Nanatsu no Taizai 249 Review: Playing Both Sides

Nanatsu no Taizai, Chapter 249: The Deal

Apparently Merlin isn't the straight-up child of the Demon King and Supreme Goddess, which is a pretty irritating cop-out after the huge cliffhanger in 248. Merlin is just apparently the child of human mages born with the powers of Infinity, because... uh... main character status? And she negotiated with the two gods, with the Supreme Goddess and Demon King giving Merlin knowledge and protection against both sides, but this attempt at trying to gain favour from both deities caused both gods to, in their rage, fuck up Belialuin and raze it to the ground. 

And we get a pretty inelegant "as you know" from Zeldoris, who flies up to Merlin while telling Merlin her own backstory for the benefit of Hawk and the rest of the gang, who's listening to all this via a weird flower-phone that Merlin planted on Hawk's nose. Very inelegant exposition. Merlin makes a deal -- handing Merascylla over in exchange for not harming the Sins... and Merlin does that, encasing the tube in a Perfect Cube. Then it's time to deal, which at least is written well.

Merlin tries to get Elizabeth, but Zeldoris has no way to do that -- but notes that Meliodas will guarantee her safety. Merlin then tries to get King Arthur, but Zeldoris doesn't actually know what Arthur looks like. Merlin then decides to do it in exchange for Zeldoris releasing every human from his commandment, and then there's a bit of a standoff, and Merlin notes that she won't do anything. Merlin, anyway, because Zeldoris gets pierced by a massive blast sent by Reudueciel-in-Margaret. 

Overall it's not a chapter I'm particularly fond of. Between the sudden 'whoops psyche!' fake-out with Merlin's origin and the poorly-done exposition, while we do learn of Merlin's backstory it ends up raising a bit more questions than answering them, and it ends up leaving a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth more than anything, and the whole chapter ends up feeling forced and dragged-out. The dealing scene is neat, I suppose, but not enough to make me really like this chapter.