CHAPTER 290: TO THE HEADQUARTERS

“We dreamed of a new world, our God. We hoped that you would create a new world for us.”

In the underground prison of Rimu territory.

After sharing the issue with Baron Hendan, Ethan was listening to the story from a senior member of the Rosicrucian Order who was imprisoned in the underground dungeon.

This place was not only the deepest part of the underground prison but also had separate artifacts installed, making it extremely difficult to find from the outside.

‘Even if the Rosicrucian Order knows, it would be hard for them to find.’

“I know that much. Then you split into two, with one side becoming the Dawn Council, called the Followers of the Moon, and you broke away under the name Rosicrucian Order.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Noticad nodded.

“We have been doing various things until now, inheriting the will of our founder, Sundrake…”

Noticad’s words were very similar to the content of the book Ethan had seen in the imperial library.

Of course, the details differed here and there, but it was certain that Noticad was not lying.

‘I should ask the most important thing.’

It was Noticad’s position.

“So, Noticad, what position do you hold in the Rosicrucian Order?”

“I am honored to say that I hold the highest position… specifically, the role of vice president. Since the president is eternally Sundrake, I am essentially leading the Rosicrucian Order.”

‘Oh?’

That meant this Noticad was the head of the Rosicrucian Order.

‘An unexpected big fish.’

“Then you’re saying you’re the president? Does that mean you personally spread and led the Extinction? You must have been the one who gave me this Extinction too. You’re talking as if you don’t know me.” Ɍ𝐀Nо₿Е𝙨

“The truth is… at that time, we were backed into a corner. So we recklessly spread the unrefined Extinction. And I was just one of the executives at that time.”

“There must have been many others suffering from Extinction besides me.”

“Yes, there were many. But they all died. Extinction is not something that can be endured with a human body. The only one who survived is… you.”

Now everything made sense.

Unless a god directly descended, it would be impossible to withstand the original Extinction, so it was understandable in a way that Noticad mistook a god to have dwelt in Ethan’s body.

‘What a convenient notion.’

But at the same time, it accurately pierced Ethan’s current state.

A god had indeed dwelt.

After all, the power of numerous gods dwelt in Ethan’s body right now.

“So you thought I would have died naturally and left me alone?”

“The person in charge of that task died. There was a major reshuffling. Also, because the Dawn Council keeps interfering with our work…”

“The Dawn Council is interfering?”

‘It’s the first time I’ve heard that the Dawn Council is interfering with the Rosicrucian Order. Does that mean the apostles have been handling it on their own?’

The fact that Ethan didn’t know meant they were proceeding covertly to prevent the story from leaking out.

“Even if you split up due to disagreement, is there a reason for that?”

“Because they fear our success. At the same time, they want to steal our success.”

In the end, the two groups have the same purpose.

Only their methods differ.

One side with Extinction.

The other side by gathering the power of the gods.

“If we succeed, it would prove that their method was wrong… We have lost many of the experiences we’ve accumulated so far. That’s why we didn’t even know that you had descended into that body. Of course… we didn’t think that a human possessing the original consciousness would still be alive.”

Noticad looked at Ethan with sparkling eyes.

‘What an incredible body this was.’

That talent that had shone since childhood.

There was a reason for that talent.

‘I wonder how much talent will unfold when Extinction is cured.’

“So? How do you cure this disease?”

“That’s not a disease. It’s consciousness. It’s not something to be fixed.”

“…Does that mean I need to complete this consciousness to cure it? If we’re being precise?”

“That’s right. When it’s completed and the vessel is made, the god will perfectly descend.”

“Then let me ask differently. How does this consciousness work on my body to make it a vessel?”

In response to Ethan’s question, Noticad drew up mana.

“Ah, no. I’m not trying to resist, I’m trying to explain. About how this consciousness was created. You’re curious about how this consciousness acts on the body to kill people like a disease, right?”

“That’s right.”

The mana that poured out from Noticad’s gesture began to create something.

What was soon completed was a human body.

“The gods possess tremendous power. That’s why they can’t have a big influence on this world. So they need a vessel that matches that power. They need a physical body to influence this world.”

Therefore, that vessel needed to be able to hold tremendous power.

“It’s about strengthening the soul and body to accept powerful energy. That’s the purpose of this consciousness.”

“I heard that it creates a vessel by annihilating all the mana in the body and removing the soul.”

“No. It might look that way from a certain perspective, but if we damage the body, of course, the gods won’t be able to enter. That would be no different from a broken doll. We’re elevating it. To a body worthy of the gods.”

“…So because you’re trying to elevate a human body to one worthy of the gods in a short period, that’s what happens.”

Since the body can’t handle it, all the mana that should dwell in the body fails to settle, and even the soul seems to be shaken out.

“Yes, that’s right. We pushed too hard to create a vessel that could handle the descent of a god. We should have gradually progressed the consciousness to allow the body to adapt…”

“There’s no way it could withstand being strengthened all at once.”

“Yes.”

Ethan sighed at those words.

“So you refined Extinction. And I endured the original Extinction that was supposed to be unbearable.”

“Yes… that’s why we thought the god had directly descended. That’s probably right. It seems you haven’t fully regained your memories yet, Mr. Ethan Whiskers, but you are a person with a part of the god dwelling in you. In other words, you are the god itself.”

Noticad already believed that Ethan was a god.

“That means the consciousness… has half succeeded! We weren’t wrong… it means we properly inherited the will left by Sundrake! The consciousness… has succeeded.”

“Yes, it half succeeded. Because I survived like this. But I’m dying.”

“…Pardon?”

Noticad made a surprised expression.

“May, may I take a closer look?”

Ethan held out his hand, and Noticad carefully took it and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, he opened his mouth wide.

“Oh my… You, you really are dying. What is this… Does this mean the consciousness didn’t succeed? No, that can’t be. At least half should have succeeded. Then there’s no way you should be dying like this…”

Noticad couldn’t understand this situation.

At least half of the consciousness had succeeded. He tried to understand Ethan’s situation based on this.

But with Ethan’s body in this state, wasn’t it a complete failure? No, rather than failing, it was just still carrying the consciousness.

“I can’t… understand the situation.”

“Is there a need to understand?”

Ethan said.

“It’s a simple matter. There’s only one thing I’m curious about. This Extinction, can it be cured?”

“…”

Noticad’s eyes wavered at Ethan’s words. Many things crossed the mind of the man who had said it needed to be completed, not cured.

“There is.”

And he gave a definite answer.

“As I just said, if we perfectly succeed with the consciousness, the pressure it gives will disappear. Right now, Mr. Ethan’s body is in the process of becoming a vessel for the god, but it seems the body is too powerful and is pushing back against the consciousness.”

“Are you saying I should become a vessel for the god?”

“Yes, you are to become the vessel for the god. We can help. We will help based on everything the Rosicrucian Order has accumulated. I can’t guarantee success, but I can assure you that your condition can improve at least a little from its current state.”

Ethan listened to his words and was certain.

‘There is no complete cure.’

These people seemed to have definitely abandoned Extinction.

‘In fact, they’ve given up hope in Extinction. That’s why they revived the 6 demons.’

And in the midst of that, Ethan appeared.

‘So they can’t help but think of me as hope.’

Ethan grinned.

‘This is rather good. It’s nothing short of a big opportunity for me.’

Ethan knows these people. He knows what they’ve been doing, and he knows their goals.

‘On top of that, they regard me as a god.’

If so, using them would be the best option.

“Lead the way.”

“Are, are you coming with us?”

“First, let me ask. What do you want from me?”

At Ethan’s question, Noticad hesitated for a moment. He thought the answer would come out right away, but it wasn’t easy to choose his words.

“Lord Sundrake hoped that the ancient god we believe in would come to this land. He believed that when that god came, a great flood would occur on the continent bringing a new world, and we could become the masters of that world. The Rosicrucian Order has continued following that will, but.”

Noticad’s words continued.

“But in today’s Rosicrucian Order, there’s no one left who wants to carry on that will. Only desperation remains. Revenge for those who died, the destruction of the continent. There’s no longer any greater cause there.”

Noticad sighed for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

“We’re just moving for the reason that we shouldn’t stop here.”

The reason for running and the reason for stopping have both become vague.

“Now all we have left is the consciousness to create a vessel for the god to descend. Only the ritual of descent remains.”

“Is that why you revived the 6 demons?”

“Yes.”

Noticad nodded.

“So we need… a clear goal.”

“What kind of goal do you need?”

“…Repentance.”

It was an unexpected answer.

The founder of the Rosicrucian Order, Sundrake, was certainly an evil person.

However, in the process of passing down through generations, that will became vague and weathered, and they soon lost their purpose.

Only the goal of destroying the continent remained.

‘Why do we need to destroy it? If asked that, they probably couldn’t answer.’

When the reason and purpose disappeared, only the goal remained.

‘Nevertheless, they have continued to commit evil deeds. That’s not something that can be forgiven.’

Still, Noticad desired repentance.

“Does everyone feel the same?”

“No, it’s just me.”

“Lead the way. To your headquarters.”

He’ll receive whatever treatment they can offer.

‘Only the direction has changed. The fundamentals are no different from the Dawn Council.’

Ethan looked at Noticad with the Eye of Horus and Sleeping Dragon’s Sight.

‘I can see what he’s thinking.’

“I’ll guide you right away.”

***

Unlike the Dawn Council, the Rosicrucian Order didn’t have a clear headquarters.

Anyway, wherever they settled, they would be discovered and attacked by the Dawn Council, so they periodically moved their headquarters.

This time’s headquarters was quite far from the capital, and very close to the starting point, Rimu territory.

“To set up headquarters in a place like this. That’s bold. Baron Hendan couldn’t have not known about this.”

“We have connections with some of the baron’s retainers.”

An ordinary-looking residential area.

As soon as Ethan entered the residential area, he could feel numerous magic spells set up all around.

“This is the magic of our Rosicrucian Order, passed down from previous generations.”

Boom-.

As Noticad raised his hand, the ground began to open up.

“Welcome to the Rosicrucian Order, our God.”

Noticad took a deep breath.

“Before we go in, there’s something I’d like to say. About that repentance I mentioned earlier.”

“I was also planning to speak before going in.”

Ethan naturally drew his sword and cut down Noticad.

“Wh-why…”

“You’ve killed countless people. And you revived the 6 demons. For someone who said they wanted to repent… that was quite extreme. It’s too late to pretend to repent.”

“Cough…”

Noticad coughed up blood and fell forward. There was no way he could withstand being cut with Ethan Swordsmanship at full power.

“How…”

“Stirring up emotions, that’s quite a specialty of mine too.”

“…”

Noticad looked at Ethan with bloodshot eyes.

“Then… if I had spoken of repentance sincerely…”

“Ah, I’ll say it again. It’s too late even for sincere repentance, Noticad.”

Ethan smirked and raised his sword to end Noticad’s life, then immediately jumped into the underground.

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