G.o.d —The Beginning of the End— Volume 2: Elf, Nanny, Thunderous Anger

Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)

Chapter 9: G.o.d, Part One—translated by lucathia (proofread by Trespa.s.serby & elisa)

"Hey! Xiao Bai!"

Shooting Star was looking backward in disbelief. Bai Saya was currently walking at the pace of a tortoise, making Shooting Star so anxious that he shouted, "We're fleeing for our lives right now! You think we're taking a stroll or something? Wanna stop and have a bite, too?"

"Huh? Can we?" Bai Saya was indeed walking very slowly. First of all, he knew that the dragon wasn't going to chase him, and second of all…

Growl!

"I'm so hungry."

Shooting Star's jaw dropped. He had been traveling together with Xiao Bai for so long, yet this was the first time he had ever heard him say these words! Normally, before Xiao Bai got hungry, Shooting Star would have already said he was hungry seven or eight times. Then, before he could say it the ninth time, they would already be eating. At those times, Bai Saya was usually still so full that he could only nibble on a couple of leafy veggies.

Bai Saya, having said that he was hungry, did feel a bit embarra.s.sed about it. He quickly explained, "It's because I haven't eaten anything since I was captured by the dragon."

"What?" Everyone was shocked. Shooting Star asked with increased disbelief, "You haven't eaten for over ten days, yet you're still so lively? You're pulling my leg!"

"Over ten days?" Bai Saya looked at Shooting Star and asked in confusion, "At most, it was only two days, right?"

This was even a.s.suming that he had been unconscious for a full day after the dragon had taken him, and then he had fainted for another day after dripping blood on Roth.1 At most, that came out to two days.

All three of them began to feel that something was wrong. Dan explained with concern, "Saya, today is the thirteenth day since you were captured by the dragon."

What? The thirteenth day? Bai Saya was shocked. How can that be?!

"Please, do you even know how far a dragon can fly with just one flap of its wings? You were so far away from us. If we take into account the time it took Bones to come back to find us, and the number of days it took us to rush over—I mean, we gave it our all. Alan even flew us until he had no strength left and Dan had to carry him on his back, the two of us running the rest of the way—we just barely managed to find you in thirteen days!"

Shooting Star gestured at the elf and said, "Haven't you noticed how Alan is so tired that his face has lost all color? Though honestly, elves have always been pale. I really can't tell if he is paler than usual or not!"

Shooting Star's face was saying, "Hmph, hmph, it's all your fault, Bai Saya, for getting captured by a dragon out of nowhere," without considering just who it was that had forced Alan to fly off track by ninety degrees, landing them in their current predicament.

"But I really feel like it's only been two days! Even though I was unconscious for most of it."

As he spoke, Bai Saya grew uncertain of it, too. Could I really have been unconscious for such a long time? But how could I only feel hungry after not eating or drinking anything for over ten days?

"You were unconscious?" Dan was, in the end, the one who cared about him the most. He immediately asked with worry, "Why? Was it the dragon?"

"Yes. When the dragon flew me up, I fell unconscious then. Later, when I accidentally dripped blood on the gemstone, I lost consciousness a second time."

Fainting all the time was making Bai Saya feel embarra.s.sed. If s.h.i.+fu were still around, he would definitely scold him: When did you become as fragile as a maiden?

"Gemstone? What gemstone?" Dan's shout was sudden and fierce.

"It's…"

Bai Saya was about to say that it was the gemstone he was returning to Dan, so he might as well return it now, but he abruptly realized he didn't know where the stone was. He had been holding the stone when he had fainted. Don't tell me…

"Oh no! I think I forgot the stone at the dragon's lair!"

At the side, an odd expression came over Shooting Star's face. He grabbed the Sword of Sacred White that was hanging by Bai Saya's waist. The originally pure white and pristine sword now had an ocean blue sapphire the size of a goose egg on it. The addition of the azure gemstone against the pure white of the sword made the entire sword even more magnificent. However, both Shooting Star and Dan had frantic expressions on their faces.

"This is that thing from when Mannen went crazy…" Shooting Star cried out, "This is terrible! I knew that Xiao Bai would never say anything like he was hungry. It must be just like what happened to Mannen back then. He's gone crazy!"

If saying I'm hungry means I'm crazy, then Shooting Star, you've never been sane. Bai Saya didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Just what is going on?"

Alan had no idea what was happening. He didn't know what had happened to that person called "Mannen" to make both Shooting Star and Dan so frantic. However, to his eyes, Bai Saya appeared very normal—the only thing that was odd was that he was standing there just fine even after not eating for thirteen days.

Even though Shooting Star's words made no sense, Dan was already so frantic that he was about to lose it. Even this nonsense sounded almost reasonable to him. He hurriedly asked, "Saya, can you tell me what happened in detail?"

"Okay." Bai Saya immediately nodded.

Shooting Star thought about it. He sat down cross-legged and placed the egg between his legs. He rested his chin on his hands, like an obedient kid asking for a story.

Bai Saya began retelling how he had met the dragon, and the dragon had asked him to help properly bury the corpse. At that moment, he glanced at the egg in Shooting Star's possession and decided to skip over the part of how the dragon had entrusted the egg to him. The dragon had decided to give him a reward. He chose an exquisite looking letter opener.

Bai Saya emphasized that it was exquisite, afraid that Shooting Star would feel that he had chosen something that wasn't worth much and might even force him to go back and choose something expensive completely encrusted in precious stones.

Shooting Star immediately jumped up shouting about where the letter opener was. Under Alan and Dan's cold glares, he shrank back to the ground, grumbling that he'd ask Xiao Bai for it later in any case.

Bai Saya continued his story. He accidentally cut his hand. The blood dripped onto the gemstone. As a result, he fell unconscious. A guy called Roth appeared in his mind.

"Roth? Why does such a strange guy have such a civilian name?" Shooting Star shouted in disbelief. Roth, Roth. Just about every tavern has a waiter called Roth.

"Oh, he said that he's the Stone of Fury, Roth!"

So he's the Stone of Fury, Wrath… The three of them retorted internally, correcting Bai Saya.

As the previous victim of his random naming, Alan resolutely decided that he must teach Bai Saya how to speak fluent Elvish later on during their journey!

"In the end, Roth said he would give me power, but I'm to exchange for it with my fury. After that, I opened my eyes and saw you guys right then."

Bai Saya finished the story all at once.

At this point, Shooting Star and Alan were both confused. Exchange fury for power? Is fury so valuable? Oh, but Bai Saya's fury could possibly be very valuable indeed?

Alan had yet to see Bai Saya ever get angry. As for Shooting Star, he had seen it a few times when he had first met Bai Saya. At that time, he had been entrenched in the pain of losing his s.h.i.+fu, his heart yearning for vengeance. But even then, Bai Saya had only directed his anger at Mannen. He had never gotten angry at anyone else, not even Mannen's son.

"Dan, the gemstone is set in the sword. You can take the sword, too."

Although Bai Saya would miss the Sword of Sacred White, he would not renege on what he had already promised.

Dan was silent for a while. Finally, he said with a tired expression on his face, "It's not that easy, Saya. Matters surrounding that stone are very complicated."

Why? Why must it be Saya? The lenience that Ice Chess had obtained for them now seemed practically pathetic.

"Why is it very complicated?" Bai Saya had a confused expression.

In response to Bai Saya's question, Dan reflexively opened his mouth, wanting to answer. Fortunately, he caught himself in time and firmly shut his mouth. He was silent for a long time. In the midst of that silence, there were several times when Bai Saya wanted to tell him, "You don't need to say it if you don't want to," but Shooting Star was gripping the corner of his s.h.i.+rt, with the implication, "If you dare to interrupt, I'm gonna pull down your pants." Bai Saya could only keep his mouth closed.

Giving voice to it seemed to be a highly difficult thing to do. Only when Bai Saya was nearly about to faint from hunger did Dan finally open his mouth to say, "Alan should have heard of the 'Seven Stones of the Original Sins.'"

Everyone's gazes immediately moved to Alan, who didn't feel that this was something that he couldn't speak about. He directly said, "In the ancient legends told among the elves, it is said that G.o.d created Seven Stones of the Original Sins, used to swallow the seven deadly sins that living creatures gave rise to, in order to protect the beauty of the world."

"What a minute, what's GO… Gawd?" Bai Saya asked like an inquisitive student.

… It's G.o.d!

"G.o.d is the deity that which created this world." Alan explained with extreme helplessness, having not thought that G.o.d would become the third victim of Bai Saya's random naming. The name had even been altered to sound abnormally terrible. Compared to Gawd, the name Alan was nearly beautiful!

Curious student Bai Saya asked again, "But Roth isn't a Stone of the Original Sins. He said he's the Stone of Fury."

"There are seven of the stones. Legend has it that they all have their own names, but we among the elves and other races have already lost their names to the flow of time."

Dan opened his mouth to say, "The Stone of Fury, Wrath; the Stone of Ego, Pride; the Stone of Avarice, Greed; the Stone of Indulgence, Gluttony; the Stone of Lethargy, Sloth; the Stone of Desire, l.u.s.t; and the Stone of Grudge, Envy."

Alan stared at Dan in shock. He had not thought that these names that had been lost to time among the long lived elves would actually resurface from Dan's mouth.

"I don't care what the heck those stones are called. Now that Bai Saya has gotten involved with the Stone of Fury, how will he be affected? Spit it out!" Shooting Star asked impatiently. Ever since the story had begun, he hadn't cared about the legends or about G.o.d. Compared to all those intangible things, he wanted to know if that d.a.m.n stone would bring harm to his pet. Would he go insane like Mannen?

Dan slowly opened his mouth and sang a beautiful, lyrical song. He knew that Bai Saya didn't know Elvish, so he even translated it along the way.

G.o.d, the creator.

G.o.d, the destroyer.

The final test comes from Him.

A test between existence and doom.

Wrath descends upon the East.

Greed and Sloth take the West.

Pride and Gluttony choose the South.

l.u.s.t and Envy fall to the North.

Seven original sins.

Seven types of evil.

Seven precious stones decide on existence or doom.

"T-That sounds really serious!" Bai Saya had a shocked expression on his face.

Shooting Star asked suspiciously, "How do you know how serious it is?"

Bai Saya answered honestly, "I don't. It's just that the words existence and doom are part of it, so it sounds very serious."

Shooting Star snapped, "Eight out of ten legends have to do with the world coming to an end. If you believe every single one of them, that means the world has ended more than eight hundred times already!"

Unexpectedly, Alan agreed with Shooting Star. He looked at Dan doubtfully. "Shooting Star isn't wrong to say so. There are hundreds of legends about the world ending. I don't believe that this one is any more important than the others."

Dan shook his head and said, "The things in the other legends won't appear in the real world, but the Seven Stones of Sin have actually appeared and they are searching for masters everywhere."

"So, our Xiao Bai is currently Wrath's master?" Shooting Star had on a bitter expression. He hated trouble the most. Why must his pet get involved with something as troubling as the end of the world!

"No, not yet." Dan looked at Bai Saya in worry and sighed, "His situation is similar to Mannen's. The Stone of Fury is just residing in him. Perhaps he will truly become the master of the Stone of Fury in the future, but he must never use the stone's power. If he overuses it, he will go insane and die just like Mannen!"

Just thinking of that was making Dan deeply afraid.

"Then, I just won't use the stone's power." Bai Saya's way of thinking was very simple. Since he couldn't use it, then he wouldn't, and wouldn't things be fine then?

Dan sighed and said, "Things aren't that simple. Sometimes, it's not whether you wish to use it or not. Rather, you would have no choice, such as you and your companions coming across a strong foe. Wouldn't you want to borrow the stone's power to save them?"

However, Bai Saya didn't show any signs of internal conflict. Instead, as if it was strange, he asked, "But if I went crazy because I borrowed the stone's power, then I wouldn't be able to save them because I'd be crazy. Why would I use it then?"

"That's…" Dan, who had been trying to talk Bai Saya around, was instead stumped.

"Xiao Bai's thinking is very inflexible. No need to worry about him! Since he said he won't use it, then there definitely isn't a chance in h.e.l.l that he will!" Shooting Star changed the topic nonchalantly and asked, "Why not quickly tell us whether or not your Goldenstyle Merchant Guild wants this Stone of Sin?"

Dan glanced at Shooting Star with surprise.

"The lyrics in the song mentioned that the Stones of Pride and Gluttony chose the south, and you probably knew from the start that we'd taken Mannen's stone. That's why Ice Chess threatened us into coming with you to the Southern Continent. If you can bring back three stones at once, not only would you make up for your mistakes, but it would also be making quite the achievement, right?"

And you might also s.n.a.t.c.h away Bai Saya while you're at it. Shooting Star gave a "hmph." Freakin' Ice Chess, killing three birds with one stone!

He asked suspiciously, "But why do you guys want this stone? Don't tell me that the ultimate wish of the big boss behind the scenes is actually to destroy the world? That's just too cheesy! Unacceptable!"

Dan shook his head. "I don't know. I was only sent here to the Southern Continent to search for the stones. Ice Chess's card instructed me to bring back the Stone of Fury and for me to also test to see if either of you two are the Stone of Fury's master."

"Oh? Us 'two'?" Shooting Star gestured sarcastically at himself and Alan. Even though he was obviously angry to the point of gnas.h.i.+ng his teeth, he pretended to feel it was a pity and sighed, "How unfortunate! Fury just had to pick the one person you didn't want to test."

Dan fell silent.

"Shooting Star, don't pick on Dan anymore." Bai Saya couldn't bear to keep watching. No matter what, Dan had helped them out a lot, and now he was even telling the truth behind everything to them. Besides, his acquisition of the gem couldn't be blamed on Dan… All in all, as someone who didn't bear grudges, he couldn't watch Shooting Star digging at Dan.

"If I can't pick on him, then you better let me pick on you! Why has a beautiful, lazy journey changed into a luxurious one-way trip straight toward doomsday? What do you want me to do?"

Shooting Star was furious. Xiao Bai didn't understand the situation at all. Now that the Stone of Fury refused to leave Bai Saya, it meant that they were fighting over the same thing as the Goldenstyle Merchant Guild. The three of them would have to fight an entire guild!

There were only two paths left to take.

First, they could hand Xiao Bai over. Even better, they might even get a pretty good reward out of the Guild… What a joke! Xiao Bai is my pet! Never!

Second, they wouldn't hand Xiao Bai over. After that, they would become wanted criminals going for pretty large rewards on wanted posters.

Meaning, they had no future to speak of.

As Dan struggled between the dilemma of his checkmate and his duty, as Shooting Star cried that his days of eating and sleeping his fill were now beyond reach, as Bai Saya began to regret his own carelessness over dripping blood on Roth, Alan the elf who had been an onlooker this entire time opened his mouth rather nonchalantly.

"Since this is the case, then we should hide on the Shaosi or Yisite Continents. No matter how powerful the Guild is, they can't be powerful to the point that they can hop over continents to chase us down, especially in the case of the Yisite Continent. That's the home of us elves. Even Ice Chess, a thousand year old demon, would not easily be able to set foot there."

Right! Shooting Star's eyes sparkled with hope. The Yisite Continent was a pretty good choice. That was the homeland of Xiao Bai and Alan. On the plains, they had a human to lead the way. In the forest, they had an elf to lead the way. They could finally escape from the current situation of having three idiots with directions wander the world!

Besides, Xiao Bai and his s.h.i.+fu must have had a house that they lived in? Since his s.h.i.+fu had already croaked, then the house was definitely Xiao Bai's now, and Xiao Bai was currently Shooting Star's pet. A pet's house was of course the master's house, so didn't that mean that Shooting Star actually had a house on the Yisite Continent?!

(Bai Saya: Hey, that's not how it works, right?)

Dan calmly said, "Going to the Yisite Continent is a good choice. As you said, the Guild doesn't have the power to chase you there."

It was exactly because they didn't have enough control that Mannen had been able to stow away the stone without turning it over, causing this mess in the end.

"We'll go to the Yisite Continent? Then, what about you?" Bai Saya asked in a hurry.

"I have to work for the Guild. I can't go with you all," Dan struggled to say. If he were just a normal merchant, he wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to leave with Bai Saya. Unfortunately…

"But if you let us go, the Guild won't let you off, right?" Shooting Star tilted his head in thought. He asked doubtfully, "But, Ice Chess should be able to cover for you?"

"I will be fine." Dan's expression was calm the entire time.

Shooting Star looked at Dan's serene expression with some suspicion, but then he considered how a thousand year old demon should have been able to climb to a high position. If it weren't that Dan had been punished, Shooting Star would have thought that Ice Chess himself was the big boss behind the scenes! Even if he wasn't, a thousand year old demon must have a high position. Ice Chess also looked like he cared for his nephew a lot. He would probably cover for him!

So, it was still best to leave Dan behind. He'd take both of his pets and quickly flee… No! It should be three of his pets.

Precious eggy egg, your owner hasn't forgotten you. You should quickly hatch! Shooting Star caressed the smooth egg with extraordinary tenderness. When he finished rubbing it, he lifted his head and immediately saw his other pet staring at him with a gaze that said, "I can't do the right thing, so now my conscience hurts."

Seeing such a gaze, Shooting Star felt that his head, stomach, and his entire body hurt. He just knew this matter couldn't be solved so easily. Even though Xiao Bai was a guy who pretty much went with the flow—he didn't even complain when he ended up as a pet—when he turned into a swordsman whose conscience smarted, then he would become even more putridly headstrong than the rocks at the bottom of a dung pit. There was no room for negotiation at all!

"Shooting Star, can't we help Dan find the other two stones first before we leave?"

Bai Saya used an extremely amiable tone to discuss it with Shooting Star, but his face shone with the light of righteousness that left no room for negotiation.

What else could Shooting Star, who almost got blinded from the s.h.i.+ning light of righteousness, do? If he didn't agree with Xiao Bai, then he wouldn't be able to open his eyes anymore! "Fine, fine. But we're leaving right after we find the stones!"

Bai Saya nodded.

However, it was Dan who shook his head. "Saya, for your safety, you should go to the Yisite Continent right away…"

"No!" Bai Saya shot the idea down. "You said last time that we're friends. Bringing trouble to a friend and fleeing from the situation on my own is not the conduct a swordsman should ever have. That is the behavior of one without honor. Therefore, I must help you find the gems in order to prove that I am not one without honor!"

Dan looked at Shooting Star, his eyes seemingly asking: Are you really not going to stop him?

Shooting Star had long since left to play with his "dragon egg." He had already given up on dispelling Bai Saya's light of righteousness eight hundred years ago. Asking this guy, who could jump into the sea without thinking to save someone, to throw away his honor was practically a waste of breath. He would much rather prefer to go off to the side to play with the egg.

Dan then looked at Alan, who actually glared at him and growled, "What are you looking at me for? Don't get in your mind that I have stopped hating you just because we are temporarily journeying together, half demon!"

How did Bai Saya end up with such strange companions? Dan sighed and helplessly said, "Then, let's head back and meet up with my subordinates before going off to search for the stones."

"Wrong!" Shooting Star shouted, "We should eat first before anything else!"

"Where do we have anything to eat in this wilderness?" Dan frowned. What a willful child. He really isn't a good adventure companion.

Shooting Star, Bai Saya, and Alan all slowly turned to look far into the distance.

Bai Saya, who was responsible for hunting, looked deep into the mountain forests. From there came the alarming howls of wild beasts. But not only was he unafraid, he even had on a contemplative smile as he said, "The entire mountain is full of fresh meat."

Alan scrutinized the entire floor of yellow-green wild vegetation. There were spotted fungi under the trees and strangely shaped fruits growing on the trees. He had on a thoughtful expression, as if contemplating what vegetables to include for a balanced diet. He smiled coldly at the half demon, a smile so cold that even demons would fear it. "The entire ground is covered with vegetables to eat."

Shooting Star materialized two fireb.a.l.l.s above his hands. "To finish off this poem: we're never short on heat!"

Dan suddenly regretted that he hadn't brought with him the medicine kit from the s.h.i.+p. There is medicine for stomach aches inside of it…

1 Roth: We translated this as "Wrathie" in the previous chapter but now feel that a different translation is more appropriate, as Bai Saya's naming of the Stone of Fury is more giving him a different, common name that's somewhat of a misp.r.o.nunciation of Wrath rather than a nickname. We will be going with Roth from this point forward.