Deep Ties

"Blue Tsukihou? That's a name I didn't expect to hear from you at all. However, I only know of the name. I know nothing else about it." Rezeria said with a smirk. "Just how deep did you get involved yourself with Phonoi?"

Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy remained silent as they watched what was unravelling right in front of them. Ultear glanced towards Jellal.

"What are they talking about?" Ultear whispered. "I've never heard of Phonoi until today."

"I don't know either." Jellal replied. "But right now, Meliodas is keeping her attention on him instead of us."

"Well deep enough to where they actively want to kill me." Meliodas replied. "By the way, I have a couple of questions for you."

"We're derailing from my original purpose of bringing you lot in here, but you've humored me enough so I will make an exception. I'll answer if I am able to." Rezeria said.

"Do you know of a spatial magic that can travel between worlds?" Meliodas asked.

"Spatial magic? On that level? You would have to be at the level of some sort of god to achieve that kind of magic. As skilled as I am with spatial magic as you can tell by the room around you, I am no god. Although...why on Earthland are you looking for that kind of magic?" Rezeria asked.

"Long story short, I'm not from this world. It would take too much time going into detail about it." Meliodas said bluntly. Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear stared at Meliodas with surprised looks on their faces that he outright told Rezeria his intention.

"That's...certainly a unique situation. And your second question?" Rezeria asked.

"Now since you brought up gods, do you know anyone who goes by the name "Selene The Dragon God?" Meliodas asked.

"I've never heard of such a name." Rezeria replied. "Now, since that covers your questions." She turned her attention to the other three Crime Sorciere members.

"Killing you all where you stand would be a waste. So how about a deal. I want you four to deal with a rival dark guild. I wouldn't consider them a threat to me, but they have been getting in my way. I believe this is where our goals align. You wish to destroy every dark guild, and I wish to destroy that specific dark guild. If you accept the deal, I will let you three leave here alive." Rezeria said. She glanced once more at Meliodas.

"As for you...your fate is in the hands of Phonoi. They know better than to try and pull something while inside of my territory. But once you walk out of this mansion, whether you survive or not I could care less." Rezeria continued.

"We're not here to make deals with you Rezeria." Jellal said firmly. "We're here to take you down and that's final."

"I don't think you understand the position you're in." Rezeria said in a cold tone. She flared her magical power once again, causing Jellal to take a step back from the sheer pressure that was coming from her body.

"Master Rezeria, if we may?" Nyx asked. Rezeria looked towards Nyx and Eseki then sighed, the pressure in the area starting to fade.

"I suppose I shouldn't waste my time with them then. Very well, I will leave you two to it." Rezeria said. She turned around, walking up the steps then turned and faced the group once again. She slowly sat down, folding her left leg over her right one as it gave her the appearance that she was sitting on an invisible chair.

"Rezeria is a bit too much for you guys to handle right now." Meliodas said. "Leave her to me."

"You think you'll even get a chance to fight Rezeria?! We'll kill you right -" Eskei immediately paused, her eyes widened as a figure went zooming by her. Both she and Nyx turned their heads to see Meliodas was already in front of Rezeria.

'He's...incredibly fast!'

Meliodas wound back his left hand, clenching it into a fist as he delivered a heavy punch towards Rezeria. Just as his fist was about to connect with Rezeria, a loud bang echoed through the air. Meliodas felt his hand shake as the force reverberated through it and up his arm. A small crack in the air in front of Rezeria began to form.

"You cracked Wonder Room?" Rezeria questioned. A small smile appeared at the edge of her mouth. "Eskei, Nyx. Leave this one to me."

---

Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy faced Eskei and Nyx. Behind Eskei and Nyx, they could see Meliodas and Rezeria fighting as they went up the stairs.

"You should focus on yourselves rather than your friend!" Eskei shouted as she jumped up into the air above the group.

"Darkness Make: Spiked Bolt!"

Eskei put both hands out in front of her. A large mass of darkness magic shaped like a spiked ball shot out at the group. Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy all jumped backwards out of the way. Suddenly, Nyx appeared right behind them. She took a deep breath in, her chest puffing up before exhaling.

"Dark Dragon's Roar!"

Nyx let out a fierce roar, becoming a black colored twister of magic that shot out of her mouth and towards the group. The roar hit the group, enveloping them completely before exploding in an eruption of black smoke.

Nyx and Eskei watched the smoke patiently for any signs of movement. Dozens of green orbs suddenly appeared around her, surrounding her completely.

"W-what? When did these-"

"Flash Forward!" Ultear shouted. The orbs started to glow purple and all convened into a single point, bombarding Nyx from all sides.

"Ggghhh!!!" Nyx grunted in pain as she was assaulted by the countless orbs.

"Agghh!!" Eskei shouted in pain from the other side of the smoke as it began to clear. Both she and Nyx looked at their wrists that had a glowing pink marking.

"W-what is this?" Eskei questioned as she looked at Nyx. 'Nyx took the attack but we both felt the pain?!'

"Meteor!"

Jellal, his body cloaked in a bright yellow light, dashed straight through both Eskei and Nyx, knocking them back to a corner of the spacious room.

The duo immediately stood back up. To their surprise, Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear were standing in front of them.

Meredy raised right arm up, pointing it towards the two Astral Duchess women. Dozens of teal blades of magic formed in the air around her. Ultear threw her orb into the air over Eskei and Nyx as it glowed in a bright purple hue. Jellal raised his right arm in the air in front of him as nine large blades made of lightning formed behind him.

"Maguilty Sodom!"

"Luminous Minutes!"

"Jiu Leixing!"

Eskei immediately dove in front of Nyx and placed her hands on the ground as numerous teal magical blades, purple beams, and swords of lightning came flying towards them.

"Darkness Make: Divider!"

A large black wall rose from the ground, with the oncoming projectiles colliding with the wall, causing a large explosion. Parts of the wall began to crack under the force of the projectiles hitting one after the other.

"It'll take a lot more than that to take us down!" Eskei shouted confidently. Between several large cracks in the wall, she could see both Ultear and Meredy yet Jellal was no longer there.

"Above us!" Nyx shouted. Eskei immediately looked up and saw Jellal, clad in a bright yellow light floating above them. Behind him were six more glowing balls of light. Jellal put both palms out in front of him, facing downward at the two women.

"Pleiades!"

The balls of light turned into six beams, firing straight down at the women. Eskei immediately raised her hands above her head in response.

"Darkness Make: Dome!"

A dome manifested itself, surrounding the two women just as the light beams rained down upon them. Of the six light beams, five of them exploded upon impact with the dome, causing a large explosion at the top. The dome suddenly shattered and Eskei fell to her knees. Nyx looked back in horror at a large hole in Eskei's torso where a light beam had pierced straight through.

"Nyx…" Eskei grunted as blood gushed out of her mouth. She raised her left arm, her palm facing Nyx. At the base of her palm, a large amount of dark element magic began to form, condensing itself into the shape of a cube. She launched the cube at Nyx just before falling to the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath her.

"Your sacrifice won't be in vain, Eskei." Nyx said as she caught the cube in her hands. She immediately took a bite out of the cube, and another, chomping down until nothing remained of the cube.

"I'll make you all pay!" Nyx shouted angrily as her magical power spiked higher, and a dark magic erupted from her body. The shockwave from her magic pushed Jellal backwards, causing him to retreat back towards Ultear and Meredy. He landed in front of them and watched as Nyx became clad in a dark magical aura, with a scale-like black texture appearing on her face just under her eyes. Jellal's eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing.

"What's going on? How did she get so strong all of a sudden?!" Meredy exclaimed.

"Dragon Force." Jellal answered solemnly.