Chapter 123 - Roaming

Three days after The Basilisk Slayer's unexpected spending spree to treat Kai's squad.

While three of the Six Blades members were situated at the Grand Castle and the city surrounding it, the Commander, B Rank Slayer Suna Izanami, and Oliver the baby panda were busy busting their bodies trying to train for the Slayer Tournament.

In the middle of a spar against Suna, the Commander noticed Gavin's snake crawling towards him on the ground.

Suna thought that this momentary time of inattentiveness was her prime time to strike, so did Oliver who jolted up from his seat while watching the two of them duke it out.

The Commander ducked down to pick up the small snake with a letter wrapped on its neck.

Suna slashed at the Commander who just easily stopped her attack by blocking it with his wrists.

The loud clang from Luken's armor made Oliver cover his ears.

It was then that Suna realized that Luken was not acting like he was taking their training in an unserious manner, he just managed to see Gavin's messenger.

"Calm down for a bit, Suna, sheesh."

Luken said with a pale expression.

"That blow was covered with the intent to hack my handsome face off!"

He exclaimed comedically.

"Is that not the point of our spars? I swore I heard you tell me to not hold back just a minute ago…"

Suna said dumbfounded.

"Yeah, but look right here…" Luken lifted the snake off of the ground and showed it to Suna.

"Isn't that Gavin's messenger?"

Luken nodded.

Oliver was far too mesmerized by the small snake with the black beady eyes staring at him to not approach it.

The Commander handed the snake off to Oliver after taking the letter off of its neck. The baby panda, who surprisingly did not eat it, instead wanted to play with the snake.

Together they both ran off to the jungle.

Even though the snake protested, it could do nothing as Oliver placed it inside his backpack and proceeded to dash at the trees.

"Be careful you two!"

Luken shouted to the creatures and proceeded to read the letter afterwards.

After a couple of minutes of staring at it, Suna was impatient enough to jump around and ask what the letter was written for.

"What does it say?"

Suna asked.

"Well, it is brief and concise, this is just like Gavin…"

"Yeah, but what does it say?"

The Commander handed it to Suna. "Read it for yourself."

"Have you and Suna been cleaning the hideout? I do not wish to go back there while the place is musty and a mess, you know that already, right? Anyway, I have good news. I am just going to put a segment in the newspaper issue to be released next week."

A darkly printed paper was inserted into the letter which read as:

Kai Xin's squadron which consisted of : the squad leader himself, S Rank Fire Slayer of the Inferno Garden, Kai Xin, also known as the Dragon, C Rank Lightning Slayer - Yin Sohaya, A Rank Slayer – Cosette Akim, and Rookie Fire Slayer Zachary Lancaster have successfully survived their mission. This squad led by the Dragon has eliminated a Seraphim know as Pugna. Further details about the Seraphim will be released to the public soon. Their mission did not go as smooth as expected, however, considering they have lost a Rookie, namely June Alcindor. He died for mankind and for Niflheim."

"As for me and Art, we do not have any newspapers segments printed out, fortunately, as that would be annoying. But we have successfully carried out our mission, as unexpected as it went depends on your definition of a 'success.' Anyway, we are staying here in order to have them easily available for more missions. I cannot fault them for their perseverance, I suggest you show the same fervor in training Suna. That would be all.

P.S., I am not telling you when we will be coming home so that you will always keep the place as tidy as ever, it could be any day now."

Suna jumped up in celebration.

"Alright! They did it!" Her happiness slowly subsided as she realized that another rookie was lost in this mission.

"Keep your head up, Suna. That June kid did not die for nothing. He also did not lay his life in order for us to feel pity towards him or how he was in life. One thing is certain, he died fighting for mankind. So, keep your head up and show me that your resolve is as hardened as his."

The Commander's serious tone sent shivers down Suna Izanami's spine.

"Alright, here I come!"

They continued training until the sun came down, meanwhile Oliver had his own adventure with the reluctant snake who was forced to come with him on this voyage. This was without the snake even knowing why.

Yin and Zachary were given the same room inside the Grand Castle despite their constant protests to Gavin that they would really prefer it if they had private quarters instead.

"You two need to behave. Keep in mind that soldiers like you two should not even be in the Grand Castle waiting for conquests on standby, just be thankful I have quite a strong pull on the Emperor. Tch."

The Serpent Summoner said as he shook his head and clicked his tongue.

This made the two simpletons behave. It was not like their room was any different from the one that Gavin and Luken stayed in, it was roughly the same. Identical looking beds, furniture, and singular window.

"I have already told you this before, but do not embarrass my name, Luken's, or the Six Blade's, are we clear?"

"Y-Yes, Gavin."

"Yeah."

They responded back.

"Good. I will check on you from time to time just for the meantime, learn to survive on this." Gavin said as he tossed a pouch of zennies to them. "Make sure you do not spend this in under a week, be thrifty."

With that, the Serpent Summoner and The Basilisk Slayer bid them farwell.

Kai Xin had already gone home into the Inferno Garden's hideout after the day of Artorias treating them, while Cosette left the very next day that Kai did.

The room was dead silent.

"Man, I really would have wanted to stay in a room alone."

Zach said as he rolled his eyes.

"Do you think that does not go for me as well?"

Yin retorted back.

"By the way, your technique handling your weapon is sloppy at best. You should work on that."

Yin told him this just to annoy him, although Zachary could not really get mad as deep down he knew that his weapon handling was in fact very shaky.

After a few minutes of trying to sleep, they both realized it was far too hot inside this part of the room to even enjoy a good night's rest.

"Do you want to go walk around the castle's halls?"

Yin had no idea why he asked Zachary, but the latter grunted and agreed.

"Fine."

They saw the portrait paintings of multiple Emperors before Emperor Nicholas was instated into the throne.

"Just how many of these people came before the Emperor?"

Yin was amazed at the sheer numbers that were plastered on the walls.

"Did you not read books as a kid?"

Zachary scoffed.

"No. I really did not. Even if I did, I did not have the time to do so. It was always having to work for me, farm work, handiwork, any type of work that people deemed essential, I did those. Me and Suna."

Yin's answer definitely caught Zach by surprise, he did not expect Yin to not hurl an insult back at him.

"How you never tried to be a Slayer even if you did not have Anima cells back then?"

Zach asked the white haired Slayer.

"Because I am not as strong as her, Zach. If I were to try and do what she does without my powers right now, I would die in a second out there."

Yin said.

"Is it wrong to feel thankful for what happened?"

Yin asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean?"

Zach was not following what Yin was saying.

"Nothing. Forget about it."

Yin said as he walked off into somewhere else in the castle.

Zach thought about what he meant but decided to let it go and follow him.

"Do you feel regret becoming a Slayer, Zach? You could have hidden all your life without the others knowing that you had Anima cells, you could have pretended to be powerless, right?"

"I am sure there was a time during that mission where I thought I was going to die. It felt like that Seraphim was going to swallow me whole. That was when I felt truly hopeless for the first time in my life. I felt like I was merely an insect in the convoluted web of animals in a jungle.. That is how powerless it felt like."