This is a tale of humans and beings from other worlds. It is a story of ancient times. Countless conflicts have been repeated throughout Britannia's history. No longer is there anyone who knows how it all began and how to bring everything to a stop. However, there is one man who does know and the order of knights that man commands is...

...The Legendary Seven Deadly Sins!

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https://youtu.be/8UbS2pKIyOQ

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Chapter III
The Traitor of Holy War

The mage positioned herself, switching to lean on her other foot as she waited for her answer. Warily, Victoria scrutinized her, gauging her purpose.

"Merlin, right?" she tilted her head in suspicion.

"That's correct," Merlin confirmed this.

"Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It's just, if you really are obligated to hand me over to the King- why would you go as far as to make a deal with me?" Victoria asked doubtfully.

"I merely want to determine whether or not the Princess' claim has merit. After all, it wouldn't do good if I convicted a possible ally to the kingdom, now would it?" she explained somewhat thoroughly.

"Lady Merlin... Thank you," Elizabeth sighed in relief.

"...At least, that's part of the reason," she trailed off in thought.

"Hah? There's more?" Ban asked in surprise.

"Yes. Quite a lot actually," Merlin turned to him slightly, "There are a number of other reasons as to why I wish to know. Listing them now would take us into tomorrow," she revealed, smirking.

"May I ask why exactly?" Meliodas inputted, his face unreadable.

"Why I'm sure you yourself are aware, Captain. Ascertaining your connection happens to be one of the top three," the purple-haired adult smiled secretively.

"Connection?" Victoria commented confusedly, not understanding.

"If you want to know what I mean then answer my question."

Her eye twitched in irritation, "Fine then. I'll answer your questions."

"And so we have a deal," Merlin said, releasing her spell.

"Yes... If you are the only one who wants to know, is it alright if I ask the others to leave first?" she pointed out awkwardly.

"She isn't the only one, you know. I want to know too... Nice choice, by the way," Meliodas commented, head underneath the girl's skirt.

A crimson blush rose on her face as she kicked him into a wall, "What do you think you're doing, pervert?!" she yelled in rage.

"Huh?! When the hell did you get free?!" Hawk noticed in shock that his rope failed.

"Oh, that? Sometime during Escanor's arrival," he said straight-faced, massaging the girl's behind.

Twitching, the brunette ripped him off, tossing him across the room into the counter.

"Hey!" Hawk yelled angrily.

"Captain, you womanizer!" Diane fumed, punching him out the building.

"L- Lord Meliodas!" Elizabeth said in shock, wondering if he was okay.

"I'm right here," a hand raised, the blonde man clinging on to Elizabeth's back.

"Oh that's a relief," she sighed.

"How is that a relief?!" Hawk yelled in disbelief.

"King, right?" She turned to the floating boy, "Are they always like this?" she asked.

Facepalming, the fairy king sighed, "More or less," he answered.

"Heh, bet you he just wants to do that to Diane," Ban teased the short boy.

"I- I would never!" King denied violently, face beet red at the thought.

"Would it be correct to assume you would do that to Elaine too?" Gowther inquired dully.

"...!" the fairy glanced back at him in realization, narrowing his eyes as he turned to glare at the bandit.

"Heh heh. Nah~" Ban denied, slouching slightly, "I'm not like the Cap'n who gets off on feeling up asses. If I was, then I couldn't face Master," he raised his arm upwards at his side.

"I'm not a kid, you know. I don't just get off of feeling up asses," the blonde clarified, groping Elizabeth's boob.

"Hah? If I remember right you never told me what you did get off of. You should really watch your surroundings, Cap'n. Somethin' might land on your face again."

"Don't change the subject, Ban. You know what I think? I think you still don't understand the concept of a woman's cushy lumps. I thought you learned during the festival, Ban," Meliodas shook his head pitifully, feeling the duo's butts. Victoria twitched in rage.

So that's what they were arguing about, Elizabeth realized.

"Um, can you stop?" the brunette yelled pointedly, attempting to punch the short boy as he dodged swiftly.

"Stop? I was under the impression that we hadn't seen each other in a long time, Victor," he glanced at her, assessing her reaction.

"You- you remember?" she stumbled backwards in shock.

"Remember? Whatever could you mean?" he asked with a straight face.

"...Ah hah, nothing," she laughed awkwardly.

"If you seven are done fraternizing?" Merlin finally spoke, watching them patiently.

"Oh that's right," the blonde remembered, a steaming bump on the top of his head, "You were supposed to tell us why you are now a sin, Victor," he reminded the girl, hitting the side of his fist in his palm.

"Yes... If you don't mind could you ask me certain questions? I don't want to say anything extra," she queried.

Merlin raised an eyebrow, "Alright. First question, what are the circumstances surrounding your sentence?" she smirked pointedly.

"That's... That's the same question..." Victoria voiced their thoughts, sweatdropping in exasperation.

"The agreement was that I ask you specific questions. You did not state that these questions had to be changed. Unless that is a problem?" she calmly questioned.

Victoria was cornered, "No... It's fine..." she nodded unsurely.

"Good."

"It's a long story though. I'm not sure what parts should be skipped."

"How about your name- your real one?" Meliodas asked pointedly, hinting at something.

"Right... My name is both actually."

"Hah? How is that possible?" Ban asked skeptically.

"I'm not a full goddess- I'm part human and so I have two names. My godly name is Delizah Samael while my human name is Victoria Midnight," she clarified, "I usually just say whatever fits the occasion."

"In that case, Lady Victoria, is it okay if I call you that?" Elizabeth inquired politely.

"Just Victoria is fine. I'm not worthy of respect anyway," she claimed, her eyes shaded by bangs.

"How exactly are you half-goddess?" Ban asked again. The story sounded doubtful.

"Well my father fell in love with my mother and through the lovely process behind closed doors known as-" she started sarcastically.

"-You can stop there! We get it!" King blushed furiously. Diane giggled.

"Jokes aside- My father, Lancelot Samael was the fourth Archangel of the Goddess Clan long ago. On a mission, he met my mother, Layla Midnight, who was the leader of a well-known thieves' guild in the Gawain Kingdom. They fell in love and stuff happened."

"Where are they now, Lad... I mean, Victoria?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"In the grave."

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," she frowned apologetically.

"How did they die?" Gowther asked insensitively, Diane hitting him on the head, "Is something wrong? That question is most logical, isn't it?" he wondered.

"I'm sorry about him- he doesn't know what he's saying," Diane apologized.

"No, he's right," she shook her head, "My mother died three years after I was born so I didn't really know her that much. My father, however... was killed by a prince of the demon king," she clenched her fists in anger, lowering her head.

"Did you ever find out which one killed him?" Meliodas asked, straight-faced.

"...No, I didn't," Victoria finally answered, staring meaningfully back at the blonde demon.

"I see."

"Now, why are you a deadly sin?" Merlin asked finally.

"M- Merlin! You can't just-!" King began in panic.

"Break the rules of the Seven Deadly Sins? Your answer itself is in our title. As long as she isn't a part of the group, I can ask her about her sin," she explained, "Isn't that right, Captain?"

"Was it?" Meliodas acted aloofly.

"You made the rules yourself, Captain," King pointed out exasperatedly.

"Ah, I did, didn't I?" he slapped his palm in calm realization.

"Don't dodge the question!"

"Captain... Could it be, that you are trying to protect her identity from us?" Merlin offered suspiciously, smirking. Her eyes narrowed.

"What aren't you saying, Merlin?"

"I'm thinking, you're well acquainted with Miss Samael, here."

The two engaged in a short stare off.

"Well," Meliodas broke the silence, "We are lovers, after all," the pervert said, groping the girl's boobs. She pried him off.

"Pfffft!" Ban spat out his beer, hacking.

"Meliodas-sama, is that true?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.

"No it's not," he stated, "We're actually friends with benefits."

The poor brunette turned beet red as Diane and King blushed furiously. "Are you kidding me?" King spluttered in disbelief.

"Yes, I am," he started, a comfortable atmosphere filling the room. 

One that the goddess couldn't endure.

Victoria clenched her fist. "....How?" the brunette finally spoke.

"How?"

"How is this funny to you?" Victoria demanded. 

The voices quieted down.

"Victoria... What's wrong?" Elizabeth questioned, taking a tentative step forward.

"What's wrong? What's wrong is that I'm a death row criminal and you're here joking with me like I'm some ordinary civilian! What's wrong is that your precious Captain can just waltz back into my life and act as if nothing happened! How can you tolerate this? Why don't you just kill me? I'm the traitor of a holy war for God's sake!" the goddess confessed, angry tears filling her eyes.

"Look, I'm sorr-" Meliodas frowned, turning to the hysterical girl.

"No, I can't take any more of your excuses, Meliodas!" she interrupted, "I'm sick and tired of hearing them. I finally wake up after 3000 years, find out that you're still alive and you can't even address it!"

"You weren't there when I came back-" he tried to explain.

"I was dead, Meliodas. Trapped in the coffin of eternal darkness. For three thousand years, I had to sleep with demons. Did you think of that when you came back?" Victoria revealed coldly.

Meliodas' anger was rising, "Look, I'm glad you're alright, but how was I supposed to know you'd die within the time that I was gone?!"

"You were supposed to-"

"Supposed to what, huh? Unearth the ground looking for you? Scour the earth? I let the dead rest in peace, thank you very much!" he said without thinking.

"Haha..." she laughed, her hand on her face, "You're right, the dead don't walk. They don't tell tales either. If you need me, I'll be outside in the forest. You can rest easy, I won't escape," she said before storming out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

"Dammit!" the captain yelled in anger, punching the ground underneath him. Shuffling his feet, he marched upstairs silently. A slam of a door could be heard.

"Well, that went well. Don't you think so?" Merlin commented after a while, clapping her hands as they stared at her incredulously.

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Tension fills the air! When Victoria accidentally lets slip that she's a traitor of a holy war, what does it mean? And how does she know Meliodas? Find out next time.

Remember to tell me what you think!

~Nia