Chapter 118 - The Second Hive

After hours more of hovering around the desolate lands outside the Gates, they finally found a hive below.

"Gav, look at that one." Art said as he pointed at the hive. "You are the one who has seen a hive up close and personal, is that it?"

The Basilisk Slayer was curious.

Gavin nodded.

"Yeah, Art, that's the one."

Amara was asked by Artorias to descend lower down, but slowly, in order so that they can still check their surroundings while they were going down.

"By the way, Gavin, is that Yin Sohaya kid any good?"

"What do you mean to imply or to know by using the words 'any good'?"

Gavin shot back with a question.

"I meant, like, what do you think about his potential."

Artorias Khalil clarified.

They were talking while keeping an eye on their surroundings, peeling their eyes around to see if there were stray monsters or Angels guarding the hives.

"His powers are still an unknown factor for most of us, yet he has continued to show adept usage of it time and time again and he still continues to get better." Gavin squinted at somewhere in the distance, but he slowly eased up as he realized it was just nothing. "His ceiling and potential are limitless, Art."

The Basilisk Slayer's eyebrows shot up in shock.

"That is very high praise coming from a pessimist like yourself."

"You are showing far more curiosity and eagerness to know about a C Rank Slayer for a nihilist."

Gavin replied.

This guy really was a member of the Khalil bloodline.

He was smart, quippy, and strong beyond ordinary Slayer measures. But most of all, he could go toe to toe against Gavin in banters and intelligent remarks.

"And what of the other members? I have not seen that Anima-less Slayer of the Six Blades which people often talk about. Is she any good?"

Artorias was probing Gavin about the state of the Six Blades and the rookies.

"I really do not know how to explain just how she can fight with her physical prowess alone, but nobody other than her can do it better, that is for certain. She might hit a wall because of how absent her affinities and grimoire spellcasting is, but I trust in Suna Izanami to go beyond and adapt to the situation and overcome it. She is quite stubborn, not to mention, she is Yin's childhood friend, so their chemistry is very solid. She will grow up to be an S Rank Slayer, I am sure of it."

Art clapped his hands.

Gavin was confused.

"Just hearing things about your members got me thinking, Gav. I should never take it easy, heh."

The Basilisk Slayer chuckled.

"Have you lost your mind or do you mean to tell me what you actually want to say?"

Gavin was tired of Art being all mysterious and all that.

"I am saying that even though I am ranked at number one, Luken might surpass me sooner than expected, and you might be the top two as well, it could be either you or Ignis for all we know. But just hearing about all of these fascinating and interesting young Slayers that the Corps have managed to muster up, it gets me excited and keeps me in check." Artorias pulled out some biscuits from his pocket, Gavin had a face of perplexment and disgust, but he was far too tired to even ask why and how. "Complacency is never good, brother, it never is."

The Basilisk Slayer said with a grin.

"Indeed."

Arrows from below were heard and they were fast approaching Amara, both the Khalil brothers sensed the bloodlust coming from down below.

They both looked directly down and saw that a bunch of kobolds were trying to bring the dragon down.

Artorias Khalil could not help but contain his laughter.

"Hah. What do you think those idiots hope to accomplish? A bunch of low ranked monsters trying to bring my dragon down, I doubt they could even pierce her scales."

Gavin calmed down after seeing that they were only just kobolds, the lowest of low. They were like goblins in that sense. But these things were absolutely no problem.

The arrows began to hit Amara, none of them so much as even left a dent to her scales.

"Are you alright, Amara?"

Art checked up on his dragon.

"I am fine, these things tickle."

Art pointed his fingers at the kobolds.

"Can you deal with them, Gav? I am a bit tired, I do not have the time of the day to spend on these meager pieces of trash."

Once again, even though he was boastful about it, the Basilisk Slayer's strength meant that he could say such words and it would still be absolutely true.

"Are you saying that my time is less valuable than yours, then?"

Gavin was annoyed at what his brother was implying.

"Not at all, Gavin, I mean there are only three of us here, Amara's trying to descend as slowly as possible, I am out here trying to eliminate our blind spots and making sure other monsters or Angels will not catch us off guard, I would say that you dealing with those kobolds would be your fair share of doing a Slayer's work, or am I wrong?"

Gavin sighed.

"Fine."

He counted the numbers of the kobolds down below, only three of them were shooting arrows, some were attempting their hardest to hurl rocks at Amara, yet none of them even reached her.

"Seven of them…"

The Serpent Summoner thought to himself as he took out seven throwing knives from his breast pocket.

With four of the knives in his right and three on the left, Gavin threw them all out in one motion, the distance between Amara and the kobolds were more than enough for the Serpent Summoner to land lethal and sure blows on them.

His knives were coated with the venom of a snake, so even if the wounds were not the one to deal the last blow, the venom would make their bloods boil and would finish them off instead.

"Don't you think the venom is a bit much of an overkill? I mean those are just kobolds you know…"

The Basilisk Slayer's words were interrupted by his little brother.

"Just try holding your tongue out from saying anything at all. Could you do that?"

Art nodded comically.

"Good."

The knives met their targets perfectly, seven kobolds down, right in their foreheads were the knives thrown by Gavin.

"Bullseye."

He said with an accomplished face.

"Perfect accuracy, Gavin."

Amara pointed out.

"How come you never tell me whenever I am doing good myself, Amara?"

Art asked in an annoyed tone.

The emerald dragon merely decided to ignore him altogether.

They made their way to the ground below.

The Basilisk Slayer was equipping his signature glowing green armor. He covered his face up with the headgear of the same aesthetic. 

"I do not understand why you do not use armor and such, Gavin…"

"What did we talk about holding one's tongue?"

"You're right, sorry!"

Art replied as he scratched the back of his nervously.

They landed somewhere not too close to the hive to be seen and not too far away to have an intense long walk or jog to be able to come near it.

Just the perfect position to scout it out from a distance and observe the hive's behavior.

As they got closer, Gavin's eyes were widened.

"We were too late…"

He said.

"What do you mean?" Artorias Khalil was puzzled. He then decided to focus immensely and sense the Anima cells of the Angels inside if they were still there, the absence of it answered his question.

"So they have gotten out of the hives already, huh."

He said.

"What is your call, Gav?"

"We should go nearer to inspect the hives up close."

They did just that and Gavin proceeded to cut out some chunks of the hive and placed it on his backpack.

"Nasty…"

Art thought to himself.

"This is necessary, Art, one must be able to study and research these types of things specially if it is unknown to us, that is how civilization and mankind as a whole goes forward and achieves greater things."

"I know that, I am just saying that it seems gross."

Gavin's angry look made Artorias behave immediately.

"Where are they, though?"

That was the question that these two wanted to be answered.

Judging by how fresh the hive still looked, it could not have been long ever since the Angels have hatched, are Angels already intelligent enough to be able to assemble after just being born?

"There is something wrong…"

"I agree, Gav, something feels off here…"

The ground began to rumble as hundreds of Angels' hands popped out attempting to grab them.

Gavin used his quick thinking and immediately summoned a dozen headless swordsmen, the ones that Yin and Suna fought, just bulkier and even larger than before.

The two brothers rode on top of the headless swordsmen on their shoulders and watched the sight below.