Without making eye contact with Elaine I muttered, "I have to find her." I could see her nod out of the corner of my vision.
I ran my hand through my hair, guilt was a permanent emotion I was feeling these days. I took a deep breath ready to plan out my next moves when a roughed up King ran up to me. "Weren't you on the same platform as Julie? Where'd she go?" He asked, a slight panic apparent in his voice.
I was taken aback, why did King care. Why was he treating her like his little sister when his own blood was right behind us.
"These opponents are on a completely different level. To be honest, the only one who can put up a fight at this point is Meliodas. If she's out there with them, she's as good as dead. I shouldn't have been so lenient with her in training."
I chuckled in self pity, if King felt this bad after barely knowing her, he could only imagine how I felt. She was in this whole mess entirely because of me and my negligence.
"I tried to grab hold of her, but I think they kept her out of here intentionally." I said, gritting my teeth. I wasn't sure why they wanted her outside, but it was undeniable that it wasn't a mistake she wasn't here with us. We were both flying the same direction, but she's not here, there must have been interference.
Our conversation got the attention from several others who listened on and some showed concern having recently met her. A weakened Escanor being held by Gowther trembled and Howzer silently cursed, clearly having taking a liking towards her. Even Elizabeth, who'd only just been introduced to her looked on with wide eyes.
"Her power levels, while they hold potential, are embarrassingly low. She will be a great hindrance towards The Captain." Gowther said matter of factly. I resisted beating him up as Escanor gasped at his honesty nearly falling off his back.
"Us being trapped here would also be a hindrance, wouldn't it," Gilthunder chimed in.
"I know, but this rock... Even if we wanted to escape we can't break through. How are we supposed to breakthrough" Howzer grumbled attempting to break through the strong walls.
I was growing frustrated with the conversation, no one seemed to share the sense of urgency I felt to rescue Julie and we were all just standing around. I felt useless in the situation. Howzer, although his attempts of escape were lame and futile, was at least trying.
"Would you allow me to take care of that?" An orange haired mage eventually joined the exchange.
Everyone looked to the stranger.
"I'll use teleportation to bring everyone here to a safe place."
Before I could resist, the mage teleported us all to what looked like Liones Castle. After teleporting that many people he looked exhausted, but I couldn't help but put up a fight. I grabbed him by his collar and snarled in his face, "She is still there."
"Your girlfriend?" He sarcastically asked, pulling out of my grasp with annoyance. "We established that anyone there would be a hindrance to Meliodas, and I don't have enough strength to teleport you there to fetch her and then teleport you both back. Be grateful I got you all out of there alive."
I felt King holding me back as I tried to attack the damn mage out of anger.
"It's not great, but she's essentially immortal. She's smart enough to leave the fighting to Meliodas, she's probably sprinting out of there as we speak. Maybe she'll get a little scratched up, but she'll be ok Ban. The Captain will keep the commandments distracted while she flees."
Kings words were logical, but I couldn't stop the feeling of overwhelming guilt from leaving her behind again.
A sound of confusion came from the mage. I glanced over and saw he was staring at some sort of magic crystal ball. I stepped closer and saw that the scenes from the battlefield were displayed through the ball.
Others stepped forward to watch as well.
I quickly understood the mage's confusion when I saw the scene. Meliodas was successfully fighting off the commandments, but a couple hundred feet away stood Julie motionless. She wasn't even watching the battle she was faced the opposite direction, completely still.
"What the fuck is she doing?" I hissed under my breath, nervous and annoyed.
The mage manipulated the image so the scene was focused on her. She was in demon form, totally emotionless and unaware.
"Why isn't she running?" I shouted to no one in particular, my frustration bubbling over.
Gowther stepped up, Escanor still perched on his back.
"It seems she is under the effects of the Demon Discipline spell. This allows a more powerful Demon to take total control of a weaker Demon. Without any commands, she is in a paralyzed state." Gowther said as if reciting it from a book.
So for the second time in her short life she was being held prisoner, and for the second time, it was all my fault.
23- No Control
Start from the beginning
