20 Chapter 18: Recruiting 2/6

*A Few Weeks Later*

(Meliodas POV)

Man, traversing through several environments that have the capacity to kill you instantly is no joke. It was thanks to my ice abilities which when enhanced with my commandment made me protected from the toxicity which in turn could kill an human in a matter of milliseconds before their senses could pick up on it.

As it turns out, the location where I'm heading to is actually a village and a large one at that considering that from what Chandler taught me about the geographic locations surrounding the demon realm is that there is only one Kingdom and of course it belonged to 'father' considering that he's basically the King of Hell down here.

Seems I'm already close considering the amount of magic I can sense. Well time to make a entrance.

----

(3rd Person POV)

[Location: Aldergate Village]

The Demons that live in this village are known for being gamblers as well as having a variety of brothels in store.

Inside a local bar lies several tables with multiple demons watching over a poker match that is currently going on. However, there is one particular demon who is in this event and he's a very tall and slender humanoid demon. At first sight, he can be mistaken for someone wearing a full set of red and silver armor. But in reality, this is his actual body and right now, he is gambling for more money so he can buy more alcohol for himself and maybe get some bitches along the way.

This is Galand otherwise known as the candidate for the Commandment of Truth.

"I swear if I lose this bet, I'm gonna kill you all otherwise and then take all your money and then drink my winnings over your bodies and be done for the day." With a threatening tone, Galand throws some chips making a bet rather than a call of with 30 silver coins instead of 25.

[AN: 1 Silver Coin= $15 USD]

"Well fuck you too Galand! you drunken waste of a demon! Just because your bigger doesn't mean that you can just casually threaten anyone who is distasteful in your eyes!" A random demon bites back with a severely annoyed tone hoping that this cocky bastard gets what's coming to him and he taps on the table for check.

"Yeah, Yeah whatever you say you small prick." Looking at his cards as the dealer places them and it is revealed to be a seven of diamonds and what he has is a five of diamonds and a one of clubs and he sees a ace of Spades, King of clubs, and a Two of spades placed on the table with only one card left that has yet to reveal itself by the dealer.

He taps for the dealer to check and now it is the other Demon's turn to either call or raise.

'Damn, I just spent all the money I earned in this pot and I can't risk it otherwise I'll be broke. I can also kill this bitch after this and no one would even bat an eye as to what happened. The only thing that people fear around here is power and I just so happen to be the strongest around here. There's no way anyone could defeat me.' Thinking cockily, Galand puts on a seemingly realistic smile on his armor-like face which in turn pisses off the Demon betting against him.

"You know what! Fuck it! ALL IN!!!" The demon pushes all his chips which is a stockpile of silver coins along with some gold coins into the center of the table much to the surprise of most of the demons in the establishment and to Galand's irritation at the bold move.

'HEHEHEEHEHE, suck on that you cocky bastard' The Demon begins to form a smug look on his face believing that this will force him to fold his current hand.

'Shit! What the hell do I do now!?" Internally panicking, Galand is now stuck in a situation where he either has to bluff or fold but that will tarnish his reputation.

He quickly checks his two cards just to be sure making it look like he's got something up his sleeve.

"Hmmm.....All in." He pushes all of his chips much to the other Demon's shock since they bluffed hardcore and this amount is enough for a few months worth of rent since they had yet to pay said rent and if they didn't get it by tomorrow. The punishment is death.

'Shit! Fuck!!!' The demon begins to sweat terribly and before he could stop the dealer from revealing the last card.

A sword of some kind imbeds itself into his head causing it to fly right off his body killing him in the process in which his head lands directly at the end of the establishment much to the surprise of Galand and the spectators along with the dealer.

The sword then suddenly begins to levitate itself into the air and it begins to propel itself at a rapid speed towards the main entrance of the bar landing directly into someone's hand with blood smearing all over the sword.

That someone is none other than Meliodas who puts Lostvayne back in it's scabbard right next to where Godsbane is located while looking on into the bar with an neutral expression but due to the strain his commandment puts upon his aura concealment. Half of the customers in the bar faint from sensing such power but Galand is shaking in excitement and before he could react, Meliodas delivers a vicious punch to his face, then he grabs the back of his head and slams his face into the ground creating a crater underneath before throwing him out of the bar.

'That should let him know not to challenge me in the near future.' Without sparing a glance to the Dealer, Meliodas throws a bag of coins in his hand which is enough for him to fix the damages he caused as he steps outside.

Once outside, he approaches the nearly unconscious Galand who is seen to be greatly hurt despite the fact that Meliodas didn't put any effort into his punches. He then crunches down in front of Galand's face before telling him why he's here.

"By the order of the Demon King, you are hereby an candidate of an future elite force that'll be formed in the near future. And if you don't follow said orders, I'll do more to you than that sad sack of a demon if you refuse to follow the request. Do I make myself clear?" Glaring into his eyes, Galand with no choice nods his head and Meliodas grabs his head as he gives him the coordinates of where to go and he kicks him far away into the direction to give him a headstart.

"Now that's out of the way, I wonder what's so special about this village anyway. Aside from the gambling and the brothels here, there's not much to do around here." Ignoring the fearful looks from the locals, Meliodas then takes off into the sky via with his wings forming on his back and he heads off towards the next location of the next candidate and luckily it's not as far.

'I should probably learn some teleportation magic so I don't have to make trips like this often.' While in the air, Meliodas begins to think on what other abilities he could learn in the near future.

---

[A Few Days Later]

Without any rest, Meliodas spiraled through multiple terrains including a ocean made up of the bones of the Induras that were unknowingly to him slaughtered by his mother which reduced their population to the brink of extinction even to this day.

'That was a rough few days for me, I actually got some bruises from hitting some creatures akin to Lovecraftian culture from that damn sea of bones.' Thought Meliodas while continuously flying to his next destination.

***

[Swanhold Village]

In the far distance, he sees another village which is more rural when compared to the last one considering the large amount of farmland around here especially the neatly cut red grass along with the livestock in their enclosures.

Meliodas stop his flight in midair as he uses his enhanced senses to locate where the next candidate and to his surprise, he senses two of them and it looked as if they lived together.

"Interesting, seems unlike my last entrance, these demons already sound more compliant than Galand. I'll be more lenient if they are willing to cooperate. "

A couple seconds later...

Meliodas lands right in front of a brick-like structure akin to that of a farmhouse. He heads up to the front door which is around two times his size.

*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*' Knocking three times against the door, Meliodas patiently waits so he can deliver his message to these two individuals.

He hears some noises coming from inside as footsteps can be heard heading for the door.

The door then begins to open and out reveals a humanoid body with a bald head and pointed ears. Their most notable feature is their large dark brown mustache that is curved upward over their head, connecting to form an arch. He is shirtless while wearing green pants.

Meliodas looks up at the demon while crossing his arms as his companion appears as well with their appearance similar to that of a small creature bearing a strong resemblance to a rag-doll. They have white skin and a large oval shaped head with round eyes and a wide mouth. He also has relatively long, thick arms with long black claws and stubby segmented legs.

"Yes." Answers the tall humanoid demon with a barely noticeable tone of sheer nervousness knowing that from scrolls he has read, this is none other than the Prince himself.

'Huh? Didn't know that Aranak and Zeno were a duo in the Original then again, there is hardly any information regarding this realm.' Meliodas summons his list and he gestures to Aranak and Zeno on why he has come to this specific location.

"You see this? You are hereby requested to head off to the Kingdom per a exposition with regards from a order by the Demon King himself. I suggest that you go immediately otherwise I'll have to use physical force if you don't comply." Meliodas releases a bit of his aura to signify his statement/threat making the duo at the door sweat in intimidation.

Aranak and Zeno madly nod in fear and Zeno positions himself onto Aranak's shoulder with wings appearing from his back and they take off since the location to the kingdom was already on the list.

"Good. Now onto the next candidate." He closes his eyes as to sense the location and what he senses causes him to grin evilly.

'Bellion eh? Seems I'll have to ensure that his arrogance is kept in check otherwise I won't hesitate to torture him for my amusement if he rebels against my orders when I lead the commandments.'

Wings then appear from his back and Meliodas propels himself into the air at a fast rate eager to put this demon in his place when he meets him...

To Be Continued...