Chapter 64 - Prodigy And Juggernaut

"Right, so, where were we?"

Artorias gazed at Sarathiel the Seraphim who was still focused on healing up its eyes.

The feathers of its wings lay on the ground, bloodied and plucked out.

"After my sight is healed, my silhouette shall be the last thing you shall see, mortal."

Sarathiel said telepathically once more.

Faust looked on.

"What are they doing?! They should be able to finish it off while it is still immobilized, it is stuck in its place!"

He exclaimed.

"Luken, who is that scruffy kid over there?"

The Basilisk Slayer asked Luken.

"That is Faust. Faust Keisuke, he is under my command as acting captain of this team. The other two with him are what is left of the members."

Luken bit his lower lip with pure unadulterated rage.

"If those three are the only ones left standing, then that can only mean one thing…"

He added.

"No need to say it. I already know. I saw the bodies. Do not worry about your track record, that will not matter. When your foot steps outside the gates, the only thing that matters is the strength you wield and how you use it. As well as how you lead your team. This has been the first time we have encountered an Angel that is so eager in communicating like this, this thing would make a fine prisoner."

Sarathiel twitched.

The Seraphim could not even begin to fathom what Artorias was saying. 

It was insulted by the mere mortal insinuating that he was going to take it as a prisoner.

The last of its steam exuded from its eyes.

It was now finished healing up.

Sarathiel's grey white glowing eyes opened and closed rapidly.

"Are you finished?"

Artorias asked.

"If you had trouble even only against Luken, do you really think you can stand up to me?"

The Basilisk Slayer's tone shifted.

His green eyes shone like an emerald newly unearthed from below.

Luken backed up a bit.

"I would not want to get caught up in this…"

He thought to himself.

"Art, be careful. Do not let your ego and thirst for a clean duel and combat cloud your judgment. This is not an ordinary Angel."

He warned the Basilisk Slayer.

After that, Luken jumped forward and whispered something into Artorias' ears.

They both chuckled.

"For real?!"

"Yeah."

The Seraphim was annoyed by this and stomped the ground with its fist.

Clouds of dust covered the vicinity.

Faust could not see a thing.

"Should you not heed your underling and his warnings? I will give you the chance to retreat and cower for now. Tuck your tail between thy feet and run as far away from me as possible, if not, then I shall erase both of you from this entire realm of existence. Do not test me, mortal."

Sarathiel told Artorias and Luken.

With no delay whatsoever, Artorias lunged at Sarathiel.

The Seraphim had no time to react to his move.

"Luken was right. You really do talk too much."

Artorias sunk his broadsword into Sarathiel's mouth.

With all his might, he held the hilt with both hands and kicked the Seraphim to the ground.

"W-What immense strength. This human is on another level from the blue haired brat I fought with from earlier!"

Sarathiel thought to itself.

"Say goodbye to your head, Seraphim."

The Basilisk Slayer was serious.

This made Sarathiel panic, the Seraphim threw a punch at Artorias. The Basilisk Slayer easily dodged it with no effort. Although this did make him pull out his sword from its gaping mouth.

Sarathiel coughed out dark, sanguine blood.

"You were serious about slashing my head clean off earlier. I thought you were to take me prisoner back to your foul nation?!"

The Seraphim once more intruded Artorias' thoughts.

"Sarathiel? Was that your name? It is really fascinating to see that you can talk to me without using your mouth, telepathy is one hell of a power, huh?"

Artorias chuckled.

"Y-You dare make a joke out of me!? Your race is on the brink of extinction. The flames of humanity will soon be extinguished by your winged destroyers, us, the chosen Angels of the New Gods!"

Sarathiel raised its voice in a combination of both fear and irritation.

"I have not seen Artorias in combat for months now, hell, even his own brother has not seen him for quite some time. I might be able to pick up a few tips here and there if I observe the battle."

Luken thought to himself.

Artorias rushed in once more.

His speed was absolutely overwhelming.

A wide swing was his bread and butter once in combat, a powerful slash capable of decapitating foes from Angels down to monsters.

Sarathiel could barely dodge it as it was still writhing in pain from the damage it sustained from the attack it had failed to move away from earlier.

Although this Angel was of a higher caliber than the others that the Slayers have faced so far, it is also far more intelligent, it still stood no chance against the Basilisk Slayer.

During these times in the past, the highest ranked Slayers were Adam Rosa, also known as the 'Reaper' and Artorias Khalil, who is obviously the Basilisk Slayer.

Though some other Slayers were rising the ranks and were showing a lot of promise, specifically, Luken Regalia, touted by the people of Niflheim as a prodigal Slayer with insane Anima cells, people have called him a generational soldier with the renown of being able to one day surpass the two juggernauts seated at the top of the Slayer Ranking ladders.

The other one was Gavin Khalil, also known as a once in a century gifted Summoner. Since Summoners typically lack the hand to hand and physical combat prowess once an Angel or monster closes their gap against them, they are often seen as underwhelming hand to hand combat fighters, but Gavin was different, he was very proficient in wielding throwing knives. Hitting the heads and marks of his enemies if he wills it.

Since he is part of the famous Khalil family, he inherited the trait of having dark green hair as well as shining emerald eyes, this can also be seen once looking at his brother, Artorias.

The Basilisk Slayer called forth lightning enchantments and summoned forth green thunders from the heavens up above.

It enveloped his dark armor with green tint and electrical properties, as well as heightening his speed and boosting his physical capabilities even more.

"Does a highly advanced type of Angel such as yourself ever feel fear?"

He asked Sarathiel with a deadpan and monotonous expression. As if he was a predator attempting to toy with its prey, intimidating and playing with it before devouring and swallowing it whole.

The Basilisk Slayer rested his forehead into his broadsword in a forward motion.

Shortly after that, he held the blade with one hand, aiming for the Seraphim who was stuck in place, confused from many other factors, the main thought plaguing its mind was this –

"Am I really going to die by the hands of mere humans?! We Seraphims were supposed to handpicked by her. Our mother. Is my fate tied to being cut down by this anomaly of a human?"

Much like a javelin, Artorias threw it with one hand.

Luken, who was still watching from up close, had his eyes wide and open. It was the first time he saw the Basilisk Slayer pull out this move up close.

"I have read about this attack, but to see it up close, not going to lie, I am kind of excited."

He said to himself while grinning heavily in excitement.

"There are not a lot of Slayers that amaze me with their raw power more than Adam Rosa and Artorias Khalil. These guys are the real deal, they are the strongest weapons of mankind."

Luken clicked his tongue.

"Tch. I still have a long way to go until I am up to par with these guys, they are like monsters camouflaged as humans. Absolute strength."

He said.

The green broadsword flew in the air towards Sarathiel. Worriedly, the Seraphim still had no clue what Artorias' plan was, it was slowly losing its cool.

The Seraphim easily side stepped it and got out of the way of the sword which Artorias threw, thinking it was out of harm's way, even just for that very moment, Sarathiel had the nerve to crack a smug smirk.

"How foolish are you? To throw your own weapon away, you are underestimating your foe far too much!"

The Seraphim was now a hundred percent done with maintaining its calm and serene behavior.

Its eyes glowed even brighter, and its mouth opened up and bared dozens of sharp teeth.

Artorias' sword was now only a few inches behind the Seraphim.

In an instant, the Basilisk Slayer was now the one behind it.

Sarathiel looked at him and quickly glanced back to where he once was, in that place, was his sword.

The Basilisk Slayer had swapped his position from earlier with that of his broadsword flying mid air.