Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 421 - Dawn Temple

The Black Sword Squad understood Ethan’s words.

What Ethan needed were reliable, skilled individuals who could handle any potential risks of escape while he confronted the chief priest inside.

‘Yerica or Schudlen would be good too. But those two have other tasks to handle.’

Yerica, having completed her revenge, needed to settle the interests she had acquired from the two Twelve Families into the Whiskers family completely, and Schudlen had to assist with that.

Moreover, those two alone weren’t enough.

‘The Black Sword Squad is as strong as Yerica.’

If it had been Yerica when she became a vengeful spirit, risking her life, the Black Sword Squad wouldn’t have stood a chance. But now, the Black Sword Squad led by Black Sword would be about equal to Yerica’s current level.

‘Of course, as time passes, Yerica’s potential will explode. When that happens, hardly anyone will be able to touch Yerica.’

Except for the Three Gods, that is.

“It has to be you all.”

The Black Sword Squad tensed at Ethan’s words.

They were quite pleased that Ethan, who held an unparalleled position on the continent, seemed to be acknowledging them.

However, if someone like Ethan judged that he needed them, it was clear that the task would be extremely dangerous.

Nevertheless, the Black Sword Squad remained calm.

They were swords honed for such dangerous situations.

Having received orders from Princess Evangeline to serve Ethan, from now on, Ethan’s enemies were their enemies.

“We will live up to those expectations, Master Ethan.”

“Loyalty!”

****

The metropolis of Gratia.

This Gratia, known as a free economic city, was one of the top-ranking cities before the market in Whiskers territory expanded.

Just outside this metropolis was a low mountain.

Called Gratia Hill, this mountain with its lush forest wasn’t very high, so the residents of Gratia occasionally came here for exercise.

“Due to its proximity to Gratia, monster subjugation is carried out periodically. Thanks to that, there are no monsters, and it’s very safe. It’s a place of pure nature.”

Because of this, only the residents of Gratia frequented this place.

“No adventurers, no magicians, no swordsmen. It’s a safe place that no one visits.”

Being a very safe place with good accessibility for ordinary residents, it was actually quite suitable for hiding the Dawn Temple.

“They’ve exploited a blind spot.”

Ethan nodded at Black Sword’s words.

“It’s not a place where the strong would come. They’ve precisely targeted that blind spot.”

On the path leading to the summit of Gratia Hill.

There was a distorted space between the paths.

“That’s a cliff, Master Ethan.”

Black Sword spoke as he saw Ethan approaching the cliff.

“If it can deceive even Black Sword’s senses, you can understand how perfectly this headquarters is hidden.”

First, they chose Gratia’s small hill, and second, they cast a perfect concealment spell.

But it could no longer deceive Ethan’s eyes.

“Lyuka.”

Ethan, having summoned Lyuka and received sufficient mana supply, began to dismantle the concealment spell cast on the cliff side.

The Black Sword Squad was greatly impressed by Ethan’s magical skills, which they had only heard about in stories.

Of course, the Black Sword Squad is also well-versed in magic.

As Princess Evangeline’s personal guard, they had to protect the princess perfectly, so they were highly proficient in various fields including not just swordsmanship, but also magic, dark magic, alchemy, and more.

Ethan was casually unraveling a spell that had deceived the eyes of such a Black Sword Squad. It wasn’t just about sight; it was something impossible without a deep understanding of magic.

‘It’s my first time doing this.’

The mechanism itself wasn’t too difficult to unravel as it had similarities with many of the ultra-high-level spells Ethan knew.

‘The problem is that when this magic circle is dismantled, the Dawn Council’s lord will know.’

Ethan had intended to enter without giving any information to the Dawn Council’s lord.

To do that, he had to neutralize the magic circle on that side so that no signal would be sent, and then enter.

But this was a highly difficult disarming method.

Of course, if we’re talking about whether it’s possible or impossible, it’s possible.

It’s just that it’s extremely difficult.

But who are these people Ethan brought along?

“Magic swordsmen, please step forward.”

Five members of the Black Sword Squad who could use magic as freely as swordsmanship stepped forward.

All five were at the level of 7th circle high-ranking magicians.

And Black Sword also stepped forward.

Needless to say, Black Sword, the leader of the Black Sword Squad, was a level above the other members.

“When this magic is dismantled, the Dawn Council’s lord inside will know. If that happens, this raid becomes meaningless.”

Although Ethan only spoke briefly, they seemed to understand quickly what Ethan was trying to do.

“Your orders.”

As Black Sword spoke, six members of the Black Sword Squad stood in front of Ethan.

The remaining five Black Sword Squad members guarded their rear.

“Follow my lead and amplify the mana. I’ll give signals only for the necessary parts, and when you receive the signal, mimic the magic circle while amplifying the mana.”

Ethan immediately began the work.

The goal was to completely dismantle this stealth magic without sending a signal to the Dawn Council’s lord who would be inside.

Click-.

As one magic circle was dismantled, Ethan sent a signal. The Black Sword Squad amplified their mana at the exact timing and mimicked the magic circle Ethan was drawing.

Click-.

This time, the inner magic circle was dismantled.

Clank-.

After peeling off the three-layered magic circle, they reached the core of the magic.

Ethan stretched out his hand.

And at its end, he began to dismantle the magic circle.

The Black Sword Squad watching were greatly impressed as this series of processes was incredibly fast and accurate. It seemed that the skills of Ethan Whiskers, which Princess Evangeline talked about every day, had improved much more than before.

Especially Black Sword, who had been watching him since he came to cure Princess Evangeline’s illness, was even more surprised.

Ethan’s growth rate was much faster than that of Princess Evangeline, who had recovered from her illness.

Whooosh-.

“It’s done.”

As the stealth magic was lifted, the inside that had been hidden began to appear.

The inside was quite a wide meadow, an unexpectedly large space for a hill.

“This is troublesome, it’s double-layered as expected?”

The entrance magic wasn’t the only problem. It was designed to send a signal to the Dawn Council’s lord again if one stepped inside.

Especially this second magic was hidden even more stealthily than the first concealment magic.

‘This is a superhuman ability.’

Ethan knows because he once obtained it.

The superhuman ability of hypersensitivity. It’s a form that mixes magic with that superhuman ability.

‘There’s no choice.’

A formidable opponent. It won’t be an easy fight.

Sensing this, Ethan stepped inside.

“Receive your guest.”

***

The Dawn Temple is the headquarters of the Dawn Council.

Therefore, its location is top secret.

It’s a place not disclosed even to the First Order of the Dawn Council, including the true apostles who are candidate apostles, and the lower apostles.

Middle and upper-rank apostles know the location of this place, but they cannot disclose it.

Such magic has been implanted in their minds.

“Ru, Gra. Restis. Moon Mother.”

Deep inside the Dawn Temple.

The Dawn Council’s lord was sitting on a huge hexagram magic circle.

Dark blue robe and jet-black hair touching the shoulders.

The Dawn Council’s lord, who had been closing his eyes, slowly opened them.

Deep pupils. Blue spiritual energy gushed out from those eyes.

At least several hundred years.

Although the Dawn Council’s lord had lived for a long time, his appearance was unmistakably that of a middle-aged man.

“Interesting. My superhuman ability is telling me. That an intruder has come. Yet no signal has come from the magic I had spread out.”

If the magic had been dismantled, a signal would have come accordingly.

However, no signal came at all.

“Did they disarm it so that no signal would be sent?”

The Dawn Council’s lord exhaled and lightly touched his forehead.

Then, an eye opened in that spot.

Clairvoyance.

The path leading to the Dawn Temple began to appear in his mind.

“Haha, hahahaha. The one who crushed the 3rd Apostle has finally reached our temple.”

It was Ethan Whiskers.

The one who interfered with the council’s affairs while evading the eyes of the Dawn Council, and furthermore, killed the apostles.

The one who gambled that the Rosicrucian Order, which had broken away from the Dawn Council, would place an Extinction as close to the original as possible.

“The one who has survived Extinction with a body reaching the heavens, transcending humanity.”

Perhaps all of this was predetermined from the beginning.

Otherwise, there’s no way he could have found this hidden Dawn Temple.

Even the Rosicrucian Order doesn’t know this location. The headquarters they knew was just a dummy.

If he had received information from the Rosicrucian Order, he would have gone to that dummy, and surely a signal would have come from there.

The moment it was confirmed that Ethan was targeting the Dawn Temple, it could have been hidden forever so that he would never find it.

But the fact that he didn’t go there and came straight to the Dawn Temple held great meaning for the chief priest.

Perhaps all of this might be a device set up by the Moon Mother, he thought.

“Maybe the Moon Mother has brought this trial upon us. Maybe she’s testing who is following Mother correctly. If so, this must mean it’s the final trial.”

Extinction is no longer necessary.

The Dawn Council has found its own method of descent and has even gained the power to realize it.

“Oh dull and foolish Ethan Whiskers. Specter of the Rosicrucian Order. I shall acknowledge you as a trial. Be overcome.”

The Dawn Council’s lord smiled deeply. But his eyes were infinitely cold.

“You don’t even know that we’re keeping you alive, yet you dare to invade our temple. I’ll give you credit for that audacity alone. Oh Ethan Whiskers, who wastes your innate vessel while receiving the blessings of both Moonforce and the God of Thunder. We have already found a way, so there’s no reason to keep you, the prepared vessel, alive anymore.”

The Dawn Council’s lord used his clairvoyance to examine Ethan Whiskers more closely.

“I know everything about you.”

***

The path leading to the Dawn Temple was quite serene.

Except for a single building standing in the distance, nothing else existed within this space.

“Black Sword.”

“Yes, Master Ethan.”

“Please stand by a little distance from the temple. Never let your guard down. A magic circle is spread across this entire space. In the blink of an eye, that magic circle will activate, and if I can’t block it from the inside, it will burst out like a flood.”

“What exactly will come out?”

“It could be monsters, or it could be magic.”

Ethan said.

“I hope none of you die.”

“We will follow your orders.”

Having received the order not to die, now they cannot die.

Ethan left the Black Sword Squad behind and slowly approached the door of the temple.

Whooosh-.

“They certainly know how to welcome a guest.”

Ethan entered through the automatically opened door.

Creeeeak-.

As Ethan entered, the door closed with a loud noise.

The inside was very bright. Not only were there luminous stones densely embedded in the walls, but blue luminous stones were also attached to the ceiling at intervals, dyeing the surroundings in a soft blue color.

‘There’s really no one here.’

This is the Dawn Temple, the headquarters of the Dawn Council.

Yet not a hint of life force could be felt. In other words, it meant that there wasn’t a single believer in this Dawn Temple.

‘Although they can recover from a shortage of troops at any time, there’s never been a case where the headquarters was as vulnerable as now, with the 1st and 2nd Apostles absent.’

They could recover the believers at any time, but.

‘They probably didn’t think I would come first before that.’

In the first place, the location of this Dawn Temple wouldn’t have been discovered under normal circumstances.

‘First, what I need to find is.’

Ethan had no intention of going straight to the Dawn Council’s lord.

He planned to enter a warehouse that should be somewhere in this Dawn Temple and find the Rosicrucian Order’s legacy related to Extinction.

‘The method to cure Extinction probably won’t be written there.’

Ethan wanted to obtain as much information as possible.

‘Even if I go to the Demon Empire and meet the Saintess, I need to have as much information as possible to receive a definite cure from the Saintess.’

It’s fine even if the Saintess can’t completely cure Extinction. As long as there’s a possibility of cure, that’s enough.

Ethan focused on his senses.

He used Moonlight Tracking on the items he had obtained from the Rosicrucian Order previously.

-Using Moonlight Tracking!

Shaaaah-.

A blue light guided Ethan’s path.

It was very faint, but Ethan could see that light.

Following that light, he arrived at a wall.

Ethan broke through the wall and entered.

Breaking the wall revealed a secret passage, and at its end was an iron door.

“It’s in here.”

All the legacies of the exiled Rosicrucian Order seemed to be here.

[Sundrake’s Research Book]

The founder of Extinction and the core of the Rosicrucian Order.

It was the original research book of the legendary mage Sundrake.

In the center of that research book was Extinction.

-A ritual to summon a god. Extinction for that ritual.

The original of the Extinction magic.

It was what Ethan had been looking for.

Ethan opened the research book with anticipation.

Rustle-. Rustle-.

The content written at the beginning was what he had already seen in the imperial library.

Ethan checked the key contents and compared them with the information obtained from the imperial library.

‘It’s the same.’

The original of Extinction. And it was written about the origin of Extinction.

The part Ethan was most curious about was at the very end.

-Extinction is fundamentally impossible to cure due to its immense power. All I had in mind was only the descent of the Moon Mother. This Extinction shouldn’t be approached simply as a concept of cure. But while wondering if it has any meaning, difficulties arose in finding sacrifices for the ritual, so I leave this cure method in case we need to try again.

“This is it.”

Ethan’s heart beat violently.