Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 200: Capture the Flag(Part 7)

"Lexia, get out of here and lay low. I’ll take him on myself," Instructed Raven, cracking his neck.

He’d drawn a line in the ground to indicate the distance from the flag within which he had to stay in, just a few meters ahead of the entrance of the cave.

"Yeah, alright," Sighed Lexia, before disappearing into the trees as Raven met Tacitus’s gaze.

"Come on, you don’t think I’m actually going to fight you, do you? You can’t get too much closer to me than you already are, kid, so you aren’t going to be able to stop me from running away. So, let’s just call this a draw," Remarked Tacitus, as he began to back away.

"That’s where you’re wrong. You really think you can run away from me? Sorry, but I’m not going to give you much of a choice in the matter," Responded Raven with a smirk, unleashing his Aura while simultaneously transforming into his Dark Form, a powerful burst of energy erupting around him as Tacitus froze slightly, his blood running cold.

Without a second thought, he turned around and began to run away, before Raven swiftly extended out his right arm with immense speed, grabbing Tacitus’s left leg and pulling him up and off his feet, before dragging him back. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Tacitus activated his Nullification Zone, Raven’s unleashed Aura getting forcibly suppressed, before Tacitus whipped his sword across at Raven’s extended arm slicing through his forearm and freeing himself of Raven’s grasp.

Blood gushed out of Raven’s arm as Tacitus hit the ground with a thud, pulling the severed arm off his leg and tossing it away with a grimace.

"Huh, guess I can’t regenerate until I take you down, thanks to your Nullification," Mused Raven, as he retracted his arm and stared at the stump left around it, before tightening the muscles around that spot with a grimace to stem the bleeding.

"Here’s a thought, let me go and you’ll be able to heal yourself right now, it’d be a win-win," Pointed out Tacitus.

"No, I don’t think I will, I can wait. Hey, remember after we first met and you started training me...man, you sure did thrash me around a whole lot, didn’t you? Yeah, I was constantly bruised and battered, it was pretty rough. Come to think about it, it’s been quite some time since we last sparred, hasn’t it?" Mused Raven, an ominous gleam in his eyes.

"Okay, uh, I think I’m sensing a tiny bit of resentment there. Maybe we should talk about it sometime, over drinks, my treat. Anyway, I’m gonna go, I’ve, uh...I’ve got a thing I need to do, so-...," Began Tacitus, backing away nervously.

"Like I already said...you’re not getting away!" Declared Raven, before extending out several dozen tendrils from his back, spreading them out all over the area.

Tacitus’s gaze darted about in bewilderment, wondering why none of the tendrils were zipping in towards him, before his eyes widened in realization, as countless eyes opened up all along the tendrils.

"Oh...ohh, shit," He muttered, as the eyes began glowing with increasing intensity, the surrounding area bathed a deep purple glow, growing brighter and brighter with each passing second.

Out of options, Tacitus let out a stained sigh before he shot straight towards Raven as fast as he could, in the slim hopes that he might land a hit strong enough to eliminate Raven before Raven’s beams eliminated him.

"It’s over," Remarked Raven, before a blinding flash of purple erupted across the entire area, countless rapid, piercing beams converging in on Tacitus in the blink of an eye, from almost every direction.

In the next instant, Tacitus had vanished from sight, a deep, scorched crater on the ground around the spot he’d been standing in.

Raven let out a slow exhale as he retracted his tendrils and regenerated his arm, before reverting back to his normal state, pushing his hair back as he stared up at the sky.

Meanwhile...

"Crap, only one person left besides me, it’s most likely Tacitus. Hope he managed to retreat and-...," Aster said to himself, before trailing off in bemusement as one of the two remaining crystals in his bracelet shattered.

And a couple of seconds later, he got teleported out too, finding himself outside the barrier, with Tacitus sprawled on the grass beside him, a weary look on his face as he stared up at the clouds.

"Oh, hey. Goes without saying, but I lost," He greeted Aster dryly.

"Uh, yeah...huh? Wait...everyone else is out too? The only ones who aren’t here are...Raven and Lexia," Remarked Aster in surprise.

"Yes, that means the Second Squad wins," Nodded Jules in response.

"So, where are they? Now that the contest is over, aren’t they going to be teleported out?" Inquired Rione, looking around.

"Oh...that’s my bad, I didn’t think about the end of the contest. I’m pretty sure they’re still in the same spot, and with no way of knowing that they’ve won," Chimed in Tacitus sheepishly.

"Well, they know that the Commander and Third Squads’ teams are out, but I doubt they know that the First Squad was eliminated too. Maybe we should have included a bracelet with crystals that shatter when one of the other teams is eliminated from the contest," Mused Colt thoughtfully.

"Man, how disappointing...I didn’t even get to do anything, I just sat around doing nothing from start to finish," Sighed Aster with a slight huff.

"At least your team got second place, it’s certainly better than being the first one eliminated," Grumbled Jules with a salty look on her face.

"Wait, for real? Huh, I would’ve figured that the First Squad’s team would be the first on the chopping block," Responded Aster in bemusement.

"I’m right here, you know," Chimed in Rione dryly.

"Well, look on the bright side, Commander...at least it took multiple people to eliminate your team, while the First Squad was taken out almost entirely by just me," Grinned Celia smugly.

"Hey, nice, way to go!" Smiled Colt, giving his sister a high-five.

"So, uh...what do we do about Raven and Lexia? Unless someone goes to fetch them, they could end up staying in there for a while," Pointed out Aster.

"I suppose we’ll just have to go over to where they are directly and let them know that the contest is over, and that they’ve won. At the very least, Raven will still be by his team’s flag, so whoever knows where the location is, head there and let them know," Instructed Jules, looking around.

"I don’t mind going, I can fly using my Wind Magic, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble," Volunteered Zina, before adding, "But I’m not sure of the exact location, so if someone else can come with me, that’d be great."

"I can tag along, I think I got a decent idea of which part of the playing field they’re in," Chimed in Ravella with a smile.

The two of them headed out as Tacitus deactivated the barrier surrounding the playing field to let them in.

"So, um...results aside, what did everyone think of this training exercise?" Inquired Akila, looking a bit nervous.

"Well, the way it went for my team was more than a little frustrating, but speaking objectively, I think this made for some rather effective training. I wouldn’t be opposed to conducting it again, perhaps with some lower-ranked members of the squads next time," Replied Rione thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me, and we can tweak the rules here and there each time to keep things fresh and interesting. Like, maybe next time, those assigned to guard the flags can be given more flexibility and allowed to move away from the flag a bit further?" Grinned Aster sheepishly.

"I’d be on board with that, or even something like the highest-ranked member of each team doesn’t need to be the one who guards their flag," Nodded Jules in response.

"It was definitely a lot of fun, and the barrier certainly contributed to that. Being able to go all out was great, I rarely ever get to let loose like that," Remarked Celia with a content smile.

"That definitely screwed our team in particular, maybe you should sit out next time, your Magic is way too much of a game changer," Sighed Wein warily.

"Well, you’ll just have to try to think of ways to deal with my Magic next time," Shrugged Celia in response.

"One thing’s for sure, I definitely want a rematch. Next time, it won’t go the same way, you can count on it," Declared Rione with a grimace.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Smirked Aster teasingly.

"Dick."

"Hm? Oh, looks like they’re back," Noticed Tacitus, as he spotted Ravella and Zina returning, along with Raven and Lexia.

"Alright, then, let’s get their thoughts on the training exercise and then head back to get some rest. We’ll conduct a more thorough review later and plan the next one," Stated Jules, stretching her arms up.

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