Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"Good afternoon, Inquisitors of the Malachite Town branch of the Church of Persona, thank you for joining us today," Jules greeted the crowd in front of her as she glanced around at them.

"Yes, good afternoon, Commander Jules Diamond."

"We're honored that you would take the time to conduct this endeavor."

It had been over a year and a half, about nineteen months or so, since The Irregulars attacked Garnet City, and there had been no sign of them since then.

In addition to the teleportation network that had been set up to counter them, Jules had decided on another measure to ensure that they were better prepared to deal with The Irregulars.

And that was to train up the Inquisition Squad. Being mostly made up of Assassins, the Inquisitors weren't greatly suited for direct combat, as indicated by how The Irregulars had brushed them aside with relative ease each time they encountered them.

To deal with that issue, the Knights had been holding several joint training sessions with the Inquisitors in secret over the last few months.

Each church was asked to send the Inquisitors in their location to each of the major cities, excluding Garnet City, to train with the Captains of the First and Second Squad, and after that, the Inquisitors would go to the Capital to receive a final training session and instruction from the Commander Squad, while Inquisitors from other locations would temporarily be reassigned to that location to ensure that it wouldn't be left unprotected.

And today, it was the Inquisitors from Malachite Town who had been sent to the Capital, having completed their training sessions with the Captains of the First and Second Squads...

"I can't help but feel uneasy...we've been able to conduct these secret training sessions completely uninterrupted, and that just doesn't feel right, things have been going way too smoothly. I don't understand, why haven't The Irregulars made a move in so long? Are they gearing up to carry out an undertaking on a larger scale?" Wondered Jules warily, before turning her focus back to the Inquisitors and began giving them instructions to begin the training session.

She had them form groups of five, with each individual in each group taking turns sparring four-on-one against the others in their group, in order to determine what level they were at, both individually and overall.

She then stepped back and observed as they began, watching them closely as she tried to assess their abilities.

"You know you don't have to conduct every one of these training sessions yourself, right, Commander? You can trust us to carry it out on your behalf," Remarked Jorel, one of the First-Class Knights under her command, the one who'd fought Colt and Lexia outside the Quartz Ruins.

"I agree, you have other matters that demand your attention, primarily regarding the Third Squad," Added Tilda, the other First-Class Knight under Jules's direct command, and the one who'd fought Celia and Raven.

The Knight Order had put more focus on their recruitment efforts over the last few months, desperate to find someone who had the potential to take over as the Captain of the Third Squad, but so far, those recruitment efforts had proven fruitless in that regard.

The squad's Vice-Captain had been filling in as an interim Captain, but he just wasn't strong enough to permanently take over in the role. With no one else suitable for the role, and the high ranked Noble Houses hesitant to use their influence to push an unqualified member of their family into the position due to the fear of them ending up getting killed, he was stuck in the position for the time being.

"There's not much I can do about the Third Squad, unfortunately. I hardly have any control over that squad, a lot of the highest ranked Noble Houses hold a lot more influence over it than I do," Sighed Jules in response, before adding, "Anyway, the Vice-Commander is currently assuming the rest of my duties, so for now, let's just focus on this training session, keep observing them and point out any mistakes or weaknesses you spot."

"Very well, Commander."

"You can count on us."

They then continued to watch over the Inquisitors as they trained, intervening and advising them where necessary.

After about a couple of hours or so, Jules decided to shake things up and try something new, having each of the Inquisitors spar against her and her two subordinates.

The Inquisitors were split up into three groups and lined up in front of the Commander and the two First-Class Knights, before each group began sparring against the Knights one-on-one.

"I'd say most of these Inquisitors are around the level of Second-Class Knights at best, and the rest are around Third-Class level...it's no wonder The Irregulars have managed to kill so many of them. Hm, it might be more practical to identify specific individuals who have real talent and groom them to realize their potential, instead of trying to raise the overall level of the Inquisition Squad...that would require a lot more time and effort towards training them, and it may not even be worth it. This might be a bit harsh, but a lot of them simply don't have a lot of talent or potential.

In which case, the more practical option would definitely be to focus on the standouts among them. I wish I'd thought of this sooner...sparring against them one by one will definitely be more time consuming, but that's fine, it's the best way to identify those among them with real talent...and it's all for the sake of ensuring that our Kingdom is better-protected, so it's worth the effort," Jules thought to herself, before calling out as she finished sparring against another Inquisitor, just one more left in the line in front of her, "Alright, next!"

The last Inquisitor in her line then stepped forward, taking out a whip and swinging it across as they approached Jules.

"Hm? A Thrasher? A bit of an unusual Combat Template for an Inquisitor, how interesting...let's see what she's capable of," Thought Jules with a slight sense of intrigue, before addressing the Inquisitor, "Okay, when you're ready, attack me with everything you've got."

"Everything I've got? Okay," The Inquisitor nodded, her tone blank and emotionless before she raised her right hand and unleashed a blinding flash of light.

Jules swiftly shut her eyes, right in the nick of time, before quickly opening them and springing back as the Inquisitor swung her whip forward with a sharp flick of her wrist.

Jules narrowly evaded the whip, the tip zipping past the front of her chest before she unleashed a rapid fireball towards the Inquisitor, who quickly pulled her whip back and swung it across in front of herself, slicing it across the fireball and dissipating it as the whip cut through the flames.

She then unleashed a barrage of rapid, narrow light projectiles, as Jules drew out her sword and swung it across, slicing through the projectiles as they closed in on her and killing their momentum.

The Inquisitor then shot forward and swung her whip straight down towards Jules, who swiftly raced across to her left, the whip smacking across the ground before Jules swung her blade across, firing off a slashing wave of flames towards the Inquisitor, who quickly unleashed a blast of light, which collided against the fiery slash and canceled out.

"This one's strong, much stronger than the others in this group...she was clearly holding back a lot during the four-on-one sparring earlier, it's like she was doing the bare minimum. But now, she's several steps above what she displayed earlier. She's easily at the level of a First-Class Knight, at the very least, and I have a strong feeling that she hasn't yet realized her full potential," Jules thought to herself, as the Inquisitor came charging in towards her.

She fired out a piercing burst of light towards Jules's face, before getting low and zipping forward as she closed in.

Jules evaded the incoming projectiles with a swift tilt of her head across to the right, before the Inquisitor rapidly cracked her whip at Jules's knees.

As the whip closed in on her, she swiftly unleashed a sharp burst of flames from her feet to launch herself up and over the swing of the whip, before raising her sword and swinging the face of the blade down, slamming it onto the top of the Inquisitor's head with a metallic thunk before she could react, dazing her and sending her stumbling back.

"Okay, let's wrap it up with that. I'm impressed, you're quite strong...but tell me, why were you holding back in the earlier training session?" Jules asked her curiously.

"Inquisitors shouldn't stand out...I was told," She responded blankly, as she regained her bearings.

"Er, yes, that is true...but it doesn't apply here, this is training to improve and sharpen your skills, there's no sense in holding back," Jules pointed out.

"Oh, okay. I'll keep that in mind," The Inquisitor nodded.

"What's with this girl? There's something off about her, it's like she doesn't have any emotions...hm, I know that the church's initiation ritual for Inquisitors is quite harsh, to make sure they don't act in their own self-interests and stay loyal and devoted to the church, maybe this girl suffered some sort of psychological damage during that ritual?" Wondered Jules uncertainly, before remarking as she glanced at the Inquisitor's neck, "By the way, what's that black cloth wrapped around your neck?"

"It's to cover a scar," She replied in her eerily monotone voice.

"I see...I apologize for bringing it up, then."

"It's okay."

"Alright, then. Hm? Uh, is there something else you wanted to discuss?" Inquired Jules, as the Inquisitor continued to stare at her, standing still.

"No? Why?"

"Well, you're staring at me...at least, I think so, it's hard to tell with the mask."

"No, I was waiting for your permission to leave."

"Er, you don't need my permission for that...you may leave," Replied Jules in bemusement.

"Okay," Nodded the Inquisitor, before turning around and walking away.

"What a strange girl. Her emotionless disposition is more than a little unsettling and disconcerting...hm, maybe she's just bad at expressing herself? No, it didn't seem like she was awkward or shy or anything like that. It's hard to put it into words, but there was something that just didn't feel right about that conversation...am I overthinking it? Or maybe...? Hm...maybe I should request a meeting with Bishop Malachite, something isn't right here..."

Meanwhile, up at the peak of the Pearl Mountains...

"Hey, guys! How's the training going?" Grinned Aster, as he appeared along with Tacitus.

"Fuck you...go fuck yourself in the dickhole with a thorny sandpaper dildo while roaches crawl up your little asshole," Responded Lexia in an irritated, exhausted tone.

"...okay, that was unnecessarily graphic."

"That sounds like it'd be pretty painful, I wonder what it'd feel like?" Mused Colt with a gleam in his eyes, his hair matted to his head with sweat.

"If you aren't here to tell us that this stupid training is finally over, then just go away, your face pisses me off," Huffed Celia, in a visibly bad mood.

"Seriously? Even Celia is all moody? Maybe I've made them stay up here just a tad bit too long," Aster thought to himself sheepishly, before responding, "It's funny you should say that, because that's exactly why I'm here. You've all worked incredibly hard over the last year and a half or so, and now, it's finally over! You can say goodbye to these mountains at last!"

"W-wait...is this a dream? I-I've had this exact dream almost every night, b-but it's for real this time, R-right? A-and if it's not a dream, then it's not a prank or something, i-is it?" Stuttered Raven, a mix of hope and dread in his eyes.

"Great, you broke them. I warned you this might happen, but of course, you didn't listen," Responded Tacitus dryly, narrowing his eyes at Aster, who averted his gaze.

"No, it's not a dream and it isn't a prank. This is for real, it's time for you guys to move into our new hideout," Aster answered Raven, before continuing, "Tacitus and I have been regularly spying on and assessing the Knights this whole time, and it's time we make our next move...I'm now confident that all of us are at a high enough level to get back to it. We'll take a few days off for you guys to rest up and refresh yourselves...maybe get some haircuts too. Tacitus and I will catch you up on everything we've learned by spying on the Knights over the last year and a half. And after that..."