"Meliodas?!" Jura exclaimed. Meliodas looked towards Jura who was wounded but still standing. Behind him, Erza was on the verge of collapsing.
"You came...Meliodas…" Erza said silently. She immediately fell forward as Meliodas caught her in his arms.
"So this is Meliodas…" Doryu commented as he looked at him. 'He's definitely hiding a greater power. I had assumed Aifread was spouting nonsense but perhaps he wasn't entirely wrong.'
"Jura." Meliodas said. "Can you walk still?"
"I can." Jura responded.
"Take Erza and get out of here." Meliodas said sternly. He picked up Erza and leaped towards Jura.
"Meliodas...you can't fight something like that on your own…" Erza said. Meliodas looked down at her and smiled.
"Don't worry about me. If I don't fight him, who else will?" Meliodas replied. He handed Erza over to Jura and looked back towards Doryu as Jura quickly limped away carrying Erza over his right shoulder.
"Meliodas was it? I have been meaning to fight you for quite a while. My name is Doryu." Doryu said, introducing himself. Meliodas remained quiet as he sized Doryu up for a moment. 'This guy is strong. But that sword is what bothers me...I can feel many souls inside of it…'
"Shall we begin?" Doryu suggested as he lunged in towards Meliodas. Meliodas put his hand on the handle of Mel Force as Doryu appeared right in front of him. Doryu swung his blade down hard at Meliodas. Meliodas quickly drew Mel Force out in front of him, blocking the strike. The ground beneath them both shattered and a hole opened up, causing them both to fall through the hole as the top floor of the castle collapsed entirely. Doryu's eyes widened as several cuts appeared on his arm. 'He blocked my attack while attacking me simultaneously. I couldn't even track the speed that he drew his sword?!'
As the two of them fell through the castle, crashing through the floors, Meliodas and Doryu continued to slash at each other. Blood gushed out from multiple parts of Doryu's body as his trade with Meliodas continued. To his dismay, Meliodas was still unscathed despite the rally of attacks.
Doryu swung a heavy slash towards Meliodas as they crashed through another floor. Meliodas ducked the swing, countering with his own slash towards Doryu's forearm. Blood gushed out of Doryu's arm and Doryu immediately jumped back as they landed on the first floor of the castle.
'His body has been reinforced heavily with magic. I can't get a cut deep enough.' Meliodas thought as he stared at Doryu.
Doryu looked at his bleeding arm. 'His power is one thing, being able to wound me like this. But the speed of his swordsmanship...even with the boost to my senses from this blade, I can barely keep track of his swings…if that's the case, then I'll have to use magic!'
Doryu raised his left hand up above him, his palm facing up. A black sphere began forming in his hand, growing larger and larger. The sphere began to swallow up the upper floors of the castle, causing the top part of it to crumble down and fall into the sphere.
"Darkness Weight!"
Doryu threw the sphere towards Meliodas, with the sphere swallowing up even more of the castle and growing in size. Meliodas gripped the handle of Mel Force tightly and waited as the sphere was just about to collide with him.
"Full Counter!"
Meliodas swung Mel Force. The black sphere instantly changed directions and headed straight towards Doryu instead.
"What?!" Doryu exclaimed as his own attack was sent back at him. Doryu's surprise quickly vanished and was replaced with a smile as he faced his left palm towards the large ball of darkness. His eyes widened as he realized something was different about the ball. 'My attack...it's three times stronger than when I had launched it?!' Doryu questioned. 'No matter...I still have full control over it!'
Doryu caught the ball and prepared to launch it at Meliodas. To Doryu's surprise, Meliodas was no longer standing in his initial spot. 'Where did he-'
Meliodas suddenly appeared behind Doryu with his blade drawn out in front of him. Doryu immediately felt sharp pain in many places of his body as soon as he spotted Meliodas.
"One Thousand Divine Slashes!"
Meliodas sheathed Mel Force back into its scabbard. As his sword was fully sheathed, a fountain of blood and darkness gushed out of Doryu's body. Meliodas vanished once again as Doryu could no longer hold the sphere of darkness. The sphere began to glow brightly before exploding in a large eruption of magical energy that enveloped the entirety of what was left of the castle in a large pillar of flowing black energy.
"Well, well, well. That was close." Meliodas said as he watched the smoke clear from the explosion. "I almost got caught in that."
The remains of the castle were no longer there. Instead, there was a flat area of smooth land as Doryu remained motionless yet still standing with his mouth wide open. Despite being seemingly defeated, Meliodas watched patiently and didn't walk towards Doryu. Something still felt off about him.
Meliodas remained watching him for another moment. The setting sun now almost fully set and the surroundings becoming darker and darker. Darkness began to leak from Doryu's body and Doryu took a deep breath in before exhaling. He turned around and saw Meliodas staring at him intently.
"Quite the trick you pulled on me." Doryu mused. Meliodas looked at Doryu's body. His wound had completely vanished.
"If I was still human, that would have killed me. But you see, I have evolved into a level beyond that." Doryu said as he walked closer to Meliodas. Meliodas remained still but on guard.
"This black sword...has granted me a demonic power. One that allows me to heal from any wounds. And as the sun sets and night falls, my power grows!" Doryu yelled as his magical power flared up even higher, being nearly twice as strong as before. To Doryu's surprise, Meliodas was unfazed by the boost in his magic nor his demonic aura.
"Perhaps you are so afraid of this power, that you cannot make a move nor speak?" Doryu asked as he walked closer to Meliodas until he was standing right in front of him, towering over his small stature.
"You gave up the lives of many innocent people to gain that kind of power…" Meliodas said somberly as he looked down at the ground.
"Indeed I did. But with this power, I've ascended! My strength is unparalleled!" Doryu yelled out. He raised his black sword up in the air above him, ready to strike down at Meliodas.
"Meliodas. You put up a good fight against my power. But in the end, you are no match against me." Doryu said as he slashed down at Meliodas.
Doryu's confidence faded as he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked at his right arm holding the black blade, which was now dislodged from his body. He felt a dark presence in front of him, one that was darker than his own.
Doryu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as blood gushed from his body and he was nearly bisected. He looked back up at Meliodas, wide eyed. Meliodas' appearance had changed, his emerald green eyes turning dark and a black spiral shaped henna appeared on his head.
"And that is your sin!" Meliodas shouted.