Chapter 112 - Zachary's Plan

While Kai and Yin were keeping Pugna the Seraphim occupied, Zach was thinking about how to adapt to the situation.

"Shit. What can we even do this thing? Whenever we inflict heavy damage on it, it just regenerates fast as hell."

Zach said to himself.

That was when the idea hit him.

He whispered something to Cosette.

The A Rank Earth Slayer's eyes lit up in amazement.

"Good plan. I think it is worth executing."

She said.

Cosette jumped in and told Yin and Kai to put some distance between them and Pugna.

She also briefed them about Zachary's plan.

Both of them had no problems with it. Because at this point, they were willing to try out everything.

It was a fight of stamina. Who would be the first ones to expend all of their energy? Would it be the Kai Xin's squad or would it be Pugna the Seraphim's healing?

The squad sincerely hoped that it would be the latter, though.

As June Alcindor's pigeon flew out back into Niflheim, their best bet right now was to exterminate the Seraphim or wait for reinforcements to arrive.

The said reinforcements might never come at all or it might actually be too late already.

Kai was exhausting and using all of the tricks up his sleeve.

"This is one tough Angel, I'll give her that…"

The S Rank Fire Slayer said.

"Once Sarathiel is in my arms once again, I shall make myself scarce…Tell me where Sarathiel is!"

Pugna's raspy voice was getting more and more intense every single time it spoke.

The Seraphim flew into the sky and was now crashing down on towards June.

This was the perfect opportunity to execute Zachary's plan, little did it know.

Whether it would work or not, they did not care at this point.

To fight and die as a Slayer until the very end…

That was what was embedded inside their hearts.

Yin burst through with his inhuman speed and pulled out June Alcindor from imminent danger.

Cosette then casted her mud wall and imprisoned the Seraphim.

Kai Xin and Zachary jumped and stabbed her wings in place with their weapons which were enchanted with their flame affinities.

Now that it could no longer move for a split second, this was a window of time that the squad desperately needed.

Yin placed June somewhere safe and zipped across the other side of the battlefield where Pugna was imprisoned by Cosette.

The plan was for them to wait for the Seraphim to come crash down and do the diving attack it was easily doing quite often earlier.

When that happens, Yin, which was the second fastest Slayer in the squad, was to take out whoever Pugna was targeting and take that person to safety. If it was Cosette, then he would have to meet the Seraphim up in the air before it could make contact with her.

But since it was targeting June, Zachary's gamble was a success in the beginning.

After Cosette Akim imprisons the Seraphim, they only had two seconds at most before it could burst through the mud wall and get loose if nobody held it in place inside the wall.

This was where Kai Xin and Zach came into play.

They were meant to hold down the Seraphim's wings to the point of it not being able to fly away nor power through the mud wall.

Because according to Kai, "As strong as this Archangel might be, you cannot ignore the fact that it squeals and grunts whenever we damage it with anything, it can still feel pain. The wings are vulnerable enough."

He definitely showed why he was second in command of the Inferno Garden, the top organization in the Slayer Corps as a whole.

Kai grinned while keeping Pugna in place with his sword, as well as Zach.

June was meant to jump up the mud wall and apply the suppressing gust of wind he did earlier in order to pin Pugna down, but since he was the one targeted, he was going to be take somewhere safe instead.

They were going to have to do it without their nervous Wind Slayer rookie.

But June Alcindor definitely was not one to give up, even though it was clear that he would not make it in time to help in the plan's execution, he still ran towards them.

June's heart was in the right place.

That was what Zach thought.

After saving whoever the Seraphim targeted, Yin had to run back and punch a hole in the mud wall, in an attempt to hold the Seraphim with both of his bare hands and let his decay aura run loose.

All across the span of this fight, he found it hard to even hold Pugna down with his arms and let the aura wither her away. That was just how hard this battle was for Yin.

It especially took a toll on him just running around the battlefield trying to catch Pugna and pin her down, but Zachary's plan made all of their strengths combined and had a decent thought behind it.

"Yin!"

Zach shouted out.

"I'm coming!"

Yin retorted back.

Crackles of the Seraphim's bones being damaged as it was held in place by Kai and Zach were heard.

"I-It is not going to last much longer!"

Cosette was already going past her limit.

Her veins were starting to pop out trying to keep Pugna inside the wall.

Kai Xin and Zachary could not cast spells while holding the Seraphim in place because they had to use both of their hands on their weapons.

And if they ever did, they would burn Yin Sohaya's hands as well, it would be too hard to control their flames to only engulf the Seraphim.

That was just how overwhelmingly strong Pugna was.

She cried out while trying to shake off Zachary's scythe and Kai's sword.

Cosette's mud wall was starting to crumble.

"Yin! Hurry!"

The white haired Slayer was now in front of the mud wall.

He placed both of his palms on it and started to make holes inside the wall. His hands were now holding both of the Seraphim's wrists.

Yin screamed as he activated the decay aura.

It was rotting away the Seraphim's wrists gradually, Yin had to move up to his arms as his hands were no longer there.

"Th-Thanatos?! Why?!"

Pugna wailed out in anguish.

"Do not call me that! I am not Thanatos! I'm Yin Sohaya! A C Rank Lightning Slayer in the Slayer Corps!"

The white haired Slayer proudly announced.

The Seraphim continued to screech in pain.

As much as they had wanted to make Yin completely disintegrate Pugna till nothing was left of her, Yin was at his own limit.

He was hyperventilating hard already.

Cosette was on her knees, trying to muster what remaining strength she had to strengthen the mud wall so it would not collapse.

Kai and Zachary were holding on to the Seraphim with their enchanted weapons.

June was now near enough to climb on top of the mud wall and he did so while gripping his grimoire.

As he climbed on top of the mud wall, he casted his gust to pin down the Seraphim even longer, giving the others time to breathe and ease up.

"How do you like that!?"

June Alcindor's voice was shaky, and this was his first time even fighting an Angel, and it was no normal Angel at that.

In his first conquest ever, though unbeknownst to the High Council, June is now going against one of the Twelve Seraphims. 

He casted a similar spell as he did earlier, though this time, his gust was even stronger than before.

Kai Xin knew something was not right during this time.

"June! I order you to not remove your suppressors!"

Suppressors were unseen sort of "locks" inside one's body. When someone uses his or her Anima cells, it puts immense strain on one's own body. These suppressors work so that Slayers have their own limiters, thus avoiding using up too much Anima cells at the same time.

For if a Slayer were to cast a spell and focus nearly all of their Anima cells on that particular spell, they would run the risk of their limbs getting paralyzed.

Though it was possible to remove the suppressor and cast a spell with even more power than usual, it was always a fifty fifty chance of gambling whether you will get struck with the consequences or not.

"Please let me do this, sir! I will buy us a few seconds, ten, at most! That will be more than enough for you guys to catch your breath and renew what you were doing just now!"

Indeed, June was right.

But now it was up to Kai Xin's decision.

Was he going to gamble on a rookie's hands?

Kai was conflicted. The Seraphim was still screeching out in pain, so whatever they were doing was definitely effective.

It was all up to Kai Xin, now.. His words would mean their triumph or result in their demise.