บท 60: The Arrest
As the sun set on the base camp, Meliodas and Hibiki continued to speak. Hibiki transferred what he had in his archive about spatial magic to Meliodas, but none of it was what Meliodas was looking for.
"So none of these match up with what you want then. Whatever magic it is you're looking for, definitely won't be common knowledge. I apologize that I can't provide any help." Hibiki said.
"It's fine, I'll just have to-" Meliodas was interrupted as Eve's voice cried out through the base camp.
"Hibiki! Where is Master Ichiya!" Eve exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's odd that he hasn't returned yet!" Ren interjected.
Hibiki's eyes widened. He had last telepathically spoken to Ichiya briefly before Meliodas and Jura returned to the base camp. It had been over an hour since then and Ichiya still wasn't back. Hibiki quickly pulled up his archive as he tried to search for Ichiya.
"He's...in the forest still?!" Hibiki tried to connect to Ichiya telepathically but couldn't get in contact with him. "He must have ran into a dark guild that he couldn't fight. This place was swarming with them because of the Oracion Seis."
Jura, hearing the commotion, approached Hibiki.
"What's going on?" Jura asked.
"Master Ichiya has been missing for over an hour since I last contacted him. He should have returned by now." Hibiki replied. "I have his general location pinpointed."
"Hmm. I see. Then we shall create a small team to find him. Just us should suffice." Jura said.
"Very well. I'll transmit his location to you all now." Hibiki said as he began typing on his magical interface. Several seconds later, Meliodas, Jura, Eve, and Ren received mental directions to where Ichiya should be.
"We'll head out now." Jura said.
"Is it a good idea to leave Hoteye by himself?" Hibiki asked. Jura looked at Hoteye and sighed. Despite him having switched alignments, he was still a criminal.
"Then you three will have to suffice." Jura replied.
"Don't worry Master Ichiya, the trimen will save you!" Eve and Ren shouted as they ran into the forest. Meliodas shrugged his shoulders and nodded at Hibiki before running in after them.
---
Meliodas, Eve, and Ren split up to find Ichiya. Hibiki's coordinates were not exact and were a rough estimation of his general area. Meliodas walked through the forest, looking around for any signs of the strange Blue Pegasus mage.
Meliodas continued walking for several minutes but abruptly stopped in his tracks. He felt a strange presence. Someone or something was watching him. He quickly turned around but saw no one there. Despite this, he could still feel the gaze of his stalker.
"I know you're there." Meliodas said calmly. There was no response. The presence suddenly vanished. Meliodas looked around skeptically, but couldn't feel his pursuer anymore. A moment later, he heard Hibiki's voice in his head.
'Meliodas, Ren has found Master Ichiya. He was tied up and left on a stick by a dark guild earlier. He's safe now. Return to base camp.' Hibiki's words rang through Meliodas's head.
---
Meliodas returned to the camp, still unsure of what it was he had felt watching him earlier. He shrugged the feeling off and walked over to Wendy, who was now awake. She sat down on a rock, seemingly in an empty trance. Sitting next to Wendy, was Carla.
"Yo!" Meliodas greeted.
"O-oh! Meliodas." Wendy said, startled as she didn't realize he was approaching.
"Thanks for your help, healing Natsu and Erza back there." Meliodas said. "Did you get to speak to Jellal yet?"
"About that…Jellal didn't remember me at all…" Wendy said. She looked away from Meliodas, unable to hide her sad expression. Meliodas smiled and patted Wendy on the head, while pondering her words. At that moment, it came to him. 'Could Wendy have met Mystogan instead of Jellal?'
"Don't let it get you too down Wendy." Meliodas said reassuringly. As he got up, he summoned a bottle of Magnolia Craft Ale and began drinking it, only to stop halfway through as he felt that there was magic surrounding the entire camp. The sensation felt familiar. It was very similar to Freed's runes. Meliodas looked at Jura who had also noticed and nodded at Meliodas.
"Guys get ready!" Meliodas yelled out loud. The group's relaxed atmosphere disappeared as they looked around and saw there were runes on the ground. The runes glowed and rose up into large walls, enclosing the group.
"Do not fret. We do not intend to hurt you. We only wish to keep you here momentarily." A voice said from the treeline. The group all turned and faced where they heard the voice coming from. A slim man with long, tied up black hair and glasses walked out. He was wearing white robes over a blue uniform. Behind him, were dozens of other men dressed in similar attire to him.
"I am the Captain of the Fourth Custody Enforcement Unit of the new Magic Council. You may call me Lahar." The man said as he adjusted his glasses.
"A new one already?" Lyon asked.
"Yes. We were reformed quite quickly, especially after the incident with the blond demon-" Lahar's eyes widened as he recognized Meliodas. "The blond demon is here?!"
"Yo!" Meliodas said as he gave Lahar a cheeky grin.
"Wait, that blond demon was Meliodas?!" Lyon exclaimed. Jura had briefly told him about his arrest of the blond demon but didn't tell Lyon who exactly it was.
"We were just as surprised as you are when he showed up one day to the guild with the Princess with him." Happy mentioned.
"I suppose your actions have been excused, but you are still high priority on our watchlist. No matter. We aren't here for you. We are here for the Oracion Seis. I see you've already detained most of their members." Lahar said as he looked at the five members who were encased in a rock formation. After Meliodas had brought them all back to camp, Jura swapped them out of their ropes into a sturdier rock formation.
"And we will also require the one code named "Hoteye." Lahar continued.
"Wait a second! You can't-" Jura yelled but stopped as he felt a hand placed on his shoulder.
"My awakening does not excuse the misdeeds and evil of my past. I will submit myself to them along with my other comrades and start anew." Hoteye replied with conviction in his voice. Jura stared at him briefly and nodded.
"Then I shall find your brother in your place. What is his name?" Jura smiled.
"Wally Buchanan."
"Wally?!" Erza said out loud, surprised. "I know him."
Both Jura and Hoteye faced towards Erza as she said this, surprised at her words.
"He's a friend of mine. I assure you he's in good health. He is traveling across the continent right now as we speak." Erza smiled at Hoteye, causing him to immediately burst into tears and fall to his knees. Everyone watched silently as several councilmen picked him up and escorted him out of the barrier in addition to picking up the remaining members of the Oracion Seis.
"So we can go now?" Sherry asked.
"No. Not yet. We have one more target, one that surpasses the threat that the Oracion Seis was." Lahar replied seriously. There was a silent tension in the air around them, with everyone anticipating what Lahar was going to say. The silence was broken as Meliodas blurted out.
"Me?" Meliodas asked nonchalantly while holding his now empty bottle of ale.
"Yes... Wait! I mean no! No not you!" Lahar exclaimed. He cleared his throat and regained his composure before continuing, adjusting his glasses one more time in the process.
"The one who infiltrated the council and brought down Etherion. The worst, and most evil of villains...Jellal!" Lahar yelled, pointing at Jellal. The other council members behind Lahar immediately got into an aggressive stance.
"If you don't surrender, we have orders to kill you where you stand." Lahar exclaimed.
"You can't!" Wendy yelled out.
"Hey wait a second! You can't do that! He's the one who destroyed Nirvana!" Natsu yelled angrily.
"That does not matter to me. He must never be allowed freedom again!" Lahar replied coldly. Tension began to build up in the air as Natsu glared angrily at Lahar. Meliodas looked at Erza who was standing next to Jellal. He expected her to say something but she remained quiet as several councilmen shackled Jellal's arms.
"You can't take him! He lost his memory! He doesn't remember any of this!" Wendy cried out.
"The Thirteenth Clause of criminal law prevents memory loss as a defense. Now, lower the barrier." Lahar said as he looked at one of the councilmen near him. The councilman nodded and the barrier around the group vanished.
As the barrier vanished, an unknown object flew through the air, unknown to Lahar. The group of legal guild mages fell silent as they watched the bottle fly through the air. Suddenly, the object collided with Lahar's forehead, shattering into pieces with the sound of broken glass. A small crack formed on Lahar's glasses and he looked down at the ground. At his feet were the cracked remains of a "Magnolia Craft Ale" bottle.
A trickle of blood began to drip down his face from his forehead. Lahar looked back up at the group with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Well well well. If you think we're just going to hand over Jellal, then you're mistaken, councilman." Meliodas said as he began walking up to Lahar with a cheeky smile on his face.
"So the Blond Demon shows his true colors after all?" Lahar glared angrily back at Meliodas.
"To you, I may be the Blond Demon. And to my friends here, they know me as Meliodas of Fairy Tail. But I am also Meliodas, Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins." Meliodas replied.
"Seven Deadly Sins?" Lahar questioned. Everyone else looked at each other, puzzled at Meliodas' statement.
"Law number four of the Seven Deadly Sins, if a friend is in crisis, everybody needs to use all of their power to help." Meliodas replied as he looked directly into Lahar's eyes with a serious gaze. Lahar immediately took a few steps back upon making eye contact.
"If you choose to assist that man you will give me no choice but to arrest you!" Lahar exclaimed. Despite his fierce declaration, nervousness could still be heard in his voice.
"Yeah let's kick some ass!" Natsu yelled as he jumped past Meliodas.
"Wait." Jellal said. Meliodas immediately grabbed Natsu, stopping him in his tracks. Jellal met Meliodas's gaze and Meliodas immediately read his expression.
"What's the big deal?! Let me go!" Natsu yelled. "I thought we were gonna kick some council ass!"
Meliodas ignored Natsu's squirming as he and Jellal stared at each other.
"Meliodas, you have shown me today that no matter the darkness that resides in a person and their past, they can overcome it. I wish to atone for my sins without causing you all trouble. I've seen the lengths you would go for your friends...and that is not necessary here." Jellal said firmly.
"Well, if that's what you want." Meliodas replied. "I'm just glad you found your way and chose to live."
"Like hell you will!" Natsu yelled angrily. "I won't just sit idly by and let these guys-"
"Natsu that's enough!" Erza shouted. "Jellal is right. If this is what he wants to do to atone...then let him do it."
"Erza?!" Natsu responded in disbelief.
Lahar adjusted his glasses and regained his composure as he walked towards Jellal. With his hands, he gestured for the councilmen to take him away. The group watched as Jellal began getting further away from them but Jellal turned around and faced them before being put away into the transport carriage.
"Farewell, Erza, Natsu... and Meliodas. Thank you for giving me this chance."
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