Becoming a God Starts with Acting

"Are you alright?" Aurora helped Ron stand up, her face full of concern.

Ron still felt short of breath. He wanted to summon the wind, but at this moment, he couldn't even move a finger. The only reason he was still standing was thanks to Aurora's support.

He could only set aside his embarrassment and lean against her, his eyes cold as he observed the battlefield ahead.

Asta and the others were still fighting the swarm of zombies. Though they were strong and left no openings, the undead seemed endless, as if no matter how many were killed, more would come.

They kept appearing, as though there was no end in sight. Even if Asta's gemstone crystals wiped them out in one sweep, they would reappear moments later—as if every zombie that had ever existed on this ship was now appearing all at once!

Ron couldn't help but think grimly—before them, who else had once stood on this ship?

No one could answer him.

"This isn't working," Nyx muttered. She didn't even want to use her power at this point. Partly because she was already severely injured, but more so because she felt that no matter what they did, it was impossible to eliminate the undead.

They needed another method that could deal with all of them.

"It's like it was arranged from the start… not a single person capable of using fire can appear in this place," Nyx said, glancing toward Ron. "Maybe it's because this fire isn't meant to be lit by us."

But Ron had said—someone would light a fire on this ship.

Ron said nothing, but just as Nyx finished speaking, something unbelievable happened.

Ron's eyes flew open. Even though his vision was blurred from the pain, he could still see the blinding, scorching light coming toward them. "That... what is that...?"

The others followed his voice and turned to look—a dazzling orange-gold light was radiating out in the distance. It didn't keep them waiting. The light drew closer and closer until its proper form was revealed.

Streaks of flame burst forth along dark trails, charging forward at incredible speed!

It didn't distinguish between friend or foe—it burned everything. The zombies behind were the first to be engulfed, their deafening screams like the opening bell of a nightmare.

The undead were no longer surging forward, relieving pressure on the espers at the frontlines. However, a new problem arose—they had to extinguish the fire before ending up like the train reaching Watson Town!

"Put out the fire at all costs!"

Ron shouted with nearly every ounce of strength he had left. His entire chest ached with each heartbeat, and it felt like he could stop breathing at any moment. The sensation filled him with both despair and confusion.

He had never unleashed such a decisive blow before, nor had he ever experienced a feeling like his entire body had been hollowed out. As if something had exploded inside him… and was now slowly piecing itself back together.

Aurora looked at Ron's face, drenched in cold sweat.

She brought him to the front car and gently set him down in a seat, speaking softly: "Don't worry. We will make it out of here."

Ron instinctively grabbed Aurora's hand. His strength was out of control, his trembling fingers squeezed her so hard it was as if he meant to crush her wrist bones.

But there was no fear in his eyes—only helplessness and regret that he couldn't fight now.

Aurora lowered her gaze to look at him and said, "Your breakthrough move was beautiful. I hope I get to see it again in the future."

Ron looked up at her in a daze. But Aurora only smiled, saying nothing more.

She stepped away from the seat and walked toward the front.

The others had already begun trying to put out the fire under Nyx's command, but things weren't looking good. The flames refused to go out—as if fate itself decreeing that they must burn.

[My god, Ron's helpless expression hit me immediately.]

[Is this… S-blooded?]

[Okay, okay, everyone, calm down. Dear humans, kill all the zombies and stay in the front car. It's not that hard.]

[Exactly, ha ha ha. Since part of the newspaper was burned, Ron and Aurora didn't know this, but the fire never reached the first car. The reason everyone died was because of the disease.]

[Honestly, I don't understand why such a simple dungeon turned into a special dungeon with a high difficulty rating—it feels like a joke.]

[Right? It would've been more interesting without Asta and Nyx. Alright, Ron is temporarily on their level now thanks to that opening move, ha ha.]

[Oh, please. Ron held that position partly because of his brains too.]

[You're talking like Nyx doesn't have brains. The only one here without any is Asta.]

[What the hell are these mutts barking about? All those humans are still alive because of Asta, you clueless idiots!]

[They must've forgotten who the strongest person in this dungeon is, ha ha.]

Asta's fans quickly drowned out the insults. Only Nyx's fans could weakly respond at that moment.

[Alright, can we not fight? The topic's completely off-track. There's a reason this dungeon suddenly ranked up like that!]

[The humans are this close to escaping. Once they succeed, I'm coming back to laugh at all those dumb comments.]

[Don't forget about Lily. Just a gut feeling...]

[Think about how Lily treated Aurora—she isn't some monster. No monster would act that unqualified!]

[Oh my god, don't you people imagine the scene where Lily massacres everything and locks Aurora away to stay with her forever? Their love is about to bloom!]

[Seriously? They're both girls, and Lily's probably only ten. You bunch of pedos!]

[It's just entertainment, guys. Ever heard of artistic license?]

The further it went, the more chaotic the comments became—heated arguments, wild fantasies, and relentless speculation.

Meanwhile, in the dungeon, everyone was forced to accept the truth: no matter how hard they tried, the fire couldn't be extinguished. Asta's group was being pushed back. It seemed even the zombies had a will to survive.

The blaze roaring behind them terrified the undead, causing them to lunge forward with far more speed and strength than before.

Many fell—only to turn around and join the ranks of the zombies.

At this point, they didn't even need time to transform. Anyone bitten by a zombie would instantly turn and sink their teeth into the nearest teammate!

"Stop trying to put out the fire! Hold the front of the train!"

Nyx shouted, swinging her massive fan. It moved like it had a life of its own, flying forward and slicing off a wave of zombie heads.

Ron watched the scene unfold before him, suddenly confused and… lucky.

Because even though the two realms had begun to merge, that massive shadow monster hadn't come for them yet. But that didn't bring him any comfort. His instincts were screaming that there was something even bigger behind all this...

Aurora smashed the skull of a zombie that had slipped past the frontlines with her staff.

"Th... thank you."

The man sitting on the ground muttered hoarsely. Both his legs had been crippled—he could do nothing but sit and hope they would somehow win this.

Aurora said nothing. Her eyes, heavy with exhaustion, stared straight ahead.

Their numbers had dwindled again—less than seventy remained.

But the number of zombies had also dropped. Most had been burned, and the ones still charging forward were mighty.

"Everyone, fall back!"

Right then, Asta's voice suddenly rang out.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

At the same time, he spread his arms. As his hands moved, four dazzling diamond-shaped objects the size of pigeon eggs fell to the ground.

The greatest treasure he had brought into this place—now about to unleash the final blow and get this battle to an end!