This is a world in which humans and other beings have not yet been divided. This is a story of ancient times. The war between the Kingdom of Liones and the Ten Commandments has temporarily ceased. However, the vanguard continues to renew itself and the ashes of a new war are heating up. But now our heroes are here...

...The Eight Deadly Sins are here!

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Chapter XII
Onwards to Battle

"Lord Meliodas!" Elizabeth called out worriedly, running after the short blonde male.

"Don't come here!" the captain of the eight deadly sins warned harshly, making the princess stop in her tracks right before the door.

Confused, she gripped her hand before her chest in fear. "Is something wrong?" she called out, heeding his instruction. He didn't answer.

Ban strolled forwards, completely ignoring his warning, "Oi, Cap'n, you're gonna have to give me a better explanation than that to get me to stop walking."

"Ban..." King trailed off unsurely, the captain must have had a reason for saying that.

"Ban, I'll say this again," Meliodas finally spoke up, "You guys shouldn't come here. It's safer there."

"Hah!" Ban laughed, "The captain wants me to be safe! Hate to break it to ya- but I'm immortal," he took five more steps.

Meliodas turned around in the corridor, sword in hand, "I'm warning you, Ban. Do. Not. Come. Out. Here," he stressed sternly, slightly irritable from his attitude.

King flew in front of him, his tiny wings barely noticeable in the air. "You know, Ban, maybe you should listen to the captain. He's probably right after all," he tried to persuade him.

Ban stared unremorsefully at the flying fairy, "Move, King."

"But Ban..." he frowned.

"I said move."

Merlin approached the two with a smirk, "Now, now, you two. This isn't the time to be fighting," she glanced at the short boy, "Though it would be best if you did move out of the way, King," she suggested distractedly.

King was shocked, "W- why?"

"You're in the corridor, King- a demon's right there."

Swinging around violently, the fairy king spun out of the way barely, a large hand taking a swipe at Ban. Torso detached from his body, his upper and lower halves landed on the floor, mending themselves anew. Elizabeth covered her mouth in shock, pupils dilated in horror. Worriedly, she called out, "Lord Ban, are you alright?"

Ban sat up from his death, almost perfectly healed. "Yeah, I'm fine, Princess," he stated, dusting himself off and taking out his weapon. Spitting on the ground, he smirked, ready for battle. "Now if ya wanna live, you should listen to the Cap'n and get back from the door."

"Oh, um, yes," Elizabeth nodded, backing away from the entrance and exit.

Ban breathed deeply, getting into a stance, "Fox Hunt," he said, ripping out all four hearts of the demon at once and crushing them. It collapsed, dead, on the ground.

Stepping into the hallway, Ban barely managed to avoid as an Enchantment; Hellblaze missed him by a mere centimeter, flinching back slightly from the purplish-black flames. His eyes widened in shock, "What the heck's going on here?" he asked aloud in shock.

The corridor from the inside of the room had looked pitch black when he had exited, but now that he actually stood in the midst, he could see what the captain had been talking about. On either side of the hallway was a warped passage, altered by the hands of some form of magic. Demons appeared out of seemingly nowhere on either side, leaving no room for any passage through the confusing hall.

"It's some kind of portal," the fox's sin glanced down at the sin of wrath, "Wherever it's from, it seems to be blocking us from advancing any further while delivering demons right from within," Meliodas continued.

"Demons, huh?" the white-haired man glanced around, "Oi Cap'n."

"What is it?"

"Don't ya think it's awfully convenient for them to appear when that little goddess chick of yours is dying? I'm starting to think our new friends here may want her back," he spoke his mind.

Meliodas hadn't considered it. First of all, Victor had made no mention of ever being targeted by any person other than the Liones Kingdom. It never occurred to him that the Ten Commandments may have actually wanted her back. "Yeah, you're right Ban," he nodded, acknowledging his point, "I'm just surprised they waited this long to actually do something about it," he voiced.

Ban smirked, "Things just keep getting more and more interesting, huh Cap'n?" he raised his weapon.

"Yeah, they are," Meliodas returned his expression as they both watched the demons charge towards them, back to back.

The demons fired their attacks, "Full Counter!" Meliodas duplicated, deflecting them right back at them.

"Fox Hunt!" Ban ripped out all of their hearts in conjunction, smashing them all. Screams and cries of death filled the air as the hallway was cleared.

The two dusted themselves off, "Heh," Meliodas grinned at his best friend.

"Heh~" Ban did the same.

"So Ban how many did you get? I got one hundred and sixty," Meliodas bragged.

"Looks like I win Cap'n. I got one hundred and sixty-three," Ban boasted, pointing at himself with his tongue out triumphantly.

"He's lying," King appeared in the hallway, "Ban only got one hundred and fifty-eight," he ruined his moment.

"Oi, King~" Ban turned to the wary fairy king, "I've got something for you~" he sang.

"Diane!" Harlequin shrieked for his girlfriend, flying down the hallway in fear. Ban was right on his tail.

"Ah! King!" Diane yelled, running out of the room after the duo.

Merlin, Gowther and Elizabeth exited the room, glancing back at the king inside. Meliodas peeked his head, "Oh yeah, you should really keep this door closed, Baltra. Wouldn't want any of these guys getting inside, now would we?" he suggested lightly.

The demons... or you? The King of Liones wondered, speechless at the sight he had just beheld. "R- right, Meliodas," he nodded numbly. The guards were awestruck.

"Be safe, Father," Elizabeth nodded to him, walking after them down the corridor.

"Yes, you too, Elizabeth," he wished absentmindedly. Gowther shut the door.

"...Monsters, I tell you," a holy knight mumbled in shock.

"Shhh, he'll hear you," the other one whispered furiously.

Baltra looked away from their conversation, sinking in his chair in regret. Well, it was up to them now, he supposed. Hopefully, Avalon didn't sue him for the damages.

***

"So, what you're saying here, is that you lead them in," Meliodas stared blankly at the pig as they ran down the right corridor.

"Are you even listening? I didn't say that at all!" Hawk shrieked. He had hidden during the faceoff between the two monsters and the demons.

"You ran away and then a whole bunch of demons appeared following you, right?" he stated, pokerfaced.

"I didn't run away! I came to get backup!" Hawk denied stubbornly.

"Sure, that's why-" he was cut off by a sweatdropping Elizabeth.

"-So Hawk-chan, what exactly happened?" she changed the topic.

"I wasn't done talkin-mmph!" A pillow covered his face.

"Continue, Sir Pig," King nodded, a suspicious black eye on his face.

"Thank you!" Hawk said in gratitude, "I was trying to get Victoria out of the cell when this creepy lady started talking to me!" he shuddered.

"Creepy lady?" Diane questioned.

"Yeah, like this weird voice and everything! She told me to leave and I said no, to protect Victoria, and she roasted me!" Hawk yelled.

"Poor Hawk-chan..."

"Really? How did you taste?"

"Captain!" Diane punched Meliodas on the head.

"Oi, quit interrupting Master," Ban rubbed his disappearing black eye.

"Thank you, Ban," Hawk snorted, "Anyways, I looked at Balor's Power Eye to see if her power level could compare to mine."

"You mean, your power level of 30?" Gowther reminded insensitively.

"Gowther," Merlin smiled regretfully, "Let him dream will you?"

"Why? It doesn't seem logical."

Tears streamed down the boar's eyes, "I looked at Balor's Power Eye to see if it could compare to mine," he stressed, wanting them to shut up, "and when I looked, I saw a power level of-"

"-Seventy thousand," Merlin stopped in shock, pupils dilated in horror, "It would seem we may be slightly outmatched," a strand fell into her face as her eye twitched nervously. She stared up at something large, the morning star, Aldan, above her hand at the ready. The sins all got into battle stances. Hawk didn't seem to notice, however.

"That's what I thought- Hey! I was gonna say that!" he realized his spotlight was gone.

"Oi, Master?" Ban glanced down at him.

"What is it now?" the boar scowled.

"You might want to shut up," he suggested.

"Eep!" Hawk zipped up in fear, finally noticing what was before them.

Meliodas stood in front of Elizabeth, "Stay behind me, Elizabeth. Understand?"

She nodded, "Yes, Lord Meliodas."

Standing outside the dungeon entrance was a tall woman, a strange yellow light surrounding her presence as she hefted Victoria in her right hand, a familiar pair of twin scythes in the other. Dead guards littered the floor, an eerie pool of dark red under the woman's floating form. She smiled thinly as Meliodas recoiled slightly from her aura.

Calmly, she spoke, "Now, let's start things off with a bang, shall we?"

And just like that, the ceiling caved in on them.

***

A mystery awaits to be solved!

Ban suspects that the Ten Commandments could possibly be after Victoria... But is it really them who sent this strange woman there? And what are her motives for doing this?

~Nia