Chapter 140 - What The Reaper Is After

An emergency meeting was called by the Emperor, summoning only the most capable and trusted Slayers by Emperor Nicholas himself.

"I was told there would be food here, yet I see none of it…" Luken said softly, showing how much of a glutton he is. Well, it could not be helped as he had not have had any food ever since arriving to the Grand Castle.

"This is why I told you to just stop by and buy something on the way here." The Serpent Summoner shook his head in disappointment and shame at his partner's childish demands.

"Do you guys have any idea why we are summoned here?" Vale Ashford, the Specter asked the others impatiently.

The Basilisk Slayer sat on the floor, leaning behind a pillar at his back. "I honestly have no idea, Vale. I expected to be called her alone, it is not really such a pleasant surprise to see Ignis' sour face here." Artorias said. "Yeah. He is here alright, I can sense that putrid scent from a mile away." Vale added.

Fen Kaori did not speak a word, it was not like he was terribly unfamiliar with the others, he just did not like to speak all that much. 

"How have you been all these years, Fen?" Gavin approached the SS Rank Slayer with a smile. Fen reciprocated back with the same expression as well. "Good. I have been good. You have some quite interesting and strong additions to your organization, Gavin." Fen said. "Yeah. We sure do. Wait, have you met them already?" The Basilisk Slayer asked. "Yes. I met them earlier during the afternoon, there was a bright and above intelligent young man, Zachary, I think was his name. I told him the basics of how I am able to cast spells." 

The Basilisk Slayer had a look of proudness etched on his face. Fen never got interested in other Slayers, he only kept to himself most of the time. It was a pleasant surprise seeing him trying to remember the Six Blades' young core trio and their names.

A bright light invaded the room as someone had opened the door to get in after a quick knock. With his glasses illuminating, he adjusted them with a touch and grinned. "This seems like a star studded summoning, if I say so myself." It was Ignis Silva. He proudly touted the red and white coat of the Inferno Garden as he entered the room.

The Basilisk Slayer looked at Ignis' eyes dead on and rolled his green orbs in disgust. "I wish I was wrong, not this fucking guy…" He thought to himself. "You looked as if you wanted to say something to me, Art." Ignis said while walking towards the Basilisk Slayer. "Nope. Not really." Artorias Khalil replied back while shrugging his shoulders. He was trying to avoid talking to Ignis as he was not fond of him, and it was clear.

So far, the individuals in the room were The SSS Rank Slayer, the Basilisk Slayer, Artorias Khalil, the SS Rank Water Slayer, the Commander of the Slayer Corps – Luken Regalia. The S Rank Serpent Summoner, Gavin Khalil. The SS Rank Allcaster, Fen Kaori, the S Rank Slayer, Vale Ashford, also known as the Specter. And the SS Rank Fire Slayer, the leader of the Inferno Garden, Ignis Silva. Six of them were summoned by the Emperor in a hurry.

Emperor Nicholas walked through the door accompanied by nobody else but himself. All six of them bowed down before the Emperor. "Ah. I see that you are all here. Thank you for making it to the Grand Castle on such a short notice, everyone. You have my thanks, truly." The Emperor said to them.

"I know that you are all somewhat perplexed and are eager to know the reason why I summoned you on a whim, that much should tell you about the urgency of this matter." The Emperor cleared his throat before saying the reason. "I have called you here to inform you that the SSS Ranked Reaper has showed up to my doorstep after the tragedy at the Outer Gates ordered by the High Council."

His revelation caused everyone to react in a surprised manner. "Why did you wait that long to tell us this?" Luken spoke up and raised his voice. "Patience, Commander, I was trying to lessen the panic. I also tried to decipher his words but all he said was how disappointed he was, he had thought that the whole operation to exterminate an Angel with fifty children was my doing…" The Emperor said.

"What did he say, exactly, Emperor?" Gavin asked him. "He said he was disappointed in me for sending dozens of children to their death…although I will admit that it was rash of me to not notice such a mission was in place. I have strongly advised every member of the High Council to not make decisions such as that without informing me. I never really apologized to the Slayers for my inaction."

Fen Kaori walked in front and made his presence known to the others. Ignis Silva was surprised to see that the Allcaster was here with them, knowing how much of a social recluse he is.

"I believe you are all focusing on the wrong thing here. The fact of the matter is that someone like Adam Rosa is able to slip in and out of the barrier freely for who knows how long now. Perhaps he might have been coming to Niflheim in secret to scout out whatever it is he wanted to see." Fen Kaori said.

"I've got to agree with the guy for once, we already know that he has wings or some shit, right?" The Basilisk Slayer said while turning his head towards his brother, Gavin, and the Commander, since they were both witnesses to him possessing half black wings in the battlefield first. "Even me and the Specter saw it with our own eyes, that asshole is no longer human." Artorias Khalil added.

"Should we change how the Red Barriers are structured, then?" Ignis Silva proposed. "But keep in mind, at this point, if you tighten the Barriers with who can pass through it, we might have a hard time getting through it ourselves. Every single one of us in this room currently possess more Anima cells than thirty, no, even fifty lower ranked Slayers combined. The Barriers work in a way that the Angels, who have monstrous amounts of Anima cells, cannot go through themselves. Now, this is just my personal theory, but you are having difficulties entering them yourself, isn't that right, Basilisk Slayer?" Ignis Silva's words were precise and tenacious. But much dangerously, they were the truth.

Artorias Khalil sighed. "I really have got to hand it to the guy, he did his research. Yeah, if we do tighten the Barriers and decrease the Anima classification for entry, there is a risk that most of us S Rank and above Slayers will not be able to gain access to Niflheim entirely. Seeing as how cunning that bastard Adam is, that is probably what he wishes to do."

The Specter lost her typical cool and clicked her tongue loudly while shaking her head. "So, what are we supposed to do, then?!" She exclaimed.

Gavin Khalil raised his hand. "I am just going to give you my thoughts as someone who trained under the Reaper with Luken. As sickening as it might be to remember that, we have to decode what reason he has to come back to Niflheim, if he ever does. Because for now, we know that the Angels are not able to go through the barrier." 

"Wait. That is it! The Barrier!" Luken exclaimed. Everyone in the room was surprised, they were expecting him to crack a joke or some nonsensical stuff. "He is trying to get his Angel buddies in." Luken Regalia gave the others some time to understand where he was coming from. "If he ever decides to attack Niflheim alone, he knows that he is still unable to take all of us at the same time. Even without him in the ranks of the Slayer Corps, we are still plenty strong." What the Commander was saying was actually making sense for once.

"Color me impressed, Luken. I guess you really do use your head every time a full moon pops up out of the sky." Ignis said. "He is right. Now we just need to know what can make the Angels pass through the barriers. As they theoretically cannot destroy them. They have tried for years now, believe me." The Emperor added. "What if they do not need to destroy it?" Vale said. All eyes turned towards her. "Maybe just disabling it or tearing a hole through the Barrier itself is enough? A hole big enough for all those Seraphims and Angels to pass through would definitely be the end of mankind as we know it." 

"What about that, Emperor, does such a thing exist here in Niflheim?" The Basilisk Slayer turned towards the Emperor.