Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 150: The Vengeful Elf(Part 10)

"Huh...? What’s...going on? Where am I...?" Muttered Aster, his eyes fluttering open as he let out a dazed groan and ran up, clutching the side of his head with a grimace.

He then tensed as the memories came flooding back, before he quickly lifted his gaze and looked around, his eyes widening as a deafening crash rang out, right as he spotted Leptar hurtling through the air and crashing onto the side of tree.

"Oh, good, you’re awake!" Suddenly came Celia’s voice, adding as she hurried over towards him, "Can you stand? We need to gather up the others and get out of here, we have to get them to a Healer as fast as possible!"

"Y-Yeah, right, I’m on it. I’ve got a Healing Spell in my Storage Ring, it should have enough uses left to heal everyone," Nodded Aster, shakily getting back onto his feet. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

He and Celia then raced around the area as Raven chased Leptar into the forest with a roar, a fiery flash of purple erupting amidst the trees as loud crashes rang out, several trees falling over and slamming onto the ground.

Aster picked up the unconscious bodies of the others with his Telekinetic Zone, before smacking Hart across the face to try and wake him up.

"Wh-wha...?" Muttered Hart with a woozy look on his face.

"No time to explain, teleport us away, at least a couple of kilometers from this area!" Aster urged him, as he gathered up the others’ unconscious bodies and bunched them up, making sure they were all linked, as Hart regained his bearings and placed his hand onto the pile of bodies, before teleporting several times as Aster and Celia grabbed hold of his shoulders.

"Is this far enough?" He inquired, as he got them about two kilometers away from the battle.

"Yeah, thanks," Nodded Aster, before taking a Healing Spell Card out of his Storage Ring as he carefully set the bodies down, adding as he quickly glanced over each of them, "Okay, good, it doesn’t look like any of them have suffered damage too serious for this Spell to heal. They should be fine once they wake up."

He then healed them one by one, starting with those who were the most seriously injured, steadily repairing the damage to their bodies.

"They’re all breathing stably, that’s good," Celia sighed in relief.

"Alright, Hart, take me back to the battle. Even with his Dark Form unleashed, we don’t know for sure whether Raven can handle this, so he might need back up. And even if he can handle it, I’ll need to be their to restrain him afterwards. Make sure to stay behind me once we get there, I’ll keep you safe," Instructed Aster, as Hart stepped behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Got it, you can count on me. And you don’t need to worry about protecting me, focus on helping Raven instead," Replied Hart, as he began to teleport.

"Wait! Take me with you too, I-...!" Began Celia.

"No, you need to stay here and watch over the others," Aster cut her off, continuing as he tossed the Healing Spell at her, "They might need more healing, and that aside, we shouldn’t just leave them unprotected out here. I know you’re worried about Raven, but trust me, I’ll make sure he survives this."

"But I-...no, you’re right. Okay, then...I’ll leave him in your hands, I’m counting on you," Responded Celia with a conflicted look on her face, clenching her fists in frustration.

"Leave it to me," He nodded with an assuring smile, before disappearing as Hart teleported him away.

A few seconds later, Aster was back on the battlefield, his eyes widening as absolute carnage met his gaze, the entire area devastated, as loud crashes and roars rang out.

An intense burst of purple flames then erupted ahead in the forest, before he spotted Leptar getting launched high up into the air, Raven shooting up after him with immense speed.

"D-damn it...what the hell happened to you!?" Snapped Leptar, twisting his body across in mid-air to regain his balance, before driving his fist down towards Raven’s head as he closed in.

Raven swiftly tilted his head across to evade the strike, before extending out the claws on his right hand, glistening with venom as he drove his arm up, plunging his claws into Leptar’s stomach, eliciting a sharp gasp of pain from the Elf.

Leptar gritted his teeth, his vision blurring as Raven pumped venom into his body through his claws, before Leptar grabbed Raven’s wrist and wrenched his claws back out, tightening his grip before he pulled Raven closer towards him and swung his head down, slamming his forehead against Raven’s and sending him plunging back down towards the ground.

Raven shook his head with a growl before spreading out his wings sharply, bringing himself to an abrupt halt inches above the ground, before swiftly zipping away as Leptar came plummeting down towards him with his fists balled together, a deafening crash ringing out as Leptar slammed his fists onto the ground, a devastating shockwave erupting upon impact.

Leptar coughed out blood with a sharp gasp, tears of blood trickling down from his eyes as the venom infected him, before the Elf quickly turned across to his left as Raven came barreling in towards him with blinding speed.

As his healing factor nullified the venom, Leptar’s eyes widened in alarm as Raven’s right arm suddenly extended out rapidly, shooting towards him and grabbing hold of his throat before he could react, a choked gasp ringing out, before he gritted his teeth and grabbed Raven’s forearm, twisting violently and tearing it off with a sharp crunch.

He grimaced as Raven’s arm regenerated in the blink of an eye, before starting to scramble away as an intense, swirling blast of purple flames came shooting towards him, slamming against his right side and sending him skidding several meters across the ground to his left, his right side covered in burns as he came to a sliding halt across the mud, before rolling away as fast as he could as a pair of rapid beams came shooting towards him.

As he evaded and got back onto his feet, he stiffened as several tendrils came shooting out towards him, grabbing hold of his wrists and ankles, holding him in place before lightning erupted around them, his body seizing up as he got electrocuted, right as a deafening sonic screech came shooting towards him.

Leptar let out a sharp, dazed gasp as the screech hit him, his vision blurring sharply as blood streamed out of his ears, the high-pitched wave of sound having burst his eardrums.

Raven then roared viciously, his eyes glowing brighter and brighter as he charged up his beams, the purple pattern across his scales gleaming with a bright electric glow, before he fired out the charged up beams, much wider than usual and with a lot more force and power too, the beams combining into a large cannon as they combined and shot towards Leptar with immense speed.

As the wide energy cannon closed in on him, Leptar gritted his teeth before mustering up his strength and breaking free of the grasp of Raven’s tendrils, leaping off to his left as fast as he could, a stifled yell of pain ringing out as the blast engulfed his right arm and vaporized it.

Leptar stumbled across before racing away as Raven chased after him, his arm steadily regenerating before he swiftly picked up a rock with his left hand and spun around, flinging it towards Raven with immense force.

Raven swiftly raised his left arm up defensively, a sharp crunch ringing out as the rock slammed against his forearm, cracking through the scales over that spot and breaking the bones in his arm.

But Raven didn’t slow down, his arm healing rapidly as he closed in on Leptar and drove the claws on his right hand towards the Elf.

Leptar swiftly sprang back and swung his right foot up with a grunt of exertion, his foot slamming onto Raven’s lower jaw and knocking his head up, before Raven swiftly opened an eye on his right palm, which began glowing intensely.

Leptar twisted his body across as a rapid purple beam shot out of the eye, slicing across the front of his chest as he narrowly evaded a direct hit.

He then quickly reached out as Raven drove his claws forward again, the thrust coming to an aburpt halt as Leptar grabbed Raven’s wrist before his claws could reach him, before quickly tilting his head across to the right as Raven’s claws rapidly extended, slicing Leptar’s left cheek open.

Leptar gritted his teeth before tugging on Raven’s arm sharply, pulling him off balance before letting out a fierce yell as he drove his knee up, slamming it against Raven’s stomach and eliciting a sharp gasp from him as the impact knocked the wind out of him.

Leptar then let go of Raven’s wrist and unleashed a fierce flurry of relentless punches, straining himself to attack as fast as possible, deep cracks forming across the scales covering Raven’s torso as the powerful strikes pounded his body ceaselessly, trickles of blood oozing out through the cracks.

A choked gasp suddenly rang out as Raven extended out his tail, sneaking it across before rapidly shooting out and coiling around Leptar’s neck, constricting tightly.

As his barrage of strikes came to a momentary halt, Raven lunged forward and snapped his jaws towards Leptar’s throat, who quickly turned his body across in alarm, crying out sharply as Raven’s jaws clamped painfully around his left shoulder.

Raven then violently jerked his head across to the right, an excruciating yell of pain ringing out as he ripped Leptar’s left arm off, flinging it away with a snap of his head as blood sprayed out of Leptar’s shoulder, splattering across the ground before he gritted his teeth and grabbed Raven’s left side with his right hand, tightening his grip powerfully before twisting and pulling to rip out a chunk of Raven’s flesh.

Raven let out a sharp roar of pain, before Leptar raised his foot and slammed it onto Raven’s stomach, sending him flying back rapidly through the air, a deafening crash ringing out as Raven’s back slammed onto a tree, which broke apart and fell over upon impact, crashing onto the ground as Leptar shakily stumbled back, struggling to catch his breath.

Having had to regenerate so much in such quick succession, his stamina was running low, and as a result, his regeneration had slowed significantly, while Raven’s wounds had already healed.

Leptar took a step back as Raven got back onto his feet, the sparks of lightning crackling around his body intensifying as he narrowed his eyes at the Elf with a deep growl, the purple pattern across his scales glowing ominously.

"H-how...how the hell is he so powerful!? It’s true that I was already a bit worn out from fighting the others and healing the injuries they inflicted, but even if I was at my best, he’d probably still be evenly matched against me. No, I think I’d still be slightly weaker. And in my current state, I have almost no chance of beating him. I...I need to get away. I need to retreat and recover, I’ll die if I keep fighting him!" Surmised Leptar, before racing away as his left arm regenerated about halfway.

Raven spread out his wings before taking off into the air with a sharp burst of speed, rising up before angling his body down and swooping towards Leptar rapidly, who tensed and spun around as he sensed Raven approaching with alarming speed.

He desperately swung his right fist towards Raven, who extended out his left arm and whipped it across, his claws slicing through the middle of Leptar’s forearm and severing it before his fist could reach, blood bursting out before he gasped sharply as Raven grabbed his throat with his right hand, his claws digging into the sides of Leptar’s neck, before an agonized, stuttering yell of pain rang out as Raven charged lightning into his hand, severely electrocuting the Elf.

Spasms erupted across Leptar’s body as Raven dropped him, his knees thudding against the ground before his head snapped up as Raven struck his chin with a powerful knee struck, dazing him before Leptar drove the stump of his partially healed left arm towards Raven, a slight grunt ringing out as the stump slammed onto Raven’s stomach, his feet sliding back a few inches across the mud.

Leptar froze as Raven grabbed his forearm with a growl, before crying out as a sharp crunch rang out, as Raven snapped his forearm like a twig, the splintered bones poking out through Leptar’s skin.

He managed to wrest his broken arm free of Raven’s grasp, shakily getting back onto his feet before stumbling back as his vision blurred, a sense of despair enveloping him as Raven shot forward and whipped both his arms across, his claws diagonally slicing across Leptar’s torso and inflicting a deep, X-shaped cut, blood pouring out as the Elf gasped in pain, barely able to stay conscious as the effects of the fatigue and blood loss piled on.

He could only stare helplessly as Raven’s fist came barreling towards his face with immense speed, before a sharp crunch rang out as Raven’s fist slammed square onto the middle of Leptar’s face, smashing his nose and knocking out several teeth, before the Elf went flying back through the air, streaks of blood spilling out his mouth and nostrils, before his back slammed onto the side of a tree, his consciousness fading as he hit the ground with a thud, slumped against the tree.

As Raven began to take a step towards him, he suddenly came to an abrupt halt, frozen in place, as Aster teleported behind him with Hart.

"Here’s hoping your time limit is almost up, because I won’t be able to hold you for long. Please don’t attack me, I-...," Began Aster nervously.

"Woah, I really can move in your Zone while in this form. I mean, it’s still pretty tough, but I’m not completely immobilized," Remarked Raven, moving his arms around.

"Huh?" Blurted out Aster in surprise, before adding, "Hold on, are you...you?"

"Yeah, it’s me," Nodded Raven, before Aster deactivated his Telekinetic Zone with a sigh of relief.

"Not that I’m complaining, but...how are you conscious? You were never able to stay in control before, so what changed?" He inquired curiously.

"Before that, is everyone else alright?" Raven asked him with a look of concern, as his transformation then began to recede.

"Oh, looks like your time limit is up. And yeah, no need to worry about the others, they’ll be just fine. Thankfully, no one else died, and I healed all their injuries. Celia’s currently watching over them, they should be good as new once they wake up," Smiled Aster with a thumbs up, as Raven reverted to his normal state.

"I see...that’s good to hear, I’m glad."

"Mhm, it could definitely have been a whole lot worse. So-..."

"By the way, what should we do with him? Shouldn’t we kill him?" Inquired Raven warily, as he glanced at Leptar.

"I’m sure the Elves wouldn’t complain if we did, but considering that we’re in their nation, it’s probably for the best if we leave him to them. I doubt he’s going to wake up anytime soon, and even if he does, he shouldn’t be a threat in his current state, let’s just restrain him and leave his fate in the hands of the Elves. So, anyway, about your transformation...," Aster prompted him.

"Well, I managed to avoid blacking out this time, though it was pretty close. I was struggling to speak at first because there was such a storm of emotions inside me, I felt like I was going to drown in them if my concentration wavered at all. I knew that I’d black out and lose control if I succumbed to those emotions, so I was doing my best to suppress them. I decided to just put all my focus into attacking and cleared my mind of any other thoughts.

And about halfway through the fight, I was pretty firmly in control, I was able to keep those emotions in check without needing to make conscious effort to do so anymore. Honestly, it felt amazing...I felt like I was absolutely brimming with power, and I had this instinctive sense of clarity on how to use the various abilities of my body. And I still remember what they felt like, so I should be able to use some of those abilities in my normal state now too.

But some of those abilities will be impossible to use in my regular form, at least not at the same level I’m able to use them in my Dark Form. However, I...I think I should be able to transform into my Dark Form at will now. I remember what it felt like when I tranformed, and if I recreate that sensation, I should be able to trigger it, and probably, hopefully, stay in control. It likely won’t last very long, but just knowing that it is possible to tap into that power without losing control is really encouraging," Explained Raven, looking down at his fist as he clenched it with a determined gleam in his eyes.

"Wow, that’s incredible. That power took down an enemy that all of us struggled against even as a group, if you can freely unleash it at will without going berserk, there aren’t going to be many threats out there that you can’t deal with," Chimed in Hart.

"Yeah, what he said. Great work, kiddo," Grinned Aster, patting Raven’s shoulder.

"I wouldn’t go that far. I was only able to win because the Elf was already a bit worn out, I’m guessing his regeneration consumes stamina since he has no Mana, and healing the injuries everyone else inflicted before I tranformed must have eaten away at some of that stamina. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to defeat him within my time limit if he’d been at a hundred percent," Raven said to Hart, before adding as he turned to Aster, "Also, I think our numbers actually worked against us."

"Yeah, for sure. We managed to land a lot more hits when only you, me and Celia were left standing. We trained alongside each other for a long time, so we were able to coordinate our attacks and back each other up a lot more effectively. But with the whole group, we had to be more cautious, to avoid hitting each other or our attacks colliding.

We had plenty of skill and power, but with the lack of cohesion and coordination, we actually only ended up holding each other back, none of us were really able to go all out, and the Elf took advantage of that," Mused Aster thoughtfully, before adding as he flopped onto the ground with a weary sigh and stared up at the sky, "Well, whatever the case, what matters is that we made it out of that battle alive. I’m just glad it’s finally over, I’m beat!"