Turning Back The Clock

Turning Back The Clock: Chapter 13

I may not like Mel's pervy phases, but I love the little face he makes. It's literallythe face of "I give no shits"

"The captain really is like a little boy again..."

Harlequin nodded at Diane's comment before responding with his own.

"It really is odd, isn't it? Even more so that he admires those demons so much..."

"You can't really blame him can ya? He's one himself, and as far as he knows, he's grown up here his whole life with those same demons "guarding" this realm."

The fairy couldn't argue with Ban's point, but that didn't have to make this any easier.

"I know... It's just all so overwhelming. Even though it's clear he's still as kind as the man we've met, hearing his talk like this. Hearing him so proud of the monsters that did this to him.. It almost feels like he's been brainwashed."

"Well in a way, he has. Due to whatever magic cast on him, he's a nine year old boy with no memories of any time after that age, and a life he had left many years ago becoming the only one he has experience with now. So of course he'll follow those customs set in that time."

The group looked at Merlin. She had stayed behind until now to do research into as many time spells as she could to hopefully find the one cast on their Captain, and a means of reversing it.

"Whatever magic cast on him? Does... that mean you didn't find anything?"

Diane looked so crestfallen when asking that, but the mage had no intention of lying to cheer up the shrunken giant.

"Unfortunately, yes. This isn't any sort of spell I'm familiar with, which means it's not any sort of magic that I'm familiar with."

"Well then what do we do? It's only a matter of time before we're found out, and if that happens we might never get our captain back!"

They all agreed with her thoughts and feelings at the moment, however what were they supposed to say to her? All of them felt as hopeless about the situation as the brunette. Because if Merlin the best mage in Britannia had no idea what magic this was? How could they possibly hope to defeat it!?

"What about absolute cancel Merlin? M-Maybe he'll turn back to his original state like Gowther?"

"No. I've done research into that, but I don't believe it would do a thing. This isn't just a spell to give the captain the mind and body of a child, it has in every sense turned back the clock to the point in time where he was in this state of mind and body. Absolute cancel wouldn't work on such a thing because magic isn't what is keeping him in this form, it is merely what triggered it."

"Well, can't we at least try it!? We need to do something!"

Her voice was so desperate and it truly hurt all of them to hear their own emotions voiced. Diane- like most of the others- barely interacted with Meliodas because of how hard it was to do so. She hated seeing his emerald eyes have no recognition for her or any of the others. It was just too much to bare.

"Diane, it's taken awhile for us to earn the cap'n's trust again. He may be a little boy, but he's definitely still got his skills in observation about him. If we do something like that and it doesn't work, we could lose any chance of contact with the kid..."

It was Ban that responded this time, a sad look on his face as he continued to hold the sleeping child snuggled between both himself and Elizabeth.

"W-Well... can't we at least take him home? If we can try in a safer place, a-and if he's in such a familiar environment, s-surely it might trigger something, won't it?"