Darius Supreme

Darius nodded to show that he was aware of Theseus' worries. He then left the Demi-God to his thoughts, giving him time to decide where his allegiances lay and what he would do from now on. 

The Itemancer chose to speak to Achilles next. The so-called Invincible Hero was currently laying down on a white bed, dressed in a hospital gown and his left leg had been bandaged up severely. 

The fellow's eyes were closed until Darius made his presence known, at which point the captive opened his eyes to gaze at his captor. In a calm tone, he asked: "So, what do you plan to do with me?" 

Darius rubbed his chin, pretending to be pondering what to do with him, before clapping his hands. From the walls of the room came a few robotic hands that held Achilles down and injected something into his bandaged leg, which made him grimace. 

"It's time you too got to know the true nature of Faust. However, since the Styx made you invincible, you'll have to forgive me that I can only implant the nanites into your bloodstream through your only human body part." 

Darius smiled even as Achilles displayed a confused expression. However, he soon fell into a daze as information was beamed to his mind, which his 234 points of Intellect got to work decompressing immediately. 

Once he was done, the Invincible Hero showed an expression of utter dismay and distraught shock. Unlike Theseus who had immediately exploded because the suspicions had long since existed in his mind, Achilles was a soldier at heart. 

He followed his orders and believed in his superiors, not bothering to think too much for himself whether what he was doing was right or wrong, if anything he just paused to make sure whether it would be in the scope of his directives. 

Now, he was faced with a soldier's most dreaded nightmare, having to come face to face with the fact that everything he had believed in had been a lie and his actions, which he had regarded as just, turned out to be rather capricious and evil. 

Surprisingly, just like Theseus, his reaction was as human as one could expect. Due to the shock and the despair, he first began denying it. 

"No, this cannot be! This cannot be true! How can the Gods be fake? How could there be someone above the creators?!" Achilles asked himself in a panic, his face pale as a sheet. 

Then, he glanced at Darius malevolently. "It's you! You just want to deceive me! To shatter my faith in the Deities!" 

Achilles then sneered at Darius and seemed to relax greatly. "You're wasting your time. While it certainly seems like you have put a lot of work into your ruse, such cheap tricks cannot break my faith!" 

Darius was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "Fine, if you choose to doubt it, then it's really up to you. Your importance to me is nowhere near as great as Theseus, so I don't need to bother to convince you." 

Darius simply clapped his hands and spoke coldly, staring right at Achilles the entire time. 

"Miranda, designate patient Achilles as experimental material #0001. List categories: Expendable, Pain Tolerant, Reusable. Primary Experimentation Utility: Weapons and Drug Testing." 

Achilles felt a chill in his soul when he heard that, though he did not understand what exactly it would entail. He only saw the image of a little girl acknowledge his captor's orders before the fellow turned around to leave. 

The injured Demi-God struggled in the bed and tried to break free, but he found to his shock that after a little bit, his body refused to move. It felt like his muscles had been taken over by another force, and he was only left with his thoughts in his body. 

Darius left him there, assured that Achilles would make the perfect experimental material and test subject as the nanites that had been injected into him were not just for transmitting data alone. 

The Itemancer then moved over to the area where Hercules was kept, only to see the bulky fellow seated in a lotus position, deep in meditation. When Darius came around, he too opened his eyes and observed his captor silently. 

Darius and Hercules stared at each other, one with a soft smile and the other with a neutral expression. Since the cards were in Darius' hands, Hercules decided to speak first. 

"What do you want?" 

Darius shrugged. "What can you give?" 

Hercules was surprised by this rebound, but seemed to think for a while. Then he spoke seriously. 

"Release me, Pyrrha, Achilles, and Theseus, and we can hide the truth about you and your operation, preventing my Father and the other Gods from retaliating against you." 

Darius froze, but did not laugh. Rather he nodded, as he understood where Hercules was coming from. He was ignorant of the truth and believed that the Gods were the pinnacle of everything just like Achilles and Theseus before him. 

Hercules knew that if he and the other three he had mentioned were gone for too long, their backers would become restless and seek them out. At that time, Darius would surely perish for the Gods were paramount. 

As such, Zeus' favorite son thought that it would be better for Darius to release the crucial four Demi-Gods and have them cover everything up. 

Once again, Medea was treated as expendable in their eyes, and this showed Darius that Hercules was at least being honest. 

If he had asked for only himself, or missed anyone else of the crucial four, their story would falter and the Gods would still descend upon this continent to check things out for themselves. 

After all, the Demi-Gods may trust and believe in the Gods, but the Gods certainly did not trust in and believe the Demi-Gods. 

It was just like how a cheating girlfriend or boyfriend would always want to monitor the chats and friendships of their unassuming partner, their psychological guilt making them feel as if the infidel acts they committed upon their partner were being done to them. 

The Demi-Gods were unaware that most of the missions they were sent on could not be handled by anyone else but them, and even then, it was usually so fatal that some might not even make it. 

However, they saw it as challenges they were meant to overcome and took pride in being sent to die, only to come back alive. 

Darius smiled and tossed a HoloBrace over to Hercules. "Wear this and see the truth for yourself. Since you seem willing to make a serious offer, you should first be aware of what you can realistically offer me." 

Hercules frowned and grabbed the HoloBrace then observed it. Seeing that it was just a piece of strange metal shaped into a large ring, he followed Darius' directions and placed it on his right wrist. 

When it pierced his hand and connected to his nerves, Hercules' face changed and he almost smashed it. However, the HoloBrace had an inbuilt panic suppressor, and a robotic AI voice explained the functions of the HoloBrace directly to the wearer's brain. 

The Greatest Hero's expression morphed to one of pleasant surprise, marveling at the technology on his wrist just as Theseus had done. 

He wondered how great it would be if this stuff also existed in Elysium for the Gods, the Demi-Gods, and even the mortals to use. 

Before he could even ask Darius what this was for, the information was sent to his mind directly. Hercules only had 124 points of Intellect, which was a lot for a human, but subpar for a Demi-God. 

Still, he managed to digest everything before Darius got bored waiting, and when light returned to his eyes, Hercules was surprisingly silent for a long while. 

He simply sighed in the end and looked at Darius with a weary face. 

"Is it true? Can you swear on everything you value that you are not deceiving me?" 

Darius smiled. "I swear on the name of the Great Goddess Vena, that the information I've shared you with you is as valid as I know it to be, stemming from sources even you would find reliable." 

Hercules nodded weakly when he sensed that something shifted in the world. This, more than the oath itself, proved that the Laws of Faust responded to the name of the Goddess. 

After all, you couldn't get a response like this from the world if you used the name of Zeus or Odin. 

Hercules slapped his thighs and rose to his feet, prancing about his cell with a distraught expression. He eventually stopped and turned to face Darius sideways. 

"You know, I used to hate the Gods, when I was a mere mortal. Because of my father's lust, I was born. Because of my father's infidelity, I was targeted by his wife, Goddess Hera, and became a tool of contention between them." Hercules began. 

"With every victory I won against something Hera put in place, it was a 'score' for Zeus. In every loss or tragedy I suffered under Hera's hand, it was a 'score' for Hera." 

Hercules turned to face Darius fully, his face thunderous. "Instead of discussing their problems, I, a mortal child who had committed no sin aside from being born, got forced to become a means to prove who was right or wrong." 

"I lived with this anger all my life, hiding it in the depths of my heart, knowing it would do no good as the Gods would easily overpower me no matter how strong I could grow." 

"I lived with the assumption that the Gods were supreme and could not be beaten." 

Suddenly, Hercules smirked as his eyes gleamed. "But suddenly, I have proof that they are nothing like what I thought!"