Completely intimidated, El simply let go of his resistance, after all, facing such a powerful being, he had no ability to resist whatsoever. It was better to be straightforward about it.
"It seems my little trick has managed to catch the eye of His Majesty the God-King."
Alaric gave a slight bow. "Then we have a basis for conversation, about how you were threatened by your daughter and sidelined by your son."
"…You even know about that?" El had believed that being threatened by his daughter Anat and forced to pass the throne to Baal was an extremely well-hidden secret.
In fact, in Canaanite mythology, although the god-king El and his three sons all appeared powerful, especially Baal, who was quite renowned, the truly ruthless one was Anat.
Anat was Baal's sister and lover, a fierce young goddess.
Passionate, unrestrained, arrogant, combative, and utterly fearless, she was the goddess of hunting, fertility, and war.
Compared to this sister-lover goddess, the great god Baal was little more than a pretty boy, a despicable schemer:
Among the children of the father god El, El favored the sea god Yam more than Baal.
In order to seize the right of succession, Baal bound El on the sacred mountain, Mount Zaphon, within El's own palace, stabbed him, and castrated him.
Through such means, Baal effectively seized El's sacred mountain and power, forcing El to retreat to the ends of the rivers, into the valleys of the abyss.
From then on, Baal, as the new ruler of the world, resided upon the cosmic sacred mountain, Mount Zaphon, while El lived at the edge of the world.
Grieving over his fate, El begged his offspring to avenge him. His eldest son, the sea god Yam, heard his lament and offered him a cup of strong wine. Thus, El declared Yam his heir, planting the seeds for the conflict between Baal and Yam.
In the struggle for power between Baal and his elder brother Yam, Baal was initially at a disadvantage, even once being treated as a slave by Yam.
At that moment, Anat intervened. She ordered the craftsman god to forge a thunder hammer called "Chaser" for Baal. Baal used it to attack Yam, but it had no effect.
The craftsman god then forged another hammer called "Driver," and this time Baal used it to strike Yam down.
Afterward, Anat even loudly urged Baal to dismember Yam.
Thus, Baal ascended to the throne, gaining the support of all the gods, even Asherah betrayed the castrated El and sided with Baal…
Indeed, compared to her brother Baal, the sister was the truly ruthless one.
If, in the defeat of Yam, Anat merely played the role of a supporting companion to the hero, then in Baal's rise to the pinnacle of divine life, she became the central figure.
At that time, all the gods of Canaan had their own palaces, except Baal. So Baal sought help from Anat, and Anat promised she would make El permit him to build one.
Thus, Anat joined forces with the mother of the gods, Asherah, and her children, in other words, the entire Canaanite pantheon, to demand that the retired old god allow Baal to construct a palace, since Baal was now the king of the gods.
Otherwise,
"I will smash your skull and stain your gray hair with blood!"
That was Anat's threat.
And so, Baal was finally able to build his palace, and his royal authority was established.
After that, Anat's assistance to Baal became even more outrageous.
After becoming god-king, Baal sought greater fame and arrogantly declared war on the enemy of the gods, Mot.
But the truth proved that Baal was no match for his brother.
Even as he humbly begged for mercy, "Holy Mot, I am forever your slave, forever loyal to you!"
Mot still opened his great mouth and devoured him. Darkness fell upon the earth, and the father of the gods, El, was plunged into despair.
With the help of the sun goddess Shapash, Anat descended into the underworld. Grabbing Mot by his garment, she screamed, "Give me back my brother!"
But Mot replied, "Anat, what are you asking of me? Yes, I have devoured some. My jaws crushed mighty Baal like a lamb. That is simply how it is."
Hearing this, the enraged Anat seized Mot, she cut him into pieces with a blade, scattered him with a winnowing fan, roasted him into dried meat with fire, ground him with millstones, and finally scattered him across the fields for the birds to eat.
After recovering Baal's body, Anat placed it atop Mount Zaphon.
El and Asherah, in order to stop the drought, wished to elevate Anat as king, but she decisively refused the throne.
As seven years passed, Baal was finally resurrected and once again ascended the throne of the god-king, but Mot, of the same origin as him, was also resurrected.
From then on, every seven years, Mot would revive and continue battling Baal.
With Anat's "help," Baal was able to defeat Mot each time and maintain his position as god-king.
Faced with Mot, even Baal could only kneel and beg for mercy, yet Anat could tear him apart with her bare hands.
This alone showed just how terrifying she was. Baal's fortune in becoming god-king was almost entirely due to clinging to Anat.
Most unbelievable of all, despite being Baal's lover, Anat was still a virgin goddess. It was simply astonishing. This was the first time Alaric had heard of such a platonic relationship among gods.
Thinking of this part of Canaanite mythology, Alaric couldn't help but pity the former god-king before him, truly the ultimate victim.
Betrayed by his children, abandoned by his wife, Alaric could practically see the vast "green pasture" atop his head.
"Unfortunately, I do happen to know quite a lot about you."
With a sympathetic expression, Alaric spoke.
"Human, what could you possibly know about us?"
In that instant, El inexplicably sensed a strong malice in the man's gaze.
Alaric said nothing, but the way his eyes drifted toward a certain critical part of El's body already said everything.
"You… how do you know about that!?" El was both shocked and furious under Alaric's gaze. The possibility that his most secret tragedy had been exposed nearly drove him to collapse.
"After that, even your queen abandoned you, even going to the side of the one responsible for all this.
Though there are no records, I'd guess he and Asherah have quite a good relationship… Facing such betrayal, do you truly feel no hatred at all?"
El's face flushed red, that was the anger of having his secrets exposed.
"I don't care about such things, human. Don't presume so much!" he shouted.
Alaric shrugged. He almost believed him.
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