Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 443 - Treatment Method

The Saintess could prepare everything needed for the treatment, but there was one thing that Ethan had to prepare himself.

“We need powerful energy. We’ll inject a massive amount of energy into your body at once to deceive your Extinction. We’ll make it believe that the ritual is progressing and your body is changing. That’s my plan to complete the ritual.”

As the ritual nears completion, Ethan’s body would be destroyed from the inside. That’s why Ethan had been preventing the Extinction from progressing further.

‘So we’re essentially skipping most of the ritual process through this powerful energy.’

The plan was to deceive the Extinction into thinking the ritual was already completed by injecting powerful energy.

And at the final stage, the Saintess would share the damage caused by this powerful energy.

“When you say powerful energy, how much are we talking about?”

“We need energy powerful enough to destroy the world. It would normally be difficult to obtain, and it would take quite some time. But it’s possible here. Here, massive amounts of energy are constantly being consumed. You just need to collect that energy.”

This place was the city of gods.

When soldiers are defeated, the mana given by the gods flows out. The idea was to use that mana to fulfill the need for powerful energy.

“The method to collect the energy is very simple. You just need to unleash your Extinction. It will absorb the energy on its own.”

“Understood.”

Until now, Ethan had only been restraining his Extinction.

This was because if the Extinction moved properly, even Ethan couldn’t stop its progression.

So he had to subdue it and keep it dormant before it could run wild.

Ethan always had to maintain control over his body, which was why he had never once let his Extinction loose.

However, the Saintess said that he needed to unleash that very Extinction.

“When those soldiers die, mana flows out. It’s more like a part of the power bestowed by the gods rather than mana.”

“That’s right, Mary consumed it.”

“I have too much energy in my body right now.”

Thanks to absorbing energy instead of blood, Mary hadn’t lost any strength even while breaking through the Saintess’s army.

As a result, Roditon was also able to keep using powerful techniques and follow behind Ethan.

“It won’t be easy. You’ll have to face the Apostles’ soldiers with your Extinction unleashed, and you need to be fast. It shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes at most. You must absorb all the necessary energy within 5 minutes.”

“5 minutes, understood. I’ll finish everything and return within 5 minutes.”

5 minutes. Such a short time.

‘Still, the very fact that I have a method is hopeful.’

Before heading out of the fortress, Ethan spoke.

“How did you decide to thwart the 1st and 2nd Apostles’ plans? It couldn’t have been an easy choice.”

“Someone had to do it. I just happened to find out first and did it.”

Ethan asked again in response to the Saintess’s answer.

“Even though you could die if you fail?”

“I don’t think I’ll fail. I just think that I absolutely must succeed.”

Ethan smiled at those words.

‘That’s so like the Saintess.’

It wasn’t self-sacrifice.

She simply did what needed to be done because she was the first to know, and she believed that once she decided on something, she would definitely succeed.

“Then I’ll go and do what I need to do as well.”

“I’ll prepare for both the treatment and our departure from this city.”

***

“Phew.”

This was essentially the start of the treatment.

“It was difficult enough just getting here for the treatment.”

The treatment itself would be even more difficult.

But Ethan was confident.

‘Our mindsets are quite similar.’

The Saintess’s mindset and Ethan’s mindset had many similarities.

“Who would think about failure first?”

If something seems impossible, instead of thinking about failure and giving up prematurely, they look for ways to succeed.

Ethan looked at the 1st and 2nd Apostles’ soldiers that filled the horizon as far as the eye could see.

The Saintess’s soldiers were continuously fighting against those soldiers.

Tens of thousands against tens of thousands.

In such a large-scale battle, individual soldiers don’t stand out.

“I’ll need to become a general.”

As he moves forward, the 1st and 2nd Apostles will realize that Ethan has come to this city of gods.

‘They might have already noticed. The Moon Mother might have told them. That the chief priest is dead.’

If the chief priest is dead, there’s only one person who could be responsible.

The one who survived and killed the 3rd Apostle, even though they sent the 3rd Apostle after him.

“It can only be me. So they’re probably expecting it.”

Now, their only hope is to obtain the Perfect Divine Body and use it to summon the Moon Mother.

They have nowhere else to retreat.

“I have nowhere to retreat either.”

Because neither side had anywhere to retreat, they had to occupy each other’s space to survive.

“Let’s go.”

Ethan closed his eyes.

From now on, he had to do something he had never experienced before.

He found the Extinction within his body. The Extinction was tightly bound within Ethan’s body.

Ethan loosened those bindings.

Then he remained still.

In that moment, the Extinction stirred and began to spread rapidly throughout his entire body.

“Ugh.”

A groan escaped for a moment, but Ethan shook once and firmly planted his feet on the ground.

“Run wild as you please. You’re doing what you were originally meant to do, Extinction.”

Ethan said.

“I’ll give you exactly 5 minutes.”

***

“Oh Apostles of Darkness.”

“The situation has already tilted greatly.”

“What’s important is one powerful strike. Focus. Focus endlessly! Aren’t you here to revive the god you believe in?”

The gods on the side of the 1st and 2nd Apostles laughed and provoked them.

“…How vulgar.”

The 2nd Apostle muttered with a deeply furrowed brow.

The 1st Apostle stopped the 2nd Apostle.

To win this war, they needed the power of those gods no matter what.

Dealing with the gods could wait until after that.

“We absolutely need the Perfect Divine Body.”

“Understood, 1st Apostle.”

The 1st and 2nd Apostles focused on the battlefield.

Despite having waged war for quite some time, neither showed any signs of fatigue.

On the other hand, the Saintess’s side was gradually deteriorating. This was partly because quite a few gods had switched over to the 1st and 2nd Apostles’ side, but more importantly, their concentration was faltering as the war dragged on.

Holes were appearing here and there.

They focused on injecting soldiers into those holes to disrupt the formation.

If one side collapses, it greatly affects the other side, so the two Apostles concentrated on targeting that weak point.

The Saintess was alone while they were two. Eyes on the battlefield and concentration. As time passed, the difference in all these aspects was bound to widen.

“Oh ho.”

“It seems they’ve certainly become more accustomed to the battlefield.”

“If you can only do this much with my ability, I’ll switch sides anytime!”

“Still, the God of Intense Cold chose her Apostle quite well.” (+) ^[1] TLN: God of Intense Cold (짙은 냉기의 신) can also be translated as God of Dark Cold

The gods were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The forces of the 1st and 2nd Apostles surged forward, pushing back the Saintess’s forces.

“Oh!”

“Oh, isn’t this the first time we’ve pushed them back this far?”

“We’re just one step away from that fortress now. Just one more step and it’s over.”

“Focus!”

Despite the gods’ commentary, the 1st and 2nd Apostles remained calm. They were so focused that they could no longer hear the gods’ words.

But then.

Crack-.

A problem arose in the diagonal section of the 1st and 2nd Apostles’ forces.

Boom-!

With a thunderous sound, that area exploded and cold air spread out.

As soon as he saw the cold air, the 2nd Apostle’s eyes widened.

The hand he had been spreading out as if commanding tensed up.

“Ethan Whiskers.”

Though incredibly similar to the Moon Mother’s power, it was utterly alien.

The cold unique to Moonforce was spreading.

“So it has come to this after all.”

The 1st Apostle said. From beginning to end. Everything related to Ethan had gone in the worst possible direction.

Things they thought weren’t true all turned out to be true, and things they thought could be postponed were absolutely not to be postponed.

Only when he finally appeared before them did the two Apostles realize.

That they should have killed him long ago.

“There’s no way he should be able to… use Moonforce’s power like that.”

“Didn’t we eliminate everything related to Moonforce? We should have erased everything, not even leaving a trace…!”

The 2nd Apostle ground his teeth.

The Moonforce that had separated from the Moon Mother had built up her own domain over quite a long period.

And as she built up her domain, the Moon Mother’s power diminished.

That’s why the two Apostles had erased all traces of Moonforce from the continent.

They thought they had erased everything, and yet…

“To use power to that extent… It means Ethan Whiskers has revived the Moonforce cult to some degree.”

“In such a short time?”

It wasn’t long ago that the 1st and 2nd Apostles had crossed over to the Demon Empire, and their stay in the Demon Empire had been quite brief.

There was no Moonforce cult in the Holy Empire where they had been until recently.

There was no temple, no believers.

“A misjudgment. We have no choice but to accept it.”

The 1st Apostle quickly assessed the situation.

“…Ethan Whiskers didn’t come all this way simply to kill us, did he?”

“There are probably two reasons. One is us, and the other is the Saintess.”

“Treatment, you mean.”

“Which means we still have a chance.”

It was their last chance.

A chance to overturn all their previous mistakes in one go.

“We’ll go out ourselves.”

This was no time to move soldiers and have them fight in their stead.

“What are you doing!”

“You’re the leaders! Don’t you know the war is over if the leaders go out and get taken down?”

As the 1st and 2nd Apostles tried to leave the fortress, the gods shouted.

The 1st Apostle looked at the gods with emotionless eyes.

“Staying here is slowly tightening the noose around my neck. It’s like a leisurely suicide. I have no desire to die yet. There’s still much to do.”

“You stupid fools, do you have such little eye for the battlefield?”

“What?”

“If we just wait here, everything will be over!”

Leaving the gods behind, the two Apostles quickly exited the fortress.

***

“They’ll rush out as soon as they see me. Those two will know for sure. They’ll realize everything as soon as they see me.”

Who killed the chief priest.

That this war will end if they don’t come out to stop him personally.

That they need to deal with Ethan themselves while they still have soldiers left.

That’s why Ethan planned to retreat before the 1st and 2nd Apostles arrived. Ethan was given exactly 5 minutes. He planned to obtain the necessary energy within those 5 minutes and return to the fortress.

‘I’ll face those two after that.’

He intended to fight after treating his Extinction.

“Ugh.”

However, the pain was considerable.

Moreover, the rapidly progressing Extinction was greatly disrupting his body’s balance.

But the mana coming in from the defeated soldiers was strengthening his body.

‘The Extinction ritual itself is about extremely strengthening the body after all.’

Strengthening and recovery.

Between those two was tremendous pain.

Ethan clenched his teeth tightly.

His teeth were on the verge of cracking, but without doing this, it would be difficult to endure the pain.

Even amidst the pain, Ethan swung his sword.

With each swing, the surroundings filled with cold air. On the frozen ground, Ethan continued to swing his sword.

Massive amounts of energy continued to pour into Ethan’s body.

The amount was considerable since he was killing numerous soldiers at once. It was an amount that would normally be unbearable, but the Extinction grudgingly swallowed that energy.

‘The pain is tremendous, but so is the exhilaration.’

With these contradictory feelings swirling within him, Ethan was experiencing utter confusion. He could lose consciousness from the overwhelming pain, but whenever that happened, Ethan breathed.

Immortality – Hero’s Breath.

On top of that, he quickly inserted needles to alleviate the pain.

‘As long as I don’t lose consciousness, it’s fine.’

Boom-! Crack-!

With the Extinction unleashed, its ritual was progressing moment by moment. Ethan in this state was so strong that even the Saintess watching from inside the fortress was taken aback.

“…To think he’s this powerful.”

That power was precisely what she would have to shoulder together with him.

“Phew.”

But that was for later. That overwhelming power was pushing back the 1st and 2nd Apostles’ soldiers significantly.

That power was so extraordinary that it had pushed the enemy forces back to the Hill of Gods, an escape route they hadn’t been able to reclaim for a long time.

At this rate, victory was certain.

“But you know, Lady Saintess.”

“I apologize, Sir Roditon, but given the current situation, it’s quite difficult for me to respond.”

Thud-.

“I clearly entrusted you with a request. But in the end, I handled it myself. So the debt remains unchanged.”

“W-What is this…!”

The startled Roditon immediately raised Mary.

“Did you have a good dream, Saintess?”

The Demon Emperor had arrived.

• 1. TLN: God of Intense Cold (짙은 냉기의 신) can also be translated as God of Dark Cold