Enlighten My Darkness

by BettyBest2

After years of a shaky peace between the goddesses and demons, something has begun to kill off their numbers once more. To their outrage, tainted beings of sorts are discovered to be the cause. But who is behind those? Two beings, also the strongest of their races, are sent to find out. Meliodas and Elizabeth, next leaders of their realms. This decision isn't one of the wisest. AU.

10. Disrupting New Territory

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from The Seven Deadly Sins/ Nanatsu No Taizai. They all belong to the wonderful Nakaba Suzuki.

This story, however, belongs to me.

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~10~

-Disrupting New Territory-

Early signs of morning are beginning to present themselves in the dark sky as Elizabeth wanders in the dragging depths of her weighty thoughts. 'Seek out a goddess? Maybe they were onto something when they said that?' She puzzles as she lets her eyes rest on Meliodas a distance beside her. He's completely stoic as he marches ahead with his arms crossed, completely uninterested in any and everything going on around him currently. Her brows furrow as she considers. 'They were… right about him somewhat being attached to me. Otherwise he would have never come to rescue me, right?' Her cheeks begin to warm slightly as she turns her gaze away in remembering the way he'd held her as he took her away from that cavern. He wasn't brutal or cold, he was almost comforting. She nearly raises her hands up to cover her cheeks from how warm they've gotten. 'But why? He hates me!'

She lets herself breathe and urges herself to focus back on the main clue. 'Perhaps it has to do with this seeking out business. Whatever that is, it can't spell good news.' She glances towards Meliodas once more as she comes to a decision. Her hands tighten at her sides as her resolve settles her raging emotions. 'He's up to something. This can't be a coincidence. I can't suddenly be so… s-so entranced by him out of nowhere. He's a demon of all things. It's never happened before.'

A sudden thought comes to her at the thought. It makes her consider the idea of what she and Meliodas have nearly ended up doing on multiple occasions and connects it with what those vampires implied heavily before. 'Is that what that means? Seeking out goddesses. Do demons and goddesses…?' She's positively mystified and horrified at the idea. 'If that's true then… wouldn't there be… wouldn't they have children together?'

She turns her eyes to face Meliodas as her mind runs wild with the possibilities and the implications. 'Is he seeking me out? Is that his goal?' She sighs softly in understanding as her shoulders sag and she looks away. 'So I'll keep my wits about me from now on then. No more falling into his allure. I'm done.'

The goddess squares her shoulders as she strides with a sudden purpose that captures Meliodas' attention. His even tone flows pleasantly through her ears, but she won't look at him. No more unnecessary eye contact. "So have you figured out where you want to lead us, goddess?"

She blows out an even breath. "I was thinking… Perhaps we should try and figure out the means in which those creatures are made. It might give us a better idea of who could be behind this."

"Besides the vampires."

She clenches her teeth. "Yes. Besides them."

She hears him inhale slowly and imagines he's gazing at her with a patronizing smirk. Elizabeth keeps her gaze forward and her emotions level. She will not get angry over something so petty any longer. "And how do you think we should go about doing this, goddess?"

Her clenched fists twitch before she relaxes them. "Well who has the most access to dark magic?"

In an instant, the easy air about them becomes strained with the rapid spiking of his palpable ire. Elizabeth whirls her head in his direction and meets the cool flames that flicker in his eyes with a steady gaze of her own. "I don't believe a demon did this. I'm just thinking that maybe someone could have stolen a spell you all might have access to."

He allows his eyes to bore into hers for a long moment as if to assess her truthfulness, and she lets him. Even with her new resolve, staring into such an overbearing gaze makes it hard for her to keep her breathing steady. When the pressure around them finally begins to abate, Elizabeth gratefully takes the chance to turn her head away. As she subtly brings a hand to her chest, she realizes in their stare off they came to a sudden halt in their progression.

"I suppose you could be onto something there, goddess," his sudden presence beside her almost causes her to jump.

She glares at him out of habit as she turns to face him completely. She purses her lips in hopes of regaining her composure. "So will we be making the journey to the demon realm?"

Suddenly his hands circle around her waist as he jerks her flush against his firm, warm chest. He gazes up at her with a wide grin. "What better time than to head there now, hmm?"

Her cheeks puff out as she places her hands on his shoulders, about ready to push out of his hold. Then his power begins to rush forth at an alarming rate as she watches his eyes gain that unnatural glow of an eerie purple. The words he speak are low and rumbling, resonating throughout her form in the most pleasing of ways. Before she can shout at him to stop whatever the hell he's doing to her because she's sick of his devious ways, a persistent pulling begins to let itself be known. Then, all at once, her vision goes dark, and all she has to rely on is the demon holding her tightly in his grasp.

~.~.~

He lets out a breath the moment he feels the presence of demonic energy in abundance. It's almost a relief to be back among his own kind with the feel of his goddess held tightly in his grasp… His eyes snap open at the abnormal thought. 'His goddess? Yeah, his to toy with, of course.' He clears up with a few blinks as Elizabeth's visage begins to become distinct before his eyes.

Her eyes are squeezed shut as her hands, once upon his shoulders, now encircle his neck as she practically shoves herself closer to him in an anxious grasp. The added tightness in their hold allows her wonderfully plump bosom to press closer to his face. With a shameless grin, Meliodas lowers his tone to a deep rumble as he questions, "Offering yourself up to me now, goddess?"

Her eyes shoot open just as he grasps a tight hold of her ample rear. He holds in a groan as he allows her to feel just how excited he's becoming at the prospect. She bites her plump lip tantalizingly and the demon nearly loses it right there. But, in the next second, Elizabeth pushes out of his hold and glares at him with deep-seated indignation. "No. Whatever you're playing at, demon, I won't allow it," She hisses in a quiet fury that somehow manages to entice him further.

Just when he intends to close the gap between them again and perhaps convince her to change her mind, several shouts begin to draw his attention. He allows his focus to shift from the glowing goddess to their surroundings. The sight of the imposing demonic castle is dwarfed by a dozen demons converging upon their location. He doesn't let his eyes stay on them for too long as the state of the area begins to seep into his mind with a sharpness that that douses his mind of any thoughts of indulging in the goddess for now. It looks as if a small battle had just taken place by the state of smashed stones of the high castle walls and spilled blood darkening the already blackened tint of the castle.

When his cool gaze lands back on the nearing soldiers, he notes exasperatedly whom their target is, despite his clear presence beside her. Elizabeth conjures her brilliant sword with simmering eyes, further riling the demons. All it takes is a single pointed step forward from him to halt their advance and draw their enraged gazes in his direction.

They rightfully hesitate at noticing the dark intent buried under the hard features that mask his thoughts. "I want word spread around the castle that this goddess here is not to be touched… unless, of course, you wish to deal with me personally…"

A wave of unease passes through them. Just seeing their reactions causes a chilling smile to grace his features. One nods before speaking, "Y-yes of course, General."

Before they can scatter off like spineless cowards, Elizabeth whirls on him with an expression reddened in outrage as her lips curl in displeasure. "I can take care of myself, demon, if that's alright with you?" Her voice is cutting as she releases her weapon. She doesn't give him a chance to respond as she turns from him. The prideful goddess stomps forward through the throng of sneering demons into the ominous castle.

He simply looks after her with hands continuously tightening at his sides to the point where his bones begin to protest greatly. Only when a familiar voice and towering sensation make themselves known beside him, does he snap out of his incensed trance. "So is that the goddess you've been tasked to work with?"

He doesn't answer Estarossa as it's very clear who she is. Instead he strides forward as the soldiers begin to disperse. He'll need to debrief him on what went on here surely. Then he'll go and find that fiery goddess. She challenged him in front of members of his race… That certainly can't go unpunished…

He walks briskly through the familiar halls with servants nodding in respect to his passing. Estarossa speaks up beside him, letting him realize the taller is still following beside him. "You two seemed pretty companionable for being enemies."

This causes him to draw up short as his jaw tenses. That casual, even tone the younger uses is simply a disguise. He saw something. Something he shouldn't have. Meliodas doesn't look at him, but the depth of his voice speaks volumes in the way the hall begins to vacate of passing servants just by feeling alone. "What about that situation was "companionable", Estarossa?"

It's silent, eerie, for a moment before the grey haired demon voices as calmly as the breeze. "I wasn't speaking of before when she… defied you. I meant before she jumped out of your hold as if burnt…"

Of course he'd seen. His younger sibling held far too much interest in him. Always has. His silent observation today might just lead to quite the bit of trouble however. Meliodas slowly turns to face Estarossa and gazes up at him as if there's no height difference at all. The silent warning in the blond's eyes is enough urges Estarossa to drop the subject, or else. "What I do to her is none of your concern."

Estarossa merely nods then looks away as if bored. But it's more than clear to Meliodas that the younger was simply beginning to feel unnerved under his glare. "Understood. I simply never thought you would be interested in that kind of behavior…"

Pushing. The younger simply keeps pushing. Meliodas turns away and continues to walk forward with Estarossa trailing at his heels. "And what behavior is that?" He bites out.

"Purposely seeking out goddesses in order to demean them, of course. I thought that was below you."

Meliodas whirls on him so fast, his longcoat flares out in a sharp wave. "What will be below me is your body in a six foot grave if you don't stop questioning this matter," He hisses with such venom Estarossa stills momentarily before regaining his composure. "What I do to her is none of your concern. Understand?"

"Yes."

His expression is a storm of fury as he turns swiftly from his brother and continues on his trek with no destination in mind. Estarossa still follows him respectfully and for the moment he's glad because he still need to find out what happened at the front entrance. "Who attacked?" he demands tersely.

"The creatures we've been trying to find the source of," Estarossa tells him concisely.

"Any casualties?" Meliodas wonders briefly as he dimly wonders where Zeldris is. He's usually very active in battles and quite helpful in planning counter attacks. Perhaps he should locate Zeldris and find out for himself. He is pretty close to Zeldris' chambers.

"No. only injuries."

Meliodas scoffs. "Good. If you all couldn't handle those things then you're nothing but a pathetic waste of warriors." Just then they round a sharp turn and Meliodas raises a brow at the peculiar sight of servants bustling in and out of the youngest' room. Destroyed furniture is taken out and new furniture is swiftly brought in. "What the hell happened here?"

Estarossa casually leans against the wall nearest to Zeldris' chambers. "Gelda is the only reason he seems to get pissed nowadays."

Meliodas' mouth forms a hard line. That vampire. His youngest brother is clearly smitten with her. It's highly unusual for demons to feel so strongly for anything. Zeldris had spotted her in Edinburgh only one time and that was all it took. The younger visited her to a near obsessive degree before he simply snatched her away for his own. When she chose to come willingly she was accepting her fate to be with him. Zeldris thought he was hiding his activities very well in stealing off to see her, but Meliodas had his suspicions. When Zeldris arrived at the castle with her clasped possessively in his hold, Meliodas' inklings were confirmed. Zeldris had found a mate. Of course, he'd never admit it. Hell, he probably doesn't even realize it himself.

Meliodas stares into the renovations the ravenette made to his room. It's that demonic pride of his that leads to situations like this to happen. It can't be helped, however. Demons aren't meant to be caring and loving as the other races tend to be. What truly bothers Meliodas is what he might possibly have to do that mate of Zeldris'. It'd probably be best to talk to Zeldris first before he goes off and kills his lover. It's a simple plan really and surely Zeldris will come to understand once he comes to know what the vampires have done.

"I'm off to find Zeldris," Is all he states before continuing down the hall.

"What about that goddess of yours?" Estarossa points out blithely.

Meliodas nearly halts at the phrasing. 'Goddess of mine? What his he implying…?' "I'll find her after. We came here with a specific plan in mind and most likely she's off in seek of it." 'No one better have laid a hand on her either. They should know I always follow through with my word…'

Estarossa doesn't comment further as Meliodas strides out of sight.

~.~.~

The force in which she strides down the enormous halls has her hair jostling around her face, forcing her to brush it away with a huff every so often. Meliodas thinks she can't handle herself around these demons. She turns her blue eyes to the few soldiers lingering around, glaring at her bitterly. Her eyes flash sharply as she imagines burning them into steaming crisps. The satisfaction that courses through her as they grudgingly look away from her causes a smirk to curl across her lips. She would have been fine without his threat to his people. Just the thought of him stepping up and pretending to "protect" her is enough to cause a bitter filling to churn her stomach. It's just some scheme of his surely. And whatever it is, she won't let him reach his end goal.

Elizabeth slows her pace once she begins to realize exactly how many doors there are in this castle. She stops completely in the hall and does a small revolution. Nothing looks particularly distinct, which doesn't help much. It's all just a drab grey, with occasional flashes of crimson lining the walls or flooring here and there. Nothing to point out a library, a washroom, or someone's personal chambers. Her hands go to her hips. "Well, great. This is going to turn into a long morning, isn't it?"

Resigning herself to her task, the goddess heads over to the first wooden door on her right. She knocks first to see if anyone will answer and tenses herself in preparation of anyone does. After a long moment, the area remains silent. Taking the handle in hand, she pushes into the room. Her eyes adjust slowly to the darkness of the area. Soon she realizes the objects masked in shadow belong to that of a storage room. But there's another figure that sits in the center of the decently spaced out room. Her quivering form immediately catches Elizabeth's attention causing the goddess to rush forward as the door swings shut behind her.

Her hands rest on the blond's shoulders lightly. "Are you alright? What are you doing in here?" She makes her voice low and calm.

The distressed woman turns to her with frightened blue eyes that make Elizabeth pull away from her thinking she's doing more bad than good. "I'm f-fine. It's just…" She trails off and Elizabeth sees her curl slightly into herself as her face wavers briefly in a show of turmoil. Before Elizabeth can comment, the blond asks instead, "What are you doing here? A goddess?"

Elizabeth blinks a few times as she studies the woman a bit more closely. From the slight accent in her tone to the elegant strands of her hair. This woman seems of high importance and not only that, but she's a vampire. That energy is unmistakable. What is one doing here? Was Meliodas right? Is she here to steal more from the demons? No reason to immediately jump to conclusions. She does look a bit on edge. "I'm with the General. We're searching for something. But that's not important right now. Are you hurt? I can help," Elizabeth offers.

The vampire shrugs her off as her eyes widen. "Meliodas is back?"

Now Elizabeth is even more confused. "You know him?"

"Not really… His brother, Zeldris is… Well, I am his." She says it in such a way it's impossible to miss the sadness and longing that weighs in her tone.

Elizabeth takes a chance to slowly place her hand on the vampire's shoulder. "His…? You don't seem happy about it," She notes kindly.

Startled blue eyes turn in her direction as the vampire begins to shake her head rapidly despite the gathering of tears in her eyes. "No! That's not what I mean at all! I'm very happy with him! It's just… I wish he wanted me, he wanted a future with me the way I want with him. And now that I-" She cuts herself off as a choked cry comes to her throat. "He'll never forgive me! Never!"

Elizabeth is shocked by her rapid dissolve into tears, but she immediately pulls the weeping woman into a hug. Even if she doesn't know her, she shouldn't be so upset over this. "It's alright… I'm sure he cares for you. Whatever it is you think he won't forgive you for, I'm sure he'll surprise you in the end," Elizabeth tries to reassure her.

The vampire sniffs and then Elizabeth hears her say something confusing. "You're not like the other goddess I know."

"What?" Elizabeth inquires lightly as she pulls back from the blond.

Elizabeth doesn't receive an answer though as something seems to cause the vampire to pale even more than her natural complexion. She moves to stand quickly entirely tense as she rushes for the door. "I-I'm sorry, but I must be going."

Elizabeth stands as well as she tries to reach for her. "W-wait, what's your name at least?"

"Gelda," The name is rushed out as the vampire disappears through the door.

When Elizabeth exits to see where she's headed, Gelda is nowhere in sight. After searching for the mysterious vampire a little longer, Elizabeth is forced to give into the fact that she's gone.

She hunches her shoulders and continues on. The next room she finds is insignificant as it's a miniscule washroom. The next door opens, then swiftly slams in her face. And the next refuses to budge. She growls in frustration as she continues on her tedious task, coming up empty again, and again, and again. By the time she's about ready to pull out her hair in pure vexation of her task, she bursts through a door, uncaring if she walks in on someone unannounced. She's about done caring after spending what could be hours walking these long, boring halls.

The room she enters is, unsurprisingly empty. 'Why have so many damn rooms if they're almost never occupied!?' She screams internally. She nearly walks back out in a silent tantrum. But then something captures her attention. A scent. A familiar scent of that of pungent woods. "Meliodas…" She whispers it aloud. Promptly her hand covers her mouth. Her eyes flicker around, expecting him to come out of nowhere and smirk smugly at her slip up. His name isn't to be spoken. He doesn't deserve such recognition from her.

When she's sure he isn't around, she stealthy snoops further into his room. It must be his. Otherwise, it wouldn't smell so strongly of him, she decides. Just to be sure… She looks briefly around the rather spacious, but barren room in search of the wardrobe. She spies it, in the corner to the left of his bed. Striding to it on light feet, she eases it open. Inside is quite a few of the regal looking coats she's seen him wear only in different colors. "Probably based on his mood," She grumbles under her breath. He must have been in a rather murderous mood on the day they met then.

She decides to close it back up when curiosity gets the best of her. Gently pawing through the clothing, she searches for different clothing choices he wears and can't help but imagine him in the various items her fingers skim across. It's when she reaches the end of his clothes that she notices something forced deeply into the wooden wardrobe as if it was hidden and long forgotten.

She pulls it out gently and gazes at it with confusion. It's simple, but the most beautiful and elegant dress she's laid eyes on. The shoulders are frilly and the waist is tapered. The dress drops down to the floor in length, possibly pooling around one's ankles. She takes in the soft bluish hue that seems to shimmer gently across the soft satiny material with as tender smile. She absolutely loves the color choice and design overall. It looks of a much older style than she's seen nowadays, so he's most likely had it for quite some time. It doesn't even look worn. "I wonder who this was for…? Perhaps a relative of sorts?"

She decides to push the dress back in place and investigate further into the room. Her eyes land on the rather immaculate bed that stands in the center of the room. She instinctively avoided it at first due to its… implications, but now she draws closer to it. Her hand reaches out and brushes across the soft, plush crimson sheets that line it in thick layers, then graze up to the plump pillows. What would it be like to lay in this four poster bed? What would it be like to lay in it with Meliodas…?

Her stomach begins to tingle pleasantly at the thought and she snatches her hand away. Turning her back away from the burning image that presents itself in the forefront of her mind, Elizabeth notices a desk right across from the bed and wanders to it. Her blue eyes trail up the stone wall the desk is backed up against and notices the line of pristine swords mounted upon it. They look highly valuable, like relics. Elizabeth wonders if perhaps he's a collector.

Turning her gaze down, she skims her hand over the dark wood desk and doesn't see anything of interest upon it. She opens up the drawers and sees various parchments, ink bottles, and feather pins, but nothing much else. She sighs as she stands up straight. This room doesn't give her much on his personality. It's just as closed off as he.

Suddenly, she hears a sound and her heart jumps in alarm. She looks around anxiously, expecting to see Meliodas standing there with a murderous glare upon his face. But nothing is there, she realizes after looking around repeatedly. Once her heart stops racing, she decides to leave. She doesn't wish to push her luck in being in his chambers when she shouldn't be. Who knows what he would do to her if he found her there alone?

She closes the door behind her. Elizabeth feels she knows exactly what he'd do to her and that makes her flee from the area all the more faster. She places enough distance between her and that room before she lets herself work out her situation. "Okay… In the goddess realm, the texts of our clan are on a lower level. So perhaps it's the same here… But where are the damn stairs in this place?"

Admittedly she wanders around like a lost child in a big maze for a bit longer. Then, finally, she finds them nestled in a shadowed corner. The warm golden rays of the sun shine in through the windows high above the hallway walls. It's the last of the light she sees just before she takes her decent. Her glow provides her with a bit of illumination, but otherwise the area is murky.

"Perhaps this place is meant to confuse those who aren't used to darkness…" She reasons as she eases forward in search of an entrance of sorts. It comes to her unexpectedly as her face mashes rather harshly into a set of wooden doors. Cursing under her breath, she steps back and rubs a hand across her face.

She brings her hands forward like a lantern in order to look for the handle. In finding it, she pulls the door open into yet another room full of darkness. Only this one is completely pitch-black. "Well, great. They do a good job in making this difficult." She wishes she'd brought a torch of some kind instead of just her own radiance which only spreads out so far. The darkness seems to consume any light that enters the room. Upon realizing this, she understands that this is the protection put upon the area. Unless darkness is your element, you won't be able to see.

"Damn it!" Now she wishes Meliodas was with her, simply to go over the spells here to reassure her that no one stole anything from here. "How am I supposed to do this now?"

"Perhaps you should consider leaving this place as an option," A sudden voice responds startling her completely. She hadn't felt them at all! She's tries to asses them now that their energy is revealed to her. She'd have to say they're quite powerful, but she believes she can take them. And their voice… Well she can only think of one person she could compare it to surprisingly enough. Their voice is slightly higher than Meliodas', but courser.

She squares her shoulders and stares unflinchingly into the darkness. "Who are you?"

It's a few moments before she feels their presence right in front of her. "No, the question is: Why would Meliodas allow you to wander around unwatched…?"

Whoever they are is possibly of the same height as him as well. Odd... "I don't need to be watched like some disgruntled teenager. I'm looking for answers. He knows this," she tells the demon crossly.

"And what answers are those?"

"How those creatures are created." She tells him defiantly.

Before she can even take her next breath, rough hands grasp ahold of her shirt. He shoves her backwards, bending her painfully onto a table as he bears over her. "You think we did this!?"

Her hands dig into the table behind her as she snarls at the demon who clearly has a temper. "No. Clearly you act just like him. Jumping to conclusions without even giving things a second thought."

"And what does that mean? My brother's judgments are always diligent and get things taken care of efficiently." The demon presses her further back and she wonders if he intends to break her in two with how relentless he is.

The moment he says his relation to Meliodas though, she realizes exactly why he's so volatile. It must run in the family. "I suggest you take your hands off of me. You wouldn't want to upset your brother, would you?" She bite out scathingly. The moment those words escape her lips however she wishes she'd have never said them. She can easily get herself out of this situation without the threat Meliodas made.

He holds his position for a while longer, then shoves off of her. She straightens herself out and subtly rubs the soreness that resides across her lower spine from being pressed so harshly against the wooden edge of the table behind her. She looks in his direction, or where she thinks he is, before she huffs in exasperation. "Can you do something about the darkness? I won't be able to get any work done like this."

She hears a low growling and the muttered words of, "I don't see why he's kept you alive for so long," before his tongue changes. A power washes over the room in waves, chilling her to the bone. She raises her arms in order to rub her hands over them for warmth. When she thinks the temperature can't possibly get any lower, everything lets up. And to her relief, she can see. Whatever spell he'd cast, must have been of an extremely high caliber. She shouldn't be surprised though. He is Meliodas' brother.

When she finally sees him, she nearly recoils in shock. He's so similar in appearance to Meliodas, only more youthful. Meliodas has that youthful appearance to him too, but it's so hidden under the bitter anger he wears all the time, it's easily overlooked. This demon here looks as if he's attempting to follow in his brother's footsteps by the scowl harshly embedded in his face. The raven hair that curves messily from his head is eye catching as well as the intricate spiral that brands the left side of his forehead.

After silently inspecting him for a while, she turns her eyes to the rows upon rows of never ending books. "Oh goddesses," She moans in dismay to herself. She'll never complete this task.

"So what's your name? And what have you found with Meliodas so far? I haven't run into him yet, otherwise I'd be asking him, rather than… you." His hostile tone drags her from her daunting task.

She eyes him coolly before answering stoically. "Elizabeth. We've encountered a few things so far on our travels," She starts off as she grabs a random book and opens it. Gibberish. That might as well be what she's looking at as the words bleed together in some form she can't understand. She silently curses under her breath once more and hears the demon snickering behind her. He's just as irritating as Meliodas too… "Most notably are the creatures, strange torturings that involved someone sending a specific attack against us, and the vampires."

He's standing before her in her next blink with a severe expression as he snatches the book from her hand and tosses it carelessly away. The way he stares at her as if she holds all the answers to his world, is unnerving. "What about the vampires? What did you find out?"

Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. It must be something important if he's demanding the information from her so… desperately? And then it clicks. Vampire. Gelda. This must be Zeldris. "Meliodas thinks they're behind this, but I'm trying to prove that they're not."

Emotions flash behind his eyes so rapidly she feels dizzy for even trying to figure them out. His tone come out lower, dangerous as his eyes hold hers unyieldingly. "What happened?"

Her lips form a thin line at his rashness. "Your brother's ego lead him to believe that the vampires would be the only ones capable of pulling off such attacks on our clans. He thinks attacking the goddesses is just a cover to come after the demons," She scoffs. "And he thinks them coming after us was them making their first direct move."

His eyes narrow into slits as the information sinks in. "My brother's pretty smart when it comes to reading people. What move did they make in the open?"

Now she loses her nerve some as she turns her gaze away from the coldness of his gaze that's so much like Meliodas'. "They led him away and used the chance to take me."

A huff of laughter turns her eyes back in his direction. The mocking is heavy in his gaze. "So you let yourself get kidnapped?"

'Just like his damn brother!' "Look I could have handled myself just fine if he hadn't climbed onto me in my sleep!" She shouts infuriated at their likeness and being considered incompetent over something that wasn't entirely her fault.

The moment those words come out of her mouth though, sends the atmosphere into a slightly awkward one as he gazes at her with an unreadable emotion. His eyes flicker across her so fast she thinks it's her imagination before a mask of indifference settles upon his visage. "So what makes you think they're not behind this? It seems pretty clear to me," He finally voices in something close to resentment and… inner turmoil?

She brushes away her embarrassment then regards him with a puzzled expression. "When they had me captive, they only spoke of wanting to use me as leverage against Meliodas to gain land of their own. They wanted to prove their worth and strength over Edinburgh. They wanted to overthrow the King and take his daughter as their Queen."

Once again he has her in a tight hold as a madden fury burns brightly within his eyes, throwing her completely. "They wanted to do what with Gelda?"

'I told her he cared. There's no way he'd react this way if he didn't.' As he breathes harshly, she notices those flashing emotions within his eyes again, confirming her suspicions.

"Are they dead? I'll go kill them myself if they're not," His vicious hiss brings her into focus.

Her blue eyes harden as she swipes his hands off of her shirt. They stare at each other in a fierce contest as she answers. "Yes. Your brother murdered them all. I actually ran into Gelda earlier in my search for this place."

Something flares within his eyes bright, hot and urgent as he stares her down. "Where is she!?"

It doesn't seem like he'll release her until she answers so she tries to tell him what he wants to hear. "She seemed really upset. I couldn't get her to stay however. She's gone." She waits a moment for him to absorb her words before speaking up once more. "Now don't touch me again or I'll be forced to show you what I can do when provoked," She threatens with a serious edge to her tone.

He stares for a long moment as his mind seems to run through her words in a continuous cycle. But his muscles slowly begin to ease. And then a familiar insulting smirk rises to his lips, incensing her further. "Oh, really? I'd love to see that actually."

She laughs darkly. "Perhaps we can spar sometime and you'll truly see that I am not to be underestimated."

He raises an eyebrow slightly as his smirk lightens some. "I think I can see why you're still alive now…"

This confuses her as she watches him stroll towards the thick stone staircase leading upward. "The name's Zeldris, by the way. You can try and read through this stuff if you want, but unless you understand demonic tongue, you won't get very far. I'll probably get Estarossa to do it. The bastard owes me a favor…" And with that Zeldris disappears from the area altogether.

Elizabeth stands there staring for a moment longer at the oddness of Meliodas' brother. 'He honestly isn't too bad, I'll admit'. And then she blanches as she realizes what she just thought. Raising a hand to her head she slowly shakes it. "I've been around demons too long. I'm starting to get used to them…"

Even with his warning, Elizabeth feels determined to try and leaf through these books to find answers on her own. If she doesn't find anything by the time this "Estarossa" person shows up, then she'll leave with her head held high, having completely failed.