"Diane?"

"No way! It really is you!" The giant exclaimed, lifting me up and hugging me against her cheek. I wrapped my arms around the side of her face, in my own, small greeting.

"I can't believe you're really here!" I said brightly, looking up at her from my new perch in her hands. I muttered quietly to myself, "so that's why the attacked the village..."

"Yeah! And Captain's here too!" She said excitedly, cheerily smiling. My eyes widened.

"Meli's here too?!"

"Yeah! He and Princess Elizabeth found me- they're trying to find the whole team so we can take down the Holy Knights!" She explained, beginning to walk through the streets of the town. A few townspeople stared up at us supsiciously, but didn't do anything. "I can't believe we really found you! I haven't seen you in, like, fifteen years!"

"I know," I said happily, jumping lightly from her hand to her shoulder. She rested her hand back at her side, continuing to walk in the direction of Baste Dungeon. "So, I'm guessing you guys are here based on the rumor that Ban's in the prison?"

"Yeah," She hummed, stepping over a small food booth on the outskirts of the village. I used to tease the booth-keeper all the time by pretending to steal loaves of bread; he hated it. "A Holy Knight that we ran into said he was locked up here."

"So I guess it must be true, huh?" I asked, and she nodded. We were now moving along a dirt path that was carved out in the ground, moving swiftly toward the Dungeon. I grinned, "Y'know, I'm wanted for organizing it now."

"Organizing what?"

"The whole ordeal that happened ten years ago," I chuckled, shaking my head slightly. "The Holy Knights are saying that 'they acquired new information regarding the murder of Holy Knight Grandmaster Zaratras' that says I 'was the sole organizer of the plan'." I put air quotes around what I was (loosely) quoting from my wanted poster, talking with an over-exaggerated British accent to try and sound 'official'. Diane looked astonished.

"Why did they only just throw you into the mix now? I mean, it's been ten years." She said, turning around a small hill. "And you 'organized' it?"

"I know, crazy, right? I think they did it because there were rumors going around about the Sins getting back together. I'm sure they knew it was true, and figured they should make sure everyone knew about me, the 'mysterious eighth sin'. The villagers went and kicked me out of the town today- that's probably what the Knights wanted because they assumeed you were coming here next," I explained, watching a shepherd and his son cross the road. Diane stopped, waving at the little boy as he passed. "I guess they wanted to get as many of the sins as they could out of the way before we regrouped. Fat load of help that was."

We both laughed, and Diane continued forward now that the man and his son had crossed safely. It looked as though she was just about to say something, when there was a loud ringing sound, like a bell, but much louder.

Diane disappeared, and I seemed to be suspended in mid-air, right where I was on her shoulder. I immediately jumped down from the invisible perch, scanning my surroundings for any signs of a magic user. She couldn't have just disappeared because she wanted to.

I reached for the whip I had secured beneath the cloak, unhooking it from its place on my belt, where my hip was. As I rested my hand on the durable leather, a loud voice echoed.

"I am Ruin, Holy Knight and member of the Weird Fangs. You, the newly discovered eighth sin, (y/n), will die by my hand- as will the rest of your comrades," The male voice boomed, coming into view as a large, armored giant. He was the same size, if not taller, than Diane, and was holding a large stick with circle at the top that had a bell in the center. That must've been what I had heard! His mask was a female face, and the rest of his armor was rather basic, except for the long skirt that covered his lower armor. Cross-dresser...?

"What did you do with Diane?!" I growled, moving my hand away from my hip and into fists. The guy didn't give off very much of an aura, meaning his strength wasn't very high. I could take him on easily without having to use that.

"Where she is does not concern you, sin." He replied, throwing a punch down at me. I jumped up, easily dodging the attack.

"It does, asshole. So tell me where she is. Now!" I threw a punch back at him, hitting him directly in the center of his mask. He stumbled backward, but regained his footing relatively easily. He got back into a fighting stance almost immediately, chuckling.

"You're weaker than I presumed. You must be one of the weaker sins," he mocked, kicking me while I was falling from where I had jumped. I flew into a small collection of trees, which had gathered together near a small hill, behind which I saw the man and his son run and hide behind. I flew through four or five trees before I managed slowed myself down, skidding across the grass and leaving streaks of exposed earth where my feet had dragged across the ground.

"Fine. You asked for it, asshole," I growled, jumping up so that I was at his eye level. I was a good 500-600 feet away from him. I smirked, jabbing my hands in his direction before shouting; "Blaze Storm!(2)"

Around twenty small fireballs exuded from my palms, surging toward the Knight, who put his hands in front of his face in a feeble attempt to cover himself. I fell back to the ground, sprinting through the trees and over to where the fireballs had attacked him.

Ding.

But I didn't find him, I found Diane standing there, putting her hands on the ground, ready to attack with her Giant abilities.

"B-but... he was right there..." I muttered, pointing to where Diane was standing. She was staring down at me, blinking repetitively. Her face became stern, wiping away any previous confusion.

"There was a Holy Knight here!" She said, standing up, ready to attack, but still talking to me. "He was small, but tough- he had some pretty strong magic."

"I know. I was fighting him as well," I said, jumping up to her shoulder and surveying the area, keeping alert. "He was a giant- pretty strong. He called himself Ruin."

"Huh?" She asked, letting her hands fall to her side and facing me. "But when I was fighting him he was really small.... like your size...."

"What...?" I muttered, furrowing my brows.

How can he be fighting both of us at once, taking different forms, then disappearing without a trace? Does he use illusion magic...? I don't remember one of the Weird Fangs being able to do that...

"Diane! What're you doing here?" Shouted a voice, coming from far below us. She instantaneously turned around, throwing her fists up, reading to attack. Her hair flew on top of me, knocking me over and covering me in a large curtain of brown hair.

"Cap... tain..?" She asked, unsure. I spat out her large strands of hair, waving my hands frantically as I scooted backwards, trying to escape the cage of hair. "Captain! What're you doing here? You're supposed to be resting!"

"Ack!" I shouted, feeling the surface of her shoulder below me disappear. I began to quickly fall to the ground. I came into contact with the dirt road below us with a loud thump. Luckily, I landed on my side, so the bottles of ale within my bag didn't break and spill. I'll need to drink those before that Knight shows up again...

"Lady Diane, who is this?" Asked a soft voice- obviously female. I groaned, slowly beginning to stand at my full height.

I saw before me a tall, thin girl with light green hair. She had bangs that covered one of her eyes, which were blue, and she was wearing a rather skimpy outfit. She looked a lot like Liz. The man next to her explained the outfit in its entirety: the King of Perverts himself, Meliodas- also known as the captain of the Eight Deadly Sins. There was also a pig....

"Hey, Meli," I grinned, holding my shoulder as I moved my arm a little bit, trying to loosen it after the impact from the fall. "Long time, no see."

"Hey (y/n)! Whatcha doing here?" He asked, greeting me with a small wave. I smiled, turning to the very confused girl next to him. I recognized her- Princess Elizabeth, the third princess of Liones. Diane had said she was traveling with her and Meli.

I walked over to her, bowing slightly. "Hey, Princess. My name is (y/n), the lesser known Eighth Sin- the Raven Sin Of Despond."

Her eyes immediately lit up, and she nodded excitedly. "It's wonderful to meet you! I've seen posters going up around the kingdom about you! We're very lucky to have run into you!"

I grinned, standing up at myfull height. I was about the same size as her- maybe a bit shorter. "An unpopular opinion, but one I'll appreciate all the same! It's nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well!" She said softly, but still excitedly. She was like a shy kitten; it was adorable.

"Now that introductions are out of the way..." Diane said irritably, to which I laughed slightly. Her face whenever she got irritated was adorably funny. "What are you doing here captain?! You're supposed to be resting!"

"I'm all better, thanks to Elizabeth!" He said happily, reaching up from behind the girl and groping her. She gasped lightly, muttering quiet words of protest. Both Diane and I shouted our opinions (which were that we would pound his face in if he kept fondling her) on the action.

"I apologize, but shouldn't we focus our efforts on rescuing Lord Ban? Now that Sir Meliodas is feeling better, and we've regrouped, we should resume our original task, right?" Suggested Elizabeth, twiddling her thumbs slightly.

"Not yet!" Snickered Meli, looking at a surprised Elizabeth. Ugh, I've got to ask her if I can use a nickname. Saying and thinking 'Elizabeth' every time I want to talk to her is going to get tiring. "We've got to rescue Cennette. That was her name, right? We've got to save Dr. Dana's daughter; that's what he asked us to do."

Elizabeth beamed, clenching her fists in front of her chest. "Lord Meliodas!" She exclaimed quietly, expressing her excitement privately.

"Okay," I said, shrugging. I didn't really know what was going on, but I figured it was something we'd all have to do. "Plus Ban'll probably bust out on his own when he hears we're coming."

"Really?" Asked Elizabeth.

"Yeah, he's like that," responded Meli, shrugging.

Ding.

"We weren't finished, Raven Sin," Said the voice of the Holy Knight. I turned around, seeing him as a giant once again. I growled.

"Meli! Protect Princess El-" I stopped short, seeing that the captain and the princess had disappeared. In their stead was a miniature version of the giant.

Shit. This must've been what Daine saw before. But there's two of him now...! He has to use illusion magic, that's the only explanation...

"You asshole!" I shouted, turning around and kicking the smaller Holy Knight, then punching the other one in the leg. "Where the hell did you put everyone?!"

"They're in my hands now!" He laughed, his voice doubled since there were two of him. "All that's left is to deal with you!"

Damnit! I backed up, seeing the two versions of the Knight coming in toward me. Before I could attack, however, the larger one grabbed the smaller one and chucked him across the plain of grass surrounding us. The smaller form crashed across the ground, dragging until he was able to slow himself down.

"What...?" I muttered, distracting myself. Before I could regain my focus, the big one lifted me up and slammed me into the ground. The ale's definitely crushed after that blow....

I growled, not letting the logical holes within the battle distract me any longer. His plan was most likely to confuse me so I wouldn't focus on the fight. Both me and the smaller knight charged at the larger one, kicking it in the face at the same time. I turned to punch the smaller one, but at the same time my fist made contact with him, his foot made contact with my stomach.

I coughed, a small spurt of blood coming from my throat before I flew into the hill, making a large indentation in the Earth. I hope the two civilians were okay...

"Ohoho, you're so dead," I chuckled darkly, charging toward the small one and kicking it in the stomach. He went flying into the larger one, knocking them both over.

"Lady Diane! Lady (y/n)! Sir Meliodas! Snap out of it! Please! There are civilians here!" Said the princess's voice, and I turned to where she was. She was standing with the man's and his son- the shepherds. When did she get there...?

"Prin.. cess? Hawk?" I heard Diane's voice. She was standing... right where the big Holy Knight has been. "Where's captain? And (y/n)?"

How...?

"She's snapped out of it!" Said a voice that I didn't recognize. It came from where the princess was standing, however, I didn't see anyone else who could have said that. Maybe it was one of the shepherds?

"Huh?" I said, thoroughly confused with the situation.

"And (y/n)'s back too!" Said Elizabeth, pointing at me.

Ding.

Everyone disappeared. I couldn't no longer see them or hear their voices. I whirled around, and I spotted the two versions of the Holy Knight once again. I growled, running up to the two forms and using Blaze Storm.

"Why are you hiding everyone from me! You're going to die if you don't bring them back!" I shouted angrily, punching the smaller one down to the ground with a deafening boom. He almost immediately charged back up at me, punching me so that I soared upward, then began to fall with gaining momentum.

"Fine, lets play," I muttered, turning my body so that my feet were facing downward. I pointed my heels toward the ground, ready to attack the larger Holy Knight since it was right below me.

3...

2....

"Eat this."

1...

I slammed down onto his head, causing him to fall to the ground. I spat out a wad of blood, grinning as I faced the smaller Holy Knight.

"Your tur-AHHHHH!" I started, but my entire body had been covered in metal. The larger version of Ruin, who had blood running from the top of his mask, had grabbed me. I began to push against his grip, slowly moving my arms and legs outward so that his fingers extrended to re-

"....What was hypnotizing your beloved Sins was the bell on my staff- what?! It's gone?!" Said the voice of the Holy Knight. I turned toward where it originated. The princess was laying on the ground- it looked she had been in a tornado of glass. She was covered in cuts from head to toe.

He was near the people now...? How..?

I looked around me, seeing that I was no longer surrounded by the metallic glove of Ruin's armor, but my the fabric of Diane's gauntlet/glove. I looked up at her, and she was staring at me as well, brows furrowed. She had a cut on her forehead, which bled down her cheek, and her forearms were burned.

Oh.

Shit.

So he does have illusion magic- he can change your perspective of the things around you.... So I was fighting Meli and Diane the whole time... I'm glad all of us were holding back, then. We could have seriously injured each other.

Diane set me down, standing up to her full height. She glared down at the Holy Knight, who's arm was currently being crushed by Meli, as she super the blood from her face. I haven't seen Meli glare at someone so intensely since Danafor....

Diane was about to step in, but I held my hand up, grinning at her. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's let the captain have this one." I said, "he looks like he really wants to punch him."

She nodded, plopping down on the floor with her legs crossed. I did the same, leaning against the side of her leg as my wounds healed, watching the captain glare at Ruin with the rage of a dragon. This was going to be entertaining.

———————————————————————