Phoenix of the Flame – Chapter 8

〈 Episode 8 〉Part 1 Chapter 1 (7)
Damn it. How did I end up in this situation?
I was facing the forbidden object before me, caught in the biggest dilemma of my life.
“Perhaps it doesn’t fit? Oh dear. Well, my granddaughter is quite well-endowed.”
I barely resisted the urge to flip off Grandpa Park through the wall after his subtly lewd and sexually harassing remark, and instead lifted the thing before me.
I didn’t know exactly how to put it on. But after examining it this way and that, I roughly figured it out.
All that remained was to wear it.
“Gulp.”
I put it on with more tension than I felt when facing Xiaolin.
‘It’s a little tight.’
As expected of Phoenix. Grandpa Park’s granddaughter was quite large, but Phoenix was a step above.
“Ummm….”
I turned my body this way and that in front of the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. The light sky-blue color, matching my blue hair, clearly covered the important parts.
“I resent that this is a dating sim, just for today. Seriously.”
It felt like looking at a beautiful work of art, but the owner of that body was me. I had spent a night with Phoenix in the game, but this was the first time seeing her naked.
‘I need to put something on top quickly.’
If I kept this up, I might get a nosebleed from looking in the mirror.
I threw open the box that Grandpa Park had left. The only complete outfit among the clothes his granddaughter had left behind before leaving.
“…God.”
I picked up the set of clothes carefully placed in the box and squeezed my eyes shut.
* * *
“Thank you for everything, Elder.”
The girl bowed her head and greeted Grandpa Park.
“What for? Thanks to you, I felt like I was living in a human world. Heh heh. Next time, don’t get separated from your group and stick together. Don’t get eaten by the likes of Seohae Mugi again. Got it?”
“I’ll be careful.”
The old man didn’t know that even if Seohae Mugi ascended to become a dragon, it wouldn’t reach the girl’s toes.
But every time he saw the girl, he was reminded of his granddaughter who had lost her father, so he couldn’t just leave her alone.
Even her subtle actions of trying to take care of the old man while pretending not to.
“Well, if you’re okay with it, I’ll escort you to the terminal-”
“I told you I’m fine.”
The old man waved his hand and made a disgusted face.
“Where would I go, leaving the place I was born? I’ll die here. And you know….”
The old man turned his gaze to the sea and continued.
“There should always be someone to welcome my son when he returns, shouldn’t there? If he comes home to an empty house, how heartbroken would he be? If I want to receive some filial piety from my son who doesn’t even show any, this old man has to wait here. Until someday, until he returns.”
“What if a Monster attacks?”
“Then that’s the day I return to the sea. Ah. Monsters wouldn’t understand, would they? I want to tell them to scatter my ashes in the sea when I die.”
“…Unless this world is destroyed, you won’t die from a Monster attack.”
The girl’s voice was filled with conviction. The old man found it somewhat amusing that the girl would sometimes say ridiculous things to comfort him.
“Yeah. Is it because of the clothes? You look just like someone your age.”
“Ugh.”
The girl glared at Grandpa Park with a sulky expression.
“I’m twenty-five….”
“Alright, alright. Go on now. Don’t do anything stupid here and go straight to Shinseoul to register as a hero.”
“Yes. I understand.”
The girl bowed her head deeply and turned away.
“Stay healthy and live long. Until your son returns.”
“This one, really…. Alright. I may not be able to smear poop on the wall, but I’ll be alive until I can smack my son’s head when he returns. Is that enough?”
The old man shook his head as if he was fed up and went inside.
The girl, Phoenix, stopped smiling and lightly jumped in place.
…
Thump.
She jumped over more than ten buildings with the leg strength enhanced by Mana.
Phoenix, who had hidden in a building that was now no more than a haunted house, roughly wiped the dust off the table and placed the Monster Core in the center.
‘Let’s see. According to the setting….’
Mana wrapped around the Core like a thread.
Crackle. Crackle.
The Core, which was like a small bead, floated in the air in response to the flame Mana. The flame gradually spread out, taking on a human form.
‘I have to do it.’
Phoenix, I took a deep breath, recalling the scene of ‘Monster Creation’ that the executives did in the original story.
“The sun commands. You, cast off the shackles of the winged beast and be reborn as an intelligent being. I am the one who blesses your birth. I am the one who will take your death. Azure Flame Phoenix.”
I gently placed my hand on the Core and infused a little more Mana. The blazing flame became scales like an outer shell, firmly enveloping the entire body.
‘Add a piece of veil there.’
I tore off a piece of the veil wrapped around my neck like a scarf and put it into the Core.
The Monster’s body shone and began to take on a cyan color. I tried to straighten my curling fingers and thought of any lines that came to mind, adding a few more verses to the incantation.
“You are the one who has set foot in two worlds. You shall become the flame spear that illuminates and protects the world.”
The Mana eaten through the Core was Mana, but the consumption of mental strength was no joke. I don’t know what the executives in the original story were thinking, doing this ritual live on TV around the world. Don’t they have any shame?
I took my hand off the Core and flicked my fingers.
“Appear. My servant.”
The end of the incantation. A fierce Mana storm swept through the house.
[……A servant born from Azure Flame greets you. Master.]
Speaking in a voice like a string of electronic sounds, the Monster, no, the Monster Seohae Mugi knelt on one knee.
“Oh. Yes. But you can speak in human language.”
“If that is your will, Master.”
The mask-like mouthguard opened, and a heavy voice rang out.
Monster.
They are too early to appear in this world, but in the original story, they are villains who gradually reveal themselves. Unlike villains who are heroes who have fallen and commit crimes, they are beings whose reason for living is to kill humans and destroy the earth.
Of course, that’s because the spirits who think of themselves as executives of the evil organization made them that way.
I put my hand on the shoulder of the Monster Seohae Mugi and asked.
“What is the reason for your birth?”
“As your servant, I will protect the world according to your orders.”
That’s why the wording of the incantation is important when creating a Monster. I patted his shoulder and asked again.
“What are you protecting the world from?”
“…Uh, um. Are you protecting the sea? From humans who throw garbage?”
Perhaps because he was originally a fish, his perception of the world has not yet left the sea. I grabbed my throbbing head and stepped away from Seohae Mugi.
‘I don’t have time to teach him everything. Did I create him for nothing?’
It’s a little disappointing that an S-class Monster would show intelligence beyond humans. But it was a waste to discard the first Monster I had created. There was also a role to play.
I should just make something up. I pointed to the ground with my finger and gave an order.
“To protect the world from the threats that will come someday. You will build your strength here in Yeongjongdo. It would be good to become the master of this island.”
“Does that mean?”
“There is an A-class Monster in Silmido, south of Yeongjongdo. Kill it and occupy this entire area of Yeongjongdo. And prevent the Monsters coming down from the north from passing through here. If heroes come to defeat you, hide and never get caught. And the humans living in this area…”
“Can I eat them?”
This bastard is interrupting me. I raised my hand and slapped Seohae Mugi’s head.
“Leave the humans alone. The ‘human race’ is also included in the world we will protect in the future. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I understand.”
Seohae Mugi fiddled with the dented scales and spread them out.
“But what if I get caught by humans? You seem to want my existence to not be revealed.”
“There probably won’t be any, but don’t ever talk to civilians and just hide. Never get caught by humans. Do you understand?”
I neatly straightened the clothes that were fluttering in the wind and turned around.
“What I said earlier is your code of conduct. The first thing you need to do above all else is-”
I unfolded the photo crumpled in my shirt pocket. There was an old man, a granddaughter, and a smiling young man.
” ”
Seohae Mugi was staring at the photo without saying a word. I pretended to be calm and pointed to the old man in the photo.
“Watch over this old man. Do you understand? Occupy Yeongjongdo and defeat the Monster of Silmido while this old man is asleep.”
“Yes. But what is the relationship between this human and you, Master?”
Seohae Mugi’s voice cracked.
“I am indebted to this human. I can’t stay on this island right now, so I want you to repay this debt instead. He is waiting here for his ‘son’ who was lost a long time ago.”
With those words, I pointed in the direction of the old man’s house and left the ruins. Seohae Mugi couldn’t even think of seeing me off and was staring at the old man’s house beyond the window.
“Ah.”
The old man, who had just come out to sweep the yard, found me and waved his hand. I glanced at the ruins and raised my hand.
“Stay healthy.”
That was all I could say. The old man wouldn’t be able to hear it.
” ”
Seohae Mugi put his hand on the window and waved his hand.
“This world is a tragic world.”
It is known that only plants and animals turn into Monsters.
But sometimes people turn into Monsters. Like in the case of swallowing a Monster Core for some reason.
“…If I had known, I wouldn’t have done this.”
I grabbed the hands that had blown up Seohae Mugi with Mana and walked along the road.
* * *
The Monster thought.
The order from the master who created him.
A strange order that suppressed even the instinct to kill humans or destroy them as he pleased.
He gave all sorts of strange instructions, but the root of it was the order to watch over that insignificant old man.
The Monster thought.
The order from the creator is absolute.
He, who was already reborn as a Monster, had only inherited the name ‘Seohae Mugi’ and was born on this land as a completely new being.
But suppressing the instinct to kill and destroy as a Monster, and the order to watch over people,
“Aigoo, my back.”
It wasn’t bad.
The Monster sat on a tree on a hill overlooking the white sandy beach and observed the old man’s every move.
Drip.
Seawater flowed from his eyes. Could it be that the remnants of when he was a sea Monster still remained? But I should be an existence born from the Core.
The Monster wiped away the continuously flowing water and bared his teeth, turning away from the old man entering the house.
Grrr.
A wolf-type Monster hiding in the mountains was lumbering down towards the village. The Monster jumped off the tree and pounced on the wolf’s back.
Crack!
The Monster’s sharp fist pierced the wolf’s chest. At the same time, a small flame burst from the Monster’s hand.
The Monster died without even screaming, and the Monster pulled out the clenched heart and jumped back onto the tree.
“……Huh?”
Grandpa Park frowned at the fishy smell of blood. He was very nervous, wondering if Monsters were coming down this far, so he picked up an iron skewer lying on the road and walked forward cautiously.
“……Damn it.”
In Grandpa Park’s eyes was the corpse of a dead wolf Monster. The Monster had its heart torn out, and was slowly being cooked from the pierced hole.
“Is that kid’s doing?”
Grandpa Park’s teeth were chattering. If the blue girl had killed all the Monsters around to help him and left, it would be a very big problem for Grandpa Park.
“I saved a Monster.”
Grandpa Park crossed his arms and trembled as he went into the house. The Monster was still silently watching the old man enter the house from the tree.
Caw…!

The burning smell of the wolf Monster caused the other Monsters to slowly stir. The Aberrant realized that there were still ‘small fries’ left that the master hadn’t dealt with, and quietly leaped into the air.
Yeongjong Island.
Land that had become a Monster nest.
It was the moment a new ruler appeared on that small island.