Sinful Pride - Volume 1 Chapter 23 Going Back

“I don’t know what you are talki…” Keita tried to respond immediately but was interrupted.

“Envy is dead.” Wrath said, looking straight at him.

Silence. Keita had no response. No excuse to give. His expression remained the same as always. He pushed his shaking knees to get up and the only thing that was keeping him from falling to the mud again, was his sword. He eyes were glued to Wrath. He was mourning and furious. He was calm and frustrated. His emotions were all jumbled together.

“So are Greed and Gluttony, but I guess you don’t really care about them.” Wrath added. There was no doubt in her voice. She knew who she was talking to.

“How…?” Keita managed to ask.

“After you… died… all our enemies banded together to attack. Envy was fighting the Dragonborn at the time and was killed by a Half-Dragon named Maltu. She…”

“How did you know?” Keita screamed at her. He did not wish to know how Envy died. Nothing could get him at a fouler mood than this.

“Well” Wrath responded. “It’s not like you really tried to hide it. Heaven’s Path and Hell’s Path are similar. So was the way you talked to me. Habits, movements.” she continued. “Even the way you hold your sword is the same.”

Keita had no words once again. It’s true he didn’t really intend to hide anything when they first met. He even called Wrath little sister. Now though it was different. He thought he would kill Wrath and that would be the end of it when he first met her. Dead men tell no tales after all. Now though he had understood the difference between them. He was not strong enough to defeat Wrath ten out of ten fights. That’s what he thought when he came here and this was the result. But scars of the past can never be concealed. Not entirely.

“You seem… well.” she said. “Come back with me brother.” Wrath reached out her hand inviting Keita to take it. “We can go back home. Our lord will welcome you, I am sure. There is no need for us to fight is there?”

Keita was not sure how to respond.

‘No need to fight…’ he thought hard on these words. Why was he fighting? Because he enjoyed battle? That was back when he was strong. When he defeated and tortured his enemies to death. He liked the feeling of invisibility, not this life or death fight.

‘Then why am I here?’ he asked himself. For a dead boy that he doesn’t even know the name of? For humanity? Glory? Gold? For his family and the village? Certainly not for Helene. So why?

“Ah…” Keita said. “I see. That’s why…”

He finally stood straight and put his sword in front of him.

“I can’t go back and I can’t stop fighting. Wrath, I am afraid this is where you die.”

“You fool!” Wrath screamed. “You are going to side with such irredeemable creatures such as humans, is that it? Have you forgotten how you laughed when you burned their homes? How you beheaded their heroes and threw their bodies to their allies with a smile?”

‘Such a familiar shouting’ Keita thought and smiled.

“I am not siding with anyone actually. I have you to thank for Wrath. I finally understood why I am chasing the battle even when I was reduced to this mortal body.” He responded.

“If you are not siding with them, then why…?” she asked.

“To prove that I am strong.” Keita responded and charged straight at Wrath.

They locked blades once again. But something was different. Keita was pushing the giant, one step at a time with one hand. Both Shroud and Haste disappeared but Keita never felt stronger.

“You damn…!” Wrath screamed and pushed Keita while clenching her teeth.

Keita was pushed a few steps and without Haste he couldn’t make it in time. Wrath grounded the axe and attacked with all her strength, sending a mud and stones at Keita. He felt the magic leaving the axe before the attack came. The mud was a distraction, the real attack was bellow him. He jumped to his left and after just a moment, a line of stone spikes appeared in front of Wrath, sprouting from the ground one after another like a wave.

‘They are following me?’ Keita realized and immediately started running. This was a different attack from the spike mines Wrath used before.

“You think you can run?” Wrath once again screamed. She wasn’t hiding anymore. She was furious at Keita. Her devotion to the Demon Lord prevented her from understanding him. How is the reason for not coming back be so trivial?

“If you won’t come to our Lord, then I will bring her your corpse!” She brought her axe to the ground once again.

‘Why is Haste not activating?’ Keita finally realized.

A stone spike came from the ground and Keita tried to dodge as best as he could. His left shoulder was pierced and he couldn’t move. Blood was pouring from his wound fast but he felt no pain and turned his head to see the line of spikes coming towards him.

Keita twisted his body and got his shoulder out of the spike.

‘I don’t need that arm anyway’ he thought as he charged towards Wrath.

“Why the f.u.c.k are you smiling?” Wrath screamed once again and used a horizontal swing with her axe.

‘I’m smiling?’ Keita thought as he prepared to receive the attack.

He put his foot at the axe, just bellow the blade and planned to stop it. He prepared his blade ready to pierce Wrath’s head but…

“Nghh!” Wrath grunted.

He vastly underestimated her strength. He was send flying straight to the sky once again. When he looked down there was a sea of earth spikes waiting for him.

He was helpless. The only thing he could do was watch as the ground filled with stone spikes was coming closer.

A terrible sound. Bones breaking and flesh being teared apart. The white stones spikes were turning red. A pool of blood was forming and the black ground became slightly darker.

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way brother.” Wrath said. Death wasn’t the end. If she took the body back to the Demon Lord she was sure she could turn Pride back to a Demon.

“We were both the same Seven Deadly Sins once… I did not wish for us to ever be enemies.” she said as she approached the corpse hiding inside the spikes, holding back tears.

“The Seven…” a voice could be heard inside the forest of spikes.

“Heroes, Dragon-Slayers, Guardians, Half-Dragons…” the eerie voice continued.

A shadow stood up among the rumble.

“You are all of you beneath me!” the spikes broke with a single swing of the sword, revealing the silhouette.

A man with long black haired, surrounded by black magic power that made the ground tremble.