They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 299, Act One Performance

He has always been proud of his strength.

Lia grabbed the person behind her by the neck and slammed him to the ground like a doll. The ground was covered with a dense array of upright playing cards.

They gleamed like blades, their metallic sheen gleaming, and the moment Hephaestus landed, his body was instantly sliced ​​through by the incredibly sharp playing cards.

"Thud—" The silver cane pierced the man's chest with force, reaching his heart, then lifted it up and threw it far away.

"You always make me happy whenever I'm in a bad mood. You are truly my most loyal followers."

He raised his gun again, pointed it at the man, watched him struggle to stand up and pull out the playing cards, and then mercilessly pulled the trigger.

Crimson blood splattered everywhere, and Ria was clearly excited by the color.

The feeling of having your life in your own hands is indeed irresistible.

Moreover, the believer in front of him is very difficult to kill, which means he can enjoy this moment for a long time.

If Ivand were here, he would surely realize that Hephaestus was trying to draw out Ria's corrupting nature, allowing the corruption to consume his mind more quickly.

But Evans wasn't there, James wasn't there either, and at that moment, no one was going to tell Ria these things.

The mysterious monocle used to isolate pollution became stained with blood, making the golden eye's color even brighter.

"Since believers are willing to do anything for God, why don't you all disappear?"

"This doesn't sound like something you would say. I'm a little worried. Is your humanity intact?"

"Human nature, what is that?"

Ria, as a faceless god, always had a very harmonious relationship with his believers. Every time he saw his believers, he wished he could destroy them with all his might.

It must be said that killing believers is indeed a stress-relieving form of entertainment. However, since he is a black marketeer, he needs to add a condition before killing them—that is, to confirm that they have completely lost their value as living beings.

"Cough...cough cough cough."

Hephaestus staggered to his feet from the ruins, the surface of his longsword gradually glowing red, intending to use the flames to set the seaside jungle ablaze.

Suddenly, a tentacle appeared from the ground and wrapped around the blade. Hephaestus glanced at the tentacle, cut it off, and disappeared from the spot.

"They just ran away like that?"

Ria looked around and found that the person had vanished without a trace. He then decided to search for him elsewhere.

But as soon as he lifted his foot, a ball of fire appeared on the ground and surrounded him in an arc.

The scorching flames continued to gather inwards. Ria took a step back without changing his expression, snapped his fingers, and several water spheres appeared in mid-air and fell, steaming and making a sizzling sound.

The intense heat evaporated the water, but the flames did not go out; instead, they burned even more fiercely.

Suddenly, countless skeletons emerged from the flames and pounced on Ria. Under the firelight, the shadows thinned out, leaving Ria nowhere to escape.

He glanced coldly in the unknown direction. The tentacles that slapped against the flames instead caught fire. At this moment, Ria showed no fear. He stepped directly into the fire, which engulfed his body and scorched his flesh.

But apart from the burning sensation, he was not injured at all.

"It really was an illusion."

As Ria emerged from the flames, she saw Hephaestus, his body ravaged by the fire.

At this moment, he was holding his broken arm, his face disfigured, grinning at Ria. Blood covered his face, and even as he spoke, bits of flesh swayed.

"Your performance was truly wonderful."

"Isn't that obvious?" "But it's over now. The Curse Master's illusions don't stop there... Hahahaha, my dear Lord, enjoy all of this, and then let's see how you can break the 'chess game'!"

As he spoke, the image of Hephaestus shattered instantly, like a mirror, and all the illusions before Ria's eyes vanished.

The calm sea he saw was an illusion; in reality, the waves were already close at hand, with giant waves as high as a dozen stories crashing towards him.

The young man stood before the giant wave, as insignificant as an ant.

He looked up, and the giant wave instantly swallowed him up, destroying everything in its path. The trees, the beach, and the people living by the sea were all swept up in this wave.

The power of the laws of nature is irresistible. At this moment, Hephaestus watched all this from a distant cliff using the magician's spatial teleportation technique.

"With tsunamis occurring frequently lately, how can we just rush to the beach without taking proper precautions?"

He saw countless tentacles surging in the tsunami, like some enraged deep-sea monster awakening at that moment.

"It was a spectacular scene."

This is how Lia commented.

He stood behind Hephaestus, walked up to him from behind, placed one hand on the handle of the cane, and put the other hand in his pocket.

"..." Hephaestus turned to look at him, seemingly understanding something, but also seemingly understanding Ria less and less.

Ria continued to admire the scenery: "Is it hard to understand? My believer, I have been standing here waiting for you."

The one you were just exchanging words and fighting with was an avatar I created using the Faceless God's methods. I had Schwarz follow him, and now you see how happily Schwarz is playing in the water, proving that he truly loves it.

"You are really..."

"What, are you questioning my acting skills?"

Ria took a step forward, seemingly about to fall off the cliff. In the distance, the enormous tentacles continued to rage in the giant waves, only calming down after a long time.

A cat-like or bird-like creature emerged from the sea and flew toward this place, but slowed down as it approached Ria.

Ria also stretched out her arm, helping it find a landing spot and land smoothly.

"Goo-"

Little Swarth stood on Ria's arm, then climbed up his arm to his shoulder, bristling and staring at Hephaestus, all in one smooth motion.

"I understand."

Hephis G. covered his face: "It seems you've been planning this performance for a long time and have found the perfect way to portray us. I must say, your performance is simply flawless."

If it weren't for your final explanation, I would have been completely kept in the dark.

"So today... let's consider this an agreement, and wish each other a pleasant cooperation in the future."

Ria chuckled softly and reached out to the other person again. The feathers on Little Swarth's shoulder slowly curled up, and he tilted his head, looking docile.

Hephaestus also shook his hand.

This concludes the first act of Ria's performance.

Because the waves had just swept away the real Hephaestus and the clones that Ria had brought, Swarth's tentacles gave him no time to escape.

The person standing next to Ria is still a clone created by Ria using her tentacles. The moment the two shake hands, they immediately smile at each other without saying a word.

At that moment, the clone that resembled Hephaestus transformed back into tentacles and returned to Ria's body.

(End of this chapter)