I do not own Seven Deadly Sins or any of their characters.
Armor Giant
Oswald groaned, rolling onto his back. "Ban. Ban. Baaaan."
"What?" Ban groaned.
"The...a...message," Oswald mumbled, Ban only making out a few words. "She loves you."
Ban opened his eyes, blinking. "What now? Who loves me?"
Oswald didn't respond, having fallen back to sleep. Ban kicks him in the side, Oswald shouting in pain and surprise, sitting bolt upright.
"Hey asshole, what the fuck was that message about!?" Ban demanded.
"What message?" Oswald asked.
"You said you had a message for me, then said 'she loves you' and went back to sleep!" Ban shouted.
"She loves you?" Oswald blinked. "Who loves you?"
"I don't fucking know!" Ban shouted. "It was your message!"
"Well...do you have any female family or something?" Oswald asked.
Ban was silent for a moment. "No one alive."
"Well, maybe a dead one then," Oswald said. "I doubt the dead stop caring about the living once they go to whichever afterlife they go to."
"What do you mean 'whichever afterlife?'" Diane asked.
"Well, not all races have the same afterlife, at least, I don't think so," Oswald said. "Humans, Fairies, and Giants all go to the dead capital, but demons sure as hell don't. The Demon Clan go to hell when they die. And the Goddess Clan go to Heaven."
"I suppose that makes sense," Diane nodded.
"And then, of course, there are the others," Oswald said, staring down at his lap, hands clenching as his thoughts obviously turned dark. "Those whose life is that of sin, and whose very existence is, in and of itself, a sin. They don't have an afterlife. All that awaits them is an end. Darkness. Nothing."
"Oblivion," Meliodas said from off to the side. "I don't think anyone ever actually ends in oblivion. There's no one that's so impure and sinful that they would just be erased. After all, even the Demon Clan has an afterlife."
"The Demon Clan..." Oswald trailed off, sighing before shaking his head. "Never mind. You're probably right. I'm going to get some more sleep, if Ban's done kicking me."
"Yeah, sure," Ban nodded.
Oswald nodded and lay down, Ban and the others looking around at each other, confused. After a few more minutes, they all lay down as well, beginning to drift off one by one, Oswald lying away until the sun began to rise and the others woke up again. They all left the building to train and Oswald sighed, getting up as well, changing into clean clothes and pulling his sword on across his back, then paused beside the door, staring at the empty scabbard Meliodas had left lying on the counter. He walked over, estimating the length of the blade that would fit in it. About two feet eight inches, give or take. He sighed. Meliodas hadn't cared at all about his sword going missing, but that didn't mean he wasn't feeling its loss. After all, his Full Counter ability relied on him having a weapon.
Oswald walked outside with his pack and Meliodas' scabbard, looking around before walking through the woods a ways. He could sense Ban and King training, and he knew that it was a good idea to. However, he had other things to do. So, after about twenty minutes, he found a small clearing with several stones and a stream off to the side/ He dragged the stones into place in a circle, then held his hand out, a fire bursting to life instantly. Then, he opened his pack, pulling out a pot and several metal ingots, dropping them in and setting them over the fire before pulling out several casts, holding the scabbard up to them before choosing out. It was a little too short for the scabbard, but it was about the right breadth and width, and with Meliodas's small arms, shorter was probably better.
After about an hour and a half, his metal had melted and he used the pommel of his own sword to tip the pot over using its handle, pouring the metal into the cast. Then, he set the pot back down, and picked up the cast, carrying it to the stream, lowering it in to cool the metal before breaking the cast off, pulling out the blade. Then, he walked over to the stones, setting it on one he had left away from the fire, setting it down before getting a pair of pliers and a hammer, holding the blade over the fire to heat it before beginning to hammer it into a more precise shape. Once that was done, he extinguished the fire and began to use a wet stone to finish sharpening the blade. Once finished, he reached into the pack and dug around for a moment before pulling out a handle similar to his own sword's, and quickly attached it. Then, he packed everything back up and walked up the hill, arriving just as the others walked out of the bar.
"There you are!" Hawk said. "Where the hell were you?"
"Making a new sword," Oswald said, holding it out to Meliodas. "I know it's not your last sword, but you'll need something."
"Hey thanks," Meliodas smiled, drawing it.
It was about two feet three inches, so it was more or less the right length for Meliodas. He gave it a couple of practice swings and nodded.
"Nice job," Meliodas said. "But how'd you do it so fast? I thought it usually took days, at best."
"Magic fire," Oswald said. "It melts the metal in about an hour, and then when you use it to heat the blade before you hammer it, it lets you do the hammering in a lot less time."
Meliodas nodded. "Makes sense."
"How can you use magic fire?" King asked.
"Same way I can use Heaven's Shield," Oswald shrugged. "I got it from my parents."
"Mother or father?" Meliodas asked.
"Father," Oswald said.
Meliodas hummed to himself before nodding. "Okay then."
"What, that's it?" Ban asked. "Aren't you curious who he is?"
"Yeah, but it's none of my business," Meliodas shrugged. "So he's a blacksmith with magical powers. As long as he doesn't try to hurt my friends, I've got no quarrel with him."
"Well I don't trust him," King said, crossing his arms.
"Then it's a good thing I don't need you to," Oswald said, following Meliodas into the bar.
The others all followed as well, and after a few minutes, Hawk's Mom was off, traveling along the road again. As they did, Oswald tended to his sword, cleaning and sharpening it.
"You tend to your sword all the time," King says. "You should be careful. If you keep overworking the blade like that, it'll be unusable in no time."
"It'd take fifty years," Oswald said. "That may be nothing for a Fairy who has a spear formed from the Sacred Tree, which never needs to be cleaned or sharpened, but for me, if I still have this sword in fifty years, am alive, and am still using it, I'll be amazed."
King shrugged. "Whatever."
"Meliodas, would you mind if I used you to practice my sword fighting?" Oswald asks after a bit."
"Sure," Meliodas nods, picking up a butter knife.
"Just don't kill me please," Oswald muttered.
"Don't worry," Meliodas said calmly. "I won't hurt you."
Oswald nodded and stepped forward, slashing at Meliodas, who deflected the blow with the knife and jabbed it at Oswald. Oswald spun around Meliodas, slashing at his back and Meliodas spun, catching Oswald by the arm. Oswald dropped his sword, catching it in his free arm as he spun, holding it in reverse grip and slashing at Meliodas, who leapt backward, avoiding the blade. Oswald switched it back to his right hand and darted forward, Meliodas charging as well. Then, when Oswald's sword met Meliodas's knife, it streaked backward, stabbing through Ban's chest into the wall, Meliodas's knife hovering in front of Oswald's throat.
"You're pretty good," Meliodas complemented.
"Captain, did you have to stab me with it?" Ban asked, pulling the sword out, the wound sealing instantly. "This is a pretty nice sword."
Oswald accepted it back. "Thanks. And...uh...sorry about your shirt."
"Don't worry," Ban said, waving his hand. "I'll just fix it later. Or find a new one."
Oswald nodded just as the bar stopped. "Where are we?"
"A little town where I heard we might find some of the Seven Deadly Sins," King said.
"Alright, let's go look," Meliodas said, walking out of the bar. After a moment, the others followed, Elizabeth staying to keep Diane company, since Diane stayed behind to avoid scaring people.
Oswald stared into the trees. behind him, a group of children, along with their caretaker Armand, were talking about something called the God of the Mountain, the source of a roar that was currently echoing from in the forest a ways away. Meliodas and the others seemed interested in the stories, but Oswald was interested in something else. Normally, he would say he was wrong, that it couldn't actually be one. But Vaizel had proven that wasn't entirely true.
"Hey Oswald, you okay?" Meliodas asked.
"I'm going to go for a walk," Oswald decided. "See if I can find what's making so much racket."
""Good luck," Meliodas said, turning and walking away.
As Oswald walked into the trees, he could feel King watching him for a few minutes before King left too. He began to jog, making his way through the trees quickly before slowing to a stop just as whatever it was roared again, the ground trembling, though not along with the roar. He climbed a tree nearby, getting to one of its upper branches and looked through the trees before him, seeing a clearing. One littered with dead knights, where a gigantic suit of armor was standing amidst the corpses, what remained of the knights charging him, only to be slaughtered as the giant crushed them under its wagon-sized fists. Oswald stared at it. The armor belonged to Gowther, the Goat Sin of Lust. And whatever was inside of it, the armor was muting its power, making it hard to sense, but as he watched it, it felt like he was kneeling over an ant hill, his skin crawling like a swarm of ants, every hair standing on end.
"What are you?" he breathed.
After a few more minutes, five Holy Knights arrived as the armor was finishing off the other lesser knights. Oswald payed them no mind, watching the suit of armor. After a few more minutes, King floated up beside him as the armor and the Holy Knights all fell motionless.
"What are you doing?" King asked quietly.
"Not getting in the way of five Holy Knights," Oswald said. "That giant isn't Gowther, someone has his armor."
"How do you know that?" King asked.
"Hunch?" Oswald shrugged.
"That's a hell of a specific hunch," King growled, his pillow transforming into a spar.
Just then, a young blonde child, one who had been pretending to be Meliodas before, ran out of the trees, beginning to try and talk tot he Holy Knights. However, they ignored him, so instead he turned to the giant armor. then, he drew a sword and lunged, slashing it repeatedly, if harmlessly. The giant reacted instantly, though, punching down at him, only for his caretaker to shove him out of the way, being crushed instead. An instant later, King grabbed the child and vanished, then Meliodas slammed into the Holy Knights as they moved to attack the giant, setting Oswald on his feet beside himself as he landed.
"Why'd you bring me?" Oswald asked.
"Your shield will be helpful," Meliodas said.
"Oh, that," Oswald nodded. "I'm not sure we should defend this thing."
"But it's Gowther," Meliodas said.
"I don't think it is," Oswald said.
Meliodas charged at the leader of the Holy Knights, a guy with a metal mask, a ripped shirt, and a massive sword with a tipless, saw-toothed blade, only for the man to slip past Meliodas, grabbing him by the head and slamming him into the ground. Instantly, the other three close-range Holy Knights, one with a pair of sawblades on sticks, one with a very long katana-style sword, and one with a sword that had the last quarter of the blade bent back and forth into a zig-zag, leapt at the giant. However, Oswald raised a hand, forming his shield in their path. The katana and the saw blade crashed into the shield, and the blonde with the zig-zagged sword sent out a golden blast of what looked like electricity, only for it to hit the shield and stop.
"What the hell?" the guy with the katana, who had long, straight, silver hair and red armor, gaped. "What the hell is that? Who is this guy?"
Just then, the giant roared, punching downward at Oswald. Oswald's head snapped up before he swung his hand upward, the shield flashing up to block the punch. There was a deafening connection, and the fist smashed through three of the shields before stopping on the fourth, which it cracked. Oswald winced before letting his shield fade as he hurled himself aside, the fist exploding into the ground, barely missing him. As he stood, the Holy Knight leader's blade crashed into the giant's armor, grinding against it as he passed. Then, the final Holy Knight, an archer, pulled his bow back, only for Ban to appear behind him. However, when Ban struck, the Holy Knight vanished.
A moment later, several corpses shifted and the real archer sat up, his arrow glowing with magical energy before he fired. Oswald, made no move to block it this time, though it was apparently unnecessary. As the arrow approached the giant, the corpse it had crushed before, Armand, stood, reaching up and catching the arrow, stopping it.
"No one could understand what had just happened," the man said as everyone stared at him. "As still as a corpse the man waited for the right moment. I knew he'd launch an arrow from my blind spot. And if things had gone according to plan, this would have been enough to protect it. But the Roars of Dawn are pretty formidable. Even with three of your four attacks blocked, that final strike was enough to shatter the armor. But the price for breaking the seal will be a steep one, humans."
Oswald backed away from the giant as the armor began to crumble, more and more of the creature's power leaking through. Oswald drew his sword, holding it at his side but watching the armor fall away. He ignored the others as they greeted Gowther, who recognized everyone but King immediately, only remembering King when he transformed himself into a fat, unattractive form, then recognized him as well. After a moment, however, King turned back into his normal form and flew down to hover in front of Oswald, his spear hovering at his side.
"How did you know it wasn't Gowther?" King asked.
"I told you, I had a hunch," Oswald said.
"Won't you leave him be?" Gowther was asking the leader of the Holy Knights. "Please?"
"Ah just let them kill him," Ban said.
"I don't believe you," King said, the spear floating closer just as the giant's power began to spike rapidly.
"You might want to switch back to a shield," Oswald suggested.
King spun just as the creature roared, Gowther's armor exploding off of it. What it left behind was disturbing, to put it nicely. It was also powerful. it was easily stronger than any of the Holy Knights alone.
"After feeling its power first hand, do you still believe you can defeat it?" Gowther asked.
The Holy Knights' leader was silent for several seconds. "We can defeat it. Of course, two, no, one of the Roars of Dawn is sure to die. But we're also certain to get his head."
"Such cool judgement," Gowther said. "I suppose I have no choice." Then, he swung his arm upward, his hand taking off the giant's head, which he caught and offered to the lead Holy Knight.
"What's the meaning of this?" the Holy Knight demanded.
"This is the most peaceful way of resolving this situation," Gowther said. "If there was a three-way battle between our parties, the destruction of Ordan and the people in it would be inevitable. Besides, this can give some sense of consolation for your fallen knights."
The Holy Knight reached out to take it, only for the one with the katana to speak up.
"Are we really okay with this Captain Slater?"
"No comments from the peanut gallery," Slater said. "I like you, Goat Sin Gowther. Out of respect for your strength, and for the Seven Deadly Sins, I'll take this." He rested the helmet's horn on his shoulder. "But if we ever get ordered to take the head of one of the Seven Deadly Sins...well, never mind."
Then, he left, the other Holy Knights following.
"I'm surprised you did that Gowther," Meliodas said.
"Why?" Gowther asked.
"I thought you had pity for this thing," Meliodas said, walking over to the creature's hand. "I've never seen a monster like this before.
It's hands were about the size of a wagon, except that its fingers weren't fingers. They were arms, closer to human sized, but excessively muscular, and they each ended in another hand. There were also more arms about the same size as the ones it had for fingers on it shoulders. It's skin was a dark tan, like dry dirt, and Meliodas reached out, lifting one of the finger arms.
"Meliodas, it's not dead," Oswald warned.
"It's what!?" Ban asked just before the thing leapt up and backward, landing on its feet and letting out a groaning sound as four spots on the front of its torso began to swell up before growing faces.
"But you chopped off his head!" King gaped.
"Yes, it was already ornamental anyway, although it was once human," Gowther said.
The four faces all roared as an upper body began to grow between them. It was human male with pale skin and blonde hair. However, it was staring lifelessly ahead, and was probably as decorative as the creature's original head had been.
"This is the shell of a former Holy Knight," Gowther said.
"I don't think we'll be talking this one out," Meliodas said.
"Then let's kill this thing," Ban said.
Meliodas nodded and they both shot forward, jumping and beginning to pummel the creature's faces, deforming and inverting them, only for them to pop back into their normal shape. Then, the creature slammed a fist into them, hurling them backward into King's pillow, which had grown into a giant, four-armed teddy bear.
"You idiots," King said. "You should always watch how your opponent will strike before charging in."
"Captain, maybe you should stop fighting barehanded," Ban suggested.
"Oh right," Meliodas said, drawing the sword Oswald had made for him. "I forgot I had this."
"You four keep it busy for a moment," Gowther said, picking up the young boy he had saved before, who had returned at some point, then turned, walking away.
Meliodas shrugged, then turned back to the creature and shot forward, black flames rolling along his sword blade as he leapt into the air.
"Enchant, Hellblaze!" Meliodas shouted, slashing and carving a deep gash into the creature, black flames raging from the wound.
"Drown him in that shit Captain!" Ban shouted.
"Right!" Meliodas nodded, jumping.
However, as he did, the human head called out softly, asking him to spare him. Meliodas froze and one of the tongues shot out, catching him, only for an arrow of light energy to impale the creature through the center of the human torso's chest. Ban instantly used a whip he had gotten off the ground to retrieve Meliodas as Oswald raised a hand toward the creature, extending his thumb out to the side of his hand before holding his arm out straight, his hand tilted so that his fingertips aligned with the human body's head in his line of sight.
"It should be..." he trailed off, closing his left eye for a moment before nodding.
Then, he raised his sword and crouched, twisting so his left side was toward the creature, holding the sword with both hands, the tip of the sword aimed at the creature. As he did, the creature roared, throwing a punch at Meliodas, which he moved to block, only for the sword to snap, Meliodas flying backward. Oswald sighed. He should have known it wouldn't last long without a proper place to forge it. he refocused on the creature, and after another moment, he shot forward, speeding past the others before jumping and driving his sword into the human torso's stomach. The creature roared in pain, falling backward to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Meliodas shouted. "He's still alive!"
Oswald yanked his sword out, a purple creature shaped sort of like a raindrop with roots extended from the bottom impaled on the end of it. He used his foot to push the thing off of his foot and crushed it.
"What was that?" Bana asked.
"Its core," Oswald said.
"Core?" Ban repeated.
Just then, the creature's body began to collapse, falling apart rapidly. Then, it was done. Bits of it remained behind, but as they all walked toward it, the human from the creature's chest sat up, groaning.
"What...happened?" he asked.
"Dale!" Meliodas gasped, running over. "Are you alright?"
"Well, I think I've been stabbed," the man said, staring at the wound in his stomach. "But...I feel like I've just woken from a terrible dream."
"You'll be okay," Oswald said. "But in the future, I'd advise you against eating or drinking anything weird."
"Who are you?" the man asked.
"He's the one who saved you," Meliodas said, eyeing Oswald suspiciously. "How'd you know where to strike?"
"And don't say it was a hunch," King added, his spear hovering in front of Oswald, entirely gold and with the head two-pronged.
"The truth?" Oswald asked. "I-"
"Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth called out from the top of a dangerously steep hill beside them, clutching a sword to her chest.
"Where did you get that sword?" Meliodas asked.
"Cain gave it to me," Elizabeth said, carefully making her way down the incline to them. "Take it. It's not that Liz wanted you to fight, she wanted you to live. She wanted you to have the sword so that she would never have to worry about losing you."
Meliodas was silent for a moment before smiling and nodding, accepting the sword. it was about two feet, with the blade being a double-edged triangle, a bowl-shaped guard that only extended a few inches past the edges of the blade, and a small dome pommel.
"Sorry mine broke," Oswald said.
"It's alright," Meliodas smiled. "I would have given it back for this one anyway."
Oswald nodded, then looked back to King, who hadn't moved his spear. "Can you put that away now?"
"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked, looking between the two.
"Explain yourself," King said.
Oswald sighed. "That thing was a Holy Knight that was turning into a demon. The thing I took out of him was something like a seed."
"A demon seed?" Ban asked.
"Basically," Oswald nodded. "As for how I knew it was there, I could sense it. I can sense demonic power, like those other two Holy Knights that attacked Vaizel."
"Holy Knights attacked Vaizel?" Dale asked.
"You missed a lot," Oswald said. "The Holy Knights took over the kingdom from the royal family. We can fill you in later."
"Who are you?" King asked. "I mean really."
"I'm a blacksmith now," Oswald said.
"And before?" King asked.
"I'm a mistake," Oswald said, staring at the ground. "I was never supposed to be born, and when I was, it cost my mother her life. Then I was ostracized and beaten daily for years until I got away. I drifted for a while before eventually becoming a blacksmith."
"Your mother died in childbirth?" Ban asked. "Then that girl you mentioned that used to beat you up before, is there any chance that was your sister?"
"No," Oswald said. "I don't have any family. I'm an only child, and my father died before I was born."
"I see," Ban said. "I'm sorry."
"Don't sympathize with him!" King said. "He still hasn't told us anything!"
"He's told us enough, King," Ban said. "Put it away. He's not an enemy."
"We don't know that!" King said.
"Yes we do," Meliodas said. "He's been helping us since we met. If he was an enemy, he could have killed me when Ban and I were unconscious in Vaizel. Besides, he chose to save Dale, rather than kill him. So the least we can do is trust him for now. Besides, if he turns on us, we'll just kill him."
King sighed before nodding. "I guess. Fine. Whatever." He transformed his spear back into a pillow and lay against it. "We should get going. Diane's probably getting worried."
Meliodas and the others nodded and they all headed back to the bar. Then, they began to celebrate. Meaning that everyone besides Oswald, Gowther, and Elizabeth began to drink.
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