Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"I'm picking up a lot of familiar scents, pretty sure we're getting close now," Remarked Raven, as he sniffed the air.

"Yeah, I do recognize a lot of what's around us right now, the grove where our hideout is shouldn't be much farther ahead," Nodded Celia, looking around at the familiar sights.

"I should familiarize myself better with this area, I'd probably struggle to find the hideout by myself," Replied Raven with a sigh, glancing up at the darkening dusk sky.

It was the next day, late in the evening. After waking up and having something to eat, the pair began making their way back to the hideout.

Raven used his senses to avoid any Monster encounters to save time and energy, so they made it back a couple hours sooner than they'd expected.

"I can't wait to get back, I really need a proper shower...bathing in lakes and streams really sucks, I couldn't relax with the lack of privacy, not to mention the possibility that a Monster might suddenly attack," Celia sighed wistfully.

"I know what you mean...even though I heightened my senses to their limits in order to be able to detect any Monsters well in advance, I still felt really vulnerable and paranoid when bathing out in the open," Replied Raven with a nod.

"Exactly! Even though you confirmed each time that there weren't any Monsters in the water, I couldn't help but feel nervous about one suddenly popping out and attacking me," Responded Celia wryly, before perking up and adding, "Oh, looks like we're almost there! The grove should be just beyond those trees over there, let's-..."

"No, wait," Raven interrupted her as he grabbed her arm with a grimace, before continuing, "This is bad...I'm sensing several Mana signatures up ahead, around where the hideout is. They're not Monsters, they're human...and none of their scents are familiar to me."

"What? Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me," Groaned Celia, as the pair ducked behind a row of bushes.

"I wish I was...but there's no mistaking it, looks like our hideout has been discovered, the enemy's located us."

"How many of them are there?" Inquired Celia warily.

"Thirty in total...most of the Mana signatures aren't particularly strong but they aren't weak either. But there's one that's really strong...it's not as refined as the Knight Commander's, but I think it's even bigger than hers was," Raven informed her with a grimace.

"Wait, what? From what I've heard, the Commander's Magic Power is the highest recorded in the last century, not counting yours, of course...if what you say is really true, then it looks like someone's broken that record. In which case, it's probably the Knights...I can't imagine that someone with that much Magic Power would join the Inquisitors over the Knights," Responded Celia with a frown.

"At any rate, with their numbers, I think we're better off retreating. It's too risky to fight them," Pointed out Raven.

"Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. Let's get out of here," Replied Celia with a nod, before the two of them began to head back the way they came from.

"It's a bit strange though...at this point, the Knights should have a decent idea of how strong we are. And they would've had no way of knowing that all six of us would be away from the hideout right now...with that in mind, sending just thirty of them to fight us seems a bit too low. At the very least, you'd think they'd have sent some of their strongest fighters, the Captains and Vice-Captains. But only that one Mana signature I mentioned feels strong enough to-...hm? What the-...they're on the move, heading right for us!" Noticed Raven in alarm, as he sensed the Mana signatures moving in towards them briskly.

"They must have a Detection Mage among them...what do we do?" Responded Celia with a grimace.

"Looks like we have no choice but to fight...they're here," Frowned Raven, fully transforming right as several figured in hooded cloaks came into sight, rapidly spreading out and surrounding the pair in a matter of seconds.

"Huh? Inquisitors?" Blurted out Celia in surprise, before Raven unleashed a blast of purple flames towards the Inquisitors surrounding them to the left, forcing them to scatter.

He then quickly grabbed Celia and flew up as a barrage of Spells came shooting in towards them from several directions, converging in and colliding against each other as the pair evaded the volley of Spells.

"Let's break up their formation and then attack!" Declared Raven, whipping his head across as he fired out his beams, the Inquisitors scattering as a couple of cries of pain rang out, the beams hitting two of them and killing them as they sliced right through their bodies.

Celia then fired off several Explosion Spells at the ground, a chain of intense explosions erupting as her projectiles peppered the area, forcing the Inquisitors to fan out further.

"Throw me down at one of them!" Exclaimed Celia, before clenching her fists as Raven flung her towards an Inquisitor below, who quickly took aim and fired out a blast of water towards her.

Celia raised her left arm, blocking the blast with her gauntlet, before driving her right fist down as she closed in on the Inquisitor, who began to try and back away in alarm, but was too slow to react.

Celia slammed her fist onto the middle of his mask, shattering it to pieces upon impact as a spray of blood burst out, her strike severely breaking the Inquisitor's nose and eliciting a sharp gasp of pain from him.

She then swiftly reached out and grabbed his collar as her feet hit the ground, yanking him towards her as slammed her fist against the left side of his jaw, a loud crunch echoing out as his head sharply jerked across to the right, breaking his neck.

"[Exploding Fists]!" She swiftly chanted and spun around as a couple more Inquisitors sprang up behind her.

She ducked as one of them, a Dual Blader, slashed at her head with a blade coated in swirling wind, severing a couple of strands of hair as she narrowly evaded the slash, before she swiftly slammed her left fist onto his stomach.

A fierce explosion burst out upon impact as her left gauntlet simultaneously magnified the impact of her strike, blood gushing out of the bottom of the Inquisitor's mask as a wheezing gasp of pain rang out, his internal organs devastated by Celia's explosive strike, courtesy of her newest Spell, Exploding Fists.

As the name suggests, the Spell charges her fists with explosive energy, which releases upon impact...and with that impact further magnified by her gauntlets, her strikes temporarily surpassed Raven's in terms of sheer power.

She then quickly turned across and crossed her arms in front of herself as the other Inquisitor fired out a rapid bolt of lightning at her, blocking the attack as the bolt struck her gauntlets, before the Inquisitor drew out a curved dagger and shot towards her.

She swiftly tilted her upper body back as he closed in and slashed at her throat with the dagger, before whipping her right fist across and striking his wrist as the tip of the dagger whizzed past the front of her neck, an intense explosion bursting out as her fist struck his wrist.

He let out a stifled yell of pain as she shattered his wrist upon impact, his dagger falling out of his grasp and hitting the ground with a thud as Celia drew back both her fists before thrusting them forward in unison, slamming them against the Inquisitor's chest and caving in his ribcage as explosions burst out upon impact, killing him instantly as the broken ribs punctured his heart and lungs.

"Is that really the best you assholes can do? I haven't even broken a sweat," She taunted, as four Inquisitors surrounded her.

A sharp crackle of lightning rang out several meters away as Raven grabbed an Inquisitor by the neck before unleashing a burst of lightning from his hand, frying the Inquisitor's throat before tossing him away and zipping towards another one, who sprang back and charged up a swirling sphere of flames.

The Inquisitor's eyes widened in disbelief as he sent the fireball shooting towards Raven, who didn't bother dodging, flying straight into it and charging forward as the flames dispersed upon hitting him.

The Inquisitor drew out a couple of poison-laced daggers and flung them at Raven as he began to close in, before Raven swiftly opened his mouth and let out a powerful roar, blowing the daggers away before he extended out his claws and thrust his arm forward, his claws plunging into the Inquisitor's chest before he could react and bursting out his back.

As blood poured out of the Inquisitor's mouth, he suddenly grabbed Raven's arm, right as a whip came slicing through the air towards him from his left.

Raven quickly swung the dying Inquisitor off his feet and raised him up as the whip closed in, the weapon striking the Inquisitor's back with a loud smack as Raven used him as a shield, before prying his arm free of the Inquisitor's grasp and pulling his claws back out.

He tossed the body away as blood poured out of the holes through his body, as Raven turned his attention to the wielder of the whip, the one whose Mana signature he'd taken note of earlier.

"This one's strong, I won't be able to take him down as easily-...wait, I think that's a 'her', not a 'him'. Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter," Raven thought to himself as he eyed her warily.

The Inquisitor pulled back her whip, before raising her right hand towards Raven, a blinding flash of light bursting out and stunning him, before he quickly spread out his wings and took off into the air as his eyes were forced shut.

Before he could gain enough altitude, he came to an abrupt halt as the Inquisitor swung her whip up towards her, which struck his left leg and wrapped around it.

She then pulled on the whip with a powerful tug, pulling Raven down before he quickly slashed at the whip with his claws, cutting through it and freeing his leg of its grasp, before he stained his eyes open, right as a piercing light projectile came shooting up towards him with immense speed.

He quickly tilted his body across in midair, the projectile narrowly missing before he zipped across the air as a barrage of light projectiles came shooting towards him, a few grazing him as he weaved through the air as fast as he could.

He then opened his mouth and unleashed a sonic screech towards his opponent, who fired off bursts of light from the soles of her feet to launch herself back and out of the way of the incoming wave of noise, evading it before leaping off to her left as Raven fired his beams at her.

He rapidly shot towards her, swooping down as he closed in and extending out his claws, secreting and coating them in his venom.

The Inquisitor sprang back and cracked her whip across at him as he swung his claws at her.

The whip struck the middle of his chest as his claws grazed her right shoulder, tearing through her robes and nicking her skin, as the whip inflicted a shallow cut across his chest.

He then quickly reached out and grabbed the whip before she could pull it back, yanking on it with all his strength, launching her off her feet and pulling her in towards him rapidly.

He grabbed her by the neck as she got within his reach, pulling her whip out of her grasp and tossing it away before driving his claws towards her face.

She quickly tilted her body across as she tried to pry his hand off her neck, his claws striking the side of her mask, deep cracks spreading out before she snapped her head forward, slamming the top of her mask against Raven's forehead and dazing him slightly, deep scratches appearing across the side of her neck as she broke free of Raven's grasp as his grip weakened.

The cracks on her mask deepened as she backed away and took out a Spell Card, the scratches on her neck and shoulder disappearing as she activated it.

"You're pretty tough, but I'm still stronger than you...now that I've seen what you're capable of, I-...," Began Raven, before trailing off as her mask broke apart, the cracks spreading and overlapping before the mask fell to pieces, Raven's eyes widening in shock as he stuttered, "I-is...is that you? Is that really you...Ravella?"

"..."

She didn't respond, simply staring back at him blankly, without a trace of emotion in her eyes or expression.

"H-hey, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Said Raven as tears welled up his eyes, his voice cracking as he added, "I-it's me...it's Raven, your brother. I-I know I look a lot different, b-but it's really me. I-I've...I've been looking for you, I'm so glad that you're-..."

Before he could finish, Ravella shot forward and unleashed a slashing wave of light, hitting Raven's neck and inflicting a shallow cut across it, before she slammed her palm against the middle of his torso as she closed in and chanted...

"[Light Ray]."

A sharp gasp of pain rang out as she unleashed an intense, concentrated beam of light onto him at point-blank range, scorching through his scales and charring a chunk of the flesh below to ash, a sickening sizzle ringing out as wisps of smoke billowed out.

Raven collapsed onto his knees in agony, unable to think clearly, his mind a muddled mess...he was in a state of shock, the whiplash from the immense relief upon seeing his sister again to the distress of being attacked by her made his mind go blank.

There were no coherent thoughts, nothing but a jumbled mix of relief, confusion, guilt and pain...

"[Light Blade]," Chanted Ravella, a blade of light forming along her right hand as she approached Raven, raising the blade as she stepped in front of his, before she swung it in towards his neck.

Suddenly, she halted and sprang back as a rapid explosive projectile came shooting towards her, narrowly evading it before it hit the ground and exploded fiercely, chunks of dirt and grass flying out.

"Raven! Are you okay? Huh? Hey, snap out of it!" Exclaimed Celia as she rushed over and stepped out in front of him, grimacing as the remaining Inquisitors regrouped and surrounded them, narrowing her eyes at Ravella, "He's completely unresponsive, did that Inquisitor do something to him? Damn it, she'll pay for-...huh? Wait...her face, there's something...familiar about it. Hold on, the resemblance, don't tell me she's...? Oh...ohh, shit."

She then tensed up as the remaining Inquisitors began charging up Spells, taking aim at the pair from every direction.

"Damn it! What do I do? I don't think I can even hit half of them with my Explosion Magic before they launch their Spells, what should I-...!?"

"[Blood Mist]!"

"[Bone Arrow Scattershot]!"

A burst of crimson mist erupted around the area, right as several bone projectiles came shooting out towards the Inquisitors, cries of pain ringing out.

"The hell is going on here!?" Came Lexia's voice from behind the pair.

"Oh, thank goodness," Celia sighed in relief, before pulling Raven back onto his feet, a shellshocked look on his face.

With the blood mist blinding the Inquisitors, Colt raced across swiftly and silently, slitting the throats of a few of them before happening upon Ravella, sneaking up behind her and swinging his dagger across at the back of her neck.

His eyes widened in surprise as she suddenly ducked, evading his slash before spinning around, forming a swirling sphere of light in her right hand as she met his gaze.

He quickly extended out a blood tendril and wrapped it around her wrist as she began to fire the Spell, yanking her arm across right in the nick of time, the sphere of light shooting past his shoulder before he unleashed another Blood Mist Spell and retreated, heading towards the others.

He used his Blood Manipulation to clear the mist around them, to make sure they wouldn't mistakenly attack him, given the current tense, life or death situation they were in.

"Looks like we got here just in t-...hm? What's up with him?" He inquired as he noticed Raven's stunned expression, before his eyes widened as he got a look at the deep wound in the middle of his torso, "Holy shit, that looks painful...I wonder what it feels like to have such a severe injur-...?"

"There's no time for that! We need to go! Now!" Celia interrupted him with a sharp whisper, glaring at him.

"Okay, okay. Doesn't look like he's going to move on his own, so I'll drag him along. There's an opening that way, we'll retreat through that gap...use your explosions to keep them from following us, little sis. Lexia, cover her," Instructed Colt, grabbing Raven's arm as the four of them began to make their retreat...