Training

"I understand you." Lucas thought.

He took a deep breath because he could understand Ace's feelings, he was feeling bad himself. However, the damage was already done and there was no going back. So, he simply waited for time to pass, and as his mutation helped him in his recovery, the very next day he was already up. He really wanted to visit Ruby, but he knew it wasn't a good decision, even if Ace wasn't there, it was still very likely that she would hate him.

So, after breakfast, he went to the training area. The meal tasted strange and made him repulse, but he didn't even think about it, he hadn't fully recovered yet, so that would be perfectly normal.

Walking through the streets of the base, he still saw that no one was with a bitter expression, at best, they showed indifference. Despite finding it very strange, he began to get used to it, as it could just be his mind. Soon, he arrived at his destination.

This time there were few mutants training, apart from Roberto who was also not present. Ingrid and Lara were fighting as before, Lara with her staff and Ingrid with her claws, while Asa watched.

"Hmm, I think he or she should be here." Lucas used that moment to address one of his curiosities.

When he was fighting Ruby and activated the [Blood Armor], the pressure exerted by this ability caused most of those present to take a few steps back, few managed to remain still. He knew or at least had seen these people, only there was one he had never seen.

It would be very easy to find this mutant, after all, someone who could resist his pressure would definitely be a few levels above the rest. So, before talking to Asa, he took a good look at the 4 arenas, which were formerly futsal courts. Besides Ingrid and Lara, only two other people were fighting. Asa divided his attention between these two pairs. The coach noticed Lucas' arrival, but saw that he was focused on something, so he didn't intervene.

The second pair consisted of two men, one deformed and one not. The deformed one had its skin covered by husks, black as charcoal and very resistant, while the undeformed one gave off a yellow gas, but Lucas didn't see where that gas came out.

It was not possible to see the deformed mutant's features beyond its height, which was almost the same as its opponent, but it was possible to see those of the other mutant. He was thin and with an average height, about 1.75, a little shorter than Lucas, his physiognomy indicated that he was not even 20 years old. His face was neither ugly nor pretty and his eyes were brown, his hair was black with some shades of brown. If one word were used to describe it it would be: normal.

The fight wasn't interesting by his standards, the man in the shells fought with his fists, using simple punches, far removed from the well-crafted fights of the action movies Lucas saw. Meanwhile, the other mutant used a simple sword along with his gas to fight, this smoke enveloped the arena and apparently either his mutation wasn't strong or he had a lot of control over it as the yellow vapor didn't come out of the arena, even though she is open.

Despite the exchange of blows not being interesting, Lucas approached and continued watching, he was curious to know how the mutation worked. Looking closer, he noticed a detail, the deformed mutant actually didn't have all of its skin covered in scabs, its joints were free to move. He also noticed that the gas came out of the young man's nose. With each breath, the greater the concentration of this vapor.

Another was with respect to smoke, from a distance it appeared to be simple smoke, but if observed closely, its effects were clear. Lucas saw the black husks rot at a visible rate! He became even more curious about this process, so he activated his mutation and increased blood circulation in his eyes and brain. At the same moment, he saw the world a little slower and with more detail, the colors were sharper and more vibrant, even some particles in the air could be seen.

Wasting no time, he looked at the effect of the gas on the bark. This black layer was rapidly deteriorating, but as he could now see in more detail, he could see exactly what the effect of this vapor was. On the surface of the black layer, some tiny holes made room for larvae to suck up the nutrients present, accelerating decomposition.

'How is this possible? Are the larvae in the smoke? Or is it the bacteria that are in the air and are transported? It may also be the bacteria present in the shell… Wait! If it's the bacteria themselves that are in the black layer, then does this smoke force their evolution?! And also if it's the bacteria in the air… they have to evolve too! …' His brain, driven by blood, was spouting torrents of ideas and theories about how that steam worked.

Meanwhile, he didn't realize that the young man was taking advantage of the fight, as his enemy was getting slower and weaker by the second. After a few moments of reasoning, a new question arose:

'Which is?! How is this allowed? Leaving aside how the larvae appeared, a mutation capable of causing decay in a living being is fatal!' He marveled at this new understanding, this mutation, if used unchecked, could cause severe and permanent damage not only to the target, but to the all around.

Whether by luck or lack of power, he was very happy that the smoke didn't spread. Lucas didn't stand still, but he wasn't reckless either, instead of jumping in the middle of the fight he cut his flesh and with his blood formed some small purple spheres. Then he pointed his hand at both of them, aiming right between them.

The spheres flew through the smoke, leaving a purple trail through it and immediately upon hitting the ground, a loud simmering sound echoed and startled the two fighters who immediately stopped. The interruption of the fight drew the attention of the other 3 present. Ingrid and Lara stopped fighting while Asa walked towards Lucas.

"Brother, why did you do this?! Didn't you see we were fighting?!" The young man with the sword was irritated and dispersed his smoke, however some traces of it were still in the air. Meanwhile, the deformed mutant retracted its shells, but failed to complete the process, leaving part of its torso and legs covered by its protective layer, and then fell to the ground.

Asa, who had intended to complain to Lucas, widened her eyes when she saw the other recruit falling to the ground. He didn't hesitate or care for the little gas still remaining, spread his wings and flew as fast as he could to the arena, arriving there he supported the fallen mutant with his arms and patted him to try to revive him. However, nothing went right, he looked more carefully and noticed that his skin had some pores much larger than the others.

"Strange, since when does Rafael have these marks?" He wondered internally, after all, the two of them had always fought and nothing much had ever happened, but he couldn't keep analyzing as a voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Coach, it's gas! It speeds up decomposition, creating larvae where it touches!" Lucas spoke hurriedly, giving all the information he was sure was true.

The coach looked at Lucas with a strange look, wondering how and why he said this, but now was not the time for those doubts. Whether true or false, the only thing he could do now was take the victim to the medical department. Then, he spread his wings again and flew at full speed, taking the mutant in his arms.