"I can sense Carnificare, right in here..." Merlin announced, pointing towards a small, rather tacky villa. It seemed out of character for Warren to be in such a place, and I was ready to be disappointed.

This isnt right...He's not the one who has it...Wait...

The energy accompanying my sacred treasure was familiar. So much so that my legs felt like they were going to give out. King, who seemed to be keeping a close eye on me, placed a hand on my shoulder and pursed his lips.
"Don't worry...We'll take him down..." He tried to comfort me, but I shook my head slowly, retreating a few paces.

"N..no...It's..It's not..."
"It ain't him. Different feeling...even if the Warren I met wasn't real..." Ban spoke on my behalf, and I felt all the more terrified. Turning tail and running was at the top of my list, but I knew I wouldn't have been able to weasel my way out of it.
"From the looks of it, you seem to know exactly who resides behind those walls, (Y/N). A little insight would be helpful." Merlin turned to me, and I battled with myself to get the words out.

"V..Vaughn..." The name felt equally as toxic against my tongue. "E..ex Holy Knight...One of the old p..patrons...He's...not..."

He's not a joke...

"Well, maybe we can get the jump on him before things get too out of hand?" Diane suggested, tugging on one of her pigtails.
"No...He'd already know we're here..." I knew that. It was far too quiet, and not a soul wandered through town. Meliodas stepped forward from the group, placing his hands on his hips.

"Hey, Vaughn! Not gonna come and greet your guests?!" My tongue was nearly halved between my teeth when he called out, and this time I couldn't stop myself from marching over and grabbing the blond by the collar.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I hissed, shaking him violently. "Are you insane?!"

He just smiled at me. That damned smile that once made me feel so warm and secure, but now all it did was sting.
"What? If he hurt you, I wanna kill him." He laughed, though there was a certain sincerity to his words that made me release his shirt. Even when every bone in my body was screaming at me to break his button nose, I couldn't.
"H..he's mine...Nobody else but me can end him..." I whispered, and Meliodas nodded in understanding.

"Don't you mean that you are mine..?" I was immobilised when that voice met my ears, and my old captain pushed me behind him, sensing my overwhelming terror. It had belonged to a middle aged man, with peppered brown hair and a clean-shaven face. He was standing in the doorway to the villa, picking at his cuticles as though we weren't any sort of hindrance.

(He looks too nice and soft dammit- I was rushing and eating when I was doing sketches for this chapter dkdksk)

He's...aged...but...I..I can't even look at him...without wanting to be sick...

"Gonna take a wild guess 'n say that you're Vaughn..." Ban growled, taking a long stride forward.
"Oh? My reputation precedes me!" Vaughn feigned a gasp as he looked up. "I'll also take a shot in the dark...and presume that you're all after Carnificare?"

I can see it...it's...

The glint of something golden shone against his belt, and I could see the grip of my precious weapon, tucked away in a leather holster. If I hadn't known any better, I would have made an instant move to grab it, but I knew his power, and I knew I couldn't force myself to step anywhere near that man. Not yet.

"You could make this a lot easier on yourself if you just hand it over!" King came to hover beside me, a long spear appearing by his side, which I could only assume to be his own sacred treasure.
"Don't underestimate any opponent. This man is far from harmless." Merlin piped up from somewhere behind us, followed by low, unintelligible mumbling.

She's casting...She can see his levels, too...

Vaughn cocked a brow, showing no signs of moving any closer, nor retreating.
"Why should I? I was given this item by a close friend of mine, along with other precious gifts..." He rebutted, locking eyes with me. "I'd much prefer it if all of you left...apart from my little friend...She is more than welcome to stay."

Bile was trying to squirm up my throat, but I swallowed it down the moment I felt it. Even with mere eye contact, it was almost like I was back in that room again, being grabbed and guided by putrid hands.

"That's e-fucking-nough out of you!" I flinched as Ban raced forward, swinging his fist towards the man with a loud yell. It all happened so fast. One moment Ban was in the air, then the next, he was on his back, gasping for air more than twenty feet away. There was a split second of relief, when I realised he had only been thrown, but if he was that reckless again, he'd quite possibly lose his life.

"So, what's this jerk's power, anyway, (Y/N)?" Meliodas looked completely nonchalant about his supposed friend being hurled across the street, and it made me all the more scared.
"D..duplication..." My eyes flitted around the area before they fell onto the blond once more. "...I.. it's already in effect..."

So...many...hands...

I had to get my shit together. Standing rooted to the ground wasn't going to do a thing, but fighting also felt so stupid. It didn't take long for his other 'selves' to appear, and when they did, all hell broke lose. The metallic clanging of steel snapped me from my thoughts, and I whirled around to see that the battle had already begun.

One for Diane, one for King, one for Ban, one for Merlin, and one for Meliodas. There was only one left, and he was for me. Or, rather, I was for him. It was rather obvious that he was the original, with the way he looked at me. It was too carnal to be a fake.

Come on...just move, dammit! Carnificare is right fucking there!

"I'm so touched that you sought me out, little (Y/N)! Did you really miss me that much? Couldn't forget our times together?" Vaughn purred, finally beginning to advance. My sights darted to my sacred treasure, and his followed. "Oh...I see...You don't care for me at all...you just want this old thing? Sorry to rain on your parade, love bug, but it's quite useful...and I just don't think I can part with it!"

His moves were quick, but I was quicker. The polished, deadly head of my weapon missed be my mere hairs, but I managed to save myself from falling flat on my face. It was as magnificent as ever, to the untrained eye, but he had no idea on how to control it. Even so, it was still life-threatening.

This is bad...He knows what I can do...too well...He's not gonna let me get close enough..!

Reeling it back in with a flick of his wrist, a smirk wrinkled his eyes in the most unsightly way.
"Nothing to say, honey? I don't want to have to cut you down...so, why don't we just let bygones be bygones, hmm? We could play house for a while." Everything came to an agonising standstill when I felt those hands. He was both behind me, and in front of me. We had missed one.

"D..don't..." I could barely utter a pitiful word as those hands began to travel up, over my chest, to grab my jaw.
"What's wrong? Isn't it just like old times? Sure, there's less of me now...but isn't it still so thrilling..?" The Vaughn in front of me was smiling, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could withstand the urge to be sick, let alone stay standing on my own two feet.

Come on...Come on..! Your hands are free, (Y/N)! You can just grab his hair and finish the one touching you! Why won't you just move?! Why are you always so pathetic?!

My body refused to cooperate. Fear had turned me to stone, and all I was capable of doing was shivering and whimpering with tears rolling down my cheeks as the duplicate Vaughn's other hand began to brush against my stomach.
"I can see you just don't feel the spark anymore...Such a pity...I'm sure it's going to be upsetting, being torn to shreds by your old treasure..." The true Vaughn began to swing Carnificare around above his head, and I tried to focus on the dazzling shimmer of its blades in the light. "I'll make sure to tell Warren you send your apologies..!"

My eyes squeezed shut, preparing for a pain that just never came. I had felt no impact, but I had distinctly heard steel meeting flesh. I also realised that the hands holding me were misplaced, and not nearly as large and distressing. Daring to look, I lifted my lids, and felt a wave of utter dispair wash over me like an icy wave.

There was Ban..... completely split in two

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***So, (Y/N) has no fucking idea about Ban's immortality oof
I can't write fight scenes, and I hate them ugh***