Surviving without God

Remesia looked down at Zenon, pressed against her chest. The two-year-old child, having endured a night far too exhausting for someone his age, had sunk into a deep sleep.

From Raymond to Dominic, from Dominic to Remesia. The burden had been passed down exactly that way.

Remesia slowly clasped Zenon’s tiny fern-like hand. The warmth of his body seeped into her frozen being.

“...Brother.”

No answer came. Of course there wouldn’t be. Dominic had just gone back down the very road they had all struggled to cross.

“It’s what has to be done.”

In truth, that was no lie.

At the moment, the children had barely made it to the outskirts of the rendezvous point. Soon, they would meet the helpers from Night Raven and, under their guidance, follow the smugglers’ route into the kingdom of Nereus.

...That is, unless the pursuers caught up to them immediately.

The problem was Raymond’s condition, which she had seen earlier. A mortal wound—it was astonishing that he was still alive at all. He would not last long against the Society of Holy Flame. That was why Dominic had turned back.

To help the exhausted Raymond and make sure the hand of pursuit never reached the children.

“...Brother.”

Remesia called his name once more. Somewhere deep in her chest, a dull ache quietly spread.

Over the past few days, she had learned just how desperately Dominic longed for a “new life.” An unbelievable yearning for the outside world. A hunger for a life where no one controlled you, where you chose your own path. Remesia, who had only just begun to accept such foreign concepts, could not fully grasp his emotions.

But one thing she knew for certain.

She could clearly feel just how much Dominic had sacrificed to lead her and the children to safety.

“Teacher... brother will be okay, right?”

At Yuria’s careful question from beside her, Remesia could not answer right away. But she could not allow herself to sit still, hiding behind worry for his well-being.

She had her own duty.

The children’s gazes trembled with fear and confusion. Now that neither Teacher Raymond nor Dominic was here, she had to lead them herself.

...Into a new world.

She hugged the sleeping Zenon even tighter and quickened her pace.

.

.

.

“Catch.”

Dominic deftly caught the sword Gunther had thrown him and took a combat stance. Verion’s face, already prepared to finish Gunther off and begin chasing the children, turned to stone. He knew far too well just how dangerous Dominic was.

“...All of this is the fruit of my incompetence.”

He °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° snarled.

“I failed to completely purge the trash of heresy left inside the hierarchy candidate.”

Of course, those words never reached Dominic and Gunther. Both were already preparing to spring forward. A brief exchange of glances. No words were needed.

They had to show them.

Show them just how dangerous they were. Make it clear: until they fell, no one would dare lay even a finger on the children.

“I’ll go first.”

Dominic smiled faintly.

“You rest a little.”

With those words, Dominic’s figure shot forward. An elusive movement, as though gravity barely affected him at all. Acceleration close to teleportation, so fast it was impossible to tell whether his feet even touched the ground.

Watching that, Gunther involuntarily recalled the traits this world had bestowed upon “Dominic.” In the actual game, unlocking them required some of the most difficult conditions imaginable. But fortunately—or unfortunately—the brutal training in Luthien seemed to have already awakened every single one of them.

“S-stop him!”

“Don’t kill him!”

There were two defining traits: “Heavenly Martial Body” and “Heart of the Ocean.” Nearly endless mana burst forth like a spring from that heart, while his body displayed an abnormal ability to absorb and adapt to any combat technique.

Slash!

With a single strike, Dominic’s sword cleaved through the paladin of the Society of Holy Flame blocking his path. The flames the man exhaled and the sword he swung were both split along the same trajectory.

“A-a-a-aah!”

The priest, who had trusted in the paladin’s protection and was in the middle of chanting a spell, hastily raised a defensive barrier in panic. But the golden aura, which had expanded to nearly three meters, instantly vaporized both the barrier and the caster.

...Even for Dominic, this was clearly excessive force. He was probably doing it to buy time for Gunther.

Gunther accepted that consideration with gratitude. Steadying his breathing, he used the divine power granted by Vanguard of the Dark Night to suppress, at least a little, the raging sickness inside him.

And then—

Whoosh!

Instant Shadow Leap. The target—Verion, who was about to attack Dominic.

“Hmph.”

Verion’s lips twisted into a sneer.

“Where do you think you’re going with a body that looks like a corpse!”

Crack-hiss!

Two whips burst from both of Verion’s hands. Bloody flames blazed furiously as they ran along the magic stones embedded midway through the lashes.

“Turn to ash!”

Two whips. Using the superheated air, they slid and bent, changing direction like the heads of snakes.

Smack! Bam!

Gunther’s body staggered. Flesh tore open, blood spraying out. He dodged one strike, but the other coiled around his waist.

Whistle!

His breath was instantly cut off. The fire igniting along the whip embedded in his flesh began to sear through skin and muscle with a vicious hiss. An exquisite restraint that dug in deeper the more its victim resisted.

“This is the end.”

Verion turned away, heading toward Dominic.

But—

“A-a-a-a-aah!”

Gunther did not stop.

He raised his only free hand. Jammed his fingers into the gap between the whip and his own body.

Pssshhh!

The skin on his fingers melted, bones cracking. The agony pulsed so violently his vision blurred, but Gunther did not loosen his grip.

“Ghh—!”

Stubbornly. Twisting, tearing, pulling.

Whip!

The lash came free, ripping chunks of flesh away with it.

And immediately—a lunge.

He threw himself at Verion, who stared at him in stunned disbelief.

Bam!

Through the bizarre, intricate weave of the whip trajectories, Gunther’s fist finally found a gap and slammed into Verion’s face.

“Kh—!”

But Verion had no intention of yielding so easily. The hand that had released the whip seized a dagger and drove it beneath Gunther’s ribs. Gunther twisted sharply at the last second, but the blade still plunged into his armpit up to the hilt. His body convulsed violently.

“Ha-ha, Raymond! If only you could see your own face.”

Yes, he knew.

He knew he could never oppose Verion head-on.

But that was never what mattered.

Endure.

Hold Verion here while Dominic reduced the numbers of the Holy Army. Guard this place until the children disappeared into safety. Return a real life to those miserable souls who had never once been allowed to understand what choice even meant.

“A-a-a-a-a-aah!”

Gunther’s body, which had nearly gone limp, lunged at Verion again. Verion reflexively kicked him away, and his face froze for a fraction of a second.

Crash!

Gunther flew a considerable distance and rolled across the ground. The dull sound of bones striking hard earth. A sound like dry reeds crackling in fire.

“Teacher!”

Dominic, who had been fighting the guards, rushed over and helped him back up. Those deep turquoise eyes, like still lakes, filled with sorrow for an instant before turning cold and resolute once more.

Gunther forced a weak smile through bloodied lips.

“Well? I’m holding up better than you thought, right?”

“...Looks that way, Teacher. It seems you get livelier every time.”

Unfortunately, that was not true. It was only Dominic’s desperate hope. Gunther no longer had the strength left to even lift his eyelids.

“Teacher.”

With Dominic supporting him, he straightened up. The Society of Holy Flame was surrounding them again. Gunther, breathing heavily, continued.

“Do you regret it? Maybe there was a better way than this.”

That maybe, somewhere, there had been a better answer than throwing yourself out as bait to save everyone else.

Dominic nodded.

“Maybe. No, definitely.”

Gunther felt the tremor in the back they were leaning against.

“And still,” Dominic continued, “out of everything I could come up with... this was the most right.”

At that all-too-familiar justification, Gunther could not help but laugh.

The advancing inquisitors’ footsteps paused for a moment.

The best choice in the worst situation.

The most honorable path among those left when you’ve been driven to the edge of the cliff.

Hadn’t that been the very standard Gunther had lived by ever since arriving in this world?

“Dominic.”

Gunther looked at Dominic again. The boy was clearly afraid.

But at the same time, in the eyes fixed forward, there shone unmistakable pride.

The certainty that he had chosen the difficult and painful road to save the children. The self-respect of someone who had, for the first time, stepped onto the path of a hero.

“Ha... Ha-ha.”

That was the real reason Gunther—or rather, Lee Jonghyeon—had loved so much.

This world promised freedom, yet in its decisive moments it cornered the player into a single inevitable story.

A story where, in the very end, you realize there are no loopholes. No shortcuts. And losses are always unavoidable.

And yet, it is the force that compels you to keep walking toward the light.

“...That’s why.”

Gunther smiled faintly and murmured,

“Playing was always fun.”

“Teacher?..”

Dominic looked at him anxiously. It was written all over his face: he had decided his teacher’s mind had become clouded before death.

But that did not matter.

“I’m going to die.”

At those calm words, Dominic fell silent. The boy was smart. There was no way he didn’t know how this would end.

Even if they joined forces, there was no chance they could overcome the full might of the Society of Holy Flame.

A future where Gunther died, and Dominic himself was dragged away in chains.

Yes, the fact that they had lasted this long was already a miracle.

“But you’ll live. You’re an irreplaceable resource to them. They have no reason to kill you.”

Gunther pulled away from Dominic, whom he had been leaning on.

Then he stepped forward.

The boy stared, transfixed, at his broad back covered in wounds, blood, and pus.

“This time they’ll definitely wash your brain completely and force you to do things you don’t want to do. Terrible days are waiting for you.”

Verion Heinz was already charging.

Dozens of his subordinates followed behind him.

Gunther felt the familiar sensation.

Death was approaching.

But unlike the previous times, this death was full of the unknown.

Would the children’s escape succeed?

Would reality change enough for him to truly come back to life?

Would another chance to return to Earth appear?

He knew nothing.

Of course, he was human, and his own life mattered more to him than the lives of others.

But this time, too much had been placed on the other side of the scale.

The weight was so great that his own counterweight felt as though it had simply flown off beyond the balance entirely.

And then Gunther opened his mouth.

“So I will definitely...”

He turned and looked at Dominic.

“I will definitely save you.”

It was neither a promise nor comfort.

He said it as if he were declaring an already accomplished future.

“Wait for me.”

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.

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Ding!

[Hidden stage “Butterfly Effect” cleared]

[Your choice has permanently distorted the course of world events]