Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

Zilk shot towards Aster in a seething rage, driving his spear towards him with a fierce thrust as he closed in. Aster swiftly deflected the spear off to the right with his black blade, before whipping his white blade across at Zilk's chest.

Zilk quickly sprang back, grimacing as the blade sliced through his skin and left a shallow, horizontal cut across his chest, before he leapt off to his right as Tacitus sprang up behind him and swung his sword down, a loud crash ringing out as the large weapon slammed onto the ground, deep cracks spreading out from the point of impact as puffs of dust burst out.

His eyes then widened in alarm as Aster shot towards him and closed in, Zilk quickly raised his spear up defensively, before crying out in pain as Aster swiftly got low and inflicted a deep gash across Zilk's left hip, blood pouring out before he quickly turned across as Tacitus leapt towards him with his sword raised.

Zilk sprang back and lifted his spear up, Tacitus's blade slamming onto the middle of the handle and snapping it in two, before he slammed his foot onto the middle of Zilk's stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he let out a wheezing gasp of pain, before he got sent flying back, skidding along the ground painfully before coming to a screeching halt.

He shakily scrambled back onto his feet and stumbled back slightly, before taking aim and flinging the lower half of his broken spear at Tacitus like a javelin. Tactius swiftly swung his sword across, deflecting it away before swinging the flat of his blade at a rock by his feet, launching it towards Zilk rapidly.

Zilk managed to deflect the rock with a swing of his broken spear, before he quickly tilted his head across as Aster appeared to his left and slashed at his head with his white blade, yelling out in agony as the tip of the blade sliced through his left eye and blinded it.

Zilk gritted his teeth as blood poured out of his eyes and ran down the left side of his face, before letting out a gutteral roar as he drove his spear towards Aster's stomach with all the strength he could muster, despair gripping him as Aster knocked the broken weapon out of his hand with a swift flick of his black blade, before he leapt up and slammed his foot onto the middle of Zilk's face, breaking his nose and knocking him flat on his back before swiftly plunging both his blades into the middle of the Knight Captain's chest, eliciting a sharp yell of pain.

"N-no, not like this...," Zilk uttered weakly as blood poured out of his mouth and nostrils, before his body stiffened up sharply and shuddered in agony as Aster violently twisted his blades inside Zilk's chest.

"What a joke you turned out to be...if it weren't for your father's influence, I doubt you would've gotten promoted past First-Class. I mean, you're just so weak, especially for a Captain...I didn't even have to use my trump card this time. Heck, I didn't use any Magic at all.

Your worthless pride refused to let you acknowledge me as a genuine threat, even after how thoroughly I humiliated you last time...you knew I was stronger that you, but you couldn't bring yourself to accept that fact. And this is where that pride had led you, under the foot of one of those lowly Commoners you despise so much, completely at my mercy...and just so we're clear, I don't have a shred of mercy to spare on you. Alright, then...time to die," Remarked Aster, as he yanked his blades out of Zilk's chest before slicing open his throat with the black blade and stabbing through his forehead with the white blade, piercing his brain and killing him.

"Your personality really sucks, you know that? You always criticize Colt and Lexia when they let their sadism run wild, but you're really no better," Sighed Tacitus dryly, as he deactivated his Nullification Zone.

"Eh, whatever...I usually bottle in my spite and hatred as much as I can, I think it's reasonable for me to let those ugly emotions out every now and then, especially against a piece of shit like this guy was," Aster shrugged it off.

"Anyway, we've done what we came here to do, the Captain of the Third Squad is no more. Let's get out of here and wait for the others to-...," Began Tacitus, before trailing off as he and Aster suddenly leapt away in either direction, right as a loud crash rang out from where they'd been standing, a sharp burst of lightning erupting out as bits of dirt flew out from the point of impact, deep cracks spreading out across the ground as a cloud of dust burst out.

"It seems I got here too late. Tch...this is what happens when you give the position of Captain to an someone who's under-qualified," An exasperated sigh rang out, before a figure came into sight as the dust cloud cleared.

It was a man in his mid-twenties, with medium-length, combed back, yellowish blonde hair with the sides shaved off, light green eyes, a fair complexion, and was slightly above average height, with a strong, muscular build.

"Well, now, this is a surprise, I didn't imagine we'd see someone of your caliber in a place like this...First Squad Captain and Third Prince of the Kingdom of Persona, Rione Diamond," Remarked Aster with a wary grimace.

"Damn it, he's right between us, we can't regroup like this...I only had enough time to make three Teleport Spells this time, one for each pair. Which means, I can't use ours unless I'm in physical contact with Aster, we need to find an opening to get close to each other, but we can't afford to let our guards down against this guy, he's one of the strongest Knights in the entire Kingdom...and unlike Zilk Plore, he's more than strong enough to justify his rank as a Captain. If that wasn't enough, he isn't in our list of targets, so we need to escape without killing him...yeah, this is really bad," Tacitus thought to himself with a grimace.

"Those weapons, they're Relic Armaments, aren't they? As a fellow wielder of one of the thirteen Relic Armaments myself, I can tell," Mused Rione, as he glanced at the pair's weapons, before adding as he narrowed his eyes at Tacitus, "And it looks like you're a Pulverizer, same as I am."

He was holding a large hammer, with sparks of lightning crackling around the head of the weapon, before the sparks suddenly vanished as Tacitus activated his Nullification Zone Spell again.

Tacitus then shot towards him, leaping forward and swinging the flat of his sword down towards Rione, who swiftly whipped his hammer up, a deafening clang ringing out as the weapons collided against each other, before Tacitus quickly raised his left arm up defensively as Rione swung his right foot up, which slammed onto Tacitus's forearm and sent him stumbling back.

Rione then sprang up as Aster shot towards him from behind, before thrusting the head of his hammer straight down, slamming it onto the ground with immense force, breaking it apart as a powerful shockwave burst out, knocking Aster back.

"Hm, I see, one of you possesses Magic that prevents the use of other Magic. No matter...I have trained extensively with this weapon, Mjolnir, if you really think you can best me in a contest without the use of Magic, then by all means, be my guest," He stated with a gleam in his eyes, a smile spreading out across his face as he glanced around at the pair and swung his hammer across...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city...

"You realize you can't defeat us by just holing yourself up in your barrier, right?" Taunted Lexia with a smirk, as Junne desperately wracked her brain to try and come up with a way out of this.

"Let's test out how durable this thing is, shall we?" Chuckled Colt sadistically, unleashing his Blood Mist Spell as he shot towards the barrier and unleashed a slashing wave of blood, which splattered across the barrier and inflicted a shallow cut across it, which quickly repaired itself, "It seems her Spellcasting really has improved...she'd be a serious threat if she was backing up an Attack Mage, looks like she's finally strong enough to justify her rank as a First-Class Knight. That said, while her defense is solid, as a Support Mage, her offensive capabilities are too low to stand a chance against us."

Colt then zipped forward and drew out his dagger, driving it towards the barrier before his eyes widened in surprise as the blade struck the barrier...and broke right through, shattering the spot it collided with.

He then swiftly sprang back as her whip came shooting out of the opening he'd created, narrowly evading it before she pulled the whip back and repaired the hole in her barrier.

"Well, now...," Muttered Colt to himself, a smirk spreading out across his lips.

"Wh-what the hell was that!? What just happened!? How...how did he break through my barrier!? W-was it a fluke? Yes, that must be it! Y-yeah, my concentration must have wavered and weakened the barrier...I-I need to compose myself and focus, I just need to maintain this barrier for a while and I can get through this...!" Junne convinced herself, doing her best to stay calm as her heart pounded in her chest.

Suddenly, the blood mist surrounding her barrier sharply intensified as Colt unleashed the Spell again, before Junne felt a barrage of projectiles hitting the front of her barrier, each inflicting small amount of damage, which she quickly repaired.

"Damn it, why can't I break through again!?" Colt's voice rang out from outside the barrier, frustration in his tone as he peppered the front of her barrier with a volley of Blood Magic Spells.

"Okay, I-I was right, it really was a fluke! I can do this...I can survive this! I can-...!" Junne thought to herself with a rush of relief, relaxing and letting her guard down before she suddenly stiffened up, her train of thought abruptly cut off as she felt the back of her barrier shattering.

She quickly spun around as her chest tightened in panic, to see Lexia charging in towards her. Junne began to try and put a barrier wall in between them in a desperate rush, but in her frantic state, she was too slow in casting the Spell, as Lexia leapt forward with the dagger, Venom, in her hands, driving it forward and plunging it into the Knight's throat.

She let out a sharp gasp of pain as blood filled her mouth before pouring out, spasms erupting across her entire body as the blade pumped its poison into her, before Lexia pulled the blade out with a violent, sharp twist.

Blood gushed out of Junne's neck as she shakily stumbled back, clamping her hands over her throat in a desperate effort to try and stem the bleeding, but the wound was too deep.

She collapsed onto the ground while gasping and choking on her own blood, writhing around as she was unable to breathe, the poison from the dagger coursing through her body, bloody foam forming and spilling out of her mouth, her body convulsing violently before going limp as her eyes rolled back in her head.

The barrier faded as Colt's blood mist began to disperse, before he walked over towards Lexia, stretching his arms up with a content sigh.

"Alright, let's head back. Get the Teleport Spell and let's get out of here," He remarked with a grin, catching the dagger as Lexia tossed it back at him.

"Don't tell me what to do...I was about to take it out, but after you told me to, I suddenly don't want to," Responded Lexia dryly, before starting to reach into her pocket.

"Heh, it's funny how you say that while doing it anyw-...," Began Colt, before trailing off as he and Lexia quickly sprang back as a barrage of ice arrows came shooting down towards them from the top of a nearby building, the arrows hitting the ground and getting lodged into the dirt as the pair narrowly evaded the barrage...