Surviving without God

It felt as if he had awakened from an extremely long sleep. Gunther stood there in a daze and looked around. It was the room where he had spent the last several days. Apparently someone had carefully laid him on the bed.

“Damn it, what the hell is going on...”

His throat was dry, and there was a hollow emptiness inside him, like the aftermath of savage hunger. Still, it was tolerable.

[Special modification: “Abstinent Stomach” protects your mind from status ailments and hunger]

All thanks to that dangerous procedure Sharin Vega had performed. Swaying slightly, Gunther hurried into the corridor. He had to find the platoon members and Mari.

The wing of the estate was flooded with pale moonlight. As soon as he took a few steps, cold air and noise struck him at once. All the windows had been shattered.

“A-a-a-a-a!”

“Waa-a-a-a!”

The ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) scene beyond the broken window looked unreal. Across the vast grounds of the estate, people drenched in blood were gnawing and tearing each other apart. The flames devouring the main mansion illuminated the nightmare clearly even in the darkness. Gunther instinctively tried to find familiar faces in that hell, but his gaze froze on its own.

“What the hell is that?”

In the very center of the garden, as if oblivious to the chaos raging around it, stood a blue-black altar. The woman chained to it looked familiar. Hair shining gold even in the darkness.

“Moretia...”

The very young lady of the Bellamor house whom he had believed to be connected with Albino. Trembling with rage and betrayal, she screamed dreadful words at someone.

“You filthy liar! You told me I was the vessel! You said I was suitable!”

“Do you have any idea what I did for you?! How dare you! How dare you!!!”

“I’ll curse you even after I die! Even if my bones turn to dust, I’ll never take my eyes off you!”

It was a heart-rending scream that would remain in memory for a lifetime. Yet the man those curses were meant for remained completely calm.

“Hm.”

Albino was strolling peacefully through the garden. In his left hand he held the lifeless hand of one of the maids.

Only then did Gunther realize.

All that slaughter happening throughout the estate... where exactly the blood and souls were being absorbed.

Mari’s body convulsed violently. Albino, watching with satisfaction, burst into thunderous laughter.

“My apologies, Lady Moretia. But what can I do if the hunger of this maid is far fiercer. For the one preparing the banquet, it is only natural to choose a vessel capable of holding more.”

And finally Mari, who had been unconscious, opened her eyes. At that moment Albino released his grip.

Thump—

Collapsing to the ground, Mari clutched her stomach and screamed in pain like a woman in labor. Her twisted fingers clawed at the earth. Her nails tore loose, blood seeping out, but she seemed not to feel the pain—her bloodshot eyes stared only ahead.

“A-a-a-a-a!”

At that moment everyone watching felt what was about to happen.

“No. No, really. I don’t want to eat. I won’t. A-a-a...”

Albino simply watched.

Gunther sprinted down the corridor with all his strength. Screams and groans echoed everywhere, but Mari’s voice sounded strangely clear.

“Please forgive me! Guntra, Guntra, where are you! Help me! Please! Guntra-a-a!”

A sinister energy was rapidly accumulating within Mari’s body. Her mind was drowning in a fog of hunger.

At some point Gunther froze.

He saw Mari standing before Moretia, who was paralyzed with terror.

A face soaked in tears. Teeth. Screams. Blood and flesh. Albino’s jubilation filled the entire garden.

Only now did Gunther truly understand.

This was the very scene that had actually occurred here a hundred years ago.

Boom!

The illusion collapsed, and the world around him began to crumble. Gunther instinctively understood what he had to do.

[Everything within Bellamor Estate has been sacrificed at the Feast of the Devouring God]

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[...Would you like to read “Feast of the Devouring God”?]

[Understanding of “Feast of the Devouring God” has increased]

[Mastery of skill “Vision of the Heavenly Mechanism” (Lv.1) increases rapidly]

[“Vision of the Heavenly Mechanism” has reached Level 2]

[Certain restrictions that existed within the illusion zone are loosened]

[You have died]

[Counting number of deaths]

[19/99]

***

In his nineteenth life, Gunther finally reached the truths he had longed for.

To his surprise, the one who had secretly maintained contact with Luthien all this time was Moretia—the one everyone believed to be the victim.

She herself had wished to become the “vessel.”

Gunther, having read the structure of the “Feast of the Devouring God,” intuitively understood what that meant.

A vessel was a living container used for the temporary storage of divine power. According to Luthien doctrine, on the coming “Day of Descent,” the vessel would return the sealed power to the god, and in exchange receive eternal prosperity in the “World of Light.”

Naturally, until that moment arrived, the vessel in the mortal world possessed life beyond that of humans—and power beyond imagination.

Moretia must have desired this so desperately that she was willing to sacrifice her entire family. But she was not the one chosen. Albino selected Mari, and Moretia—who had been used until the very end—was ultimately consumed by her.

Mari’s self-awareness had no chance of surviving after she “ate” the souls and blood of everyone in the mansion, including Moretia—the powerful sorceress. She passed through a chain of collapses and personality fractures.

And at the end of that path was born the monster of the Border City—

“Kate.”

The secrets of the hidden stage he had wanted to know poured out like a flood.

But strangely, right now all of it felt completely insignificant to Gunther.

[Returning to Save Point No.12]

Gunther slowly opened his eyes. A trembling voice pierced his ears.

“I... I’m so hungry...”

At this save point, cruelly short, Gunther lingered for a moment looking at Mari. He clearly saw the bite marks on her forearm.

A child who bit herself to avoid hurting others had eventually become the monster that devoured everyone in this mansion.

All because of those bastards.

“G-Guntra!”

This time he would not fall for it.

Although his physical attributes were heavily debuffed and most of his skills were sealed, he was not naïve enough to be caught by the same sudden attack twice.

Gunther sharply tilted his head, letting the crushing weapon whistle past the back of his skull.

“...What?!”

His opponent was a paladin. It seemed the moment Albino began the ritual, he had rushed here to seize Mari.

“First, we have to get out of here.”

Right now he was alone, but dozens would arrive in an instant.

Whoosh—

Gunther used the momentum of his dodge to accelerate his body and pivot. In the next moment his leg hooked behind the opponent’s knee. He precisely calculated the direction of the joint’s break and—

Crack!

Dropped his full weight onto it.

“Khaa-a-a!”

The paladin collapsed, clutching his shattered knee. But a cry escaped Gunther’s mouth as well.

“Khek!”

It was the price for breaking the maid “role.” Together with a terrible surge of hunger, his consciousness blurred for a moment.

But he endured.

[Vision of the Heavenly Mechanism (Lv.2)]

You are granted insight allowing you to see through the flows of any magical formations, barriers, and illusions. The opened heavenly mechanism interprets numerous laws and structures, increasing resistance to chaos and deception.

Thanks to the level increase of “Vision of the Heavenly Mechanism” to two, resistance has increased. Additionally, “Reading” has softened the restrictions.

Gunther seized the paladin’s sword and stood before the terrified Mari, who had backed into a corner.

“U-u-u-u...”

“It’s alright, Mari.”

“Gu... Guntra... Why is the paladin...? What will happen to us?”

“It will be alright, Mari. Trust me.”

There wasn’t a trace of magic or divine authority in those words, yet Mari’s trembling body slowly began to calm.

Perhaps because he had designated her as the target of “Partial Co-Regression.” Or perhaps it was simply the power of that word she loved so much—“alright.”

It didn’t matter.

Gunther extended his hand to Mari.

She timidly raised her eyes. Only then did the strands of hair hanging like curtains slide aside, revealing her face.

Gunther smiled bitterly.

She wasn’t ugly at all.

“A-a-a-a-a!”

Noise erupted in the opposite corridor. It seemed the platoon members who had come from the wing had already entered battle. Thanks to the characteristics of the “Commander” class, the leader’s positive buffs spread to group members. They must have received resistance to the illusion as well.

But they wouldn’t last long.

Not all of their abilities had returned yet.

Gunther tightly grasped Mari’s hand, which hung frozen in the air.

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Gunther was not a fool. He understood perfectly.

An illusion was only an illusion.

Even if he saved Mari here, cut off Albino’s head, and stopped the ritual, reality would not change. Once he cleared the stage and stepped outside, Kate—who wanted him dead—would be waiting. And if he defeated her, Albino—who had become even more monstrous over the last hundred years—would attack him.

Gunther thought about it.

Then what meaning was there in the fact that right now he was holding Mari’s hand and running down this corridor?

It was necessary, certainly. Somewhere in this stage an “easter egg” was hidden, and the path to it lay through saving Mari—that was why he had entered the illusion in the first place.

But that calculation was not what was driving Gunther now.

Slash!

Gunther cut the throat of the paladin blocking his path. It was the best strike he could squeeze from his exhausted body, and fortunately it hit exactly where it should.

But the enemy managed one last swing of his mace, and it struck Gunther’s knee.

The sound of breaking bone echoed, and his leg buckled.

He could no longer run.

“Gu... Guntra!”

Gunther answered calmly.

“Mari, I’m sorry, but I need to rest for a moment.”

Fortunately Bellamor Estate was so enormous that outsiders had difficulty navigating it. Moreover, constant reconstruction had left it full of confusing passages and hidden corners. Considering the chaos everywhere, they could gain a few minutes.

Mari helped Gunther reach a storage room for cleaning supplies known only to the old servants. Supporting his shoulder, she breathed heavily.

“Just endure a little longer. If only I could give first aid... I’m really so useless...”

Gunther knew.

Mari was suffering from a hunger worse than if she hadn’t eaten for three days. Though she had fled while “reading” and avoiding the emanations of the “Feast of the Devouring God,” she could not completely free herself from their influence.

But, as always, she uttered not a single complaint.

Well... except that she burst into tears.

“But... why are you trying so hard? Huh? You could’ve just run away alone. I told you—leave me! Why are you so stubborn? Who even am I?”

“Well... I don’t know.”

Until this moment, Gunther himself hadn’t known the answer.

But now he did.

He smiled faintly.

“Because I feel sorry for you.”

“...Huh?”

Yes.

He felt sorry for Mari.

The ghost of the mansion. Always with her head lowered, moving silently, always standing in some corner no one bothered to look into. People searched for her only when they needed someone to vent their anger on or someone to blame.

It must have been Moretia’s doing. Mari was an orphan Moretia herself had taken in, and yet everyone in the mansion treated her like garbage. That meant Moretia had silently approved it.

The twisted amusement of the villainess who volunteered to become the vessel of Jean Daet.

Gunther knew how that kind of life broke a person.

It made you hate yourself—and the entire world.

“Mari.”

“Huh? But... does your leg hurt?”

“You cook very well. You must have practiced very hard.”

“W-what are you saying at a time like this...? But... thank you anyway. No one’s ever said that to me before. W-was it really delicious?”

And yet Mari had not completely lost herself.

She had not grown bitter or come to hate everyone around her.

Instead she stood at the stove.

He remembered the things Moretia, the head maid, and the other servants used to say about her.

‘She’s always hanging around the kitchen.’

‘The only thing a miserable maid like her can do is cook.’

Even though the world had given her nothing but hunger.

Gunther spoke calmly.

“You’re too good a person, Mari, for me to just walk past.”

That was why he fought.

Forgetting calculations and rewards.

No other complicated reason came to mind.

He simply didn’t want to watch the ending of a kind person be ground into the dirt.

Even if this was only an illusion.

That was his honest feeling.

“Gu... Guntra...”

Gunther stood up, looking at Mari as tears streamed down her face. The pain in his leg suddenly vanished.

“Gunther.”

“Huh?”

“My name is Gunther.”

He decided he would no longer address her so informally. After all, she was a person from a century ago.

Gunther smiled faintly and extended his hand to the girl sitting before him.

“I... will definitely save you.”

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Ding!

[A fracture point in fate has appeared]

[You have deviated from the predetermined path of this world and discovered an easter egg]

[The flow of fate is slightly distorted]

[Personal Scenario Updated]

Hidden conditions fulfilled.

The “Maid” leaves the stage.

The “Savior” appears upon it.