Surviving without God

After long deliberation, Gunther decided not to inform the platoon members about the situation. Under circumstances where it was completely unknown how many enemies had infiltrated and by what exact method, it was justified. If someone was watching them, it was better to avoid mass movement. For now, he would act alone.

“...Alright, we’ll head to the lodging for now.”

“Ah? Looks like you ran into someone you know? Don’t rush, take care of your business.”

“There are times when you just want to mope alone.”

They spoke casually, but every one of them was a veteran. From Gunther’s tone and expression alone, they had already sensed that the situation was different from normal. Most likely, after hearing the details from Rietta, each of them would begin moving independently and with the utmost caution.

Faith that they could handle things on their own. Gunther walked in step with the others for a while, and then—

Rustle—

Naturally dissolved into the crowd. The shadow serpent attached to the figure presumed to be Audrey was moving away at a steady speed. They were still on the main street for now, but there was no telling when the target would turn into the alleys. He needed to hurry.

[Unique area activated: Red Lantern (Lv. 1)]

Concealing his presence, Gunther was the first to slip toward the alleys. His field of vision narrowed instantly. Finding the place with the fewest people, he climbed the railing and scaled the tallest nearby structure. Voices and the roar of the crowd drifted up from below.

“We should sleep early today so we can go watch the Holy Sword trial tomorrow. Let’s go home already.”

“Aaaah, I don’t want to! I still want to stay out!”

“Who did you get that stubbornness from?”

Gunther took a high position from which he could watch the target’s route. A robed figure no larger than a finger from this distance was hurrying somewhere.

Click—

Gunther pulled the Mask of the Sworn from inside his coat and put it on. The cold surface fit tightly against his face. The black, lightless material flowed like liquid, merging with his skin. It was an artifact that granted a bonus to stealth.

[Alphonse of Red Street remarks that the enemy is layered with an enormous number of curses and spells.]

[If this had been an ordinary tracking spell instead of the shadow serpent, it would have been nullified immediately.]

[The Drug-Addicted Saint frowns and notes that the techniques layered onto them belong not to one cult, but several.]

Gunther’s gaze turned cold.

“It seems... the scale of this operation may be larger than I thought.”

There was enough evidence for that conclusion. First, the Hierarch of the Cult of Justice was acting directly. On top of that, Audrey belonged to the Cult of Protection. Of course, it still could not be stated with certainty that it was really her... but the chains that had burst from the stands were far too similar to the techniques of Audrey that Gunther remembered.

“Interference from two cults is already confirmed.”

The problem was that if she had truly been resurrected, there was a high probability that mages of the Cult of Healing were nearby as well. The Cult of Healing, to which Yuria and “Raymond” had once belonged, was an organization dealing not only with illness but also necromancy. This was the worst possible development for a festival packed with crowds like this.

“And on top of that... Masiu may even be here.”

Three, perhaps even four cults might be operating simultaneously. Most likely, this was yet another unforeseen side effect of the Reality Rewrite. Because Luthien’s overall activity had decreased, the number of patrols had been reduced, and because of that the warning signs had not been detected in advance.

In short—this situation was more dangerous than any stage he had passed through so far. Despite the cold weather, a chill of sweat ran down Gunther’s back.

“I need to get some kind of information. If I leave this as it is, Valloren will be in danger.”

The fall of Valloren would become a threat to the Union of Kingdoms and, in time, the entire continent. Gunther fixed his gaze on “Audrey,” hurrying after her. Meanwhile, she left the busy districts and headed toward the outskirts of the city.

“...Heading to the outskirts? Then surely that means...”

That should be where the agricultural facilities were concentrated. As had already been said, Valloren was a blessed agrarian nation whose territory mostly consisted of farmland. So unlike the residential and commercial quarters in the center, the outskirts were full of the corresponding structures.

Enormous granaries, entire complexes of mills, and beyond them vast grounds for livestock and warhorses.

“Sabotage here won’t be easy.”

All of these were key facilities, the “blood vessels” of Valloren, so even during the festival the security here was reinforced. The sightlines of patrols and watchtowers overlapped densely. High-ranking knights were constantly stationed here, and the defensive installations rivaled military facilities.

...Rustle.

However, “Audrey” moved carefully, yet without hesitation. And the place she finally arrived at...

Vwoooosh—

Along with a deafening roar, a massive structure came into view.

“A mill?”

Between the lower canal of the inner fortress and the outer wall stood a complex of enormous water mills powered by the river. These were facilities for immediately processing grain the moment it passed through the city gates. As he approached, the roar of the water grew louder and louder. At that very moment, Audrey’s silhouette slipped between the rotating waterwheels. At the entrance to the mill complex, Gunther froze for a moment.

“It’s winter, and the mills are still turning?”

[Alphonse of Red Street explains that mills often operate precisely at the end of winter rather than during the height of harvest.]

[Because this is the preparation period for spring sowing.]

“...How do you know so much?”

[Alphonse of Red Street gives a wink, as if to say there are reasons.]

[The Drug-Addicted Saint squeezes their eyes shut.]

Inside the complex, everything seemed orderly yet labyrinthine. The groaning of thick beams and iron axles, streams of water crashing against the floor in white foam. There was no sense of human presence, but strange shadows danced everywhere.

Gunther began moving forward carefully. Flour particles scattered beneath his feet.

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats narrows his eyes.]

[He says the grind is much finer than ordinary army grain.]

[He assumes this is an area for producing special flour for festive sweets... the kind mixed with honey, nuts, and dried fruits.]

Gunther frowned.

“...A sweets mill and Audrey.”

There was a limit to how much mismatch something could contain. And that only made it more disturbing. Gunther quickened his pace. The roar of the wheels, the dust, the steam—the environment itself perfectly concealed all traces. If not for the shadow serpent, he would have lost her.

—...!

Audrey, weaving between the mills, seemed to be swallowed into one of the buildings. Gunther instantly scaled the outer wall and climbed onto the roof of that mill.

Rustle—

He lowered himself and crawled. At the center of the roof was a ventilation slit. The gap between the boards was about a finger wide. Holding his breath, Gunther pressed his eye to the crack.

“...This is it.”

It seemed to be the grain grinding chamber. Two enormous millstones rotated slowly but steadily, and beside them mountains of flour sacks had been piled up. The view was hazy with dust and steam, but the silhouette standing in the very center was perfectly clear.

Audrey. She finally threw back her hood. Only then did Gunther understand why Rietta had been so shaken.

“...She’s young.”

Her appearance was as if it had been rewound by «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» several decades. The face of a woman who looked no older than fifty was radically different from the wrinkled old nun he remembered. Gunther clenched his teeth.

“I definitely tore her apart and killed her.”

He had finished her off so thoroughly that even the necromancers of the Cult of Healing should not have been able to bring her back. Questions swirled in his head, but Gunther forcibly suppressed them. This was not the time to think.

Step—

Two more silhouettes emerged from the shadow on the opposite side. There were two of them.

One was short. Completely wrapped in a thick robe so the face could not be seen. But the hands were unnaturally long—they extended a full third past the sleeves. In the lamplight, the backs of the hands appeared, covered entirely in burns and blisters.

The second was enormous. He too wore a robe concealing the face. Every time he moved, a faint stench drifted out. His body seemed mutilated; every movement looked unnatural and crooked.

At the moment the shorter silhouette stopped directly in front of Audrey...

Vzzz—

[Bonus activated: “Compass”]

A translucent compass appeared in the air. Gunther reflexively held his breath as he looked at it. The needle spun wildly and then...

Tick—

It stopped, pointing in the direction directly opposite where Gunther was.

The needle trembled as if begging him to run immediately. Gunther suddenly remembered: after the bonus had leveled up, it gained the ability to help avoid misfortune in advance.

“...Misfortune, huh.”

But now was not the moment to retreat. Even if it cost him one death counter, he needed information. Gunther ignored the warning and pressed his eye to the crack in the floor again.

“------.”

“------.”

...Damn it. Gunther cursed inwardly.

There was dialogue, but he could hear nothing. The roar produced by the waterwheels swallowed every sound. It seemed they had established some kind of barrier: neither mana nor perception through the shadow serpent could penetrate inside.

“Then at least this.”

Gunther shifted to see Audrey’s lips and read them.

Creak—

The sound of warped wood. Dust cascaded down. Gunther instantly rolled onto his back and stared at the sky.

“...”

Cold sweat ran down his spine.

“...”

Fortunately, there was no reaction from below. With extreme caution, Gunther slowly turned back and pressed himself to the slit once more.

And instead of the interior of the mill... he met a pair of yellow eyes staring straight through him.

“...Bitch.”

Audrey was hanging from the ceiling directly beneath him on all fours, staring up at him. Like a spider. The smile on her rejuvenated face was far too thin and sharp to be called human.

There was no time to think. Gunther instantly kicked off and launched himself into the air.

Ch-ch-clack—

The moment he directed force into the ring, bluish-black particles scattered through the air. They condensed into the form of armor, wrapping around his body. The outlines of the armor had barely finished forming over his arms, chest, and shoulders.

And almost at the same moment...

BA-BA-BOOM!

Dozens of translucent chains burst outward from Audrey’s body in a fan. Against the night sky they rained down like countless tentacles. This was clearly a full-force strike. Gunther’s eyes trembled slightly.

“She doesn’t care about the guards around us? Then she doesn’t mind being discovered... Whatever their plan is, it’s already in its final stage...”

BAM!

Even as he thought that, the first chain lashed Gunther from the side. The armor roared from the impact, transmitting the force inward. Then the second, the third. Blow after blow rained down. Gunther’s body spun in the air and was hurled backward.

“Kh—!”

A sword against chains—the worst possible compatibility. Several chains tightened, binding the Straight Line of Despair and interfering with his movement.

Fighting in this body was clearly harder than fighting in Raymond’s. After all, Raymond’s physical stats had been on an entirely different level.

“...Can’t be helped.”

But Gunther had a method.

[All reserved stat points have been used (12)]

[Agility: 70 → 80]

[Endurance: 63 → 65]

[Agility has reached 80]

[Reaction delay to external stimuli has been reduced to the limit]

[Your body no longer “reacts,” it begins moving ahead of time by anticipating the situation]

His shaking vision sharpened, the trajectories of the chains seeming to stretch through time. An impossible lightness settled into his body. Gunther narrowly managed to evade the links wrapping toward him.

Fortunately, besides the stat points he had saved, he still had one more trump card.

The fact that he had already faced this technique before.

“I can see them!”

The attack came exactly along the predicted trajectory. At that instant, confidence solidified inside him.

This was Audrey. Even rejuvenated, she could not be mistaken. A fighting style was like a fingerprint. The sensations engraved into memory between life and death could not lie.

[Skill activated: Eyes of the Tyrant (Lv. 2)]

Gunther deflected every chain. Tearing apart the restraints and pressure by force, he widened the distance.

“...”

However, the expected follow-up attack did not come. On the shattered roof of the mill, Audrey stood there and slowly tilted her head. As if checking something. Then she whispered:

“...Raymond?”

At that instant goosebumps ran down Gunther’s spine. But he had no chance to react.

Whoosh—

Audrey’s figure distorted in the air like a mirage, and...

Clink—

Vanished, leaving behind only the faint ringing of chains. Gunther reflexively looked below.

“Ha...”

The two unknown figures she had been meeting with were gone as well, without leaving a trace.

Incomprehensible. Right now Gunther was roughly equal to Audrey in strength. If those two had joined her, he would not have lasted long.

“But why did they run...?”

Silence returned to the mill. Only the sound of water and the turning millstones filled the late night.

“I need to leave.”

The guards would be here soon. He needed to get out before unnecessary trouble arose. Gunther kicked off the ground, jumped back onto the roof of the mill, and...

“Ah.”

Too late, he realized he had overlooked something.

“The Compass.”

The bonus that pointed toward misfortune, fortune, or immense Karma. Why had its needle pointed in the “opposite direction”? Why had Audrey retreated when she had him in her grasp?

Step—

Footsteps sounded behind him.