Sorry for the delay guys! But on the upside, to make up for it, this is a long chapter! So, a lot is going on here, and it is chopped up in a few sections to give you perspective of what's happening with other characters. I tried lining things up so it flows well without seeming forceful and stuff. I finally give you an explanation about Hecate's bracelets there, and in future chapters I will address the meaning of her pearl necklace... as I literally just figured it out myself last night and what i have planned for the future. lol.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Thank you, guys, for your feedback! I'm really glad you're liking this fic! And honestly, I do love hearing from you guys, I know I don't respond to them, but I truly do appreciate them!
See you next update!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Seven Deadly Sins, not that I wouldn't love to have the rights to have Ban... I own Hecate, her ability and any other characters not part of the anime.
Rated M for suggestive themes, strong language and potential explicit scenes later on.
"Yo!" Hecate greeted casually with a raised arm, the same arm he had cut off earlier that day.
King couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at the halfling, watching as she casually jumped off the crystal ledge and landed on her feet. There was something different about her now, even King could tell as he watched her walk towards him, a gentle smile on her face and no malice in her eyes. Out of reflex, the faerie king moved into a defensive position, waiting for an attack from the woman, who only smiled at him sadly.
"I'm not interested in fighting you, King." The halfling told him softly, raising both arms as a sign of peace.
"W-why not!?" he demanded, not understanding why the woman was being so calm after everything.
Even Ban was calm earlier and that man was never that easygoing about anything! It was as if the two knew something he didn't, and it frustrated him to no end. He watched as Cat's face filled with understanding and pity, her eyes softening at his frustration.
"Because I already paid my dues…" she murmured softly, placing a hand over the arm that he severed earlier. "You cut off my arm and I almost lost control…" she explained, and King felt guilt start knotting up in his stomach. "Don't get me wrong, I did deserve it after all." The woman added with a laugh, causing the faerie to stare at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?" he asked, seeing the look of guilt flash through her eyes.
"I couldn't save Elaine, even when pushing myself to the point of no return, I failed her…" Hecate told him softly, her eyes portraying how she still felt about the matter. "She's the sister I've never had, and I failed to protect her, to keep her safe. I failed a lot of people that day…" the woman gave a bitter laugh as she looked away from the man, shaking her head. "But that's why I'm not mad about the arm, however, I'm still annoyed at you..."
Before King could even open his mouth to ask her what she was annoyed at, the woman appeared before him, causing him to yelp and move back. He blinked with wide eyes as the woman shot him an annoyed look before feeling her finger jab his chest.
"What I'm annoyed about, is the fact that your actions caused the demise of my good tunic." She huffed, much to King's surprise as the man's entire composure faltered. "Because of you, that idiot," she pointed to Ban, "destroyed my only functioning tunic!" Hecate's cheeks puffed out. "Thanks to that, I'm now left with two threadbare tunics and my crop tops." She stated blandly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You owe me."
"W-what?" King sputtered, moving back from the woman as he stared at her.
"You owe me a new top." The woman stated, looking at him with a pointed stare.
"R-right…" King stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. He had never known Hecate to be materialistic about stuff… but he did remember that she was always particular about her clothes, always keeping them in the best condition as possible before using them for something else when they got too worn to wear. "L-later?" he offered, watching as the woman beamed at him.
"Perfect!" she chirped with a nod and it seemed that was that.
The faerie sighed heavily, not quite believing that it was as simple as that with the woman, but even he had to admit, she was unpredictable at the bet of times. Even before they all went on the run, the only ones who seemed to keep up with the woman was Ban and sometimes the Captain. It was nice to know that she hadn't changed much in that time.
"How did you get here anyway?" King asked, remembering the question he was about to ask her earlier. "Last I saw, you disappeared while I was chasing you and Ban!"
Hecate blinked at the question and tilted her head a little with a hum. "Oh… that?" she asked and rubbed the back of her head. "To be honest, I don't know." She shrugged. "I was just following Ela from where she took me earlier… and I appeared here." She gestured to the area around them.
The woman wasn't going to question how it happened though. In her opinion, the Necropolis was unknown territory, so however things happened… they just happened in her mind. She just followed Elaine, and she brought her here. That was that.
"That doesn't tell me anything…" King muttered, but the woman merely shrugged again.
"I'm not questioning the inner workings of a world that I don't understand." She replied simply and turned on her heel, her focus now on Ban as she walked towards him. "You and me, we're good, King…" she called to him from over her shoulder. "Just… try and not do that again, yeah? It's annoying having to rely on someone else to set my own body back together." She shook her head in amusement.
King could only watch and sighed, running a hand through his hair and over his face as he stared at the woman. She was impossible sometimes.
Walking up to Ban, Hecate couldn't help but shake her head at the man, even when he was being petrified, he still wouldn't give the satisfaction of victory. There was a smile on his face after all, and though she was too short to see it, she had a feeling she knew exactly what it would look like. She also knew exactly why he was smiling too. The man was notorious for letting people take their anger out on him. In this case though, she had no doubt in her mind that he let King do this as penance, to ease the guilt from that day.
"What am I going to do about you, Ban?" Hecate murmured softly, looking up at him. She raised herself up on her tiptoes and placed a hand on his cheek, feeling the cold stone beneath her fingers instead of warm skin. "We are a pair though, huh?" she chuckled shaking her head. "Filled with guilt and heartache… but I know there is hope… I saw it… Dante's not given up hope yet… he's waiting…" she whispered, feeling tears prick at her eyes again.
She shook her head and returned her heels to the ground. She rubbed her eyes and chuckled a little and sighed. After seeing Dante and talking with Elaine, Hecate wasn't feeling the guilt that had been weighing on her. No, instead she was determined to return Elaine to life, and revive her brother. Something about what Elaine said gave her hope that her brother truly did forgive her and wouldn't hold what happened years ago over her.
Elaine appeared next to her and stared at the petrified man with some confusion and surprise. Hecate doubted that the faerie had ever seen something like this before. Not to mention that it had been twenty years since she had seen him, the immortal had changed, though not by much.
"Think you can fix him?" Hecate asked curiously, looking up at the faerie curiously as she tilted her head from side to side, placing a finger on her chin.
"What are you talking about, Cat!?" King demanded, having heard her question, but not realizing that she wasn't talking to him. "There's no way I'm going to reverse it!" he told her stubbornly and watched as the halfling turned to him, pity dominated her eyes as she turned back to the space next to her and he froze. Was there someone else with them?
"You should show yourself to him, he misses you." The woman spoke softly, only to sigh and shake her head sadly.
King didn't know what was going on, but something twisted in his gut. Before he could try and get more answers from the woman, lights started appearing next to her, much to his shock and surprise. He didn't understand what they were or what it meant; he had never seen something like that before.
"W-what are you doing?" he asked, staring with wide eyes as the woman turned to face him, a pitiful, sad smile was on her face now.
"You know it's not me, King…" Hecate spoke softly, and shook her head.
"Then what is Ban doing?" King demanded, his voice trembling a little as he watched the lights, not sure what was going on. "But it can't be Ban… he can't do anything in this state…" he murmured to himself, trying to rationalize what was going on. "If it isn't Ban… and not you… then…" he trailed off, his eyes widening as his spear fell to the ground, embedding itself into the crystal. "I-I don't believe it…" he whispered, his body shaking now. "Elaine? Is-is that you?!"
Hecate felt pity for the faerie as she stopped at his side and lightly patted his shoulder. "Don't give up… She does miss you too," she whispered to him. It was time for her to go, she had her time with Elaine already, and she didn't want to hover. "I know you'll get to see her again."
King stared over at the halfling, who gave him a smile and began walking off towards the clashing energies in the distance. He turned back to the lights and Ban, watching in disbelief as the petrification shattered right in front of him.
"The petrification… it's gone…" King gasped, unsure how to feel about what was happening.
Feeling his knees go weak, King couldn't understand, if it truly were Elaine, why would she save the person who murdered her and took the Fountain for himself. Now, Ban stood in front of him, revived as if nothing had happened earlier and stared at the lights before him.
Ban wasn't surprised when he stared into the familiar eyes of Elaine. His posture relaxed as he smirked lightly at the faerie. It was good to see her.
"Hey, Elaine." He greeted her lazily, watching as she folded her arms behind her back as she smiled in return.
"Ban, what happened?" she asked, tilting her head a little as she focused on the scar on his cheek and neck. "How did you get that scar?"
Ban scoffed at the question, not sure what else to expect from her as he looked off to the side and rubbed the back of his neck. He noticed King was still there still, staring at him and Elaine in shock, but something told him that the faerie couldn't see his sister. Disappointment filled him when he realized his Kitten wasn't around either, which caused a frown that tugged at his mouth.
"I thought you guys watched over us from the other side." Ban retorted instead, turning to the blonde faerie, sighing a bit.
He sighed a little when he heard King talking to Elaine, pleading with her to show herself to him. He was desperate, not that Ban could blame him. This was his sister after all, he understood how the guy felt.
"Let him see you." He told Elaine, who merely shook her head with a frown, causing him to roll to his eyes at her.
"The Necropolis is a place where the living and the dead can see each other," She explained to him. "but only when bound by strong emotions." Elaine looked off into the distance, knowing where her sister was. "That's why you and Cat can see me right now…"
"That's a load of bull, and you know it." Ban scoffed, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest, but Elaine could only look away, causing him to chuckle a bit. "So, my Kitten already tried convincing you." He sighed heavily at that.
"I knew it…" King murmured in false amusement. "You're still mad, aren't you?" he asked, looking down at the ground. "That I abandoned you… that I turned my back on everything and walked away."
Hecate coughed as she knelt at the base of one of the crystal structures around them. She had just arrived at the area where the others had been fighting, unsure of what was going on until the explosion happened. As the smoke began dissipating, the halfling saw a figure in the distance. It was a young woman with straight black hair, standing poised and readied for battle. She was a Holy Knight, that much she was sure, the amount of power radiating off her was familiar from her time in the knights.
"Please, keep this interesting." The woman spoke, her polite tone did nothing to take away from the dark amusement that crossed her face.
There was not a single scratch on her body, unlike her Captain and friend. It was a curious sight to see and had the halfling wondering what exactly had happened when she left earlier. She stayed where she was, waiting for her chance to strike. No one seemed to notice her yet as she climbed the crystal structure, giving her a birds-eye-view of what was going on as she heard the giantess and her Captain push forth. Another explosion rocketed the area, smoke bloomed up and around her, causing the halfling to cover her face with her arms as she braced herself. The power this Holy Knight possessed was destructive and powerful, almost unnatural.
Hecate waited at her post until she saw that the woman's focus was solely on the giantess and their Captain. That was when she decided it was time to strike. She slipped two knives from her boots and launched herself from her perch. In a move that was all too familiar to her, she twisted her body around, gaining speed and momentum as she soared towards the Holy Knight. If she were lucky, she would catch the woman off-guard long enough to give her Captain and friend an opening to strike. The impact was immediate as the halfling slashed at the woman, only for the Holy Knight to whip around at the last second, bringing her rapier up to defend herself. Hecate was quicker though and dug one of her knives into the woman's arm, slicing it enough to draw blood before she was pushed back.
"Hecate, the Wolf Sin, I presume…" the woman mused, her dark brows slightly pinched together as she watched the halfling land on her feet not too far away.
"Hello." Hecate greeted cordially, smirking a little as she pushed off again towards the woman.
"Cat!" her Captain and friend called out in relief, happy to see the halfling.
The two clashed blades once more with Hecate on the offensive. Something about this Holy Knight bothered the halfling, it wasn't just her abnormally strong abilities, but the sheer pleasure the woman was having in battling them. It was something savage… almost primal about the way darkness seemed to bleed out from her that caused the halfling to act. She needed to act; every fiber of her body was on edge, her senses heightened to the point of paranoia. The last time she felt like this was twenty years ago. Hecate swiped at the woman again with the blade that was not locked with the woman's rapier and dug it into the Holy Knight's side. The woman hissed at the unexpected move and twisted around, forcing the blade out from her body and pushed her rapier towards the halfling.
Before the blade could make contact, Hecate pushed herself away from the woman, kicking the Holy Knight in the stomach as she flipped backwards, landing on all fours like a cat. With a smirk, Hecate brought a bloodied knife to the front of her face and inhaled deeply before taking a taste so she could control the woman. Except, the moment Hecate caught the scent of the woman's blood, she froze. It was tainted. The Holy Knight's blood was tainted, almost to the point where even Hecate had trouble distinguishing what was on her blade. It was more Demon than human, as if this woman had ingested the blood of a demon, which now mutating her very being. It was enough to cause the halfling's skin to crawl, but it also made Hecate's blood boil at the audacity of the Holy Knight. The woman probably didn't even know what repercussions would come of such a thing.
"Just who are you?" Hecate demanded slowly, trying her hardest to keep her anger in check as she stared at the woman.
Hecate wanted answers, but she knew that this Holy Knight would never tell her anything. But she knew something was going on now, something dangerous and life-threatening. Steeling herself, the halfling flicked her wrists slightly and dispelling the blood from her blades. There was no way in hell she was going to risk her own safety by ingesting this woman's blood. It was dangerous enough to take from her Captain, but the woman had no clue what would happen to her if she tried the diluted blood from the Holy Knight. She was not going to risk it.
"I am the Holy Knight Guila." The woman introduced herself, bowing slightly in greeting. "I must admit, it is a pleasure to be able to face you in battle." The woman readied herself for battle. "I wonder if the rumours of your strength are true?" she mused, the smile on her face growing more as she shot forward.
Hecate met the woman part way, parrying the strike with one of her blades, angling the blade above her. "Why did you defile yourself?" she asked the woman seriously, angling her other blade to strike, "I know what's in your blood."
Guila reacted instantly, her smile fell from her face only to be replaced with anger as she pulled her rapier back and activated her magical ability, causing a large explosion between them as she jumped back in time to not get caught in the blast. No one was supposed to know about that bit of information. For Guila, it unnerved her to hear someone like that woman speak knowingly about what power was flowing through her. Just who was this blue-haired woman, and how did she know about the Demon's blood? Clenching her jaw, Guila readied herself for another attack as she turned to the other two Sins who came after her now.
She would have to end this quick before the other Sins found out too.
"Why did you come?" Elaine asked, stopping the immortal from leaving the moment they heard a large blast coming from the distance, watching as Ban started to leave.
Ban froze, his jaw tightening slightly before he let out a slow sigh. He needed to get going, his nerves were on fire and his gut twisted with unease. He had a bad feeling and he feared something was going on with his Kitten. Looking over his shoulder at the blonde faerie, Ban was slow to respond.
"No real reason…" he admitted, keeping his voice leveled. "I just wanted to tell you something." He said simply, thinking back to the promise he and his Kitten made. "Kitten and I are bringing you back. We'll get Dante out from Stasis, so you two can finally be together." He stated and turned back when he felt a spike of power from his comrades, feeling his nerves flare a bit.
"Thank you, Ban." Elaine sniffed with a smile, knowing that the two would keep their word to her. "Now, listen to me, for once." She added, just as the man was about to take off. "Be honest with her, alright? Now, more than ever, she needs you. And if you don't do this, then you'll lose your true treasure." She warned him.
Ban didn't respond though; his lips were pressed into a thin line before he took off. He already knew what he had to do; it's been weighing on his mind for years already. He hated how many times he'd chicken out, but hearing those words struck something inside him. Because for once, he knew they were true. But that would come later, right now, he had to make sure his Kitten was safe.
Hecate coughed roughly; her throat felt raw as she looked up from the crater she was in with bleary eyes, feeling her stomach starting to knit back together more quickly than usual thanks to Ban's blood in her veins enhancing her regeneration. The smoke around them billowed out as she pushed herself up slowly and dusted off her clothes. Much to her surprise and glee, her clothes were unharmed. It was a small blessing as she jumped onto the ground and picked up her knives, checking ono them for any breakage, but so far, they were intact.
"Man… this woman is something…" she mused, sidestepping when her Captain landed next her to.
"She's a minx." The Captain laughed as he shook his hair out and grinned at her. "Looking better Cat." He nodded approvingly, causing the woman to laugh.
"Thanks, I feel better." She admitted and readied herself. "So, what's the plan?"
"Attack." He responded and she snorted, shaking her head.
"Whatever you say, Captain." She chuckled and shot off, followed by her Captain.
As the two headed towards Guila, Diane pushed them up with her magical ability, Creation, giving the two some height as they went in for the attack. Guila turned to them, seemingly thrilled at being able to battle the Sins like this. She raised her rapier to block the Captain's attack and fell to one knee feeling the weight of the man's brute strength.
"You truly are the Captain of the Sins…" Guila mused as she pushed back, but before she could attack them, Hecate pushed her back with a forceful kick and the woman's smile grew. "So, the rumours of your strange ability to bounce back and strength aren't unfounded… I'm impressed." She chuckled as the two Sins moved towards her again.
"Rank isn't everything." Hecate retorted and slashed at the woman, only to pull back with her Captain when Guila activated her ability again, and Diane moved forward, covering the woman with her hands, but that did little to stop the explosion from happening.
The strength of the blast sent everyone flying. Hecate curled herself into a ball, preparing for a particularly painful impact, but it never came. Instead, she felt her body shift midflight before she collided with a warm chest with arms securely wrapping around her body, though the two did skid back a few feet due to impact.
"Miss me, Kitten?" Ban's voice purred into her ear, almost teasingly as her head shot up with a grin.
"You always did have great timing." Hecate chuckled in relief, momentarily dropping her head back against his shoulder in relief. "Thanks for catching me."
"Anything for you." He teased and set her back on her feet before turning to the woman who had the power the throw the likes of them back with apparent ease. "What do I need to know?" he nodded to the Holy Knight, watching as she straightened herself, focused on their Captain and the giantess.
"She likes blowing us up…" the halfling replied dryly, dusting herself off again. "She's also strong…"
"Sounds like fun." Ban mused before his Kitten could finish speaking, causing her to roll her eyes at him.
"Come now, please try harder." Guila requested as she pointed her rapier at the Captain of the Sins and the giantess. "With paltry attacks like that, you won't be able to stop my own magical ability, Explosion." She told them with a slight sigh. "The Wolf Sin did not put up much of a fight, it was rather disappointing, I thought she would be a rather fun adversary…"
Guila swung her sword back to attack, but it was stopped the moment Ban stretched his arm out, using his magical ability, Snatch, to take hold of the weapon. The Holy Knight didn't seem to realize what happened until she tried bringing her sword forward, only for it to pull back, causing her to turn around to see what was stopping her from attacking. Behind her, she stared at the other two Sins, unable to believe that she had so easily missed them. Especially the woman, she was far too quiet for her own good it seems.
"Sorry about that!" Ban drawled lazily in amusement as the woman's smile seemed to grow. "I'm gonna have to stop you right there." He stated lazily, smirking as he shifted his stance a bit.
"Ban!" Meliodas chimed happily, grinning when he saw his two companions.
"Ban the Fox Sin!" Guila spoke, identifying the man instantly, then chuckled. "Of course, you saved the Wolf Sin… your undeniable relationship is as legendary as your reputations as Sins." She mused and Hecate felt a bit of pride at that. "Please let go of my rapier now." She requested as she tugged on her weapon.
The two Sins shared an amused look with each other before Ban responded. "I take offense to that, lady." Ban smirked some more. "I'm not touching anything!" he explained and with a slight flex of his fingers, the rapier shifted towards him, causing the Holy Knight to grasp the weapon with both hands at the unexpected pull.
"Honestly," Hecate chuckled, and lightly rapped her knuckled against the immortal's chest in amusement. "You're all about the foreplay, aren't you?" she teased, grinning up at him as Ban let out a laugh.
"Oh, don't even get me started, Kitten." He retorted in amusement, grinning almost ferally at her. "We have a lot to catch up on." He winked at her, causing the woman to laugh this time, grinning playfully at him
Ban knew the instant he caught her that something inside her had changed. Honestly, he wanted to know what the hell happened to her in the first place, with the way she suddenly disappeared on him like that. One moment he was following her and Elaine, next thing he knew the two of them vanished without a trace. Despite trying to find them, he couldn't and that was when King approached him. While even he knew it wasn't the time to get answers, he planned on getting them later.
"Later then, we're a bit busy here." His Kitten responded coyly, causing him to laugh.
"It's a date." He purred and the two of them shared the same teasing grin.
They were still very much aware of the Holy Knight trying to retrieve her rapier from the immortal's ability, but to no avail. Yet, the odd couple felt the need to state that they had to talk afterwards. Whenever that might happen.
"Uhm… guys… we're in the middle of something still…" Meliodas reminded them, sighing as he shook his head a little and turned to Diane. "Those two are impossible sometimes…"
"Yeah… they seem worse than ever now…" Diane agreed with a nod and sigh of her own as she looked over at them, knowing something had changed.
"We know, Captain…" the two spoke simultaneously, rolling their eyes a bit, but turned their attention to the Holy Knight.
Hecate moved off to the side, giving Ban some space just in case the Holy Knight decided to act. Grabbing her knives from the ground this time, she scowled when she saw the way they were shattered from that last blast. All was left were the hilts, making them useless in battle. Debating on whether to keep the hilts or nor, Hecate merely shook her head, setting the hilts down again. It was no use trying to get the blades replaced now, the style of blade and how it was made was gone, replaced by time and evolution of blacksmiths. But now, she was torn between using her bare fists or her Sacred Treasure, Aetherius to battle with. She had her doubts though, after all, her bracelets were acting up, and she honestly didn't know what would happen if she unsealed them during battle. For now, she would wait and play it by ear and if she felt the need to use them, she would.
Ban grinned at the Holy Knight, watching as she struggled to take back her sword, only for him to flex his fingers again. He watched amused as the rapier jerked away from her as she tried keeping it in her hands. She struggled with him before realization crossed her face.
"Oh, I see…" Guila spoke, finally understanding what was going on, during the interlude between the two Sins, the Holy Knight had been trying to understand what was going on with her rapier. "This is your magical ability, Snatch!" She stated before smirking a bit. "Very well, I'll give you something that's more appropriate for a sneaky thief."
Ban hummed a bit and watched as something small and glowing shot out from the tip of the rapier, rapidly moving towards him. Before he could do anything, it was right in front of his face and exploded. Ban let out a gasp as his body was burnt and torn apart. He felt his jacket be torn to pieces from the blast and he was thrown back, landing flat on his back with a groan. There as a slight ringing in his ears as he processed what happened. It was one of the few times he was glad to being immortal… he supposed. He could see the woman talking to him, but he couldn't hear what she was saying exactly. All he wanted was to wipe that smile off her face.
Before she could strike again, his Captain and his Kitten moved, gaining her attention as she turned to them, avoiding the leg swipe and the kick. Ban gritted his teeth as he could only watch as smoke bloomed around the woman before she attacked from behind as the explosion threw the two Sins away in different directions. His hearing was slowly returning now as he got up, running to catch his Kitten. Diane caught their Captain while he used his ability to pull his Kitten to him. The woman was panting as her body healed from the wound.
"You okay?" he asked, looking down at the halfling who looked up with him with a small smirk.
"Never better…" she retorted with a slight groan. "I'm lucky you freely catch me though." She teased lightly, causing the immortal to snort as he smirked down at her.
"Always will, Kitten." He chuckled a bit as he set down back onto her feet. "You alive in there, Captain?" Ban asked as he began rotating his arms.
Next to him, Hecate was doing the same, but with her neck as she toyed with the bracelets on her wrists. Guila though, was looking quite pleased with this turn of events.
"I'm impressed." She mused, directing her words to Ban this time. "Your indestructibility exceeds my expectations."
"You better believe it." Ban drawled out as their Captain jumped down from Diane's bosom to join them. "You can't beat what you can't kill." He told her.
Guila laughed at his words, seemingly unconcerned about what the immortal said. "Oh, indestructible and undefeatable are two different things entirely." She assured him, her smile growing in amusement. "If I'm determined to finish you off, I have a number of ways."
"This lady gives me the willies." Ban mused, cracking his fingers as he got ready to fight, but there was amusement on his face all the same.
"Is she right, Ban?" Meliodas asked curiously, looking over at the immortal
"You can chat later, you two!" Diane scolded them, causing Hecate to chuckle.
"Besides, that isn't even the worst of it." Hecate mused simply, unsealing her bracelets for the first time in years. "There's something twisted going on in this country…" Both men looked at her a bit, waiting for her to continue but realized that she wasn't going to explain further right now.
Two silver chakrams were clutched in her hands, faintly glowing as the halfling got into position. This was a gamble, to use her Sacred Treasure, she could only hope that they would help give them enough time before King came to help them out.
It was time.
Without an order or word, they took off towards the woman, each of them ready to fight.
There were so many thoughts going through King's head that he wasn't even sure where to start focusing them. He didn't understand what Hecate meant about that day or what Ban's parting words meant in the long run. The two were as confusing as ever…
"I don't understand…" King murmured to Elaine; the floating lights hovered before him still. "How can you forgive Ban, a man who took everything from you, and Hecate, a woman who didn't bother trying to save your life?" he asked her, wanting… no needing some of his questions answered.
If there was anything that could get rid of this cloud of confusion from him, it could only come from his sister… if she decided to answer him. He didn't know what to expect though… he had served as part of the Seven Deadly Sins for years with Ban, and two with Hecate and despite everything, he had considered them friends, until he learned the truth about them and their history with his home.
"I endured 650 years in solitude after you abandoned our country." Elaine spoke softly as she moved towards her older brother. "For fifty years, I found comfort in Cat and her brother, Dante… and they helped erase that loneliness, even after they left to travel before returning and I knew I had something to look forward to… every time they returned to me, that loneliness disappeared, and seemed to transfer over to Hecate…." she explained softly with a sad, tender smile upon her face. "In seven days, Ban made that loneliness disappear and found a way for all of us to be together…"
King didn't know what to think about that, but it was clear from his sister's voice that she would never trade the time she had with them for anything. Somehow, the bond shared by them went deeper than he ever expected.
"Ban and Hecate knew that you were my brother." Elaine continued to speak, "That is why Ban deliberately egged you on and let you spear him. It's why Hecate doesn't hold a grudge against you for what you've done to her…"
The words his sister spoke pierced through him as he realized that was exactly what happened. The way the two acted earlier before they entered the Necropolis made sense now. Even the way the two acted in this place fell together. Hecate had even mentioned it too him too, but he hadn't really listened to her words. He felt like a fool, this entire time, the two people who he kept blaming for Elaine's death… knew his intentions this entire time and allowed him to do what he pleased.
Looking up now, King could only stare at the hovering image of Elaine who was looking down at him now with softness in her face.
"They aren't the people you believe them to be." She spoke softly, but King could only gawk.
"E-Elaine!" he stuttered out, unable to believe that she was finally appearing to him. It was easy to ignore the loud explosions coming from the distance as he stared at his sister, standing now as he took her in. "Why can I see—" he cut himself off, unable to finish his question.
"If you can see me now, it's because I want you to understand Ban, Hecate and Dante." She told him softly, sighing a little as she looked off into the distance. "I want you to save them…" she requested as she opened her eyes to look at her brother. "Save Ban and Hecate… and if you ever get a chance to meet Dante, please, save him if he is ever in danger…"
"Elaine…" King spoke quietly, surprised by her request and was about to ask her more when something seemed to crash behind him.
Turning around, he saw a girl and a pig on the ground seemingly out of breath with the pig complaining that he could no longer run any more. That confused him, since he didn't know who either of these beings were, but their appearance had distracted him. Suddenly remembering his sister was there, he turned around to speak with her, only to see that they were alone, his sister was gone from sight. He couldn't even see any lights floating around either.
She had left.
Hecate couldn't even blink before Ban covered her body with his, shielding her from the large explosive blast that knocked the wind out of her. She was pressed against Diane's leg and Ban's body as heat, smoke and flame wrapped around them. Hecate was coughing as the smoke passed, panting as she looked up at Ban, whose face contorted into one of pain and exhaustion. She could smell blood dripping from every wound as he panted over head, and she could tell that he was becoming annoyed by constantly being blown up like this.
"And what have we here?" Guila mused as she walked towards the battered group. "Even if my Explosion wasn't at full power, I'm impressed that you weren't set flying when you bore the full brunt of it." She stopped walking with a hand on her hip, smiling at the sight before her. "The hardiness of you Giants really is something else."
"Captain, are you okay?" Diane asked quietly, smiling weakly at the blonde.
"Thank, Diane!" Meliodas responded grateful.
"If you were gonna take the hit, shield me too, damn it." Ban complained to the giantess with a groan as he knelt back a bit and smirked down at his Kitten. "Then again… I can't complain too much." He mused, lightly tilting the halfling's head up. "You okay?" he asked, checking her out for any injuries.
"Peachy, thanks Ban." Hecate responded with a slight smirk as she raised a hand and Ban felt his blood returning to his body at a faster rate than usual, causing him to chuckle. "Gotta keep my meat shield durable for future attacks." She teased lamely and he smirked at her.
"Not happening, Ban." Diane responded, causing the halfling and immortal to snort.
"That's how it is?" the man mused, sharing a look with the halfling now, both were amused.
"Captain, I… I think I'm done for." Diane spoke weakly, causing Hecate to shake her head a bit as the giantess let the blonde down. "Send me off with a kiss!"
"You're not even bleeding, Diane." Hecate called her out as she cleaned out her ear a little. "You just need some rest." After all, the halfling couldn't smell any blood coming off her.
"You rest here for a bit." Their Captain told her as he walked towards the other two. "Like Cat said, you just need some rest."
Ban smirked a bit and stood, offering his hand to Hecate to help her up, which she gratefully took. She dusted off her pants and picked up her chakrams again, nodding when she noticed they were still intact, only to sigh when they returned to their sealed form. Yes, they definitely were on the frits, which meant they would be useless from here on out. Shaking her head, she slipped them back on around her wrists and shrugged when Ban looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, leave the three of us see to this." Ban mused, grinning a little more as he turned to the Holy Knight.
Guila couldn't help but shake her head as she stared at the group before her, unable to believe what she was seeing. She was expecting this to be a challenge, instead, she was met with people who did little to keep her amused.
"This is the legendary order?" she asked with a bit of a sigh. It was hard to believe, none of them were what she was expected, and she felt as if she was being let down by the entire experience.
Taking advantage of the Holy Knight's distraction, the three shot off. Ban went in for a frontal assault while Hecate and their Captain flanked her from either side. Immediately the woman noticed and acted, causing a small explosion before her to push Ban back, while creating a small smokescreen so she could kick their Captain out of the way. Ban struck again, only to have her rapier pierce through his throat, but before she could use her ability, Hecate moved in. The halfling swept the woman's legs out from beneath her which led to the rapier being ripped out of Ban's neck, twisting her own legs up and around the woman's neck to throw her away from the immortal with the help of her chakrams. Except that her plan was flawed as Guila merely gave Hecate a sadistic smile and snapped her fingers.
The sound of Hecate's screams pierced the air as the explosion erupted around her. Ban called out to the halfling, but there was no response as the woman's body flew passed them and the sound of crashing crystals echoed in the air. Ban gritted his teeth and as much as he wanted to go check on her, he knew he couldn't and moved in for the attack while the Holy Knight got up on her feet once more. Together with their Captain, the two men tried catching the woman off guard, until their Captain was blown away in an attack, leaving Ban as the sole fighter. The woman still dodged his attacked until he found himself with her rapier piercing his throat again.
"I suppose legends really are nothing more than fantasy in the end." The woman mused but before she could act, a spear pierced through Ban's body.
The force was enough to send Guila into a cluster of crystals, while Ban merely stood there, surprised before looking down at the spear protruding in his chest. He heard something landing behind him and turned with a hum, only to see King there, looking at him passively, though it was hard to see much of the faerie with his spear in his chest.
"Hey there, Ban." King greeted the immortal as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"Hey, what's the big idea, King?" Ban complained, not amused by having the faerie stick his spear through his body for a third time that day.
"Can't you tell?" King mused blandly. "I'm here to save you."
"Save me, huh?" Ban mused with a sarcastic tone and smile. "Thank you ever so much."
"You're quite welcome." King responded simply, still not understanding why he was doing this. "Though I wish you were more sincere in your thanks like Cat was."
"What do you mean?" Ban asked frowning now, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the faerie.
"I saved Cat a few moments ago." King explained with a slight roll of his eyes as he nodded over to where the Captain and Diane were. "She was much more grateful before she passed out."
Ban took a moment then to look over and saw his Kitten resting soundly against a clump of crystal. Relief filled the immortal as he let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging slightly as he watched her even breathing. The blood on body moved to repair itself and for him, that was all that mattered.
"Thank you." The immortal spoke quietly, much to King's surprise.
"It's to help the Captain and Diane." The faerie responded, trying to keep himself stoic appearance.
"What? But not me or Kitten?" Ban complained, much to the other's amusement.
"I guess not." King responded easily. "It's also for my sister, who seems to care for both of you."
"You know that's not true… you're a softy too, King." a tired voice spoke up, causing everyone to turn to Hecate, who cracked open one of her eyes. "But… we won't hold it against ya if you deny it." She gave everyone a tired smile.
"Kitten…" Ban murmured, his shoulders sagging a bit as he looked at her.
It was a relief to see her still in good spirits after what happened earlier. He truly had been worried about her, even with his blood flowing through her veins, she wasn't immortal like he was. Her pink eyes were a light fuchsia, but it was nothing for him to worry about. He could already see her body knitting itself back together slowly, which meant she would be fine.
"Imma just rest here, so you guys finish this bitch off… She's turning into a real pain." Hecate complained a little as she slowly adjusted herself against the crystal.
The men shared a look of amusement, knowing they had nothing to worry about as Ban rested his hands on his hips. Even Diane gave a smile, if their group was swearing and making fun of each other, then everything was fine. They were a strange lot, none of them could deny that, but that's also what kept life interesting for all of them.
An explosion of crystal drew everyone's attention away from each other to the place where Guila had crashed. The Holy Knight appeared from the rubble with a slight tick on her face as she stared at the group, not quite as amused as she had been previously.
"Your betrayal is not entirely unexpected." Guila said, looking over at King as she stretched out her hand. "However, I do find myself disappointed, King the Grizzly Sin."
"But you saying that is unexpected to me." King replied with a slight shrug. "I don't remember ever officially allying myself with the realm's Holy Knights." He said, hearing a snort coming from the resting halfling, and continued on. "The realm wanted the Seven Deadly Sins destroyed, I wanted Ban and Cat destroyed. Our interests were temporarily aligned, that's all." He motioned to the two Sins. "That situation has changed."
"Yeah, whatever, stop talking behind my back." Ban complained as he cut into the conversation.
"Easier for him to do when he is literally behind you, Ban." Hecate piped up with a snort causing Ban to shoot her a look.
"I see." Guila mused as she readied herself to attack. "An entirely predictable excuse." She moved her hand around, creating small orbs of explosives before sending them towards Ban and King. "Shot Bomb!"
King merely flicked his wrist, and his spear flew out of Ban's body, creating an even bigger hole than before. He sent his spear spitting, interacting with the bombs and caused them to explode without damaging anyone. In that small span of time, Ban was fully healed, and Hecate as sitting up with a leg bent up to her chest as watched the scene before her with their Captain standing nearby.
"So that is the spirit spear Chastiefol," Guila mused, staring at King's twirling weapon. "said to be forged from the Holy Tree that exists in the Faerie realm. It is more durable than steel and possess the mysterious properties of the Holy Tree itself. Your magical ability can summon forth all of those properties. Disaster."
Guila seemed to get excited about that now as she watched the spear stop before King as the faerie allowed himself to merely look bored at the entire situation. It was clear that he wasn't in the mood for idle chitchat anymore.
"This should make things a bit interesting, at least." Guila commented. "Feel free to attack me five-on-one." She told the Sins, readying herself for battle against five Sins.
"No." King stated as he hovered towards the Holy Knight. "One-on-one." He told her and everyone watched as Guila's face fell.
"Are you serious?" she asked him, believing it to not be worth her while to only fight one Sin like this, after all four-on-one had barely entertained her.
Ban and their Captain shared a look, smiling as they moved off to the side to sit down. Ban sat next to his Kitten, sighing in content as he made himself comfortable. He folded his arms behind his head to enjoy watching the fight. He felt a light weight fall against him, but he didn't need to look down to know who it was as he wrapped an arm gently around the woman. On the other side of the halfling, their Captain sheathed his broken sword again with a grin.
"She's all yours, King!" he called to the faerie.
"If you lose, I'll kick your ass!" Ban added, chuckling when his Kitten lightly nudged his ribs.
"You got this, King." Hecate told him simply with a tired smile.
No one was worried about the faerie, knowing that he could take care of this himself. Besides, they were tired, it was nice to get a break and let someone else handle the troublesome woman. Behind their Captain, Diane mentioned that she wasn't going to make it, but no one paid her any mind. They knew she was just trying to get some attention now that their Captain wasn't focused on battle.
"As you wish." Guila spoke in slight amusement, not expecting things to be any different than it had previously with the others. "Whenever you are—" She was cut-off when King sent his spear straight at her, scratching her cheek before she could even finish.
"Hey, that's no good." King commented, unimpressed with the Holy Knight. "Dodge properly."
The faerie was used to a more of a challenge when it came to attacking others, such as Ban or Hecate. Both of them were always on alert and knew how to dodge at a moment's notice, or at least they tried to. Earlier that day had been an exception with the two, for the most part.
Hecate's face scrunched as the scent of Guila's blood teased the air. It bothered her to realize that there were humans who had the compatibility to merge with Demon blood. More so, that there were people who willingly ingested the blood in the first place. While she didn't know why or how this Holy Knight came to accessing the Demon's blood, the halfling knew there were serious underlying consequences to it, not that they were told about it… In Hecate's mind, the only ones who could digest Demon's blood without consequence were those who could absorb the demonic capabilities, like full-blooded vampires. But, as far as she knew, only she and Date were left who had vampiric blood inside them. And Hecate for one, could not stomach or absorb Demon blood without becoming seriously ill.
Ban watched the one-sided battle in amusement, leaning back against the crystal slab with his Kitten at his side. He didn't know what the woman was thinking when she suggested it be a fight of five-to-one. She completely underestimated them, if they were all at full power things would have been a lot different.
The battle was truly one-sided as King kept Guila on her toes as he commanded his spear with ease. There was nothing the faerie couldn't do with his weapon, the treasure granted to him by the Holy Tree, a tree that held so many memories of his people and of his sister. King pushed Guila up a mountain of crystal with his attacks with everyone focused on what was happening. At the top of the mountain, Guila tossed the spear away with a flurry of explosions before raising her rapier upwards, her face was a mixture of panic and frustration as she parried and dodged King's attacks, her breathing hard.
"Brilliant Detonation!" Guila cried out as her rapier sparked above her.
The four resting Sins got up, staring at the attack with bated breaths. None of them knew what this attack was going to do, but from the look of things and how large the pulsing, swirling ball of light was, it was not going to be good for any of them. All they knew was that if it went off, it was going to cause a lot of damage.
"Hey now…" Ban murmured with a frown, lightly pushing his Kitten behind him out of reflex.
"Spirit spear Chastiefol, fifth configuration!" King commanded as his spear swirled around and began changing forms. "Increase!"
Instead of a spear, there was an army of floating kunai-like spears, all pointed towards Guila as she began firing her attack. One by one, each small spear shot towards the Holy Knight as King directed them with a snap of his fingers. The spears met Guila's attack head on, causing a rupture of explosions that lit the Necropolis in a mass of fiery light. When the light faded, every kunai was pointed at the Holy Knight from behind, cornering her at an impasse. Curling his fingers inward, the kunai's shot forth, raining down upon Guila without hesitation, bringing down the mountain of crystal with it.
No one said anything as they just looked upon the rubble that was once a crystal mountain. In such a little amount of time, King had taken down Guila, when none of them could even so much as put a scratch on her. With the exception of Hecate's wound to the woman, no one else had even gotten close to this. It was quite the sight to see, and part of the reason why none of them had been worried about King battling alone. They knew he had it in him.
"Hey!" the sound of Hawk's voice called to them as the pig and Elizabeth came towards them. "Wow, you guys are really going at it!" the pig noted, seeing the destruction around them.
"You aren't hurt, are you?" Elizabeth called to them in worry as the group turned to the two with smiles on their faces.
"Hey!" Their Captain greeted them and raised a hand in response. "Nope, we're all fine!" he assured them, and that was the truth.
That little rest they all had gave them enough time to recover. Even Hecate was now fully healed thanks to the rest. Elizabeth seemed to relax at the news, expressing her happiness with a relieved smile as she took everyone in. Despite being a bit battered and tired looking, no one was seriously injured or bleeding.
"Thank goodness." Elizabeth sighed out, smiling brightly at their Captain as she got off to stand next to Hawk.
King turned to look at them and found himself smiling at the group. It was nice to see everyone together like this, even if they weren't a full group yet, he could easily see that their bonds were still as strong as ever. Rubble began moving behind King as Guila emerged, wobbling slightly as she tried getting her balance back. She was a disgraced knight who lost a serious battle, but in her mind, it still wasn't over yet.
"At this close a range," the woman spoke as she dashed towards the faerie, who looked behind him in surprise. "even the spirit spear's defense won't save you!" she stated, about to activate her ability.
Only, she never got the chance as their Captain appeared between her and King, knocking the woman's attack away with his broken sword. Diane instinctively moved to protect Elizabeth from harm, covering her from any blast and stopping the girl from running off towards their Captain. Ban and Hecate merely watched, unconcerned about what was going to happen. They knew their Captain well enough to know he hated back attacks, finding them cowardly.
"Right back at you." He told her simply in a serious tone, as the blonde activated his ability, Full Counter, to reflect her attack back at her, encompassing her in her own attack.
"Sir Meliodas…" Elizabeth spoke in worry, her hands curled slightly around Diane's large one as she watched.
"I don't sense Guila anymore." Diane informed them and Hecate found herself nodding.
That was true, the halfling couldn't sent the Holy Knight anymore, but she knew that the woman wasn't dead. Next to her and Ban, Elaine appeared, looking at the spot where the Holy Knight had been.
"The force of that blast most likely returned her to the living world." Elaine informed them, causing the halfling to hum a bit. "You came here in your own flesh and blood, but she was here in spirit alone."
"Is that how it works?" Hecate asked curiously, looking over at her sister who merely gave her a smile.
"M-my ears are gone!" Hawk squawked out, causing everyone to turn to him to see that the pig's ears were slowly disintegrating in a brilliant light.
"Hawk!" Elizabeth went to move towards the pig until she noticed that her own body was starting to do the same. "It's happening to me, too!" she explained, looking panicked. "What's going on? This feels gross!" she complained.
Hecate rolled her eyes when their Captain immediately rushed in with a perverted smile on his face and began squeezing Elizabeth's breasts. "Then let's feel something better" he eagerly suggested.
"What are you doing Captain?" Diane demanded, growing jealous at their Captain's perverted nature. "Hang on, what's this?" she asked, finally noticing that she was starting to disintegrate too.
Other than the Captain, the only ones not freaking out were Ban, King and Hecate, who were standing together just watching the others react to whatever was happening to them. Hecate found herself sighing a little as she looked at her flaking body. It was not the worst things she had felt before, nor was it the grossest thing either. If she had to describe it, it was a mix between being covered in mud and blood, at least that's what it felt like to her.
"You guys don't belong here," a voice spoke up causing Hecate to turn around first only to see Ellen and Luigi, the kids they had met earlier, "so the Necropolis is starting to reject you."
The two kids were smiling at them, covered in a light, glowing film that portrayed their true natures. Hecate smiled at this, not surprised by their appearance in the Necropolis.
"That's great, you met the person you wanted to see." Luigi said, looking quite happy at that.
"What are you two doing here?" Ban asked in confusion, his brows pulling together slightly now.
"Wait, you were residents of this world the whole time?" King asked in disbelief.
"I did mention that I couldn't smell anyone living earlier…" Hecate mused softly and reached over to ruffle the kid's hair fondly.
"Your cooking was really yummy. Thank you." Ellen told Ban before looking over at Hecate. "And thank you for caring for me and protecting us earlier!" She beamed.
"Sure thing." Ban smiled at them, looking quite content.
The odd couple turned slightly when they felt someone else around and smiled softly when they saw Elaine. She was looking at them happily from where she floated, and in the distance, Hecate could see Dante's tomb.
"I'm glad I got to see you two." She told them warmly.
"Till next time, Ela." The two replied with the same amount of warmth.
"Thank you, Brother. For protecting them." Elaine spoke to King now, who was looking away from them.
Just as King turned to see his sister, it was too late, and the group returned to the living world in a flash of light. They were in the spot that they had entered the Necropolis, and it felt a little strange to see more colour than just green now, causing the halfling to rub her eyes a little.
"Looks like we're back in our own world." Meliodas mused, looking around with his hands on his hips.
"That was so weird!" Diane complained, staring at her hand a bit.
Elizabeth turned a bit before gasping, catching everyone's attention as she took a step back. Before her was Guila, slightly bent over with her hand pushed into her chest where her heart was. Hecate found herself grimacing at the sight. She couldn't understand how someone could be that desperate to get to them that they would risk their life for it.
"Oh, she reached the Necropolis by putting herself into a state of near-death." Meliodas stated with a slight frown on his face.
"That's far too dangerous for anyone to sanely try…" Hecate mentioned dryly, shaking her head a bit.
"Doesn't that mean she's gonna wake up soon?!" Hawk asked fearfully, and the others nodded.
"Let's get away from here, everyone!" Elizabeth urged, just as fearful as Hawk, if not more after everything she had seen in the other world.
"Let's kill her while the killing's good." Ban suggested wickedly, grinning at the prospect of getting rid of the woman before she came after them again.
"Don't be barbaric." King responded dryly. "I'll prettify her." He stated, causing Hecate to roll her eyes at them.
"Honestly, you guys…" Hecate sighed, shaking her head at them as she shrugged. "I'd offer to drain her of blood… but I don't want that nasty stuff near me…"
"Nah, let me handle this." Their Captain stated, causing everyone to look at him as the blonde crossed his arms over his chest while staring at the Holy Knight.
"Fine by me," Hecate shrugged and began walking towards the tavern. "I'm gonna wash up and take a catnap, I'm drained!" she complained causing Ban to snicker a bit as he watched her leave.
Ban crossed his arms over his chest now, wanting to see what their Captain was going to do. The man did not disappoint as he tied the woman up and then drew on her face. It was quite the spectacle to see, and it surprisingly worked well. After that was done, they walked to the tavern to head out and find a place to relax for a bit before going out to their next destination.