Turning Back The Clock

Turning Back The Clock: Chapter 39

The fight moved quickly and viciously as Meliodas turned relentless. He struck anywhere he could and only survived the counters because his fury and adrenaline kept him fast enough to avoid it. An impressive feat as those who watched were terrified by the results of this. Why was the boy trying so hard to fight the Demon King on his own? He may have been blinded by wrath, but he wasn't dumb. Surely, he knew he couldn't win, not with those wounds. Even at his best it would still be an unfair fight, so now... It was surprising that it wasn't a slaughter. 

Yet even with the guaranteed results of fighting someone so much stronger than Meliodas, the battle was still showing signs of working in the blond's favor as his zealous action and quick thinking did more than just keep him alive, it began wearing down his counterpart in this fight. Thoroughly shocking both brothers watching as they held their breaths in concern. 

Dodge, slash, dodge, slash. It was a consistent but effective cycle as the demon prayed it would be enough to do what he needed to. His adrenaline could only last so long, and his legs ached and shook from the strain he was putting on them now with his quick defenses. It was honestly a miracle that he hadn't passed out yet. But that was the advantage of having so much to protect but nothing left to lose all at once, because it gave him a reason to keep fighting; and also, a lack of fear about the consequences of protecting what he wanted to save. He'd be willing to die right here if he needed to. In fact, a large part of him was hoping for that outcome. 

For as many humans as he had been able to save, the people lost in this ridiculous war stuck with Meliodas much more. Sara wasn't the only beloved human slaughtered. Thousands of others had died long before the blond took a stand. Given a fate worse than death as Meliodas lived in ignorant bliss. And then even after he started doing as much as he could to give humans the safety he promised them, there were still so many casualties that one-man alone couldn't stop. Men and women of all ages killed or devoured, even children weren't off limits. It was sickening, and Meliodas felt each he failed to protect weigh on him as heavily as if he had murdered them himself. The more he spent his life atoning for all of the sins that he had acquired, the more he seemed to collect. It truly was a never-ending cycle that he was eager to break. And this war ending would be the excuse for that. He'd be able to let himself die and finally stop fighting as long as he saw to it that the war ended first. His guilty conscious could be laid to rest in the afterlife as long as he could end this. He HAD to end this.

Meliodas was snapped from his thoughts as his pace had slowed slightly, leading to a burn sizzling bright on his arm from a roll done too slowly.  He had lost his sharp edge as his mournful thoughts came bubbling back up in a way they did so often now. It was consuming the demon, changing him more and more as his light dimmed and his soul was starting to drown in his regrets and depression.  Something the Demon King took advantage of swiftly as the one attack was followed by an onslaught of others that slowly added to Meliodas's collections of wounds. 

Burns that left skin peeling, bubbling, and purple, gashes deep enough to reveal the slightest bit of bone to the dark air of the outside world, and bruises that already left the blond's skin turning black as swelling threated to appear in important places; including but not limited to the demon's left eye.

Yet still, the boy staggered to his feet clumsily like a puppet on strings as his regrets and haunted conscious wouldn't allow him to stay down. He ignored the burns sizzling on his skin, wrapped the weeping gashes with his remaining darkness, and used his thin knife to cut the pockets of blood settling in his hand and eye to reduce swelling enough for his coordination to return. Before he stiffly returned to his battle position as he and his father circled one another like two wild animals testing to see what the other would do. The battle had been silent until now, both parties understanding their own missions to end the life of the other. However, it seemed the Demon King was done toying with his prey, and he was displeased that the blond didn't seem to understand that yet.