Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"Here we are, Amber Village...doesn't look like we're going to have any trouble sneaking into the plac," Remarked Lexia, as she and Colt approached the outskirts of the village.

It was late at night now, a little past 11 PM. After crossing the Apatite River, the pair covered the remaining distance on foot, and now, they had finally reached their destination.

"Yeah...it'll be hard to attack the church without blowing our cover, so let's save that for last. Before that, let's target the Nobles in charge of the village...they may not have been directly involved in the suffering Celia and I endured, but even before we awakened our Irregular Magic, the heavy taxes and prejudice instigated by those Nobles made our lives harder. So, we'll kill them first," Declared Colt, as they approached the village.

"There are two Noble houses in charge of this village, right?"

"Yeah...they're both Baron houses, the lowest Noble rank. And the current heads of both houses are the same ones who were in charge when Celia and I lived here. Baroness Kay Amber and Baron Firth Petalite," Replied Colt with a grimace.

"Well, they're both on our list of targets, so I have no objections to killing them. I looked over the most recent bits of information that Aster and Tacitus had gathered regarding Amber Village and our targets that reside here...the heads of both Noble houses currently live alone, not counting their servants. Their families moved to the cities, the heads are only still living here because they're obligated to do so," Remarked Lexia, as they entered the village.

"Good, then they'll die alone."

"Right...hm, there are more people around that I thought there'd be. It isn't exactly bustling, but it isn't totally deserted either," Mused Lexia quietly as the pair made their way through the alleys, noticing a few people walking through the streets.

"Probably because there are less Knights here now...the Knight Order have concentrated their forces into the more populated areas; the cities and some of the towns. The villages have always been afforded less protection, now even less so than they used to be. There's only one Knight here that we should regard as a real threat...Mord Plore, a First-Class Knight of the Third Squad," Replied Colt, leading the way since he was a lot more familiar with the area.

"Plore? Then he's a relative of the Third Squad's Captain and the woman you fought in Garnet City?"

"Yeah, he's the Captain's cousin, and Junne Plore's older brother. And like them, he's known to oppress and torment Commoners. So if we run into him, we'll kill him."

"Sure, sounds good."

The pair continued stealthily making their way through the village, sticking to the dark, shadowy alleys to avoid being noticed.

They didn't catch sight of any Knights, before passing by a loud, noisy bar, surmising that the Knights were probably in there getting wasted.

"Hm...maybe we can kill them all before we leave. Nearly all the Knights in the Third Squad are targets, and they're sure to be severely drunk...it'll be easy to slaughter them all in that state," Pointed out Lexia.

"We'll see how it goes...if we successfully assassinate the heads of the Noble houses in charge of the village, as well as the Priest in charge of the village's church, we can consider going after any other targets in the village. Alright, here we are...that's Baron Petalite's mansion. I'll leave him to you, while I go after Baroness Amber," Remarked Colt, as a large mansion came into sight.

"We're splitting up, huh? Well, that's fine with me, security is pretty lax in this village, I only see one Knight standing guard. Plus, it's pretty dark out, I shouldn't have any trouble sneaking into the mansion without being noticed," She replied quietly.

"Alright, then, I'll leave you to it...we'll meet back up near the church," Nodded Colt, before slinking back into the shadows and leaving.

"Seriously, he's like a completely different person...it's too bad this might be the first and last time I see him like this," Lexia thought to herself, as she turned her attention towards the mansion...

Meanwhile, Colt continued making his way through the alleys, heading for the residence of Baroness Kay Amber. He'd decided to go after her because her mansion was closer to the church than the mansion Lexia was targeting...he was intent on ending this as quickly as possible so that he could go after his real target, the Priest in charge of the Amber Village church.

However, he was also determined to not be reckless...the last thing he wanted was to end up blowing his cover and potentially lose his opportunity for revenge.

It wasn't long before the Baroness's mansion came into sight, and just like the other mansion, it only had one guard posted outside the front gates, who had dozed off and was leaning against the wall.

Colt went around the fence before climbing it as he got to the back, quietly dropping down onto the grassy backyard before making his way towards the mansion.

He stopped in front of a window, giving it a push but it didn't budge...he then extended out a tendril of blood, slipping it through the crack at the bottom of the window and unlatching it from the inside.

He then started to push the window open, before pausing as a slight creak echoed out...he then extended out more blood and squeezed it into the hinges to moisturize the creaky spots, before pushing up on the window again, which silently slid open.

He climbed into the building, waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, before looking around to make sure the coast was clear.

"Looks like I'm in the living room...it's really quiet, have all the staff already gone to sleep?"

Most of the lights in the mansion were switched off, and as Colt made his way out of the living room and into a corridor, he noticed a light coming from a doorway a few meters to his left.

He quietly made his way over there and peered in, spotting a maid mopping the floor, her back turned to him...he then slunk into the room, sneaking up behind the maid before placing his left hand over her hand and mouth, a startled, muffled cry ringing out before she went quiet as he lightly pressed his dagger against the side of her neck.

"Don't make a sound, I'm not going to hurt you...answer my questions and I won't so much as scratch you. Understood?" He whispered quietly.

"Mhm," She nodded immediately, trembling in fear.

He felt bad for scaring her like this, but he didn't want to have to blindly search through the entire mansion for his target.

"First, how many other servants are employed here? Answer quietly."

"N-nine...six maids including me, t-two butlers a-and a gardener."

"Are you the only one who's awake? Or are there others who would be up right now too?"

"I-it's just me, the others h-have already turned in for the night."

"I see...any combatants among the staff, yourself included?"

"N-no, I can't fight...one of the butlers c-can though, and so can two o-of the other maids."

"How strong are they?"

"I-I don't know, but I'm pretty sure they're not as strong as the Knight on guard duty, at least."

"Hm, if I'm not mistaken, that guard was a Third-Class Knight, and if there isn't anyone in the staff stronger than that, I shouldn't have anything to worry about. Still, I shouldn't let my guard down, there's no guarantee than she's telling the truth," Colt thought to himself, before asking her, "Now, for my main question...where's the Baroness right now?"

"Sh-she's in the basement...that's why I'm still awake, t-to clean the basement after she's done down there."

"Done with what?" Frowned Colt, though he already had an idea of what the answer was.

"She...she takes Commoners captive and t-tortures them," She responded quietly, a bitter look on her face as she clutched her right arm, Colt catching on to the slight motion.

"Roll up your sleeve."

"Huh? But I-...o-okay," She nodded, tugging her sleeve up, revealing several deep scars.

"I see, then you're a victim too. Tell me, if I said that I was here to kill her, how would you feel?" He inquired, a glimmer of light appearing in her dulled eyes almost instantly.

"R-really? That...that sounds too good to be true..."

"Alright, then...show me where the basement is. Sorry about holding you at knife point, but I can't afford to trust you...you have no reason to worry though, so long as you cooperate. I'll leave as soon as she's dead, I won't hurt so much as a single hair on your head," He assured her.

"So long as that vile bitch dies, it doesn't matter...you could gouge out my eyes for all I care," She responded as she clenched her fists.

"Uh, no, that's okay, I won't be doing that...just show me the way to the basement."

Colt then followed behind the maid as she led the way, holding his dagger up to the back of her neck...he wasn't particularly suspicious of her anymore, but he hadn't completely ruled out the possibility that she was tricking him either.

"The emotions in her last few responses seemed genuine, it's unlikely that she's trying to deceive me...but I shouldn't let my guard down, best if I err on the side of caution."

The maid then led him into a study, a room filled with bookshelves and a large desk at the back by the window. And in the middle of the room was a large carpet that had been pulled up, revealing a trapdoor.

"She's down here," Said the maid, as Colt narrowed his eyes at the door...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the village...

"Okay, slow and steady...I've managed to sneak in undetected, but there are a lot of staff members still up and about. I need to get up the stairs, but there's nowhere to hide if someone happens to walk by before I reach the top. I need to make sure the coast is clear," Lexia thought to herself, before spotting a maid walking by and getting an idea.

The maid was holding a bucket of cleaning supplies, heading for a bathroom. Lexia took note of the fact that the maid was of a similar height and build to her own.

She'd earlier seen a maid taking a cup of tea up the stairs, indicating that her target was on the upper floor of the mansion.

She then looked around to make sure no one else was around, before swiftly and silently following after the maid.

As the maid began to shut the bathroom door, Lexia swiftly grabbed the edge of the door and pulled it open, before quickly reaching out and clamping her right hand over the maid's mouth before she could make a sound, a muffled cry ringing out.

She then entered the bathroom and shut the door, extending out a bone club from her left hand and swinging it across as the maid frantically began to try and pry Lexia's hand off her mouth, a thunk echoing out as the club struck the side of the maid's head, knocking her out.

Lexia caught her before she could fall, setting her down on the floor before she got to work on undressing the unconscious maid.

She then put on the maid's clothes, in an attempt to disguise herself and move freely through the mansion.

"Not bad, it fits well even though I'm wearing it over my own clothes...hm, it's a bit tight around the chest, but that's fine," Lexia muttered to herself, before taking a bottle of liquid sedative out of her Storage Ring and pouring a bit of it into the maid's mouth, to make sure she wouldn't regain consciousness too soon.

She then opened the bathroom door and took the key out from the inside, glancing around the corridor before stepping out and shutting the door behind her, taking another look around before locking the door and slipping the key into the pocket of the maid outfit she'd put on.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, composing herself before calmly strolling towards the staircase, making her way up nonchalantly.

She glanced around as she reached the top of the stairs, stepping out of sight of the floor below, just in case, after making sure the coast was clear on the upper floor.

"Good, I don't see any staff members up here. Now, I just need to figure out which door leads to the Baron's room and-...oh, never mind, that has to be it," She thought to herself, as she spotted a doorway at the end of the corridor, the doorframe gilded with gold and jewels.

She quietly made her way over to the doorway, before peering through the keyhole as she reached the door.

A slight smirk spread out across her lips as she got a look inside, spotting a man seated on an armchair in the room, reading a book.

"Looks like I've found my target," She smirked, before composing herself and standing upright, raising her hand and knocking on the door.

"Tch, I thought I said not to bother me for the rest of the night! What is it!?"

"I beg your pardon, my Lord, but there's an important matter than I must bring to your attention immediately, it is quite urgent."

"Huh? What the hell could it be, this late at night? Fine, come on it and tell me what's going on...be quick about it," Came the irritated response from inside the room.

"Yes, of course, my Lord...don't worry, this won't take very long at all..."