Chapter 322: Chapter 42. Stuck in the Present
[Arc5] - 42. Stuck in the Present
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"The Holy War has long since ended. It may have taken one person or perhaps a group sacrificing greatly to bring it to an end. All we have to do now is to defeat those who would disturb this hard-won peace, and to lift the curse that still burdens the heroes who fought for it."
This was Cyd's rallying speech, but the people in front of him barely reacted, slumping listlessly over the table.
"Vice-Captain, it'd make sense if the Ten Commandments suddenly attacked, but we actually hold the upper hand here. We have plenty of time to prepare," Ban said, smacking his lips. He hadn't had a drink in almost two days, and the only thing he'd eaten was fruit.
It wasn't like there was no meat, but anything prepared by Meliodas was—well, it was like tasting the end of existence itself.
"Even so, we can't be too complacent. We don't know what trouble the ones controlling Dreyfus and Hendrickson might stir up within the kingdom. Although His Majesty is a Holy Knight, he can't openly oppose two Holy Knights. Actually, they should now be called the Grand Holy Knights."
"Indeed. Almost half of the kingdom's power lies in the hands of the Grand Holy Knights, and they could take Bartra and others hostage. Also, lifting the seal requires the blood of the Goddess Clan, so Elizabeth isn't entirely safe either." Meliodas showed a rare serious expression as he placed the dragon-shaped handle he'd been carrying on the table.
"We have one card up our sleeve—a tool that can lift part of the seal. This lets us revive the Demon Clan once we're fully prepared."
"So, who knows about your curse, Meliodas?"
"Quite a few, but few truly believe it. When I died for the first time, the Demon Clan had already been sealed away."
"So, at least until Elizabeth matures, the entity possessing Dreyfus won't recognize her as the one with Goddess blood," Cyd mused, rubbing his chin. The blessing of Athena on his left arm glowed faintly with each tap on his chin.
"As long as she doesn't display the power of the Goddess Clan, the one possessing Dreyfus won't harm Elizabeth."
"While handling the remnants of the Demon Clan, we should try to connect with people from other kingdoms. We might be able to destroy the source of disaster, but we can't erase disaster itself. If we don't unite, the Ten Commandments will pick us off one by one, and it'll be a nightmare if they take hostages."
"Alright then, as the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, here's my order." Meliodas stood up, giving a casual wave. "Form pairs and search Britannia for traces of the Demon Clan. Keep an eye on the internal changes in Liones, and reach out to any Holy Knights willing to trust us, urging them to stay on standby within the kingdom."
"Lastly, regroup every six months for updates."
Although the eight of them worked well as a team, they had been loners before joining the Seven Deadly Sins. Even if they split up now, it wouldn't affect them much, especially as they'd be working in pairs.
"Escanor and Gowther, Meliodas and Ban, King and Diane… No surprises with these pairings, but…" Walking through the woods, Cyd glanced back at Merlin, who floated behind him. "I didn't expect you to suggest partnering with me, though I suppose I have a lot of things that pique your curiosity."
He'd thought Merlin would go with Diane to be considerate of Escanor's feelings, but clearly, he'd overthought it.
"To be honest, Vice-Captain, you're the third most intriguing person to me after the Demon King and the Supreme Deity."
"I'm honored. By the way, I overheard you all talking after I got out of the trials. I didn't expect you were actually quite old yourself."
"In order to study more unknown phenomena, I permanently halted my time. Technically, I haven't aged at all—I'm still living in that day when my time stopped."
"Time itself is best left untouched." Cyd stopped for a moment. "Those who manipulate time have neither a past nor a future, forever trapped in the past."
"Merlin, are you still stuck in that day?"
"Which day?" Merlin narrowed her eyes, pretending to look away nonchalantly.
"The day your homeland was ravaged by curses and disaster."
"Vice-Captain, you certainly overheard a lot. Were you listening from start to finish?" Merlin shrugged and shook her head. "Who knows? So much time has passed that I've forgotten some things. In endless time, certain things are bound to be forgotten."
"Wouldn't it be the same for the immortal Vice-Captain? Your gaze, though well-concealed, carries the weight of long years. What have you forgotten during those endless years?"
As if countering Cyd's words, Merlin drifted closer to him, fixing her gaze on his eyes, though she wasn't sure why. She simply wanted to see the expression on his face as he uttered the word "forgotten."
In his transparent eyes, her own face reflected back, bearing her usual inscrutable smile—a truly deceptive mask.
"What did I forget? I wouldn't remember what I'd forgotten, would I?" Cyd looked up at the sky. In that battle without a sense of time, he'd fought from start to finish, always keeping himself from becoming a mere fighting machine. The people he loved, those he'd made promises to, those who waited for him, his purpose, and the warmth he held in his hands—all of these defined him as [Cyd], never to be forgotten.
Maybe he had indeed forgotten something, but he wasn't even aware of the fact. So, he'd wait until whatever he'd forgotten caught up to him, and then… he'd simply apologize.
"I thought the Vice-Captain would say something profound, but that's rather shameless of you, isn't it?" Merlin faded in and out around him like a fairy from a tale. "I remember everything—a young girl revealed her own [magic] to the only two Gods in existence, gaining blessings and knowledge from them in return."
"That girl must've been thrilled, right? After all, deceiving Gods would be the ultimate bragging right for life." Many similar stories took place in Greece—mortals boasting of outsmarting Gods and claiming victory over them, only for obvious outcomes.
"I doubt the girl who fooled two Gods let pride get to her head."
"Vice-Captain, do you really think an eleven or twelve-year-old could outsmart Gods through mere intelligence?" Merlin turned to him with a smile that seemed to mock someone unknown.
"Even if she were a genius, it doesn't mean she was wiser than Gods. The Gods just never expected a mortal to dare deceive them."
Anyone bold enough to fool the Gods doesn't necessarily possess unparalleled wisdom. Gods are, after all, Gods; even the way they perceive things is different. The real decisive factor is courage—a trait only those fools who think themselves smarter than the Gods would have, though such fools must pay the price for their foolish actions.
"However, it's undeniable that that little girl had some luck. Neither God ever regarded her as worth their attention; their only true enemy was each other. And so, the girl had the chance to escape from the wrath of both Gods."
A friend tormented by the curse of darkness and was in endless pain. An elder struck to charred remains by thunder. A city engulfed in black flames.
The Demon Clan and the Goddess Clan are truly powerful; no wonder they are the two strongest factions in the Holy War. To wipe out a neutral party, they didn't even take it seriously.
Only she managed to survive, hugging her knees in a corner.
"A genius who fools the Gods... how ironic..."
"Are you... crying?" Cyd leaned toward Merlin, who, for once, showed a flustered look and turned her head away.
"Of course not, Vice-Captain. We've lived this long; you should know these things don't matter to us anymore." Merlin subtly wiped the corner of her eye, adjusting her facial muscles to regain her flawless smile.
"But didn't you say you were still stuck on that day?"
Merlin's face stiffened, and conflicting emotions made her expression somewhat ridiculous. Cyd tilted his head, patting her shoulder.
"Eternal life can indeed wear many things down, but if you don't intend to move forward, your 'past' will always be your present."
Merlin turned her head away, silent and expressionless, like a stubborn child.
"Do you plan to stay in the past forever? Even Meliodas has properly said his farewells to the past. The geniuses I know doesn't dwell on the past. Isn't a true genius someone who can see a future that ordinary people can't?"
"Don't say it as if it's an easy thing to do."
"Well, it should be easier than deceiving the Demon King and the Supreme Deity." Cyd shrugged, stepped around Merlin, and continued forward.
"[Gluttony] Merlin, how long do you plan to stay there? Even if you're just here to make up the numbers, you should at least keep up."
Merlin didn't want to enter the Druids' trial because those unreasonable people didn't care about the subject's feelings; they forced them to confront what they least wanted to face. She was a genius, a lucky one who always managed to avoid setbacks, so she refused to face her one mistake. She couldn't face her failure as calmly as Ban and Meliodas did.
Merlin turned her head to look behind her. Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting an illusion of her homeland's devastation before her eyes.
In truth, she had always been quite lonely. Only two people could truly open up and laugh with her, but because of her one failure, she developed a fear of the two Gods, leaving those two to fight alone and fall to their current fates.
Constant research seemed to numb her to the loneliness of this loss. Eventually, she wasn't even sure why she was researching anymore, as the purpose had faded with the endless passage of time.
"I... I remembered what I'd forgotten..." Merlin felt a coolness on her cheek but didn't wipe it away.
She had only failed once, but from then until now, she had always been failing. Her time had stopped on that day by her own hand. It was meant as a reminder, but it ended up binding her to that place.
Maybe it was time to let her stopped time move forward again, if only to make up for the fear she felt toward those two Gods' powers.
The enemy, after all, wouldn't wait for her in the past.
"Ha~ How embarrassing." Merlin vigorously wiped her face, stepping forward lightly as she caught up to Cyd. "It might sound odd, but the Seven Deadly Sins shouldn't let me get bored, right?"
"An immortal, a demon, a giant, a human who surpasses all races, a fairy, even a doll—Britannia's strangest ones are all here."
"So doesn't that make the Vice-Captain just an ordinary person?" Merlin leaned close to Cyd with a mischievous smile, hoping to see him embarrassed and angry at her words—at least to make up for him shaking her out of her halted time.
"Ordinary person?" Cyd didn't give her the reaction she wanted; he simply smiled contentedly.
"That's great to hear."
Seeing Cyd's sincere smile, Merlin crossed her arms and turned her head away in dissatisfaction, yet somehow felt her facial muscles relax.
The world seemed vibrant and full of the unknown once more. Perhaps meeting the Seven Deadly Sins and you was destiny.
Ah~ suddenly, I want to stop time again. Remaining here as [Gluttony] of the Seven Deadly Sins didn't sound too bad.
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