Subscriber of the Gods

Chapter 28

“After sending the princess to the royal family, Princess Lea ceased to be my daughter.”

The foster mother explained briefly.

She had raised her for 18 years before sending her to the royal family.

She had raised her with love as if she were her own daughter.

But ever since Lea Martinez went to the royal family, knowing her true lineage, she no longer called her “mother” as before.

“Perhaps it was the command of the royal family. The princess of the kingdom should not address a commoner like me as her mother.”

‘She had such a poignant expression.’

Indeed, last night the princess had a deeply emotional expression.

Various emotions were conveyed in her statement that she couldn’t save her foster mother herself.

‘Even if it was a command from the royal family, it doesn’t justify everything.’

Ethan muttered, suspecting the extent of the royal family’s coercion that he was unaware of.

As Ethan hesitated, she asked again, tilting her head slightly.

“Did that child, I mean, the princess, really call me ‘mother’?”

“Yes, she clearly asked me to save her foster mother.”

“….”

However, she still wore an expression of disbelief.

“For now, please leave. It’s too dangerous here.”

Ethan thought that not being able to save her foster mother was her regretful past.

But now that he had met her foster mother in person, he felt that there must be more to it.

‘Even if I hadn’t come here, the princess’s foster mother would have survived.’

In other words, it meant that her regret stemmed not from failing to protect her foster mother, but from something else.

Ethan clicked his tongue softly.

‘What is it?’

Kwaaaaaang-!

At that moment, a loud noise erupted from outside.

Startled by the sudden sound, she trembled.

During her time in the basement, she hadn’t heard such noises before.

“For now, let’s get out of here.”

Ethan held her tightly and quickly led her outside.

Kwaang! Whoooosh!

Fire surged in all directions and the sound of buildings collapsing filled the air.

“Kuaaak!”

“Prin-Princess!”

“Step back!”

The sound of screams echoed.

Looking up, they saw burning meteors falling from the sky, heading straight above Ethan’s head.

Ethan, holding the princess’s foster mother, swung his sword.

In the face of this ordeal, Ethan would never have been able to strike before, but the current Ethan was different.

Swoosh!

With a swift motion, he deflected the meteor that would have hit the neighboring building.

“Let’s go to a safe place.”

Ethan guided the princess’s foster mother to a distant location for safety.

‘The quest is not over.’

He brought the princess’s foster mother to a safe place.

However, the trials were far from over.

“In the end, it’s the Fire Dragon King after all.”

Indeed, this wasn’t the clear condition of the quest.

Ethan immediately headed to the square where the Fire Dragon King resided.

The reclamation forces that came together rescued the citizens of Reichardt and moved them outside. Only the reclamation forces and the Fire Dragon King remained in the square, as others had already become the Fire Dragon King’s prey.

-Roarrr! Embrace the baptism of fire!

At the center of it all were the Fire Dragon King and Princess Lea. Princess Lea displayed incredible swordsmanship, exerting pressure on the Dragon King.

It was an unbelievable display of swordsmanship, almost beyond human capabilities.

“O Goddess, grant me strength.”

She was truly engulfed in flames.

-You’re using power beyond your limits. You’ve disappointed me, human. You thought you were better than the other insects, but you only think about dying together. You’re no different from the rest of them.

The Fire Dragon King mocked her and spewed fireballs toward her.

Princess Lea swung her sword and froze the fireballs in mid-air.

Crackle!

The Fire Dragon King’s roaring flames clashed repeatedly with the icy cold emanating from Princess Lea.

Princess Lea had an expression of immense pain on her face.

Only Princess Lea could withstand the overwhelming power of the Fire Dragon King.

The other members of the reclamation forces were gradually becoming exhausted and collapsing.

“Huuuk.”

Lea took a deep breath.

She then focused her strength on her sword and gathered the cold energy.

“Frost – Breath of Frost.”

It was her most destructive sword technique.

Upon witnessing her action, the Fire Dragon King opened its jaws wide and unleashed a powerful stream of flames.

Crackle!

The clash between the cold energy and the flames ensued.

In the end, it was Lea who was pushed back.

However, at that moment, Ethan stepped forward and caught Lea, preventing her from being pushed back further.

“Wh-why are you here?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve taken her somewhere safe.”

-So, you’re that insect from earlier.

The Fire Dragon King, Siegmund, opened his jaws wide.

Flames flickered within, infused with tremendous power.

Whoosh!

Breath.

The inferno, capable of consuming everything, was unleashed directly toward Ethan.

-Become ash, you insect.

Princess Lea wore an expression of despair.

She realized that she should have resolved this herself… but because she couldn’t, everyone would end up dead.

Including Ethan Whiskers, who should have escaped with her foster mother.

“No, it can’t be.”

Her body began to glow, and tremendous energy started gathering within her battered form.

It felt like the energy could explode at any moment.

However, the Fire Dragon King paid no attention to her.

He was still fixated on the flames that refused to die out.

-Human.

The voice of the Fire Dragon King grew softer.

Within those flames, Ethan’s eyes gleamed.

-You have suffered extreme burns.

-The [Gourmet] trait is activated.

-Condition: Burned – Power increases due to burns.

-You have been burned by the flames of the Fire Dragon King, Siegmund, the Flame Lord.

‘I only have to hold out once.’

Ethan consumed all the potions he had, allowing him to withstand the attacks of the Fire Dragon King.

That was all he needed.

Having obtained burns from the flames of Siegmund, the Flame Lord, his Gourmet trait was pushed to its limits.

Ethan tightly gripped Dinalychus.

‘I see it.’

Siegmund, the Fire Dragon King, was undoubtedly a being unlike any other monster.

But in the end, he was still just a monster. The Monsters’ Calamity trait had been triggered.

Of course, that didn’t make him an easy opponent.

‘It’s too small.’

Among the enemies Ethan had faced, the Beast King, who had the highest level, was far surpassed by the Fire Dragon King.

His weaknesses seemed minuscule, and it felt impossible to penetrate them.

‘Still, I can see it. It’s not completely invisible! That’s enough!’

“Huuuuk.”

Thanks to the Hero’s Breathing and various buff potions, power surged through Ethan’s body.

‘Giant’s Strength, along with the power gained from this Gourmet trait.’

The Dragon King’s attacks were fierce enough to cross the threshold of death.

However, Ethan’s offensive power had skyrocketed exponentially.

Stab!

Ethan’s sword moved like a beam of light, piercing through the Dragon King’s scales.

-You pierced my scales?

With the Fire Dragon King’s astonishment, Ethan withdrew his sword.

Without stopping there, he relentlessly thrust his sword repeatedly.

He had to target the exact weak points. Otherwise, he would never be able to penetrate those scales.

Stab!

He struck once more, delivering a solid blow.

The Fire Dragon King winced in pain and retreated.

‘One more time.’

Ethan continued his attacks without letting his guard down.

As he continued the assault, he had to properly control the speed of the Whiskers’ swordsmanship, which accelerated with each strike. If he couldn’t control it effectively, his attacks might bounce off and miss their mark.

Nevertheless, Ethan maximized his speed as much as possible.

His relentless movements were a testament to his confidence that he would never strike in the wrong place.

-Keugh! Human, I have no choice but to acknowledge your incomprehensible power! But can you withstand this!?

Dragon King Siegmund spread his wings in an instant, creating a gust of wind.

-Hell of Firewind.

The heat was suffocating.

The intense wind was so strong that even standing on the ground became difficult.

“Oh, Moon Goddess.”

At the same time, a voice came from behind Ethan. Princess Lea was holding the sword with both hands pressed against her chest.

Princess Lea closed her eyes and quietly murmured as if praying to a god.

Her ultimate strike, exchanging her life for it.

“Moonforce.”

Shaaaaaah!

In an instant, the gust of wind subsided. Simultaneously, intense cold spread around, suppressing the Fire Dragon King’s ability to use magic.

-That power! The power of that goddess…!

Ethan didn’t miss this opportunity.

With the glowing red spot on the forehead clearly visible, he forcefully thrust his sword into it.

Fire Dragon King Siegmund writhed for a moment before his massive body collapsed.

Kwaaang!

-The Fire Dragon King Siegmund has been slain!

-Level up!

-The trial has ended!

-The quest has ended!

As soon as the Fire Dragon King fell, the surrounding scenery began to crumble.

However, Ethan couldn’t smile.

‘No, something’s not right. This doesn’t feel like a complete clear.’

Ethan instinctively realized it.

This wasn’t a perfect quest completion.

The surroundings were disappearing, but he didn’t feel the sense of accomplishment he expected.

‘’It said ‘end’, not ‘clear’.’

Ethan looked at the fallen Princess Lea.

‘It asked me to resolve the regret of the tomb’s owner. This isn’t the answer either.’

“Please, hold on.”

With all his strength, Ethan ran while carrying the dying Princess Lea.

He arrived at the place where her foster mother was waiting.

Gently placing the bloodied Princess Lea on the ground, her foster mother silently shed tears.

Princess Lea, who had lost consciousness due to the speed at which they ran, opened her eyes upon feeling the tears falling down her face.

“Lea, my daughter, my beloved daughter.”

Princess Lea looked at her foster mother and then contorted her face.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry… Mother.”

The disappearing landscape began to change.

The crumbling scenery that was collapsing and falling apart now turned into dust, slowly dissipating and scattering.

‘The princess has already surpassed her limits. I cannot save her.’

However, unlike before, when it seemed like she would die at any moment, the princess now appeared to be quite well.

“I misunderstood, Mother. I thought you had made up your mind to send me away. Since I did everything you told me not to do, and when it was revealed that I had royal blood, I thought you liked it. Because I could be sent away. So, so…”

“No. No, my daughter. I didn’t want to send you away. I was afraid you would be hurt if I sent you away with a crying face…”

Her regret was that she couldn’t call her foster mother “Mother” after she left for the royal family until her death.

She should have not been stubborn.

She should have taken a step back.

The regret of not saying those words weighed heavily on her.

Princess Lea laughed through her tears.

The words she had wanted to say so badly. She finally got to say them.

“Thank you so much for raising me… truly.”

“Thank you for becoming my daughter. Now, you can rest easy.”

“Even if I were to be born again… as your daughter…”

Lea’s foster mother held Princess Lea’s hand.

Gradually, the strength began to fade from Princess Lea’s hand.