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

Chapter Thirty-Four: A Fateful Encounter

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It was the morning of Meliodas' departure from this world. All of the sins and their closest comrades stood nearby megadoza, the home of the giants. Beside it was a portal to the demon realm. Everyone was close to crying. Acantha had wanted to go with Meliodas but knew it wasn't the safest option for her, and that it would only distress Meliodas with her being in harms way. As the sins all gave their goodbye to Meliodas, he felt King shoving him to the silent nymph. "Better make your goodbye a good one, captain." The fairy boy muttered with a smile and tear stained cheeks. Meliodas nodded and went to the girl he had become fond over. She had been staring at the ground, unsure if she could even watch Meliodas leaving. "Hey... Try not to look down. I need my last look at you to be of you smiling. Plus..." He trailed off, taking his sacred treasure off his back. "Still need to give ya this." He chuckled and presented the weapon to her.

Acantha simply looked up and allowed him to gift her Lostvayne. "Wouldn't you need it in the demon realm?" She asked. Meliodas shook his head. "Not really. Besides. If this falls into the wrong hands over there, who knows what will happen. I'd rather you keep it safe for me." The demon made sure she held onto it tightly before putting a hand on her head and pulling her in for a tight hug. "Go to the goddess temple. It doesn't matter what the others say about it. After that... Live your life comfortably and peacefully..." He whispered in her ear, trying to hold back from tearing up himself. Acantha sniffled and buried her face in his shoulder as she gave a broken hum of approval to this.

Even as Meliodas pulled away from the embrace, he didnt want to leave quite yet. The idea to leave them behind pained him. "It'll suck in the demon realm. There won't be any good booze. Aye Merlin think you can toss some through the portal once in a while?" He joked with a laugh. Of course Meliodas would do this, joke at even the most dreadful of times. It lightened the mood just a bit as he went off to leave. Acantha watched, clutching Meliodas' sword in her arms and shook a bit from trying to remain strong.

As Meliodas went to leave this human world, a giant boulder seemed to appear from nowhere, aiming for Elizabeth. Merlin was able to stop it in time though, casting a perfect cube around Elizabeth and the surrounding people. The large rock crumbling upon impact with the perfect cube. It left everyone in shock and confusion though, the only thing that took their attention being the manifestation of Elizabeth's curse appearing once more. Meliodas was angered by this and tried to destroy it once more but it didnt work unfortunately.  This meant one thing... The demon king wasn't dead just yet...

The sins all regrouped back at the tavern and tried to process all of this. Acantha was sitting by a window in the main tavern, gazing off at the perfect pure white snow on the ground. Just thinking about going out into it felt relieving to her constantly warm tempered body. Escanor wandered over after seeing how she sat alone. "Do you mind I join you?" He questioned, holding a cup of hot spiced cider in his hands. Acantha turned to him and nodded, always enjoying his company when he was in his smaller form. "Do you like the snow? I always imagined the cooler seasons being your favorite since you never really liked the heat." The glasses wearing man said with a smile. Acantha furrowed her brows but nodded. "I do enjoy the cold... But I think this is the first winter I've gone through without having to worry about getting sick or risking frostbite." She explained, her sights setting back onto the snow.

There was a calm silence between them for a moment before Escanor spoke up again. "I've actually been meaning to ask you something... You seem to have strange scars on your wrists and ankles and even some that don't seem to be from any of the battles we have fought in as comrades. Forgive me if it pries too much into your life but... May I be so curious to ask what happened?" Escanor tried to speak in a soft tone as to not make the timid nymph uncomfortable. Acantha was silent, in a pondering state.