Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 290: [Freedom Dove] - Nerio’s part (42) - The Meeting of the Gods
The humans froze on the spot, terrified that the next thing to be crushed underfoot would be them.
Bella frowned. "If what Luther said is true, then the government—and even The Association of Espers—has already been taken over by that... that thing he called the Supreme Being! And now we can’t even explain this to anyone else!"
Nerio suddenly turned around, the bells on his outfit jingling, his laughter light and oddly pleasant. "So, the world deserves to be destroyed, right?"
Bella pressed her lips together, smiling faintly. "Nerio..."
She was about to compliment his new outfit, but at that moment, Nerio’s expression was far from cheerful. Even with a smile, the cold glint in his eyes was unmistakable.
He slowly stepped forward, circling the humans. Snowflakes began to swirl up from the ground, the chill seeping into their lungs, turning into ice that pierced them with pain.
"Even if you leave this place, you won’t escape the accusations," Nerio said softly. "So why not die here instead? The humans outside will praise you as heroes who saved the world. At the very least, you’ll have died for humanity... rather than as those who sold their souls to a wicked god like me, right?"
He smiled—a childish tone, yet his words sent shivers down their spines. The killing intent in the air grew heavier along with the cold.
The humans could all feel it—if this continued, they would freeze to death sooner or later!
"You are not... an evil god," Leonard spoke instinctively.
But Nerio merely pressed his index finger down slightly. Leonard immediately dropped to his knees with a thud, the impact carving two deep holes into the ground. Cracks spread outward as small stones bounced from the force.
"No one speaks... except you, Leonard," Nerio said softly.
Then, Leonard’s upper body was slammed down into the earth, blood dripping from his face.
The sound of his impact echoed through the hearts of the others. Luis glanced at Susan—she had lowered her head, seemingly resigned to her fate. Completely unreliable. Aria was already in tears, and the rest looked tense and terrified.
Luis turned to look at Bella, only to find her staring back at him.
They had to find some way—any way—to reason with Nerio. But right now, he didn’t seem willing to listen to anything.
If it came to that, they would have to fight him... But to fight... could they even win?
Without Nerio, they would’ve already been buried at the hands of Luther and that so-called Supreme Being of his...
Resistance now felt utterly meaningless.
Luis smiled faintly. "Nerio, you once said you were a good kid..."
Nerio tilted his head to look at Luis, his face suddenly drawing close—so close that their noses almost touched.
He cocked his head slightly, a thoughtful expression flickering across his face. "Did I? I don’t remember."
The air grew colder and colder. The humans soon realized they could no longer see anything around them—it was as if they’d been sealed inside an entirely different space, where the whirling snow raged like a storm.
Their minds began to dull, perhaps from the poor circulation or some other reason beyond their understanding.
Nerio’s voice drifted through the storm, distant and childlike. "The humans out there have already abandoned you. I’m just helping you."
"Die. That would be better for everyone, wouldn’t it?"
As he spoke, countless razor-sharp shards of ice appeared in the air, forming a ring that encircled the entire group of humans.
[Damn it, the signal’s finally back! Is this show trying to rob me or what?!]
[Come to think of it, this program doesn’t even charge us...]
[...]
[Ooooh, it looks like we’re right at the climax. What’s this? So the final boss really is Nerio? Hahaha!]
[It’s over.]
[Holy crap, can’t believe this.]
[Nerio, don’t!!!]
[Am I the only one noticing Nerio’s new outfit? Mlem x10!]
[He actually looks even cuter somehow, hehe.]
[Such a vibe...]
[Whatever happens, I’m taking my pants off first—my brother in arms needs comfort.]
[Can you guys be serious for one second? I don’t want Leonard to die!]
[Bzz... crackle... zzt...]
[Hey—wait—what’s going on, no, no, not now! It’s getting good!]
[I just heard the broadcast’s back online. Wait, it’s the same?!]
[Damn it!] 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
The screen finally froze on the image of those sharp ice shards raining down from above.
Leonard clenched his fists. Right now, he couldn’t even lift his wings. He didn’t know what to do—he couldn’t do anything.
Nerio... everyone... maybe they were right.
This may be where it should all end.
The group had already resigned themselves to their fate, but a blinding light suddenly flared up, wrapping around them. A vast surge of energy swept through the dark void, shining so brightly that they could hardly open their eyes.
Nerio’s eyes widened, his expression twisting into a grimace as he looked up at the sky. A massive shadow descended, blocking the sunlight, and the humans instinctively followed his gaze.
Above was a figure suspended in the air. Enormous wings folded slightly, yet even so, their sheer size was overwhelming—if spread fully, they would span nearly twenty meters. One wing curved upward, brushing close to the figure’s face.
Within his long hair sprouted three pairs of smaller wings: the uppermost pair stood erect like a pair of ears, the middle pair covered his eyes, and the smallest pair drooped meekly down his back.
His long silver hair streamed and shimmered in the wind, pale silk ribbons fluttering around him. Standing against the sunlight, his entire figure was cast in a warm, radiant glow—so bright it almost made him look divine.
"Nerio," Degenerate said with a teasing smile, "are you trying to kill the humans?"
Nerio frowned, clearly irritated—his expression now darkened with anger. "Get lost!"
"Hey, can you talk to the person who helped you?" Degenerate chuckled. "Right about now, every human on the continent knows you’re being a naughty child!"
Nerio’s expression flickered with shock.
The humans, meanwhile, were practically bursting with relief.
Wait—what did Degenerate say?
Luis looked up at the figure in the sky, his trembling voice breaking the silence. "You mean... You mean the dungeon never lost connection with the continent?!"
This dated back to when the Outer God supposedly severed the link between the two worlds.
Layla’s face was pale with worry—not just hers, but the entire continent had fallen silent under tension and confusion. Then, out of nowhere, a low voice broke the stillness:
"Does this angle work?"
Everyone looked up in astonishment, and Frank furrowed his brows as Degenerate’s face appeared on the broadcast screen.
The wings atop Degenerate’s head fluttered playfully. "What’s there to hide? Fun things should be shared with everyone."
Moments later, all of humanity was watching. They saw Bella and the others fighting desperately and Damian’s sacrifice. They saw Leonard’s near-death struggle. They saw everything—including the truth behind the so-called artificial espers, the government, and The Association of Espers.
And, of course, they saw Nerio, poised to annihilate all of humanity.
Degenerate raised his hand with a carefree smile. "This sudden twist feels melodramatic, doesn’t it? Like one of those old soap operas. But I love it. Nerio, don’t you?"
