Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 164: The Hero vs The Irregulars(Part 3)

"D-Don’t listen to him, he-...!" Began Alphonse.

"I...I refuse to believe you. All of you need to wake up and realize that you’re victims too! You’re fighting for the wrong side here, all of your memories have been altered! Al here is the only one on the right side, he’s this nation’s one and only hero, after the Knights killed his comrades in cold blood!" Snapped Akila, desperate to try and break through the ’brainwashing’ he believed The Irregulars had been subjected to.

"I mean...that’s technically not untrue. Yeah, we did kill them...but I’m willing to bet that he left out the part where his comrades were Noble supremacists who tried to overthrow the nation because they opposed policy changes that outlawed the mistreatment of Commoners, making the nation’s laws no longer solely favor Nobles," Chimed in Aster.

"Th-That isn’t true! They believe it’s the truth, but thanks to the brainwashing, they have no idea what’s real!" Blurted out Alphonse with a panicked look on his face.

Fortunately for him, Akila failed to notice.

"Yeah, I know. This is bad, we’re really backed into a corner here...get out of here, Al. Go find a safe place to hide, I’ll hold them off and buy you some time. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on dying here, I’ll find you once I’ve defeated them," Smiled Akila, trembling slightly as he put on a brave face.

"O-Okay, if you insist!"

Alphonse was quick to rush out of the room, before Akila stepped in front of the door to block The Irregulars from chasing after him, taking on a defensive stance as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

"I-It’ll be fine...I just need to stay calm. I need to get myself in the zone and use my Magic as effectively as possible," Akila thought to himself, in an effort to ease his nerves.

"You’re up, Tacitus," Remarked Aster, as The Irregulars spread out.

"Yeah, yeah, I know...[Nullification Zone]," Chanted Tacitus, Akila’s eyes widening as he felt the flow of his Mana come to a halt.

"Shit, I forgot...this must be the Negation Magic Al told me about," He realized as his heart sank.

"Huh? It’s Nullification Magic, not-...whatever," Sighed Tacitus dryly, as Akila did his best to try and motivate himself in what felt like a hopeless situation.

"Bring it on...I may be outmatched and outnumbered, but I won’t go down without a fight!" He declared, desperately trying to believe his own words.

Aster muttered something under his breath, Raven’s ears perking up before the two of them exchanged a glance, Raven giving him a subtle nod, before raising his hand towards Akila and unleashing a rapid fireball.

Akila stepped forward and whipped one of his blades across, deflecting the fireball away, before he leapt off to his right as a barrage of bone bullets came shooting towards him, narrowly evading them before lifting his gaze as Ravella extended her whip out towards him and swung it down rapidly.

Akila let out a sharp cry as he raised his arms up defensively, the whip striking his right forearm with a stinging impact before wrapping around his arm.

Ravella then gave the whip a sharp tug, pulling Akila off balance, before Colt shot forward as Akila stumbled forward, swinging the back of his dagger towards the side of Akila’s neck.

Akila narrowly blocked the slash with his left blade, before he collapsed onto one knee as Colt struck the side of his leg with a blood tendril.

Colt then swiftly backed away as Akila slashed at him, quickly getting back onto his feet and crossing his blades defensively as Celia leapt straight towards him and drove her right fist forward.

He grimaced as her fist slammed onto the face of his blades, her gauntlet magnifying the impact, jarring his forearms before she raised her knee as he began to lift his foot, blocking him before springing back as he gritted his teeth and swung his head towards hers, but she reacted too quickly to land the attack.

His gaze then darted across to either side as Colt and Lexia zipped in towards him, before he slashed at Colt as he closed in, who swiftly ducked down and fired out a blood blast at Akila’s side, eliciting a sharp cry as the attack struck him and sent him stumbling across to his right, before his eyes widened in alarm as Lexia closed in with a bone blade in hand, starting to drive it towards him.

"Sh-Shit, I can’t block it in time!"

He then froze in surprise as Lexia abruptly halted the thrust of her blade, pausing for a moment before flipping her grip on the handle with a flick of her wrist and striking the side of his head with the bottom of the handle of her bone blade, dazing him slightly before she and Colt swiftly backed away as Akila let out a yell and swung his blades out towards them.

He then quickly sprang back as Aster shot towards him, closing in on him in the blink of an eye, before he gasped as Aster struck his sides with the back of his blades before he could react.

Akila shakily raised his own blades, swinging them down towards Aster, before stiffening as Aster swiftly adjusted and raised his blades up, a sharp clang echoing out as he easily blocked Akila’s slashes, before eliciting a sharp gasp from the young man as he slammed his foot onto Akila’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him stumbling back.

"Wh-What...what’s going on? Are they toying with me? No, that’s not quite it, but...they’re clearly holding back. They’ve been going out of their way to avoid landing any fatal hits, but why?" Frowned Akila in confusion, looking around at The Irregulars.

Suddenly, Celia stepped forward and slammed her fist onto the floor, a loud crash ringing out as a cloud of dust rose up, perplexing Akila, before he sprang back as Ravella’s whip came swinging out through the dust cloud, the tip of the whip grazing the front of his chest with a painful thwack.

He then quickly spun across to his left as he spotted Tacitus charging towards him in his peripheral, who drove his fist forward as he closed in.

To Akila’s surprise, Tacitus suddenly stopped his punch a few inches short, before lunging forward and thudding his fist against Akila’s forehead, before tilting his body back as Akila slashed at him with one of his blades.

"Again...he quite literally pulled his punch. What the hell is going on here-...? Huh?" Frowned Akila, as he noticed that Raven was missing, his eyes widening in realization, "Oh, no, Al! I need to-...!"

As Akila began to spin around and rush towards the door, he let out a startled yell as Ravella swiftly swung her whip out, hitting his left ankle and wrapping around it, before giving it a sharp yank to pull him off-balance, a thud echoing out as Akila hit the floor face-first.

He began to try and get back onto his feet, before freezing as he felt the cold kiss of a blade against the back of his neck, as Aster squatted down beside him and lightly pressed the tip of one of his blades against Akila’s skin.

"Don’t move. Just relax, we’re not going to kill you. Instead, why don’t we have a chat?"

"I-I get it now, you’re going to take me to get brainwashed too, aren’t you?! I-I’m not gonna let that happen, I’d rather-...!"

"Calm down and think for a second, why don’t you? If we really wanted to capture you, don’t you think we could’ve done it with ease at any point? That aside, if the whole brainwashing thing was really true, why would we be the only people who were brainwashed?" Pointed out Aster, as the others walked over.

"You’re being tricked by Alphonse Plore, he’s just using you to further his own goals," Chimed in Celia.

"Yeah, it’s a good thing you haven’t killed anyone yet, that would’ve made things really complicated," Added Ravella.

"N-No, that’s-...that can’t be true!"

"Can’t really blame him for doubting us, he doesn’t actually know us, after all," Reasoned Tacitus objectively.

"You don’t know what you’re talking about, your memories have been altered, try to remember! If what you’re saying is really true, then how do you explain how miserable the people of this nation look, huh?!" Snapped Akila in response.

"Because of you and Plore, everyone’s on edge because they’re afraid of a battle breaking out where they live," Remarked Lexia with an exasperated sigh.

"Think about it, out of everyone you’ve fought since Plore summoned you to this world, has so much as a single one of them actually tried to kill you?" Colt asked him pointedly.

"I...I..."

"We’re not asking you to take everything we’re saying at face value, without any proof," Said Aster, as he moved his blade away and stood up, before adding, "So, how about this? Let us show you that you’re being deceived, we’ll let you see the truth for yourself and let you make up your own mind. What do you say?"

"What’s going on here? If they were really brainwashed, it wouldn’t make sense for them to say all this, could it really be...? I...I don’t know what to believe anymore. I really don’t want to even consider the possibility that Al has been lying to me all this time, but-...damn it, I don’t know what to believe anymore! I have no choice, I’ll have to see the truth with my own eyes," Decided Akila, getting back onto his feet with a wary, conflicted look on his face, before replying as he met Aster’s gaze, "Alright, then...prove it to me."