Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 167: Mutated

"Alright, it’s nice to meet you all. My name’s Raven Kyzer, the Vice-Captain of the Third Squad, and I’ll be leading this team today," Raven introduced himself with a smile.

It was the 5th of October, 1919, a little over a month had passed since Akila joined the Knights. Thanks to how the Second Squad welcomed and looked after him, he settled into his new routine fairly quickly, and was now enjoying his new life.

He’d befriended several members of the squad, and with the sense of fulfillment he felt with his duties as a Knight, that empty feeling that had plagued him for so long had all but disappeared.

He was more bright-eyed and cheerful than he had been in a very long time, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

About a week ago, he submitted a suggestion to Jules on an idea to improve the cohesiveness and collaboration in the Knight Order. Specifically, by forming teams made up of members from different Squads every now and then, to get the Knights used to fighting alongside unfamiliar teammates.

Jules found the idea appealing and decided to implement it, when an opportunity to put it into practice presented itself.

Some unusual Monster activity had been noticed in several areas, so Jules had formed a number of teams of different squad members to go investigate the activity and bring it under control.

The higher ranked Knights in the Order had been assigned to lead each of the teams, including Raven, who was leading a team that consisted of Akila and a few others.

"Before we head out, why don’t the rest of you introduce yourselves too?" Suggested Raven, as he looked around at the members.

"Sure. I’m Akila Ekanayake, a First-Class Knight of the Second Squad, I look forward to working with all of you," Responded Akila with a polite smile.

"U-Um, I’m Kia Werfer, a-also a First-Class Knight from the Second Squad," Spoke up Kia nervously.

"Same here, I’m Ferd Beryl," Chimed in one of the others.

He was one of the Knights who had fought The Irregulars, back when Raven first returned to Ruby Village after being put through the Homunculus Ritual, as well as the younger brother of the Vice-Captain of the First Squad, Wein Beryl.

"My name is Laiza Terren, I’m a First-Class Knight of the First Squad, a pleasure," Another of the team’s members introduced herself with a polite smile.

She was in her early-twenties, with long, flowing snowy-white hair that fell over her forehead and went halfway down her back, dark red eyes, a fair complexion, and she was a bit above average height, with a attractive, curvy figure and an athletic build.

She was a Commoner with Noble blood, and had been a Second-Class Knight when King Aress held the throne, despite being as strong or even stronger than the other First-Class Knights in the Order at the time.

"And I’m Zina Peridot, also a First-Class Knight of the First Squad," Added the final member of the team.

She was in her mid-twenties, with slightly short, bluish-black hair with an undercut, black eyes with dark blue tinge around the edges of her irises, a pale complexion, she wore black lipstick with a lip ring on left side of her lower lip, and she was slightly shorter than Laiza, with a slim agile build.

"Alright, now that we’re all introduced, let me explain today’s assignment. We’ll be heading for the Sodalite Mountain, at the base of which an unusually large pack of Death Grizzlies have appeared. They’re Mid-Level Monsters, so they shouldn’t be too tough to deal with, but don’t get careless. Once we get there, I’ll scout out the situation, after that, the five of you will go in to exterminate the Monsters. I’ll step in if any of you end up in any danger, your goal is to complete this assignment without any help from me. Now, then, let’s get going, shall we?" Suggested Raven, before the group began making their way to the Sodalite Mountain as the others nodded in response.

The mountain was on the outskirts of Sapphire City, which was close to the Flourite Forest, where the abandoned mansion that Akila had been summoned in was located.

Raven led the way, while the others trailed behind and chatted with each other, making some small talk to get to know one another.

"I see, so you were barred from getting promoted to First-Class just because you’re a Commoner? That’s awful," Remarked Akila sympathetically.

"Yeah, things were pretty rough back then. I had it easier than most Commoners in the Order since I was in the First Squad, but there were still some squad mates who gave me a tough time. Her included," Replied Laiza, as she nodded at Zina with a wry smile.

"I-I’ve apologized for that, please don’t remind me of how awful I was back then," Sighed Zina with a remorseful look on her face.

Despite initially being prejudiced against Commoners when she first joined the Order, thanks to Rione’s guidance, she let go of those prejudices and became more accepting and open-minded.

"I know, I’m just messing with you, you know I admire and respect you for changing the way you did," Laughed Laiza playfully.

"Come to think of it, you were pretty prickly towards Commoners when I first met you too, though you weren’t as bad as most others," Recalled Raven, as he glanced at Ferd.

"I-...yes, I apologize. I struggled to let go of the beliefs that had been instilled in me since childhood, had I managed to do so sooner and focus more attention on my duties, then perhaps the events that led you to becoming a test subject in the Homunculus Ritual could have been prevented," Replied Ferd, averting his gaze solemnly.

"Nah, that’s a bit of a stretch, I’m certainly not going to blame you for that. By the way, Akila...once we get to the area where the Monsters are, you’ll be in charge while I step back. Since you’re being groomed for the position of the Second Squad’s Vice-Captain, I was asked to assess your leadership skills," Raven informed him.

"Huh? O-Okay, got it," Nodded Akila, looking a bit nervous.

"U-Um, it’ll be okay, I’m sure you’ll do great," Chimed in Kia, as she awkwardly patted his back.

"Oh, thanks for the encouragement, Kia, I appreciate it," Smiled Akila gratefully, as Kia muttered something incoherent under her breath and averted her gaze, her cheeks reddening slightly.

The group then continued on, Raven keeping an eye out with his senses to make sure they wouldn’t be ambushed, while also looking to detect the Monsters they were targeting as soon as they got within his range.

While Kia did possess Detection Magic, she didn’t have a lot of Mana since she was a Commoner, so Raven decided to instruct her to conserve her Mana and leave the detection to him.

As the mountain came into sight, it wasn’t much longer before Raven sensed the Monsters through their Mana signatures, a large pack of over thirty Death Grizzlies, but one of the Mana signatures felt strange to him.

As the group drew closer to the pack of Monsters, Raven guided them upwind of the pack to make sure their scents wouldn’t carry towards the beasts.

They took cover behind a row of bushes as they got within sight of the pack, observing the Monsters warily.

"This is certainly strange. Death Grizzlies are rarely seen in packs of more than five or so, most of them are solitary creatures. So, to see this many in one place is highly unusual," Muttered Ferd.

"See that cave at the foot of the mountain? I can sense a few of them in there, seven in total...six of them seem to be standing in guard of the seventh, and that one feels off to me. There’s something disconcerting about the feel of its Mana," Replied Raven with a grimace.

"What should we do?" Responded Laiza.

"We’ll go ahead with the plan. Alright, Akila, you’re up," Remarked Raven, as he gave him a pat on the shoulder and stepped back.

"Yeah, okay...alright, guys, how about this? Those of us with ranged Spells will kick things off by launching of volley of attacks to scatter the pack, and after that, we rush in, spread out and cut them down before they have a chance to regroup," Suggested Akila, after taking a moment to mull it over.

"Yes, that sounds like a decent plan, simple yet effective. I possess Lightning Magic, so I shall be a part of the initial attack," Nodded Ferd in response.

"Me too, I’ve got Fire Magic," Added Laiza.

"And I possess Wind Magic," Chimed in Zina.

"My Magic doesn’t have Attack Spells, so I can’t help with this part," Grinned Akila sheepishly.

"Um, same here," Spoke up Kia timidly.

Ferd, Laiza and Zina then stepped forward, taking aim before unleashing a barrage of Spells towards the Monsters, loud crashes and roars ringing out as the pack began to scatter across the area.

"Alright, let’s get out there!" Declared Akila, drawing out his blades before the five of them rushed out of the bushes and spread out.

Akila shot towards one of the Monsters, which roared and swiped its claws at him, but its arm phased right through Akila’s head, who then swiftly drove one of his blades into the large bear’s throat, before pulling it back out with a sharp twist.

Blood streamed down the Monster’s chest as it gasped for breath in agony, the fur over the front of its torso getting matted down before it fell over and hit the ground with a thud.

Akila then swiftly spun around as another of the Death Grizzlies came charging in towards him from behind, passing right through him as he turned his entire body intangible, before he phased one of his blades through the left side of the Monster’s back, before materializing the blade inside its body, piercing its heart.

A fierce blast of flames then erupted from a few meters away, as Laiza fired a Spell at one of the Monster’s, hitting its chest and charring its fur and skin with a sickening sizzle, before she shot forward as she tightened her grip on the handle of her weapon, a long, narrow sword.

She swiftly ducked as the Monster tried to claw her head, before springing up and driving her blade towards the bottom of its jaw, piercing through before the blade burst out through the top of the beast’s head.

"Not bad, her sword technique is impressive, it might even be more refined than the Commander’s. That said, she’s nowhere near as fast or strong as the Commander is, and her Magic is a fair bit weaker too. Still, she’s definitely talented," Raven thought to himself with a nod of approval, having flown up into the air to get a birds-eye view of the battle, before turning his attention across as a sharp roar of pain rang out, to see Zina having plunged her weapon, a spear, into one of the Death Grizzlies’ chests.

But it was too shallow to do any serious damage, before she swiftly stepped back and fired out a wind blast at the bottom of the spear’s handle, forcing in deeper into the Monster’s chest, the blade of the weapon slicing across the right side of its heart and killing it.

As it fell onto its back with a thudding crash, she hopped onto its torso and tried to pull her spear out, struggling to wrench it free before stiffening as a couple more of the Monsters came charging in towards her from either side.

She then gritted her teeth, tightening her grip on the handle before firing out pressurized jets of wind from the soles of her feet to launch herself up, the force generated forcibly yanking the spear back out.

"Hm, she’s not very physically strong, but she’s making up for it with creative use of her Wind Magic. She’s got some room for improvement, but she isn’t half-bad," Assessed Raven thoughtfully, before continuing to survey the battle, his attention then landing on Ferd.

Ferd fired out a rapid bolt of lightning at one of the Death Grizzlies, hitting the middle of its torso with a sharp sizzle, before he swiftly swung his weapon, a chain whip with a blade at the end, across as the Monster’s body stiffened up sharply.

It roared in pain as the blade at the end of his whip sliced across its eyes, blinding it, before Ferd swiftly blasted its open mouth with a powerful, charged up lightning bolt, severely injuring it before slicing its throat open with the blade of his whip.

"He seems to be doing the best out of the group, which makes sense since he’s the most experienced. He did hold his own against Celia and Tacitus back then, which is nothing to sneeze at, even if they were holding back since he wasn’t on our list of targets," Recalled Raven, before shifting his attention as a gleeful chuckle rang out.

"Come on, come on, come on, put up more of a fight!" Exclaimed Kia, a flushed look on her face as she swung her dual blades across, inflicting a deep, X-shaped cut across one of the Monster’s chests, before slipping behind it as it swung its claws at her with a snarl, slashing at its heels to bring it down its knees.

She then whipped one of her blades across, slicing through the Monster’s nape as it got within her reach, killing it.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot she gets like that when she fights...she’s a different kind of crazy to Colt and Lexia," Raven thought to himself in bemusement.

The team then proceeded to steadily wipe out the rest of the Monster pack, the Death Grizzlies in the cave emerging before long and attacking the group fiercely, but they handled it without a problem.

And then, finally, the last one emerged, the one Raven had sensed as unusual compared to the rest, his eyes widening slightly as he got a look at it.

It was about a couple of feet taller than the others, with a more muscular body. Its fangs and claws were longer and sharper too, its face slightly deformed and curved bone spikes protruding unevenly across its arms.

"What the...? The hell is that thing? I’ve never seen a Death Grizzly like that before, is it mutated or something?" Frowned Raven warily, as the others surrounded it.

"There’s something different about this one, let’s keep our distance and-...!" Began Akila, before he abruptly trailed off as the Monster rapidly shot towards Ferd, whose eyes widened in alarm as the Monster closed in on him in a matter of seconds, much faster than any of the others they’d fought.

As it swung its claws down towards him, he let out a startled yell as Zina quickly hit his right side with a blast of wind, knocking him away before a loud crash rang out as the Monster’s paw slammed onto the ground with an alarmingly powerful impact.

"That level of speed and power, it’s...it’s comparable to a High Level Monster, possibly even borderline Critical Level!" Yelled out Laiza in alarm, as the Monster turned its attention to Kia.

As it began to charge towards her, it came to an abrupt halt as a rapid, swirling purple fireball barreled down and slammed onto the ground in front of it, right as Raven swooped down and landed around that spot with a grimace.

"It targeted Ferd first and then Kia, is it a coincidence, or was it deliberately going after them in order of how much of a threat they pose? Either way, this thing’s not normal," He thought to himself, before firing out his beams towards the Monster’s eyes.

To his surprise, it quickly tilted its head across, the beams grazing the side of its head before it swiped its claws at Raven’s head powerful, an intense gust of wind bursting above his head as he ducked under the swing of its large paw.

He then tranformed, the scales across his body spreading as he unleashed the full extent of his Homunculus form, before springing up and slamming his fist onto the bottom of the Monster’s jaw, dazing it as it stumbled back with a shaky growl.

"Woah, he just got a lot faster, is that his full power? That tranformation looks sick as hell," Akila thought to himself, right as Raven extended out his claws and shot forward before the Monster could regain its bearings.

He unleashed a sharp burst of flames from the soles of his feet to boost his speed, before whipping his arm across as he closed in on it, slicing through its neck and decapitating the beast before it could react.

A spray of blood burst out of the stump that was left around its neck as its head hit the ground with a thud and rolled away, before a loud crash rang out as it fell over and collapsed onto the ground, a puddle of blood forming across the dirt as blood streamed down and seeped into the ground.

"You okay?" Inquired Raven, as he flew over towards Ferd and healed him, having sustained a few fractures across his right arm.

"Y-Yes, I’ll be fine, thank you," He nodded with a grateful sigh, as the pain faded.

"Sorry about that, I didn’t have time to properly control the blast before hitting you," Apologized Zina sheepishly, as she and the others walked over.

"No, you have no reason to apologize. If anything, I should be thanking you. I would almost certainly have died if you hadn’t done that," Ferd shook his head with a wry smile.

"What in the world was this thing? I’ve never seen a Monster like it before," Remarked Laiza with a frown.

"Me neither, this is definitely abnormal, I’ve never heard of anything like this before. The mutations and size difference compared to the other Death Grizzlies aside, the fact that it was so powerful is definitely cause for concern. We should take its body back and have it analyzed...let’s hope this is just a one-off anomaly," Replied Raven grimly, getting a bad feeling...