Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Seven Deadly Sins: Zeldris x OC)

Chapter 14

Life in Britannia was hell after that day. With Meliodas dead, Andrea missing, and Merlin out of the picture for the time being, the demons had absolutely no one to put up a real fight in their conquest of Britannia. Within the span of a month, demon tracks became the norm, and Camelot fell into the hands of the Demon Prince Zeldris. The Seven Deadly Sins persisted, of course, but without Meliodas to lead them, their power was significantly reduced.

All within the expectations of the plan.

Andrea let out a sigh that sucked all of the air out of her lungs as she leaned back on her rocking chair, floating screens surrounding her as they reflected the current status of the most important players in the game. "Dreaming Sheep" had greatly evolved after that fateful event a month ago; what was once an ability limited to creating a dream world under Andrea's complete control was now a tangled web of dreams, allowing Andrea to peek into the dreams — more akin to memories — of the world itself through the "eyes" of willow trees. Thankfully, those trees could be found just about anywhere, and the connection all species of trees held with each other let Andrea glean information from other trees.

"I'm still too weak..." Andrea murmured to herself, raising her hand to look at it with frustration. "Dreaming Sheep" was, despite its unparalleled information-gathering capabilities, still merely a support-type magical ability. The strength that Andrea could glean from borrowing Noir and Blanco's physical prowess was only a temporary measure until she could properly harness the destructive power of "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". She knew to the marrow of her bones that with a proper breakthrough, she could battle on the same playing field as Meliodas in his Commandment era. However... the way she was now...

Andrea, could you stop by my lab for a moment? Merlin's voice telepathically streamed into her head, jolting her out of her thoughts.

"That's rare for Merlin to call for me," Andrea muttered to herself, standing up as the world around her began to fold in on itself, melting away into the real world. After that day, Andrea had decided to stay with Merlin in order to study her magical abilities more closely... and because she felt it too painful to be around Elizabeth and the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins. She wasn't brave enough to face them, fearing the scorn and words of contempt that they may throw at her due to her inability to - no, choice not to - save Meliodas. Merlin was the only other person who knew about Meliodas and Elizabeth's curses, so she was the only person Andrea could think of to rely on as she developed a better understanding of her own powers.

"Welcome back," Merlin greeted as Andrea shadow-traveled over to her lab, not turning away from a test tube she held between her fingers.

"You needed me, Merlin?" Andrea asked, her attention momentarily diverted by a floating book in the air, its binder lined with sharp... teeth?

"The Ten Commandments are launching an attack on Liones, and I believe that this is the perfect time to return to the battlefield," Merlin said, setting the test tube down and turning around. "You've grown stronger. Strong enough to hold your own against a Commandment or two without outside help. Besides, it's around that time," she said, referring to Meliodas's revival from the dead.

"This time... I think that this will be his last resurrection," Andrea said, her brow furrowed in thought as Merlin hummed questioningly. "Other than the times he deliberately died to test if the curse had weakened, Meliodas would ordinarily have never developed a plan that practically expected him to die in the process. This decision... he's planning to break their curse within this incarnation of Ellie." Taking a deep, shaky breath, Andrea let a small, sad smile spread across her lips. "After meeting her... I can't blame him. Losing this Elizabeth would be debilitating for us both. And if the demons take over Britannia after she dies? There's no telling if we have a second chance."