Darius and Hercules spoke for a little while longer, before the Old Soul left. He moved over to where Pyrrha was kept, the former Goddess seated quietly within her cell, her hands clasped over her knees.
When Darius appeared before her cell, she flinched significantly, yet did not cower. Rather she gazed at her captor warily, neither speaking nor challenging him, waiting for the other party to initiate talks rather.
Darius observed Pyrrha slightly as he thought over his method to deal with her. She was nowhere near as difficult to deal with as the three fellows that came before, due to her inherent nature.
It just required a bit of drama, theatrics, and acting, none of which would pose a problem for Darius.
The Itemancer narrowed his eyes as he glared at the now Demi-Goddess with an accusatory glance, making Pyrrha's heart skip a beat. Darius' words directly made her shudder terribly.
"You evil entity! You're nothing like the others who were once mortal! You were born a Goddess and should very well know the truth of your existence!"
His words were spoken harshly and full of reproach, yet Pyrrha understood the meaning behind them. As a Goddess born from her element, how could she not?
Darius suddenly struck the bars, making Pyrrha yelp as his eyes became slightly bloodshot.
"You despicable thing dared to call yourself a Deity! How many lives have you taken? How many races have you extinguished?! Just for material wealth and possessions… what makes you any different from mortals who do the same?"
Pyrrha's voice was defiant as she argued. "I haven't! I haven't taken a single life ever since I was born! My Divine Attribute is the Fire of Life and Vitality! I cannot harm people, even if I would wish to!"
Darius then laughed mockingly. "So I guess my machine warriors burned themselves to scrap then?!"
Pyrrha was rendered speechless by this, but weakly explained. "I mean… I need to have some means to protect my life, right? I can't just stand there and let myself be killed…"
Darius sighed and spoke derisively. "You're nothing but a liar! You claim your Divine Attribute prevents you from committing harm, yet harm is exactly what you caused upon coming here."
"The bunch of you came over and immediately attacked my subjects!! My warriors would not have harmed you, should you have come in peace. At any time you could have simply surrendered, but you chose a violent reaction the moment you were threatened!"
"How is that the action of a pacifist? Even if you have not harmed anyone and believe that you cannot harm anyone, your true nature revealed itself in a desperate situation! You're no different from anyone else, hiding violent and murderous tendencies in your heart."
Darius then pointed at Pyrrha imperiously and said with full conviction: "You, the so-called Goddess Pyrrha, are a vile and dangerous being hiding darkness in your black heart while deceiving the world!"
Pyrrha couldn't take this accusation and stood up to her feet, clenching her fits and gritting her teeth as she argued back.
"No! Even when the others harmed and caused pain, I always sought to heal and restore! I always helped the weak and protected them from the fallout of the battles that they had no hand in causing or no place to be in!"
Darius sneered. "Hmph, it might be admirable if a mortal brings a cure to another who is sick, but aren't you above mortals? Shouldn't you move ahead to prevent the cause of the sickness before it could land, since you're capable of doing that?"
"You sat there and watched your siblings cause pain and harm without ever trying to stop them. All you did was wait for them to finish their vile deeds before salvaging what you could and claiming these actions to make you look like someone good!"
"Meanwhile you are a black-hearted, opportunistic entity who probably loves to see your siblings wreak havoc so you can benefit from them!"
Pyrrha paled. "No, that's not true! I tried many times to talk to them, but they always just brushed me off or laughed me away! When I saw that I was beginning to annoy them, I was worried I might lose my chance to ever convince them, so I tried to change my methods to use softer means!"
Darius sniggered. "Ha! So because of cowardly fear, you failed to step forward on behalf of the weak and chose to acquiesce!"
Pyrrha seemed to be on the brink of tears, torn between indignant anger and sorrowful panic.
"How do you expect me to stand up to them, when I cannot even harm mortals? I have no combat power, which is why they tolerate me and treat me nicely, fully aware that I am incapable of ever becoming a threat to them, yet always there to clean up their mess!"
Darius' eyes flickered. To be aware of this, Pyrrha was not as ignorant and foolish as he had thought her to be. She was actually quite intelligent and clever, only that her kindly nature made her easily abusable even though she knew she was being abused.
However, this fact and sudden realization did not change Darius' plans in any way. He simply shook his head with a look of disdain.
"You should have stepped forward to sacrifice everything for protecting the weak instead of making half-assed excuses!"
Pyrrha was indignant. "I did! After seeing so many mortals suffer from a casual battle between Poseidon and Aegir, I burned almost all of my Divine Energy to give them a chance at survival! This is the reason I was reduced to a Demi-God!"
Darius' expression froze as he displayed a complicated expression. "Yes, I heard about that. I possess a great respect for your noble sacrifice back then, hence why I made my machines leave you and your companions intact."
Darius then displayed a plethora of emotions as if his mind was rapidly changing until he settled on a firm one.
"However, a person who truly seeks to do good and protect the weak would never self-advertise their own actions! They prefer to savor the joy of saving lives without ever mentioning their actions!"
Darius once again pointed at Pyrrha accusatorily. "Only a person who seeks to do good to enhance their personal ego and look good to the public would boast about their deeds! You are such a person!"
Pyrrha was left speechless once more, and her complexion became red as she was filled with righteous anger, but in the end, she deflated like a balloon, tears forming at the corner of her eyes.
"This is not fair…"
Darius didn't relent. "Go ahead and cry! That feeling of helplessness, of unfairness, wondering why someone would do this to you, is exactly how all those mortals felt when they suddenly ended up besieged by you so-called Gods!"
"How could they possibly resist their assailants and preserve their lives? They could only perish in suffering, fear, and sadness! Does it feel good to have a taste of your own medicine?!"
Pyrrha's eyes had long teared up and began crying silently, but she stifled her sadness and asked Darius with a defeated tone: "What do you want from me?"
Darius smiled inwardly. Outwardly though, he maintained his righteous expression.
"I seek atonement. The Gods must atone for their sins against mortals and the entire world of Faust. It's only fair and just for them to make up for the harm they have caused over the millennia."
"This also includes Demi-Gods and those who have assisted the Gods in anyway either by act or omission. Once atonement is paid, all debts will be written off, only then can peace be achieved!"
Pyrrha was silent for a while before wiping her eyes and asking in a slightly more spirited tone.
"How can I atone?"
Darius folded his arms behind his back as he smiled amusedly. "You Gods love to throw labors at mortals before making them Demi-Gods, don't you? We'll adopt the same system."
"Based on a God's crimes, they should be given a number of labors to complete. Once they complete them all perfectly, they would earn amnesty. This way, not all such Deities would have to suffer for those who were more violent, like you in this case."
Pyrrha nodded slowly before raising her head and showing a firm expression. "I will serve my atonement. What will my labors be?"
"Pyrrha, former Goddess of Fire, for the crime of omission to the slaughter of mortals by your siblings, the Gods, you are hereby tasked to complete one Grand Labor in order to atone for your sins!" Darius stated grandly.
Pyrrha was surprised by this. "Just one labor?"
Darius showed a rare gentle smile. "Despite everything, unlike your sibling, you did help mortals repeatedly and tried to do good within your limited means, even though your intentions can't be called pure. However, that alone doesn't change the fact that you did good, so you are not as reprehensible as the rest."
Pyrrha looked like she still wanted to argue about that, but could not muster the courage after being berated by Darius once. As such, she asked: "What will my labor be?"
Darius smiled softly and revealed what Pyrrha would have to do.
"Nothing excessive. Your Grand Labor shall simply be to serve me for the next 10 years in my Divine Mission to bring more Gods under the light of judgment!"
