renegade (seven deadly sins)

ACT ONE / the blessing

<EDITED ON FEBRUARY 1>

(chapters like these are why i need to edit lmao. i changed A LOT in this and the next few chapters, up until the ten commandments arc. if you're new, don't worry about it, but if you're an older reader...heads-up.)

beginning? yes. ending? meh.

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You landed in front of Meliodas and blocked Ban's attack with a casual wave of your hand. Both of them said your name in surprise, but Ban quickly regained that look of impassive anger.

"Move out of the way," he growled. "I need to do this."

"Why?" you demanded. "Why would you bite back at the hand that helped you back onto your feet? Why would you kill the person that helped you when no one else would?"

"It's for both our sakes!" Ban snapped. "For you and for me!"

"No. This is for Elaine's sake, is it not?"

Ban's eyes narrowed into slits. His grip on his weapon tightened. "How do you know about her? How dare you say her name when you're protecting someone like him?"

"Harlequin and I are close," you replied. "When the Fairy King's Forest burned and Elaine perished, Harlequin told me her story."

"Then you should know that I care for her so much, I'm willing to kill anyone to get her back." His gaze filled with rage. "Why are you defending him, huh? The Horn of Cernunnos told me about you, too. How Meliodas killed the Nebulae in cold blood because of a war they had nothing to do with!"

"If that is the case, Ban, the only person who has the right to strike him down is me!"

At your outraged tone, Ban fell silent. You drew your rapier and pointed it at his chest, knowing full well that you couldn't kill him. With any luck, though, you'd be able to prevent him from hurting Meliodas further.

"But I will not," you whispered. "Because I made an oath to Elizabeth and to Liones, that I would protect them no matter the price. To do that, Meliodas must stay alive. He has enough power to accomplish both of those tasks. My oath comes before any sense of revenge that I have!"

"Why?" Ban demanded. "You could easily protect Princess by yourself!"

"We were not wholly innocent," you continued, ignoring Ban's remark. "The Nebulae and the Goddess Clan were allies with mutual interests. When they slaughtered their prisoners of war, innocent women and children from the Demon Clan, we did nothing. We stood aside and let it happen because we believed they were justified in killing people that they swore to not murder!

"The Demon Clan could not strike back at the Goddess Clan, especially in their home, so they wiped out the Nebulae. It was terrible, but to them, it was the only reasonable course of action."

Strangely enough, you were almost grateful Gowther had invaded your mind when he did. Without him, you might have never found out about the nuances behind the genocide. You might have teamed up with Ban against Meliodas instead of defending him.

You prodded Ban's chest with your finger. "In a twisted way, I am grateful that Meliodas did what he did. Without the blood of my people on his sword, I would have never come to Liones. Without my grief and tears, I would have never met all my friends and gone on all these adventures! And quite frankly, I would take the weight of the world on my shoulders to keep it that way.

"My friends give me strength. Elizabeth lets me fulfill a sense of duty that I never would have known on Nubium. My powers would have grown, and then what? Would I have waited on that mountain until the Demon Clan awoke again? Would I have protected Nubium from the nonexistent terrors in the skies?"