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.
~29~
-Song Of Death-
Even if she was silent, she soon came to know that her lessons would continue on regardless. Being silent only made them go by easier. She'd long since stopped trying to figure out how much time had gone by. All she knew was the darkness and the torment her calm captor bestowed upon her. Exhaustion and delirium is one of the main treatments he gave her. It's been… so long since water or food has touched her lips. His words were bland, unfeeling, as he'd uttered without pause, "You expressed quite strongly your disliking to our food. The main goal of feeding our prisoners is to make sure they can withstand their punishments, but since our food is not to your tastes, you will not be getting anymore for some time."
She'd tried to express exactly why she couldn't eat the food at her fear of being starved.
He'd pinned several daggers laced in demonic flames into her limbs until she simply blacked out for her insolence.
The lack of food and water seem to work best on her though as she can't heal nearly as well with the lack of energy. She's dizzy all the time and her stomach is surely going to make a point of eating through her body in its efforts to find nutrition. Elizabeth finds herself mumbling things, against her will in her state of disorientation, but during these times her captor doesn't punish her. He attempts to squeeze information out of her.
"What do you have planned against the demons?" the words seem far away in her mind prompting her to speak, but she feels as if she shouldn't. 'Why would he want to know,' the thoughts comes sluggishly and she tries to gaze around, but it dawns on her that she can't because of the thing around her eyes. 'I'm captured. That's right… Torture... I'm being tortured… Meliodas, why aren't you here? Where are you?' Something harshly tugs around her neck and she chokes roughly. She tries to inhale desperately for a moment and then air rushes into her lungs when the restriction around her neck is loosened. She immediately remembers the question and utters whatever comes to mind first, "W-we plan to take them d-down."
"What is your involvement with Meliodas?" Her mind is wavering in its focus and the darkness she's been plunged into doesn't help at all. 'Meliodas… My beloved Meliodas… Where are you? I-I need you so much right now,' the thought causes her heart to squeeze and tiny words escape her lips as his green eyes framed by unruly blond hair come to mind, "He is m-my demon." As she breathes harshly the silence in the room becomes almost deafening, but she allows her thoughts to swim in sloppy circles around her precious love, believing wholeheartedly that one day soon he'll swoop in and take her away from all of this. It isn't long until she feels the demon near her as his voice penetrates her woozy mind with words she still doesn't quite understand. "Your scent is impure… Would the prince sink so low…?"
Now a piece of fruit close to spoiling is being pressed to her lips. She tries to sit as comfortably as she can upon the floor that nips her skin in a bitter chill while opening her mouth eagerly to the food. He'd said she was being rewarded for following directions so well in the past few days. Food and water. She nearly cries. Instead she tries to eat as slowly, yet as quickly as her stomach will allow while taking occasional sips of water from the glass he holds for her.
She wants to thank him, but she's not allowed to speak.
"You enjoy fruit quite a bit? You may speak." The demon informs her after offering her more water.
"Y-yes. It's all that I can eat." She feels relieved to finally be able to explain this after being treated so harshly for something she can't control.
"Hmm…" His response is obscure, but she doesn't question it. She's much too happy to finally be able to fill her belly. Elizabeth opens her mouth for another piece when her mind falters and her body dips forward without a thought. The short chains that keep her wrists at her back stop her from crashing to the floor, but she can't move. Her mind is foggier than before and her limbs are heavier than lead. She moans weakly and tries to look around. The blindfold only helps to confuse her more.
"Good. The drugs have taken effect. We will go through our last lesson as you are scheduled to see the demon lord shortly after." The demon informs her business like as she hears him stand. "Do not fret. The drugs will wear off soon. I just wanted to take the precautions necessary, for your first meeting with his majesty."
She feels panic's rising, but it can't penetrate the cloaking fog that surrounds her thoughts. So she barely reacts. Inside however she screams violently begging her not to take her there. She tries to run and hide, to shield herself in the darkness she's been bound to, but she knows with a gut wrenching terror that that won't save her. The monster that's lead the demon clan will easily pluck her up and crush her into forgotten dust. She struggles against the fog that subdues her, desperately pounding with weakened fist to free herself, but she remains still and sluggish. Entirely vulnerable to whatever they wish to inflict upon her.
Her chains rattle before she's released. The demon drags her bare form to the center of the room and towards the chains that hang from the ceiling. Elizabeth's head sags against her chest as the cold rough metal closes over her wrists worn raw. She doesn't flinch from the tight fit nor when the clanking sound of a crank being turned echoes around the room. Her body rises from the floor until she's held midair from her wrists. She feels her toes just barely scrape the floor.
This punishment is one she hates the most, she dully recalls. Something lifts from his tools of punishment and drags across the floor. She's never ready for it.
"What is the first thing you do in his majesty's presence?"
Her lips tremble. "B-bow low to the ground."
Her body convulses with the force of his strike. The pain is to remind her of what is to come if she fails to do what she lists.
"Good. When his majesty speaks, do you look him in the eye?"
She sniffs and her tone weakens. "N-no."
Two slashes through the air and she sings a song of agony's torment. Her sense of hearing has gotten so well, she can practically hear her blood splashing against the floor. "Good. How are you to address his majesty?"
She sobs. "M-master."
Three whips against her skin and she can feel the air burn against her flesh.
"Right. Do not question his majesty and follow every word he gives you. Expect quick punishment for hesitance, do you understand? Speak!"
"I u-understand!" she agrees loudly through tears. Her mind is dizzy and the pain feels thrice as worse as it usually does. She'll do anything they say, just as long as they don't hurt her anymore.
The silence stretches, pressing on her mind more forcefully than the drugs in her system. Eventually she hears the familiar clanging of the whip being returned to its place and she sags more entirely into the chains that hold her. "I believe you are ready. Let me clean you up then place the underling's uniform upon you."
His feet quickly cross the room and then she hears something squeaking. The sound of water gushes and she assumes he's filling a container of some sort. The water stops and he marches towards her. The cold splash of water and the flaring of her wounds gives her enough strength to rear her head back in a scream.
"One more should do and then I'll dress you and take you to the guards escorting the others being transported to his majesty."
~.~.~
When her vision is returned to her she nearly screeches from the pain of the light. The demon doesn't give her time to adjust as he drags her down halls upon halls towards a room clustered with a plethora of humans, both men and woman. He shoves her into the rough hands of a male guard. She trips over her feet and causes the man to jostle some. A pained whimper escapes her as he squeezes her arms brutally then harshly situates her beside him as a reprimand. Elizabeth doesn't apologize as she's much too afraid to speak.
"Remember your lessons," She hears the demon's last words then his footsteps begin to fade away. Elizabeth's breathing increases. 'Meliodas… why haven't you come? Why am I still here?' the thought is weighty in her mind. She can't understand why he hasn't showed up. She knows how much he loves her, how devoted he is to her, and the things he's told her and shown her are more than enough proof that he'd do just about anything to keep her safe and happy, so why…? Her eyes catch the scraggly brown cloth that covers her, but it doesn't nearly hold her attention when the world begins to spin and churn with a dark magic.
The goddess nearly flops to the floor as her eyes swim in dizziness, if not for the hold the guard has on her. She takes in calming breathes and eventually when her vision stops spinning she notices red carpentering beneath her first. Her lip is taken into a brutal grip between her teeth as she realizes she's no longer in Britannia any longer. 'He didn't come. Why didn't he come? I don't understand, Meliodas… Why did you leave me to this fate?
Fear cloaks everyone heavily at the change in scenery, but no one speaks. Their lessons have been burned too deep. Hurried footsteps reach them and a nervous voice greets them. "W-welcome! His majesty wishes to meet you all personally. That is how he decides which role you will play. Follow me, this way," He seems rushed to her ears. The guard begins to usher her away from the people, but in the same direction, apply special attention to her. She doesn't care though. Her mind is drowning in the fading grains of hope. She never thought it would become this way. She never once thought Meliodas wouldn't come for her.
Her dull blue eyes glue to the floor as they're led down a gaping hallway. The people in front of her stop and so does her guard tugging her along like a lifeless ragdoll. It's a moment before the squelching sound of an enormous door opens. The power that radiates from the room has her on her knees in an instant despite the male's hold on her arm. Even in her daze, the fear that gnaws at her limbs is painful. It's so much like Meliodas' when he loses control, but much more unbridled and more unrestrained. This demon lord's power is simply much more. The power she senses seems to have no issues weaving through the room and tasting everyone briefly before moving on to the next. She hears the others sharp intakes of breaths as well as the sound of them falling to the ground the moment they encounter the strength of his will.
When the demon king's power slithers over her, it seems to still. Not a second passes before a booming voice demands his words heeded. "Bring the goddess to me this INSTANT!"
Elizabeth shudders as the guard beside her and another off to the side roughly grasps her arms and haul her to her feet. They drag her to the throne room. She makes it a point to keep her gaze down as she's thrown to the floor before his feet.
The moment her knees hit the floor she realizes it's over. Meliodas has not come for her. He never was. Maybe he realized that she wasn't worth it and she wasn't strong enough to be at his side. He always ends up saving her and this time he simply grew tired of it. Her heart shrivels and collapses under the pressure of his abandonment. She tries with scraggly bits of will to keep herself from crying as her face reddens and her eyes rim with tears. She loves Meliodas so much, she can't take the idea of being worthless to him. She should have tried harder to prove her strength to be at his side, but in the end it doesn't matter anymore. She'll die here, but as long as Meliodas can go on, she'll accept her fate with a bittersweet smile.
The demon lord's power forms a noose around her neck capturing her attention absolutely. She suddenly finds it near impossible to breathe. "What is your name? Speak loudly and clearly when I address you." The threat hangs thickly in the air for any insolence she shows.
"Elizabeth, master." She's sure to keep herself bowed lowly upon the floor.
"Good. Now this question's important. I received word on traitorous acts occurring with the prince I'd dearly hoped to take over my throne. Now I would like to know, are you the goddess who poisoned his mind? Are you the goddess Meliodas has chosen to bed with and conspire with? Answer truthfully, I can already smell it on you…" He growls forceful causing her to lower closer to the ground.
Elizabeth quivers. Her mind begins to crumble under the weight of his presence. She finds it hard to form a coherent thought let alone the ability to even consider lying. His power is so raw it radiates like the rising sun. Honesty would be the best choice here otherwise he'll most likely have no problem in ripping through her skin and mashing her bones to dust without batting an eye. Her words are loud, but shuddered in terror. "Y-y-yes, master."
His power tightens further around her neck and she struggles to breathe. "Good girl. Your honesty will be rewarded." 'Rewarded?' She has no clue as to what a monster like him would consider as a reward. She doesn't know if she should rejoice or melt into a puddle of terrified goo upon the floor when this ominous reward is brought to her.
His fingers snap sharply and the demons who dragged her to him move quickly to remove her from the room. "With a swift death that is. Take her to the lower dungeon. I'll be down to finish the job after you all take care of her preparations."
She wants to beg and plead, but she knows. His word is final. The only thing she is allowed are the tears that grant her no relief. Her heart isn't heavy with the burden of her demise, the only thing that weighs her down is a single thought. 'Why didn't you come, Meliodas?'
~.~.~
An aged door is hurdled through the air. It crashes against a wall, smashing into splinters. Seeing this doesn't satisfy him in the least but he needs something to keep his anger down and to keep his fears at bay. His hands tremble at his sides. When he clenches his fists to hide this fact his power spikes. The shock wave that results sends tables flying, pillars buckle, and cell bars smash into the walls of their cages.
Gowther, observing this not too far away, stands idle. He readjusts his glasses that were blown askew, before asking a question. "Destroying things. Does it help with our mission?"
Meliodas' muscles flex in agitation. "No, Gowther. But it does keep me from going crazy. It's been days. We've been searching and barely missing my brothers each time. And they linger longer every time. So yeah, destroying things helps me stay a little saner because if I have to think about what they're doing to her while I'm out here…. If I come to another one of these places and she's not here, Gowther… I just might lose it."
Shadows slide around his form as his visage darkens. He can't. He just can't bear the thought of her suffering for too much longer.
"I see. So the last place shall hopefully be our last," Gowther comments in what he assumes is the appropriate way to respond.
"Yeah…"
Amber eyes look through their surroundings in the silence and finds not a trace of the two demons pursuing them. He spreads his senses, just to be sure, and notes that they indeed have left. "It is now safe to depart. I believe it would be best to head east from here. There is both an abundance of beings as well as a nice secluded area where another cloaked facility might be."
Meliodas lowers his brows as he begins to head towards the exit. "I hope you're right." The tingling feeling of the concealing magic washes over him briefly before he darts towards the predetermined direction with Gowther at his heels. They must be quick about these things. It's never long before his siblings catch on to his whereabouts and it becomes a race against time from there. He almost smirks at how agitated Zeldris must be at having him escape from his clutches so many times already.
The younger needs not worry. They'll have it out in due time. Just after he reclaims what was stolen from him first.
"Say, Gowther? Do you think my brothers know that you're traveling with me?" A second after the question leaves his lips Meliodas groans at his own lack of foresight. Of course they would. There were a part of the same group for years now. What he doesn't want to explain to the emotionless male is why him not being recognized is so important.
"I do not believe so. When you mentioned before that those two were following you, I disguised my energy only slightly. I don't have the power to do so completely, but it should be enough…" Gowther looks thoughtful as the two draw closer forests with rolling hills.
Even in the darkening atmosphere Meliodas' sheer astonishment is clearly seen. "What!? And you didn't think to try and use that on me, too?"
"Well, yes. But I do not have the capacity to—"
Gowther's words fall on deaf ears the moment Meliodas catches a scent. A wonderfully sweet floral scent. Meliodas' speed increases dramatically, leaving dust and grass scattered in the air. He can smell Elizabeth. The scent is a little old, but she was there.
His eyes spy wildly around for any visual confirmations while he moves closer to her smell. Thick trees, shaggy bushes, and scraggly grass. There's nothing out of the ordinary until he notices the long knife he gave her and promised himself he'd teach her how to use. His knees hit the grass before it and he shakily brings it closer to his face once he notices the dried blood on the blade. With a heart too tight with worry he inhales for her scent, then breathes out relieved. It isn't her blood, but she did clutch this knife.
She was forced to stab someone.
His blood runs cold at the thought as he rises to his feet. He moves closer to where her scent ends just as Gowther arrives and his jaw clenches. In the grass is a trail of torn marks, like someone was dragged against their will in a struggle. For once, Meliodas doesn't need Gowther to point out the hidden building as Elizabeth left quite the helpful amount of clues.
Meliodas marches straight into the building trembling under the vicious waves of hell's inferno wishing to explode from his very form. His vision is starting to bleed into a hazy red around the edges and his thoughts are beginning to blur. Death. He seeks the death of many for the atrocities they've committed against his love. The crest upon his forehead begins to grow and spread as the urge to kill becomes impossible to ignore. Elizabeth's presence is not there, but her scent is too strong for him to not believe this is the building she was kept in. As the few demons in the place begin to sense them, Meliodas draws his longsword slowly and deliberately. "Gowther search their minds for where they took Elizabeth. The moment you find out, tell me. I'm going to find the son of a bitch who hurt her."
"Okay."
Meliodas' power fluctuates and he rockets forward at blinding speeds. Demons spill through doors from all sides. Each of their weaknesses filter into his mind easily in his adrenaline soaked mind. He strikes every one of them through their faults in quick succession which has them careening through walls. Their heavy groans and the blasts of walls imploding follow in this wake. He'll know who he's looking for by their scent. He's sure of it.
His boots thud rapidly against the floor as he turns a sharp corner and slices his blade out. It cuts cleanly through the wall with the aid of his power. The two pieces of thick wood wobble then topple over revealing a single demon who appears more than agitated at his arrival. That is until he gets a better look at Meliodas' face and realizes exactly who stormed the building with unrelenting force.
The demon trembles almost imperceptibly as Meliodas strolls in over the collapsed wall. His footsteps seem to reverberate pointedly as his sword hangs lithely in his hold. Meliodas' eyes take in the many blood stains that cover the surfaces of the area with a rapidly growing sense of fury. The shadow's that cover half of his face begin to spread down his neck.
The demon tried to clean it up somewhat, but it's clear to Meliodas whose blood was spilled here. Meliodas's sword swishes through the air where he stands and the male before him cries out as one of the legs beneath him is chopped off right from under him. "Where is she!?"
The demon's eyes are squeezed in pain as he clutches his upper thigh where the limb was removed. "Y-you'll never find her!"
His steps are quick as he draws closer to the downed male. Once again he slashes his sword through the air and the male's other leg is removed. "Where the hell is she or I swear whatever hell you put her through will be a thousand times worse!?" His boots smashing against the decapitated legs that attempt to reconnect with the demon's body emphasize his point with bloody splatters.
The demon writhing in pain manages to peel his eyes open enough to look up at Meliodas. A bitter sneer grows on his face and a hoarse chuckles comes through his throat. "Y-you certainly have fallen, Dark Prince. Y-you… you marked her p-pretty good, too. I'm s-sure once she's discovered, her f-fate will be sealed."
It doesn't take a genius to get what he's insinuating. Gowther's entry only confirms it. "I have figured out Elizabeth's whereabouts. She's been transported to the demon realm. More specifically to the demon king."
His blond locks jerk wildly in the outpouring of his power that follows his scream of rage. The frenzied angered flames that seem to make up the pools of Meliodas' eyes seem to consume the life of the demon before him more rapidly than the blood that drains from his body. Gowther creeps closer in fascination just as Meliodas chants a flurry of words so quickly they resemble a poisonous hiss.
The two vanish from the room in a flare of plum radiance.
~.~.~
She's shoved to her knees with brute force. Only the days of torture allow her to swallow back a cry. Her eyes study the dank room briefly, only noting the dim candles on the back walls and the high alcoves just below the ceiling where the roof curves to meet in a point. Elizabeth hears metal clinking and soon thick cuffs are placed on her wrists, keeping them securely behind her back. Her ankles are given the same treatment before the two males move to stand before her with eyes betraying their disgust towards her.
Their voices perk her ears and she listens to what may very well be some of the last words she hears. "I'm not sure what he sees in her. The body? Sure. But her essences is too sickly sweet. I can barely stand to be around goddesses before it feels like my skin's about to crawl off my flesh." Her eyes lower in shame she can't seem to understand.
Elizabeth shrinks in on herself self-conscious, but the other picks up where his friend left off. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The demon lord will make her pay for contaminating Meliodas. It's too bad the Dark Prince will have to suffer the consequences as well."
"D-dark Prince?" she voices hesitantly after hearing that phrase again. She wants to know what it means and why they refer to Meliodas in such a way. She doesn't care if she's supposed to keep quiet. These demons aren't the demon lord.
Her hair is roughly grasped in order to pull her head back to stare into the glower of the rugged demon. "Yes, Dark Prince. Prince Meliodas had a reputation before he left the demon realm and eventually wound up with the likes of you. Now he is to be executed. His death will be on your hands, little goddess."
Her eyes narrow just slightly as her teeth bear in a grimace. She knows Meliodas is going after the demon lord and gladly gave up everything to join him. She also knows that the demon lord sent word for both their heads, so what this demon tells her is nothing new. But simply hearing him tell her so bluntly how better off Meliodas would have been without her… How, his death would be because of her. It paints a horrid picture in her mind. His eyes are lifeless as they gaze at her, as if accusing her for his gruesome death. His body is brutally torn into. They've tortured him for his crime of choosing her over his race. His blood would forever be on her hands. She'd never be able to wash it away. The vacant look within his eyes would follow her until the ends of time. She'd never be able to forgive herself. And it would all be because of her selfish need to be with him. The image of his death is burned into her vision as it causes something vile to stir within her. "You won't lay a finger on him. You may kill me, but you don't dare lay a finger on Meliodas!"
"I'd hold my tongue if I were you. Meliodas will pay his due rights. The demon king will see to that if the Commandments don't first."
The burning hatred that flares in her direction from his tone does nothing to quell the simmering anger that sifts within her. Maybe it's from the days of abuse she's gone through or maybe it's from the psychological torment she's been forced to endure. She doesn't really know what causes her to snap. All she really knows is the heat of injustice inside her and the twisting pain of Meliodas' absence. "I told you before, he will not die."
She watches as his hand rises to strike her. Something inside her takes over her senses and she finds herself weaving a hypnotic song for the two demons to drown in.
"You both, have come,
a ways from your path.
Where Death plucks each man,
who tangles in his wrath.
Come down this wayward way,
you'll witness your bloodbath.
When he steals your souls
and continues his warpath."
When her senses return, Elizabeth lurches at the sound of the two demons thudding against the floor. Their bodies lay motionless. Entirely too still to her eyes. Neither of their chests rises. Fear begins to grip her brutally as she struggles to scoot away from them with her limbs so tightly bound. "W-what happened? W-what's going on?"
No one responds and her eyes fill with tears before they spill down her cheeks. 'I don't understand! I only sang a few words! They can't be dead!' "Those words… where did they even come from? Someone! Someone please," She begs quietly as her head hangs low. Sobs fill the room in her terrified confusion. The overbearing malevolence that approaches just outside of the chamber chokes her brutally. The demon king has come to end her existence.
~.~.~
His stride is sure as power radiates from him in gales. The servants bow deeply in his presence just as they should. The moonlight shines praisingly upon him as he journeys towards the chamber to where he had the demons escort the goddess. The new group of lessers he'd make sure to deal with later. This goddess needs to be dealt with immediately.
The stairs he takes spiral down. Deeper and deeper they take him into his castle until he's just before the door leading to the goddess who could lead to his race's demise. Something is amiss though. A tingling through the air. He thrusts himself back when he hears a snippet of her voice through the doors. He hisses in outrage at the realization of what she's just done. Two of his men, dead. All because of that woman's persuasive tongue.
When he's sure her magic has run its course, he stomps towards the doors without pause and thrusts them open. They bang against the walls and fall to the floor, kicking up dust. Her fearful trembling feeds demonic glee. The sight of his dead men dampens it some.
"I'm sorry, m-master! I d-don't know what happened!" He can see the cogwheels of her thoughts spinning so quickly she can't barely even process her words, let alone her mistake. When she does though what little color in her face drains. She has the exquisite beauty of the pale corpse she'll soon be. He doesn't strike her for speaking out of turn. It won't matter in the long run anyway.
"It seems you've tapped into that power of yours, Theeos De'fang. Or should I say, Song of Death?"
The horror that blooms across her face is magnificent. "S-song of death?"
"Why, yes, of course! You didn't know? Your father was quite the mage indeed," the bitter tinge that seeps into his tone causes the goddess to practically wilt at his feet. "He'd stumbled onto my plans to begin a war against the other clans. Took what magic he gleaned from us demons and used it to create a weapon of sorts that would spell nothing but disaster for us. Or should I simply say you. I'd tried to have people find you, but as I said before your father was a crafty man. Even when he and your mother were killed you were hidden away."
The demon lord slowly strides ever so closer to the cowering goddess. His power brings about every whimper of fright she makes. "Then you discovered Meliodas. Maybe the demonic magic that runs through you attracted you to him? Who knows? Either way, you were found. And now you shall die."
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Meliodas declares aggressively as he emerges from the darkness of the room's entranceway. His face is masked in swirled shadows as the darkness slowly coils down his torso.
