Normal POV
Meliodas lead Elizabeth to the area where he and Meldy did their secret fellowship. Elizabeth gasped at the sight. What differed from the rest was that the river side's green grass had all turned brown. The nearby trees and plants look wilted. There were leaves falling. You can hear the crunch they make when you step on them.
"oh my...."
"Don't worry, because they are near the river, these plants are recovering. They'll be back to normal soon." That made Elizabeth sigh in relief. Beauty such as this area shouldn't be wasted.
"I bet you're wondering, how this happened." Meliodas sat down on the ground, Elizabeth joined him. she nodded. "well you already know about Meldy being the source of this disease right?"
"uh..y..yes." Meliodas looked all around him and closed his eyes. He then spoke,
"Arthur wasn't the first victim."
"H..he wasn't?"
"Yeah....believe it or not, Hawk was the first to experience this disease."
"H..Hawk-chan?" meliodas nodded.
"I don't undertsand....you were the first to have skin contact with Meldy..so..I was assuming that you were the first." Says Elizabeth.
"I'm trying to figure that out aswell. I wondered how I wasn't affected. I've held Meldy multiple times yet I wasn't infected. I don't know why....but I'm assuming that since I created Meldy....I won't feel anything. That's my theory ofcourse." Meliodas has no idea why he isn't affected.
"then....h..how did Hawk-chan got infected?"
"hmm...from what I remembered.....after Meldy's birth,the disease wasn't present at that time. She acted like a normal girl. No worries, no fears and no guilt. That's how it has been for a couple of months.
What happened was that, One day...Meldy suddenly felt weird. She complained to me once how she was starting to get taller, how her body started ....she quoted 'transforming'......and also how her chest started feeling heavy." I thought something bad was happening to her.
***
"Papa!!!! What's happening to me????? Why do I feel cramps on my lower back????" Meldy grabbed her lower back with one hand while the other held the table for support. "It's like there's a boxing match in here!!!!
My height has gotten taller. Look at this!" Meldy stood next to Meliodas. Her height before was an inch taller than Meliodas..and now, her height doubled. Meliodas is about the same height as where Meldy's neck resides.
"there must be something wrong with me!!!! My body feels weird....Look at this!!! My chest feels so heavy...they weren't turning round like this!!" Meldy gropped both her boobs. She squeezed them showing some cleavarage. "I don't understand what's happening to me.....am I ill???" Meliodas just watched as Meldy runs around the empty bar wearing only her skirt and baby bra. Meliodas did not act like a pervert when it comes to Meldy's care. He acted like a concerned Father.
***
"I believe that everybody refers to it as 'Puberty', Meliodas-sama." Elizabeth reminded. Meldy must have gone to her Puberty stage.
"huh.....so that explains it." Meliodas tried calculating the events that had happened. "when she hit her Puberty stage, thats when the disease must have matured too. Because the next day, it happened."
***
"Hawk-chan! Be careful carrying that barrel down from here cuz the stairs are still slippery!" Meldy called out. She was busy cleaning the bar. Meliodas ordered Hawk to go into town bringing a barrel of beer so that everyone get to have free samples. It's for advertising the Boar Hat. Meldy mopped the stairway so it was still a bit slippery. "Don't worry! I'll be fine!" Hawk yelled in return. Meldy was currently scrubbing the tables with a wet cloth. She noticed that the water on the cloth started turning brown. Meldy thought that it was because of the filfth the tables had.
"Meldy! This is a bit heavy..can you-----------" Hawk was stopped midsentence when he slipped on the still wet stairway. Meldy heard his screams and sprung into action. She had caught him in time before he landed on the ground.
"Thank goodness you're ----------------" Meldy noticed something happening to Hawk's skin. The part of where she touched him, started turning brown. Hawk started coughing.
"M..meldy *cough* ....I don't feel so well." Hawk's skin kept on turning brown.
"Hawk-chan! Hey wake up!..please..what's happening!" Hawk didn't say anything just closed his eyes and let sleep take over him. Meldy was beyong scared.
"Papa!!!!!! Help!" Meliodas immediately ran inside the bar after hearing Meldy's screams. The sight in front of him shocked Meliodas. How did it happened?
***
"Because I ventured deep into the demonic blood lines of myself, some of the bad blood that I made contact with must have tagged along with when I secreted my blood." Elizabeth was surprised how birth works differently with different creatures. The world of demons is unknown. No one knows the secrets they keep.
"I guess my reckless actions of tracing my lost power had consequences. That resulted to Meldy's birth. With the coming of age, the virus in her blood matured along with her so that's how it came out to be."
"Poor Meldy...." Elizabeth looked down. "w..what did she do after that?"
"well when I let Hawk drank my blood,he looked normal but not fully recovered. Since I had knowledge of this disease, I handled the situation well. The whole room started smelling bad like the horribly scent in Arthur's room. So I went back outside. Meldy was no longer in the bar. She ran away."
***
"Meldy! Stop right there!" Meliodas blocked her path.
"No! Papa I have to go!" Meldy backed away. her back was against the nearest tree. With one touch, the tree and the plants growing near her started wilting.
"Calm down....it's going to be okay..." Meliodas neared her.
"No! Don't touch me!" Meldy flinched. "Please....I don't wanna hurt you."
"You're not gonna hurt me......trust me, I won't be affected." Meliodas tried touching her hand. He didn't wait for Meldy because he knew that she would pull away so Meliodas directly grabbed her hand.
Nothing. Meliodas wasn't affected at all. "don't panic okay? ....we'll figure everything out....just calm down...calmo down." He kept telling her.
"Calm down......I..I can't.." Meldy was frightened to the bones. "I..I'm scared..."
"Don't be...I'm here.....Papa is right here....." He pulled Meldy forward to him. The natural ground turned brown every step Meldy took forward." She was really scared. Meldy tried pulling away. her head was clouded with fear.
It was still daylight so obviously animals would come out. Meldy watched as rabbits, birds, butterflies and other insects were located everywhere. This wasn't an illsion. That's just nature. She was scared. Scared that with one stpe forward, all of this would die. "Papa....I wanna leave! I'm a monster!"
"No you're not!" Meliodas gripped her arm tighter.
"Yes I am! ..let go!"
"No you are not....listen to me!" Meldy kept on pulling away. she was getting mad.
"Yes...................................I................................Am!" as if a glass jar has been broken because Meldy heard a cracking sound. Whatever it is that cracked triggered something. Half of Meldy's body started turning black. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, her arms started forming claws. With one push off Meliodas, a huge shockwave was made. The impact of the wave was filled with the unwanted disease. Everything around Meldy had died, except for Meliodas.
***
"from what I know of this disease is that, once it hits a victim, that will be the start of the Blood Moon. Since Hendrickson hasn't introduced drinking a demon's blood at that time, no one turned demonic.....except Meldy. She was the source after all so she turned." Meliodas explained.
"But that was during day time. Blood moon happens at night time." Elizabeth stated. How can that be?
"Meldy shifted because of her WRATH towards me not letting her go. I spent the whole day chasing after her, to get her to stop. When night time came, the Blood moon was also present, that's when Meldy's power increased. There was nothing else I could do but join in her rain of terror. But not in the way she does it. I willingly shifted to my demonic form just to stop her. We had bloody battle 12 hours straight. I didn't worry about people getting hurt because I led her to an isolated area."
Meliodas recalled the memory. That night when they both fought to the death..or until Meldy submits to him was the most gruesome memory Meliodas can't forget.
"Then.....what happened after that Meliodas-sama? Was Meldy able to turn back?"
"Yeah...the disease lasted till sun rise. She went back to normal. I carried Meldy back home and waited for her to wake up. The damage we did to each other was horrible. It's like were...connected.
We left marks, scars,cuts and bruises on ourselves. It took us a week to get healed. Meldy was finally calm. I explained to her how the disease works. That's how I told her to let Hawk drink her blood. Meldy had little blood left in her so she lived to see another day.
Her limitation of life depends upon how much blood she has left in her because Meldy can only cure one person then regenerate...the cycle happens all over."
"so when Meldy kissed King Arthur (A/N: Hawk told her) , she gave some of her blood...does that mean that it lessened?"
"wait what?" Meliodas wanted her to repeat that.
"huh? What is it?"
"Can you repeat what you said?"
"Meldy gave some of her blood."
"No..before that...."
"You mean when she kis----------"
"Arthur kissed my little Meldy?????!!!!!!!!" uh oh...father instincts took over.
"Uh....well....it was the other way around.....actually...." Elizabeth tried to reason. Who knows what he'll do to Arthur.
"Meldy is not allowed to date until I say so." Meliodas crossed his arms.
"I wouldn't say they dated....it was.....just a kiss........a non-romantic kiss filled with blood." Elizabeth tried her best to reason.
"Still....I do not allow it. She's too young. Like the last time a guy made a move on her." (A/N: And this will be part of the NNTG shorts. Hehehe)
"haha...you're definitely an overprotective father, Meliodas-sama." Elizabeth giggled.
"I do what's best for my daughter...." Meliodas replied with a thumbs up. Yup,....he's into the whole Father role. What a great dad.....kinda.
They just sat there smiling like idiots. "This is the best part about being a parent. The most wonderful thing to see is your kid's smile." Says Meliodas. Every word he said, Meldy's smiling face comes to his mind.
"yeah..you're right." Elizabeth can relate to how much her Father loved her and her sisters.
"after our bloody fight, I got convinced that maybe she should leave. It was hard for me to accept it at first but I know Meldy needed it."
"wait....if she had left, wouldn't Meldy cause trouble? You said it yourself, every living thing she touches..dies."
"You didn't think I let her leave without protection right? I trained her how to fight. I controlled part of her wrath with using my own "Kill Code" and in case things get out of hand, I would use the "Safe Code" on her."
"That reminds me, where did the 'Gozel' code come from?"
"hmmm...Meldy likes to do things directly. She's more of a 'Go Go' kind of person...so I created a word that triggers her wrath. Then did the opposite to disconnect her wrath. It didn't work when I introduced it.
But we kept on trying. Every time I yelled at her during training, Meldy's temper rises. She gets angry..frustrated that all she wants is just to destroy everything in sight. That was something I didn't know from her birth till that day."
"It must have been tough on Meldy. Such innocence....destroyed just by....her fear............and.....wrath." Elizabeth tried to find the right words to say.
"I know......that's why I tried my best to protect her. Before Meldy left, there two things I had to do.
1, is that we can't call each other Father and Daughter...it might attaract the Knights since Meldy resemble a lot like Me." Elizabeth smiled. Meldy did look a lot like Meliodas.
and 2 was to neutralize the virus in her, I let Meldy drink some of my blood, it worked but not for long. and following of that plan, I even taught her how to use 'Full Counter'...you know what it does right?"
"y..yeah...Full Counter is your signature move. It has the power that completely counters any and all magical attacks; reflecting them back at the enemy with even greater force. However, it is useless against physical attacks"
"Exactly..."
"...........why did you taught her that?"
"let's just say, I casted a 'Reverse Full Counter' which I then called, 'The Wave'. Here's how it works. For example, The Virus is the magical attack. In using 'Reverse Full Counter', the virus Meldy is giving off reflects back to her. Just imagine an invisible shield covering Meldy for a good for 9 years. No one can see it except me though. Meldy learned how to use The Wave on her own if it gets weakened."
"So that's why........you said a while ago that everything she touches dies.....Meldy has touched a lot of things in the past, even me when I first met her...and after that, I haven't died yet...." Elizabeth had digested all the information Meliodas has been telling her.
"It all makes sense now. ..........was that the reason why you two left yesterday night?"
"yes...that's right. we had to leave."
Another questioned popped into Elizabeth's mind "wait...why would the Wave get weakened? Meliodas-sama, you said so yourself that it had a good 9 years of life left before expiration." Meliodas did not answer that. He was afraid to show Elizabeth what Meldy trully looks like without make up on. Meldy is not wearing make-up. It's a form of expression. She casted another spell upon her to hide the truth from the naked eye. Elizabeth noticed that he didn't answer so she continued to ask another question.
"so what happened yesterday night?"
Meliodas sighed. "The Wave has a limit of when it will break again. I formulated it so a good 9 years was it's expiration date. I felt the Wave weakened so that's why Meldy had to come back..for another casting. Casting it herself isn't enough..she wasn't strong enough cuz.......
I can't say it...its....its not the right time yet....
.................................
.........................
But what happened is that, I told Meldy to be still when I cut off the old Wave around her."
***
Meldy was sitting on the grass near the river bed. She was waiting for Meliodas to come after speaking to Elizabeth. The sound of bushes rustling behind her means to say that he's here.
"Ne Meldy, how was the mission?" Meliodas sat right next to her admiring how the river sparkled under the moon's reflection.
"to be honest, it was scary. I didn't know if I could do it. I was scared that I would fail you...Meliodas-sama." Meldy turned to look at Meliodas. She had a frown written on her face.
"but you did finish it right?"
"y..yeah." Meldy hugged her legs close to her chest. Meliodas saw her sadness and patted her head.
"You did good....I'm so proud of you." Meliodas continued to pat her head gently. Meldy blushed at his gentle actions towards her.
"Meliodas-sama, gomene...about earlier at the dinner table." Meldy recalled how she gripped the spoon to tight.
"don't think about it too much. If I were in your shoes, I would have smacked Ban too. You easily get tempted to do it Meldy." Meliodas knows this girl inside and out, she knows what will happen next so that's why he had to calm her that time. Meldy giggled at an image of Meliodas hitting Ban. It was funny to envission.
"So..it's time for another wave huh?" Meliodas now face Meldy with legs crossed as he sat infront of her. Meldy did the same with her legs bent and kneeling in a worshipping position. The moon's light kept the area lit. Meliodas stared at Meldy's jade green orbs. She trully was a beauty. Meldy was ready for it. Meliodas cupped both her cheeks bringing his face close to hers. Meldy was nervous but she had to trust in Meliodas. Slowly, she closed her eyes to let the wave wash into her.
"relax." Was all Meliodas said before closing the gap. Their foreheads touched.That didn't make Meldy feel secure yet. She was scared... scared that maybe after she get released, the living things around her might die in seconds but Meldy kept still.
As if chains were breaking, Meldy had been freed from the barrier protecting her. When the shield was cut off, she felt the virus spreading out of her. There were dark aura emitting off of her..spreading through the air. Meliodas immediately used The Wave before it was too late.
"Reverse...Full Counter!" He stpped back, then took out his sword then slashed straight at Meldy. The impact of the reversal is the same as Full Counter, reflecting the virus back to Meldy with a much greater force.
"uh............ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" The force was too heavy that instead to be still but , Meldy got knocked away. she moved and accidentally let out a ray of black and purple aura flying up the sky. Meliodas hoped it didn't hit anything or anyone.
"Meldy....you're sweating...." Meliodas carried Meldy to the nearest tree and let her lean. "Gomene....that was a hard blow.."
"No..I should be sorry Papa....I didn't keep still." Meldy is strong..but she can never match Meliodas' level. Meliodas was feeling tired. The cold night breeze felt good that he wanted to take off his shirt. Seems Meldy followed his steps. He proceeded to lean on the tree and let Meldy's head rest on his shoulder.
"Sleep.."
"But Papa...the ray..."
"we'll deal with that tomorrow......for now...sleep." Meliodas said nothing after for he had also had fallen asleep. Meldy smiled at how much her Father cares about her well being. She turned her head and planted a kiss on Meliodas' cheek.
"Oyasumi......."
***
"and that is how Arthur got infected. Merlin said that before Lancelot almost hit Arthur, his power was split in half..the other half with the infected part was what caused him to get ill." And that's the end of that.
Meliodas sees that Elizabeth was deep in thought. "Ne..Elizabeth...are you okay?"
Elizabeth snappe out of her thoughts. "I..um.....y..yeah.....I was just registering everything you had told me." That was a lie because she was thinking of how she misunderstood Meliodas and Meldy when they woke up. Yes..Elizabeth was thinking about the Lemon. Her face was red as a tomato.
"uh ha......." Meliodas didn't buy her little lie.
"so..this is the end huh? I've now known everything. Meldy didn't have any options left. She had to save everyone. I'm in denial....I appreciate what Merlin-san did....it benefited us....... and at the same time, I didn't like it because...we lost Meldy. But the world has it's adavantages...and disadvantages..and I understand that in life, we have to take risks.....and face the consequences of our actions.......and we can't runaway from out problems...Fate always leads us back to it" Elizabeth stated while staring at the sparkling water. "But that's how life is right Meliodas-sama--------" Elizabeth turned her head to see Meliodas clenching his hands.
For some reason, Elizabeth could feel his anger radiating. "M..meliodas-sama?' Elizabeth moved away a bit. She might get hurt.
"Don't move away......" that stopped Elizabeth. "there's one more thing I haven't told you. I promised you that I would tell you everything Elizabeth.......and I'm not gonna break it." His voice was calm yet deadly. Meliodas took a deep breath in then let it all out.Meliodas looked scary when he's angry..but what is he angry at? Or who...is he angry at?
"I hate myself....I'm angry at myself....." he kept on clenching his fist. "If only I had been more careful.....this wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault....Elizabeth..." Meliodas said in a dark tone.....she also noticed that..he was shaking.
"I...I don't undertsand.....h..how is this any of your fault Meliodas-sama?" he didn't answer. "if you're talking about how hard you casted 'Reverse Full Counter' on Meldy, then it's not your fault..it's----------------------"
"But it is my fault!" Elizabeth flinched. "It's not that....it's something else." Elizabeth wasn't following his words. She was confused what is he reffering to?
"I'm not the best Father that you said I am.......actually...I'm the worst.......
A father does not hurt himself.......
When he knows.........
That whatever happens to him.......
Happens to his daughter....." Elizabeth didn't know about this. "Elizabeth..." Meliodas turned to her.
"The scars one Meldy's body..........................are all made by me........."
A/N: whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????????????? Is this like a sadist kind of Meliodas to hurt his own daughter???????? That's just nasty...but mysterious. Whatchu think? Continues on Part 3. And that's the finale. Read on!