Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 83: [The River God’s Wife] - Nerio’s Part (32)

"Graghhhhh!"

The monster opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar.

"Boom! Bang!"

Thunder and lightning split across the sky, illuminating the despair on humanity’s faces.

Heavy raindrops began to fall. The monster raised its hand—its massive fingers, even just one, could crush them all. At this moment, no one wanted to run anymore.

Taylor shut his eyes tightly, sobbing. "I’ve been prepared to die for a long time, but... huhuhu... I don’t want to die!"

Matthew and Maya both looked grim. They exchanged glances before Maya suddenly smiled and said, "Honestly, I’m surprised we made it this far. We did great. Those who come after us will be able to clear this dungeon."

Matthew pressed his lips together, lowering his head in shame. "Sorry... I couldn’t do anything."

Maya smiled. "It’s not your fault, Matthew. Everyone has their limits. You did your best."

Leonard watched as the monster’s withered, gray hand loomed closer and closer. Tilting slightly, he looked at Nerio and asked, "Are you afraid?"

Silvanus found it amusing—was this guy still worrying about Nerio, even though he believed Nerio was a monster trying to lure him into becoming one too? Sometimes, human thoughts were genuinely baffling.

Wait. He shouldn’t think like that—he was human too. Silvanus reminded himself of that, then turned his gaze toward the towering monster.

From the moment this creature appeared, Silvanus’s first feeling was confidence.

It was the strangest monster he had ever seen. Aside from its impossibly large arms, its body was relatively small—only about twice the size of a normal person. Its billowing skirt, formed from a swirling tornado, was merely water and the souls it controlled.

ThisThis meant that if he could cut off those two arms, Silvanus could easily trap the monster in God’s Realm.

It might have been a powerful creature, but to Silvanus, this was the easiest monster he’d ever had to deal with.

"So dramatic. Are all humans this sentimental?"

Nerio raised an eyebrow, glancing over the humans before stopping on Leonard. His gaze held a trace of something unreadable—yes, he honestly couldn’t understand their sentimentality, not at a time like this.

"You’re not even bothering to hide your identity anymore?" Maya looked at Nerio, her eyes free of resentment. After all, they were about to die anyway. "But still, since we’ve made it this far... thanks for leading the way." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Nerio’s eyes widened in an exaggerated expression of shock—so over-the-top that it was an act. His large, round eyes blinked as he asked, "You all figured out who I am already?"

[Sorry, but you’re not trying to hide it today, kid!]

[No matter how you look at it, Nerio is messing with these humans, hahaha]

[Not even allowed to die in peace, huh? Hahaha]

The others were left speechless, especially Matthew, who let out a long sigh but said nothing.

"Hahaha!"

At that moment, Nerio suddenly burst into laughter—loud and carefree. His laughter was so out of place that the others couldn’t help but glance at him in confusion. Then, they realized... perhaps he was mocking their fragile lives.

Nerio laughed so hard that he had to wipe away the tears in his eyes. Looking at them, he grinned mischievously and said, "Just kidding, just kidding! As if any of you could ever guess who I am. If you could, how would this be as fun as it is now?"

"Come on, don’t look so gloomy. Did I ever say I was going to let you die?"

Nerio shrugged and stepped forward.

Leonard stared at him in shock. He only snapped out of it when Nerio’s foot lightly nudged his own, making him instinctively step aside. But as soon as he did, panic surged through him. His gaze locked onto Nerio’s back as he shouted, "Nerio! What are you talking about?! Come back!"

At the very least, before dying, he wanted to see Nerio like this—not as a monster or lifeless corpse...

Nerio tilted his head, his expression playful as he glanced back at them. His glassy blue eyes gleamed, reflecting the deep ocean under sunlight. He smiled cryptically and said, "I don’t control this dungeon, but I can erase it forever. Want to see? A power you’d never be able to resist."

Leonard met Nerio’s gaze, and in that instant, all his thoughts scattered—leaving only Nerio’s words echoing in his mind and an overwhelming instinct to obey him.

He nodded. Hard.

Nerio chuckled. "We’ll meet again, my dear believer."

With that, he let himself fall into the water.

"No!"

Leonard hadn’t even fully processed what had happened before his eyes widened in alarm. He lunged forward, trying to grab Nerio—but it was too late. Nerio’s figure had completely vanished.

[Wait... what did Nerio call Leonard?]

"Leonard, Nerio... what did he just call you?"

Matthew’s hesitant voice broke through Leonard’s dazed thoughts.

Not just Leonard—at that moment, every human and viewer watching had the same stunned expression.

"RUMBLE—!"

Suddenly, the entire dungeon trembled violently. The ground and sky quaked, forcing the humans to cling desperately to the rooftops. Even the monstrous creature advancing toward them halted—because before it, the water was churning, swirling, forming a massive vortex!

"RUMBLE—!"

Then, the water shot upward—an enormous surge. But unlike the murky water controlled by the monster, this water was crystal clear, pure, and a brilliant shade of blue.

The massive surge of water coiled and intertwined, forming at an unimaginable speed. Slowly, a towering figure emerged from within the cascading waves.

It was a merman.

His upper body was human, with pale, almost ghostly white skin. His long, flowing white hair had streaks of deep blue cascading down to his enormous tail. His face was so breathtakingly beautiful that it seemed to steal the breath from those who looked upon him.

His eyes glowed an ethereal blue, devoid of pupils. Blue and shimmering tears dripped from them, trailing down his cheeks like precious gemstones or divine ornaments.

Atop his head rested a crescent moon shaped like a gleaming sickle. His ears were slightly elongated, with delicate, translucent membranes that shimmered even without sunlight.

But what left everyone truly speechless was his tail.

It was massive, long, and mesmerizingly beautiful—nearly twice the length of his body. The sheer size of it made him appear even more colossal, so much so that he seemed more significant than the monster itself. His tail radiated shades of luminous blue and silver, shifting and shimmering with each movement as though countless lights danced across its surface.

He wielded an icy spear in his hand, its entire shaft adorned with intricate, arcane patterns. The weapon emanated a brilliant golden light—cold yet razor-sharp. Even the droplets of water clinging to his body sparkled like sacred jewels.

The humans trapped within the dungeon couldn’t even make out his whole features, yet the overwhelming shadow he cast over them and the sheer grandeur of the moment left them utterly stunned.

"Ne... Nerio?" Leonard murmured in disbelief.

The system’s announcement rang out at that exact moment—cold, emotionless.

[Congratulations, humans! You have summoned the strongest god—Nerio!]

The strongest god? The strongest god?!

[Aaaaa, what the hell is happening?! What the hell is happening?!?!]

[The most impossible outcome has happened. Is there anything left that can’t happen now?!]

[What the hell?! I sided with the monsters, and now Nerio shows me this?! A god?! The strongest god?!]

[Is it too late to switch back to the human side?]