Meliodas once said in the original storyline that the Demon Clan's rapid regeneration can mend wounds on the body, but the damage accumulates within.
In other words, as long as the total damage is high enough, even a demon can be brought down.
But every member of the Demon Clan—even the lowest-tier Red Demon—has an unbelievable physique. They don't even have just one heart, for starters.
So the amount of punishment they can take is beyond what other races can imagine.
Even so, not even the Demon Clan could withstand being pounded by Charles like this—let alone Hendrickson, a human who merely obtained demon power.
After taking another punch from Charles, the searing flames made Hendrickson cry out in spite of himself.
Gritting through the burning pain, Hendrickson swung a fist at Charles.
Charles seized his wrist, pivoted half a turn on the spot, and slammed him into the ground.
Hendrickson healed up, looked up—and saw Charles's leg chopping down. He had to roll away in a sorry scramble to dodge the blow.
Ban walked over to Meliodas. "Yo, the Great Holy Knight's getting wrecked."
Ban had moved fast; with his magic, he'd already yanked the demon seeds out of all the New Generation and restored them to normal.
Compared to Ban's schadenfreude, Meliodas's expression was much more complicated.
He'd always believed this was a war he had to face—but in the end, it was still Charles who resolved it. He couldn't help feeling more desperate to reclaim his strength.
On the other hand, he was also puzzled at how the Hendrickson he knew—who held to justice—had ended up like this.
Hendrickson had no idea what Meliodas was thinking. His entire focus was on Charles—if he relaxed even for a moment, he might be finished.
Blasted away by another punch, his caved-in chest knitting back together midair, Hendrickson knew he couldn't keep this up.
He spread his hand; countless dark purple energy tendrils lanced out, stabbing at Charles from every direction.
"Fire Dragon's Winged Blades!"
Charles swept out a knife-hand. A vast dragon wing of flame cleaved through them, slicing every tendril in half.
As the tendrils burned away, his view cleared—and the first thing he saw was Hendrickson flying upward.
Charles snorted, bending his arm into a lifting pose. A mass of flame gathered and compressed in his palm, coalescing into a spear of fire.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art (Revised): Purgatory Flame Dragon Spear."
It was a technique that could wound the Flame Dragon God Ignia himself. Even with most of its power held back, it was more than enough for Hendrickson.
"If you want to run, survive this first and then we'll talk."
He hurled the flaming spear.
Up in the air, Hendrickson felt a strange star flare above his head, its light seeming to form a crimson sigil.
He looked back in horror to see the flaming spear closing in in a blink.
Though it wasn't right on top of him yet, everyone saw Hendrickson get run through. Then his whole body vanished in midair, as if the spear's power had pulverized him to ash.
Meliodas came over. "I can't even sense his magic anymore. Was he completely erased?"
Charles said, displeased, "No. Someone pulled him out."
"Who?" Meliodas asked, puzzled.
"If I sensed right, Dreyfus. And he used Demon Clan power even stronger than Hendrickson's."
Meliodas froze, then sprinted off in one direction.
Just earlier, Dreyfus had proposed moving the king away from the battlefield and left with the king and Elizabeth.
If Dreyfus had now doubled back and rescued Hendrickson, then something had likely happened to Elizabeth.
Sure enough, when they found her, there was a big tear in the fabric over her abdomen, with plenty of blood.
Dreyfus had suddenly launched a sneak attack on Elizabeth a moment earlier, then disappeared.
Luckily Stella arrived in time and performed emergency treatment with a panacea.
Charles, however, was thoughtful. Judging by the traces, the wound had been sizable. The panacea was potent, but not so potent that she should have looked completely fine so quickly.
Even though his intervention had kept Elizabeth from having her Goddess power awakened by a sudden shock this time,
it seemed that even if nothing else happened, as long as she stayed near Meliodas, her power would gradually awaken.
Seeing that Elizabeth was unharmed, Meliodas finally relaxed.
Hendrickson and Dreyfus were missing, the king had been rescued, and the New Generation's rampage had been stopped. You could say most of their objectives in the capital had been achieved perfectly.
Of course, everyone knew the two missing Great Holy Knights were likely brewing new schemes and countless battles still lay ahead, but that didn't stop the smiles of relief—except for Charles.
Because he saw a figure wrapped in a cloak appear among them. The person lifted a hand and flipped the cloak back, revealing a scantily clad woman with the sigil of the Boar's Sin of Gluttony plainly visible.
Merlin, the Boar's Sin of Gluttony of the Seven Deadly Sins—the world's strongest mage.
"Yo, looks like this side wrapped up perfectly! Ten years gone, and you've all become way more capable than I imagined!"
Seeing her, Meliodas called out, "Merlin! You're here too!"
Merlin smiled. "I am a member of the Seven Deadly Sins. Is it so strange for me to show up?"
Charles curled his lip. He'd sensed Merlin's magic long ago. But instead of joining the fight, she'd just disciplined her wayward apprentice, Vivian.
He also noticed Ban was acting cool toward her; it seemed he didn't trust Merlin much either.
Sure, he'd slacked off in battle, but he could feel Merlin was nothing like him—her true feelings and goals were buried much deeper.
After greeting the familiar faces, Merlin turned to the slightly distant Charles.
"I don't think I've seen you before. A new friend the captain made?"
The look in her eyes put Charles on alert in an instant. Those pupils were like bottomless pools, betraying no emotion.
The curiosity on display was only surface-deep, more like a mask for what she really thought.
Still, Charles had a feeling—she was calculating him.
Which was exactly why he disliked people like her: even at a first meeting, they're already weighing your value.
Even if the other party is a mage who commands countless secret arts, Charles had no intention of getting close.
(End of Chapter)
[Unlock +20 Advanced Chapters on Patreon.com/Mutter]
[For every 100 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be released]
[Thank you for reading!]