Surviving without God

The interior of the “Lesser Formation of Omnivorous Devouring” was nothing like what it appeared from the outside.

— Ugh, disgusting.

Moist, damp, fleshy walls surrounded them on all sides. Tiny blood vessels intertwined across the surface, pulsing faintly. Anyone with a weak stomach would have vomited at the sight... but that did not apply to the two intruders. An inappropriately cheerful voice rang out.

— And you’re saying we’ll find the Gate of Life quickly? How exactly?

— I’d need a board to explain it. A big one.

— ...Hm. Look at him, dodging the question.

Tarsha shot a suspicious look at Gunther’s back. She had already acknowledged that this guy was multifaceted. But to “read” the Gate of Life in a high-tier magic formation just like that? Even Levain, who graduated second from the Royal Academy, couldn’t do such a thing.

“Well, I trusted him and followed... but...”

Now that she stood inside this grotesque place, her confidence began to thin.

“Absorption and compression type... He said our life force will be drained over time, and if we take a wrong turn, we’ll just get crushed.”

Yet Gunther walked forward without hesitation, as if strolling through his own home. “Seren Gless,” secured to his back, swayed heavily, reflecting red glints in the crimson light.

“What an arrogant brute. A total tank.”

...That kind of reckless confidence had a way of spreading to companions.

“And that’s exactly why I like him.”

The corners of Tarsha’s lips lifted slightly as she hurried after him. That was when Gunther gave his first instruction.

— Tarsha.

— Mm?

— I know lightning magic grows stronger the longer you prepare it.

— ...Out of nowhere? Well, generally true. Even a basic “Lightning Arrow,” if you hold the cast long enough, becomes as strong as a “Lightning Spear.” Though it eats an absurd amount of mana.

Gunther nodded in satisfaction.

— Good. Then start preparing the strongest spell you can right now. We strike the moment we exit.

— Huh? Full charge? That’s wildly inefficient.

— You can burn all your mana.

Tarsha tilted her head in confusion, then her eyes widened in realization.

Normally, a deliberately prolonged “fully charged spell” was useless in real combat. An enemy mage sensing danger would interrupt, counterattack, or simply move aside. But inside this Illusory Space, things were different. The enemies outside would never know magic was being prepared.

“So that’s why he brought me.”

If Gunther truly found the Gate of Life quickly as promised, she could unleash a maximally charged spell straight into the enemy’s core.

“...He really believes we’re getting out.”

Tarsha chose to trust him completely. With deadly seriousness, she touched the crystal atop her staff.

Crack-crack-crack-crack!

Electric discharge filled the space instantly. The surrounding air saturated with charged particles. Her hair and robe hems shot upward as thin bolts of lightning danced around her. Condensing mana pulsed and compressed, lightning’s breath crawling along her skin.

— Gunther...

— Speak.

— Find the exit fast. I can’t hold this long.

Gunther nodded.

— No problem.

With that, he abruptly accelerated into a run. Tarsha hung over one of his shoulders.

— H-hey—?!

While she focused desperately on controlling the mana so she wouldn’t accidentally incinerate him, Gunther rapidly skimmed the warning messages appearing before his eyes.

[You are moving above the permitted speed.]

[You have violated the implicit rule of the Lesser Formation of Omnivorous Devouring.]

[All Gates of Return convert to Gates of Death.]

[Current Gate count: Gates of Death — 31, Gate of Life — 1.]

Boom!

The internal space distorted violently. Damp, sticky air surged from every direction. The floor began to collapse beneath them. From afar came the sickening sound of flesh being chewed, accompanied by the nauseating stench of blood.

— Gunther!

At that critical moment, Tarsha slapped his shoulder and shouted.

— There! Isn’t that the Gate of Life?!

At the end of her gaze stood an ordinary-looking door, utterly out of place in this grotesque interior. Soft sunlight spilled from the crack. The scent of flowers and warmth drifted out.

Thud-thud!

Gunther ran past it without hesitation.

The half-open door flung wide, and the accumulated compression barrier inside burst outward like an explosion. Dozens of layered energy membranes shrieked with sharp vibrations as they slammed toward their backs.

Bang!

Only a heartbeat separated them.

— Kyaa!

— I’ll find the Gate of Life. Just focus on your cast!

If Tarsha could see what he saw, she would understand why this was more efficient.

Ding!

[...Reading in progress.]

The formation’s structure, energy flows, and pathways appeared before him like a map. The Gates of Death carried murky, dark currents like veins in rotten flesh — power circulating in self-consumption. But at the very center, one slender capillary flowed in reverse. A path radiating pure, cool aura.

That was the Gate of Life.

[Understanding of magic formations increased.]

[Passive skill “Heavenly Mechanism Vision” created.]

...He had doubted before testing it, but this ability was worth every unit of his thousands-deep Karma debt.

— Here!

Gunther tore through the labyrinth and finally halted before the Gate of Life, lowering Tarsha to the ground. She looked around, confused.

— Here...?

There was no doorframe. Just a circular hole in the floor, as if carved out. A deep shaft whose bottom could not be seen — the kind of place one instinctively avoided.

Gunther pointed firmly.

— Go, Tarsha.

She took two steps, then turned sharply.

— Wait. What about you?

— I’m destroying the formation.

— ...What?

— Leaving through the Gate of Life doesn’t destroy it.

— Ah...

While Tarsha berated herself for forgetting the obvious, Gunther added briefly:

— Only if we blow it apart can the platoon break through to the base.

As a bonus, it would disperse the cultists’ magical energy sustaining it. As long as the formation lived, they could recover at any time. It was the perfect strategy for eliminating a tactical resource entirely.

But Tarsha’s face hardened.

— So... you’ll stay here alone to destroy it? I don’t know how you plan to do that, but it sounds insanely dangerous. That disgusting formation won’t let itself be destroyed quietly. It’ll try to kill you.

Her eyes made it clear — she would not tolerate a solo sacrifice. She had seen it once already. The commander taking all the risk alone and blowing himself up.

Gunther smirked.

— Most likely.

— What?

— But I’ll handle it.

Before she could argue further, Gunther shoved her hard in the back.

— Hey—?!

Tall but slender, and fully focused on maintaining her charged spell, Tarsha reacted too slowly. She stumbled forward, staring at him in disbelief.

Was he really—

— Fire exactly ten seconds after you exit.

— Guntherrrrrrr!

Tarsha vanished through the Gate of Life.

The crackling lightning sparks around her disappeared, plunging the surroundings into deeper darkness.

It didn’t matter.

Gunther already saw the “path.”

“Well then.”

He gripped Seren Gless in one hand, “Ladenbach Tenacity” in the other. His glowing blue eyes scanned the final message.

[Gate of Life — Heart of the Lesser Formation of Omnivorous Devouring.]

-The formation is sustained by circulating life force gathered through “absorption.”

-The Gate of Life functions as the “exit valve” of this circulation.

-Destroying the Gate of Life eliminates the outlet for internal energy.

-Result: Energy overload → Formation collapse.

[Warning.]

The Gate of Life is a critical stabilizer. If you wish to live, never touch it.

...There was not a trace of hesitation on Gunther’s face as he raised his sword.

“Idiots.”

Honestly, he had considered retreating at the base. The weight of death here was far heavier than before. Even with “Reading,” there was no reason to take unnecessary risks. Losing a divine relic was painful but recoverable.

Accumulating deaths here would be fatal loss.

...Yet something gnawed at him.

“They only have one life too.”

Tarsha had said it. The reason they stayed soft, why they refused injustice at any cost, was because they wanted to remain human.

It wasn’t empty talk. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

In the eyes of the platoon, the resolve to save the innocent at any cost was unmistakable. Even in Parco’s eyes when he spoke of retreat.

...And me? What kind of person do I want to remain?

When I leave this cursed world and return to Earth, what kind of man do I want to return as?

The answer was obvious.

[Eyes of the Tyrant Lv.1 activated.]

[Zero-Point Strike Lv.1 activated.]

The world slowed sharply.

With the synergy between “Eyes of the Tyrant” and “Reading,” an invisible crimson thread appeared clearly at the core of the Gate of Life.

Gunther inhaled.

Slash!

First strike. The blade flashed and fell. It rebounded from steel-hard resistance, vibration rattling through his wrist bones.

Boom!

Second strike. He put his full weight into it. The barrier warped. Space screamed like a wounded thing.

Crack-crack-crack!

Third strike.

Like lightning, fractures spread in all directions.

With an explosion of mingled light and darkness, the Gate of Life shattered.

[You have slain a sinister entity born of another world!]

[“Knightly Swordsmanship” proficiency significantly increased.]

[Gate of Life collapse!]

[All internal Gates of Death opened.]

[Compression barriers approaching from all directions.]

And then—

The labyrinth convulsed.

Walls, floor, and ceiling split apart as clusters of compression barriers lunged like living beasts. Space itself compressed. Pressure twisted bones, crushed lungs. A storm of mass and force that even Seren Gless, capable of absorbing enormous physical damage, could not withstand.

And Gunther had destroyed his own retreat.

Ding!

[“Feast Gate Opener” falls into rage at your insolence and anticipates your agonizing death.]

“...No.”

As thirty compression barriers closed in before his eyes, Gunther tightened his grip on sword and shield and stepped forward.

“This formation was created by a subordinate evil god of Luthien.”

And if so—

He had a way.

[Active skill “Godslayer” activated.]

U-u-u-um.

Crimson cracks crawled up from his wrist as he exhaled. A strange aura flared along the sword’s trajectory. The moment it touched the compression barriers, the divine currents flowing across their surfaces severed silently... decisively.

[“Feast Gate Opener” recoils in horror before a dreadful power!]

The compression barriers unraveled helplessly, seams bursting apart. Shards disintegrated into dust of light.

A few remaining ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) barriers rushed in, but Gunther no longer cared. Sheathing his sword, he drove Seren Gless into the ground at his feet.

Boom!

Immense force was drawn inward like a vacuum. Light within the shield condensed and trembled, heralding retaliation.

...That was all the “Lesser Formation of Omnivorous Devouring” could throw at Gunther.

Tsssss—

The veil of the magic formation surrounding him dissipated slowly.

The scene outside was—

“Exactly as expected.”

Fanatics frozen in horror.

Enraged “Table Companions” charging toward him.

And finally—

Beside him stood Tarsha, radiant, arm raised high.

— Perfect timing?!

Layered magic circles shimmered behind her.

Crack!

Lightning coursed through the patterns like blood in veins.

With a hum that pierced the ears, Tarsha’s voice rang out clear:

— 2, 1...!