Chapter 380 Taken Aback
After the shenanigans between Basil, Tinuviel, and the Elders, which had gone unnoticed by Cyane and his second-in-command, Giles; the meeting regained its intended pace.
Basil abstained from speaking, allowing Tinuviel to carry the talk to the direction she intended. Cyane was sharper than she had expected however, so the process was slightly arduous.
Still, in the end, Cyane fell for her lies; in fact, he even drew himself into it. She got him suggesting the idea she wanted to suggest even before she did; which, of course, was on her favour.
"As a Knight, I won't be able to help in terms of tracking people by their Mana, so I will leave examining the bodies to Master Basil here," Cyane stated. "However, I will have to ask you to show me where the happening took place."
The place where the tragedy had occured was basically the place where the Elves had encountered the Mythical Beast. It was near the den of said Beast, which the exact location they didn't know yet.
"Of course, Sir Cyane." Tinuviel nodded her head. "I have heard Knights are good at scene reconstruction; naturally, I won't let this chance slip. I will bring you to where the tragedy took place tomorrow."
Allowing Cyane to "investigate" was actually getting themselves a company to look for the Mythical Beast's den together. Tinuviel was excited not because they might find the Beast together, but because she felt safer.
The more people she carried with her, after all, the higher their probability to survive upon encountering the Beast.
Cyane nodded his head silently in agreement, then turned to Basil with a look that was suggesting he should say something. Basil, however, merely shook his head faintly.
Both of them then turned their head to Tinuviel. They gave her a look that indicated they were ready to end the meeting.
"I hope everything has already been made clear. I, once again, thank you for your cooperation." Tinuviel stood up, then bowed politely. "Hopefully, tomorrow's investigation will bear us some fruit."
"Well then, we will excuse ourselves, Lady Tinuviel." Cyane stood up, followed by Giles. "We need to rest well for tomorrow, so we won't be caught off guard when something unexpected happens."
"Ah, please, Sir Cyane."
As Cyane and Giles got out of the room, Basil and his company remained inside. Silence filled the room, and it was maintained until they were sure Cyane and Giles were already away from the room.
"Firstly, allow us to introduce ourselves first," the only male Elder stood up, and put his hand on his chest. "My name is Oviel Alphoetra. It is late, but it is a pleasure to meet Braxtein's three brightest stars."
Basil and his company didn't react more than nodding their head lightly. The second Elder stood up, and smiled lightly at their lack of reaction.
"My name is Affya tia Alphoetra. I am an Elder of Alphoetra Tribe, as you can see, and also the aunt of the current Empress."
Affya tia Alphoetra was a name that Basil had often heard in his past life. She was one of the most loyal Elves, who had stayed by the Elf Empress' side until she died.
He had only encountered her once in his past life, and she didn't leave a good impression on him. She was very stoic and detached at that time, which was also how he was, so they immediately found themselves unable to get along.
–What do you need of me, Affya?
–Your power.
–It cannot be lent nor can it be bought.
–I see.
Affya had come to him after the Elf Empress died to ask for his help to liberate Padeitophys from the Demons. He remembered the conversation they had as if it had just happened yesterday.
He had refused instantly, which led Affya to command all of the Elves to abandon the place that had been their home for thousands of years. They followed the footsteps of the Fairies and Spirits, who had left the Great Forest of Yitoupheo three years prior.
Facing the same fate as the two races, the Elven Race could not be spotted ever since.
"It is a pleasant surprise that someone as high ranking as you is this humble, Elder Affya," Basil remarked. "You are well respected amongst the Elves not only due to your status, but also your prowess, so I expected you to be more..."
"Arrogant?" Affya smiled softly, showing a gentle look on her wrinkled face, which Basil had never seen in his past life. "What is the point of bragging about my status and power? All of us will end up being soil in the end anyway—it's pointless."
'She is different,' Basil thought to himself. 'Maybe, it was the hardships she had been through that had turned her to what she was in the past.'
"We are, unfortunately, living in a world where such a thing is sometime necessary to avoid problems in the future," he replied.
"You seem to know well when to flex, don't you, Master Basil?"
Basil merely smiled lightly as Affya gave him a knowing look. She immediately sat down as the conversation between them ceased, prompting the third Elder to introduce herself.
"My name is Siofra Alphoetra. I am really honored to be able to meet the descendants of the Pacifer here."
Silence descended upon the room after what Siofra had said. Iliana and Ione were too taken aback to say anything, meanwhile Basil was already gazing at Siofra with his eyes that were as deep and cold as a bottomless abyss.
Boom!
The Elves became alarmed as soon as Basil's killing intent filled the room. Tinuviel stayed rooted in her seat, unable to move due to the overwhelming terror; the Elders widened their eyes in shock due to the extreme fear they hadn't felt for a long time.
"So, those bastards have gotten their hands on all of you too, huh?" Basil said coldly as he took out Caliburn and Durendal.
Controlled by his Aura Ability, the swords floated beside him, giving off an extreme aura of menace. None of the Elves could move even though they knew they could—their instinct told them it was better not to.
'Guide, what kind of relationship these four Elves have with the Church?'
[Ding!]
[Solving the Host's puzzlement!]
[The four Elves don't have a good relationship with anyone from the Church. Their crossing belief makes it impossible for them to find the middle ground for them to get along.]
'What is their opinion on the Pacifer?'
[The Pacifer is only known by the older Elves who were lucky enough to encounter one, and are still alive as of now. While the Elves knew very little about the Pacifer because of that, they think of the Pacifer clanswomen as the kindest and strongest humans.]
As the answer to his question was positive, Basil retracted his killing intent and stored his two swords at the same time. The four Elves in the room could immediately breathe again, but they couldn't help looking at Basil in wonder.
It was apparent that they didn't know why what had just happened happened, so Basil could easily tell the hunt for the Pacifer had never reached the ears of the Elves.
'The Union was disbanded as soon as the Great War was concluded. All of the races were busy minding their own affair afterwards, so they were clueless about what happened to whom during that time,' Asia commented.
'You knew they weren't part of our Clan's fall since the beginning?' Basil quirked his eyebrow lightly. 'Why didn't you tell me earlier?'
'Why? Of course, because seeing their scared look is amusing. Fu-fu-fu!'
Ignoring the fact that he had just found out the "dark side" of Asia, Basil finally looked at the bemused Elves one by one. He thought about how he should explain himself, and decided to be bold.
"Here is what happened..."
He told the Elves the chronology of the fall of the Pacifer—except for anything that was related to the Four Heroes' betrayal due to his lack of knowledge—and the reason why he hated the church immensely.
Siofra, one of the few Elves that had encountered a Pacifer when she was a child, listened to the story with eyes widened in shock.
It was very hard for her to accept the fact that the kind women who had sung her a lullaby when she was still a child had been faced with such a cruel fate.
The other Elders, although they didn't know as much as Siofra about the Pacifer, still couldn't help clicking their tongue in indignation the more they heard Basil's story.
They had heard of the help they had received from the Pacifer in the past, so they viewed the Pacifer highly. Hearing that their benefactors had met such a fate naturally made their blood boil.
"... We were informed that Pacifer Clan had decided to isolate themselves from the others. We found it odd that they didn't say anything to us about it, but we respected their decision, so none of us ever look for them ever since."
"A long time has passed since the last time we heard of Pacifer Clan. Those who know about them leave the world one by one—forgetting about them feels like a natural occurrence."
Thud!
All of the Elders in the room bowed their head so low, their forehead touched the table. "On behalf of our predecessors, we apologise for not being able to do anything for the Pacifer even after what they had done for us."
Iliana and Ione, who didn't expect this kind of development, couldn't help but be more bemused than they had been. They had never heard of the Elves being their allies, so they were extremely bewildered by the fact that Basil knew about it.
They turned to Tinuviel to look at her reaction, and immediately found her in the same boat as them. They hadn't known each other well; but at that moment, they felt like sisters.
"Apology can never bring the death back. Life is not a writing: you can't erase your mistake, and rewrite it to make it right; it will always remain there, reminding you of your miss," Basil intoned solemnly.
As soon as the Elders heard his words, they raised their head slowly. Their eyes immediately widened the moment they saw the Pacifer Seal in the middle of his forehead, which was shining in gold.
"Rather than apologizing, to think of a way to make up for it is wiser methinks," Looking at the Elders with his golden eyes, Basil concluded.
The Elders couldn't believe what they were witnessing. Basil's current presence was so profound, they couldn't fathom how such an existence could make an appearance in this world.
The current him resembled a certain individual, whom their late parents had adored. They had been told in details about this individual—the saviour of the world, and they were greatly taken aback by that fact.