Surviving without God

Bam—

In the silence, as if every sound had been drained away, the only remaining rhythm was the beating of a heart. The horizon of sensation expanded to infinity. The screaming servants fleeing, the people holding their breath among the rubble, and the countless hearts pulsing inside the giant Abomination before his eyes. All of it was felt with absolute clarity.

Sssss—!

The stigma shaped like lips entwined by a snake, carved into his collarbone, and the stigma of a skull tossing dice rapidly spread across the skin. Immediately afterward, the image of a blood-red veil enveloped his entire body, and within it shadows swayed—shapes whose outlines could not be discerned.

— ......!

“Power” poured into every muscle, into every vessel. This was not a simple expansion of mana or strength. It felt as if existence itself had risen one step higher. A foreign sensation, like shedding a human shell.

[Ah... the outside world isn’t bad at all.]

An unfamiliar voice seeped into Gunther’s consciousness. Low, yet soft—a mesmerizing hum that sent shivers down the skin with every word.

[This is the first time we’re greeting each other like this, Gunther. It’s me.]

He laughed. It was an enchanting laugh, the kind that any person would instinctively want to echo. Gunther felt his hand lift the “Straight Line of Despair” with a playful motion.

[I’m not as rude as that Dietrich fellow, so don’t worry. I’ll handle you very delicately.]

Ding—!

A strange bell chime cut through the air. In an instant, a vivid crimson light spread across the ruins of the destroyed mansion, and thousands of “Red Lanterns” blossomed like an illusion. Laughter, the clinking of glasses, sighs, and whispers intertwined into a single flowing current.

[Unique domain declared: “Red Lantern.”]

[This is the place where what everyone wishes to hide draws breath.]

[Everything within the red-light district will be temporarily hidden from the gaze of the world.]

.

.

.

Alphonse of Red Street exhaled quietly.

[You’re not exactly eager to dirty your hands yourself, either.]

***

Everything was the same as during the previous descent. Control over the body was split in half. The senses were sharpened, and if he wished, he could seize the physical shell by force. However, Gunther did not try to reclaim leadership.

If the power of the King of Knights had been instinctive and straightforward, then Alphonse was ambiguous. Even his class remained unclear—it could only be guessed that it belonged to the thief branch.

All that remained was to observe how exactly he would fight. After all, in the distant future Gunther himself would have to master these abilities.

— Well now, leave it to me.

Shurrr—

With those words, the one who was both Gunther and Alphonse slowly began walking toward the Abomination.

— G-Gunther?

The platoon members stared at him with undisguised horror. His appearance seemed to have changed, but more than anything—the aura emanating from him had completely transformed.

Usually Gunther resembled a tempered blade. A personality whose restrained sharpness carried a cold nobility. But now none of that atmosphere remained—something frighteningly depraved had replaced it. It felt as if merely looking at him was committing a sin. They knew their leader was unusual, but how could a person transform so suddenly?

— That’s you, right...?

— I-if it isn’t, say so now!

Gunther calmed his confused comrades with a glance. Tarsha’s eyes widened.

— A-a wink?

— ...I didn’t do that.

— And you said that wasn’t your style...

Of course, his attempts to “reassure” were directed exclusively at Tarsha and Blanc. At that moment, the ignored Levain and Parco felt a strange sense of grievance.

Uuuuuun—!

A trembling hum that vibrated through the entire body. The mass of flesh fused with the mansion suddenly shuddered. The Abomination had finished observing and moved to attack.

This creature was a kind of construct made from the intertwined bodies of the many people Kate had devoured. The problem was that it had inherited their abilities. The “talents” consumed during the “Cannibal Banquet” erupted in a distorted state. Tarsha was the first to sense it.

— It’s coming!

Uuuuuun—!

Magical circles of various elements instantly bloomed across the night sky. Fire, ice, wind, lightning. It was as if an entire army of mages had lined up before them. The platoon members began acting without hesitation.

Whoosh—!

Blanc stepped forward, switching “Seren Gless” into autonomous defense mode. Behind her, Tarsha began preparing an interference spell. Levain, having found cover, searched among the countless faces embedded in the Abomination’s flesh for those casting spells, positioning himself for a sniper shot. Parco in the rear replenished the massive expenditure of his comrades’ strength and mana.

...However, Gunther (Alphonse) did nothing. He merely lazily flicked the tips of his fingers as if bored.

Whliss—

Space tore open, and a soft red veil unfurled. The fabric did not fly toward the Abomination’s magical bombardment. Instead, it drifted gently behind the platoon members’ backs. And then—

Fweeeet—!

In the next moment the veil snapped shut, covering a blind spot. Behind the mansion wall, where the fighters had failed to notice the threat, dozens of arms stretched to unnatural lengths. This was the Abomination’s true strike. At the moment when bones sharpened into spears were about to pierce their comrades’ backs—

Fweeeeeeet—!

The red veil enveloped them all at once. Flesh and bone tangled softly, and the savage limbs became ensnared like ribbons. Alphonse smirked and placed a finger against his chin.

— I’m rather good at tying knots~.

As expected, this was nothing like the previous descent. Gunther’s own personal skills had grown sharply, and the Karma invested was twice what it had been before. But the surprises did not end there. Alphonse, who had been humming to himself, suddenly stopped smiling and narrowed his eyes at the Abomination.

— Your “hearts” are beating like crazy, Kate.

...Alphonse had perfectly identified the monster’s key mechanic. The Abomination would not die until every one of the dozens of hearts inside its body was destroyed. The problem was that those hearts changed shape at random, moved around, and fully regenerated after a certain time. Because of this mechanic many players gave up—and for that very reason the Abomination had been the final phase of the Bellamor mansion.

Yet the relaxed smile never left Alphonse’s face.

— No matter what anyone says, making women’s hearts stop beating is my specialty.

Crunch—

At that moment the red veil restraining the Abomination tore apart. Dozens of freed arms crashed downward, covering the entire field of vision. But Alphonse stood motionless, taking no countermeasures, which made the platoon members rush forward in horror.

— Protect him!

Levain’s shot and Blanc’s wind blades severed several arms. “Seren Gless” accelerated sharply in the air, deflecting the remaining limbs, while Tarsha’s lightning struck one after another, paralyzing them. Parco took the remaining blows upon himself, shielding their commander.

Amid all this chaos, Alphonse calmly clasped his palms ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) together with closed eyes.

[Skill activated: “Throne of Senses — Collective Consciousness Lv.10.”]

Boom—!

At that very moment the bell rang again, and all the “Red Lanterns” illuminating the surroundings went dark. Only the moon’s shadows stretched long across the ground.

Dozens—hundreds—of translucent shadow snakes crawled out from beneath his feet. They scattered like lightning across the shattered floor, the walls, and the ceiling, and then—

— Go.

They poured into the Abomination’s body like black rain. They passed easily through the sticky walls of meat, sliding between flesh and bone—their trajectories eerily smooth.

At that same instant the Abomination let out a painful roar. In Gunther’s field of vision the outlines of every pulsing heart inside that gigantic body appeared clearly.

“...He’s a warlock too?”

A double class—thief and warlock? Especially when the warlock class itself should have been hidden. While Gunther marveled at this new facet of Alphonse, the latter’s smile widened even further.

— I’ll borrow this guy’s ability too, Dietrich...

[Skill activated: “Eyes of the Tyrant Lv.1.”]

His vision exploded outward. The image of the shadow snakes penetrating the Abomination’s flesh unfolded before him clearly, like a cross-section blueprint.

One, two, dozens of snakes wrapped around the hearts simultaneously and began to tighten.

Ghaaaa—!

As the Abomination convulsed in agony, the remaining structures of the mansion began to collapse. Amid the thick dust and smoke, Alphonse inhaled for a moment.

— Gunther.

And said in a surprisingly calm voice:

— That isn’t Marien. She’s already dead. What remains is only a weave of flesh and the evil of Jean Daet. You already know that... but just in case.

Yes. I know.

— Good.

He smiled gently and slowly spread his clasped palms apart.

Uuuuuun—!

The shadow snakes swelled all at once. A torrent of mana surged back, and in every heart a spark ignited like an explosion.

Bam—! Crash—!

Sounds literally tearing at the eardrums thundered one after another inside the giant body. Chunks of flesh flew apart, bones twisted outward, and blood burst into the sky in fountains, decorating the air like the petals of red flowers seen several days ago.

And then—

The movement stopped. Hundreds of thrashing arms, grotesque tentacles piercing columns and ceilings, even the upper body of Kate Bellamor stuck at the center—everything froze in silence.

— ......

In the cold and desolate stillness, Gunther caught his breath and looked at the ruins.

.

.

.

Ding—!

[You have destroyed an ancient monster that inscribed the myth of evil into the history of Border City.]

[Level Up! / Lv.69]

[Level Up! / Lv.70]

[Strength 62 → 64]

[Descent complete.]

[The temporarily raised rank returns to its original state.]

[Stigma decreases.]

[Descent cooldown applied: two months.]

Having exhausted all his strength, Alphonse disappeared without even saying goodbye. It was expected—in just one minute he had used power equivalent to the price of a thousand Karma.

— Gunther!

— Are you okay? Hey, what’s wrong with him?!

As always after a descent, the condition of his body was terrible. Mana at zero, and his muscles were not merely exhausted—they spasmed every second. Through his dimming vision, Gunther watched the messages rising before him.

[Residual effect: Physical Shock]

— As a result of the descent, the body has sustained severe damage.

— Strength, Endurance, Agility –50% (duration: 24 hours).

[Residual effect: Molting]

— During the process of bearing the weight of divinity, muscles and nerves have undergone new tempering.

— Strength +2, Agility +6, Endurance +1, Mana +3.

[Residual effect: Enlightenment]

— You have used warlock magic incomprehensible to humans.

— Mastery of related skills greatly increases.

[Skill “Serpent’s Nest” has reached level 2.]

[One shadow snake settles inside the nest.]

[You randomly inherit one skill from the deity that resided within you.]

[Random skill draw begins!]

Thanks to the fact that his Endurance had reached 60, he did not lose consciousness like last time—but he was almost completely immobilized. However, Gunther had to stand up. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

[“The Ruler of the Oceans” looks at you seriously, wishing to speak.]

There was no time now to answer her or check the obtained skill. Gunther lifted his head.

...The red lanterns had gone out.

The veil that had hidden this space from the world had been removed. Not far away he felt a frighteningly ominous presence. Turning to his comrades, he spoke in a hoarse voice:

— Albino is coming.

We have to get out of here.

Together with Dimona.