Last One Standing

༄1.19༄

"Capt... I mean Meliodafu! Go get him!" Diane cheers for her captain. "Hey, Ban. If you screw up and lose this match, I'm gonna tell Elaine!" King shouts. "Oh, that's right." Diane pulled the bow out of the way so Elizabeth and Seraphina could see. "You both can cheer too! You don't have to worry. Nobody's gonna see you!" Diane tells her. "Uh...okay." Elizabeth agrees and Seraphina nods. "Time for the match to get underway!" Love Helm shouts. "Sure would be nice if we had more room to move around." Ban says, stretching along with Meliodas, who chuckles. "So, what's with the laughing? You really looking forward to fighting me that much, Captain?" Ban asks. "I was thinking back to the old days. We had about this much space then, didn't we?" Meliodas asks. "It's been a while. Which time are you talking about?"Ban questions.

"Don't worry. 'Cause you'll remember it soon enough." Meliodas tells him. "Huh?" Ban gasps only to receive a punch in the face from behind, by Meliodas, causing everyone to gasp. "Oh, yeah. I think I remember now!" A bloodied Ban says. "The fight's been decided with one punch!" Love Helm announces, seeing Ban about to fall out of the ring. Ban stops himself, grabs Meliodas by the waist, and tries slamming him into the ground, but the blonde uses his hands to stop it, wraps his legs around Ban's neck, and slams him into the ground. Meliodas gasps when Ban grabs his legs, flips himself upright, kicks Meliodas in the air, and jumps at him, throwing a barrage of punches his way.

"That's nothing!" Meliodas shouts, punching Ban, throwing him into the ring at full force, causing it to crack down the middle. "Is that Ban guy dead?" A watcher asks. "Does this even count as a fight?" Another asks. Ban gets up with his injuries fully healed. "He's not even hurt." A third person points out. In a flash, Meliodas and Ban engage in battle once more, throwing punches and kicks at each other. Meliodas punches Ban in the stomach, making him cough up blood, he then delivers another punch, knocking Ban in the air. Ban falls back into the ring with his hand stretched out in front of him, and Meliodas falls to his knees. "Oh no! Looks like both fighters are down!" Love Helm shouts, but Ban proves him wrong by sitting up.

"You jerk, you've gone and done it now." Meliodas tells Ban, who laughs. "And up we go." Ban says, standing to his feet. "Oh, what's going on? All of Baan's injuries are completely gone now." Love Helm points out. Ban charges at Meliodas, and Meliodas tries punching him, but Ban dodges and appears behind Meliodas punching him. Ban jumps around, punching the air, looking very happy. "I'm floating like a butterfly now." Ban comments, only to receive an elbow to the face from Meliodas, sending him skidding a few feet."You knocked out one of my teeth!" Ban complains. "Or not." He laughs, showing his regenerated tooth. Meliodas jumps at Ban, trying to kick him, but Ban dodges, hitting Meliodas with his head. "You see that King?" Diane asks. "Mm-hmm." King hums. "It's getting harder for the Captain to follow Ban's movements now."

"So you think his stamina's starting to run out then?" Diane asks. "Once the Captain started to slow down, then Ban's agility shot through the roof!" King points out. "Huh?" Diane gasps. "What are you trying to say?" Elizabeth asks. "Ban's magical ability, Snatch, is able to sap an opponent's physical skills like speed and power." King explains. Seraphina hums and turns back to the fight. Ban punches Meliodas but the blonde flips over and grabs his arm."Is that all you got?" Meliodas asks, slamming Ban into the ring from side to side. "Meliodafu has turned the tables! He's beating Baan like a rug! Look at that raw power!" Love Helm shouts amazed. Ban saps more of Meliodas' power and breaks out of his hold, punching Meliodas, and knocking him back. "This feeling that strength of yours flows from you into me. Whoa, man. This is such a rush." Ban says, bending backward with his tongue out. "Uh..." Meliodas looks at his hands confused.

"I wonder how much power I ended up taking. Time to find out!" Ban lunges at Meliodas punching him, but Meliodas punches his fist, breaking his fingers and punching him in the stomach, causing him to throw up more blood. Ban slides back and almost falls out of the ring, but he catches himself. "This is gotta be some kinda joke or something. Just how bottomless is your power, Captain?" Ban asks, healing his arm and using that arm to pull himself back up. "I've made up my mind." He says. "Giving up?" Meliodas asks as they walk towards each other. "I've just been chipping away at your speed and power up 'till now, but I'll need to do a little more than that if I wanna wrap this thing up. So, I'll just take it all." Ban shares, holding his arms out in front of him, taking more of Meliodas' power. Meliodas rushes at Ban, delivering a barrage of punches at him. "Hurry up and finish him off already!" Diane shouts.

"If Ban steals all his strength then he'll win. So the Captain's gonna have to take him down before that." King points out. Eventually, Meliodas' punches grow weak until he can barely lift his arm to punch Ban and collapses. "That was delicious, Captain!" Ban tells him. "It looks like things have turned around, folks. Meliodafu, who was pretty much pounding Baan the whole round, has just run out of steam!" Love Helm shares. "Sir King, what's going on with Meliodas?" Seraphina asks, worried. "Ban sapped his physical abilities. Now, he doesn't have anything left." King tells her. "Well, looks like you and I are finally coming to the end of this little scuffle of ours, doesn't it, Captain?" Ban asks, walking up to the male. "What should I do now?" Ban wonders. "Ban! If you do anything more to the Captain, I'm never gonna forgive you! Friendship over, understand?" Diane shouts as King holds her back with his pillow.

"Just butt out, will you? I won this fight, so don't go telling me what to do." Ban tells her. "Hmm?" Ban hums turning to the blonde. "Sounds to me like you're a little punch-drunk. 'Cause I'm the one who's winning." Meliodas tells him. "I guess you and me really are the perfect match, aren't we, Captain? Well, I think I'm gonna deliver the final blow now if you don't mind." Ban informs. "Ban stop it! Or Meliodas will..." Seraphina trails off not wanting to finish the sentence. "No question about it. This match is gonna go to the Captain." Diane says. "It will?" Elizabeth asks. "I can see it now, he's obviously playing dead so he can reflect Ban's all-out punch right back at him using Full Counter." Diane claims. "That won't work." King tells her. "Huh?" She turns to him. "I'm sorry, Diane. But the Captain's magical ability is only able to reflect direct magical attacks. So, it'll be powerless against an ordinary punch." King explains. "No way! Then what's he doing out there?" Diane asks. "Honestly, I have no idea." King replies.

"If you survive this, make sure you tell me how it felt afterward. The taste of a punch that's got both your power as well as mine behind it!" Ban tells him raising his fist. "Sir Meliodas, look out!" Elizabeth shouts. Ban punches Meliodas in the stomach with such strength that dust covers the arena and the ground shakes. "He... he actually did it. Meliodas!" Seraphina screams. "Shh. Watch the name, Seraphina." Meliodas hushes the princess. "Huh?" Seraphina gasps, and everyone stares in shock. "Look at that, Meliodafu is standing all alone in the ring! Where is Baan?" Love Helm asks. "He's right over there." Meliodas says nonchalantly, pointing to where Ban was, he crashes into the side of a building with multiple holes in his body. "This is incredible. It can only mean..." "I'm the winner." Meliodas points to himself chuckling. "Meliodafu's on to the next round!" Love Helm announces, and everyone starts cheering for the blonde. "Hey, you see that?" King asks. "Mm-hmm." Diane hums.

"The fight was over really fast, but I think I saw something kinda strange." King says. "Well, I could see how it all played out. Ban landed a punch with all his strength. There's no doubt about it. But as he did that the Captain crushed his wrist at that exact same moment. And then, a second later... Ban's body was sent flying out of the ring. I remember seeing the Captain with that same look on his face before. What is that? Seeing it makes me feel really nervous." Diane explains. 'A black crest on his forehead? Like the time in Dalmally...' Seraphina thinks. "Hey, guys. I something wrong? What's with the gloomy looks on your faces?" Meliodas asks, approaching them with people cheering for him as he walks past them. "So, how are you holding up?" King asks. "See for yourself. Once I clobbered Ban, I felt good as new." Meliodas tells him. "But how the heck was he able to move like that before he beat him?" Diane mumbles. "Something bothering you, Diane?" Meliodas leans closer to her face.

"It's not like you to stress out over stuff. The guy you're fighting does look pretty tough, though." He tells her. "Oh no! I better hurry!" Diane says, turning away, fumbling with something. She puts a cloth on Meliodas' hand and then grabs another from her pocket, wrapping something else in it and also placing it in Meliodas' hand. "Hang onto these, Captain." Diane, she tells him. Meliodas looks down at his hands and spots Seraphina and Elizabeth wrapped in cloths. Meliodas raises them higher staring at Seraphina with a perverted look and chuckling. Seraphina gasps and holds the cloth closer to her. Diane and Howzer walk onto the ring staring at each other. "I know you can do it, Matrona!" King cheers. "Diane, try not to do anything crazy, okay?" Elizabeth tells her. "Good luck, Diane!" Seraphina shouts. Diane turns back and smiles at them. Meliodas lifts the cloth away from Seraphina, causing her to shriek. "Meliodafu!" Diane shouts, glaring at the boy, who shows no shame in his actions.