Doranbolt's eyes lit up and a smile formed on his face as he saw Meliodas.
"Meliodas!"
"So you're Meliodas!" Jackal said with a glint in his eye. Tartarus had already done their research regarding Meliodas and was aware of his supposed strength that was above even a wizard saint.
"HAHAHA! Looks like we underestimated you, but you really shouldn't be holding my arm." Jackal said, disregarding his missing limb.
Meliodas looked at the arm, which was still pulsating with a strange energy.
"This is the power of curses, human! Did you think just by cutting it off, it would dispel my powe-." Before he could finish, darkness leaked from Meliodas' body, crawling down his arm and covering up Jackal's dislodged arm which was now starting to glow. A muffled explosion was heard a moment later and the darkness was released, with only smoke coming out.
"You-" Before he finished, Meliodas appeared right in front of Jackal. Wings of darkness sprouted from Meliodas' back as he grabbed Jackal's neck and took off into the sky with him.
"Who sent you!" Meliodas asked as eyes turned black.
"HAHAHA! You idiot" My curse also affects people who make direct contact with me!" Jackal gasped as he was being held by the neck.
Meliodas shifted his gaze from Jackal to his own left arm which was now beginning to glow. Not a moment later, an explosion erupted from his arm, engulfing the two of them in a huge cloud of smoke. Jackal's body fell down from the cloud and he landed on the ground, coughing as he held his neck.
"Let's see you get out of that one!"
Very much to his dismay, Meliodas emerged from the smoke and hovered right above Jackal. His clothes were singed and tattered but his body was completely unscathed.
He flew down at Jackal, landing a punch directly into his chest, sending him back further away from the council.
'I could defeat him now, but I need to get information out of him. I need to get this guy out of the vicinity, or he will cause too much damage.' Meliodas thought he rushed towards Jackal, grabbing him.
"What are you…" Jackal thrashed around with no luck. 'How is he so strong? Our intel said he was on a level above Jura, but his raw power and speed are ridiculous!.' Jackal thought as he continued struggling.
Meliodas dragged Jackal, his face grinding against the ground and leaving a trail behind them before throwing him straight into a small hill in front of him. Jackal's body slammed hard into the hill, causing the ground to rumble and the hill to collapse.
The dust settled, and Jackal appeared out of the rubble in a sorry state. His head was bleeding and multiple contusions were visible throughout his body. A large pool of blood was forming underneath him as it dripped down from his open wound where his left arm used to be.
"How is that possible!! You…" Jackal became enraged at the thought of being suppressed so easily. He howled as his figure slowly shifted and he assumed the appearance of a large, grotesque and wolf-like form. He grew fur over most of his body with a canine snout and face, complete with pointed fangs and a long tongue, dangling down from the sides of his mouth. He grew massive dark claws on his one remaining hand while his other arm wound closed itself in addition to growing a large bushy tail and animal-like hind legs.
'Hmm, is that his true form?' Meliodas pondered as he stared at Jackal.
"DIE!"
Jackal made a swiping motion with his hand, releasing a chain of explosions lined up at Meliodas. Meliodas put his hand on the handle of Neo Mel Force and swung his blade.
"Full Counter!"
Meliodas' eyes widened as the explosions continued to head towards him and found himself engulfed in the blasts.
"You think we don't know about your technique?! "Full Counter!" You can only reflect magical attacks! Us Etherious use something beyond even magic, known as curses!"
"Well, well, well. That explains why I couldn't sense any magic coming from you or your explosions. I just wanted to test it out for myself." The smoke from the explosion began to clear and Meliodas was revealed standing upright with both arms covering him and his shirt completely blown off. Meliodas coughed and shook his head, causing small particles of soot to fall from his hair.
"You're still standing even after taking explosions from my Etherious form?!" Jackal grit his teeth as he looked at Meliodas. He instinctively took a step back. 'Is he really human..? How can he take my explosions with no damage.'
"Impossible, I can't be afraid of a HUMAN!!!"
Jackal lunged at Meliodas. Meliodas remained standing in place as he was struck creating a sizable explosion upon impact. Jackal unleashed another flurry of blows at Meliodas, each one creating an even larger explosion than the last.
"It's impossible for a human to beat the demons of Tartarus! All humans should just die!!!" Jackal lunged forward with his right hand wound back as he prepared to deliver a heavy slash at Meliodas. From the lingering cloud of smoke in front of him, he made out the shape of a fist. His eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain to his jaw and was sent flying through dozens of trees behind him.
Jackal landed on the ground with a huge crash, unable to move, still reeling from the shock of such overwhelming strength. He barely lifted his head and saw the trail of uprooted trees and disheveled ground his body had made. Jackal attempted to stand up but a sharp pain wracked every part of his body. 'All of my bones…are broken…'
Jackal suddenly felt a massive presence above him, unlike any he had ever felt before. A dark figure slammed straight into his chest, caving his chest in as he coughed up a large amount of blood and causing the ground around him to crack.
Standing on top of him was Meliodas. Jackal's eyes widened as a feeling of fear overwhelmed the pain throughout his body. Meliodas stared at Jackal with pitch black eyes as a black marking started to form itself across Meliodas' forehead.
"Now, tell me why you attacked the Council." Meliodas said in a cold tone. Jackal opened his mouth but found himself unable to speak as a massive pressure fell over him. 'I was mistaken…T-this guy...there's no way he's human!"
Meliodas applied an even greater pressure on top of Jackal as he raised his voice.
"Answer me!"
Jackal opened his mouth as he began to mutter to himself. Meliodas could barely make out the words.
"It seems I failed. But no matter, this is only the beginning…"
A smirk formed on Jackal's face and he began to laugh hysterically, occasionally coughing up blood with each breath. His body started to glow and pillars of light erupted from the ground around them and shot straight up into the sky.
Meliodas immediately flew into the air and looked down, noticing the pillars of light had grown wider and began to vaporize the surrounding area, turning the trees and rubble to ash.
"I am sorry miss Kyoka." Jackal said quietly.
Meliodas immediately dropped down from his height, his right leg out as his foot crashed right into Jackal's skull. Jackal's body, however, continued to grow brighter and brighter and more pillars of light shot up into the sky. 'So even killing him isn't enough to stop it.' Meliodas thought as the light began to engulf him.
---
Lahar helped Doranbolt stand on shaky legs as a couple other councilmen from Lahar's squadron helped up Org. Their attention shifted as they noticed a bright pillar of light shoot up into the sky in the distance, followed by a loud rumbling.
"Do you think Meliodas won?" Lahar asked. Doranbolt looked at Lahar and recalled he had wiped the council's memory of the dragon attack in Crocus, so none of the council was aware of how strong Meliodas actually was apart from his display of power during the Grand Magic Games.
"Of course, worry about the council members for now." Doranbolt reassured.
Meliodas suddenly descended from the sky, his entire body black with soot and his hair puffed up. Lahar and Doranbolt looked at Meliodas with an unamused expression and couldn't help but be surprised and laugh a bit. The two of them coughed and quickly regained their composure shortly.
"Ahem…glad to see you back safe, Meliodas. What happened to the perpetrator?" Doranbolt asked.
"He blew up." Meliodas replied