The horror that I had first seen on Harlequin's face had stricken deep into my heart before I could even comprehend the meaning behind what I was seeing. A giant red monster with four heads towered over me and Zephyr. In the center of the four eyeless faces, the upper body of a man was lodged in the flesh. He appeared to be unconscious, but his expression was pained. The monster that he was a part of, on the other hand, was very much so not unconscious. Something akin to bloodlust radiated from it, accompanied by… demon energy? Something about the feeling that this thing gave off made it feel like a demon, yet also not.
Before it had a chance to strike, some kind of instinct kicked in and I dropped my cloak. "Dyrnwyn Third Form: Spider Silk!" I shouted, whipping the fabric at the beast before it was engulfed in glowing light and transformed. With a flick of my fingers, clear threads thinner than hair swarmed around the beast, tightening around it like a net.
The demon tried to lift an arm, but the threads cut into it, causing lines of blood to form. When moving didn't work, one of its mouths started to crack open in my direction.
Zinnia, we need to move! Came Zephyr's voice, but it was drowned out by another.
"Zinnia-san!" Harlequin cried behind me.
At just that moment - before I could even make to dodge whatever it was the monster was doing - Meliodas shot out of nowhere, slashing at it with a sword that wasn't his. This caused the monster to stagger back slightly and close its mouth. But, instead of deterring it, this only angered the beast. One of its other mouths opened, releasing a stream of steaming liquid from it. The thick, dark fluid melted the shield in Meliodas' non-sword-wielding hand immediately upon contact, forcing him to throw the shield away.
In the middle of these heartbeats, Zephyr and I made our way a little ways away - hopefully out of range of the creature's attacks. Guessing that it was probably safe near where Harlequin was floating, I lead Zephyr over there. As I moved, I flicked my hand again, tightening the strings that I had wound around the monster, in order to make sure it couldn't escape from Dyrnwyn's hold.
Before I could even fully turn back to see what was happening, Meliodas leapt back from the beast, landing beside me.
"What are you doing here?" Meliodas exclaimed unhappily. "I thought I said that you were staying behind at the tavern!"
I crossed my arms. "Well I never agreed to that." I puffed out my cheeks and tilted my head away, trying to pretend that I was offended or that I was at least strong-willed, but on the inside I was terrified. Why did I even come here?! I'm in way over my head! I tucked a length of hair behind my ear. "I can be helpful! I restrained it - see?" I gestured to where the demon was struggling to try to free its arms from the tangle of threads. Each time it tried to move an arm, more dark blood poured down its body. I had been careful to avoid touching the human body with the threads, just to be safe, since I didn't fully understand what was going on.
Sadly, as soon as I pointed out what I had done, some of the leftover acid from its previous attack dripped down from its lips, landing directly on a thick patch of thread. The acid ate directly through the strings, melting away the flesh underneath along with it. A series of snaps followed this, and the thread unraveled, falling to its feet.
"Oh, fu-"
"Zinnia! You need to get out of here. Now." Meliodas commanded, before jumping back into the fray.
I yanked Dyrnwyn back towards me, transforming it back into a cloak in the process, but when it reached my side, I was quite distressed. "Dyrnwyn! There's holes all in it!" When I clutched the garment to my chest, the areas around the holes started to glow a faint green. "What's happening?"
"It's mending itself," Harlequin said matter-of-factly. He was still watching the fight beside me, unable to join. The shattered pieces of his Chastiefol floating beside him were surrounded by a similar light to the one that marked my cloak.
Zinnia, we should go back to the Boar's Hat, as Meliodas-sama said. The look in his eyes was regretful when I met his gaze. I know that I encouraged you and said that we could help, but this isn't something that we can fight. I'm sorry for bringing you here… He sniffed the air and pointed his snout in a seemingly random direction. Come on, the tavern's this way. He slowly started pacing away from the battle.
But I stayed stubbornly still. "No. I want to stay. I want to help fight. I refuse to be a burden!"
Zephyr stopped and looked back at me, frowning. I understand how you feel, but this is neither the time, nor the place to prove your worth. He raised his voice, making sure that Harlequin could hear him. Perhaps if you had listened to me and asked Harlequin-sama for lessons on using your spirit spear, then you'd be able to fight with them right now!
The other fairy's eyes widened. "You were going to-"
"Enchant Hell Blaze!" Meliodas' shout cut into Harlequin's words, and roars from the monster drowned even those out. The Captain of the Sins swung a sword that was coated in black fire at the beast, leaving a giant flaming gash down its front. Even when the blade was no longer touching it, the flames still remained burning on the monster's flesh for a few moments.
"Black flames?!" Harlequin was so taken aback that he dropped our conversation. Sweat beaded his brow.
"That's…" I hadn't even noticed Ban join our bystanding group, a random whip in his hand. He narrowed his eyes. "Cap'n~ Drown him in that stuff!"
"On it!" Came his captain's reply. He was midleap, lunging at the demon, preparing to sweep the flaming sword right down its middle, when his face froze and the flames sputtered out.
"What's going on?"
"Hurry up and finish him off!" Ban's shout drowned out my question. But one of the monster's tongues wrapped around Meliodas, stopping his momentum. "You idiot!"
Just as Ban moved to swing the whip he held at the monster, a loud crackling sound zipped by, followed by a beam of purplish light that shot directly through the monster's body. This caused the beast to stagger back, pausing its movements.
"Ban, take this chance to nab the captain!" Harlequin cried.
The Fox Sin didn't have to be told twice. "Fox Hunt!" He flicked the whip forward, snatching Meliodas right out of the monster's grasp, before catching his captain. "What are you doing, Cap'n?! You almost had him!"
But Meliodas was hardly listening. "That face at the center of the body… said something! I think it used to be a Holy Knight!"
I agree with Meliodas-sama. Zephyr's words surprised me. He had returned from trying to go back to the tavern, but I could feel some reproach directed at me. It certainly has a feeling akin to the Holy Knights that you have faced up to this point. Only… something's off…
But Ban, being a human, was unable to hear Zephyr. Not that his words would have been any different, had he been able to. "So what?! Just kill him already!"
"But he's still alive!" Meliodas argued, and Zephyr nodded agreement.
"Don't be so naive!"
Meliodas went quiet. Zephyr narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
"Are you fighting?" It was at this point that a young man walked up. He looked like the boy from earlier - Armand - only his hair was shorter and smooth, his face was devoid of emotions, and his shirt was torn to shreds. A giant bow that was made of the same energy-like substance as the beam that shot through the monster earlier floated on either side of his right hand.
Zephyr and I spoke at the same time.
Who are you?
"Gowther?"
(Bonus 2: First Day of Work Pt.2)
"Hey, where's the flour?" I asked Zephyr without looking up. I was currently on my hands and knees, scouring the lower cabinets for anything to make muffins with. I had already checked all the upper cabinets thoroughly, and just could not find one of the most important ingredients. The dimmed light of half the candles being snuffed out did not help with the search.
No clue. He shrugged as he poked his snout around a shelf on the other side of the room. I've never been in this room before, at least, not outside of the shadows. And I wasn't exactly looking for flour when I was in the shadows.
"What were you doing?" I sat back on my knees, curious.
Oh, you know, exploring, eavesdropping, all that fun stuff. He shot a smirk my way before going back to sniffing along the shelves. I gave him an amused grin in response and went back to looking in the cabinet. Not that I heard anything interesting; it was mostly just Ban talking to himself as he cooked, or just him whistling. He started taking a few catching breaths and sneezed. I think I found the flour.
Suddenly, a thin light lit the entryway to the kitchen. "Well, well, well, what's going on in here?" Meliodas stood in the open door, with a very tired looking Princess Elizabeth behind him. "I thought I heard something moving around down here, but I didn't expect it to be you two pilfering the kitchen."
"W-we're not! Ow!" I had tried to sit up so suddenly from looking in the cabinet that I had banged my head on the counter. Sitting up more slowly, I rubbed my hand across the future bruise gingerly. "Zephyr suggested that, since I didn't enjoy waiting tables, I should try to find something else to do to help out."
"But don't we already have Ban-sama cooking for us?" Elizabeth asked blearily as she rubbed her eyes. She didn't look like she was all there right now.
"I'm not planning on cooking, though. I was gonna try to bake some muffins."
"Isn't that the same as cooking?" Meliodas seemed slightly confused. He set down the candle that he was holding on the counter and walked over to where Zephyr was struggling to get the flour off of a high shelf with his teeth without tearing the bag. Pulling a step ladder out from behind the shelf, he opened it up, stepped onto it, and easily plucked the flour off the shelf before setting it on the counter and putting the stool back. Zephyr just looked slightly annoyed at the fact that the blonde had gotten the flour down when he had been so close to getting it.
"Of course you would think that!" I ignored the interaction, though I silently thought that the fox's frustrated face was hilarious. "You've got the worst skills in the kitchen that I've ever seen. I'm almost surprised that this place even has a kitchen, considering that you're the one that built it. Anyway," I went on, "I decided that I should try to make some muffins, just to see if I'm still any good at baking, seeing as how it's been so long since I last baked."
Ahem. Zephyr just looked at me pointedly.
"I mean, Zephyr thought that I should try to make some muffins. Though I don't see why he decided on muffins! He always told me he didn't like them!" The last two sentences were directed at the fox, but he pretended not to hear them as he busied himself looking for the next ingredient. Sighing, I turned back to Meliodas and Elizabeth, who were still standing idly near the door. "I've always seen Ban-san cooking, but never actually baking, you know? Not often, at least. So I just thought that, well…" I trailed off. With nothing else to do, I tucked a loose strand of my crimson hair behind my ear nervously.
"Well? Those muffins aren't baking themselves~" Ban yawned from behind Elizabeth, making her squeak and jump into Meliodas.
"Ban-san?" When did he wake up? I wondered.
"Yo, Zinnia-chan~" He gave half a wave and, as though knowing my thoughts, answered my silent question. "You guys have been getting pretty loud down here. I'm sure that even Diane can hear you from outside."
"Oh, sorry. I'll try to be quieter," I apologized. I knew that Zephyr was listening to the whole conversation, because his search for ingredients immediately became near-silent. After looking at the trio standing in the doorway for a moment, I awkwardly turned back to the pile of flour, eggs, bowls, and other assorted baking necessities that Zephyranthes had been laying out on the counter behind me.
As I picked up a particularly nice-looking metal bowl, I heard footsteps behind me. "Is there anything I can do to help?" came Meliodas' voice.
Ban beat me to responding. "Nope~ The best thing you can do for her is to get out of the kitchen. You, too, Elizabeth~"
Meliodas began to protest, but he didn't try too hard, and Elizabeth must have been too tired to say anything. I then just heard the sounds of shuffling feet as the group exited the room. But, before they were gone, I heard one set of footsteps pause, and felt a curious gaze on me. I glanced back to find Ban looking at me, to which I tilted my head questioningly. But, without saying anything, he just turned and followed after the others.
"Hey! We're going to be waiting out here to try your muffins when they're done!" Meliodas called back from the main room of the tavern.
"You're gonna be waiting a while, then!" I shook my head in exasperation before turning back to Zephyr and lowering my voice. "Weeellll… That was fun. And now I'm going to have to let them taste the muffins when they're done! What am I going to do? What if I end up making them taste really bad?"
Just don't, was the fox's only response.
I hadn't realize that my audience had grown until I stepped out of the kitchen with a heaping plate of steaming blueberry muffins. Now, Harlequin and Hawk were also waiting with the group, and I was pretty sure that I could see Diane's face lurking in the darkness just outside the window.
"W-why is everyone up? I thought it was just Ban-san, Meliodas-san, and Elizabeth…" I took a few tentative steps towards the gathering of people.
Hawk, who was staring excitedly at the food, said, "Even in my sleep, I'm able to smell leftovers from a mile away!"
To which Zephyr replied in annoyance, They're not leftovers; they just came out of the oven… But the pig couldn't hear this.
"I woke up because I no longer heard Ban's snoring." Harlequin yawned as he explained. While he was near the table that most of the sins lounged around, he was floating a couple of feet in the air, halfway curled around his pillow.
"Ha! You need me to snore to sleep at night~?" Ban laughed, revealing a toothy grin. Unlike the others, he was standing away from their table, leaned against the wall next to the bar.
"Wha-? No!" The fairy uncurled from the pillow. "I'm just used to it, that's all!"
Diane, from her place outside the window, moved her face closer to the opening and spoke. "Well I hadn't fallen asleep yet and was wondering why all of the lights were on again."
Now that she had mentioned it, I noticed that the tavern was much brighter than when I had passed through it on my way to the kitchen. There were also a few empty tankards on the table and bar. They must have gotten bored waiting; baking takes a long time.
"Well, sorry for waking everyone up for this. The muffins are done now; I hope they're good." I set the plate in the middle of the table that Meliodas and Elizabeth were seated at before plucking two off the pile for Zephyr and me. "Sorry if they turned out bad. Oh," I grabbed a third muffin, which had been set aside. It didn't turn out the prettiest, but I was sure that its recipient didn't mind. "Here, Hawk. Since you can't reach the table…" And I set the muffin on the ground in front of him.
"Really?" the pig squealed excitedly before burying his snout in the treat. He spoke around a mouthful of blueberry-filled muffin. "Thank you!"
Should I mention that it was Zephyr's idea to give him that one? Nah… Probably not the best idea to tell him how the fox shade had taken one look at the sad-looking muffin and immediately said, That one should go to the pig; he won't even notice.
"Hmmm, not bad~" Ban said immediately after taking his first bite.
Everyone else just nodded along as they contentedly ate their muffins. Before I took a bite of mine, though, I realized that Diane hadn't gotten one.
"Oh, here, Dia-"
"Do you want one, Diane?" Harlequin got to it first. "They're really good."
"Sure!" The giantess smiled as Harlequin retrieved a muffin for her. "Thanks, King!" Of course, this just caused the fairy to blush slightly.
Shaking off the interruption, I handed my extra muffin to Zephyr, who had decided to hop up on a chair at the table and sit down. "So, why muffins? I thought you hated them."
I have no idea what you're talking about. He took a bite out of the muffin in front of him, rejecting my notion of his dislike for them.
"Well, you sure seemed unhappy when I made them for you and Kay."
What? He paused in his chewing. Oh, well perhaps they were chocolate muffins at the time. You know how chocolate is poisonous for fox shades. Other than those ones, I always enjoyed your muffins. You always seemed to have so much fun while you were making them.
"Who's Kay?" Elizabeth asked from her seat beside Meliodas.
"Oh, he's just an old friend… He's not around anymore." I glanced away.
"Oh…" was her only response.
Trying to take my mind off of it, I finally took a bite of my muffin. It was perfectly sweet and the blueberry flavor blended nicely into the muffin itself. I was quite happy with it.
"Well," Meliodas spoke, wiping the final crumbs off of his hands. "That was good! I think you found your job, Zinnia-chan."
"Great!" I smiled. "Since I'm not waiting tables, can I wear something other than this uniform, then?"
"Nope!"