Chapter 146

A/N: (Merlin's image)

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[Third Person's PoV] 

Delta lashed her claws at Merlin like a savage beast, growling fiercely. Meanwhile, Beta stayed back, shooting invisible arrows made from the wind.

Merlin twirled his staff, blocking Delta's claws and Beta's arrows. Delta let out a roar and swiped powerfully downward, but Merlin used her strength against her. He grabbed her slashing arm and flung her back toward Beta, causing them to crash into each other.

Delta wiggled her nose as she got off Beta. "Delta doesn't like him," she growled. "He has no scent on him. It's like he's not even there."

"It appears we have to take him seriously, Delta," Beta informed her.

"Delta is always serious!" she growled, dropping to all fours.

'Delta, when I shoot my arrow, run,' Beta passed the message through the wind.

"Delta doesn't run from her prey!"

"Oh, are we passing secret messages? Please let me in on the secret; I absolutely adore secrets."

"Oh, for the love of—" Beta grumbled before firing a flame arrow at the cart floor and quickly grabbing Delta, disappearing into her shadow. As she disappeared, the entire cart was engulfed in a pillar of flames that reached the dark skies, illuminating the surroundings in a bright red-orange color.

They both appeared outside the cart and heard a scream of anguish.

"AAAAAAHHHH!!!! IT BURNS!!"

They watched as a black silhouette burned in the pillar, then ran out, completely blackened like charcoal, with flames surrounding it. More figures started appearing, each screaming in pain before dropping to all fours and running towards them like demonic hellspawns.

"You did this to me! You will pay!" they all screamed demonically.

"Just what is going on?" Beta muttered, conjuring arrows made from water. Each moved like piercing shots, cutting through the air. As they struck the ground, a wave appeared from each arrow, trying to extinguish the hellspawns, but they dodged by jumping into the air.

Delta put her hands inside her shadow and pulled out large shadow wolf claws. She made two swings with her new claws, causing shadow slash marks to cut through the air and tear the hellspawns apart. 

But there were too many to take down at once, so Delta got on all fours and started running through the air, using a version of geppo she had created herself. She was like a savage beast, destroying everything in the sky with her wolf claws and a savage grin on her face.

"Talk about scary, am I right?" Merlin whistled with a hand over his eyebrows, squinting to get a better look.

Beta slowly turned and looked at Merlin, who was right next to her, her eyes widening in shock.

'I wasn't able to detect him. What is going on?' Beta then looked towards the flaming pillar. 'Why is it still on?' She wondered before conjuring a lightning arrow, one of her fastest arrows. She jumped back and released her finger, causing the arrow to zip through the air in milliseconds and rip a hole through Merlin's head.

"Talk about a perfect shot."

Beta shivered as she felt a hand grab her shoulder. When she turned around, Merlin's fist connected with her face, causing her to stagger back. She turned her bow into a sword as her body was surrounded by wind. She cut through the air, making her way towards Merlin, swinging her sword with precision. 

Merlin tried to block it with his cane, but the sword cut right through it. Seeing her sword coming for his neck, Merlin ducked down, causing his hat to be cut. As she swung her sword down again, Merlin stood straight and sidestepped, causing her sword to cut the ground open with sharp winds.

"Oi, oi, oi, that's my hat and cane you just destroyed," Merlin said in displeasure.

But Beta didn't care or react; she just increased the speed and intensity of her sword swings. Both their figures became a blur, creating small afterimages. Even as they moved at super speed, Merlin crouched down, grabbed his broken cane and hat, and joined the broken pieces together, making them whole again.

"Now then," Merlin suddenly did the splits and thrust his cane handle towards Beta's stomach. 

Spit flew out from Beta's mouth as she slid back. Merlin stood up, leaned forward, and swung his cane across Beta's face, causing her lip to bleed slightly.

Beta wiped her mouth and glared at Merlin. "That's it. Now I'm angry."

Beta's eyes turned into those of a dragon, and her magic pressure increased. The wind started to pick up, causing Merlin to hold on to his hat. As the wind intensified, clouds began to form, darkening the area and causing rain to fall. Beta started to levitate into the air as lightning crackled in the background.

A few versions of Merlin then appeared off to the side. One wore a business suit with his hair combed down the middle, his mask still on, holding a microphone with a map next to him. Another pointed a large camera at him, giving him the okay sign, while another shined a light from above.

"You're live in 3, 2, 1," the cameraman Merlin said.

Merlin with the microphone nodded. "Good evening, citizens of Midgard. We're here today with the weather, with yours truly, Merlin the Great."

He then motioned towards the map. "We are detecting high wind pressures from the north, accompanied by dark clouds and rain. So I would recommend staying indoors and ensuring your children do not—"

A large wind arrow appeared from Merlin's chest. He looked down before looking towards the camera. "I've been shot. I repeat, I've been shot! Do not leave your homes; there's a wild maniac on the loose."

The camera then displayed a screen that said, 'Experiencing Technical Difficulties.'

Delta struggled beneath a pile of bodies, each burnt figure clinging to her, trying to drag her down. Unrelenting, she stomped the ground, causing it to crack and create a ravine. The burnt beings screamed as they fell.

Meanwhile, Beta conjured multiple arrows made from wind and shot them towards Merlin. Each arrow created tornadoes that wreaked havoc, destroying train tracks, trees, and the very ground itself. She watched as all the Merlins scurried like ants, stuffing their things into briefcases before running around holding their hats, canes, and briefcases in the same hand.

Beta prepared to shoot more arrows until she felt legs appear around her waist. "I think those are enough," Merlin's voice whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her neck, putting her in a chokehold.

Beta tried to pry him off, using her dragon-like strength, but it wasn't enough. She released sharp winds all over her body, intended to slice him into pieces, but he remained unscathed.

'How did he get behind me? I'm in the air! And I can't pry him off no matter how hard I try,' she thought as she slowly descended to the ground, still trying to pry his arms off. His grip tightened, causing her breath to leave her lungs faster. As she struggled for air, she reached out towards Delta.

"Delta, help me!" she choked out, still surrounded by razor-sharp winds.

"Beta!" Delta growled with worry, turning to help. But multiple hands opened up from the ground, each belonging to the beings she buried, trying to drag her down. 

"RELEASE DELTA!" Delta roared, trying to break free. Even with her massive strength, she was being held down. More fiery beings jumped on top of her, scratching and burning her.

"ROOOAR BETA!!!" she yelled, slowly crawling towards Beta despite hundreds clinging to her. She bit some off, but new ones took their place.

Beta struggled to breathe as her vision darkened. 'Damn… It… I have no choice.'

'Help… Me!' she cried out through their connection.

Hearing this, the other five Deadly Sins dropped what they were doing and teleported towards Beta immediately. Each appeared from her shadow, a few feet away.

"Release her this instant!" Alpha commanded as the ground began to shake. Roots shot up, wrapping around both Merlin and Beta separately. Alpha ripped them apart, bringing Beta to her side. Beta lay on the ground, gasping for air.

Meanwhile, Zeta threw both her Chakrams, razor-sharp points around them. Metal needles shot out, destroying everything surrounding Delta until she was finally free.

Once free, Delta stomped on the ground, creating two large walls. She brought her palms together, and the walls flew towards each other, crushing all the beings trying to hold her down.

"It appears the Mutt has grown weaker and had to resort to my help," Zeta teased.

Delta growled, "Delta isn't weak, prey is just stronger than normal!"

"My oh my," Merlin said as he was constricted by the roots. "What's this? An intervention for little ol' me? Oh, you shouldn't have."

Alpha glared coldly at him. "Just who are you to be able to get both Delta and Beta in such a predicament? You can't be someone ordinary."

"Oh my, I always loved introductions," Merlin said, wiggling his arms out from the roots, surprising Alpha.

'How? He shouldn't have been able to move,' Alpha thought.

Merlin cleared his throat, grinning. "Well, beautiful, I'm Merlin, the grand magician, at your service."

A flash appeared in all their hands. When they looked, they saw a card with his name, a phone number, and a symbol of a top hat, a cane, and an ace card. "If you find my work unsatisfactory, I guarantee your money back," he grinned, resting his arms on the roots and swinging his legs like a child.

Alpha crumbled the card before clenching her fist, causing his figure to explode into a pile of playing cards.

"Talk about a showoff, am I right?" Merlin scoffed, reappearing before everyone.

They all jumped back, withdrawing their weapons, pointing them towards Merlin with the intention to kill.

Merlin looked around, smirked, and tipped his hat down before throwing it towards the sky. "AND LET THE SHOW BEGIN!" he shouted as they all rushed towards him.