It was a clear day and Elizabeth was dressed up in a yellow dress. She ran in a certain direction, panting a bit as her heels tapped the cement floor.
She passed by people training, people talking in the town until she found the place she was looking for.
The Boar Hat.
She stopped running and smiled. “Sir Meliodas!” she exclaimed.
Suddenly, everything turned pitch dark.
Elizabeth gasped and looked around, seeing nothing but black. “What just happened?”
She then heard a battle cry and turned around, seeing Meliodas having a fight with a silhouette of something that looked un-human.
It swung its sword, but Meliodas teleported behind it and kicked the back of its head. Something even bigger struck Meliodas back and he summoned the black markings on his arm.
Then something else started to fight Meliodas, both punching each other rapidly, but Meliodas punched it back.
Someone else punched Meliodas to the ground and smoke arose everywhere, making Elizabeth yelp.
“Sir Meliodas!” she screamed in fear, trying to run up to him, but something grabbed her arm.
She tried to escape from the black thing that had a strong grip on her, but it wouldn’t budge.
She turned back around and gasped, seeing more of the black silhouettes surrounding Meliodas.
He got up on his feet and panted.
One of them started to walk up to him.
“Sir Meliodas!” Elizabeth screamed.
“I won’t let you hurt anyone else!”
“Never give up!” Meliodas shouted, clutching his hand into a fist. “Be strong…cause the Seven Deadly Sins are here! Revenge counter!” Meliodas screamed, giving the final blow on Hendrickson, ending him.
“Honestly, never a dull moment with you around!” Elizabeth said, crying into his chest.
“Elizabeth!” Meliodas called, hanging onto a rope ladder while Elizabeth looked out the huge window.
“Sir Meliodas!”
“So? You wanna come?” Meliodas asked, giving her a mischievous smirk.
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “Yes!” she said, jumping out the window and into his arms.
Both of them looked back.
“So long, Bartra! Thanks! See ya!” Meliodas said.
“Bye! Take care of yourselves!” Elizabeth called back, Hawks mom already leaving.
Elizabeth gasped, waking up from her slumber.
She sat up on her bed with a small groan. “Was I dreaming?” she questioned, looking around.
This is a tale of ancient times. An era before the human and non-human worlds were forever divided. Where there are nations, there are Holy Knights, and the largest nation of Britannia, the kingdom of Liones, one group of warriors surpassed them. Infamous for their incredible fighting skills, this legendary order of knights was comprised of seven renowned sinners. They were known...as the Seven Deadly Sins!
Elizabeth walked up to her window and opened it with a smile, the fresh wind blowing inside and swaying her hair a bit.
“I dreamt I was on a journey with Sir Meliodas and the others,” she said with a smile. She then looked down and said, “But wait…”
She remembered the black silhouettes that Meliodas was fighting.
“What on earth was that?”
Elizabeth changed into her yellow dress and walked up to her father, that was on his throne.
She curtsied and said, “Goodmorning, Father. How are you?”
Bartra looked at her. “Is something wrong, Elizabeth? You look a bit pale this morning,” he said.
Elizabeth looked at him with a smile. “No, I just had a strange dream. Guess it made my sleep a little restless,” she said.
Bartra’s eyes gleamed with suspicion. “A dream?” he questioned.
After explaining to her father, Bartra looked at her.
“So it was you setting off on a journey with the Seven Deadly Sins,” Bartra recalled.
“It was just a dream, nothing more,” Elizabeth assured. She gave him a closed eyed smile. “The capital is peaceful once again, after all!”
Bartra’s eyes narrowed. It couldn’t be…
“Anyway, what was it you wanted to see about?” Elizabeth asked.
“Ah, yes. The kingdom is well on its road to recovery. People are adjusting back to their normal, tranquil lives.”
“Indeed.”
“It goes without saying, if the Seven Deadly Sins hadn’t been there to intervene, thwarting the Demon Race’s return, this new found peace would've never come to pass,” Bartra said.
Elizabeth smiled. “That’s true!”
“With that in mind…”
~In the tavern~
“For real? The king’s gonna give us all medals?!” Hawk squealed.
Elizabeth was in her Boar Hat uniform and was kneeling down to Hawk’s height. “Yes! The Seven Deadly Sins did save the kingdom. That goes for you too, Hawk! And Hideyoshi as well!” Elizabeth said, looking at the panther, who was laying on the floor next to Lena, who was sitting on a stool.
Hawk snorted. “Well, yeah! I’m the shining star of this bunch!” he said.
Elizabeth giggled.
“Hey, I’m being serious. What are you laughing about?” Hawk asked.
Hideyoshi scoffed. “Well, I’m not going,” he said, yawning right after.
Lena looked at him. “Why not?” she asked.
She was wearing a new outfit. A white long sleeved button up shirt that was tucked in a black skirt and leggings with black boots.
Hideyoshi stretched, arching his back. “I didn’t save the kingdom. The only reason I went in front of that attack was to protect Lena, and Lena only,” he said.
Lena hit his head harshly, making him yelp in pain. “You’re going!”
“No.”
“Oh yes, you are! You’re going, even if I have to force you to!”
Hideyoshi sighed. “I’m not gonna make it easy, then.”
“Thanks for waiting, guys!” Meliodas said, jumping over the counter and stepping in front of everyone.
Elizabeth looked up and smiled widely.
“Ta-da!” Meliodas said. He also had a new outfit. “Alright, what do ya think?” he asked. “This would make an awesome new uniform for the Boar Hat!”
Elizabeth stood up. “Yes, it would! It looks wonderful!” she said.
“So where’d those sweet threads?” Hawk asked.
“Actually, it was a gift from Elizabeth!” Meliodas said.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and smiled with a blush. “Well, I wanted you to look nice for the ceremony…”
Meliodas walked up to her. “And it fits perfectly!” he said, pointing at himself. He gave her that sly face and said, “Guess you know my size pretty well, since we share a bed every night~”
“HEY!” Hawk shouted.
Lena put her chin in her hand and smiled. “You guys are so cute,” she said.
Elizabeth blushed madly. “L-Lena! Don’t say things like that!” she said, turning away from everyone.
The door suddenly opened. “I, too, am all set to go!” someone said, walking in the tavern.
Everyone hummed and turned to them.
Gowther was standing there, putting up his little salute. He was also wearing new clothes. He had grey pants, a white crop top and a jacket over it that had a little bow. “Sparkle!”
Meliodas and Hawk sweatdropped. “Who the hell picked out that get-up for you?” they asked.
“Language!” Lena turned to them and glared.
“What’s that? Oh! That would be my sweet one, of course!” Gowther said, putting his hands together excitedly, but he had his blank face. “My beloved!”
Elizabeth chuckled.
Hawk raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
Hideyoshi scoffed. “Beloved? Yeah, right. Like Gowther could have such a thing,” he said, licking his paw and brushing his ear.
Lena looked at him and sighed. “Just let him be and this will be over soon,” she said.
“Guess all that reading he’s been doing must’ve blurred the line between dreams and reality,” Meliodas said.
“Hey, hey!” King said, floating up to them. “Looks like everyone’s having fun.”
“You’re dressed like always, huh, King?” Hawk asked, but he hummed. “Hm? What’s going on with your hood, dude? Is that a helmet?” he asked.
King looked behind him to the helmet that was on his hood. “Oh, this? It’s a special gift from my best friend. Have you seen Diane?” he asked, floating a bit closer to them.
“You guys! Come take a look! Outside!” Diane said, walking up to the window outside.
Everyone hummed and walked outside.
Everyone gasped in awe.
“You have a new outfit, too, Diane!” Elizabeth said, looking at Diane with a dress-like shirt with ruffles at the end, over some black shorts and a different colla covering her neck.
Diane winked. “You like it?” she asked. “This is just a little something that Merlin put together for me! Well, do you?!” she asked excitedly.
“You look really cute, Diane!” Lena said.
Diane giggled and picked her up. “This is why you’re my favorite!” she said and Lena hugged, well, tried hugging her, but she ended up just hugging her nose.
Merlin teleported next to everyone and Diane giggled and kneeled down. “I had a really hard time picking between the two you gave me, but I ended up choosing this one!” she said.
“That’s odd since I only remember giving you one,” Merlin said.
King blushed, turning into his fat adult form and put up a thumbs up.
“I wonder…” Merlin said.
Someone opened up the door and walked outside.
“So what’s with all the commotion out here?” Ban asked.
Diane looked at him and smiled. “Ban’s wearing his new costume!” she then got a good look at him. “Wait, no he’s not!” she went up to him, tears brimming her eyes and shouted, “Ban, wear is it?! What happened to you new outfit?!” she pouted.
Ban scratched the back of his head. “Outfit? Wha? Wait, you mean that thing hanging in my room?” he asked.
A tick mark appeared on Diane’s forehead. “King and I spent a lot of time picking out those clothes just for you, you jerk! Come on!” she shouted, pouting even more.
Ban put his hands up in defense. “Alright, alright! I’ll put ‘em on later. As long as they’re cool, ‘cause they’re staying right where they are if they’re ugly.”
King floated up to him in his adult form. “What did you say?!”
“Easy, now~!”
Everyone else walked next to them.
“Alright, listen up, everybody! The ceremony is tomorrow. In the meantime, why don’t we celebrate?” Meliodas asked.
~Later that night~
“Cheers!” Everyone shouted, putting their wooden mugs together.
They all were having fun, talking, laughing and drinking.
“Hey, there, Captain!” Ban smiled, walking up to Meliodas. “You got a minute or two?” he asked.
Meliodas hummed and turned to him in confusion. “What’s up?”
“Just follow me, okay?” Ban asked, not noticing King floating nearby, listening to them.
Ban lead Meliodas outside of the tavern, away from everybody.
Ban took off his apron and dropped it to the floor.
“Now, come on, Ban. What’s so important?” Meliodas asked, putting his hands behind his head.
Ban turned to look at him with a smile. “As of tonight, I quit.”
“Woah, woah, woah! Ban, your face is the only joke we can handle,” Meliodas said. “Besides, if you quit, who’s gonna do all the cooking?”
“You were doing it before I was, so just take over again,” Ban said.
“Come on, we both know if I cook, nobody’s gonna set foot in this place.”
Ban’s smile faltered. “Captain. I’m serious, okay?”
Meliodas looked at him in shock.
Ban turned his body so he can face Meliodas all the way. “Today was my last day in the Seven Deadly Sins.”
Meliodas stared at him with wide eyes, not sure what to say.
~Early in the morning~
Ban opened the door, walking outside. He let out a puff of cold air as he walked down the steps.
He was wearing a new jacket, a darker red one that came down to his knees.
He turned around. “So long, Captain. Bye, Master,” he said, closing his eyes and turning around again, walking forward.
But he hummed, looking at King who was floating in front of him with a smirk.
“Hey, Ban. Leaving without saying anything?” King asked with a mocking tone.
Ban stayed silent.
“So you’re not even gonna talk to me now?” King asked.
Ban walked around him, not saying anything.
“I kinda overheard what you said to the captain, yesterday. And I have a pretty good idea about what happened between you and Elaine. To be honest, I’m really touched that you feel so strongly about my sister. But she’s dead now and the Fairy King’s Forest that she protected for so long was burned to the ground.”
King turned around and asked, “Knowing that, where do you think you’re going?”
Ban stopped walking. He turned around and said, “To the Fairy King’s Forest.”
King’s eyes widened. “Huh?”
~Later that day~
Meliodas, Diane, Gowther, Merlin, Hideyoshi, and Hawk all stood in a line in front of the king, and Elizabeth.
Soldiers were all surrounding them as they watched.
Hawk was happily munching on his scraps while Hideyoshi stood next to him, watching in disgust.
Merlin looked at him. “Hawk, try to show a little decor in front of His Majesty, would you?” she said.
“Whatever! This is who I am, okay?” he mumbled through his scraps.
Hideyoshi glared at him. “You know, I had a bit of respect for you when you went in front of that attack, but now you just lost it again,” he said.
“Okay!”
Meliodas smiled. “Looks like he’s back to his original size again!” he said.
“So have Ban and King chosen not to attend?” Gowther asked.
Diane put a hand behind her head. “Where could they be at a time like this?” she questioned.
“What are they doing here?” Someone asked.
More mumbles of disapproval were heard and Gilthunder, Howzer, Griamore stood stiff.
Lena was in front of the three knights. She shot a glare at the other knights who were bad-mouthing.
Howzer picked Lena up and put her on his shoulder. “We can’t do anything right now, so just let it be,” he whispered to her.
Lena looked upset, but let it go.
Meliodas glanced behind him.
“The Seven Deadly Sins, along with their friends, the panther, Hideyoshi, and Scraps Disposal?” Bartra questioned, starting the ceremony.
Elizabeth went close to him and whispered, “Captain of Scraps Disposal,” she corrected.
Bartra looked forwards and coughed a bit. “Captain of Scraps. We gather to honor and commend you for your heroic efforts to protect this kingdom. When your name is called, step forward and allow me to pre-”
“I object!” Meliodas shouted, earning a hum from Bartra.
“The Seven Deadly Sins shouldn’t get one medal!”
Both Bartra and Elizabeth’s eyes widened.
Hideyoshi sighed in relief. “Oh, good,” he said, walking away.
“You sit your butt back down, mister!” Lena shouted, a tick mark on her forehead while she pointed at him.
Hideyoshi sat back down in his place and sighed miserably. “Why me..?”
“Wh-What’s that?” Bartra mumbled.
“Sir Meliodas, why would-”
Meliodas turned around to look at some knights. “I mean, that’s what some people here are itching to shout. If you have something to say, say it to my face. I’ll hear you out,” he said.
Most knights looked away from his gaze.
But three started to walk towards them.
“Hey, look. Aren’t those the Pleiades of the Azure Sky?” a knight asked.
There was a very short man, dressed in pink, and two other tall men, one with gray hair and purple eyes and the other with brown hair and eyes.
“Wait you mean, the Pleiades of the Azure Sky, who served the assistant Grand Master, Sir Denzel?”
All the Sins looked at the three.
Lena pointed at the very short man and snickered. “He’s shorter than me!” she whispered in Howzer’s ear and he covered her mouth, almost laughing too.
Both Gilthunder and Griamore heard and tried to hold in their laughter.
“It’s Platinum Dogedo, and Platinum Waillo, and that’s Diamond Deathpierce!” A knight exclaimed.
Meliodas hummed. “I could’ve sworn there were a few more grumbers here,” he said, glancing at a few knights. “That’s weird. I guess, for now, we only have three straight shooters. So what’s the problem?” he asked.
Deathpierce was the one to answer. “We would like nothing more than to see the power of the legendary knight known for saving the kingdom from evil, first hand.” Deathpierce smiled. “Well, Sir Meliodas? Will the Seven Deadly Sins captain honor that request?”
A knight ran in between them. “Sir Deathpierce! We’re in His Majesty’s presence!”
“Do to the unfortunate fact that the two Grand Masters-no, those two traitors assigned us to a remote post, we didn’t get to witness you in action. So we can’t accept this, unless we’re able to see your power for ourselves.”
Bartra closed his eyes. “Fine. Do as you wish,” he said.
Elizabeth gasped. “But, Father!”
Hideyoshi got up and started to walk away. “Good, I’m leaving.”
“Sit! Down!” Lena shouted.
Hideyoshi sat down and bowed his head, his presence now all gloomy.
Deathpierce smiled. “We are most grateful, My King,” he said.
Meliodas chuckled.
Dogedo cracked his knuckles, walking forward. “I want to go first,” he said.
“Hold on a second!” Hawk said.
Dogedo looked at him with a glare.
“Magic, 290. Strength, 470. Spirit, 100. For a power level of 860!” Hawk said.
Dogedo kneeled down at his level. “This pig...what is it?” he asked.
“Sorry about his mouth,” Meliodas apologized.
“Not bad, not bad! But unfortunately, you’re no match for me. I think Meliodas should fight you in my place, okay, buddy?” Hawk said with a mocking tone.
“Actually, I was planning to from the beginning,” Meliodas said. “What’s gotten into you?”
Gowther looked at something on Hawk’s ear. “That new earing the Captain of Scraps Disposal is wearing...it’s the Magical Eye, right?” he asked Merlin, who was floating next to him.
“Yes,” she answered. “It’s a little present from yours truly.”
~Flashback~
“Balor’s Magical Eye?” Hawk asked, flapping his ears wildly with his new earing.
“Uh-huh. Named after the one-eyed god, who’d bring disaster and assess his enemies,” Merlin said.
“That sounds like an awesomely cool new tag for me! Thanks a lot!” Hawk squealed.
Merlin smirked. “Look at those knights walking outside the window,” she said.
Hawk looked outside and saw four knights. “Stare…” He gasped, seeing something different. “All these weird numbers are flowing through my mind! From the right, 42, 54, 35, 145.”
“Those are their power levels. They represent your targets overall strength, quantified,” Merlin explained.
Hawk squealed. “Are you saying I can actually see how strong someone is?!” he asked.
“Exactly. If you focus even more, you can see the breakdown,” she said.
Hawk excitedly squealed, flapping his ears. “Magic, 50. Strength, 50. Spirit, 45. I get it, I get it!” Hawk started to jump around. “By the way, what’s my Power Level like?! I mean, I am a hero who more or less saved the entire kingdom, right?! It’s gotta be good! Come on Merlin! Tell me!
Merlin held up another Magical Eye. “Times 100….it’s 3,000.”
Hawk jumped. “WOOHOO!”
‘Sorry, Hawk. I couldn’t help myself,’ Merlin thought.
~End of flashback~
“A token of my thanks to a key player who helped save the kingdom. That’s all,” Merlin said.
Dogedo put up a stance. “Alright, let’s do this! Mr. Hero!”
Meliodas just stared. “Anytime you’re ready, then,” he said.
Will he be alright? Elizabeth thought.
Diane leaned down. “Captain, try not to tease them too much, okay?” she warned.
Meliodas just made the ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) face. “I’ll do my best~!”
Dogedo smirked, and started to punch.
Meliodas dodged every furious punch.
Hawk hummed. “This guy's fast,” he said.
Dogedo punched straight for Meliodas’ head, but Meliodas jumped in the air, kicking his face, sending him to the floor with a groan of pain.
Meliodas landed on the floor.
“Way to go!” Diane praised.
Dogedo’s hand twitched, he then used it to get up on his feet again. “Is that the best you can do? That was little more than a bug bite. That’s all it took to defeat them? I guess Hendrickson and Dreyfus weren’t anything special at all!”
Howzer, Griamore, and Gilthunder shot a glare at him.
Dogedo smirked. “There were nothing but props. Two piss poor substitutes for the grand master. What a shame! If not for his untimely death, those hags wouldn’t have that title,” He said. He glanced at Meliodas behind his shoulder.
“If I’d known all that, I would’ve finished those weak posers myself!”
Griamore held up a fist. “Bastard!”
Gilthunder stopped him by holding his hand in front of him. “Let it go,” he said.
Lena glared at Dogedo. “I don’t like him,” she said loudly enough for Dogedo to hear.
Howzer smiled, but still glared at him. “Yeah, me neither.”
“Not that I’m trying to stand up for those two,” Meliodas started, turning his head to look at him. “But they would’ve killed a guy like you in no time.”
“What?” Dogedo asked, shooting a death glare at Meliodas.
“I don’t know what made them carry out an idiotic plan like that. But the man I knew were Holy Knights. Not only did they have the heart to try and do the right thing...they also had the strength to back up that ambition and see it through.” Meliodas turned his body all the way to look at him.
“I mean, you may have the strength, but you’re lacking right here, where it counts,” Meliodas said, pointing at his heart. “Which makes you a failure, if you ask me.”
Dogedo held out his arm. “Don’t give me that! A Holy Knight needs one thing!” He clenched his fists and started to attack Meliodas. “Devastating power to pulverize his enemies!” he screamed, attacking faster.
“No! Get out of there, Meliodas! If you try to fight him for real, you’ll be-” Hawk started, but he gasped, seeing Meliodas block Dogedo’s attacks with one fist.
Meliodas pushed back his hand and Dogedo gasped, looking at his now broken fingers.
“He countered offense and defense at the same time?” Waillo gaped.
Deathpierce smirked. “Expected from a combat sense,” he said.
“Looks like this is over,” Gowther said.
Dogedo shook a Meliodas put his hands down.
Meliodas smiled at him. “Ya know, I think you need to start all over as an apprentice Holy Knight!” he said.
Dogedo’s eyes widened in anger. He tried attacking with his head, but Meliodas easily smacked it upwards, sending him back.
Deathpierce grabbed Dogedo before he could fly into the wall.
“So that’s the might of the legendary captain!” All the other knights gaped.
“He’s beyond powerful!”
Deathpierce looked at Dogedo, but then smiled at Meliodas.
“Woah...there’s no way! Meliodas is that strong?” Hawk mumbled. “Hold on. Magic, 400. Strength, 960. Spirit, 2010.”
Meliodas put up a fighting stance, ready for another attacker.
“Power Level, 3,370!” Hawk exclaimed.
“One down, two to go!” Meliodas said. “So who wants to fight me next?” he asked.
“Pardon us,” Deathpierce said, putting the passed out Dogedo on his shoulder. “I would like to apologize on behalf of Dogedo. Please forgive his barbaric actions. While we were away, his best friend lost his life in that battle and he hasn’t the news very well. Also, we’re satisfied now. That exhibition more than convinced us of your power, Sir Meliodas.”
“Really?” Meliodas asked, shocked. “You mean, that was all it took to change your mind?”
“Yes. We’re not even able to determine the limit of your power. I admit, you might very well have been capable of defeating Hendrickson, who fell do the Demons,” Deathpierce said, turning around and walking away. “And now, we will be taking our leave from this ceremony. I bid you a good day!”
Hawk stared at the Deathpierce. “Power Level, 1,690,” He then looked at Waillo. “Power Level, 1,710.” Hawk laughed. “Ha! They’re running off! Guess the super high Power Levels of me and Meliodas must’ve scared them off!” he teased.
Gowther walked up to him. “That’s not necessarily true. The stats of Power Levels can fluctuate due to various circumstances, compatibilities, and conditions,” he said.
“Huh? Wait, do you know all about this too, Gowther?” Hawk asked.
Gowther put his hands on his hips. “I already have it loaded,” he said.
“Loaded? What do you mean?” Hawk gasped, noticing something. “Oh no! Magic, 1,300. Strength, 500. Spirit, 1,300. Power Level, 3,100!”
Gowther looked at Hawk. “Scraps Captain. Magic, 0. Strength, 25. Spirit, 5.”
Hawk started to angrily pull on Gowther’s sleeves. “Damn you, Gowther! How dare you exceed my Power Level! You’re not the fighting type, it shouldn’t be possible!”
“To be completely honest, it would be substantially harder to score lower than your Power Level of 30,” Gowther pointed out.
“It’s 3,000!”
Diane bent down to look at them. “Hey, what’s going on, you two?” she asked.
Hawk gasped. “No way! You too, Diane?!” he asked.
“Hm?”
“Magic, 900. Strength 1,870. Spirit, 480. Power Level, 3,250! What the heck’s going on?!” Hawk exclaimed.
Merlin floated next to him while Gowther said, “It shouldn’t be surprising. Because, after all, the seven of us each have levels over 3,000.”
“Wait, does that mean Merlin, too?!” Hawk gasped and paled when he looked at her. “Magic, 3,540. Strength, 70. Spirit, 1,110. Power Level, 4,710!” Hawk started to shake. “TH-TH-TH-TH-THAT’S CRAZY! It’s way over my own Power Level of 3,000!”
Gowther glanced at Diane. “It seems the Captain of Scraps Disposal is quite distressed,” he said.
Diane just chuckled awkwardly at his statement.
After the commotion, Bartra started to hand out the medals.
“This medal just shows how Sir Hawk is gaining more and more respect, people!” Hawk shouted after Bartra put his medal on his ear.
“It appears that the Captain of Scraps Disposal distress has vanished,” Gowther pointed out.
Bartra put the medal on Hideyoshi and leaned down so no one would hear. “Are you sure you don’t want to give a medal to the little one? She helped more than we could imagine,” he said, glancing at the smiling Lena.
“No. Bartra, you know of her and how she doesn’t know of us. I can’t tell her now,” Hideyoshi explained.
Bartra sighed, but smiled. “How is she doing?” he asked.
Hideyoshi smiled a bit. “She misses everyone, I can tell you that. She says, ‘Hello’,” he said.
Bartra chuckled and pet Hideyoshi’s head, which made him purr.
Bartra put the last medal on Meliodas and he smiled.
Both of them made eye contact and Bartra remembered his conversation with the Sins
~Flashback~
“The signs of Holy War have hardly faded. They are stronger now than ever,” Bartra explained, the Sins in front of him.
“We’re listening,” Meliodas said, his expression serious. “What did you see?”
“The new omen is of ten shadows. And there’s a monsterous threat that’s closing in on a kingdom to the south, called Camelot,” Bartra explained.
~End of flashback~
Meliodas nodded at Bartra.
Elizabeth walked up to him. “So, uh, what do you think we should do with the medals we have for Ban and King?” she asked.
“Hold on for them for now,” Meliodas said.
“Huh?” Elizabeth hummed in shock.
“Those two have taken off,” he explained, turning around.
Elizabeth gasped. “What do you mean?” she asked. It’s just like that dream I had. And if that’s so...then what about...No. Lena is still here with us. In the dream, Ban took her. “I’m sure I’m just overthinking it…” Elizabeth mumbled.
“Hey, what’s with that look on your face?” Diane asked, hovering over Elizabeth.
Elizabeth blushed and looked at her. “What? No, nothing! Don’t worry. Lemme ask you something. Ban and King didn’t leave because something bad happened, did they?” she asked.
Diane closed her eyes. “I have no idea. I wish I knew, but the captain won’t say anything.” She looked down and sighed. “That was awful of King. He left without saying a word…”
~With Ban and King~
Ban jumped down a ledge, King floating behind him closely.
“The Fairy King’s Forest has vanished completely, now it’s just a barren land where nothing grows anymore. Trust me, I saw it with my own eyes ten years ago. Why would you go there now?” King asked.
“None of your business! Now, stop following me. Go bother somebody else,” Ban said, not glancing back.
“Not gonna happen,” King said. He narrowed his eyes. “At least, not until after you tell me the truth.”
Ban narrowed his eyes and walked faster.
~With the rest~
“Piggy trot! Piggy trot!” Hawk chanted. “Wow! It looks like the whole town was at that medal ceremony! Everyone’s in awe with my heroics! I mean, can you blame them?” Hawk basked in the glory, but ran into somebody making him fall.
He got up on his feet and glared. “Hey, why don’t you watch where you’re going?! Can’t you see this big shiny medal here?!” He got a good look at who was in front of him and hummed, seeing Griamore, Howzer, who was still holding Lena, and Gilthunder.
“Oh, what are you guys doing here?” Meliodas asked.
“Sir Meliodas…” Griamore started. “I want to thank you for what you said before. About my father,” he said.
“I only said what I knew to be true. Anyway, I heard the rumors, Howzer. While he was being taken in, Dreyfus wounded you pretty badly and he killed some of the members of the Roars of Dawn. Is that true?” Meliodas asked.
Howzer looked away, giving Lena to Gowther. “Uh, yeah…” he mumbled.
Griamore looked at him and glared. “I’m telling you, that had to be some kind of mistake! Father fought in order to protect Princess Elizabeth, to defeat Hendrickson! And then...he was murdered!” Griamore said.
Howzer closed his eyes and clenched his hand into a fist. “I wish I could believe that! But those are undeniable facts, alright?” Howzer said, his voice faltering.
“On one hand, he ran away after killing an ally,” Merlin said. “On the other, he risked his life to rescue one. True, it’s hardly consistent.” Merlin closed her eyes and bowed her head. “At least, for the actions of a grand master.”
All three of the men gasped.
“Lady Merlin…” Griamore exclaimed.
Merlin floated in the air. “When the details of the story fail to add up,” She said, creating something in here hand. “It often helps to run everything you know in reverse.”
The thing she created looked like a bird flying in the sky.
“And as you discover and give meaning to a seemingly unnatural action, a different answer will emerge.”
The bird flew down and turned into a dragon.
“Sincerity becomes spite. The circumstances become pretense. And the meaningless suddenly gaines meaning,” Merlin said, as Diane played with the thing.
“So...in other words…” Howzer said.
“Think about it,” Merlin said.
All the men gasped, seeing her teleport behind them.
“Consider what happened and discover the answer for yourselves. When Humans stop thinking, it’s all over.” Merlin glanced behind her shoulder. “Alright, let’s go, Captain.”
Meliodas hummed. “Hm? Right!” he said, started to walk and everyone followed him.
Diane waved. “Good bye, Howzer! See ya!” she said.
Meliodas looked at them and gave them a two fingered salute. “But try not to think about it too hard, you trio of troublemakers!”
“Power Level, 1,910. 1,520. 1,970.” Hawk said.
Gilthunder looked at Hawk, who was standing right next to him.
“Awe! You’re still a bunch of rookies, huh?”
“Huh?” Gilthunder hummed.
“Well, give it all you got, okay?” Hawk said and ran up to the rest. “I win! It’s not that I’m a weakling. It’s just that Meliodas and the others are ridiculous!”
“Telling us to think about it and not think about it? So which do they want?” Howzer questioned.
“A trio of trouble makers, huh?” Gilthunder mumbled.
Someone tugged at Howzer’s pants and he looked down to see Lena.
“You guys want me to help?” she asked with a smile.
Gilthunder smiled at her. “You’ve helped us a lot already. We can’t ask you for more,” he said, remembering how she had helped them with the previous research.
“Oh, come on, please? The rest are probably gonna be drinking again!” Lena pouted.
Griamore chuckled and ruffled her hair. “You’re too kind, Lena,” he said.
“Your research is also helping mine, so please? And I feel like I’m getting close to the answer,” Lena smiled, playing with a necklace that had a red ruby on it.
“A-Actually, you can help us with this,” Howzer started, kneeling down at her level. “Where do you think we should start?” he asked.
Lena hummed. “Look where Dreyfus was always at, like, his study or his room. That’s what I think, at least,” she said.
“Lena? Come on, now!” Hideyoshi called.
Lena sighed. “Well, good luck, guys!” she said, running towards the rest.
Gilthunder smiled. “She’s one of the nicest kids I know. A shame she doesn’t know about herself,” he said, his smile faltering.
“Yeah. I feel kinda bad, lying to her even though she helped us so much with research,” Howzer said.
Griamore started to chuckle. Then he was full on laughing, clutching his stomach.
“What’s so funny, Griamore?” Howzer asked.
“What Meliodas said before. Back when we were boys and you two caused trouble, I always got dragged into it, too. And we’d get yelled at by Uncle Zaratras and my dad. They’d call us the trio of troublemakers,” Griamore explained.
Howzer chuckled. “Oh right! I remember that!” he said.
“Actually, I was always the one who got dragged into your mischief,” Gilthunder said.
“And another thing. It’s true that they were always scolding us, but didn’t Hendrickson stand up for us all the time?” Howzer asked.
Everyone stared angrily at the floor.
“Guys?” Howzer started. “I believe we should take Merlin’s advice. We should try and search for the truth,” he said.
“How would we even begin?” Griamore asked.
Howzer scratched his head and stayed silent.
“Didn’t you guys hear Lena? Search for the place he was at most. Let’s look in Grand Master Dreyfus’ room,” Gilthunder said.
~With Hendrickson~
A bright beam shot up in the sky.
Hendrickson poured his blood on the familiar seel that brought the Demon Race’s down fall.
“From the valley of eternity! From the edge of oblivion!” Hendrickson shouted, raising his hands. “From an ending slumber! Disappear! Innocent curse!” he shouted, his body crumbling away.
~With the Sins~
“Captain,” Diane said. “Did you figure out what the king’s omen meant?” she asked.
“No. Not yet, anyway. The only thing I feel I have a pretty good grasp of is that something huge might happen in Camelot,” Meliodas said.
The ground suddenly started to shake and everying gasped.
“WHAT’S WITH THIS SHAKING?!” Hawk screamed.
“Hey, what’s going on?!” Diane asked, looking around.
Hawk started to run in circles. “AH! IT FEELS LIKE THE END OF THE WORLD!” Hawk stopped, looking at Meliodas. “Huh? What’s gotten into you, Meliodas? It’s not like you to freak out like this.”
Gowther looked at Meliodas “The captain’s definitely acting strange,” he said.
Meliodas’ hand shook. He then clenched it into a fist. He looked up, his eyes holding a dangerous gleam in them. “I knew it...they’ve come back..!”
~With Hendrickson~
Hendrickson layed on the ground, looking normal again. He grunted, slowly opening his eyes. He looked up and saw somebody standing next to him.
“Wait...Dreyfus?” he asked.
“You did very well,” Dreyfus said. He had a marking over his pitch black eyes. “The ceremony is now complete.”
Hendrickson tried to get up, but he just stood on his knee. “Dreyfus...those eyes and that pattern on your face…” he mumbled, anger evident in his voice.
“To show my gratitude for your usefulness, I will allow you to live. Besides, it’s what this man asked me to do,” Dreyfus said. He waved him off. “You’re free to go wherever you like.”
Hendrickson slowly got on his feet and glared at him. “Free to go? What in the world are you talking about?!”
Something stepped behind Dreyfus.
Hendrickson gasped at the power. He saw ten dark things behind him. “Wait...what’s this abnormal presence I’m sensing?” Hendrickson questioned.
Dreyfus smirked. “It’s been 3,000, but we’ve finally returned.”
A cold sweat covered Hendrickson’s body, looking at the people behind Dreyfus.
“3,000 years, huh? Please tell me that he’s still alive…”
Hendrickson shook. That voice...I know it!
“I’ll see you soon, Meliodas,” Someone said. He smirked and narrowed his eyes.
Since it's Thanksgiving break, I have a lot of free time. I am also dying because in sick, but oh well. HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!