Chapter 66 - One Knock

One knock.

It was on Ignis Silva's room.

With no response from the SS Rank Fire Slayer, a second knock was soon to come along shortly after.

The boy's knuckles was about to make contact with the door, but Ignis spoke up, halting this.

"Yes?"

Ignis' soft voice responded.

"It is me, sir. Hector."

"Ah, Hector! Come in. You do know that we are in the same room now, right? It is my quarters as much as yours. Be at ease."

"Yes, thank you, sir. I read your message sent to me by my carrier pigeon. You summoned me?"

The round-eyed young man was direct and had no lapses in his words, he only ever said what was needed and what was expected by him from his leader.

"That, I did. I spent the morning reading the update Slayer Database as of today, it seems Luken Regalia's little group has grown once more. The Six Blades currently have four members in total, namely, Luken Regalia, their leader as well as the Commander of the Slayer Corps, he is pretty much every Slayer's superior outside of special missions and operations such as this. Gavin Khalil, the Serpent Summoner, he is quite possibly the best Summoner active in the Corps today, if only he was a dual wielder…"

Hector raised his hands and interrupted Ignis' description of the group.

"Sir. I would like to ask what a 'dual wielder' is."

"Ah. It seems I have not told you about that. Dual wielders are getting harder and harder to come by nowadays. Basically, Hector, they are Slayers who have two Anima affinities. For example, the top one Slayer as of now, Artorias Khalil, which is Gavin's older brother, boasts the Wind Affinity as well as the Lightning affinity. A dual wielder can also be a Summoner who is blessed with the ability to wield one more affinity."

Ignis gently nudged his glasses back to his nose bridge.

"I see. Thank you for the knowledge you've given me, sir."

"Do not mention it. You, and every single member of the Inferno Garden are my family. Think of me as your patriarch."

Hector nodded silently.

"So, where was I?"

"About the dual wielder, sir."

"Oh, yes. If Gavin had been a dual wielding Slayer, obviously being a Summoner and Fire Slayer, I would have done everything I possibly could to recruit him."

"Might I be of freedom to ask, sir? Why is that?"

"He's strong. Really strong. If he were akin to someone in our organization, he most definitely would be the 'Kai Xin' of the Six Blades."

The thick, black, eyebrows of Hector slightly raised upwards.

"Is he really that strong, sir? Surely you must hold him at a high pedestal, seeing as you have compared him to Sir Kai."

"Yeah, in terms of strength, the Khalil family of Slayers has no shortage of it, and Gavin Khalil is no exception."

"I have noted that, sir. What of the other members?"

Ignis' left hand extended to reach his chin.

He sat down in his bed and took his glasses off instantly.

"As for the remaining members of the Six Blades, there is someone really fascinating in their ranks. She has not been with the organization for that long. She goes by 'Suna Izanami.' Luken caused quite a stir by recruiting her."

"Why? Is there something wrong with her personality or mental status?"

Hector was eager to have his question answered. He was definitely curious about Suna, and he was not the type to be curious about other people, he just had a hint that she was not ordinary.

"Suna Izanami does not possess any Anima cells. She cannot use any affinities, nor can she summon beasts and creatures by using a grimoire like Summoners can. But do you know what she can do? Her physical strength is top notch. The High Council and their lapdogs were very doubtful about Luken's decision at that time, it was very fascinating. You should keep an eye on her, she is of the same class as you, I believe. Do not lose to her, Hector. I expect great things from you. Do not disappoint me.

Ignis' black eyes stared deeply at Hector Incendium's very soul itself.

Hector gulped.

"Yes, I will not lose to her. I will not lose to anyone. The Inferno Garden does not recruit those whose strengths are lacking. I am living proof of that."

"Good. Anyway, the fourth one is honestly surprising. He was not in my radar at all. I did not see his names in the database in the past, only now. Perhaps he had a growth spurt and is probably an underrated Slayer in his own right, but right now, he is weak. Maybe Luken had a lapse in his judgment? Who knows? His name is Yin. Yin Sohaya. He is a C Rank Lightning Slayer, nothing notable about him. Nothing noteworthy, honestly.

Ignis scoffed.

"I do not know what that idiot Luken is thinking, he is merely throwing dirt at his own organization by recruiting a weak Slayer in his ranks. So much for that, anyway, tell me, Hector, have you read about the 'Tragedy at the Outer Gates?'"

"Yes, I believe I have, sir. Fifty Rookie Slayers were sent to fight an Angel. Only three of them survived."

"The records and paperwork have their names hidden, but the three survivors had two of the Six Blades members present."

Ignis once more glanced at Hector.

It was as if he was asking him a question right out of the blue.

"So Suna Izanami and Yin Sohaya were one of the two survivors?"

Hector asked.

"Fantastic. Yes, you are correct, Hector. But Yin Sohaya is not the last member of the Six Blades, actually."

Hector's eyes were squinted, he was confused as to what Ignis meant.

"They have a fifth member, though it is only rumors, it seems he is unregistered. I wonder who he might be."

"Pardon me for asking once more, sir Ignis, but why are you talking about them as of now?"

"Do not mind me, I am just curious. And you know what happens when I am perplexed about things I do not know, right?"

Hector nodded.

"I want to see just how strong the next generation of the Six Blades are. If we were not summoned in the Grand Castle for that absolutely vital information, I would go to them personally, myself. So, instead of me, I have sent someone else to scout them in my stead. Of course, I am not recruiting them, they do not have a Fire Slayer that I know of, that is obvious. It is just my wish to gauge their strengths and capabilities. We must not lose, Hector. The Inferno Garden shall remain the number one organization under me and my successors.

"Who did you send, sir?"

"I have sent Kai to their hideout; I have instructed him to do as I have told him in my letters. To test them."

During the same time that the Grand Castle fiasco occurred, back at the hideout.

Yin, Suna, and Zachary were training as hard as they did for the last couple of days.

Yin Sohaya, the C Rank Slayer was still not taking his training that heavily due to what happened when he first activated the Nix Eyes.

For now, Zachary was training all alone, while Suna and Yin watched him. The latter was gently rubbing Oliver's belly, to the baby panda's delight.

Zach was growing more and more frustrated that there was nobody to help him with his grimoire troubles.

He shot a glance at Yin and Suna.

"The other one is a physical monster and relies on athleticism and brute force alone, while the other has some sort of weird power which does not rely on grimoires, only enchantments. Seriously? Is there nobody who could help me train using my Anima spells?!"

Zach gritted his teeth as he said that to himself in his mind.

He took out his grimoire and flicked the pages, trying to find the most basic spell.

The young Fire Slayer was so disinterested in this that he still did not memorize what each page contained and what spell they had.

Finally, he ended up on the page thirteenth of the magical book.

"Whirling Fireball!"

Zach shouted as he announced his attack.

The skill which was 'Whirling Fireball' relied on immense focus in order to exude a spinning fireball from the palm of the caster, opposite to the arm holding the grimoire at least.

Yet in the case of Zachary Lancaster, nothing came out. It was nothing but black smoke.

His screams of frustration filled the air of the hideout, much to Yin's delight as he laughed it off.

Yin's grimace was shortly erased after seeing that Zach was now staring at him.

After that, Zachary attempted to cast the Whirling Fireball once more, instead of just mere smoke coming out of his hands, a faint flicker of fire was there now.. It was still pretty miniscule.