This is a world in which humans and beings have yet to be divided. A tale of ancient times. Before the battle of Liones, the Kingdom of Camelot was soundly beaten and conquered. However, a spark of hope remains in the heroes that soon draw near. Hooray, the sins are here...
...The Seven Deadly Sins are here!
Chapter XX
Gone Too Soon
Finally, they had gotten a lead.
After four days of searching for the missing duo, they had finally managed to learn the former whereabouts of the divine group.
A few members of the Ordan Village, claiming to have seen someone matching Escanor's night mode description, quickly passing through the area with seemingly no reason at all, exactly one day ago.
Needless to say, it had seemed suspicious.
Despite its vagueness, it had been a lead nonetheless, following it immediately using Hawk Mama's flight to get a clearer view of the surrounding area.
"Oi, Cap'n," Ban had drawled lazily, slightly drunk.
"How 'bout you just get Merlin to find them already? They can't be that far~" he slammed the mug down, hiccuping slightly.
"See Merlin-" Meliodas had started to explain.
"-Location's range only extends to around the size of a city," the mage explained as she entered the room suddenly.
She leaned her hand on her hip.
"Unless Escanor happens to be within that range, I won't be able to find them. That is, assuming that Miss Samael and the princess are with him at the moment," she finished, smiling to hide her worries.
"So then you can't find them?" Diane asked in concern.
King glanced at her in pity.
"Who cares~" the Fox's sin rotated the cup in his hand.
"Geez, Ban, have a little concern!" Hawk chided, his face full of scraps.
"I'm sure Ban didn't mean it like that, Hawk," Elaine smiled comfortingly, also concerned about what she had heard of the two.
Ban's lips barely twitched upwards at the sight.
"Just use it anyway," he looked at the other sins boredly.
Merlin sighed in exasperation.
"Well? Merlin?" the blonde pressed on, currently poker-faced.
She smirked.
"I can certainly try," she relented eventually.
"Alright," Meliodas nodded as they all drew silent.
Merlin closed her eyes in concentration.
"Location," she muttered, activating her ability.
Her eyes snapped open with urgency.
"They're near!" the magician announced, quickly shifting to use her power.
Diane rejoiced, picking up King and spinning him with a twirl as she whooped in joy.
"D- Diane?" King panicked, blushing darkly as she finally put him down.
"Well? Where are they?" the small giant asked excitedly.
"At the very bottom of my spell range, near Garon Village to the South," she elaborated briskly.
"Merlin," she turned to face Meliodas, "Can you teleport us there?" he asked seriously.
"Of course," she smiled suspiciously, "You need only ask, Captain."
"Take us there then, and when we reach- don't stop me," he ordered, preparing to move.
Not saying a word, she continued to smile, focusing her attention now on the task at hand.
"Shunkan Ido," she commanded, bringing them there.
However, unbeknownst to them, a dark presence had suddenly appeared out of nowhere upon their arrival.
Meliodas' eyes widened in shock as he drew his sword, shooting out of the building and down from the sky.
"Captain!" King and Diane yelled in shock at his sudden movement, understanding he must have sensed something.
His eyes darkened, shifting to reflect a pitch black darkness as he fell face-first through the air, ready to attack.
Why are you here, Zeldris? He thought internally as he finally met blades with another person, most likely a foe.
And then he went on the offense.
"Really... pray tell Meliodas," Victoria continued impatiently, not knowing what the hold up was.
"Was I wrong?" the captain muttered to himself, several thoughts running through his head.
He glanced around the vicinity warily, searching for the source of whatever it was that he had felt.
Victoria twitched in anger of being ignored.
Elizabeth smiled sheepishly before noticing the wound that had been cut deep on her companion's side.
"Victoria, you're hurt!" she fussed in worry, moving to assist.
"Here, let me help you," the princess attempted to heal her wound as she was stopped.
"I'll be fine," Victoria stated calmly, releasing her hand.
"It's just a scratch," she shook her head in denial.
Meliodas glanced at the injury in slight regret.
"No it's not!" Elizabeth protested, "Let me help you!"
The brunette's eyes widened slightly in bewilderment at her request.
"Elizabeth, I think you've forgotten that I can heal myself already. I don't need extra help," she tried to remind her softly.
"I still managed to heal you from Alma's curse remember?" the princess of Liones pointed out, refusing to back down.
Meliodas was shocked.
"Wait- what did you just say?" he questioned.
However, they didn't even notice.
Victoria turned around slowly in realization, pupils dilated in a stunned expression.
"That's why..." it finally dawned on her as she realized why she had been feeling ill despite supposedly being free from the curse.
She held her hands out to prove her point.
"You didn't heal me... You made it worse!" the brunette snapped in displeasure.
"W- what do you mean?" Elizabeth was surprised at the declaration.
Victoria sighed in exasperation.
"Elizabeth, if I'm an enemy of the Goddess Clan, what makes you think that using holy powers to heal me from a divine curse isn't going to make it worse," she explained.
Elizabeth's jaw dropped in shock.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Victoria," she apologized, feeling bad.
"It's fine," she shrugged it off, "The real problem is whatever the Goddess Queen did to you when you tried to heal the curse."
"Oh yes-"
"-So how long do you two plan to ignore me exactly?" Meliodas interrupted pointedly.
"Ah- my apologies, Lord Meliodas," Elizabeth panicked slightly.
"It's fine," he waved it off, "But did I seriously hear you two mention the Goddess Queen?" he asked lightly.
Horrible memories surfaced within his head as he kept up the facade.
Victoria nodded, "Yes, apparently that same woman we were abducted by, is Queen Alma herself," she explained, "However, she doesn't seem to be her full form yet."
"I'd have to agree. After all..." I would know, Meliodas trailed off in thought.
"And Elizabeth? What's wrong with Elizabeth?"
Victoria glanced at the girl in question before bending down to whisper in the male's ear.
"Her memory's coming back," she revealed to his anguish, "I'm sure you know what that means," she stood up straight again.
He nodded solemnly.
She changed subject, "Escanor's back there fighting her off," the brunette explained.
"Escanor? Against the Goddess Queen? He'll probably be alright."
"You think he'll win, Lord Meliodas?" Elizabeth gripped her hands in worry.
"No, that's not it," he blunted, "Alma's just not in her true form yet. So he should stand a chance against her."
"Really? We've got to help him then!" she gasped in shock.
"Hold on," he started, "You're not going to help him. Neither of you are in your conditions. You've both done enough," he smiled slightly.
"Then who will-?"
"Just leave it to us," Meliodas smiled reassuringly, "Now come on, let's get you guys back to the Boar's Hat before anything else happens," he grinned.
He still wasn't convinced that he had just imagined that feeling out of the blue.
"Too late," a raspy voice spoke up suddenly as the two were engulfed by a ball of black energy.
Grabbing his sword, Meliodas instantly assessed the situation, deciding that he couldn't break through the prison in time and zooming towards the source of the power.
The black haired demon, now standing coldly in front of ball as he smirked, resting a hand on it.
"Thanks for the assistance, Melascula," he stated in the millisecond before impact.
"No problem," the same voice inside of the round sphere spoke as it sunk slowly into the earth.
Cling! The brothers' weapons intersected as they moved about the area swiftly, the land around them exploding in their furious wrath.
"Captain!" Diane called out as the rest of the sins except Merlin appeared over the horizon.
Dodging a near fatal blow, Meliodas ordered them.
"Diane! Stop that thing from getting away!" he yelled, grimacing as his arm was nearly cut off and returning the favor.
The object was now halfway through the earth.
"Got it!" Diane affirmed, dancing around the area an a series of fluid leaps and turns as the ground melded to her movements.
Creation.
Still, it seemed to lower even faster as it smoothly descended, unhindered in its fall.
Meliodas noticed this mid-battle.
"Why?" he demanded, blocking Zeldris' swipe and moving to making his own at light speed.
Zeldris smirked, "Well dear brother, I can't have you taking another of my members with you, now can I?"
Meliodas narrowed his eyes, "And Elizabeth?"
"So the rumors are true," he acknowledged, "That one's just a bonus," the Demon King representative stated, dodging a swipe and spinning around him as he tried to slice off his arm, preventing any possible counters.
"Tch," Meliodas clicked his tongue in annoyance that he hadn't fired off any magic attacks.
"Enchantment; Hellblaze!" he brought down his sword Lostvayne on the attack as Zeldris barely moved his head, a path of scorching black flames burning through the ground behind him.
"Nice try, but I don't plan on giving you any openings, Meliodas," Zeldris stated, kicking him as he blocked, skidding backwards as the blonde resumed his offensive.
Grabbing his hands around the ball's sides, Ban used his ability, trying to rip it from out of the ground.
"Physical Hunt!" he stated as his muscles grew, taking in the strength of both Melasculla, Zeldris and some from Meliodas.
Zeldris' eyes flickered to the bug as he raised a hand to fire a blast of darkness.
Watching him carefully, Meliodas planned his next move as he fought against his other hand, sweeping at him effortlessly.
Is he going to fire or not? Meliodas questioned internally as he scrutinized him.
A ball of darkness appeared in his opponent's hand as he fired it at the mortal insect hindering his plan. Firing it, the blast zoomed towards Ban as he cursed in irritation.
"Full Counter!" Meliodas called as he reappeared before the attack, deflecting it back with double the force.
Dodging, Zeldris smirked that his moronic brother had fallen for it.
"As I thought, I knew you would-" he stated.
Schwing!
An arm clattered to the ground as the demon leader glared coldly, darkness moving to reattach it.
Doing the same, Meliodas returned the look as each of them had a foot atop the other's limb, stopping its healing process.
"A- amazing..." King's jaw dropped as he shook his head to focus on his task.
"Spirit Spear Chastiefol Form Two; Guardian," he stated as the spear took on the form of a muscular bear, trying to assist Ban in lifting up the object.
"I'm sorry I can't be more of help, King," Gowther apologized from on the ground.
"It's fine," Harlequin accepted in concentration, "just watch my back for me. Who knows if there's more of them lying around?"
"Sure!" Gowther nodded, Herritt in hand.
Zeldris clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Melascula! Quit playing around, we don't have time for this!" he ordered, making Meliodas' attention flit to said person.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zeldris kneed him in the gut, grabbing up his arm and hopping back as Meliodas glared, his arm still not intact.
"But it's fun," Melascula giggled excitedly from within the ball, five-sixths the way into the ground.
Her tongue lengthened as she moved to pat Victoria's hair comfortingly.
"L- leave her alone!" Elizabeth threatened as she held up her hands to use Ark.
"After we've finally gotten our pet back? No, I won't," she grinned sadistically watching as Elizabeth attempted to look menacing.
"Victoria's not your pet! She's one of us now!" she denied firmly.
"Really?" Melascula smirked, "Did she even tell you what her commandment could do? Are you even aware of her real name?"
"Of course! She has to serve the Demon King! And her name's Delizah Samael at that!" she shook her head.
"Wrong," the demon grinned, "To think the 'Devil's Sin' has been using you guys all along and you didn't even know it."
"What?" Elizabeth was confused, not sure what to think.
"Oi Cap'n!" Ban called out.
"What is it, Ban?" he kept his eyes on his younger brother.
"-Really don't think this is working," his best friend stated, veins pulsing in his head as he gripped the top by his mere fingers.
Meliodas glared at the ground in anger before looking back up at his brother.
"Where are you taking them?" he demanded.
"It's not like you wouldn't already know," Zeldris pointed out, well aware of his decision.
"...Ban," he called again in resignation.
"Bit busy over here-"
"Let them go."
The sins all froze in shock.
"Captain why?" they yelled in disbelief.
"Zeldris won't kill them for now. We'll have a chance to get them back," he stated.
"But we just found them!" Diane stressed.
"Captain's orders. You too, King."
"You... you aren't serious Captain..." King stressed.
Meliodas was silent.
Zeldris smirked, "Glad you could see it my way, Meliodas," he stated, releasing his arm from underneath his foot as Meliodas rubbed it gingerly.
"You aren't seriously going to hand them over to the demons are you?" King exclaimed from in mid-air, "We only have three days left!"
Ban looked Meliodas in the eyes for a sign as to what he had planned.
Sighing, he let the ball go, watching as it sank slightly, barely stopped by Chastiefol.
"Ban?" King was shocked.
"Just do it, King. Captain's orders," he stated, looking up at him.
Shaking in disbelief, King finally relaxed, letting the ball go and watching it disappear into the ground with regret.
And then, Zeldris disappeared, glaring darkly at Meliodas as he went.
The duo gets taken by the demons!
Can they manage to get them back within the weekly time limit?
Remember to favourite, follow and tell me what you think!
~Nia