Chapter 120 - Reconnaissance Turned Extermination

Yin had slept late and woke up early in the evening.

He looked around and saw that Gavin and the Basilisk Slayer was squatted on the floor, tending to the slight injuries they sustained while outside.

Kai Xin, Cosette Akim, and Zachary Lancaster were also up now. They have been for quite long, it was Yin who was taking his time while resting, however.

The Rookie Fire Slayer was talking to his personal hero, the Basilisk Slayer, until he spotted Yin moving up from his bed.

"Look who's finally up."

Zachary snarled at him.

"Tch. Lay off me, man."

Yin clicked his tongue in annoyance after seeing Zach's mean mugging face.

Kai was still looking down, after all his years as a Slayer, and a top ranked one at that, it never really got easier for him.

Life being snuffed out as easy as it was in this world was still an anomaly for him.

"Did I really make the right choice?"

He asked himself as he stood by the window, contemplating everything else with the stars up above.

"I-Is Kai alright?"

Yin shot a question at Cosette which only two of them could hear of it.

"I do not know, honestly." Cosette said as she shrugged her shoulders. "I am sure the kid knew what would have happened to him if he attempted to remove the limiters. He was aware of it, Yin. He knew the outcome."

The A Rank Earth Slayer answered.

"For a squad which just took down a Seraphim all by themselves, you sure seem like a depressing bunch…"

Artorias joked around. "Anyway, based on the reports and what Kai Xin has told me personally, it seems my theory really is correct."

Everyone shot him a glance of curiosity and perplexment.

"Not only are Seraphims significantly stronger than the common Angel, they are also unique. Each member of the Twelve Seraphims as that annoying sack of shit Sarathiel told me possesses their own specialized skills and stuff." Artorias took a chair and sat down. "For example, this particular Seraphim that Kai Xin's squadron fought against, it was named 'Pugna' right? She was immune to physical attacks from what I have heard. It is also said that she uses flames and concentrated beams of fire to fire off her spells. That is totally different from the one I fought years and years ago.

That was when it hit Yin.

"S-Sarathiel! That is right! The Seraphims are trying to save one of their own!"

Yin's idea came crashing down on him hard.

Kai shook his head slowly to disagree with the young Slayer's words.

"At first glance, that might seem like the most logical explanation for Pugna looking for Sarathiel, but I have heard it from Artorias himself…"

Kai did not continue his words and made Art say it instead.

"As disturbing as it is, Yin, it seems Pugna was looking for Sarathiel in order to 'silence' her."

Gavin and Kai were unsurprised, but Zach, Cosette, and Yin were blown out of their minds.

"B-But, do they not want her back?"

"They do, of course, but it is not because they want to save her and have her avoid the maltreatment at the hands of the 'cattle' which they have terrorized, no, they want to make sure that Sarathiel did not speak their secrets out to us."

"C-Correct me if I am wrong, sirs, b-but does it not sound like something a human would do?"

Cosette stammered on her words but her point was understood.

"Indeed. It really does sound like the filthy tricks a bunch of humans would resort to."

The Serpent Summoner responded back as he locked eyes with Artorias.

"That might not mean anything or say something explicitly, but it seems like there are far more similarities between us and these winged harbingers than one would like to imagine." He responded back.

"Let us just keep these under wraps for now, in time, we will tell the public about the existence of these hives and where Angels really come from."

The Basilisk Slayer said with a stern tone.

Every one in the room understood that he was serious.

Yin raised his hands.

"Yeah, what is it, Yin?"

"How did your mission go?"

Yin asked.

The mood on the Basilisk Slayer's face immediately lightened up and eased a bit.

"Well, not to brag but we just took down a hundred Angels!"

He exclaimed so proudly.

Far too proud and loud in fact, that a healer had to knock and make herself in and proceeded to scold the Basilisk Slayer afterwards, saying the people in this room were not the only ones they were treating, so she would greatly appreciate it if he would take his loud mouth somewhere or not open it at all.

Artorias could do nothing but apologize profusely while scratching the back of his head nervously.

"W-Wait, did you just say a hundred?"

Zach wanted to make sure he was not mishearing things.

"Yeah, that is what I said, Zachary Lancaster. A hundred Angels were exterminated in just a single mission. Heh."

The Basilisk Slayer could not help but showboat, but now a bit quieter than before, he would not want to get scolded again.

"Amazing…"

Cosette's jaw dropped.

"I know this guy is strong enough to be ranked as the top Slayer in the leaderboards, but not to this extent. Seriously? A hundred freaking Angels…"

Zachary was dumbfounded.

"You do realize that we have actually did not manage to observe what happened from the point of them emerging from their hives specifically, right?"

Gavin was not satisfied with their escapade and wanted his brother to wipe off the smug grin on his face.

Artorias quickly got serious as he saw Kai was still down.

"Kai Xin. I know how it feels to lose your subordinates in missions. Believe me, I do."

Art said while placing his hand on Kai's shoulder.

He then proceeded to whisper something inaudible to the rest of the people there except for the S Rank Fire Slayer.

This made Kai bite his lower lip until it bled.

"I know. I know."

He said.

"Regardless of what happened to a member of your squad which was hastily put together, keep in mind that you also had two rookies who were never outside of the Outer Gates before. Yet you lead them towards victory. You are a good soldier, Kai. Keep it up."

The Basilisk Slayer's words made Kai Xin exhale a sigh of relief.

"Turn his death into your strength. All of you. June Alcindor's soul is long gone from this world, but his fight for the freedom of mankind will never waver from yours, even after your deaths, the essence of what the Slayer Corps have been fighting for will never be lost in this realm, trust me when I say that."

Gavin was surprised, it was a shock to see his brother actually say things with the consideration of others in mind, not just his own.

It was not like Artorias Khalil was a boastful asshat, it was just his powers alienated him from every single person here. Gavin realized that his older brother was just far detached from normal people and Slayers because of his sheer strength. He also had no filter in his words, he always said what he meant and what needed to be said.

His words made them all realize both how insignificant their lives are in the long run. How the kingdom of Niflheim is founded on the hundreds of thousands of bodies of dead Slayers that have come before them.

"Were they all fighting knowing that this battle would never be resolved in their lifetime?"

Yin Sohaya thought to himself.

He easily shook of those thoughts from his head.

"No. It would be the wrong state of mind to fight for the chance for your offspring to be able to fight in your stead. Every single Slayer which came before us, they all had the idea that this millenia-long bloodbath would end with their victory, but it never really came because here we are."

Kai was definitely picked up by the Basilisk Slayer's words, even if they were not meant to be that of encouragement, who knows what he was meaning to say, right?

"June fought till the very end…"

Kai said slowly as the eyes turned towards him and focused in.

"This is not the first time I lead a mission that ended in one or two, hell, even more of my members dying, it really does never get any better. Every single time, it still is a tragedy that I will never ever get used to."

Kai clenched his fist.

While Yin was still asleep, the Basilisk Slayer and the Serpent Summoner got back from the reconnaissance, they told the High Council all about what happened back at the hive.

The old members of the council expressed their disappointment at the Basilisk Slayer, which prompted him to walk out of the meeting and go straight to where the apothecary was, as they waited for the others to wake up.