It had been a long and tiring day for Ashton. It started with the revelation of Phantom's plan. Then he got busy selecting a few candidates who could protect Eula, followed by the duel with Atlas and Aegis's birth. Even he couldn't believe all of it happened on the same day, and the day was yet to end.
[You forgot about the fight amongst your summons.]
"Right... to think those maniacs would actually end up fighting amongst themselves." Ashton shook his head.
Even though Ashton did not see his summons fighting as it happened within Valhalla, he could still feel it all. It almost felt like he was witnessing a duel but through radio.
Sven, Celeste and Gokung were the only ones who participated in the duel. Since Celeste was the weakest in terms of physique, she used her head and let Sven and Gokung duke it out first.
But it wasn't like she was completely ignoring the action. After every few moments, she would launch a random spell in the direction of whoever was winning. She did it to ensure that both Sven and Gokung dealt as much damage to each other as possible.
Celeste's plan was going well, but only for a short time. Soon enough, Sven realised what the shadow sorceress was up to and conveyed the information to Gokung.
The next moment, Celeste found herself in an unfavourable position as both Gokung and Sven simultaneously attacked her.
She tried her best and eventually managed to subdue Gokung through her shadow abilities. But she couldn't control Sven, who defeated her after some hardships.
Even though Ashton did not witness the duel with his eyes, he was still pleased with the performance of his summons. In a way, the fight made him realise the strong as well as weak points of each of them.
For example, Gokung had the strength and defence of a titan but lacked the capability to see through the enemy's plans.
On the other hand, Celeste was a quick thinker who could come up with unthinkable strategies to put herself in a favourable position in a battle. But her lack of defence was concerning. Besides that, she had the explosive ability to subdue even the most brutal bastards.
Last but not least, Sven. His presence of mind on the battlefield far exceeded anyone amongst the summons. Despite possessing the talent to turn even the most unfavourable situations into opportunities for himself, his strength and stamina were his shining points.
"It's a shame Raven and Atlas did not participate in the fight. It would have been interesting to analyse them along with the rest." Ashton mumbled, "At least I have this cute guy with me."
"Kyuu~" Aegis happily smiled while rubbing his head with Ashton's.
While the summons were fighting amongst themselves, Ashton learned about the second ability Aegis possessed. Other than the [Absolute Sheild], he also possessed the epic ability called [Mimic].
The description of the ability was pretty simple. Aegis could completely mimic the appearance and behaviour of up to 10 species as long as they fit his proportions.
This ability was a lifesaver for Ashton as he no longer had to hide Aegis because he was a legendary being. Which also meant he didn't have to leave the little guy in the forge as Vulcan suggested.
[Who would have thought the old bastard had a weak point for cutesy creatures? Judging by how sternly he behaves with everyone else, I thought he would give a hammer to Aegis and yell at him to start hammering something.]
"Pfft~ it does seem like something the old man would do." Ashton smiled, "Hm... To possess legendary and epic abilities since birth, the little guy truly hit the genetic lottery, didn't you?"
"Kyuu!"
"Damnit, why are you so cute!?"
Sadly, [Absolute Defence] and [Mimic] were the only abilities Aegis knew. But according to Vulcan, possessing two abilities since birth was quite rare, even for a Shinno, so there was that.
The only demerit of the [Mimic] skill was that it blocked Aegis from using [Absolute Defence] while he was mimicking some other species. But that demerit wasn't too bad, considering it was an epic skill.
[Tsk, pointing out the flaws of an innocent kid. Had it been me, I would never let anyone criticise Aegis, let alone do it myself.]
"Yes, you're the perfect role model for children." Ashton scoffed, "You're the last person in this galaxy someone would trust their child with."
[Oi, are you trying to say that I'm a bad influence on kids?]
"Looks at me. Do I need to say anymore?"
[...]
"Thought so." Ashton smirked, "Also, I've been meaning to ask you something. Are you gay?"
[Look, what I said back then was a mistake. Both of us were panicking, and we said things we shouldn't have. So let's forget about it and move on-]
"But are you?"
[...kid, I'm sorry to disappoint you. But I'm a 100% straight guy.]
"More like straight-up gay." Ashton shrugged, "You know, I don't have a problem with it. You'd pair well with Laihud once you get your body back."
[That healer guy? I never thought he was fascinated with men.]
"He is. That's why we are headed there."
[What does his inclination has anything to do with us?]
"Because he's the one Phantom will most likely target first."
Ashton then proceeded to explain his reasoning to Astaroth. The more he talked, the more his words made sense.
Laihud was still in the closet. The only reason Ashton was able to know about him was through his [Detection] skill. But in hindsight, his behaviour towards Vimur made Ashton think that the team's healer had a thing for the tank.
"Phantom is a piece of shit who plays with his prey's emotions, and guess what? Someone like Laihud is the easiest target for him." Ashton finished his explanation.
"I am 73% sure Phantom will target him first. But rather than stopping him and allowing him to rethink his plan, we'll use Laihud to lure him in and deal a decisive blow. That bastard likes to play with the heads of others. Let's see how he likes when he gets played for a change."