Chapter three : The Forest of White Dreams

Liones Kingdom, Capital city of Liones.

One month ago.

Blood was dripping onto the carpets of the room. The Holy Knights looked up from the ground to see the scene they had so intensely tried to avoid. There was their Grand Master, Zaratras impaled with so many metal bars he looked like a pincushion.
"Grand Master Zaratras... How cruel..."
"How could the Grand Master of the Holy Knights have been..."
Behind them stood a boy, with light pink hair, he watched in horror as blood seeped out of his father's now dead body.
"Father..."
"Gilthunder ?" When he tried to come closer, they both turned to block his view. "Stop it ! You mustn't look !"
"Who... who killed my father ?!" He yelled at them, attempting to get out of their hold.
Ten years later, the boy had grown into a man, and he was staring at the hole in which his sword had been stuck back in Vanya Village.
"He seems to have left for the Southwest, Sir Gilthunder."
"Southwest, if my memory serves, the Forest of White Dreams is in that direction." He turned his horse around and ordered it to trot in said direction to find his enemy. "Meliodas..."

This is a tale of ancient times... an era before the human and non-human worlds were forever divided. When the Holy Knights defended the realm wielding their magical powers, they were feared and highly respected. But among them, a group emerged that betrayed the kingdom and become mortal enemies to all Holy Knights. They were known throughout the land...as "The Seven Deadly Sins".

"Hey are you sure about this ? We've been in this forest for three hours, and there's no sign of animal, much less people." Hawk shuddered, scared of the heavy ambiance of the forest.
"You're right... Sir Meliodas ? So you really think one of the Seven Deadly Sins is hiding here ?"
"Probably, yeah." Elizabeth walked up to him, and shook him around by the shoulders.
"Probably ? You mean to tell me we came here without any evidence ?!"
"You know, the rumors say there's a horrifying monster lurking in this forest !" You let out a short scream, feeling something grab you from behind. After what Hawk had just told you, you hoped it wasn't that's monster that had found your group.

"Something... something touched my bottom..."
"Relax, it's just me." Meliodas was now next to you with his hand under your skirt.
"Oh, that's good news !"
"How is that good ?!"
"What do you mean good news ?!"
"Well putting that aside..."
"You think that lets you off the hook ?!"
"I do have evidence, this forest, it's difficult to traverse on horseback. And also it'd be difficult to keep your beating. Even hunters and travelers avoid it."
"So it's an ideal place to hide !" You felt a small breeze on you behind and stopped, to pat at your skirt. "Huh ?" They're gone, you couldn't believe it.
"Hey ! What's wrong ?"
"N-Nothing !" You took a deep breath and retraced your day. You were wearing them when you woke up, and had put them back on after you went to the bathroom, so where were they ? "They're really gone !" You tugged your skirt down as much as you could, seeing as it wasn't much due to its length.
"____, come on. Let's move." Elizabeth extended her hand for you to take.
"Don't be so rushed. Nobody liked high-strung pigs."

"Who're you calling high-strung ?!" A pack of voice asked. Looking through the white fog, you could make out dozens of Hawk. "There's a herd of me ?"
"Is this the monster of the forest ?" You asked your sister.
"Well, it definitely is horrifying." She laughed with you.
"Meliodas ! Get it straight ! I'm the real Hawk !"
"Says the fake !"
"Shut up, you pig !"
The blond suddenly jumped, hitting the pigs in the meantime, when they all fell to the ground, you called their names worried, and they all snuck behind you to hide. The high-pitched voices slowly faded, and it seemed like the fog had gotten even deeper. On your left, someone stood up and stared directly at you. When the fog dissipated, you could clearly see their faces. It was you, dozens of you.
"What the ?"
"Sir Meliodas !" They all called out.
"You know it's me right ?"

"Hey, I'm over here !"
"You're not the real one !"
"It's a pevy of hot bodies !"
"Leave this place... get out of the forest humans..."

The scene was straight out of a horror movie, your clones walked slowly, breaking tree branches to get through the forest. Some of them were ranking their fingers through their hair, almost like they were trying to seduce someone. They all jumped at your friends, who jumped up and landed on a higher rock.
"Oh my, how can I know which one is the real one ?"
"You can ask me to do anything !" One of them yelled.
"Good ! Starting now you'll all do exactly as I say !" You couldn't help but wonder how exactly he wanted to find you if you all did the same thing. But you were sure he had a plan, so you would execute everything to a T.
"So, raise your right cheek high ! And put your left one on your cheek. Now call out my name in a sweet voice !" You all did it, even though it was embarrassing, you trusted the man. "Now squeeze your boobs !" Both your hands found place on your breasts and squeezed at them. "What a glorious sight !" Elizabeth and Hawk both hit the back of his head, screaming at him to hurry and find the real one.
"Get out... you will never make it out alive..."
"Okay ! Last order ! Jump as high as you can !" Uh oh. He wasn't aware, so he probably didn't mean to put you through so much embarrassment, but he would surely understand if you didn't listen to him just that one time. While all the other women jumped high into the air, you sat down firmly on the ground, clutching your clothing. With a swipe of his blade, your clones changed into short blue monsters and ran away.

"Aah ! They're Hide-and-Seeks ! Prankster imps !"
"They were the monster of the forest this whole time ?"
"Let's follow them !" After having run a few meters only, Meliodas stopped and trotted back to you, his hand clutching something. "I forgot ! You can have these back." He handed you a piece of fabric, your underwear. And ran away laughing.
"You're the one that stole them ?!" You scolded.

"Keep an eye on their direction, they're probably heading to find someone."
"It's a girl ! You don't think they plan on attacking her right ?"
"No, they would attack a little girl like that, ____."
"Yeah, I mean, a little... a little girl..." The monsters were very short, so perhaps they made the woman look much larger. But even compared to you, she was humongous. She was sitting, but was probably around 8 to 10 meters tall.
"Lady Diane !"
"Lady Diane ! We accidentally allowed in Holy Knight trespassers !"
She abruptly woke up and slammed her hands on the ground to stand up.
"Did you say Holy Knights ?"
"No ! We are t Holy Knights, we're-" Your explanation was cut off by a fish of wind in front of your face, when you opened your eyes, Meliodas was in the giant's hands.
"You're a Holy Knight ?"
"Let go of Meliodas !"
"Please let him down !"
"Meliodas ?" She brought him closer to her face and scanned his tiny body with her purple eyes.
"Yo Diane ! It's been a long time huh. Ten years ?" Her eyes brightened and her demeanor fully changed.

"Captain !" She rubbed him on her cheek and petted his face with her index finger. "Captain ! Captain ! Captain ! I've missed you so much Captain !"
"Captain ?" You wondered, and Hawk's eyes widened, unsure.
""Diane"? Hold on, don't tell me this big chick is one of the Seven Deadly Sins !"
"She is. Diane, the Serpent Sin of Envy !" At the sound of her name being called, the Sin looked down and smiled happily when she saw the pig.
"Captain ! You shouldn't have ! You remembered how much I love roasted whole hog !"
"No ! I'm not edible !" She started a fire, tied Hawk to a wooden branch and started roasting him.
"Of course you aren't ! I've got to cook you first !"
"That's not what I meant ! My back is burning up !" Meliodas sniffed the air and teased his friend.
"Woah, something sure smells delicious."
"Hey ! Don't you pretend you can't see me !" They finally let Hawk down, but now his back had a huge red burn mark from being on the fire.

"Okay, but, who are these girls ?" Diane, who had kneeled down on the ground, asked pointing at you and your sister.

"How do you do, Lady Diane ?"
"I'm ____, and this is my older sister Elizabeth. We're imposing on Sir Meliodas to let us travel with him."
"They're all alone with you, Captain ?"
"Plus the pig." Diane stood back up, a threatening smile etched on her face.
"Oh, really ?" She raised the hand that carried Meliodas and suddenly threw him on the ground. "You disgusting womanizer !" The captain landed a few meters away, scratching his head.
"Sir Meliodas !"
The giant girl fell to her knees sobbing. "I thought I had finally reunited with the love of my life, but he's with not one, but two other women ! You've shattered my delicate little heart, Captain !" She stopped to look at him. "But if you have something to say, tell me now."
"What's to say ? I just-" Another punch was thrown at the blonde, pushing him into the dirty ground. Then, she started attacking him with hundreds of hits, everywhere on the dirt to assure she didn't miss.
"None of your excuses ! You pervert ! You philanderer !"
"Sir Meliodas..."
"Ey, what's up with her ?"
"Captain, you're such a jerk !" She raised her arms and hit him harder than she had before. Her voice and the sound of hitting resonated throughout the entire forest.

"So to put stop to the Holy Knights' rampage, they're on a quest to find the Seven Deadly Sins." Meliodas had bumps on his head from being hit so many times, yet he explained the whole situation like he didn't feel any pain.
"Oh, I didn't know... I'm always jumping to conclusions. I'm sorry." Diane apologized. "I'm also sorry I tried to eat you, piggy."
"You think sorry cuts it ?! You stuffed my belly with fruits !" Diane glared at him, not liking his tone, and Hawk's entire body shook in fear. "If you lay a hand on me, my mom's gonna let you have it !"
"You really aren't in that kind of relationship with the captain ?" You blushed at the innuendo, but Elizabeth looked absolutely disgusted with what the giant implied.
"Nope, absolutely not."
"I-I really am not."
"You and I aren't in that kind of relationship either, Diane. Anyway, I'm working on gathering the Seven Deadly Sins with them. There's something I need to know, too."
"All right, in that case I'll go with you." She stood back up, determined to be of use during the mission. "Diane, the Serpent Sin of Envy will lend you her help !"
"Thank you so much, Lady Diane !" You brightly smiled up at her, thankful.
"But get one thing straight ! I'm only helping out 'cause of the captain."
"Thank goodness." An almost robotic voice sighed, one of the Hide-and-Seeks from before. "We can finally live in peace !"
"She's been threatening us for years ! Saying she'd kill all of us if we didn't shelter her !"
"I feel your pain."

Cutting the discussion was a raven croaking loudly.
"What was that ?"
"That's weird, there are hardly any animal in this forest." Diane hummed looking around.
"I smell rain... look !" The clouds had separated and formed a tornado like shape, that seemed to be surrounded by thunder.
"Thunderclouds ?" Elizabeth pondered. In an instant, a lightning stuck upon your group, caging all of you in restrain made from thunder magical power.
"My body's numb." You tried to get out of your restraints, in vain. When footsteps could be heard behind you, you cocked your head to the side to see, and when you saw the familiar pink hair and blue eyes of your childhood friend, you couldn't stop the gasp from escaping your lips. He walked closer to you, sword in hand, and stare full of rage.
"We meet at last... the Seven Deadly Sins."
"This power..."
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it. You're a Holy Knight, aren't you ?" Meliodas twisted towards you and Elizabeth when he heard your pained voices.
"Gilthunder..." She looked just as confused as you.
"Gilthunder, is it truly you ?" You asked in hopes he'd tell you this was some sick joke. When his gaze didn't falter, and his face remained empty of any other emotion but resentment, you spoke louder. "Why are you doing this ?!"
"You know this guy ?" Meliodas tilted his head at you.

"Yes. He's a Holy Knight who worked as our father's attendant. He's the son of Zaratras, the deceased Grand Master of the Holy Knights, and that's why he was assigned to work at the palace. We've known him since we were children."

"The Grand Master's son ?" The blond asked himself, and if he wasn't restrained, his hands would've been scratching at his head in question. "Hold on. Are you Little Gil ?" He excitedly figured out.
"You know him too ?" Elizabeth had forgotten that Meliodas also used to work at the palace when you were younger.
"Of course. I gave him lessons when I was at the palace !" He turned back around to look at the silent man. "You sure have grown into a fine man. It has been ten years, so I shouldn't be surprised."
Finally, after minutes of being silent, and motionless, Gilthunder moved as he intensely stared at Meliodas.
"If you have time to ponder on useless memories, perhaps you should use it to figure out a way to escape those bonds."
"When someone blocked Vanya's water supply, and then tried to destroy the village, that was you both times, wasn't it ?"
"Meliodas, don't say this type of things !" Elizabeth knew, it just as well as you did, your friend was a kind, thoughtful, and honest young man, who would never try to harm innocent people.
"Gilthunder would never..." The look in his eyes made you stutter. "Oh, no..."
"Well, these won't hold me for-"
"That won't work." He stopped the giant's attempt to get out of her cuffs.
"Don't mind them, Diane."
"But, captain..." Meliodas tilted his head to the side when Gilthunder's blade descended on his shoulder.
"Do you know the reason the Holy Knights are after the heads of the Seven Deadly Sins ?"
"Not really."
"Half call for the destruction of the traitorous order that seeked to overthrow the kingdom. The other want to contend with the former legends in order to prove their own strength."
"Which half are you in ?"
"Both. No, I crave for more than that. I want to avenge my father, Zaratras, Grand Master of the Holy Knights, whom you have so brutally murdered. Killing you will show that I've surpassed my father, who was celebrated as the most powerful Holy Knight to have walked the earth."
"So, what I'm hearing is that you think I'm the one that killed your father ?"
"You claim differently ?"
"Beats me." Meliodas adverted his eyes in front of himself. "Thing is, I don't remember much from back then."
"Sir Meliodas..."
"The last memory I have of this day is being summoned to the old caste on the outskirts of the capital."

Seven figures in armors were walking down the hallway of the dark castle. The only source of light was the one coming from the windows situated very high on the walls.
"Since it's a celebration day, I was hoping to have a few drinks." Meliodas, who was wearing his armor complained.
"You're always drinking, even when it's not a celebration, Captain." Another voice scolded.
"I guess." He chuckled.
"It sounded like the Grand Master had an important matter to discuss with us." This time, it was a woman who had spoken, and she sounded the utmost serious.
"Maybe, he's going to give us a special reward for our mission with the troll queen !" The Serpent Sin guessed enthusiastically.
"I don't really care either way. Let's hit the festivities once we're done."
"You really expect us to believe you're gonna get dressed ?" The knight in the tall red armor snickered at his captain. They both walked up to the tall doors, and pushed them open.
"Yo !" When Meliodas took notice of the Grand Master's state, he took a step back in shock. "Grand Master !"
"This is brutal..."
"He's a pincushion !"
"Who would such a thing ?" The serious woman was next to ponder.
"Most importantly, why did they target the Grand Master of the Holy Knights ?"
"She's right. He's what holds the kingdom together, and is practically a war god. Whoever killed him is a traitor plotting to overthrow the kingdom." Ban concluded. "So whoever did this knew exactly what it would mean ?" Diane asked incredulously." Suddenly, the one in the green armor turned around.

"I sense something !" Meliodas ran to the one of windows to look around the castle, and to his surprise.
"We're surrounded by every knight in the kingdom !" When the entire castle started shaking, they all clutched onto the walls to maintain their balance. "We'll figure it out later ! Split up for now, and we'll meet up later !"
"Understood." Meliodas also started running to get to safety, but this is where his memory failed him. He only remembered the words; "Captain, I'm sorry.", that were uttered to him before he was knocked into unconsciousness.

"This is all I remember. The next thing I knew, I was lying in a cellar somewhere. That's when I met Hawk."
"Then, it wasn't you who killed the Grand Master ?" You knew it, the Seven Deadly Sins had been framed, but that meant a lot more