The sudden onset of night abruptly halted the battle on the verge of breaking out.
Even if one couldn't feel the suffocating force of that immense darkness, the eerie descent of night alone made it clear the newcomer was no friend.
Charles suddenly turned his head, looking toward the direction of Moon Island in the sky. At some point, a figure had appeared there—and only a handful present had noticed him.
He looked like a kindly chubby old man, round-bodied, with a fluffy head of hair and beard, holding a wooden staff.
But Charles wasn't fooled by appearances. Even without knowing who he was, the depth of the dark magic within him set everyone on edge.
Though Meliodas was the Demon King's eldest son, he wasn't the first demon the Demon King created.
When he created the very first life of the Demon Realm—the Original Demon—the Demon King granted it power that was far too great. In time, the Original Demon even rose in rebellion against him.
That wasn't like the Vampire Clan's little uprising that the Demon King couldn't be bothered with and sent Zeldris the Executioner to handle; it was a disturbance the Demon King himself had to quell.
Hmm… which may also be why the Demon King later split the power he granted his subordinates into ten shares.
He didn't kill the Original Demon—instead, he split it in two.
Even divided, the two demons remained topmost among demons. Their power far surpassed the Ten Commandments.
But they never joined the Holy War; they remained in the Demon Realm, each tasked with training one of the Demon King's sons.
For whatever reason, after the split, they completely lost the Original Demon's ambition and focused solely on supporting their respective pupils to inherit the Demon King's throne.
And the old man now standing beneath the moon was one of the two—Chandler, the teacher who taught Meliodas Full Counter.
For the way he'd drain the marrow from his enemies' bones and hound them to death, he bore the title of the Devouring Fiend.
Now, though, Chandler looked nothing like a "fiend," his eyes instead brimming with tears as he gazed downward.
You could guess easily enough who he was looking at; sure enough, in the next instant he appeared before the crowd.
Even most of the Seven Deadly Sins hadn't noticed how Chandler had approached, and they all sprang to high alert.
Meliodas frowned; he genuinely hadn't expected Chandler to show up.
With the help of the Seven Deadly Sins and Charles, gathering the Commandments didn't seem all that difficult to Meliodas.
The hardest part of the plan would be the final stage—defeating the Demon King.
But Chandler's appearance added no small amount of uncertainty. As his student, Meliodas knew just how strong Chandler was, and that only made him more wary.
Chandler fixed his gaze on Meliodas, speaking in a gentle tone. "Young Master Meliodas, I finally get to see you again!"
Meliodas replied coolly, "Chandler, so you escaped the seal too."
Just hearing Meliodas address him made Chandler overjoyed. Smiling, he said, "Yes! Though the hateful Goddess Clan sealed us, the seal's power has weakened a great deal recently, and we took the opportunity to break free."
Meliodas's brow tightened further. Chandler had said "we." Given his temperament, the only one he'd rate alongside himself would be Cusack, the other half of the split Original Demon.
Which meant it wasn't just that the Demon faction had gained a high-end combatant! Meliodas knew Chandler and Cusack could re-create the Original Demon that once challenged the Demon King.
Rubbing his hands, Chandler said, "Enough of those trivialities. Young Master Meliodas, I have something very important to tell you!"
He glanced at the fallen Monspeet and Derieri, then continued, "The Ten Commandments are getting more and more useless, losing one ugly fight after another. Do these clowns really pass for His Majesty's elite? They bring shame to the King!
But that works out well—this creates the perfect opportunity for you.
Whether it's defeating our Demon Clan's mortal enemies in place of these incompetents or retrieving the Commandments from them, Young Master Meliodas, you can use this to succeed in inheriting the Demon King's throne."
Meliodas's expression stayed cold. Though what Chandler said overlapped with his own plan, and even a nod right now would probably make Chandler help him collect the Commandments…
Unlike Charles and the Seven Deadly Sins, Chandler stood on a completely opposite path. Meliodas was absolutely certain of that.
Just as Meliodas was about to refuse Chandler, Ludociel jumped in to make himself known again.
"Filthy Demon Clan, your aim is impossible. I will exterminate you here!"
Chandler's smile vanished. His mouth split wide, exposing a mouthful of spike-like teeth.
The kindly old-man facade fell away, revealing the savagery of a highest-ranking demon.
"Oh my! The detestable Goddess Clan, isn't it? I was so happy to be reunited with Young Master Meliodas that I didn't notice all these eyesores!
In that case…!"
Chandler slammed his staff against the ground and unleashed his overwhelming magic power.
"Then, to welcome Young Master Meliodas's return and his ascent to the Demon King's throne—enjoy the splendid fireworks!"
In the next instant, Chandler was back under the moon in midair, spreading his arms as if to embrace something.
"Meteor Shower!"
Everyone below stared in horror as the sky lit up with streaks of light.
This was no beautiful sight—it was the splendor before catastrophe. Each streak was a meteor trailing a long tail of flame as it fell.
Though each small meteor wasn't large, they were plunging from heights beyond sight; the fire from friction alone told you how much energy they carried.
Even a single one hitting the ground would pack destructive force beyond the maximum output of a top Holy Knight. And Chandler had summoned a meteor shower too numerous to count.
Some Holy Knights broke under the absurdity of the attack, lashing their warhorses in a frantic bid to flee.
They'd lost their heads—no horse could possibly outrun the impact zone before the meteors hit.
Others understood this and could only shut their eyes in despair.
Ludociel swung his longsword, blasting apart the meteors over his and the other Goddess Clan members' heads with beams of light magic.
As Charles expected, this angel so lauded by humans had no intention of saving humans.
But if he wouldn't—someone would!
"Don't give up!"
The voice came from Elizabeth, who had appeared on the battlefield at some point. As the Princess of Liones, her presence alone steadied the Holy Knights.
Diane drove her warhammer into the ground. As she pulled it free, it was as if she hauled up the whole earth, forming a curved wall to block the falling meteors.
King and Ban leapt onto the stone wall, shattering incoming meteors to ease the pressure. Stella and Elaine joined in as well—dragonfire, aided by fae winds, swept clear swaths of meteors.
Merlin stretched out her hand and conjured an endless storm beyond the stone wall, further bleeding off their momentum.
Together, they actually held back the meteor assault.
Chandler didn't care that his attack had been stopped; all his attention was fixed on Elizabeth, who'd spoken first.
"So you're here too! Despicable Goddess who deceived and lured Young Master Meliodas—die!"
He said it and meant it, diving straight at Elizabeth to tear apart the "culprit."
Halfway there, a figure wreathed in flame blocked his path.
"Hey, old-timer, no need to get so hot-headed! If you've gotta blow off steam, I'll keep you company!"
Charles braced against Chandler's staff as he spoke.
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