NOVEL NEXT Chapter 317: Chapter 37. Lick
[Arc5] - 37. Lick
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Cyd emerged from the tree roots, carrying Meliodas along with him. Though his injuries were more severe, he had completely healed due to his immortality, leaving him responsible for carrying the weakened Meliodas out.
"Guess the Vice-Captain is the perfect role model, huh? If it were me, I'd have no choice but to beat the Captain up," Ban joked, walking over and lifting Meliodas up by his armpits like a toy.
"He already beat me up, thank you very much. Every bone and muscle in my body was broken. If I weren't a demon, I'd be nothing but sludge seeping out of those roots," Meliodas grumbled, kicking his legs until he gave Ban a smack on the head.
"And by the way, Ban, I'd be the one doing the beating, not you."
"Oh, so lively! Looks like the Captain is still the Captain, alright," Ban chuckled, shaking Meliodas a couple of times as if confirming something before nodding.
"I'm the one who took the worse hit here," Cyd muttered, sitting down and pinching the bridge of his nose. Immortality had its own inconveniences, like never being able to feel a proper massage, and now, Meliodas had thoroughly worked out his joints.
Medusa reached out with a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Cyd's face, but a scaly tongue suddenly darted across his cheek, erasing the blood in an instant. Judging by the smoothness of the movement, it was almost like… a tongue.
Medusa gave a chilly stare at the dragon scale coiled around Cyd's neck. She knew full well that the dragon hadn't truly died. It had likely consumed Cyd's spilled blood and crushed innards when he was injured.
[Your sister's looking at Lady Dragon with such a terrifying gaze, but Lady Dragon's just collecting a little payment for her hard work.] The dragon quipped.
Helplessly, Cyd raised his collar to block Medusa's glare from the scales.
"Parasite," Medusa muttered, selecting the most insulting term possible for a dragon.
[Oh, Lady Dragon's in a worse spot than a parasite. At least a parasite gets to absorb nutrients. Poor Lady Dragon, who knows how many years she'll have to wait to get a taste from her immortal host.]
The dragon, rather than feeling any shame, took the opportunity to complain, clearly having discarded her dignity long ago.
"The scales need nutrients to regenerate, and she helped me a lot during the fight," Cyd reassured Medusa, wrapping his arms around her and gently patting her back to soothe her slightly erratic heartbeat.
Watching the battle through the mirror must have made her anxious; even knowing he wouldn't die, emotions like that couldn't simply be suppressed.
"Sorry, but I can't promise this is the last time."
"Then wait until it is the last time to say that," Medusa replied, lightly pinching Cyd's cheek before stepping back into his shadow.
"I've waited thousands of years; I can wait a little longer."
Cyd wanted to say something more, but on the side, Meliodas and Ban were watching with amused expressions as if to say, [We're curious, but we'll never ask.]
"Ban, when do you plan to deal with your own situation?" Cyd asked, pointing to the mirror showing King's trial. As expected, Ban's expression faltered slightly.
"Vice-Captain, you're not gonna use the same approach you did with the Captain, are you? Just saying, it doesn't matter how many kicks or punches you throw; it won't fix things."
"It's like you think I only solve things with violence. I prefer to resolve things through virtue," Cyd said, raising his right hand as dragon scales quickly transformed it into a menacing dragon claw.
"Meet Little Virtue."
[Changing names again, huh? Lady Dragon wouldn't mind if you'd let her have a bite, she'd gladly take on a new name.]
"Fine, Vice-Captain, I get it," Ban raised his hands in mock surrender, though he clearly wasn't giving in completely. "But you know I'm not the type to open up to others. I can't bring myself to seek forgiveness."
"If anything…" Ban mumbled, looking away, "I'd rather go punch him. So, I think it's best to just leave things as they are."
"Your relationship with King is complicated. Ignoring it will only make things worse," Cyd sighed, spreading his hands. They were comrades in battle, after all, so anything that might split them up should be dealt with first.
"If King accuses you of destroying the Fairy King's Forest, you'd probably respond with something like So what?, Hmm?, And?, or Do you think you can kill an immortal like me?"
Ban grimaced. Cyd was spot-on; he would likely say something along those lines because he was, indeed, that kind of person.
"I can't step in here, so you'll have to handle it," Cyd said, gesturing toward the tree roots.
"Ugh, another Vice-Captain's order."
"No, it's a request."
"Tch, can't say no to you," Ban muttered, scratching the back of his head in apparent reluctance. Yet, despite his complaints, he headed toward the trial.
"Captain, Vice-Captain, if King goes berserk, am I allowed to fight back?"
"Yes," Meliodas nodded after a moment's thought.
"Good, good." Ban stretched and walked into King's trial, cracking his neck.
"Come to think of it, King's a fairy, but he doesn't have wings," Meliodas mused, watching the image of the youthful King, who looked like he'd deflated. He didn't bother telling Ban about King's childlike appearance; he knew Ban wouldn't go easy on him and might even provoke him on purpose.
"Fairies draw their power from their wings, and as the Fairy King wielding the Spirit Spear, King should have large, beautiful wings," Merlin explained as the team's knowledge expert. "The most likely reason is that his power hasn't fully awakened yet. Though his current strength is weaker than the first Fairy King, once he grows his wings, he'll be a formidable ally."
"Ah, the first Fairy King… Speaking of which, the Ten Commandments include the first Fairy King and the first Giant King," Meliodas exclaimed, hitting his forehead as if he'd just remembered. "I didn't pay much attention since they aren't demons."
"This is valuable strategic information. Just how much more are you hiding?" Cyd asked, exasperated.
"Can't help it. The Ten Commandments are a mixed bag. Not to brag, but there are only a few of them I'd consider a real challenge," Meliodas boasted, wagging his finger proudly.
"Several only made it into the Ten Commandments due to their Commandments' powers. Truly strong demons are formidable even without those powers."
"So, our concerns might not be limited to just the Ten Commandments. Still, there's no need to fear," Cyd remarked, looking at the mirror, which now displayed Ban's laid-back approach and the oblivious King.
"We're not fighting alone, after all."