300,000 won = Random Magic Cast

1,000,000 won = Holy Magic Cast

Treevy donations have also been linked.

==== ====

— WOAH

— Holy shit

— You can do this from Treevy now?

— Was this coordinated with Treevy?

— Someone shut down the Cheese platform, so they rushed to link it, that’s an instant upvote

— Huh?

— Wait, the donation effects changed!

***

At that moment, inside Cheese’s conference room, CEO Choi Da-Hee watched the live broadcast unfold.

She sighed and nodded. “Phew... Yeah... we’ve already made way more than we expected anyway...”

From this point forward, all donations would be directed to the streamers with no platform fees. It didn’t matter whether donations were made through Cheese or via Treevy’s so-called third-party system.

Naturally, the higher-ups wouldn’t like this plan.

“Treevy means a lot to the viewers... I think they’ll love this, the streamers too.”

Cheese had decided to send Treevy off in this manner.

“Treevy handed everything over for the streamers as well. I think this much is fine. It’s just one day.”

Choi Da-Hee accepted it with a bitter expression. “Yeah... It’s just one day... but still, it’s prime time revenue... Sigh.”

If Cheese had been greedy, they could have raked in massive fees from the donations pouring in during this final battle. The production staff involved in the project insisted that narrative closure mattered more.

Why Cheese Village existed and where it began... That story would deepen people’s sense of belonging to the platform, and not just for viewers. Choi Da-Hee had been persuaded by this argument.

“How many hours until Treevy shuts down?”

“About six hours left. Streamer login rates are at their peak right now. Everyone seems to think of this as the final finale. Treevy is crowded for the first time in a while. The media is covering it heavily as a memorial for Treevy.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes, take a look.”

The employee held up a phone showing a portal news page.

[Platform Treevy, shut down over network usage fees, sees unexpected boom]

[Server shutdown looms. Treevy departs regretfully with a spectacular finale]

[Cheese Insider: “A will of heritage.” A grand memorial for Treevy]

[American Media: “The happiest funeral,” hosted by Korean platform Cheese

Outlets rushing to report the story even cited overseas reactions. Cheese had prepared and distributed press releases, but far more articles poured out than they had expected. Public opinion responded on its own.

“The legacy media response is better than expected. This kind of case is rare.”

“When did those bastards ever stop backing the telecoms?”

Choi Da-Hee smirked slightly and brushed her hair back. She seemed pleased with the coverage.

“Well, they do flip-flop like that.”

The employee noticed her satisfaction and grinned.

“What are you smiling at? It’s not over until it’s over.”

***

Thump.

Almond climbed onto the dragon’s back.

The dragon growled, clearly displeased. “Grrrr...”

— He’s the guy it should kill on sight but can’t lol

— What’s with the dragon’s reaction? LOL

— “Feels like I’m helping you against my will”

— ??? Temporary alliance this time only

— Looks like it’s glaring at him?

“Easy. Easy.” Almond patted the dragon, trying to figure out how to ride it properly. “Uh, it’s not moving?”

— LOL

— That’s a problem

— It’s got a grudge against Almond hahaha

Even with Almond on its back, the dragon showed no intention of moving.

Tap!

Treeana slipped in front of Almond and took the seat ahead of him. “I’ll steer the dragon. You shoot from behind.”

As she grabbed the reins, the dragon spread its wings. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Shraaaak!

— Nice

— Saintess!

— This is it

— Yep

— Ohhh so that’s how it works

The dragon took flight.

Had the Dragon of Streaming Destruction reacted?

Kwaaaang!

Its breath blasted straight toward them. After passing through a magic circle, the breath split in multiple directions.

“Hold on tight.”

“Oh.”

Whoooooong!

Treeana pulled the reins and sent the dragon surging up. She charged straight toward the incoming breath.

— DAMN

— Huh?

— What!?

— Suicide?

— Is this drunk driving or what?!

Viewers panicked at the sight of her flying directly into the attack, but their fear quickly turned to awe.

— ?

— Nice

— Nice...

— Holy shit, what is that control?

— F1-tier

— Wow

— Is this even AI?

Whoooooong!

The dragon she controlled slipped through the breath by the narrowest margins and rapidly closed in on the Dragon of Streaming Destruction.

Kwaaang!

Treeana didn’t slow down even as the breath brushed past her hair and singed it.

“Now.”

Giriik.

She gave the signal at precisely the right moment. Almond had already drawn his bow from behind.

Uuuwoong!

The Dragon of Streaming Destruction, as if drawing its own bow, gathered another breath. One hit meant instant deletion. That devastating breath was right before them.

Treeana flew straight at it until the very end, and Almond’s bow never wavered.

‘The eyes...’

Almond lightly exhaled and released his arrow.