Surviving without God

Before beginning the series of returns, I decided to make one thing clear to myself, so I wouldn’t lose my sanity.

Everything that happens from now on will disappear along with the regression. The suffering of my comrades, and my own death—everything will be reset. Which means hesitation is forbidden. I have to press forward to the very end.

“Hold on tight.”

...With that resolve, my sixth life began.

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The paladin’s first strike targets the right leg with a high probability.

Clang!

The second—aimed at the neck.

Fwoosh!

If you try to react with your eyes, you’ll be too late. You have to move in advance, adjusting to the timing engraved into the body itself.

“The next one will be...”

A kick to break the distance. The force is such that a direct hit would make my insides explode.

Bang!

Barely dodging, I opened space for Ryan. Timing it perfectly, he burst in like lightning and brought his hammer down. The paladin jumped back several steps. His narrowed gaze locked onto me.

— You... what are you? How did you...

— Well, what do I look like?

— ......

On guard, the paladin didn’t rush to attack. But it wouldn’t last long. Soon he would change his pattern and go on the offensive.

“...Nothing.”

My fighting spirit wasn’t broken. Small achievements were steadily piling up.

[Successful execution of a difficult evasion: Agility increases by “1”]

[Intense combat in an extreme situation: sword mastery grows rapidly]

[Knight’s Fencing (Lv. 1)]

— Mastery: 95.7%

Stat growth was good, but what I was waiting for most was the skill level-up. 4.3% remaining. In the game, fencing level critically affected a character’s combat power. Now that everything was real, that rule hadn’t changed.

“In the next life, I’ll be even closer to victory.”

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats expresses agreement]

I firmly decided to use this life as the foundation for a victory that would come someday. Since I was already prepared, all that remained was to move forward.

— Gunther, he’s coming!

Boom!

The paladin charged again. Monstrous speed. It felt like watching a video with dropped frames. Before I could even take a breath, the bastard was right in front of me, swinging his sword.

— Die!

I block, evade, take blows on steel, and endure. In the process, I literally absorb every movement of his blade with my eyes. Any tiny detail could become a decisive variable in future lives. I can’t miss a single thing. ...Senses, mind, surpassing the limit. “Self-denial”.

“Just a little more...”

[Knight’s Fencing (Lv. 1)]

— Mastery: 98.7%

I was determined to reach level two before dying. Only then could I start the next life with an advantage.

“Just a bit more!”

And at the moment when I was pushing my exhausted body at its absolute limit...

Whish!

A sharp pain pierced my left shoulder and spread through my entire body. There was no need to look. My arm had just been severed.

“Ah, shit.”

The paladin’s sword traced an arc through the air and, without the slightest pause, rushed toward my neck. A continuous attack impossible to evade. But I wasn’t alone.

— Uoooaar!

Ryan, roaring like a bear, blocked his path. It was a reckless move, and the price was high. The sword that should have pierced my neck sank deep beneath his collarbone instead. Blood sprayed like a fountain. Death was already at the door, but Ryan’s gaze remained clear.

— Gunther!

I thrust my sword forward.

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— ......

The paladin stared at his body in disbelief. Muddy clothes, palms scraped raw against the ground. In front of his subordinates, he had fallen into the dirt like some kind of donkey, because of a mere mercenary. A stream of filthy curses spilled from his mouth on its own.

— Y-you son of a bitch!

In his rage, the paladin forgot his promise to torture Gunther and pierced his heart in a single strike.

— How dare you! Wretched heretic! Me!

That wasn’t enough for him. With a twisted face, he began kicking the corpse at his feet... yet he still couldn’t wipe away the smile frozen on Gunther’s lips.

[You executed a magnificent counterattack despite the pain of losing a limb]

[Sword mastery increases]

[Skill level “Knight’s Fencing” increases to “2”]

[Karma of the sixth life: 61]

[Current Karma: 156]

***

The seventh life began. I immediately felt the power of second-level fencing.

— Kha!

A squad leader was finished in a single exchange. Ordinary soldiers flew back two at a time from a single swing. I needed to kill as many enemies as possible before the paladin arrived, so I kept swinging my sword without stopping. And this changed pace of advance created an unexpected variable.

“...!”

At the edge of the battlefield, I spotted two people surrounded.

“Eddie? Yor?”

In past lives, I wouldn’t even have had time to notice them. But as my mastery grew, so did my movement tempo across the battlefield. In the end, the chance to save the two of them fell right into my hands. I picked up speed, assessing the situation.

— H-ha... haa...

Blood-soaked Eddie was desperately protecting Yor. But no matter what kind of contractor he was, there was no answer to spearheads raining in from all sides.

— Bastards! Touch milady with even one finger and I’ll strangle you all!

The wounds on his body kept increasing. Sensing the end, Yor raised something to her lips with a trembling hand. It had to be the poison capsule from her father.

[The one who sends love letters that will never be returned desperately reaches out to you]

No time to hesitate.

Tap-tap!

Ryan understood without words. While he came in from the other side, drawing attention to himself, I slipped under the spears at the weakest point of the encirclement. My field of view dropped sharply. I quickly drove the sword tip into the hamstrings flashing before my eyes.

Crunch!

With the wet sound of tearing tendons, several enemies collapsed, blood pouring out. Eddie didn’t miss the chance.

— “Unconditional Attachment”!

...The skill name was rather strange, but the effect was immediate. The collar-shaped Stigma on his neck flared, and a bluish glow soaked into his skin. The spear aimed at Eddie’s stomach bounced off with a dry clack.

“A defense buff?”

While Eddie raged inside the ring, Ryan and I cleared out enemies on the outside. The three strongest in the group combined forces. Dealing with a dozen soldiers was over ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) very quickly.

— Gunther! Are you alright?!

— ...Yes.

Yor approached me with a radiant face. Without a word, I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and hurled her into a shattered carriage nearby.

— Milady! You crazy ba—

I clamped a hand over Eddie’s mouth as he protested.

— He’s coming.

— ...What? Who’s coming?

— A ticket to the next life.

Boom.

A crash sounded behind us. There was no need to turn around—the piercing bloodlust gave away his identity. I began a rapid briefing.

— He rarely dodges twice in a row. Out of pride or something else, he tries to counterattack immediately after an evasion. And he has a habit of slightly lowering the tip of his sword when blocking. Those are all the openings I’ve found.

— “Found”? What the hell are you talking about?!

I felt their bewildered gazes. Pointing my sword at the approaching paladin, I finished:

— Remember it. If you don’t want to die for nothing.

Boom!

He crashed into us.

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Several lives repeated in this manner. Levels and stats rose steadily, and the situation on the battlefield gradually improved. After Eddie joined us, and I became accustomed to the paladin’s patterns, the time we could hold out kept growing longer. Once, we even managed to completely wipe out the enemy soldiers, leaving only the four of us on the battlefield. A small but unmistakable change. Is there any stronger motivation for a returner?

...However, not every moment was pleasant.

Eddie clutching Yor’s lifeless body. The guild master’s head rolling across the ground. The corpse of a young mercenary who had been especially drawn to me. Of course, all these tragedies would disappear with the next regression. But it felt awful, and there was nothing to be done about it.

[The Drug-Addicted Saint looks at you with pity]

No—“awful” was just bravado. In truth, I was scared. And that was natural.

I know. When, where, what, and how will take one of us away. If you keep spinning like a squirrel in a wheel in this time soaked with memories of failure and fear of death, even the brightest resolve begins to dull. But...

— We will definitely win.

A person must take responsibility for their words. I didn’t want to be someone who, like certain others, ignores duty and runs away.

“King of Knights.”

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats gazes upon you]

“Is it true that 500 units of Karma will let me get out of this damn situation?”

[He nods]

Again. Repeat. Another repeat. In the end, I reached the eleventh life.

[A fracture point of fate has occurred]

A dot appeared at the end of the sentence.

***

— I can’t understand what you’re trying so desperately for. You’re going to die anyway and lie in the dirt.

With a contemptuous smirk on his lips, the paladin lazily poked the tip of his sword into Gunther’s body. From the outside, he looked cold and relaxed, but deep within his trembling voice, fear was clearly hiding. And no wonder—if Gunther’s last strike had gone even an inch deeper, he himself would be lying on the ground now.

— It’s over.

As if trying to hide fear and shame, he roughly kicked the corpses of Eddie and Ryan and continued:

— Your friends are dead, and you’ll be joining them soon.

The paladin touched the small wound on his neck with a finger and snorted.

— And the price for all this was just this tiny scratch...

At that moment. Gunther’s lips, his breath barely perceptible, twitched faintly. When a cracked voice sounded, the paladin involuntarily listened.

— Yes... that’s exactly what it was all for.

But his gaze wasn’t directed at the paladin. His pupils moved back and forth, as if reading lines somewhere beyond him. Lines invisible to others.

And Gunther laughed. It was a laugh full of relief, infinitely distant from despair in the face of death.

— It’s over, idiot.

Seized by a dreadful sense of wrongness, the paladin hastily severed Gunther’s head.

Skork!

[You have died]

[Counting death records...]

[11/99]

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[Emergence of a fracture point of fate]

[You have stepped beyond the predetermined path of this world and discovered an “Easter Egg”]

[The flow of fate is subtly distorted]

● Resonance You and your comrades united and left a deep mark of resistance on the body of the powerful enemy “Aaron Bernecker”, who was originally impossible to reach.

— The bond level with comrades who fought alongside you permanently increases by 15.

— Bond level is an indicator that aggregates trust, affinity, and shared experience; the higher it is, the greater the chance to unlock hidden scenarios or special rewards.

● Authority Your ability “Group Leader” awakens.

— Members of the group under your command feel trust and connection with you; their morale and attributes during battle increase slightly.

● Reward Karma +300

[Karma of the eleventh life: 398]

[Current Karma: 653]

[Accumulated Karma: 753]

The flap of a butterfly’s wings did, after all, cause a typhoon.