Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"This doesn't bode well...he's about to do something, I'm getting a very bad feeling about this. He said something earlier about his 'current form', which likely means-...I can't let him do whatever he's about to do, I have to end this, quickly!" Paragon thought to himself, before rushing in towards Raven.

He suddenly got pushed back through the air as an intense burst of energy erupted around Raven, who began to transform. The leaves across the surrounding trees rustled as a fierce gust of wind erupted out, a wave of heat flowing over the area as a fiery purple glow surrounded Raven.

His jaws extended forward as his hair stood up on end, intense streaks of purple lightning crackling around him as the air surrounding him shimmered intensely, the purple pattern across his scales glowing brightly.

Paragon tensed as he met Raven's gaze, instinctively shrinking back, before he gritted his teeth and shot towards Raven at full speed, drawing back his fist and driving it forward with all his strength as he closed in.

His eyes widened in disbelief as Raven raised his right hand and blunted the strike, not budging so much as a millimeter as Paragon's fist slammed against his palm, a powerful shockwave bursting out upon impact.

The ground surrounding them got torn apart as chunks of dirt and grass flew out all around them, clouds of dust billowing out as Paragon grimaced, before pulling his fists back and tensing his arms, drawing out all the strength he could muster.

He then unfurled a fierce barrage of relentless strikes, swinging his fists endlessly, but Raven blocked all of them. The trees below rustled loudly as a chain of shockwaves burst out with every exchange, Paragon straining himself to his limits to try and break through Raven's defense, but to no avail.

Suddenly, Raven whipped his left arm across, slashing his opponent's right wrist with his claws, blood pouring out before he raised his right hand and caught Paragon's fist as he swung a punch in towards him, the thrust of his fist coming to an abrupt halt.

Paragon stiffened as Raven clamped his hand around his fist, before quickly wrenching free and flying back as Raven began to tighten his grip. Beads of sweat ran down his face as he shakily caught his breath, his blood running cold.

"Th-That was-...it felt like he could've crushed my hand like it was nothing. That was everything I've got, my full speed and power, and he brushed it off with such...such ease. I've never faced anything that made me feel this helpless before, he's on a completely different level. Just how much stronger is this form?"

"Sorry, but this fight is as good as over now. Since you haven't been trying to kill me, I'll try not to kill you...but it isn't easy to hold back in this form, so brace yourself," Remarked Raven, as lightning crackled around him.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the playing field...

"Do you really think he can handle it? I couldn't really tell how strong that person who showed up is, but he certainly seemed incredibly fast," Remarked Kora, as the group came to a stop in a small clearing within a dense grove of trees.

"He'll be fine...at least, I hope. Because if there's someone here who can beat him when he's at full power, we don't stand a chance, to be frank," Aster sighed wistfully.

"I hate to admit it, but that's true," Nodded Jules with a grimace.

"In that case, let's hope that he-...," Began Wistari, before abruptly trailing off as a figure suddenly teleported behind Aster with an axe, swinging it across at the glass ball.

"What?!" She blurted out as her axe slammed against the force field Aster had put up around the ball, right as she got blown away by a powerful telekinetic burst, before a barrage of flames and lightning came shooting towards her.

She quickly teleported across to evade the attacks, a loud crash ringing out as they converged and collided against the spot where she'd been standing, before her gaze shifted across to the left as Wistari came charging in, lightning crackling around her dual blades.

Wistari leapt forward with immense speed as she closed in, whipping her blades in towards the Teleporter, who quickly teleported away, vanishing from sight.

She let out a sharp cry as a telekinetic blast struck her the instant she reappeared, sending her skidding across the ground before coming to a sliding halt across the dirt.

She quickly scrambled back onto her feet and leapt out of the way as a rapid, slashing wave of flames came shooting towards her, scorching the ground as she just barely avoided it and teleported again, reappearing to Aster's right and swinging her axe at the glass ball again.

Her eyes widened as her axe came to an abrupt halt in midair, stuck in place, the blade suddenly cracking deeply before shattering into pieces.

She let go of the handle and backed away as Aster began to take a step towards her, teleporting across before quickly getting low as Wistari fired out a crackling bolt of lightning towards her, whizzing past the top of her head as she narrowly avoided it.

She teleported again as Jules unleashed a roaring wave of flames towards her, before her eyes widened in alarm as Kora zipped in towards her the instant she reappeared, intense lightning crackling around her entire body, her hair standing up on end.

She let out a snarl as she leapt forward and swung her claws across at the Teleporter's stomach, who shuffled across to her left as fast as she could, letting out a sharp scream of pain as Kora gouged out a chunk of her flesh around her right side, the lightning searing the wound shut.

Suddenly, she found herself getting pulled through the air rapidly as Aster raised his right hand in her direction, drawing out his white blade with his left hand and stepping forward as she closed in on him.

He began to swing the blade across at her as she got within its reach, before she suddenly vanished from sight as she teleported again, stiffening as Wistari shot forward and sprang up behind her.

The Teleporter spun around in alarm and sprang back as fast as she could as Wistari swung her blade down and across, a pair of shallow, diagonal cuts appearing down the Teleporter's shoulders as the tips of Wistari's blades nicked her skin.

She shakily teleported away, before her eye widened as a rapid, swirling blast of flames came shooting towards her. She sprinted back as fast as she could, before teleported right as the flames closed in on her, avoiding it by the barest of margin before she leapt back in alarm as Kora sprang in from her left, a shallow gash appearing across the middle of her stomach as Kora slashed at her with her claws.

"D-Damn it...," The Teleporter uttered, stealing a glance at the glass ball with a grimace, before suddenly vanishing from sight with a look of resignation on her face.

"Looks like she retreated," Remarked Wistari, as a few seconds passed, before sheathing her blades and letting out a slow, quiet exhale.

"Yeah, not gonna lie, that kinda felt like bullying, with how helpless she was against us. Teleporters are tricky to deal with, but the more numbers you have against one, the easier it gets. And between the four of us, she didn't have a moment of respite," Replied Aster, as he stretched his arms up.

"It seemed like she needed about a couple of seconds before she could teleport again, which gave us just about enough time to land some hits. If that had dragged on much longer, she probably would have died. She must have realized that and decided to retreat," Surmised Kora, as the lightning around her faded.

"So, what should we do now? Continue with the same plan and find a place to hide?" Inquired Wistari uncertainly.

"We've already been found by two enemies, and the competition has only just begun. We don't know what kind of abilities the other teams possess, there could be some with detection abilities that would make hiding pointless. Then, maybe our best option is to simply keep moving?" Suggested Jules.

"What about Raven? Think we should try and meet back up with him? His senses would be really useful to have around, it'll be almost impossible to catch us off-guard if he's with us," Pointed out Aster.

"That's a good point. But ending this as quickly as possible just might be the way to go instead. The longer the competition drags on for, the more risk we're exposed to. I suppose we may we well take a bit of time to consider our options. Let's stay on high alert though, another attack could come at a moment's notice," Remarked Jules, as she glanced around warily.