Chapter 162 - What They're After

"How are you feeling, Gavin?" The Commander asked his friend. Gavin lost his brother and his mentor, though the latter was bound to happen at some point, or else Adam Rosa's pitch black wings would swoop down and take mankind at the mercy of his sharp talons. "I do not know, Luken. Death is something that we Slayers embraced long ago, after our Anima cells have awoken, we already knew that Angels and monsters will be our end if we are not careful. I am both empty and sad at the same time, if that makes sense." The Serpent Summoner replied back.

"Yeah. I know. We are going to have to do fill some big shoes, Gavin. I hope you are ready." Luken forced out a confident nod as he glanced at his friend. The pressure that all the remaining top ten Slayers in the rankings had now that the Basilisk Slayer was gone was absolutely hard. "I always am, Luken." Gavin replied back..

They both sat down and walked to the balcony outside while all the other Slayers were hearing words of encouragement and assurance from the Emperor himself. "I believe that we should call Ignis Silva, Fen Kaori, and Vale Ashford. Hell, I think Kai is also ready for the responsibility. He has to step up and play a vital role. We have to work together if we want to be the pillars of mankind against the winged harbingers." Luken said. "I am surprised you suggested that, I thought you could not stomach that asshole, Ignis." Gavin joked around. "The same as you, but still, we cannot deny that we need him to finally work this shit out." The Serpent Summoner went back in to call the others. But before doing so, Luken's words made him stop. "Do not tell them about everything regarding Adam. I will do the talking for this one." Luken said with a thumbs up at his friend with his hand. "That is a surprise, with you doing the talking and all that. Heh. Very well, I can respect that." Gavin cracked a smile.

Yin sat around with Suna and Zachary in the room, Emperor Nicholas had already finished his speech and went outside the room. The trio of the Six Blades talked about the battle earlier and what each of them were doing, but Zach was the one who was most annoyed since he did not really get to see the Lightning Seraphim, Fulgur, die, as he was unconscious while it happened. He wanted to land the final blow as well, but Suna told him that the Seraphim of War fled the battle in search of their leader, the Reaper, Adam Rosa.

Yin was the only one who actually finished his respective Seraphim off with his team. "The Allcaster is really strong…those SS Rank Slayers are just on another realm of strength compared to us." Yin was a bit down specially since he was feeling the pressure of the Basilisk Slayer's untimely death. Suna placed her hand on his shoulders and gave him an assuring gaze. "Do not worry, Yin. We will get there as well, we will match their strengths in our own way, and even surpass it…I hope so." She ended her words with a smile. "Good job on Hai, Yin. But I bet you were just getting carried by the Allcaster. Tch." Zach said to him with a scoff, Yin retorted back and the two of them continued arguing.

Gavin opened the doors from the balcony and approached Ignis Silva, Fen Kaori, Kai Xin, and Vale Ashford one by one. Each of them got up and went outside the booths with no word said to their subordinates. Yin and the others were also here as they wanted to wait for their seniors. "Hey, Hector, do you think you can get to the SSS Ranks one day?" Faust asked him. It seems that the two of them have struck a unique friendship. Faust Keisuke was the one who spoke most of the time anyway, but Hector welcomed the fact that he made a friend and an acquaintance from another organization and not just any other person in the Inferno Garden.

Kai took a look at Hector and had a faint smile on his face. He was assured and happy that Hector was slowly opening up to people, as he thought that the young prodigy only really ever relied on Ignis Silva and him for everything. It was a breath of fresh air to see that him and Faust Keisuke were really building a solid friendship among each other after the Operation Phoenix.

"This would not really happen if Hector did not respect Faust's strength as a Slayer in the battlefield. For him, to acknowledge another Slayer as a friend, is to respect his or her combat prowess. He is not a normal kid, not that it's a bad thing, we are all different, aren't we, Ignis?" Kai Xin asked his friend and the leader of the Inferno Garden. "Hm. Perhaps you are correct. His strength causes him to be like a vacuum that sucks out every other skill he has in socializing with people, but it seeks and befriends other strong individuals, it is good to see that." Ignis replied back with a rare affectionate smile.

The Commander, Gavin Khalil, Vale Ashford, Fen Kaori, Ignis Silva, and Kai Xin were now on the balcony. Their position placed them somewhere that they could see the bright lights of the Grand City and other neighboring towns and villages. "You know, I have been in this balcony for so long now. Far too long, that is, to realize just how beautiful this nation is. The very last stand of humanity – Niflheim." Luken opened up with those words as he started his speech. "We no longer have the Basilisk Slayer with us. As you know, he died after his battle against the Reaper. If he did not do what he did, Gavin would no longer be here. He prioritized Gavin more so than his own life itself. I know that not everyone of us here are selfless enough to sacrifice ourselves for other people, that much is obvious. But I want us to work together to form the supporting pillars that hold on this nation together. I have never been that much of a leader, even when I was appointed as the Commander by the Emperor. I have had shortcomings and disappointments during my time in this position, I know that much." Luken stopped to catch his breath. 

"But what I am about to tell you is what the last words of the Reaper were. We managed to interrogate him before he succumbed to the cold embrace of death. These Angels…they are after Yin Sohaya, a C Rank Lightning Slayer under the organization of the Six Blades." His words caused an array of gasps and looks of surprise among the Slayers present there. "Does that mean there is something within that boy that the Angels are looking for?" Ignis asked as he raised his hand. "Why do they want Yin so much? Is that the reason why they are after mankind? How the fuck does that work, Luken?" Kai Xin was agitated because of that revelation. He was trying desperately hard to understand the correlation between Yin Sohaya being a person of interest among the winged harbingers and mankind's continued suffering. 

Luken took his sword out and smacked it against the floor, breaking his rapier to pieces. "Everyone calm down! We cannot afford to lose our heads now, there are still many things that we do not know of, I will tell you the details now, but I need you to promise me that you will not disclose this information to anyone outside of the people within this balcony. If this goes out, the kid could be in serious trouble and danger." The Commander said. "He is on our side, right, Gavin?" The Specter turned towards Gavin Khalil to assure herself that they did not have a spy at their hands. "Very much so. You should not worry about Yin's loyalty. I can vouch for him, I would place the name of the Khalil family on the line if I am proven to be wrong. For now, let us listen to what Luken is going to say so we can get on with it." He said. 

Ignis placed his hand down and was prepared to listen to what the Commander was going to say. "Let us see if this piece of information is good enough for what the Basilisk Slayer died for." Ignis Silva said out loud. "I need you all to maintain a cool head before we go any further with this conversation. If we crumble under anything right now, mankind itself would cease to exist. That is the dilemma that we are currently pitted against. Do I have your word that everything that we talk about here only stays here and nowhere else?" Luken wanted to make sure of it.