Ban showed up in front of everyone himself, and he had also taken care of the Weird Fangs' last member.
In Charles's memory, although the Seven Deadly Sins are a team, the relationships among the seven vary in closeness. The one closest to Meliodas should be Ban. Only when you're close can you greet each other with roughhousing after a long separation.
It's just that their horseplay made a bit too big a ruckus—the force radiating from an arm-wrestling match collapsed the entire Baste Prison.
Anyway, the third member of the Seven Deadly Sins, Ban the Sin of Greed, officially rejoined, and the Boar Hat's chef officially took his post.
That night, because his daughter had been rescued, Dana held a banquet to treat everyone.
Charles leaned against the rooftop railing; behind him, the others were already drunk.
The next target was the Capital of the Dead, where King, the Sin of Sloth, was located.
In fact, Charles was very interested in that place too. It's a special space that only the purest yearning of living and dead can connect to the real world; otherwise, only the dead can enter. In Charles's view, it's the most suitable place to study the laws of life and death.
At first he hadn't thought of that. After seeing Ban and mentioning the next leg of the journey, he remembered what made that place special.
While he was thinking about what he could gain in the Capital of the Dead, Charles reached back and caught a wine cup that had been tossed over.
Wearing a red leather outfit he'd swiped from local punks, Ban walked over and said, "You're Charles, right? The captain said you helped a lot along the way. Thanks, man!"
Charles took a sip from the cup. "We're already comrades. No need for thanks. Besides, your attitude doesn't exactly scream gratitude."
With one hand in his pocket and the other holding his cup, Ban stepped up beside Charles. "Honestly, I don't trust you. I don't know your background, and I don't know your goal. Hard to relax around that!"
Charles wasn't surprised by Ban's wariness; he was only a little surprised that Ban said it outright.
"If I really were a suspicious person, being this direct wouldn't be a problem?"
Ban grinned. "Since the captain's decided to trust you, I'll just keep a close eye on you. If you try anything, I won't hesitate to rip out your heart."
Ban's threat didn't make Charles angry; in fact, that reaction was the normal one. Growing up in the slums, how could Ban easily trust others? Surviving by imagining the worst in people was his instinct.
Charles smiled. "I do have my own purpose for following the manager, but rest assured, I won't do anything that harms them."
Ban made a face like he didn't buy it and raised his cup. "Who knows! Words prove nothing."
Charles looked at him. "Fair point. So how should I prove it… How about I help you bring that fairy saint back to life?"
Ban's expression changed instantly. The cup slipped from his hand, and the liquor splashed across the ground.
Grabbing Charles by the lapels with both hands, Ban yanked him close.
Their noses nearly touched, and Charles could clearly see the violent turmoil in Ban's red pupils.
"What did you just say?"
Ban looked like he would devour Charles. Charles spread his hands. "You didn't mishear. I don't have absolute certainty, but I do have the ability to resurrect someone who has already died."
Charles could clearly feel Ban's hands trembling on his lapels. In a near-pleading tone, he asked, "Is what you said true?"
Charles said, "I'm not stupid enough to lie to you with something that's so easy to expose. But I have to tell you, while it's sound in theory, no one can guarantee nothing will go wrong in practice."
Ban let go of Charles, tilted his head back toward the night sky, and said, "That's enough! If you'd said you were a hundred percent sure, that would've sounded like a lie. But you won't help me for free, will you? Name your price. As long as you can revive Elaine, I'll do anything—even trade my life for hers!"
Charles looked at Ban. "If I said I had no ulterior motive, you wouldn't believe it. To be straight with you, I'm like you—I also have someone I'll revive no matter what. But like I said, the chance of success is still only theoretical. It hasn't been tested in reality."
"So you plan to use Elaine as a test subject?"
Ban's tone was strange—his feelings were complicated. Anyone would be unhappy to hear their beloved called a test subject. But the way Charles said it actually dispelled his doubts. At least when Charles said he also had someone to resurrect, Ban didn't feel he was lying.
Charles said, "It sounds harsh, but that's how it is. Still, I don't think you'll refuse because of that, will you?"
Ban gave a bitter smile. "Yeah. It's the only hope I can see. So what do I need to do?"
Charles said, "The resurrection ritual requires the dead person's soul and body. You should have kept the body well. As for the soul, we'll have to go to our next destination to find it. But I think that world reached by yearning won't be a problem for you."
"Yearning, huh." Ban mused. For the past hundred years, he had been yearning every waking moment.
Just then, a streak of light flashed across the night sky—a meteor dragging an exceptionally bright tail.
And that was only the beginning. Then a large swath of meteors lined up across the sky, drawing a road of stars.
A strange thing happened. From another direction, another group of meteors crossed them, forming a giant cross in the night.
The unusual sight immediately drew everyone's attention; they stared unblinking at the phenomenon.
"When meteors cleave the sky in the shape of a cross, Britannia's greatest threat will descend. This is a trial of fate decreed since ancient times. The omen that the Holy War between the Guide of Light and the bloodline of Darkness is beginning."
The king of Liones possessed the magic Clairvoyance, the ability to foresee the future.
The Seven Deadly Sins were formed because he once prophesied that seven knights bearing deadly sins would save the kingdom.
And the entire story of the Seven Deadly Sins began from the king of Liones's prophecy—he foresaw that the Holy War from three thousand years ago would start anew.
The kingdom's Great Holy Knight and others diverged in their interpretation of the "Guide of Light" and the "bloodline of Darkness," and that disagreement led to different strategies for facing the Holy War.
That resulted in the former Great Holy Knight being murdered and the crime pinned on the Seven Deadly Sins, continuing to the present with the Holy Knights' frantic military buildup and rebellion.
And the first omen of the Holy War in the prophecy—the Meteor Cross—had now appeared before their eyes.
"Holy War, huh?"
Charles sneered. It was nothing more than two races who call themselves gods fighting for hegemony.
But this war held things Charles wanted. He felt there was more he could do.
Got heatstroke—no energy at all. Sat in front of the computer yesterday and today, and nothing would come out. Forced a chapter out.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]