They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 298 On a Day of Mourning

"Oh?"

Hephaestus was visibly taken aback for a moment when he heard the question, then he straightened his posture, ready to hear what unique insights the Faceless One had to offer.

Ria looked out at the distant sea.

“When people suffer misfortune and hardship, you can cling to them like maggots to bones and play tricks on everyone.”

Rejoice when others grieve, and grieve when others are happy.

"This line of thinking is unique, and it can definitely be considered a correct answer."

Hephis Gottman continued, “However, we are far more complex than you imagine.”

My Lord, we were born to bear a greater mission, but unfortunately people can never understand our plight, and some even turn against us…

He kept referring to himself as "we," completely refusing to believe that what he was doing was wrong.

"In the incident a few years ago, the role you played... was probably that of a miner."

The mere mention of miners triggered a visceral aversion in Ria.

Hephaestus possessed one of the miners, luring everyone to escape, and then everything that followed happened.

For him, this only amplified the miners' desire to escape, but for the original Ria, it was undoubtedly a huge disaster.

His life was filled with misfortune and sorrow, and in the end he even sacrificed his life and soul to an unknown deity, causing that unknown being to turn its gaze upon him.

But there is another key figure here, the blurry human figure. Just as it was about to give Ria the contamination virus, Ria sacrificed herself, interrupting the human figure's actions.

This also led to its disappearance under the direct gaze of the gods.

In other words, it did not transmit the contamination disease to Ria, but Ria contracted the contamination disease.

"That virus came from supernatural contamination, and the gaze of the gods also brought about the supernatural; these two things are of the same origin."

"The shadowy figure might have some connection with the Plague Knight. It wanted to spread the contamination to humans, but unfortunately, something went wrong along the way, causing its plan to fail."

From that time on, abnormal eyes appeared on Ria's body that shouldn't exist, especially the special pupil on the back of her neck. When it fully opened, the original Ria died, and the current Ria was transported to this world.

"Why did I appear here? Did God send me here?"

But what's the point of doing this?

"Could it be that He thinks I can fulfill the original owner's wish and change the rules of the world?"

That would be giving him far too much credit.

As Ria learned more, her doubts grew, while Hephaestus pulled his hood down a few times and slowly shook his head.

"Everything about you is a mystery. You don't know why you exist, you don't know your identity, and you don't know what your future will be like."

Who are you now, standing before me?
Ria Kercha? The God of Trade?

Swark Kercha?
Johnson Lee?
Or is it the true leader whom all of our incarnations share the same faith, the great Faceless One, the Faceless God—Ria Hephaestus.

"Want to play a werewolf, but can you really escape the contamination of the werewolf meme? Lost among many identities, gradually forgetting who you really are and what you should look like. This is the suffering that all of us must go through."

Hephaestus produced a flute from somewhere and twirled it in his hand.

"Aren't we also faceless gods? And why can't I be a faceless god? Hahaha, I really don't know whether to call you smart or stupid for wanting to play the role of the original consciousness."

"The investigators from the Church and the Order Society are now trying to find the Faceless One among us, but they certainly don't expect that the Faceless One is you. If you really intend to impersonate us, then come and join us."

"We've been looking forward to this day for a long time."

His tone was somewhat excited, and Ria seemed to have been persuaded, extending a hand to shake hands with the person in front of her, which also represented her first collaboration with this group of believers.

However, just as their hands were about to touch, a golden light flashed across the youth's skin, and dark, deep tentacles transformed into blades that stabbed at the other's body. Hephaestus, meanwhile, raised a longsword to deflect the blades' attack.

The two looked at each other in silence, and after a moment, they burst into laughter.

Clearly, the solution of reconciliation between the two sides was not feasible. Ria did not want to let any of her clones live in front of her, and the clones preferred a being that would not betray them to a god who was always at odds with them.

They wanted to turn Ria into an idiot and never intended to help her become a werewolf in the first place, and Ria would not do as they wished.

And so, the conflict arose.

"Actually, when we first met, I was thinking that impersonating you guys was too troublesome. It would be better to kill a few more clones and get multiple meme cards to help me successfully impersonate you earlier."

Ria's voice was as low as a nightmare. He stood motionless, his body ramrod straight, his hands resting on a silver-handled cane. His attire was impeccable and meticulous, reflecting Ria's somewhat obsessive-compulsive social etiquette.

In stark contrast to him were the enormous, writhing tentacles surrounding him, which, upon receiving orders, immediately attacked the enemy before them like wild beasts unleashed.

Clearly, they have been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Any shadowy place could become an area where they suddenly emerge, and strong acid is their best means of attack.

Hephaestus raised his sword and severed the tentacles that were about to attack him. He watched as large swathes of tentacles fell to the ground, then crawled back like countless venomous snakes, bringing the flute directly to his lips.

"Wow—"

A sharp sound rang out, and all the tentacles froze for a moment. The next second, with a "snap," Ria fired a shot that pierced through his flute, the accuracy of which was frightening.

He flashed and instantly appeared behind Hephisgetu, kicking the man directly into a distant coconut tree.

"Boom boom boom boom!!!"

The believer's body smashed through more than a dozen trees before finally stopping, leaving a huge hole in the ground and a cloud of dust.

Ria looked in that direction and walked toward the believers.

Soon after, he stood in front of the cave and found that the people inside had long since disappeared. At the same time, Hephaestus's voice came from behind him.

"I originally thought that once you left the mythical creatures, you were nothing but a brain, but I didn't expect that your fighting skills would be just as good as theirs."

"Thanks for the compliment."

(End of this chapter)