"I'm sorry!"

I shouted exuberantly as I ran to the kingdom, still shoving on one of my shoes. I stumbled backward, rolling through the crowd and landing in the center. Meli, Merlin, Gowther, and Hawk were all line up in front of King Bartra and Ellie, who held a pillow with several medals on it. I landed directly between Meli and Merlin, flat on my back with my left and right shoe fully on. I scrambled up as a loud whistle sounded from the crowd, a strategic pebble-kick causing a loud exclamation of pain to echo from the same direction. I saluted Bartra and Ellie hurriedly.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I slept in!" I said, comical tears falling down my cheeks as I hung my head.

"(Y/N)!" Diane huffed, "You had one job!"

"Sorry, I was sleeping!" I huffed, crossing my arms and stomping my foot. "It's not my fault bed are stupidly peaceful and horrendously alluring!"

"At least (y/n) arrived here, King and Ban seem to be entirely absent, without any sign of approach," Gowther spoke, looking back at the entrance, over the large crowd surrounding us. I noticed Diane seemed a little disappointed. "We heard your shriek at the Boar Hat from here, but it seems they are not at the bar at all."

"Geez, Gowthy, you're meaaaannn," I whined playfully, then laughed broadly. I absentmindedly tied my messy hair into a ponytail.

"(Y/N), you're in front of his majesty," Merlin sighed, a smile still playing on her lips. I gasped exuberantly.

"Oh! My goodness! Excuse me! Your almighty kingship!" I bellowed, bowing down extravagantly. "Forgive my despicable behavior in front of someone of your stature! You have my deepest gratitude for inviting me to such a sociable event!"

"Oh, stand up," Bartra scoffed, making me laugh as I stood. I stuck my tongue out playfully, and both he and Merlin rolled their eyes.

Yup.

I'm the problem child.

"Ahem," the King cleared his throat, silencing the whispers of the crowd around us. 'Why are they getting a medal?' 'They don't deserve it!' "The Eight Deadly Sins, alongside the Knights of... Leftovers Disposal! I hereby bestow upon you a recognition for your protection of our kingdom from the recent menace that threatened the lives of both our Holy Knights and citizens."

Ellie stepped forward, ready to present us with the medals, but I believe everyone in the group caught the whispers resume in the crowd. I glared to the side, silencing a few of them, but there were still a few brave souls saying that we didn't deserve this. I mean, we saved their asses- maybe they're just too salty to admit it. 'Nobody can be more powerful than us' or some other bull.

"Objection!" Meli shouted, and I snickered, smirking. It seemed he was going to act on it.

"Overruled!" I said playfully, and he swatted me across the head.

"To the award bestowment!" He continued, almost as though I hadn't spoken at all. What a meanie.

"Wh.. what?" The king asked, confused, as he looked over our group. I nodded in agreement, Merlin smirked, Gowther stayed stoic, Hawk continued eating from his scraps bowl, and Diane smiled brightly.

"That's what some of you guys wanted me to say, right?" He asked, turning back to face the crowd of people who had come to watch, or gossip during, the ceremony. Flames appeared above the heads of several people on the crowd, who froze upon seeing them overhead. "To you guys who are whispering behind all of our backs, we can hear you. So if you have something to say, say it. You should be able to tell by now that we aren't afraid of confrontation."

Every was silent, but after a moment of hesitation, three of my flame markings moved forward, and the rest dissipated. Three men were walking forward, exiting the group, which gasped upon seeing them. Two of them were tall- one pale with lavender hair and deep purple eyes, the other with tanned skin and chestnut hair. The third was just taller than Hawk was, with a dirty blonde bowl cut and a thick, slightly darker mustache. He looked like Beavis and Butthead from a few chapters ago.

"Hm. They are with the Six Stars of the Azure Sky," Merlin said, looking at them, semi-unimpressed.

"Oh! I've heard some stuff about them," I said, waving at the men, who didn't wave back, resulting in a frown on my part.

"I'm pretty sure there were more complainers, but only three of you are honest," Meli said, looking up at the men (well he was slightly taller than the tiny one, whose name is Waillo, I'm pretty sure). "So. Whadoya want?"

"We just wish to see the true power of the Seven Deadly Sins who stopped the evil that attacked our kingdom is all!" The tall one, Deathpierce, I believe, said, "Would you grant us the privilege, Sir Meliodas, captain of the Sins?"

"You know, I was getting my hopes up," I said, my teeth gritted together as is stared with a sickeningly sweet smile at the man. My aura was extremely threatening, despite the grin, "I was thinking you would be more interested in me, the newly popularized member of the Eight Deadly Sins."

"Everyone knows how weak you are, there's no need to test our theories."

Oh.

Oh hoho.

Oh hohoho.

This motherfucker lookin' to die.

"Weak? I'll show you fuckin' weak you little-"

"(Y/N). Restraint," Merlin hummed, "We don't want you killing any of the most valued Knights of the kingdom."

"Can I make an exception for the one who looks like I hit random in Skyrim character customization?" I growled, glaring at the tall, lavender-haired man who seemed to be ignoring my comments. Meliodas snickered, and Merlin let out a small laugh, which she tried to make sound like a scoff. Diane giggled and Hawk snorted in approval. "I would say I'd kill his whole family tree, but their all pricks, so I'll just say his family cactus."

"My King," Deathpierce interrupted a bit too forcefully, making me grin evilly. I swung my leg carelessly, 'accidentally' kicking a rock in his direction. It whizzed past his face, slicing a few of his hairs off and making them fall to the floor. He glanced in my direction, then turned back to face King Bartra. "I hope you can understand that we were stationed across Britannia by traitorous Knights, and unless we can see their power with our own eyes, we cannot accept them receiving this award."

"I think you're butthurt that you couldn't stop Hendy yourself and you want some sort of validation," I hummed nonchalantly as I crossed my legs and plopped down, a pile of fire forming beneath me and making me hover upward so I stayed at the same height I usually stood at. My legs were crossed, my elbow resting on my thigh as I smiled condescendingly at purple hair. "But go ahead, I won't stop you."

There were a few snickers from the crowd, as well as from the tan man, whose name I knew was Dogedo. Deathpierce through a glare in their direction, silencing them effectively.

"Your majesty, I request that pest be-"

"You may challenge the Sins," King Bartra, "And as much as I agree with you about her... annoying tendencies, I wouldn't recommend fighting her."

"Ooh, I'm touched, Bartra~" I purred, grinning lazily.

"You are such a challenge..." Merlin mumbled, and I grinned wider.

"Thank you, my King," Deathpierce said, glaring at me. I smiled as brightly and innocently as I could manage, holding up a middle finger with one of my hands. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"I'll go first," Dogedo offered, stepping forward as he cracked his knuckles. He walked toward Meliodas but Hawk stopped but, huffing loudly.

"Stop right there!" He huffed, staring at the man, "Magic: 290; Power: 470; Spirit: 100. Power level: 860. Huh."

There was a pause, where everyone stared down at the pig.

"PFFFFFFFTTTTT."

I covered my mouth the best I could, so only the Sins could hear my outburst. I tried extremely hard to contain my giggles and snorts, but they kept escaping.

"He's one of the best knights of Britannia?" I laughed, my entire body shaking with the physical effort it took to keep my laughter down.

"Not bad!" Hawk huffed, "But you're still no match for me! Meliodas will fight in my place- I can't waste my time on such a weakling."

"He's so arrogant. Sorry," Meli said to Dogedo, "Should we start?"

"Yeah," Dogedo grinned wickedly, widening his stance as he toward over the captain, who stared up at him, stoic. "Let's go~"

"Captain don't pick on him too much," Diane said.

"Yeah, yeah."

"If you're going to kick the shit outta anyone, do it to pinky, over there!" I called, grinning as I looked at Deathpierce, who scowled at me.

"Not happening."

"Make this quick," Hawk huffed.

"Shut up."

After the captain responded to Hawk, Dogedo let out a barrage of punches, quite obviously hoping to get the jump on his opponent. He was using the maximum of his capabilities.

Meli was blocking every punch with ease, snapping one of the man's tanned fingers each time a blow came close enough to block or counter. A few times, he simply dodged out of the way, swaying his way forward. After a second or two, he jumped upward, lightly kicking the man in the face.

Dogedo's head snapped to the side, sending him flying toward the floor. His cheek made hard contact with the barely rebuilt cement, creating a crater where it made contact. Meli landed lightly on the ground, standing with his hands on his hips, staring at the man with the same, stoic expression as before.

That was fast.

"Wha... what..?" The man asked as he stood up, looking down at his hands. He looked at Meli, then back at his fingers. His expression contorted into one of anger as he slammed him head down toward the captain, who swayed out of the way. He used an open-palmed strike on the man's chin, making him cough up bile as his head shot upward.

The man shot backward, Deathpierce stopping his body before it made contact with him. The people around us began whispering about Melli's power, although Hawk seemed to be the most shocked, quaking in his hooves.

"Magic: 400; Strength: 960; Spirit: 2010..." Hawk whimpered, covering his whole body. "Power Level: 3,370!"

"What?!" I demanded, hopping down from my homemade seat, which disappeared, "That can't be right! You're way stronger than that measly number!"

"Heyyyyy," Diane whined, making a pouty face. "That's mean..."

"Sorry, Di."

"Forgive us," Deathpierce said as I knocked Hawk atop the head, demanding he check the levels again. He repeated the same numbers, and I irked my eyebrow in annoyance. "We can now clearly see that you are extremely powerful."

"That's all you needed?" Meli asked, surprised.

"We can see that your power knows no bounds. I can now see with certainty how you were able to defeat Hendrickson."

"Oh. Okay, bye." Meli said as the men walked away, not saying another word. That was a short, unpleasant interactions.

"Wait... what're all of your powers then?" Hawk asked, turning to look at Gowther. "WHAAAT?! Magic: 1,300; Strength: 500; Spirit: 1,300! Power Level: 3,100?! How can you be stronger than me?!"

"You're Power Level is only 30- that is the bare minimum and most unimpressive," Gowther said down at the pig.

"It's 3,000!" Hawk growled, biting at the man's pants.

"What're you talking about?" Diane asked, and Hawk turned toward her, then squealed in horror.

"You too?!?! Magic: 900; Strength: 1870; Spirit: 480... Power Level: 3250?!?!"

"You shouldn't be so shocked, Hawk," Merlin hummed, and Hawk nearly melted upon looking at her. I snickered.

"Merlin, you must be too... Magic: 3,540; Strength: 70; Spirit: 1,100- Power Level: 4,710?!?!"

"Don't look at me, Hawk, you might die from terror!" I laughed, but the pig turned to look at me. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, my numbers coming from his lips as a strained squeal.

"M-Magic: 9,670.... Streng-gth: 10-10,820... Spirit: 10... Power Level: 20,500?!?!"

"Oh! Watch this!" I grinned mischievously, activating my demon abilities. His legs gave out and he fell, staring at me as he shook furiously.

"48,000?!?!"