Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"Okay, looks like everyone's here. Let's get the meeting started," Remarked Jules, as she looked around.

"Yes, let's cut right to the chase...I don't feel comfortable being away from my city for too long, those Irregulars might attack again," Spoke up Fyre with a grimace.

It was the 5th of December, 1918, a few days later. Following her conversation with Aster and Raven, Jules decided to hold a meeting with the other Knights, the Captains and Vice-Captains of the First and Second Squads were in attendance, as well as a representative of the Third Squad, along with Jules's own direct subordinates.

"Don't worry, this shouldn't take too long...however, the topic we need to discuss here today is an important one, so we'll need to be thorough in our discussions. As you already know, this is in regards to the Undead King...he could attack us again any day now, and we've already confirmed that the number of undead creatures in the Death Zone has vastly increased. We need to determine how to handle this, failure is not an option, because it'll mean the end of the Kingdom of Persona," Stated Jules grimly.

"Yeah, he was unbelievably powerful, I've never encountered such immense brute strength before...but the real issue is his regeneration, he was back to normal in an instant, no matter how badly we damaged him," Spoke up Rione with a frown.

"If I may make a suggestion, would it be feasible to launch a preemptive strike on the Death Zone before the Undead King makes his move?" Chimed in Jacks.

"No, that's not an option. I did consider it, but it just isn't possible. The Death Zone was already too dangerous to venture into, thanks to what we now know is Miasma that's produced by undead beings, including the Undead King himself. And that Miasma has grown exponentially stronger and more dense than it was before. It would be nothing short of suicide to venture into that region," Jules shook her head in response.

"Based on the reports we've gotten from the Knights posted along the border by the Death Zone, there are likely thousands upon thousands of undead creatures roaming the region currently. Even if the Miasma wasn't an issue, we'd likely be swarmed and wiped out by their sheer number," Remarked Wein, the Vice-Captain of the First Squad.

"The Undead King and his forces aren't the only thing we need to worry about...there's also those damned Irregulars. They could easily use this as an opportunity to launch more attacks against the church and kill more of us," Pointed out Fyre with a seething grimace.

"Looks like he's developed a strong grudge against them...he's usually so spacey and off in his own world, except when he's fighting, but that's not the case today. Well, they did kill one of his subordinates, seems he's taking that harder than I would have thought," Jules thought to herself, as she took note of the hatred in his eyes.

"I agree that they're a problem, but I don't think we have to worry about them right now. Or rather, we don't have the luxury of worrying about them right now...we've already confirmed that they don't kill indiscriminately, they only kill those who are prejudiced against Commoners. The vast majority of our remaining Knights who are ranked First-Class or above are individuals that they're unlikely to target, so-...," Began Rione.

"What are you trying to say? You can't seriously be defending them! Just because we probably aren't going to be targeted by them doesn't mean we should just ignore them and let them kill those who they do target! Drote Amethyst, my subordinate who was murdered in cold blood by them, I know he had his issues, but still, he didn't deserve to die!" Snapped Fyre angrily.

"Calm yourself, Captain Fyre," Interjected Jules with a frown.

"Yeah, don't jump to assumptions before letting me finish. Getting back to what I was saying, since most of our high-ranked Knights likely aren't their targets, we just need to evacuate the churches, put all the Cardinals, Bishops and Priests in hiding until the Undead King is dealt with. I doubt they'll go out of their way to target and destroy empty churches, and even if they do, that's fine...buildings can always be rebuilt, after all.

Furthermore, they're not stupid, and based on what we know about them, I seriously doubt that destroying the nation is a part of their goal...if it was, they wouldn't be so picky about who they kill and don't kill. They're unlikely to attack the Knights before the threat of the Undead King is dealt with, since weakening our forces would make it much more difficult to defeat him. So, in all likelihood, they won't be making any moves against us for the time being," Surmised Rione, before thinking to himself, "There's also a fairly strong possibility that they'll get involved in the fight against the Undead King...but I probably shouldn't say that, it might sound like I'm counting on that. Because, well, I am...we may well need their assistance to deal with this particular threat."

"Tch...I suppose you have a point, but I hope you haven't forgotten the fact that they're our enemies, the greatest criminals our nation has seen in centuries," Responded Fyre with a dark look in his eyes.

"Hm...yeah, I probably should refrain from mentioning that I met with two of them a few days ago. Taking credit for their idea doesn't make me feel good, but I don't have much a choice here," Jules thought to herself, before speaking, "Let's get back on topic...I agree with what Captain Rione said, I highly doubt that The Irregulars will make any moves at present. So, let's focus on the more pressing matter at hand, the threat posed by the Undead King and his forces.

Regarding his forces, they shouldn't be too much of a problem individually, but the issue lies in their immense numbers. Fortunately, unlike him, they can't regenerate, based on the forces he released here in the Capital a few days ago. However, their heads are their only vital spots, injuries such as stabbing them through the heart or blasting holes through their bodies isn't enough to kill them. Crush their heads or decapitate them, that's the only way to put them down for good."

"And we should do it quickly, the faster we quash his forces, the better...the longer they last, the more Miasma they'll produce, and we'll need to minimize that," Remarked Siele with a grimace.

"Yes, exactly...now, moving on to the Undead King himself, he's the main threat here. Even obliterating his entire body isn't enough, he'll regenerate instantly. However, like us, he doesn't have an unlimited amount of Mana, he confirmed that himself when I fought him...it's just that he has much, much more Magic Power than we do," Jules informed them.

She left out the part where he was fueled by an energy source different to Mana, since she wouldn't be able to explain how she knew that, and it wasn't really all that important of a detail.

"The logical conclusion would be to keep damaging him and force him to regenerate until he runs out of Mana...but I'm guessing it won't be that simple?" Inquired Jacks warily.

"Most likely not. It might incapacitate him temporarily, but I highly doubt that alone would be enough to finish him off for good. So, this is my suggestion...we wear him down as much as possible, and once we have an opening, we'll use a Sealing Spell on him. I looked through the archives in the castle, and I managed to find two such Spell Cards. I believe that's our best chance of winning this battle," Stated Jules with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Are you sure that'll work though? Is there any possibility that he'd be able to escape from it?" Rione asked her.

"There's no way to know for sure until we actually try it on him. But I'm optimistic about it...these particular Sealing Spells were originally used to preserve perishable food, whatever is sealed in them enters a state of stasis. I tested it out on myself, I had Vice-Commander Siele seal me away for a few minutes and then release me, after which I felt like I'd woken up from a deep sleep, I had no memory of being inside the seal. So if we can trap the Undead King inside one of the Sealing Spells, it's likely that victory will be ours."

"There is another concern we need to address...it's guaranteed that this battle will result in significant collateral damage, we need to make sure that we don't suffer too many casualties. We need to evacuate the civilians to a safe place, somewhere they'll be out of harm's way during the battle," Spoke up Siele.

"How about the basements in the mansions of the Nobility?" Suggested Jacks in response.

"Hm, that could work...but if the undead creatures manage to break in, the civilians will be trapped with no escape," Replied Rione after milling it over.

"We'll need to finalize our decisions quickly, there's no telling when the Undead King will make his move. We're going to have to move as fast as possible to prepare and ready ourselves for this battle," Remarked Jules with a grimace, before turning her gaze towards the doors as they burst open, a Knight rushing in with an urgent look on his face.

"Pardon the interruption, but we just got a report from our scouts on the border by the Death Zone, there's-...!"

"Don't tell me the Undead King is making his move," Frowned Rione with a look of dread.

"No, it's not that...quite the opposite, actually. The Death Zone is being attacked, by the Homunculus and one of the other Irregulars."

"Wait, what?" Jules blurted out in surprise.

Meanwhile, in the Death Zone...

"Holy shit, Colt and Lexia weren't exaggerating, those are a lot of undead creatures down there...if anything, they might've understated just how vast the Undead King's forces are," Remarked Raven, as he flew over the clouds of Miasma and undead creatures swarming the ground below, with Celia sitting on his back.

"No kidding, if the entire region is this packed with the things, it's even worse than we thought," Nodded Celia warily.

"Yeah...by the way, you okay up there? Is the Miasma affecting you at all?"

"No, I'm fine, we're at a high enough altitude that it isn't reaching us," She replied with a thumbs up.

"Still, the Miasma down there is extremely dense, I can't even fully make out all the undead creatures with how darkly blanketed the area is with those thick clouds of Miasma," Thought Raven with a concerned frown, before responding, "Alright, but if you start to feel it affecting you in the slightest, let me know, okay?"

"Sure, I'll do that."

"Alright, now, what do you say we get started?"

"Sounds good to me...here I go, [Exploding Spear Scattershot]!" Chanted Celia, firing off a volley of rapid explosive projectiles down, a chain of explosions bursting out as they peppered the ground, as Raven unleashed a massive wave of purple flames down.

He then began flying around as Celia continued launching her Spells while he maintained his output of flames from his mouth, the pair wiping out dozens of the undead creatures between them.

Raven's flames also burned up the Miasma below them, giving them a clearer view of the creatures, allowing them to aim with greater precision as they attacked relentlessly.

Raven then stopped unleashing his flames and started firing out his beams from his eyes as a handful of the creatures began to fly up towards them, slicing them apart with his beams as he flew up higher, while Celia continued firing off her explosions.

Meanwhile, around the center of the region of the Death Zone...

"Hm? What's going on? I can sense several of my forces disappearing," The Undead King muttered to himself with a frown, before closing his eyes and focusing.

He linked his senses to some of the creatures in the area where his forces were being wiped out, to get a look at the situation. As he looked around through the eyes of his creatures, he then spotted a familiar pair flying above them, attacking fiercely...

"Well, now...it's those two again. Seems they've grown a lot stronger, their attacks were definitely not this powerful when they fought me. Clever move, flying above my Miasma and wiping out large chunks of my forces before I make my move and attack Persona again. But the effect of their efforts will be minimal, I'm not going to let them do as they please," He scoffed, as a smirk spread out across his face.

Meanwhile, back in that area...

"Take this...[Explosion Nova]!" Exclaimed Celia, raising her right hand and forming a massive, swirling sphere of explosive energy, before swinging her arm down and sending the sphere plummeting down.

Raven quickly flew up higher as it closed in on the ground, before a deafening explosion burst out, as the sphere erupted with devastating force and power, sharply expanding as the ground shook violently.

Chunks of dirt and various undead body parts flew out as a deep rumbling echoed out, the explosion carving out a massive crater across the ground, spanning a radius of a hundred meters, as a towering cloud of dust billowed out and rose up, deep cracks opening up across the ground around the edges of the crater.

As Raven then flew away from that spot, Celia unleashed the Spell again, another earsplitting explosion bursting and wiping out several dozens more of the undead creatures as she formed a second crater in the ground.

"Guess I should turn it up a notch too," Remarked Raven, before manifesting a large cannister from his Storage Ring and popping the lid open, as he glanced back at Celia and added, "Hold on tight."

He then zipped across the air rapidly, tilting the cannister and letting the contents spill out, a highly flammable oil, which rained down and doused the ground and the undead creatures below.

As he emptied the container, he then brought out a second one, before spilling it over the area as well, while Celia fired off smaller Explosion Spells...the Explosion Nova Spell she used earlier was a Level 3 Spell, and the most destructive in her arsenal.

And since she'd fired it off twice in quick succession, she'd strained her Mana circuits, casting it again without a break would risk damaging the circuits, so she'd switched to smaller Spells while waiting for her Mana circuits to cool down.

As Raven finished dousing the area below with the oil, having gone through a total of three canisters, he then unleashing a scorching wave of flames from his mouth, which roared down in a fierce blaze before slamming onto the ground...and spreading across the area in the blink of an eye, as it ignited the oil.

Hundreds of the undead hordes below were set ablaze in a matter of seconds, burning up rapidly and turning to ash, the blaze spanning a range of over five hundred meters in radius, and spreading.

"Nice, looks like we've cleared most of this area of the undead...let's keep going until we-...," Began Celia, before trailing off as she felt Raven tense up.

"Something's headed this way through the air...a whole lot of somethings," He informed her with a grimace, right as countless specks appeared in the distance, blotting out the horizon.

"Huh? What are those?" Frowned Celia, narrowing her eyes to get a better look as the specks steadily grew larger and larger, before her eyes widened in alarm, "Woah, that's a lot of undead Monsters! And I'm seeing a number of Critical Level Threats among them!"

"Yeah, I see multiple Dragons, and there are plenty of High Level Threats as well. We, uh...we should probably get out of here now."

"No objections here."

As the flying undead creatures drew closer to the pair, Celia fired off a barrage of Explosion Spells as Raven unleashed a blazing wave of flames while turning the dial on his Storage Ring, flying up higher to make sure they were well out of the range of the Miasma, before running his Mana through it and bringing out a Teleport Spell Card.

He then ran his Mana into the Spell, the two of them vanishing from sight before the undead Monsters could reach them.

Meanwhile, back at the Undead King's location...

"Tch, of course they brought a Teleport Spell with them, I should have figured as much. Those little shits...their last few attacks did much more damage that I anticipated, they've wiped out nearly a quarter of my total forces! It seemed like they wouldn't be able to eliminate any more than about a tenth of my army, at most, but I was wrong.

Those two massive explosions from the girl were one thing, but the Homunculus's flames augmented by that oil he doused over the area did far too much damage," He growled with a frustrated look on his face, adding as he began pacing around irritably, "Those purple flames are too effective against my forces...they burn up Miasma, and my undead troops are fueled by Miasma, their bodies are teeming with it. Those flames ignite the Miasma inside their bodies and turn them to ash in seconds.

And since my forces can't regenerate like I can, his flames are likely the most effective weapon against them. He even killed some of the undead Dragons I sent...fortunately, it seemed like he teleported away before his flames reached them, so he probably didn't see that. Hopefully, that means he hasn't figured out how effective his flames are against my forces."

His undead creatures were fueled by Miasma, it was what kept them moving and prevented them from rotting or decaying. Their bodies were constantly producing Miasma, in the same way the bodies of living creatures produce cells.

The difference was that the Miasma produced by undead creatures' bodies gradually leaks out bit by bit...in other words, the clouds of Miasma that formed around them was just a side effect.

And since Raven's flames were able to burn up Miasma, the Miasma inside the undead creatures' bodies would erupt into flames upon contact with his flame attacks. And until this moment, the Undead King hadn't realized just how much of a threat Raven was to his forces...

"Hm...I should make my move soon. If they show up again and wipe out another large chunk of my forces, I'll be in trouble. Right, then...it's decided, I'll launch my attack to wipe out the Kingdom of Persona soon, before they have a chance to attack my forces again..."