A few days had passed since Nazarick was summoned into this war. It was the dead of night, and under the dim glow of the moon, Meliodas and Elizabeth stood alongside the forces of the Giant Clan, the Humans, and the Fairy Clan. The tension in the camp was heavy, the air thick with anxiety over the battles yet to come.
"How do you plan to stop the Ten Commandments?" the Fairy King demanded, his voice sharp and distrustful. "Not even you were a match for them. All you managed was killing two before fleeing."
His words hung in the air, biting and bitter, as all eyes turned toward Meliodas, waiting for an answer that could calm their fraying hopes.
"This new force—the Sorcerer Kingdom—is honestly the most troublesome," the Fairy King said grimly. "The vampire, the demon, and that ice insect creature all wield terrifying magical power. It takes at least three Commandments just to face one of them."
He spoke from memory, recalling the harrowing battle he'd witnessed on the open sea. Cocytus had clashed with Mael, one of the mightiest archangels, in a fight that reshaped the ocean itself. With a single gesture, Cocytus had summoned a blizzard unlike anything the world had seen. It didn't just freeze the water's surface—it turned vast stretches of the sea into jagged, towering walls of ice.
In response, Mael had called forth a miniature sun, lowering sea levels as the radiant heat scorched the air and vaporized surrounding waters. Yet despite the divine heat, the frozen storm persisted, relentless and unyielding, slowly overwhelming Mael's blazing radiance. The clash between sun and storm tore across the ocean, leaving behind a battlefield that looked as though nature itself had been torn in half.
Mael won that battle—mainly because Noon struck. The moment the sun reached its peak in the sky, Mael's power surged to its absolute maximum, overwhelming even Cocytus' Absolute Zero. As impressive as Absolute Zero was, freezing time and space itself, it couldn't contend with the raw might of the sun. The moment the sun reached it's peak, Cocytus found his ice melting beneath divine heat, his control faltering.
Still, Mael didn't walk away unscathed. In truth, he had been losing for most of the battle. It wasn't until that one critical minute, when Noon took effect, that the tide turned. For that moment, Cocytus saw the full might of the sun and barely survived it.
Demiurge was also pulled into battle. He was forced onto the defensive when he faced the Ten Commandments—or rather, the Seven Commandments now, since Meliodas, their former leader, had killed two before abandoning them. Each of the remaining seven wielded a unique power, and together, they overwhelmed Demiurge, killing him…. But it was all a deception.
The Demiurge they had slain had been a perfect fake, crafted for one purpose: to observe. The real Demiurge had sacrificed a double in order to study each of the Commandments' abilities without exposing himself.
Shalltear, on the other hand, had gone to war alone, facing the Goddess Clan, Meliodas, and the other united races without backup. And she thrived in it. This was the kind of battlefield she was best suited for, and to her, it was bliss.
They had no choice but to retreat. Her overwhelming control over blood, combined with her arsenal of other devastating abilities, proved too much. Every attempt to resist her only ended in screams and loss.
"I have an idea…" Meliodas began, only to freeze as a piercing scream cut through the air.
"Please!" The scream wasn't loud, yet it echoed across the land and struck the soul with eerie clarity. Laced with the soft strum of a guitar—or something like it, it wasn't just a sound. It was a pull, a summons that reached deep into the spirit. For a brief moment, it felt like their very souls were being drawn toward it… and then, just as suddenly, that grip released.
"Stay!" The voice came again, impossibly commanding. And once more, their souls stirred, helpless to resist the call.
Meliodas didn't hesitate. He joined Elizabeth in the sky, and together, they shot forward with blinding speed, racing toward the source of the sound. Behind them, the others took flight, wanting to know what was happening.
"I want you, I need you, oh God…" The words floated through the night air, soft yet intense, filled with raw emotions. Meliodas and the others arrived high above the source, hovering in the sky. Below, they saw a white-haired man singing beside a campfire,
At his side stood a cross-dressing boy, small and delicate in frame, strumming an electric guitar with surprising skill. A young girl played the drums beside him, the beat steady and oddly hypnotic under the stars.
Sitting around the fire was a breathtaking succubus, her beauty almost unreal, the kind that made even goddesses pause. Next to her sat a butler, composed and dignified, silently enjoying the music without interruption.
"Wait," Rex said, glancing toward the sky and catching sight of the newcomers. At his words, Mare and Aura stopped playing, their displeasure showing clearly as they stared up.
But their attention quickly shifted again—toward the distance. A figure emerged, his presence unmistakable. One of the members of the Ten Commandments had arrived.
Instantly, Meliodas and the others tensed, ready to leap into battle—only to freeze in place. Their limbs wouldn't respond. For a terrifying moment, it wasn't that their minds couldn't send signals to their bodies—it was that those signals were crawling at a glacial pace, delayed by something they couldn't explain. They could feel their thoughts trying to act, but their bodies simply didn't catch up.
"This is a no-fight zone," Rex said calmly, his tone light, but the power behind it undeniable. He raised a hand and casually waved it, as if brushing dust from the air.
Just like that, the block lifted. The signals finally hit. All at once, the delayed commands triggered, causing Meliodas and the others to move erratically, as if reenacting a fast-forwarded dance.
"Who are you?" Galand of the Ten Commandments asked, his voice sharp but edged with something rare for a demon—fear. His eyes locked onto Rex, who stood there with a casual smile that didn't belong on a battlefield.
"The name is Rex Tempus," Rex said, his voice as smooth as his tailored white suit. "Now, you can either stay and enjoy the music… or run along back to whatever you were doing."
That light smile never left his face—calm, amused, and utterly condescending. It wasn't arrogance in his tone. It was certain. That unshakable, effortless certainty made everyone uneasy because deep down, they all understood what that smile truly meant.
It was the smile of someone who knew, without question, that he was above them all.
"I've never heard a song like that," Meliodas said with a cheerful smile that hid the caution in his heart. Without waiting for anyone else, he floated down and casually took a seat by the campfire, his gaze flicking briefly to Rex with a hint of unease.
The others, still stunned, had no choice but to follow. One by one, they landed and settled in around the flames, each of them stealing wary glances at Rex. Yet what truly drew them wasn't Rex, but Albedo.
Despite being a demon, she didn't provoke suspicion. Even the goddess clan members, who still harbored resentment toward Meliodas, found themselves strangely drawn to her. There was something about her presence… calming, enchanting.
She greeted them all with a soft, elegant smile. That faint smile alone warmed their hearts, melting away centuries of mistrust. Male or female, divine or demonic—it didn't matter. Their hearts raced all the same.
And in the quiet corner of their minds, a single, embarrassing thought bloomed like a secret crush. 'She likes me!'
Galand was among them, of course. With a beauty like Albedo smiling so warmly at him, how could he possibly walk away? Naturally, he took a seat right beside her—after all, it was obvious she adored him.
"Oh… I didn't expect you all to stay," Rex said, caught slightly off guard. He gestured for Aura and Mare to come sit, and though they obeyed, their expressions betrayed their disappointment—they had been hoping to play with him a little longer. Still, once Rex settled beside the fire, they wasted no time climbing into his lap, each finding their spot as if it were the most natural place in the world.
"You're strong. How is it someone like yourself isn't well known?" Merlin asked lightly, studying Rex's features with a curious glint in her eyes.
Honestly, Rex didn't lose out to Albedo in terms of appearance. The two stood at opposite ends of the spectrum—both captivating, but in their own unique ways. Rex had this refined, godlike air about him, like he belonged in some divine realm far above. Albedo, on the other hand, had a dark, alluring charm that drew attention like a magnet, seductive and commanding all at once.
"I'm not one who cares for the whole being-famous stuff… Oh, I should introduce everyone. These two here are Aura and Mare Bello Fiora. They're twins," Rex said, his tone shifting as he placed a hand on each of their heads.
He gently rubbed their hair, the gesture casual yet filled with affection. Mare shyly looked down at the ground, clearly shy being in the center of everyone's attention. Aura, in contrast, grinned without hesitation, throwing a wave toward everyone present, as if the spotlight suited her just fine.
"That beautiful lady there is Albedo. And the man in the butler uniform is Sebas," Rex said casually.
Both Albedo and Sebas gave polite nods toward the group. Sebas maintained his usual unreadable expression, calm and reserved, revealing nothing. Albedo, however, offered a sweeter smile—one that was so unexpectedly soft, it seemed to melt the hearts of those looking her way.
That one smile alone left more than a few stunned into silence. Everyone rushed to introduce themselves, voices overlapping in a flurry of excitement. Rex frowned lightly at the chaos but didn't say anything.
At least, not at first. It wasn't until Galand reached out and tried to lay a hand on Albedo that Rex moved. With a simple flick of his finger, the air snapped forward like a blade. In the next instant, Galand's arm hit the ground, cleanly severed.
The demon let out a scream of pain, stumbling back, clutching at the stump. Worse still, his arm wasn't healing.
"You would be wise to know your place. Insects that don't know how to act are to be crushed," Rex said lightly, his voice calm—almost too calm.
Yet those words alone sent a chill down everyone's spine. It wasn't just what he said, but how effortlessly he had done it. A simple flick of his finger… and one of the Ten Commandments was already down an arm.
"Y-yes," Galand stammered, fear flooding his voice. The aura pressing down on him wasn't something the others could feel—only he was fully exposed to it. To him, it felt like standing before a higher lifeform, something beyond his comprehension, looking down on him with cold indifference. And in that moment, he truly felt like an insect.
"Good. Now we can return to playing music over the campfire," Rex said, holding out his palm as a soft glow formed in the air.
He cast the spell [Create Item], which—true to its name—brought an object into existence. In this case, a beautifully crafted guitar appeared in his hand. Without missing a beat, Rex began to skillfully play, his fingers gliding over the strings with practiced ease.
"This song is called Beautiful Thing," he said with a light smile, his tone warm and relaxed.
Then he began to sing. Rex had the voice of an angel—smooth, rich, and full of emotion. Each note rang clear, every word resonating with such depth that it pulled at the hearts of everyone listening. It was as if the music wrapped around them, lifting away their worries and fears, even if only for a moment.
Many felt themselves lost in the melody, caught in its beauty. All except Meliodas. His attention sharpened, a flicker of unease rising as he noticed Rex looking directly at him.
"But there's no man as terrified as the man who stands to lose you." Those lyrics alone made Meliodas' heart skip a beat. The words hit harder than they should have. He glanced toward Elizabeth for the briefest of moments, then quickly looked back at Rex.
Why did it feel like those words weren't just part of the song? Why did it feel like Rex had said them to him about Elizabeth?
Rex's smile widened, subtle but deliberate, and the base of the song shifted without warning. The melody grew heavier, deeper—like it was sinking.
And with it, so did Meliodas' heart, dropping slowly under the weight of something he couldn't name.
"Oh, I hope I don't lose you.
Mmm
Please! Stay!
I want you, I need you, oh God.
Don't! Take!
THESE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT I'VE GOT!
PLEASE! STAY!"
The lyrics slammed into Meliodas like a punch to the chest. The idea of Elizabeth dying… it clawed at the edges of his mind, a fear that had always lingered just beneath the surface. And now, with those words echoing around the fire, that fear surged to the front.
He looked at Rex, eyes narrowing slightly. Was he trying to say something? Was this his way of warning him… that he might lose Elizabeth? The thought tightened in Meliodas' chest, heavier than before.
The song ended, but the silence it left behind was anything but empty. It lingered in the air, heavy with emotion. The melody, the words—it all left an imprint on their minds. Many knew they would be going home with that song echoing in their thoughts, stuck in their heads long after the fire had faded.