"It looks like we're back in our world again," Meliodas says.

"That place weirded me out," Diane says. Elizabeth looks around before gasping at the sigh in front of her. Gulia kneeling with her fingers in her chest.

"Look it's-"

"She reached the necropolis by putting herself into a state of near-death," Y/N says. "Guess minds think alike." She mutters, shivering slightly at the feeling of doing it herself.

"Doesn't that mean she's gonna be waking up pretty soon?" Hawk asks, panicked.

"Then we better get away from here."

"I saw we kill her while the killings good," Ban says.

"You barbarian," King says. "I'll petrify her."

"And you call him a barbarian?" Y/N says, crossing her arms. "Let's just take her with us. I mean, we could use someone to get us out drinks."

"Take it easy," Meliodas says, arms crossed. "Just let me handle it, you guys." The Captain proceeds to tie the holy knight to a tree and pull out a black market from god knows where and draws on her face.

"Look at that, she finally has eyes," Y/N says, laughing. King looks at her with a slight blush.

"And done," Meliodas says, throwing the pen away. "Now, let's get out of here before anyone comes looking for her!" He says. The others begin to leave while Y/N picks up her sword and pierces it into the ground. She looks to Gulia.

"May the next time we see each other, we'll fight." She says before quickly leaving to catch up with the others.

The group sit beside a large lake, surrounding a fire. Diane picks up a large fish that is skewered on a stick and holds it out.

"Here Captain! I boiled this just for you." Diane says with a closed eye smile. "Open up!" She brings the giant fish down to Meliodas, who is drinking a mug of ale.

"That's a little bit," Meliodas says as Diane pokes his head with the giant fish.

"Say ah~," Diane says, ignoring his question. Y/N sits on the other side of the fire with a mug of ale beside her. Her axe lays across her crossed legs as she cleans it. King then comes up beside her.

"Uhm, Y/N. Is your hand healed now?" King asks, floating beside her. She looks up at him with a smile.

"Yup!" She lifts her hand, flexing it. "It feels brand new!" She gestures to Crono. "Glad I found her when I did, or I would have had scars!" King frowns slightly.

"I'm sorry for hurting you, a-and bringing up your sin."

"There's no need to apologise." She says, standing up. She smiles widely at him. "Besides, it's fun seeing you standing up to your lieutenant. Shows that your still the harlequin that I know."  King blushes, shaking his head.

"Ahahah, King blushing because of Y/N!! Guess he is a little softy after all!" Ban laughs, obviously drunk.

"N-No I'm not! You be quiet Ban or I will petrify you again!"

"Come on, would you two just take it easy," Meliodas asks. King floats his way over to Meliodas and Elizabeth, gesturing to the two.

"Speaking of which, I haven't asked yet. So you and this girl, just what is your relationship?" King asks.

"The lover's kind~," Meliodas says, smirking while he gropes her boob.

"N-No it's not!" Elizabeth says.

"The grope and get groped kind." Meliodas continues, pulling Elizabeth's arm to push onto his chest.

"Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth says. "Oh please, don't!"

"Or the grope and get kicked in the head by Y/N kind!" Y/N says, drinking a mug of ale from beside King.

"What she is, is the princess of the realm." Meliodas says, smiling. "Your the third one right?"

"Yes." She replies. King recoils in surprise, eyes widened.

"What! You're a princess!" He says, now on his feet. "You should have told me! If I had known I  would have made myself more presentable." King begins gritting his teeth and tensing up. Elizabeth smiles, holding out her hand.

"You don't have to" She is cut off by King suddenly poofing into his fatter version, wearing expensive-looking clothing with a ruffle around his neck and a very expensive looking jewel necklace. Ban spits out his ale, eye widened.

"Wow, you've changed your clothes," Meliodas says.

"Look closer!" Ban shouts.

"You know, it takes a great deal of mental effort to change into this form." He says, his voice deeper."

"What a pig," Hawk says, chewing on some food.

"Huh?" Ban and Y/N say at the ironic statement. King walks closer to Elizabeth and bows.

"Hello! I am King the Grizzly Sin of the Eight Deadly Sins. Glad to make your e-quaintance." He says, respectively.

"The pleasure is mine I'm sure," Elizabeth says. King then brings his head closer, making Elizabeth put her head back.

"I didn't know that you were a royal, please forgive my poor manners in here and the necropolis!" King says.

"Think nothing of it." She says, smiling at him. "Also, please don't let yourself become stressed out. Feel free to relax and just be comfortable."

"If you insist, your majesty," King says before he poofs back into his small form. He falls back exhausted onto his pillow, which floated under him before he could hit the floor. "That took a lot out of me."

"Woah, his clothes changed back," Meliodas says.

"Look closer dammit!" Ban shouts.

"I really must say, your one powerful individual truly," Elizabeth says, looking at King who is curled up in a ball with his billow and is floating back and forth. "On your own, you took down an opponent that Sir Meliodas and the others has trouble with together."

"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty powerful," King says. "But any of you could have taken down that holy knight if you just unleashed your true strength," King says. The other Sins are all sitting staring at him. "Now fess up, where are your sacred treasures."

"I lost mine," Diane says, sticking her tongue out while holding her pigtails together.

"Sold mine," Meliodas says with a cheeky smile and an OK sigh.

"Mine got stolen!" Ban says with a drunk grin.

"I've got half of mine," Y/N says, holding up her axe with a smile. King poofs into his fat form for a second and snorts with squinted eyes.

"Shame on you!" He says.

The sky begins getting darker as the sun begins going behind the mountains. They surround King as the fire is still burning.

"The new generation? What's that?" Y/N asks.

"There's been a few failed apprentices who have found a way to gain the full powers of a holy knight in the space of only one day," King explains, leaning on his pillow in the air. "Gulia for instance. She's the latest apprentice who's grown stronger overnight. Doesn't seem right does it?"

"She was?" Meliodas asks.

"Let's back up a minute. You took the sacred treasure that was bestowed upon you by King Lioness himself." King says. Meliodas grins and rubs the back of his head. "And sold it!"

"I needed seed money for the tavern," Meliodas says. He looks to Ban.

"Yours was stolen!" Ban lays on Hawk drunk, eyes closed.

"When they threw my butt into that prison!" Ban says. King grits his teeth before looking at Diane with a soft face.

"I'm sorry I lost mine," Diane says. King sighs.

"I mean if you misplaced it then it's not your fault" He then looks to Y/N. She pouts at him and gives him puppy dog eyes.

"I've don't know where my other half is." She says, frowning. King blushes and becomes flustered.

"W-Well you've still got one half and that's better than nothing. I'm sure we'll find your other half." He lets out a nervous chuckle at her cuteness.

"You know for being the lieutenant of the Eight Deadly Sins, she can be so lieutenant... What am I thinking! Quite it me! I gotta stop blushing!!!" King is cut out from his thoughts by Hawk.

"Hey, I don't understand why your getting so upset King." He says, looking up at the Fairy King. "These guys do pretty well with what they've got."

"Sir. Pig." King says.

"Uh, Sir. Pig?"

"Now let's say that this lake represents all the magic used by one of the sins." King gestures to the said lake. "How much water could you scoop out with just your hands?"

"Hands?" Hawk says, lifting his hoof. King does the same with his hand.

"That's right. No matter how much magic there is, your pretty limited by them." He clenches his fist. "But if you have a weapon, especially a sacred treasure." He points his hand to the lake and a whirlpool begins, lifting the water out. "You could draw out incredible amounts of magic. As was seen when Y/N used recoil during the fight." In the air floats a massive and smooth ball of water.

"Sacred treasures are pretty awesome," Meliodas says, ale up to his mouth.

"That makes a lot of sense," Hawk says before grabbing Meliodas by the front of his shorts with his hooved. He begins shaking him back and forth. "Why the hell did you give yours up ham head!" Kinglets the waterfall back into the lake.

"Any case, we're gonna have to get your sacred treasures back. Assuming you're serious about saving the realm?"

"Excuse me," Elizabeth says, standing up. King looks at her. "But Sir. King, before you joined us, were you working for somebody inside the castle?"

"Hmm, more or less." He replies.

"Do you know what happened to them?" She asks. "My father and two sisters. The king and the other two princesses."

"I'm afraid not," King says. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, I see," Elizabeth says, dropping her hand back to her side. Y/N looks at her with a frown, realising just how worried she is for her family.

Now dark the sins head into the tavern, Diane staying outside and resting against Hawk's mom to sleep.

"Why am I in this room!" King shouts. Bans lay snoring on the bed with King floating beside him glaring with clenched fists as Hawk. Y/N lays in her hammock at the window looking over at them. Her coat and collar are off and placed on the small bench below her.

"Cause there's nowhere else to put you!" Hawk replies.

"Now you know how I feel," Y/N says before she turns over in her hammock and begins to fall asleep.

"Then I'll go outside and ruff it out there," King says. He goes to float out only for a hand to grab him and pull him to the bed.

"Snuggle up, Captain Hawk," Ban says, still sleeping. The pillow floats beside the bed as King tries to get out of Ban's hold.

"Hey, stop that!"

"Let's take a nap~"  King continues to try and get away from Ban but keeps failing.

"Operation swab, complete," Hawk says, walking out the room. Once everything settles that night, Y/N gets out of her hammock and slowly patters over to the bed where Ban is still snoring and King is asleep. She gently unwinds Ban's arm from around him and picks him up, walks back over to the hammock and places him in it. She then grabs his pillow and places it next to him, causing him to instantly hug it. She blushes slightly.

"Tch, look what you do to me. Making me blush like this." Y/N says, shaking her head. She then poofs into her wolf form and shuffles herself under her coat and lays on the bench, slowly falling back to sleep.

The next day they arrive at a town that is built into the mountains. They all stand outside, looking at it. Y/N stands beside Meliodas, her axe strapped onto her back.

"That town there on the side of the mountain is called Vaizel," Meliodas says, looking over at it. "It's a merchant town." 

"You think it's here?" Hawk asks.

"Not too long ago one of our customers said a hammer was brought in that was so big, no one could wield it," Y/N says before looking down at Hawk. "Don't you remember?"

"So nobody could handle it?" Elizabeth asks.

"It could be Diane's," King suggests.

"Aw, with the hell of that," Ban says. "We've gotta do something about my clothes."

"Just cover your six-pack with an apron," Meliodas says.

"That's not important now!" Diane says, slamming her hands down causing everyone to fly up into the air. "Why do I have to stay and mind the bar!" She cries, kneeling on the ground.

"Look, Diane, ever since a giant went wild at their festival a few years ago they've all been banned from the town," Y/N says. "But we'll come right back as soon as we see what's up."

"It's gonna be boring!" Diane says, shaking her pigtails.

"You know, I think I'll stay behind too," Elizabeth says, looking to Meliodas.

"What?" Diane says, leaning towards Elizabeth. "Really?"

"Sure, it'll be fun to have a little girl fun for a change."

"Yeah, just us girls!" Diane says, giggling. "Y/N, you in?"

"Sorry Diane, but I've gotta keep someone in check and not steal anything," Y/N says, glaring at Ban.

"What. Come on last time I stole something, I didn't get caught."

"Yeah because I had to talk it out of them that you didn't steal anything and that It was all in his head!"

"Okay, let's hit it!" Meliodas says. Meliodas, Ban, Y/N, King and Hawk all make their way into Vaizey.

"Captain. Lieutenant." Ban says. His body is now wearing a boar hat apron, hands shoved into his pocket as he looks around. "Do we have to look through all this stuff?"

"I'm surprised you not getting the urge to steal anything," Y/N says, hands behind her head.

"You're wearing an apron," King says.

"Let's go and find an arms vendor," Meliodas says, ignoring Ban's comment.

"Looking for something, son?" An old man asks, he sits on top of a wooden post with a bottle in his hand. He looks drunk. "Or are you looking to be a part of the festival?"

"Nah, we're trying to look for a weapon," Meliodas replies. "A really big hammer. We heard there might be one at this market."

"Ah, well that's easy enough. Right there, behind that rock." The old man gestures to the giant rock. They head over there and sure enough, a giant hammer lays against the rock which left a dent.

"Look, it's Diane's Gideon!" King says, looking up at the hammer with a shocked face.

"It was here all the time," Y/N says, looking up at it with a smile. Next thing they know a crowd begins forming around a small man.

"All right!" He shouts, putting his arm up. "It's time to begin the annual Vaizel fighting festival now!" He announces which causes everyone to celebrate. "Use of weapons, strictly forbidden. Men who let their fists do the talking should hurry and sign up right away!" He shakes his hands to emphasise his point. "The winner is gonna get 100 gold coins, but that's not all. You'll also take home this giant war hammer!" He gestures to Diane's Gideon behind him.

"What a barbaric gathering," King says. He looks over to the others "Right Y/N?" He cuts himself off to see Ban, Y/N and Meliodas all huddle in a circle with smirks.

"We're gonna put out names in aren't we?" Ban asks.

"Let's see who's got what it takes," Meliodas says.

"And may the best Sin win," Y/N says, cracking her knuckles. She grabs the back of King's jacket and begins dragging him towards the small man. Ban and Meliodas walk in front of them. "Hey! Count us in!" 

"You can count me out!" King says. Y/N is suddenly grabbed by the front of her jacket by a very large man.  She's hoisted up into the air, King still dangling from her hold.

"This ain't a festival for a frail little lady. Get outta here." He says. Y/N blinks, looking down at him.

"Sorry, I don't see what the problem is." A hand lays itself on the man's arm.

"Hey, there friend." A man says, making the larger man put Y/N down. "This is a festival, okay? Just relax and let the little lady go."

"Little?" Y/N mutters.

"Huh, who do you?" The larger man lets Y/N go and points to himself. "You know that my name is Taizoo, right? I've been the winner of the festival for three years in a row." The larger man walks away from them and the other man rubs the back of his head.

"Okay then. Man, my job has gotten in the way of this every year until now." The man says, clenching his fists.  He then shoots his hands up into the air, smiling. "Yeah! My dream of fighting here is coming true at last! So, let's do this, you guys." The man turns away and begins walking off.

"I've seen him somewhere before," King says. Later they all make their way to the arena that sits onto the giant rock. The contestants step onto a raised rock platform.

"The fighting festival elimination round now begin!" The small man yells. "Fighters into the ring!" They all step up onto the platform. King hesitatingly stepped up.

"Man I wished I stayed back with Diane and the princess," King says.

"Oh come on, it's not gonna be that bad," Y/N says, wrapping her arm around King's shoulder with a smile. "You'll be fine."

"Now, let's get ready to take back Diane's sacred treasure!"

---

【Ａｓｐｅｎ】

25/02/2021

Last Updated: 29/09/2023