A/N.:Finally finished this chapter! Hello everyone, it's been a while! It took me quite a while, I am sorry! I hope that everyone is alright despite the COVID… When would it finally end I wonder? I hope that you won't be too disappointed by this chapter and enjoy it in a way.
"Lord Gilthunder, shall we accompany you?"
"Now, stay back, I will go alone. This is an order."
"Yes sir!"
When the soldier departed together with the horses, the young man took a deep heavy breath, "Heee… hoooo…" Before entering the forest.
HOLY KNIGHT SAGA,
FOREST OF WHITE DREAMS ARC:
HOLY KNIGHT GILTHUNDER'S MISUNDERSTANDING.
Having learned that the Forest of White Dreams is avoided by even Holy Knights due to the danger it poses, during the celebration in Bernia from Mead, plus with an additional confirmation from Lill, the four (Meliodas, Elizabeth, Hawk and Lill) decided to travel there. However...
"We've been walking in this forest for nearly 3 hours... and still haven't seen a single animal, let alone a person." Elizabeth commented as she looked around her, her forehead slightly sweating, while her hand was holding a tree branch in order to help her as a support to push her feets forwards.
Meliodas and Lill were following closely behind her while Hawk was near her sides as he puffed some air from his nostrils, "Pugo, pugo! All I see is tree after tree in this fog... If I see another tree, I'll scream!"
Indeed as he said, they have completely lost their sense of direction due to the forest's thick fog that was covering the majority of their surroundings to the point that if they separate from each other for a single meter, they wouldn't be able to repere the other at all. The air also felt damp and a little suffocating, to the point of being able to put all noise to silence.
Elizabeth then turned to Meliodas behind her, "Lord Meliodas, are you sure that one of the Seven Deadly Sins is hiding in this forest?"
Meliodas just answered with a nonchalant face, "Maybe."
This time, it was Hawk who turned around in irritation, "You mean we came here without any solid evidence?!"
"Well, it's more or less what Lill confirmed." Meliodas said as he put his hands behind his head, still not caring about the pig losing his calm.
Lill just nodded behind him, "Or so my research told me."
"Aren't you the one who did that research?"
"I did but how can I be sure if it's exactly accurate?"
"Don't ask me, okay?"
"You guys sure are easy-going, huh? And to think that I've heard rumors that scary monsters live in these woods..." Hawk started to shake in fear as he realized the situation they were back at, which he temporarily forgot due to Meliodas playing around, and then...
"EEEEEEK!" A scream.
"What's wrong?!" Hawk quickly turned back to Elizabeth who was the one who screamed, fearing the worst that could happen.
Elizabeth squirmed in a mix of fear and disgust as she barely had the courage to open her eyes and muttered out, "S-Something is... touching my butt..."
But surprisingly the one who answered was...!
"Oh, don't worry. It's just me." So Meliodas naturally said as he was touching Elizabeth's behind under her skirt.
...Okay, this wasn't surprising at all. And perhaps it was because of that, Elizabeth sighed in relief as she used her forearm to wipe off some sweat present on her forehead, "Oh, that's a relief. I was scared for a second there..."
"That should NOT be a relief!" Hawk retorted, a throbbing red vein on his pink skin.
Okay he can understand that she is relieved to be touched by something she knows instead of something totally unknown, but still! She was so relieved that she didn't even seem to voice her discomfort anymore.
Meliodas then let his hand go from Elizabeth's behind as he started to walk forward, past the princess beside him, as he said. "Well putting that aside..."
"You're letting that slide?!"
Meliodas ignored the pig's retort as he explained the answer to the previous question that was almost left forgotten, "I may not have solid evidence, but I have a hunch. This Forest of White Dreams is enveloped in a thick fog all year round. It's hard to travel through it on horseback, and easy to lose your way. Even hunters and wayfarers who are used to traveling avoid it."
"Oh, I see! Indeed it's the perfect place if you want to hide!" Elizabeth smiled as she managed to understand the meaning of his words but then her smile disappeared as she felt something strange
At the beginning she didn't understand what it was, but then it started to feel uncomfortable and slightly breezy down there, as if, as if...
"Huh? Umm...? Huh?" As she started to touch over the back side of her skirt and then widened her eyes in shock, 'Th-They're gone! No way!'
"What's wrong?" Hawk asked since she suddenly stopped, even Meliodas was looking, while Lill... was for some reason strangely focused on the mist around them, staring at it dazingly.
"Ah! W-Well, it's nothing!" She answered with a shaking smile while still holding her behind covered carefully with the skirt with her two hands. Much to her relief, the two didn't seem to care much about it and just continued to walk without asking anything.
Elizabeth walked slowly at her turn as thousands of thoughts were running through her head. 'This can't be happening! No, you need to calm down and think this through, Elizabeth. I'm sure I put them on in the morning when I woke up. In the bathroom? No. There's no way I would've forgotten them in such a place!'
…
'They're really gone!' Elizabeth exclaimed in panic inside her mind before lowering herself physically, hoping that she wouldn't get seen by anybody. However she has forgotten that there was another person behind her besides the two who were in front of her.
"...Elizabeth? What on earth are you doing? And that curious way of walking… are you perhaps tired or hurt?"
Unfortunately! ...Or perhaps it was rather fortunate, the one who saw her acting was none other than Lill (it seems that the strange sight of Elizabeth caught her attention).
'That's right! Although it's a bit embarrassing, if it is someone of the same gender like Lill, then maybe she could help me out with this situation.' With that in thought, Elizabeth moved discreetly towards Lill much to the latter's confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"Um… Actually…" And then she whispered what happened in Lill's ear and…
"What? Your panti…"
"AH! P-Please stay quiet!" Before Lill let the cat out of the bag, Elizabeth immediately covered Lill's mouth with both her hands. However she was a little too loud, and this attracted the attention of both Hawk and Meliodas again.
"Oi, Elizabeth, you sure you alright?"
"Y-Yes! Don't worry about me, Hawk!"
"What is it, what is it?" Meliodas stepped forward with the intention to go towards them.
Seeing this, Elizabeth quickly shook her hands with her cheeks burning with embarrassment, "N-Nothing! Nothing at all!"
If it was him of all people who would come to learn that, Elizabeth would never be able to live it through.
The fact that he seemed to have accepted her response without misunderstanding anything made Elizabeth sigh in relief. She then whispered to Lill, "Please stay quiet about this, okay?"
Lill just nodded twice before saying back, "So you aren't wearing any right now?"
Elizabeth blushed redder before giving a shaky nod.
Lill then seemed to be quite thoughtful as if she was trying to find a way to bring the talk delicately, before she answered with a sigh, "Okay, I understand."
Elizabeth looked slightly hopeful at that, did it mean that she has a clue on where her lost piece of underwear was currently?
"It's alright. I'm not one who would judge people by their habits."
...Huh?
"They say that everyone has their own preferences, and it can all differ from each other."
...Wait a second, wasn't there some kind of huge misunderstanding?!
"From what I heard, the Fairy Clan is doing the same, so there's no reason to worry."
'Why did she suddenly mention the Fairy Clan?'
...For some reason just like Meliodas and Lill yesterday, Elizabeth felt that they were not on the same page like she hoped to. But before Elizabeth could ask any of these…
"If you feel more comfortable not wearing anything under, then you should just do as you wish." And with those last words, Lill didn't realize the bomb she dropped. Elizabeth did however. And during that time, Lill realized with faint amusement.
'Wow… It's actually possible for the human body to get that red, huh…'
It wasn't dark pink anymore, it was literally a red tomato or apple. Elizabeth, her, could only grow red like that upon realizing what kind of misunderstanding Lill was having about her.
Okay, maybe she was in the wrong for not having explained further due to her embarrassment but still… How? Just how…
'Just how things escalated to such an extent~?!' Elizabeth felt like screaming that but managed to hold all of this back as she swallowed the words that were about to come out, down back into her throat.
But more than anything, the first thing she needs to do more than anything right now, is…!
"...Huh? A misunderstanding?" Lill raised an eyebrow at this.
...Yes, the thing that she needed to do more than anything right now, was to clear up that misunderstanding!
"You know, there's no need to be shy about it, though it was still a bit unexpected from you."
"Like I said, it's a misunderstanding Lill!"
"As I have said earlier, Fairies are doing the same from what I've heard."
"Why are you still bringing them up in this conversation?!"
And moreover she wasn't believing her at all! Of course she knew that she wasn't acting as convincingly as she wished to, but still… it seems that her hopes from earlier were mistaken.
"Meliodas wouldn't hate you for that, you know? Or rather, I think he would be surprisingly pleased. Besides, he's probably the same as you, about not wearing anything down there…"
"M-Me, being the same as Lord Meliodas…?" Elizabeth then quickly shook her head as Lill's words were now properly registered into her mind, "No, wait, rather! How do you know such a thing in the first place?! Is that true?!"
"Well I don't really know if it is true though…"
"I-It's fine! I don't need to know anymore than that!" Before she could say anything further, Elizabeth quickly silenced her.
She felt embarrassed enough like this but any more and she felt that she would intrude Meliodas' privacy. Of course even after hearing this her opinion of him didn't change at all, but she wasn't ready yet to hear any more than this.
'Or rather, to even know such things about Lord Meliodas... As expected, Lill must be quite close to him, huh...?'
But still, even if it's really great that they are close like this, wouldn't there at least be some matter that you wouldn't discuss with the other no matter how well you get along together, right?!
"So you are saying that you were wearing it but it suddenly disappeared before you realized it?"
"Y-Yes, it's that!" Thankfully they finally managed to reach a point of understanding together!
"There's no way that they would have just slipped off without you noticing, right?"
"O-Of course not!"
"But then how on earth..." Lill put a hand on her chin before humming in a thoughtful manner, "If it has just slipped down then you would definitely have felt it."
"I-Indeed." The princess too agreed with this statement, or at least she hoped that she isn't such an airhead to not even notice such an important thing..
Even Elizabeth was not a klutz to such an extent, besides even she didn't want to admit herself but if such a thing were to happen, her clumsiness would definitely make her trip on it.
Lill then looked forward before seeing Meliodas' back a little more far away and then widened her eyes before frowning slightly, "No way, don't tell me..."
"Eh?" Elizabeth made in confusion before following her gaze with her eyes landing on Meliodas' back too as she asked hesitantly, "Could it be that you think that Lord Meliodas is the culprit? ...No way, even he wouldn't go that far... would he?"
Even though Elizabeth had originally the intention of denying Lill's assumption and defending Meliodas' honor, she found herself having a hard time doing so.
After all, being the victim of many of Meliodas' sexual harassment during the last few days made her think that it was possible for him to do that after all. But still it would be respectful to think of him like this. ...Though it's still possible for him to have really done that.
"However it is quite possible for him to have done that." Lill voiced her opinion matching Elizabeth's openly before adding with conviction, "He gropes you on a daily basis, why wouldn't he steal your underwear?"
"I-Indeed…!" Elizabeth couldn't help but agonize over how convincing her words sounded, she wanted to defend Meliodas but unfortunately couldn't find the right arguments to counter Lill's.
"Come on, guys! If we dilly dally, the monsters will be on us in no time!" It was Hawk who cut their discussion off in impatience, his voice filled with a mix of annoyance and fear. It seems that he was still afraid of what could appear in their surroundings since they weren't moving for a while already.
When Elizabeth was about to apologize to her pig friend for the wait, Meliodas passed before her with a smile on his face, "Chill down, will you? Nobody likes an uptight piglet."
"...?" But then Meliodas raised an eyebrow, Lill frowned and Elizabeth widened her eyes as they all looked at Hawk. The pig, however, didn't seem to have noticed what was wrong and answered Meliodas' provocation with his usual attitude...
"""""Who are you calling uptight?!"""""
...And for some reason, it was more than one him that answered. Hawk then finally realized that something was wrong and turned around to see... many HIMS around himself. This was what the three others were looking for in shock. "...Huh? There's a lot of me?" The first one in the center said, and...
"I'm everywhere?!"
"A lot of me!"
"What's going on?!"
...And all the others followed at their turns, with their reactions all similar, if not exactly the same.
Elizabeth held a hand to her mouth as she gasped in shock, "A-Are these the forest monsters he talked about?!"
"One is already enough but now we have to deal with all of them?" Lill sighed in annoyance as she facepalmed herself.
Meliodas just rubbed the back of his head as he said, "This is completely out of hand..."
And then all the pigs suddenly came down from the hill and charged towards them all running together in perfect sync. All of the shapes to the color and actions but not only his physical appearance, even the pig's attitude and his mannerisms were perfectly represented as the same, to the point of not being able to recognize the real one among them anymore.
"Meliodas! I'm telling you that I'm the real one!"
"What?! You fake!"
"Shut up, pig!"
"Meliodas, please! Do something!"
"..." And upon facing all those demands from the different pigs, Meliodas stood with a straight face, and...
*Bimp, Bump, Boum!*
Meliodas patted his hands clean with his expression unchanging while watching the bunch of unconscious pigs on the ground, covered with bumps from his punches, all of them were K.O., and with the real Hawk among them.
It was simple; since he couldn't tell which one was the real one, he decided to beat all of them up to be more sure about it. Besides, hitting Hawk isn't a first so it should be fine, so Meliodas thought. Of course, it wasn't fine at all.
"You sure didn't go easy on them, huh?" Lill commented as she examined them, all of them had a few smallest bumps over the single largest bumps present on their heads.
'He is probably venting off his daily stress like this, huh...?' In her mind, there was no doubt that even though Meliodas could have gone easier, he didn't bother to do so at all.
"H-Hawk! Are you alright?" Elizabeth started to fret in a worried manner as she turned towards Hawk… okay, which Hawk was the real one, she couldn't tell at all so she turned to each Hawk that was around her.
And upon hearing her voice, all the Hawks seemed to snap awake with a gasp and all ran towards her, with an united shout, "ELIZABETHHHH!"
"Uh, wait… Hawk?" Elizabeth became surprised when all of them rushed to snuggle against her before they cried all together, """""Even my momma never hits me!"""""
And then an ominous feeling… Before Elizabeth saw another, she raised herself in front of her… along with multiple others surrounding her.
"It's… me…?" Elizabeth muttered in shock.
Hawk (now the real and only one) had his mouth hanging open while Meliodas widened his eyes slightly, and Lill…
"Oh come, please tell me that this is a joke…" Lill facepalmed once more and heaved an even deeper sigh.
"Lord Meliodas…"
"You know this is the real me, right…?"
"Lord Meliodas, I'm right here!"
"No, I'm the real one!"
"Non!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"I'm the real Elizabeth!"
Meliodas witnessed this sigh of many Elizabeths before grinning with a hand on his chin, "Oh! So many boobies!" No need to say that his reaction was far different from the time with Hawk.
"Now's not the time!" The pig got angry and for a rare moment, Lill felt like agreeing with him. But it seems that another round of stupidity was going to start here and now.
"Raise your right hand and put your left hand on your cheek!"
*FWIP*
"Say my name really shyly."
"""""Lord Meliodasssss…"""""
"Grab your boobs!"
*Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze!*
"Wow, that's some eye-candy!"
"Damn you, Meliodas, just…!"
"Just quit screwing around and pick her out already."
*BAM!*
"Owowow… Geez, Lill you really don't know how to take a joke, don't you?"
"I'm already at the limits of my patience here, just hurry up, will you?"
"Okay, okay… Then the last one! Jump as high as you can!"
""""JUMP~!""""
*HOP!*
"—I'm sorry, I just can't!"
*ZASH!*
Meliodas tricked the fakes by making them do something the real Elizabeth would never dare to do and eliminated them all at once after distancing them from the real Elizabeth.
Though there were popping sounds and small explosions appearing around them, the creatures were still not turning back to their usual form. Instead new figures were rising upward, petite figures with long hair to be more precise.
And then what came out when the mist dissipated was…
"...So it's you this time, huh?" Meliodas murmured, holding back a side, his eyes narrowing slightly.
This time, it was multiple Lills who surrounded them from all sides.
"Are you kidding me?" Hawk groaned, his hoove against his forehead in a facepalm-like action.
"L-Lill!" Elizabeth's head shook right to left, watching all the "Lills" surrounding them in panic. She then immediately turned to Meliodas, "Lord Meliodas! Do you know which one is the real Lill?!"
"Mm… How can I know?" So he said as he scratched his cheek with his index finger.
His immediate response surprised Elizabeth speechless for a few seconds but she immediately got a hold of herself again, "B-But didn't you immediately notice which one was the real me?! If so, then Lill too—"
"No, I knew because it was you."
"...Eh?" Elizabeth couldn't understand the meaning behind his words, and why he was looking at her with such a straight gaze. Was he talking about the open reaction she had that separated her from the "fakes" when he tricked them altogether?
"Besides, it doesn't seem like I need to take all of them out in order to knock all of them out to guess which one is real."
"Of course! Please don't do that like you did with Hawk! ...Huh? But why?"
Meliodas turned to her, his arms crossed and a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Oh? Because you actually want me to? Didn't know you were actually such a hidden bully Elizabeth."
"T-This isn't what I meant! I just wanted to ask if you managed to find another way since you said that there was no need to do what you were about to do!"
"Oh, so it was that you were talking about? If it's that I said that there was no need for me to act since it was already over."
"Huh…?"
"Here, look." Meliodas pointed his finger at the scenery in front of them.
Elizabeth followed and looked forward only to...
"...EH?" Have another dumb-sounding reaction (not to be rude towards a princess).
Besides for one who was left standing, all the other Lills(?) were lying on the ground and groaning in pain, forming a bizarre circle around her.
The only standing Lill was clapping her hands, as if she wanted to dust them off before looking down at her lookalikes on the ground with a disinterested manner as she huffed, "Two times are okay, but a third time is tiring… Which one would it be next? Meliodas? Spare me that."
Putting one hand over the other and making a slight cracking sound, all the supposedly unconscious Lills suddenly flinched as they started to shed an incredible amount of sweat. It wasn't long after that one after the other, "POOF" sound effects and smoke started to explode like firecrackers before all of them took back their original shape of little blue-colored imps.
Those creatures are called Hide-and-Seek, also known as Prankster Imps. They inhabit the forests of Britannia and have the ability to perfectly impersonate someone as seen previously.
Upon being discovered, they all let out a scared scream and immediately ran away, and muttered about "reporting to their master that they failed their missions".
"We must hurry up after them!"
"Yeah!" Elizabeth and Hawk immediately followed behind the Imps' retreating figures, Meliodas was about to do the same until he noticed something from the corner of his eyes.
"Oi, oi, oi! What's wrong, Lill? Aren't you coming?" Meliodas stopped in his tracks, letting Elizabeth and Hawk gain distance between them and him (they didn't seem to have noticed that he stopped), as he looked back at Lill who for some reason didn't move from her spot.
The girl then looked at him before asking with an unreadable expression, "Meliodas. I want to ask you something."
"Eh? Can this wait later? We're a bit in hurry right now."
"It's alright, we won't lose them."
"..." Meliodas was slightly confused over how Lill could say it with such certainty but his curiosity won over his wariness, so he decided to nod at her words and crossed his arms instead of losing time by asking proof for her words, "Okay, but make it quick, okay?"
Lill nodded and then asked her question, "Why are you wasting your time?"
'This is what I want to ask though.' Meliodas thought for a second, raising an eyebrow at how his question was stolen from his mouth but swallowed the retort that was about to leave his lips back in his throat and instead asked, "...Okay, try to elaborate further?"
He just met her not even 2 day ago so their relationship wasn't long enough, unlike with the Sins, for him to figure out what she meant. There was just no way he could understand with such a short sentence.
"The Piglet aside, Elizabeth was quite easy to recognize, even though you could have exposed the whole thing from the very start, why did you keep this whole farce going on? Even without knocking them down, they would still have run away and led you to their leader right?"
She meant the whole farce of stealing Elizabeth's underwear (the latter made quite a ruckus upon realizing that Lill was indeed right much to her dismay) since he apparently foreseen that he needed a way to differency the real Elizabeth from the fake.
"..." Meliodas looked at Lill blankly.
Indeed what she said made sense, it often made sense now that he thought about it (besides for her few moments because of her uncommon common sense). But still what seemed to be ordinary to him, didn't seem to be so for her. So with a grin on his face, he told her his answer…
"That's simple! Because it sounded funnier!"
"..." This cheerful answer made Lill widen her eyes slightly, as if she wasn't expecting such a thing.
Meliodas smiled at this, probably satisfied with what he just saw before turning around, "You know what Lill, I know that we're busy and all, but you should try to enjoy your life more too!" And with that he ran ahead, with a dumbfounded Lill left behind.
As she watched Meliodas' back retreating further and further, Lill stood there among the mist that finally erased his figure without moving or trying to go after him. Her widened eyes then narrowed slightly as she looked down, her bangs hiding her eyes, making the look she had currently unrecognizable.
"...Really? …You truly would allow me to do so…?" As she uttered those words, something akin to a blue lightning charged towards her. Lill just looked upward blankly before the lightning enveloped her...
"Um, Lord Meliodas?"
"What is it, Elizabeth?"
"I just can't find Lill anywhere, wasn't she together with you earlier?" Elizabeth looked around her in slight worry, hoping that Lill may pop out from the woods but unfortunately she could barely see anything due to the heavy fog.
After they noticed that Meliodas and Lill weren't with them, Hawk and Elizabeth started to search for them. Thankfully, Meliodas soon answered their calls but mysteriously Lill wasn't with him. They asked about her, but the only answer they received from Meliodas was…
"It's alright, she would be fine."
...So Meliodas said. It seems that he was trusting her abilities enough to consider that she would be alright on her own. To tell the truth, Elizabeth wasn't sure of that, after all Lill's build looked so frail and delicate. However unlike Meliodas who is the leader of a group of Diamond-ranked Holy Knights, Elizabeth has zero battle experience, so she couldn't tell someone's strength or weaknesses.
"You… don't tell me…" The fourth voice was a female one, but not Lill's. It was the one of a tall, or rather giant young woman wearing an orange outfit, she has violet eyes and brown hair tied into pigtails-style. She is the famous member of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Serpent's Sin of Envy, Diane (it seems that the rumors were true after all).
It seems that she was quite smitten with Meliodas thus accepted to join in the journey only due to his request. And she also seemed to dislike Elizabeth because of that.
Diane pouted before turning to Meliodas, "Say Captain, who is that 'Lill' that this human princess is talking about? ...Could it be another of your mistresses?!"
"No way, definitively not, or rather why are you always thinking like that when another female name is brought up?" Meliodas scratched his hair before turning to Diane.
The Imps literally cried in joy upon hearing that the tyrant who had been ordering them for 10 years would finally leave this place, Hawk couldn't help but show sympathy towards them despite the little episode from earlier. He had already seen what kind of beating Diane put Meliodas through, believing that he cheated on their non-existent relationship. If they were put through the same thing for ten long years then the only feeling that can be shown towards them was pity or sympathy, that's all.
But suddenly dark clouds started to gather in the sky upward, Hawk raised his gaze upward, Hawk looked upward as he started to sniff around, "Smells like rain-clouds... Huh?! Hey, guys, look up!" Hawk shouted, shocked by what he was seeing. The others followed and all of them saw something that should be originally impossible, now understanding why the pig was so shocked.
"What... IS UP WITH THAT GIGANTIC THUNDER CLOUD?!" Indeed, in the sky there was a large dark and circular thundercloud that was tainting the sky in a black color. Inside the circle it was forming, many thunderbolts were bolting inside. Suddenly a large one descended from the cloud and separated itself into three layers before falling onto the ground.
"What's this?" Meliodas asked, surprised.
"Captain?!" Diane who was nearby immediately turned to him in worry, even Elizabeth and Hawk rushed to him, the Pranksters Imps, them, were trembling in fear.
"Lord Meliodas, what on earth is… The weather suddenly..."
"...It isn't of natural cause, that's for sure."
"...? Lord Meliodas, is there something wrong? You are frowning. Is this really bad?"
"Well… I don't really know whether it's bad or not, but..."
There was no way for a thunderstorm to start all of the sudden, no matter how bad the weather was in this forest, moreover it only covered one part of it. Besides Meliodas was sure that he felt the sensation of a foreign magic power right when the first spark fell. This magic power must be the cause of it, there is no doubt about it, but…
"...Isn't the thunder kinda… I don't know, falling at the wrong place?"
Well it was great that it didn't fell on them and he isn't one who could decide about the location of where it would fall but still… yes, for some reason it felt kind of wrong, it didn't fall to their location but the one a few meters away from them, and now that he thought about it, wasn't she at this place…?
"...Now, what should I do with this?" Lill sighed to herself, ropes of lightning tying her up tightly, restraining her movements. She originally tried to dodge but before she knew it, the lightning started to follow her and caught up back to her. However…
'However now, I can tell it… that this is exactly the same magic stored in the sword back at Bernia Village.' She did think that it looked similar. Not only the color or the shape, and even the vibration. But now that she touched it, she can say it for sure, it doesn't only seem similar, it's exactly the same magic she touched at Bernia…
Lill then looked up towards the sky, dark clouds were forming a circle around a few meters away, blue lightning kept on shining and roaring through the dark sky.
'That magic, probably the Holy Knight who sank the sword in first place… after all probably no mages would waste their time here…' She could easily imagine the scene.
Everyone was probably binded up like she was.
Meliodas was surely able to easily break himself free from his bindings and started to engage a fight with the Holy Knight…
Elizabeth would be only able to watch from the sidelines, still bound but not hurt, just immobilized as she can only shout his name…
Hawk being the same as her, barking a lot like a dog but unable to bite anything back, and…
However did they properly manage to find Diane in the end?
"—How long are you planning to ignore me?"
...Or at least so it was supposed to be.
"Oi, I am talking to you, look at me."
'...Now, what should I do with this?' Lill couldn't help but repeat those words in her mind as she finally opened her eyes and decided to face reality properly.
In front of her there was a young man, probably… in his twenties? (She has never been good at guessing people's age.) He has slightly curled neck-length pink-colored hair that has bangs hanging on the left side, blue eyes and was wearing a dark-colored full body knight armor, wielding a single hand sword sparkling with lightning in his right hand.
He was none other than the one who bound her with those tingling lightning-material ropes that fell from the sky and came out from within the misty woods in which he was hiding soon after. There was no doubt that he was the reason for why she was in such a state.
"Won't you break yourself free from those bindings?"
However there was one thing that bothered her…
"The past you wouldn't have any trouble getting out of such a situation… To think you lost your edge to such an extent…" The young man closed his eyes as he uttered those words with what seemed to be disappointment.
If it was the usual Lill, she wouldn't definitely be annoyed to be bad-mouthed like that all of the sudden, however there was something else that bothered her, or rather confused her, and the curiosity she felt won over the budding irritation.
'...Who… is he…?'
The other party spoke to her as if he knew her but Lill couldn't remember if she even met the man in front of her, and she was supposedly confident in her memory… She knows that there are a lot of interesting, original and vivid hair colors in the world but there would be no way that she would forget such a cotton-candy-like pinkish hair… right…?
Besides, the man in front of her kept his monologue going, without waiting for her response and completely unaware of her current thoughts, "What a disappointment, such a thing would make your past reputation cry."
'My past reputation… Do I even have one?' Lill raised an eyebrow, she tried to search through the recollections she had… Unfortunately she couldn't remember anything like a reputation about her.
It was a bit embarrassing to admit that despite the "good memory" she mentioned to have earlier was only centred on a certain category, she hardly paid attention to anything about herself, only directing it towards her surroundings. So even if she heard something about a rumor or reputation about her, she probably wouldn't have it even stored in a corner of her mind…
'He is… a Holy Knight… right…?' Lill started to doubt her earlier impression.
At least it looked so from the armor he was wearing and the magic he was using, besides he wasn't dressed like a mage would. Taking account of everything that happened previously, with how Apprentice Holy Knights from Liones were sent after them in Bernia Village, it wouldn't be surprising that after the former's defeat, they decide to send actual Holy Knights after them.
'...But if it is the case, why is he facing me and not Meliodas?'
After all Meliodas was the one who defeated Twigo and scared the other apprentices away, as the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, he was first on the wanted list. Soon after Elizabeth, who is targeted by the Kingdom and another Sin was also present somewhere in these woods… (Piglet, him, isn't even worth mentioning but it should be something between ham and bacon.)
So why did he appear in front of her? Shouldn't it be possible for him to immobilize her from a distance? Or could it be that he actually discovered that she was tasked by the King of Liones to escort the Third Princess and wanted to take her out first before attacking the others?
Ugh… So many questions and possibilities yet zero answers nor confirmation…
"What's wrong? Is it that shocking to see me here?"
'Well… Taking that into account of that I don't even know who you are, yes.' Lill responded to the man's words in her head, it seems that he was starting to get unnerved by her silence.
It seems that nothing would start properly unless she asks the question out loud. So why was she hesitating? If it were the usual her then she would have done it since long ago but for some reason she felt a bit awkward right now.
There was a familiar something about the man in front of her but she couldn't place where… and maybe this was the reason for her hesitation: there is something that she recognizes in him yet she doesn't remember having met him. The other party is addressing her as if he knew her well to add salt on the wound...
However this one-sided conversation would never end unless she took the first step to break it… so to calm the rising anticipation in her, Lill decided to bring this matter the most delicately possible…
"—Who are you?"
At that time, the world stood still. Lill had the impression that the man in front of her turned gray like a stone.
'Maybe I didn't phrase it correctly…' Seeing the open effect it had on him, she couldn't take it back as easily. So the only thing she could do for now was keep on rolling at this pace.
"I don't know you… or at least I don't remember. Who are you?"
*Crack*
A clean sound akin to glass breaking.
'...Ah, a crack appeared on his colorless body.'
Even though nothing struck him physically, how was it possible? The pink-haired man now reminded Lill of a single sand castle on a beach, so fragile that even the smallest wave could wash it away. Was this man hit by the wind in a similar manner?
How weird, it seems that the more she speaks the worse the situation becomes.
It took a while but color finally returned on the mysterious Holy Knight's figure. He blinked twice as if he was lost over what happened and then massaged his eyelids as he frowned deeply.
"...I must be tired, I just witnessed a terrible nightmare." So he said.
'Trying to run away from reality, huh? Not that I can't understand him… I don't know how to deal with these kinds of situations at all.' Lill felt some sympathy for the young man facing her, both still unmoving from their respective spot as if they were glued on it.
If it was a battle then she could have used her body to dodge the attacks and her head to think up a solution and counterattack… However all mental plans for these were interrupted and forgotten when the salmon-haired youth suddenly started to strike up a conversation with her.
And his one-sided yet persistent exchange took her completely off of guard, left her dumbfounded and confused over how she should act next.
She pondered.
She pondered very hard.
Yet she couldn't come up with any answer.
It may be one of the times she brainstormed the most in her life...
How weird once again, was she that stupid? She thought herself as pretty smart and yet…
Is that supposed to be some kind of surprise quiz? Was there some kind of hidden answer to guess?
"...Why aren't you saying anything? Don't tell me you truly forgot who I am?"
Ah. It seems that he misunderstood her silence for something else… Not that he was actually wrong about it but… so after a moment of silence and for the sake of not saying anything else that would worsen the already awkward moment so she just settled with nodding silently.
She truly started to feel apologetic for the young man (something that she doesn't usually do), he was that desperate trying to make her remember yet even after everything he said, she still had no clues on whoever he was. In times like this, better just admit it honestly.
"—!" The young man's eyes widened and he started to tremble, clenching his hand into a fist. With his face facing downward and his bangs hiding his eyes, Lill couldn't read the emotions he was having right now.
"Even though we trained together almost everyday 10 years ago…"
'What was I doing again 10 years ago?'
"Even though you taught me so much…"
'...No, I still can't remember.'
"Of all things you even forgot your greatest sin and ended up in such a pitiful state! I truly have misjudged you!"
'I did many things, which one is it?'
"Why, Meliodas?!"
'Yes, I am Melio—Wait, what?' This time, it was Lill who froze (though she didn't lose her colors).
After a long time of hesitation (not even one day), Gilthunder, who received the result from his spear throwing test, steeled his wavering will and decided to face his fears. After returning to Bernia Village and hearing the information of the soldiers, he rushed alone to the Forest of White Dreams.
The rumors were confirmed, the description of the soldier about the one who pulled out his sword blocking the water source of Bernia Village: blonde hair and green eyes (one of them at least), though both were of a lighter shade than the ones in his memories.
Well it wasn't only those parts that were different…
'...Isn't he completely like a girl now?!' Gilthunder managed to keep the scream that was about to burst through his lips and kept his expression calm and collected (only on the outside), however what he really wanted to do was to scream in shock to the heavens.
Meliodas didn't look at all like the one in his memories. His… or should he say "her"? Anyway, his(?) hair was long and he was wearing a dress, even his mannerisms and face were completely different.
10 years can surely change a lot of things, huh?
To say the truth, even though there was a huge difference between his previous look and current one, he couldn't deny that it looked terribly good on him. But why did he start to dress up like that? He couldn't have awoken some kind of strange fetish, would he…?
'No, no, no, no! Calm down, me!' Gilthunder gave himself a mental slap on the cheek, 'It's possible that it's just a disguise in order to fool us! After all Meliodas was unfairly branded as a criminal by the Kingdom and many were sent after him and he always told me that he disliked unnecessary fights so this dressup may be a countermeasure other than fighting! Yeah, it definitely must be so!'
(If someone were to ask him then he wouldn't be able to deny that at this moment, he was trying to run away from reality even just a little bit.)
'Even willing to put his pride as a man aside to prevent further battle casualties, even if they are his enemies! As expected of my hero, Meliodas! I, personally, definitely wouldn't be able to do the same!'
No matter how he looks, his hero stays his hero! Renewing his determination and respect for his sword teacher, Gilthunder continues his act as a cold and stoïc Holy Knight, thirsty for revenge for the Seven Deadly Sins.
"—How long are you planning to ignore me?"
"..."
"Oi, I am talking to you, look at me."
"..."
"Won't you break yourself free from those bindings?"
"..."
"The past you wouldn't have any trouble getting out of such a situation… To think you lost your edge to such an extent…"
"..."
…Hmm? How weird, why did it feel like he was talking alone? Shouldn't conversations be a two-sided exchange?
The lack of reaction on his mentor's new face started to worry him a bit, was Meliodas always this quiet? Or was it a part of the new character he made up? He was surely dedicated to his role…
"What's wrong? Is it that shocking to see me here?"
"..."
"..."
After the 5th silent answer from Meliodas, Gilthunder turned silent at his turn.
For some reason, the more Gilthunder spoke, the more he felt some feeling akin to uneasiness building up inside him along with a possibility he would like to avoid thinking about and refuse to acknowledge.
Gilthunder glanced discreetly at the crow who was turning around them a few meters above in the sky; it was his chaperon created by Vivian, to keep an eye on him and report any kind of suspicious moves he may make.
He must continue to keep his façade up if he wants nothing to befall on the hostage. Hardening his expression and mind, he opened his mouth—
"—Who are you?"
—Only to close it again almost immediately.
At that time, the world stood still. Gilthunder had the impression that call colors and warmth left his body… and it certainly wasn't from the poor weather in this forest. Yet Fate didn't allow him any time to recover.
"I don't know you… or at least I don't remember. Who are you?"
*Crack*
A clean sound akin to glass breaking. Ah, it felt like he got hit in the guts at full force by a large hammer. It felt like all his body was made of lead, either that or he became an ice statue. He couldn't move at all despite his best efforts, instead he felt like he was ready to turn to dust anytime now…
Did Vivian throw a spell at him from a long distance? Did she learn to even do that from a familiar? As expected of the greatest (current) magician of Liones… He needed to start to think of some countermeasures against it immediately.
After he finally managed to recover from such a vicious blow, he came to a certain conclusion.
"...I must be tired, I just witnessed a terrible nightmare."
Yes, that was the only explanation possible, or at least so he hoped.
"..."
Another silence.
"...Why aren't you saying anything? Don't tell me you truly forgot who I am?"
"..."
Re-silence.
"—!" Gilthunder immediately looked down and clenched his fists. He couldn't let his expression betray his intention but more than anything, he refused to face that possibility.
After all, to Gilthunder, his relationship with Meliodas was an irreplaceable bond that wasn't losing to the adoration he had for his father, enough for his father himself to start to sweat-drop to the endless number of times he brought up the name "Meliodas" at the dinner table.
"Even though we trained together almost everyday 10 years ago… Even though you taught me so much…"
He greatly treasured each moment they shared together and was eternally grateful for each of the teachings and time Meliodas bestowed to him despite his busy schedule as a Diamond-rank Holy Knight. Now that he reached the same rank as the model role he worshipped, he wanted to brag at least that he caught up to him a little, even if he was nowhere near his level for now.
"Of all things you even forgot your greatest sin and ended up in such a pitiful state! I truly have misjudged you! Why, Meliodas?!"
So the fact that Meliodas showed no recollection of him hurt him really hard. Was it in contrast to Meliodas who stayed at the same height(?), he grew up from a child to an adult? If so then it couldn't help if he couldn't recognize him, especially with the change in face and voice intonation (Howzer aside, even he has a hard time to consider the current macho Griamore used to be a skinny crybaby, and he grew up with him!).
So even if he didn't recognize him right now (just like how he failed to recognize Meliodas with his current disguise), he hoped that he still remembered the little boy he used to be, he hoped that he still remembered the "magic spell" he taught him.
Which is why he decided to put all his hope, like he originally planned to, in this single sentence.
"I am now stronger than any of the Seven Deadly Sins."
"...I see, that's great, congratulations?"
"..."
"..."
"...I am now stronger than any of the Seven Deadly Sins."
"Like I said, congratulations?"
"I am now stronger than any of the Seven Deadly Sins."
"Did you dislike the interrogative tone? Congratulations."
"I am now stronger than—"
"Geez! How persistent! How many times do you want to be congratulated anyway?"
"NO, THAT'S NOT IT!"
Meliodas's disguise was more elaborate than expected, even his voice sounded feminine, truly impressive. Gilthunder was so impressed that before he knew it, he forgot all the principles, all the cautious preparations he did and screamed out of his lungs, his careful mask of glass breaking apart.
"Although I feel happy to be praised, this is not what I mean, Meliodas!"
"Okay, good for you but I'm not Meliodas!"
"What I want is—Huh? What did you just say?"
Did he truly say what he just heard him say?
"I said that I'm not Meliodas, I don't understand why you even got that misunderstanding but if you're searching for him then he isn't here right now."
"..."
Impossible…
There was just no way…
But could it be that, he…
'Meliodas… Meliodas… MELIODAS LOST HIS MEMORIES—!'
"I don't get what is going through your head right now but I'm pretty sure that you got the wrong idea again."
'I see, that explains a lot of things! Why he doesn't recognize me, why he is dressed like that, why his whole personality seems to be different now!'
"So you're the one who's going to ignore me this time, huh? Well, fine, I did the same so we're even now. Go ahead and have all the misunderstandings you want, I won't interrupt you and I won't try to dissolve them anymore."
'Did an accident happen to him during those 10 years? Or was it the shock of seeing my father dead? After all, no matter how strong he is, even Meliodas is human (or is he?), he can get hurt wherever it's physically or emotionally.'
In a different way than himself, Meliodas was quite close to Gilthunder's father, the previous Lord Great Holy Knight Zaratras, Gilthunder often saw them laugh together. There was no way for him to be unaffected by his death.
Losing a precious friend, being unfairly framed with a sin he didn't commit by the Kingdom he worked for, being separated from his comrades forcefully and forced to run away from this same Kingdom while being always on the run…
With all those stressful events one after the other without even giving him the time to take a breath of rest, it wasn't impossible for him to fall into shock, lose his memories or even choose to repress them of his own will and wish to become someone else.
'...What on earth have we done… Us, the Kingdom…' Gilthunder gritted his teeths in anger, not towards Meliodas but at himself, at the people who were currently leading such depraved Liones.
People were always relying on them, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Meliodas, their leader. Before they were branded as traitors, some people were fearing them as they were still known as famous criminals yet still begged them for help each time they were in trouble.
However once the Sins were chased out of the Kingdom, even the people who were helped by them turned against them. Gilthunder used to think that it was unfair yet here he is doing the same thing as them…!
'I… was thinking that I could only fight alone to save Margaret, yet somewhere in my heart, I was still hoping for Meliodas' help!'
If Meliodas is back then there would be no more trouble, everything can be left to him… This is what Gilthunder kept on thinking during this last decade, this hope helped him to keep on going all these years but now he realizes that he just pushed all his one-sided expectations and ideals on Meliodas.
His hero is indeed brave and heroïc, the model that a Holy Knight should be in the little Gilthunder's eyes… but he too was human, he too could fail, he too could be a victim of daily misfortune like everybody else could… He asked too much from him.
'...From now, let's stop involving him anymore. If Meliodas is happy like this then so be it, I will not judge him and hope that he would get his happiness now as a woman—'
"—Oiii~! Lill! There you are! What are you doing? No matter how much we waited, you didn't come so we went to you instead!"
'It's no good! Stop dwelling into the past! The current Meliodas is now… Huh?' Gilthunder who was shaking his head violently and berated himself only to become dumbfounded again once he saw Meliodas walking out of the woods and going towards… the other Meliodas?
'Huh? What on earth was going on?'
The Meliodas who is exactly the same as in his memories (besides for the new clothes, clothes for male) and near him was the Meliodas who was completely different from the one he remembered, wearing an outdated dress…
Then Meliodas started to talk to Meliodas…
There were two Meliodas…
But should there actually be only one Meliodas?
Meliodas was here… yet Meliodas was there too…
"—Oh? So that's Little Gil! You sure have grown up since the last time I saw you, how are you doing since then? What were you doing with Lill?"
'"Little Gil"? Little Gil… This is me, right?'
Meliodas was calling him by the nickname he gave him in the past, this Meliodas knew him, but the other Meliodas doesn't. Huh? But "Lill"? Isn't she Meliodas too?
*Ppsshhhhh*
The sound of overheating came from his brain… because of that, Gilthunder wasn't able to concentrate on the conversation taking part in front of him.
"—him away—"
"Huh? You sure? I do feel a bit bad besides I've got things to ask him too."
"Please, do throw him away, I have gathered enough information for that sake."
"Well if you say so, Diane if you would please."
"Anything you want, Captain~"
Because his brain took a vacation, Gilthunder didn't react when he was lifted off the ground, being too immersed in his mental coma. The next time he properly regained awareness, he found himself in the middle of the ruins of a freshly destroyed church and he was bleeding from the head.
After watching Gilthunder fly away, and breaking the electric binds on Lill (how can she even forget that she was bound by them?), finally the silence was back in the forest. Lill eventually stood up before turning around towards the others but looked at the sky in a slight empty manner.
"Well, I think that you people have many questions to ask…" Lill said as she changed her gaze towards them.
Meliodas' expression turned serious and he stepped forward, his arms crossed. It was a rare expression that was not seen on his face often, something that caught Diane and Elizabeth's attention (Hawk didn't see it since Meliodas' back was facing him).
"Of course," He said, "After seeing something like that you can only owe us some explanations."
"I see… Indeed, you are right." As if she was agreeing with his way of thinking before nodding once, and then she declared: "However, I won't answer anything about it!"
"...What?" Meliodas asked incredulously. Even the people around them were shocked, after all, was she serious? Isn't this normally something that can't be avoided?
"Yes, I won't answer anything! So there's no use asking about it! Or rather I don't even want to talk about it since I don't get what happened either!" Lill nodded to herself, as if she was satisfied with her logic while it didn't make sense at all, and with those last words, she walked away, probably wanting to head back to the Boar Hat.
"What with that girl?! Ignoring the Captain's order like that!" Diane pouted angrily with her cheeks puffed out. She was close to feeling like stomping her feet in anger.
"Well I guess it's the usual, huh?" Hawk commented with a slight sigh.
However Meliodas, him, was strangely silent. His eyes were shadowed by his bangs, hiding them from being seen and his face was unreadable, showing no emotions.
Elizabeth was looking towards Meliodas in a slightly worried manner, "U-Um… Lord Meliodas…?" Could it be that he was angry? She had seen him seriously but had never seen him angry, she couldn't help but be a little nervous about it, and…
Suddenly Meliodas raised his face, his eyes wide open as he placed his hands behind his head in a fluid motion and, "Well, if she doesn't want to talk about it, it can't be helped!" He said in his usual easy-going voice.
"...Uh!" Elizabeth almost fell down in shock and incredulousness as she sweatdropped.
Hawk had a similar reaction, but he quickly recovered as he retorted in annoyance, "So you're letting it off that easily?!"
Diane, her, squealed in delight as she put her hands together and started to jump around and make the earth tremble by the same occasion, "As expected of Captain, so kind!"
"You're calling that kind?! I would rather say that it's insensible!"
"Hm? What did you say, piggy?"
"N-Nothing, ma'am!" Hawk shook in fear in front of the glint in Diane's eyes and quickly hidden himself behind Elizabeth's leg,
"H-Hawk… Calm down, okay?"
"E-Elizabethhhhh…!" The princess tried her best to calm her pig friend down while the latter ended up in tears, at the same time scared of Diane's threat and moved by Elizabeth's kindness.
"Nishishi!" Meliodas grinned, seeing the state his comrades were in currently, before his expression turned more confused, unseen by his traveling companions as he tried to make himself remember what happened earlier.
'Was it me or she was glaring at me like everything was my fault?'
Howzer was waiting at Liones Kingdom's front gates, he heard that his best friend Gilthunder would return soon so he wanted to meet up with him before anyone else. If he didn't do so then he would have to wait for him to finish until his report ends, and it would take too much time.
*Clang… clang…*
Upon hearing the sound of armored footsteps, Howzer looked up to see a familiar pink-hair and silver armor, without having any doubt of mistaking his best friend, Howzer raised a hand and called out with a smile on his face, "Yo, Gil! How was your… Wait, woah?!"
However his smile soon turned into a scream upon seeing the state where his best friend was currently in. It was normal after all, Gilthunder's armor was covered in mud, twigs of tree branches were stuck in his hair. To describe it in one sentence; it seemed as if he had been thrown through the land.
Howzer was beyond shocked, after all as a Holy Knight, Gilthunder was pretty strong, so much that even Howzer had a hard time winning against him. Yet, how on earth did someone manage to beat him up to such an extent?!
'C-Could it be really one of the Seven Deadly Sins?!' But before Howzer could ask anything, Gilthunder fell forward, on his knees, as his hands placed themselves on the ground to help him into supporting himself.
"Oi, what's wrong, Gil?! Are you wounded or anything?!" Howzer immediately kneeled beside his friend, trying to check over his condition, and he heard the most unexpected words he thought would ever come out from his serious friend's mouth.
"...Thank goodness, he isn't a travesty…"
"...What?"
Yes, of all the things possible and through the horrible experiences he went through, the thing that Gilthunder was the most relieved of is that Meliodas wasn't the crossdresser he almost thought him to be.
'...Gil, you must have been terribly tired, huh?' However, to Howzer, it was the beginning of another misunderstanding.
A/N.: I did promise a battle but this ended up being more of a mental one... XD The physical ones would arrive later on... And for why Gilthunder ended up mistaking Lill for Meliodas… there is a reason that would be explained later on! Please review your impressions on the scene!
