[Seven Deadly Sins] Volume 2 - Bound by Justice

[Mise™]

”It seemeth so...” Lian figured that the sheriff's heart must have not been where it would be for humans anymore, as there was no way that his sword skills could have failed him and he would have missed it or that's at least what Lian believed. Now that the sheriff seemed to return to his senses Lian did not try to attack again, though he remained on guard. And then an another man broke in to the room and it soon turns out that he was the father of the sheriff.

”Immortal men art not to judge the mortal men. Only mortals should judge mortals.” When asked should they kill the sheriff or not Lian, as usual, dodged the question. Maybe he did not have strong feelings one way or another and would be fine whatever the other three would decide.

”Thou must be son of the Great Holy Knight and it wouldth appear that thou knoweth the truth so dost thou not hate us for killing thy father?” Lian already knew what the sheriff thought about the death of Zaratras, but what about his father?

[CJ]

When the Sheriff shifted back into a human form, M stopped trying to lift herself off the ground. She remained deadly quiet, listening to see what she should do next, when something even more unexpected happened. His father, the son of the Great Holy Knight, appeared.

"No..."

M had taken off her mask, shifting back into her normal human form, seeing that Arx was safe. She was surprised to see him so easily carried, which alone confirmed the enormous strength of the man in black armor. She clutched her mask in her hand, soaked with the blood that dripped from her neck and shoulder. The wounds she had maintained in her other form still remained here.

"Lian's right about one thing," she gasped in a raspy voice. "No one has the right to decide who deserves death..."

She tried to get herself between the Sheriff and the man in black armor. She weakly pointed her finger at the new antagonist.

"Your son isn't going to die today... no one is... not while the Virtues are here..."

[Hitotsumami]

The man in black armor listened closely to each of the Virtues as they gave their answer.

Arx answered much the same. "As my friends have said, it is not up to us to determine such a thing! But, I can be certain of one thing. I won't allow you to bring harm to anyone!"

The man in black armor ignored Arx and instead decided to answer Lian's questions. "Do I hate you for killing my father...? Well, that is the central question. I will answer you honestly, Virtue. I do not hate you, for I know the truth."

He then looked back at his son. "It appears that the four virtues present are unsure at best of what should happen to you, my son, so their votes I shall not count. However, my vote still stands, and I wish you dead."

"NO!"

The voice was frail and weak. The old man with the spear, still badly injured managed to stand to his feet. His breathing was hard and it looked like he'd fall down at any minute. "You said everyone in the room gets a vote, so that means me too, and I vote... I vote that he lives."

"You..." muttered the Sheriff in disbelief. "Why?"

"Though I love my town, though I wish to protect it, I cannot put someones life up to the hands of majority. Do not get me wrong! I do not want to see you in my town ever again! I trusted you, I worked by your side and you betrayed us for this.. this terrible power! But... I won't allow a man to kill you just because of a faulty voting system."

The man in black armor smirked. "So the votes are even then, are they? One yes, one no, and the Virtues not voting either way. We are at quite a standstill, are we not? But lo, there is still one who has yet voted."

He looked at the sheriff. "And that is you."

The sheriff seemed speechless. He looked at the old man, then at all the Virtues gathered, and then at his father.

"How could this happen," muttered the Sheriff. "When I was still young I moved to this town because I heard rumors of the demons blood locked away here. I thought if I could get my hands on it, if I could become one with the demons, then I could have the power to crush the Virtues and avenge my father... But even then, when I gained that power and attempted to kill all of you... You Virtues, and even you, old man, have not voted for my death even when I would have voted for all of yours without hesitation... Just what... Just what have I become...?"

The sheriff looked at his father in the eye. "You told the one with only one eye that you knew the truth. What is the truth, father?"

"You do not deserve to know the truth."

"No. I've lived my whole life under the impression that I was seeking vengeance for my family. If there is some doubt, then I want to---!!"

Suddenly, the Sheriff staggered backwards. He clenched his head and coughed up blood. "It's happening.. again... No... Stay back! STAY AWAY!" Upon the sheriff's best chest could be seen a mouth opening up, filled with razor sharp teeth.

His body began to change and morph into huge bulging forms. Mouths opened up all around. "Not again! No! NO! I won't let it happen again!" The sheriff placed both his hands against his head, and in a bright flash of light and an explosion that rocked the entire prison, the sheriff ended the demon's rage himself. When the light faded, there was no trace where the man had once stood, only a small puddle of dark red blood.

The sheriff was gone, and the demon with him.

The man in black armor stared at the puddle. For a few seconds, he said nothing nor did he move. Then, he sheathed his sword and a grin appeared on his face. Then, a chuckle. Then, the man burst out in laughing.

"The funny thing is," said the man in black armor between laughs, "is that it was his vote, and he chose death! Aahhahahah!"

Arx however, didn't see anything funny about the situation, and he doubted the rest of the Virtues did either.

[CJ]

"No, that's not it," M said when the man in black armor claimed none of the Virtues were unsure whether or not they wanted the sheriff to live. Her heart raced, realizing what the armored man was doing. He was taking advantage of their decision not to play along with his sick game, but there was more to that. Her refusal to use first person pronouns cost her a say in what was going on. Her passive speech could have possibly led to the sheriff's death.

She grinned, seeing the old man back to cast his own vote. She knew he was a good person, even if he was originally fighting against him. It was for him and those like him that she formed the Seven Heavenly Virtues.

Then the man in black armor said something even stranger. He allowed the sheriff to make the final vote. M signed in relief, sure that the sheriff would make the right decision. She even smiled at Arx, so confident in outcome. But then the inevitable happened. He reverted back into the horrible monster.

"Wait!" she shouted, holding out her hand to the sheriff. In the end, the man in black armor didn't kill his son, but the tragedy was nonetheless awful. M had planned to kill the sheriff while he went on his demonic rampage, but now there was hope he still could have lived and it was all shattered. Finding Harlow, the village being saved from the demon, none of it mattered to her now.

Having fallen down from the explosion, she found herself on the floor. She crawled forward, looking at her own reflection in the puddle of demon blood. She fought back tears of frustration and disappointment.

"I wanted him to live!" she shouted.

M clasped her hand over her mouth as a small, barely noticeable crack could be heard. The wooden mask in her other hand broke in half and fell the small distance to the floor. What happened might have not even been noticed by her fellow virtues if they weren't paying attention to her.

"What is your name?" she asked the man in black armor, still looking at the puddle on the floor.

[Mise™]

Lian did not comment when M twisted his words about choosing the life or death of the sheriff. That had not been what he had meant, but it did not really make much of a difference anyway. Especially that in the end it turns out that the votes would not matter at all.

When Lian watched the man explode due to the demon blood he seemed interested in it, much more so than shocked. Other than that he also tried to avoid getting his expensive robes ruined even though he could have just restored them in a blink of an eye with his ability. ”I couldth hath senth him back in time, but his fate wouldth have remained the same. He wouldth hath draweth one last breath and then the end would hath cometh again.”

”So. What isth the truth thou claimeth to know?” Lian repeated the question that the now dead son had asked from his father. Maybe he had been right and the sheriff might not been worth the truth, but Lian was sure he was. What he wasn't sure is that if it really was the truth that the man in the black armor knew.

[Hitotsumami]

Wiping a tear from his eye through his laughter he appeared to pay little attention to M's concerns. Looking at her he said between chuckles, "Little girl, it was his choice. It matters not what you wish."

The man in black armor turned towards the gaping hole in the wall and started walking towards it. Glancing at Lian, he said, "The truth? That is what we're all after. Even if you live a thousand years you may never learn of it. The truth I claim to know? It is a small truth, but it is an important one nonetheless."

The man in black armor stood at the the edge of the hole. Below, he could see the town in distress, obviously aware that something was seriously wrong. In the far distance the sun was finally coming up. The events had taken the entire night away.

"The truth I know is the truth of your sins," said the man. "Take that for what it is. Perhaps in the future you will learn more, Virtues. You see, I have no interest in fighting you lot. I just stopped by to visit my son, that is all."

He started to jump from the hole and run, but he paused. Looking back, he said, "Oh, my name? I know all of yours very well. Lian, Harlow, Arx, and M. Three are still missing, unfortunately. But not for long. As for my name, I am Tenbraum, a Great Holy Knight, son of the man that..."

A sickening smile spread across his face, "... that you didn't kill."

And with that, the man jumped from the hole in the wall, but later the towns people would say that he never landed on the ground, but had vanished in midair, leaving the Virtues alone.

"I can't believe it," murmured the old man, laying on the ground, defeated. "What do we do? The sheriff is gone and the Captain of the prison, he had demon blood the entire time and was even torturing one of the Virtues."

The old man leaned up to a sitting position. He looked at the Virtues. "I'm sorry. I thought my town was pure and good. I thought we were a single unit, a family that would protect each other, but I was wrong the entire time. We were broken from the inside."

He looked at Harlow. The entire event was all because they had captured him. "But perhaps it is good. A new beginning." He looked down at the blood on his hands. "But how do we achieve that. Thank you, Virtues, for trying to protect us but... could you help us get on our feet one last time?"

---

Down below in the city was Simon. His father still appeared out cold, but he was very conscious and Arx had told him all about what was happening inside the prison. It was obvious that the demon blood that he and his father had been given, the blood they were told to use to create a new Holy Knight, had been nothing more but a curse in disguise.

"Damn it," he said to himself, tears forming in his eyes. Before him was a prison and on his back was a town he had been raised to protect, but instead had abused. But was there any chance of redemption? Could anyone forgive him?

The first light of the sun cascaded over the small town.

[CJ]

M only turned to look at Tenbraum once, when he claimed he knew their true "sins." Her lip quivered in a strange helplessness. She quickly looked away, stuck in the horror of the revelation and the knowledge that the crime they had been excused of never really happened. Would the truth of her past be open to the public? She never minded being labeled as a criminal or traitor, but she never wanted the truth of her actions known, even to herself, but it was too late for that.

Stuck kneeling near the puddle, she cringed at the sight of her blood spattered on her shirt and pants. She was tattered and broken from her fight with the sheriff turned demon. If she wasn't a Virtue, the agonizing bite would might have been fatal.

"No," she said to the old man.

Her plain brown hair fell over her face, hiding whatever expression she might have had. A sniffle could be heard as she brought one hand to her eyes.

"The others can help but you but I won't. I can't save anyone. You and this town would be better off helping yourselves than working with me."

She pulled her hair back behind her one ear, revealing a rather defeated M. Her face was blotched as tears streamed down her face.

"You're strong enough, old man, whatever your name is. So's the rest of this town. You don't want me weighing you down. I'm pathetic."

Her quiet sobs painted a very different image than was usually associated with the Virtue. It was like a whole other person had replaced M. It seemed impossible for her to ever refer to herself in the first person, but now she was talking normally as anyone else would have. She gripped the broken wooden mask in her hands and cried more.

[Mise™]

”Thou art in the wrong. I knoweth it better than any man that with enough time a man ist able to findeth the answer to anything they might wanth to. However most men dost not hath the time.” Lian responded to the knight in black when he taunted him about not knowing the truth. If Lian would actually see this truth worth pursuing was an entirely different subject.

As the old man asked help from the Virtues to rebuild his hometown Lian was quiet for a moment and then gave his response: ”Thy town dost not needeth our help. Thy hath the strenght to make the changes thy need by thyselves.” When speaking Lian sounded less cold and instead more friendly than usual.

[Hitotsumami]

"M," said Arx at M's words. He could tell what they had just witnessed was so horrifying that it was having a major effect on her. This was much more than just not wanting to be the center of attention. Nevertheless, it was obvious that she was technically right, and so was Lian. This town had all the strength it needed right in front of them.

"Don't worry," said Arx to the old man. "I'm sure we can figure this out."

---

Not just a few hours later, the Virtues would be gathered at the edge of the town to leave. There to set them off was the old man and, perhaps more surprising, Simon, who swore he would change his ways and work with his father so something like this would never happen again.

"Thank you for everything," said the old man. "When I greeted you into this town, last night I never knew just how much things would change at sunrise."

Simon nodded and agreed. "We will make this town better. We will no longer rely on the Holy Knights know that we know what their goals are and we'll never keep that... demon blood in our town again. We'll be independent."

"And strong," finished the old man.

Even then, the old man could tell M was not totally into it. He said to her specifically, "Good luck in your journey. Though the rest of the world may not like the Seven Virtues, they are always welcome here."

Arx could appreciate the old man's words, but he knew M would not be one to enjoy the spotlight, so he quickly set off.

"We will take you up on your offer one day," said Arx. "So until then, farewell."

And so, four of the seven Virtues, would set off towards their next destination. With Harlow joining their group, they'd make it closer and closer to their goal of one day redeeming themselves. With that thought, Arx imagined that it was perhaps, more than anyone, him that the town was able to grow, not only in strength and dignity, but in their hearts as well.