Surviving without God

“Gunther!”

Gunther managed to avoid the start of the next life at the very last moment. It happened thanks to Blanc, who hurled herself at him with her small body and knocked him to the ground. The girl had run as if her life depended on it, and her heart pounded wildly, the frantic beating echoing directly in Gunther’s ears as he lay there.

He muttered faintly:

“...Blanc.”

“Snap out of it!”

Gunther’s trembling gaze drifted into the distance. Right behind his head — where it had been only a moment ago — a clump of bluish-black energy had stuck itself to the mansion wall. In the next instant the thick stone wall vanished without a trace, as if it had been erased with a rubber.

...Authority of Devouring.

“Get up!”

Blanc grabbed his arm, trying to stand... and collapsed again.

Crash—!

All the windows in the corridor shattered simultaneously. Winged monsters and black beasts burst in from outside — grotesque creatures that looked as though they had crawled out of the pages of the worst nightmares. Albino’s summoned creatures, the same ones Gunther had fought in his previous life.

...Mari had “digested” Albino.

The Authority of Devouring has stages. If the lower paladins Gunther had encountered before could only consume matter and imitate it, Mari had just demonstrated a far higher level — “Assimilation.” A state in which the very essence of a being is devoured, its power and will becoming part of you.

“...Mari.”

The rest of the platoon arrived just as Gunther, his face twisted, tightened his grip on the “Straight Line of Despair.”

“Duck!”

Tarsha’s lightning cut through the darkness. The corridor instantly turned azure, and in that flash Levain’s thrown projectiles pierced the monsters’ skulls with perfect precision.

“Aaaaaah!”

At that same moment Parco rushed forward with a shout. Without hesitation he lunged at Mari and struck her wrist, where black energy had already begun to gather, knocking her to the floor and rolling with her.

Boom—!

The clump of darkness that burst out flew past Blanc’s ear with a howl and erased the wall behind her.

“Parco! That’s dangerous!”

The two tangled together on the floor. The fact that Parco — who was not even a combat unit — had thrown himself so recklessly into the front line stunned everyone. Even if there had been no other choice, it was far too bold.

Whoosh—!

Black aura began gathering again at the tips of Mari’s fingers, distorting the space around them. Gunther forced his frozen body to move. If things continued like this, Parco would simply disappear.

...But the distance is too great. The thought that he was already too late froze his heart.

“?”

Something flickered, almost imperceptibly. Gunther did not miss that brief moment.

“Brace yourself!”

He grabbed Parco’s body and yanked him with all his strength out of Mari’s attack trajectory. The black energy scraped across the floor, vaporizing the marble.

“...Damn, that thing fires fast,” Parco spat, slowly retreating to the rear.

That brief clash was enough for the platoon to fully feel Mari’s power. Could they withstand such strength? Anxiety began seeping into their hearts.

Gunther looked at Mari.

“......”

From beneath her tangled hair her empty gaze was fixed on him. Behind him Tarsha whispered quietly:

“Gunther.”

“I know.”

Clenching his teeth, Gunther raised the “Straight Line of Despair,” pointing the blade toward her. But thousands of doubts still swarmed through his mind.

...Is killing Mari and clearing the illusion really the “correct answer”? Had he fought so desperately just for an ending like this? He had promised to save her.

Should he die and return? ...But if he returned through death, would there be a better solution? Albino or Moretia — in the end Mari still becomes a monster. Then perhaps this path, which at least opens a boss battle, is better than the dead end Moretia proposed.

When the strategy that had seemed correct collapsed entirely due to unforeseen variables, great chaos descended. Gunther’s jaw slowly tightened.

“No... don’t give up.”

Something was wrong here. If something feels foreign, you must bite into it. That is the law of . The darker the hell around you, the more important it is not to stop thinking.

“This is strange. The situation is clearly outside the bounds.”

Why?

Why didn’t the illusion collapse this time? In the previous life, the moment the Feast of the Devouring God ended, the illusion should have shattered, bringing death with it. But now, even after Mari devoured Albino and became a completed “Vessel,” the illusion still continued to exist...

“Wait.”

Something flashed in Gunther’s mind. It was not mere intuition. Information gathered all this time, experience, and... emotions. In that instant the fragments assembled themselves into a single conclusion. But there was no time left to fully grasp the truth.

“A-ah...”

Mari let out a quiet groan and hunched over. Her flesh began swelling like a balloon, and her joints twisted at impossible angles. One glance was enough to understand — the creature was about to shed its human shell.

“Careful!”

“Get back, Gunther!”

The platoon members simultaneously began concentrating mana, preparing for a decisive strike. If they were barely managing now, they would have no chance after such a transformation. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

That was why Gunther raising his sword was the most natural reaction. ...But the fact that he did not strike immediately, and instead called her name first, was just as natural.

“Mari.”

The wandering pupils focused instantly on Gunther. At the moment a single tear rolled from those blood-filled eyes:

[Affinity with Marien increases]

Gunther finally understood. It was not over yet.

...No, it was only beginning.

.

.

.

An illusion reflects the inner world of its creator and preserves their unfulfilled desires. Then whose illusion is this — “Bellamor’s Darkness”? At first, he naturally believed it belonged to Moretia. He believed the seed of the illusion was her desperate wish to be saved from tragedy — from the fate of being eaten by the maid.

But that was a mistake. Moretia was not the heroine of the tragedy. She was its director, a character who never wished to be saved.

Yes. This illusion undoubtedly belongs to Mari.

An illusion unfolding under the authority of Jean Daet. Yet at its core lay Mari’s memories. A space soaked in her pain, despair, and loneliness, like eternal hunger. The “Feast of the Devouring God” was merely the surface mechanism; in truth it was a detailed model of the cruel life she had endured.

Then why did she summon this hell again? Why recreate her most painful moments with such precision?

The hunger she could not forget, even after becoming Jean Daet’s vessel. What had Mari truly been yearning for all this time?

What does this illusion show again and again? What was she fighting against, and what kept her going?

And—

At what moment, when her emptiness was filled... was she happiest?

Gunther finally understood the answer.

“...What a fairy-tale story.”

Gunther slowly lifted his gaze. Before him stood Mari’s figure, rapidly transforming into a monster. Flesh swelling, joints breaking, bones tearing through skin. A body drenched in blood, mutating without a single scream — itself a symbol of despair.

But he did not step back.

[Affinity with Marien increases]

Because he knew — she had not stepped back either.

She was still there. Behind those pupils clouded with blood. Deep within that empty gaze hid a small girl who had fought until the very end.

“Mari.”

The girl’s body convulsed in response to the call. Claws slashed fiercely toward the approaching Gunther, and her teeth snapped, ready to tear his flesh apart. It was not her will. Her body had already been consumed by the curse. It tolerated no one who dared come close.

Crunch.

But Gunther did not dodge. Blood burst from wounds, skin tore open, and crimson marks rapidly covered his body. Amid the terrible pain he thought.

.

The evil gods of this world gain power by denying humanity. To them, humans are nothing but sacrifices, and the life each person [N O V E L I G H T] accumulates means nothing. Using personality as a tool and ego as fuel, an evil god satisfies its hunger only when the being called “I” is completely destroyed.

Mari’s story stood on the exact opposite side. Even if it was a small and inconspicuous story on the narrow stage of a single aristocratic mansion. The mere fact that she did not abandon herself and endured the cruel life imposed by Moretia and Albino was a narrative of will opposing an evil god.

Dazzlingly stubborn dignity. Mari’s personality — outwardly plain, but inwardly firmer than anyone else’s.

No wonder Jean Daet desired such a “Vessel.” And although in reality what Mari tried to protect was ultimately crushed by Jean Daet’s power... here, in this illusion, the ending had to be different. That was what she had dreamed of.

...And that was the role given to Gunther.

“......”

Gunther stopped directly in front of Mari. The platoon members watched him. Confusion was clear in their eyes, but in the end they chose simply to observe. Gunther’s decisions had saved their lives many times. They decided to trust him again.

“Mari.”

The attacks tearing at him gradually began to subside. The savage claws slowly lowered, trembling, and the ragged breathing calmed. Her eyes stared straight at Gunther.

[Affinity with Marien increases]

The unfamiliar energy he had felt earlier now flooded his entire body. Gunther silently raised his sword.

[Do you wish to “Read” Marien?]

When he “read” her, the malice and obsession surrounding this space also became clearly visible. The illusion, defiled by Jean Daet, desired a “bad ending” for Mari. A scene where she eventually surrendered and her existence dissolved into nothing.

It was time for the curtain to fall on that twisted play.

[Skill ‘Godslayer’ activated]

Crack—

A bloody pattern blossomed beneath Gunther’s feet. Dark red lines crawled across his body and finally layered themselves over the blade wrapped in scarlet flames. Power that rejects the god and reverses its authority.

Under normal circumstances, the level of this illusion was not something a Second Hierarchy human could cut through, even with the power of godslaying.

Yet at this moment an inexplicable feeling supported his fingertips. As if someone’s hand had covered his own, helping guide the sword upward.

“Mari.”

Gunther raised the blade. In the pouring light they looked at one another. A distorted face and a tranquil gaze met. A quiet whisper followed:

“It’s alright.”

.

.

.

The illusion collapsed.

Without sound, without impact. The columns and walls of the mansion slowly lost their color, then dissolved into bluish-black emptiness like paint spreading through water.

Gunther slowly walked away, holding Mari in his arms as she grew lighter and lighter. A breeze that seemed to come from nowhere gently brushed the tip of his nose.

“...Gunther, will you tell me about that city?”

After taking a breath, he nodded calmly.

“Of course.”

.

.

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[Affinity with Marien has reached 99]

[Side Scenario: completed]

[Affinity with Marien has reached 100]

[You have fulfilled all hidden conditions and obtained the true ‘Easter Egg’]

[Reward system transferred to the “Higher Table”]

[※ This area lies outside the standard reward rules]

[Do you wish to view it?]