"Impossible! Simply impossible! You must be lying!" Beelzebub screeched, startling his compatriots who were buried in the tension and thinking in lieu of their hunger.
"Am I? Why would I be? Try and sense anything beyond this room now that you're inside." Darius prompted with a wide grin.
Beelzebub did just that, not willing to take Darius at face value. The full force of his high Intellect was sent out, almost making everyone in the room collapse to their knees weakly except Darius' trio.
The wave then struck the walls of the cage and tried to push outward, but could not take one step out. Beelzebub kept trying for multiple minutes, using many different ways to try and tackle this problem.
Eventually, he slowly gave up as a look of acceptance and shock emerged on his face. "Amazing, simply amazing…"
"What's the matter, my lord?" Mothlina, who had not spoken all this time, asked curiously.
"This contraption we are in is a sealed space. One cannot push their senses within or out of it. You could say that while we are like this, we are completely cut off from Faust in every sense of the word." Beelzebub replied with awe.
Suddenly, Gluttworm the Devourer rushed forward with excitement in his eyes, no longer able to control his hunger. "Haha, then we can consume them freely without worrying about anything! Puny humanoids, enter my stomach and become my nourishment!"
Before the trio could do anything, Beelzebub raised one of his legs and struck Gluttworm back, making the giant worms crash into the metallic walls of the cage and leave behind a slight dent.
The fellow spat out a huge glob of black blood, unable to get up. The other Insect Lords sobered up thanks to this and remembered who their Lord was. He didn't even use much strength, just flinging the fellow aside with a light tap.
"Don't be stupid. Whether the Goddess can look in or not doesn't change the fact that only two parties have entered this cube. If only one party comes out but the other is gone, what do you think she will conclude?" Beelzebub stated with irritation.
The simple logic that escaped them made them feel ashamed, except Spidersin who was like Beelzebub, placid and trying to understand the meaning of all these theatrics.
Gluttworm was confused still. "B-But I thought you said you would kill them anyway… urgh…"
Beelzebub folded his front legs and turned to Darius coldly. "Oh, believe me, I will. Nothing will change that. However, it seems that this fellow has created this scenario for a specific purpose, so lets at least allow our meal to explain himself."
All eyes came upon Darius who was still smiling with amusement. "Alright then. I want you to think carefully about your choices henceforth Lord Beel. Specifically, concerning the Goddess's wrath."
He looked at the Lord of the Flies like he was an idiot. "It is not something you can bear. The current you must be thinking of this situation as 'damned if I do, damned if a don't', but it's far worse. If I kill you, you get to enjoy the afterlife in the bosom of the Goddess. If you dare to kill me at any time and disrupt the Goddess' plan, you will be thoroughly exterminated from existence."
Beelzebub shuddered at that thought, and so did everyone else regardless of their side in this matter. No one liked to think about their mortality and life after death easily, but at least in Faust, something like that was guaranteed.
However, all of that was decided by the Goddess's whim. The same one Beelzebub had almost offended by killing Darius. This brought him right back to where he started, the fact that killing Darius was a grossly unwise choice that even Thanatos hadn't dare to choose.
Beelzebub's resolve broke and the despair slowly returned. He tried his hardest to force it back, but the truth of the matter was no longer so easy to ignore.
"What do you want from us then?!" Beelzebub roared out in desperation and confusion. What the hell was the point of all this?!
Darius raised a finger up as if to calm the Lord of the Flies down.
"It's quite simple, Lord Beel. I want you to think about the Goddess' purpose in sending me here. I have given you all the information you need to reach a rational conclusion."
Beelzebub paused and pondered Darius's words. He then thought back to what Darius had said about his previous encounter with Thanatos. The more Beelzebub connected the dots, the more the horror on his face grew.
He wasn't the only one. Xela's eyes widened, while Gunner's eyes narrowed. Spidersin was the only one among the Insect Lords able to connect the dots as well, and his entire body was trembling.
Darius spoke out the plain truth for them, so that they wouldn't be able to deny it.
"9 agents sent before me, all 8 managing to complete their objectives minus one who had been killed in the cradle. The item that was the goal of his existence was taken away, which the Goddess sent me to retrieve."
"The perpetrators needed to be punished, so the Insect Race was charged to launch an invasion through means you are oblivious to. The True Lords and the Gods however, stepped in the way of that and prevented the Goddess' wish to be achieved. Next, I am sent to vanquish the Insect race."
Darius rubbed his chin. "There's a pattern here, isn't there Lord Beel? Even more interesting, from what I've just shared, we can all likely guess who the targets of my next mission will be, no?"
And that was why Spidersin and Beelzebub were shocked, while Xela was horrified and Gunner was tensed. This Quest which was already quite tough was truly nothing if Darius' speculations were correct, as what lay in store for them was far worse than just culling the Insects.
"However, that has little to do with you, Lord Beel. You have no choice but to die, but at least, you can guarantee the sanctity of your afterlife."
