A/N: Fair warning, this is long, the chapter is ~2500 words. Honestly, I was caught in the throes of writing (I haven't moved for like 2.5hrs, it's midnight rn). I feel like some of the transitions between action scenes could be a little smoother so lay it all on me, I take all criticism. 

I've also added a song above I used while writing this chapter (on repeat just to finish some of the scenes lol). That and the theme songs from the anime. 

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An arc of fire roared forth, smashing into Hendrickson then curling around the demon, swirling like thrashing waves. Static stung the air. The vortex suddenly burst outwards, sending down rains of molten fire. One of which held a blackened Hendrickson.

He hit the ground hard enough to form an earthquake and Leraj landed in front of me, his hair on end from the static build-up snapping around him. I shielded my face as heat blasted us.

I stared in awe at Leraj's back. Such raw power! He'd been so weak fighting against the new generation demons that I'd made the presumption that he ranked no higher than me by this stage. This exceeded me. He'd give Meliodas a run for his money.

A cloud of dust and he was gone again, hitting Hendrickson hard enough to stumble. He landed opposite, his sword striking the ground. He was gone again just as fast.

What the hell was he doing?

Back and forth, to all sides. When Leraj landed for the fifth time, a little to my right, Hendrickson was a bleeding, snarling mess. Leraj flipped his blade round so the hilt faced down and he slammed it into the ground.

"Ritual Burn!"

The five slash marks on the ground sprouted fire. A roaring inferno whipped round and round, Hendrickson encased in the centre. The tornado put the combo attack by Guila and Howzer to shame.

I could barely hear him over the roar. "I can feel your anger, Estra. If I had the strength, I'd have used this a lot earlier. But since this is the last hurrah, there's no point in holding back. Hendrickson is far stronger than you can imagine in this state, far stronger than what my attacks can do."

Slack-jawed, I watched him dip his blade into the flames and slowly drag the sword overhead in an arch. The flames followed obediently, condensing around his blade, the steel practically melting in the heat.

"Retribution!" The same attack from before, hitting full force on the battered grey demon.

I stood on the sidelines, anxiously waiting. I didn't want to break Leraj's concentration as he switched to physical attacks, flowing effortlessly from one step to the next in an attempt to keep Hendrickson back. It seemed, even though they caused some damage, that all the magic attacks succeeded in doing was pissing him off even more.

They moved so fast I could barely keep track, eyes straining to see through the dust and smoke. My gaze darted about. There! Hendrickson opened up his back, blood bursting from the jagged gashes. Leraj managed to escape the next attack but he collapsed with one knee down shortly after.

Panic made me move first. "Thief!" I clawed a hand in his direction and Hendrickson stumbled now, shock flashing in his eyes as he swung to face me.

I snarled as I held Hendrickson's power by the skin of my teeth. He shuddered then stomped towards me. I narrowed my eyes and let the flames burst from my feet and over my body, burning red with my rage. "Come on, oh great Grandmaster Holy Knight! Show me what the hell you've got!"

I cancelled the Thief and he flew at me. I danced forward, swinging round into a roundhouse kick. "Defuse!" It glanced off him, enough still to send him reeling.

I ran to Leraj's side. He'd already cauterised the wound with fire of his own.

"I knew you wouldn't stay out of it," he said as I helped him to his feet, my eyes on the grey demon. "Heh." He whipped his sword round, the air humming with magic. "I only trust two people to hold my back and the Captain's busy at the moment."

"As long as you protect mine."

"Always," he promised. I broke my gaze from Hendrickson to take a good look at him. His eyes glowed against the pale pallor of his face and his tattoos shone like miniature suns.

We bumped fists with grins then turned to Hendrickson, swords at the ready.

"Any plans for this?" I questioned.

"You lead and I'll adapt. And hit him hard and fast so he can't keep up."

We took off at the same time, Leraj headed left and me, straight at Hendrickson, the demon with the face of a man and the strength to withstand Leraj's outstanding strength. To say I had no fear running at this madman head-on would be a blatant lie - of course my pits were drenched in sweat, my heart thundering against my ribcage and my limbs leaden. But I couldn't let the fear hold me back again. If I failed, my friends would perish.

So I swung my flaming sword at the demon as Leraj brought down his on Hendrickson's head.

We traded blows, dancing back and forth. When I was overwhelmed, Leraj would take my place and push him back, using his insane speed and strength to drive him away from the knights.

"Hold him steady for me, Estra!" Leraj called, drawing his blade back, tip pointed in our direction.

My sword broke through Hendrickson's defence and I slashed down through his shoulder, half severing the limb from joint. He raked his claws towards me and I ducked and leapt backwards.

"Static Boom!"

I clapped my hands over my ears at the sheer sound, like the world was being shattered. The ground rumbled beneath my feet and I fought for balance. Puffs of smoke rings enlarged, dissipating into the clear sky.

"Tch, he dodged," Leraj said.

Hendrickson hovered above us. In the sky around him, purple blots formed.

"We can't let him cast that!" I shouted.

Leraj clawed a hand at him. "Lock!"

The purple blots died down and Hendrickson dropped to the ground, the only sign of his anger the agitated flutter of his wings.

Leraj widened his stance, sword held in front of him. He trembled but held strong. Obviously that move took a lot out of him. "That will stop his magic attacks for at least a few minutes. But don't let your guard down, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

We went back at it again, gaining ground. His healing wounds were slowing down and his speed had dropped a little, enough for me to be able to keep at least half a step ahead. Hendrickson fought without a blade but who needed a blade when you had nails that could tear through skin like wet paper and skin as tough as an iron wall? He punched Leraj so hard that I heard the crack of his sternum. I twirled my blade, slicing at the back of his leg before spinning round and jabbing forward.

He caught my blade between his hands and kicked me away. I managed to keep my grip on the blade but now I was totally off balance. His fingers clawed in my hair, a thousand bolts of lightning jolting through my scalp, as he yanked me backwards. With a yowl, I slashed vehemently without a second thought.

I landed in a crouch, incessant, as the entirety of my ponytail fell to the ground between us, severed fingers of his twitching in the dust. I ran a hand through the jagged, rough mess, blood matted in it and dripping down my neck. My eye twitched.

"Estra, are you okay?!"

Enraged, I swung my sword up diagonally, the world fizzling with colour. "Firework!" Colours danced against my eyelids but I dove blindly forward. When the light was no more, I opened my eyes, Hendrickson a mere metre from me.

Driving my mana and flames down into my leg, I jumped and flipped over his head as he lunged forward. I brought my flaming heel down on his back, blasting him to the ground. A crater formed underneath him as he bounced back up, Leraj at the ready.

"Static Boom!"

This time he didn't miss.

He hissed and dropped the sword, the steel sizzling on the ground. "That's fucking hot." Everything felt hot. Sweat drenched me from head to toe and I felt like a dried out hush, a wilting flower in the sun. Probably didn't help that I held a sword on fire the entire time to boost attacks.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, headed straight for Leraj.

"Catch!" I screamed, throwing the flaming sword towards him like it was an axe.

He grasped it by the guard and hilt as he was shoved back to make more space, pivoting on his foot and turning that momentum into a driving slash through Hendrickson's torso. Flames exploded and Leraj was thrown back.

I stood panting but at the ready, waiting for the smoke to fade. A fuzzy shadow to my right grew bigger and I crossed my arms, flames on guard for the punch. An ugly red scar marred his torso but it didn't seem to do anything to his strength. I skidded back and Leraj caught me.

We only had a moment for a short breather.

He handed my sword back, mouth twisted like he ate something sour. "I'm out of magic."

My insides froze. The fight so far had to have been no longer than 5 minutes. Aghast, I stared at his worn face, the red in his eyes nothing more than a shade of wine. I looked at the demon before us, standing tall and proud. 

My jaw tightened. Unless one of the others relieved us with an astounding power, there was no way we could fend him off for much longer. I thrust my sword back into Leraj's hands. "Any chance you have a quick way to teach me your skillset?"

He tried to force the sword back into my hands. "Unfortunately not. So it'll be wise to keep a hold of that sword."

"We've lost yours and I still have magic. Don't always go putting me first."

This time we needed a plan. I could feel that I'd reached my limit. My attacks had lost their strength. And if Leraj was out of magic, then his physical strength had probably taken a toll too. We were running out of options.

No more blindly diving in, trusting that when one fell, the other would take the place. We didn't have that luxury anymore. Precision, accurate and highly powerful hits were required. I tensed my fingers but unless I knew how to speed it up, Kitsune wouldn't be enough to give me that type of strength. Thief too. They just weren't strong enough.

If only I had...!

Fingers flexing, thoughts scrambling. That thief I'd used between Meliodas and Ban. That had been different. Stronger. Wilder. If I could get that to work again, then that meant I could drain a person of their strength. I could steal their power.

"I'll keep him busy," Leraj said and my eyes snapped to him watching me. "Whatever you have planned, figure it out." Then he was gone, the squeal of demon claws on steel ringing.

I didn't know how to call that Thief back nor did I know how to target someone even if this insane idea worked on command. So I did the only thing I knew. I clawed my hands and threw them down and back, towards the knights and Sins behind us.

"Thief! Thief! Thief! THIEF!" Over and over and over, cancelling, casting, cancelling, casting, until the sheer frustration of it not working built like a roaring fire inside of me.

Leraj took a hit to the face then a foot to the gut, careening through the air. He barely had time for his feet to hit the ground before Hendrickson was on him. His sword couldn't come up fast enough to parry the attack and he earned a gash from neck to mid torso.

I needed this to work, with every fibre of my being. "God's be damned, I said 'Thief'! How. Many. More. Times. Do. I. Have. To. Cast. You!" I screamed, eyes screwed shut, my throat raw from the cry.

My eyes widened. A thump sounded.

"Sir Gilthunder," came the cries behind me but I'd already left them in the dust.

Hendrickson paused against the failing Leraj.

"Eat this, Hendrickson!" I crowed, drawing my fist back. Blue lightning seared my skin, mixing with my flames. "Enflame!"

He held a palm up to stop me and I saw the moment that he realised his mistake, eyes widening a fraction before the attack collided. A fireball of lightning and flames devoured him, the ground behind and around us buckling.

I hit the ground on my knees, utterly exhausted. Hendrickson still stood, a good thirty metres back, with what was left of his arm still held in front of him. Half his face had melted and lightning burns crisscrossed his chest.

I laughed in sheer relief. "So you can be hurt!" I struggled onto my feet, a wave of exhaustion hitting me with what felt like Diane's Mother Catastrophe. Even though I'd laughed in his face, I realised now that a single attack still wasn't enough.

No matter. Because now I knew what that thief felt like. And I planned on doing it over and over again, even if it killed me.

The murderous intent in his eyes could have frozen hell over.

"What's wrong, Hendrickson? Wasn't to your liking? Then how about we try another one on for size?" I challenged, the words fading away.

Just because I was exhausted, didn't mean Hendrickson was. Which meant his speed hadn't changed much; and mine had.

I had no time to dodge the full attack, leaping to the side so that instead of both knees being torn through, only one copped the damage.

Flashbacks of the time from the tattoo parlour, the horrifying pain now amplified by a thousand, blotting out my current reality. I faintly felt myself hit the ground before it all came rushing back with my screech of agony. Blood spurted through the gaps of my fingers as I held my shattered knee together by sheer willpower. Tears blurred my vision.

"Estra!"

I looked up. Hendrickson above me, claws at the ready once again. I shut my eyes. 

A/N #2: >^<