Surviving without God

— How did you...

Fog. The being who had just thrown a warning at Gunther Sirhe stared at him with eyes filled with absolute incomprehension.

— How did you find me?

Wariness. Hostility. A familiar face now reflected completely foreign emotions. Gunther slowly took a step back, never taking his eyes off the sea-colored hair swaying in the mist.

“...Ruler of the Oceans.”

There was no mistake. He had already encountered her incarnations more than once. He would recognize her among a thousand.

Though now, she seemed far more subdued. Could this be the period when she was only beginning to step away from her human nature and toward divinity? Gunther’s eyelids twitched faintly.

“But why is she alone?”

Where were the other three gods who always followed her as a group? It was extremely strange that she, a mage, would be wandering this dangerous space alone. Gunther immediately addressed the void, calling out to his three gods:

“Why is she alone? Don’t you understand what time this is, and what’s happening at all?”

[......]

“Ruler of the Oceans, are you watching? That’s you.”

[......]

Silence. No answer came. Gunther’s # Nоvеlight # brows slowly drew together as a voice cut through:

— Answer.

The word was sharp, like the edge of a blade.

— How did you break through my concealment magic and track me? Who are you, and what are you doing in this Poppy Mirror? 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

This was no empty threat. The head of her staff slowly rose and pointed straight at Gunther.

Uuuuuuu—

Colossal mana pressed down on everything. His skin instantly prickled with goosebumps. The sheer, overwhelming power made his hair stand on end—no mage from his time even came close to what he was feeling now.

— I’ll give you ten seconds.

Gunther understood: she truly intended to kill him.

“Why? Why such extremity?”

Of course, his sudden appearance in the middle of this black fog—a place called the “Poppy Mirror”—looked suspicious. Most likely, this was territory of the Evil Gods. But even taking that into account, her suspicion was excessive.

“If she uses mana here, the Evil Gods will notice her. Is she trying to commit suicide?”

— Eight.

Her cold voice ticked down the numbers. Gunther’s thoughts raced. Why was she, always so composed, acting so recklessly?

Despite her commanding tone, something flickered deep within her pupils—an inexplicable anxiety. Urgency. Fear. Like a lost child.

...And the key to lowering her guard and gaining her help lay precisely in the reason for that fear.

— Six... Five.

The mana intensified. Its pressure was so immense that even the fog began to retreat. Gunther recalled the words of Alphonse of Red Street: Rahenia was one of the three greatest mages in all of human history.

— Two, one. Time’s up.

— First, I’ll reveal my identity. I’m an ordinary human.

— ...Hm.

The light at the tip of her staff flared even brighter. Her face was obscured by the radiance, but Gunther already knew—she hadn’t believed a single word.

— You may look human. But you won’t deceive me. How dare you call yourself human while carrying a fragment of divinity within you?

...A fragment of divinity?

Ah.

Gunther exhaled quietly. She must be referring to the fragment left to him by the Vanguard of the Dark Night—a trace tied to an Evil God.

— Unknown deity. I only helped you because the boundary between good and evil within you is blurred, but since you broke my concealment and tracked me... do not expect mercy.

Mana surged like a rising tide. Suspicion and anger from the Ruler of the Oceans were on the verge of erupting when Gunther spoke calmly:

— Kalos. El. Dietrich.

He spoke the true names of the three gods.

— ......?

She flinched.

— You came here chasing them, didn’t you? The ones who disappeared?

The gamble on knowledge from the future paid off. For the first time, the Ruler of the Oceans’ pupils widened in shock.

Gunther clearly remembered his conversation with her in the future.

“One night, just before the final line of defense fell, they left. No one knew why or where. They left me alone, wounded... and simply vanished.”

“And the next morning, when they still hadn’t returned, the Evil Gods began losing their power. We couldn’t destroy them completely, but people slowly began to reclaim what was lost.”

“But at the same time... those three were erased from the world.”

He remembered that sorrowful voice. Three gods whose feats and legacy outshone any other.

Yet from that day on, humanity forgot them. The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats, the Drug-Addicted Saint, Alphonse of Red Street—only disgraceful nicknames remained, while they themselves were sealed in some unknown space under eternal prohibition.

Guided by instinct, Gunther continued:

— I... am their friend.

The Ruler of the Oceans. There was only one reason she would recklessly throw herself alone into such a dangerous place.

“This is happening today.”

The day when the three gods sacrificed their divinity to save humanity. The moment they became “Forgotten Gods.”

From that day forward, she would spend centuries searching for even the faintest trace of her vanished friends.

Looking through the dimming glow of the staff at the trembling Rahenia, Gunther added one final line:

— Though I’m a friend from the future.

Gunther gave the Ruler of the Oceans only the necessary information, deliberately omitting details that could cause chaos. For example, the tragedy awaiting the three gods.

However, he confirmed that today the world would be saved by their power, and also warned her that the Luthien Theocracy would not disappear and would one day return to threaten them again.

In truth, this “confession” was a complete gamble. It was incredibly hard to believe such a story. But Gunther bet on one thing—she was a “Mage.”

In this world, mages are not simply those who throw fireballs. In a world where gods exist, mages are those who do not deny the world’s anomalies but seek to understand them. Those who do not fear the unknown, but accept it.

Without that mindset, one cannot even be called a mage—and she stood at the very pinnacle. She would not be able to completely reject even such a mad concept as time travel.

Moreover, Gunther knew how she reacted to the existence of a “Regressor” in his future.

— Regressor... So in the future, humanity conquered time? Or is it coincidence? Fate?..

As expected, the Ruler of the Oceans remained composed. She did not dismiss him as insane. Shock and cold calculation mixed in her gaze as she evaluated the truth of his words. But Gunther had a secret weapon to completely shatter her doubts.

— Ahem.

— ......?

Gunther cleared his throat. It was difficult to imitate the deep, rumbling voice of the King of Knights, but he could manage something close.

— Rahenia.

— ......?

— When I’m beside you, breathing becomes strangely easy. Even if we’re not on the battlefield... it feels like this is where I’m meant to be.

— ......?!

Alphonse had once told him this story at the Star Watch, laughing himself to tears. He had overheard the greatest confession of the King of Knights’ life—and for that, he had been rammed in fury and sent flying off a cliff. Fortunately, Gunther remembered that awkward line word for word.

— Rahenia, today I tremble not from fear of the enemy, but—

— S-s-stop!!!!!!!

— Ghk!

The Ruler of the Oceans smacked Gunther with her staff.

— Fine, I believe you, just shut up! Have you lost your mind?! Was that Kalos? That damned Kalos is at it again!..

That proved at least one thing: Gunther truly was close to the three of them.

“Now she has no choice but to believe me.”

Those three gods meant everything to Rahenia. They were the ones who had pulled her, lost in magic, out of the ocean tower and into the wider world. With them, she had laughed and fought for justice. For centuries after they were erased from memory, she searched for their names.

Naturally, her attitude toward Gunther changed.

— Fine. I believe you.

The grandeur vanished from Rahenia’s voice. The light at the tip of her staff went out completely.

— I don’t have a choice. Even the Evil Gods wouldn’t approach me in such a stupid way!

She let out a quiet sigh.

— So, what did you say your name was?

— Gunther. You can call me Gunther.

— ...And why are you speaking so casually?

Gunther shrugged.

— In the future, we don’t use formalities.

— Insolent. No wonder you got along with Kalos.

Rahenia finally lowered her staff.

— Fine, Gunther. Why were you looking for me? And where are those idiots now?

— I need help. A way to survive and get out of here.

He needed to know how to survive the Pope’s trap. Gunther continued:

— Sorry, but I don’t know where the three of them are right now either. I only just arrived here. However... I have a guess.

— A guess?

Gunther fell silent and shifted his gaze behind Rahenia.

— We’ll discuss the details later.

Movement stirred beyond the fog. It was not the overwhelming presence of the “King of Hunger” he had encountered before. This was something else—a group. And none of them were weak. It seemed the Evil Gods under Luthien were roaming in packs. Gunther smirked.

— What is this place, anyway?

— The Poppy Mirror, — Rahenia answered briefly. — A place where the capital of the Luthien Theocracy once stood.

The situation here was far worse for humanity than in Gunther’s time. The ritual to manifest the Seven Evil Gods was nearing completion. Other Evil Gods had already descended and devoured countless people. This place was the epicenter of their atrocities—the deepest and darkest abyss.

— Let’s move to a safer zone first.

— There are such places here?

— Not completely safe, but better than this.

After speaking, Rahenia murmured quietly into the void:

[Baldrak]

Whoooosh—

Gunther felt something approaching at tremendous speed. The fog split apart instantly. When the figure emerged, Gunther reflexively grabbed his greatsword. He nearly struck—it was that powerful.

— This is...

Before him stood a bipedal beast. Its form blended wolf, lion, and tiger—an embodiment of all predators at once. It stood five meters tall. Curved legs with massive thighs, a broad, powerful chest. Its arms hung nearly to its knees due to its overdeveloped shoulders.

A dangerously powerful beastman. In its hands it held a massive bow, as if made from someone’s spine—an oversized siege weapon. At its waist hung two daggers of the same material. Its posture resembled a drawn bowstring, ready to release at any moment. The beast looked at Rahenia, and its knife-like teeth clicked together.

— Grrr, Rahenia, grrr, you called? Did you find them?

— No, but I found another lead. Take us to the outskirts.

— ...This one, grrr, who is he? He smells strange.

Gunther narrowed his eyes. Something felt familiar. Not the monstrous appearance, but the weapon set: bow and twin daggers.

— ...Sniper with the double claw?

The beast’s massive head slowly turned toward Gunther.

— You, grrr, know me?

Of course he did. An ancient deity contracted by the old sniper from the Society of Forgotten Books. A being that reacted strongly upon meeting the Ruler of the Oceans. One of the forgotten gods of the past.

“To break through the Poppy Mirror... there’s no better team.”

Thud—

Gunther pushed off the ground and landed lightly on the beast’s broad shoulder.

— Let’s go.

— Grrr, insolent... brat.

Grumbling, the beast named Baldrak carefully picked up Rahenia and—

Boom!

He launched forward as if to shatter the ground beneath him. His thigh muscles swelled, doubling in size, and he moved so fast his body blurred.

Whoooooosh—

The speed distorted vision. The fog-laden wind burned against the skin. Yet within this insane sprint, Gunther’s thoughts only became clearer.

“......”

His claim that he had a guess about the three gods was not a lie for survival.

The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats. The Drug-Addicted Saint. Alphonse of Red Street. Beings who had been with him since the moment of his arrival, yet hid more secrets than anyone else. They knew about “Return After Death” and “Karma” long before he did.

Gunther had always wondered how that was possible.

“Yes... so that’s it.”

Scattered fragments began forming a single picture. This was no coincidence. Fate had guided him. This was a grand and ancient plan.

Gunther tightened his grip on Baldrak’s mane.

— Grrr, that hurts.