Chapter 143 - The Reaper's Backstory 1/4

After the group gathered inside the Six Blades' quarters in the Grand Castle, they embarked on the race towards the Sword of Alacrity. Betting their all that Adam Rosa had not ben able to decipher the sword's location in one night only. Yet little did they know, their worst case scenario was coming to fruition. 

Yesterday at night, Adam Rosa's escapade back to Niflheim was now underway. He was standing in front of a secluded area of the barrier, no guards or Slayers were posted there, just as he expected. His time as a Slayer was still with him, and it is now being used in order to destroy what he once fought for – Niflheim and mankind's freedom from the winged harbingers.

"I am still able to get in the barrier with no problem whatsoever. Observe this." He said as he stuck his hand in to the Red Barrier and it phased in with no problem at all.

Together accompanying him outside was the Seraphim of War and the Seraphim of Water, Ares and Hai. Both of them were surprised that Adam was still unaffected by the barrier despite his torn appearance between that of a human and an Angel. 

"Should we get in too?" Hai asked him. "Even if you wanted to, you cannot get inside the Red Barriers, Hai. That is why I am going to look for the book I mistakenly read when I was but a youngling. The Book of Alacrity will guide us to the Sword, and that Sword of Alacrity, my comrade, will be able to let all of you in. Do not worry." Adam Rosa said with an innocent and confident smile. It was as if his expression had no malicious or zealous intent. The two Seraphims waited for him outside as he went in. Ares only came in order to see if they could find Pugna and Sarathiel, she still has not lost hope, still believing that they had not been slain.

"A-Adam! Make sure to dedicate a little bit of your time inside that putrid Grand Castle to see if they are keeping our siblings there, Pugna and Sarathiel…" She pleaded to the SSS Rank Reaper. "I will try, Ares. I will offer you two no promises, however. As that is not part of my mission today, but nevertheless, I will do what I can once I am inside." With those parting words, the Reaper had now vanished into the night.

"How can you trust him, Hai?" The Seraphim of War asked her brother. "I am not as smart as our other siblings, Ares, but I do not need brains in order to see who is strong. Although Adam Rosa is a human still, he has proven himself already by killing his own friends. His strength speaks for itself. You experienced it first hand already, did you not?" Hai responded back with a question to which the Seraphim of War was still too sour to retort. 

"Just a little bit more, mother, and we shall see each other again." Adam Rosa thought to himself as he walked around Niflheim in the Grand City wearing a hooded apparel to cover himself.

Ever since he was a child, Adam knew that he was different. He had been treated differently as well from other kids. Being trained by the strongest Slayers of that time even when he had not reached the proper age of Anima awakening. Adam was never one to have experienced a normal childhood, not even once. One time, a representative from the High Council visited their home, a worn down shack which they still proudly called their home.

The roofs were riddled with holes which the raindrops could easily slip in, the windows were far too broken to be repaired so they had to endure the cold winter nights with nothing more than a meek fireplace and some blankets. But he knew that everything would be alright if he was there with his mother. She was the beacon of light which made the darkest of days seem bearable, even just a little.

After seeing that they had visitors, his mother welcomed them and offered a humble of tea to the person whose features were covered by the hood of the High Council. Adam was still about ten years old at this point, but he was extremely intelligent, he listened in on the man and his mother's conversation while hiding.

"We would like to ask for your permission to train your son and have him live in the Grand Castle's quarters." The man said. "Why is that, sir? You do not even know if he will develop Anima cells at all, what if he does not and you just end up both wasting your time and tearing him away from me for no reason!?" His mother was asking very valid questions. "Trust me, ma'am, we cannot tell you the exact reason, but we know that your son will in fact have Anima cells once he reaches the age of twelve. Again, the exact reason is top secret and should remain as so. You have to trust the Emperor and our word as the truth, we are the ones keeping you non-Slayers alive after all. If we do not fight outside the Outer Gates, do you think you can continue living your life as normal here?" The man's patience was getting more and more thin after Adam's mother insisted on knowing the reason why they were so sure he was going to be a Slayer. Yet ultimately, she did not fight it back any longer. She knew that it was pointless, and the worst case would be her getting thrown in jail for not listening to the government's plea. 

She went ahead and showed Adam to the hooded man. "Is this the boy?" The man asked her, to which she responded with a nod. Adam Rosa was attempting to play dumb and clueless as if he had not heard of what they were talking about earlier.

"Mama, why are they taking me?" He asked innocently. "Because you will be savior of humanity, Adam. You shall rush this world into a new age of freedom, and after that, we will finally stop living like this, we will be able to see the world outside with no worries about anything else. This man here believes in you, as well as the entire government. I do not know why or how, but do not let them down, okay? Fight for humanity and train under them. I will wait for you here in our humble abode. No matter how long it may take." She said.

"But I do not want to go, mother. Who will take care of you? Who will cook for you and aid you in cleaning the house? Your illness has not been diagnosed and you have been getting worse and worse through time. I will stay here and care for you!" Tears started streaming down the child's face as he pleaded for the man to change his decision. "I-I know, we can take you to the castle! Together, we will live there while I do whatever it is that they ask of me, I promise. Can she come with us, sir?" Adam turned to the man of the High Council, yet his response was not what Adam had hoped for.

"No. We cannot. You must come alone." He said. "I will be fine here, son, go now, you shall be the sword of humanity, fight for mankind and for Niflheim, alright? Once you come back here, I will make sure to cook you your favorite potato stew." Adam's mother said.

He bid his mother farewell and was carried off into the Grand Castle by the man. "When can I see her again?" Adam asked. "After two years of your training, well, specifically, after you have awoken your Anima cells." Adam Rosa looked forward to that. Just two years and he will come back as a full fledged Slayer here. He is going to take his mother out of this horrible place and move somewhere nicer and safer, somewhere close to the Castle where he can just walk out and visit her anytime he wanted.

That was his dream. But little did he know, dreams die. Reality often is disappointing and kills our dreams, stabbing it straight in the heart, ending its entire essence of being one. Rendering it as nothing more than a hopeful 'what if' scenario that we play out in our heads while we daydream.

He trained how to wield the sword under many talented Slayers, they all taught him various niche and tricks in order to win battles. And after his physical training regimes, it was not an over exaggeration to say that Adam Rosa lived more in the library rather than in his designated room.

Finally, the day of his twelfth birthday came around, he was presented in front of the High Council and the Emperor, not the current one today, but his father. He showed off his Anima cells to them, they nodded in approval and gave him the freedom to go back and visit his mother for a week.