Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"Come on, cheer up. You knew it wouldn't be easy," Remarked Raven, as he gave his sister a pat on the shoulder.

"I know...but it still really sucks. I can't afford to hire someone to train me, we don't have anywhere near enough money for something like that, and the Light Magic Grimmoires in the village library only have Level 1 Spells, how am I supposed to show off what I'm capable of when I only have access to learning the simplest Spells?

They just laughed at me and kicked me out, they didn't even measure my Magic Power or anything, they'd already made up their minds to reject me the instant they realized that I'm a Commoner. Stupid asshole Knights," Complained Ravella with a grumbling sigh, as she punched her pillow a couple of times with a huff, before turning to Raven and asking, "So, what about you? Any luck with profiting off your Recovery Magic?"

"Nope, unfortunately not. I've got the same problem, there was only one Recovery Magic Grimmoire in the village library, and it only included Level 1 Spells; a grand total of three Spells. Healing Spell Cards aren't very expensive and are more effective than the Level 1 Healing Spell I've learnt, so there isn't exactly a whole lot of demand for my services," He shook his head in response.

A little over six years had passed since the twins got appraised at the church, it was the 9th of December, 1916, a week after their sixteenth birthday.

They had moved out of the orphanage a year ago, after they turned fifteen, and started living in a small, rundown inn, which was the best they could afford. Since then, they've been working part-time jobs to make ends meet, as well as offering to take on various odd jobs and requests for a fee as well.

While doing all that, Ravella has also been trying to get into the Knight Order, while Raven has been trying to use his Recovery Magic to earn money by healing people.

However, Commoners are rarely accepted in the Knights, and with Healing Spell Cards readily available for purchase, neither of twins have had much of any success in their endeavors.

"So, what's the plan now, sis? Are you going to keep trying?" Inquired Raven curiously.

"Huh? Yeah, of course I am. I'm not going to give up now, I'll keep working on the Spells I've learned until I've mastered them...I just need to get my hands on a Grimmoire with Level 2 Spells, and I need to save enough to hire someone to train me, I haven't even begun working on my Combat Template because I have no idea how to. But I won't give up, you can count on that," She replied with a determined look in her eyes.

"Yeah, I need to learn some higher level Recovery Spells too, maybe that'll help stir up some demand. We could probably find better Grimmoires in libraries in the cities, but we can't afford the funds needed to travel that far, even train tickets are too expensive for us, and that's the cheapest form of public transportation," Sighed Raven wistfully.

"In the end, it all comes down to money, huh? We could try going on foot...Garnet City isn't that far, I think it's like a two day journey on foot or something like that," Pointed out Ravella.

"No, absolutely not, that's way too dangerous. First off, we've never walked that much, so we don't have the stamina for it. And second, there are Monsters and bandits out there, and we don't have the means to protect ourselves if we encounter one. Which means we'd need to hire a bodyguard, which of course, we can't afford," Reasoned Raven objectively.

"Ugh, you and your stupid logic, I hate that you have a point. I guess this means we're stuck like this for-...," Began Ravella, before trailing off as someone knocked on their door.

"Coming!" Called out Raven, as he made his way towards the door and opened it.

"Hey, there, kiddos. How's it going?" A man greeted them with a smile, stepping into the room.

"Oh, it's nice to see you again, Mr Riner, what can we do for you?" Raven greeted him politely, as Ravella sat up and gave him a friendly nod.

Hart Riner, one of the very few Commoners in the Knight Order. And unlike most of the other Commoners in the Knight Order, he had no Noble blood in his veins.

He was in his early-twenties, and had medium length, unruly dull red hair, dark green eyes, a neatly trimmed goatee, with a fair complexion and strong build, and he was quite tall.

"Well, I got this injury and I was hoping to ask you to heal it for me," Remarked Hart with a smile, holding up his right forearm, which had a small scratch on it.

"Oh, yeah, of course, leave it to me," Nodded Raven, before stepping towards him and placing his hand on the scratch, closing his eyes and chanting, "Here goes, [Heal]."

The scratch swiftly shrunk and closed up, disappearing in a few seconds as a glow emanated from Raven's hand.

"Nice, it's like I never even got hurt. Here, for your trouble, I appreciate the service," Smiled Hart, handing Raven a gold coin.

"You're welcome, and I hope you come again. Let me just get your change and-...," Began Raven.

"Oh, don't worry about it, you can keep the change," Hart interrupted him with a shake of his head.

"Huh? No, I can't do that, this is ten times what I charge," Responded Raven in surprise.

The currency used in the Kingdom of Persona is called Pers, made up of four types of coins. The lowest valued coins are bronze coins, each worth 10 Pers, followed by silver coins worth 100 Pers, then gold coins worth 1000 Pers, and finally platinum coins, each worth 5000 Pers.

Everyday items such as cartons of milk and loaves of bread tend to cost around one to two silver coins, and the inn that the twins are staying in costs a gold coin for every two nights.

"Don't worry about it...I know you kids work hard to sustain yourselves, so let me help out a little," Remarked Hart, as he patted Raven's head, before turning to Ravella, "By the way, I heard that you came to the Knight outpost in the village today. I'm sorry about how they treated you."

"No, that's not something you need to apologize for, it's not your fault that Nobles are such assholes," Replied Ravella with a huff.

"They sure are, no argument there. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about leaving the Knights," Sighed Hart in agreement.

"Why haven't you, if you don't mind me asking? I've seen them mocking you and stuff from time to time, how do you put up with that?" Raven asked him.

"Well, I want to prove myself as a Knight despite being a Commoner with low Magic Power. Maybe that'll make things easier for other Commoners...although, my main reason is kinda petty, I just really want to succeed and then rub that success in the faces of all those arrogant Nobles who look down on me. In other words, I'm mostly operating on spite," He grinned sheepishly, before adding as he glanced at the time, "Hm, looks like I need to get going. Take care of yourselves, kiddos, I'll see you later."

"Thanks for dropping by, we really appreciate it," Smiled Raven with a polite nod.

"Yeah, later, Mr Riner," Added Ravella with a wave, as the Knight headed out and shut the door behind him.

"That was really nice of him, this'll really help," Remarked Raven, as he put the gold coin away in a box hidden under a floorboard in the room, where the twins kept their savings.

"Can't we splurge a bit and get something really good to eat?" Sighed Ravella wistfully.

"No, we should save it, we barely have any savings at all, you never know when we might need it. I mean, even working part time jobs everyday, we barely earn enough to cover our stay in the inn, so-...," Began Raven objectively.

"Ughhh, okay, okay, I get it! You're no fun, bro," Grumbled Ravella, as she flopped face first onto her pillow.

"Well, one of us has to be responsible, we'd be living on the streets if we were both like you," Pointed out Raven dryly.

"Hmph, I don't think I appreciate your tone, I'm-...," Ravella started to say, before trailing off as another knock on their door echoed out, "Huh, think it's another customer for you? Maybe this one will insist on overpaying too."

"That'd be great, but I doubt it."

"Seriously, do you have, like, zero optimism?" Muttered Ravella, Raven choosing to ignore her and opened the door, peering out.

"Yes? How can I help you?" He greeted the person who'd knocked, a familiar figure to the twins.

"Hello. It's been some time, you two are looking well," They greeted the twins with a smile.

"Hm? Oh, hey, you're that nun from our appraisal six years ago," Spoke up Ravella as she recognized the woman.

"Yes, that's right, I'm glad you remember me," She nodded in response.

"So, how can we help you?" Raven asked her.

"About that, I heard that the two of you do odd jobs for money, yes? Well, we have a job at the church we'd like to hire you for," She informed them.

"Okay, what's the job? I just want to make sure it's something I can actually do," Replied Raven curiously.

"Huh? Oh, uh...it's a simple job, though it will take some effort. It's...it's like this, our bookshelves are seriously disorganized, and we don't have the manpower to deal with that while also attending to our primary duties. We'll pay you quite well for it, would two platinum coins suffice?"

"Wait, what? Did I hear that right? Two platinum coins!?" Exclaimed Ravella as her eyes widened and she sat up with a start.

"That is a really generous offer. Are you really sure? Seems like a lot of money just to organize some books," Remarked Raven in bemusement.

"Well, er, we have a lot of books, so...yes, I believe the payment is fitting for the amount of effort it'll take to organize. So, what do you say?" The nun asked him.

"It almost seems too good to be true, and it's definitely an opportunity that's hard to pass up. Okay, then, we'll take the job. That alright with you, sis?" Raven asked her as he glanced back at her.

"Are you kidding, of course we're taking that job! We'd be stupid not to!" She responded without hesitation, getting off her bed and walking over with a gleam in her eyes as she added, "So, when do we start?"

"Well, if you aren't busy, how about right now?" Suggested the nun with a smile.

With no real reason to refuse and every reason to accept, the twins agreed to the request and headed out, the nun leading the way to the church through the streets of the village.

"So, Raven, going back to my suggestion that we splurge and get some good food for once...I'm hoping you've changed your stance on that?" Smirked Ravella, narrowing her eyes slightly at her brother.

"Fine, but just this once," He relented after a brief pause to mull it over.

"Awesome! Hm, but which restaurant should we go for? And what do we get? There's so many options, I can't choose...," She frowned as her brows furrowed.

"Well, we've got plenty of time to think it over," Shrugged Raven, as the church came into sight.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Hm? There sure have been a lot of these wanted posters being put up lately, huh?" Mused Ravella, as they walked past a wall plastered with posters of wanted criminals.

"I've noticed that too, and I've been seeing these ones all over the place," Replied Raven, nodding at a poster with four faces sketched on it.

"Huh, 'The Irregulars'...must be some new criminal group or something, I bet the Knights will capture them soon," Responded Ravella, before turning her attention ahead as they approached the entrance of the church.

A stiff breeze blew across as they walked towards the front doors, the sound of crows cawing echoing out as the doors opened. A slight shiver ran down Raven's spine as they entered the building, a bad feeling creeping up on him...

"Something doesn't feel right about this. Two platinum coins just for organizing some books? Regardless of how many books there are, that's a weirdly high payment. And come to think of it, when I asked what the job was, the nun's response seemed kinda suspicious. Yeah, something isn't right here...," Raven thought to himself as he began to feel disconcerted and uneasy.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Inquired the nun, as Raven paused and stopped just inside the entrance of the church.

"Uh, no, nothing's wrong...I was just feeling a bit lightheaded, so maybe we should do this tomorrow or something," He replied, doing his best to keep calm.

"Huh? You look fine to me, bro," Responded Ravella in confusion.

"I might be overthinking this, but...I just can't shake this feeling," Thought Raven, before speaking, "Look, there's no rush, and I wouldn't feel good about getting paid if I didn't do a proper job. So, you know, let's sleep on it and-..."

He abruptly trailed off as a pair of hooded figures suddenly swooped in behind him and his sister, his chest tightening with a sense of alarm and panic as he began to turn around, but he was too slow, as the hooded figure behind him struck the back of his neck, knocking him out.

"R-Raven? What...what do you think you're doing!? Get away from him-...!" Ravella began to snap, having failed to notice the hooded figure behind her, who then knocked her out as well.

"That was close...I don't know if he's sharp or just paranoid, but he was definitely unsettled and suspicious of me," The nun sighed in relief.

"It's a good thing his suspicions didn't arise while you were still walking through the village, we wouldn't have been able to intervene with so many people around," Remarked one of the Inquisitors, before they all turned their gazes ahead as footsteps echoed out, approaching them.

"It's about time, I've waited so long for this, and now, finally, the day has arrived. I even waited a full year longer than I'd originally intended, just to be safe...but the wait is over now," Chuckled Priest Opal, a wide smirk spreading out across his lips.

"So, will we use both of them in the ritual?" One of the Inquisitors asked him.

"That was what I'd originally planned, but no. It seems the Bishop in charge of the church in Malachite Town has grown suspicious of me, I need a way to make it seem like those suspicions are unfounded. Tch, that rotten bastard...I know that he harbors ambitions of rising up the ranks of the church as well, so he obviously sees me as a threat. I can't have him alerting the Cardinals, or worse, the Pope himself. If they decide to conduct an investigation of this church, everything I've worked so hard for will go up in smoke," Growled the Priest as he clenched his fists in frustration.

"So, then, what do we do? We've managed to keep the other Inquisitors at bay by telling them that we haven't seen anything suspicious that's worth reporting, but during my last encounter with those other Inquisitors, they seemed to be suspicious of me. So, I think you're right, Father Opal, Bishop Malachite probably intends to have an investigation of this church carried out sooner or later," Spoke up one of the Inquisitors.

"Yes, and that must be avoided at all costs. The fact that these twins are Royal bastards, we can use that...we should turn over one of them to the Malachite Town church, that should at least buy us some time. It's a waste of a perfectly good test subject, but so be it," He sighed reluctantly.

"Ah, of course...that should keep them occupied for some time. So, then, which one will we use and which one will we hand over to Malachite? The girl has more Magic Power, so maybe we should use her in the ritual?" Suggested the other Inquisitor.

"No, I think we should use the boy. Based on our previous attempts with the Homunculus ritual, it seems like men last a lot longer than women, which could mean that it has a higher likelihood of succeed with a male. Alright, take the girl to Malachite Town right away, meanwhile, we'll get started on the ritual using the boy. Take him to the basement and begin preparations right away," Instructed the Priest, the Inquisitors immediately carrying out his commands without hesitation.

The Homunculus Ritual, one of the most dangerous and powerful Spells ever created during the Age of Ancient Magic.

Since the documents were so old, some of the pages were too worn out to read, but the pages detailing the actual process of the ritual were still intact, at least enough to be just barely readable.

And since the Magic language used in the text and formulation of Ancient Magic went extinct centuries ago, no one alive today could understand the Magical text and formulas detailed in the documents, but by simply copying the formulas' text, they can still make it work, even if they don't understand anything about it.

The Homunculus Ritual requires a pit filled with fresh Monster corpses, with dozens of lines of the Magical text in the documents inscribed around the edges of the pit.

Furthermore, the ritual requires a live human body to serve as the vessel, as well as the Core of a Monster implanted into the vessel's body. They pages of the document detailing the results were too worn out to read, but a few lines stating that the end result would create a creature that's the ultimate weapon were still legible.

The Inquisitors had already gathered the required number of Monster corpses the previous night, they dragged Raven into the basement where the ritual was to be conducted.

There, they cut open his chest and jammed a Monster Core into the cavity, before strapping an Enslavement Collar around his neck to ensure that he would be under the control of Priest Dietre Opal if and when the ritual succeeds.

They then used chains to tie up his body, before tossing him into the pit, right as he began to regain consciousness...

"Huh...? Where...where am I? Weird, I...I can't move. And m-my chest, i-it really hurts for some reason-...," He thought to himself, before his thoughts cut off as he opened his eyes and got a look at his surroundings, his eyes widening in horror as he caught sight of dozens of dead Monsters laying all around him, his voice cracking and trembling as he blurted out, "Where am I!? What is this!?"

"Alright, let's get this thing started. We need the vessel's blood to flow into the pit, so do that and then activate the Magic formulae," Instructed the Priest, his tone eerily upbeat and cheerful.

"What the hell are you doing to me!? Where's my sister!? Tell me, you bastards! Let me go, now!" Snapped Raven, desperately struggling to try and break free of the chains binding him, but to no avail, his body stiffening up in pain as he aggravated the cavity in the middle of his chest, the Monster Core firmly lodged in.

"The Core of the extinct Plasma Dragon, one of the most fearsome beasts to ever roam the continent...yes, if this works, it should produce quite the powerful weapon," Chuckled the Priest, as one of the Inquisitors with a jagged scar on his right hand picked up a spear and walked towards the pit, raising it as he loomed over Raven.

"G-get away from me...! What the hell did you do to my sister!? Where is she!? I'll kill you....I'll fucking kill you, you hear me-...arghh!" Yelled Raven in a rage, before gasping sharply in pain as the Inquisitor plunged the spear into his stomach and swung it across, slicing his gut open, blood gushing out as Raven cried out in agony.

"Just be quiet, there's nothing you can do to get out of this. Hm, I think I might have cut too deep, he's bleeding a lot," Mused the Inquisitor.

"It's fine, he won't die for a few minutes, at least. So long as he lasts long enough to complete the ritual, that's all that matters. Hurry up and activate it before he loses too much more blood," Called out the Priest, the Inquisitor nodding affirmatively as he hopped out of the pit and knelt down, placing his hand on the Magical formulae and running his Mana into it.

The text inscribed all across the edge of the pit began to glow, an excruciating scream of pain ringing out from Raven as his body sharply seized up, immense agony flowing through his entire body as his blood poured out and seeped in between the Monster corpses below him, the Monster Core in the middle of his chest growing brighter and brighter with a dark purple hue.

"Good, good, his body is showing no signs of rupturing so far, this is most promising," Chuckled the Priest with a gleam in his eyes, before glancing at the Inquisitor who'd cut open Raven's stomach, "You, go back up and guard the entrance. Make sure no one comes down here, understood?"

"Yes, of course, Father Opal," He nodded before heading up the stairs without delay.

"It's just a matter of minutes...in just a matter of minutes, I shall finally have the ultimate weapon in my grasp, a Homuncul-...damn, he's loud," Frowned the Priest disdainfully, as Raven's agonized, blood-curdling screams echoed across the space, his body violently writhing and spasming excruciatingly...