Hawk moved as fast as his pudgy legs could take him, 'piggy trotting' out of the castle and around the clusters of Holy Knights that surrounded it. His first instinct was to head for Meliodas- the captain would know what to do. However, when he sensed three semi-large magical presences around him, he decided against it. Hawk was a warrior, most definitely, but even with Meliodas by his side, he knew he would struggle to defeat three strong Holy Knights of Liones. Thus, he decided to do the next best thing. He changed route and headed straight toward the magical signatures of King, Diane, and Gowther, amongst a few other, smaller magical powers. He was careful not to drop you off his back, although he almost lost you a few times. You were lighter than Hawk had originally presumed you would be, so your weight didn't hold you down as firmly as he'd like. Still, he continued to run as fast as he could, reaching the three Sins in no time.

"Hey guuuuuyys!" He called out, jumping upward upon seeing them and nearly dropping you. The Grizzly, Serpent, and Goat Sins all swiveled their heads upon hearing the familiar voice, then widened them in surprise when they saw you upon his back.

"(Y/N)?!" King demanded, not believing his eyes. He flew toward the pig as fast as he could, ripping you off of his back so fast Hawk hadn't realized it was him. He halted quickly, thinking he dropped you, but sighed in relief seeing you in King's arms. "(Y/N) what's wrong?"

King eyed you with an immense amount of worry. You were covered with splatters of blood, although he was pretty sure it wasn't your own, he still worried that was a possibility. You seemed to be in alright position, save for being unconscious. That was until, of course, King looked at your eyes. They glowed a faint pink color, which, unbeknownst to him, was much fainter than before, because the goddess's magic was wearing off. He furrowed his eyebrows, waving a hand in front of your face. You didn't respond.

"Is that (y/n)?" Asked Diane from across the open area. She struggled to stand- still weak, even after King had healed her, from the battler between her, Dreyfus, King, and Helbram. Her eyes shone with hope. Had finding her friend really been that easy? "King, is that her?!"

"(Y/N)...?" King mumbled, flicking your cheek and trying various ways to wake you. You only responded by mumbling something incoherent and furrowing your eyebrows. The glow in your eyes continued to grow fainter. "The hell...?"

"It seems that (y/n) has been put into a state of mental reality," Gowther stated from next to Hawk.

"Mental reality?" Diane asked, poking her lip out in confusion. "What's that?"

"I've heard of those!" Hauser exclaimed, "Isn't that an ability that only you have Gowther? Well, you and the Goddess Clan..."

"It does appear to be similar to the effects of a spell like that," Guila mumbled, "But the only way the Goddess Clan could've casted that spell is if she found the Horn of Cernunnos."

"Hah?" Diane and Hauser spoke simultaneously.

"It's a device used to communicate with the Goddess Clan that the kingdom retrieved many years ago," Guila explained, "I believe it was the Sins that retrieved it as well."

"I don't remember..." Diane mumbled, then piped up, laughing cheerily. "Sorry!"

There was a loud gasping sound coming from where King was. Everyone's eyes shot over to the both of you, eyes wide with surprise. King nearly dropped you in shock. You had shot up, your back arching at a seemingly impossible angle as you gasped for air, as though you had been drowning. You clutched your throat, coughing and gasping for breathe. Your eyes had turned back to their original (e/c) color, but were wide and fearful as they darted around you, analyzing the terrain.

"Wh-where am I?" You gasped, your voice hoarse from your gasps and coughs as you stared at King. You had just been in the basement with Ban, Hawk, and the Goddess Horn...

"You were put under a spell," Gowther interjected, causing your eyes to dart immediately over to him. He approached you, and Guila and Hauser did the same. Diane followed, but with a little more difficulty. His hand raised up, and a small bolt of pink lightning made contact with your forehead. "The Goddess within the Horn of Cernunnos had put you under a spell, causing you to fall into a mental reality, similar to how my Nightmare Teller does. It put you into a worst-case scenario where your brain played out the scene in the most mentally and physically draining way possible. It was quite an interesting move. Mr. Pig," the Sin of Lust turned to Hawk, and another small bolt of pink light shot from his finger into the swine's head. Not, of course, without protest from the talking animal. "I assure you, (y/n), what you just witnessed is not at all the reality of the situation."

"What..?" You grumbled, "So Ban's... not picking Elaine?"

King froze up at your words, the entire situation unfurling in front of him. He knew in an instant what had happened, and had become entirely furious. You loved Ban- but Ban loved Elaine. King knew he liked you considerably, but he loved Elaine. The fact that he was choosing at all made him angry, because you couldn't afford to be broken hearted again. He knew you- you wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Not from what I've gathered between both yours and Hawk's memories, no," Gowther responded, and you let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay..." you breathed, faint smile on your lips. "Okay, that's good, yeah. Now I can help you guys."

"Nononono wait!" King screeched, "You're injured!"

"Huh?" You asked, squinting in confusion, "I am?"

You looked down across your body in confusion, quickly scanning over your legs and arms. Your eyes widened in realization, making you laugh. "No! I just killed a buncha Holy Knights!"

"WHAAAT?!" King screeched, face red in anger.

"It is true," Gowther butted in, "That is from her memories before the goddess's spell-casting.

"Yeah, I was there," Hauser shuddered, not wanting to recall the memory. You were doing what you had to do, but... all that carnage... he would never be able to get that image out of his head. You were the literal definition of 'cute, but will kill you.' "It happened."

"WHAT?!" King demanded, turning to Hauser. "AND YOU DIDN'T STOP HER?!" He shrieked, then turned to you, face flushed in anger. How could Hauser let his designated little sister figure do something like that? "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"They were trying to kill me!" You huffed, crossing your arms childishly. "What was I supposed to do, ask nicely?"

"YE-" King began angrily, but was cut off by a large shockwave.

A surge of energy washed over the group, startling everyone and cutting off King's scolding. We all turned toward its source, but had to face away, squinting our eyes from the sheer power of the shock. I raised my hand to shield my eyes, and small bolts of electricity ran down my gloved forearm. I noticed vaguely how stained my knuckles were from blood. Geez, that'll take forever to get out.

"What a shockwave...!" Guila exclaimed, more to herself than the group, "And from this distance..."

"It seems that the captain is facing off against three opponents," Gowther spoke, the only one who hadn't covered his eyes or face. "Furthermore, they all have the magical signature of powerful, high-ranking Holy Knights. So tingly..."

"King!" Diane shouted immediately, "Go to where the captain is! You're the most powerful and okay one out of all of us!"

"I'm standing right here," I huffed.

"But we just got you back," Diane pouted, turning to me. "We can't send you into battle right away!"

I huffed, crossing my arms and blowing a strand of hair from my face in a pouty and childish manor. I watched as Diane turned back to King, who was staring out at the battlefield. I sighed.

"He should stay with us," I said, causing Diane to look at me.

"But-"

"Meli can handle himself," I interrupted her, "Us Sins should know that better than anyone else."

"She's right," King agreed, pulling his gaze away from the distance, where the large power was centered. "The captain'll be fine."

"But what if something happens..?!" Diane protested, "We can't get there fast enough to help him!"

"I can," I said immediately, "I may have been under a spell, but my power hasn't been weakened." I looked down at the shackles on my wrists, holding up my hands and pointing to the one of my neck, "The only things limiting me are these. I think they're canceling out my abilities. It doesn't matter, though- I can still fight well enough."

"But then you aren't at your full strength- none of us are!" Diane huffed, "If the captain can't beat them by himself, what chance do we have?"

"Diane," King spoke, flashing her a small, comforting smile. "He'll be okay."

She wavered in her resolve, weakening under the mighty purity and honesty behind his grin. You could pinpoint the exact moment she caved in. Sighing, she spoke, "Okay... but if anything happens...!"

"We rush to help him, I know," King grinned.

"So!" I turned to Hauser and Guila, who had been observing. "Now that that's outta the way- where's Ellie?"

"Princess Elizabeth was being hidden within the dungeons," Guila responded immediately. Hauser gave her a dumbfounded look, as though he hadn't known this. "But we received mental indication from Vivian that she was transferred to the King's quarters. I'm lead to believe that's where she currently resides."

"Why did they tell you all of this?" Huffed Hauser, "I'm a Platinum Holy Knight! I should know before you..."

"Perfect, then let's head over-"

Another large shockwave was sent crashing over us- this one much stronger than the last. I saw Diane's face fall into despair, and Hauser and Guila held their swords at the ready after the jolt. King was staring in the direction of the occurrence, and I could tell he was cursing himself for not listening to Diane.

"Captain!" Diane screamed, stumbled onto her feet and running forward. King, Gowther, Hawk, and I followed immediately, keeping her sluggish pace.

"The fightings stopped..!" King grimaced.

"Do you think Meli..?" I gulped, and immediately regretted my decision to ask as Diane's face contorted in pain. She stared forward and tried to move faster. I heard Hauser and Guila following close behind us- they seemed to struggle keeping up, even at the relatively slow pace we were moving.

"No..! The captain can't," Diane's voice broke as we turned a corner, but we all stopped dead in our tracks when we saw three figures standing in a practically destroyed clearing.

The Holy Knight- Gilthunder, I believe his name was- was standing, cradling the first princess of Liones, Princess Margaret, in his arms, whispering sweet nothings to her. I wondered vaguely when she got here, and wasn't Gilthunder on the other team? Next to them was none other than the captain, bloodied and bruised just as the Holy Knight was. He turned upon hearing us, then grinned, giving us a two fingers salute.

"Yo!"