Chapter 7: Homunculi Ritual Arc - Despair of Melina

The night has come at the City of Mesh, on the rough parts of the city lies the slums where people of degenerate existence lives and in the middle of the slum lies an octagon shaped the field of grass. A hexagon platform filled with runes was imprinted on this platform.

The platform is six sided. In each side lies an instructor that came from the Mesh Academy. Normally, such instructors wouldn’t even dare to step into this desecrated place even it kills them. But this time they have a special mission to do. The degenerates in the slums are going to be used. The nobles call them as not the poor. They are ‘degenerates’ simply because they live in the slums.

“Cast the spell, lit the blue, may the moon’s light that blesses upon the land, choose the soul that is worth possessing”

“Let thy mud bringers be tools, give the meaning”

The nobles chanted. Their chants hideous to hear to those who are they classifying.

The chant was loud yet it didn’t wake the people in the slums.

There was a barrier surrounding the slums at the moment. This barrier covers the whole slums, allowing the instructors to conduct their test of mettle in this dirty battlefield. To summon the souls of the dead they would have to find the right environment. The slums have the right look and the right atmosphere for that. The souls of the dead are quite picky.

“Cease thy souls, let them be thy vessel for them, and make use of the sods, to test the mettle of the ones before us!”

The chant continued.

The four nobles in the distance looked at the ritual’s beginning.

The offer wasn’t made yet.

The vessel that was supposed to be standing in the middle was still being dressed in the garb of sacrifice. Showing her midriff, collarbones, shoulders, and cleavage suggestively, the white haired ‘sacrifice’ was far beautiful than imagined. She was someone pure, and obviously something to be desired. She was near Lazlo Berg, inspecting her in her final moments, drawing lines on arms and thighs.

The Homunculi maiden is chaste. Her virginity is intact therefore even though the instructors of the academy were still chanting the spell to bring the souls of the dead knights. The lust of the dead knights, who could not wait to take the chastity of the maiden, was strong. Their eagerness to touch the maiden sacrifice even made the nobles disgusted at the ‘noble’ souls for the lust. But without them doing that then they wouldn’t know that they are summoning dead souls of sinful knights.

The ritual is partly a test of mettle and purification for these damned knights who lost their honor. So only through devouring the chaste maiden before them, they would be summoned into of the thugs into the slums and have their spiritual arms and body molded so they can fight the nobles who are here to test their mettle.

The ritual is proceeding well. And it won’t be too long before the Homunculi named Melina would step to the hexagon platform of souls and start the test of mettle.

 ...

Sena wore her battle dress and decorated sword. She was ready for the test of mettle. She didn’t even bother about the soil she was standing. The slums reek of sewer and garbage. The nobles on her side had different expressions trying to contain the smell.

But Sena didn’t have any complaints. Her mind was so focused that even the lance wielding noble, named Valera got a bit of comment from Sena. Because she was focus too much, Valera didn’t’ bother Sena the third time she spoke. There was no way for her to disturb Sena whose face turned that of a cold-blooded madwoman. Her family was warmongers that fought first as barbarians before becoming a noble family after reforming their ways. Due to this the blood running on Sena was that of a blood thirsted warrior.

Because of her bloodline that she was calmer than anyone but had the thirst for battle, she was also eagerly waiting for the ritual to start. The four nobles besides her were ready. They were ready to test their mettle and defeat the souls of the sinful knights.

The ritual’s chant slowly slowed down.

With a wave of a hand, the maiden that was meant for the sacrifice was laid down on the hexagon platform of souls. There the mantle-like clothe of hers started to glow.

Melina who was ready to be sacrificed put both of her hands into her chest. She thought of the innocent smile of the foolish magus who showed her something of worth in her life. She was ready to accept her fate. Yet, feeling her hands forcibly put to the side, and her waist spread. She felt fear.

She saw souls of the dead knights appearing before her like a wraith.

Their thirst for her chaste body made it clear.

They were fondling her snow white skin.

She felt uncomfortable as the souls of the dead try to enter her.

The ritual happens by the dead souls taking her chastity.

Her hymen will be regenerated for the dead souls.

The taste of virgin blood will satisfy the souls.

And once all of the dead knights filled her womb with their spectral seed, the ritual will continue with her acting as the ‘vessel’ for the souls, allowing them to be created inside her womb. The thugs that will be used as clay will be reformed and be given birth into the spectral like knights that the nobles would fight.

Melina was getting ravaged.

Her hips were being pounded by the dead.

She was enduring the pain.

But even so, the lust of the dead who hasn’t tasted flesh slowly overcomes her.

The taste of lust made Melina’s body enjoy the ravaging of the souls.

This was her fate as a sacrifice.

She will give birth to the dead knights that the nobles will fight and defeat.

After that, her life will come to an end.

She will soon cease to exist.

It will be the end of her.

This was how it was supposed to be. As a homunculus, it was her role to die being used like a lamb for others. She accepted it already yet her heart was breaking. Despite seeing something worth in her life, the despair she was feeling right was so huge, that there was chaos surrounding her soul.

Slowly emerging and merging to the death knights who ravage her.

Arden searched the Academy for the noble girl. Yet every corner of the academy had no signs of her. He even went as far to check the list of the noble student’s houses. There he learned the address of the nobles and where their house is. He learned of the noble girl’s home. So he went to her house only to find her being dragged by two noble knights and the noble who was with her when she thanked him during that time he carried the boxes.

Nobles have powers that could easily ruin Arden’s life. He relies on the support of Susan’s parents to live his life. So even though he wanted to interrupt the nobles immediately, he could not do it out of guilt. He could not take the guilt that will come if he ruins Susan’s family. So, he held his wanting to help back. He retreated into the corner and turned the cape around his waist. In order for the crest that shows his apprenticeship to be hidden, after that, he transmuted the gray color of the waist cape and made it black through slightly burning the fabric.

He could not use any spells like torch or fireball. But he could transmute his own energy into something else. For example, he could turn his mana into electricity. He could also convert his mana into water. So slightly burning the gray color to black made it unrecognizable.

Arden is wearing a vest with a tie and an overcoat. He took his overcoat and buttoned it before searching for the house of the noble girl. Since he doesn’t want his face to be seen he wore a black pierrot-inspired mask. Wearing such outfit was nothing new to the city of Mesh. So even though he was following the nobles that took the white haired lady they didn’t suspect him.

Of course, Arden blended in plain sight to avoid any suspicion. He walked with stride and his upright posture made him look like a mercenary. He is only copying the way his foster dad works. But even so, due to the imprint from him that Arden he copied it perfectly.

He followed them until they arrive on the slums. Seeing the slums heavily guarded made Arden suspect things. The slums of the city were not guarded. Thieves and thugs were usually hiding in the place and even the duke of the city doesn’t take care of them. So seeing a line of soldiers and even knights guarding the lines of the slums made Arden wary.

Knights were superhuman beings that could have gone to ascension. They are elite warriors that could handle a monster or two without batting an eye. Arden could not hope to match these figures with his current power. That is why seeing the knights he could only look at the soldiers.

The soldiers were human that had experience in fighting and killing. They are lesser than the Knights or the Mages but even some of them could surpass their limits. So Arden chooses to face the soldiers instead of the knights. So when the knights were busy roaming the borders of the slums.

Arden slowly creeps into of one the soldiers guarding the entrance and choke the guard with a metal wire. He didn’t kill the guard but only made the guard knocked out. After dragging the guard into a corner of a dirty alley, Arden proceeds to scour the slums for any signs of the noble girl.

But what he found was hexagonal platform with Instructors from the Academy doing a chant. He also saw the five nobles that everyone in the academy should know. They were the top of the top and seeing the five of them gathered here.

Arden’s heart sunk.

He already saw the noble girl he was trying to find. But she was dress in provocative attire, and before long she was taken to the platform. Arden then witnessed the girl being raped by spectral that held mana. He saw how the souls ravage her body.

Arden wanted to do something about it. But he was a magus who could only use [Transmute] and [Construct] magic. Other than the basic healing spells, he could not do anything that would allow him to somehow interrupt the ritual. Not only that, there was a barrier around the field that he knew that if he touches it, would kill him. The barrier was strong, and as lacking magus, he could only watch in deathly silence, unable to do anything to help the noble.

Arden stared at the scene.

The nobles around didn’t do anything.

All of them were watching as if that single life was nothing.

Arden was angered to the point that he went past being angry. He was so calm now that it bothered him. Under the mask, his face was cold as ice. The ritual continued and Arden could only watch in cold fury.

As the ritual follows the birthing of the death knights happened.

The spectral knights wore armor and held their swords upright.

Unlike the beings they were the knights were filled with power.

Arden who was watching from the vantage point could feel the power emit from them. They were lesser than a knight but stronger than a veteran soldier or adventure. Arden knew that such monster is something he could not take on. Almost everyone around him was top grade that he despises himself for being unable to help.

If things were different then he would have rush there.

The spectral knights gleamed.

Arden then saw those five knights rushed at the nobles while ignoring the instructors and the maiden in the platform who was screaming pain as umbilical like cords of transparent energy connects her to the spectral. Her wombs were already torn open.

There was no way to save her.

But Arden waited.

There were other ways to save someone.

That is why he who was unable to do anything waited for the five nobles to start their fight against the spectral. Only until the fight started and the instructors and one noble was only left that Arden, who was watching icily in a distant rooftop constructed a metal item with a revolving cylinder and a barrel on his hand.

With this item, Arden landed on the ground and walk to where the platform was.