Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"I see, they used Ancient Magic to turn you into this...I thought I had it bad, but it was nothing compared to what you went through, they'll pay for this," Remarked Ravella with a dark look in her eyes, clenching her fists in anger.

"No, I wouldn't say that I had it worse than you. I mean, it did hurt and it sucks that I'm stuck like this, but I don't think that's anywhere near as bad as what you went through. The pain from the Homunculus Ritual only lasted a few minutes, and while my body isn't human anymore, my free will wasn't robbed. But yours was, you were used like a tool by the church for nearly two years, without even being able to struggle or resist against it," Replied Raven with a grimace.

"Yeah, but in my case, my consciousness was basically suppressed, so I didn't really experience all of it in real time...while I clearly remember everything I saw and did while under the control of that collar, it almost feels like that whole thing was a dream. That day, when we went to the church for our appraisal and were separated, to me it almost feels as though no time has passed since then. Everything in between feels like a long, disconnected dream. It's a really disconcerting feeling, if I'm being honest," Frowned Ravella, an unsettled look on her face.

"Well, there is a silver lining to that...it seems you were trained well by the Inquisitors, and since you remember everything, you've probably retained those skills even now that you're free of the brainwashing, so that's a plus," Pointed out Lexia.

"Yeah, that's true...and because I kept all those memories and abilities, I was able to kill Bishop Malachite, that made me feel a lot better," Admitted Ravella with a slight smile.

"I hope they didn't put you through anything especially unpleasant," Chimed in Celia with a look of concern.

"Actually, no...I mean, being brainwashed wasn't great, but they didn't do anything particularly awful to me. They trained me pretty hard, but didn't go overboard. Let me think...while I do remember everything, I have to make a deliberate effort to recall each memory. Okay, yeah, based on what I saw, the Bishop had brainwashed the other Inquisitors in his church too, and I remember him saying something about using me as a weapon to protect the nation.

Pretty sure that was just an act though, he probably made himself appear righteous and selfless to make the brainwashing more effective. And now that I think about it, the other Inquisitors were devoted to him to the point where it was genuinely creepy and unsettling, their blind loyalty and admiration wasn't natural. Right, they must have seen me as a possession belonging to the Bishop, that might be why they never pushed me around or hurt me or anything. I'm just glad the Bishop wasn't some pervert or something...I'd have rather been tortured than that," Remarked Ravella with a shudder.

"O-oh, I didn't even think of that...," Muttered Raven as his face turned pale.

A couple of hours had passed since the twins reunited...after the tears finally dried up, Raven introduced the other Irregulars to his sister, before they all headed to the living room in the hideout, except for Aster and Tacitus, who went to take a nap, while Aster headed out to hunt and gather some food.

The twins told each other what each of them had been through after they were separated by the church, while playing card games with Celia, Colt and Lexia to relax and break the ice.

"Oh, by the way, I should've said this sooner, but...," Began Ravella, as she glanced around at the others, before bowing her head to them as she continued, "Thank you for taking care of my brother for all this time, I'm truly grateful."

"Hey, there's no need for that. Raven's our friend, and he's helped us out just as much as we've helped him, so you don't have to thank us," Replied Celia with a smile.

"Yes, I suppose I can admit that his Recovery Magic has come in handy a few times," Added Lexia with a shrug.

"Also, his flames are a lot hotter than normal flames, getting burned by them is quite the unique experience," Grinned Colt with a thumbs up.

"Huh? Uh, I'm not sure I get what you mean by that..."

"Ignore him. Speaking from experience, the best way to deal with him is to tune him out most of the time," Sighed Celia as she glared at her brother with a narrowed side glance.

"Uh, okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"By the way, we'll need to make a new room in the hideout. We only have the six rooms, after all," Pointed out Lexia.

"Woah, I'll get my own room? That's awesome!" Grinned Ravella excitedly.

"Glad to see you haven't changed much, you're still way too energetic," Smiled Raven, as he reached over and patted his sister's head before even realizing it.

"W-well, you seem to have changed, you were definitely a lot more emotionally reserved before...it's kinda weird seeing you act so differently," She muttered awkwardly, averting her gaze as she stifled a smile.

"He was pretty hot-tempered when we first met him...though, considering that we kinda attacked him unprovoked after mistaking him for a Monster, that was pretty understandable," Recalled Colt sheepishly.

"Also, we've never seen him so emotional before today either. Guess there are still some sides to him that we haven't gotten to know yet. And we're looking forward to getting to know you too, so make yourself at home, our hideout is your hideout," Smiled Celia warmly.

"Thanks for being so welcoming, I glad my brother ran into people like you. But, it is really okay for me to join you too? I mean, I don't have an Irregular Magic Class, so...," Trailed off Ravella.

"That's not a problem...just because we call ourselves The Irregulars doesn't mean that we only exclusively allow people with Irregular Magic to join us, it's not like we picked that name for any deep, meaningful reason. If that was the case, we wouldn't have let Raven join either," Pointed out Lexia.

"Well, in that case...I'm happy to be on board," Grinned Ravella in response.

"What about you, Raven? I mean, the whole reason why you joined us was to save your sister, and now, that goal has been accomplished. While it would suck to lose you now, we won't force you to keep fighting if you don't want to," Remarked Colt, as he and the others turned their attention to Raven.

"That didn't even occur to me...what do you plan to do, Raven?" Celia asked him.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about? I'm not gonna abandon you just because I accomplished my main goal, especially when I'm not the one who actually accomplished it, that was Aster. If it wasn't for you guys, I'd probably be long dead by now. That aside, I still want to crush the church, that definitely hasn't changed. Also, you're my friends, there's nowhere else I'd rather be," He huffed in response.

"Well, that's certainly a relief. It'd screw up a lot of our plans if you left now," Came Aster's voice, as he stepped into the living room with a wry smile.

"You sure took a while getting back. Did something happen?" Inquired Lexia, as they turned their attention to him.

"Nah, I just got hungry on the way back, so I took a break to eat something before heading back. I managed to gather a pretty sizeable heap of fruits and nuts, plus a couple of birds too. I'm too worn out to cook right now though, think I'll go rest up, so you guys handle it," He replied, as he took out a couple of baskets from his Storage Ring, one filled with fruits and nuts, the other holding a pair of birds.

"Or I could just use Stamina Recovery on you," Suggested Raven with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, that won't change the fact that I really want to take a nap right now...huh, maybe Tacitus has influenced me more than I've realized. Oh, before I forget...here, you should have this," He remarked, as he took a whip out of his Storage Ring and handed it to Ravella.

"H-huh? O-oh, um, thanks-...wait, is this a Relic Armament? The others told me about how you guys went into the Quartz Ruins and found a whip as one of the Relic Armaments, is this it? I-I can't accept this, it's way too valuable!" She shook her head.

"Oh, it's fine, you don't need to worry about that. Plus, you're the only Thrasher here, that weapon isn't much use to the rest of us, so I insist," Responded Aster with a smile.

"U-um, if that's the case...th-then okay, I accept. I-I feel bad though, I've never been given anything so valuable before," She muttered, her face heating up as she met Aster's gaze before looking away.

"Well, it's not like we purchased it or anything, we just stole it from the ruins, so it's no big deal," Laughed Aster as he patted her shoulder, her cheeks reddening further as she squirmed slightly.

"Don't say it like that, you make us sound like petty thieves," Frowned Lexia apprehensively.

"Yeah, yeah...alright, time I excuse myself, my eyelids are starting to get heavy. I'll see you guys tomorrow," Replied Aster, as he turned around and headed out of the living room with a wave, heading to his room.

"Hm? Well, now...," Smirked Raven as he narrowed his eyes at his sister, before adding teasingly, "So, that's your type, huh?"

"Wh-wha...!? L-lay off! Or would you like me to enlighten everyone on what your type is?" She shot back defensively.

"Oh? I'd like to hear more about that," Chimed in Celia with a look of intrigue.

"W-we really don't need to talk about this, I-...!" Began Raven in alarm.

"Huh...funny you should say that, because you're more or less exactly his type," Ravella said to Celia, before smirking at her brother as his face turned red.

"Is that so?" Inquired Celia as she glanced at Raven with a sly smile.

"I-I, uh...no comment, that's all I'm going to say," He muttered as he averted his gaze.

"Heh, that's quite the expression you've got, I like it," Grinned Colt tauntingly.

"Agreed," Smirked Lexia with a condescending sneer.

"On second thought, maybe I will leave, after all..."

"Hm, maybe you haven't changed that much, you still can't take a joke, bro-...ow," Chuckled Ravella, before Raven lightly flicked her forehead with a slight huff.

"Cut it out, already," He grumbled dryly.

"Must be nice, having a normal sibling relationship like this," Sighed Celia wistfully.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Responded Colt indignantly.

"Hmph!"

"I know I certainly wouldn't want to be related to you," Spoke up Lexia with a nod.

"Hey, I kinda feel bad for him, this kinda feels like bullying," Chimed in Ravella sympathetically.

"Yeah, you shouldn't bully him...he enjoys it," Sighed Raven in response.

"Huh?"

"It's true," Sighed Lexia with an exasperated look on his face.

"Unfortunately," Grumbled Celia.

"O-oh, uh...I see."

"That judgemental look in your eyes...not half-bad, it's the same look Raven often looks at me with."

"Stop that, you're freaking her out," Frowned Lexia, smacking the back of his head.

"Ow...thanks, can I have one more?" He requested as he rubbed the spot she'd slapped.

"I hate you so much..."

"The, uh, whatever that was aside, this is nice...growing up, we never really had any friends. So, yeah, this is nice," Remarked Ravella with a smile.

"Yeah, we weren't that close with the other kids in the orphanage, everyone in that place sort of just kept to themselves," Recalled Raven with a nod.

"Wow, that really takes me back. Now that I think about it, the only person we were really friendly with was that Knight, Hart Riner."

"Oh, speaking of whom, I fought him a while back. You know, it's funny...you always wanted to join the Knights yourself, but instead, you've joined their worst enemies, the most wanted criminal group in the nation," Remarked Raven with a wry smile.

"Nah, screw the Knights...this is way cooler! I feel like I'm a part of something super exclusive, it's awesome! Plus, everyone here's so nice, the Knights definitely wouldn't be so nice. Also, you guys are going after the church, and I'm definitely on board with that, I'd love to absolutely wreck their shit after what they put us through!"

Meanwhile, outside of the Kingdom of Persona's border, in the Death Zone...

"Yes! This is it! Look at this vast army! How magnificent!" Exclaimed the Undead King gleefully, as he stood atop a tall, rundown tower and stared down at the scores of undead creatures below.

It had been nearly two years since he left the Quartz Ruins, and in the time since then, he'd been killing scores of Monsters and people covertly and turning them undead, before moving them to the Death Zone.

He'd mainly targeted the homeless and other people whose disappearances wouldn't draw too much attention, and ended up killing close to five hundred people and turning them undead over that period of time.

The vast majority of his undead forces were made up of Monsters and animals, and he'd gathered a force of over fifteen thousand undead creatures, on top of the approximately two thousand or so that had already been in the Death Zone.

"This should be more than an adequate amount...I've waited long enough, it's time I make my move. Hm...who should be my first targets? Ah, yes, the descendants of those who sealed me in the Quartz Ruins, the current Royal family and their supporters...I shall kill them first. As for those Arcane Mages I fought in the ruins...I think I'll save them for later.

After all, I owe them a token of gratitude for setting me free...however, they also humiliated me, especially the one with the white hair and glasses. I can't let that slide, I'll have to make them pay for that. This is so exciting, I'll have to make this the greatest war Persona has ever seen! Hm, I'll need to be careful not to wipe out the Kingdom too quickly, I want to savor this and draw it out for as long as possible.

Plus, I'm intrigued to see how powerful the Kingdom's forces are in this era. Well, not that they'll stand a chance against my army, no matter how powerful they are. It won't be much longer before the citizens of Persona experience fear and despair like they never have before! Ohh, I can hardly wait," Chuckled the Undead King, a malevolent smirk spreading out across his face...