Asher rushed into the hall and saw Sirius howling. Its eyes were closed, and it curled itself up as steam left its fur.
The temperature of the hall was so high that Asher had to remove his coat, and yet he was sweating. Sirius white fur kept falling off, causing Asher to yell.
"What's happening to him?!"
"This began a short while after it ate the meat." A vanguard responded, and it was at this moment that Asher realized that Sirius was going through mutation!
Sirius got to its feet and slammed its body against the wall with so much force that it seemed as if the foundation of the castle was affected.
Asher and his vanguards had to tie thick ropes around Sirius to keep him still, but even the strength of nine gold-ranked knights was no match for Sirius' sheer power.
They were dragged to and fro as Srius kept damaging himself. Seeing blood drip down from its mouth, Asher knew Sirius might kill himself before the mutation was over.
"Kelvin, call Alex and Alec!"
Although Eritrea was also a diamond-ranked warrior, her strength was comparable to that of a gold-ranked knight. Some minutes later, Alec, Alex, and fifty knights from the bladebreaker troop rushed into the hall.
At this point, Asher and his vanguards were just holding on with their willpower, for their strength had been depleted.
When Alex, Alec, and the fifty knights held the rope, Sirius couldn't move as it wished anymore, but it had already wounded itself badly.
The walls of the hall had web-like cracks, and deep claw marks could be seen on the floor.
Sirius growled deeply and turned to face the people holding it. Just as it was about to lunge for a knight, Asher bellowed.
Sirius turned its head toward Asher. Its growl grew deeper and deeper, but when Asher began to caress its leg, Sirius laid down and allowed him to caress its face.
Before their eyes, all its fur fell off, and new ones grew out with such speed that the naked eyes could see it happening!
As the fur grew back, Sirius also grew bigger, and his canines came out of the confines of his mouth. The structure of his skull also changed to adjust to his new set of deadly teeth, and his ears became sharper. Bright red markings appeared on his fur.
On its forehead was a round circle that had a straight line that ran down to its nose. One red mark was on one side of the cheek and another on the other side. The markings on the sides of its body were red above and blue below.
The most prominent new feature was the fur that accumulated at its shoulders. They were like circles, similar to the iconic symbol of flames, and from them visible orange flames billowed off! The same for the lower part of its legs.
Sirius sapphire eyes gained a deep amethyst shade. A look, and one would feel like it stared right into their souls.
The ropes snapped on their own, and the 15-foot-tall beast got to its feet. It shook its majestic body and retracted its gleaming claws.
Its imposing figure alone mounted lots of pressure on Asher's men.
"A dual elemental sacred-ranked beast."
Asher smiled broadly.
All of a sudden and intense pain hit him. It felt like something was eating his bones from the inside.
Asher fell on his knees.
The voices of his men fell into his eyes, but he just couldn't gain control over himself.
His muscles were squirming, and his heart was beating at a slow pace. Each beat seemed to take years!
His muscles inflated and contracted; the process continued until he lost consciousness.
Asher sat up, panting heavily. To him, it seemed like the pain had just left and he regained himself, but to his shock, he was on his bed.
Cynthia, who was dutifully wiping his head with a warm towel, bowed her head.
"What's going on? Wasn't I just in the sacred hall?"
Asher turned his head toward her.
"It's the next day, Your Lordship."
Kelvin walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "Your Lordship."
"Congratulations on becoming a diamond-ranked swordsman, My Lord. Your father would be proud, if he were alive."
Asher looked at his muscular arms, which were a little thinner than before and raised an eyebrow.
Looking down, he also discovered that his inflated muscles had all reduced. They became tight and hard, so hard that Asher was marveled.
He could tell there was so much explosive power in these ordinary-looking arms.
"Now that you're a diamond-ranked knight, you can visit the imperial family and raise your title to that of a viscount. That way–"
"There's no need for that, Kelvin. News flies fast, and despite the power of our army, our greatest disadvantage is our population. It must be increased if we want to expand, and the best place to increase it without the knowledge of the feudal world is by conquering the desolate lands."
Kelvin's eyes widened.
"Your Lordship. We might encounter some lost races and abyss worshipers."
"That would be better."
"I see." Kelvin nodded, then gave a signal to Cynthia. Knowing what Kelvin meant, she left the room after telling Asher that his breakfast would be ready soon.
"Your pet beast is now a dual elemental beast. You're now among the ranks of those with dual elemental pet beasts. Congratulations, My Lord."
Asher got to his feet, went to the window, and looked at his domain. The brilliant rays of the sun bathed the beautiful stronghold, and people went about their duties happily. Seeing the peace and orderliness, the corners of his lips went up.
"Ice and fire. He's now fit to be the guardian beast of this stronghold."
"Indeed." Kelvin responded. His eyes glowing with pride as he looked at Asher's back.
He remembered when he was just a kid, and now he was a powerful young lord about to show the world his brilliance.