A month passed since the curses disappeared.
Life in Fantasia had returned to its normalcy. Well, as normal as it could get. What's important is that peace has returned for a while, and many people relish it.
The disappearance of the Curses was a boon for Humanity. Ashton didn't just free the people who had them, he thoroughly expunged the curse. Meaning that they wouldn't return anymore.
And as expected, the ones who were responsible for cursing Humanity were alarmed by its disappearance.
According to the spies he planted, they were causing a storm in the Grand Fleet. The entirety of the invaders was already aware of this sudden development.
That caused them to double down on their efforts of trying to infiltrate Blue Planet's surface again, but the protection of the Twisted Heavenly Bulwark was firmly stopping them. So there were no worries there.
The Mystic Guild's activity has increased up a notch during this month. More and more people are now traveling to the Forgotten Ancestral Lands to hunt down Stragglers.
Stragglers are Angels and Demons who exiled themselves from Laguna and Qliphoth to build their respective forces. Declaring themselves as royalties of this world.
They are a joke in Ashton's eyes but a decent source of experience for his Guild. That's why he made missions to hunt them down.
Of course, this is to also gather resources and purify the world slowly.
Ashton figured that since it is no longer easy for the invaders to get into this planet, it was about time that they started healing this world, and at the same time, healing Gaia as well.
He had already taught his guild members the Purification Art/Spell. All they need is the experience in performing it and in no time, this world will start recovering.
Currently, Ashton's in his private chambers. He's training using his Dream Laws, Aether Soul Magic, and familiarizing himself with the Memento Mori.
He had already adjusted to his new strength, he just wanted to develop some sort of habit so that it'd be easier for him to retain his skills.
"Master, there is something that I need to consult you about." Jerry's voice suddenly rang in his ears.
"What is it?" He asked, wiping off the sweat on his body.
Instead of answering, Jerry pulled up a Profile for him to see.
[Lucas]
G-ID: ######89
Tenure: 1 year and 4 months
Badge: Gold
Aptitude: Above Average
Remarks: Diligent, Observant, Loyal, and Strong Willed.
Ashton raised a brow and said: "Why bring this up?"
"Currently, Sir Lucas fell ill. From my diagnosis, it seems that something provoked a Mutation in one of his Aptitude Factors. He is in great pain and I can't determine why."
"Where is now?" Ashton finished drying himself up and putting his clothes back on.
"Medical Bay-11, Room-22."
Ashton promptly disappeared from his training room and appeared in the same room that Jerry told him.
There, he saw several people fussing over a patient.
The patient was clearly in pain, he was struggling and trying to get off of the hospital bed, however, but he was chained to it. Ashton noticed that the patient was going feral. His eyes rolled at the back of his head, showing on the whites. The veins on his face and neck were protruding out, almost close to popping.
He's growing fangs and is drooling. His growing claws on his hands and his hair were growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Ashton could also hear the delirious sounds escaping from the patient's lips. He could hear some intelligible words here and there but the rest are muffled.
"Clear the area, people. Don't crowd the patient." He said, announcing his presence.
The nurses and relatives of the patient saw him and immediately made their way. Ashton walked past them and arrived right next to the patient.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm here." He whispered.
"G-guild...Mas-...Master?" Lucas managed to utter some intelligible worlds despite his delirium.
"Yes, Lucas. It's me."
"H-help...? Hurts...lots..."
"Yes, Buddy. I'll help you. Try to relax okay?"
"Mm-...m'kay!"
And under Ashton's hold, Lucas visibly sagged down as if relenting in control.
Ashton's hands released a soft white light which instantly covered Lucas. Under their gaze, the changes that Lucas showed previously were disappearing, he was returning to what he originally looked like.
He had visibly calmed down as well. His breathing evened out and his expression became peaceful. The pain ebbed away within seconds after Ashton started his treatment. Lucas' relatives and the nurses sighed in relief upon seeing that.
"How are you holding up, Bud? Still in pain somewhere?" Ashton asked.
"A-a little bit on my c-core..." Lucas replied, groaning in mild discomfort. "S-something's...happening there. I don't know...what it is..."
"That's because your Battle Spirit is mutating," Ashton informed.
"Mutating?"
"Yep, that's right." He nodded, "Your Battle Spirit -- the sword named 'Gram', is both a Holy Sword and a Demonic Sword. It's one of the rare types of Battle Spirits ever recorded in Human History."
"Gram is effective against Angels and Demons, and every time you kill them, a Gram absorbs a tiny speck of their essence into its body."
"But you see, Gram is a well-balanced Artifact. And that balance is sadly delicate. If you want to take advantage of Gram's full potential, then you must work your way around this balance as well."
"You've killed a lot of Angels Stragglers recently didn't you?" Ashton asked.
"Y-yes..."
"That's what provoked this Mutation." Ashton informed him, "You've killed many Angels but not enough Demons. The Balance of Gram was disturbed due to the high influx of Holy Properties being fed to the Demonic Traits of Gram, causing the balance to be unstable, corrupting Gram and, by extension, you as well."
"What happened just now is the result of Gram's Demonic Traits being given too much power, forcing you to undergo a Demonic Transformation. And I believe that this isn't the first you've heard about this, am I correct?"
Lucas at least had the decency to show some embarrassment and shame when Ashton called him out.
Indeed, Ashton had informed Lucas about the possibility of something like this happening before. And if memory serves him right, Lucas told him that he wouldn't be careless. Well, that's funny considering where they are right now.
"Alright, I won't chew you out since this is your first time." Ashton sighed, "You have some options right now to alleviate this pain."
"One is to let go and allow the Demonic Traits of Gram to dominate the balance. Its Holy Traits will disappear and Gram will become a pure Demonic Sword, which will be the bane of Angels."
"Two is to redefine the Balance of Gram. I'll take you somewhere where you can kill enough demons to feed to the Holy Traits. Once you've killed enough demons, the pain will naturally subside."
"As for your final option, it would be to choose neither. I can help you purify Gram so it would neither be a Holy Sword nor a Demonic Sword. This might make Gram weaker in a sense but at least you wouldn't have to worry about this problem ever again."
"So, what would it be?"
Lucas went silent after that and neither Ashton nor the people around say anything to him.
This was a tough decision that only he gets to decide. Other people had no right to interfere with his decision at all since this is his Battle Spirit at stake.
Lucas weighed his options carefully. Each option he had had its pros and cons, making it truly difficult to decide which one was for the best.
He was tempted to ask about the Guild Master's opinion but he opted out. Lucas knows that Ashton would just bounce the question back to him if he did that, and understandably so since Ashton didn't want to influence his decision.
In the end, Lucas sighed and chose the 3rd option.
It would be bothersome to fuss over his kills to make sure that his battle spirit will remain balanced. He also didn't like the idea of injecting himself with demonic properties either so neutral it is.
That's why, even though Gram would be weaker in a sense, he still chose to get rid of these properties.
Ashton operated right away once he got the go signal. He extracted both the Holy and Demonic Traits of Gram, which was only possible since it's undergoing Mutation.
The entire process didn't take long, it wasn't painful either. Lucas was comfortable throughout the operation and instantly felt a lot better once it was done.
"Alright, I'm done." Ashton said, "The traits have disappeared on Gram but the Mutation still isn't over. Don't worry, you won't be in pain anymore. You'd just fall asleep for quite some time. When you wake up, the mutation should be over as well."
"T-thank you, Guild Master."
"You're welcome," Ashton replied before turning to the nurses. "You can just observe him periodically for his vitals. If any incidents happen, follow the protocol, alright?"
After receiving the affirmation of the nurses, he bid farewell to them and disappeared, returning to his training room.
'Well, if things go well, then Lucas might awaken the true form of his Battle Spirit.'
'The Legendary Runic Sword -- Gram. But that will depend on his luck. Oh, well...that's beyond my control now...
