Chandler very sensibly ran for it. He wasn't stupid—the little lady was already a handful. If he didn't leave now, he'd end up like Mael, suffering a righteous pile-on from Charles and the Seven Deadly Sins.
So he slipped away without a word, and Stella didn't give chase, turning back to regroup with everyone.
They watched Mael expel the Commandments and return to normal, and the three Commandments flew off on their own without anyone escorting them.
As more Commandments are gathered, an attraction forms. Meliodas already had seven, and he directly summoned these three back.
Thus the group hurried after them and arrived at Stigma of Light's former headquarters together.
Zeldris had turned the place into a Demon Clan fortress, but it had just gone through a major battle, and ruins were everywhere.
Whether because the Demons were garrisoned here or because Meliodas was absorbing Commandments, the entire sky was shrouded in clouds, lightning flashing now and then.
Combined with the shattered buildings and the lingering smoke and blood of battle, the place felt especially grim.
No one cared about the setting, because everyone saw the massive dark cocoon.
They could all sense the enormous magic within, and the pulsing like a heartbeat.
Zeldris stood with Chandler and a grim-faced Cusack behind him. When they saw the group, their expressions soured, but they didn't move.
To have Meliodas fulfill his promise, Zeldris didn't care about anything else now. As long as the Seven Deadly Sins didn't act, he wouldn't either.
Elizabeth laced her fingers as if in prayer.
Though Meliodas, Merlin, and Charles had all assured her they'd prepared for everything, she couldn't help worrying.
In the original course, Elizabeth tried to stop Meliodas from absorbing the Commandments precisely because she knew that once he absorbed all ten, his very existence would be crushed by the sheer magic.
So she'd have rather died to the curse and entered reincarnation again than let Meliodas become the Demon King.
But this time was different. She'd seen the preparations firsthand. She couldn't deny the odds of success were high, so she had no reason to stop Meliodas.
That didn't mean she wasn't worried; risk still existed.
The pulsation inside the dark cocoon grew stronger, until the thunderous sound could be heard by ear.
With everyone's hearts in different places, the cocoon suddenly twitched, then split open in an X-shaped tear.
Footsteps sounded. A figure emerged from the darkness, growing clearer.
His face resembled Estarossa's form of Mael by eighty percent, except the hair atop his head wasn't white but long and gold.
He wore a white bodysuit that outlined his muscles and made the black magic sigils upon it stand out all the more.
Two bronze, eerie appendages extended from his back, like skeletal arms sheathed in armor.
Clutching his staff, Chandler's eyes filled with tears. "So this is Young Master Meliodas, who has inherited the Demon King. What a majestic figure!"
Charles reached out to stop Elizabeth from stepping forward. "That's not the Boss in there. Let's stick to the plan."
Zeldris, not yet realizing who controlled the body, stepped up. "Meliodas, I did what you asked. It's time to keep your promise."
The Demon King sneered. "My foolish son—are you still obsessed with such meaningless things?"
Zeldris's face changed. "Father—why are you in Meliodas's body?"
The Demon King laughed. "The Commandments are shards of my power. Becoming the Demon King means becoming my new body!"
"What a joke!"
Zeldris roared. He hadn't imagined his father would be vile enough to use his own son as a vessel for descent.
But he knew his father would never honor Meliodas's promise to break Gelda's seal.
In fury, Zeldris whipped the short sword at his waist free and slashed at the Demon King.
The Demon King didn't even move; the appendages behind him blocked the strike.
"How pathetic," he drawled. "To show such disgrace as my son."
The other limb swept out and sent Zeldris flying.
Cusack rushed forward to catch him, anxiously asking if he was hurt.
Chandler looked complicatedly at the Demon King; his wish had been to see Meliodas inherit the throne, but now he didn't know what to do.
The Demon King paid them no mind. He spread his arms and drew a deep breath.
"Long time no see, Britannia. This time, I will conquer you completely."
Charles finally spoke, stepping forward. "Sorry, but even if your dream just started, it's time to wake up."
The Demon King turned, saw Charles, and fury surged across his face.
"You. Sinful human. I let you escape last time. This time you'll pay for everything you've done."
Charles curled his lip, unimpressed. "Drop the act. You haven't even fully seized this body. Meliodas is still fighting you, isn't he?
"And the wound I gave you isn't so easy to heal. How much of your former strength do you really have?"
The Demon King's anger deepened—because every word was true.
Since his descent, Meliodas had been resisting him in the mental world, preventing full control of the body.
The wound Charles left was even more troublesome; that unknown power had injured not just his body, but corroded his soul.
Otherwise he wouldn't have been so humiliated that day.
Though only a few days had passed in Britannia, a thousand years had gone by in Purgatory, and yet his injury had barely recovered. Suppressing it alone consumed much of his power.
He had never been in worse shape. If he hadn't waited eons for this one chance, he might have given up on descending.
But now the worst had happened—rebellion within, strong enemies without, and from the looks of Zeldris and the others, no help coming.
The Demon King was already considering fleeing first, hiding until he fully recovered, then settling accounts one by one.
Obviously, no one was going to give him that chance.
"Go, Gowther," Charles said. "Dive into the mental world and find Meliodas. Tell him the final battle has begun.
"We've prepared long enough—time to collect the victory we reserved."
Merlin raised a hand, and a massive Perfect Cube sprang up, enclosing everyone.
Charles, Ban, Escanor, Zeldris, and the rest moved as one, all charging the Demon King.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.