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Chapter 12 – City Of The Dead
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"ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ON ME?!".
Meliodas deadpanned as he saw Elizabeth and Lucifer rushing back to here "told you".
Elizabeth pursued him "older brother, wait!?".
With both eyes closed and a deep frown on his handsome face, Lucifer walked faster "no, Ellie, I don't want to speak or listen to anything about it".
"But you can't possibly do it!", Elizabeth grabbed his wrist "brother, listen to me!".
"no, I don't care, okay?", Lucifer snapped coldly, turning to Meliodas "oi, Meliodas. Tell me, what's the plan?".
"well, it's exactly what she told you", Meliodas tilted his head with both hands crossed before his chest "but for now, let's go to the Necropolis".
When Meliodas patted Elizabeth's head, telling her to give him a break, Iseult shook her head "father... should I ask my sister to talk with you?".
Ban asked curiously "what's the problem, anyway?~".
"Nothing important. Only the family problem between me with my sister and our mother, that's all you need to know", Lucifer said curtly before turning to King and Diane "and lovebirds there, when you've finished already, get your butt down here so we can clear everything up".
"so what I'm gonna say—", King yelled back indignantly "oh, shut up! This is the last topic we should clarify about!".
Lucifer deadpanned, tilting his head to the side "about the fact you are the one who erased your lover's memory?".
All of them were shocked and King flinched when they all shouted, "YOU DID WHAT!?".
Then, King explained everything about what happened ever since he left the Fairy King's Forest, how he lost his memory, saved by Diane and lived together with her, to meet again with Helbram and how he stuck in Seven Deadly Sins' team "I don't ask you to forgive me or to understand my choice. I need to atone for my Sin, the sin of causing so much suffering to my friend for such a long, long time... and never even knowing it".
Lucifer and Elizabeth shared the same grief look on their eyes at King's remarks, Meliodas and Ban realized it but decided to fret over them later.
Mercilessly, Lucifer said, "if I can be honest, you are an idiot".
"Sorry, King. Not that I don't understand how do you feel, but I agree with my brother-in-law this time".
King yelled indignantly to Lucifer, again "what do you know?".
"exactly what I said, you are an idiot. If I were on your shoes, I would never erase her memory, instead, I would like to talk over about it with my lover so she could decide, whether she would wait for me, leave me, or even want to share about it. I know it sounded selfish of me, but I don't want to leave my lover clueless like that. I prefer to let her know, so she can decide about what should she do with our relationship".
King asked in disbelief "do you mean to let your lover shoulder your sin together with you?".
"We already have", Lucifer's eyes glossed over with something unreadable before he said with those void eyes "my Sin is something I should bear alone. I only want to leave the decision to her. If she can't wait for me and choose to leave me, as long as she's happy even if she doesn't belong to me, I'm fine with it and I can live with it. After all, what I want is only her happiness and I don't want to see her suffer because of the burden of my Sin. However, we're not speaking about me, we're speaking about you, Fairy King. My point is, what you did to Lady Diane, to erase her memory, it was so wrong and coward move. You didn't even think about how does she feel in case she ever remembers, did you?".
Ban slung his hand over Lucifer's shoulder. He really liked his new buddy "he has the point~".
Looking to how King lowered his head in shame, Lucifer continued "but it's a good thing that you can be honest about it with her and apologize to her. I think... a man who can realize and acknowledge his mistakes, is truly a brave man and not coward".
Tristan shifted closer "my father is included?".
Lucifer deadpanned "he's simply a mischievous pervert".
Meliodas only could say "it's so mean of you, brother-in-law".
King had to admit "Captain, you have such a savage man as your brother-in-law".
Iseult clapped her hands "okay, let's hear what Lady Diane's mind".
Diane smiled sweetly "of course, I forgive you, King".
King burst out into tears "Diane... I really don't deserve such forgiveness...".
Diane shook her head before eyeing Elizabeth who mouthed 'continue' and Diane went on, nervously twiddling her hair with her finger.
"no, don't apologize when I am the one who should apologize to you, King. Without even knowing how many tears and pain you've been going through, even if I've been so close with you, I forgot all of it. Instead of you, I am the one who should apologize, but you know, King? The precious memories that have been engraved deeply into your heart, even if you forget about them temporarily, or they become obscured and hidden through the mist, they never completely disappeared. When I remembered thanks to Elizabeth's help, I felt terribly guilty, blamed myself, and couldn't forgive myself, why did I forget it? Without I knew, again, you just tried to protect me, doing what you think as what's the best for me. After I remembered, I have something that I've always wanted to say...", Diane tilted her head and smiled "King, I always have and always will love you. Do you still feel that way about me, even now, King?".
"I will always love you and be by your side", King floated up and kissed her "can I fulfill my promise from now on?".
With flushed cheeks, Diane smiled brightly after she touched her lips "you have".
Meliodas clapped his hands "congratulations on our new officially couple!".
The others clapped their hands and congratulated the blushed couple before King floated down with a harsh glare to Ban, and Lucifer who stood in front of Ban instantly "now, I have business with your new friend, Sir. Can you move aside?".
Lucifer obliged, turning his body to Ban "Ban, explain it to him. He has the right to know, as Lady Elaine's older brother".
"Lucifer, just because you have read my mind as you please~".
"oh, even without my ability to read people's mind, I can know just from a single glance, Ban", Lucifer lifted his forefinger, pointedly staring to him as he clutched Ban by the collar "the lost looks on your eyes when King told you that Elaine is his little sister, the way your eyes stared into the scenes from the long time ago, it's not the eyes of a bastard who killed a woman to earn the immortality for satisfying his Greed. It's the eyes of a pathetic man who failed to protect the woman he loved, blamed himself of everything, and could never forgive himself, to the point you don't even care with your life and wished to die instead, so you can meet with her again. So, when an older brother of the woman you loved came to kill you, you decided it would be best for you to die in his hands. Dare to tell us that I'm wrong?".
Ban frowned and swatted his hand, pushing him before turning his back against him "...I hate this part of you. How could you do it to me, Lucifer? To see through me like that and mercilessly said it...".
"as I said, you've kinda reminded me with my old self, but you're welcome. You're not the first person who said it. Now, you have two options", Lucifer chuckled bitterly, lifting his fingers, "tell it with your own mouth, or let me tell the story because I don't want to let this misunderstanding, you know?".
Ban groaned under the scrutinizing eyes of the spectators here "argh, alright, alright, I will tell them all".
Meliodas lifted his thumbs and tossed his knuckles against Lucifer's "other than me, you are the very first people who can make him obedient, older brother-in-law. Great job".
Lucifer smirked, "you're welcome, little brother-in-law".
On the side, Escanor struck in awe, thinking in wonder "no wonder Merlin is so proud and adores him. He's really a good man with dignity, kindness, and sincerity like Princess Elizabeth".
King lifted his shaking finger "Ban, 20 years ago, you...".
"as you guys knew, I was a Bandit and when I wanted to steal the Fountain Of the Youth, I met her", Ban intertwined his knuckles "Elaine, the Guardian Saint".
As expected, after Ban finished his story with Elaine, they were crying mess (except Meliodas, Lucifer, and Tristan, of course). King apologized to Ban for his misunderstanding before scolding Ban about how Ban should have explained and told him about it sooner. Now, after the problem between King with Diane and Ban were solved, they all stared to Lucifer, Meliodas, and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth chuckled nervously "Uhm, is there something in our face?".
Ban mockingly said, "exactly, princess, you and your 'husband' have a lot of things to explain with~".
Tristan and Iseult decided to 'stay-put' this time. Like it or not, Lucifer had to help them because he just couldn't afford to ignore his little sister's expectant, pleading eyes and his little brother-in-law's stare.
"Alright, I know we have a lot of things to explain with", Lucifer rubbed his temples, thinking he could not believe himself doing this "as you know, I have an ability to read people's mind, so I know how far each of you knows the story and let me help them to explain it, okay?".
After Lucifer earned the consent of each people here, Escanor wondered even more about how this man could handle the complicated situation in their hands.
Lucifer asked them all to sit down, which they obeyed "first of all, you obviously know about the Coffin of Eternal Darkness?".
King nodded his head "yes, of course".
Diane who sat near King, nodding her head "yeah, Elizabeth and the Captain had told me about it".
Ban grinned lopsided and scratched his nape "well, I admit, my friend... I don't know about it".
Meliodas deadpanned "figure it out".
They looked to Ban's direction as if they just found the alien here before Lucifer went explaining about what was the Coffin of Eternal Darkness and what was the function.
"Surely, I don't need to explain how the Ancient Holy War happened, right? How all Clans, Goddess, Human, Giant, and Fairy cooperated to fight against Demon Clan".
Ban nodded his head "well, I'm not that clueless".
"Okay, good. Goddess Clan knew this seal wouldn't last forever, thus they decided to scatter the Coffin of Eternal Darkness into several fragments and one of it", Lucifer lifted his chin pointing to Meliodas who sat side by side with Elizabeth "is the green Dragon hilt on Meliodas' broken sword".
Ban's eyes widened "I seriously thought it's just a thrash!".
Meliodas sniggered "well, we did need someone to keep it safe. Goddesses surely would need someone who strong enough to help them protect it, right? Nishishi~".
With both hands fisted on her lap, Elizabeth frowned "but now, the seal's weakened".
Meliodas squeezed her hands before thinking carefully. From Ban's story, no wonder he hated Demon and King was skeptical, cautious, and perceptive. They didn't even tell Diane the whole truth. Lucifer read his mind and he chose to speak at this point.
To prevent anyone here to read his feelings, Lucifer closed his eyes when he spoke after taking a deep breath "about 3.000 years ago in the middle of the Ancient Holy War, I found Elizabeth and Meliodas' corpses—".
They sucked a deep breath and stopped breathing. Both Meliodas and Elizabeth closed their eyes and lowered their head further with their bangs masking their expression. Tristan, Iseult, the Sins, and Hawk lost at words before Lucifer continued.
"—not too long before the end of the Holy War. My late wife told me once about the magic spell that could make us meet with the people of our previous life that we want to meet with. I know the magic spells to make someone remember their past-lives memories when they reincarnate. I used it", Lucifer leaned his chin on his intertwined knuckles "although it needed years before I got to see with my little sister again. Of course, with her lover by her side".
"why, thank you, Lucifer~", Meliodas grinned broadly before toppling backward and leaning the back of his head on Elizabeth's breasts "you know us better than anyone that we're one package!".
A vein popped on his head as Lucifer smiled friendly but his hand wrapped itself around Meliodas' neck in a head-lock "you're welcome. As much as annoying and immature you can be sometimes, I prefer to see my sister's happiness".
Elizabeth cleared her throat, still blushing of the notion about her and Meliodas being one package (she would never mind about it at all) "back to the business like you know, the Goddess Clan members lost their physical body when they sacrificed themselves to seal away the Demon Clan. You could say we were safe because, at that time, I and Meliodas already died, waiting for our next lives while my older brother, Lucifer was dying and safely confined by his daughters".
"not to mention, I also wasn't the part of the party when they sealed Demon Clan away, which is why I didn't need to lose my physical body", Lucifer stuck his tongue out, rolling his eyes to his blushing daughter "though, I have to admit, I was shocked to find myself buried in the middle of that place with my daughters nearby. Because they were cute, I forgave them".
Tristan curiously pushed his wife "honey, what are you doing to your father?".
Meliodas and Elizabeth covered their mouth and hugged each other's body to muffle their laughter as Lucifer blushed slightly.
Iseult twiddled with her locks before covering her red face in embarrassment "...put him on the flower garden".
King twitched his eyebrow "...excuse me?".
"argh, I and my sisters contained immense magic powers and with our father dying, also both father-in-law and mother-in-law were nowhere around us to protect us neither we could find them, so many evil people wanted to 'use' me and my sisters because of our immense magic powers!", Iseult didn't so openly tell them, continued her rambling "thankfully, the little sister of First Fairy King Gloxinia and Fairy King Dahlia offered us to stay with them in the Fairy King's Forest. Only until our father recovered, which it took a rather long time considering how bad his injuries. It was a miracle he could survive, even. I and my sisters cried because we thought we could have lost him".
Elizabeth, Meliodas, and Lucifer patted Iseult's head as Tristan hugged his wife soothingly. However, if you thought about it, it was ridiculous, really. The image of Lucifer was sleeping in the middle of the flower garden at the Forest with his daughters watched over nearby. King and Diane thought it was so cute, indeed. King, Diane, Escanor, and Hawk didn't dare to laugh, though. Because when Ban laughed it off, Lucifer mercilessly kicked him, sending him flying. Somehow, Escanor remembered the story about Sleeping Beauty or Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.
Ban meant it as a joke "and at that time, you two found them in the Fairy King's Forest?".
From Meliodas' grin, Lucifer's blush, and Elizabeth's smile, YES.
Meliodas cheerfully announced, "it was a shame of us, but I and Elizabeth lost!".
King didn't know what to say "I don't think it's something you could be proud of, Captain".
"well, the thing is, I was reincarnated as an herbalist at that time, and we had traveled to find the herbs", Elizabeth didn't tell out loud the details, which reincarnation she was "at first, we just lost in the foggy woods and we ended up entering the Fairy King's Forest. There, we found my brother".
Meliodas hummed, with all seriousness "it was so cute! Though I admit even I was shocked to find him sleeping in the middle of a flower garden with his daughters watched over him nearby, hoping him to get well soon... so cute of them, although not all of his daughters are still cute now. Iseult is still cute, but her sisters... one is obnoxious and one is—".
Lucifer smacked his head "live it down already, and stop bad-mouthing my daughters".
Iseult chuckled "oh, are you referring to my sisters?".
"helped by my older brother Lucifer and his daughters, I and Meliodas have been living on mortal realm ever since 3.000 years ago. I lost my past-lives memories every time I reincarnate. Because sometimes I didn't remember my past-lives memories when I reincarnate, mostly it was Meliodas with my brother and his daughters who have been taking care about 'watch over' the seal", Elizabeth continued before they entered the Danafor part "and 16 years ago, when someone tried to break the seal, I lost my life as a Demon killed me and I reincarnated as Elizabeth Liones".
"you can figure out the story after that. I carried Elizabeth out of the destructed Danafor and lived on the Liones Kingdom because Baltra and Zaratras found us!".
"still calling him only with a name? Remember, he's gonna be your father-in-law once you and Ellie get married officially", Lucifer ruffled Meliodas' hair "your carefree attitude is unbelievable, Meliodas".
After Lucifer, Elizabeth, and Meliodas explained about how corrupted the Holy Knights of Liones right now and how they realized the connection between Zaratras' assassination 10 years ago, more or less, they could predict who was the main culprit.
When they finally understood how serious the problem in their hands, King mumbled, "I see, so there are people who cooperated to revive the Demon Clan".
Ban spat with so much hatred "tch, Demon Clan again, huh?".
"Meliodas, Elizabeth, don't worry, I have done a little 'brainwash' on Ban's head, so with the way our conversation went on, you two are safe for now. What they knew, for now, Elizabeth is a goddess who has reincarnated multiple times as humans and they would not think that Meliodas, who has guarded the Coffin of Eternal Darkness, as a part of Demon Clan. However, you're safe only for now. When you two think it's entirely fine to tell them all about the whole truth and you're ready, tell me, so I can help when the time's come".
Listening to Lucifer's voice through telepathy, Elizabeth and Meliodas immediately hugged Lucifer who blinked his eyes in confusion to the two "...what's so sudden?".
Meliodas looked up with his broad grin "well, just want to tell you, thank you so much for everything!".
Elizabeth smiled brightly "and I missed you, badly".
"you two, really...", Lucifer smiled fondly and hugged them back "it's adorable of you, so I don't mind".
After Diane cooed about how cute they were, they broke the hug. When they wanted to discuss their further plan, two kids came to them and asked if Lucifer and Elizabeth were the Goddess. Well, it was not quite wrong.
One of the kids, the little sister, Ellen told them "yesterday, a Vampire and a Nun entered the Necropolis but the Nun said to us that today, there are Goddesses who will come here. She asked us to tell you all when we meet you".
King eyed Diane "a Vampire and a Nun? Such a contradictive, interesting pair".
Diane mumbled voluntarily "I wonder if this Vampire is the part of Vampires that we fought 12 years ago?".
Elizabeth crouched in front of the kids and smiled gently "kids, would you so kindly to tell us, what did she say? How do they look like?".
When Ellen and her older brother told them about how did they look like, Meliodas, Elizabeth, Tristan, Iseult, and mostly Lucifer, looked far tenser than before. After Ellen and her older brother told them how did they look like, Ellen told them "she said, she's waiting for you in the Necropolis".
Meliodas grabbed Elizabeth's hand, turning his head to where they could feel the wave of magic "then let's go, to the Necropolis".
Diane asked them all "anyway, why should we go to the Necropolis? I mean, we have found King".
King scratched his cheek and explained his reason "to be honest, I want to meet with my little sister".
Diane suggested him to go "but how do we enter the Necropolis?".
Ban looked around "yeah, don't see the gate at all around here~".
"a priceless memory shared with the deceased will open the path to the Capital", Tristan turned to his wife "but since my wife is here, we can enter the Necropolis without any difficulties".
Iseult smiled broadly "it's my job, after all~".
Elizabeth looked so worried and finally, she asked, "...as I thought, older brother, I think—".
Lucifer cut her off harshly "if you want to tell me it's better for me to stay when all of you go to the Necropolis, live it down. I'm going no matter what".
"don't talk to her like that. Is it so wrong for your sister to worry about you? Of course, she's worried about you, right? After all, if what those kids described were true...", Meliodas growled, squeezing his lover's hand "once you meet her—".
"either it's me or her who's gonna die. Well, probably me, because she's gonna try to kill me", Lucifer smiled sadly "right?".
Surprisingly, Elizabeth yelled "I just reunited with my older brother! How can I afford to lose you right away?".
Escanor lifted his hand "any explanation about what's gonna happen, Captain?".
Lucifer simply answered, "...it's the curse".
"We don't mention it on our story because we don't know she's here, but because she's here, then we have no choice", Meliodas added right away "there's a curse afflicted between them two. Even if he's the Fallen Angel, Lucifer is part of Goddess Clan. If she and Lucifer meet, she will try to kill him with all her might because she's Angra Mainyu".
Escanor asked involuntarily "a curse? From who?".
Lucifer tipped his head backward and answered, "...my mother...".
Elizabeth added indignantly "and the Demon King".
A/N:
I will update the White Enchantress newest chapter if not tomorrow morning, then tomorrow night. Check it out. Any reviews and constructive criticism welcomed.