Chapter 161 - News

After the time that Ignis allotted had already passed, he was getting impatient. He wanted to have the chance to cross blades and fight the Reaper for himself. It was an opportunity that the leader of the Inferno Garden did not want to miss. "Ten minutes have already gone by, Vale, we are going to go there and help them right now. Step aside." Ignis Silva said to the Specter. Vale Ashford thought about attempting to keep Ignis and the others out by any means necessary, but she herself was worried that she would get dismissed for insubordination. She was now hoping that the four of them had finished their reunion.

"Tch. Fine." She agreed with a scoff. Ignis made the others come with him as they ran towards the location to 'help' Gavin, Luken, and Artorias. But as soon as they got there, the sight which they saw was not the one which they had expected. 

"C-Commander! Gavin!" Yin shouted out as he saw Luken and Gavin's bruised and injured state. He wanted to run towards them but after seeing what was behind both of them, Yin held back his worry and hesitated. 

Amara, the Emerald Dragon was walking right behind them. But more importantly, right on top of her back was the bodies of both the Basilisk Slayer, Artorias Khalil, and the Reaper, Adam Rosa's bodies. They were already dead. "What the hell happened here?" Ignis Silva was in sheer shock. "What do you think, Ignis?" Luken replied with a lifeless tone. "After all these years, the Reaper's strength as the top one ranked Slayer in the Corps before my brother still holds up. His strength was overpowering, in the confusion of combat, I did not realize that he was coming straight for me, my brother, the Basilisk Slayer, saved me." The Serpent Summoner said. 

"How about the sword, did you get the Sword of Alacrity already?" Fen Kaori, the Allcaster asked them. Luken pulled out the translucent blade out from the hilt on his hips and presented it to them. The Sword of Alacrity was almost looking like it was made straight out of glass, it had a fragile build to it, so they took care of how they handled it immensely. "I shall hold on to this for now, up until we get to the Grand Castle." Luken said to them. 

All the other Slayers were mourning the sudden death of the Basilisk Slayer. Yin and Suna included. Faust Keisuke was awfully depressed as well, he wanted to show the Basilisk Slayer and Luken that he would be able to pay them back for saving him that one time from long ago.

The walk back home was somber and absolutely silent. Zachary Lancaster's consciousness came back to him shortly after everyone regrouped. After hearing the talks and whispers of the Basilisk Slayer's death, he thought that it was only some kind of sick joke that Artorias was playing, but as soon as he wanted to ask Gavin, his feet stopped from walking towards him. This was the first time that he saw the Serpent Summoner this distraught and down. He knew better than to doubt the situation now.

"So, now, who is going to be the rank one Slayer?" Faust Keisuke asked while he was still crying. "It would obviously be the Commander, Luken Regalia." Hector replied back. "I think it would take a heavy toll on him, though, he has to lead the Slayer Corps and be the trump card of mankind at the same time, it would not be easy on him." He added.

Ignis was still in shock. He wanted to live out his life and become an SSS Rank Slayer as well, but now that Artorias and Adam were gone, he could no longer have anyone else higher in rankings than Luken. That did not bother him that much, actually. Because deep down, he wanted to show the Reaper and the Basilisk Slayer that his methods and way of living as a Slayer would be he most efficient and viable if mankind were to survive. But with them gone, he thought that it would be difficult to let go of such emotions, after all, Ignis Silva lived just to spite everyone else who doubted him. The leader of the Inferno Garden wanted to become the strongest Slayer of mankind by surpassing all the others that came before him, not by having them gone this way. "I guess nobody really is invincible, huh, Kai?" He asked his right hand man and his friend, Kai Xin. "I guess so, Ignis." 

After hours of walking back to Niflheim, they finally arrived home and went straight to the Grand Castle, carrying the remains of the other Slayers who lost their lives in this mission to reclaim the sword. The Emperor prepared for the worst, that the Sword of Alacrity would actually end up in the hands of the Angels' side, but he did not expect this outcome, however.

"B-By the Gods…Artorias…" he was in pure shock. After hearing the reports from the leader of this specific mission, Gavin Khalil, he sat down and took it all in. "I am sorry about your brother, Gavin. He was a unique individual, but also the strongest sword mankind had after the Reaper's departure. I am sorry, I really am." The Emperor bowed his head to the Slayers present there. "I am also in due of an apology to you all, I could not afford to send in back up or even more Slayers to the mission. I was thinking about how chaotic it would be if you had arrived after Adam Rosa took the Sword and had already started to invade Niflheim, the lives lost would be unheard of." 

"Keep your head up, sire." Luken Regalia assured the Emperor that he was in no fault whatsoever. The whole mission itself was based on a gamble that Adam would not figure out the location of the sword and that they would be able to extract it with zero casualties, but he still constructed the team with many capable Slayers in the top ten rankings just to prepare for the worst. "Slayers live and die for humanity, we are not supposed to be pampered and worshipped. We do our jobs because it is the only thing that we know. Soldiers live and die, and we are the ones that mankind has in order to combat the winged harbingers. This mission was not a waste. Although we did lose Artorias Khalil, the enemy has also suffered heavy numbers of casualties. Thirty Angels is not a small number that should be shoved off. Also, the Seraphims which we left dead in our expedition just goes to show that we are still capable of fighting these Archangels. Judging on how they referred to Adam Rosa, it would seem that he was their leader. I shall fill you in on the details later, sir." Luken said.

Yin was still trying to absorb what just happened. It finally sank into him that in this war, nobody was going to be invincible. Everyone was at the risk of death, with their foots at the door of demise during every step outside the Outer Gates. But this did not stop him from wanting to become the hero that Niflheim desperately needed specially in these times when they lost the symbol of strength.

"Would you like me to lift off some of the weight off of your shoulders, Luken? We can always give your best friend, Gavin Khalil, the role of the Commander, hell, even Vale Ashford is fit for it, perhaps it might be strenuous for you to be the strongest Slayer mankind has to offer and also lead the Corps at the same time?" The Emperor asked him. True enough, it would not be easy for Luken. He had to do two jobs at the same time, and Artorias' work was not going to be easy. "I am fine, sire. Do not concern yourself with such trivial matters, no matter what might happen after this, I know where my heart burns and for who. It is for the people of Niflheim, the last bastion of mankind. So, even if it is hard. I shall persevere and do everything it takes to play my part in everything." The Commander said. "After all, I cannot just always goof around and procrastinate, sometimes, we have to just grow up, right?" He turned towards the Slayers present there. 

"We will be right beside you, sir Luken!" Faust shouted out in support. All the others shortly followed afterwards. The Emperor prepared for a meeting with only the surviving ones from the first emergency meeting he had called for. So, it would be Luken, Gavin, Fen Kaori, Ignis Silva, and Vale Ashford. Everyone other than Artorias Khalil, anyway. They were going to discuss about what the next step would be for humanity and how they should proceed. But before that, Luken called Gavin to talk to him about something.