At that moment, Benny felt a brilliant light burst from Joey's eyes, the same look he himself had when offering sacrifices to the Sea God.
It was a powerful confidence that came from deep within the soul.
"By that logic, we should be enemies." Benny stared at Joey, his tone hostile.
"No." Joey shook his head gently. "You're mistaken. It wasn't an external factor that caused the Sea God's slumber. Something went wrong within them."
"As for the underlying cause, perhaps only..." As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed overhead. "The People Above know."
"There are some things you needn't ask about." Joey shifted the conversation, his expression turning serious. "There's only one thing I can tell you: you and I are not enemies."
He thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "There are two holders of the Sea God's authority. Our organization chose one of them."
Having laid his cards on the table, he quietly awaited Benny's response.
After a long while, Benny finally spoke.
"What you're saying is that the Sea God has one body and two souls. Their slumber resulted from some uncontrollable development between the two dominant consciousnesses, which caused a split."
"Exactly." Joey nodded and snapped his fingers.
"What can you offer to make me believe you?"
"Hmm." Joey pursed his lips and hummed softly. "Like I said, you don't need to believe me. You only need to weigh the benefits and losses."
He toyed with his teacup, entirely confident. "Are you losing anything? No!"
"And I don't mind telling you our organization's goal. The Sea God's resurrection takes time, and my Lord's awakening requires a certain environment, too. Chaos-a situation that leaves the Seven Gods with no attention to spare."
Benny's dull eyes suddenly brightened. Joey's words dispelled most of his