Chapter 19: 19 Stop fighting, you guys!

Chapter 19: 19. Stop Fighting Already

To cook is to know; to know is not to be confused.

Basestin's head lifted, and a blue spiritual light began to fill his eye sockets, some of it even drifting out and dissipating into the air. He had spent the entire night praying to his goddess by Dakus's side; how could the Goddess of the Lake not cast her gaze upon him?

Speaking of which, Dakus truly owed a debt of gratitude to Morayge Heg, that kind and gentle old grandmother; her blessing had protected his soul. If not for her, various powerful beings might have already come knocking on his door. It would have been like a professional basketball player suddenly appearing in overalls—far too conspicuous—and the old grandmother had timely found a jersey for him to change into. Ersu Haiye, the Pale Queen, she looked after nothing but the souls of elves after death.

"Don't just stand there! Quick, quick, quick, come help untie him! We have a distinguished guest. It was my oversight; I should have served midnight tea to the entire small table and chairs, but I'll have the experience next time."

The Takaya siblings were utterly bewildered. They had been in a daze since Dakus started shouting those names, and they never imagined that what was happening was something so unheard of.

Furthermore, was there any connection between these three names? One was an underworld god, one was a celestial god, and one was a god of Botania.

Alisha picked up the repeating hand crossbow hanging under the saddle, disengaged the safety, and pointed it at Basestin. The two brothers rushed over to untie him and removed the gag from Basestin's mouth.

Basestin stood up directly, looked Dakus straight in the eye, and asked in a female voice, "Who are you?"

Dakus looked at Basestin and said grimly, "Me? I am of the Calacronde Calamity Family, Dakus Calamity!"

Basestin spoke excitedly in a female voice, "No! You are not!"

Dakus shook his head, spread his hands, and retorted, "Then I must ask you, who am I? Hmm?"

This question left the opponent completely stumped. How on earth would they know who he was?

Basestin stared at Dakus for a long time, and the scene fell into a momentary stillness. The crow merely perched on Dakus's pauldrons, watching Basestin, with no intention of speaking.

The current Basestin was no longer Basestin; something "dirty" had possessed him. He was now Lilith Van Derlinde, the famous "Little Jezebel"!

As mentioned before, there are twenty-two Elven gods—actually, no, one individual wears two masks, so there are twenty-one Elven gods. Her other mask is the Goddess of the Lake in Botania. She is Lilith, the "Pure Maiden" and the "Moon Goddess." She specializes in delivering messages through dreams and is the patron deity of prophets and seers; the Azur pray to her for a clear future, prophecy, and foresight.

Dakus suddenly broke the ice with high emotional intelligence: "I heard your divinations are very accurate—ah, I mean, your fortune-telling is very accurate. Could you take a look at these three?" He tilted his chin up, gave a thumbs-up with his right hand, and pointed to the three siblings behind him, looking incredibly obnoxious.

Lilith gave him a fierce glare that gave Dakus goosebumps. She was, after all, inhabiting the body of a man—and a large one at that. She then looked toward the Takaya siblings, and upon doing so, she was actually mesmerized.

"I actually cannot prophesy the future of these three? What? Did you shield them?"

The crow shook its head.

If one could see the prophecy of the three siblings, it would be a miracle. Lilith could only see prophecies and dreams, but she could not see Fate. A prophecy can predict what will happen in the future, and though she tries every possible way to interfere, thinking she will deviate from the original prophetic trajectory, she does not realize that it is precisely these actions that successfully cause the prophecy to come true. The atmosphere suddenly became quite metaphysical. Oedipus? No, not quite.

However, Fate had been broken by an unreasonable existence like Dakus. Moving forward, there might be more people whose fates change because of his arrival. Perhaps it would be good, perhaps bad? But even if it were bad, it wouldn't be as bad as it is now. Morayge Heg knew Fate, but she could not break it; Dakus could, which was why she protected him.

Dakus looked disappointed and shook his head, saying, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, big sister, your skill isn't all that great either. Is your so-called prophecy just making things up first, and then when everyone believes it, the prophecy becomes true?"

"You! You! You!" Lilith lost her composure, pointing at Dakus, trembling with rage.

Dakus realized his words were a bit excessive. Finding that he was truly bad at talking to girls, he hurriedly tried to find something else to say.

"They always fantasize that you are a supreme being, but have you ever thought about how they would react once they know you are an Elven god? Would they leave you? Would they despise you?"

"They won't be kept in the dark forever; there will come a day when they know the truth. What if, at a critical moment, it is ignited by someone with ulterior motives?"

Lilith stubbornly replied, "There will always be a way. I already have an idea. Besides, how do you know about this? Did *she* tell you?"

Dakus wore an expression of profound mystery, shook his head, and said solemnly, "It is... Fa-te!"

"You!" Lilith lunged directly at Dakus, clawing at him. A Druchi noble and an Elven god began to scuffle.

The crow flew away immediately, cawing hoarsely, seemingly mocking and seemingly cursing.

Watching the two brawling, the three siblings were completely lost. Inexperienced as they were, they had never seen such a scene.

"What the hell? You crazy woman, don't scratch my face! Ah! My hair!"

Dakus had been careless; he hadn't dodged, nor had he stood at a safe distance. Who would have thought a god would be so lacking in martial honor?

Alisha snapped out of it and shouted, "Don't just stand there! Go pull them apart!"

Only then did the two brothers react, rushing to pull them apart.

Seeing Dakus in such a disheveled state, Lilith felt instantly vindicated.

"There's no time. We'll meet again when there's a chance. Oh, by the way, a troop of cavalry is riding this way from the north."

"Holy crap, you are truly a pain in the ass!"

Their first meeting was not very friendly.

Dakus tidied himself up, smoothing out his disheveled long hair.

Basestin's knees went weak, and he fell into a half-kneeling position, his eyes vacant. His body could no longer support itself; he slumped to the ground, making sobbing sounds, as tears began to flow from his eyes.

This man had broken down, because what is more terrifying than death is the collapse of one's faith, especially when it occurs in such a cruel manner.

Joniva was fortunate, because he had fallen into oblivion while still ignorant.

While the "dirty thing" possessed him, Basestin's consciousness had remained present. Even if he didn't understand the Elven language, he understood now.

Dakus signaled to the two brothers, then drew his stiletto. Walking to Basestin's side, he spoke in Botanian: "Without the Goddess of the Lake, there would be no Botania as it is today. Perhaps this land would still be a collection of tribes? Or perhaps, like the southern city-states, it would be overrun by greenskins and beastmen? Or perhaps it would have become a province of the Empire? When 'the Unifier' Giles le Botania established Botania, the neighboring Empire had already existed for nearly a thousand years. He did not choose Sigmar; instead, he chose to drink the holy water of the Goddess of the Lake. In that moment, the price was already set."

Dakus tilted his head toward Basestin. The two brothers understood; one on the left and one on the right, they gripped Basestin's arms and pulled him up.

Basestin's face was covered in mud and tears. He looked at Dakus, shook his head, and began to cry. For a grown man to cry like this was truly heartbreaking. He wailed through his sobs, "This price! It is too heavy!"

Dakus's stiletto slid directly between two ribs, the hook piercing the heart. With a flick, it was pulled out through the space between the ribs.

The two brothers let go, and Basestin collapsed to the ground.

"May there be no Lilith in heaven."