Chapter 135 - Broken Door

Fifteen days have come by after Yin Sohaya's 'interrogation' at the hand of the Basilisk Slayer. Together with the newly given C Rank by the Fire Slayer, Zachary Lancaster which arrived shortly after the incident, they were still waiting for a new mission.

But as they watched by the Grand Castle's windows as Slayers upon Slayers walked into the mouth of the Outer Gates, they hated the feeling of not being chosen for a conquest themselves.

"Fifteen days more and the Slayer Tournament is going to be starting! What the hell are they doing?!" Yin exclaimed.

"Calm down. You have seen that they are focusing their resources on making it a success, it is a vital step which is connected to the Slayer Corps as a whole, as we cannot afford to lose our patience now." Zachary retorted back.

"Do you mind elaborating as to why making it a grand spectacle connected to making the Slayer Corps much stronger?" Yin asked him.

"Well, the more eyes that are observing the participants, the more we are able to gauge who is promising and who is not. It is all about knowing who shows the most room for growth, even if they do not win. The Slayer Tournament is an easier way to recruit other young budding Slayers as well, before they get too big and their renown overshadows every decision they make regarding organizations. Did you understand everything that I have said?" Zachary replied while holding a comprehensive book titled 'The Slayer Tournament; Why It Matters' before closing it after.

"A-Alright, alright, I get it already." Yin sighed and went back to bed, having nothing to do here but wait for a mission announcement and train definitely puts a strain on their boredom factor.

"We have not sent any letters to Suna and the Commander in a while, shouldn't you write one for them?" Zachary asked Yin. "I just do not want to send any messages to them if it does not contain good news. I am sure they have heard of us taking down the Fire Seraphim, Pugna. Gavin probably told them about the whole interrogation fiasco and our failure to take the Water Seraphim's head." Zachary thought about it for a few seconds and just nodded. "That makes sense, I guess."

Their locked door got shattered by someone kicking it from the outside with such force strong enough to utterly destroy a metal padlock. "I missed you guys!" It was Luken Regalia, the Commander of the Slayer Corps. After looking at what he had done, an expression of regret was painted on his face. "Oops. I did not expect you guys to have the door locked, sorry." Behind him was Suna Izanami, her eyes eager and as passionate as ever. "I read the news about you guys and Kai killing that other Seraphim! That is amazing! I wish I would have been with you two instead of training with sir Luken…" 

"Hey! Our training was fruitful and educational, Suna. If you ever win the Slayer Tournament, then it will be partially because of my astute teaching!" The Commander exclaimed.

Yin and Zachary got up to greet them and get their bags. As the four of them sat on the ground, one statement from the Commander soured the entire mood. "I heard about what Artorias did." He said.

"N-no, no. Do not get it wrong, Commander, I am not able to tell you the reason now, but he did it for a cause, I swear!" Yin frantically tried to explain.

"Yeah. I know, settle down, Yin boy. That guy hates the High Council's fossils seated on top of their huge pillars in the same way as I do. I am sure there is proper reason for what he did. Heh." The Commander said with a chuckle. "Besides, the fact that you are alive with all your limbs in tact tells me he did not come through with whatever those old cretins told him to do.

"Damn. How did he get all of that correct? Even for the Commander, that is pretty impressive. Perhaps his hatred for the High Council accurately reflects the same hate that the Basilisk Slayer has for them as well. Considering the fact that they know each other from far back also." Zach thought to himself.

"Why are you guys here now, Commander?" Yin asked Luken. The latter stood up and leaned by the window, lighting a cigarette directly in in front of the sun. With one inhale from the stick, he exhaled a cloud of smoke outside the window pane. "Since it is only half a month away until the Slayer Tournament begins, I figured that this would be the right time to come to the Grand City where it will be held. Besides, with only me, Suna, and Oliver back at the hideout, it has gotten pretty monotonous." The Commander said.

"By the way, where is Oliver? I do not seem him anywhere when you guys came in." Zachary said after noticing that the baby panda was missing.

"We stopped by Gavin's place on the way from here and left him with Amara, the Basilisk Slayer's Emerald Dragon. She was clearly not fond of Oliver at first, but as she got to know him, they were playing like old friends already. I asked Oliver if he wanted to see you guys as soon as possible, but he chose to play with Amara instead." Suna replied and shrugged her shoulder.

"Damn, Oliver preferred a dragon instead of us…" Zachary thought to himself. "Who was cooking while you three where alone at the hideout, anyway?" He asked them.

That question made them quite defensive for no apparent reason. "O-Oh, we took turns cooking every other day." The Commander replied before taking a huff out of his cigarette once again. "Come on, Commander, just tell them the truth!" Suna exclaimed. "Fine, it seems like there is no use in lying to them right now…"

"Wait, why would you have to lie about-" Yin's words got cut off by Suna's emotional owning up of the truth. "We spent the entire remainder of the days ordering take out from the nearest village. The Commander's cooking was just not worthy to be even called "edible." Suna said.

"Hey! It is not like your cooking is any better, Suna!" The Commander exclaimed. "And you are telling us this for what reason?" Zachary sighed as he said that.

"Because I kind of feel bad for using the Six Blades funds for eating take out every single day just because both of us do not have the proper skills to cook food." Suna said shyly, as if she was ashamed of the fact that she did not know how to cook.

"I think it is Gavin's fault, honestly, for leaving both non-chefs like that to their own devices." The Commander said comically. "Yeah, but it is not like he is not doing anything important here, so, there's that." Yin chipped in. 

"Fear not, my juniors, I will personally see to it that all the zennies missing from the Six Blades' fund will be paid for! You guys should definitely not tell Gavin about that, by the way, even I still have not told him."

"Agreed." Zachary nodded his head, Yin Sohaya did as well. And Suna was in compliance of keeping it a secret from the Serpent Summoner.

"By the way, in your conquest against that Seraphim named Pugna, you were deployed together with Cosette, right?" Suna asked the two of them.

"Yep. Cosette Akim. Although it was the first time that I have met her, she definitely was in a league above us, that is an A Rank Slayer, no doubt." Zachary Lancaster replied. "You are trying to scout her out, aren't you, Suna?" The Commander asked her. "Hmm. Since the brackets for the Slayer Tournament has not yet been released, we still do not know who you will be facing in your group, it might be Cosette, it might he Hector, or some other A to B Rank Slayer who has flown under the radar ready to take the next step forward, but I must advice you to only ever focus on the opponent right in front of you."

"But how am I supposed to come up with a strategy against Hector Incendium when I do not focus on him?" Suna was confused. Luken sighed. "Now that you know it will be Hector Incendium who will be the final Slayer standing in the tournament, you should still not tunnel vision towards him. Sure, even me and Gavin told you to forfeit if you ever cross blades with him, but seeing your growth both in strength and maturity over the past few months, it just might be worth it for you to shoot your shot against him in combat." The Commander said with an encouraging smile.

He noticed that Yin was clenching his fists and was being uneasy. "Fifteen days left to survive two missions, huh? Do you really want to enter the tournament that badly?"