Xela froze and shuddered with an expression of terror while Gunner's stoic expression shattered as he grimaced in horror.
Neither of the two could believe what Darius had just said, because they too had been lulled into believing that their Master had just beaten Beelzebub down with facts.
To learn that the True Lord had been forced into a passive position in this war with a string of lies left them feeling confused and shaken.
Darius smiled as he teleported with them down into the bowels of the underground, explaining things to them.
"In this world, there are two types of lies. The 'Emotional Lie' and the 'Logical Lie'. The Emotional Lie is one built and facilitated by the use of emotion and reception, through outburst or sympathy."
"An example of an Emotional Lie is if you catch wind of your partner or family doing something improper, and they burst into anger or hurt claiming that they are innocent."
Darius smirked. "This would subtly make the accuser feel ashamed, especially if they are lacking conclusive evidence and are running only based on a hunch or suspicion. Emotional Lies use emotions from one party to manipulate the emotions of another."
"Another common example is any courtroom setting with a female accused. A few tears, a sob story, and a hitched voice had usually been enough to get the judge or jury on the side of the accused, making them feel sympathy on their behalf. This used to be a big problem in my world for a long time, as emotional manipulation was prominent in litigation."
"However, Emotional Lies have one big weakness, and that is a lack of empathy from the target. If the one hearing them simply doesn't care about how others feel, it can only backfire."
Darius gestured to Gunner with an amused smile. "Take our Gunner here. An Emotional Lie would not faze him in the least, rather getting you a punch to the head which would send it flying off your body."
Gunner smiled slightly.
Darius gave Xela a pointed look. "On the other hand, an Emotional Lie would have 90% chance to work on you, Xela."
Xela stuck her tongue out and scratched the back of her head shyly.
Darius continued. "Then there are Logical Lies. These are built on the back of facts mixed with fiction. A lie of this nature doesn't require emotions, but reasonable thinking."
"It is imperative to have sufficient knowledge about the matter being lied about. On top of that, the victim of your lies also needs to have sufficient knowledge about what is being lied about, otherwise they would end up suspicious. Ignorance is bliss after all."
"The balance for a Logical Lie to be successful is very delicate and almost at the level of an equation. It is basically the amount of knowledge you have about the target matter vs the amount of knowledge your victim has of the target matter."
Darius smiled softly at this point. "This is how I managed to trick Beelzebub. I possess the entire wealth of knowledge that the True Lord God of Knowledge Krona has. Thanks to that I already knew a lot about Beelzebub, how he thinks and what his powers are."
Darius gave his Branded Servants the side-eye. "That is why I made a Faraday Cage and used electromagnetic explosives. I knew exactly what would get through his defenses and took advantage of that."
Gunner and Xela looked enlightened by the fact.
Darius chuckled. "In truth, Beelzebub was beaten by his own nature. You see, he is the tenth and youngest True Lord of the Insect Race, rising to power AFTER they had begun their invasion. So I took a bit of a gamble in that he didn't know the specific reason the invasion started, but my lie was logical enough to sound like fact."
"Beelzebub is not an offensive type True Lord, nor is he Defensive or even Support. He is a Survival type, and his abilities are centered around that. In other words, Beelzebub is the typical sniveling, scheming coward who would never put his own life at risk for others. This was how he survived the battle back then."
Xela cocked her head in confusion. "But he seemed quite responsible and benevolent back then."
Darius nodded. "That he was, and from what I could see he wasn't faking it. People change, especially when there is a catalyst involved. Could there be a bigger catalyst than surviving as the only pillar of your entire race? Thrust into a position of respect and responsibility, the sniveling coward had straightened his back and carried his race until now."
"For that alone, he deserves some respect. However, my words and actions back then had been to bypass the shell of strength he now wears and drag out the sniveling coward."
Gunner folded his arms and asked: "I guess you succeeded?"
Darius shook his head with a wry smile. "Not so easy when he's worn that shell for longer than he had even lived. We only managed to get a glimpse of it when he began to fear for his afterlife. At that moment, I almost made him consider abandoning his race to secure his own benefits, but he managed to retain his calm."
"As for the matter concerning the Goddess sending us or them for retribution, it's all nonsense. According to my own judgment, it is likely that Vena hardly ever watches us, which should be why Caesar is free to do as he pleases usually. It is only during situations like this that she might cast a glance this way." Darius theorized while rubbing his chin.
"Besides, let's use facts instead of my gut feeling. If Vena sent me to clean up after Sino D'Mara, why then did she not claim her Resurrection Stone? Instead, it became a spoil of war for me to use as I please."
Before Gunner could interject, Darius interrupted him. "And no, she isn't letting us keep it to charge it up for her. This is an item she once created for a certain purpose, but that path was cut off and she seems to have lost interest. Even to Thanatos, the Resurrection Stone had little use, not just due to the Absolute Law he controlled, but because of his powers. To Vena who is supposed to be above that, it has even less use."
"Another fact is that we are doing these Quests not to play house, but to qualify for the next stage. We are basically paying the debts that we have accrued due to our quick growth. With my current knowledge bank, I can verify that it is indeed something that cannot be mitigated."
Darius sighed. "I have no doubt that Vena should certainly be able to perform the action of elevating me to become an instant Supreme, but that would have the reaction of destroying Faust and making my power flimsy. She is a Goddess that can create worlds and universes, sure, but everything has its own rules. She herself writes these rules, and so knows best that she cannot flout them if she wants to maintain stability."
"Us getting this Quest to eradicate the Insect race is because we were on Pokterr anyway, and because it was judged to be within the range of difficulty that we could perform. It is also Caesar who decides them, not Vena. Caesar couldn't care less if we end up killed, since no one would avenge us. That was made clear to me from the beginning."
Darius bowed. "And so, that is the framework of my Logical Lie. I took advantage of Beelzebub's gaps in knowledge to push together a rational story that gave us an advantage. It was easy and hard at the same time."
"Easy because I already had the knowledge and intelligence to discern this in seconds with my current stats, but hard because executing it required more than just smarts, but charismatic flair that I have honed as a merchant."
Gunner and Xela clapped with wry smiles. This Master of theirs… they were thankful that they had the qualifications to fall under his wing. Being anything but his ally was a fate they truly feared deep in their hearts.
Soon, they arrived in a new layer, with plenty of webs and a rancid smell around. Despite this, Darius turned and chuckled. "Right, on the topic of Logical Lies, I have to say that they are more likely to work on Gunner here, due to his stoic and firm nature. As long as your lie makes sense to him, he might just believe it, especially if the delivery is right."
Gunner grimaced and nodded, knowing this to be the truth. He could resist an Emotional Lie with ease because he cared little, but a well-constructed story would definitely make him pause, if not believe.
Darius then turned to Xela with a strange smile. "As for you Xela, there is a small chance that a Logical Lie would work on you, although you shouldn't feel bad that I managed to sway you as well.. You are more responsive to emotions and emotive behavior than wordplay or logical behavior."
Xela giggled as she raised her right hand and made a 'V' shape with her index and middle finger. Darius and Gunner stared strangely at her for a few seconds, before Xela's expression froze.
She realized that this wasn't exactly a form of praise, though she still felt like she won over Gunner.
