It wasn't long until the group had gotten back to the tavern, and the moment they had gotten back the Sins turned their attention to the four.

"So, you going to tell us who you are?" Ban asked.

"I think the best way to start explaining is to reintroduce ourselves." Brooke said. She straightened up and placed a fist on her chest, the movement mirrored by the other three, "It's a pleasure to officially meet you all. My name is Brooke, and I bear the Blessing of Aquarius, The Water Bearer."

"Name's Aarona, and I was given the blessing of The Aries, the Ram!"

"Titus! Blessing of The  Bull, Taurus!"

"And my name is Sage, and I received a blessing of Sagittarius, The Archer."

"Hey, didn't you have the ass of a horse a moment ago?" Ban asked, pointing towards Sage, who was now standing on what looked to be normal human legs.

Sage smiled, "Simple transformation magic. Standing around in my original form would draw much more attention than I would prefer."

"Why does this all sound so familiar?" Meliodas said, ignoring the short conversation between Sage and Ban with a hand risen to his chin as a look of concentration appeared on his face.

"Because you've met them before." Gowther said, "Did you really forget, Captain?"

"I don't blame him, it was a long time ago- and after what happened to him during the war I don't blame him for forgetting us." Brooke said with a small laugh. "Maybe the title we went by back then will refresh your memory. We called ourselves the Star-Blessed Twelve."

At that a look of recognition appeared on his face. "No way..."

"Finally remembered, huh?"

"Captain do you really know these people?" Diane asked.

"It was a long time ago but I've met them before. But I don't understand how you all are still here- I mean most of you should be dead after this long."

Gowther reached up and placed his hand to his chin. "Yes. From what I know Sirens have an average life span of 1,000 years, Minotaur's have an average lifespan of 400 years. And a Centaur has the same lifespan as a human."

"Damn, you really know your stuff." Aarona said. 

"One of the blessings we had received was Immortality. No matter what happens to us we won't be able to die. Trust me, we've been through enough to know." Sage said.

"Sorry, but I'm a little lost here. Are you guys somehow all over a thousand years old or something?" King asked, looking between the four.

"Oh, we're way older than that." Titus said.

"Most of us are over 4,000 years old. For example I am 4,367." Sage said.

Aarona sputtered looking at Sage with wide eyes, "You actually remember how old you are?!"

"Of course! It's very simple to keep track of. Don't tell me you forgot how old you are."

"After you hit 1,000 it's kinda meaningless. I completely lost count sometime after 1,200."

"Back to the topic on hand, now that you know a bit about who we are hopefully we've dispelled any of your suspicions of us!"

"Yeah, yeah. You're good for now." Ban said, waving his hand dismissively.

Meliodas grinned and clapped his hands together, getting the groups attention on him. "Great, now that that's taken care of why don't we start preparing some food. I don't know about you all but I'm starving!"

"Same here! It's time for some grub!" Titus shouted and the rest of the group watched as the two of them headed inside the tavern, repeatedly chanting 'food, food, food' as they walked.

By the time Ban and Sage had prepared the food, the sun had already started to set and cast an orange light over everything. As everyone settled down to eat Brooke sat off to the side as she watched Aarona and Titus compete with each other in another drinking match- somehow the both of them forgot the had the same exact tolerance for alcohol.

"Hey, guys, you won't believe this!" Ban exclaimed from where the main group was seated. "Our buddy Gowther here was actually able to pick out King by his B.O!"

"Along with his bone structure and tone." Gowther added.

"Really, you recognized him by his smell?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm curious, let's all have a smell!" Ban said, grabbing King by his hood and everyone crowded around him, Brooke and Sage had walked over out of curiosity of what was happening. "Kinda sickly sweet, isn't it?"

"Like flowers." Hawk added.

"Just like what a Fairy King would smell like." Brooke said.

"Guys- knock it off! If you keep crowding me I might-" He cut himself off and his form changed as he transformed into his other form. Suddenly the sweet smell vanished and was replaced by a sour smell. Eventually he pulled himself away from the group and reverted into his original form in embarrassment. 

Ban grinned, "Gross man."

"What's the big idea ganging up on me?!"

"I didn't do anything to you." Gowther said, tilting his head in confusion.

"Of course you did! You started this mess so you need to clean it up!"

"Very well." With that Gowther raised his hand and small beams of light shot out and hit everyone in the neck. Feeling a slight pinch Brooke instinctively slapped her hand over the spot where it had entered.

"Diane, you claim to be 29 feet tall when in fact you know you're closer to thirty. The fudging of your weight is even more severe."

"What is wrong with you Gowther, why do you have to be so mean!? A lady's allowed to keep some secrets you jerk!" Diane shouted out as she punched the ground where Gowther stood causing dust to rise up.

"As for you Ban. During the battle with vampires in Edinburg twelve years ago you got rather unreasonably drunk." Gowther continued, completely unaffected by the barrage of attacks.

"Yeah, that's right. I was pretty hammered ad decided not to join the mission. I said I was sorry."

"But you didn't apologize for using physical hunt to steal King and Diane's power. Or for laughing at them as you watched them both struggle." At those words Brooke watched as Ban spat out the ale he had just drunk, a mixed look of shock and horror on his face.

"Ohhh, so that explains why I felt so weak all of a sudden." Diane said.

"That was you?" King asked, his spear having separated itself into tiny blades around him.

"Come on, it was a long time ago. Forgive and for- umph!" Diane had reached forwards and grabbed Ban, only to crush him between her fingers a second later. Despite the amount of blood that erupted from between her fingers Ban forced himself out of her grip like he wasn't just made compact. "It wasn't my finest moment but I don't deserve this!"

"I would of honestly killed to see that!" Titus exclaimed from the side lines, slurring his words slightly as his cheeks were tinted a deep red. "Do me next, glasses man!"

"You seem to hold strong emotions towards someone names Kaia. Is she your lover?"

Titus tensed up slightly before huffing and crossing his arms, "That wasn't as funny as I had expected."

"Damn, low blow." Aarona said, "So you're, like, really lookin' into our heads, huh?"

Gowther slid his glasses off of his face and started to clean the dust from Diane's attack from them. "You've said your horns are still growing yet they haven't even grown a single centimeter in the last hundred years."

"You wanna say that again, glasses?" Aarona said with a tight smile as flames erupted along her arms.

"We've already had one battle today, let's keep it at that." Brooke called out from where she was standing. "Gowther, I suggest you stop before you say something that really pisses someone off."

"Exactly. There's no reason to air our dirty laundry." Meliodas pitched in.

"Dirty Laundry? I'm afraid I don't understand what you're trying to say." He reached his hand up and a beam of light shot forwards and hit King in the neck.

"Hey, knock it off! Why do you always have to make trouble for everybody! Could you please just give it a rest?!" King exclaimed, lowering himself to the ground before stomping towards Gowther.

"You could of defeated that opponent yourself. As a matter of fact, King, you would of won easily if you had pushed your power to the absolute limit." He lifted his glasses to inspect them, "Perhaps the alcohol is affecting my judgement, but, Elaine?"

"Gowther, no!"

"This Helbram person, who is he? It seems that because of this man, you find yourself unable to- perhaps unable isn't the word."

"No, no, no, no, NO!" King suddenly shouted and his spear, now in the form of a six-armed bear made of moss appeared and covered Gowther's mouth, the next words the pinkette spoke being muffled by the moss.

"Calm down, nothing to get worked up about." Meliodas said, then he looked towards Gowther, "This is probably why you shouldn't delve so deep into people's memories, Gowther."

"He's right. Gotta read the room a little, dood." Hawk said.

The chatter soon dissolved into mindless conversations. Everyone drinking and laughing as if they had no care in the world. As if the darkness that was slowly engulfing the Holy Knights wasn't anything other than a bad dream.

***

A couple days later, within the castle of Liones, two Holy Knights were sparring against each other. The sound of their blades clashing together echoing throughout the courtyard. After some exchanges between blades, one of the knights was disarmed and fell to the ground.

"This isn't like you. What's going on?" One of the Holy Knights, Guila, said as she pointed the tip of her sword towards the other.

"A few days ago, do you remember how Sir Helbram called the Roars of Dawn to carry out the armor giant raid?" The other, Jericho, asked. "The thing is, I was feeling so pissed off that he didn't as us that I decided I would follow them. And then... I saw the Seven Deadly Sins along with that other group fighting with the armor giant, at least that's what I thought it was."

"The Seven Deadly Sins? Then the monster was eliminated by-" Guila started only to be interrupted by Jericho.

"You don't understand. I sensed two kinds of magical power coming from that monster. One was the same as the demons we saw underground... the other was the same as a Holy Knight's."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I couldn't believe it. A monster who could somehow possess both kinds of magical powers. It was almost like-"

"Like the knights of new generation?" A new voice said, and both of the girls looked towards the entrance of the training area, where a man was walking towards the two. He carried himself with strict authority and looked down at the two girls with piercing red eyes reminiscent of the eyes of a blood-thirsty beast.

"Diamond Knight Leander. What brings you to the training grounds?" Guila asked, looking at the newcomer.

The knight, Leander, tilted his head slightly, "I heard that people were training and wanted to check in on them. Though I hadn't expected to overhear the conversation they were having. Holy Knight Jericho, please tell me everything you remember seeing that day."

***

Back at the Boar Hat, people were starting to wake up as Hawk's mom started to lower herself into the ground, taking a small break as they went along their journey. Brooke was sitting at the bar alongside the rest of the Sins and Sage. Diane was walking outside beside Hawk's mom while Titus and Aarona were still passed out in the small lounge area they shared as a room. 

"So does anyone have a clue where we're supposed to go next?" Ban asked.

"Any chance you might have a lead on where the next Sin might be?" King asked as he rested his head on the counter.

"Escanor and Merlin." Gowther muttered.

"No." Meliodas said, much to the Sin's shock. "First thing I'm gonna do is break into the capital and get my sword back."

"What're you talking about? You mean that dragon hilt you lost?" Ban asked.

"I'm not going anywhere without it." He slammed his fists on the counter and grinned as he looked at his teammates. "Okay, now who's coming with me?"

"Fun as that sounds, think I'll pass."

"Besides it's your own fault you lost it in the first place." King added.

"I'll join you." Brooke said, feeling the shocked stares of the sins, except for Gowther, on her. 

"When you say dragon hilt, you mean the one with that ruby eye?" Sage asked, a tense smile on his face. "Meliodas is that  the sword you lost?"

"Hm, how'd you know what it looks like?" Ban asked. "Captain lost it before we even met you."

Sage shook his head as he pinched his nose, "True, but do any of you know the true purpose of that hilt?" When none of the other sins responded Sage continued. "Unlike many other weapons, the blade isn't what's important to that weapon- in fact it's not even a weapon at all. It's a fragment of a ritual relic to something called the Coffin of Eternal Darkness."

"Exactly as Sage said." Meliodas said, "According to an old legend, it's part of the relief that was created a long time ago. One that the Godess, Giant, Fairy, and Human races created to seal away the Demon race."

"Why do the Holy Knights want it? What could they be wanting to do with something like that?" Elizabeth asked.

"Isn't it obvious. Those dumbasses are going to try to revive the demon race with it." Brooke said.

From the opposite side of the bar counter, Ban scoffed. "Those miserable bastards again?"

"Now that you mention it, wasn't it Hendrickson who turned Dale into that monster? It's not every day you can see somebody be able to do that." King stated.

"True. Excellent point." Gowther said.

"Hendrickson. I don't understand why he and Dreyfus would do such a thing. it doesn't make sense. Why would he resurrect  the Demon race? What could they possibly hope to accomplish?" Elizabeth asked.

"The only thing I can think of is another Holy War." A new voice said and everyone turned towards the stairs, where Aarona was walking down. "Those two Grandmasters are fools if they think those demons will side with them just because they were the ones who broke the seal."

"If that sword of yours really can resurrect the Demon race, and Hendrickson has it, do you think he's already brought them back?" Diane asked as she looked inside the tavern from an open window.

"Not yet." Meliodas said, "It's a pretty powerful seal so even if they do manage to break it there's bound to be some kind of sign..." Just then there was a loud groaning sound and everyone looked behind them to where Hawks was trembling on the floor.

"It's a sign... I think I'm getting a sign!" He started to slowly make his way towards the door. "The seal is about to be broken."

"Hawk are you okay?" Elizabeth asked, getting up from where she was seated at one of the tables.

"Hang on... I get why those guys were going after the sword... but I don't understand what they wanted with Elizabeth." Hawk said.

Suddenly there was a magic pressure and Brooke looked towards the door to see a woman in a red dress and a mask that covered most of her face aside from her eye, which looked like a red light peeking out of an abyss. "It's simple. She's the last key to breaking the seal."

"Oh, crap! get away from her!" Meliodas shouted, immediately moving from where he was standing and rushing towards where Elizabeth, Hawk, and the newcomer were. "Elizabeth!" As he rushed through the air a golden light engulfed the three of them and only a second later Meliodas crashed to the ground, where Elizabeth had just been only a second prior. "Damn it!" Meliodas shouted and before anyone could say anything he grabbed the dagger that Elizabeth had thrown to him only a few days prior and rushed out of the tavern.

"The hell?" Ban asked in shock.

"That was probably a mage. They can appear and disappear in the blink of an eye using advanced teleportation." Gowther said.

As the sins ran out of the tavern, Brooke glanced at Sage and Aarona, the three of them nodding before following the sins outside. When the two of them got out, they saw Diane holding Ban, Meliodas, and Gowther in her hand, and only a second later she was running forwards and with a giant's strength she threw the three of them through the air and just like that they were gone.

"I'll go help them." Brooke said. "Aarona, you're coming with me."

"Fine. But I'm just doing this to make sure the demon race doesn't get brought back. I could care less about Elizabeth."

"Good enough for me." Brooke said. "Sage, you go wake Titus and follow after us once he's woken up."

"You got it." Sage said, then he placed his hand on his chest, "May the Stars watch over you."

Brooke nodded and just like that the wind around the two girls grew stronger and they were lifted off the ground, only to be flying through the air at high speeds only a second later. The moment they landed, the two of them saw that the Sins had already pushed forwards and were fighting against the Holy Knights that had been placed at the gate to try to prevent them from entering the city. As the Sins were fighting they suddenly stopped, and once Brooke and Aarona ran forwards, they understood why. On the opposite side of the kingdom there was another magical power. It looks like they weren't the only ones planning on entering Liones today.