Hendrickson jumped up in front of Meliodas, raising his arm to attack but Ban stepped in, breaking the bones in his arm. Meliodas uppercutted him into the sky and Diane used her hammer as she hit him into a wall. Hendrickson emerged unscathed as he flew toward them but got pinned down by King's Chastiefol. The other Holy Knights watched in amazement as they witnessed the Seven Deadly Sin's power.
"They're even more powerful than the legend said!" A Holy Knight noticed.
"Sir Meliodas?" Elizabeth asked. She wasn't sure if he was okay even though his wounds were gone and she could see your worry, so she decided to ask.
"It's okay. 'Cause thanks to you, my stamina is back up to where it was before we started. So you can just leave the rest to us. For now, I think it's best if you and Y/N stay here with Hawk." He told the two of you. You nodded as you grabbed Elizabeth's hand and brought her to Hawk with you. You sat down near him as you laid your head on his body and put your hand on his stomach. "I'm so sorry, Hawk. You really didn't deserve to die like this."
Hendrickson flew up, unaffected by the spear as he cracked his bones back into place.
"No way! It doesn't even seem like we hurt him at all!" Diane noticed.
"Damn! I ripped that arm off, but it looks like it didn't take. This guy is turning out to be a bigger pain in the ass than I thought." Ban said, unsure of what to do.
"Well, we're not finished yet! Gowther, spread the word." Meliodas told him. "We're gonna do the attack we talked about!"
"Captain, Gowther's not, um..." King tried to say as he looked at Gowther's headless body, but was shocked when it started to move, holding onto its head and trying to find his glasses. "He's still alive?!"
"Roger that, Captain." Gowther said, unaffected by the stares that were given to him. "Tap. Broadcast!" A light shot through everyone's head, including the Holy Knights, informing them of what they need to do.
"It's like Gowther just beamed his instructions directly into my head." King processed.
"Is this seriously the plan?" Ban asked, not believing it.
"Captain, are you sure about this?" Diane asked, not sure it was a good idea.
"Alright everyone! Time to get started!" Meliodas yelled as he disabled his powers, now completely vulnerable.
Hendrickson took notice of this. "You disabled your powers. What do you think you're doing?" Meliodas jumped up, aiming to punch Hendrickson but he dodged as he tried to punch Meliodas but he caught it and threw Hendrickson into the ground. Meliodas jumped down, stomping in Hendrickson's stomach.
"King, what should we do?" Diane asked him.
"I know...he needs our help but..." King said, knowing he can't do anything right now.
"Lighting King Iron Hammer!" Gilthunder yelled, raising his sword as he directed his attack toward Meliodas.
"That move put his allies at risk." He flew up, knocking Meliodas off of him. "He must've been focused on a quick attack and not his aim."
"Gravity times ten!" Another Holy Knight yelled as Meliodas felt the weight pushing him down, but stayed standing.
"Rising Tornado!" Howzer yelled next, capturing Meliodas in his tornado while the weight continued to push him down. Unfortunately, Hendrickson dispersed the tornado, pushing away a few Holy Knights. He flew toward a Holy Knight, ready to behead him but Meliodas grabbed him as Guila fired her attacks next.
"Do you really intend to sacrifice yourself just to slow me down?" Hendrickson asked, unaffected by the attacks. "I won't say it's not commendable...but it appears you're the only one who's sustaining any damage." Meliodas started to attack him with his sword but Hendrickson easily deflected his attacks. "So, it appears that Elizabeth's intervention only healed your physical strength. Even if you were using your powers, I doubt you have enough left to muster your Full Counter." Hendrickson blasted him into the air as Meliodas fell headfirst into the ground. Meliodas managed to get up but was hit with 'Dark Nebula' but sustained the damage as he hit through and into Hendrickson's stomach. He put him into a headlock as rocks floated around them, signaling Diane's attack.
"Rush Rock!" She yelled as the rocks bombarded Meliodas.
"What are they doing?" You asked. "Only Meliodas is sustaining damage."
"Diane! Stop! What are you doing?" Elizabeth yelled.
You and Elizabeth's cries went unnoticed as King readied his attack. "Sunflower!" A light beam shined down on Meliodas and Hendrickson, but only Meliodas sustained damage.
"You're a mystery to me, Meliodas of the Seven Deadly Sins. You were framed and exiled, yet here you are, gladly sacrificing yourself for your kingdom." The attacks had finished and Meliodas stood scathed and shirtless. "A pointless endeavor, considering I intend to destroy it."
"Oh yeah? Don't be so sure." Ban said, appearing from behind.
"Fight if you must. While you may kill your captain, and another attack will do precisely that, you'll never succeed in killing me."
"Yeah, well, it's worth a try. Vanishing Kill!" A purple whip aimed for Meliodas as it slashed him in the shoulder.
'What is he thinking?' Hendrickson asked, thinking to himself.
"What do you think, Captain? Is that enough?" Ban asked, having a small smile on his face.
"Yeah." Meliodas smirked. A large amount of power emanated from Meliodas as he focused into it.
"What is this magical power?" Hendrickson questioned, caught off guard as he started to realize why all the attacks were aimed for Meliodas and not him. "It can be."
"Oh yeah, it can be! Revenge Counter!"
"Disabling his own magical powers allowed him to store and charge every attack he received, then unleash them simultaneously. Unable to control such power, he will inevitably self-destruct. It isn't perfect but it's the best chance we've got." Gowther explained to the group. "Given the damage you've already sustained, I estimate your chance of surviving this attack is 0.2%. Good luck!" Gowther informed Hendrickson.
Hendrickson looked back at Meliodas, realizing that he was fucked, he decided to fly away but something trapped him. "Farewell, and let us never cross paths again." Griamore said, keeping him trapped inside his bubble.
"You know you cannot win. Why do you insist on standing in my way?" Hendrickson yelled, breaking the bubble as he flew back but Meliodas stopped him.
"You just don't get it, do you, Hendrickson? You walked away from everything important in your life for a magical power you're about to lose!" Meliodas readied his attack, making contact with Hendrickson as a bright light took over everyone's vision. "And that is your sin!"
"I cannot be defeated..." Hendrickson said, not accepting defeat. "Not by the likes of you!" Hendrickson started to feel the effects of the attack as his body started to turn into dust. An explosion was seen as dust crowded over Meliodas as he fell to the ground with a loud crash. He stayed on the ground for a second before standing up, giving you a smile before falling to the ground. You got up, tripping over your steps, as you ran toward him, Elizabeth following after you. You kneeled down helping him up as he kept the same smile on his face. You smiled back and hugged him as Elizabeth smiled a little at your happy expression, but felt a little jealous that you were showing affection to him and not her.
A cough could be heard as you looked up, seeing Elizabeth's dad, the king.
"Father!" Elizabeth exclaimed. You immediately stood up, helping Meliodas up as you walked up with Elizabeth. "Are you feeling any better, Father?" He nodded as Elizabeth smiled happily, glad that her Father was well.
"Hey, Merlin. Are you done with Bartra's treatment yet?" Meliodas asked the woman.
"I am. And it's all thanks to the secret technique from the Demon Realm I'd been wanting to try." Merlin replied.
Your eye twitched a little as Elizabeth stayed unmoving from just the thought of it. "Using the king as your guinea pig, that takes a lot of guts." Meliodas told her.
"All's well that ends well. So, we're good. Right, Your Majesty?" Merlin asked.
You could see a sweat drop falling down his face as he chuckled nervously. 'So, even he's scared of her. What power does Merlin hold?' You asked yourself as you examined her. She looked toward, giving you a small smile as you looked away out of embarrassment. 'Wait, what am I doing? She's a Sin. Of course she's powerful.'
You then noticed all the knights on the ground, kneeling for King Bartra.
"We must be severely punished for what we've done. We failed you. We have strayed from our chosen path. We each disregarded your plea to avoid a Holy War, turned our back on the people who were suffering. We have lost the right to call ourselves your Holy Knights. We beg for your harshest sentence!" Gilthunder spoke.
"Very well. My sentence is this...From today forward, you shall not rest in your service of this kingdom." This sentence caught everyone off guard, causing a murmur throughout the Knights.
"But Sire, will you deny us the penance for our sin?" Howzer questioned.
"The severity of your punishment will do nothing to ease the people's suffering, nor heal those who have been wounded." The king told him. "You are the Holy Knights of Liones. Your duty is to restore the kingdom and to preserve its people."
"Sire!" The Knights yelled.
"Well done, Meliodas, and all of the Seven Deadly Sins. We are in your debt! Despite being blamed for the actions of others, you protected the kingdom, and most importantly, my daughter. As the king, and as a devoted father, I thank you."
"Oh come on. It wasn't that big a deal. Glad to help."
"He's right. We just did what any good friends would've done. Didn't we?" Diane looked toward King as they both chuckled.
"Elizabeth." She looked toward her father. "Your strength surpassed my expectations. As did your wisdom in finding the Seven Deadly Sins. I am so proud of you, more than you could ever imagine."
She started to tear up and whimper as she spoke, "I'm not strong...if I was...I could have saved Hawk. My friend is dead because of me."
"He wouldn't blame you. Hawk knows you did everything you could." Meliodas told her as you rubbed her back.
"Master. I'm sorry. I know I said some nasty things to you before, like we weren't really friends. I don't regret much but, I regret that. It seems like everybody I start to care about just ends up leaving me sooner or later." Ban spoke.
"All things considered, we were really lucky. The captain could have easily died, leaving us almost no chance of victory. But the loss of the Captain of Scraps Disposal had zero effect." Gowther said, reading out the statistics. "It didn't hurt us at all."
"Take that back!" Ban yelled at him, ready to hit him but Merlin got in between them.
"Now, hold on. Just a minute, Ban. Look. He meant no harm, so forgive him." Merlin told him.
Ban 'tsked' and walked away, saying, "You'll keep your damn mouth shut if you know what's good for you, Four Eyes!"
"Why is he mad?" Gowther asked, confused. He was just speaking the facts.
"By the way, Gowther, where's that armour I gave you?" Merlin asked, quite curious.
"It's broken."
"I see. Then I'll get you another suit as soon as I can."
"Hawk, you can't quit the tavern without giving notice." Meliodas told him. " 'Cause without you there, who's gonna dispose of all the scraps now?"
"We couldn't have pulled this off without you Hawk. You deserve all the credit." Ban added. "I mean it. Right, Captain?"
"Yeah. So, come back, alright? And I promise...I'll give you three times as many scraps as before."
"Alright, but remember, you promised." A high-pitched voice said. Hawks body started to dissolve, catching everyone off guard as it left a tiny Hawk.
"Hawk, is that you?" Elizabeth asked, observing the small pig.
"Are you really alive?" Meliodas asked.
"Yup! Looks that way!" Hawk replied.
"Wow! So tiny." You said.
Ban picked up Hawk and threw him up into the air out of happiness. Hawk started to float down slowly, giving Meliodas a thumbs-up.
"That is one wacky pig." He said, returning it.
Elizabeth looked at him as she put a hand on his chest as she healed up all his injuries.
"Wow, thanks!"
"Of course." She replied.
"Wow. I don't think I'm going to get used to that healing ability of yours." You laughed a bit.
"Ellie?" A voice asked. You turned around, seeing Elizabeth's sister, Veronica.
"Big Sis!" She ran toward her sister, surprised to see her. "But...I thought you were...I mean..."
"Not long after I left Vaizel, she began regaining consciousness." Griamore explained.
"All thanks to you, Elizabeth." She told her sister.
"I'm so glad!" She began tearing up as she hugged her sister. "This is so wonderful!"
Elizabeth got out of the hug, looking back at Meliodas. "Can we go home now?"
"Yeah. It's all over now."
Meanwhile
You walked around town, watching people work to restore their town. You walked down streets, helping a few people along your way.
"Wow, Liones is so big and the people here are so friendly." You said to yourself, waving to a few people as you continued walking.
You walked into a store to cool off, not realizing you walked into a weapon shop. You noticed the sharp objects and were thinking about leaving but you realized that if you got a weapon, then you could protect yourself and not worry anyone. You decided to look around, noticing the different shapes and sizes of the weapons you saw. None of them appealed to you, but then you saw a bat, a normal bat.
"A bat?" You asked yourself. "But this...this is mine." You noticed the inscription on the bat; the initials of your first and last name.
"Ah, I see you noticed our newest weapon." The shopkeeper said from behind you, startling you as you jumped. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Does this weapon catch your fancy?"
"Yes. But may I ask, where did you find it?"
"It washed up along the river. It didn't seem to prove much value, but I thought that someone might want it."
"How much is it?" You asked, remembering that you don't have any money.
"For this?" He asked, examining the bat. "It's free. I doubt it's going to prove much assistance, but it is a weapon, nonetheless. Enjoy."
"Thank you so much, sir." You grabbed the bat, thanked the man one last time and exited the shop.
You looked down at the bat, starting to wonder how this ended up here and if more of your stuff might be here.
You headed up a hill, seeing a few trees but it was pretty much an open space. "I guess I should practice using this, it has been a while." You started to work on your swing and hit the trees with all of your strength. This went on for a few hours and you were pretty tired as you sat down against a tree and fallen leaves.
BOOM!
You looked up to see fireworks in the sky, illuminating everything. You smiled, "Glad to see that they have these here." You stayed seated there, watching every last firework. Once they had finished, you headed back to the tavern. Opening the door, it seemed like there was still a celebration between the Holy Knights and the Sins. You smiled and headed up the stairs, walking into a room as you put down your bat. You sat down on the bed and sighed a little. This entire day was awfully stressful. You almost died, your friends almost died, and the Holy Knights almost died. You sighed again, standing up and heading back downstairs. You needed a break and this was one way to let off steam.
'Have fun.' The voice said before going away again.
'Why does it do that? Talk to me, like once, and then leave? You know what? I don't have time for this. I just need to relax. I need a drink.'
The Next Morning
Elizabeth could be seen eating breakfast with her family.
"I never thought I would see the day. I almost don't believe it." Margaret spoke.
"I owe you an apology for all the trouble I caused back there. You too, sis." Veronic told the two.
Elizabeth stayed quiet, seemingly in her own world.
"Elizabeth." Her father spoke, alerting her.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Today, the Seven Deadly Sins are leaving the kingdom." He informed her.
"They're leaving? Where?"
"They're headed to King Arthur's country, Camelot." Elizabeth stood from her seat and hurried toward somewhere.
"Wait, child! Where are you going?"
"Sorry, but this is happening so suddenly. I have to say goodbye." She told him.
"I forbid you to see them."
"Father!" Elizabeth groaned.
"I'm sorry, but this journey will prove even more grueling than the last. Meliodas knows this. So he's chosen to hide his true feelings and strike out alone." A loud thud could be heard by the window. Elizabeth went to investigate and she saw Hawk's mom outside.
"Ellie!" You yelled from above before falling down and catching the ladder. "Ellie, you know I think you told me once that when you first found Meliodas, your mission was to find all the Seven Deadly Sins, but last I checked, there's only six of them." You smiled toward her and held out your hand. "Besides, you're also in charge of getting me back home. So, are you ready to join me for another adventure?"
A wide smile was plastered on Elizabeth's face as she immediately grabbed your hand and hung onto the ladder. "Sorry King Bartra, but we're gonna have to borrow your daughter again. Don't worry, she'll be safe. Bye!" The pig started off and flew away from the kingdom. The two of you climbed up the ladder as you kept your hand in hers, bringing her to the others.
Once you got close enough, Hawk jumped on your shoulder. "Thank you so much for getting Elizabeth. These guys are so slow without her."
"Sorry about that!" Diane said.
"Yeah! We've never kidnapped a princess before." King explained.
"We're so glad to have you with us, Ellie!" You hugged her tight as she blushed from the sudden hug.
"Captain, just so you know, I'm planning on taking off today. See the world, you know how it is." Ban told him.
"Wait, really? You're just...leaving?" Diane asked.
"You're coming back right?" Meliodas asked.
"Of course. We still got a score to settle." Before he jumped off, you hugged him and gave him a small smile. "You're a pretty good guy, Ban. You better come back, we still need to have that cook-off." He looked a bit caught off guard, but smiled the same, ruffling your hair. "Don't worry. It's not like this is goodbye forever." He jumped off, giving a 'peace' sign. King hurried after him, trying to stop him and talk.
"My, it seems there is never a dull moment with you all." Merlin noticed.
"Oh yeah, Merlin. I still have a ton of questions about what happened ten years ago."
"It's a long story, you know."
"I figured as much." He sighed. "I can't wait to hear all about it, 'cause we got all the time in the world."
'Standing in the wind, looking out at the horizon, I can tell that this journey might change everything. I wonder where this journey will take us and if...if it will lead me closer to home?'