The Goddess' Druid

(Chapter 12) The Necropolis Part 1

Arcadia walked alongside Ban as a Prairie Cat, looking up at her friend as she spotted a small girl leaning against a wall for support. She looked frail, causing Arcadia to suspect that she was heavily malnourished. She was proven right when she saw the girl fall over, but the small blonde child didn't hit the ground, as Ban had caught her. He woke her up carefully, making sure she was alright. Arcadia watched as she started sensing the aura of a fairy, smirking internally as she realized who was nearby. She turned into a normal domestic cat, but with wings on its back, though covered by fur. She then heard Ban speak. "You want to atone?" he asked the boy who had stabbed him. "Yes." the dirty blonde said. "You should know that real sins," Arcadia watched as King prepared to attack, sighing as she watched him, her blue eyes peering up at him. "Can't be atoned for." Ban finished, before King spoke and stabbed him with his spear. "Glad you finally realized that." he said, laying on top of it with a mocking smile on his face as he spoke. "Hey Ban, how goes?" he asked, causing Ban to look him up and down in confusion. "Who are you?" the immortal man asked, causing Arcadia to shake her head in disappointment. "Oh come on, you really don't recognize me?" the fairy asked, before seeing the cat behind the man. He was confused, but shrugged it off as the lady turned cat stared him down. He had always hated cats since he had fought and lost the fight to one. Arcadia had laughed at that for hours, bringing it up for times to come alongside Ban. "Oh well, then I guess it doesn't matter. The important thing is," he made his spear spin like a drill, flying through Ban's body and sending blood flying everywhere as the male coughed up some blood as well. "You are Ban the Fox Sin, the Sin of Greed, or maybe you'd rather I called you this." Ban wiped his mouth and glared at the fairy. "Ban the Undead." King said, landing on Chastiefol as Ban's doughnuted torso healed completely, leaving behind no trace of damage apart from the hole in his jacket. "You've got a smart mouth, kid, and I'm getting sick of your tone. The hell do you know about me, anyways?" the white haired male asked, causing the ginger haired male to sigh. "I know your sin." he said, causing Arcadia's eyes to widen. Even she was intrigued by what sins the group had committed, though she already knew of Diane's, Meliodas' and Merlin's sins, but not the others. She had an inkling of what Escanor had done, after seeing Zaratras' injuries from the incident, and hearing of the male's trial, but he never told her about it, and she didn't like to pry, so she kept those questions to herself. "Even if you don't remember me, you still remember your own sin, right?" the fairy asked. Arcadia watched worriedly as Ban's jaw set, gritting his teeth as he glared up at the ginger haired male. "To satisfy your own selfish greed, you murdered the holy woman of the Fountain of Youth." he explained, causing Ban's eyes to narrow as he got ready to attack, but was interrupted by Arcadia instead. She changed back to her normal form and started slow clapping, smirking up at the fairy atop his Spirit Spear. "Hold on, Arcadia? Is that you?" King asked, causing the woman to nod. "I figured a cat was appropriate, since I know you don't want another hissy fit with a cat again like the last fight you lost, old friend." she said, causing the male to glare down at her. However, his mood and tone stayed the same, as Ban shoved Arcadia out of the way. "Listen, kid, get out of here." When King didn't move, Ban lunged for him. "I'll ask you one more time, who are you!" he yelled, punching through the wall as the two children ran away to safety. Before things could escalate (much) further, Meliodas walked and jumped up with an ale mug in hand. "Bad Ban." he said, hitting the male atop the head as he scolded him about slacking off. Arcadia looked up at King, nodding before Diane walked up. "Alright, what's going on he-" she stopped when she saw the fairy, who looked over at her. "King!" she and Meliodas exclaimed, as Arcadia smiled. "Hey King, it's great to have you back. I'm so happy to see you again!" the giant girl said excitedly, before she watched as King flew off.

Arcadia nodded to Luigi and Ellen, as if to invite the children to eat to their hearts' content, and watched as they stared at the food that Ban had cooked. Meliodas held back Hawk as he desperately tried to get to the food. "Thanks, but we can't eat all this." Luigi said, causing Ban to shrug. "If you don't eat it, then I'm just going to give it to the pig." he said, causing the two children's eyes to widen. "We're eating!" they said in unison. After they spoke about the necropolis, Meliodas tied a plate of the food to a fishhook contraption and tied that to Hawk, whose goal now was to get to the food. "So, it's like this?" he asked, pointing to the struggling swine. "Not exactly." Ellen said. "So, how do we reach it, then?" Elizabeth asked. "Better yet, how do I reach this plate of food?!" Hawk squealed. Arcadia grabbed a plate of food and then ate some, savoring the flavor as she untied the plate from the thing on Hawk's back and gave it to him. "This is why you're one of my favorites." he said, causing her to smile. "You care more about the master than me?" you've changed, Arcadia." Ban said, putting a hand against his chest in feigned offense. "Yeah, yeah, missed you too, you idiot." she mumbled, continuing to eat. "I also missed your cooking as well. Man is this good." she said, digging into the meal. "If you guys don't eat this, then I surely will." she said. After the two finished sharing what they knew, they both went home, leaving the rest of the group to think to themselves. Ban went outside and Arcadia followed, watching as he thought to himself. Meanwhile, Arcadia thought of one person in particular that would lead her where she needed to go now.

Sariel sighed deeply as Tarmiel carried Arcadia into the Archangels' mansion, her small body trembling from pain as cuts and bruises covered her skin. "Let me guess, rough practice with your brother?" he asked, causing the girl to nod. "It wasn't that bad." she lied, and looked up to see the male looking at her with a cocked eyebrow and an irk mark on his forehead. She looked down as she spoke, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I just want to be like him, but I'm too weak, aren't I?" she asked, blue, tear filled, dewey eyes meeting Sariel's own golden yellow ones. He sighed down at the then eight year old girl, picking her up and carrying her with him to his room. "You're not weak, Arcadia, it's just that you aren't ready to be more powerful than your brothers yet. You will get stronger, faster, better at fighting, but in due time. You can't rush the future." He said as he walked. He hummed softly, healing her as she rested against him whilst Tarmiel walked with them.

Arcadia opened her eyes, looking around at the familiar sight of green translucent crystals as she took in her surroundings. She smiled when she saw where she was. She was finally back in the Necropolis.