(Since I'm lazy and lacking imagination right now, you've got perfect control over your guards. Enjoy.)

"King, what are you doing?" I ask, lying on my back and reading a book on the couch. I could see his face from the top of my vision, floating over me, his expression the usual 'mildly annoyed' look.

"What are you reading?" he asks as I sit up.

"Nothing. Go away."

"Not until you tell me."

"Why do you care?"

"Because it might actually be interesting for once."

"HUH?!"

~

I was still a bit salty over our early morning interaction. He kept following me around and making weird remarks. He was also being strangely harsh as well.

"What's with you today?" I ask, downing another beer. I was starting to get annoyed. Meliodas was behind the bar, drying a glass that had been used recently by a customer, and Ban was trying his hardest to get as drunk as possible before passing out. King frowns.

"Nothing's wrong."

"Why are you being so rude, then?"

"I'm not."

"You are."

I finish the drink and get up, about to leave the room, then bump into boobs mckenzie- I MEAN ELIZABETH.

"Good morning!" she says cheerily. I give a half grin back and move out of the way for her to enter the room, then retreat to my room. I felt like something was about to happen, though, so after a few minutes I re-enter the bar.

Just in time to see a woman wearing a mask teleport Elizabeth and Hawk away. I stand frozen in shock for a few seconds as Meliodas screams in rage and grabs his sword, then runs outside. Ban, Gowther and I follow, and I growl in frustration.

"Where did they go?!" I shout, turning to Meliodas. He concentrates for a few seconds, then turns to Diane.

"How far away is the capital?"

"About 41 miles..."

"Throw me."

I stare at him, my head slightly tilted, then become even more confused as Ban and Gowther grab on.

"Listen, if we're going on some marvellous adventure through the skies, you better not leave me out of it." I say, wrapping my arms around Gowther's neck and hoping I don't accidentally choke him or something. King frowns again, making me even more annoyed.

"Deal with it, King. Diane, throw us."

Diane picks us up in her fist and stands back a few metres, then begins to run.

"Make sure you save her...!" Diane yells, then catapults us into the air. I immediately felt my face being pulled off from the force, but thankfully, it stays attached. Couldn't imagine going into battle without a face. Meliodas and Ban were trying to say something to eachother but it was snatched away by the wind.

Too soon, the ground approached us. We were already at the gate to Liones, but there were hundreds of trainee knights gathered outside.

"WHAT'S WITH ALL THE KNIGHTS?" I shout, but if I got an answer, I didn't hear it. Realising I was the only one who wouldn't survive the impact of landing, I let go early, using my levitation to slow down enough not to turn into a stain on the ground. I roll to get rid of my momentum, then summon my arm guards and fly out of the dust cloud towards the knights, the others hot on my heels.

"Our priority is saving Elizabeth! Keep combat to a minimum!" Meliodas commands. I nod, then soar above the knights, out of reach. I was going to head directly to the castle and see if I could find a lead from there. The sounds of fighting chase after me, then the shocked cries of knights who had their attacks reflected back at them. Slowly, the clashes fade away, and the only sound is the chilling wind rushing past my ears. Inwardly, I wish I had brought warmer clothes.

A familiar lightning strike shoots towards me and I roll to the side, blocking the excess power with my guards, then watch as the streak turns around and charges at me again. Gilthunder had arrived. This time I face him head on and grunt in effort as I absorb most of his power, being pushed down towards the ground. I felt my back slam into the rocks paving a road and cry out, not expecting him to be this powerful. My arms are knocked aside and his body materializes above me, his sword held above my heart.

Just before he thrusts downwards, I morph the guards to cover my chest, making his attack skid along the rough surface and not leaving a scratch on me. His surprise and the intercepted attack throws him off balance and I quickly kick him away from me, leaping to my feet and floating into the air again.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I've got a princess to save. Bye." I wave cheerily, turning around and soaring away. He throws a curse after me and I snicker. In that moment of distraction, he leaps after me again, driving his sword through my arm and pinning me to the ground. I thrash underneath him, my guards flailing, but not a single hit lands on him. He places his foot on my back and draws his sword out of my arm, holding it above me once more, when I send out a pulse of pure energy, knocking him away and into a wall.

The wall fractures from the force of the blow and I stand up, stitching my energy into my wound to hold it closed and stop the blood flow for now. It would render one of my guards useless because of where I'm stretching the energy to, but at least I wouldn't bleed out. In the back of my mind, I remember when I used to fear humans. Now, I had become such a formidable opponent.

Gilthunder kicks off from the wall, his sword pointed towards me once more, but I easily step to the side and chop my hand on the back of his neck, knocking him to the ground. He coughs up blood from the impact and I move to turn away, then stop as he grabs my leg, still trying to take me down.

"Listen, Gilthunder, I don't want to fight you any more. You're beaten. Let me go." I say, not unkindly. I really didn't want to hurt him any more, not while he was so roughed up. However, he looks at me with fire in his eyes, and suddenly I'm the one feeling intimidated. A spray of lightning flies up my leg, making me jump in shock and quickly leap away from him. He gets to his feet and I growl, falling into a crouch and forgetting my earlier apprehensions about fighting him.

"If we're gonna play this game, I'm not losing." I hiss, then leap towards him. He rolls aside and strikes towards me, his blade grazing my cheek, and we lock eyes for half a second before I send him flying.

'The hell is he hiding...?' I wonder, trying to make sense of the look he gave me. I'm suddenly smashed to the side by something large and heavy, sending me sprawling. The thing had only grazed my head, yet I felt my neck crack dangerously. Armoured footsteps approach me and halt beside my head. I scramble to get up and away, then feel a sharp kick in my side, sending me tumbling along the ground next to an almost unconscious Diane.

"Shit..." I mutter, feeling a wet liquid seeping through my clothes. Just from that kick alone, the person caused me to bleed. Pain was stabbing at my side but I ignore it, getting to my feet and facing the holy knights that had just arrived. I recognised Dreyfus, Jericho, Guila and Howzer, but that was it. Dreyfus and Jericho were glaring down at me, but the other two just averted their eyes almost guiltily.

"So, two traitors with one stone. Not a bad outcome." Dreyfus says, making me snarl.

"Stay the fuck away from Diane." I say, getting to my feet, my arms drooping. I had the look of a madwoman in my eyes, and I knew I probably wasn't getting out of here alive. Didn't mean I was just going to roll over and die, though.

"And what are you going to do about it, you half and half bastard?" Jericho snarls, relating to my bi-colour eyes. I growl, leaping at her and sending my guard ahead to attack her first. She deflects it easily, making my eyes widen in surprise, then she leaps forwards, her sword poised to skewer me, only to be stopped by Howzer.

"Get out of here!" he shouts, blocking her attacks one after the other. I stare at him in shock, then at Guila as she joins him in defending us. The traitors. Being defended by holy knights. I don't waste any more time ogling at them, scrambling to my feet and running to Diane as she slouches, unconscious, against a nearby building. The clashes of weapons and magic follow me along the street but I block them out, focused only on reaching Diane.

"Watch out!"

I turn at the sound of the cry and see a smoking crater where I last saw Guila. Though I held no love for her, I felt a sense of loss at her death- why is Gowther on the roof holding her?

"Sorry for the wait." He says, setting her on her feet and then posing. I tilt my head at him, forgetting my pain.

"Why are you posing?" I ask as he jumps to the ground in front of Dreyfus and grabs his head. Some kind of spark enters Dreyfus's forehead and they both remain silent, staring into eachother's eyes. Jericho was still striking relentlessly at Howzer for a while longer when suddenly, Gowther falls backwards, his eyes rolled up into his head, and Dreyfus stands triumphant. He seemed to be tired, though, taking fatigued steps forwards before a man with green hair and wearing an eyepatch stops him.

"Master Helbram?!" Jericho asks, turning around in surprise.

"Jericho, take Dreyfus somewhere safe where he can rest. I'll take over here." The man says, and Jericho jumps to obey.

'Helbram... where have I heard that name before?' I wonder, staring at him as he approaches Guila and Howzer. The two knights seemed to be scared, cowering before him, and I sensed the threat he carries with him. This was not a man to be taken lightly. He seemed so familiar, though.

"Howzer, Guila. Are you defending these traitors?" Helbram asks, looking both of them in the eye. The knights tighten their grips on their weapons, gritting their teeth with apprehension. Then I notice Gowther, still unconscious on the ground under his feet, and dart forwards to save him from further injury. Helbram's eyes widen momentarily before he recovers and smirks at me.

"I didn't expect to see you here, (Y/N). What are you doing in the company of these... filthy maggots?" he asks, confusing me. I fly back to Diane and lay Gowther next to her, never taking my eyes off this man. When I don't answer, he sighs and draws his sword, a green blade that was beautifully made. With barely a wave of the sword, the two knights in front of us are sent flying, way out of sight. It hits me then that I'm the only one between this man and the unconscious sins, and I was already injured. The situation was dire.

Helbram points his sword again and icicles materialize above him, pointing at us.

"Any last words?" he says in a taunting manner. He had us right where he wanted.

"Fuck you." I hiss, then stretch my guards as far as I can to cover us and protect us from the attack. He chuckles and swipes his sword downwards, sending the icicles directly at us. They tear through my guards with no effort at all, draining the last of my energy, and I cry out in dismay as they almost hit us. Almost. As if by magic, they disappear, shattered into a thousand pieces by some unknown force. At first, I thought it was my magic, but then I notice the floating figure above us, Chastiefol spinning behind him. I had never felt so relieved to see someone in my entire life.

"King!" I cry in relief, sinking to my knees. I had drained everything in me and could barely move.

"Don't worry, (Y/N). You're safe now," King promises, then turns back to Helbram, "I think it's about time we finish this, Helbram. Why don't you use your real form?"

Before my eyes, the man transforms into a fairy. A familiar fairy. Suddenly, everything clicks.

'Holy shit...' I think in an amazed voice, my eyes wide as I watch them from the relative safety of being near Diane and Gowther behind King. Then, suddenly, I cry out in pain, a searing heat filling my entire body. I crumple to the ground, holding myself tightly and kicking out, screaming in agony.

"(Y/N)?!" two distant voices cry, one belonging to King, and the other to Helbram. I screw my eyes shut tight and finally, finally, slip unconscious.