Babel's once neat and orderly bedchamber had already become a complete mess, chaotic and overturned.
She rummaged frantically around the room, all the while shouting, "Where on earth is the key to my vault? I never should've hidden it two days ago—if I'd known this would happen, I should've just kept it on me at all times!"
As she spoke, Babel violently yanked open a drawer in front of her dressing table. Because she used too much force, she ended up wrenching the entire drawer out, even tearing apart the hidden compartment within it.
At that moment, a stone key shot out from the broken compartment and landed on the ground.
Seeing this, Babel's eyes instantly lit up. She immediately bent down and scooped the stone key into her hands.
Gazing at the key that could unlock the vault door, she couldn't help but secretly rejoice.
"Haha! I finally found it! I need to take the money and run right now—escape to some other country, find a place where nobody knows me, and start a new life."
This was the final backup plan Babel had left for herself: take the money and flee.
Teyvat was vast; surely there would be a place where she could live. As long as one survived, there was always hope.
With the vault key in hand, Babel didn't dare waste another second and hurried to leave her room.
However, the moment she stepped out the door, a heavy, pungent stench of blood suddenly assaulted her senses.
Immediately after, Babel's eyes widened as she witnessed a scene so shocking it seemed to have come straight from a myth.
There stood Lumine alone, like a valkyrie, wielding one gold and one silver revolver, fighting the members of the Tanit Tribe.
Each pull of the trigger produced a sound Babel had never heard before, and with each sound, those Tanit "Falcons" who were charging at Lumine with their lives on the line collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness in an instant.
Bright red blood flowed from the bodies of the dead, forming streaks of crimson that continuously streamed along the cracks of the stone-paved ground.
In the blink of an eye, the blood had already spread to Babel's feet.
She lowered her head and saw her high heels standing in a pool of scarlet, and a surge of indescribable fear rose within her.
Babel had never imagined that the "Falcons" she had trained so meticulously—and took pride in—would be so utterly helpless.
Just like weak chickens and stray dogs, they had held on for less than ten minutes before Lumine slaughtered them to the last man.
Babel now regretted everything. If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have been so damn greedy. Now she finally understood the saying, "Wealth is but a worldly possession."
But even if Babel didn't cling to her money, it wouldn't matter; no matter how fast her legs ran, she couldn't outrun a horse's four legs.
At this moment, only one thought remained in Babel's mind—escape!
That thought instantly consumed her entire being.
Thus, Babel didn't hesitate. She turned around and sprinted away with everything she had.
However, she had only taken a few steps before a crisp, piercing gunshot rang out behind her, and all her fantasies of escape shattered in an instant.
Shao Yun raised his gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet whistled through the air at a terrifying speed and struck Babel's left leg with perfect accuracy.
The sudden impact made Babel feel a pain like thousands of steel needles stabbing into her all at once. The agony spread through her body, forcing a howl of torment from her lips.
Because of inertia, Babel couldn't control her forward-leaning body and fell straight onto the ground.
The violent collision worsened the injury in her already wounded left leg.
Blood splattered across the ground, speckling her clothes and skin and making her already disheveled appearance look even more wretched.
Babel's face twisted in pain; any trace of the arrogance she had moments ago had completely vanished.
She no longer cared about appearances and cursed, "Ah! How could I possibly lose to the likes of you?! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
After cursing, Babel endured the pain in her leg, struggled to roll over, and then plopped down onto the ground.
She planted both hands on the floor, dragging her body backward with all her strength.
At the same time, she glared fiercely at Shao Yun and the others, shouting nonstop, "I already eliminated every obstacle in my way! I spent so much effort and energy—only after all that did, I achieve what I have today!"
"And in the end, I end up defeated by the dogs I raised myself and by you three clueless outsiders! I refuse to accept this! I will not accept it…"
Facing Babel's ranting, Shao Yun only let out a cold laugh and replied expressionlessly, "Hmph. Whether you accept it or not, the outcome is already set. Jeht, it's your turn."
With that, he nodded slightly at Jeht beside him, signaling her to take the next step.
Jeht came forward slowly, still limping a little.
Although her leg injury had healed, she still needed time to fully recover from the aftereffects of the gunshot wound.
Seeing Jeht draw closer, Babel's heart jolted violently, and a wave of panic washed over her.
She immediately resorted to her old tricks, like a cunning viper, once again using every seductive tactic she knew, relying on her silver tongue in an attempt to persuade Jeht to turn against them.
"Jeht, I've always treated you like my own daughter—don't tell me you'd really hurt me now?"
"Everything I've done was for the sake of our tribe, so everyone can live a better life! You can understand my intentions, can't you…"
Babel spoke tearfully, hoping to sway Jeht.
However, Jeht remained unmoved by Babel's feigned sincerity.
She shook her head coldly and said, "Once, I truly saw you as my mother. But in the end, I realized that in your eyes, I was nothing but a dog you could order around!"
"You've never cared about anyone's life or death. I was just a tool for you to eliminate your enemies!"
As she said this, Jeht's emotions grew increasingly intense, and her voice trembled slightly.
Seeing Jeht's resolve, Babel acted quickly, turning her gaze toward Lumine and Paimon.
She put on a pitiful, earnest expression and made a false promise to the two.
"Honored guests of the tribe, I'll leave the Tanit Tribe and never return. I can give you all the tribe's wealth—just let me live."
Babel was clever. She knew she couldn't try to use herself as leverage to persuade Shao Yun while Lumine was present.
If she dared, Lumine would simply raise her gun and kill her on the spot.
But before Lumine could even reject the ridiculous offer, Shao Yun cut her off.
"If we kill you, the money is ours anyway. Are you scared stupid?"
"And do you believe what you just said? You couldn't even fool Paimon with that!"
Realizing she was cornered, Babel lashed out in spite, barking, "You despicable outsiders! If I had known, I never should've let you live here—then maybe I would've succeeded!"
Shao Yun only sneered and mocked, "Your abilities can't support your ambition. Even if you unified the desert tribes, then what? Have you thought about what happens after?"
"All desert folk worship the Flower Goddess? The southern tribes worship King Deshret."
"Even if you unified the desert, could you defeat the Corps of Thirty from the rainforest? Could you defeat Cyno? Could you defeat Nahida? Have you worn that blindfold so long you've actually gone blind?"
Despite Shao Yun's long list of arguments, Babel remained stubborn, like a narrow-minded toad trapped at the bottom of a well, muttering the same line over and over without regret.
"I refuse to accept defeat at the hands of traitors and outsiders like you! Give me one more chance and I will win!"
Shao Yun looked at Babel and saw she still clung to the last shred of her pride.
Then, a cruel idea rose in his mind—he would crush even that shred of dignity.
"You keep calling us outsiders and traitors, but tell me—are you even certain you are a true Tanit tribeswoman?" Shao Yun asked with a cold smile.
At once, Babel became agitated and shouted, "What do you mean by that?!"
Shao Yun raised his chin slightly, looking down at the defeated Babel with disdain. "You and Jeht aren't so different. You don't even count as true tribe members."
"Like a crow mocking a pig for being black—you're both the same."
At that moment, Shao Yun's sharp words unintentionally hit Jeht as well.
Jeht frowned and asked unhappily, "Hey! Who are you calling a pig? I'm slim! I'm not fat anywhere!"
Shao Yun stared at her, momentarily speechless and unsure how to respond.
"…Seriously, Jeht, why are you sometimes just like Lumine? Both of you always focus on the strangest details…"
Shao Yun paused to collect his thoughts before continuing to speak to Babel.
"Your mother was a scholar from the Akademiya, apparently from a family of sages in the Vahumana Darshan. Your father… if you trace upward, he was a desert-dweller. You're a mixed-blood."
"She carried you while traveling to The Orchard of Pairidaeza on pilgrimage, but she was stopped by a local tribe. So, your father split off alone to explore. During that time, your mother died in childbirth bringing you into the world."
"Afterward, your father returned injured. Because he couldn't afford to pay his traveling companions, the mercenaries wanted to use you as compensation. Your father refused. A conflict broke out. He was accidentally killed. And so, you ended up being taken as payment and were left in the Tanit Tribe."
Babel, having heard this entire string of staggering revelations, stared in disbelief, muttering, "No… impossible… What nonsense are you spouting…?"
"How could the blood of outsiders run in my veins? No—according to what you're saying… I'm basically an outsider myself…!"
Seeing Babel on the verge of collapse, Shao Yun knew words alone wouldn't convince her.
So, he pulled out several yellowed papers—records he had quietly snatched while traveling with Sethos to visit his brother-in-law.
"These are the proofs. The desert preserved them pretty well. See for yourself."
With trembling hands, Babel snatched the slightly brittle letters Shao Yun handed her.
Her eyes darted anxiously across the densely written lines, desperate to find some flaw.
But as she read further, the expectation on her face gradually froze… then shattered into despair.
Upon learning her true origins, she felt as though her world had collapsed in an instant. The beliefs that had always sustained her crumbled completely.
"I… I really have the blood of… outsiders flowing inside me? Hahaha… what a pathetic joke…"
Her voice was filled with bitter self-mockery; the laugh echoing in the open air was chilling.
Shao Yun seized the chance to twist the knife. "Honestly, your father and mother were fools. Who goes wandering into a desert full of danger while pregnant?"
He paused, then continued, "Otherwise, with their backgrounds, you'd likely be studying peacefully in Sumeru City right now."
"Who knows—with your mother's sage family behind you, you might've become an outstanding scholar yourself. Maybe even a revered sage."
But then his tone abruptly turned cold. "Unfortunately, fate enjoys playing its games. Now—do you have any last words?"
Faced with such a crushing blow and relentless interrogations, Babel could no longer withstand the pressure. Too much information surged into her mind, leaving her sanity hanging by a thread.
She broke into a deranged chuckle. "Hahaha… I didn't lose. It was just the wrong era for me…"
Shao Yun looked at her twisted grin with icy detachment.
Then he tilted his head slightly and signaled to Jeht.
Jeht stepped forward, her right hand flashing out as she grabbed Babel by the collar. Her arm muscles tightened at once, effortlessly lifting Babel off the ground.
At that moment, Babel's gilded Eremite mask slipped silently from her face.
Beneath it, a pair of gemstone-beautiful pink pupils was revealed, unobstructed.
Though Babel still laughed madly, the profound helplessness and grief buried deep within her gaze could not be concealed.
Jeht stared coldly into those pink eyes—then struck downward with her blade, stabbing hard into Babel's right eye.
"Ah—"
The blade sank deep into her eye socket.
Instantly, a shrill, soul-splitting scream burst from Babel's throat.
Blinding pain made her thrash wildly, arms flailing as she clawed instinctively at Jeht.
But Jeht didn't waver in the slightest.
Her hand tightened again. The knife plunged deeper—straight into Babel's brain.
With the fatal thrust, Babel's once thunderous scream abruptly cut off, as if someone had severed the sound itself.
Her body went limp. Her hands, which had been flailing helplessly in the air, dropped lifelessly.
Expressionless, Jeht twisted the blade inside Babel's skull a few times before flicking her wrist and releasing the handle.
Babel, with nothing supporting her, fell backward like a limp doll, crashing onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Her body sprawled there bonelessly, like a collapsed mound of flesh—utterly devoid of life.
From the gaping wound where her right eye used to be, bright blood mixed with pale brain matter gushed out, spilling down her face like a ruptured dam.
Blood also trickled continuously from her mouth and nose, merging into dark red rivulets. These streams intertwined with the blood spilled by the other Tanit members, gradually joining into a winding, creeping crimson current stretching into the distance…
In the canyon below, Spinocrocodiles picked up the spreading scent of blood in the water.
The sharp aroma stirred the primal savagery buried deep within them, rousing the once-silent beasts. Their massive bodies writhed with restless excitement, eager for the feast carried by the current.
===BREAK===
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