Galand roared, wildly swinging his war spear at Escanor.
But Escanor just wore a look of utter disdain. His hands didn't even move fast—he lazily brought his battle-axe up to meet Galand's blows.
That lazy pace still caught every one of Galand's strikes. Blocking him with one hand, Escanor even had time to sneer.
"This is the power of the Ten Commandments? How disappointing."
Galand's face was twisting with rage. "Damn human! I'll show you the price of provoking me—Galand of Truth! Critical Over!"
At last Galand went all out and unleashed his magic.
Dark power surged; his body swelled, growing much "bulkier." The spikes on his red armor jutted out and looked even more vicious.
Even the pained faces at his joints contorted further!
Escanor hefted his axe on his shoulder, expression unchanged as he watched Galand erupt at full strength.
"Oh? That's everything you've got? Pathetic. As expected, no one compares to my magnificent power."
Galand almost laughed from sheer fury. He stamped the ground to pieces and charged, swinging the spear in a huge arc.
"Arrogance has a price!"
Boom!
Like thunder cracking, the impact blew open earth and air, flinging up a cloud of dust—only for a shockwave to shove it aside like a wave.
Galand finally saw Escanor taking his full-force strike head-on. The sight made his eyes go wide.
Escanor hadn't defended at all. He let the spear bite into his arm.
The razor tip only scored his skin. The two perfunctory drops of blood were nothing but an insult to Galand.
Escanor sighed. "Which is why I am the Sin of Pride."
His axe fell with his words. One stroke cleaved Galand on the diagonal from shoulder to waist, cutting him into two.
After that, Charles stopped watching. There was no universe where Galand beat Escanor.
Elsewhere, Melascula was being chased down by Meliodas's blade. She excelled in soul-based sorcery, but without a partner setting her up, she had little room to work.
By now she was forced to reveal her true form—a massive white-scaled python—using size to make up for the gap in power.
The rest of the Sins joined the fray.
Diane slammed her war hammer into the ground; a forest of stone spikes erupted around Melascula.
Forged by the giantess who commands the earth, those spikes were harder than steel. Even Melascula couldn't break them, and her movements were heavily constrained.
Gowther stood on the tip of one, purple light at his wrist forming a bow—his Sacred Treasure, the twin bows Herritt.
"Great Blackout Arrow!"
The violet bolt chased straight for Melascula's massive serpent head.
Melascula recognized the move at a glance. Knowing what it did, there was no way she'd take it head-on.
She spewed a cloud of purple poison that blanketed the area.
Gowther tilted his head. He could feel his shot had whiffed.
The toxic haze churned, and a python burst out, coiling up the spike beneath Gowther and lunging to swallow him.
"So you're here too, you little bastard!"
In the Holy War three thousand years ago, Gowther of Selflessness had been feared by the Demon King and locked in the Demon Realm's prison.
He was too valuable to waste, though, so he was allowed to act outside through a puppet.
Melascula and Gowther, you could say, were old acquaintances.
And it was Melascula's power Gowther used to escape.
You could argue her hatred for this "traitor" outstripped what she felt for Meliodas.
Just as she was about to gulp Gowther down, a giant spear punched through her and pinned her to a spike.
Far off, King had already finished sweeping the other demons and now offered timely support.
Melascula shrieked, and the pain triggered an even more violent surge of power—she smashed the hardened spikes to pieces.
Meliodas rushed in, the demon mark blooming on his brow. Tapping into his demonic power, he brought his blade down with everything he had.
Blood geysered. Melascula crashed to the ground, hewn open.
"Merlin!"
At Meliodas's shout, Merlin blinked into the air above the gravely wounded Melascula and held out her palm.
"Be a good girl and behave now."
With her surge of magic, the dark power coating Melascula unraveled almost instantly, and even her massive body began to shrink.
Moments later, the python was as thin as a finger, and Merlin popped her into a test tube.
Seeing that, Charles stooped for a pebble and flicked it away. Ripples wavered in the air; the stone vanished strangely once more.
He frowned. In the original course of events, the spatial distortion dispersed after Melascula was defeated.
But this time, her technique seemed different; even with her down, it was still running.
Still, a fallen caster takes a toll. Charles could feel the stability of the spell had dropped significantly.
"No helping it. Guess we're doing this the blunt way."
Charles summoned his inherent armament, Martial Saint. The long-handled guandao's coiled dragon flared in its eyes.
Everyone turned to watch, curious what he was planning.
Merlin said, "This spatial technique is no slouch. Forcing it open won't be easy."
Escanor dragged Galand like a dead dog. "Lady Merlin is correct. Perhaps I should—"
Stella folded her arms. "It's fine. Trust Charles. He never disappoints."
The flames cloaking Charles flowed into the blade, and a clear layer of mana formed along its wide edge.
Feeling the power cresting, light flashed in his eyes.
Muscles bunched along his arms as he brought the blade down into the warped space.
It bit as if into solid matter. The edge sank into the rippling veil and stuck.
"Break!"
With a roar, the edge pressed two inches deeper, and the ripple went jagged.
Hairline cracks spidered out from the blade, and like shattered glass, the distortion spread and came apart.
Once spatial stability is nicked, the chain reaction is huge. Seconds later, Melascula's spatial technique collapsed completely.
The Demon Clan's outer defense was breached!
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