Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 116: [Fish] - Nerio’s Part (28)

Thanks to Alice’s power, Cocona recovered quickly. She exhaled a puff of smoke, used all her strength to stand up, and said, "Stop."

"But..." Alice hesitated.

Cocona raised her eyes to look at Alice. Meeting Cocona’s gaze, Alice could only come to a halt.

"We couldn’t get the mermaid scale..." Cocona muttered.

"What we should feel grateful for right now is that we’re all still alive and made it back," Benjamin added. "What we need to do now is inform the others and prepare for the final battle... a battle for survival!"

The entire third floor shook violently as soon as Benjamin finished speaking. The shattered skeletons had somehow reassembled themselves without anyone noticing. Now, they were standing up one by one, creaking with eerie sounds. Their stiff bodies moved with difficulty, but it was apparent to the naked eye—they were becoming faster and more agile by the second!

"We have to get out of here immediately! Something has changed in this castle!"

Benjamin shouted and led the way out of the third floor, with the others quickly following behind.

Even while running at full speed, Cocona still seemed somewhat distracted. "I feel like the person who took the mermaid scale wasn’t Elena... she looked so different..."

But in the current chaos, no one paid attention to her, and her hesitant voice seemed to deny her suspicion.

Elena suddenly thought of Leonard—was this how he felt when she had mocked him for his suspicions?

[Cocona has sensed something wrong, but for humans, such things are hard to guess hahahah]

[She even doubts herself—poor humans, all just Nerio’s victims, lmao]

[Nerio should become a famous actor. He’s entertaining, and his acting skills are no joke.]

[Doesn’t anyone want him to be an idol? If there were a music group, Nerio would be the visual.]

[Doesn’t anyone want to hear him sing? Hahahaha, just imagining it is hilarious lol.]

[Thinking of the divine form he revealed in that dungeon, I doubt his voice would be unpleasant...]

[Screenwriter, are you listening? Hurry and write a deadly audition arc! Of course, the trainees still have to sing and dance, hahahaha, just thinking about it is thrilling.]

[Yes! Let the audience vote! Anyone who sings badly or dances poorly gets beheaded and paraded through the dungeon!]

[My blood is boiling just imagining that bloody scene! Screenwriter, do you hear our prayers?!]

[What a bunch of demons.]

[Look who’s pretending to be pure now.]

[lmao]

Meanwhile, the door to Lucian’s room suddenly swung open. Mr. William rushed in, clearly flustered, his usual calm elegance nowhere to be seen.

"My son, the mermaid scale has been stolen! I didn’t sense any sign—that monster must have been working with the humans to carry out this scheme!"

Lucian stood with his back to Mr. William, not reacting to his words.

Mr. William frowned and stepped forward, asking in confusion, "Lucian, what’s wrong? Didn’t you hear what I said? We need to take care of that monster right now. If it has the mermaid scale in its hands, our entire family will be doomed!"

Still, Lucian said nothing, not even moving. The only thought that crossed Mr. William’s mind was that perhaps Lucian had been controlled by Elena. Lucian had always been too kindhearted. Even though they had repeatedly warned him that Elena was a monster, he continued to carry the affection of a sibling toward her as if Elena were the dear sister he cherished.

He wasn’t afraid of Elena’s appearance. He didn’t care about anyone’s looks but his own—a heart truly fair and compassionate. If Elena dared hurt Lucian, Mr. William thought to himself, he would drag her to hell with him, even if it cost his life.

With that in mind, he stepped forward and placed a hand on Lucian’s shoulder, his expression growing serious and cold. "Lucian, what’s going on?"

Only then did Lucian move. He grasped Mr. William’s hand on his shoulder and pulled it down.

He turned to face Mr. William and said softly, "I’m fine, Father. But shouldn’t you be more worried about yourself right now?"

Mr. William frowned, seemingly not understanding what Lucian meant.

Lucian smiled and stepped closer to him until his lips nearly touched Mr. William’s ear. With a light chuckle, he said, "Because I’m the one who took the mermaid scale for my sister, Father."

Mr. William’s eyes widened, filled with shock and an unwillingness to accept the truth.

He stared at Lucian, his voice turning cold. "Impossible!"

At the same time, his entire body was suddenly covered in fish scales. The energy surrounding him surged, ready to explode at any moment.

But before he could move, the mermaid scale mark on his back lit up, releasing a massive energy that made his entire back burn as if it were on fire.

He stared at Lucian with wide eyes. "What did you do?! Cancel this right now! Elena is a monster—she is just manipulating you!"

[Even at the end, he still believed in his son, huh?]

[He has no idea his son died long ago and that the person before him is a fake—maybe even a god—hahahah.]

[Suddenly, I feel sorry for Mr. William...] frёewebnoѵēl.com

[Doesn’t anyone think part of why Mr. William favored Lucian so much was because of how suddenly attractive his face became?]

[These speculations are getting more and more off track.]

The sarcastic tone of the comments stood in stark contrast to the tense situation.

Mr. William only had time to shout at Lucian before he was swallowed by water—his body vanished from the room, now plunged into the depths below—Elena’s territory.

This had been Elena and Lucian’s plan from the beginning.

Lucian looked at the water at his feet. But the reflection on the surface was no longer his handsome face—it was a giant fish head with bulging eyes, rough skin, and scales covered in black and red, adorned with sharp spikes.

"Scale was stolen, Lucian. An imposter took it—a human. You can’t be fooled. You’re the most important thing to me!"

Elena screamed, her voice hoarse and grating as if her throat could tear apart at any moment.

Lucian bent down, his elegant hand gently touching the water’s surface as if afraid even the slightest ripple might disturb it.

He spoke slowly and calmly, his tone meant to soothe his enraged sister:

"Don’t worry, sister. I will retrieve the scale for you! Just wait for me—everything that belongs to you will be yours again!"

Feeling Lucian’s gentleness and unwavering loyalty, Elena’s fury subsided somewhat. But just then, Lucian added:

"I’ve already brought Father to you, and Mother will be there shortly. Kill the monster within them. Once we’ve taken care of the vermin outside... our family can be together again."

Elena’s smile froze. Her naive little brother clung to that foolish promise—a beautiful lie she had crafted!

Fine. She would let him witness the tragedy firsthand. She would show him that from now on, she—Elena—was the only true family he had left!

Mr. and Mrs. William never deserved to be her parents. They had no right to divide Lucian’s affection!

So Elena thought, though outwardly, she nodded in agreement with Lucian and quickly disappeared. The water vanished entirely, and the floor dried as though a drop had never been spilled.

Only then did Lucian sneer. Straightening up, he walked casually out of the room.

[Oh my Godddd, this is the first time I’ve seen monsters act so naïve!!!]

[Did you see Elena’s eyes just now? Even if they’re just dead fish eyes, I could feel the longing and possessiveness she had for "Lucian."]

[So tragic... These monsters aren’t even enough for Nerio to toy with.]

[Nerio is the ultimate trap—he fooled three monsters in one dungeon and more than ten people if you count the NPCs.]

You fools don’t even realize you’re being deceived, too—naïve little viewers. Silvanus thought to himself as he watched the endless flood of spammy comments scroll past.

Back to the moment, Mr. William rushed into Lucian’s room—Mrs. William had already appeared on the first floor, determined to find the one bold enough to steal the mermaid scale.

The moment Leonard laid eyes on her, he sensed something was wrong. He straightened his back and said coldly, "Danger!"

His hands began to tremble instinctively, but his rigid posture showed his will was unshaken.

Even Bella, who had always mocked Leonard, realized the situation had shifted. She eyed Mrs. William cautiously.

But Mrs. William gave them no chance to react. The moment she appeared, her body began to transform. Black-red scales erupted from her skin, rising like sharp spikes. They wrapped around her entire face before two sharp horns sprouted from the top of her head.

Her fingers grew longer and sharper until they reached the ground. She opened her mouth and let out a high-pitched, piercing screech—an impossible frequency that seemed to shred the eardrums of everyone nearby.

The others instinctively covered their ears and backed away. The two NPCs bled from the ears and collapsed, convulsing on the ground.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Now entirely a monster, Mrs. William roared:

"Hand over the mermaid scale if you want to live!"

And at that moment, she lunged straight at Leonard—the one standing closest to her!