Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 173: [Blizzard Manor] - Prophet’s part (20)

Drake ignored that the mansion was monitoring his words because no matter where they went, the truth wouldn’t change. So, they could speak here.

As soon as he finished speaking, Luis explained what they had encountered.

Fiona also chimed in, even using gestures as if trying to vividly describe the intense battle scenes for them to understand clearly.

Upon hearing this, Susan couldn’t help but look grim. It seemed Drake’s group had gone through far greater danger than theirs.

At that moment, Jessica suddenly asked, "Then how did Drake manage to find the passage to the underground basement?"

The group, including Fiona, looked at Drake, puzzled—he hadn’t mentioned this before.

Drake had no intention of hiding Saphen’s contribution. He said softly, " thanks to Saphen’s help."

At that moment, Saphen was curled up in a corner, hugging his knees. Feeling everyone’s gaze on him, the boy shrank back slightly, clearly afraid of strangers. It was hard to believe a child like him had been able to help them in such a critical moment.

Drake said coldly, "Stop staring at the boy. Can’t you tell he’s scared?"

Fiona’s group quickly averted their eyes, smiling awkwardly. Only Jessica continued to gaze at Saphen brazenly. The more she looked, the more her brows furrowed slightly. It was as if something was starting to invade her... Him!

"This child must be protected at all costs!"

A cold voice, laced with the undeniable authority of the angel Lucifer, suddenly rang out deep in Jessica’s mind.

Jessica instinctively trembled, nearly falling to her knees, but fortunately, she still had some presence of mind. She knew this was a secret mission entrusted to her by Lord Lucifer.

Her hands trembled slightly, and her gaze toward Saphen burned with intensity.

Until now, only deities have ever caused Lord Lucifer to issue a command personally.

Jessica remembered that every time she saw the Prophet, she instinctively felt a deep sense of familiarity and reverence—alongside fierce loyalty—as though the Prophet was the true god she worshipped, not the angel Lucifer.

She knew this wasn’t her own doing; Lucifer’s faith influenced her.

The one she worshipped... worshipped another. Jessica had realized this long ago, which deepened her reverence for the gods—especially the Prophet.

To be someone even Lucifer believed in, the Prophet couldn’t be just an ordinary deity!

Thinking this, Jessica’s eyes couldn’t help but sweep across the others. Could it be that none of them sensed what she did? Did their angel not believe in the divine? That was the only conclusion Jessica could come up with.

Drake noticed something strange about Jessica—his eyes narrowed slightly. And surprisingly, Saphen began to look at Jessica too, as if he wasn’t all that afraid of her!

Jessica always happened to appear next to the Prophet, and this fact didn’t sit well with Drake. She already had the angel Lucifer—was she now trying to steal his faith too?

"Jessica, what exactly are you looking at?"

Drake’s cold voice rang out.

Hearing that, Jessica snapped back to her senses. She smiled at Drake and said, "It’s nothing. Saphen is just really adorable. What’s his ability?"

Drake said nothing, and Jessica couldn’t ask further.

Susan even found the atmosphere between Drake and Jessica a bit puzzling—their attitudes toward each other were strange and tense.

No matter what ability Saphen might have, he was still just a kid—a normal person participating in a dungeon run.

Why did Drake and Jessica act like they were walking on thin ice around him? It was bizarre.

Susan then began recounting what they had faced since morning. Drake’s gaze toward Emilia’s group was noticeably cold.

Afterward, he raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Now there’s a new restriction—no entry into the kitchen?"

Susan nodded. "That’s right. The rules in this dungeon are being revised far too leniently. Just as you said, it seems the mansion’s owner really is a kind and easygoing person—at least, that’s the image he wants to project."

Drake narrowed his eyes slightly, saying nothing. Luis, standing nearby, adjusted his glasses and said in a deep voice,

"This issue doesn’t just concern the mansion—it’s tied to the entire dungeon. If the rules inside a dungeon can be arbitrarily changed like this, there’s only one possible explanation: the boss."

"You mean the mansion’s owner is the boss?" Zara asked eagerly. That matched her earlier theory.

Luis shook his head. "We can’t be sure yet because the kitchen is becoming off-limits due to the chef, Ethan."

"I think the possibility of the chef being the boss is even lower," Jessica added.

Luis nodded. "This morning, Captain Drake wanted to enter the kitchen, but Ethan wouldn’t allow it under any circumstance. The other servants were either not in their rooms, tending to the mansion’s master, or somewhere else—but only Ethan remained in the kitchen the whole time. I believe he’s different from the butler and the other staff."

Moreover, according to the details in the journal, Ethan, the chef, had an illness. The butler didn’t want him to stay in the mansion, but he allowed him to remain because the owner was so kind-hearted.

But right now, Ethan didn’t look ill at all.

"We still need to go check Vincent’s room," Susan said.

Drake didn’t object. "Tonight, we’ll move according to the teams we assigned earlier. If you’re afraid of dying, you’ll never find the exit. Of course, if you’re blocked at the door by monsters and have no way out, don’t try—especially those who are weak."

The way he spoke—just like that, the insufferable Captain Drake seemed to be back in front of them again.

Ever since they entered the dungeon, he’d seemed so normal that people had almost forgotten how unpleasant he could be.

Still, he was stating facts.

At that moment, Drake’s gaze shifted back to Emilia’s group. His voice dropped, firm and cold:

"None of you are allowed to go out tonight."

Tom exhaled in relief—he didn’t want to head out.

His body felt completely normal; he could sense it. So why did he experience that pain every time he left the estate? It made no sense.

Just then, Drake suddenly looked straight at him and said coldly,

"From my analysis, you weren’t supposed to survive the first night."

That was true. Right now, Tom’s livestream screen is entirely black.

Silvanus quietly admired Drake’s insight.

Even so, he couldn’t be sure whether Tom was truly dead because for those who had died, their livestream rooms had disappeared entirely. Only Tom’s and a few others’ had gone black but not vanished.

"Saphen, how are you feeling?"

Drake again called on the child, sitting quietly off to the side.

The child, burying his head in his knees, looked up upon hearing Drake’s voice. His bright golden eyes peeked out from beneath his thick hair.

Tom could feel the child’s gaze landing on them—shy and hesitant—but for some reason, it sent a chill down his spine, as though something utterly terrifying was watching them through that gaze.

"Aaaa!"

"Aaaaa!"

Suddenly, Tom’s body twisted violently, and he collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain—his body stretching and contracting uncontrollably. Not only did his abdomen convulse, but even his veins seemed to bulge and writhe beneath his skin. Something black, previously hidden under his flesh, gradually surfaced before everyone’s eyes.

To everyone’s shock, a dark substance began pouring out of Tom’s body.

No—it wasn’t a liquid. It slithered and darted swiftly without leaving any trail of moisture. It was more like a shadow—pure darkness—that suddenly surged toward Saphen!

Bang!

Drake’s massive blade instantly blocked the shadow’s path, and his body appeared just as fast, almost in the blink of an eye.

Yet the shadow passed through everything!

Drake’s eyes widened. At the same time, a radiant shield appeared, forming a glowing dome that enclosed the strange shadow, attempting to trap it.

If it were a creation of darkness, it should have dissolved under Susan’s light. But no—the shadow continued surging forward like a flood, its target painfully clear: Saphen!

Saphen’s eyes flew wide open. As though terrorized, he sat frozen, watching the shadow race toward him.

"Dark shadow, stop!"

Susan’s voice rang out, fierce and commanding—but it had no effect.

She scowled, raising her voice again, "Whatever you are, I command you—stop!"

The shadow abruptly halted. It looked like an ink stain splashed across the floor, formless and twitching as though trying to break free—but it couldn’t.

Splurt!

Susan coughed up a mouthful of blood. The others looked at her with worry in their eyes.

Though her face had gone pale, Susan remained calm as she studied the shadow on the ground. She wiped the blood from her lips and said in a low voice, "What is this thing?"

Hic... hic...

Meanwhile, Saphen had started crying from sheer fear. His wide eyes remained fixed on the shadow on the floor, tears pouring like rain, overflowing with terror.

Drake stepped forward and gently pulled the boy into an embrace, comforting him softly:

"It’s okay, it’s okay now. No one’s going to hurt you."

Saphen buried his face into Drake’s chest, saying nothing, but his tears soaked through the fabric of Drake’s shirt.

Luis glanced from Drake and Saphen to the shadow on the ground, a slight frown forming between his brows.

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