Surviving without God

Whoosh-whoosh...

Gunther shot his gaze toward the stands while simultaneously spreading his mana perception wide. “Serpent’s Nest” slipped free from its den, seeping through the crowd like a gliding shadow.

— ...

But he quickly realized it was useless. Too many human auras were mixed together in the stands. The faint emanations of ordinary citizens overlapped with the powerful presences of knights. In those conditions, finding anyone was practically impossible. Gunther clicked his tongue and looked back at Rietta.

— So who did you see, Rietta?

Rietta seemed to have calmed down a little. Thanks to Gunther’s presence, the trembling in her body had fortunately subsided. Very quietly, as if even saying the name disgusted her, she muttered:

— Audrey’s headmistress... No, Audrey. The woman who ran Audrey House, where we were...

At that unexpected answer, Gunther’s face froze for a moment.

— But it was strange. Her face... it was too young. Not a single wrinkle. Maybe I imagined it? Just someone who looked similar.

— ...

— Grand Crow clearly said Sister Audrey was dead... that Teacher Raymond killed her personally...

Raymond. That name stirred old memories.

Audrey House. The final battle in that place had been more than just a bloodbath. Every teacher there had been a powerful priest or paladin, but their leader, Audrey, had been on a completely different level.

A fifth-hierarchy priestess of the Cult of Protection. Former head of the Society of Holy Flame with experience serving in Pendrox. Despite her decrepit body, she had been terrifyingly strong.

“Accomplice, trash, heretic! Do you really think you’ll leave this place alive?!”

With a single wave of her hand, the space had filled with the Cult of Protection’s unique spells. Dozens of layers of shields and shackles stacked atop one another, completely erasing even the possibility of escape. Barriers so absolute that it had been impossible even to move.

If not for Raymond’s thoroughly tempered body. If not for the authority of the “Vanguard of the Dark Night,” the direct opposite of her abilities. That day, he and Zenon would have remained there forever.

“I... blew her apart.”

That was exactly why he had been so obsessed with finishing the job. Throwing his arm into the endlessly extending chains, he had aimed straight for Audrey’s life. In the end, he had managed to get behind her with “Shadow Leap,” and—

Crunch!

He had smashed the head whispering corrupt spells like a ripe watermelon. And he had not forgotten to burn the body after it dropped like a straw doll.

“Even if it’s the Cult of Healing, resurrecting a corpse in that state should be impossible.”

...From the standpoint of common sense, that was true. But Luthien was always something beyond logic.

“There’s a chance Rietta was mistaken, but...”

It could not be ruled out that yet another Luthien conspiracy was unfolding nearby without anyone realizing it. Things had been too calm lately. Either way, he needed to be on maximum alert.

“The royal capital of Zeros... turns out it’s quite the den of monsters.”

Once the exam ended, he would need to thoroughly scout the surrounding area. Thinking that, Gunther lightly patted the fear-stricken Rietta on the shoulder. It was unbearable to watch someone always so composed shrink under the weight of past trauma.

— It’s all right, Rietta.

— Huh?

— We’re together, aren’t we? Even if Audrey is alive, it’s not a problem.

Gunther smiled faintly and continued:

— And most importantly, neither you nor Yuria are those children anymore. On the contrary, if it really is Audrey, then even better. You’ll be able to crush that old ghost with your own hands.

— ...Gunther, you’re very positive.

— You don’t survive otherwise.

Only then did Rietta finally force out a smile.

— ...Thank you. In any case, hurry and take your exam.

Once he confirmed that Rietta had steadied herself, Gunther refocused on the trial.

Shhk-shhk.

He stood once more before the sword traces carved into the stone and studied them again.

— ...

But once broken, concentration was not so easy to restore. Just a moment ago, the truth had felt close enough to touch, but now everything was hazy, as though hidden in fog. Gunther stared at the sword lines left in the mithril ore and let out a heavy sigh.

“Damn it... I don’t understand anything.”

Among his companions, there were only five martial fighters: Blanc, Cheonmae, Gunther, Ryan, and Yuria. The others were participating more or less for fun. So the expected results rested on those five. But Yuria had already been eliminated, leaving four.

He glanced around discreetly. It seemed Gunther was not the only one in confusion. Both Cheonmae, drilling the stone with her gaze from afar, and Blanc, touching it up close with her hands, wore far from cheerful expressions.

“...It’s unlikely we’ll all fail, but still, the difficulty of the first trial is impressive.”

Gunther admitted he had been somewhat overconfident. His growth had been explosive, and because of the connection between the Founder King and the King of Knights, he had assumed the trial would come naturally to him. Who could have guessed he would have to rack his brain this much? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

— Hah!

At that moment, Ryan stepped forward, scratching the back of his head.

— No matter how long I look, I don’t get a damn thing, but I’ll go first. The junior’s up!

The words sounded spirited, but there was a trace of nervousness in them. No surprise, considering he had just watched Yuria, whose skills surpassed his own, get eliminated.

Whoosh!

Even so, Ryan gave it everything he had, swinging his two-handed hammer before the examiners. It was a technique Gunther knew well. Movements learned in real combat during their mercenary days blended harmoniously with forms refined in Night Raven’s training camp. The level of mastery vividly showed how hard he had trained all this time.

However... if asked whether he was exceptional among the participants, the answer would be no. There were definitely people here with a higher level of skill. So the outcome was hard to guarantee...

— Passed. Prepare for the next trial.

Ryan returned wearing a dumbfounded expression.

— What kind of criteria even is this...

Inspired by the junior’s courage, Blanc and Cheonmae stepped forward immediately after. In the end, even though they had not found any clear clue in the stone, they passed the evaluation without difficulty. Even Cheonmae, who had used only ordinary dagger techniques instead of her bow out of fear of revealing her identity, was approved.

— What the hell... — because of that, Yuria alone visibly deflated.

— ...

Gunther, who still had not stepped forward, also sank into thought. As already said, he was sure he would pass if he simply demonstrated knight swordsmanship. The fundamentals of the movements were too similar to what had been carved into the stone. But—

“I want to show something more than just a passing grade.”

He wanted to interpret these traces, read the understanding embedded in them, and then prove that understanding with his sword.

“That’s exactly what the examiners want to see most.”

And more importantly, he felt it instinctively. If he did not go through this process, he would not be able to touch the Holy Sword. Like a stone statue, Gunther shifted his gaze between the traces in the stone and the Holy Sword embedded in the distant hilltop.

...And at that moment.

— Hm? And this is mithril too?

An unfamiliar voice came from behind him. Low and light. At first glance it sounded almost childlike, but there was too much dryness in it.

For some reason, everything inside him went cold, as though he had swallowed a shard of ice.

— It doesn’t look hard. That’s a lie, right?

At that instant. Gunther threw himself backward with all his strength—not thought, pure instinct.

BA-BA-A-A-AM!

What had been thrown could not even be seen with the eye.

---------!

The shockwave hit first. His insides flipped like he had fallen from a great height. Not only Gunther, who had been closest, but every participant nearby instantly lost their balance and staggered. Some collapsed to the ground and began vomiting.

But that was not the end. A roar that ripped at the eardrums. An unbearably powerful impact sound followed a beat later. Even the spectators far away fell to the ground, clutching their ears.

“What the hell is this...”

Even amid the chaos, Gunther barely managed to keep his sanity. In °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° his vision, stretched as if in slow motion, a scene unfolded.

Crunch-crack...

A massive iron flail had been driven straight into the center of the Founder King’s stone. And between that crater and the flail itself—

— ...

One of the participants had been flattened into paste. From the sheer force of the strike, his torso had literally evaporated, and he hung there stripped of human shape, like an insect a cruel child had torn apart for amusement.

His head lolled. Blood poured downward, soaking the sword traces carved into the stone and dripping onto the ground.

Drip, drip...

— ...

The entire plaza froze.

The examiners still judging, Albern controlling the order, the platoon fighters spread throughout the area—everyone went still. Hundreds of gazes instantly locked onto that figure.

— ...

Chestnut hair. Soft brown eyes. Doll-like, perfectly arranged features.

Despite her tall, slender height, she looked like a very young girl. A year or two older than Rietta or Yuria at most.

The moment he realized that, goosebumps ran down Gunther’s back.

Meanwhile, ignoring all the stares fixed on her, she muttered something quietly. The voice was so low that only Gunther, standing closest, barely managed to hear it. Though... more likely, it had been meant specifically for him.

— You dodged that?..

In the very center of the capital. A horrifying murder before the eyes of countless powerhouses. It was obvious what fate awaited the killer. Yet she herself was perfectly calm.

Shhk-shhk.

With a light gait, as if strolling, she walked past Gunther and yanked the flail free from the Founder King’s stone.

Crack...

Only then did people realize: the stone that Yuria’s aura had failed to even scratch was half destroyed.

Shrring!

All at once, the metallic chorus of swords leaving sheaths rang out everywhere. The platoon fighters, having sensed something too, began running toward Gunther. But Gunther had no time to look at them. He could not take his eyes off the girl before him.

It was as if a predator stood there. Instinct whispered: look away, and she attacks.

The girl lifted her gaze toward the sky, as though listening to divine revelation.

— A ve-e-ery carefully prepared operation, but this time it can’t be helped, right?

The end of the flail pointed at Gunther.

Screeeech!

The moment that enormous mass began to move, the air screamed as it tore apart.

— How could we possibly miss the chance to “punish” the one defiling a god’s domain? That’s the priority mission. Masiu can go to hell.

Those words. In Gunther’s mind flashed the messages that had appeared immediately after reality changed.

[Seren Mayra raises her festering nose and inhales your scent]

[Jean Daet stretches his moist giant tentacles toward you]

[Remesia deduces your location. Hundreds, thousands of eyes probe the space around you]

And he understood: the consequences of the Seven Evil Gods becoming aware of his existence had crashed down on him far faster and more directly than he had expected. At the same time, the enemy’s identity became clear. After all, “Raymond” had not been able to save “all the apostles.” There had been those who gained their status even before his appointment to Audrey House.

— N-no...

Terrified voices came from behind him—Rietta and Yuria.

Wooooosh!

A massive flail. Overwhelming power. The cult symbolizing Luthien’s “strength,” the very one that in the previous iteration had butchered the great admiral of Nereus.

— Apostle of Justice... Revmael.

— Bingo.

The girl’s hand rose. In the instant the flail began to descend, Gunther understood everything.

This was not an attack. It was a sentence.

---------!

The air exploded apart in fear, the void filling with pressure and thunder. Gunther swung his sword with all his strength. Flame of Eternal Torment. Blue fire completely swallowed the blade.

.

.

.

Clang!

Through the fragments of the Straight Line of Despair raining down like debris, Gunther saw heaps of familiar chains rising from the stands. And fires in different parts of the capital. A nervous laugh escaped his chest.

“This is completely finished...”

It seemed he had stepped onto a carefully prepared board. A completed stage where even the slightest escape route had been erased.

.

.

.

Ding!

[You have died]