Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit
Chapter 181: Goodbye, Old Friend

Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Goodbye, Old Friend

"B-But, Captain, I can’t just let you fight that thing by yourself, it’s too danger-...," Began Akila, managing to stand back up before stumbling slightly.

"There’s no time to argue! Go, now!" Snapped Fyre urgently.

Akila hesitated for a moment, before unsteadily rushing over towards Kia, lifting her up and carrying her in his arms before hurrying towards the outpost, a frustrated look on his face as he ran away.

The Monster turned its attention towards them and began to chase after him, before it halted and sprang back as Fyre unleashed a rapid slashing wave of flames with a swing of its spear.

"Don’t ignore me, I’m the one you’re fighting now. I thought the Monster Queens were supposed to live in hiding, with the protection of their offspring. So, why’s one here, and all by itself, at that?" He frowned, before he shot forward with a grimace, opening his mouth and unleashing a roaring wave of flames towards the Monster.

It swiftly flew up, evading the flames before swooping down towards Fyre with immense speed, swiping at his head with the claws on its feet.

He just barely managed to block it with the blade of his spear, a sharp clang ringing out upon impact, before the Monster Queen rapidly twisted its body across in midair, slamming its tail against his right bicep and sending him stumbling across to the left, before it landed and leapt straight towards him with its jaws wide open.

He quickly jammed the handle of his spear into the ground, gripping the top of the handle before lifting himself up and off his feet, the Monster Queen’s jaws snapping around the middle of the handle of his spear before he burst out an intense blast of flames from his mouth, which slammed against the Monster’s head and burnt its scales, a roar of pain ringing out.

Suddenly, Fyre tensed as the Monster wrapped its tail around his left leg and flung him away with immense force with a sharp, powerful flick of its tail, sending him hurtling through the air rapidly.

He gritted his teeth before plunging the blade of his spear into the ground, bringing himself to an abrupt halt before he froze as the Monster zipped forward and closed in on him in an instant.

It swiped its claws at his head as it got him within its reach, he quickly tilted his head back in alarm, but he was a fraction of a second too slow to react, a stifled cry of pain ringing out as one of its claws sliced across his left eye, half his line of sight going black with a burst of pain, before he fired off a pressurized burst of flames from his left foot, launching his knee up and slamming it against the Monster’s stomach.

As he knee collided against its stomach with a sharp thud, it stumbled back before quickly spreading out its wings and flying back as he swung his spear across at its throat, a shallow cut appearing across the front of its neck before it swerved across the air as Fyre unleashed a rapid, roaring fireball towards it, the Monster narrowly evading the attack before zipping across the air as Fyre blasted out a relentless barrage of flame projectiles up towards it.

He focused on his aim as he fired ceaselessly, but it was no use, the Monster weaved through the air and evaded almost all the attacks, a few grazing it and inflicting slight burns across its scales.

"It’s so fast, I can’t land a proper hit. And I can’t let this fight drag out, I’m already low on stamina after fighting that last Monster Queen, so I need to end this fight as quickly as possible...alright, then, I’ll have to try something too big for it to dodge," He thought to himself, before locking on and chanting, "Now, [Flame Nova]!"

As the barrage of flame projectiles ceased, the Monster came to a halt, narrowing its gaze at Fyre and starting to swoop down, before stopping as a massive, swirling sphere of flames formed above him, the air around it shimmering violently.

He then took a stomping step forward and swung his arm down with a roar, launching the large, flaming sphere towards the Monster with immense speed.

The sphere blazed through the air rapidly, the Monster’s eyes widening in alarm as it began to try and fly out of the way, before a roar of pain rang out as the sphere of flames colliding against it, engulfing the Monster before the flames erupted devastatingly, an intense wave of heat bursting out as the area got lit up in a bright, fiery glow.

Fyre let out a slight gasp and took a shaky step back, having to unleash so many successive Spells followed immediately by charging up and launching one of his most powerful Spells so quickly had put a strain on his Mana circuits.

"O-Okay...I don’t know if that was enough to kill it, but surely it’s at least weakened significantly now. I need to-...," He muttered to himself, before trailing off as a rapid blur came shooting out of the flames with blinding speed.

He frantically tried to regain his bearings and focus as he started to raise his spear up defensively, but the blur closed in and shot past his right side before he could react, a sharp, excruciating pain bursting out.

He yelled in pain as a spray of blood burst out of the stump left around his right bicep, splattering across the ground as he shakily turned his gaze back, to see the Monster Queen holding his severed arm between its jaws.

His arm hit the ground with a thud as the Monster let go of it, before it shot forward rapidly. Fyre began to drive his spear towards it as it closed in on him, but he was too slow, a sharp wheeze of pain ringing out as the Monster Queen drove its right arm forward, its claws piercing through the middle of his chest and rending through his flesh, before bursting out his back.

It then grabbed his throat with its other hand as he coughed out blood with an agonized gasp, wrenching its right arm back out with a violent twist, blood gushing out of the wide, gaping hole in the Knight Captain’s chest.

He could only stare helplessly as the Monster opened its jaws, before snapping them shut around his head, its fangs sinking in before it ripped his head right off his shoulders, a sharp crunch ringing out as it crushed his skull in its jaws and swallowed it.

The Monster then proceeded to ravenously devour the rest of Fyre’s body, a large puddle of blood forming around its feet as it wolfed him down, its jaws, arms and chest stained with his blood.

By the time it finished, not so much as a single bone was left, its stomach slightly bloated. Fyre’s spear laid in the middle of the puddle of blood, the Monster licking the blood off the sides of its jaws before it suddenly sprang back as blasts of flames and lightning came shooting towards it.

"No...that spear, it can’t be...," Muttered Rione in horror.

"Damn it...," Growled Jules furiously, right as several hurried footsteps echoed out.

Aster, Tacitus, Celia and Siele came into sight, the Monster eyeing each of the newcomers one by one, sizing them up and narrowing its eyes at them.

It then snapped open its jaws and let out a deafening roar, before spreading out its wings and zipping up into the air, flying away rapidly.

"Do not let it get away!" Exclaimed Jules, whipping her sword across several times and unleashing a barrage of fiery slashes at the fleeing Monster Queen, but none of her attacks hit.

"I won’t be able to catch up, it’s too fast," Remarked Aster grimly, as he began to fly after it, before stopping.

"In that case...," Muttered Tacitus, taking out a Spell Card from his Storage Ring and activating it, casting a massive barrier around the city.

"That’s one of the barriers the Elves helped you make, right? Good, now that we’ve trapped it, let’s corner it and-...," Began Jules, before trailing off in disbelief, as the Monster put on a burst of speed and broke through the barrier with ease, rapidly disappearing into the distance as it flew away.

"No way...even the Relic Armaments needed multiple powerful hits to penetrate that barrier, but it broke through in one shot," Remarked Tacitus in disbelief.

"How the hell are we supposed to deal with something that powerful? It...it was strong enough to kill a Captain," Responded Rione quietly, as he walked over to the puddle of blood and picked up Fyre’s spear, adding somberly as he clenched his fist, "Goodbye, old friend..."

"Killing that thing is our utmost priority now. It must be the last Monster Queen that the team of Detectors sensed, we must eliminate it before it can do any further damage," Uttered Jules, a bitter look of frustration on her face as she glanced at the puddle of blood...