Everyone was completely horrified by what they had just witnessed, but no one more than Meliodas, who slowly approached the rubble.
"Meliodas! Sissy's safe, by a hair," said Ragnar.
Everyone looked up and saw Ruby floating above them; it was clear that Ragnar had teleported her just in the nick of time.
"Please don't worry, I'm all right," she assured them.
However, that wasn't strictly true, as any appearing overhead was her curse of eternal reincarnation.
"Eternal reincarnation, it's back," said Meliodas horrified.
"But why? I-I thought Meliodas had broken that curse?" Heather asked.
Meliodas then took on his Demon King form in an attempt to destroy the curse once more. "This time, I'll destroy it for good!"
He struck the curse and disintegrated.
"Did you see that?" said Gilthunder stunned. "Meliodas' form and power!"
"Incredible," said Ake.
"Power like that is on par with the Demon King's," said Gael.
However, the curse then suddenly reappeared once more.
"I don't understand; how is the curse regenerating?" Meliodas asked.
"Another question is why it only returned to the Princess?" Eret asked.
"Meliodas's curse was placed upon him by the Supreme Deity, and mine was placed on by both her and the Demon King," Hiccup explained. "Ruby's curse, on the other hand—"
Astrid's eyes widened. "—was placed on her by the Demon King."
"That's bad news; it likely means that he didn't die after all," said Snotlout.
"Yeah, so it seems," Meliodas agreed.
Up in the north, where the vampires were originally sealed, Cusack was looking down joyously at Zeldris.
"You've done well, Cusack," said Zeldris. "It looks like I live to see another day, Meliodas."
Everyone soon returned to Berk, and the Seven Deadly Sins, along with Meliodas, Ruby, the twins and the dragons, began to discuss the situation.
"The Demon King is back; this has to be some sort of mistake," said Tuffnut.
"Some mistake," said Toothless.
"No kidding, I thought Snotlout, Hiccup and Meliodas took him down," said Luna.
"This is the Demon King we're talking about, so anything is possible," said Astrid.
"To be honest, I'm not surprised; this is simply payback against Meliodas by restoring the eternal reincarnation curse on the Princess," said Snotlout.
"The bigger question is who he could be using as a vessel," said Ragnar folding his arms.
"It is simply impossible for an ordinary creature to do so; most vessels would crumble to pieces," said Astrid. "They just simply can't withstand the Demon King's powers."
"That's true; not even Mael of the Four Archangels could completely take in four of the Commandments," said Fishlegs.
"Then who other than Meliodas could possibly use that power after taking it all in?" Heather asked.
"Do you have any idea?" Ruby asked Meliodas.
"What do you think? Who do you think it possibly could be?" Hiccup asked.
"No one is really coming to mind," Meliodas admitted. "Honestly, I don't have a clue."
Zeldris' body had grown and become more masculine as it was now possessing the spirit of the Demon King.
"Ah, Master Zeldris, such magic power was a splendid form you have taken," said Cusack with tears in his eyes. "I am so proud of you; I can't keep crying tears of pure joy."
He then began thinking back to a few days ago, back when the Holy War had reached its conclusion. Cusack awoke to find himself flat on the ground and not as the Original Demon.
"Where am I? What happened?" he groaned and began to recollect his last memory. "That's right, we broke the punishment of the Demon King had placed on us and changed back to our original forms."
"So you're finally up," said Chandler's voice.
"Chandler?" Cusack stared as he got back up.
"It seems you and I split due to Mael's attack. The trauma must have brought us to the brink of death and reinstated the punishment. Anyhow my memory is fuzzy; any idea what happened while we were unconscious? The last thing I remember with even the smallest amount of clarity is Master Meliodas taking in all the Commandments."
Cusack was unsure himself, but clearly, a lot of time had passed, the entire kingdom of Xeovell had been burned to the ground, and smoke covered the entire area. Additionally, in the distance, he could see a diamond tower which was split completely down the middle.
Suddenly the two of them sensed a powerful presence nearby.
"Over there!" Chandler pointed.
In a clearing, they could see all 10 of the Commandments on the ground, and it looked as if they were fading.
"The Commandments!" they gasped.
"And look, they appear to be getting weaker," Chandler noted. "But how is that possible? I thought the Master had absorbed them all."
Cusack turned and saw Zeldris on the ground unconscious. "M-Master Zeldris! Look at him. He's barely hanging on by a thread!"
"Just forget about that worthless failure," said Chandler dismissively. "Focus on collecting the Commandments; they must be preserved! Once we have them all, we will locate Master Meliodas and present them to—"
Cusack had had enough of Chandler disrespecting his pupil and drew his sword and struck him on his back was turned.
"Cusack, why would you do this to me?" he groaned.
"Forgive me, Chandler; this is nothing personal," said Cusack with false regret. "But you only get in my way by allowing you to live."
He then struck Chandler with more sword strikes slicing him to pieces.
Cusack then turned to the unconscious body of Zeldris. "It must be fate that I return to this form and be presented with this opportunity. I will carry out my wishes and mission as Cusack. My life can know no higher honour."
He then grabbed Zeldris and the Ten Commandments; he then dashed off to a remote location so that he could begin the process of making Zeldris the new Demon King.
'Do not worry, Master Zeldris, I'll save you. I will not let you die no matter what,' he vowed.
He then finally found the perfect place to begin the process, which ironically was the place where Zeldris sealed the last surviving members of the Vampire Clan.
"Ever since you were little, he used to ask me why I was so loyal to you," said Cusack as he placed Zeldris' body down. "Why I was so very devoted to your well-being. The answer is simple, you are like a son to me, my most priceless treasure, my reason for living, my everything. The fact that those feelings were only planted in me by the Demon King has no bearing. Come forth Commandments, the stow up on Master Zeldris all the great powers you have to offer!"
The Commandments then began to glow, and Zeldris regained consciousness, but he still lacked the strength to speak, let alone move.
'Is he sending the Commandments into me?' he said.
He then heard Cusack beginning the incantation that would allow the Commandments to enter his body. Naturally, he had been around when the Demon King revealed his true intentions, and Zeldris was in no condition to tell him otherwise.
'No! Stop!' he pleaded, but Cusack kept on chanting.
Zeldris was fully aware that the Demon King had been moulding them to be candidates not to take over for him but for him to take over their bodies. He tried to get up in order to warn Cusack of this.
"Stop it!" Zeldris roared with all his strength.
Too late, the Commandments then began to enter his body.
The next day, the Demon King successfully possessed Zeldris, but Cusack was still unaware of this.
"I knew that you were more suited to be the true Demon King," said Cusack. "Once you have harnessed these new powers, you will become a king that your father could never hold a candle to."
"Thank you, Cusack, excellent work," said the Demon King. Cusack was crying with tears of joy, but then the Demon King struck him with a powerful spell that began to disintegrate his body. "But you nauseate me. Be gone from my presence."
What remained of Cusack's body then fell to the floor.
"You have already served your purpose for living," said the Demon King and laughed.
He then stepped outside and looked at his tattered clothes.
"This wretched appearance at these fitting for a king," he said.
Then within seconds, he morphed his clothes into armour that certainly gave him the appearance of a king.
"This ought to do," he said. "My magic is flowing pretty smoothly."
He then extended his hand and clenched and immediately compressed a mountain nearby into dust.
"To be honest, I was concerned that his performance would be inferior to Meliodas," he admitted. "But I must say it's not bad. Wanted perfectly under my control, I'll be able to regain my original Demon King's strength. You're a good boy, Zeldris. You won't be like your foolish older brother and disobey your father, will you?"
He then turns the tension to more pressing concerns. "Now then, the Seven Deadly Sins will surely figure out my whereabouts sooner or later, but I still need time to get this vessel completely under my control. The low-ranking demons are no match against them, though, so that poses a dilemma."
Then he sensed something that caught his interest.
"You did close the gate to the Demon Realm before we returned to the capital, right, Ragnar?" Meliodas asked.
"There's no need to worry; it will cease to exist soon," he assured them. "Besides, it was only large enough for a human to pass through; even if they tried, the most they could get through from the Demon Realm would be the White Demons."
The Demon King was fully aware of the gate that led to the Demon Realm and began to use this opportunity.
"Oh, beast that roams the Demon Realm, the manifestation of destruction and death, hear me the rule of the Demon Realm command. Indura, I summon thee!"
He then moved his hands in front of him as if trying to force open an extremely tight door.
In so doing so, the entire landscape began to shake, which caught the attention of the Seven Deadly Sins.
"No way," said Ragnar horrified.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Heather.
"It is such an ominous aura," said Fishlegs.
"Is he trying to wrench the gate back open?" said Ragnar shocked.
"Whatever he's trying to summon, it entering our world," said Astrid.
"No mistake, this immense magic energy is Indura, the legendary Leviathan feared by all, including the Demon Race," said Ragnar horrified.
"All right, Seven Deadly Sins, it's time to move out and deal with that monster," said Hiccup. "We have to destroy that thing before the Demon King had a chance to make his move."
"You're not leaving me out of this," said Meliodas.
"Don't even think about it, Meliodas," said Astrid folding her arms. "You need to stay here to protect Ruby."
"She's right, now the curse has returned, and the three-day limit has already passed by you are the only person as strong as the Demon King that can protect the Princess," said Hiccup.
Meliodas hated it, but he knew that he was right.
"Once we take down that monster, we'll take care of the Demon King, too," Hiccup assured him.
"Fine, be careful; I'm counting on all of you," said Meliodas.
"Then let's head out," said Ragnar snapping his fingers and all the Seven Deadly Sins, except for Eret, vanished.
Eret looked at the dragons and the twins. "We had better let everyone off the situation."
"Let's go. We don't have any time to lose," said Ruffnut.
"The King and the Dragon Knights need to be told," said Tuffnut.
"We can get it done a lot fast if you ride on us," said Toothless.
"But don't get too used to it," said Luna.
The twins got on the back of Luna, and Eret hopped onto Toothless' back and immediately flew towards the capital.
Both Meliodas and Ruby were completely alone now.
"Why did you tell everyone?" Ruby asked. "You know that the Demon King chose Zeldris as his new vessel."
"This problem is between me, my brother and my father," he said. "I don't want the Sins involved any further, but I can't just leave you behind in this place. What am I supposed to do?"
"You go, you have to," said Ruby.
Meliodas looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? Go where?"
"To where the Demon King is, of course," she said and then presented him with a finely crafted sword.
"My sword," Meliodas stared.
"Hiccup has been holding it for a very long time; he then gave it to Ragnar and then gave it to me shortly after my memories returned," she explained.
Meliodas took the sword. "Thank you so much, but I can't leave you."
"Yes, I know you can't leave me alone. Still, though, you can't abandon Zeldris for the third time now, can you? In that case, the only real solution is for me to go with you. What is important to you is important to me as well, your life, your family, everything."
"Ruby, I'd be honoured if you fight beside me again," said Meliodas.
Ruby smiled at him.
The two of them then set out to find the Demon King and Zeldris.
"It's just like 3,000 years ago when I made up my mind to leave the Demon Realm," said Meliodas.
"No matter what happens or who we must face in battle, I am on your side," Ruby assured him. "You can count on me; I will always be with you."
The two of them then flew off into the distance.
"You always held my hand and be here by my side. You pushed me and gave me courage; you were my light. It's all those things and more that made me fall in love with you."
The two of them then grasped hands as they flew off.
"Now let's save, Zel!"
Both Eret and the twins had made it to the capital and began to inform everyone of the situation.
Eret and Toothless went to King Topaz in the Royal family.
"What? My word!" King Topaz gasped. "What a disastrous situation."
The twins and Luna had to inform Ake and the rest of the Dragon Knights.
"Understood," said Ake looking a little uneasy. "Notify all the Dragon Knights to keep their eyes and ears open."
Once they had informed everyone, they met up in an alleyway.
"I think we're just about done delivering the message," said Eret.
"Good, then let's meet up with Meliodas and Princess Ruby," said Ruffnut.
"Yeah, we're still her bodyguards," Tuffnut nodded.
"Don't even think that you leave us behind," said Toothless.
"Let's move," said Luna.
The twins then hopped onto the backs of the dragons and took off back to the Black Dragon, leaving Eret behind.
Eret then spat out some blood; his body had received massive internal damage thanks' constant use of Sunshine. However, despite this, he still wished that he had that power; at least then, he could have helped the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Eret looked up at the sky. "Listen, Mael, the world is in hot water all over again. If you can hear me, I ask you, I beg of you, please lend me your power once more before it's too late."
The twins and dragons had reached the Black Dragon only to find that both Meliodas and Princess Ruby had vanished.
"What you mean they're not inside?" said Toothless.
"We mean they're not inside; the entire place is empty," said Ruffnut.
"They can even leave a note," said Tuffnut.
Luna looked at Toothless. "When you think they've gone?"
"Only one place springs to mind; they've gone out to find the Demon King," said Toothless.
"The most irresponsible thing I've ever heard!" Ruffnut stared incredulously.
"And we've done a lot of irresponsible things," said Tuffnut.
"So what do we do?" Luna asked.
Toothless just stood there in deep thought.
Meliodas and Ruby were still making their way towards the Demon King and Zeldris.
"This way that we're headed, where the Demon King is…" said Ruby.
"It's the magical lake of Soulsberg," said Meliodas. "The most magically enriched site on the entire continent. The reason he chose that place was to recover the magic that he had exhausted during the battle. The sooner that he can do so, the sooner that he didn't fully assimilate with his new vessel."
"It's okay; we can save Zeldris; I just know it," Ruby assured him. "I'm certain that he is waiting for your help."
Meliodas then remembered the day that he told Zeldris that he was defecting.
"You're leaving the Demon Realm!" Zeldris yelled. "Are you crazy, brother? Do you think father will permit such behaviour!"
"I'm not asking for anyone's permission," said Meliodas bluntly.
"Brother…"
"Listen to me; I found someone too who I want to protect no matter what."
"I see, so the rumours about you and the Supreme Deity's daughter are true!"
"If I continue this war as the leader of the Ten Commandments, I just know eventually that these hands of mine will eventually hurt Ruby."
"Bad enough you announced your friendship with that Dragonborn whelp but abandoned the Demon Race and your own brother! How could you?"
Meliodas extended his hand. "Zel, come with me and bring Gelda. Hiccup assures me that he will protect the both of you."
Zeldris lifted his hand and swatted his way, looking at him disgusted. "Go ahead, you traitor! From here on, I no longer consider you my brother! Next time we meet will be as enemies!"
He then walked away, filled with anger.
"I said that without really thinking things through," Meliodas admitted to Ruby. "Gelda's a vampire. Considering her constitution, it only makes sense that he remained in the Demon Realm. I was a fool, and Hiccup did warn me that even his influence may not have been able to protect them; he only stuck his head out trying to convince Stigma that I was on their side.
And while leaving was best for me, I'm sure that even he had to suffer even more pressure because of it. As Gelda's lover, as the acting commander of the Ten Commandments and as the son of the Demon King."
The Demon King was waiting in the middle of the lake, and he could sense that Meliodas was approaching him, much to his delight.
'All right, Zeldris, time to join me in taking revenge against your foolish brother,' he said.
In Zeldris' mind, Zeldris found himself in dense fog as he tried to recall what had happened.
"Where am I?" he said and remembered what had happened. "That's right, Cusack, infuse the Commandments into me."
He looked around but could see nothing but fog. "Damn you, father! Return my body to me! We're finished; I no longer belong to you!"
But there was no answer within the fog.
"Why don't you answer? Say something! I cannot remain here forever; there is still something that I need to do no matter what!"
"Do you mean finding me?" said a voice causing him to pause. "That won't be necessary anymore."
Zeldris turned around and saw Gelda standing there before him. "Gelda?"
"I've missed you terribly," she said.
Zeldris instantly realised this was a trick. "No! You're not real!"
"Oh, but I am," she said, approaching him. "Can't you tell?"
"The real Gelda was sealed away by Hiccup Haddock and is in Asgard right now."
"I am afraid that you were fed a lie."
"What do you mean?"
"His goal is to make himself the Demon King, and appeasing you is the quickest means by which to gather the Commandments."
"Then you're saying that my Gelda is—"
"I was killed long ago by Hiccup Haddock, and his Seven Deadly Sins companions and Meliodas watched everything."
"Impossible!"
Gelda then reached out and touched his face. "But even in my dying moments, I long to see you so much so that I became a soul and ended up here."
"That can't be!" said Zeldris defiantly. "My father would never grant you permission to be here."
"You're wrong about that," Gelda assured him. "Listen and believe me. The Demon King has acknowledged our relationship; that's why I'm able to be here with you again like this. There's no need to keep it a secret anymore; we can be together forever and ever."
She then hugged him tightly, and he cried into her chest.
Back in the present world, the Demon King watched as Meliodas and Ruby arrived.
"They're here," he said as they landed.
Once they landed, all three of them looked at one another in utter silence.
Meanwhile, the Seven Deadly Sins had located Indura, which was like a mutated monstrosity on crab legs.
"So I guess this thing is Indura," Heather assumed.
Indura then extended its tail, resembling the forked tongue of a snake, up into the sky.
"It appears to have sensed our murderous intent," said Ragnar.
"It looks like a big bug, and that's not okay," said Heather.
They then observed as something began blowing up its tail towards its tip.
"It's gathering numerous points of magic at the tip of its tail," Fishlegs observed.
"Now I'm afraid this is a biological reaction," said Hiccup.
Then something shot out of its tail and shot up towards the sky. Once it was high enough then exploded staff in what appeared to be spores.
"What you're doing now?" Heather asked, looking disgusted.
"Are those spores?" Fishlegs frowned. "No, they're too big for that."
Ragnar's eyes widened. "Don't tell me!" Then the spores began to mutate into creatures that bore somewhat resemblance to Indura. "I believe that's Indura's spawn."
They then began to spread out throughout the entire mountain range.
"They'll spread out throughout the entire continent!" Fishlegs cried. "We have to stop them fast!"
Back at the lake, the Demon King was staring down at Meliodas and Ruby, who both stood there defiant. However, they could not help but notice that the wind was growing in strength.
"This world doesn't want us," the Demon King observed. "The atmosphere has become enraged because there was no place for to Demon Kings."
"There's no place for even one Demon King," Meliodas corrected.
Lightning then began pelting the land and slowly began to become more furious.
"The cause of this was the worthless quarrel between you and the Supreme Deity," said Meliodas. "Do you have any idea how much blood and tears have been shed because of it? Have you ever stopped for a moment and considered how many lives that have been lost?"
"What a foolish question," said the Demon King. "Do you concern yourself with every stolen grain of sand by the road?"
"Right, yes, it's true that while I was under your command, engaging in one tedious fight after another, I felt nothing. I thought nothing. I was as cold as stone, but then I met Ruby, and she turned to my world around. As did all my friends I met thereafter, without the Seven Deadly Sins, we wouldn't be where we are today.
All of those whose fate had been heartlessly tampered with by you and your kind. Those whose fates had been turned upside down. All their feelings will be thrown your way! So get ready for them!"