I do not own Seven Deadly Sins or any of their characters.
Fighting Festival
Oswald skidded to a stop. He was too late. Escanor, a scrawny, unassuming man who had self-esteem issues that made him seem confident and proud, had broken his glasses. Gloxinia had impaled him for it. Oswald saw it coming and was too slow to react.
"I...I don't...want to die," Escanor said, staring up at the sky. "I still...haven't...told Merlin..."
"Escanor!" Merlin gasped, dropping to her knees beside him, staring at the wound.
It took up most of his abdomen. She couldn't do anything.
"The sooner we get this Fighting Festival started, the sooner we can start granting people's wishes," Gloxinia said. "Like this. Spirit Spear Basquias, Seventh Configuration, Moon Rose." His tentacle opened into a massive purple flower, a droplet of nectar growing at the end of a feeler-like thing in the center. "Droplet of Life."
The droplet fell, landing on Escanor's head and his body shone instantly. The wound began to steam and shrink, and a matter of seconds later, he was healed. Oswald stared in shock. Escanor sat up, feeling his abdomen before looking to Merlin, who smiled and stood, helping him up.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Merlin smiled.
"I don't believe it," Oswald said. "That's...incredible."
"Now that I've given you a taste of our wish-granting power," Gloxinia said, "Would you mind sorting them Drole?"
"Sure," Drole said. "You said teams of two, right?"
A moment later, the ground below them exploded upward, crashing together as they rose toward the fingertips of the two massive stone hands he had formed before, just after Gloxinia had killed everyone still in the maze. Oswald shook his head and turned to see who his chosen partner was, expecting to see Jericho. Instead, he stared at Merlin, who looked pleasantly surprised as well.
"Well well, my lucky day," Merlin smiled. "I was afraid I'd be fighting alone."
"I could say the same," Oswald said. "Or I'd be protecting Jericho the entire time."
"Yes, about her," Merlin said.
"No, about you," Oswald said. "You seemed pretty worried about Escanor earlier."
Merlin smiled, shrugging. "He's a comrade."
"Really?" Oswald asked. "Is that all?"
Again Merlin merely smiled.
"And Arthur?" Oswald asked. "He's in love with you too, right?"
Merlin shrugged again. Oswald sighed, shaking his head before looking around. They were nearing a fingertip. He stepped off onto the fingertip just as Elizabeth and Elaine began their fight against a pair of assassins from somewhere Oswald hadn't heard of. The fight was brief. The assassins tried to use smoke to cover their attack, but Elaine blasted them, fatally wounding one, only for Elizabeth to heal him. Then, Gloxinia and Drole killed the assassins for losing. The next fight was Meliodas and Ban against a pair of Blue Demons. Except, Ban and Meliodas began to argue about whether Elaine or Elizabeth was better looking, or a better girlfriend, and about whether a petite form like Elaine's felt better than a more filled out one like Elizabeth's. And then they started to fight. As they fought, the larger of the two Blue Demons shot past, taking Ban's hand, only for him to ignore it, regrowing his hand and continuing to argue. The smaller one took a pass at Meliodas, but when his hand hit Meliodas's head, it remained there, the demon continuing. Meliodas flicked the hand off and the demon swung around for another pass, only for Ban to punch Meliodas through the demon's head. Then, Meliodas kicked Ban backward into the other Blue Demon, killing it.
"They're fucking monsters," Oswald said. "I wonder who's next."
Just then, King and Diane's floating chunk of ground reached Oswald and Merlin's fingertip and the two dropped off onto the fingertip, both teams staring at their opponents.
"Well King, looks like you get to try to kill me after all," Oswald said.
"Y...You're...our opponents?" King asked.
"I don't want to fight my friends," Diane said.
"Merlin," Oswald said. "Go ahead and make Diane full-size. She'll need her strength, whether for us, or for them."
Merlin nodded, extending a hand. "Absolute Cancel. Port."
Diane began to expand, her outfit ripping off, only to be instantly replaced by her giant outfit and Gideon.
"We don't have a choice Diane," Oswald said. "I'm sorry. But neither of you is strong enough to handle them. Merlin and I will be the ones to progress beyond here."
Diane and King both bristled, readying themselves.
"If that really is Drole and Gloxinia, it's our responsibility to deal with them," Diane said. "So we're not losing to you."
"Besides," King said, smirking. "I've had all this time to figure you out. I know exactly how to counter your strikes."
Oswald smirked and crouched, then exploded forward, kicking up dirt as he did. King swung his hand forward and Chastiefol shot out to meet him, only for him to deflect it. king smirked, swinging his hand back the other way, only for Oswald to spun, flipping over the now spinning spear and slip his sword into the ring at the base of the blade, then spin, hurling it at King. King held up his hand and the spear halted, the side of the shaft resting against his cheek. He narrowed his eyes and snapped his fingers, the spear breaking down into a swarm of smaller blades, which swarmed toward Oswald. However, before it could reach him, Oswald swung a hand, two fingers extended. A glowing white ring formed around king and shrunk inward, the blades all falling to the ground, along with King. Oswald smirked as he sped toward King.
"Sorry King, but Elizabeth can heal you after!"
He pulled his sword back, only for Gideon to swing down and crash into him, sending him flying. He spun and flipped as he sped away from the battle, only to flip and stop himself with his wings. Then, he flipped to the side as Chastiefol shot past. he flipped, blocking it and it instantly swung around, crashing into his gut and launching him back into the fingertip. He crashed down beside Merlin, his wings both breaking, and rolled to a stop, Diane resting a foot on him, pinning him down.
"Stay put," Diane said. "I'm not letting you hurt King. I don't want to crush you, but I'll do it a thousand times before I let King be hurt."
Oswald sighed, nodding. "Alright. Merlin. Do it."
Then, he was standing beside Merlin again. When Diane stepped forward to try and attack, a Perfect Cube appeared around them. Oswald sighed, looking to the center where Taizoo, a heavily muscled man, was being held hostage by Drole and Gloxinia.
"The winners are Merlin and Oswald," Taizoo announced.
"Dammit, this was never a fair matchup," King complained.
"No it wasn't," Oswald agreed. "But now that you're in there, you and Diane have plenty of time to finally be honest with each other."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" King stammered.
"Then you have plenty of time to figure it out," Oswald said, turning and looking around, finding the next match easily.
It was Jericho and Gowther against Hawk and Escanor, who Oswald was still trying to figure out how he was a Deadly Sin, let alone one strong enough to kill Galland and Melascula single-handedly. However, the fight wasn't going as was expected of a fight. Actually, there was no fight at all. Escanor was begging Gloxinia to allow him to forfeit.
"They're my precious friends and I absolutely refuse to fight them!" Escanor shouted.
"That's what makes this so much fun!" Gloxinia smiled. "To get a wish granted, humans will do absolutely anything, no matter how cruel or vile it may be. That's just the kind of race you all are, isn't it?"
"Ca...Ca-Ca...Captain!" Escanor shouted, turning to Meliodas, who looked completely emotionless, watching the scene in silence.
"Listen!" Jericho was yelling at Gowther, who had stated that he'd kill whoever he had to in order to wish for a heart, with which he would grieve for their deaths. "If we start fighting amongst ourselves, comrades on comrades, we're playing right into their hands!"
"Comrades?" Gowther asked. "What makes us comrades? Is it because we've fought together? Because we're on a journey together? Because we dine together? People constantly use that word when it's convenient for them, but in reality it's a very vague and ambiguous word."
"I don't really know myself," Jericho said. "But...having feelings for someone, and when that person is hurting, wanting to do whatever you can to help them, one heart connected to another...isn't that what it means to be comrades?"
Guilt ripped through Oswald in an agonizing wave, one which physically hurt, making him raise a hand to his chest, gritting his teeth.
"How wonderful," Gowther said. "That just makes me want a heart all the more."
"You son of a bitch!" Jericho shouted, lunging for him as Gowther began to raise a hand.
However, as she brought her hands down at the back of his neck in an attempt to knock him out, his foot swung around, crashing into the side of her head and hurling her to the side, unconscious. Oswald's fists clenched so hard he felt the skin on his palms tear, but he stood motionless otherwise. Gowther would pay for hurting his friends. However, before that, Gowther had to finish his fight. He dealt with Hawk easily, driving his head into the ground. Then, he used Nightmare Teller on Escanor, out of respect for his title as Lion Sin of Pride. However, just as Gowther stepped away, Escanor's power began to skyrocket. The massive stone hands they were on began to tremble as Escanor's body began to swell, his muscles bulging rapidly, his shirt ripping off of him in seconds.
Oswald stared at him in complete shock. It couldn't be. It was physically impossible. Or magically. Or literally. Or whatever. That power was gone. It had vanished thousands of years ago. And it couldn't be held by a human anyway. It would burn them to ash. it was impossible. And yet, it's what Oswald was watching.
The moment he was done transforming, Escanor's hand snapped out, stealing Gowther's glasses. In response, Gowther began to rapidly blind-fire bolts of pink magic, Hawk and Jericho both waking and beginning to dodge as Escanor leapt into the air, holding out his hand.
"Heed my will!" Escanor thundered. "Come to me, Divine Axe Rhitta!"
After a moment, a golden axe with the blade being attached to the handle by a carving of a Goddess spun through the air, Escanor catching it by the handle.
"Sunshine," Oswald said. "Your boyfriend's got Sunshine!?"
Merlin looked over at him, one eyebrow raised. "You know this power?"
"It's...not possible," Oswald breathed.
"Sacred Treasure Release," Escanor said.
It was like a switch was flipped. Oswald blinked and suddenly had to shield his eyes from the light shining from the axe like a sun. There was so much power flowing from the axe that he thought he might combust on the spot.
"Old man, what are you planning to do!?" Jericho's voice shouted.
"He'll...blow them all away," Oswald said. "He'll kill her."
"So?" Merlin asked. "If you don't love her, then what difference should it make?"
"She's still my friend!" Oswald snapped.
"So is Hawke," Merlin said. "Why is your reaction so much stronger for Jericho?"
Oswald turned back to the fight as Escanor spoke.
"For the sin of toying with the hearts of others, atone for your deeds with your body!" Gowther slammed his hands together and fired a single bolt that curved up at Escanor as Escanor swung the axe, all of the light focusing into a single blast, flashing downward.
Then, the arrow hit Escanor and he fell, collapsing to the ground in a deep sleep. However, the blow had been struck. Oswald had forced himself to watch, as had Merlin and Meliodas. So, a moment later, when the light faded, they watched as dust curled into the sky from the boulder between the hands, the boulder Gloxinia and Drole had been standing on. Oswald swung his hand, his magic power pulsing outward and clearing the dust, revealing the two Commandments lying on the ground in a bloody heap.
"This festival is over," Oswald said as the Perfect Cube behind him faded.
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