[60]Kingdom Come

"Are you crazy, Captain?!" shouted Scathach at Meliodas.

The party had ended sooner than they had thought, and Scathach pulled Meliodas to the side so they could discuss the little 'accident' they just had.

"Scathach, you need to learn to face your fears. I can tell that you are a strong woman, but you lessen your value as one when it comes to your sister," Meliodas said. Despite her obvious strength, he could tell that she became extremely unconfident when it came to her sister. She would probably rather fight Meliodas again than face Aoife.

"I-I know, but—"

"No buts, Scathach. I know you can do it, which is why I'm going to train you for the next few days." Meliodas gently placed his hand on Scathach's head.

She wanted to remove it, feeling rather embarrassed having a man's hand on her head, but she let him. She could feel his genuine concern and understood he was only trying to comfort her.

That was something she liked about Meliodas: he always tried to help his crew mates grow and comfort them.

Even when she had stabbed him in the chest, he helped her grow stronger as a warrior and as a person.

After a few seconds, Meliodas retracted his hand.

"Alright, Scathach, see you tomorrow morning," he said. Turning around, both went to their rooms. Scathach couldn't shake off the feeling of his gentle hand on her head.

Meliodas' POV:

As I closed the door behind me, I looked at Altria, who was already in bed.

"Are you worried about something?" she suddenly asked, inviting me into bed as she lifted the covers.

"Worried?" I asked in confusion.

"Mhm, your face scrunches up when you're worried about something."

Really? I never noticed that.

"Well, I guess I've been a bit worried about Scathach winning the fight." As I slid into bed, Altria pulled me in for a cuddle as she always did. It felt calming—her soft arms wrapped around me, her rhythmic breathing, the feeling of burying my face between her Horchata Cannons.

It was perfect.

"Are you sure?" she asked again.

...Well, I guess I still have Agrona and his uncomfortably huge cock on my mind. That bastard flashed me without a shred of decency when he turned into his human form.

"I still have my worries about the horned bastard."

"Are you worried he might return soon when you're not here?"

She's right on the money.

I'm not worried about the country; they could die for all I care, but now that I've recruited Scathach and Aiz, it has become my duty as captain to protect it.

At least until they complete their goals, which I promised to help them reach. One wants recognition, and another wants revenge for the country and her parents.

I could maybe leave a knife here with [Weapon Warp] attached to it, but I use the ability to often.

And flying from Liyue to Fontaine will take me 30-40 minutes tops at full speed in my Bahamut form.

Teyvat is a lot bigger than the game showed.

Undine could probably hold him back for a bit, but I doubt she could resist a constant onslaught from that man. Even if she is a high spirit.

"It's fine, we'll figure something out," she said, pulling me closer. My mind, which had been in turmoil, was now calm.

"Yeah, everything will be fine," I muttered under my breath as we fell asleep. I slept more comfortably than usual that night.

---

With a new day, the gang also started a new training regimen for Scathach.

It was hard to make one with how little time they were given, but Meliodas took advantage of every second they had.

Yes, Scathach was talented, but she had her limits.

Meliodas had already noted down her strong suits, which included anything physical, spear skills, and cursed techniques. She also had the ability to use Adeptal arts, or internal arts as they call it here, but he didn't know her talent level in Adeptal Arts, and they didn't have the time to figure it out either.

The first thing Meliodas taught Scathach was the [Breathing Technique] from Demon Slayer.

Originally, he used it often until, well, he didn't.

Haki and spirit god powers are one hell of a power-up after all.

At most, he just used the Dark breathing style for swordsmanship.

But for now, this technique was perfect for Scathach, who would need the strength boost for her battle against her sister.

The second thing they focused on was her cursed technique.

If she wanted to use it in the battle, Scathach would have to learn to use it in a non-lethal way, as this was only a "friendly" spar to see who was superior.

There were appearances to keep up, despite Meliodas not really giving a shit about such things. He only considered not teaching Scathach to one-shot her own sister for Aiz's sake.

After those two, there were some other miscellaneous things to teach her, like proper spearmanship, footwork, and proper cursed energy control, but they weren't as important as the first two.

So many options to grow, yet so little time.

That's also one thing Meliodas had noticed here in ancient Teyvat—the overabundance of mystery in the lands.

Cursed energy, elemental energy, adeptal energy, there was even Qi here in this world, although it wasn't as strong as the Dragon Ball type.

It was more like the Qi from High School DxD, where it's just physical enhancement with a few other abilities related to it.

...Actually, Qi sounds good for someone like Scathach, whose strengths rely on the physical.

Meliodas doesn't know how to use Qi, but Wukong does. Meliodas will have him teach Scathach later when they go back to the Luofu.

Two Days Later - The Coliseum:

As the day for the duel finally came, crowds of people began to fill the huge arena.

"Wow, that's a lot of people" Meliodas whistled in amazement as he looked at the giant coliseum being filled up.

"Y-yeah that's a lot of people," Scathach said with nervousness in her voice. All these people, whether commoners or Nobles, have come to see her fight with her sister.

The thought of losing in front of so many people caused fear to creep into her heart. 

"Dont worry, just don't forget your training young Padawan" Meliodas hand rested on her head, calming down her heart. It felt like the gentle comfort of a father, something she had never experienced before.

"Are you ready?" Meliodas asked, his eyes staring right into Scathach's crimson eyes.

"Yes!" She was now pumped up, ready to kick her sister's ass.