Can I have Your Daughter?

Chapter 12

"ELIZABETH!" Every sin and Holy Knight in the city would hear his cry like they had been standing next to him. His voice echoed through the streets and it was filled with fear and anger. An anger so raw and fearsome, it could only belong to the Sin of Wrath.

Meliodas heaved his breaths as his blood boiled and turned to acid and he strained against his baser needs for carnage. That was him; the so-called suitor that the kingdom of Lyoness was so afraid of crossing... And for the first time, he could understand how Bartra could try and barter for the kingdom's peace.

His hands trembled for a moment, and Meliodas couldn't tell if it was because he had been clenching them for so long that they had turned completely white, his ever rising anger, or this irrational fear in his gut.

Meliodas wasn't afraid of anything. He had fought whole armies and demons nearly on his own. He fought his own darkness. He was prepared to die for the people he cared for, and the kingdom he was loyal to. He had quite literally seen hell on earth. Now that he thought about it, though... it wasn't that he WASN'T afraid. It was his fear that made him strong. His need to survive and protect the people he cared for. He wasn't immortal. He wasn't all powerful. He was a man with the power to protect.

But when it mattered most, he failed. Elizabeth was gone. And he did nothing to stop it. But he wasn't the only one. Meliodas' gaze turned towards the castle like he could bore a hole in the thick stone walls, just by staring at it.

His steps were slow and methodical at first, some part of him trying to regain some of his usual calm demeanor. But the closer he came to the castle, the more she was flashing through his head... smiling, crying, laughing, calling his name, sleeping beside him, standing as his beacon of determination. Elizabeth was everything to him. And even her father, the king of Lyoness wasn't going to stand in his way in getting her back.

"It's Meliodas of the Seven Deadly Sins! Holy Knights, prepare yourselves!"

Meliodas had hardly even noticed the passing of scenery until he stood in front of the west gated entrance to the castle. In front of him, a large crowd of Holy Knights stood ready to take him on. He didn't even look up at them, his eyes hidden beneath his golden locks, as he took steady determined steps towards them.

"Meliodas! Stop! You are under arrest!" one of them yelled at him, and he could feel them flinch back a little as he remained quiet and continued walking forward.

"S-Stop!" One of them came charging him, and with a single wave of his hand, he knocked the Knight into a group standing off to the left.

He finally looked up at their nervous faces, anger hardening his emerald eyes as he glared them down, "Anyone else?"

There was an explosion at the castle. It shook the ground all around the capital, drawing the eyes of sins, Holy Knights, and citizens alike. Smoke and dust rose from the west gate entrance, and could be seen from miles around.

From different directions of the capital, all of the sins converged on the castle at once and saw with dread; the near army size number of Holy Knights laying on the ground. Each of the sins ran to one of the Holy Knights, and to their relief, none of them were dead.

Ahead there was a large hole in the side of the castle wall, and the sins could feel their captain just ahead. This was the energy of a man they feared. A man they dared not cross. This was the wrath that made Meliodas the captain of the Sins.

"Why would the captain up and do something like this?" Ban asked, dropping the Holy Knight unceremoniously on the ground after checking to see if he was alive.

Diane looked around, from her height towering above them all at the sheer number of incapacitated men and her stomach turned in worry, "Something must have happened to Elizabeth. I knew we shouldn't have let her go alone!"

"It was the princesses order. With all of the sins distracting the Knights, there was a low probability that she would have been put in danger. Though, I do recall feeling a distinctly large source and a similar smaller source of magic in the same area as the captain just a little while ago. It is my theory that this is the individual most likely responsible for the captain's sudden outburst." Gowther took his glasses off and wiped them casually with the hem of his shirt.

Merlin put her finger to her chin, "Two energy sources? I only felt one." Gowther shook his head, replacing the glasses on his face and put two fingers up, "No. I am certain there were two very distinct energies. One belonging to the mystery puppet master."

"GOWTHER! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING!" nearly the entire group yelled at him at once, he merely shrugged his shoulders and gave them a casual salute, "It was not relevant at the time."

"Come on! We have to catch up to the captain!" King flew in through the massive hole in the castle on Chastiefol, which had returned to him after Elizabeth had made it to the wall. Ban was quick to follow, with Gowther, Merlin, and Diane right on his tail. All they needed to do in order to find their captain was to follow the unconscious Holy Knights in the halls, leading all the way to the throne room.

They heard him before they saw him in the throne room in front of King Bartra.

"Where has he taken Elizabeth?" Meliodas' voice was low and threatening as he stared down the king of Lyoness, while his posture remained calm and composed, hands shoved in his pockets.

Bartra remained silent and hadn't even flinched when Meliodas busted through the throne room heavy double doors. His eyes were unwavering as he kept his steady gaze on him. This man, who he had considered a friend, and even admired for his guiding hand of the Holy Knights... This man was the reason Elizabeth was in the hands of someone who even Meliodas feared.

Why he feared him, he still didn't know or understand. Meliodas and the sins had all faced many knights and demons more powerful than them and had managed. The man practically oozed chaos, though... The darkness behind him was different than that of a demon, and it drained the life of everything around him.

"Captain!" Diane shouted as the sins came in behind him, but Meliodas didn't turn to them.

"I'm sorry Meliodas, but Elizabeth's suitor has come to claim her. I cannot allow you to interfere. Doing so would doom this country." Bartra didn't seem to fear Meliodas' anger, or clear intent to destroy anything in his way, but in those few sentences, Bartra's steadiness wavered. It hadn't been but a few moments, but Meliodas saw everything he needed to know.

"He's already gotten to you," Meliodas stated, narrowing his eyes and frowning; watching as King Bartra turned his gaze away to the ground. "Now he's got Elizabeth. That guy is bad news. I don't know what he threatened you with, but," a smile unfolded over his face, and despite the severity of the situation and conversation, he looked at ease, "if you don't tell me where he's taken her off to, a war with the northern kingdom of Direneth is the last thing you'll have to worry about."

All eyes were on him then. He could feel them. Trying to pick and peel him apart, trying to determine his seriousness or his true intentions. He didn't care anymore. His smile was genuine and filled with deadly intent. He was already a traitor. She had already said yes. What did he have to lose at this point?

Meliodas had just declared war on Lyoness.