Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"Alright, guys, this last attack went really well for us, but no doubt the Knights are now on higher alert against us. With that in mind, we need to carefully consider what our next move should be. Any ideas?" Inquired Aster, looking around at the others.

It was the next day, late in the afternoon, and the group had gathered to dicuss their next course of action.

"Hm...this is just a suggestion, but it's unlikely that the Inquisitors know about Ravella, so maybe she could infiltrate them and work as a double agent?" Suggested Lexia, after a brief pause.

"Absolutely not, I'm very strongly opposed to that," Responded Raven immediately.

"Yeah, I'm not particularly keen on the idea myself...but even if I was, it probably wouldn't work. The Inquisitors regularly have to undergo questioning under hypnotic Spells to make sure that they're staying loyal to the church and not acting in their own self-interests. I was only able to get through those questionings because of the collar the Bishop put around my neck, it made me give the right answers to the questions under the hypnosis, otherwise the Bishop's schemes would've been outed.

As for the other Inquisitors that he'd put under his control, from what I remember, he basically brainwashed them into thinking that they were doing the right thing. In other words, none of them believed that they'd betrayed the church, so they had no trouble with getting through the questionings either. I was the only one with a collar though, so he must have been using something else to brainwash the Inquisitors. And I think it's this...I took it off him after I killed him," Remarked Ravella, as she took out the Charm Ring.

"Hm? Wait a second, that ring looks familiar, I'm pretty sure I've seen it before...yeah, unless I'm mistaken, the Priest who put me through the Homunculus Ritual was wearing it. I see, the Bishop of Malachite Town must have got his hands on it after I ended up burning down the Ruby Village church and killing the Priest in the process," Realized Raven, as he recognized the ring.

"Huh, that means it survived the blaze when you burned down the church...not that there was much doubt, but this confirms it must an Ancient Magic Artifact, same as the collar," Surmised Celia thoughtfully.

"What should we do with it? It's dangerous, but it could also be useful, like a secret weapon we can keep up our sleeves," Pointed out Colt.

"I don't think we should risk using it, especially when we have no idea how it works and just how strong its effects are. At the very least, we know it works frighteningly well, considering how thoroughly those Inquisitors were brainwashed," Responded Tacitus warily.

"I agree, I think it's too dangerous. We're lucky the the two people who used it were cautious and only used its effects on the people directly around them...if it'd fallen into the hands of someone more reckless and impulsive who used it on everyone they came across, that could've led to disastrous consequences," Replied Lexia in agreement.

"Well, it's definitely an Ancient Magic Artifact, I don't think I can break it," Said Raven with a frown, as he held it between his thumb and index finger, steadily tightening his grasp over it and squeezing it tighter and tighter to see if it would bend, but it didn't so much as budge.

"Which means, as far as we know, only Aster's Telekinetic Magic can break it. Hm...actually, now that I think about it, we might be able to break it with our Relic Armaments too. They're Ancient Magic Artifacts as well, after all," Pointed out Celia.

"Are we really destroying it, then? That's probably the safer option, but it also feels like a waste to get rid of such a powerful weapon," Sighed Colt wistfully.

"I'm torn...both arguments are valid, it's hard to make a decision either way," Frowned Aster with a conflicted look on his face.

"In that case, let's just vote on it. I say we destroy it," Responded Lexia firmly.

"I agree, I think the risks outweigh the benefits, it's too dangerous," Added Raven in agreement.

"Same here, I say we destroy it," Nodded Celia.

"Having experienced its effects for myself...I'm on the fence. It was the collar that mainly kept me under the Bishop's control...after I was freed from the collar, I could feel it, the effects of the ring falling apart. I could be wrong, but I think it only works on people who aren't wary or suspicious of the user.

And even though he'd been using the ring on me for a while, when I regained my will and consciousness, my hatred and rage broke through the ring's hold over me. In other words, it's not foolproof, it's possible to break free of its effects. That said, I could be wrong, I really don't know how exactly it works," Remarked Ravella uncertainly.

"I think your case might be something of an exception...since your conscious mind was suppressed by that collar, it could be that the ring wasn't all that effective on you since you were basically unconscious. I mean, it's not like any of the Inquisitors managed to break free of the ring's effects, right?" Responded Celia objectively.

"Hm...yeah, you could be right about that," Nodded Ravella thoughtfully.

"By the way, I vote we destroy it too. We don't know enough about how it works to justify using it, and it's far too risky to try and test it out to find out how it works," Chimed in Tacitus.

"Guess that's just Colt and I voting in favor of keeping it instead of destroying it. Alright, then, looks like we're destroying it," Sighed Aster wistfully, before holding his hand out towards Raven.

As Raven tossed the ring towards him, Aster activated his Telekinetic Zone Spell, the ring stopping in midair as it entered his range, before it suddenly shattered to pieces as he telekinetically crushed it.

"We should bury it deep underground, just to be safe," Suggested Tacitus cautiously.

"Sure, I'll let you handle that, knock yourself out," Replied Aster, as he wrapped out the broken pieces in a handkerchief and handed it to Tacitus, before adding, "Alright, now that that's been taken care of...let's discuss our next move. To begin with, let's decide which places we're attacking next...I suggest Amethyst City, Beryl Town and Carnelian Village."

"Now that Ravella isn't in the church's clutches anymore, I'm fine with whatever location," Replied Raven with a thumbs up.

"Uh, okay...that's not really helpful to our discussion, but sure."

"If we're targeting three places again, then that means we're splitting up again, right? But we've got an odd number of members now, how do we split seven people into three groups?" Inquired Lexia with a raised eyebrow.

"I think we should leave Ravella out of it. She only just regained her freedom, so I say we should give her some time to mentally recover and adjust to everything that's happened," Replied Raven with a look of concern.

"Huh? Wait, that's not necessary, I can-...," She began in protest.

"He's got a point...not to mention, she's never trained or fought alongside any of us, so she'll likely struggle to fight effectively while teamed up with us right now. Worst case scenario, we could end up getting in each other's way," Responded Colt in agreement.

"Hold on! Don't decide that for me, I want to help out too!" Stated Ravella indignantly.

"Hm...well, we won't be making our next move right away, we'll take at least a few days to recover and flesh out our plans, so we don't have to decide immediately. Plus, if she wants to help, I see no reason to say no," Spoke up Aster, before glancing at Ravella and adding, "At the same time, while I understand and appreciate your desire to help up, there's no rush. When Raven joined us, we took several weeks to train him before making a move, so-..."

"Yeah, but that was because he didn't know how to fight properly at the time, right? That's not the case with me," She countered objectively.

"Hm, that's true..."

"How about this? I'll train with you guys over the next few days, that should give me an idea of your fighting styles and how I can fight alongside you. And if I'm unable to discern that, then yeah, I'll sit this out. But I...I want to fight too. So I'll make sure to prove that I'll be able to do so...I want to destroy the church too, I'll make them pay for everything they've done," She declared with a determined look in her eyes.

Meanwhile, in the Capital...

"They got us...obviously, they were aware of the countermeasures we set in place, and took steps accordingly to dismantle those countermeasures. And as a result, we suffered one-sided defeats in all three locations they targeted," Sighed Jules, as she finished reading through the reports from Sapphire City, Malachite Town and Opal Town.

"Not to mention, one of them defeated a Captain. And by Rione's own admission, his opponent was holding back, making a deliberate effort not to kill him. We don't actually know exactly how powerful The Irregulars are, since the only ones who might have seen them go all out are those who were killed by them," Sighed Siele, the Vice-Commander.

"Not to mention, most of the information we had on their ability levels prior to this last attack are all but useless and outdated now. They've definitely grown a hell of a lot stronger than they were when we fought them," Added Tilda, the First-Class Knight who'd fought Raven and Celia outside the Quartz Ruins.

A little over a day had passed since The Irregulars' attacks, and the Commander Squad had just received reports from the Knights in the locations that had been attacked on what had transpired the previous day.

"More importantly, what do we do about our countermeasures? All they need to do is cut the phone lines, incapacitate or eliminate any Teleporters and destroy any Teleport Spells, that's all it'd take to make our countermeasures completely useless," Frowned Jorel, the Pulverizer who'd fought Colt and Lexia.

"Actually, I might have an idea...it's a simple, easy solution, though it's bound to be tedious. But before I get to that, there's another matter that demands our attention...we've received numerous reports over the last few months from the Knights patrolling the southeast border, detailing unusual movement from the undead creatures that reside in the Death Zone," Remarked Jules with a grimace.

"Right, it seems like they've grown in number, something that's never been recorded before...we'd assumed that those things weren't capable of reproducing or multiplying, but it seems that assumption was wrong," Nodded Siele in response.

"Not only that, but the shadowy, toxic haze that flows through thy Death Zone has apparently grown denser and started to encroach on the border. A number of the Knights patrolling the border have fallen gravely ill as a result," Replied Tilda grimly.

"The simple fact is that we know far too little about the Death Zone and undead creatures, we weren't able to find any pertinent information about them in the castle's archives. I even made a request to the Pope to check the church's archives for any information about it, but apparently, nothing particularly useful turned up.

All we know is that the Death Zone is a vast land full of ancient ruins, resided by walking corpses and filled with a dark, toxic mist that makes it impossible to traverse. Seriously, what the hell are undead creatures, anyway? How can corpses move around like that? And clearly, they don't decay, otherwise they would have rotted away ages ago. We're sorely lacking in information about them," Sighed Jules in frustration.

"Just our luck, we've got both this and The Irregulars to worry about. And after this last attack by the latter, no doubt there are going to be a lot of Nobles coming to criticize us...especially the families of the Knights who were killed. The Third Squad is all but useless now that they've lost their Vice-Captain, the last remaining Knight in their squad at or above First-Class rank," Pointed out Jorel.

"Well, there's still that Second-Class Knight, Nile Voner, I believe he's grown strong enough to be assigned to the post of Vice-Captain...but since he's a Commoner, it'll be all but impossible to promote him that high, especially in the Third Squad," Said Siele with a shake of his head.

"It's a shame...there are a number of Commoners in the Order who are more than capable enough to be promoted to at least First-Class at this point, but they're stuck at Second-Class, and even promoting them to that level earned us a lot of ire from those Nobles," Added Tilda with a frown.

"I've tried my best to get them promoted to the ranks they deserve, but father-...I mean, his Majesty...-refuses to budge on the matter. In fact, every time I bring it up, he just demands that I expel them from the Order. And with so many high-ranked Noble houses supporting him on that, it's effectively impossible to treat the Commoners in the Knight Order fairly. Why don't they understand that this is only detrimental to the security of our nation?

Many of the Commoners have already resigned from the Order due to the unpleasant treatment they've received, there's barely twenty of them left now, and there's no guarantee than any of them will remain in the Order...what if The Irregulars try to recruit them to bolster their own ranks?

There's also the possibility of an uprising or rebellion to consider. The Irregulars are the most wanted group of criminals in our Kingdom...but do the Commoners see them that way? I doubt it, they likely see them as heroes, especially those who have been oppressed by Nobles who were killed by The Irregulars.

At this rate, it's only a matter of time before other Commoners get inspired by The Irregulars...in the worst case, the entire nation could get thrown into chaos and fall apart. If and when that happens, it'll be too late for regrets and what ifs," Remarked Jules with a look of dread on her face.

"So, what do you suggest we do? What do we prioritize? We can't ignore the Death Zone, and we definitely can't ignore The Irregulars," Pointed out Siele.

"The main issue is that we don't actually know what's happening in the Death Zone or why the number of undead creatures roaming that place has increased. With so little information to go off of, how are we supposed to come up with a way to deal with that threat? If you ask me, I think our best course of action is to take a proactive approach to combat The Irregulars, and a reactive approach to the Death Zone," Suggested Tilda after mulling it over.

"Yes, I have to agree with that. I'll continue trying to find any information I can on the Death Zone and undead creatures, but unless I find something, we have no choice but to wait and see...it's too risky to make a move when we have so little information. Therefore, our priority will be The Irregulars...we cannot afford to let them succeed in another attack. This is a dire situation we've found ourselves in...we must make sure we don't crumble under the pressure, we've been tasked with protecting our Kingdom, and we must succeed in carrying that out, no matter what..."