Chandler very sensibly ran for it. He wasn't stupid—the little lady was already a handful. If he didn't leave now, he'd end up like Mael, suffering a righteous pile-on from Charles and the Seven Deadly Sins.
So he slipped away without a word, and Stella didn't give chase, turning back to regroup with everyone.
They watched Mael expel the Commandnts and return to normal, and the three Commandnts flew off on their own without anyone escorting them.
As more Commandnts are gathered, an attraction forms. liodas already had seven, and he directly summoned these three back.
Thus the group hurried after them and arrived at Stigma of Light's forr headquarters together.
Zeldris had turned the place into a Demon Clan fortress, but it had just gone through a major battle, and ruins were everywhere.
Whether because the Demons were garrisoned here or because liodas was absorbing Commandnts, the entire sky was shrouded in clouds, lightning flashing now and then.
Combined with the shattered buildings and the lingering smoke and blood of battle, the place felt especially grim.
No one cared about the setting, because everyone saw the massive dark cocoon.
They could all sense the enormous magic within, and the pulsing like a heartbeat.
Zeldris stood with Chandler and a grim-faced Cusack behind him. When they saw the group, their expressions soured, but they didn't move.
To have liodas fulfill his promise, Zeldris didn't care about anything else now. As long as the Seven Deadly Sins didn't act, he wouldn't either.
Elizabeth laced her fingers as if in prayer.
Though liodas, rlin, and Charles had all assured her they'd prepared for everything, she couldn't help worrying.
In the original course, Elizabeth tried to stop liodas from absorbing the Commandnts precisely because she knew that once he absorbed all ten, his very existence would be crushed by the sheer magic.
So she'd have rather died to the curse and entered reincarnation again than let liodas beco the Demon King.
But this ti was different. She'd seen the preparations firsthand. She couldn't deny the odds of success were high, so she had no reason to stop liodas.
That didn't an she wasn't worried; risk still existed.
The pulsation inside the dark cocoon grew stronger, until the thunderous sound could be heard by ear.
With everyone's hearts in different places, the cocoon suddenly twitched, then split open in an X-shaped tear.
Footsteps sounded. A figure erged from the darkness, growing clearer.
His face resembled Estarossa's form of Mael by eighty percent, except the hair atop his head wasn't white but long and gold.
He wore a white bodysuit that outlined his muscles and made the black magic sigils upon it stand out all the more.
Two bronze, eerie appendages extended from his back, like skeletal arms sheathed in armor.
Clutching his staff, Chandler's eyes filled with tears. "So this is Young Master liodas, who has inherited the Demon King. What a majestic figure!"
Charles reached out to stop Elizabeth from stepping forward. "That's not the Boss in there. Let's stick to the plan."
Zeldris, not yet realizing who controlled the body, stepped up. "liodas, I did what you asked. It's ti to keep your promise."
The Demon King sneered. "My foolish son—are you still obsessed with such aningless things?"
Zeldris's face changed. "Father—why are you in liodas's body?"
The Demon King laughed. "The Commandnts are shards of my power. Becoming the Demon King ans becoming my new body!"
"What a joke!"
Zeldris roared. He hadn't imagined his father would be vile enough to use his own son as a vessel for descent.
But he knew his father would never honor liodas's promise to break Gelda's seal.
In fury, Zeldris whipped the short sword at his waist free and slashed at the Demon King.
The Demon King didn't even move; the appendages behind him blocked the strike.
"How pathetic," he drawled. "To show such disgrace as my son."
The other limb swept out and sent Zeldris flying.
Cusack rushed forward to catch him, anxiously asking if he was hurt.
Chandler looked complicatedly at the Demon King; his wish had been to see liodas inherit the throne, but now he didn't know what to do.
The Demon King paid them no mind. He spread his arms and drew a deep breath.
"Long ti no see, Britannia. This ti, I will conquer you completely."
Charles finally spoke, stepping forward. "Sorry, but even if your dream just started, it's ti to wake up."
The Demon King turned, saw Charles, and fury surged across his face.
"You. Sinful human. I let you escape last ti. This ti you'll pay for everything you've done."
Charles curled his lip, unimpressed. "Drop the act. You haven't even fully seized this body. liodas is still fighting you, isn't he?
"And the wound I gave you isn't so easy to heal. How much of your forr strength do you really have?"
The Demon King's anger deepened—because every word was true.
Since his descent, liodas had been resisting him in the ntal world, preventing full control of the body.
The wound Charles left was even more troubleso; that unknown power had injured not just his body, but corroded his soul.
Otherwise he wouldn't have been so humiliated that day.
Though only a few days had passed in Britannia, a thousand years had gone by in Purgatory, and yet his injury had barely recovered. Suppressing it alone consud much of his power.
He had never been in worse shape. If he hadn't waited eons for this one chance, he might have given up on descending.
But now the worst had happened—rebellion within, strong enemies without, and from the looks of Zeldris and the others, no help coming.
The Demon King was already considering fleeing first, hiding until he fully recovered, then settling accounts one by one.
Obviously, no one was going to give him that chance.
"Go, Gowther," Charles said. "Dive into the ntal world and find liodas. Tell him the final battle has begun.
"We've prepared long enough—ti to collect the victory we reserved."
rlin raised a hand, and a massive Perfect Cube sprang up, enclosing everyone.
Charles, Ban, Escanor, Zeldris, and the rest moved as one, all charging the Demon King.
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