Surviving without God

“Ah...!”

Every time a thin thread of breath passed through her throat, Mihela felt as if her body were being torn apart. The air entering her lungs did not mix with the warmth of her body. It felt as though her blood flowed half-turned into ice. Since yesterday, her condition had begun to deteriorate rapidly.

“Cold...”

The tips of Mihela’s fingers had long since lost all sensation. The deep winter landscape outside the window seemed like a blazing desert compared to what was happening inside her body.

How much longer could she endure? She didn’t know. Someone who, as a half-blood, had rejected the destiny of their lineage was hardly granted much time.

— Open the gate...

Mihela firmly shook her head as she heard the voice piercing directly into her mind. But it was useless. The sound did not come from outside. It was the “price of the contract,” passed down through generations, resonating in her blood and in every gap between her bones.

Seraz, her loyal aide and friend, had done everything she could to ease her suffering. Divine relics of fire and lightning, all kinds of elixirs and medicinal herbs — she had used every means available, yet Mihela’s body did not improve. To avoid disappointing her friend, Mihela pretended she was fine. But the pain beneath her heart, like thousands of needles taking root, did not disappear even for a moment. Despite spending the past few years away from the city, devoting herself to treatment, the result had remained the same.

Perhaps only death would bring release from this pain. Mihela feared that moment, yet deep down, she was waiting for it.

— Open the gate...

The voice sounded again. A sound that reminded her of the purpose placed upon the Labyrinth clan hundreds of years ago... 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“Provide energy to open the gate.”

In truth, the life of the Labyrinth clan could be described with that single phrase.

They made the city prosper, adorned the Labyrinth as a paradise filled with gold and treasure, and poured the ambitions and lives of countless adventurers into the depths of the dungeon.

All that blood, souls, and desires fed the womb of the Labyrinth, creating enough “energy” to open the “gate” on the lower floor. That was the purpose of their lineage... and it was what Mihela was resisting now.

Mihela did not know what lay beyond those gates. There was only an instinctive terror — it must never connect to the world. Hadn’t her old friend, the great prophet, said they must never be opened under any circumstances?

So the pain she felt now was, perhaps, a blessing. At the very least, it was proof that the gate was still closed.

— Open the gate...

The sound came again. That same “voice” her ancestors had obeyed so willingly. Mihela clenched her teeth. The cold climbed up her spine, piercing her skull and swallowing her consciousness, yet she forced herself to answer through the pain:

“No...!”

Clink!

A sound, as if ice cracked in an instant, and the shadow of pain slowly receded. Of course, it did not disappear completely. For some time now, she had only been granted about half a day of normal condition.

“Haa...”

...And even that time was growing shorter. Mihela licked her frost-covered fur and slowly rose. When the pain subsided and her thoughts cleared, she remembered her plans for today.

“First, I need to meet with the council members...”

Then there was another important matter. She planned to meet the benefactor who had protected the Border City from the grasp of another sworn enemy — Luthien. According to Seraz, while she had been absent, this person had fought on the front lines, defending the city.

“I must express my proper gratitude.”

Staggering, yet resolute, Mihela began to prepare.

***

Gunther quietly stepped out through the main gates of Eterno Cheongdam. The night in the Lower City was silent. Though anyone with even a hint of sensitivity would feel the ominous aura enveloping the entire city. Except for a few people high out of their minds, the streets were empty.

“Not the best time for a walk.”

But that didn’t apply to him. At that moment, a message had come from the mayor. That meant the possibility of unlocking a certain route. A very “sweet” route.

Gunther quickened his pace. Using the ghost elevator, he passed through the Middle City and headed straight for the special elevator to the Upper City indicated by Seraz. The passage was guarded far more strictly than before, but that didn’t concern him either. The ones guarding it were Seraz’s subordinates. Gunther understood that she had carried out the “purge” quite successfully.

Of course, deep down, there remained a faint unease. A horrifying hypothesis — that the insects had completely taken over the Upper City, were imitating her voice, and luring him in... But there was no point thinking about it.

“If that’s the case, I’ll just die quickly and retry.”

So for now, there was only one thing to consider: what and how he would extract from this meeting with the mayor.

Pshh—

The Link chimed just as he was lost in thought.

[Gunther, are you going to meet the mayor?]

Gunther let out a short chuckle.

— ...Didn’t know you were still watching me.

[I apologize. It was unintentional.]

“Unintentional,” huh. Before, he wouldn’t have understood the meaning of those words. But after Dimona Ryen officially joined the group and Gunther studied her status window, he understood everything.

Dimona’s brain, due to artificial modification, had developed abnormally. Just as a human breathes in oxygen, she lived by automatically detecting and receiving the waves of magi-engineered devices. A talent unique even within “Pendrox,” where Luthien had gathered numerous suitable candidates. Upon hearing the communication signal from the Upper City, she had, without intending to, learned the contents of the conversation. And Dimona left the following warning:

[Gunther, the mayor is a dangerous individual.]

Gunther thought for a moment and replied:

— She can be, or she might not be.

[...You know her well?]

— Better than most.

It couldn’t be said that he knew her perfectly. Mayor Mihela was a character not merely hidden behind a veil of mystery, but sealed within it.

In fact, most players couldn’t even interact with her once. Nine out of ten failed the mission to save her from assassination in Act ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) 1, Chapter 5. Even if they succeeded, Act 2 was no better. If her chronic illness wasn’t resolved, she rapidly weakened and eventually died, falling into “madness” before death and triggering a bad ending for the entire city. Even if, by some miracle, one overcame all those hurdles and kept her alive, the slightest mistake in dialogue choices or neglecting affinity would lead to another bad ending. Because of this, players nicknamed her “Mi-the-Deadweight.”

“The scenario was so full of holes and macguffins it was called unfinished.”

He understood why Dimona considered her dangerous. Without knowing the situation, it was hard to think otherwise. She knew the city’s corruption better than anyone, yet maintained the position of an observer. Because of that, her reputation among the citizens was far from good. She was considered the root of all evil.

“In reality, it’s a bit different...”

Her true intentions and goals were something one could glimpse only by digging deeply into the relevant scenarios.

But difficulty was no reason to avoid the meeting. If he secured her favor now, the difficulty of everything ahead would change drastically. The so-called “Shadow Leader route.” He couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity he had obtained with such difficulty.

[I will maintain observation from a distance, prepare for emergencies... and gather necessary information.]

— Alright, thanks.

Leaving those reassuring words behind, Dimona ended the connection.

Thud.

Around that time, the elevator reached the Upper City. Gunther hurried to the meeting point with Seraz.

Rustle

Silence ruled the Upper City as well. Streets that once breathed luxury and calm were now soaked in razor-sharp tension. Empty avenues, tightly shut windows. No matter how influential someone was, one wrong move at a time like this — and their head would roll. Those with something to lose had no choice but to hold their breath.

As he reached the meeting point, Gunther knew Seraz was already there before he even saw her. The scent of strong tobacco lingered in the air.

— ......

— ......

They looked at each other in silence.

— Lucky.

Seraz let out a quiet chuckle. With the expression of someone who had been through hell, she lightly tapped her left cheek. A long, palm-length scar was healing there, still crimson.

— Can’t believe I’m seeing your face alive.

At her lines, more fitting for the protagonist of a romance novel, Gunther said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

— Over the past week, while I was dealing with those bastard mongrels, I found something out.

Tap, tap.

She patted the back seat of her motorcycle and went on:

— Get on. We’ll talk on the way.

— ...Where to?

— You didn’t think you’d meet the mayor out in the open, did you?

Rustle

Then she pulled something out of the storage compartment and waved it in front of Gunther’s eyes.

— Regulations say a blindfold is required, but... this will do.

— ...That’s a sleep mask.

— Not good enough?

Gunther let out a short breath and put it on.

Vroooom!

His vision plunged into darkness. Immediately after, a sharp jolt followed, and the motorcycle exploded into acceleration.

.

.

.

Through the roar of the wind, Seraz slowly recounted the events of the past week. Although Dimona Ryen and Brody Wilder had already gathered information, nothing compared to a firsthand account. It seemed the purge had been far more difficult than expected. Gunther was briefly left speechless by how horrifying the story was.

— To sum it up... those things, cornered, started mutating on the spot? Unbelievable.

— I saw it with my own eyes. They devoured each other and turned into something... else.

Seraz’s voice dropped.

— After that, even animal blood stopped working on them. Rather, they absorbed genetic information and became something between beast and human — grotesque mutants.

It was said their number had reached a hundred. The figure, far exceeding expectations, made Gunther uneasy. What kind of insane difficulty was this? If they had been even a step too late, the entire city administration would have fallen into their hands.

— How did you even survive?

— I kept shooting, stabbing, and burning.

— ......

— Anyway, when I saw the last one — the final mutation that had devoured all the other insects — I understood what Luthien was aiming for.

Gunther had already guessed.

— ...The mayor?

— Yeah. They were after the Labyrinth. If they successfully copied the mayor, they’d gain the ability to control it.

Even as a half-blood, the biological information of the Labyrinth clan must be immense compared to an ordinary human. To copy her, they released that many insects, forced them to devour one another, and tried to create the perfect mutant. Seraz calmly voiced this horrifying conclusion and finished with unexpected words:

— So without even meaning to, we became the saviors of the mayor’s life and dignity. By the way, kid, I’m getting an out-of-turn promotion next month.

— ...Congratulations. What about me?

Screeeech!

The motorcycle drifted and came to an abrupt stop. The blindfold was removed. In the moonlight, Seraz’s face appeared with a bold grin. She spat out the cigarette and smiled widely.

— Now go negotiate. The mayor is very grateful to you.

...“Grateful,” huh. Gunther looked at the building in front of him. A powerful aura surged from within.

“Let’s go.” Gunther stepped forward, considering what words he should use to introduce himself to the mayor.

***

— I came to heal you.

Meeting Mihela’s widened eyes, Gunther instantly regretted his words. ...Didn’t that sound a bit like a scammer?