Episode 117 – Fire God Bird.
117. Fire God Bird.
The sleeping mountain woke up, and a bird flew up from there.
— A folk tale from a volcanic island in the Southern Continent
* · * *
Topuramu in local language. Directly translated into the continent’s official language, it means bird of fire.
To paraphrase, it would be more appropriate to call it the Fire God Bird.
The word ‘God’ had to be included.
Because the Avatar is not a spirit being, but a being close to a divine beast.
This creature appears occasionally in the Southern Continent at intervals of hundreds of years, and emerges from a place full of fire and good energy (mainly volcanic terrain), breaking the egg laid by the mother with a burst of flame.
The newly born Hwashinjo has a fire inside its body. This flower bed can be seen as the source, life, and core of Hwashinjo.
Hwasinjo, a spirit beast from birth, does not need help from parents. Even without a guardian, I instinctively knew what to do next.
Growing the flower garden so that it can join the ranks of true gods.
It was the same principle as when an animal aims to grow into a full-fledged adult when it is a baby.
Eat food and grow your body. It was simple.
From then on, Hwasinjo begins to accumulate the energy of the world in the flower bed. It absorbs pure fire energy and makes the flower bed grow continuously. The flower bed is completed until it is completely destroyed.
The process is difficult and boring. It may take hundreds or even thousands of years.
Until the final molt, which will take a long time, the Hwasinjo goes through several molts, or evolution. Like the realm of martial artists, there are certain stages in the growth of flower beds.
And as Hwadan takes the next step, Hwashinjo falls into a deep sleep.
To be precise, he sank deep within himself to focus on breaking down the wall. This is similar to the period a caterpillar spends in a pupa for metamorphosis.
In this process, Hwashinjo is left defenseless. Of course, compared to usual times.
Not only is he in a place where he won’t be disturbed, but his body is surrounded by so much heat that his hands and feet will melt if he’s touched.
It’s really hard to find it, and even if you do find it, it’s hard to do anything about it. Because it’s hard to even lift a finger.
However, with a combination of luck, madness, obsession, and desire, merchants from the continent dragged the sleeping man away.
They hand him over to Manwol Auction House, confident of making a fortune.
Without even a dream what kind of thing it is or what consequences it will lead to.
* · * *
According to Leon’s information obtained through the original work, that Avatar was at least 500 years old.
It has already gone through two molts and is entering the third stage.
So, what we are seeing now is a flowering bird that has just completed the molting process and has entered the third stage of the flower bed.
Leon and Aria’s new form falls towards that guy, drawing a long parabola.
The falling process is tens of meters long. Room 78 is located on the highest floor of the auction house.
Quaaa!
A bad wind struck Leon as he descended.
‘Going bald is a no-no.’
If he hadn’t been wearing a fire mask, all of his hair would have been burned.
Tadat-!
Leon landed lightly on the ground and started running towards the stage.
The closer I got to the center, the more I felt the divine power of Hwashinjo.
The intimidating feeling it gave off weighed down my chest and the fire seemed to consume my entire body.
Running into the center of a fire storm, of course it couldn’t be easy.
Quaaa!
Leon’s eyes, hit by the heat, glowed extremely red.
Leon, his whole body covered in mana, bulged his thigh muscles and went through the storm.
The resistance was such that if he lost his center of gravity even slightly, he would be thrown back a long way.
Leon spat out.
“I can’t do that. Aria, let’s go at once.”
Aria nodded her head.
Leon waved his sword thoughtfully.
The first type of flying light sword type, Pagwang.
Whaaa!
In an instant, a blue wave burst out, contrasting with the red that filled the entire space.
Mana spread in a circle and pushed the firearm away. My breath cleared and a path appeared.
Leon and Aria ran forward without missing that moment.
At the same time, mana gathered in both of Aria’s hands.
“Elum- gias Veria.”
Kwa-chijijijijijing!
As soon as the sword screen that Leon had spread disappeared, Aria deployed a long, arch-shaped barrier.
The blue mana barrier was summoned in the shape of a tunnel, opening the path.
The final destination of the route was under the stage, at the entrance to the passage where employees came and went.
Koodduddudd-!
What a barrier Aria spread. However, the fire was so powerful that it seemed like the barrier could not withstand even a few seconds and would collapse.
Leon quickly stepped on her heavenly spirit step, and Aria ran, her entire body wrapped in her current.
Beyond the wall, a large figure the size of Hwasinjo’s house was seen above the high stage platform. As if to vent its anger, it waved its blazing wings and went crazy without reason.
‘See you again later.’
Leon said hello to the guy with his eyes.
After covering the distance in an instant, he kicked the double door at the entrance to the passage. The door swung open without resistance.
Kwajangchang!
The barrier suddenly broke, scattering mana debris. Fire poured out.
Leon and Aria barely managed to jump into the passage.
But what emerged was a long hallway. A pale light blinked. Above the ceiling, the vibrations of Hwashin birds pounding and running wild rang out.
At that time.
Far away, a side road next to the hallway. People in suits rushed out. Judging by the prayers being read, they were wizards.
They opened their eyes wide when they saw the masked men who suddenly appeared.
“What…?! “It’s an intruder!”
The lead woman held out her arms as she shouted. Her refined magic flowed into her fingertips.
Jecheongeombeop (制天劍法) 1st form, reformed form.
First day.
A beam of light crossed the hallway. The arm of the woman preparing her magic was completely cut off without a single dent.
“······Huh?”
The woman expressed her doubts as she looked at her empty forearm.
Just right!
The woman’s head fell violently, and she collapsed helplessly.
In the meantime.
Sigh! Sigh! Bang! Thud! Wow!
The blown bodies landed on the walls and ceiling. Aria knocked out all five wizards behind her with one blow.
“······.”
Leon and Aria continued running without exchanging glances.
I ignored the small side roads on the side and continued straight ahead. Eventually, I saw a silver swing door with a sign saying [Waiting Room].
Boom!
I opened it roughly, as if breaking it, and went in.
Boxes, shelves, cages… It was a large warehouse.
A place to store items to be auctioned today. A place where employees gather items that they take out in order and place on the stage.
In other words, it is a place where valuables such as gold are scattered around.
Even the majority of the items that had been auctioned off earlier were here. There aren’t many customers who receive their items right on the spot like Leon.
Blame!
Leon runs somewhere.
Aria threw a large subspace bundle on the floor.
She spread her arms. Her core spun violently, sucking in her mana and manufacturing her magical power.
Soon.
Chaaa!
Dozens of magical threads came out from Aria’s hands. Thick threads stretched out in all directions, grabbing and pulling objects like a grip.
Telekinetic magic. Aria started pounding the items in her warehouse with her bundle.
In the meantime, we filtered out things that were of poor value and were not particularly useful.
What is this speed and sophistication? It was truly a brilliant theft.
That was the time when Aria started sweeping up her things.
Leon, with his spirit wide open, arrived at one side of the warehouse.
“······.”
Waving gazes flew and focused on him.
Inside a tightly packed prison cell. It is full of children in shackles.
There were some faces I saw on stage earlier, and some I was seeing for the first time. The white hair of the white-haired girl also caught my eye.
What they have in common is that everyone is afraid of the commotion happening above. Everyone is huddled in a corner of the prison, shaking. With each loud noise, her shoulders slumped further.
“······.”
Leon, who was rolling her eyes, sent a message to Aria.
Poof-.
The next moment, he frowned and looked behind him. It was the direction he had passed.
However, the next moment his expression turned absurd.
— Little brother, I’ll take care of the rest.
A familiar voice echoing in my head. It was Hera.
‘Why is this person here?’
Leon was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly understood and accepted it.
‘Okay for now.’
Isn’t this a plan full of improvisation anyway? This is about a variable. Moreover, it is a very positive variable.
‘Then leave that to my sister.’
If she uses a sword, there will be no problem no matter what enemy comes.
Leon made a decision in seconds and looked away again.
Whirik-.
He held his sword back and refined his momentum.
Because.
“······.”
Because the prayers of the guy in front were formidable.
In the middle of a space with iron bars hanging down. A man in rags glares at Leon.
The bloodshot eyes shining between the thick hair are not normal even if you look at them.
He doesn’t seem to care at all even though chaos is going on outside. They are only wary of the intruder, Leon.
There was a shackle on one of his ankles, and the chain was long enough to allow him to move around without difficulty within a radius of about 10 meters.
Sweet-
As Leon lifted and removed his foot slightly, the shackled man flinched and took a stance ready to lunge.
If you enter within a certain distance, it seems to attack immediately. It was a slave guard who was heavily involved in things like brainwashing and intoxication.
Even the level was very high. That guy alone is more than enough to guard the waiting room.
Behind the shackled man there was another large door. It was the entrance to Manwol’s main warehouse.
So, we had to first clear the way here.
Leon felt like every second was a waste. And I don’t have any feelings for a guy like that.
So he suggested.
“This is just a frog guarding the house. Hey, should I let you go? It’s a mess outside right now, so why not just run away? “If we fight, I won’t be able to save you.”
“······.”
“······Yeah, f*ck. “There’s no way we could understand each other.”
Leon sighed and kicked the ground.