Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 120: The Vault

"Anyone find anything yet?" Called out Jules, as she tapped the tiles with the sheath of her sword.

"Nope, nothing over here."

"Same here."

"Are we sure it’s really here? For all we know, the previous King lied to Reiss."

It was the next day, the 10th of April, 1919, around midday. Jules, along with Siele, Rione, Tilda and a few of The Irregulars, including Aster, Tacitus, Lexia and Raven, were currently in the castle’s treasury, searching for the hidden vault that Reiss had been counting on to secure his victory.

They had been combing through the room for about half an hour, but hadn’t found anything yet. It was a pretty vast space though, and there were still a few spots that they hadn’t looked around.

"Maybe we should get a Detection Mage in here, my sensory ability only allows me to sense Mana, so I can’t locate non-living objects," Suggested Raven, as he pulled a painting off the wall.

"No, that’s a last resort...if this vault exists and it contains dangerous Ancient Magic Items, I’d prefer that not too many people know about it," Jules shook her head in response.

"Hm? Wait a sec...hey, Aster, can’t you use your Telekinetic Zone to try and find it?" Spoke up Lexia.

"Oh...uh, yeah, I can. I’m able to sense everything within the range of the Spell, so yeah...I’ll activate it now," He replied sheepishly.

"Wha-...then why haven’t you been using it this whole time!?" Frowned Jules incredulously.

"Hey, to be fair, I’ve never actually used it for detection since its range is pretty short, it only spans a radius of one meter, so I’ve only ever really used it for offense and defense. Okay, let’s see...," He muttered, as he activated his Telekinetic Zone and began walking around the room.

"Good, this means that the rest of us don’t need to keep wasting time searching," Tacitus sighed in relief, as he took a seat on the floor.

"You really are astoundingly lazy, aren’t you?" Remarked Jules in bemusement.

"Eh, life’s short, so it’s only logical to take it easy and relax every chance you get," He shrugged in response.

"That’s, uh, an interesting way of looking at it. Where did you ever find the motivation to fight against the entire nation?" Inquired Rione with a bewildered look on his face.

"I dunno, it just sort of happened."

"You can’t be ser-...never mind," Sighed Jules with a slight shake of her head.

"Hm? Hey, over here! I’m sensing a hollow space just below this statue!" Called out Aster, as he came to a stop next to a life-sized, golden statue of the former King.

"Looks like it’s bolted to the floor, we’ll have to-...," Began Tilda, before trailing off as Raven swiftly fired out his beams at the base of the statue, melting the bolts, before lifting his head slightly and aiming his beams at the head of the statue, shooting a molten hole through it.

"There, we should be able to move it aside now," He remarked with a satisfied look on his face.

"Not that I blame you, but was messing up the statue’s face really nece-...?" Began Siele.

"Yes."

"Okay, then."

Aster then lifted the damaged statue up telekinetically and moved it aside, revealing a square metal door hidden underneath it.

"Seems we’ve found what we’re looking for. And seeing that our father took the trouble to hide it under that statue, whatever’s inside must be pretty powerful," Responded Rione, as everyone gathered around the door curiously.

"Well, go on, do the honors, sis," Grinned Siele as he gave Jules a light push forward.

"We’re on duty, so that’s Commander to you, Vice-Commander Siele," She replied dryly, before taking hold of the handle and pulling the door open.

The others peered in curiously as she reached into the space and pulled out the contents, four objects and a scroll. The objects consisted of a staff, a ring, a handle with five gemstones embedded in it, three of which were gleaming, and a worn leather pouch.

"We should be careful, we have no idea what these items can do," Remarked Lexia, as she slightly backed away warily.

"Not to worry, it looks like this scroll details how each of them work. First, the staff...it looks like it’s a Magic Item that allows the user to mind control anyone. Sounds like a more powerful version of that Charm Ring. This is far too dangerous to keep. Please destroy it, Captain Aster," Instructed Jules without hesitation, as she tossed the staff at him.

"Don’t have to tell me twice," He nodded as he caught it, before breaking it to pieces with his Telekinetic Zone, the sound of wood cracking and splintering echoing out.

"I see why my uncle was so intent on finding this vault...if he’d gotten his hands on that staff, we almost certainly would have lost," She responded with a grimace.

"There sure seem to be a lot of Ancient Magic Artifacts relating to mind control and brainwashing, huh?" Remarked Lexia in bemusement.

"Yeah, it’s a good thing Spells with those kinds of effects aren’t possible with modern Magic. I mean, you could technically make one, but it won’t be very effective," Added Tacitus in response.

"Yes, items or Spells that can control people are too dangerous, no argument there. Now, then, as for this ring-...," Began Jules, as she turned her attention back to the scroll.

"No need to read it out, I recognize that thing, it’s almost definitely another Charm Ring. It’s identical to the ring that Priest Dietre Opal and Bishop Morn Malachite used," Chimed in Raven with a grimace.

"You’re right, it’s listed here as a Charm Ring. Captain Aster, if you would," Prompted Jules as she flicked the ring over towards him.

It came to a stop in midair as it entered the range of Telekinetic Zone, before shattering to pieces as he crushed it.

"What about this thing? It looks like a handle, but there’s nothing attached to it," Frowned Siele, as he picked up the Magic Item and inspected it curiously.

"Well, now...this one’s got quite the valuable power. It’s called a Resurrection Baton, and according to the description, it can bring anyone back to life, with instant regeneration of the injuries they’ve sustained, provided less than five minutes have passed since they were killed. It can be used three times...I see, those glowing gemstones must be an indicator of how many uses it has left. And the two gemstones that aren’t glowing likely means that this item has been used twice in the past. We’re going to need to store this very carefully, it could prove incredibly useful," Remarked Jules with a gleam in her eyes.

"That’s incredible...don’t suppose you’d be able to analyze and recreate it?" Aster asked Tacitus wryly.

"Give me a break, I don’t know a thing about how Ancient Magic works, analyzing something I don’t understand is beyond me," He responded dryly.

"And that just leaves one more item," Said Lexia, as she picked up the leather pouch and opened it, before adding as she peered inside, "There are five small vials in here, filled with a strange red liquid. It’s a different shade of red to blood, plus blood wouldn’t stay fresh for an extended period of time, so it must be something else."

"Well, yeah...why would anyone store vials of blood?" Replied Raven with a shrug.

"Tch, don’t sass me."

"That liquid is called Final Sacrifice...when consumed, it boosts the user’s power tenfold for ten minutes, but once that time is up, they crumble away to dust. Even the Resurrection Baton can’t undo that. I see, so it’s a double edged sword...in exchange for an immense boost in power, the cost you must pay is that of your own life," Stated Jules with a grimace.

"Those could prove to be pretty damn useful in a dire situation, though...if we’re ever in a position where we’re certain to die against a powerful, dangerous opponent, and have nothing to lose, consuming that liquid will give us the chance to eliminate the threat before we die, instead of us dying in vain," Pointed out Rione objectively.

"There are five empty slots in the pouch, so there must have been ten vials originally...which means that five people have used them before," Surmised Lexia, as she carefully set the pouch back down.

"Hm...look here," Remarked Tacitus as he peered over Jules’s shoulder at the scroll and pointed at the passage about the Resurrection Baton, before continuing, "The parchment looks pretty worn out around the spot where they mention the number of uses left. I’m guessing they must have updated it after each time it was used."

"So, what exactly do we do with these items? The Resurrection Baton has a pretty short window in which it can be used...if one of us gets killed a fair distance away from wherever we hide it, five minutes might not be enough to leave, get the item and then get back to resurrect whoever was killed. As for the Final Sacrifice vials, we have no way of knowing ahead of time whether we’re heading into a situation where we’re going to die," Pointed out Aster.

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing...," Nodded Jules with a frown, an uncertain look on her face.

"Damn it...I think I might have a solution," Spoke up Tacitus reluctantly, before elaborating, "I should be able to create Spell Cards that let us summon the items, if we wrap the vials and the baton with Magic parchment that has the right formulation inscribed, and link that to Summoning Spell Cards, we’ll be able to summon the items if and when the need arises. And just like with Exalt’s Teleport Spells, I can formulate the Summoning Spells so that only certain people can use them, so even if the Spell Cards end up getting stolen, we won’t have to worry about the items falling into the wrong hands."

"You can do that? Your skill with Spell creation really is quite incredible," Remarked Siele in awe.

"Ugh...it’s going to be a pain though. Summoning Spells have become pretty obsolete lately, since they were primarily used to transport goods from one location to another, but thanks to Teleport Spells, they become unnecessary. So I’ve never actually created, or even seen, a Summoning Spell myself...if I could get a few samples of Summoning Spell Cards, that should make it a bit easier," Replied Tacitus, while thinking to himself, "I’d definitely take formulating Spells over patrolling...and since this is an important task, the time I spend on it should count as being on duty, which means it’ll be separate from the five days off the Commander promised. If I play my cards right and take my time with creating the Spells, I should be able to get a nice, long break from patrols...yeah, and after I finish formulating the Spells, I can act like I’m really mentally work out, maybe I’ll be able to request a couple more days off and get a full week of relaxation. Damn, this worked out better than I could’ve ever hoped for. Nice."

"Alright, I’ll have my subordinates gather as many Summoning Spell Cards as they can find and sent them over to you. I’m counting on you," Smiled Jules, feeling encouraged as she thought to herself, "His ability with Spells is truly invaluable, he might be the best in the entire nation. It’s clear that he’s a genius with this...I really am grateful that he’s on our side now. His Spells were the backbone of The Irregulars’ attacks when they were our enemies, so it’s quite reassuring that his talents aren’t bared against us anymore."