Chapter 136 - Courtyard Bonanza

"Of course, I do, Commander!" Yin exclaimed out. "I do not know if you are going to make it, Yin. It is coming dangerously near now. Before you know it, the trumpets of the Slayer Tournaments will echo though the Grand City once again." The Commander said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, there is something that I want to try against you guys." Suna said with a clear glint in her eyes. "Can't we do it another day?" Zachary insisted because he wanted to read while waiting for a mission invitation.

Yin stood up and was powered up now. "Let us go to the courtyard, Suna! The area there is open enough for us to go all out and not worry about the surroundings!" Yin was excited for another spar against his childhood friend.

The Commander shook his head slowly. "Calm down for a bit, guys, I am still pretty tired from the journey, we should bide our time and rest up. Remember, overdoing practice will only lead to more problems rather than doing it for the upside." He said. Zach's eyebrows wrinkled as he saw right through the Commander. "Don't you just want to take a break from training with Suna? Heh." Zach chuckled.

"I want to take a break from training as a whole, Zach! After fifteen minutes of break time, she just wants to back right back outside and resume our spar, even for me, that is pretty exhausting. But, she is learning, though, astonishingly quick, even." Luken placed his hand on top of Suna Izanami's head and patted her. "That is my student! I will always find the time of the day to train with you, Suna!" 

Yin had a look of confusion on his face. "Didn't you just say you were exhausted by Suna's training approach…" Yin's words fell on deaf ears as the Commander just crashed on his bed with no warning and fell asleep instantly. His snores were reflective of the Commander's fatigue due to the travel. "Hey, Zach, I just wanted to ask why doesn't Gavin just summon his dragons so that we have an easier time traveling from one place to another?" Suna asked the C Rank Fire Slayer. "Well, you've got to know that it takes a toll on the Summoner's body just to keep the said dragon in the physical realm for longer than an hour. Not to mention that dragons are still monsters, although the ones that the Khalil family currently summon at will are pretty legendary, but yeah. I think that is how it is. I am not a Summoner myself so I am not really sure."

While Yin was getting changed into his battle apparel and clothing, he also had a question for Zachary. Over the course of time, Zach had become the group's 'brains' whenever Gavin was not around. He was smart, cunning, wise, and he knew how to formulate plans on the go, evident as to how they were able to take out Pugna with a combination of their efforts and the Fire Slayer's planning. "Why does Amara, the Emerald Dragon, not go away when the Basilisk Slayer does not need her? Like whenever he is asleep or something, I could have sworn she was just either hanging around the Grand Castle's courtyard or the stables…" Yin asked him.

"Hm. That is actually a good question, Yin. I did not expect you to make any sense at all, knowing how your brain works, and all." Zachary angered Yin Sohaya which caused him to roll his eyes in annoyance, but just as he was about to voice out his sour mood, Zach answered his question. "I actually do not know the full answer or reason to that question, Yin. If I am being honest. But the fact that Amara is never summoned out of the physical realm even though she is not needed just goes to show how high the amount of Anima Cells that the Basilisk Slayer possesses." Zach said.

They were both surprised to see that Suna was brandishing a small hand axe on her belt, her black Six Blades coat just covered it up earlier enough to not be visible.

"You are using a weapon?" Yin said after seeing the green blades on the axe shine from the rays of the sun. "Oh. The Commander gave me this to add to my arsenal, he said that relying on my fists and gauntlets like you was only going to do more harm than good for me. If you can remember, I did try to use swords but they were just far too inconvenient for me to use for some reason. These axes are good enough to throw from a safe distance and the blades are very thick, enough to withstand the impact from the force of my hacks." Suna was very happy whenever the conversation was about combat. It was very obvious from the way that she talked about her new weapon.

"Do you want to come with us to the courtyard, Zach?" Suna asked the Fire Slayer. "No thanks…" "Okay, suit yourself, then." Yin said to him as he and Suna were about to head out there.

"What if they do some stupid shit and I get blamed for it?" Zachary asked himself and thought about the worst case scenarios possible once they spar unsupervised. "Should I just wake the Commander up and tell him to go with them? No. Just by looking at him, the travel really did do a number on him." Zach sighed and knew what he had to do. "Wait for me." He said to the two, causing them to be surprised that Zachary was volunteering to come with them of his own volition.

But before heading out, he grabbed three books that he was going to read while outside so that boredom would not strike him. "Are you not going to join us?" Suna asked him once again, Zach shook his head. "For the past few days, me and this peanut brain have done nothing but spar in the courtyard, I am pretty sure the guards stationed over there are pretty acquainted with us at this point already."

The young core trio of the Six Blades were reunited once again, but each of them had undergone a significant change already, an improvement from their past flaws and bad habits in the battlefield which will no doubt aid in their growth towards becoming even stronger versions of themselves. Zachary was no longer a rookie on the battlefield, there were only a handful of rookies who had much of a part involved during huge missions such as this one, but the fact is he and the late June Alcindor were just rookies when they helped take down Pugna the Seraphim.

As their spars went on in the courtyard, the Emperor looked out the window with a pleasant smile on his face. "You are doing good work, Serpent Summoner, Commander. Just as I have expected from you." He said with a smile after seeing the future of the Slayer Corps working as hard as they are even during their down time.

"What do you think of those three down below, Artorias?" He asked the Basilisk Slayer who revealed himself to be in the room with the Emperor, Art thought he was not yet seen but he was wrong. "You are still as sharp as ever, Emperor Nicholas. Not bad for an old man. Heh." The Basilisk Slayer scratched his head nervously and grinned. "I used to be a renowned Slayer just as yourself, Artorias, I was one of the founding members of the Six Blades for a reason." The Emperor said.

"Yeah. That is pretty obvious. Anyway, I wanted to surprise you, that is why I am here." Artorias said to him. "Do not lie, I have already told you, he has not appeared before me again ever since the incident at the Outer Gates." 

It is revealed that the traitorous Reaper visited the Emperor of Niflheim at the night after fifty young Slayers were sent to their deaths, although the directive was wholly done by the High Council and Emperor Nicholas was not aware of it, he still had the time of the day to scold him for letting that incident transpire.

"I was just testing my luck, you know? What if he shows up right this instant, that would be funny. That way, I can shove my sword against his heart and end his treachery in an instant." The Basilisk Slayer's green eyes were like the venomous fangs of a viper, ready to strike any prey that is foolish enough to cross it.

"I promise you. Once he appears again, I will tell you exactly what he says to me, I even tried to catch him myself that night, but my old bones are just too frail to fight him at this stage of my life." The Emperor said.

"What a fucking hypocrite. How dare he act righteous yet he himself took the lives of his fellow org members. Despicable indeed.." Art's words were filled with rage.