Surviving without God

Clang—

Gunther’s first move was to pull his two-handed sword from behind his back. The moment the enormous blue-black blade reflected the torchlight, the surrounding air trembled faintly.

“So it’s true, an Evil God contractor... Even your weapon is monstrous.”

...And yet it had once belonged to a truly worthy person.

Whoosh—

Gunther raised the Straight Line of Despair in a threatening arc. However, none of his enemies showed the slightest intention of retreating. What shone in their eyes was not fear, but duty and a fanatical conviction in their own righteousness. Gunther let /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ out a quiet sigh.

“So now hostile deities and their followers have turned their sights on the Vanguard of the Dark Night.”

The situation was exactly like with Flying Ahead of the Wind. Their connection had begun the moment he destroyed the Spider Mother, whose affairs a hostile god had been meddling in. In the world of , even the gods were tangled in webs of schemes and conflict no less than mortals.

“If that’s the case, then there’s a high chance White Dawn is a benevolent deity...”

At that moment, the squad leader shouted:

“I will punish you and restore justice!”

“...Actually, I’m also on the side of justice, in my own way.”

“Don’t make me laugh! The fact that ‘he’ accepted you is proof enough. That god never extends a hand to good people. How many fates have you trampled... for ‘it’ to choose you of all people?!”

The man at the front spat out those loaded words and lunged.

His speed was no joke—his Agility was clearly high.

Clang!

A blade drawn at point-blank range. As befitted a follower of the god White Dawn, his sword flashed in the darkness like lightning.

Whistle—

The light accelerated as it crashed down on Gunther. The opponent was surprisingly skilled. His movements, breathing, and timing were all razor precise. His stats were barely inferior to Gunther’s.

“Where did someone like this even come from?”

Perhaps he was one of the groups that had flooded into Border City after it developed due to the distortion of reality. Even so—

“What?!”

His sword never reached its target.

[Skill “Wise Art” activated]

[Trait “Will Beyond the Veil” activated]

Wise Art enhanced the efficiency of all combat techniques and physical attributes. Will Beyond the Veil significantly increased combat performance on unfavorable terrain. These were advanced abilities inherited from Raymond, the man once called the secret weapon of the Cult of Healing. Even with similar stats, the gap in mastery was inevitable.

“Kh-aah!”

The man refused to give up, unleashing a flurry of rapid strikes. But despite the storm of thrusts at extremely close range, not one of them touched Gunther. His face twisted with strain. He must have already sensed the inevitable counterattack.

Thud!

A dull impact rang out. Gunther did not bisect him with the greatsword. Instead, he simply drove a restrained punch into the man’s chest. The attacker was launched into the air and, after flying several meters, barely managed to land on his feet.

“Showing mercy? What are you planning?..”

Nothing special.

White Dawn was a deity presumed to belong to the benevolent side. Even if they were enemies right now, looking at the bigger picture, this man might still prove useful in the future. A contractor of a benevolent god was unlikely to be irredeemably vile. Gunther had no desire to kill him without absolute necessity.

“How about we end this here?”

“...He’s no simple opponent. Battle formation!”

The problem was that even in the face of overwhelming force, the enemy had no intention of retreating. The pounding of many feet rang out, and the pressure crushing the space grew even heavier.

“White Dawn... It really does seem to hate the Vanguard of the Dark Night.”

If only he knew the background of their hostility, he might find a clue. But the Vanguard of the Dark Night had remained silent ever since ordering him to appear at its temple.

“Troublesome.”

In the end, Gunther was left with only one option. He lifted his gaze to the upper edge of his vision.

“I’ll make the offering in advance.”

“You’ll help me deal with this irritating situation, right?”

When they had manufactured Sanity in the kingdom of Valloren, Gunther had witnessed the Saint’s power firsthand.

Especially if he used the skill Structural Reconstruction he had obtained back then—

“That should let me break out of the encirclement.”

He had never tested it in practice yet, but under the current circumstances, it was worth trying.

Chime-chime-chime—

[You offer “500” Karma as a sacrifice to the Drug-Addicted Saint]

Five hundred Karma was no longer a major loss for him. Especially since his current 1700 had been earned as a scenario reward. It was terrifying to imagine how much Karma he would receive at the settlement at the end of this life.

As the sound of scattering coins rang in his ears, Gunther remembered the words the Saint had once spoken.

“Alchemy is not merely the art of turning things into gold or brewing potions.”

“It is an attempt to tear through the veil called ‘matter’ and touch the laws that lie beyond.”

“To create changes that nature itself would never permit.”

“To restructure the microscopic rules that compose the flow of the world with human hands.”

Ding!

[Stigma Expansion: Healer and Executioner]

— The rank of the skill “Structural Reconstruction” rises to Epic, and its power increases dramatically.

[Brief effect description of the skill “Structural Reconstruction”:]

“Structural Reconstruction” is a technique that allows one to isolate one of the “properties” within target matter, then amplify, distort, or rebuild it in the desired direction.

Example: When applied to a medicinal herb containing both poison and remedy, one can isolate and strengthen only the healing properties. The toxicity is excluded at the structural level.

Warmth spread through the area around his heart. The flask-shaped stigma pulsed and rapidly expanded. Intricate lines and patterns slithered outward across his left arm. Gunther glanced briefly at the golden mark, which had already reached the back of his hand.

Even after the generous 500 Karma offering, the changes stopped there. But Gunther was not disappointed.

That was more than enough.

Rustle—

In the windless air, the hem of his robe began fluttering on its own. At the same time, the herb pouch at his waist opened by itself.

Rustle—

The various herbs inside began glowing in different colors and rose into the air one by one. Stems, leaves, and roots lost their form, crumbling into microscopic powder. From that mixture, Gunther extracted only the properties he needed, weaving them into a golden alchemical circle suspended in the air.

“He’s using Evil God magic! Strike him!”

Sensing danger, the enemies charged all at once.

But it was already too late.

Boom!

A violet haze exploded outward and spread at terrifying speed. Mist imbued with anesthetic and sleep properties swallowed the area in an instant. Naturally, contractors who wielded mana were not neutralized immediately, but their movements slowed dramatically. They floundered as if trapped in a dream. Their eyes drooped shut.

Gunther did not stop there.

He immediately dropped to one knee and pressed his left hand against the ground.

Seeing this, the enemies gritted their teeth and staggered toward him through the haze.

But—

Flash!

The light flared once more, then vanished.

Gunther disappeared without a trace.

The man who forced his way through the fog to where he had been standing shouted in fury:

“I will hunt you down and capture you, Evil God contractor!!!”

.

.

.

“I will hunt you down and capture you, Evil God contractor!!!”

“Come on, what did I even do?”

Directly beneath them, in the underground space, Gunther let out a short sigh. If the opponent had been a little calmer, he might have noticed his location, but the enemies were already rushing wildly in all directions above.

The trick was simple.

Using Structural Reconstruction, he had acted upon the metal composing the floor. By pushing the metal’s fluidity to the extreme, Gunther made the floor sink like a swamp while preserving the shape of a solid. The moment he hid beneath it, the structure restored itself...

To the enemy’s eyes, it looked like instant disappearance.

“I feel like a magician.”

For now, using this ability was difficult. This was not the kind of skill one could swing around intuitively; it demanded astonishing depth of concentration. However, once mastered, it would become an enormous asset not only in battle, but in exploring ruins full of mysteries.

“Thanks, as always.”

Gunther dusted off his hands and walked on.

[Skill “Red Lantern” (Lv. 1) is active]

He had not forgotten to conceal his presence.

Apparently, those fanatics had been tracking the power hidden within the Vanguard of the Dark Night’s stigma. Until he returned to Eterno Cheongdam, protected by its many masking measures, he would need to remain hidden with Red Lantern.

“I’ll need to find out who those people are.”

Seraz, who oversaw the city’s security, surely had detailed information. Gunther planned to stop by and see her—while also taking the chance to meet with her.

“I’ll be leaving the city for a long time soon. No point dragging such an irritating tail behind me.”

His course of action had already taken shape.

First—back to the kingdom of Valloren.

This time, the situation was fundamentally different from before. The Cult of Repose’s influence over the kingdom had been nearly eradicated. He could calmly loot the Flame King’s treasury, seize the hidden equipment pieces in Valloren, and then...

“Obtain the Holy Sword at any cost.”

The sacred blade that chose the king.

Gunther held no illusions that it would be easy. In the game, that item had been akin to an untouchable legendary. But there was no reason to rule out the possibility from the outset.

The key was that high-tier relics like that always possessed resistance to mental attacks and the power to purge evil.

That would definitely help shatter the brainwashing Dominic had suffered.

After building up strength in Valloren, he would pass through the maritime kingdom of Nereus and head for Pendrox.

“I should explain the overall plan to the platoon.”

Most likely, the coming operation would be a joint mission not only for the Fourth Platoon, but also for the Fifth Platoon, including Cheonmae and Moon Wolf.

In some ways, it was even more important than the mission to recover the candidates from Audrey House.

Creak—

When Gunther entered the living room of Eterno Cheongdam, Ryan, who had been sprawled across the sofa, lifted his head.

“And where exactly did you go on your day off?”

“To the Sanctuary, for business. Listen, gather everyone.”

A single sentence was enough. Quick-witted Ryan immediately understood that an important announcement was coming and rose to his feet.

Remesia... no, rather, Rietta, seemed to have already left. He would need to speak with her later.

While Gunther silently arranged his next moves in his mind, the platoon members began gathering one after another.

“Oh, Gunther. You called?”

Parco appeared in grease-stained work overalls, apparently having been doing vehicle maintenance.

“Finally, the next mission.”

Levain, as calm as ever, took his usual place.

“Uuugh...”

Next came Blanc, wearing an irritated expression and clutching a chess textbook.

Tss-tss-tss—

[Gunther, I’m still not finished with my work, so I’m joining by link]

Dimona was present as a hologram in the corner of the living room.

Looking at the familiar faces, Gunther found himself smiling without realizing it. They had no idea, but to him, these were the faces of old friends he had not seen in what felt like an eternity. After experiencing the possibility that he might never see them again, they had become even more precious.

He stood in the center of the room and spoke.

“By the way, where’s Tarsha? Still training?”

Recently, Tarsha had been incredibly diligent with her cultivation techniques. She had said she didn’t want to fall behind his rapid growth. Gunther found himself wanting to see that golden-haired, mischievous yet perceptive sorceress.

So he began looking for the only platoon member who had not shown up.

“......?”

And then he realized something was fundamentally wrong.

His comrades were staring at him in utter bewilderment.

Blanc abruptly lowered the chess textbook, stumbled over her words, and asked:

“Um... Gunther, how do you know about Tarsha?”

...Excuse me?