Disbanded

"Zaneri? What is going on here?" Meliodas could not make sense of anything. The last thing he remembered was fighting Alex, then dying for good. And now, he is in Istar, with two close friends of his.

"Meliodas, calm down for a moment." Zaneri and Jenna both attended Meliodas. They honestly did not know what to do in this situation, but calming down Meliodas is a must.

After hearing their words, Meliodas started to calm himself down, by taking deep breaths. So many memories and emotions popped up in his head, and one should know that Meliodas is over 3000 years old, which means he has made a lot of memories during that time.

Taking his time, he tried to recall several other events.

"Merlin! What happened to her?" He remembered that he didn't fight Alex alone, Merlin was there as well with him.

Zaneri only pointed at the loli statue. Meliodas felt another wave of emotions, specifically anger and hatred welled up in him, when he saw what Alex did to Merlin.

First, he says that he killed King and Diane, and now he dares to kill another one of his friends.

"Deep breathes. We don't want you going berserk in this place, or else everyone outside might get hurt because of you." Jenna knew very well that Meliodas has trouble keeping his emotions in check, which is why she was able to tell how Meliodas was going to react.

A few more moments have passed, and Meliodas calmed down a bit, but anger could still be seen in his eyes.

"What has happened while I was dead?" He asked, wanting to know everything that had happened in the short moment since he died.

"Well, Zaneri revived you, and your friends brought you here to help you. But what happened before that, only your friends can tell you that."

Meliodas seemed to have understood what she meant. He then proceeded to exit the building, followed by the two Druids.

After exiting the building, everyone ran up to Meliodas immediately, it was as if they knew that he would come back to them safe and sound.

"Meliodas!" The annoying Elizabeth, launched herself at Meliodas, and held him like a Koala.

"Hehe!" Meliodas could feel the bounciness of her breasts pressing up against his chest. He also couldn't help but fondle her ass, just because he wanted to. Since he has been dead for several hours, that is long enough to drive him crazy for not fondling her body.

"Um… Meliodas." Elizabeth was flushed red when his hands fondled her ass.

"OI!" Hawk and Gilthunder popped out of nowhere, and launched several attacks at Meliodas, for doing such lewd stuff to the princess.

"Miss Jenna, what about Merlin? Is she okay?" Said Escanor. Escanor was also happy that his captain was alive, but Merlin is more important to him.

"There is some good news and some bad news: the good news is that we found a way to bring back her soul, but the bad news is that her body has been turned to stone, so we cannot bring her back, unless if someone were to break her curse." Said Jenna

"Merlin can break the curse, she has done it once before."

"She has? But, that should be impossible, no one should be able to break the curse of the Ten Commandments." Jenna was shocked upon hearing this. Escanor would not lie to her, especially at such a time as this.

"Zaneri, bring Merlin back to us, transfer her soul straight to the orb." Said Meliodas with a fun face, he kept on groping on Elizabeth's body as if it was the normal thing to do.

Zaneri felt irritated by his actions. But, she knew very well that she had no chance with Meliodas, but if there is even a 1% chance to win him over, she is willing to take that risk.

Meliodas is a man to be respected. He is one of the strongest characters in this series, and yet he remains faithful to the one he loves. He could have easily won over Zaneri, Diane Elizabeth, and had a harem of 3 or more girls. And let's be honest, most girls in this series are pretty hot.

The same goes for Ban. Except that he is a lolicon, but hey, loli's rule, and Elaine is over 700 years old, which is way over at the legal age.

"Hm." Zaneri nodded lightly, then ran off to bring back Merlin.

"Alright everybody, as soon as Merlin comes back, we leave this place as soon as possible." Said Meliodas loud enough for them to hear.

"Captain, what did you say?" Ban appeared before them, with Elaine on his side.

"Ban!" Elizabeth and everyone else was happy that they were here, now their teams strength had increased.

"I don't mean to be a party killer, but King and Diane are dead, their corpses were burned to a crisp." Said Ban, with a sad tone as he held Elaine's hand tightly.

Elizabeth broke down upon hearing this, a river of tears poured down from her eyes. The same went for everybody, everyone here knew each other, so it saddens them when they heard two of theirs friends died.

Meliodas already knew beforehand. But, what made him angry was that their bodies were burned. If maybe their corpses were still intact, they could bring them back to life.

But, a soul without a body cannot live without it, might as well wander the Earth like an earth-bound ghost.

Meliodas gritted his teeth in anger, and an abundance of demonic energy escaped from his body, making everyone around him fear him. They could even taste his rage, if that makes any sense.

*BOOM*

The building where Zaneri was in, exploded. The entire tower shattered into smithereens.

"Sis!" Jenna was the first to react, and dashed straight to the tower. The others reacted as well, as followed suit.

Upon arriving, they found the entire area in shambles. In the center of the room, was Zaneri, with wounds all over her body.Behind her, was Merlin's statue still intact, despite the huge explosion that just occurred.

"What happened here." Gently lying her sister to the ground while applying a healing spell on her body, Jenna asked a simple question that everyone wanted to know.

"The spell failed. It is impossible to reach her soul." Said Zaneri softly and slowly, as if it was hard to talk.

"Failed? But you managed to bring Meliodas back without difficulty" That didn't make any sense to Zaneri. A soul is a soul, so Merlin should have successfully come back, but it failed.

Zaneri stood up, looking at everybody seriously. "The spell didn't backfire, I was attacked, which explains the explosion." Her wounds started to heal, thanks to her sisters abilities.

"Attacked? There isn't an enemy near us." Said Gowther.

Meliodas seemed to understand what Zaneri meant, it was the main reason he wanted to leave this place.

"It happened so fast, but when I tried to guide Merlin's soul back to this world, someone powerful sent an attack at me, the attacked crossed through different dimensions, and it still managed to attack me. If it weren't for another spell that I casted at the last second, I could have died, along with Merlin."

She might have avoided that attack, but it wasn't aimed at her, it was aimed straight for Merlin. Whoever that person was, knew that if her statue were to be destroyed, then Merlin would have no chance to come back.

Zaneri acted on instinct alone, and successfully blocked that powerful attack. If it weren't for the powerful protective spell she casted, she would have died instantly.

"But, who is powerful enough to attack someone far away." Asked Gilthunder.

"I know who it is." Said Meliodas, with a grim expression.

"When Merlin and I are fighting against a person, this person somehow managed to steal our souls. However, he didn't eat it, he somehow sent our souls to a place called the 'underworld' in that place, I felt a sinister aura far more powerful than the Demon King. He ate my soul, and that was all that I remember,"

"Far more powerful than the Demon King. Are you sure, Meliodas?" Asked Elizabeth.

"I am sure. That power can easily crush the Demon King, as if he were an insignificant Ant."

Everyone shivered in fear. Meliodas knows just how to tell a figure's power level just by fighting him or looking at him. If what he said is true, then maybe the only one who can confront such a being is the Supreme Deity.

"Cap'n, what should we do then?" Asked Ban. He just reunited with his girlfriend, and he is going to make sure to keep it that way, even if this thing is ever more powerful than the Demon King, he is not going to go down without giving him a good fight.

"For now, we have to keep moving. I am afraid that is all we can do." Said Meliodas, he was also angry that he had to run with his tail between his legs.

"Is there nothing else we can do?" Ban didn't like this about his captain. The captain he knew would never run from a fight, no matter the odds.

"No." Meliodas shook his head. But, soon after, he was met with a fist to the face.

His body was launched back several feet. The one who punches him was none other than Ban.

"Don't give me the bullshit! Who are you? The real Cap'n would never run like a pussy." Ban was very angry that his captain even thought of running away.

Meliodas understood his rage. When there is an enemy that you can't fight, and yet he can even destroy you in a thought, made Ban and Meliodas very angry.

"Ban, stop." Elaine said.

"Cap'n, I have come to respect you, ever since I met you. But now, I just want to beat you up," Ban clenched his fists in anger.

"I can understand your anger, but, we cannot win this fight. We might as well run, and survive." Meliodas stood up, while wiping off the blood from his lips.

However, Ban kicked him and launched him back again. Meliodas let Ban attack him, because he is that type of guy, maybe he is a masochist or something.

"Ban! Stop it! This is not the time to fight each other!" Elaine yelled out loud, not approving of Ban's actions.

"Ban, Elaine is right. Right now, we should be helping each other." Added Elizabeth.

"Cap'n, running away in not surviving, if we start running today, we will never stop running for the rest of our lives." Ban said.

"I already lost Diane, King and Merlin. I am not willing to lose anybody else. Ban, you lost Elaine once, imagine how I would feel if I see Elizabeth die (again) then Hawk, Gowther, Gilthunder, you. "

"Cap'n, this is not what the seven deadly sins do. This is not why you formed the sins!" Said Ban.

"The reason why I formed the seven deadly sins, was because we were meant to stop the Commandments once and for all when they escaped from their seal. But now that they're dead, there is no reason for the Seven deadly to exist anymore." Said Meliodas. He already saw the pile of corpses rotting on the ground, so he already knew that Alex must have killed them all.

Everyone perked up when they heard that last sentence 'There is no reason for the Seven Deadly Sins to exist anymore' That almost sounded like he was disbanding the team.

"Captain, what do you mean by that?" Asked Gowther, as smart as he is, he needs to confirm this from the captain himself.

"The Seven Deadly Sins are no more starting today. Since we have accomplished the main goal, there is no other reason for us to continue."

Meliodas voice was stern, every word he said was true. He then started to walk off to the exit, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

Nobody could believe his words, but the look in his eyes are telling them that he meant it.

At this moment, Zaneri ran up to Meliodas, to try to talk to him. Elizabeth wanted to do the same thing, but Ban stopped her in her tracks.

"It is best if we leave him be." Said Ban. He has no idea how to approach Meliodas like this, but he knew why he wanted to disband the Sins.

"But, Sir Ban." Elizabeth was then interrupted by Gowther.

"Princess, you should let the Captain alone for now."

"He doesn't know what he's saying." Elizabeth owes Meliodas and the Seven Deadly Sins a lot, from saving her father to saving the Kingdom of Liones. No matter how much it looked like, she could never repay them for what they have done for her.

But, if Meliodas were to disband the Seven Deadly Sins, then that would hurt him so much, as well as everybody close to him.

"Let him be. He is only disbanding the Sins for our sake." Said Gowther.

"Our Sake?"

"I don't know what Captain saw in the 'Underworld' but, if what he said is true, that there is an enemy even stronger than the Demon King, or anybody we have faced so far, then in his mind, disbanding the team means that he is also saving our lives."

"But, we have gone through so much together. And no matter how tough the enemy is, we always emerge victorious." cried Elizabeth.

"That may be true, but this time is different." Said Gowther.

"Captain always knew our limits, including his own and the enemy's. However, this is probably the first time he is sure that he cannot win, even with all of us combined."

Elizabeth plopped to the ground, crying. The adventures they all had gone through, is just going to end just like that?

"That shitty captain. Diane, Merlin and King are gone. Yet, he is gonna let their lives go to waste like that." Ban said in a low and angry tone.

As far as he could remember, he never ever gave up on what he believed in. For example, drinking the fountain of youth and gaining immortality, finding a way to revive Elaine. Finding even answers or clues to those would be impossible, but yet, he himself managed to solve those answers.

"Don't worry, he is not giving up." Said Jenna, with an angry expression as well.

"Meliodas is not gonna run away, nor is he gonna fight the enemy alone."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Asked Elizabeth.

At this moment, Zaneri came back with a solemn expression. She already knew where Meliodas was going right now.

"He is going to find the only other person that can defeat such a being." Added Zaneri.

"Find somebody? But who?" Asked Ban.

"The only other being equal to the Demon King, the Supreme Deity." Zneri said after hesitating a bit.

"WHAT?!?!" Everyone shouted in unison.

Meliodas activated his demonic energy, then grew wings and flew off at a distant speed. He has no idea where the Supreme Deity might be, but he has a few people in mind that can tell him, the Four Archangels.

Their physical bodies were sacrificed to seal the Demon clan 3000 years ago, but their souls were transferred into relics of Britannia. Laying dormant until the Ten Commandments are released from their seal.

Meliodas has been living over 3,000 years, but he only knew the location of one of the four Archangels.

The Supreme Deity is still alive, but she has never shown herself to anyone for some reason. Even in the manga, when the Demon King was released, she never shows up to help.

Meliodas knows that the Supreme Deity is pissed at him for falling in love with Elizabeth, similar to a Romeo and Juliet play, they were a pair of star-crossed lovers.

But, if the Archangels can track her down, and Meliodas can convince her to help them, then maybe they might have a chance on defeating Alex.

"Hopefully this works out." He said to himself.

*******************

Back in Purgatory.

Several hours had already gone by in the real world, which amounts over 180 years in Purgatory.

Right now, Alex and the Lu sisters were busy eating some meat that they had to kill in order to obtain it. The animals living here all have rotten flesh, but it was the best meat they have right now.

Their clothes are made out of animal fur, which the Lu sisters were able to craft with their many skills that they possess.

Steven was right there with them, trying to relieve its boredom by hunting down some animals. One could expect to be super bored in this world, especially after living here for almost 400 years.

"And Saviour, that is how we became maids of the Heavenly Mother, before I got arrested by an inspector, and sentenced to 200 years in an ice block. After that, we met you and that was the best day of our lives." Lu Linlin said with a bright smile, as she ate the rotten meat on her hands.

Even if the meat is rotten, their hunger got the best of them, and they are willing to eat anything at this point. Even immortals like them get hungry.

"So wait, you met a guy you liked on 9th heaven, but when he was assigned on a special task on 1st heaven, you followed him there?" Asked Alex in bafflement.

In the light novel, it was never fully mentioned how she got arrested in the first place.

(Well maybe it does mention it, but I forgot.)

"Yeah. Sadly, even when I followed him and got arrested, he never came to my rescue. But luckily, the East ocean clan let my sister enter their palace to keep me alive in the ice cube." A tinge of sadness could be seen in her eyes, she liked this guy but he never liked her in return.

Even after hearing her imprisonment, the guy couldn't care less about a lowly maid from 9th heaven.

"But Sis, if you hadn't done that, then we never would have met Savior." Added Lu Lili. She too felt wronged that her sister gone imprisoned, but it was worth it because they met Alexander Anderson.

"Yeah, I guess. I guess faith brought us together." Said Lu Linlin with a warm smile.

'And the fact that I read the light novel on Qidian.' thought Alex. He already told them about the "The Dragon King's Son-in-law" but they still attribute it to faith.

Maybe because Alexander was chosen by the devil to lead this life, might be the work of faith, no one knows.

"I'm back." Satan popped out of nowhere, which surprised Alex a bit.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Alex. Other than Steven, he is the only one who can see him.

"Just bored, and I am here to let you know something."

"What?" Asked Alex.

"Meliodas has been reincarnated again."

"Okay… huh?' Alex was confused. He saw how the Devil devoured Meliodas's soul, as if it were a hotcake. But all of a sudden, he is alive.

"As it turns out, the original Gowther left behind a powerful spell book that can bring back a soul back to its vessel, even after it has been devoured by a demon." A hint of joy could be seen on Satan's face when he said this.

"And why are you so happy about this?"

"Other than God, no one has ever managed to surprise me at all. And to think that some side characters of a story could pull a fast one on me, it is truly satisfying and disappointing."

"That doesn't make any sense, shouldn't his soul have been destroyed as soon as you eat it?" Asked Alex, still seemingly confused.

"Ha! You are an idiot! A soul isn't a cheeseburger, it's not a physical food at all. A soul can live up to a million years, and can be reincarnated hundred of thousands of times. If a soul can disintegrate after a few hundred years in my stomach, then reincarnation would be bullshit."

Satan laughed at his stupidity, only a true idiot would think that a soul would disintegrate like that.

(I agree as well.)

Although they also tried to bring back Merlin, he stopped Zaneri by launching a surprise attack on her. He might have fooled him once, but there is no such thing as a second try.

He would never let go of such a soul ever again. The first time they got lucky, but they won't succeed again.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me… or was it fool me once, shame on me? Fool me twice, shame on you…? Ah whatever, who cares."

"I only said this as a warning, hopefully this won't cause any disasters." Said Satan.

"Lets see, we still have 600 years left in Purgatory, which is the equivalent of 10 hours in the real world. Shit!" That is just too much time, even in ten minutes the Seven Deadly sins can come up with something.

"Hehehe! Bye!" Satan once again disappeared in thin air. Nobody but him knows if letting Meliodas out was on purpose or not

"Something wrong, Saviour?" Asked Lu Linlin.

"Hopefully nothing." Responded Alex, as he started to eat again. He wished he could kill Meliodas right now, but can't, leaving Purgatory is impossible, unless they can defeat the Demon King.

"Wait, if Meliodas is alive… then does that mean I have to kill him again to travel to another world?" A thought just popped out of his head.

{Yes, you need to recover the soul of Meliodas, to complete your mission.}

"Damn you, Meliodas!"