Chapter 86 - Past Scars

The group of the Commander, SS Rank Water Slayer Luken Regalia, the Operation Phoenix's leader, SS Rank Fire Slayer Ignis Silva, S Rank Earth Slayer, Faust Keisuke, and the last but definitely not the least, the A Rank Inferno Garden prodigy, Hector Incendium. Together, they have successfully exterminated the countless chameleons with little to no effort.

Faust Keisuke finished off the very last one with a stomp on its head. Blood splattered everywhere, mainly his boots.

The ground which was covered by an abundant amount of snow had turned sanguine red from the battle.

"Well then, now that that's taken care of, do we have any injuries?"

Ignis Silva wanted to assess the damage to each member of the squad before pushing on.

Vale Ashford and her group lazed around, they did not attempt to go towards the backlines. Having seen Ignis himself go back there, she thought it would be a stressful thing to go out of their way and see what the commotion was all about.

Thus, they just took a break and rested.

Ajay and Sae'jal were clearly in need of one.

"Are you not exhausted yourself, madam Vale?"

Ajay asked her in a concerned manner.

"No, barely. I am used to this type of stuff, besides, if I let my guard down, I am an easy target for monsters, specially when I lease expect it, but with you two here, I am more comfortable being more relaxed most of the time. Thanks for that."

The Specter responded.

"Should we really not check up on them?"

Sae'jal asked once more.

"They will be fine, this team Ignis put together is definitely capable, I will give him the much needed credit for that."

She retorted as she drank from her water pouch.

"Nope, no injuries here!"

Luken Regalia said.

"None here either."

The S Rank Earth Slayer said.

Hector Incendium's black empty eyes met with Ignis, he then shook his head, to indicate that he had not sustained any fatal damage from the fight.

He then waved his axe in a single cutting motion. The chameleon's blood had soaked the blade and he wanted to get rid of it.

"Since Luken had this bright plan of guarding the backlines, even though the casters themselves were capable of dealing with such lowly chameleons, I appoint you, Faust, and the Serpent Summoner to stay at the back from now on until I call you up to the front. Might as well start what you were planning to do, right?"

Ignis shot a confident look at Luken.

Their gazes met and the over all vibe of the place had turned sour.

"All right, that is enough."

Gavin intervened.

Ignis Silva scoffed as he and Hector went back to the front to lead the charge.

Luken bowed in front of the spellcasters, he had expected a praise of some sort, but nothing was said to him.

Not even a single gratitude or thanks.

"Come on, you really expected to be showered with flowers for that? You just did what you had to, you followed your instincts and this time, it was on point. I am sure not everyone has the mental capacity to be playful during times like this. Operation Phoenix could be the biggest mission for mankind. Try to understand them."

Gavin told Luken.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

He responded while taking out another stick of cigarette from his pockets.

"Hey Faust, I know our spar at the Grand Castle was not really indicative of your improvement and strength since, well, I am kind of in the top five strongest Slayers as of right now, but I definitely think your room for improvement is still pretty high."

The Commander complimented the young up and coming Slayer. 

His words made Faust's eyes light up in sheer happiness.

Faust Keisuke nodded. "I will become even stronger, sir Luken! I will surpass you and sir Artorias Khalil in no time!"

He said at the top of his lungs.

"Keep it down kid, also, keep your goals realistic as well! You are going to have to do even more to come close to me, I am not even able to fathom just what you would have to do to surpass Art."

Luken laughed before turning his attention towards Gavin, who was keeping his eyes on the surroundings.

The Serpent Summoner was known to be fond of the cold climate and chilly temperatures, just not to this degree.

"I thought you liked being cold?"

Luken asked.

"This, my friend, is not merely 'cold', it is a damn blizzard out here."

Gavin responded.

"Hey Gavin, speaking of Art, where is he nowadays? I still do not get why he ditched on this mission, does he not know about the Angels and the hives or something?"

Luken was very curious.

Artorias Khalil had been the one who taught Luken and Gavin to be competend Slayers at the earliest age they could ever remember.

The Basilisk Slayer and the Reaper, Adam Rosa, were the mentors of these two powerhouse Slayers.

Though the latter's betrayal definitely impacted Artorias in a significant manner. He went from being out going and generally an extrovert, into a shell of his former self, personality-wise.

"I for one really do not know, Luken. Did you forget that I have already told you that my brother does not work well in groups? His disdain for Ignis is pretty clear as well."

Gavin cleared his throat.

"To add to that, I am pretty sure that my brother knew about the hives after Vale reported it to the Emperor, he probably got briefed in and had the information summarized and spoon fed to him."

He said.

"Being the top Slayer really does place you on a plane above all others, huh? I wonder what I would do once I am at the top like sir Art is."

Faust Keisuke thought to himself.

"Besides, he is a Lightning Slayer, he will probably need a Fire Slayer to accompany him if he were to be deployed for a mission like this, which he will probably hate every step of the way."

Gavin Khalil said.

"Speaking of mission tandems, wasn't sir Artorias Khalil deployed in many duo extermination missions with the late Reaper, Adam Rosa?"

Faust asked.

The S Rank Earth Slayer's question had sent chills and the feeling of anger down Luken and Gavin's spines respectively.

Information of the SSS Rank Reaper was not known to the public, mainly his acts of treason which can never be mended.

Thus, the government and the Emperor decided to have the information about the Slayers of the Six Blades' death be some sort of ambush by Angels, causing their demise.

Official reports in the newspapers have said clearly that half of the Six Blades, who were led by Adam Rosa, the number one Ranked Slayer at the time, was ambushed by Angels, causing the deaths of Luken Regalia's sister and several other members.

But it was definitely much more painful for Luke and Gavin, who knew of the real story. Not only the higher ups, but also the ones who have significant influence and large names like Ignis Silva.

"Yeah, it really is such a shame that Adam Rosa passed away at such a young age, right?"

Luken tried his best to put on a smile.

Yet his jaw was clinched to the extremes, his anger was only being contained.

Gavin placed his hand on Luken's shoulders.

His green pupils fixed on the Commander's blue cerulean ones.

The Serpent Summoner simply nodded lightly, this was to quell Luken's anger.

It was an indirect and non verbal cue saying "You know full well I feel your pain as well."

With that, Luken relaxed for a bit.

"Are you alright, sir?"

Faust asked.

"Y-Yeah, I am fine, anyway, how is the Primal Hounds nowadays, Faust?"

Luken immediately shifted the topic.

"Well, we are plenty strong, but the thing is, a lot of our people are young. They are roughly only a few years older than I am! The Primal Hounds are on a full on rebuild now. It is all about the young blood where we hail from."

Faust replied.

"That does not change the fact that you guys have made the top five in organization rankings, seriously, give yourselves some credit."

Luken retorted back.

Gavin looked up to the hailing grey skies.

He then said softly to Luken, just soft and calm enough that nobody around them could have heard his question.

"Tell me, Luken, do you think Adam is gazing at the grey skies we currently are right now?"

The Serpent Summoner shed a tear.

"The next time I see him, Gavin, I am not going to hold back. I promise you that."

"Yeah, I will not hold back as well. Count me in on that. It is the least we can do to honor them."

Both of the power house Slayers exuded some sort of dreadful aura which Faust caught up to, but knew full well that they were carrying burdens which should not be brought up.