Coco: Okay, guys, I've just decided to give you the rest of the arc, so after this chapter there will be one more before we leave Monroe's mini arc and move on to the Necropolis Arc. I wasn't going to just throw the entire arc at you, but with my work schedule being pretty wonky and me not knowing when I'll be able t post again, I don't want to leave you hanging. So, I hope you enjoy these next two chapters.

Ban stood on top of a roof in Carina as he tried to search for any sign of anything suspicious. After Diane and Hawk returned, Meliodas split them up into two teams. Ban went into the town with Hawk hoping the pig could pick something up despite the heavy rainfall, which hasn't let up at all.

Diane and Meliodas searched the forest surrounding the tavern. Meliodas promised Ban they wouldn't be too far away from the tavern, so if anyone slipped passed them, they'd be able to get back to the girls in time to protect them. Ban's teeth grit together when he still couldn't find a sign of the Arachne.

"Do you see anything from up there?!" Hawk called up to him.

Ban frowned because he didn't, and the longer he couldn't find whoever hurt his girl, the more agitated he was becoming. Ban then jumped down from the floor to land beside Hawk.

"I couldn't see anything suspicious from up there." Ban said then started moving to try and see if he could find any clues while on the ground.

Hawk ran alongside him while trying to pick up any scents though it was hard with all this rain. However, he came to a screeching halt when he did manage to pick up Monroe and Elizabeth's lingering scent. He sniffed the ground closely as Ban noticed he had stopped.

"Did you find something, Master?" Ban asked.

"The girls lingered here for a second," Hawk said as he continued to sniff the ground. "And there's an odd smell mixed with Monroe's scent. It's really gross—insecty."

"I believe you mean arachnidy." A voice cut in from behind the pair.

The two whirled around seeing a tall, lanky figure with a cloak around him, which made it impossible to make out any distinguishing marks. However, Ban noticed the spider emblem on the man's cloak.

"Spiders aren't insects, you see," The man continued. "There is a difference."

"Like I care about the difference!" Hawk snapped. "You're the ones who hurt Monroe, you bastard."

The man chuckled seeming amused by Hawk's anger, which only angered the pig more.

"Arachne," Ban growled as he cracked his fingers as they curled and uncurled. "You got two seconds to hand over the antidote for Mo before I kill you and take it off your dead body."

The man didn't seem to concerned with Ban's threat as he crossed his arms casually over his chest.

"Mo?" He hummed. "Oh, you must mean Monroe—our target. Sorry, but I can't help you, Ban the Fox's Sin of Greed. I was given very strict orders to kill her, which is why I had one of my deadliest spiders take of nip at her. If she's still alive even after just one little bite, I'd say she isn't human. You see, the venom of the Venenum Aranea is so deadly not even dragons can fight off their poison. We were told to kill her in one bite if possible. Our client seems very frightened of her power, and I can see why if she still breaths."

Ban felt his anger rising dangerously high as he continued to glare at the man in front of them.

"Who the hell put a hit out on Mo?" Ban demanded.

"Sorry but that kind of information is confidential," Th man said shaking his finger at Ban. "I hope you understand."

Ban was getting really fed up with this guy, and he was going to enjoy beating him to a pulp.

"Now, I'm sure you're not just going to walk away to be with Miss Monroe in her final minutes," The man said as he pulled a dagger from underneath his cloak. "So, how's about we have some fun, hmm?"

"I'm going to enjoy breaking very last bone in your body," Ban said glaring darkly at the man. "And after I'm done doing that, I'll be taking the antidote to Mo."

The man chuckled seeming pleased with what was about to transpire. Hawk on the other hand felt very frightened as he looked between the two men as they faced off.

"Careful, Ban of the Seven Deadly Sins, your anger might be just what kills that girl in the end." The man said. "It's blinding you."

Before Ban could demand to know just what the man was talking about, the Arachne assassin jumped forward. He spun in the air to lash out his foot and as Ban blocked it with his hands the ground cracked and caved slightly from the force of the kick. Hawk squealed in shock before hurrying to get out of the way. Ban grit his teeth together as he tried to remain standing.

"You see my magical power is known as double," The assassin said. "I can double my physical strength by how strong my opponent is. It seems as if you just might be outmatched."

The assassin then brought down his dagger to stab Ban right in his throat, which caused it to fill with blood. Ban gagged spitting out the blood as he was choking on it. He swung out his fist to get the assassin to jump back away from him. The assassin took the dagger with him, which allowed Ban's neck wound to heal up.

"That's not a bad power," Ban said. "But you don't have me beat by a long shot."

Ban then held out his hand, and at first nothing seemed to happen. However, the assassin grunted when he suddenly felt weak. He fell to his knees wondering what happened.

"What the hell is this?" The assassin asked. "My strength just left me."

"You should have really done your research on us before you decided to hurt someone precious to us," Ban said. "If you had maybe you'd know what my magical power is and what it can do to guys like you with a lot of power."

Ban then jumped forward with his fist drawn back. The assassin couldn't even move in time to avoid the punch as it came sailing at his face. Once it made contact, he was sent flying. He crashed into a thick brick wall, which cracked and shuddered from the impact. Ban didn't let up though as he landed in front of the guy to pick him up. Ban punched him up into the air then jumped after him. Once above the assassin, Ban kicked him in the side to send him back flying towards the ground. A carter was formed from the assassin's impact, and he coughed with blood flying from his mouth.

"Did he steal my physical power?" The assassin asked out loud as he rolled over onto his hands and knees.

He raised his head to look to Ban as the man walked forward with a cold, murderous look in his eyes. The assassin felt a shudder pass through him. He had no idea someone this strong existed. He then shook his head knowing he had to keep his cool.

"Even if you did steal my strength, all I have to do is double it again!" The assassin said as he forced himself to stand.

However, even as he tried to use his power, he felt nothing change, which had him confused.

"You can't double zero." Ban said. "And right now, that's how much physical strength you have. So, I guess this means I win."

Before the man could even think to beg for mercy, Ban grabbed him by the neck cutting off his windpipe. He tried to claw Ban's hand away but wasn't about to let him get away so easily.

"Now, you going to hand over that antidote?" Ban asked. "Either way you're going to die, but you play nice and I won't just beat you bloody until you stop breathing."

Despite the situation, the assassin chuckled with his lips turning up into a smirk. Hawk's stomach just dropped at the sight of the twisted, grin.

"I don't have it." The man said. "You can go on and kill me. Take your time too if you want, but I don't have the antidote."

"What?" Ban demanded as he tightened his hold around the assassin's neck.

The assassin cackled as he let his hands fall limp to his side. He wasn't going to make it out of here alive, so there was no point.

"The antidote for the Venenum Aranea's venom is very hard to come by." The assassin said. "Even for us—Arachne—who handle them constantly. We only had one vile, and instead of splitting it up amongst the three of us we decided to let one of us carry it.."

"Three?" Ban questioned.

The assassin nodded his head as Ban partially let up his grip around the assassin's neck.

"I was to distract whoever came to the town, and I believe I've distracted you along enough," The assassin explained. "One other was to distract or lure out anyone you might have left at the that tavern."

The earth suddenly shook around them, and Ban turned his head feeling Diane's magical power flare up close by.

"Seems as if that distraction was a success as well," The assassin said. "Which means our third partner is clear to go in and finish off Monroe—if she isn't already dead. And either one of them could have the antidote. So even if she were still alive, the clock's ticking."

The assassin continued to laugh, but it was cut off short when Ban snapped his neck like a twig. Ban dropped his lifeless body to the ground causing Hawk to flinch back.

"Master, run to the Captain and Diane." Ban instructed as he knelt down to check and see if the man had been lying and had an antidote after all. "Tell them what this sleaze bag said. Make sure they take care of that assassin and check him for an antidote."

"Ok—okay," Hawk said. "But what are you going to do?"

"I'm going back to the tavern." Ban said as he saw the man hadn't been lying. "I'm not letting one of the arachnid freaks hurt Mo. I'll kill every last one of them if I have too."

Hawk was about to ask what Ban meant by "arachnid freak" but the pig gasped when seeing the man's face for the first time after Ban had removed his cloak. He had multiple eyes like a spider with dark, hard looking skin. He even had what looked like pinchers coming from his mouth. Hawk shook his head knowing he didn't have the time to stand around and stare at this guy.

"Okay, I'm going then!" Hawk said then took off running in one direction.

"I'm counting on you, Master," Ban said then hurried back in the direction the tavern's in.

"This guy is good at dodging," Meliodas said as the assassin they were fighting dodged and disappeared into the trees again.

Diane frowned while quickly pinpointing his location. She gave a shout while throwing her fist out at the tree she sensed him in. He managed to jump out of the way just in time before throwing out some throwing knives at Diane. The giant held up her braced arm to block the dagger, which became embedded in the brace.

"He's really starting to get on my nerves." Diane said frowning.

Meliodas hummed in agreement then jumped at the guy at the blinding speed. He managed to kick the Arachne Assassin in the gut, which sent the assassin into a tree. The assassin let out a choking cough as the air was forced out of his lungs. Meliodas then landed on him hard with both of his feet out. This caved in the assassin's chest, and he gagged as blood started sputtering out of his mouth.

"I'm done playing," Meliodas said as he placed his hand on hilt of his sword. "Hand over the antidote."

The assassin reached towards his cloak slowly then pulled out a bottle of clear liquid. He shakily held it out to Meliodas. The blonde took it while giving it a look over. They didn't want to make Monroe any worse, so they had to be sure what they had was the antidote.

"This it?" Meliodas asked the assassin while narrowing his eyes.

The assassin nodded his head, and for a moment Meliodas just stared at the assassin. He finally nodded in return before pocketing the antidote.

"You don't have much longer, so I'd just relax if I were you." Meliodas said as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Meliodas and Diane then turned to look to the right when Hawk came running through the bushes.

"Meliodas!" Hawk called. "We need to hurry! We—! Wait, you already beat the guy?!"

"Yep," Meliodas said. "Got the antidote too."

"Well, hurry, let's go!" Hawk said. "The guy Ban fought told us that he and this guy here were just distractions. They sent another assassin after Monroe who's back at the tavern defenseless with Elizabeth! Ban's already on his way there!"

The two Sins didn't have to be told twice. The group of three hurried back towards the tavern with Diane's large steps getting her closer—faster. She hoped Monroe and Elizabeth were alright.

Monroe let out a huff as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position on the bed. Her mind was starting to clear and her body didn't feel as weak as before. Her regenerative abilities were finally making it somewhere with riding herself of the poison. Usually her healing happens instantly and without fail. But whatever this poison was—it was giving her healing abilities a run for their money.

"You should just lie still," Elizabeth said as she reached out to place her hands on Monroe's shoulders. "I'm sure the others will be back soon with the antidote. There isn't a reason for you to push yourself."

Monroe gently moved Elizabeth's hands from off her shoulders as she managed to sit up completely.

"It's okay," Monroe said. "I feel a lot better now. Really."

Elizabeth still looked worried but nodded her head as she sat back in the chair she had placed by the bed.

"I'm glad." Elizabeth said. "I was really worried—I still am."

Monroe reached out to pat Elizabeth on the head as the silver-haired girl let out a sigh.

"I'm not going to die anytime soon, Elizabeth." Monroe said. "I can promise you that. I always keep my promises, don't I?"

Elizabeth nodded her head while feeling a bit better with Monroe's reassurance.

"You really shouldn't make promises you are unable keep." A voice said from behind Monroe.

Monroe whirled around as Elizabeth gasped. There standing in the window was slim man wearing a cloak. He was crouched in the windowsill while holding dagger in one hand. Elizabeth moved to place herself between Monroe and the assassin.

"I won't let you hurt Monroe." Elizabeth said firmly.

Elizabeth knew she couldn't do much, but she'd hold this assassin at bay until Meliodas or Ban or Diane could come back. Even Hawk would be a very welcomed sight about now.

"Cute," The assassin mocked. "You're not on the hit list, Princess. You should step aside and let me do my job, or you might become a casualty. Besides, she's dead anyway with that poison inside of her. I'm kind of surprised I'm not here to pick up a corpse. So, why risk yourself for a dead woman?"

"I won't move!" Elizabeth said firmly. "I'll protect Monroe with my life! And the others will return with the antidote, I know they will."

The assassin chuckled dryly before he launched himself. Elizabeth closed her eyes expecting the worst, but she gasped as she was suddenly shoved out of the way. Her eyes snapped open just in enough time to see Monroe had been slashed down her back with blood gushing everywhere.

"Nooo!" Elizabeth screamed shrilly as Monroe coughed hacking up some blood.

Downstairs Ban bust through the door of the tavern looking around to see that all seemed normal on the first floor. There wasn't any sign of a disturbance anywhere. However, a piercing scream that sounded like Elizabeth reached his ears, and he quickly took off up the steps. He hurried to the room he shared with Monroe. He saw the door was opened, so he simply ran inside without pause. What he saw had his heart completely stopping. Monroe had blood gushing from her back as she was falling forward on the bed, which was being stained red.

"Hmm, looks like the job was a success after all." The assassin said. "Works for me."

Elizabeth let out a sob as she crawled over to the bed to reach for Monroe who was slumped over completely now. Ban just remained rooted in place unable to believe what he was seeing. He couldn't be too late. He just couldn't.

"No, this can't be happening," Elizabeth said as she reached out to hug Monroe's head to her chest. "Please, no. Please, don't let this be real. You can't be dead. You promised me you wouldn't die. You promised!"

Elizabeth let out another sob as Ban fell to his knees at the door—completely unnoticed by the others in the room.

"And I always keep my promises," Monroe's muffled reply reached her ears. "So, don't cry, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth gasped while pulling back to look at Monroe in shock as the silver-haired girl sat up in the bed. Ban watched in utter shock as well as Monroe let out a sigh while rolling her shoulders making them pop. The assassin behind her watched in horror as the large gash on her back closed up before his very eyes.

"I suppose I should thank-you," Monroe said as she jumped from the bed to land beside Elizabeth who was stunned silent. "Losing a lot of blood seemed to flush my system of the venom. My body is reacting so much better now."

Monroe turned to face the assassin giving Elizabeth and Ban complete view of the Monroe's healed back. If there wasn't a large gash in the back of her shirt, no one would even know she had been attacked in the first place.

"Though I'm also upset." Monroe said. "Because of you my secret's out of the bag."

She looked annoyed as she said this as if what had just happened was no more than an irritation to her.

"Just what the hell are you?" The assassin demanded. "You can't be human!"

"I was once," Monroe said. "But for the last eight years…well, even I'm not sure what you'd call me. Something I do know though is that you won't be leaving this tavern alive."

The assassin felt his heart stop in his chest as he looked up into Monroe's cold, hardened eyes. However, the assassin steeled his nerves as he gripped his dagger tightly. He launched himself at her, but she grabbed his wrist to stop his dagger from impaling her head. The dagger's tip was an inch away from her eye, but she didn't seem too concerned as she forced the dagger away. Then in a split second a loud, sickening snap sounded through the air followed by the man screamed in pain as he dropped to the ground holding his wrist.

"Princess Elizabeth, close your eyes." Monroe said as she grabbed her sword. "You don't need to see this."

Elizabeth did as she was told while feeling her stomach drop since she knew what was coming. She knew the assassin would just continue to try and kill Monroe if left alive, but she hated it when anyone had to die. It made her feel sick. Monroe drew her sword while turning towards the assassin.

"I apologize for this," Monroe said. "In all honesty, I avoid taking anyone's life if at all possible, but sometimes that isn't an option."

Monroe swung her sword a moment later with it cleanly taking the assassin's head off. Both head and body fell to the floor as Monroe let out a sigh. Cleaning this room up was going to be extremely difficult.

"…Mo…"

Monroe stiffened with her heart stopping in her chest as his familiar voice reached her ears. She slowly turned around noticing Ban at the doorway.

'How long has be been there?' She wondered as horror colored her mind.

Based on his expression Monroe would say he's been there for quite some time. Meaning he saw everything. The one person she didn't want knowing more than anyone else just witnessed her heal from a killing blow. He saw she couldn't be killed. She didn't want this. To make matters worse, Monroe heard Hawk and Meliodas burst through the door downstairs. They'd be up here in a few seconds and want an explanation. What was she going to tell them?

"Roe," Diane's voice came to her through the opened window.

Monroe turned around to look at the giant seeing her concerned expression as her eyes took in the bloodied room. Monroe felt her knees shake underneath her as her world started to spin.

'This isn't how I wanted to tell them,' She thought. 'Why did it have to happen like this?'

She felt tears collect around her eyes as Meliodas and Hawk made it to the room. They both paused with shocked looks on their faces as they took in the scene. All their eyes were on her, and it just made the tears roll down her cheeks as her body shook. She finally fell to her knees, which had Elizabeth scrambling towards her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Monroe kept repeating even as Elizabeth put her arms around her. "I'm sorry."

Elizabeth held Monroe tightly as the older woman shook almost violently in her arms. A sob left Monroe's body as the tears continued to flow.

After Monroe had calmed down, Elizabeth guided her to the bathroom to wash the blood off of her. It was all that assassin's blood on her with her own either being stained on the bed or absorbed back into her body when she healed. Monroe hasn't made a sound since she stopped crying, and she wasn't able to look any of the others in the eye as Elizabeth guided her passed them. Elizabeth had Monroe sit on the stool beside the bathtub. As the princess started running the water, Monroe looked up at her.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Monroe questioned.

Elizabeth shook her head as she was making sure the water wasn't too hot to the touch.

"No," Elizabeth said as she looked to Monroe. "I don't know what happened in there, but we've known each other all my life. You've been my protector and my dearest friend. I know those two things for certain. I know you'd never hurt me or any of us. Of course, I wish to know what has happened, but I won't pressure you into telling me."

Monroe sighed as Elizabeth turned off the water once it the tub was completely full.

"I'm sure the others wish to know as well." Monroe said. "I'm surprised they haven't started asking questions already."

After seeing the looks on their faces, Monroe wasn't even sure if she could face them. But they deserved an explanation.

"I'll tell everyone together," Monroe said as she stood to strip out of her clothes. "I just need a bit of time too myself."

She then stepped into the tub with it already starting to turn pink as the blood started to wash off of her.

"Of course," Elizabeth said as she stood to leave. "Just call if you need anything."

Monroe nodded as Elizabeth left the room with Hawk waiting outside for her. Once the door was closed, Monroe slumped backwards letting out another sigh. She covered her face with her hands as she tried to figure out what she was going to do. What would she tell the others? How would they react? She wasn't sure if she could handle their rejection if they decided to give it to her.

Ban sat at the bar in the tavern while knocking back his fifth bottle of ale. His face was turning a bit red from all the alcohol, but it didn't bring him his usually happy buzz. Meliodas sat with him while holding a mug in his hand, but unlike Ban, he couldn't bring himself to drink. Diane watched them both silently from the open doorway while ignoring the rain as it continued to fall. The three then looked towards the stairs as Elizabeth and Hawk came down to join them.

"Is she okay?" Meliodas asked.

Elizabeth shook her head sadly while taking a seat at one of the tables. Hawk sat on the floor next to her while giving a heavy sigh.

"It's almost as if she's numb right now." Elizabeth said. "But I can tell she's worried about how we will all react once she tells us everything. I believe she's worried about being rejected by us."

Ban's hand clenched the bottle tightly as Elizabeth said that. He blamed himself for that one. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her once everything was over with. He just didn't know how to react. He thought he lost her there for a few agonizing seconds, but then she healed up as if it was nothing—just like him. She even said she wasn't human anymore. Just what happened to his Mo in the last ten years they've been away?

"That's silly," Diane said. "We could never reject her. Besides, it's not like any of us are normal."

"Yeah, but she went at great lengths to keep this a secret it seems." Meliodas said. "I thought things were a bit off when she fought that Holy Knight apprentice. She caught his sword bare-handed, but there were no signs of cuts on her hand. But her sleeve had obviously took some damage. It just didn't add up."

"Now that you mention it," Elizabeth said. "There was this incident when we were younger. Monroe has been training with some Holy Knights apprentices, and I was watching nearby with my sister Veronica. Monroe was taking on three of them at once, and at one point, we could have sworn she had been cut. I thought I could see the blood, but not even a second later there was no signs of it. I brushed it off thinking I just imagined it."

Elizabeth was starting to realize she hadn't just imaged it though. Monroe had gotten hurt that day, but it healed so quickly, many didn't notice she had been hurt at all.

"There's no way she could have found something similar to what you did, right, Ban?" Diane asked.

"There was only one Fountain of Youth," Ban said finally speaking up. "So, no."

But he wanted to know why Monroe healed they way she had, and why she had tried to keep it a secret from them—from him. He wanted to understand.

"And who sent those assassins after her?" Meliodas asked. "Do you think she knows?"

No one had an answer for that. Questions like that would just have to wait until Monroe felt like sharing.