Devoid

who changed the regiment

He slammed into the wall at the other end of the hallway. "Oooookaaaay," he groaned. Not my smartest remark. Then the giant tapestry hanging on the wall fell on him. Definitely not my best idea.1

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Later, Meliodas walked through one of the outdoor halls that went along one of the many palace courtyards. He rolled his shoulder. Damn. He thought. Did he make it fall on me on purpose, or did I do that, slamming into the wall? Either situation was possible. The King could've done it to teach his son a farther lesson on respect, or it could've been just coincidence. Really, Meliodas leaned more towards on purpose, since it was exactly the kind of thing his father would do–

"HAH!"

"Hmmm?" Meliodas muttered, as he turned to see where the sound had come from. There, in the middle of the courtyard, stood a dusty, worn out-looking Zeldris and another demon. Obviously, that was Zeldris's first teacher. It was about time. Meliodas had been 117 years old when he first started training, about 44 years younger than Zeldris was now. He turned away, intending to leave them to it, but something stopped him–a niggling feeling that told him to stay. It was the same feeling that had saved his life in quite a few fights, so he listened to it, abet reluctantly.

As he watched, he was able to pick out little details that he hadn't seen at first glance. At least, he hadn't consciously. The teacher's sneer, completely out of place for someone in the presence of royalty, no matter if he wasn't heir. Zeldris's injuries, which he should've been given time to heal. The most damning however, was the fact they were fighting with swords. Every apprentice soldier, regardless of his rank, started with hand-to-hand combat.

It was oblivious this was his brother's first lesson. His strikes were way overextended, throwing him constantly off balance. He thrust towards the older demon, who moved out of the way. The teacher's hand clenched around his sword hilt. Meliodas tensed, knowing exactly what was going to happen next. He jumped down off the walkway and started running towards them, but he wasn't fast enough. In a flash of light, the teacher cut off Zeldris's arm.

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Meliodas stumbled back, clutching his bloody stump of a shoulder. His teacher laughed, waving the severed appendage around. "What's wrong, little prince?" His foot stepped on Meliodas's head, holding him down. He laughed again. "What a pitiful excuse for a Royal. How disappointed the King must be, to have an heir like you." He ground his boot into Meliodas's hair.

Meliodas gritted his teeth, both at his helplessness and the pain. He hated this man....hated that he was right. Meliodas could tell his father was greatly disappointed with his only son, and he wasn't the only one. Every servant and soldier at the palace knew. How he hated the looks he got from the other demons. Some pitying, some gloating at the young prince's misery.

Just as Meliodas was about to scream from all the pressure, a hand came down on his teacher's shoulder. "That's enough."

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"That's enough." Meliodas said, catching his brother's arm before the other demon could. The man blanched. "L-Lord M-Meliodas!" "Brother!" Zeldris gasped. Meliodas turned slightly, so he could look at Zeldris in his peripheral vision. "Stay down." He then turned his gaze back to the sputtering teacher. "Sir, has the training regiment changed?"

"Wh-what?" He stuttered. "The training regiment. For soldiers," Meliodas repeated. "Has it been changed?" He shook his head. "N-no, my l-lord." Hellblaze erupted around Meliodas. The man stumbled back, falling on the ground. "Then explain to me why you were fighting with swords, when the training regiment clearly states that all apprentice soldiers are to learn hand-to-hand combat first." He growled, his bangs floating upwards as his demon mark spread.

The teacher began to beg. "My-my lord, please-!" Before he could finish, he went up in a blaze of Hellfire so quickly, he didn't even have time to scream.

After he was sure the former teacher was dead, Meliodas turned to his brother. Looking at him, he shook his head. "You look like Hound shit warmed over." Zeldris laughed, then winced. "I'll be fine." He struggled to his feet, took three steps, and began to fall. Meliodas caught him and flung him over his shoulder. "Agh! Damn, be gentle!" Zeldris exclaimed. "Shut up and rest. Reattach your arm."

His brother huffed. "I can't." Meliodas sighed. So he didn't have the control necessary to reattach his arm? He'd just have to do it for him. "Here, take your arm." Zeldris took it from him. "Now put it to the stump." After he had done so, Meliodas focused his own darkness and slowly moved from his own body, to Zeldris's. It wasn't that hard. They were blood, so it was relatively easy. He then carefully threaded it, stitching Zeldris's arm back on. By the time he'd finished, he was outside the palace infirmary and Zeldris was sound asleep.

The head healer, Liliana, stood there at the door. "Prince Meliodas!" She said, shocked. "Is something wrong with Prince Zeldris?" He nodded. "Stupidity." He handed his brother off to her and left, headed straight for the throne room.

He didn't even need to say anything. "You killed Zeldris's teacher." The Demon King said. Meliodas shrugged. "He got on my nerves." His father sighed. "You piece of hound shit. And who is going to be Zeldris's teacher now? I suppose I could order Cusack...." "No," Meliodas interrupted.  "I'll do it."

Very well