"So, I heard you and Ban had some fun while we were out."

My entire body tensed, my cheeks flaring and eyes widening in embarrassment. I clutched the handle of my pint, letting the alcohol rest at my lips, but not drinking it. I averted my eyes from the blonde pervert who had spoken, internally screeching so loud, I would probably have broken a few eardrums if I had actually sounded the internal distress.

"Goddamnit," I mumbled into the cup, setting it down and laying my arms on the counter, burying my face in them. "Can we please talk about something else?"

"Y'know, I'm just happy you and Ban finally got some action," he hummed, ignoring my statement entirely, causing me to groan into the counter. His voice was teasing, and I was fully aware that he meant no harm with his words. That doesn't mean it didn't embarrass me beyond belief, though. "You deserve it."

"Yeah, if King hadn't walked in, we would've actually gotten somewhere," I heard Ban from next to me, feeling his smirk. I raised my head from my arms, face brighter than the flames I produced as I stared at the man.

"Why would you say that?" I asked, whining in complete and utter humiliation. I noticed that King's face was flushed almost as bad as mine was.

"Cause it's true," he smirked, moving behind me to wrap his arms around my waist and rest his chin on my shoulder. He pulled me closer to him so that I was now sitting in his lap; I felt his mouth move closer to my ear, and his voice was nearly a whisper, but much kinder than it had been before. "And because I like to show you off..."

"Oh god, kill me..." I whispered to myself, covering my beet-red face with my hands. My skin was hot to the touch, probably redder than the hottest fire.

"Oh, what kind of dirty things did he whisper to you~" Meli asked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows at Ban and I.

"Just telling her about all the ways we can try and kill you," The Fox Sin stated casually, chugging my half-full pint then throwing it full-force at Meli. The Dragon Sin caught it, but the sheer force of the throw caused the wood to splinter apart in his hands. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Man, why'd you do that Ban? Now Elizabeth has to clean this up," he frowned. I looked over at the aforementioned princess, who sighed good-naturedly with a smile on her face. I huffed.

"Why don't you clean it, you pint-sized pervert?!" I demanded, growling in his direction.

"You're looking a little red in the cheeks there, (y/n). Maybe you and Ban should head upstairs and cool off~" he purred, a smug look on his face. My face burned brighter as I averted my gaze. Ban absentmindedly ran his fingers over my thighs, chin resting atop my cranium. His fingertips were slightly calloused, but still felt nice against the soft, exposed skin of my leg.

"Can we please not mention that?" King and I cried simultaneously, both having burning blushes on our faces.

"I can't deal with the embarrassment," I mumbled, while King states his own reason:

"I don't want to have to relive it..."

"Okaaaay!" Meli cheered, his voice sing-songy and joyful. His voice raised quite a bit in volume as he shouted, "HAWK MAMA! TAKE US TO OUR NEXT PLACE!"

The entire Boar Hat shook as Hawk's mom came rumbling out of the ground. She took a moment to stretch her legs, huffing as she took a large inhale of the fresh air. She slowly began trudging forward, picking up the pace until she reached her usual quick, but steady, pace.

"Aw, man," I heard Diane whine from outside, "Now I have to walk..."

"If I may ask, Captain," Gowther spoke, addressing Meli, who had begun picking up the broken pint after I insisted he give Ellie a break. "Where is our next destination? It seems that you have not trusted any of us with that information."

"Trusted? I just forgot to tell you! And none of you asked," He laughed, throwing away the shattered wood and brushing his hands against one another.

"Are we going after any of our other members?" I asked, touching my cheeks and feeling that they had returned to their normal temperature. I happily swung my legs on Ban's lap, giving his hand a light squeeze. I felt him smile faintly from atop my head.

"Perhaps we will continue to look for Merlin?" Gowther joined.

"Or are we looking for Escanor now?" King asked, laying lazily upon his pillow. His raging blush had also died down, but I found that he actively avoided looking at both me and Ban.

"Nope," he spoke, his voice becoming much more serious. "We're going after the sword."

"The sword?" I asked, eyes widening in shock. Everyone's expressions conveyed their own surprise as well.

"You means that useless old sword hilt with the dragon handle that you carried around?" Ban asked, removing his chin from atop my head and peering at Meli from above my shoulder.

"It was stolen, right? By those two Holy Knights," King questioned, giving the captain a curious look.

"Mhm!" He affirmed, "We can't let them have it. There's only six of us, which isn't exactly ideal, but it still should be pretty easy to do a mission of this magnitude," He pounded his fists on the bar counter, grinning up at the four of us, "You guys'll come with me, right?!"

Ellie stood up, grabbing a tray and beginning to walk around, picking up discarded pints and garbage. I sighed, leaning against Ban's chest with my head resting on his shoulder.

"I'm good," I hummed, "There's been too much excitement for me recently."

"Yeah, sounds like a chore," Ban agreed, "I'll pass."

"It's your fault it got stolen anyway..." King mumbled, picking at the fabric of his pillow absentmindedly.

"That is true, you should take responsibility for your weapon," Gowther affirmed, and Hawk just chewed on his leftovers, not caring about anything we were saying. Ban began fiddling with a piece of my hair, causing me to smile as a small flush arose on my cheeks. It was still so surreal to me that we were actually in a relationship now.

In total honesty, I wouldn't mind going with Meli. It would actually be kinda fun to kick some Holy Knight ass. I really just wanted to stay here and hang out with Ban. I finally had a chance- I'm with him, it's official. I don't have to spend time when I'm bored fantasizing about random dates or couple stuff we could do, because now it could actually happen. My life has been a real shit show, but I finally have something good. The Sins are amazing and I really consider them my family, but being in a relationship is something I never thought I'd have the luxury of- and now I do. That is my main priority right now- above Meli's stupid sword hilt that he was dumb enough to lose.

Meli was quiet for a moment, but he quickly dashed off to Ellie, shoving his face below her skirt and into her crotch. He whined, slightly muffled by her body, "Comfort me Elizabeth."

"Oh! Uhm... there, there," she said, slightly uncomfortable as she patted his head through her skirt. Diane's face burst through the window, shattering the glass, to join mine and Hawk's shout.

"MELIODAS YOU PERV!" The three of us screeched, angrily staring at Meli in his perverted position. He quickly retreated at the sound of our anger, standing in the middle of the bar. A strange look of seriousness passed over his expression, causing me to stare at him curiously. I turned in Ban's lap, my legs hanging from his side instead of in between his own.

"That sword, no... the dragon hilt that was stolen from me," his expression darkened, "Its a relic- well, part of one. A ritual relic, the Coffin of Eternal Darkness."

My eyes widened in fear, and I immediately clenched Ban's hand, which was within my own, and a part of the fabric that made up my cloak. I stared at Meli with a shocked, fearful expression, my heartbeat suddenly thundering in my ears as I stared in disbelief.

"Wow, what's up?" Ban muttered to me. I ignored him.

"What do you mean?!" I snapped, clenching my hands harder. I heard a few small pops echo from Ban's hand. "Those fragments were scattered across the human realm! And why would the Holy Knights be collecting them?! How do they know that's a part of it? Hell, how do you know it's a part of it? It's just a stupid sword hilt- no way can it be that important!"

I was starting to panic, eyes darting around the room in fear. If they went after that sword hilt- and this is assuming it's even a part of the ritual- that means they know what the parts are and how to find them. Not to mention, they went to a whole lot of trouble to get that hilt. If I were aiming to open the portal, I would go after the piece that the leader of the Eight Deadly Sins has last. Which means.... they're damn close to opening the portal to the demon realm. Or maybe they're doing it as we speak.

"(Y/N), what's your deal?" Ban asked, his eyebrows furrowing in genuine concern.

"I must ask as well, why are you so worked up?" Ellie questioned from across the room.

"It is only something of folklore," Gowther said, "There is nothing to fear."

"No, it's real," Meli countered.

"Ban, if they use that relic and open that portal..." I whimpered, looking up at him with terrified eyes, "I think we're all as good as dead."

"Portal to where?" Ban demanded, "Jesus, what the hell are you talking about?!"

"It's a relic that opens the portal to the demon realm, which was closed off by the goddesses," Meli answered, and everyone gasped. The room fell silent in shock. "The Goddess Clan, Fairy Clan, Giant Clan, and Human Factions united to create that seal. During the Holy War, they used it to seal the demons away to their realm."

"There must be some mistake!" Ellie demanded, "That means the Holy Knights are trying to resurrect the Demon Clan!"

"Yeah, why would they want to bring them back?" Hawk huffed, "I don't think anyone wants to be friends anymore. Those Holy Knights are pretty crazy, though...."

"That can't be..." Ellie murmured.

"What's their goal, then?" Asked Hawk, turning to the captain. I hugged Ban's arm close to me. We're all gonna die.... and Ban and I.... we just.... I'm finally....

"We can only guess," Meliodas shrugged.

"Are you kidding me?" My voice quavered, and everyone turned to me. "There was demonic energy coming off those two Holy Knights, Guila and Jericho, and King Liones has been predicting a Holy War for ages! They probably want to make all the Holy Knights into freaky demon-soldiers! We could barely defeat those two! How are we supposed to fend off the army of the largest and most powerful kingdom in Britannia and the Demon Race?!"

"(Y/N), calm down," Ban whispered in my ear, hugging me closer to his chest. I inhaled his scent, but his soothing voice and overall aesthetic didn't do much to clam my erratic breathing and thundering heartbeat. "That's not gonna happen, okay? You can trust me, right?"

I whimpered a small yes.

"Wait..." Diane's voice came from the window, "If the Holy Knights already have the sword hilt, doesn't that mean the Demon Race is already out?"

"Nope," Meli denied, which spurred me on to calming down. Ban continued to whisper comforting words to the best of his ability, stroking my hair as he did so. "The seal is an incredibly strong spell- it has the magical force of four different races behind it. If it had been released, there would most certainly be a wave of ominous energy, or at least some sort of sign."

"OH GOD!!" Hawk shrieked, causing me to jump in Ban's lap , eyes widening as I stared at the pig in fear. I clutched the shoulder's of his leather jacket so hard my knuckles turned white, and my knees were hugged close to my chest, Ban's arms wrapped protectively around me. "IT'S A SIGN!! OH, IT'S A SIGN!! I ATE TO MUCH!!"

Loud rumbling came from his general direction as sweat poured from every gland in his body. I sighed, eyebrow twitching in annoyance at how he had scared me so much because he needed to shit. "Don't make such a big deal out of having to go to the bathroom," I grumbled, annoyed. "You scared the fuck outta me."

"Actually... come to think of it..." Hawk's voice came out strained, almost in pain. I relaxed, sitting normally in Ban's lap again. "Why are they... always after Elizabeth... and the sword?"

A loud crashing noise came from across the bar, causing me to jump and hold onto Ban again. I looked fearfully over, to find Ellie with a tray and several empty pints on the floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She apologized, bending down and beginning to pick up.

"Geez, you sure like riding me~" Ban purred, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes, standing up and walking over to help her. She gave me a thankful glance as I assisted her in setting all of them on the tray, which she had placed on one of the tables.

"That's true," King spoke, "They do always go after both of them. But why...?"

All of the sudden there was a hand placed over my nose and mouth. My eyes widened in shock, but a gas made its way around my face, wrapping around my cranium. I inhaled in shock, it flying into my nostrils. Every part of my face suddenly felt very heavy, and my vision began to spot with black. I felt my body crumple down, only to be caught by some invisible force. I only heard one thing, from a voice I didn't recognize, before I faded into unconsciousness.

"Because she is the last key to releasing the seal."