Interlude- Aether and Paimon 2

A/N: Guess what?, I can't sleep again. Writing this chapter with half a braincell, half less than unusual do becuase of tiredness. It's 12:33 for my btw, my left eyes has started to become lazy but I can't close it.

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"Huh?" (Aether)

"Ehhhhhhhh!!!" (Paimon)

Hearing the name of the supposed god made them incredibly surprised, and the fact that the god Venti just mentioned was Meliodas shook them to their core.

Venti, seeing their surprised faces, frowned, because their reactions meant that his drunk "illusion" was real.

Just by that information, he was ready to dip Mondstadt, but Dvalin still needed his help.

"It seems that my worst fears are true," said Venti with a tired sigh.

"Wait, let me see if we're talking about the same person—long black hair, tall, and always wears a black coat?" asked Aether as he waited for Venti's confirmation.

Venti hesitated a bit before saying, "Yes, that's him."

"..." (Aether, Paimon)

"Traveler," spoke Venti.

"Yes?"

"I will tell you anything you need to know about him, just promise me one thing."

Aether was curious about his offer and especially about Meliodas' information. "What is it?"

"Yeah, what do you want from Paimon?" spoke Paimon.

"I still need to be here in Mondstadt to save Dvalin... But I'm afraid that I'll lose my head by Meliodas' hand before I can do that. So I ask of you, please protect me from him! You're friends, right? I'm sure you could ask him to spare me," begged Venti.

He didn't know how close their relationship was, but they should be friends... right? Aether winced at his request.

It wasn't that he couldn't do it, but he recently and accidentally released Meliodas' dragon secret to Jean.

And he knows that Meliodas can be very petty; he's sure that he still has some leaves stuck where the sun don't shine from when Meliodas had sent him flying halfway through Mondstadt city.

"I don't think I can..." Venti's eyes started to dim as he started to mutter something around 'I'm sorry, old friend.'

"But I know someone who will, Amber from the Knights of Favonius. She's a kind person and has a romantic relationship with Meliodas. I could tell her of your situation and have her protect you," proposed Aether. Even Paimon looked at him in surprise.

"So you are recommending that I hide behind Meliodas' girlfriend?... That's a great idea!!!" exclaimed Venti in happiness.

He knows that this would work; why? Because his one weakness is family or really close friends. Venti would never hold any of Meliodas' friends hostage because he ain't that type of person and because he knows to never poke Vengeance incarnate with a stick.

"So we have a deal?" asked Aether.

"Yes, I'll tell you everything!" said Venti with a smile. He was half that he would have some sort of protection against Meliodas.

From what he knows, she's supposed to be a very kind person, so if she sees Meliodas attempting to kill Venti, she will more than likely intervene.

"So, what else do you want to know?" Now that they had established their deal, Venti had become an open book.

"Alright then, why is he called the god of Family and Vengeance?"

"The family part is because he created a family of his own, not by blood but through bonds. He's a man that would do anything to protect his families, and I mean ANYTHING. That also brings me to the Vengeance part. There used to be 7 evil gods that worked together during the Archon war. They caused trouble for the other gods in other regions, including mine. But they seemed to have messed with Meliodas before, and like always, he enacted vengeance upon them and slaughtered them all. I don't know what beef he had with them, but it must have been something serious for him to fight them all alone."

"Eh, Meliodas fought them all. Paimon can't begin to imagine him fighting Gods," commented Paimon.

Aether also agreed with her statement as he had been injured during the fight with Dvalin. He didn't think that someone who fought seven so-called 'evil' gods would tire out fighting one dragon, and a weakened one at that.

"I don't know why either. Maybe he got weaker after time passed," said Venti.

"I see, so what was his role during the Archon war? You said he disappeared, right? Why would he?"

"Meliodas didn't participate to become one of the seven gods of Teyvat. He fought to help his son and to kill the Seven evil gods."

"I see... Son?" He had to double-take on Venti's info because he never knew that Meliodas had a son.

"Yup, remember the god of Contracts, Morax, that I had told you to visit next?"

"Yes, I do..." He did say that his father was a monster. And who else is Venti scared of enough to call a monster? Meliodas Pendragon.

"... Paimon is starting to feel a little nervous." Hearing that the guy who was with them just a few hours ago was a god that was the father of the top god made her nervous.

"Don't worry, old man Rex is a good person if you ignore the fact that he is capable of throwing mountains at you. The only times he becomes aggressive is when you attack him first or when you pose a great threat to Liyue," assured the scared Paimon. Venti's words did lighten the worry in Paimon's heart, but she still felt a tad nervous.

"For my next question, how old is he?"

"I'm not sure about his age, but I know that he's way older than Morax, which is 6,000 years."

"6,000 years!" exclaimed both Paimon and Aether in surprise.

"Yes, he is, but I suspect that he is way older considering the fact that he's close with the heavenly principle."

"Heavenly Principle?"

"Yes, she's the supreme god of Celestia and the one that hosted the Archon war."

Aether's eyes widened once again in surprise. Being a god was one thing, but being close to the head honcho was a whole other matter.

"I see, can you tell me more about her?" Aether asked with curiosity. He was now more curious about this supreme god.

Barbatos shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm bound by contract, unable to tell you anything about her or anything related to her too closely." Venti didn't want Celestia sending down a meteorite on Mondstadt or a curse just because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Aether was a bit disappointed but understood that even he had some restrictions to what he could say.

"For my final question, what's the scariest thing about him?"

The last question seemed to send shivers down Venti's spine. He could still remember the day Meliodas almost slaughtered him.

"It's his will," Venti responded with a white face, completely filled with fear.

"His will?" Aether was surprised by his response. He thought he would say his face, his personality, or something, but not his will.

"Yes, his will. The sheer will to do anything it takes to kill someone. It doesn't matter what is in his way or who is in his way. One way or another, death will find its way to your neck in the form of his sword," Venti solemnly responded, the color drained from his face as he kept remembering that fateful day.

"..." (Aether)

"...Paimon doesn't like this question game anymore."