Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 146: The Vengeful Elf(Part 6)

"Well, this is disappointing. These things aren’t even enough for a warm-up anymore. Maybe I’ve gotten too strong," Sighed Leptar, seated atop the corpse of a Critical Level Monster, while staring up at the night sky with a bored look on his face.

After his attack, he headed deep into the woods to rest up and prepare himself for his next attack in two days’ time.

While the battle had been rather one-sided in his favor, he had sustained a number of injuries. And his physical healing ability consumed a large amount of stamina, so despite being fully healed, the battle had left him feeling quite worn out.

But after recovering, he felt a sense of dissatisfaction, which then morphed into restlessness.

So, he decided to go find some Monsters to kill and sate his bloodlust a bit, but all it really did was leave him wanting more.

"Maybe I should just attack tomorrow instead-...no, I said two days, so I need to stick with that. Plus, I waited for several decades before this, I can wait another a couple of days. Maybe I just need to change my perspective...yeah, I’m not simply waiting around impatiently, I’m building up my anticipation.

Not to mention, the wait will probably make them feel more anxious, the dread of my next attack growing with every passing minute. Yeah, when I put it that way, the wait doesn’t feel so bad. I’m quite looking forward to this. In just two days, I’ll finally have my revenge for everything I went through, I’ll make them pay. I got a taste of it today, and that was far from enough to satisfy me," He smiled maliciously, a murderous gleam in his eyes...

Meanwhile, back at the Rose Settlement...

"So, yeah. The Queen is back in Persona, while the rest of us will stay here to help the Elves with their problem. This should go without saying, but...failure is not an option," Stated Jules, as she looked around at the others.

"Well, yeah, failure means death, so of course we’re going to try and avoid that," Replied Aster with a wry smile.

"That Elf was unbelievably powerful though. Do we even stand a chance against him?" Inquired Tilda skeptically.

"Yeah, not to sound pessimistic, but I was thinking the same thing. After seeing him in action, I can’t imagine how we could possibly beat him," Added Hart sheepishly.

"We already lost Jacks to that bastard, and while I would like to make him pay, I can’t say I like our odds," Chimed in Wein with a grimace.

"So, will I get to fight him this time? I don’t really think I’ll be able to make much of a difference, but I am curious to see what it would feel like to be hit by him," Spoke up Colt with a gleam in his eye.

"You would likely die, instantly," Responded Arren bluntly.

"Man, you sure don’t mince words, do ya? And yeah, I was aware of that...but it only makes it more exciting."

"I don’t understand you at all," Remarked Arren in bemusement.

"Trust me, you don’t want to," Sighed Celia in exasperation, glaring at her brother as Raven patted her head to calm her down.

"Let’s not disrail the matter at hand any further, we-...," Began Jules, before trailing off as Aster stepped in towards her.

"Hold on, Commander, you’ve got something...," He muttered, leaning in close and reached out towards her.

"H-huh? What...?" She stuttered as she felt his breath brushing her lips, her face turning red before she stiffened as she felt his fingertips trace the top of her ear.

"There, got it! It’s just a leaf, thought it was a bug or something," Grinned Aster, as he held up a leaf that had gotten caught in Jules’s hair, before adding as he noticed her expression, "Hm? Is something wrong? Your face is red, don’t tell me you’ve got a fever."

"N-no, I’m fine, it’s nothing!" She shot back defensively, backing away before taking in a deep breath to compose herself.

"Yikes, Ravella’s not going to like that," Celia whispered to Raven.

"Yeah...let’s not tell her about this."

"Ahem...anyway, could we please get back on topic? Thank you. Now, as some of you have pointed out, yes, we’ve got an uphill battle on our hands here, it certainly won’t be easy. But it’s certainly not impossible. We have him heavily outnumbered, after all, and we just need to land one fatal blow. While he was much stronger than us, he’s far from invincible, we managed to injure him several times. If we can deal a critical hit to his head, neck or heart, it’s likely that he will die," Surmised Jules objectively.

"Yeah, I agree with that. Despite his power, his attacks weren’t as reckless as the Undead King’s, meaning that he probably can’t heal especially serious injuries," Nodded Aster in agreement.

"Maybe so, but it was also clear to me that we hardly caught a glimpse of his full strength. He was holding back for most of the fight, not exactly pulling his punches, but he was laid back and didn’t really have his guard up fully. He wasn’t taking us seriously, that’s a big part of why we were able to land any hits at all.

And a lot of the hits we landed were with surprise attacks that caught him off-guard. Now that he has a better idea of what we’re capable of, and if he decides to fight us more seriously next time, it’ll be much harder for any of our attacks to connect. Honestly, our best chance to kill him was today, we aren’t going to get a better opportunity than that," Reasoned Raven grimly.

"Nothing you said is untrue, but...there’s also the fact that he caught us off-guard too. None of us expected to suddenly find ourselves in a life or death battle against a crazy powerful enemy, and a lot of us weren’t at our best, thanks to our duels in the exhibition matches shortly before he showed up. But we’ll be a lot better prepared this time, we just need to figure out a workable strategy and tactics that could be effective against him," Countered Aster with a smile.

"It’s good to hear at least a little bit of optimism. And that’s absolutely right, we need to use the time we have left before the next attack to prepare ourselves as best we can. With all that said, let’s get right to it, shall we? Anyone got any ideas?" Inquired Jules, as she glanced around at the others.

...

...

"Hm? Hey, what’s wrong, Raven? You keep tossing and turning, is everything alright?" Inquired Celia groggily, as she stifled a yawn.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, did I wake you? My bad, I-..." free𝑤ebnovel.com

"No, it’s okay, you don’t need to apologize. What’s on your mind? It might help to get it off your chest," She suggested as she snuggled up to him, taking hold of his hand and lacing her fingers between his.

He gave her hand a light squeeze as he met her gaze with a grateful smile, before leaning in and giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Well, yeah, I guess that could help. I’m just really concerned about this whole situation. That Elf is stronger than anyone we’ve fought before, only the Undead King comes close, which is absolutely insane when you think about it.

I know our discussion over tactics and strategy went pretty well, but I just can’t shake this anxiety. I...I want you to go back to Persona. One of the Teleporters can take you back, just the thought of you fighting that Elf terrifies me. I know you’re plenty strong in your own right, but that guy’s on a whole other level, so I-..."

"I get where you’re coming from and all, but absolutely not. I appreciate that you’re worried about me, but that goes both ways, you know. I’m just as worried about you, so if you’re going to fight, so will I. Of course, I’ll happily go back to Persona if you join me, but there’s no way in hell I’m going back alone while you stay and fight."

"I...I can’t do that. A lot of the tactics and strategy we settled on revolves around my participation in this upcoming battle. Aster and the Commander are expecting and counting on me, so it’s too late for me to back out now. Even if it wasn’t, I can’t just leave them to face this threat without me, I’d never forgive myself if I left and they ended up dying, when my presence could’ve been the difference that results in them surviving," Raven shook his head in response.

"Well, that’s that, then. You’re staying, so I will too. And I feel the same way, I’m not going to abandon them," She smiled, before giving him a quick peck on the lips and adding, "We can do this, it’ll be fine...we’ve gotten through our fair share of tough battles before, so what’s one more?"