Our First Fall (Melizabeth)

41. Ouroboros

"Elizabeth." A concerned, familiar voice called to me. "Elizabeth!" Meliodas' voice pierced through the haze.

"She's collapsed- ow!" Drole rumbled near me in his deep voice, obviously pained as he continued, "It's some kind of barrier." I tried to lift my lids to see if I was still suffering from blindness or to move so I could redirect the force around me. If it was too much for Drole, who had the defenses of the Giant King, it must mean multiple Archangels erected the protection ark.

I smelled burning meat and instantly thought of Meliodas' cooking, then the sound of sizzling met my ears reminding me briefly of Anarak and Zeno's end. That's when I felt the power, dark energy flecked away inside the bubble. My mind mulled this information over and somehow, came up blank.

"Meliodas!" Drole exclaimed, alarmed, "this is strong goddess magic, for a demon like you it would be excruci-" Strong hands adjusted me, pulling me up and out. The magic around me vanished and I was in his arms again. My eyes opened and the world came into view. The fairy forest had dark smoke billowing from the treetops in the distance.

Drole and Gloxinia's concerned faces were over Meliodas' shoulder and I focused. His green eyes shone as they looked at the tender spot on my lip and jaw. That's when I realized who's skin sizzled and smelled like burned meat. Meliodas' flesh had done the same thing in the cube when I'd explored my own power with that atom blast.

"Elizabeth..." He murmured as if in prayer, then his voice grew stronger. "Everything is okay now." But I knew he wasn't talking to me, he was convincing himself.

"Meliodas." I whispered with pinched brows as I realized he must have been worried. If the sheen of sweat coating him was any indication, he must have run through this forest to get to me. He smelled so nice but I felt myself falling apart inside. "I failed," I told him, apologetically, as tears welled and dripped down in heavy drops. "I didn't even realize... I should have known!" How could I not have picked up on my own people abducting and rounding up innocent demons?

Chaos erupted above us, a mass clash of light and dark energy on a scale that should scatter everyone. The power levels were beyond any normal demon or angel. This was a clash of those that were lent the power of their gods, our parents. The Ten Commandments vs the Archangels.

"You did nothing wrong. I'll figure something out." He told me, but his words didn't take the burden from me as he intended. He shouldn't shoulder the responsibility to fix this on his own. I couldn't stand by and let Meliodas suffer anymore- no, I wouldn't let him.

Above us, two of the Ten Commandments, Derieri and Monspeet, had changed. While I'd been passed out, the two had evolved into their final form. Meliodas had told me about the process, they surrender themselves to their darkness by removing six of their hearts, becoming an Indura. They couldn't return to themselves. In the end, they only stopped destroying when they died...

Derieri had grown dark and elongated into a hound demon where her long choppy hair swung out like a whip. Her claws slashed and I could imagine her punches with those would be deadly as after each punch landed the magic behind the hits increased to do more damage than the last. A combo paired with those claws would be fierce.

Monspeet's limbs had grown exceedingly long, from high in the sky they hit the ground of the forest floor as if like a spider, only far too lengthy. His face had stretched, his darkness concentrated and the power from them both shook me.

"With them like this, it would be best to let them rampage until their final heart gives up... It's the only way." Meliodas spoke, soft and sad but I couldn't abide by his words. I wanted to help him... I never wanted him to lose a friend again and these two had been dear to him.