I do not own Seven Deadly Sins or any of their characters. As of now, I've started the manga, and am about halfway through the fight with Hendrickson.


Resting

Oswald spun around Dale as Dale slashed downward at him, then slashed in return. Dale deflected the strike with his sword, the one Oswald had originally given Meliodas, and had reforged after it broke, then stabbed at Oswald. Oswald blocked it and stepped forward, punching at Dale, who dropped under the punch, then moved to trip Oswald. Oswald jumped over it, then flipped, slashing downward at Dale. Dale twisted, blocking the blade and caught Oswald's arm. Oswald flipped, planting his feet, and spun, hurling Dale. As Dale crashed to the ground, King's small blades began to rain down around Oswald. The first few went unchecked, and shredded Oswald's shirt, though King kept them far enough away to keep him from being wounded, before Oswald spun, deflecting a few before managing to form his Heaven's Shield, blocking the rest. King relented in his assault as Dale reached Oswald, only for Oswald to spin, sweeping Dale's legs out from under him, then stab the ground beside his head as he landed.

"Impressive," Dale said. "You're really strong. You're at least Holy Knight Apprentice level, maybe almost Holy Knight level."

"Thanks," Oswald said. "I was a little worried you'd lose all your power after I took that thing out of you, but you're still really strong too."

"And yet I lost to a blacksmith," Dale chuckled.

"I'm heading back to the others," King said. "You might want to change your shirt."

"You're probably right," Oswald nodded, looking down at his practically shredded shirt.

He and Dale began to walk back toward the bar, King flying on ahead.

"So, you said that Guila is a part of a 'New Generation' of Holy Knights who all gained power suddenly?" Dale asked.

"That's what King said," Oswald nodded. "You said she's your daughter, right?"

Dale nodded. "So then, she probably has a demon seed as well."

"What did you do?" Oswald asked. "What is the 'New Generation?'"

"They're experiments," Dale said. "They're false Holy Knights who gained power by drinking the blood of a demon."

Oswald nodded. "I thought it was something like that. The demon seed was in your stomach, so it had to be something you ate or drank."

Dale nodded as they reached the bar just as King dropped a shirt to Oswald before flying off to where Diane was drinking. Oswald sighed and pulled what remained of his shirt off.

"What's that?" Ban's voice asked from off to the side, Oswald glancing at him.

He followed Ban's line of sight to his own left shoulder, seeing what Ban was staring at. A circle on his shoulder with a pair of wings spreading out from the sides, formed from three waving lines each, then with a thin arrow, with the head barely bigger than the shaft, extending about two inches from the bottom of the circle.

"Is that a tattoo?" Ban asked, the others all looking over curiously, Meliodas's eyes widening a fraction of an inch.

Oswald raised his right hand to the mark, memories playing behind his eyes as he covered it with his hand. "It's a reminder of my sin. It's a mark of shame." He pulled on the shirt, covering the mark.

"Your sin?" Ban asked. "Hah! What do you know about sin? We're the Seven Deadly Sins! We embody sins."

"And my entire existence is sin," Oswald said. "I understand well enough, Ban. I killed my mother before I was even born."

Ban was silent for a moment before laughing. "Well alright then! You can be the eighth deadly sin! The Sin of Existence!" he began to laugh. "We just need to get you a creature to label you as!"

"You're too drunk Ban," Meliodas said. "Are you okay Oswald?"

"I'm fine," Oswald said. "He can't say anything I haven't heard before."

"Alright then," Meliodas said, turning to Gowther. "What're you thinking about Gowther?"

"We do not have any two members of the same race," Gowther said.

"We have three humans," Meliodas said. "Oswald, Liz, and Dale."

"I was not including Dale, since he is only staying with us for a short while," Gowther said. "Barring him, Oswald-"

"Gowther," Oswald said, suspecting what Gowther might say, and dreading it. "You looked through my memories, didn't you?"

"I did," Gowther nodded. "I wished to see if you were an enemy or not."

"If you've seen my memories, you should stop talking," Oswald said. "That's one secret that I intend to take to the grave with me, and I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

"Very well," Gowther nodded.

"Wait, you're not human?" Meliodas asked.

"I don't think you can judge, can you?" Oswald asked. "You've been that age for at least ten years. Longer, probably."

Meliodas nodded. "That's fair. Anyway, I'm going back to drinking."

"Captain," Oswald said, Meliodas pausing. "I just want you to know, you were always my hero when I was growing up. You always followed your heart, and never let anyone tell you that you were wrong. Even if it meant being a traitor. I always wanted to be like you. You may be the Dragon Sin of Wrath, but I believe you are also the virtue of love."

Meliodas stared at him for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Thanks."

Then, he walked away. Oswald sighed and walked over to a table and sitting down. Elizabeth walked over with a mug of ale but he shook his head.

"I can't stomach ale," he said. "Do you have anything stronger?"

Elizabeth thought for a moment before turning to Meliodas. "Sir Meliodas, is there anything stronger than Ale in the bar?"

Everyone went silent, turning to stare at Oswald seriously. He raised an eyebrow as everything remained dead silent for several long seconds, even the breeze holding its breath.

"Challenge accepted," Meliodas said finally.

"Challenge?" Oswald asked as Meliodas headed for the door. "No, I'm not challenging anyone. I just don't like ale."

After a moment, Meliodas walked back out with a liquor bottle between each finger and a cheer rang out from the Sins who had been drinking, Oswald groaning and holding a hand to his face. He was going to regret asking. He just knew it.


Oswald groaned, trying to lift his arm, or his leg, or his head. Everything was spinning. For a moment, he wondered how he had ended up in such a sorry state. But then his hand closed around something and his head fell to the side, staring at the empty glass bottle and he groaned again as he remembered. After Meliodas had brought the bottles, he and the others had begun to drink heavily. Oswald had only meant to drink a little, but then Meliodas had all but forced him into a game of dares by threatening to fight him if he didn't do it, and whenever he failed to accomplish whatever task he was assigned, he had to drink. So, here he was, hung over, lying on the ground, and regretting his life choices.

"We're going to sneak into the capital and steal back my sword," Meliodas's voice said, drawing Oswald back to the present. "We may only have five of us, plus Oswald, but with those five the plan should be totally possible. Who's with me?"

"Too much trouble," Ban replied. "I'll pass."

"It's your own fault that it got stolen," King shrugged.

"It's your responsibility," Gowther agreed.

Meliodas was silent as Oswald sat up, only to see Meliodas dart over to Elizabeth, shoving his head up her skirt. "Comfort me."

"There there," Elizabeth said, patting his head through the material of her skirt, face bright red but not seeming too offended by his actions, which Oswald suspected was pretty common.

"Captain!" Diane shrieked, her head breaking through the wall where a window had been a moment before.

"I'll help," Oswald said, using a table to stand.

"You will?" Meliodas asked, turning to look at him.

"Yes," Oswald nodded. "I recognized your sword's handle back in Vaizel. It's a green snake curved into a circle with three spikes on its head and a ruby for an eye, right?"

"That's right," Meliodas nodded.

"Yeah, we definitely don't need that falling into the hands of someone feeding Holy Knight Apprentices demon blood," Oswald said. "We need to get that thing back before it's too late."

Meliodas nodded.

"Why?" Ban asked. "What's so special about it?"

"It's a key," Oswald said, everyone staring at him. "It open's Meliodas's stolen panty stash."

Everyone stared at him before turning to Meliodas.

"That's right," Meliodas nodded. "I worked hard to collect them."

"I don't know if you two are joking or not," Ban said before sighing heavily.

"We're joking," Meliodas said, everyone else falling off their seats dramatically. "The truth is that the hilt of my sword is a fragment of the Coffin of Eternal Darkness."

"The Coffin of Eternal Darkness?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's a seal," Oswald said, staring down at the bar in front of himself. "Long ago, during the war between the five races, The Goddess Race used the coffin to seal away the Demon Clan, ending the war."

"So then, the Holy Knights really do intend to unleash the Demon Clan!" Elizabeth gasped. "But why?"

"Holy War," Oswald said bitterly. "They want to restart the war against the Demon Clan, the war that brought the Holy Knights their name, rank, political power, and that was the cause of an entire generation of Holy Knights that put the current generation to shame. That generation was forged by the rigors and struggles of war. The generation now is soft in comparison. So, the Holy Knights mean to unleash the Demon Clan once again in order to use the war to gain power once again, as well as to justify their own existence. They're warriors with no enemy now. They seek to correct that mistake."

"They can't be that crazy," Ban said. "Right?"

"You tell me," Oswald said. "Everything I've said so far has been speculation."

"So then, if that's all true, and they already have your sword, then, do you think they've already released the seal, Sir Meliodas?" Elizabeth asked.

"Nah, it's a powerful seal," Meliodas said. "I'm sure if it was released there'd be some sort of sign."

Just then, a loud roaring began to reverberate through the bar.

"The sign!" Hawk shouted, sweating profusely. "The sign it's here!"

"You've just gotta take a dump," Meliodas said.

"I've got to go release the seal!" Hawk shouted, then sprinted out the door.

"But, wait, why do they need Elizabeth?" King asked.

"Because she's the final key to releasing the seal," a feminine voice said from behind Elizabeth.

Everyone spun, seeing a woman in a red dress with some kind of egg-shaped metal helmet around their head, before the woman set her hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and vanished, taking Elizabeth with her. less than a second later, Meliodas landed where they had been, shouting in rage and grabbing his sword, sprinting out of the bar.

"What happened?" Diane asked, King flying out to her.

"Elizabeth was just taken away by someone!" King said.

"It was teleportation," Oswald said, standing and pulling his sword on. "She'll be in Liones now."

"Why there?" Ban asked.

"Because I can sense the Coffin of Eternal Darkness," Oswald said. "Have been sensing it since I woke up. It's almost open. It just requires the blood sacrifice."

"Blood sacrifice!?" Diane gasped.

"With a seal that strong, they needed a powerful spell," Oswald said. "Blood spells may be frowned upon, but there's no denying they're extremely powerful."

He walked outside as Meliodas asked Diane to get him to the Capital. Ban picked Meliodas up from behind, and then Gowther grabbed ban from behind. Then, Diane picked them up and skipped forward a few times before hurling them, sending them speeding away.

"Alright," Oswald said. "I guess we should get going too."

"Don't expect me to throw you," Diane said. "You'd die."

"Do either of you have another idea?" Oswald asked.

"I do," King said. "I can get you there in an instant."

"Well why the hell didn't you do that with Meliodas?" Oswald asked.

"He didn't give me a chance," King shrugged. He held two fingers to his lips and whistled, a small purple portal forming over him. A small black tail poked out of it, wiggling for a moment before an entire black and yellow dog-like creature fell through.

"Is that a dog?" Diane asked.

"Actually it's a Black Hound," King said. "It's a special kind of fairy that lives between the human world and the fairy realm. And he's an old friend of mine."

"And he's exactly what we need," Oswald said. "Black Hounds can teleport whatever they swallow to a different place. I'll go first."

King nodded and the Black Hound, Oslo King called him, grew until he was big enough to swallow Diane. Then, he lay down, opening his mouth, and Oswald quickly ran into his mouth and through the swirling purple portal at the back of his throat.


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