Edinburgh had become the foremost front of the Holy War, and Stigma was, of course, monitoring it closely.
The moment the Seven Deadly Sins appeared at Edinburgh, the Goddess Clan began watching the battle. When they saw Charles break the spatial distortion, every goddess showed unrestrained delight.
The woman possessed by Ludociel originally had quite a beautiful face, but now, for some reason, it looked downright ferocious.
"Capable enough, Seven Deadly Sins! But this is precisely Stigma's chance. This time we will crush the Demon Clan completely! All Stigma forces, hear my command—full advance. Let us win this Holy War!"
Boosted by magic, Ludociel's voice reached the ears of every member of Stigma, driving them into a frenzy.
High-ranking goddesses have a terrifying knack for brainwashing. They don't even need to use it actively; ordinary humans turn fervent just standing before them.
The human Holy Knights mounted up, the goddesses spread their white wings, and the army marched toward Edinburgh.
Charles, of course, didn't know Ludociel was bringing Stigma to "steal the fruit." He was more concerned with the strange situation inside Edinburgh.
The spatial distortion didn't just block all physical and magical input; it also shielded Charles's senses.
Once it was shattered, he could clearly read the situation inside.
After putting Diane and King through their trials, Gloxinia and Drole had withdrawn from the Ten Commandments, returned their commandments, and gone back to the Fairy King's Forest to guard it in King's stead.
Melascula and Galand had just been defeated. By all rights, there should have been six Commandments left stationed in Edinburgh.
But in Charles's perception, there were only four strong auras ahead—and they didn't include the strongest, Zeldris and Estarossa.
"We've been had!"
That was everyone else's first thought as they sensed the same thing.
Zeldris was the Demon Army's commander for this campaign. If he and Estarossa had left together, it wasn't to flee.
There was only one explanation: Edinburgh was just a decoy to draw in Stigma's forces. Zeldris and Estarossa were already striking at the real target.
For the Demon Clan to go to such lengths, the move had to be one that could swing the entire Holy War.
With that realization, a bad feeling settled over all of them.
Charles said gravely, "Looks like we all underestimated Zeldris's ability as a leader."
As the Demon King's agent and executioner, Zeldris's strongest impression should have been his personal might.
Even in the original course of events, he never really showed any extraordinary strategic or command skill.
This gambit wasn't exactly elegant, but it fooled everyone. Whether it was Zeldris's plan or someone else's, it clearly worked.
But thinking it through, in the original timeline the Demon Clan suppressed Britannia so quickly they hardly needed tactics.
Later, when the Four Archangels revived, the Demon King ordered Meliodas's return, and Meliodas himself decided to become Demon King—everything happened suddenly, all at once, leaving Zeldris no room to flex that side of himself.
The truth remains the truth: the original story is only a reference. Charles must never belittle anyone because of it.
He sighed. "Zeldris and Estarossa's destination and objective are unknown, so there's no stopping them now. But there are still four Commandments here—that's our chance to collect more commandments."
Meliodas nodded. "Right. Then let's scoop up the ones in front of us."
Just then a man's voice came from above.
"You're discussing something awfully dangerous. You'd take our commandments? Meliodas, what are you trying to do?"
No one was surprised. With that much racket, if the four stationed Commandments hadn't responded, something would be wrong.
Menspit stroked his small moustache, every inch on guard.
As they'd guessed, Zeldris had drafted the plan and left Edinburgh with Estarossa well before.
The remaining Ten Commandments were tasked with pinning Stigma's main strength and holding the base at Edinburgh.
They'd repelled Stigma's previous assaults thanks to Melascula's spatial technique.
They hadn't expected Stigma's army—what came instead were the Seven Deadly Sins.
And in that brief delay, Melascula and Galand were taken down, and the barrier broken.
Menspit and Derieri beat their black wings. Two figures appeared on the ground below them.
One was Dreyfus, possessed by Fraudrin; the other could hardly be called human at all.
He was a mass of black energy studded with countless gray demon faces.
The last Commandment Charles hadn't met: Grayroad.
Most high-class demons resembled humans, but Grayroad was an exception—a rare mutant "queen type" among Gray Demons.
Though not strong in direct combat, he possessed the special ability to convert other races into demons, like a hive queen spawning drones.
Coupled with decent magic, he earned his place among the Commandments. His commandment was Pacifism: killing in his presence strips away time and ages the offender to death, making him a pain to fight.
Looking at the four before them, Meliodas said, "Judging by Melascula's reaction, I'm guessing you won't hand over your commandments just because I ask."
Derieri, the quickest to anger, snapped, "Of course not! How could we give them to a traitor like you!"
She was already on him, throwing a dozen straight punches.
Menspit opened his mouth, intending to tell her not to be rash.
He'd learned the Sins' strength in the battle at Vaizel. This time they had one more fighter, and he had several key allies fewer. However you looked at it, this was not the time for a head-on brawl.
But Derieri was already charging; what could he say? Before he could act, that musclebound man they hadn't seen last time appeared right in front of him.
"I don't like being looked down on by the weak."
Divine Axe Rhitta, glutted with Escanor's magic, radiated blistering heat.
Menspit didn't even have time to speak before he had to jerk back at full speed to avoid the first swing—only for Escanor to be on him again, the next blow chopping him out of the sky.
Grayroad turned to Fraudrin. "You've been spacing out this whole time. What's wrong?"
Fraudrin didn't answer. His eyes stayed fixed on one of the Sins.
"Lord Gowther…"
Gowther sensed his gaze and floated over. "I seem to have memories of you. Let's catch up properly."
Grayroad rasped, "You're just a puppet. Don't get cocky."
Merlin, Sacred Treasure on her palm, drifted to Gowther's side. "A rare breed even among demons. How fascinating."
The casters' bout was about to begin. Charles, however, stifled a yawn.
He'd hoped to pick up his interrupted fights with Estarossa or Zeldris today—but it turned out he couldn't even draw a proper opponent.
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