Chapter 225

〈 Chapter 225 〉 Part 1, Chapter 10, Section 28

The firepower was more than enough.

I gathered every last bit of my magic power right before death, concentrating it into a small sun, then twisted and detonated it.

The triple barrier erected by the three commanders didn’t break… But because of that, the Blazing Sun I unleashed was fully contained within the barrier, completely engulfing the three SS-Rank Monsters.

Both Penril, Azidahaka, and Hydra tried to erect protective shields in front of them to block my attack, but they could only barely protect their own bodies.

Naturally, my ultimate technique, which I poured all my strength into, succeeded in defeating the three monsters.

Hydra’s main head was left red and scorched, with only one remaining…

Penril’s head fell onto the charred remains of Hydra’s body…

And Azidahaka, from the shoulder down, was utterly destroyed, crashing to the ground.

Uuuuung.

The ominous aura surrounding the three monsters faded. The blue flames clinging to their bodies burned out the last of their magic power, forcing them back into human form.

“Hmph… Haaa…”

Though their bodies weren’t half-rotted as they would be in monster form, they were clearly severely injured, bleeding profusely all over.

“Haa, haa, you crazy….”

“Still have the energy to talk, huh?”

I also reverted to human form and sneered at them. I had expended far too much magic power and needed time to recover.

“Haa, haa… Look what you’ve done to us….”

“They all seem fine though, don’t they?”

On the surface, all four of us appeared unscathed. However, parts of our bodies were translucent, and our clothing hid areas that hadn’t fully regenerated yet.

“Haa, haa.”

My core, already overloaded, showed no signs of cooling down. Just my heavy breathing alone heated the surrounding air, causing steam to rise.

“So, shall we finish this…?”

“Hold on.”

Hydra raised a hand to stop me.

“One question first.”

“Normally, I’d kill you before you even asked, but since we’re both commanders, I’ll hear you out. What is it?”

“…How exactly did you defeat us?”

“Fufu…”

You lost your memory after losing control and becoming a monster just to beat me? Though I suspected you were trying to probe for information when you suddenly unleashed your ultimate attack, seeing Hydra actually curious was amusing enough for me to answer.

“It’s a technique capable of roasting an entire continent. When confined to this small island, of course its destructive power would be immense.”

Since the explosion was trapped inside the barrier and couldn’t spread outward, even SS-Rank Monsters wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

There are only two commanders who could withstand my ultimate attack head-on: Seoyea’s Rusalka, Gaechonkwang, and Karna.

“You guys simply can’t handle it. Especially with Penril involved.”

“Haa, haa… Keep poking at our pride like that, and let’s see how this ends.”

Penril wobbled but managed to steady herself. Azidahaka and Hydra also adjusted their stances while keeping their distance.

“What are you planning now?”

“What else? We’re about to summon our true forms again.”

“Ho ho ho ho! You stupid girl! Obviously, you haven’t realized we’re buying time! Ahaha!”

“……”

I should’ve decapitated you right away. Azidahaka always knows how to get under people’s skin. This time, I’ll have to split her torso in half, not just her hair.

“It seems you all need to die to come to your senses.”

“We’ll see who dies, though.”

Hydra pulled something out from his robes. Azidahaka and Penril also retrieved small objects from their own robes—small spheres coated in their respective magic colors.

“Core?”

“Not likely. So, you really are fake if you don’t know what this is.”

Tch.

The three commanders distanced themselves from me. Sensing something big was about to happen, I instinctively darted forward.

“Again, me?!”

“One thing we didn’t get to do yet!”

I spread my wings and flew toward Hydra, dodging pillars rising from the ground and reaching close range. Hydra swallowed the core.

“Grrr!”

Having used my ultimate attack, I had expended far too much magic power. He must be trying to restore it through the core. Breaking through the earth snakes trying to bind my limbs, I grabbed Hydra by the collar.

“What kind of cheap trick are you pulling?”

“Hahaha…”

Hydra grinned and opened his mouth wide. A long tongue slithered out, and at its center lay not a core but a small, angular cube.

“What—”

Glup.

He swallowed it.

Not a core…

“Round Two.”

A Cube.

Pssshh!

A typhoon erupted beneath me, lifting me high into the sky. I transformed into monster form, using the remaining magic power to boost my durability.

Ssgek! Ssgek!

Even stronger winds began slicing through my armor. Penril soared through the air, opening her massive jaws toward me.

[Krrrk!]

I extended my arms, releasing flames, but Penril swallowed me whole, biting and tearing. Her teeth sank into my shoulder and thigh.

[What…!]

Penril shook her head violently, grinding her jaws side to side like cutting through tough sinew, attempting to sever whatever was caught between them.

Me.

[You bastards!]

Using the flames seeping from my body as a medium, I triggered an explosion inside Penril’s mouth. A massive blast occurred, startling Penril, who hurled me high into the sky.

[Still not strong enough…]

My magic power hasn’t fully recovered yet. Even a brief moment to recuperate would help, but it seems the enemies won’t give me that luxury.

[Restoring all their magic power with cubes?!]

While I expected them to use cubes, I never imagined they’d resort to using them after losing once in monster form to become monsters again.

[Are you not ashamed?!]

“What?! What’s shameful about fighting to the death?”

[I agree!]

Hydra, still not transformed, disappeared underground after saying those words. I tried to grab his hair before he could hide, but in front of me stood a dense forest of obsidian swords.

Kyaahhh!!

Azidahaka revealed her true form again, scattering swords everywhere. Penril charged at me again, claws slashing.

The two monsters were clearly buying time for Hydra to transform and recover. Too busy evading the wind blades and obsidian swords, I failed to stop Hydra’s transformation.

[Shit!]

Cursing under my breath, I gathered the remaining magic power to hastily erect a protective barrier around me. Then, I squeezed every last bit of magic power from my core, concentrating it in front of my chest.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of my core beating was louder than ever. Already overloaded, forcing another ultimate attack caused my magic power to spiral out of control.

Graaahh!

From beneath the ground, Hydra emerged, revealing his massive head and opening his mouth wide, seemingly ready to swallow me and dissolve me in poison. But at this point, I couldn’t gauge my own condition either.

“Hmm… Huh?!”

Forcing myself out of monster form, I released the overflowing magic power. An immense heat wave erupted from my body, covering everything around me.

“Haa, haa, haa… Losing control… Not gonna—”

Kyaahh!

A massive shadow descended vertically above my head. Penril’s tail, filled with gale-force winds, struck me. I quickly raised my guard upward.

Ssgek! Ssgek!

My arms were shredded like rags. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, but Penril’s assault didn’t stop.

Boom!

Penril slammed me vertically into the air. Despite my arms being torn beyond recognition, I gathered the residual magic power to unfurl my final pair of wings.

Pabak.

As soon as I spread my wings, the obsidian swords pierced them. The swords lodged between my wings disrupted the flow of magic sustaining them, causing me to lose my wings and plummet.

“Ah, shit.”

Below me awaited Hydra’s gaping maw. Right before falling into it, I tightly shut my eyes, staring at the bubbling pool of toxic liquid resembling a swamp deep below.

Splash.

After that, I lost consciousness.

* * *

“Wow, look at her resilience. She didn’t dissolve even in that situation.”

Hydra nudged the unconscious Phoenix lying on the ground with his foot, mocking her. Even after falling into the boiling pit of poison inside Hydra’s monstrous body, Phoenix’s form remained intact.

“……Eh, wait, she’s not dead, right? I wasn’t planning to kill her completely!”

“She’s alive, but her arms are completely useless now, nyah.”

“Hmph! Why would anyone block with their bare arms?! In the first place, what even are you?!”

Azidahaka screamed, her face turning red.

“You fight better than you look! And recklessly at that!”

“Is it bad to fight better than someone who looks real? You used to complain about her sneak attacks behind others’ backs.”

“Who said I disliked it?! I just don’t like HER!”

“Sure, sure. Let’s seal her up now.”

With Hydra mediating, Azidahaka calmed her breathing and pulled out another cube.

“Tch. Used two cubes already. Is she insane or what?”

“To undo the transformation once for recovery, and again to revert… Grrr, why does Lord Seongju make transformations forcibly end when we reveal our true forms, nyah?”

“It’s not time yet. Lord Seongju Himself will descend to destroy the world. It’s not for underlings to take the main course.”

While speaking gently, Hydra stomped on Phoenix’s chest. He was taking petty revenge for the pain of having his multiple heads plucked during the battle in monster form.

Azidahaka squatted down and poked Hydra’s bruised side with her nails.

“Still, she’s surprisingly strong. How did she defeat our true forms without even revealing hers?”

“Also, she forced our transformations to cancel. Maybe she has some special ability to manage us, nyah?”

“Don’t know. Still, catching her was worth six cubes.”

Hydra sighed as he removed his foot. If he hadn’t been instructed to gather cubes beforehand, he might have truly been killed by the fake’s attack.

“Thanks to Phoenix, we survived, nyah.”

“Who said we survived thanks to her?! I just woke up early and got the job done! Absolutely NOT because she started it!”

“Right. Good job, Azidahaka.”

Hydra hugged Azidahaka and stroked her hair. The hair she regrew after using the cube to restore her body.

“Tch, it took me years to grow this hair…”

“Yeah, yeah. So let Lord Seongju deal with punishing her. That’s settled, right?”

“Eh, b-but…”

Azidahaka glanced at the other two commanders.

“Um… Will Lord Seongju not do anything… inappropriate with Phoenix’s body…?”

“Inappropriate? What’s inappropriate about it?”

“…Never mind! Tch, just seal her already!”

Azidahaka grumbled as she gathered magic power. The dome-like dark barrier covering them shrank. The darkness flowing past the three commanders wrapped around Phoenix’s body like a mummy.

“Then it’s my turn.”

Hydra stomped his foot, gathering the remnants of the shattered island. Water from the Caspian Sea flowed into the broken landmass.

“I’ll lock her in.”

Creeeek.

Hydra scooped up mud from the ground and molded it into a thin layer around Phoenix’s body. In an instant, Phoenix became a clay figurine, and Hydra poured concrete-like clay over it, forming a cylindrical structure.

“Sealing someone like this, nyah.”

“In my hometown, we bury things this way. Hurry up. I need to go home and cook dinner.”

“…Yeah, I need to eat mint for breakfast, nyah.”

Penril stirred up the wind around the concrete pillar Hydra created.

Amplified dozens, even hundreds of times stronger than natural winds, the wind eroded the stone sarcophagus encasing Phoenix, transforming it into the appearance of an ancient ruined pillar.

“Hooh.”

Hydra kicked the sarcophagus with his foot, sending it into the water. The stone coffin slowly sank beneath the surface, reaching the depths of the Caspian Sea.

“When we retrieve her later…”

“I’ll either dig a canal or ask Sister Rusalka to lift this lake into the sky.”

“Sleeping beauties sleep too long sometimes, nyah.”

Penril, Azidahaka, and Hydra.

The three commanders were still searching for the whereabouts of the other commanders.

“Then we’ll keep her sealed here until Lord Seongju arrives.”

“Who will watch?”

“Who would come to such a place? Even if someone finds it, it’s just a lump of concrete anyway. Haaam. I’m leaving now. Thanks for helping lure her, Penril.”

Hydra patted his lower back. Penril scratched her cheek and stood up.

“I should be thanking you for calling me despite the suddenness. I knew I couldn’t handle her alone, and you proved me right, nyah.”

“Hmph! Don’t think I came running just because you called me! I just happened to be nearby! Don’t get the wrong idea!”

Azidahaka waved her finger at Penril and disappeared into the darkness. Hydra shrugged, and Penril chuckled, waving her hand.

“See you next time. If you find Karna, let me know.”

“Got it, nyah. Take care of yourself, nyah.”

“Right. I’m going to rest. All because of someone, my hair got pulled out. Seriously, am I getting bald?”

Hydra joked around, showing no signs of worry. But Penril gave a bitter smile, nodded goodbye, and disappeared.

“……Hmph, unlikely.”

Hydra shuddered.

* * *

Xiao Lin, Gun Shin, Gawein, Undine, Tera.

One by one, renowned figures began gathering toward the Caspian Sea.

Satellite images showed nothing, and radar detected no superhumans or monsters, yet they flew toward the world’s largest inland sea where the villain Phoenix’s presence had vanished.

“That person worries everyone unnecessarily…!”

Seok Harang, arriving first at the Caspian Sea ahead of Xiao Lin, tightly gripped the green canary hairpin in her hand and raised it.

“Yama! Where are you?!”

No matter how hard she tried to contact, it was as if the other had entered another dimension, with no response forthcoming. Scanning the vast area from the sky, Seok Harang saw nothing.

And at that moment.

Crack.

The hairpin split in half.

“Wha…?”

Blazing Phoenix.

The moment her presence disappeared.