A/N: Hey everyone! Of course, I haven't forgotten about you! But I'm still not having any wifi (*inserts eye rolling*) and have no idea, when I'll finally get it. It's making things really hard as there's barely any mobile data in my new apartment and I can't even continue writing my chapters on here because neither the app nor website will load.

I am still writing on this story and thinking about you all but I have to ask you to be patient until this whole wifi-being-online-problem is finally solved someday in 2021! (Because who cares about e-learning anyway? Nobody needs to be online during this pandemic! (*irony off))

Also, very welcome to all new readers! I'm glad you found my story!

Now, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter! I'm curious to read about your thoughts because writing this battle is like the hardest thing I've ever had to write so far.

Stay safe everyone and stay strong! We'll read from each other sometime soon again!

Lots of love. <3

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Chapter 36 - The Battle Begins

"W-what just happened?" Diane mutters unsettled whilst everyone stares at the empty spot in shock, not believing what we just saw.

"Merlin, where did you bring them to?!" I ask furious as fear rises inside me as the two boys I love with all my heart have vanished right in front of my eyes. The only sign that this fight really had took place is Meliodas' secret treasure in my hand.

"They're right where Meliodas said they would be. At the place where all of this started."

"What does that mean..." mumbles King.

"It means they're back in the demon world" I say with grittet teeth. With Meliodas' sword in my hands, I clench them into fists again as a new wave of anger flows through my veins. He's done it again. He kept his plan a secret and fights on his own. He broke his promise. And not just that. That Zeldris and Meliodas are in the demon world can only mean that they're executing the plan they told me about last night. They are going to fight against the demon lord. And I can't help them. Tears form in the corner of my eyes and I can't tell if it's out of anger or fear and worry.

"Y-Yami..." Diane mumbles worriedly when she sees the blood dropping from my hands as the blade of Meliodas' secret treasure cuts deep into my to fists clenched hands. I follow her gaze and slowly loosen my grip.

Elizabeth comes closer and heals the wounds I've caused myself and when our eyes meet, the same emotions that I feel reflect in her eyes but she tries to hide them from the others.

"Now that this has been resolved..." I hear Estarossas voice speak up. "We can finally start, can't we?" He smirks widely while talking and I see how Diane grabs onto her hammer tightly and Kings body tenses up. They're ready to fight.

I hold up my hand to stop them. "Nobody moves" I say tensed and don't move my eyes away from Estarossa. I want to avoid a battle as long as possible but I can see that he's waiting for it to finally start.

"Yami, what are you doing?" asks King confused.

"" I repeat more sternly. Estarossa smirks overbearing and then everything goes so fast, I can barely notice it myself. Estarossa rushes towards me and Elizabeth, which still stands right next to me, and lifts up his sword. Right before the blade hits either Elizabeth or me, I block his attack with Meliodas' sword in my hand.

"Well, if that's not our little, betrayed angel. I have to admit, I was surprised when we saw each other in Vayzel. I didn't think you were still alive."

"Estarossa, always unpleasant to see you." 

A sinister smile appears on his face as his dark eyes look deep into the mine. He looks just as threatening and intimidating as I remember him.

"It's interesting, isn't it? While you remember us so well, Zeldris seems to have completely forgotten you. Not that I'm complaining. But it seems like you haven't left a lasting memory on him. And that, although you have spent so much time together. " His grin is smug and gets a little bigger with every word.

"And yet you stand here and still remember me very well. If that isn't quite more interesting" I say and also grin broadly at him while I'm just trying to play out time. There must be a reason Meliodas and Zeldris kept their real plan from me. There's got to be a reason Meliodas irritated his brother to the limit just to get so close to him. Because even if I have every reason to be mad at the two of them, I know that Meliodas must have a plan. He wouldn't hose me like that another time.

I don't know how long it will take before the two brothers will return, because in the dark world of demons the time goes by very differently. Not as slow as in purgatory, but it still cannot be compared with the time here in the human world.

"I didn't remember you so cheeky" Estarossa interrupts my thoughts. His eyes tell me that he's enjoying this conversation way too much, like it's all a game to him. And mabye it really is nothing but a game to him.

"I wish I could compliment you too. But there's nothing I can think of."

Estarossa grins broadly at me again. "Meliodas had an really interesting influence on you. It's almost a shame you're going to die today. You would have been a good fit with us commandments."

"I feel kind of sorry for you. Even after 3.000 years you haven't changed at all and still follow the orders of the Demon King. Tell me, what's life like when you're not free?" With these words I officially drive it too far because once again, Estarossa raises his sword, ready to attack me. Skilfully, I avoid his attack and get ready to fight him back.

"What are you waiting for?" Estarossa hisses at the other Commandments as he continues to attack me. I watch every single movement of Estarossa very carefully, because there are moments where he looks at Elizabeth with a crazy look. I bet he's just waiting to harm her just to get revenge on Meliodas. But I won't let that happen.

"Protect the princess!" I shout out to the other Sins while blocking another attack by Estarossa. I can't focus on Elizabeth and his attacks at the same time for very long. Still none of the other commandments move and I wonder how much or how little time has passed since Meliodas' disappearance. What should I do if they don't come back?

"Yami, let us help you!" Diane shouts from aside. I look at her angrily.

"Stay back!" I shout back to her. "That's a thing between Estarossa and me."

"Oh, you little, naive angel. Don't you see that this is not about you? On the contrary, I don't care about you at all. The only reason why I concern myself with you is because it'll break Medioas' heart when you die. Just like that would-be goddess over there. I can already feel the pain when he comes back to find out you two are dead" he says and licks his lips as if his words tasted sexy.

"I'm flattered that you have so much trust in your brother that you are sure that he will come back" I grin cheekily at Estarossa. If he wants to play games then I'll be his partner.

"It will be my pleasure to kill the two women who were to blame for my brother's betrayal." Estarossa grins smugly at me again before turning his attention to his comrades. "Now move on! Remember why we're fucking here!"

From this point on, the groups begin to move. It is Melascula that moves first, grinding from ear to ear.

"Careful, she is very dangerous!" Gowther warns the others about the not-too-new threat.

"She's mine!" calls Ban and runs towards Melascula.

"Ban, no!" I call desperately. "If you-"

"It's okay!" Ban interrupts me and grins his cheeky, fox-like grin. "We've already talked about it."

"Derieri, Monspeet, move!" Melascula rebukes the others. "We have already suffered enough losses!"

Derieri and Monspeet look at each other questioningly and for the brief moment that I can look at them, I discover that they hesitate. My friends, however, are already drawing their weapons.

"Don't worry, Yami. Leave that to us!" Diane says happily to support me and Meliodas. King, who is hovering next to her, nods in agreement.

"NO!" I scream to stop them and briefly drop Meliodas' weapon on the ground. I let my real magic come to the fore and hurl Estarossa a few meters away from us with one of my attacks.

I quickly pick up Meliodas' secret treasure and toss it to Elizabeth. "Please take good care of it!" I call to her and step between the fronts. "We don't have to do that!" I beg both groups, but quickly focus on the commandments to my left. "Don't you realize that Stigma and the goddess-clan are long gone? This war won't bring back your comrades!"

"Be quiet!" Melascula yells angrily at me. "You have no say here!"

"Anton no Mayu" Melascula says and I see darkness surround me whilst I hear Diane shout my name. I have heard about that power of hers before and know that it can be really dangerous. But I have more than seven reasons to not give up. Suddenly, light breaks through that darkness and breaks Melasculas attack. I lift my gaze to see King controlling his Chastiefol.

"Watch out, Yami!" Ban shouts my name and when I turn around, I see Melascula already revive and rush towards me. From another direction, I feel Estarossas presence coming closer to me and it's impossible to focus on the both of them. Together, they're too strong for me alone.

"Fraudrin, Gloxinia and Drole realized what they did was wrong and that it can't take away the pain you feel! Is that war really what you want?" I shout towards Monspeet and Derieri because they're the only ones who are listening, right before Estarossa raises his sword and tries to hit me but Diane blocks off the attack for me.

"Thank you, Diane. But step back, now. Estarossa's no threat" I say and look him deadly in the eyes. "The only magical power he's got is from the Commandment the demon lord gave him. I can handle that. Please, stay out of this."

"But Yami... Why?"

"And this mistake will cost you your life" Estarossa grins broadly at me. Suddenly the whole floor shakes and the little stones roll a few centimeters away from us. The already broad grin from Estarossa grows even more as the sky above us darkens. An incredibly strong, dark aura surrounds us.

"What is ..." mumbles Diane and everyone except Ban and Melascula pause.

"I-is that the night?" Escanor mumbles, but his body has not lost its power and is still increasing.

"No. We both would know" I mumble just before I hear movement in the sky.

"What's this?" King mumbles, squinting, hoping to read the movement in the sky.

"What's going on, Yami", Estarossa grins smugly at me, as if he is enjoying every second of this senseless war. It's really scary. "Did you forget that our friends escaped too?"

Only now can we see what is approaching us. Demons. Countless demons that bathe the sky in the dark colors it is in right now.

"Leave that to us!" calls King and takes off into the air. Diane lets rocks sprout from the ground and lifts herself and Gowther hundreds of meters into the air.

"Really clever, Estarossa. A good idea to part me from my comrades" I admit appreciatively. Of course, these demons pose a threat to the kingdom of Liones, but they would disappear the moment the Ten Commandments were defeated. Still, I don't blame my friends for caring about the kingdom so much. In the end, it's still Elizabeth, Ban, Merlin and me. "Well, that's what I call a tie. Were you afraid that we would beat you otherwise?" I ask him, still hoping to get some time. They have to come back to us...

"I just want to enjoy that game for some more."

"Yami, please be careful!" says Elizabeth from behind me and her voice is full of worry. Estarossas head shoots up when he hears the princess talk for the first time today.

"You..." he mutters in a completely different voice. "I haven't seen you in quite a long time. Last time was 3.000 years ago, right? Shortly before your goddamn race sealed us away!"

Elizabeth looks at Estarossa in surprise as the energy coming from Estarossa has changed and whilst he basically felt nothing around me, I can sense a storm of emotions inside him. "Your heart is filled with so much hate" Elizabeth states in surprise. "I haven't felt an energy like that since Indura."

"Aren't you wondering why? After all, it was my brother Meliodas and you who betrayed me so much."

"Save that and get in line, Estarossa" I say annoyed. No matter what Elizabeth and Meliodas did, they did it out of love for one another. None of them would deliberately hurt anyone.

"Oh, I almost forgot about you again" he says, blinking at me in astonishment.

Estarossa begins to fight me again and is ready to kill me now. I can feel it and see it in his eyes. From the corner of my eyes, I can see Ban and Melascula still fighting. Even Derieri and Monspeet are mumbling something but Derieris voice rises. It looks like she's disagreeing with him. This time it's her who rushes over to Elizabeth and stands threatening in front of her.

"Elizabeth!" I shout her name to warn her but she doesn't seems scared at all.

"Why are you still alive?" Derieri mutters angrily. I try to focus on their conversation but Estarossa accelerates his attacks on me and I have to focus on him for now. I put my trust on Merlin and Elizabeth to handle it on their own.

2220 words