Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 441 - Encounter with the Saintess

Boom-!

Every time the human swung his sword, a path was created. Of course, soldiers blocked the way and prevented him from advancing, but that was only temporary.

The human forcefully opened the closed paths and continued to push forward.

As he advanced through the troops at an incredible speed, the distance to the fortress was rapidly shrinking.

“…This is dangerous.”

If this human was a hidden card sent by the Dark Apostle.

This battlefield would end in defeat.

That would mean immediate expulsion.

This city of gods would become a city for the victors. The defeated, like themselves, would never be allowed to return here unless permitted by the victors.

This was that kind of confrontation.

“…”

However, the gods couldn’t actively intervene.

They had already entrusted everything to the Saintess.

It would be the same for the gods on the Dark Apostle’s side. They, too, would be unable to directly intervene in this fight.

All the gods could do was lend their abilities through the soldiers.

“All we can do is wait and believe.”

“You mean hope that human isn’t an enemy of the Saintess?”

“No, hope that the Saintess can stop that human.”

Boom-!

But that hope was shattered in vain.

“…A path has been opened.”

The monster-like human had once again created a path and arrived in front of the fortress.

“Is that really human?”

“The humans I know can’t exert such power. Even if they borrow a god’s power, there are limits to a human body!”

It was an incredible sight even to the gods who had seen countless humans.

The gods quickly approached that human.

“…What?”

And they were shocked even more than before.

“This isn’t… a normal state?”

The monster-like human was not in a normal state.

Something pitch black and sticky was clinging to his entire body. Moreover, dozens of iron chains were coiled inside his body.

“That’s…”

“…A ritual? It’s the ritual humans perform when they try to summon us, to create a suitable body.”

“But that ritual… it’s not one a human can endure. He should already be dead.”

The ritual imbued in this crazed human was not one meant for humans.

Originally, if the human who performed the ritual died, the ritual would be meaningless.

The ritual needs to be completed while the person is alive, but what was on this crazed human’s body was something that would shatter a human the moment the ritual began.

“…What on earth is this?”

“How did he endure that ritual and grow this much?”

However, this crazed human was here, having kicked away all the gods’ expectations.

“Even with such severe physical constraints… he’s this strong?”

The shocked gods now began to marvel at the state of Ethan’s body.

“He built up strength in a body that should have long since died. In a situation where the probability of death was higher than survival, he pursued maximum stability and achieved this much.”

“Indeed, humans are beings that can’t be underestimated.”

Ethan’s terrible physical state and the insane performance that defied it were precisely why the gods couldn’t underestimate humans.

What did this crazed human lack compared to the gods gathered here?

If humans saw this man, they would have no choice but to think of him as a god.

“It’s awe-inspiring. Truly awe-inspiring. Isn’t that current form, having survived by adding possibility upon possibility, a work of art?”

“Is this the time to be impressed?”

“Are you going to shed tears? This isn’t the time for that!”

Boom-!

Ethan finally broke through the blocked path.

“Oh no…”

With that blocked path broken, only one thing remained.

“…He’s reached the front of the fortress.”

Now, only the fortress remained.

***

“I’ve arrived.”

The fortress, the last line of defense. While the watching gods thought only the last defense line remained, for Ethan, it was as good as having reached his destination.

‘The Saintess is in there.’

Ethan firmly planted the two swords he was holding into the ground.

Shunk-.

The two swords went in neatly, perfectly aligned in front of Ethan.

It was an action showing that he had no intention of swinging his swords anymore.

As Ethan took this action, the soldiers who seemed ready to charge at any moment stopped in their tracks.

“Saintess of the Holylight Order!”

He shouted with all his might.

“I am Ethan Whiskers! I’ve come to meet the Saintess!”

For a moment, the surroundings fell silent.

“I am suffering from an illness! To cure this illness! I have been searching for the Saintess for many long years!”

At this point, no flowery words were needed.

He just needed to express what he desperately wanted.

That would be enough for the Saintess.

Ethan didn’t say anything more. The fortress remained quiet with no particular response. Around him, soldiers were poised to attack Ethan with their weapons, but Ethan just stood still.

What was needed now was…

‘Silence.’

The soldiers’ weapons rushed in, nearly reaching his chin.

But Ethan just stood there with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the fortress.

Thud-.

The soldiers stopped moving any further.

At the same time, with a loud sound, the fortress gate opened.

Inside the fortress gate was the person Ethan had been looking for.

“Did you come all this way to meet me?”

The Saintess of the Holylight Order.

‘I’ve finally met her.’

“I’ve been trying for a very long time to meet you, Saintess.”

Ethan said with a smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Saintess.”

The savior was right before his eyes.

***

The Saintess blinked her eyes.

“You have an illness.”

The Saintess was a completely white person.

As if suffering from albinism, her hair, eyebrows, and skin were all white. The only thing of a different color was her eyes, which shone purple.

The Saintess had an appearance more god-like than any of the numerous gods here.

But before being beautiful, she was immensely holy.

“Please come in for now, quickly. We can’t keep the fortress gate open for long. I think you understand the situation.”

Ethan stood there for a moment. Then he took out his bow and shot behind him.

Swish-!

The arrow accurately hit the Apostle’s soldiers behind him.

“Thank you, sir!”

“I almost died looking for romance! Buried alive, at that!”

“These are my companions. May they enter with me?”

Belatedly, Shophrobe Hyer appeared as well. Of course, all of his soldiers had melted away.

“…Yes. Please, come in quickly.”

***

-You have met the Saintess of the Holylight Order!

-You have gained likes for achieving the [Holy Encounter] achievement.

-You have gained ’30’ likes.

It was an overwhelming achievement.

‘The number of likes is even higher than when I met the Emperor.’

An opponent harder to meet than the Emperor. Moreover, it meant that the difficulty was as high as the high-difficulty quests he had cleared recently.

But he had finally met her.

‘It’s been such a long, long journey.’

Even when he learned that the disease afflicting him was Extinction, he already knew the cure.

‘To receive treatment from the Saintess.’

Now he had finally met that Saintess. Ethan felt quite proud. Although he hadn’t been cured yet, meeting the Saintess, who was said to be difficult to meet, was significant in itself.

‘I did it.’

Behind Ethan, who was feeling a sense of accomplishment, Shophrobe Hyer muttered.

“This is unbelievable… I can’t believe we actually succeeded in entering the fortress where the real Saintess is… It was such a massive army, geez…”

Shophrobe Hyer shook his head.

The impossible had become reality.

Leaving that situation behind, the Saintess approached Ethan.

“Mr. Ethan Whiskers, could you tell me the details?”

“It will be quite a long story.”

Ethan replied as he carefully examined the inside of the fortress.

The fortress was smaller than it looked from the outside. But there were over thirty types of magic that he had seen just getting in here.

All those magics prevent enemies from entering the fortress.

And finally, the holy aura emanating from the Saintess.

‘I felt this from the Pope too. But this is incomparable to the Pope.’

The goddess’s blessing enveloped the Saintess’s entire body. With that level of blessing, neither misfortune nor curse could harm her.

“First, it would be good to clarify the situation. One thing for certain is that I am not an enemy of the Saintess.”

“I knew that. I know about you, Mr. Ethan Whiskers. That’s why when I heard your voice.”

The Saintess said.

“And when you remained silent, I opened the door for you.”

The Saintess knew about Ethan Whiskers.

She also knew he had an illness.

“The goddess knows many things, after all.”

She also knew that he desperately wanted to cure his illness.

When Ethan, knowing she was inside the fortress, waited in silence despite his desperation, the Saintess knew for certain.

That Ethan was not an enemy.

“Then you must also know why I came to find you, Saintess.”

“Yes, although I never expected you to come all the way here. This is the deepest and most difficult place to find among all the places I’ve stayed. Moreover, it’s at the most troublesome time.”

The Saintess smiled benevolently.

“If holy power were born as a human, it would look like that. Did you see that smile just now, Mary?”

“I almost left the sword without regret. It’s truly beautiful!”

Roditon and Mary gazed at her fondly.

“Before the long story, could you open the fortress gate for a moment? I’ll resolve things quickly and come back.”

“No.”

The Saintess said.

“We’re not so pressed for time that we can’t talk.”

The Saintess slowly closed her eyes, and immediately a powerful wave spread out from her.

“Battlefield Map.”

Ethan immediately used the Battlefield Map. As he was still participating in the battlefield, the situation of the battlefield was clearly visible.

‘Oh.’

The Saintess’s soldiers were pushing back the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Apostles who had been advancing.

Despite the fact that Ethan, Roditon, and Shophrobe Hyer and their soldiers had made some holes, the formation was quickly restored, and the battlefield regained its previous flow.

‘They’re pushing back again. This will lead to another stalemate.’

In fact, Ethan’s participation hadn’t just negatively affected the Saintess.

Perhaps judging that the Saintess’s side was trying something new due to Ethan’s sudden participation, the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Apostles began to move quite cautiously.

Because of this, the Saintess was able to buy time to recover and push back the enemy forces.

“The situation is settled. Now, please tell me your story.”

The Saintess said, gesturing towards Shophrobe Hyer behind her.

“Everything, and also how much you know, please tell me all of it.”

***

“…What’s this? Someone has intervened.”

“It’s not the intervention of the gods, 1st Apostle. Something is different.”

“…”

The 1st Apostle closed his eyes.

Clearly, someone had intervened on the battlefield. But it wasn’t a god.

If it had been a god’s intervention, they would have known unconditionally.

That was the rule of this battlefield.

“Someone else has entered.”

“Into this city of gods?”

“It could be the Demon Emperor who has been quiet until now.”

“…The Demon Emperor will show up at the crucial moment. It’s probably not the Demon Emperor, 2nd Apostle.”

“Then… who do you think has entered?”

The 1st Apostle clicked his tongue.

“The connection with the chief priest has been cut off. Moon Mother had a strong reaction and gave a strange oracle.”

“…The chief priest might be dead, then.”

“Yes, if the chief priest is dead, there’s only one person who could have killed him.”

“…”

The 2nd Apostle lowered his head.

“Ethan Whiskers.”

“Yes, we made the wrong choice. We should have dealt with Ethan Whiskers as the top priority, even if it meant putting everything else aside.”

The 2nd Apostle frowned at the 1st Apostle’s words.

“But it hasn’t been confirmed that Ethan Whiskers is the one who intervened. And even if it is Ethan Whiskers, doesn’t it not matter? Rather, the fact that he came here itself is his mistake.”

The 1st Apostle nodded at the 2nd Apostle’s words.

“If everything goes well, we can deal with all of it at once.”

But if things don’t go well…

The 1st and 2nd Apostles didn’t bother to imagine failure.

Now that they judged the chief priest to be dead, failing this mission would mean the end of everything.

There was no turning back.

The only thing left was to move forward.

***

Ethan explained step by step.

Excluding the reason for his visit, which she already knew, he explained what she was trying to do now, and the goals of the 1st and 2nd Apostles.

Moon Mother and Moonforce.

It was a complex story, but the Saintess, with her background knowledge, quickly understood.

“You knew almost everything.”

“Yes, I had to grasp the situation.”

“First, I want to say that you’ve really been through a lot. Mr. Ethan Whiskers, you’ve been carrying so much alone. Despite having such a vicious disease, you’ve gone against fate to destroy evil and do good.”

The Saintess said.

Ethan bowed his head slightly in gratitude.

Then he asked.

“I came to ask you to cure my disease, Saintess. Can you cure the Extinction within me?”

Surviving as Ethan Whiskers.

It was the most crucial question.

At Ethan’s question, the Saintess closed her eyes for a moment as if thinking.

Then she opened her eyes.

For a moment, her purple eyes turned towards Ethan.

“Yes, it’s possible.”