The bright sun beamed down on Meliodas who was lounging back in a reclining chair on the deck of the ship. He was shirtless and wearing red shorts. In his right hand was an ice cold bottle of ale, dripping wet from the condensation as it heated up in the sun. To his left was Neo Mel Force, leaning against the chair while still sheathed.
Meliodas took a big gulp and let out a sigh. It had been nearly five days since he had been at sea with the Blue Guardians. It's been relaxing but that relaxation would come to an end soon as he would have to continue finding a way back to Britannia.
'I need to do this when I get back to britannia' Meliodas thought as he continued to sip his ale.
Meliodas heard footsteps on the deck coming closer to him. He turned his head and saw it was Hardner.
"Meliodas, we should be arriving at the mainland soon. A few more hours." Hardner said. Meliodas nodded and took another sip of his ale.
"Hardner! Meliodas!" Belnika exclaimed. "Something's happening right ahead of us!"
Meliodas felt a huge magical power coming from in front of the boat. He immediately sprang up and grabbed Neo Mel Force. Hardner stared at the ocean in front of them as the open space seemingly started to crack.
"Not this shit again…" Hardner muttered. Meliodas remained silent as he observed. The cracks grew larger and larger until it was nearly the size of the boat. The crack suddenly shattered and a brightly glowing white rift began to form.
"This can't be…" Meliodas said, his eyes wide. He recognized the rift that was forming in front of him. It was very similar to the one that had formed when he fought Cath and was sent to Earthland.
"You know what's happening?" Hardner asked.
"Vaguely." Meliodas said as he watched a huge figure begin to walk out from the rift. The figure took the shape of an anthropomorphous lion that was almost as large as the boat. It had human-like arms and the head and lower body of a lion. The only clothing it wore was a black loincloth around its waist.
"HRAAAGHGH! FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS I LAY DORMANT!" The lion roared. "Trapped in that despicable cage in the Mystic Realm for too long!"
The lion walked out of the rift and it closed behind it. It stood on top of the water, emanating a vast amount of heat that caused the water beneath it to boil. Meliodas jumped into the air and flew in front of the lion-like monster.
"Oh? This tiny demon can stand in my presence without turning into ash? And who might you be, puny demon?" The lion asked.
"Meliodas. Anyway, about that rift you came out of. Did you run into someone named Cath Palug?" Meliodas asked.
"Such impudence for such a small demon. I AM MEGIDO, THE KING OF HELL! YOU WILL BOW TO ME!" Megido raised his left hand up, revealing massive claws. He slashed forward at Meliodas with claws cloaked in dark red flames.
Meliodas raised his right hand up, forming a construct of darkness in the shape of a claw. He grabbed Megido's claw, stopping it in its tracks.
"I'll ask again. What do you know about that rift you came out of." Meliodas said in a more serious tone.
Megido stared wide eyed at Meliodas. 'This tiny demon can withstand my power?!'
"I know nothing about these rifts. They began to form roughly a decade ago out of nowhere. I was fortunate enough to have one form in the prison that bound me! And now that I'm free…"
Megido let out a loud snarl and raised his other hand up in the air, his entire arm cloaked in dark red flames.
"I will rule over this world with the Sin Flames from Hell! Searing-"
Meliodas suddenly vanished from his sight, reappearing behind the massive lion demon with Neo Mel Force drawn out in front of him.
"Thousand Divine Cuts!"
Megido let out a shout of pain as blood exploded from the numerous deep wounds that had now formed on his body. The heat coming from his body began to slowly dissipate and the ocean around them stopped boiling, instead being painted red by the demon's large amount of blood.
"What the hell…" Hardner gasped. "That was the strongest of these creatures we've ever ran into, and he took it down in an instant…"
Meliodas landed back on the deck of the ship. He turned his head to where Megido once stood and stared into the distance.
"Something wrong Meliodas?" Hardner asked. "You already defeated that crazy monster."
"I think from this point on, I'll head to Alvarez myself. It's just directly west of here right?" Meliodas asked.
"Yeah it is." Hardner said. He looked at Meliodas who was in a deep train of thought staring at the ocean.
'When I met Conwell, he mentioned something about the Mystic Realm. And this Megido demon was also from there…and both of them mentioned these rifts started forming roughly around the same time Cath sent me to this world…did Cath's power have some adverse effect on other-'
"Meliodas." Hardner said louder, snapping Meliodas out of his deep thoughts.
"Hey Hardner, thanks for the ride over here. It'll probably get more dangerous if you keep sailing so I'll do it alone from here." Meliodas sprouted black wings from his back and jumped up high into the air. Hardner remained silent as he watched Meliodas soar into the distance.
"Hardner!" Belnika shouted as she ran towards him. "Did Meliodas just leave?!"
"Yeah. Looks like our mission is done. Let's head back."
—
Meliodas flew across the vast ocean. To his surprise, more rifts were not appearing in the ocean as he flew. In a trip that would have taken him hours on a boat, he could already see the mainland of Alakitasia in just a few minutes.
Meliodas spotted a forested area close to a port town in the distance. He began to fly lower, making his way towards the forest in order not to draw too much attention to himself.
In another minute, Meliodas landed, his first step on the new continent of Alakitasia. He looked around and couldn't see or feel anyone was watching him. He quickly changed clothes into his regular tavern uniform and began walking towards the direction of the town he saw earlier.
Meliodas arrived at the town in a few minutes. He began walking through the streets, his first goal being to find a map of the continent. He looked around at each of the buildings. The buildings have a similar style to Magnolia Town's, except the color scheme feels more rustic, with the roofs being a dark red color and the bricks being a light gray instead of white.
Eventually, Meliodas found his way to a travel kiosk. There was no one at the kiosk, but there was a shelf with many maps out in the open for anyone to take. Meliodas picked one up and opened it. 'It looks like I'm on the eastern side of the continent. My best bet would be to head straight for Vistarion, the capitol.'