Surviving without God

In short, in the original story, Rahenia failed to catch up with the three gods.

And the very next day, the “existence” of those three gods began to fade.

The people who worshipped them, the comrades who fought shoulder to shoulder with them... as if such beings had never existed, they gradually began to lose their memories. Only Rahenia, thanks to the protection of transcendent magic, managed to retain them.

Thus, their radiant legends, their great achievements, and even their final sacrifice were completely erased from human consciousness and records. Only distorted stories and pitiful fragments remained.

Rahenia of the present time once muttered, as if unable to comprehend it:

— A contract woven from the entirety of accumulated divine greatness... a contract whose price was existence itself... They had already reached the threshold of the highest divine rank. And such beings made a contract by sacrificing themselves? With whom... and for what?

Now, as he moved step by step closer to the truth, Gunther Sirhe felt a vague unease: he had a faint idea of what he would face, but could not find certainty.

— Grrr, ahead! — Baldrak’s shout broke his thoughts.

— Prepare for battle!

The path to the center of the Magic Lands turned out to be “unexpectedly” smooth. Along the route Baldrak led them, there were no threats like the “Hungry Bear.”

...Although, to be precise, there were.

Evil Gods—already dead, preserving only their forms. Torn apart, crushed, ground into the dirt. These were traces left by the three gods who had passed through here.

However, that didn’t mean the place was empty. The inhabitants of the Magic Lands, drawn by the noise, came out to greet them. A motley collection of Evil Gods.

Scrrrk!

Gunther raised his head. Right in front of him stood something truly monstrous.

A spider the size of a skyscraper. On its body... where eyes should have been, dozens of human faces were embedded, twisted and crushed together. From those gaping mouths burst screams and dying wails. Gunther took a deep breath and shouted like lightning:

— I’ll strike first!

Pushing off Baldrak’s shoulder, Gunther shot forward. From the outside, it looked reckless. But he knew.

Hesitate for even a moment, waste even a second—and the creature would complete its spell, and they would die horribly.

Whoooosh—

Through the tearing whistle of the air came the fresh sound of waves. In the next instant, his ears rang as if submerged underwater.

Tiling!

[The power of the boundless deep sea flows into you]

[Mana within the body surges sharply]

[Resistance to external interference has reached its limit]

The mana of the Ruler of the Oceans directly reinforced Gunther’s own. An overwhelming enhancement.

Fwoom!

The “Flame of Eternal Torment” enveloping his blade swelled nearly threefold.

[...A-a-a-a]

The Evil God, startled by Gunther’s sudden charge, raised its legs and stretched its limbs.

Clang!

Hundreds of magic circles flared into existence one after another in the air. Layers of geometric patterns. Poison burst outward like an explosion, while sticky webs poured down like rain.

Fwoom!

But the true value of the “Flame of Eternal Torment” was not simple firepower.

Amid the incoming attacks, the flames flared even brighter. As if reacting, the surrounding shadows distorted like ripples on water.

[Night descends upon the abyss]

[Area declared — “Night”]

[The Red Lantern illuminates the boundary]

[Area overlap — “Red Lantern”]

[Shadow Leap activated]

[“Red Lantern” stealth effect merges with the leap]

Gunther’s silhouette blurred and vanished.

And in the next instant, he was there—within the shadow of the spider-like Evil God.

Crunch!

The flame-wrapped greatsword pierced one of its eight legs. The steel-hard joint twisted and shattered into fragments. Fire spread to the body. A bizarre scream erupted.

[When was the first time no this is the end the end continues a-a-a-a-a!]

...If not for his high resistance to the divine, he would have collapsed on the spot, coughing blood.

Boom!

Gunther slipped past the remaining seven legs crashing down and began carving into the spider’s body with a barrage of strikes.

Whoooosh!

But something else had targeted him. Beneath the rubble of a collapsed building, within the cracks, a silhouette lurked.

“—!”

An Evil God in the form of a serpent over thirty meters long opened its jaws and lunged.

It was like a train barreling toward him. But Gunther didn’t even turn his gaze, focusing solely on tearing apart the spider before him.

— Grrr!

Baldrak reacted instead. He leapt and intercepted the serpent’s head, slamming it into the ground.

Crunch—grind—

Clamping down on its neck, he pinned it to the earth. Debris flew as the massive body thrashed violently. Holding it in place, Baldrak repeatedly drove his dagger between its scales.

Thud! Thud!

The resistance slowly faded. But the crisis was not over.

Rrrrrrr—

A tremor rolled in from beyond the fog, so strong it made their teeth chatter.

...There were many of them. They had barely dealt with two. With that number, they would be surrounded and torn apart in an instant.

But Gunther and Baldrak did not waver.

— Grrr, hold tight!

Baldrak grabbed Gunther and dashed backward at full speed. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they had anticipated this situation.

And then...

Shhh—

The surrounding fog was swept away in an instant. A torrent of mana tore through the air. A clear voice rang out:

— Boundless Sea!

Splash—

The sound of the ocean. For a moment, # Nоvеlight # it felt as if everything was an illusion, as if he were standing on a sandy beach.

Whoooooosh!

Reality returned. A colossal tsunami, ready to swallow the sky itself. An overwhelming mass of water devouring the ruins, the fog, even the presence of the Evil Gods. The magic the Ruler of the Oceans had been preparing for a full ten minutes was complete.

The Evil Gods instinctively turned to flee.

Too late.

Boom!

The waves surged like a tsunami—then suddenly compressed and shot forward.

A sphere, a hundred meters in diameter, formed of compressed sea water, hung above the Evil Gods. And then—

Zzzzzzz—

Like a solar flare. The sphere cracked, and thousands—tens of thousands—of water lashes burst outward in all directions.

Boom! Whoooosh!

Where they passed, the flesh of the Evil Gods was erased from reality. Torn apart, crushed, annihilated. This was a “whip wielded by the sea itself.”

[You have witnessed ancient transcendent magic]

[Partially understood the principles of “Boundless Sea”]

[Mana control has improved, mana sensitivity slightly increased]

Gunther exhaled, watching until the high-pressure streams completely erased the Evil Gods. When all hostile presence finally vanished, Rahenia emerged from behind nearby ruins. Her face was pale from excessive mana consumption, but her eyes still shone with clarity.

— Ha... ha...

— ...

— You made me believe. Everything happened exactly as you said. Not a single mistake.

Gunther gave a faint smile.

— I could watch that reaction forever.

— So... how many times did you say you had to die to get here?

Gunther reflexively checked his status window.

[36/99]

— Seven times.

— ...Seven times.

Admiration and pity flickered in Rahenia’s eyes at once.

— ...And every time like this? An ability called “Return”... I can’t say I envy it.

Wasting lives was regrettable, but there was no other way.

This place was essentially a “high-level zone.” An area one should only enter after exhausting all possible development.

“With my current strength, I shouldn’t be fighting here at all.”

But leaving all combat to two divine beings was never an option.

Rahenia might look fine, but she had been injured badly enough that the three gods were forced to leave her behind. Baldrak had also suffered significant wounds during reconnaissance.

In the end, there was only one path—consume “Return.”

Gunther had died seven times. And using those seven deaths as a foundation, he carved out the “shortest route” to the goal.

— But we made it here alive, didn’t we?

Ahead, the Papal Palace came into view. Strangely, the fog there was thinner. As if they weren’t even trying to hide what was happening.

Rahenia looked at Gunther.

— Inside... I can feel their presence.

Boom!

A distant crash echoed. The vibration brushed against his skin. Gunther narrowed his eyes.

He could feel it. The familiar power of the three gods. But comparing it to his own strength was meaningless.

Hundreds of times stronger? Even such measures couldn’t contain it. The Evil Gods within the palace were simply being swept away. A power so overwhelming that even Rahenia, who had just demonstrated transcendent magic, seemed several levels weaker.

Tiling!

[Extreme foundational force detected]

[Fragment of divine greatness resonates with a higher state]

Even sensing that power triggered a system message he had never seen before.

“...You really were legends.”

He muttered it out of habit, but of course, there was no reply. Perhaps because, in this time, the “three gods of the past” still existed. The connection remained severed. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

In a situation like this, even a single word of advice from them would have been immense help... Gunther swallowed the bitterness and turned back to Rahenia.

— Fortunately, all three seem alive and well. Let’s hurry and join them.

But why? She, who had been so desperate to reunite with them, suddenly froze in place.

— ...Rahenia?

— No, it’s nothing.

A short, dry reply. But for a moment, her expression had been strangely rigid.

Soon, she moved again, as if every second mattered. She signaled to Baldrak.

— Baldrak!

— Grrr, ready.

— Hurry. We don’t have much time.

Whoooosh—

Baldrak lifted them onto his shoulders and immediately burst forward. The landscape blurred instantly. The Papal Palace was moments away.

Then Rahenia raised her hand and formed a barrier so the wind wouldn’t scatter her words.

— Gunther, promise me one thing.

Gunther met her sea-colored eyes.

— ...If it’s within my power.

— If you feel guilt—discard it completely.

...The meaning of those words, Gunther would only fully understand later.

Leaving that unfinished, they arrived at the Papal Palace.

.

.

.

And there they were—three figures staring at them in disbelief.

— My God... Rahenia.

— Looks like she followed us. Dietrich, you’re dead. Rahenia! I told you we should’ve brought her! Seriously!

— Rahenia! Baldrak! It’s dangerous here, why did you come! But... I’m still glad to see you...

Then came a brief silence.

— But this man... who is he? I’ve never seen him before.

— Hm, looks like a typical gigolo, wouldn’t you say?

— ...I like him.