Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 334 - I Took Care of It

“Ooooh.”

An enormous magic spell that Count Whiskers had never seen before was installed in his territory.

“Did Ethan do this? It must be, right? This is no joke!”

Yerica, who had been working on two of the Twelve Families, Equis and Scriabin, was greatly impressed when she saw Count Whiskers’ territory after a long time.

“It feels like a fortress. Wow, how on earth did they make this?”

Yerica’s eyes darted around quickly. The combination of numerous spells working in harmony was like a beautiful painting, a magic so beautiful that any magician who saw it would have their heart racing.

“Lady Yerica, hello.”

“…Hello?”

“Following Count Ethan’s orders, I’ve come to welcome you. I’m Imst, a magician from the Tschernkastel family, in charge of handing over this magic fortress.”

“Hello, Mr. Imst. I thought it looked like a fortress, and it turns out its name is actually Magic Fortress? More importantly, did you say Lord Ethan told you to hand this over to me?”

“Yes, he said to put you in charge as the general manager. I agreed since it was the count’s words, but this isn’t something just anyone can be responsible for. I’ll have to do a bit of verification, if you don’t mind.”

Like master, like bodyguard.

Imst let out a small sigh, careful not to be noticed. Yerica’s level was by no means inferior compared to Ethan’s.

Perhaps even above the Tschernkastel magicians.

“…Indeed, the bloodline of an Archmage is different.”

“Well, yes, but wait a moment. The fortress isn’t just here, is it?”

Yerica, who had been scanning various parts of the territory with the Tschernkastel magician, wore a surprised expression.

“This is crazy. Did the Tschernkastel magicians do this?”

“We did help, but we were merely assistants. We had only thought about the theory of something like this, but never attempted it. Such magic was nearly impossible in practice.”

He spoke as if embarrassed.

“It was Count Ethan who completed this magic. I’m learning a lot from meeting Count Ethan. We had been quite stagnant, only interacting within our family, but after meeting the count, who’s like a fresh wave, it feels like our eyes have been opened.”

Just then, there was a loud noise and the magic circle shook.

“…Intruders!”

Yerica quickly placed her hands on the magic circle.

Shaaaak-.

The core elements of the Magic Fortress were identification and expulsion.

It had the effect of identifying enemies and expelling them, which is why it was called a Magic Fortress due to its powerful effect.

“…It’s those Followers of the Moon bastards.”

Ethan’s enemies.

If it was the Followers of the Moon, it was right to deal with them without hesitation.

“Lady Yerica.”

“Don’t worry. This is the task Lord Ethan entrusted to me.”

Yerica said.

“I’ll take care of it for sure.”

***

In front of Count Whiskers’ territory.

While some of the Followers of the Moon had infiltrated the territory, quite a number of them were unable to enter and remained outside.

“…Why is this here?”

The True Apostle at the front frowned.

“Why is this magic in Count Whiskers’ territory?”

The True Apostle was dumbfounded.

This was the powerful Magic Fortress, a magic passed down only in the Tschernkastel family.

With this Magic Fortress alone, the Tschernkastel family became the most defensively solid among the Twelve Families, so much so that no one dared to attack Tschernkastel after the Magic Fortress was completed.

Of course, there were fools who tried to prove how stupid they were.

Such fools were dealt with before they could even enter the Magic Fortress. Even those who managed to get in were immediately expelled by the effects of the Magic Fortress.

Kuguuuuung-!

Kwang-!

With a loud noise, something shot up into the sky.

“Damn, this is really a Magic Fortress! Why is it in Count Whiskers’ territory?! How come Tschernkastel family’s secret magic is here!”

The True Apostle couldn’t help but be flustered.

“Could it be that Chancellor Tschernkastel gave this secret magic to Ethan Whiskers? No way, that can’t be possible.”

He had already heard that Ethan Whiskers had helped Chancellor Tschernkastel.

Moreover, there were rumors that he was maintaining good relationships with many of the Twelve Families, so they had decided to launch an attack before it was too late.

But… they were blocked from the very first step of the attack.

Kwang-!

Something that was in the sky fell to the ground. It was the Dawn Council believers who had infiltrated in advance.

“Ugh…”

“Urgh…”

The believers who were expelled and crashed into the ground groaned.

“…”

It seemed to be a proper Magic Fortress indeed.

This could only confirm it. Chancellor Tschernkastel had given the family’s secret magic, the Magic Fortress, to Ethan Whiskers.

And Ethan Whiskers had perfectly deployed that magic in the Whiskers territory.

“…True Apostle.”

“Our mission was to throw the Whiskers territory into chaos. But Plan A, the raid, has failed. We’ll switch to Plan B immediately.”

However, before they could implement Plan B, an unexpected situation occurred.

The Magic Fortress at the entrance of the count’s territory just opened.

“…What’s going on?”

The Magic Fortress is solid. Once activated, it’s extremely difficult to dismantle a Magic Fortress.

To open such a powerful magic, one must penetrate not only the defensive power of the magic but also the expulsion magic, and reach the core of its power.

“They should have all been expelled by now.”

None of the external personnel had expected a Magic Fortress to be installed in Count Whiskers’ territory.

All the personnel planted inside had been expelled, so there was no way someone could have gone to the core of the power and neutralized the Magic Fortress.

Which means…

“Did they come out and open the door themselves?”

“You’ve got some nerve. Haven’t you heard? Our count killed the strongest of your believers, the apostles.”

“…”

“Seems you didn’t hear. Seeing as you came here without fear.”

Crack-.

A vein bulged on the True Apostle’s temple.

“Yerica von Hyde. A descendant of the continent’s meritorious bloodline, yet you dare to spout such nonsense while merely serving as Ethan Whiskers’ bodyguard?”

As the True Apostle gestured, the Followers of the Moon raised both hands towards Yerica.

Shaaaak-.

A massive magic circle was instantly drawn, with powerful mana piling up above it.

“You’ve gathered them all in one place to make it easy for me. Thanks.”

Yerica saw the magic circle and smiled, lifting one corner of her mouth.

“Looks like there are no apostles among you. Judging by how crudely you use magic.”

Kuguuung-.

Pueoong-!

With a sound like a cannon firing, a huge meteor flew towards her.

However, that meteor dissipated before it could even reach Yerica.

“…!”

“W-What is this…?”

“She nullified it…? A spell that was already cast?”

The True Apostle was flustered.

It’s entirely possible for high-level magicians to interfere with a magic circle and nullify it before the spell is cast.

That’s why in battles between magicians, they intentionally twist their magic circles.

They set up safeguards to prevent nullification between spell preparation and casting.

Yerica, who had inherited the blood of the Archmage who once shook the continent, had put enough effort into her magic circle.

Yerica couldn’t nullify the magic circle, and the completed spell was fired as it was.

Naturally, they thought Yerica would also draw a magic circle to counter it.

But it was different.

“This is impossible. To nullify it so easily…”

“You’re the ones who are impossible. Just how lightly did you take this place to come attacking with only this level of force?”

Yerica snickered.

“Even if a thousand came, I could handle them alone. Without using the Magic Fortress.”

The True Apostle trembled at that overwhelming confidence.

Buuung-.

Yerica’s body slowly rose into the air.

As she raised both hands, magic circles formed around them.

Kuguung-. Kuung-.

Soon, waves of mana that seemed to undulate spread out around her. The sight looked almost like the second coming of Archmage Hecate.

The True Apostle’s pupils shook.

This was a mismatch.

“When… have we been deceived by Ethan Whiskers all this time?”

None of the knowledge he had about him was correct.

Power and information.

They were behind in all of it.

The enemy knows them, but they don’t know the enemy.

“Retreat… We’re retreating!”

Originally, the council’s orders were absolute.

It was the Dawn Council’s code to carry out those orders by any means necessary, but now was not the time for that.

Following the True Apostle’s order, the gathered believers began to scatter and flee.

However, that didn’t last long, as the believers froze in their fleeing postures.

“Ugh… Urk.”

They couldn’t move at all, as if their bodies were stuck to the ground.

“If you came prepared, you should leave prepared too.”

Yerica’s magic unfolded.

***

In the deep fog.

At the sudden appearance of Ethan, Ghost Sword applied strong force to his sword.

Shaaaak-.

He aimed that powerful force, which he was about to discharge into the ground just a moment ago, towards Ethan.

“Whether you’re real or fake, I’ll have to find out myself.”

Ethan Whiskers appeared suddenly.

Ghost Sword thought that this fog had finally activated its ability.

“You may be suspicious, but this is not the time. The situation is urgent, Principal.”

“That’s why I should be more suspicious.”

Ethan gave up trying to persuade Ghost Sword with words. He immediately drew Frost Sword and scattered its coldness around.

“Proof is better shown through actions than words. Before I show you, please understand that I’m currently quite injured and not in my best condition.”

“…”

Ghost Sword hesitated at the aura Ethan was emitting.

True to his words, the mana flowing from Ethan seemed quite misaligned.

Even at a glance, he didn’t seem to be in his usual state.

Above all, the unique energy felt when Ethan scattered the coldness just now gave him certainty.

It was the unique yin energy possessed by Extinction, which had settled in Ethan’s body.

“Huh… It really is Teacher Ethan!”

Only then could Ghost Sword be sure that the Ethan before his eyes was real, not an illusion created by the fog.

“How on earth did you get into this fog! I was in quite a predicament, unable to get out of this fog. Did you come in from the outside? Or… were you perhaps trapped in here too?”

Ghost Sword spoke with a slightly anxious voice.

If he hadn’t come in from the outside but had met him while being inside, the situation wouldn’t be any different.

No, it would be even worse.

Ethan was one of Ivecar’s important forces. If he had been trapped here, other teachers would have had to fill his place.

Ethan shook his head at Ghost Sword’s worried expression.

“I broke through and came in. As I just said, I came to rescue you, Principal.”

“!”

The headmaster’s expression quickly brightened.

“I tried every method but couldn’t find a way out, how on earth did you break through and get in here? No, that’s not important right now. First, tell me about the situation outside. I dealt with someone called a True Apostle here…”

Ghost Sword explained the situation he had been in.

“The True Apostle was quite strong. But from what I could see, it seems someone even stronger has come leading troops. Probably an apostle. And a high-ranking one at that. If that’s the case, none of our teachers would be able to handle it! At this rate… we’ll be annihilated.”

Ghost Sword spoke with a serious expression.

“We need to get out before that. And then… face off against the high-ranking apostle. I might not be enough alone. Many of the continent’s renowned strong ones have fallen to apostles and disappeared.”

He was extremely worried. With the power possessed by a high-ranking apostle, they could easily destroy Ivecar.

“Don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry? How can I not worry…”

Ethan answered that question simply.

“I’ve dealt with that apostle.”

“…?”

A complex question covered Ghost Sword’s expression.