The Nymph's Redemption: Acantha's Journey (7ds fanfiction)

Chapter Seven: The Nymph of Fire

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Dreyfus frowned at Howzer. "Do you expect a weakling nymph and holy knight to fight us alone?" He asked. Guila interrupted. "No. All three of us will." She said. Acantha was a little sketched out and didn't fully trust them but she knew they will pay if they tried to betray her and Diane.

Jericho tried to talk Guila out of it but it proved no use. Howzer started to assess the situation. "A grandmaster, a diamond ranked holy knight... And a cardinal... Our chances of winning are slim to nothing." He said. "I won't let that happen!" He yelled and used the rising tornado to its full power on them all. "Guila! Use your power! Every last ounce!" He demanded. The black-haired knight nodded and used her bombs to put power into it. Howzer then looked at Acantha. "Put yours in too!" He yelled. Acantha put her foot out and sent flames up into the tornado, creating a hot blast from the mix of hot air from the tornado and explosive power.

This kind of attack sent a wave of heat over the kingdom where it reached Gowther. "An incredible power. It isn't Diane's... However, I sense Acantha's in it. Ah, I simply must go see! I have never seen such a timid creature fight!" He said in awe and ran faster.

Howzer looked at the girls. "Don't you burn out now!" He said angrily. Acantha sent a glare and kept quiet. "I should say the same," Guila said. Suddenly Gilthunder was behind them. "Give up already..." He said as Howzer used his sword to block the thunder holy knight from attacking. Unfortunately with the now distracted fighters, the attack failed and the tornado gave out, causing Jericho to fall and Helbram to slowly make his way down. Dreyfus wasn't even scratched. Acantha was upset by this. 'Even if I wasn't going past my limit. How... Is that possible...' She thought. Dreyfus was about to use a silken skewer to end off Guila but got saved by Gowther. The pink-haired boy landed on a roof. "Who's that???" The knights asked. "Who do you think?" Gowther retorted.

Acantha was in a bit of relief when he arrived. The sin of lust looked at Gowther. "Ah, Acantha! I sensed your power from far away I'm quite impressed... You seem different." He stated. The ginger gave a slight deadpanned look. "Don't look at me like that. I've read the past few minutes of both Guila and Dreyfus' memories. And I understand the situation clearly." He said landing at the smaller girl's side. "Grandmaster Dreyfus I look forward to defeating you." He stated, attempting to use his power however getting stabbed. Acantha barely even had a moment to process this. She growled and punched Dreyfus in the head.

While the grandmaster got distracted with speaking, Gowther managed to land in a blow and use his ability. "You ramble on too long." He said and then they seemed to be frozen in place. Acantha opted to try and defend Gowther from any attacks. But this didn't last long as Gowther got stabbed. Dreyfus was snapped to reality. "Sorry... But I won't let that happen." He said. Acantha watched Gowther fall and felt a sense of uselessness. Howzer looked at Acantha. "Hey! You! Go find help! The other sins are here right? Go tell them-" he was interrupted when Diane smashed Helbram. She yelled angrily and gave Ziel, the young boy, to Howzer and Guila.

Helbram pushed up Diane's hand and stabbed her with a giant ice crystal. Before Helbram could even try another attack, King arrived. He looked at Diane and then the others with hatred in his eyes. "Which one of you did this...?" He asked. Acantha looked at Helbram. "That was me." The cardinal said. King got frustrated and yelled about always being late. Helbram took that time to attack. "You were never there! Just like when the fairy king's forest disappeared! You were there Acantha even then all you did was run!" He said, catching the girl off guard. "That presence... It suddenly... Feels familiar..." Acantha muttered as Helbram revealed himself. It all made sense to her. "Acantha. Be a good little firestarter. Go burn somewhere else you're useless here." He said.

King looked at Acantha. "Acantha! The captain and Ban are heading to the castle! Go help them!" He yelled. Acantha looked at the two before running, swerving between buildings before jumping onto a roof and using the castle location as a guide of where to go. Everything inside felt like it was burning. She looked behind her to see Helbram attacking Diane. Her heart dropped completely. She had to keep going though, for the sake of Diane and King... And those knights. She saw smoke in the distance and assumed it to be Meliodas or Ban and ran towards it. She moved fast, the thrill and rush of fighting. It kept her going when she got to where she thought either of the sins would be she just saw a boy in golden armor and orange hair fighting a silver-haired man in grandmaster clothing.

Arthur and the man fought and Acantha couldn't tell if she should help. 'No. I need to get to them. I can't stop and help.' Her thoughts were cut short when the armor-clad boy called to her. "Are you friend or foe?!" He asked as he fought. Acantha took that as a sign to try and help. "Friend if that means the kingdom gets saved. Foe if you plan to harm my friends!" She answered and used her flames to set the grandmaster ablaze. Hendrickson didn't even appear phased and knocked back Arthur, deflecting the incoming attack by Acantha and slamming her against the wall.

Hendrickson then powered up an attack with his sword. Black flames. The mere existence sent Acantha into both fear and anger. As Hendrickson launched the attack, it seemed to have been deflected. And there stood Meliodas. "Wow, you've gotten stronger since I last saw you." He said. The silver-haired grandmaster paused. "Could it be..." He trailed off. Meliodas nodded. "Yeah... And I'm not leaving until I get Elizabeth back." He said, anger in his voice. Acantha was in a sense of awe.

Meliodas didn't take his eyes off of Hendrickson. "Yo! Acantha. Think you can help out your fellow ginger?" He asked. Acantha looked at Arthur and nodded, rushing to his side. The king of Camelot chuckled. "I think I'll be alright... You look familiar." He said and watched them fight. Just then a portal of thunderclouds opened and in came Gilthunder. The holy knight sent Meliodas flying as Arthur caught him. "Thanks, bro I owe ya!" The blonde said as they landed. The three then got in a flight-ready position, Meliodas going after Gilthunder as Acantha and Arthur fought Hendrickson. Now that Acantha knew just how strong Hendrickson was, she would be able to fight a little more knowledge. Acantha looked at Arthur's sword and transferred some flames to sit on the blade, making for a more effective attack. "Woah! Impressive." He said as Acantha sent fireballs at Hendrickson and Arthur swung his blade.

The young girl could sense the fighting behind her. Every attack sent down, the feeling of Gilthunders lightning soaking the ground and burning her feet. He was about to send down a huge attack when Meliodas managed to stop it with just his fingers. Acantha and Arthur stared. "Meliodas...." Acantha trialed off with a muttered tone. "That energy... Meliodas is different...." Arthur said. Hendrickson knocked them back. "That's his demonic power." He stated. Acantha stumbled and struggled to regain balance with the damage she's already endured. They all fought vigorously but it ended up being Meliodas against both Hendrickson and Gilthunder. Arthur was injured and against stone debris, his mage next to him. As for Acantha, she was on her last legs, drained weak. The adrenaline wearing off of her. "We tried to buy you time!" Arthur yelled.

Meliodas looked at them. "Don't sweat it! Rest up! Especially you Acantha!" He said, having noticed she took more damage than any of the three there. Acantha heard his words and was just curled up on the ground, weak and unable to form coherent words. Her mind became fogged as she felt a hand grip onto her already torn-up dress. She had absolutely no energy to even tried pushing it away. Though she sensed a powerful and magical presence from the hand. It lifted her and brought her a little more away from the battle. "What an interesting creature. Don't see many like you around anymore." A feminine voice stated. It was smooth and gentle. Acantha winced from just the feeling of being sat up against debris. She looked up at the cloaked figure. "Can't have you die off fully yet." the person said before disappearing. Acantha watched the battle as Meliodas seemed to not even be aiming for the enemy with his power.

Her mind fogged and went dark before hearing her voice being called. "Acantha. Yoooo Acanthaaa. This isn't exactly the best place to nap." The voice of Meliodas sounded out. Acantha opened her eyes and saw the familiar blonde along with an unfamiliar woman. "She's sustained a lot of injuries for someone of her size and skill." The woman said. Black hair with such a seductive voice. Acantha went to her senses and tried to force herself to stand. "I... I can... I can still fight. Please... Let me help." She mumbled. "Oh wow, she talks," Meliodas said jokingly. Acantha furrowed her brows as she was helped by Meliodas. "I mean I don't recommend it but if you want to fight by all means." He said. Acantha moved some hair from her face. Her pale hands were red and scraped up. But Acantha wanted to be useful. She wanted to prove she was strong. She wanted to prove she could be brave and get over being scared of everything. "I can still fight..." She said.

Meliodas was pleased by this. "Alright then! Let's go get Elizabeth!" He said with a grin.
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Word Count: 1691