Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 171: Waste of Energy

"Okay, we should be getting close now. Keep your guards up, you two, we have no idea what we might be up against," Remarked Aster, as he kept a close eye out.

"Understood, Captain," Nodded Nile Voner in response.

"This is such a pain, damn it. Couldn’t we have brought Raven along with us, or at least a Detection Mage?" Sighed Tacitus dryly.

It was the 12th of October, 1919, a couple of days had passed since the disappearance of the four Knights who had come across the Vermin Monster Queen.

The day after their disappearance, their squadmates reported them missing, after which Aster was assigned to investigate the disappearance.

He’d brought Tacitus and Nile along with him, and they were searching through the area the disappeared Knights had last gone to investigate before they went missing.

The three of them had searched through most of the area, and were currently circling the base of Flourite Mountain, drawing closer and closer to the Vermin nest with each passing minute.

"Quit your complaining, man. Raven’s busy and the Detection Mages are stretched pretty thin at the moment, so we’ll just have to make do. We’ve almost finished covering this entire area, so-...," Responded Aster, before trailing off as he spotted some movement behind a bush.

"What was that?" Frowned Nile, taking out his dual blades from his Storage Ring.

"Pretty sure it’s a Vermin, I caught a glimpse of its tail," Replied Tacitus, before Aster stepped forward and fired out a rapid telekinetic burst towards the bush.

A sharp screech of pain rang out as his attack landed, several leaves flying out upon impact as the Monster got sent hurtling out of the bush, skidding across the ground before coming to a sliding halt.

It growled as it struggled to get back onto its feet, its body trembling in pain as blood poured out of its mouth, before it collapsed onto the dirt with a soft thud as Aster fired out a swift telekinetic slash, slicing through the Monster’s neck and decapitating it.

"Think that’s related to the disappearance of those Knights?" Inquired Nile uncertainly.

"Well, only one way to find out. Let’s keep going," Declared Aster, leading the way as the other two followed behind.

They encountered a few more stray Vermin along the way, cutting them down without any trouble. And as the continued making their way forward, it wasn’t long before the nest came into sight.

As they happened by the same rock formation the disappeared Knights had hidden behind, the trio quickly ducked out of sight before the Monsters could notice them.

"There aren’t that many of them, is there really a Monster Queen here? I count around...fifteen or so? That’s not unusual for Vermin, they do generally stick in packs of about ten to twenty," Mused Nile thoughtfully.

"I can’t say for sure whether there’s a Monster Queen here or not, but...I think this is almost certainly where the missing Knights disappeared. Look at the ground...see those dark patches on the dirt? Pretty sure that’s blood," Whispered Aster with a grimace.

"Hm...that’s not all, look closer. It looks like several spots across the ground have been dug up recently," Noticed Tacitus, narrowing his eyes.

"Wow, that’s amazing. They’re so observant," Nile thought to himself in awe.

"Yeah, you’re right, good catch. There could be more of them burrowed underground...I have little doubt that there’s a Monster Queen out here now. Vermin are generally not very intelligent...burrowing underground to ambush prey while leaving decoys out in sight feels way too clever for them. Not to mention, if that really is the case, they’ve also tried to cover up that they’ve dug into the ground," Surmised Aster.

"I think I get it now. The Knights who disappeared, they must have come across this swarm and decided that they could handle it themselves, only to be taken by surprise by the ones underground," Realized Nile grimly.

"So, what do we do? There’s no telling how many of them there are. We really should’ve brought Raven," Tacitus sighed wistfully.

"Leave it to me. I’ll thin out the herd," Replied Aster, as his feet floated up off the ground, before he zipped up into the air rapidly and silently.

He then moved forward, till he was right above the Monsters, who had failed to notice him flying up.

"Huh...we might want to back away a bit," Muttered Tacitus, taking a few steps back, before Nile followed his lead.

"Alright, time to let loose. [Telekinetic Spear Scattershot]!" Chanted Aster, before unleashing a devastating barrage of large, rapid piercing telekinetic projectiles, which rained down towards the pack of Vermin with immense speed.

A cacophony of agonized, deafening screeches rang out as Aster’s Spell tore the Monsters apart, muffled cries of pain echoing out from underground, dozens of Vermin starting to emerge from the dirt in panic, only to get skewered by Aster’s telekinetic spears.

"Uh, I think that’s a hell of a lot more than just thinning the herd, he’s wiping them all out," Remarked Nile in bemusement.

"Well, it’s not everyday he gets to fire off his Magic with such reckless abandon," Shrugged Tacitus, before adding, "Still though, there sure are a lot of those things, way more than I expected."

Before much longer, all the Vermin outside of the cave had been exterminated, the area painted red with their blood, their mangled corpses strewn all over the ground.

Aster then flew back down, landing in front of the other two with a satisfied look on his face as he stretched his arms up.

"That should leave just a few more plus the Queen, let’s wrap this up," He grinned as he turned his attention to the cave.

"Maybe you should’ve just come here by yourself, there’s no reason for me to be here. What a waste of energy, we walked so much," Sighed Tacitus, dragging his feet after Aster as he made his way towards the cave entrance.

"Well, it’s not over yet. The Queen could end up being immensely powerful," Reasoned Nile objectively.

As the three of them entered the cave, Tacitus took a Spell Card and activated it, a bright ball of light forming and floating above him, illuminating the space.

Aster drew out his blades as the light blanketed the cave, revealing six more Vermin, and the Queen hanging back behind them, by the wall of the cave.

The Queen narrowed her eyes at them, before letting out a chitter, the six Vermin immediately spreading out and rushing forward.

Two of them shot towards Aster, leaping forward as they closed in, before coming to an abrupt halt as they got within the range of his Telekinetic Zone, right as a couple of sharp crunches rang out as he snapped their necks.

A loud crash then rang out as Tacitus brought out his sword from his Storage Ring and whipped it across powerfully as two of the other Vermin closed in on him, killing them instantly as he struck their heads with crushing impacts.

Nile tilted his body across as one of the remaining Vermin leapt towards him, before swinging one of his axes up and slicing through its neck, decapitating it.

He then swung his other axe across as the last remaining Vermin leapt at him, striking the side of its head with the flat of the blade before slamming it against the wall of the cave, crushing its head, blood spurting out as its body went limp.

"And that just leaves the Queen. Let’s-...," Began Aster, before trailing off as the Queen threw back her head and let out a sharp, ringing screech, echoing out across the cave deafeningly.

Cracks then spread out across the wall behind out, deepening rapidly. Aster’s eyes widened in realization as he took a closer look at the wall...

"That’s...a mud wall! The Vermin must have put it up themselves! We need to back away, now!" He exclaimed, right as the wall collapsed, and dozens upon dozens of Vermin came flooding out, rushing past the Queen and charging towards the Knights.

Meanwhile, at the church in the Capital...

"Hm...yes, this is definitely related to the Hero Summoning Ritual. Good work," Remarked the Pope, as he went through a stack of old documents.

"Thank you, Pope Micre. I remembered coming across it back when we were searching the archives for a way to reverse the effects of the Homunculus Ritual, but I couldn’t remember exactly where I saw it. Forgive me, I should have found it sooner."

"No, no, there’s no reason to apologize. Considering how large our archives are, it’s only natural that finding something specific would take time," The Pope shook his head with a smile.

"Still, I shall strive to do better."

"I think you’re being too harsh on yourself, but I suppose I can appreciate your drive. I must say, looking at these documents, it’s quite clear why this ritual was banned."