[Ultraman Tiga: Help! Four goddesses have teamed up to hunt me down!]
Anbaixiu called out to the President for help without hesitation. After all, the President had been the one to recruit him into the Elegy Poetry Society, so surely he wouldn't just leave him to die.
Yet to Anbaixiu's disappointment, the President did not appear. Instead, that fellow Heji Stone chimed in right away, ever the hype man.
[Dislikes Humans: What kind of game are you playing today? I can't make heads or tails of this.]
[Ultraman Tiga: Out of the way. This isn't the kind of major affair a dwarf vampire can get mixed up in.]
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: Brother, I don't mean to criticize, but I don't get what you're saying either. What do you mean, four goddesses teamed up to hunt you down? Even bragging has its limits. What deity would ever need to team up just to deal with you?]
Anbaixiu felt utterly helpless. Whenever he told the truth, his groupmates never believed him. He had no choice but to lay out everything he had encountered atop the tower, even revealing that Shar had tasked him with plotting against the other three goddesses.
The very first rule of the Elegy Poetry Society was that conversations within the group were strictly forbidden from leaking outside.
Anbaixiu trusted the President's capabilities and believed that no one would dare violate this rule, so he spoke without reservation.
Right now, the only ones who could lend a hand were the members of the Elegy Poetry Society.
[Rose of Decay: I sent you to handle a little trouble for me, and you went and provoked an alliance of goddesses? I honestly don't even know what to say. How is Melina?]
[Ultraman Tiga: She doesn't know yet, but she's safe right now.]
[Pale Little Skeleton: Wait, who's Melina?]
[Rose of Decay: She is his and my daughter.]
[Pale Little Skeleton: ?????]
[Dislikes Humans: xxxxxxx!]
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: Are you kidding me?! How can undead have children?!]
[Poet: I would love to know as well! I am willing to compose a poem for such a magnificent feat!]
Anbaixiu was rendered speechless. Was this really the time to be obsessing over that? Still, even the Poet had shown up—could he reach the President through him?
[Ultraman Tiga: Having children isn't the point! The point is that four goddesses are watching me right now! Friends, if you don't help, you'll never see me again!]
[Pale Little Skeleton: Whatever help you need, Gareth and I are in! But you have to tell us how to have a baby!]
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: Exactly, I'll put my life on the line to help you!]
It seemed this undead couple had genuinely wanted a child for a very long time.
Unfortunately, Anbaixiu hadn't actually figured out how to make undead reproduce either.
[Ultraman Tiga: Lady Rose, please refrain from saying such misleading things. I wove the soul, and Lady Rose crafted the body. Melina is merely an undead being we collaborated to create.]
These words must have dealt a blow to Gareth and his wife, as neither posted another message for a long time.
Anbaixiu felt a twinge of regret. If one truly could make undead give birth, that business would probably be immensely lucrative.
No, now was not the time to be thinking about that.
Anbaixiu quickly clutched at the lifesaver, messaging the senior Poet: [Senior, you're quite familiar with the President, right? Could you ask him to lend a hand? I will definitely remember this favor.]
The Mourner was someone even Shar had to show respect toward. He had to be a deity, though Anbaixiu had no idea which one—doubtless far more reliable than the God of Alchemy.
[Poet: Don't let your imagination run wild. The President won't get involved in disputes between deities. Still, you're not wrong—you are, after all, a member of the Elegy Poetry Society. We old-timers have slept for so long that the world has forgotten the name of the Elegy Poetry Society. Four deities ganging up against a single lich is truly shameless. This time, I will help you. It's time for us old folks to stretch our bones.]
Anbaixiu felt a surge of excitement. Was this mysterious senior, the Poet, about to make a move?
He had previously guessed that the Poet might also be a deity, but that didn't appear to be the case now.
Deities could not personally intervene in mortal conflicts; even the alliance of goddesses could only have mortals do their bidding through bestowing blessings.
Nevertheless, even if he wasn't a deity, the Poet had to be like that ghost ship, Aige—at least at the demigod level. With his help, things should be much more secure this time.
[Poet: That said, we old folks can help, but what exactly do you want to do? Following Shar's demand, can't you just hide yourself with illusions and stab that drow? You can leave the rest to Shar.]
[Ultraman Tiga: Senior, look at the lineup of this goddess alliance—the Dragon Goddess, Lolth the Spider Queen, the Goddess of Pain, the Goddess of Night... Not a single one of them is decent! Shar could come find me to plot against the other three goddesses, so do you really think Lolth the Spider Queen wouldn't keep an ace up her sleeve? I'd bet Shar definitely approached Tiamat and Lolth proposing a three-way pact to screw over Loviatar, while the other three goddesses are doing the exact same thing. Three against one, or pairs teaming up, all while harboring their own schemes to screw the other three over—the four of them can generate eight different permutations!]
[Dislikes Humans: Why only eight?]
[Ultraman Tiga: You're a history major, don't strain your brain over math. The issue right now is that I have no idea how many contingency plans these goddesses have set up. Sure, I can hide myself with illusions and launch a sneak attack, but what if it's a trap? I refuse to take risks while completely in the dark.]
It was just like that saying from before his transmigration: four people in a dorm room could spawn several different group chats. Anbaixiu believed that not one of these four goddesses was trouble-free; every single one of them was clicking away at their abacus. The dagger Shar had given Anbaixiu wasn't something forged on a whim—it was clearly premeditated.
In other words, even if Anbaixiu hadn't shown up, Shar would have found another way to use that dagger.
Time was of the essence. The ritual would be completed in a day or two at most, and Anbaixiu simply didn't have enough time to ferret out all of the goddesses' backup plans.
Because the Dice of Fate could not divine the actions of deities, returning only an empty void no matter how he rolled.
If not for that, Anbaixiu wouldn't have needed to ask for help at all. He could have simply divined every hidden danger and then hurled a relentless volley of Meteor Swarms across the field.
[Poet: So your trouble right now is simply worrying about other traps from the goddesses. In that case, I know how to help you.]
The outline of a crystal materialized upon the Necrotic Codex, and a unique crystal appeared before Anbaixiu.
[Poet: I've sent you a recording crystal. Once shattered, it will play a new composition of mine on loop.]
Anbaixiu: ...
A new musical piece? What was the use of that? To set the mood at his own funeral?
[Poet: While this piece plays, it should temporarily sever the wills of those four goddesses—for about five minutes.]
It was only because Anbaixiu lacked lungs; otherwise, he certainly would have gasped in sharp shock.
Shielding against the will of deities—wasn't that effectively severing divine descent? This was an artifact through and through!
Sure enough, the Elegy Poetry Society was full of big shots; whatever they casually tossed out was exceptional.
Five minutes of blocking divine influence would give Anbaixiu more than enough time to charge in and out of this high tower seven times over.
[Ultraman Tiga: Thank you so much.]
[Poet: Don't thank me just yet. Since this action is taken in the name of the Elegy Poetry Society, we can't settle for small-time antics. Four goddesses teaming up against a member of our Elegy Poetry Society—if we don't force them to leave something behind, wouldn't that bring shame upon the President?]
These words sounded utterly domineering. In this senior's eyes, the four evil goddesses seemed like little schoolgirls engaged in petty bullying.
[Poet: Rest easy and do what you must. We old-timers will handle the rest.]
Having spoken these domineering words, the senior fell silent. Anbaixiu had no idea what he meant by "handling" them—surely he didn't mean finishing off the four goddesses?
Loviatar was one thing; she wasn't all that impressive anyway.
But Lolth the Spider Queen, Tiamat, and Shar—all three possessed renowned reputations. The Elven Gods couldn't kill Lolth the Spider Queen, Tiamat was an Archduke of Hell, and Shar was an ancient deity born during the dawn of Ao's creation.
Wiping them out was impossible, but Anbaixiu estimated this senior had quite an appetite—it was highly likely he intended to plunder the primal divine power of these goddesses.
Now this was true grand vision. Normally acting like comic relief and indulging in frivolous antics like forcing others to listen to his poems, yet when he turned serious, he dared to hunt gods! Anbaixiu realized he still fell quite short in comparison.
After a brief moment of humble self-reflection, Anbaixiu regained his confidence.
His greatest worry was now resolved. With the deities' influence severed, Anbaixiu had the unfair advantage of the Golden Throne and his trump card, Melina—he truly had nothing to fear from anyone.
"The senior is right. Right now, I represent the Elegy Poetry Society; I ought to be a little bolder."
Maintaining his illusion, Anbaixiu floated directly before the magic circle currently being laid out.
This magic circle was steeped in drow style. Anbaixiu knew only a smattering of its intricate patterns and couldn't recklessly tamper with them the way he had scammed Harvey.
Even so, he could discern the patched-together nature of the circle. True to an alliance of four goddesses, it was divided into four starkly distinct sections. In Anbaixiu's eyes, the four parts had not been integrated well at all; they were like four lumps of modeling clay hurriedly smashed together. Although each piece was crafted with great delicacy, the seams where they joined were exceedingly crude, thoroughly ruining any sense of overall perfection.
Yet the drow elves appeared oblivious, dutifully and meticulously executing the magic circle according to the schematics.
Meanwhile, Trisna, the drow Matron Mother, had already begun preparing the sacrifices for the blood offering.
Subterranean beings of many races unknown to Anbaixiu were brought atop the high tower, where Trisna slaughtered them with her own hands before skinning and deboning them. What she sought was not flesh and blood, but the hatred and despair born of agony.
When blended with the gore, these emotions formed the finest sacrifices the drow could offer their deities.
Fortunately, all four goddesses belonged to the evil alignment this time, and gore steeped in venomous despair was a sacrifice acceptable to all four, sparing Trisna considerable trouble.
Every slaughter had to be carried out by her own hands. With a countenance of utmost piety, Trisna gradually filled that massive pool several meters deep with blood.
Anbaixiu estimated that once the pool was full, the blessing ritual would commence.
Melina was likely among the sacrifices intended for slaughter as well. He wondered if the child would notice.
Chapter 258