I Will Eventually Embark On The Path Of No Return Called A Hero

[Arc5] - 45. The Nightmare of the Seven Deadly Sins

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The night in Camelot was unusually quiet. After King Uther of Camelot had captured two notorious criminals, everyone was buzzing with excitement. Naturally, those who knew the inside story felt even more exhilarated; they knew that the wielder of the Holy Sword had been chosen, and the future King of Camelot would grow to be worthy of that title at the side of another qualified individual.

The guard who had witnessed the awakening of the Sword in the Stone was boasting excitedly to his nearby comrades, oblivious to the impatient expression of a foreign envoy standing before him.

"My apologies, Honored Envoy, recently there's been some joyous news in our kingdom, so he's a bit overexcited." Another guard who hadn't seen the awakening but was clearly eager for details, but couldn't ignore the envoy as it involved friendships of two countries.

"Let me see, Honored Envoy from Edinburgh, what is your purpose for visiting our country?"

The pale-skinned envoy showed a strange smile and his two sharp fangs sparked under the moonlight as he lifted his lips slightly.

"I am Sir Donnie, a Holy Knight. I have urgent news for King Uther."

"What kind of urgent news, Sir Donnie?"

"That is…" Donnie suddenly appeared behind the guard, revealing his two sharp fangs. "My homeland, Edinburgh, has surrendered to the vampire lords!"

"Oh, so vampires are showing up now too?"

One hand gripped Donnie's mouth, snapping his sharp fangs the moment they touched snow-white skin as if they'd hit an unbreakable barrier.

"What? These are the fangs bestowed upon me by the vampire lords as a mark of honor!"

"Did I destroy something precious again?" Cyd remarked, lifting Donnie by the mouth. "Merlin, why are so many monsters popping up now? I'm sure ogres will be next."

"Now, this is an unexpected discovery," Merlin mused, touching her chin with an amused smile. "I recall the vampire race was supposed to have been exterminated by the Executioner after they tried to rebel against the Demon Clan when Meliodas defected. Perhaps some survived, or should I say…" She trailed off with a meaningful look. "They are truly brothers."

"You look like you've thought of something, but you're not sharing it," Cyd sighed. "I just knew this would be trouble. Can you at least handle this one for me?"

The creature in his grasp wasn't a true vampire, only a servant—likely converted from a Holy Knight. If he was any indication, a vampire army was likely not far behind.

"Vice-Captain, why don't you deal with him yourself? After all, you're never squeamish when it comes to non-humans. I can't undo a completed vampire conversion, so it's best to release his soul while it's only partly corrupted by darkness."

"All right then." Cyd raised the [Reforged Pandora], which extended and morphed into a long scythe.

"Another transformation? Though it's the same scythe form, it seems entirely different from the earth-shaking one you used before." Merlin, intrigued by Pandora's multiple forms, speculated that it was like King's Spirit Spear—a weapon created exclusively for a particular being.

King's Spirit Spear came from the Sacred Tree in the Fairy Realm. So where did Cyd's Pandora come from?

"Rest in peace." Cyd swung the scythe, slicing through Donnie's body. Although this world had no Underworld, the concept of death existed everywhere. Granting this Holy Knight, forcibly converted by vampires, a painless death was all Cyd could do.

"Th-thank you…" Donnie lay on the ground, a serene expression on his face. Surprisingly, death wasn't frightening, perhaps because, in his final moments, someone was praying for him.

"The Vice-Captain has a surprisingly gentle side. If it had been the Captain, they'd probably have shattered him on the first blow," Merlin commented, snapping her fingers. Flames enveloped Donnie's body.

"Even with his soul freed, a vampire's vitality is strong. There's always the risk of resurrection—even ultimate vampires are reanimated creatures. It's safer to burn him to ashes."

"Merlin, which direction is Edinburgh?"

"Are you planning to deal with those vampires yourself? We're currently wanted fugitives, so we can't afford to be too high-profile."

"They're connected to the Demon Clan, aren't they? If the vampires weren't entirely wiped out, perhaps the Executioner wasn't as ruthless as Meliodas claims. Maybe there could be someone in Edinburgh capable of restraining the Executioner."

Cyd found many reasons to intervene, but the truth was he simply couldn't ignore it. To turn away from those he could save now might make him indifferent to pleas for help in the future.

This was much like Cyd's reluctance to take human life—once he began, there would be no end.

"Well, I have no reason to stop you. Let's head there directly," Merlin replied, snapping her fingers. "You have five seconds, Vice-Captain, if you want to leave any final words for our little tail."

"Arthur?" Cyd turned, spotting a small head peeking out from a corner. Realizing he'd been noticed, Arthur scratched his head and walked out.

"Sir Cyd, I… I've been following you…" Arthur stammered, covering his mouth in an attempt to hide his lie.

"Arthur, wait here for us. It's bedtime for children, and we leave early in the morning."

"Are you going to fight those vampires? Will one night be enough?"

"They're just nuisances disturbing the night; nothing too serious." Cyd pointed to Merlin. "And I'm not alone. It's been ages since I fought alone."

"Oh, like in the tales of heroes with their companions…"

Arthur's excited chattering was cut short; five seconds were up.

"Was the Vice-Captain really always fighting alone?" Merlin asked as they arrived in Edinburgh. Of the Seven Deadly Sins, Cyd's past was the only one she knew nothing about.

"I was always accompanied by many 'people.' It was just that one particular battle alone stretched too long for me to fight alone."

Cyd's gaze grew distant as he sighed, then looked up at the castle before them. As he did, he bent over, clutching his stomach with a queasy look.

"Ugh… mental attack… ugh…"

"Although vampires' tastes are indeed peculiar, it's hardly disturbing to this extent, surely?" Merlin looked at the eerie castle, which seemed poised to come alive at any moment under the dark night.

The sinister shape, like a prisoner struggling futilely against restraints, was enough to make anyone shudder.

But it wasn't enough to induce nausea…

A sudden, blurred memory resurfaced in Merlin's mind, a mosaic-like image. The eerie familiarity of the building sharpened the memory—a memory of the Seven Deadly Sins' nightmare: Meliodas's cooking!

"Ugh—"

Merlin bent over, dry heaving as she patted Cyd on the back. The Vice-Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins and the Sin of Gluttony were nearly felled by the shape of the building even before they entered.