[Sabertooth] Senbu

Senbu HQ

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The Main Building

Headquarters:

The Senbu Headquarters are located beneath the Sabertooth Guild, underground, while still being on the air island. The entrance building is quite huge, despite being under the ground, and carries the kanji of "Sen" (殲, massacre) above the entrance. Once entering the building, the entrance leads to the Equipment Department, where the new members are given a set of regular Senbu clothes, a sword and a mask. The dark corridor on the left takes one to the chambers, which is the place where the specific Mission and Ranking Board for the Senbu are located. Any direct orders from the guild master are announced here. The place is illumiated by the reflected sunlight coming from above. However, there still is no direct exit to outside. It is also possible to find locker rooms, where changing clothes is possible.

Spoiler:

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A new member, waiting at the Equipment Department

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A set of Senbu clothes, sword and mask

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The Chambers

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A group of Senbu members

Description:

The Senbu, short for Senmetsu Butai (殲滅部隊; literally meaning "Annihilation Squad"), take orders directly from the guild master, performing special high-level missions. The Senbu usually works in teams formed to the requirements of the mission, ensuring maximum success. The mages in the Senbu are hand-picked by the guild master, chosen for their individual capabilities and special skills. Age, gender, background, or previous rank bears no weight in this decision. Members can be relieved from the Senbu by the guild master and reassigned elsewhere. They wear their masks even in their own guild, for their identity as a Senbu agent is to be known only by the guild master. Senbu are under direct control of the guild master, and therefore, can not be arrested by the regular police forces without a warrant. The Senbu also has its own unique ranking within itself and is known as the previous guild master's legacy, as he was the one who had co-founded it along with Haru.

Ranking:

The Senbu has a rankings system of its own. Members at the Adept Mage level are classified as Novice Senbu members. Members at the S-Rank Mage level on the other hand are classified as Master Senbu members. It should be noted, however, that a novice member doesn't necessarily have to be at the average level of an adept mage. This is caused by Senbu's rankings, which are based on the individual's capacity of magic only (opposed to the individual's ability to fight in general). A novice member could have weak magic but also excel in assassination skills, making him at the level of an S-Rank mage. Additionally, there is a special rank class called Mukan no Goshou (無冠の五将, Crownless Generals). It consists of five Senbu members that are considered to be exceptionally powerful, around the level of a normal guild master, both at magic capacity and fighting skills. These five are specifically acknowledged by the guild master for their strength, and are the only ones to be given SS-Rank missions.

Uniform:

Most Senbu predominately wear some kind of mask to conceal their identities; predominantly animal-styled porcelain masks, with some opting for more menacing looking creatures. They also have standard uniforms which consist of black clothing, a grey jacket, metal arm guards and gloves, ninja sandals with spikes for travelling into mountainous regions, three pouches on their back-waist and a signature spiral tattoo on their shoulder. Some Senbu wear black cloaks over their standard uniforms, and squad leaders may wear white cloaks. Most of them carry a sword, which is usually strapped to their backs. Although the uniform can vary slightly from one Senbu to another, since underneath their clothes each member wears a personal attire, the only single distinguishing garment they all wear is a short, black, midriff jacket, with red straps over the shoulders.

Tasks:

They protect the guild, and in some cases Fiore itself, from exceptional threats, conduct high-risk missions into enemy territory, and deal with extremely strong mages and demons. They are also responsible for carrying out assassinations, tracking, surveillance, and missions requiring specially trained mages. Some Senbu serve as interrogators that probe the minds of enemy mages to learn information valuable to the guild.

The Chambers

It took Haru several hours to return back to the guild building. On his way, he had tested his new ability as well. It seemed to be working much better than he had expected. Not to mention how versatile it was. It almost felt like he was transparent, as his wounds healed shortly after being inflicted. Before he shared this with the Twin Dragons of his guild, there was one thing he needed to do. He made his way to the Senbu HQ. Luckily for him, the person he waited for wouldn’t appear too late. Noticing a shadowy figure in the air as he stood in the Chambers. The man approached slowly as the hawk he was riding disappeared suddenly, resulting him to land in front of Haru in a kneeling position. “Is that you, Hayama?” the redhead asked, not able to see the face of the young man in front of him. He would soon his face and get surprised, however. “Hai. I’m back from my mission.” Was the response he received in return while he was busy eyeing the lad’s face, or rather his lack of a mask. His bruised body and overall exhausted appearance suggested that his mission had been worthy of an S-Rank. “How did it go?” the guild master asked. Hayama replied a few seconds later to his question, using this interval to catch his breathe as he had almost run out of magic. “Unlike the S-Rank infiltration mission I was informed of, there was nothing to infiltrate. Grimoire Heart is a dark guild consisting of only elite members. Including their master, I sensed about nine of them.” He answered. The Dragon Slayer’s eyes opened widely. Grimoire Heart was a repetitious guild, most believed that they were big enough to take on several other guilds at the same time. It seemed like that wasn’t the case.

“Did you obtain any useful information?” Haru asked, pausing shortly before looking at Hayama. “Besides this one, of course.” he added quickly, not wanting him to feel like his mission was a waste of time. And it really wasn’t at all. Though Hayama had understood what he had meant at the first time. Without minding anything he answered “Hai. Their guild master is a man called Azazel. You can identify him by his long, dark hair and amber eyes. He mainly uses Flame God Slayer Magic, but also has the ability to use shadows in the Limbo dimension. He is good enough at those; however, it would be surprising to know if he didn’t possess another magic type. Additionally he uses a mode that is quite similar to your Dragon Force.” he paused for a second before continuing. “That mode was weird. His flames didn't seem to go out when he had it active. They just kept burning endlessly.” It was interesting for the redhead to hear there was a mode like his own Dragon Force. Not that he actually minded it. If anything it would spice things up. “And his strength level?” At his question, Hayama stood silent for a second. It was apparent that he felt embarrassed to tell him the outcome of their battle. “He overpowered my Gedou Mazou, Yondaime-sama.” He said, looking away as soon as he was done. Despite his young age, Hayama had already mastered a unique type of magic, the Six Paths. Many would consider this particular prodigy at the level of a guild master. So obviously such a defeat would make him feel bad. Though Haru didn’t mind this at all. The silver haired lad was like a younger brother to him and he wouldn’t want him to feel upset about it. Crouching to the same level as him, he placed his hand on his left shoulder. “I see. A force to reckon, eh? Don’t you worry though. I have gained a new power since the last time we saw each other.” he finished with a smile. “I wouldn’t doubt it, Yondaime-sama.” Hayama replied, as they both stood up at the same time. Turning around to face the other way, Haru slowly walked away. “You earned a good rest. You may even take a day or two off. Well done Hayama.” he said, and vanished from the Chambers. Feeling glad that the master was satisfied with the outcome of his mission, Hayama did the same and headed to the changing rooms of the Senbu.