Becoming a God Starts with Acting
Chapter 167: [Blizzard Manor] - Prophet’s part (14)

Chapter 167: [Blizzard Manor] - Prophet’s part (14)

Outside the mansion.

The estate grounds were incredibly luxurious, but at the moment, snow covered everything so thickly that all they could see was white. The beauty of the estate was hidden entirely.

Only a single path had been cleared of snow for walking—everything else was blanketed in white.

"This layer of snow must be up to my thighs," Jessica muttered.

"Let me test it out!"

Zara burst out laughing and suddenly dove into the snow, burying half her upper body, her legs flailing in the air.

The Believer who had accompanied her silently covered their face at the sight—this couldn’t get any more humiliating.

Fortunately, Zara was only a Believer of the Archangel Michael, not a high devotee. Otherwise, it would be nearly impossible to salvage the dignity of all Michael’s followers. As it was, the others were already looking at Zara with a mixture of confusion and barely concealed amusement.

One of Zara’s companions quickly stepped forward to pull her out of the snow.

Zara brushed the snow off her face and concluded, "There’s even ice underneath all this snow. Lucky my face didn’t hit a chunk of it—damn!"

"There’s ice?" Susan raised an eyebrow.

From Zara’s description, the ice was rather thick, which suggested that the snow had been accumulating here for a very long time—long enough to form a solid layer of ice. But if only one winter, that wouldn’t have been possible—especially since this place hadn’t been built with real water.

"Let me check." Jessica didn’t trust Zara’s words. She raised her hand, and flames immediately burst forth, rapidly melting the snow.

Water ran down around their feet, the snow surface revealing a transparent layer of ice beneath.

The ice was even thicker than the snow.

They all frowned. Just how long had the snow been falling here? How many snowstorms had there been?

"Drake did this on purpose. He’s inside the house while we’re out here looking for clues. That makes it easier for those monsters to notice us!"

At that moment, Mason’s disgruntled voice rang out. His small eyes squinted in the sunlight, making him look even more scheming and unpleasant.

Justin, standing nearby, wholeheartedly agreed: "Exactly, those monsters are eyeing us right now!"

Jessica didn’t like Drake but hated weaklings who talked too much and blamed others even more.

"I wonder what important clues we’ve supposedly found that make us worth following," she said with a hint of mockery. After a pause, she added, "And if the two of you think it’s too dangerous out here, you’re welcome to leave the team and search for whatever you want on your own."

These two Dark Espers were already revealing their true nature after just one night.

Mason and Justin fell silent, afraid to go up against Jessica.

Jessica raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. She merely pointed outside the estate, her smile a little manic as she looked at Susan and said, "We’ve scoured the entire estate and found nothing useful. We should head out."

Susan was the current leader of this task team. Jessica could do whatever she wanted but still offered Susan the basic respect she was due.

Susan looked at Jessica and smiled, nodding. "We can. We need to search for more clues. Captain Drake and his team are surely working hard, too—we can’t afford to fall behind."

Just as the butler had said, they shouldn’t leave the estate—because it was dangerous outside.

It made sense when there was a blizzard; one could easily argue the snowstorm itself was the threat. But now that the blizzard had stopped, and the butler still insisted that going outside was dangerous, it raised the question: What exactly was the real danger?

Still, the butler had also said that if they wanted to leave, he wouldn’t stop them—so long as they took full responsibility for their deaths.

But without danger, they would never find any clues. Survival guides in dungeons always emphasized that the threat comes hand-in-hand with opportunity.

They had no choice but to venture into the snow for more information.

Just then, Emilia—a member of Susan’s team and the one whose live broadcast screen had turned black earlier—began to stir slightly. She spoke in a soft voice:

"But outside really is dangerous... Can’t we wait for Captain Drake? Let’s go tomorrow instead, all together. It’ll be much safer."

Tom nodded in agreement nearby, and the two dark espers shifted subtly toward them as if preparing to form a new faction.

Jessica’s expression turned cold, but before she could speak, Susan gently interjected:

"Emilia, you’re not an ordinary person. You shouldn’t be giving in to fear like this."

Oh god, Jessica was visibly annoyed by Susan’s soft-spoken tone. There was no way she could be gentle with people like this, no matter how hard she tried.

Emilia shrank back a little, but Stella quickly stepped up in her place:

"We’re just... a bit scared, that’s all."

She was far more direct than Emilia.

Susan’s brow furrowed slightly. "That’s not a trait you should be clinging to at a time like this. Everyone feels fear—it’s natural. But if we let it stop us, we’ll never escape this place."

Susan spoke reasonably, hoping to bring these two misguided Believers back to their senses.

As she spoke, their steps never faltered. But the closer they got to the estate’s gates, the stronger the resistance from Emilia and the others became—

—as if something unimaginably terrifying awaited them beyond those doors.

"No, I’m not going out there!"

Tom shouted, backing away from the gate. The other four did the same.

Susan glanced at her two team members who had just followed after a free esper and two dark espers. Her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.

That alone was enough to make Emilia and Stella tremble. Instinctively, they stepped back toward Susan and away from the other three.

Stella spoke honestly:

"Honestly... I don’t know what’s going on. I feel like I shouldn’t go outside."

[All it took was one look—hahaha]

[That’s Susan for you. That’s all.]

[I thought someone might finally piss Susan off. Sigh.]

[Goddess Susan, angry? Never!]

Sometimes, you can’t underestimate human intuition.

Susan knew Stella and Emilia well. She didn’t think they were cowards—if they were, they’d never have qualified to serve in the Temple of the Archangel Gabriel.

But their behavior right now was off.

Susan looked over at Mason and suddenly said:

"You go out first."

Mason blinked, confused—then his expression turned to rage. He opened his mouth to protest... but then horror took over his face.

Because his body was moving, step by step, one foot in front of the other, he was walking forward.

At that moment, Mason looked at Susan as though his eyes might split open—his gaze filled with fury, disbelief, and fear.

The others fell utterly silent.

That’s right.

How could they have forgotten who Susan was just because of her calm demeanor and rational words?

Susan—the High Believer of the Archangel Gabriel. The one who would sacrifice others without hesitation to achieve her ultimate goal: closing the dungeon.

And, of course, she would always favor those who served Gabriel. No guilt, no inner conflict—because, to her, it was natural.

Even if, one day, she stabbed any one of them in the back, no one would be surprised.

An imperfect light.

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