Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"You sure this is the best plan? It seems pretty risky," Frowned Aster skeptically, as he hid down between a row of bushes.

"Yes, it certainly is. But I think being proactive is worth a shot. You stay here and hide, keep the ball safe. Meanwhile, the rest of us will split up and deal with the other teams. Moving as a group has risks of its own, it'll be easier for our opponents to find us, for one thing. And if an incredibly powerful one finds us and eliminates us all in one go, that'll be that. No matter what approach we go with, we can't be completely free of risk," Reasoned Jules objectively.

"True, and even if the rest of us get eliminated, so long as the glass ball is safe, we're still in this. If we all hid in the same spot, we're more likely to be found than if just one of us was hiding," Nodded Kora in agreement.

"I must admit, I don't feel too certain about this approach. However, I do see the logic of your arguments, so I shall agree to it as well," Spoke up Wistari.

"Alright, then, guess it's settled. You guys split up and deal with the other teams, while I hide out here and protect the glass ball," Replied Aster with a thumbs up.

"Hm, maybe we should have picked Akila for this, he probably would have been able to turn the ball intangible. No, Aster is more reliable, so I think that was the right choice. Celia is another option I would have liked to have...she's one of the most effective players in the capture the flag training exercises, excluding her from this may have been an oversight," Jules thought to herself with a grimace, before shaking her head, "No, there's no sense in dwelling on what-ifs, it's too late to change anything, we need to deal with situation as it is."

"Very well, then, we shall be counting on you to protect it," Replied Wistari.

"And meanwhile, we'll do our best to intercept and eliminate any opponents we come across, before they have a chance to make it here," Added Kora, before she and Wistari headed off.

"Good luck out there, Jules, try not to get hurt," Remarked Aster, as Jules began to leave too.

"Don't worry, I'll give it my utmost effort. You too...stay safe."

Meanwhile...

"Damn it...!" Exclaimed Paragon as Raven chased after him, before coming to an abrupt halt as Raven rapidly extended out a tendril, wrapping around his leg.

He began to try and break free, before letting out a stuttering cry of pain as lightning burst out around the tendril, electrocuting him.

Raven then hurled him down towards the ground with a sharp flick of the tendril, before swooping down as a deafening crash rang out as Paragon slammed onto the ground with a devastating impact, a dust cloud rising up as bits of dirt and grass flew out all around him.

He quickly scrambled back onto his feet and flew up as Raven closed in on him, his eyes widening as Raven unleashed pressurized bursts of flames to cancel out his downward momentum and launch himself towards Paragon, chasing after him.

Raven extended out several tendrils, eyes forming across them before glowing intensely as their surrounded Paragon, who quickly crossed his arms as a massive barrage of powerful beams burst out of the eyes, peppering him from every direction, several holes forming in his outfit as the beams pierced through the fabric and burnt his skin.

He let out a shaky exhale as the beams petered out, before stiffening with a sharp gasp as Raven unleashed a devastating sonic screech towards him, blood pouring out of his ears as the attack burst his eardrums.

He began to plummet with a disoriented look of his face, before gritting his teeth and biting his lower lip to regain his bearings as Raven swooped down towards him.

He shakily began to swing his right fist up as Raven closed in, before his arm got blown back as Raven unleashed a fierce blast of purple flames, singing Paragon's arm, before Raven balled his fists together and swung them down with immense force.

His fists slammed square onto the middle of his opponent's stomach, an agonized wheeze ringing out as he got sent hurtling down towards the ground at a breakneck speed, a powerful shockwave erupting as Paragon crashed against the ground with a devastating impact, the ground breaking apart as a massive crater formed around him.

The impact had rattled his bones, he was struggling to muster any strength as he shakily tried to get back up, coughing out blood as his vision blurred, before gasping sharply as Raven zipped down and landed on him, his foot slamming onto Paragon's stomach and digging in agonizingly.

"W-Well, shit...there's no way...I can...beat you...," He uttered shakily, slumping against the ground with a pained grimace.

"Yeah, you are strong, but not strong enough," Responded Raven, before unleashing a concentrated gust of tranquilizing poison from his mouth, which engulfed Paragon.

He let out an incoherent mutter as his eyelids fluttered, a drowsy look on his face as he struggled to stay conscious, before he went limp and slumped against the ground.

Raven got off him and knelt down, piercing the side of his arm with one of his claws and injecting more venom into him, to make sure that he'd stay unconscious.

"Okay, that should be enough to keep you conked out for a good while," Remarked Raven, letting out a slow exhale as he reverted back to his normal form, while thinking to himself, "What should I do? Find the others or keep fighting? It shouldn't be too hard to track them down by sniffing them out, but...maybe it'd be better if I attacked the other teams instead. The others are strong enough to take care of themselves, and if they do decide to split up, Aster's Telekinetic Zone should be enough to protect the glass ball. Alright, then, it's settled...I'll keep fighting."

Meanwhile, outside of the playing field...

"Huh, how interesting. They're the only ones who ended up here by accident, but so far, their team is performing the best. It really is fascinating, to see the different kinds of powers that exist across all these various worlds. Some worlds are fairly similar, while others couldn't be more different, the rules that apply to the powers of world vary in such an interesting way," Mused Kilzachs, as he watched the competition play out across several screens all around him.

He was up in his dimensional space, observing proceedings. This whole thing was being conducted to entertain him, after all, so there wouldn't be any point to it if he didn't watch it.

He'd placed each of the five teams in starting locations where they'd be fairly likely to run into one of the other teams relatively early in the competition, since he didn't want it to drag on for too long.

Things were in full swing by this point, there were several clashes taking place all throughout the playing field, a few of the participants had been eliminated, some of which had been killed.

Those who get knocked out are also eliminated, Kilzachs had placed a barrier around anyone who was unconscious, to keep them from being killed while passed out.

But even if they do regain consciousness while the competition is still going on, they won't be able to participate anymore.

"Their powers seem pretty straightforward, but that might make them even more powerful. The one protecting their team's glass ball has a pretty interesting power, it seems to be some kind of telekinesis. Based on their battle against that teleporter, it looks like his telekinesis can't be broken through with any ordinary level of force. But more than him, the guy with the scales is especially intriguing.

He definitely seems to be one of the strongest participants in the competition, there aren't too many others who can genuinely challenge him, I'd say only a couple or so are on his level. Fortunately, one of them is participating in this competition...I hope they clash, it should be pretty entertaining to watch," He said to himself, as he continued to watch the teams battle it out...