267 Chapter 262: Bait Part 2

When Tala heard the revelation, surprise etched across her face. It was an introduction she could've never expected, and yet, she had just received it. She immediately looked at Raven with a skeptical gaze. "Are you lying to me? You take me for ze fool? How can you be the offspring of zuch a powerful demon? It iz impozzible, unless... is your mozher a mortal?" 

Raven nodded, "Yeah, she was." 

At this time, Tala's eyes lit up like she had stumbled across the most fascinating of discoveries. She immediately approached Raven and began to examine her without restriction, first holding her by the shoulders, then her chin, looking into her eyes, and even her mouth and teeth. Raven did not resist this examination and instead just gave a side glance at Arias, as if asking if this was allowed and part of the process. Arias simply nodded, as if to tell Raven to allow it. Raven let out an inaudible sigh at this but let Tala do as she pleased.

Eventually, Tala took a few steps back and raised her hand. "I must confirm thiz," she announced. Her hands emitted a purple hue, and her eyes did as well, as she began to mutter incantations. Unfamiliar sigils appeared in the air.

As they hovered near Raven for a moment, they turned bright red and exploded violently, causing Tala to stumble a few feet back. However, rather than looking affected, Tala appeared even more excited. "Incredible! You are zhe offspring of a demon. Even if it izn't trigon, it is certainly powerful," she exclaimed.

Raven didn't really like being treated like a subject of study, so she offered an unenthusiastic response, only saying, "Thanks, I guess." 

Tala ignored Raven's lack of enthusiasm and turned her attention to Arias. "Where did you find her? How did you come acrozz her? Does she zerve you?" 

Arias could see that Tala, even if not fully convinced that Raven was the daughter of Trigon, at least saw Raven as something worth studying. This was more than enough to bait her curiosity.

Rather than answer Tala's questions directly, he put his hands in his pockets and smiled slightly. "I won't be divulging any of that."

"Vwhy? I have already agreed to zerve you. What more must Tala offer? Name it, and I shall do it," Tala proclaimed. 

Arias maintained his smile and answered, "Loyalty. You may have agreed to serve under me, but I recognize insincerity when I see it, and you, my dear, are not sincere." As Arias said this, he took a step closer to Raven and placed his hand over her shoulder. "You see, Raven is very valuable to me. That's all you need to know. The whole reason I bothered to free you from your pathetic prison was so you could teach her and help her better understand her potential. That is your job, and the price you pay for the freedom I've granted you. If you yourself want to benefit at my expense, then you will need to show you're worth keeping around. Simply calling me 'master' and pretending to be obedient isn't enough."

"So, you have two choices now: either you agree to teach Raven to the best of your abilities and prove your worth to me, or you leave now. As talented as you are, there are numerous others being held in that compound down there who could easily find a few more far more willing to help than you. So, the choice is yours." This was of course all a bluff on Arias's part. But to someone like Tala, who didn't really understand human nature that much, it seemed like the truth, especially given the fact that Arias didn't really have much to lose.

Furthermore, Tala herself knew that there were indeed some capable individuals being held in the compound and saw that her value was not to be overestimated. If what Arias had said earlier was true and that Lex Luthor was indeed dead, then Tala had lost her biggest benefactor of the century. 

In an age where you needed cold, hard money to get what you wanted, she needed a generous benefactor she could rely on. It wasn't like in the past, where someone of her caliber could easily just rob or take whatever she needed. With superheroes now present, it was much harder than ever for her to explore her passions, hence why she had agreed to work for Amanda Waller in the first place.

So, if she turned on Arias at this moment, there was no guarantee she would be able to find or generate the resources needed herself, putting her in a tough spot. Having quickly analyzed this, Tala didn't delay. She got on her knees and bowed deeply. "Tala apologizez if she made mazter zhink she waz not zincere. It is Tala's own ignorance. Please forgive me and punish me as you zee fit. I will not let your faith in me be wazted. Should you allow me zhe opportunity, I will teach thiz child to the best of my ability and make her worthy of you, mazter."

Tala's words were honeyed and sweet, so much so that even Raven found her performance to be a bit exaggerated. But in truth, Tala meant every single word. Loyalty was simply that spontaneous to her. 

If Arias really was this powerful and possessed this many assets, then he was worth following. Tala was genuinely eager to continue her research and at the same time, please her new mazter, hoping this would, in turn, bring her more benefits. 

At the core, it was a selfish reason to serve, one no sane person would ever choose to do. However, Tala was anything but sane, and so she remained bowing deeply until Arias said, "Let's pretend I believe you for now. Don't disappoint me."