Ban's POV
It had been a crazy couple of years; becoming immortal, going to prison-- twice, joining the Seven Deadly Sins, defeating Hendrickson.
Still with all of that, I was unsatisfied.
There was a ginormous hole in my heart. I have tried for years to drink away my problems, but it has become clear that there is only one solution. I need to revive Elaine from the dead.
I had resorted to some pretty low tactics, believing a fuckin fake goddess who tried to have me kill my best friend. I'm ashamed of how willing I was to do it. I reeked of desperation.
I had to figure things out for myself, I left the sins despite the new threat at hand, the Ten Commandments. Jerko and King had trailed after me, luckily I had at least lost King along the way.
(a/n, Jericho's name will be spelt wrong a bunch cuz that's Ban's thing-- just making sure we're on the same page lol).
Jorucho was kind of a stalker, but I had gotten used to her company, so I put up with her. We were now in Ravens, the awful place I grew up. Rumors had spread about a dead person being revived here, and I had to get to the bottom of it.
We had stopped at an inn to stay the night, and things got rather interesting when I came face to face with Zhivago, who apparently was a werefox, not that it changed how I felt about him. He was practically my father.
I was distressed seeing him so close to death, but grateful I got to see him one last time and clear up some miscommunications from our past.
"Do you still keep in touch with Julie?" He asked while laying in bed.
I gasped. Julie. How had I forgotten about Julie, especially while I was back in Ravens. I shook my head no looking down, a bit guilty. Zhivago just nodded in understanding muttering "good kid," presumably in reference to Julie.
What an awful guy I was forgetting all about the girl I'd spent ten years of my life with, I've just been so overwhelmed I guess. Maybe when asking around town about the rumors I'll check to see if she's still living around here.
We used to be best friends, teenie even had a massive crush on me. She would deny it, but it was dreadfully obvious. I didn't not like her, I was just young and uninterested in love, more invested in becoming immortal and whatnot. She'd be around 25, 30 by now? I wonder how she'd react to me looking the same as the day I left. I wonder if she had a husband, kids? It had been so long.
Unfortunately, Zhivago passed away that night. Jericho and I gave him a proper burial, and then made our way into town to discuss these rumors we had been hearing.
Many of the people we had asked told us about a sort of mad scientist who lives in the area, apparently he was always working on crazy experiments and the townspeople suspected he might have something to do with the revived dead.
I had gotten enough tips on him to think it a worthy lead.
The man's name was Othello, no one knew too much about him, he was apparently a pretty secluded and quiet guy, so perhaps he could've been reviving the dead without anyone knowing.
After asking a few people, I was given an address and I was on my way there, JerJer following.
I knocked on the door, it was your average looking house, didn't look too ominous or like some crazy science laboratory.
A middle aged man with white hair and glasses answered a few moments later. He definitely looked the part of a mad scientist, with a lab coat and somewhat arrogant demeanor.
"Othello?" I asked.
"Yes, what can I do for you," he smiled glancing between Jericho and I. He looked at her with an odd fascination, and I stepped slightly in front of her. I didn't not like her, and I didn't like how he was looking at her. I heard her stammer slightly from behind me, yet another girl with a monumental crush on me, not that I blame her.
"There's been rumors about the dead being revived, do you know anything about it, as a scientist?" I asked plainly, not in the mood for small talk.
He looked intrigued and began to stroke his chin as if he had a beard... which he did not. "Hmm, well I wish I could take credit for such a remarkable achievement, but I've been working on something a bit different."
So he didn't know how to revive the dead, I was uninterested in anything else he had to say. I turned to go but Jer stopped me, "He might still be able to help!" she grumbled, probably just because she was tired of aimlessly wandering around such a skeevy town.
I look up at Othello, he looks deep in thought as he mutters to himself, "hmm, if I put my current project on hold for a few years, I could find new specimens to start exploring resurrecting the dead. I have gotten great results from my current specimen, I can turn my focus elsewhere for a while."
I glance at Jericho and back at the rambling man.
"What is your current experiment?" Jericho asks him.
His eyes light up eager to talk about his work, I roll my eyes glaring at her for encouraging his blathering.
"Oh, it is just wonderful! My current specimen I have been working with has amassed incredible strength and durability, but I don't want to bore you, I could go on and on for days about it, it's simply so fascinating!"
I look at him unenthused and his face drops for just a second before going back to the annoyingly chipper grin.
"Would you like to see my specimen in action?" He asked enthusiastically.
"Sure!" Jer responded before I could. This girl was driving me insane, I did not want to see this man's crazy science experiments.
We follow this crazy man into his house where he leads us to a staircase to a basement. Had I not been an immortal Sin and Jericho a Holy Knight's Apprentice, we surely would have died in this man's basement, he was so sketchy.
When he spoke so passionately about his specimen I expected him to be referring to a plant or small animal, but we walked into this motherfucker's lab and there was a wall lined with large crates. I'm sure Jericho is regretting this now as she nervously clings to my arm, staying as far away from psychopath Othello as she can.
Our attention is drawn to the crazy wall of equipment and I know this can't be good. Whatever poor unfortunate creature ended up as this guys 'specimen' was probably regretting being born.
We were so distracted that we hadn't even heard the cage door open and his 'specimen' being placed on the big metal table in the middle of the room.
"Here she is!" He enthused. I spun around and my mouth dropped to the floor.
Julie.
Jericho didn't even know who she was, but she still looked horrified at the condition of her.
An unconscious Julie was curled up on the table looking almost exactly the same as I had left her ten years ago, besides the obvious change of being held in this man's basement for who knows how fucking long. She had on small black cotton shorts and a huge white t-shirt that may have fit her if she weighed more than the-- I don't know-- 80 or 90 pounds she appeared to be in her current state. Her face was sunken in and every bone was visible against her pale, scarred skin. I was mortified.
I didn't even notice Othello grabbing a large machete until it was too late. He pulled her arm away from her body and chopped it off in one fell swoop.
Jericho and I both gasped, but a few seconds later black marks began appearing on her arm and it reattached itself. This is how Meliodas heals... how demons heal.
"Remarkable, right? If she was awake, you'd see the change in her eyes as well. Her body is just recuperating from yesterday's tests," He said with pride.
I didn't think, I just killed him.
