Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 433 - Questions

‘Why the Demon Emperor?’

Ethan’s mind became momentarily complex.

He was already well aware of the fact that the Saintess was interfering with the plans of the 1st and 2nd Apostles to prevent a crisis on the continent.

‘But why is the Demon Emperor looking for the Saintess?’

“Do you happen to know the reason?”

“Teacher Ethan Whiskers, I told you about the client out of goodwill. I can’t tell you any more than that.”

“Why so stingy, Roditon! You were uneasy about accepting it! Didn’t you take the request to repay a debt to the Demon Emperor?”

“Shh. Come on, you’re supposed to play hard to get at least once! If I spill everything right away, I’ll look like a pushover.”

“But it’s true, isn’t it?”

“Ah, geez.”

“I’m looking for the Saintess to remove the Extinction within me.” 

At Ethan’s word, Roditon examined Ethan closely.

“Hmm, I knew you had Extinction the moment I saw you. But now that I look closer, it’s strange.”

“The Extinction known to the world is a reinterpretation of my Extinction.”

“You mean it’s the original Extinction?”

Roditon held out his hand.

“May I take a look?”

Ethan grasped Roditon’s hand without hesitation.

In that instant, Roditon saw an immense abyss.

As someone who had seen the subterranean world, Roditon could tell.

That there was a darkness within Ethan even greater than the subterranean world.

However, Roditon remained incredibly calm.

Dodging the massive falling chains, he slowly released Ethan’s hand.

“You’re carrying something terrifying. It’s exactly as Teacher Ethan said. An Extinction deeper than Extinction. Truly worthy of being called the original Extinction!”

Roditon wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Wow, Roditon. This is the first time I’ve seen you break out in a cold sweat.”

“I almost died standing up.”

Roditon, arms crossed, shook his head before speaking.

“It seems like things are tangled up in a complicated way. I wonder if I’ve gotten involved unnecessarily. It looks like the Demon Emperor is really making use of my debt.”

“I told you, didn’t I? Never create debts.”

“I had no choice at the time.”

Roditon clicked his tongue.

“Do you know that the Demon Emperor’s condition is quite strange, Teacher Ethan?”

“I’ve never seen the Demon Emperor.”

“Did you arrive in the Demon Empire recently? Well, anyway, the Demon Emperor’s condition is quite unusual. In the past, as one of the Three Gods, there was a clear aura of brilliance. But now, that’s gone. As if entranced by something. I hear the Saintess and the Demon Emperor meet frequently, and from what I can tell, it seems to have started around that time.”

The ego sword Mary chimed in to Roditon’s words.

“That’s right! It was then, Teacher Ethan! The Demon Emperor became strange from that point on. It’s like he was bewitched by something!”

‘I know they meet periodically.’

“Do they spar?”

“Oh!”

“How did you know?”

Mary made a clapping sound with its mouth, saying the teacher was indeed impressive.

“I heard the results are always a draw. Maybe that day, there was a victor.”

“Perhaps that’s when he felt the need for more power. Could it be that he went mad because of it?”

Roditon nodded at Mary’s words.

“It’s just a guess, but if the Demon Emperor has changed, losing to the Saintess in their fight might have been the trigger.”

“…”

Ethan frowned deeply.

“No need to think about it too seriously, teacher. Anyway, the Demon Emperor said the Saintess must be brought back. Said there’s something that must be entrusted to her. But to me, it didn’t sound like that at all.”

“What do you mean it didn’t sound like that?”

“It sounded more like ‘keep her captive’.”

“Keep her captive?”

“The ‘bring her back’ part didn’t resonate with me. He said there was something to entrust, but didn’t give any details, and it didn’t seem particularly urgent.”

“Roditon might not look like it, but he’s incredibly good at tracking!”

“…”

Ethan pondered for a moment.

The duel between the Demon Emperor and the Saintess.

‘The Demon Emperor was defeated by the Saintess and became obsessed with power.’

The balance of the Three Gods had been broken.

‘The psychological impact could have been substantial.’

And the encroaching tendrils of the Dawn Council. Even the Chancellor of the Holy Empire had fallen to those tendrils.

He had tried to escape that torment by taking his own life.

‘The stronger they are, the more susceptible they become. And the Dawn Council is particularly skilled at that.’

Who would have thought those tendrils would reach even the Demon Emperor, one of the Three Gods?

‘If the 1st and 2nd Apostles encouraged the Demon Emperor… then the Demon Emperor might have helped them in their own way.’

He had thought he only needed to deal with the 1st and 2nd Apostles. He never imagined the number one figure in the Demon Empire would be involved.

‘For now, I’ll focus on finding the Saintess.’

There was no need to think too complexly.

Ethan’s goal was to find the Saintess and cure his Extinction.

‘Find the Saintess and get treated. That’s all I need to do. No need to get caught up in complicated matters.’

He just needed to move simply according to his clear objective.

‘Of course… I’ll need to keep thinking about it.’

It was easier to keep thoughts as thoughts and actions as actions.

“So, Sir Roditon’s goal is to find the Saintess?”

“That’s right, teacher. Well, he said to bring her back, but that’s not something that needs to be done immediately. When we find her, let’s first check if she can cure your condition.”

“Roditon is kinder than he looks.”

“He looks plenty kind at a glance. It’s not that he’s kinder than he looks.”

“Bullshit.”

Roditon quietly took out Mary and repeatedly struck it against the ground.

“Then I’ll be relying on the legendary adventurer Sir Roditon’s expertise.”

‘I thought it would take a long time to find her. But with Roditon joining, things might be different.’

“But teacher, do you have a way to get in? The situation is quite sensitive right now, so I’ve been looking for a separate method.”

“Let’s just sneak in. We can explain everything later, right? Isn’t it better to just go with the flow?”

“The rhythm between you two is quite something.”

“Sigh, anyway, if there’s a method, I’ll follow it. From what I can see, this doesn’t seem like a story where I’ll be the main character.”

Roditon’s eyes sparkled as he said this.

‘As expected of an adventurer. He must see this as another kind of adventure.’

“I’ve already received permission to enter the holy land.”

“Oh.”

“You’re even more capable than Roditon? Roditon, it’s not too late. These days, there are many late-blooming students. Let’s enroll in Ivecar Academy.”

“Welcome, Sir Roditon.”

“…”

Roditon shook his head.

Then he moved beside Ethan and asked carefully.

“By the way, what did you do with the Primordial Evil? You said you just finished, don’t tell me you sealed that Primordial Evil?”

“I didn’t seal it. I have a bit of a talent, so I tamed it.”

“…Pardon?”

“What?”

Even Mary asked back in disbelief.

“Tamed?”

“The taming I know? Domestication? You tamed that Primordial Evil?”

“It’s not perfect.”

“No, taming… was that even possible?”

“Roditon was just testing the waters and threw it out there! As expected of Teacher Ethan!”

“Come on, testing the waters? That hurts, Mary.”

“But it’s true.”

“…True enough. I never thought something like taming would be possible.”

Roditon saw Ethan in a new light.

“Then perhaps… you never came close to death in the Hero’s Tower?”

“Well, there were times.”

“The final gate?”

“That was the most threatening.”

“Now you sound a bit more human. Yes, there should be aspects like that!”

“Feeling a bit more at ease now, Roditon?”

“Hahahahaha-.”

Exchanging various topics, the two, no, three of them soon arrived at the entrance to the holy land.

The entrance leading to the holy land was closed off, guarded by numerous bird-folk forming a defensive line.

“So you’re Lord Ethan Whiskers! We’ve received orders from His Majesty! But this person…”

“This is someone who will be assisting with this matter.”

“Ah, I see! His Majesty instructed us to assist Lord Ethan Whiskers as much as possible. You may use any of our personnel as you need.”

“No, that’s alright. This person and I will be sufficient.”

Roditon made eye contact with the bird-folk with a solemn expression.

“Excuse us.”

***

The holy land.

The city of gods.

“What a desolate place. They called it the city of gods, but instead of a city, there are just a few islands floating in the air.”

“I know. It’s disappointing.”

At first, Ethan had the same reaction.

‘There was nothing in MePan either.’

Ethan first surveyed the surroundings with the Eye of Horus and Sleeping Dragon’s Sight.

Then he focused on his senses.

‘There’s no way there’s nothing here. The city of gods must exist. The 1st and 2nd Apostles knew about it.’

“This is troublesome, where should we start looking? It’s just empty space.”

“Sir Roditon, please start tracking from that direction. There’s something hidden over there.”

“Something hidden, you say?”

Roditon quickly leaped towards the empty space, holding Mary.

“!”

Although it seemed like there was nothing there, up close, there appeared to be some kind of transparent foothold. Roditon, standing on it, looked as if he was standing in midair.

“Please continue.”

Ethan’s eyes glowed.

“…What is this? I clearly can’t sense anything. No magical energy, no artifact energy.”

“What’s going on, Roditon! How are you flying in the air?”

“There’s a foothold. But I can’t sense any energy at all.”

Roditon turned to Ethan in surprise.

“How did you see it?”

Ethan replied.

“I have good eyes.”

The awakened Eye of Horus could see everything that would normally be invisible.

‘Things I couldn’t see and missed in MePan, I can now see them all.’

Roditon stepped forward on the transparent footholds as Ethan indicated.

“From there on is your domain, Sir Roditon. I leave it to you.”

Roditon immediately understood the meaning of those words.

“It’s locked.”

Roditon took something out from his breast pocket.

It was a key.

“The golden key of the God of All Things.”

The key had only one ability.

It could reveal the true nature of anything that was hidden, regardless of what it was.

Click-!

As he pretended to insert the key into the air and turn it, starting from the transparent foothold, the surrounding scenery began to change completely.

‘As expected of a legendary adventurer. Each artifact he uses is on a different level from others.’

Ethan lightly stepped on the foothold and moved towards where Roditon was.

“Excellent.”

“…I don’t think I’m the one who should be praised here.”

“Roditon got overshadowed! Wahahahaha!”

Mary laughed brightly.