"Well I guess you made it again,congratulations boy."
Rubbing his eyes and doing a few light stretches to get rid of the tiredness he is still feeling.Lucas grins and winks at his avian companion,already gotten used to fel's sharp remarks and sense of humor.
It has been 5 days since they left for the village after encountering larra and her group.It will only take them one last day to reach the village's territory if nothing else happens.
"Morning lucas,seems like you are doing well!
Would you want to take the shift today on breakfast?"
"Really?!I can try?"
Taking notice how excited Lucas looked,peo can't help but chuckled in amusement before nodding in confirmation.Thinking that it was adorable to see a lucas act like a child getting excited to cook something for the first time.
"Thanks a ton,peo!Let see…"
After calming his excited heart,Lucas turn his attention to preparing for their meal.Taking all the sets of browls and cutlery away in a bag,Lucas found a large plank of wood they found to use as a makeshift kitchen table.
"ahem…Xauoaiasis…Eperaris Brooyicele Tuteist Nawargo(minor cleansing)
Taking a deep breath,Lucas revealed the spells that will hopefully solve their current crisis.It was a newly developed spells,only possible to be born in such a short time because of lucas more extensive knowledge on germs and enormous mana pool.
After the chant,Lucas's sigil appeared infront of him,it's runic words formation started shifting their shapes,rotating and glowing in its usual ominous violet shine.
"No matter how many I see this,it still incredible to watch you make this happens."
Scratching his neck with his large talon,fel watches intently as the surface of the wood bathe on the glowing violet light of Lucas's sigil.
What lucas is doing right now can be simply called as disinfecting the surface of this plank.
During the journey,Lucas has searched for rivers to bathed frequently and made sure all of the seats and objects their group would touch is cleane with this same spell,despite the confused stare peo sometimes gave him.
"I might seem like a clean freak to them sometimes I guess it can't be helped…"
Before the journey,Lucas spent that short time create the basis of this spell by applying what he knows about disease and the ability to create new spell via sigil.
From lucas own learning when he was younger, infectious diease like what larra described is by definition a disorder caused by a invading microscopic organism or pathogenic agents into the body.
Although lucas has no idea what exactly was the kind of organism that caused the golem disease as called by the locals or if it is even something that can be called germs.But for now he can only hope the spells he have developed can work on it effectively.
The first spell he has created and is using is simple,by giving the sigil the characteristics of a microbe and the idea of destroying the germs by converting the entire cell into energy unique to this world,mana.
Lucas did thought about killing the germs via demolishing the cell wall,membrane or even altering the generic material that control its function entirely,considering the ease and freedom his sigil can supposed to offer him on controlling disease.
But at the end,after a few try of casting multiple modified version of the spell and a few suggestion from fel.Lucas found all of those complicating method entirely unnecessary.He could simple just convert the pathogen into pure mana for him to use.
"As vague as it sound,they did say I can control disease,so this much isn't entirely impossible."
Grinning,Lucas did the same for the rest of cutlery and browls and pots before he started preparing the ingredients and cooking the meal.
half an hour later,the sizzling oil on a sunny sided egg and meat of some creature and the smell of seasoning in the vegetables soup made the rest of the group came to check in to enjoy their breakfast,only to be shocked by a enthusiastic Lucas laying the food on their plates and browls.
"Peo!Did you made lucas cooked our meal??Are you mad?!"
Frowning and buffing her cheeks in annoyance,larra was quick to be upset when she saw Lucas being used as their chief when he already did so much to helped them already,despite how busy he must be as a accomplished mage.
"H-h-hey calm down here,Lucas was excited about cooking so I thought maybe he can take a shot at it and see?He did very good for the first time cooking on his own!Probably thanks to you as well."
With that reasoning,larra can't helped but feel a bit excited and happy that she can try some of lucas cooking by which she was responsible for teaching.
"Huh?Miss larra,I don't mind this,it was pretty fun. And definitely thank you for teaching me when you don't have to."
"A-ah I mean,it's fine!Let's just eat and get going already!"
Smirking at his cousin who seem to be tamed by love,despite her glare.Peo and the group finnaly get on and enjoy a surprisingly well presented and satisfying meal from their archdemon friend.
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
"I guess we are almost there?"
"Ah!I saw the gate…I thin...!"
After seeing that they have finnaly arrive at the out skirt of her village,larra squeal and announcment filled with her excitement and anticipation was cut short when she saw the a few large smoke trail raising from the village ground.
"No way…shit!Peo Let's speed up!"
Peo come out of his shock when viox remind them of their priority right now.Nodding and urges his horses to run down the few extra miles as fast as they can along viox.
"Hmm…I guess it is a still too late…"
Staring out at the sight along with lucas whose mind is slowly filled with anxiety at what those smoke is coming out of or what were they burning.Fel sighed inward and offer a silent prayer to those that were too late to receive help.
After running their carriage through the barren poorly paved dirt road for a few miles.They have finally arrived at their destination,but the sight that await them was far from what the three villager wanted to withness.
"N-n-no…nesiu!!!"
As soon as they arrived,Larra hop out of the carriage and rush into the center of the village where a pit filled with burning remains of once living, breathing people surronded by groups weeping villager,who came to see their loved one off one last time.
Some of their body is as described by larra before,covered in patch black plate with a almost metallic shine.Likely infected with the disease their village is suffering from.
"Mi…a,my daughter...please forgive your useless father.…"
"Dad…!!!!"
"I am sorry sweetie..."
These moans and cries of despair and broken hearts longing for their loved one came crashing into lucas psyche.Making him temporarily froze on the spot,overwhelmed by the sensation and reality.
"Lucas please go look after larra,I am sorry for being selfish but I want you to treat her little brother first,he…"
Hearing peo's plead and feeling the firm pat on his shoulder brought lucas quickly came out of his state,rushing after larra after casting a spell to lower his weight and fasten his steps.
"Larra?Larra…!"
Yelling and searching for a response amid the cluster of dirty village huts,hoping for a clue as to where she has gone.Fel flew up high into the sky,slowly scanning the area within his vision until he locked it on a hut close to the back of the village.
"Boy,she is there.And you better hurry if you want to still have something to do for her family."
"Got it…!tch!"
Rushing and bursting through the village street devoid of life,Lucas finally saw larra who seems to be frantically waving at him and quickly arrive in front of her house in haste.
"Please!!Lucas,my brother is here!"
"Okay!"
Running into the designated large village hut after larra,Lucas was assaulted with an even stronger smell of rot than outside as if it is from a closed room without much ventilation for weeks.
"Crap…larra cover your mouth with this first,I will take care of your brother,don't worry."
"O-okay…thank you"
Pulling a small piles of patches of light cloth he disinfected and enchanted with his spells in advance to their arrival,Lucas made sure larra and others was safe from a possible hazard first.
Covering his face with one of the cloth he brought,Lucas rushed into a opened room on the left side of the hut.There he was,a young boy with almost entire half of his body covered in those same dark plate with a women by the side of the bed cleaning his body.
"Ah!You must be sir Lucas,Please see to my boy!!He said it was hard to breath!"
Nodding and assuring the mother of the child,he offer same cloth to her and ask her to cover it and leave the room,which she does follow amid a bit reluctantly,her gaze never leaving her child in suffering.
"Nimcle Xevule Xavayuma(blight detection)…"
Casting one of his newly developed spell,Lucas eyes turn pitch black as his vision darken as if it were at night.All he could roughly see at this point was patches of crimson pulsating masses highlighted in the body of the nesiu as well as the different organs.
"There…Xauoaiasis Eperaris Brooyicele Tuteist Nawargo Antiooiulus(cleansing)."
Fighting off the disgust he felt from looking at someone's organ ,Lucas cast a higher powered version of (minor cleansing) and position the sigil towards the various spot and organs affected the most,judging from his detection spell.
To be honest,considering how bizarre this disease is,Lucas is not sure if doing this is exactly the right thing.But seeing as how tiny and short the boy's breath is getting along with the slow rate of his heart beat,he has no choice but to gamble on it with his limited time.
"It worked…!!"
The skins that were bathe in the violet glow of the sigil were slowly rid of the pitch black plating on their suface,thankfully the infection seems to only center under his skin and gather the most in his lung but very little on other vital organs.
After a few minutes of work,the boy's breathing slowly return to somewhat normal and a light shade of colour returned to his cheeks.Managing to slightly open his eyes,nesiu woke up for a moment to see a smiling Lucas before felling asleep again.
"There shouldn't be any cluster of that specific microbes left in him…but I am not sure if his organs can recover fast enough from this..."
Even if he manage to rid the boy's body entirely of the pathogen which he specifically targeted using (blight detection).If it released something such as a toxin like a virus or bacteria does,the left over side effect might still be very dangerous.
"There is still a lot of work to be done…"
Lucas knows that preventing a epidemic with such serious symptoms from killing everyone here is going to takes more than just a little modern knowledge about epidemiology or even a cheat like ability for destroying the pathogen itself.
Plenty of food,water and bed for the patient to recovered from the side effects and damged body,a temporary shelter for separating the infected or suspected carrier from the recovered patients and non infected is also needed and many more.
"Don't worry,I will try my best for you."
Giving nesiu's head a few light stroke and pat,Lucas moved out to informed the others of his situation and let them in to see how the child is doing.
"Oh…!!!My goddess,how did you…?Thank you so much sir Lucas."
"Ah ...haha don't worry about it ma'am,but we move soon to help others."
Once the mother of nesiu who called herself loina saw that her child is rid of all those disgusting and horrifying scarab like plates on his skin and is breathing normally with a peaceful expression on his face as he slept,she broke down,crying and thanking a embarrassed lucas.
"Larra,are you ok－??!"
Seeing that larra didn't made any sound or comment once she saw her brother and just stood there with her back on them, worried lucas called out to her only to be assaulted with a tight hug suddenly.
"Thank you so much...I though it was too late…"
Understanding dawn on him as lucas smiles and gently hugs her back,giving her some much needed assurance with a few light pat on the back in this nightmare.