It had been centuries since he had felt happiness like the one he felt now. His beloved wife had been returned to him by a Goddess who shared some of his goals. Maria had changed slightly, being more cunning and, in some sense, more playful, but it was still her, his Maria who brought light into his life.
They had taken a few weeks off together to travel and catch up as things were calm, and Tempest was concentrating on internal issues, paying only mild attention to the Western Nations through the Free Guild and the UTC. This means that their pressure on him was lessened than he had thought, and it was mostly concerning the weaker humans. Yuuki and Ker were hard at work empowering Chronoa so she would be powerful enough to permanently kill Momonga, and possibly even Milim and Veldora, ending their three biggest threats for good.
As wonderful as time spent with his wife was, it couldn't last like this forever. His duties called, and he needed to resume work alongside Maria. The first thing on his to-do list was to check on Mariabell, who hadn't taken the changes in his life well. Then again, she was very egotistical and wanted everything to revolve around her, which is why both Maria and Yuuki suggested toning down her importance for now and letting her mature a bit so she could be brought up as a proper successor for him to pass on to. After all, despite her remembering her previous life, Mariabell was physically a child and thus needed to grow up, and times had changed as well.
Granbell and Maria strolled into the UTC Ingrassia branch headquarters and headed straight for Mariabell's office uninterrupted. Although mildly surprised, the staff still recognized him as they were informed he now appeared younger.
'Ahh, the beast Tempest sent to watch over the girl,' he glanced at the greater demon standing in the hallway and entered Mariabell's office without knocking. His great-granddaughter glanced up from a document with a scowl. There was something different about her that he couldn't put his finger on. She still had her skills, and her soul felt almost the same, and this was almost the issue. 'Has she been tampered with on a soul level?'
"Took you long enough! While you were taking your sweet time doing nothing of use, I am losing my agents left and right to tempest! Those bastards have found a way to nullify my skill completely!" Mariabell snarled at him.
"There is no need to be rude. And don't forget who you are talking to." Maria scolded the girl.
"I am not talking to you!" Mariabell raised her voice.
"We'll deal with it. Yuuki promised countermeasures. And Maria is right; you should watch your tone, child." Granbell retorted.
" ...Of course… grandfather." Mariabell hissed through her teeth and slumped back in her chair, dropping her pen.
"This attitude is not helping anyone, and you should work on your temper. Or better yet, come to terms with the fact that your great-grandmother is back and should be treated with respect. You are still our successor and will take over when you are ready." Granbell reminded her, standing firm.
Mariabell dragged her palm over her face and let out a long exhale. "You are right. I apologize for snapping at you both like this."
"I understand you're not used to me being around, but it would benefit us both if we got along. How about we go on a shopping spree when time permits?" Maria suggested.
"If time permits, is the issue, but I will take you up on your offer." Mariabell nodded. "Are there any updates from Yuuki? He seems to be ignoring me completely as of late."
"No, but we should go visit him right away." Granbell created a portal to Yuuki's residence in the Republic of Ulgracia and went through it with his wife beside him, and Mariabell followed suit soon after.
As usual, they arrived some distance away and needed to walk for about fifteen minutes through a narrow forest trail until the modest house appeared. Yuuki's defenses were set up so that they weren't affected by the illusion masking the whole area from Tempest's spies, at least for the selected few.
Yuuki emerged from the front door, ready to greet them, but after a few steps, his smile faded, and he froze. "That is not Mariabell!"
"What?" Granbell stopped and turned around to look at the girl.
Mariabell, meanwhile, let go of her dress and growled. "And now you're stooping so low to accuse me! I knew you wanted to get rid of me, you double-crossing snake!"
"Yuuki, you can't just say things like that without proof." Maria joined in, defending the girl.
"Her soul, alongside her skill, is a duplicate. She may have fooled you, but not Ker. So where is the real Mariabell?" Yuuki questioned as the illusion around the house rippled, preventing transportation magic from being used.
"She attempted to sell you all out. She is gone, and now that we have the locatio-" Mariabell or, more precisely, whatever pretended to be her didn't finish the sentence as Yuuki had decapitated her with his bare palm, sending her head flying.
Granbell stared in shock as the lifeless body fell and then morphed into a thin, three-fingered creature, akin to a wooden mannequin. The head turned into a pale, hairless lump with three dark holes where the facial features of his great-granddaughter should've been.
"I need to leave now! Come, we'll talk in my backup hideout!" Yuuki urged as he cast a portal, and the kerai emerged from the house with everything valuable he held and swarmed through the escape point, motioning for them to do the same.
"But she- that careless child!" Granbell forcefully calmed down and followed Yuuki, now arriving on a small island far off the coast of the southern continent. It was so remote that it couldn't even be found on the most detailed of maps; even he hadn't known of its location until he had been brought here once. He would mourn the loss of Mariabell later.
Reality set in as they stood on a small rocky field with only a few patches of grass. Tempest had gotten to her in his absence, and his great-granddaughter was likely dead. And the monster impersonating her was so believable that he had fallen for it. It was only thanks to Yuuki that he found out the truth.
"I'm sorry for your loss. We will avenge her. I hope she died quickly and wasn't tortured." Yuuki soberly sighed while wiping his hand with a handkerchief.
"They are monsters; they know nothing of mercy or honor." Granbell spat. "And now they are onto us."
"I know, but I doubt they will try to take you out openly. And despite the grim situation, we can use this. Make sure everyone knows Tempest killed the crown princess of Siltrosso. Meanwhile, I'm working on a more streamlined way to summon otherworlders with the help of Ker. We'll need thousands to deal with the Tempest."
"You do know we are putting the entirety of humanity at risk if I announce her death publicly and blame Tempest?"
"I know, but that's exactly what we need. The Western Nations will see they are not safe, and once again start building opposition to Tempest. Trust me on this." Yuuki reassured him.
"Very well. I'll expect updates on your progress." Granbel replied as he departed with his wife. The revelation that his great-granddaughter died wasn't the news he could easily process, and now he needed to look for a new successor, even if he still had centuries, if not more, to find one. She had been decently powerful too, and plans would have to change.
At this point, it was clear that no matter how much she empowered Chronoa, it wouldn't be enough to get revenge on Momonga. Ker sat on her throne in the center of her realm, scrying through the numerous worlds for suitable souls.
Yuuki had suggested using otherworlders as a prime attack force, and she couldn't agree more. The first task was to improve the summoning process and ensure the world system Veldanava created properly empowered her tools, a trivial matter for a goddess like her. She devised a summoning ritual that required total self-sacrifice of the summoners, giving not only all their blood but their souls as well, which would empower the ritual even further. This ritual was undetectable by anyone bound by the system in any way, and the only thing required was willing summoners.
Thus, Yuuki worked hard to create a cult that worshiped her, and every cultist would be trained to desire to enter her realm more than anything and thus be eager to throw their lives away for her goals. It was already spreading among the upper echelons of many kingdoms, replacing another cult they had discovered worshipping a green-haired goddess, which Yuuki had gleefully stamped out.
The next step, the one she performed now, was to find souls who could be empowered to nearly match true dragons, and there came the revelation. Nazarick's template existed in a digital world, and the rest of its leaders were up for grabs, and that meant she could harness them. She would take suitable candidates among Nazarick's former leaders and those opposing Nazarick in said digital world. Of course, she couldn't force them, and each soul had to agree to a deal with her, but everyone had their price, and she could offer a lot for their services.
A familiar presence entered her realm as she searched one of the Earths for her targets. Ker paused her work and greeted the intruder with a charming smile as she stood up.
Hades, the God of Death and the Underworld from her pantheon, approached her. Clad in a white tunic, he walked barefoot over the blood and bone-stained grass.
Her smile faded when she saw another emerge from her friend's and occasional lover's shadow — a young man with a tranquil expression and eyes darker than darkness.
"Hades, you visit so rarely. Why did you bring your void beast with you?" Her smile faded, turning into a scowl.
"You know why I came, and please address Thanatos by his name. We wouldn't want to give him even more reasons to want to consume you." Hades replied with his usual seriousness. The ruler of the realm of the dead was not one for whimsy or playfulness.
"He stole from me! I engaged that whelp without breaking any laws!" Ker hissed, the sky darkening above their heads to reflect her anger.
"And instead of reacting with the maturity you supposedly have, you threw a tantrum. Ker, I won't make an exception for you, and even if I did, others will not sit idly by." Hades spoke solemnly, his hand reaching forward and lovingly stroking her cheek, daringly without fear of retribution.
"It has been so long since I tasted a god," Thanatos spoke, his voice soft and ethereal.
"Keep your beast away from me!" Ker growled.
"Thanatos, please give us space." Hades requested, with the void beast complying, moving slightly backward.
"One chance. If my next move fails, I won't pursue my revenge further. Give me this one chance for revenge." Ker's anger faded as she leaned into Hade's embrace.
"You're trying to play with my emotions again. But I do miss you." Hades chuckled. "One chance, that's it."
Ker smiled as she had gotten her way again. "Thank you. I promise I won't break any laws. Are you at least staying for a while?"
"I'm sorry, I can't. My brothers and sisters want to meet to address the situation you have caused. I only came to warn you." Hades kissed her forehead.
"I see. The others want to deal with me." She felt multiple new invaders.
Yama, Osiris, Hel, and Pluto appeared around them, and Hel spoke as their united voice. "We will permit you to try, but if you fail, you will become our young brother's guide and help him in his path. Should you reject our offer, death will come for you."
"Very well. I will make all the preparations I can and make one last strike. If Momonga remains, I will become his friend and guide." Ker agreed, knowing better than to stand in Death's way. Gods of this current, same as ones of creation, were different from the rest, acting like a will of existence itself and were the enforcers of the natural order. Nobody, barring the most powerful of Gods, could fend them off. It was rare for them to be united, but when they were, even she had to kneel.
She knew she was likely too late, and Momonga had already grown beyond her ability to be erased by her, but Ker's pride prevented her from giving up just yet. She had to keep going.
"I hope our next meeting is a pleasant one." Hades planted a kiss on her cheek and faded alongside the other gods of death, the unpleasant coldness of Thanatos lingering behind and making her shudder.
'I cannot fail. The humiliation will be too much if I do, and I may pay for my failure dearly.' There existed a chance she could lose Yuuki for good, but in her foresight, she had kept all the souls she took from Momonga without tormenting them to have a chip to bargain with should Yuuki get captured.
That should be enough to mitigate the worst-case scenarios. Scenarios she had to account for now. The damned void beast he had was already a big enough nuisance.
Editing by Nich L and aidan_lo.
Proofreading by Stac, clagan, fvvck, Omnax, mfkz_rocker, Ivan Chechnya, Alassandro, and aidan_lo.
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