renegade (seven deadly sins)

ACT THREE / a wretched beginning

<EDITED ON FEBRUARY 4>

okay so i think finally the armor looks mildly gender neutral? but i still gotta apologize akfnwkfngn

the a/n is gonna be deleted shortly after uploading this so if you didn't see the picture of MC's outfit, it's also here for future reference :)

also MC is gonna start getting more and more powerful so hopefully they'll be BADASS as FUCK by the end of act 3 lol

-

"This is where she died?"

You nodded, crouched with your elbows propped up on your knees. You hadn't been able to erect the grave yourself, but it appeared that someone else had taken the time to. A simple wooden cross stood high above the grassy terrain, colorful flowers blooming around a placard that read Mama's name.

Howzer knelt next to you. You both sat there in silence, watching the blades of grass sway back and forth in the gentle breeze.

"It happened almost a thousand years ago."

He flinched. "Jeez, I always forget how old you actually are until you mention stuff like that. You're, like, almost Meliodas' age, aren't you?"

You laughed. "Something like that."

"Well, how did it happen? I've been curious, ever since you first mentioned it."

Your gaze drifted over to the other graves scattered around the small cemetery, your heart growing heavy at the sight of so many. "We came to Liones while it was still growing. Mama enlisted as a Holy Knight, and while I wasn't old enough to become one myself, the rules weren't as strict back then. They let me toddle around with her, attached to her hip like a shadow."

You ran your fingers over the flowers, eventually plucking one from the ground. It's a forget-me-not, Merlin's voice whispered in the back of your mind. How fitting. "One day, we were engaged in a terrible battle. It stretched on for far longer than it needed to...Mama was killed right in front of me. They said she died protecting me and another group of villagers."

Howzer nudged you. "Looks like heroism runs in the family."

"Oh...yes, I guess it does." You sighed and rested your head against your shoulder. "I never knew what happened after that. Something blunt hit the back of my head, and when I came to, I couldn't remember anything. It was only thanks to the other Holy Knights that I even knew where I was, let alone things like my name or my magic."

He winced in sympathy. "Blunt trauma is a pain in the ass."

"Not literally." He rolled his eyes, and you let out a breathy laugh. "After that, I stayed in the castle until I was old enough to become a Holy Knight. That was around the time I first met you and Gil, wasn't it?"

"Ohh, yeah, I guess it was." He laughed. "Thinking back on it now, we were really attached to you. Even Dreyfus, Griamore, and Hendrickson were all close to you in some way. Maybe it was meant to be."

Your smile persisted, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. "Maybe."

Another comfortable silence blanketed you. You leaned back and took in a deep breath of the fragrant air, fully at peace in your own body. Still, something nagged at the back of your head, and your smile faded.

"You know, if my people were still alive, I might have become a parent by now. Maybe even a grandparent. I would have been able to grow up with Mama and Papa by my side. I would have watched Orion grow up as well."

Howzer sat straight up. His face had smoothed over into an endearingly serious expression. The corner of your lips twitched upward as you noticed how furrowed his brows were. Without thinking, you reached over and pressed your index and middle fingers against the space between his brows.