Chapter 19

It took about fifteen minutes for Velgrynd to return, visibly calmer. While she was away, nothing of importance had been discussed and the conversation stayed mostly on the food and entertainment found in Tempest, in which Momonga didn't participate as Guy was leading the conversation with Milim, Veldora, and Ramiris bragging about all the things found or they themselves introduced in Tempest.

The atmosphere in the room was still somewhat tense, though Momonga was relieved there was no fight thus far. The worst-case scenario had been avoided.

As everyone settled in their seats, with wine glasses and teacups deftly refilled and the most sought-after snacks replaced on the table, Velzard spoke up, "I think before I reveal what the plan for the true dragons is, Momonga should explain what exactly he did to completely disappear from the world without breaking the dimensional barrier."

"I descended into the void. It was related to me embracing the aspect of death." Momonga gave what essentially was a nonanswer.

"I won't pretend I know much about the void, save for it being the bane of reality itself, but please be careful." Velgrynd was the first to respond, her expression betraying how worried she was. The void was the antithesis to all known life, the gap between worlds, and a place she never wanted to visit.

"At least we now know why Noir was so eager to serve you," Guy chuckled in between bites as he competed with Milim and Veldora to determine who could consume the most cookies.

"Come to think of it, it does make sense that Momonga is drawn to the void. It is the graveyard of reality after all. Though why were all traces of you temporarily removed from the world?" Velzard commented casually, doing her best not to show any discomfort with the topic and asking a follow-up question.

Momonga hesitated. 'Should I reveal more to her? I have no real reason to trust Velzard with anything, much less what I know about the deep void and its inhabitants. Rubedo might be my only weapon against her should things go south, and she is aligned with Guy.'

He had no information about his oldest sister's goals or motivations either. She was likely to reveal more today, but that didn't mean he wasn't but a disposable tool for her. Velzard was the cruelest towards Veldora out of our two sisters and held Demon Lord Guy in her grasp, a formidable enemy in his own right against most of Tempest. She was the aspect of permanence and cold indifference. He, as death, was closer aligned with Velgrynd, who was the embodiment of change and destruction, as while all death cares not for who it strikes, it also acts as the transition from life to life.

"Brother, I have not given you any reason for such distrust towards me." Velzard picked up on the reason behind his silence.

"You killed Veldora more than twenty times," Milim quietly growled, putting down her cookie.

"To discipline him and ensure his chaotic energies do not tear reality apart. Speaking of which, I don't see you trying to repair the mess you caused." Velzard spat back, putting attention on the desert in Dagruel's domain where Milim and Guy fought two millennia ago, to this day a barren land devoid of any life.

"If I had aunts to guide me when I was a fucking child that wouldn't have happened!" Milim raised her voice, barely holding her temper and aura in check.

Momonga reached over and put his hand on the girl's shoulder, "That is something we'll look into. You can't put the blame on a child who was abandoned by her family for such an outcome."

"Momonga is right. Milim needed our guidance, but neither of us helped her." Velgrynd spoke up, using the numbers to finally stand up to her older sister.

"Fine. We'll look into ending the nether storm in Dagruel's lands together when the situation allows for us to deal with that particular problem." Velzard caved, seeing her siblings piling up on her. To her, it was much more important to get their submission on topics that actually mattered, they had all the time in the world to handle the giant's lands.

"Let's just move to the main topic at hand. Now that Momonga is born, we need to figure out how to stabilize the world, and it is time for me to reveal what I know." She continued, taking a dramatic pause as the room fell silent, waiting for her to speak.

"I believe that Veldanava will return soon and the key to the universe will be returned to our world. Momonga, as the aspect of death, will tear down the old unstable system and a new one will need to be put in place with my brother's guidance. I know that Veldanava, as a creator God, is not supposed to be the eternal ruler as he trained me since the day I was born to be his replacement and take the seat as the head Goddess of our world. That is until he spawned that… Milim."

"Wait, so your disdain towards Milim is born out of the assumption she was created to replace you?" Momonga couldn't help but question.

"She is not my replacement. She is an abomination that has done nothing but destabilize the world. She was not supposed to exist. Creator Gods can't create children in the way she was created, with a mortal woman nonetheless. I don't know what my brother was thinking, but he will have to fix his mistake when he returns. Her mere presence alone destabilizes the magical fabric around her, overloading it, hence why I have never tried to nurture her - anything she has done or will do will accelerate the destruction of this world." Velzard spoke in a low, cold tone, her hateful gaze firmly set upon the dragonoid girl.

Milim responded with a mocking laugh.

"What's so funny, brat?" Velzard hissed, clearly taken aback by Milim's reaction.

"That piece of shit isn't coming back! My so-called creator fucked you over just as much as he did me! All he cared about was escaping with that cunt of a wife of his," Milim spat with spiteful satisfaction.

'I will have to speak with Buku to tone down the swearing around Milim.' Momonga mused as he prepared to defend Milim as her announcement had simultaneously angered both of his sisters.

Velzard's expression oozed cold hatred while Velgrynd was ready to explode at how harsh Milim was towards Veldanava.

"Watch your mouth! You know nothing of him!" Velzard hissed.

"I know more than you! I know his true motives! He passed them to me alongside his power!" Milim stood up as well, her hands twisting into knuckles as she cackled.

"She speaks the truth. I unlocked those memories in her." Momonga confirmed, seeing no other option but to intervene.

"What? What is the meaning of all this?" Velzard shifted her gaze between Milim and Momonga.

"I suggest you both calm down and let Milim explain. It is her knowledge and memories you both would have been aware of a long time ago if you had taken her in after the departure of her birth parents." Momonga stood up and took a spot behind his adopted daughter, putting both of his skeletal hands on her shoulders in a protective gesture.

"Very well. Explain then." Velzard let out a long exhale as Guy offered his hand for her to hold onto, sitting her down.

Velzard grabbed her husband's hand, tilting her head ever so slightly and waiting for Milim to speak.

"Veldanava created me to escape his fate as a creator god, nothing more. He didn't care about me, you, or the world in general. All he cared about was escaping with his wife. I don't hold all his power, far from it. I hold enough to trick the world into believing that a replacement was put in place, hence why my abilities can increase the amount of magical power this world has, and none of the control necessary to use it properly. Dad helped me remember. The truth is that Veldanava is never coming back. He's a selfish piece of shit who doesn't care about any of us." Milim spoke in a low growl, the hatred for her birth father evident in her tone.

"Momonga, is this true?" Velgrynd inquired with a whimper. "He just abandoned us? Abandoned the world?"

"Yes. I saw the same thing in Milim's memories, hence I don't know what I am supposed to remove and how we'll fix things afterward. There are no guidelines left, no infrastructure or suggestions," Momonga replied.

"He just left…" Velzard mumbled, her words muffled into her hand which she held over her mouth as she stared at the opposite wall, a sharp change from her seething anger just moments earlier. She wanted to dismiss the girl's claims and treat them as nothing more than vicious lies of a world-destroyer, but she couldn't. There was cruel sincerity behind Milim's voice.

Velgrynd slumped down in her chair, holding her head up with two fingers. "Then what should we do?"

"I… I don't know. I thought…" Velzard's voice trailed off.

"We have to do something. The world needs to be fixed and will collapse in due time if nothing is done, even if reality is currently stable," Ramiris interjected.

"How long do we have?" Velzard asked.

"I don't know. Everything kinda just works at the moment. It may be millennia, it may be just a few years until something goes wrong. I've been monitoring it, but even I don't know everything Veldanava has done to this world." Ramiris shrugged while munching on a cookie she managed to snatch from the bowl while the three gluttons were distracted.

"Then we need to make sure no one does anything drastic while we figure out what to do," Velgrynd stated.

"About that. Dad, don't you think we should tell them?" Milim looked up.

"Tell us what?" Velzard questioned, her tone growing harsh again.

"There is an outside Goddess waging war on me. She currently has Chronoa in her possession and is gathering forces to strike at me. She was the one who orchestrated the attack on Tempest with Hinata in the lead," Momonga explained, seeing no option but to reveal to his sisters what Ker was doing.

"Outside Goddess? What motive could she possibly have to attempt to collapse an already unstable world? As far as I know, Gods are not supposed to meddle in worlds they are not part of, especially without the permission of the ruling god," Velzard demanded.

"We don't have a ruling god," Ramiris reminded her.

"I know that. My point still stands."

"Nazarick has multiple entities with god skills and I made sure there were no direct control mechanisms left, as I discovered one in Uriel as well. Ker, the Goddess behind one of the skills, took offense to me removing said control mechanisms, believing her interjection into the world system was welcomed," Momonga explained.

"As if we didn't have enough problems. Momonga, how do you plan to deal with her?" Velzard continued.

"Perhaps we can help?" Velgrynd voiced her support.

"For now I am preparing to counter her attack, developing my forces. Rest assured, she is still working mostly within the restrictions of the world, and can't influence the world directly. I have the home court - she must come to me under my terms if she wants to strike at me. If her actions start to threaten the world itself, I will notify you all and request assistance," Momonga replied, flames in his eye socket flaring up.

"Hopefully this conflict won't be the tipping point. We have no clear path forward, which isn't something I expected from this meeting. Still, the universe at large is supposed to be a self-regulating mechanism and Momonga's appearance alone is a testament to that. For now, let's do our best to prevent world-threatening conflicts." Velzard straightened up, showing her resolve to be the oldest sibling and guide the rest.

"Save for Dagruel and Rudra, everyone capable of threatening the world is in this room and I can deal with Dagruel should he fall out with the program," Guy commented casually, "The rest of the Demon Lords aren't nearly as powerful enough to do so."

"I will make sure my husband won't do anything rash. He and I have some talking to do anyway," Velgrynd joined in.

"There is still Elmesia and her mother who could potentially cause trouble. They are sitting on the world tree after all," Velzard added, glancing at Momonga.

"I seriously doubt they have any reason to harm or destroy the world tree, they live on it. Besides, all of you combined should be able to repair it if worse comes to worst. If all the powers are accounted for and working together, there is little that could threaten the world's stability, and foreign interventions should be quickly handled before damage spirals out of control." Ramiris assured everyone. As the one left to oversee the system, she knew that the world for now was stable and with all the True Dragons on the same page, there was no reason to worry about the realm's most dangerous entities going on a rampage. She was assured that Momonga would deal with Ker sooner or later, she had extensively analyzed his military forces and conversed with Nazarick regarding his defenses.

"I will trust your assessment, arbiter. Then our path forward is to avoid conflicts between us and look out for any rogue elements that could destabilize the world while we look for ways to fix the universe itself. I will continue my search among other worlds for solutions. Momonga, would you mind hosting our future meetings?" Velzard asked.

"Not at all, but I believe we can move the meeting place from Tempest's capital to a more remote region. I will commission a palace to be built in the dragon province as soon as possible. And Velzard, I trust you will not antagonize my daughter from now on?" Momonga turned his gaze to the dragoness, his sharp tone leaving no room for arguing.

Velzard raised her brow in response. "You are making such a demand for me? It would benefit you to remember that you are the youngest sibling, not the oldest. But for the sake of future cooperation, I will cease any hostilities with Milim, that is, if she does the same."

Milim glanced up at Momonga who was still standing behind her and holding her shoulders before turning to Velzard. With a sigh, she agreed, "Fine. I may not like it, but I will do my best to get along."

"Great, like one big family. I'm sure my brother-in-law won't mind us extending our visit and touring Tempest for a week or two?" Guy shamelessly used the opportunity to exploit the familiar connection.

'Why do I have a feeling he and Pero would get along a bit too well,' Momonga suppressed the desire to sigh, already sending warning messages to Buku, Albedo, and Pero about his anticipated continued presence. Guy and Velzard just wandering around his domain wouldn't make life easy, that's for sure.

Editing by aidan_lo.

Proofreading by KieraKieraArts, mfkz_rocker, fvvck, Alassandro, Omnax, Stac, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO, clagan, aidan_lo, and CakeEight.

Link my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2)