I do not own Seven Deadly Sins or any of their characters.
Returned
Oswald sighed as he tossed the bag of feed from the wagon onto the growing pile. Derieri was much more open since he had given her his hearts, but it was clear that she had been telling the truth. She didn't have romantic feelings for him. At least, not yet. He still had hope that maybe they were starting to show, but nothing yet. He sighed again, Monspeet looking over at him from where Monspeet was unloading his own truck.
"Are you going to keep sighing?" Monspeet asked.
Oswald looked directly at him and sighed more loudly and longer, Monspeet glaring at him.
"Enough you two," Derieri said. "It's been almost two weeks. Quit bickering. Monspeet, you could try to be a little more lenient with him."
Oswald smirked, continuing to work, only for Monspeet to appear in front of him, picking him up by the throat.
"No," Monspeet said. "No more. I'm done with this farce. I've pretended to allow you to live for long enough."
"You should choose your next course of action very carefully," Oswald said, glowing red eyes with black triskelia watching Monspeet.
"I don't take orders from you, Nephilim," Monspeet snarled. "I'm going to remove your stain from this world and-"
Derieri's foot crashed into Monspeet's face, launching him away.
"I warned you," Oswald said, dropping to the ground. "Derieri, stay out of this."
"No," Derieri said, left hand expanding and picking him up into the air. "You two are not fighting. You don't have to get along, but you are not going to kill each other."
"So you're choosing this abomination, then?" Monspeet asked.
"I'm not choosing anyone!" Derieri snapped. "But you're both important to me and I'm not going to let either of you kill the other!"
"He's an unnatural monster!" Monspeet spat. "He deserves-"
An explosion cut him off, the entire farmhouse the old couple they were working for lived in transforming into a mushroom of black flames. Oswald felt his gut drop out through his feet as he watched two souls spiral into the air, a Grey Demon moving to catch them. His wings exploded out of his back in a spray of blood and he shot through the air, fist glowing white before he drilled it into the Grey Demon's forehead, throwing it backward. However, it planted its feet after a moment, just as Oswald grabbed the two souls, then shot forward, backhanding him and sending him crashing to the ground. He plowed a trench into it before stopping and releasing the souls, his hands beginning to glow, the souls shining. The Grey Demon opened its mouth but Derieri split in half, killing it. Then, a dozen jets of black flames shot down at her from above, only for Monspeet to grab her, yanking her out of the way.
Oswald shoved his magic energy and the two souls flashed, streaking into the air, past the small horde of Grey and Red demons approaching, then fading as they moved on. Oswald stood, reaching out to the cart and ripping a metal rod off of it, charging his holy magic into it as he rose into the air, stopping beside Monspeet and Derieri.
"Looks like we've been found," Oswald said.
"Oh dear," Monspeet said. "Whatever will we do against a bunch of lower-class grunts?"
"Well, if you're that afraid, maybe you should just turn and run," Oswald said. "In the mean time, I'll handle the big one."
"Big one?" Monspeet asked just as a massive creature crashed to the ground before them.
It was about Escanor's height when he was in his muscular form, but it was thin, with six lights in a pair of columns on its face, and four tentacles of darkness behind it, each tipped with a spear-head-like point. Monspeet raised an eyebrow at it. It's power felt like it was about as high as a civilian.
"What are you?" Monspeet asked, walking toward it.
"I wouldn't," Oswald said.
"Look, you're kind of interru-"
The thing's hand flashed up, backhanding Monspeet and sending him crashing along the ground, blood and teeth spraying out of his mouth.
"Monspeet!" Derieri shouted, Oswald holding his hand out in front of her to stop her chasing him.
"I tried to warn you Monspeet," Oswald said. "That is the big one."
"What is that thing?" Derieri asked.
"It's a Hunter," Oswald said. "Something created by the Demon King for one very specific purpose. Me."
"It's not getting you," Derieri said.
"I'm leaving you to deal with the Reds and Greys," Oswald said. "The Hunter will follow me, so I'll draw it away. I need to go and get my bow if I'm going to survive, but if I bring it close enough to Elizabeth Meliodas will kill it."
"And you!" Derieri snapped. "We can beat it together!"
"No," Oswald said. "No we can't. It's power may be low now, but it spikes its power when it strikes."
"How do you know?" Derieri asked.
"Because this isn't the first he's sent," Oswald said. "They just keep getting stronger."
Derieri looked between the Hunter and Monspeet several times before gritting her teeth. "Please be careful."
"I will," Oswald said, turning to leave only for Derieri to catch his hand.
As he turned back to her, Derieri pulled him into a kiss, Oswald kissing her back instantly.
"I mean it," Derieri said. "Please. Come back to me safely."
"I will," Oswald promised. "I'll be back as soon as I escape Meliodas."
Derieri nodded and Oswald turned, leaping off of the ground before his wings turned black and his eyes red, darkness spreading over his body in sweeping flame-like patterns again. However, just as he finished, the Hunter appeared over him, hands clasped over it. He swore, crossing his arms and condensing his darkness to his forearms, both of which were shattered in the impact. He did, however, manage to keep from hitting the ground, continuing to streak along the ground toward where he had left his bow. His forearms snapped back into place agonizingly and healed just as he grabbed a tree, using it to slingshot himself left, the Hunter's tentacles exploding through the ground and trees where he had just been.
"Damn this thing's quick," Oswald said, flipping and forming his Holy Magic into a sphere, hurling it at the Hunter in a blur.
The sphere exploded through the Hunter's shoulder and it dropped, Oswald cutting right and pushing himself as fast as he could, streaking through the trees, dodging and weaving around them. Finally, his bow was in sight. Then, a tentacle drove itself down through his abdomen and he lurched to a stop, coughing a spray of blood. The Hunter lifted him, getting him up level with its face. Oswald swallowed hard. He was dead. Any second now, it would rip his head off. Or maybe it would make it slow and painful. Then, Derieri was behind it.
"Two hundred!" she shouted, slamming her spike-knuckled left fist into the side of its head, sending it exploding along the ground. "Let's go!"
She grabbed him and spun, hurling him at his bow. However, as he flew, he looked back, seeing the Hunter appear behind Derieri, ripping her in half at the waist, throwing her halves away from each other.
"NNNNOOO! ! !" Oswald roared, grabbing his bow and halting, the bow shining instantly.
The Hunter exploded downward at him and Oswald shot forward to meet it, separating his blades. He slashed with the right, the feathered blade crashing into one of the Hunter's tentacles before the bat wing blade split the Hunter up the front. As it crashed backward through the ground, Oswald roared in rage, tiny compressed spheres of holy magic wrapped in black flames exploding out of his hands, raining down on the Hunter rapidly. After a moment, it exploded up out of the dust, roaring as the tentacles all shot out at Oswald. Except, the Hunter was wounded. Badly. Its left arm was missing below the middle of its forearm, the right side of its abdomen was gone, and its right foot had a whole through it. Oswald turned sideways, the Hunter's tentacles streaking past him before he flipped, removing them. Then, he shot forward, crossing his arms as he neared the Hunter. Then, he slashed, splitting him in half across the chest. As soon as he had passed, he turned horizontal and spun, wing blade glowing white as the other lit with Purgatory Fire before they began to tear upward through the Hunter's back, shredding its upper body. Then, as he stopped, the pieces landed on top of the Hunter's legs and Oswald reconnected his blades before holding out his free hand, a white sphere appearing around it before a matching one appeared around the Hunter's pieces.
"Arc!" Oswald said, the pieces disintegrating within a couple of seconds.
Instantly, Oswald spun, flying down to Derieri's upper body, picking her up and flying to her lower body, placing them together. She wasn't moving, but she was alive still. Barely. He placed his hands on either side of the wound, darkness spreading onto her body, sealing the wound and reattaching her limbs. He closed his eyes, praying to every god he could think of, even the Supreme Deity and the Demon King, to heal her, to let her live. Nothing happened. He could sense her getting weaker rapidly, her heartbeats fading. He swallowed hard. Then, the darkness he had spread onto her shone white, light particles beginning to seep into it. He yanked his hands back and the light and darkness both faded. Except, she was healed partially. His eyes widened and he set his hands on her again, once again covering her with darkness before beginning to draw in light particles slowly, carefully. As he did, he carefully monitored her power. It was stabilizing. Finally, the light particles began to bounce off and he removed his darkness, finding that she was healed, though still weak and unconscious. He grabbed her left stump, her own darkness having faded when she passed out, and began to do the same thing to the stump. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, the darkness covering the end of the stump began to move, creeping downward, leaving more and more of her arm behind. He let out a shaky laugh of relief and joy, focusing. More of her arm regrew. It was at the elbow now. Then halfway down the forearm. The wrist. Then, finally, the darkness split into five smaller sections before finally fading altogether, leaving her arm fully restored as well.
"I did it," he breathed, lifting her hand and lacing his fingers with it. "I can't believe it worked."
"I can't believe you're still alive," Meliodas's voice said from behind him, Oswald setting her hand down and turning to him, gripping his bow tightly. "I sensed that thing's power all the way from Liones. It was no joke. I'm impressed you killed it."
"I won't let you kill her Meliodas," Oswald said, staring at the crest taking up Meliodas's forehead. "Kill me if you have to, but I'm begging you, let her live."
"And why would I do that?" Meliodas asked.
"Because she's not an enemy anymore," Oswald said. "She abandoned the war. She defected. She doesn't have to die."
"She's a Ten Commandment, regardless of whether or not she's actively killing," Meliodas said. "She's a threat. So she needs to be killed."
"Like when Ludociel wanted to kill her and Monspeet after Elizabeth cured them of their Indura states?" Oswald said, Meliodas freezing, hand on Lostvayne's hilt. "They were both still Ten Commandments then, but you Gloxinia and Drole all protected them then."
"That's because Elizabeth saved them," Meliodas said.
"And what do you think she would say if she were here?" Oswald asked.
Meliodas glared at him before sighing. "Fine. I won't kill her." Then, he appeared in front of Oswald, slamming his fist into his gut, lifting him off of the ground. "But I am dragging you back to Liones, where you will be punished as a traitor." Then, he flipped, slamming his foot into Oswald's side, sending him exploding into a tree and consciousness had fled before he hit the ground.
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