It seems that no matter the world, humans can never be truly united. For all sorts of reasons, they form different groups that eventually become different nations.
In Britannia, humans occupy most of the world, yet they are likewise split into different kingdoms.
South of the Kingdom of Liones lies the Kingdom of Camelot. With the aid of Merlin, the Boar's Sin of Gluttony, the young King Arthur had already grasped tremendous power and earned the people's love and support.
But now Camelot was facing the gravest challenge since its founding.
Earlier, King Bartra of Liones had used his magic, \[Clairvoyance], to produce a new prophecy—one that foretold the appearance of the Ten Commandments and that the Holy War would erupt in Camelot.
So, once the investiture ceremony ended, Meliodas and company headed for Camelot.
(And yes, in the meantime Gowther went berserk and Merlin turned him back into a doll.)
None of that mattered now; in short, the Seven Deadly Sins arrived just as another Albion attacked Camelot.
After Merlin returned Lostvayne—the Sacred Treasure Meliodas had once sold to open his tavern—he unleashed a burst and destroyed Albion's core.
But before anyone could celebrate the hard-won victory, a new crisis arrived.
With a rapid-fire string of sonic booms, Galand descended from the sky.
From the Kingdom of Danafor—destroyed by Meliodas—to Camelot, Galand had taken only seventy-two steps.
The shock of his landing flattened a small mountain, and the shockwave carried straight into everyone's hearts.
Except for battle-hardened Meliodas and Merlin, the others were stunned by his sudden appearance.
Galand was a tall, gaunt figure, his body covered in red armor, with silver armor plates shaped like anguished faces at his joints. A huge purple-black gem was set in his chest, roiling with powerful dark magic.
His bull-horned helm was simple in style; the face resembled a grinning jester.
But Galand wasn't a warrior wearing armor—the "armor" was his true body. Within it was nothing but dark energy.
What shocked everyone wasn't his sudden arrival or peculiar form, but his strength beyond common sense.
No need to know the exact power level; the sheer oppressive force told them the gap between him and them was an entirely different dimension.
With a few casual swings of his double-ended spear, Galand cleared out half a town, carving out a battlefield.
Then he crushed the Seven Deadly Sins with raw brutality.
Meliodas tried everything he could think of, yet Galand felled him with the simplest of blows. Diane, who tried to help, didn't last even a single move.
Merlin tried to stall for time with words, but the Commandment bestowed on Galand was \[Truth]: anyone who lies or breaks a promise before him turns to stone.
By rights, Merlin—the world's greatest mage who had mastered all the Netherworld's secret arts—shouldn't have been unaware of that.
But given that Merlin had even forgotten her true identity and name, it wasn't surprising. Charles guessed she'd been so fixated on resurrecting Mother Chaos that she'd gone a little mad.
Of course, maybe she was only pretending. It was just hard to see what she stood to gain.
Either way, the Seven Deadly Sins were routed before Galand.
With both hands severed, Meliodas could only choose to activate the full-body demon form he couldn't control.
As black magic spilled from his body, reattaching his severed hands and just about to hurl him at Galand, a hand clapped onto his shoulder.
The rampaging power within Meliodas was pressed down in an instant by an even greater force, forcing him out of demon form.
Drained, Meliodas dropped to one knee. He glanced back at Charles. "You're too late, Charles!"
Charles grinned. "That sounded way too sappy."
With that, he grabbed Meliodas and pitched him to the rear.
"Leave the wounded to watch from the sidelines. I've got it from here."
Galand fixed a hard stare on Charles. He might have been a brute, but he was razor-sharp in a fight.
Even he hadn't fully seen how Charles entered the battlefield just now.
Tightening his grip on his weapon, Galand said, "Hey, human—who are you?"
Charles didn't answer. He looked first at the ruined town around them.
"I was already in a bad mood. Seeing you made it worse."
Galand laughed. "Won't give your name? Then take your boring last words and die!"
He vanished and reappeared right before Charles, his war spear scything for Charles's neck.
Galand's eyes narrowed, tracking Charles's every twitch. Whichever way Charles dodged, he was ready to press the attack.
But Charles's response defied his expectations—he simply lifted a hand and caught the spear shaft.
The spear that tore the air stopped cold, clamped in Charles's grip.
Galand's eyes, slitted to lines, flew open. He couldn't believe a human could seize his weapon like that.
Then he saw Charles raise a fist, flames coiling around it.
With Charles's punch, a pillar of fire blasted out and punched through Galand's body.
Galand spewed a mouthful of purple-black ichor and was hurled back.
Behind them, Hawk, Elizabeth, and Arthur watched from within the Perfect Cube Merlin had erected.
Hawk's eyes bulged; he turned to Elizabeth. "See? This thing Merlin made is definitely busted!"
He meant the triangular shuriken-shaped pendant hanging from his ear.
Balor's Magical Eye—named for the one-eyed god of legend who could see calamity and an enemy's weak points—let its wearer view a target's strength in numeric terms, the so-called power level.
Hawk had already suspected it was broken—he'd read Galand at 26,000 power level, with Magic listed as 0.
He'd used the Eye to check plenty of folks; even Holy Knights only clocked in at a few hundred.
The Seven Deadly Sins led by Meliodas were around three to four thousand, and their displayed combat power was already staggering.
He couldn't imagine how terrifying a Galand with numbers that high would be—and now he saw an even more shocking set.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.
"Charles… Charles's reading is off," Hawk said.
Leaning on the Perfect Cube, Meliodas stood. "Must be a number to scare you half to death, huh?"
Hawk nodded reflexively and rattled off a string of unbelievable figures.
"Magic 57,000; Strength 55,000; Spirit 61,000; Power Level 173,000!"
Even Meliodas's expression froze. Stroking his chin, he looked at Charles. "Is Charles really human?"
(End of Chapter)
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