CHAPTER 308: LOVE HELL - DORIAN’S PART (13)

The silence from Hermes’s group was almost deafening. Dorian tilted his head slightly, confusion flickering in his gentle gaze.

Nyx gave an awkward laugh and waved her hand. "No, no one’s bullying him..."

Terrifying, honestly. If anything, it was always Nerio bullying others. Who would even dare to bully him?

... except for that one time when Degenerate made Nerio wear a dress. Maybe that was just how their relationship worked? Perhaps because Degenerate often teased Nerio, Dorian thought Nerio was weak and easily picked on by others?

The humans felt like they were just one step away from uncovering the truth—the pieces finally fell into place.

[Haha, even Nyx can’t keep her smile straight right now]

[Seriously, what the hell happened during that system error period? I’m dying of curiosity!]

[Damn that broken program!!!]

Dorian nodded before speaking again. "Mr. Andersen has been visiting the church regularly, but not simply to pray."

Hermes’s group exchanged glances, reading the confusion mirrored in one another’s eyes.

What did that mean? Was Dorian about to reveal the truth to them outright?

Unbothered by their reactions, Dorian lowered his gaze slightly and continued in a calm, steady voice.

"The bishop is a being who has already been corrupted. He’s guiding Mr. Andersen toward a dark ritual—a ceremony meant to cleanse the monster attached to him, but only if another person dies in his place. These events have already happened before. We’re merely retracing the same path, repeating old incidents in search of an exit. Your task is to find out why Mr. Andersen is pursuing this dark ritual and stop it from happening."

When he finished, Dorian lifted his gaze toward them again, as if to add something more—only to pause when he saw their expressions.

Every one of them stared back at him in disbelief. Hermes and Nyx, usually the best at keeping their composure, couldn’t help but show their astonishment.

"What’s wrong?" Dorian asked, unable to hide his confusion. The humans’ behavior had been strange from the very beginning.

The group jolted as if waking from a trance and hurriedly averted their gazes. Seeing them flinch like startled birds, Dorian frowned slightly and said softly, "Don’t be afraid. I’m here to protect you."

Alice hesitated. "You... just tell us everything directly like this?"

Dorian nodded without a hint of doubt, his expression puzzled. "Of course. Why? Do the other gods not do the same?"

Alice: "..."

[Of course not, hahaha]

[Nerio and Degenerate are watching—humans, watch your words!]

[Say it! Say the truth! I want to see Nerio get punished, hahaha!]

Alice recalled the previous dungeon and felt an almost irresistible urge to tell Dorian everything. But in the end, she only said softly, "No... they have their own special ways."

Dorian smiled and nodded. "I see. They’re all very powerful. Perhaps they don’t need to sit down and analyze things like I do."

He spoke humbly, yet without a trace of self-deprecation.

[Yeah, they don’t "analyze"—they plot how to deceive humans, hahaha]

[I’m starting to worry for him. Dorian feels like a lamb surrounded by wolves...]

[No, no, in Dorian’s eyes, Nerio is the helpless little lamb that needs protection!]

[I’m dying, hahaha! That’s too good!]

[By the way, Prophet isn’t a wolf—he’s just a poor mushroom forced to socialize, hahaha!]

[Humans, ask about Prophet already! Why hasn’t Dorian mentioned him?!]

The humans could practically feel the unseen spectators across the continent watching them intently.

But Dorian was easy to talk to—utterly different from the other gods.

This may be their rare chance to learn more about them—just an ordinary conversation, casual and natural.

Thinking that, Hermes steadied his usual calm expression and sat across from Dorian. The others followed suit, one after another. Right now, they looked like a bunch of students trying to act composed in front of their teacher.

"Your relationship with the others seems... quite good," Hermes said quietly.

Dorian smiled. "I just have a habit of looking after him. Cain might have caused you a bit of trouble, but he’s not bad."

Cain?

Who was Cain?

Dorian seemed to drift into his own thoughts again. "Alden... I don’t think he’ll show up. No one ever knows where he is, after all."

Alden? Who was that now?

[Alright, calling it now—Alden is the Prophet!]

[Alden the Prophet. Damn, that sounds so cool!!!]

[Finally, I know my husband’s name. Thanks, Dorian.]

[He actually cut himself off from everyone? That’s unbelievable.]

[So that means Cain is Degenerate, right? Cain the Degenerate? That fits.]

"And why don’t we talk about this dungeon first?" Dorian said softly, his tone distant and strangely wistful. "Don’t listen too closely. These things aren’t good for you."

Hermes’s group was taken aback.

Hermes lowered his gaze and nodded gently to show he understood.

They quickly began piecing together everything they had learned so far.

Nyx spoke, calm and analytical first: "From what we’ve seen, Mr. Andersen—or rather, Alex—didn’t come from a wealthy family. He grew up in a poor rural village and left with a promise made to Mrs. Andersen, or more precisely, to Angelia."

"It’s possible he married the woman with the black cat to inherit her vast fortune, then murdered her. But afterward, he discovered that her spirit had attached itself to him. Now he needs a substitute—a life offered in his place—to complete the ritual that will banish the spirit of that woman with the black cat. And as luck would have it, he recently married Angelia."

"I mean," Nyx continued, "if he still hasn’t gotten rid of his previous wife’s spirit, there’s no way he would’ve married Angelia out of love."

Fiona’s eyes widened. "So you’re saying Alex might use Angelia as the sacrifice?!"

Nyx nodded. "Exactly. Judging by what’s happened, the ritual either succeeded or failed midway. Either way, Angelia turned into that monstrous form—and the woman with the black cat still haunts them."

Of course, it was still only speculation—but Nyx had the distinct feeling she was close to the truth.

"Then who’s the boss?" Liam asked cautiously.

Nyx didn’t answer right away. Instead, she looked at Dorian and, summoning her courage, said, "Dorian, do you know who the boss is? Please, give us a hint."

Dorian shook his head, a hint of regret in his expression. "I don’t know either. But if you’ve reasoned this far, keep doing what you’re doing—investigate the mansion, find where Mr. Andersen plans to hold the ritual, and stop it. Hopefully, we’ll succeed."

It was a rare moment of encouragement, and the group nodded firmly. This was the fastest they had ever gotten so close to uncovering the truth.

At that moment, lunchtime arrived. Mr. Andersen descended the stairs with Mrs. Andersen by his side.

Mrs. Andersen’s face looked even paler than before, while Mr. Andersen appeared visibly worried.

He glanced toward Hermes’s group and roared, "Angelia just saw that woman again! When will this nightmare finally end?!"