Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit
Chapter 183: My Prey

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: My Prey

"Come on, focus up, we need to stay alert," Remarked Wein, as he patrolled through Beryl Town with one of his subordinates.

"Sorry, Vice-Captain. I just feel kinda worn out mentally, it’s hard to concentrate."

"Well, I suppose that’s fair, we’ve been extra vigilant for three days now. The Inquisitors have been looking pretty exhausted too," Responded Wein sympathetically.

It was the 22nd of October, 1919, and so far, there hadn’t been any sign of the Aeroraptor Queen. The Knights had upped their patrols, a sense of growing tension about them with each passing day.

"I know we don’t exactly have much of a choice, but I wish there was a less tiring way to do this."

"I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same way, but-...," Began Wein, before trailing off as the sky above suddenly shimmered, fluctuating waves erupting from the east.

"What was that?!"

"The barrier has been breached! We need to hurry!" Exclaimed Wein in alarm, taking his staff out of his Storage Ring as he rushed in the direction the shimmers had come from, a grim look on his face.

Meanwhile, in the area where the barrier had been breached...

A loud crunching noise rang out, along with the sound of flesh being torn apart.

It was the Aeroraptor Queen, it had burst through the barrier and swooped down towards a pair of patrolling Knights, killing one immediately before proceeding to devour him.

"Sh-Shit!" Exclaimed the other Knight, drawing out a sword before firing a bolt of lightning at the Monster.

The Aeroraptor Queen swiftly ducked down to evade it, before it shot towards the Knight with immense speed, snapping its jaws at her and tearing her stomach open, a scream of pain ringing out before a choked gasp rang out as the Monster plunged its claws through her throat.

It then ripped off her head and devoured it, before tearing the rest of her body apart and wolfing it down ravenously.

"No!" Wein’s voice suddenly rang out, before he rapidly extended his staff out towards the Monster.

The Monster Queen swiftly spread out its wings and zipped up into the air, evading the staff before snarling and swinging its right arm across as flames swirled around its claws, unleashing a rapid slashing wave of flames.

Wein’s eyes widened in alarm before he ducked under the attack and shot forward, unleashing a powerful blast of wind towards the Monster Queen, who veered across the air to evade the attack.

It then glanced around as several more Knights showed up, narrowing its eyes at them.

"Vice-Captain!"

"We’ll help, we-...!"

"No, stay back! Keep your distance and back me up, don’t get close!" Exclaimed Wein, before firing off a barrage of wind projectiles towards the Monster Queen.

It swerved and weaved through the air, evading the attacks with ease, before rapidly swooping down towards Wein as the other Knights joined in with a volley of Spells.

Wein raised his staff up defensively as the Monster closed in on him, his feet skidding back several meters across the ground as the Monster slammed its feet against his staff, the impact jarring his arms before he quickly fired out a burst of wind from his mouth as the Monster Queen began to snap its jaws at him.

The wind slammed onto its face, its head jerking back upon impact before it growled and rapidly twisted its body across, whipping its tail across, which collided against the right side of Wein’s face, his head snapping across to the left before he stumbled off, a trickled of blood running down the corner of his mouth.

As the Monster Queen began to leap towards him, he quickly raised his spear and extended it out towards the Monster, who quickly tilted its body across to evade the attack, before Wein swiftly unleashed an intense eruption of wind around himself, knocking the Monster a few meters back through the air.

It began to charge up flames in its mouth, before it quickly flew up as several Spells came shooting in towards it from the other Knights, evading them before flying up higher and getting some distance.

"Th-That was close, this thing’s even stronger than I thought it would be," Remarked Wein with a grimace.

"And you...are weak. I want...humans as strong...as the first one...I consumed. Stronger humans...taste better."

Wein’s eyes widened in disbelief, struggling to process the fact that a Monster had just spoken to him.

It then swooped down towards him with immense speed, evading as the other Knights fired their Spells again, before swiping its claws as Wein as it closed in on him.

He quickly lifted his staff up defensively, but only partially managed to block the attack, deep scratches slicing across his chest as he failed to fully block the swing of the Monster’s claws.

The Monster Queen swung the claws on its right foot up towards him as he simultaneously charged up a swirling sphere of wind, unleashing it right as the Monster’s claws bore into his stomach.

The wind sphere struck the middle of its chest and knocked it back a few meters, as Wein stumbled back and clutched his stomach as blood poured out, trying to stem the bleeding.

"D-Damn it..."

"Like I...said...you are...weak," Remarked the Monster Queen, before tilting its head across as a piercing beam of water came shooting towards it.

It then flew up as more Spells came shooting in, evading them and narrowing its eyes at Wein. While it did consider him weak, it could also tell that he was the strongest of the Knights in the vicinity, so it was keen on eating him.

"This is bad, I shouldn’t kept a Healing Spell on me...," Muttered Wein, struggling to muster up his strength with the wound in his stomach.

"He is...even weaker now. I shall kill...him and-...hm?"

The Monster Queen’s train of thought was then interrupted as it sensed several powerful presences appear in the town, before it began salivating.

"I can sense...many strong humans. But...there are...too many. No point...if I die. I must...retreat," It decided reluctantly, before suddenly unleashing a devastating blast of flames down towards Wein.

He gritted his teeth before firing off jets of wind from his feet to launch himself out of the way, narrowly evading the flames, which erupted as the collided against the ground.

He then lifted his gaze, expecting the Monster Queen to come swooping down towards him, before his eyes widened in alarm...

"L-Look out!" He yelled, as the Monster shot towards a few of the other Knights, tearing their throats open with rapid swipes of its claws as it closed in on them before they could react, fatally wounding four of them, before it grabbed two of them with its feet and the other two with its hands, digging its claws in to secure its grasp on them.

It then zipped up into the air and flew away with immense speed as Wein and the other Knights launched a barrage of Spells at it, but they couldn’t land a hit, the Monster Queen rapidly disappearing into the distance.

"Vice-Captain Wein! Are you alright?!" Jules’s voice echoed out, as she rushed over with Rione, Siele, Akila and The Irregulars.

"Y-Yeah, I’ll be okay. I’m sorry...I failed to keep it occupied long enough," He replied with a frustrated grimace, as Raven healed him.

As the pain faded and the wound closed up, Wein then explained what had happened. How the Monster had killed two Knights before he even arrived, and then suddenly ran away after wounding and nabbing four more Knights.

"It...it was frightening fast and agile, and I’m pretty sure it was just sizing me up, I don’t think it was going all out. The few hits I landed did basically no damage. But most of all, its intelligence was terrifying, particularly the fact that it could speak. Its speech was stilted and awkward, but still..."

"Hm...do you think it can sense how powerful someone is, maybe by the feel of their Mana or something?"

"That’d make sense. I don’t think the timing of its retreat was a coincidence," Pointed out Aster thoughtfully.

"That would mean it can sense Mana from quite a distance, the outpost is about half a kilometer from this area," Frowned Tacitus warily.

"Wait, wouldn’t that make its sensory range...?" Trailed off Colt as he glanced at Raven.

"Yeah, even wider than mine."

"Also, it specifically targeted Knights, it didn’t go after any civilians. You mentioned that it said something about stronger humans tasting better, right?" Chimed in Celia.

"Yeah, it did," Nodded Wein.

"Hey, I have a thought...do you think it gets stronger and more intelligent when it eats people?" Suggested Akila uncertainly, a grim tension falling over the group as they considered that possibility.

"The ability to speak, not to mention that it could cast flames...," Muttered Lexia.

"Well, this just got a whole lot worse...the more people it kills and eats, the more powerful it becomes. And if it keeps employing hit and run tactics like it did here, it’s going to be pretty damn tough to corner it," Frowned Ravella.

Meanwhile...

"These ones...are even weaker. None of them...are as strong as...that first one. But now I...have new Magic," Remarked the Aeroraptor Queen, as it conjured sparks of lightning around its claws, before firing out a blast of water from its mouth.

It had returned to its cave in the Quartz Mountain Range and immediately proceeded to feast on the Knights it had abducted, and while it had enjoyed the meal, it was far from satisfied.

It had gained Lightning Magic, Water Magic and Healing Magic, and its intelligence had grown further, its speech was a bit smoother now.

Of the six Knights it had devoured, one of them possessed Lightning Magic, one had Fire Magic, two were Healers and the other two were all Water Mages.

After it finished eating all of them, it noticed that the more people with the same Magic Class it eats, the stronger that Magic grows.

The Lightning Magic it had gained was rather weak, and its flames had grown stronger. It already had a strong natural healing ability, so while the Healing Magic it had gained wasn’t very strong, it was that much more effective when added onto its body’s innate healing.

And its Water Magic was moderately powerful...still, being able to cast multiple different types of Magic gave it a serious advantage. And that fact was not lost on the Aeroraptor Queen.

"It is too risky to...keep attacking the humans alone. In which case...," The Queen trailed off, before glancing around at the scores of Aeroraptors that were all throughout the cave, several hundred of them, adding, "It is time I make use of you...my children. We shall kill the humans...you can have the weaker ones. The stronger ones...are my prey."

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