My eyes were wide as I stared at the kid, holding the arrow that must have been the origin point of the giant energy-ball attack. My eyebrows were scrunched up, and I looked from him to the giant.

"Normally this wouldn't have been enough," Armando spoke, his voice very different from when I originally met him. Very familiar as well. "Dawn Roar, your group is indeed impressive. In the very few attacks you landed, you managed to shatter his armor. However, the consequences of breaking this seal will be immense, humans."

"No way..." Meli spoke, "That way of speaking..."

"Wow," Ban smirked.

"I told you guys that giant wasn't Gowther!" I shouted, crossing my arms proudly.

"And you told us that kid wasn't Armando, too, right?" Ban teased, causing my cheeks to heat up in embarrassment.

"Yes, it is true," the boy spoke, his black hair seeming to go back into his skull. It shortened and transitioned into a magenta color. "I was hoping to hide my identity a little longer, but it seems as though that opportunity has come and gone. My true identity is the Goat Sin of Lust of the Eight Deadly Sins, Gowther."

"This boy is of the Deadly Sins?" Slader questioned, "You've got to be kidding me."

"This is not a jest," the real Gowther assured, "I am truly Gowther, the Goat Sin."

"Gowthy!" I shouted excitedly, bouding over to him and wrapping my arms around his neck from behind. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Hm... your voice is entirely familiar, and your body shape, clothing choice and posture have not changed. Demoness (y/n)- it has been approximately fifteen years, nine months, seventeen days, three hours, and fifty seven seconds since our last encounter," he spoke, causing me to laugh. "And my name is Gowther, (y/n). You seem to have pronounced it wrong."

"I missed your innocence," I grinned, unwrapping my arms from his neck and ruffling his hair slightly. I stepped away slightly so that I wasn't pressed up against him, and rather two or three feet away. "It's called a nickname. I shortened your name and added a letter to make it easier to say."

"That seems unnecessary," he spoke, cocking his head to the side.

"Geez, way to ruin the fun," I huffed, "I guess its Gowther, then."

"That is my name," he assured.

"That's impossible," spoke the girl, Jillian. I glared at her, crossing my arms. Bitch... "Child, if you're going to sleep talk, please return to your home and bother your parents, not us."

"No, Jillian, he stopped one of my fully charged arrows with his bare hand," the archer dude said, "No way in hell an ordinary child could do that."

"Oh, hoho~" Ban purred, appearing near me and Gowther. I looked away from him, down to the ground. "So you're what was in the armor the whole time! I totally thought you were a big 'ole geezer who read a shit ton."

"You posture... gait... attitude, voice, and that scar on your cheek..." Gowther muttered, "Yes, you must be the Undead Ban!"

"Yup, that's definitely the Gowther I remember!" Ban laughed, and the aforementioned Goat Sin turned towards Meli.

"And that man over there- he is the spitting image of the Meliodas I once knew..."

"Yup!" Meli cheered, grinning as he pointed at himself with his thumb. The Dawn Roar member's turned to him with wide eyes, seeming shocked at the entire situation. "It's me, the one and only Captain Meliodas!"

"This midget is Meliodas?!" Demanded the white-haired Holy Knight I had previously fought. "The captain of the Eight Deadly Sins?!"

"Hm?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. "You didn't realize before?"

"This is quiet the surprise," Gowther states monotonously.

"You don't look surprised," Ban said, a smirk gracing his features. I chuckled quietly, sparing a single glance in his direction.

"And look at him!" Meliodas shouted, a stupid grin on his face as he pointed to King, who was wrapped in the golden ring entrapment of that woman's. "You'll be even more surprised! It's King!"

"No, that is a different person," Gowther states, looking up at the Grizzly Sin. "Bone structure... body odor... and his voice are all different."

"Body odor?" I snorted as King transformed into his chunkier form.

"Ew!" The woman, who I won't even give the luxury of thinking her name, shouted. Her surprised made it so that the rings disappeared, releasing King from his containment, at least for the time being, if she decided to capture him again.

"That is most certainly him."

"You sure change your mind fast~" Ban purred, smiling widely.

"Well, this is wonderful," Slader purred, interrupting our conversation. I muttered 'rude' quietly to myself, huffing slightly. "To have met not only Gowther, but four other member of the Eight Deadly Sins...! I truly am blessed... We have already been informed of what happened in Byzel, and it would do me great pleasure to fight you all right now. However, it is our one and only mission to retrieve the head of the beast within that armor."

"Isn't that your armor?" Meliodas asked, "What's inside of it, if not you?"

"I am not certain..." Gowther spoke, turning to face the beast, who was most certainly not him. He did not look back at the Holy Knights he was addressing as he spoke, "I request that you leave him alone... please."

"Why can't we just leave?" I huffed, "It's not like he holds any value to us anymore."

"He didn't actually kill one of those kids, y'know," Ban scoffed, glaring at me. I glared back, my chest squeezing involuntarily as I did so.

"Yes, but it crushed someone who looked and had the magical signature of a child," I countered, my voice level. "That is unforgivable, so I say we leave him to rot."

"Says you..." Ban muttered, looking away.

"You got a problem?" I snarled, "Something you want to say?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact," Ban spoke, "You have no right to talk about killing ki-"

"Shut your goddamn mouth. Right. Now." I growled lowly, taking his collarbone into my hand. My fingers dug into it so that I held on to his skin like it were the collar of a shirt, blood oozing onto my hand as the wound attempted to heal itself. My hand was in the way, so he just continued to bleed as I held him.

"Or what?" Ban pushed, causing me to growl again and a small flame to ignite in my hand, which was not gripping his lower neck.

"Whoa, whoa, guys," Meli interjected, pushing me off of Ban and standing between us with his arms outstretched in both of our directions. I glared at the Fox Sin from over the head of the captain. "Calm down. This isn't a good time to do this."

I huffed, turning away from him as tears brimmed at the corners of my eyes. Touchy topic, and a very low blow. "Whatever. That asshole deserves it."

"A lover's quarrel...?" Asked the white-haired Holy Knight. My face inflamed instantaneously as I turned to him, fuming.

"WE'RE NOT GODDAMN LOVERS!" I shouted, stomping my foot for pointless emphasis.

"Really?" Asked the woman (ew), smirking. "Then you didn't mind when I kissed him?"

"WHY THE HELL WOULD I CARE?!" I shouted again, my face increasing its heat.

"Oh~" She purred, "So you wounding mind if I did it aga-"

"YOU BETTER KEEP YOUR GRIMY PAWS OFFA HIM YOU SNOT-NOSE BI-!"

My vulgar shout was cut off instantly by a loud roar, reverting all of our previously diverted attention back to the monster. Wind rushed out from his body in pulses, surges of powerful magical energy going along with it. All of us stood in our place, a few of the Dawn Roar members nearly being blown away by the wind. (Including Little Miss Bitch. I wouldn't mind if she got blown into a pile of mud and stabbed by a fucking bird.) Once it calmed and the wind settled, Gowther spoke.

"You surely felt that surge of his magical power just now. Are you certain that you can still defeat him?"

Slader was quiet for a moment, but he soon spoke, without any further hesitation. "Of course I am." His fellow knights stood at the ready, "There is no doubt that two, no... one of us will die, but I am confident that we will be able to return to the kingdom with its head."

"A calm, objective assessment," Gowther spoke, then swiped his hand downward. "Then there truly is no choice."

"You intend to fight alongside that beast?" Asked the captain of Dawn Roar, looking at Gowther. The Goat Sin swiped his hand upward so that it cut through the neck of the beast. It's head lingered there for a moment, but it fell to Gowther's hand just after a few seconds. There was a shocked silence- no doubt centering around Dawn Roar. I stared indifferently, my arms crossed and the red in my face slowly calming. The tears in my eyes had long since been carried away in the rush of sudden whirlwinds that came from the monster.

"Take it."

"What are you doing?" Slader questioned, shocked at what had just occurred. "I don't understand..."

"This is the most pacific solution to our current dilemma. If the Holy Knights of Dawn Roar, five out of the eight members of the Eight Deadly Sins, and the monster within the armor initiated a three-way battle, the surrounding nature around us would be destroyed for approximately nine-tenths of a mile. That, of course, is if the battle is quickly resolved. The nearby village of Ordan would surely suffer collateral damage as well, putting the lives of innocent men, women, and children at risk. This is the most rational way of resolving the conflict- and we can respect to the fallen Knights who challenged the beast by concluding this peacefully."

Slader was silent for a moment, before ultimately deciding and reaching his hand out. He took the head form Gowther's hand, slinging it over his shoulder.

"Are you sure, Captain Slader?!" The white-haired Knight shouted, "He just took our target and-"

"Silence, child," The man hissed, not sparing a glance away from our team. "I like you, Goat Sin of Lust, Gowther, and your friends aren't terrible either. I will respect this act of kindness and the legacy of the Eight Deadly Sins by retreating. However, if we were to receive an order to kill you, well... I wouldn't hesitate in claiming your heads." Him and the rest of Dawn Roar all began running and jumping into the forest. "Bye byeee!"

"Bye tall, shirtless guy!" I grinned, waving my fully extended arm in the air obnoxiously.

"Bye bye!" Gowther spoke as well, waving in a more calm fashion.

We stayed there, staring into the distance until the group of Holy Knights were long out of our range of sight. Even then, we stayed in our position for a few more minutes. Once we felt comfortable that they were no longer there, we began to move agin. King flew over to the monster, and Gowther walked over to it as well.

"I'm surprised that you would do something like that, Gowther," King said, prodding the monster's leg with his foot. The Sin of Lust's armor had completely shattered, leaving small, deep purple fragments all along the earth surrounding it. The only parts that remained were the leg pieces and boots, the entire upper body had been decimated by the sheer power of the beast. Inside was a monster of purple and magenta skin, now missing it's head. It had deep purple and indigo veins bulging out of various parts of its body. It was kinda gross, not going to lie...

"A surprise? How so?" Gowther asked curiously, looking down at the purple... thing.

"Why...? Well, I dunno... it just seemed like you were sympathizing with it or something."

"Was I..." Gowther cocked his head to the side, his stoic expression unwavering. "Was I sympathizing?"

"Man, I've seen some weird shit in the human world, but the only monsters you can find like this are in the demon realm," I said, walking over to one of its bulging, purple arms. Each of its fingers were arms the size of a person's, with hands about the size of Ban's. "Weird that there'd be something like this up here."

"I don't believe this is from your realm," Gowther spoke, "There is a power deep within the pulsations of its own. It was most likely once a human- possibly a Holy Knight."

"A human?!" Asked King and Ban simultaneously, staring at Gowther in shock.

"Ya think so?" I asked, picking up and dropping on of its limp hands.

Suddenly, one of the arm-fingers twitched. Following that, it's arm, along with the rest of its body, moved. My eyes widened in surprise as it shot upward, slamming its hand down where I was standing.

"Ack!" I was tackled or the side and brought safely to the side of the rest of my teammates. I looked to see who my savior was, and none other than King was straying at the monster, squeezing my arm briefly before letting me go. I smiled, whispering, "Thanks."

He nodded in response, a small smile tugging at his lips before emotion in his face disappeared entirely. I turned my gaze to the monster as well, my expression turning serious.

"Well, let us try our best to defeat this beast," Gowther remarked.

"Howzit still alive?" I asked.

"As I said before, chaos would ensue had a three-way battle occurred," Gowther responded. I sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of my face.

"How is it still alive after being beheaded?!" King shrieked, repeating my question with different wording, almost as though he hadn't heard me ask in the first place.

"The head was nothing more than a decoration."

"And how was this... this a human being before?! It's too abnormal!" King shouted at Gowther again.

"As I said before," the Goat Sin started.

Four heads sprouted from where it's original, singular one was. They all looked like morbidly obese men without eyes or any facial features. All they had were mouths, which held countless stubby teeth with tongues that practically couldn't fit within their cheeks. I cringed as it released a loud roar, imagining four chunky men being fused together and forming... this. Bleh.

"It was a Holy Knight. Therefor, it's magical energy it quiet impressive. Which also means we should proceed cautiously- for this is no ordinary enemy."