Meanwhile, Mangosteen and Phear Lap took their time traveling back to their boss. They feared having to tell him why they didn't succeed in their mission. The horse and 8-ball hovered inside the red doors of the Devil's Casino. King Dice stood at the craps table counting his playing cards. His back faced his employees. Even though they never made a noise entering their workplace, Dice knew that they were there.
"Ah, Mangosteen, Phear Lap. I was wondering when you two would return." The king stood up straight, placing the cards back inside the sleeve of his tuxedo. "I trust everything went according to plan." His purple clothed body prepared to turn around. When he did, his eyes widened in shock to see his employees standing before him looking like they had just been through a war. Both the skeletal horse and 8-ball stared at the floor. They dared not make eye contact with their irate boss.
"Don't tell me you two were beaten by an old kettle!" Dice snapped. Neither of his employees said a word. "You did manage to dispose of the old coot, didn't you?" Phear Lap tried to sink down into his seat. His green visor drooped over his black eye sockets. Its white spine hunched over uncomfortably. Mangosteen, on the other hand, had nowhere to hide from the man's rage. His "8" symbol was nearly face on with the floor. They both remained silent.
"Speak, you fools! What happened?" The die man roared. Mangosteen took a big gulp before finally speaking to his employer.
"We were close to killing the old man. We really were!" Beads of sweat coated his cracked shell. "But then one of those kids showed up...."
"You mean the cup brothers?" Dice questioned. They both nodded. "So there were two of you and one of them..... How did that one manage to defeat both of you?! The odds were in your favor!" The man's voice grew louder and louder as he got angrier. Failure was unacceptable to him. His right hand began to glow with purple magic. "You two..." He began to say as his hand raised to cube level.
"But there was something different about the kid!" Phear Lap interrupted.
"Different how?" Dice questioned as his fingers flexed.
"His eyes started to glow yellow."
"And don't forget about the claws and teeth!" Mangosteen added, shuddering at the thought of the mug's powerful weapons.
"What are you boys talking about?" King Dice was completely oblivious to the fact that Mugman had left Inkwell Hell with a souvenir.
"The kid was a monster!" The two screeched in fear.
"A monster, you say?" A new voice entered the conversation. It was a dark and unforgiving voice. A shadow came over the back of the casino. It crept over the craps table and up the walls, turning out any lights that it touched. Dice turned around in shock.
"B-boss? How long have you been there?" The die man gulped. Two piercing yellow eyes appeared from within the shadow. Small black pupils rested at their centers.
"Tell me slaves, was it unlike anything you've ever seen?" The voice ignored its right-hand man and asked the horse and 8-ball about this so-called monster.
"Y-yes sir! We didn't stand a chance!" Phear Lap gulped.
Yellow eyes bounced up and down as the voice chuckled in satisfaction.
"It seems little mugface has not forgotten his life changing experience in Hell..." It explained. "Perhaps we can use this to our advantage...." The voice pondered. "Fear not. We may need your assistance once more. But if you fail me yet again....you know what will happen."
"Yes sir! We won't fail you!" The two employees squeaked out as they shuddered at the thought of being punished. Yellow eyes then shifted to the die man.
"Dice, gather the rest of your employees." It demanded. "I have a plan to make that boy suffer!" The eyes narrowed down to mere slits as they pondered evil thoughts.