Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 71: [The River God’s Wife] - Nerio’s Part (20)

Kely and Elena—or the two monsters—were now crawling toward the humans in a grotesque, twisted posture.

Ace was stunned to see the creatures still alive after his attack. His expression turned cold as he raised his hand. Four massive vines burst from the ground simultaneously and struck at the monsters! The enormous vines instantly crushed them, causing fresh blood and mangled flesh to splatter onto the surrounding humans.

Leonard’s eyes widened. Almost instinctively, he shielded Nerio, taking the full brunt of the blood so that not a single drop would touch him.

"Damn it, I’m covered in this filth!" Julia cursed as she wiped the blood off herself. Outwardly, she appeared irritated, but inside, she was secretly delighted.

Kely’s death was perfect timing—she no longer had to worry about silencing her.

Julia smirked slightly as she looked down at the unrecognizable corpses of Kely and Elena. But then, she suddenly jolted. Kely’s eyes—bulging out from the weight that had crushed her—were still staring straight at her. Even more disturbing, her grotesquely twisted face seemed to curl up slightly as if whispering, I know everything.

Julia clenched her fists, a sudden surge of fury rising within her, so intense she couldn’t even control herself.

"Dammit!" she screamed before lunging at Kely’s mutilated corpse, stomping on it repeatedly. Blood and bits of flesh splattered onto her legs, creating a gruesome scene.

Alexis and Jack rushed forward to pull her away.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Stop it!" Alexis yelled, dragging her back.

Clow, watching Julia’s face contorted with rage—utterly devoid of its usual beauty—spoke in a low voice, "Perhaps... she’s still under the book’s influence."

Just as Clow finished speaking, Ace stepped forward. Without hesitation, his large hand came down mercilessly.

Smack!

A sharp slap echoed through the air. Blood trickled from the corner of Julia’s mouth. She stared at Ace, eyes wide in shock, the stinging pain on her face snapping her back to reality.

Her brows furrowed, and the initial panic in her gaze quickly turned icy. This bastard had slapped her!

"Got a problem with that? Or would you rather I gouge your eyes out?" Ace sneered, looking at her mockingly.

Julia gritted her teeth but quickly forced herself to remain composed. She yanked her arms free from Jack and Alexis, then angrily stormed off.

Alexis and Jack exchanged glances before shrugging and chuckling.

Unlike the dark esper’s lighthearted demeanor, the others were far from okay.

Taylor frowned deeply, staring at the pool of blood on the ground, lost in thought. Leon stood trembling, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. Matthew and Maya wore grim expressions.

They had already braced themselves for casualties—this was a dungeon—but they hadn’t expected death to come so suddenly, so brutally, leaving them with no time to react or even attempt to save Kely and Elena.

Only now did they truly understand—the danger was much closer than they had realized.

Leonard, however, seemed different from the rest. He wiped the blood off his face, his throat moving as he swallowed. The scent of fresh blood made his hunger surge once more.

No. No!

Leonard shook his head violently, trying to snap himself out of it.

At that moment, Nerio’s small, grateful voice suddenly broke the tension.

"Thank you for covering me."

The boy lowered his head slightly. "If not for you, I would’ve gotten dirty."

Leonard looked at the child’s snow-white skin and adorable face and, almost instinctively, murmured, "I will never let you get dirty."

Nerio lifted his head to look at Leonard, his beautiful eyes widening slightly in surprise at Leonard’s words. Then, the boy smiled faintly, his eyes curving into crescents as he gave a slight nod. "I believe you."

Leonard pressed his lips together and turned away, his long hair falling over his ears—hiding the redness creeping up them.

So adorable... If only I had a little brother like him instead of someone like Leon, Leonard thought to himself.

—

[Aaaaa, why is Nerio smiling at Leonard?! WHY?! That should’ve been me! Leonard, get lost!]

[Leonard, you’re a real hero! You made Nerio smile!]

[Nerio’s smile is just as adorable as I imagined! He’s a little cinnamon roll!]

[My heart is under attack! Nerio, come to Mommy! I swear I’ll only bite your cheek a little! I won’t eat you, really!!!]

[Are all the females here insane? Nerio’s going to die in the next scene!]

[Shut up! This show has way more female viewers than male ones! You bloodthirsty bastards don’t know anything!!!]

[I’m a guy, but I also think Nerio’s cute... Brothers, forgive me for my sins...]

—

"So, we can now make some deductions," Matthew said slowly. "I don’t think the wedding we attended was an ordinary one. It might have been some ritual sacrifice instead. The bride would be thrown into the river. And judging by the dungeon’s name, I suspect the bride is an offering to the river god. The villagers must be performing this sacrifice for a reason."

Clow glanced outside the door. The scorching sunlight seemed as if it could burn everything to ashes. He smirked. "What other reason could there be? It’s probably to end the drought and bring a bountiful harvest."

"So, all the women in the village have been sacrificed, but the drought still hasn’t ended. That’s why the ritual continues, leading to the tragedy of any lost girls wandering into this place!" Taylor clapped his hands, feeling like he had uncovered the truth.

"The next tragedy could very well be us," Maya’s voice was grave.

Taylor froze as if suddenly realizing something.

Julia’s expression darkened. She spoke coldly, "The bride has to be a woman. And we don’t know how many people they plan to sacrifice."

She had a terrible feeling—this was why she had seen her face on that monster’s body. Perhaps she was meant to be sacrificed and turned into a beast!

No. That couldn’t happen.

Her gaze turned icy as she looked at Taylor and Maya, the malice in her eyes nearly overflowing.

Taylor instinctively took a step back but forced herself to sound harsh. "What do you think you’re doing?!"

Maya’s voice was just as cold. "Right now, we should be figuring out how to escape this dungeon, not wasting time on useless thoughts!"

Clow spoke softly, "Nothing is useless. Don’t forget—we have to survive the wedding. At the very least, the ceremony must take place."

In other words, at least one person had to die...

—

"Hehehehe... No need to be the bride anymore... No need to be the bride anymore..."

Suddenly, a thin, eerie voice echoed throughout the room.

Everyone turned their heads—only to see Kely’s shattered head still twisting and writhing, her mouth moving slightly as she hummed a creepy tune in eerie delight. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Leon nearly screamed on the spot while Ace frowned and delivered one final blow. This time, Kely’s head was crushed entirely, brain matter splattering across the floor in a genuinely nauseating sight.

"Ugh—urgh—" Leon gagged, unable to hold it in as he stumbled to the side to retch. The others didn’t look much better—the image of Kely’s twisted smile was burned into their minds.

Ace swept his gaze across everyone. Finally, his eyes stopped on Taylor.

Taylor instinctively stepped back. As she was about to say something, hurried footsteps drew everyone’s attention.

"So this is where you all are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Here, the village chief asked me to deliver this invitation. Make sure the exact number of people written on it attend the wedding—if not, you won’t be allowed to participate!"

The fat man emphasized his words before quickly leaving, acting as if he hadn’t noticed the gruesome scene in the room or the blood splattered on the humans inside.

"Wait, he said he was giving us an invitation... but where is it?" Alexis frowned. The fat man had just barged in, rattled off his message, and left quickly—just like a pre-programmed NPC.

"Calm down." Clow always seemed unshaken, no matter the situation. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a system notification appeared before them all.

[The wedding day draws closer, but an unforeseen complication has arisen. The village chief realized that some of the guests were not distant relatives. Only nine people may attend the wedding! Help the village chief drive out those not his distant relatives from the village!

Reward: Wedding Invitation!]

The moment they finished reading the message, the atmosphere in the room turned heavy and ominous.

So far, every event in the dungeon had forced them onto paths they never wanted to take—decisions that felt inherently wrong.

First, they had to choose a bride to ensure the wedding took place. Now, they had to pick two people to die...

It was apparent—the only way to "drive out" the two unfortunate ones was to kill them. After all, there was no exit from the dungeon. If there had been, they would have escaped long ago.

"Three people die so eight can live... It looks like it’s time to test just how much everyone values self-sacrifice, haha." Clow chuckled, utterly indifferent to their predicament, as if his turn in this life-and-death game hadn’t come yet.

Maya scoffed coldly. "Even if three people die, that doesn’t guarantee the other eight will survive. Don’t overestimate yourself."

The expressions of the dark espers collectively darkened, and the tension in the air became almost explosive.

Just then, Matthew spoke up. "Alright. Let’s return to our rooms first. We’ll figure out a plan from there."