Ch.178178. Phoenix (2)

The Saint had good reason to be confident toward Alicia.

The Phoenix that appeared before the expedition was exactly like the mythical phoenix described in legends.

Its intense flame-like red feathers were infused with magical energy that made them appear to be burning, with red, orange, and gold colors intertwining and flowing like flames.

An ordinary mage would feel their eyes burning just from looking at it, and their mind might break from the overwhelming magical energy emanating from the Phoenix.

“Ha. Hahahahahahaha! The Saint commands such a ridiculous monster as her subordinate! How absurd! This can’t be real!”

In fact, among those who witnessed the Phoenix, some were so overwhelmed by its power that they became delirious, and some even lost their minds completely.

Whenever the Phoenix moved across the battlefield, it scattered magically formed feathers that destroyed and completely devastated everything around where they fell.

When its massive wings flapped, they created storms that made it impossible for enemies to even look at the Phoenix.

The sky was dyed red by the Phoenix’s flames, and the Phoenix itself could rightfully be considered a sun.

If the Phoenix had been summoned at night, it would have been worthy of being called a divine beast that dispels darkness and brings light like the sun.

“T-this is…”

The battlefield where the Phoenix had been active soon fell silent, with only the sound of magical flames burning at the tips of its wings heard across the battlefield.

Everyone was silent, in awe of the Phoenix’s majesty.

“Well, what do you think? The appearance of this divine beast! This is the divine beast Phoenix that I have contracted with!”

And to match this, the Saint of Orleans tried to imprint her presence on the European Union by adding to the Phoenix’s presence.

Yes, it was a plan to gain a status that no one could oppose by borrowing the Phoenix’s majesty.

And this scene…

‘This really looks familiar somehow.’

A memory that shouldn’t exist… no, the problem was that it was a real memory.

Bahamut thought he had seen this method somewhere before and began searching through his memories, and soon…

‘…This is the method I used at first.’

He quickly realized that this was the method he himself had used.

Yes, Bahamut had also once announced to the public that he would descend, then was summoned at the optimal location and received awe from the masses.

Afterward, this became the foundation for the establishment of the Balhut Cult, which became a historic event that allowed the current Seorabal to be founded, but…

‘Well, I agree it’s effective… but to see my dark history again like this.’

Why was the dark history he had buried in the past appearing before his eyes now?

Bahamut was watching the Phoenix gliding elegantly around the expedition with a salty expression, while the Phoenix, seemingly excited for some reason, just kept circling in the sky.

‘In any case, the Saint will benefit the most from this expedition.’

Looking at the Phoenix, Bahamut thought that the Saint would gain the most from this expedition as she intended, and he expected Alicia to face a more difficult battle.

He had anticipated that there could be another being like himself, but he never expected it to be contracted with the Saint of Orleans, Alicia’s political rival.

The name “Saint of Orleans” would now spread throughout Europe, and based on this, the Saint would be able to control Paris, which had been recaptured using others’ power, and gain a solid foundation.

However…

“By the way, there’s another contractor here. Yes, different from me. Yes, the one known as the Dragon Priestess who is said to have contracted with a dragon god.”

If that had been the end of it, that would have been fine, but unfortunately, the Saint’s greed was endless.

She was now provoking Alicia, the Dragon Priestess, another contractor, in this situation.

“…Eh?”

And the Phoenix, which had been circling in the sky, stopped at the Saint’s sudden words and stared at her with a bewildered look.

“What? Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?”

“But is that person really a dragon god? Isn’t it just that people call it that, and it just claims to be one?”

The bird’s expression was hard to read, but the Phoenix’s face seemed to be gradually contorting, as if it wanted to shut the Saint’s mouth right away.

Of course, people were too busy silently watching the verbal battle between Alicia and the Saint to notice, but the Phoenix was looking at the Saint restlessly, sending signals that it wanted to say something, but the Saint either didn’t see the signals or continued to focus her attention on Alicia.

“You’re one to talk. Is that really a divine beast as you claim? Or is it just something you’ve arbitrarily named as you wanted?”

“Hoho. It is indeed a divine being. How dare you express doubt after seeing this majesty?”

The Saint of Orleans looked at the crowd once and then raised her head toward where the Phoenix was, saying something to the effect of “where else could you find a more divine being than this?”

The Phoenix, startled by the attention focused on it, looked around nervously for a moment and then began to puff up its wings, showing off its majesty to the people.

“”””Phoenix! Phoenix! Phoenix!!””””

As the Phoenix displayed a spectacular showmanship with brilliant flames, many people cheered and began to call out its name repeatedly.

However, Bahamut, who was the only one focusing on the Phoenix…

‘Somehow I’m starting to feel an internal sense of kinship.’

He could feel a strange sense of kinship with the Phoenix trying to improvise its way through the situation.

It reminded him of how he had been manipulated by Yu-na in the past, and his affinity for the Phoenix began to increase rapidly. He found the Phoenix looking around nervously amusing and quietly observed the situation, but…

“You’d change your mind if you saw our Lord Dragon.”

“Then go ahead and summon it.”

Unfortunately, the argument between the two contractors grew increasingly heated, with Alicia saying that the Saint would change her mind if she saw the dragon god, and the Saint challenging her to summon it.

‘Eh?’

“Eh?”

At this fierce exchange, the Phoenix quickly turned to stare at the Saint again, and Bahamut also looked at Alicia with an incredulous gaze.

Who would have thought it would escalate into a battle of pride!

Except for one person, no one had anticipated this sudden development, and Bahamut, the Phoenix, and others began to back away gradually with fearful looks as they watched the verbal battle between the two.

If they weren’t careful, they might get caught in the crossfire of this whale fight.

If those two divine beasts were to clash, the expedition could be annihilated by the aftermath.

“Your dragon god. I dare you to summon it.”

“Ha. You think I’m scared? You really want me to summon it? You’ll be the one to regret it if I do.”

At least Alicia seemed to have some reason left, as she warned that it would be dangerous for the Saint if she really summoned it, but…

“Go ahead and try.”

“Then die.”

Alicia fell right into the Saint’s provocation.

Yes, Alicia didn’t need to make excuses to the Saint.

In the world, there are bad answers and good answers, and with bad answers, the world collapses the moment you lose an argument.

But a good answer was so simple—if you kill your opponent, you can end it without the hassle of arguing.

It was so simple and a quick, easy answer that didn’t require any prior knowledge.

‘This reeks of a trap.’

However, looking at the Saint, Bahamut arrived at one conclusion.

It was a trap.

Bahamut had already noticed that this was a trap set up by the Saint.

‘But this trap is definitely worth falling into.’

However, there was no need to run away from the Saint’s provocation just to avoid the trap.

The Saint had probably calculated that possibility as well, and in this case, a frontal breakthrough to disrupt the Saint’s calculations might be the best strategy.

In fact, there was sufficient value in voluntarily falling into this trap.

‘I can’t be certain just by looking. But even at the risk, I need to figure out the true identity of that Phoenix.’

This was an opportunity for Bahamut himself to legally confront the Phoenix, and if he missed this chance, he might never meet the Phoenix again.

With that in mind, Bahamut steeled himself and said to Alicia:

[It doesn’t matter.]

“I-it doesn’t matter?”

[Yes. Go ahead. Summon me as you wish.]

When Bahamut gave his permission, Alicia was the one who was surprised.

She had expected Bahamut to stop her at the right moment if she went too far, which is why she had said something as extreme as “Then die.” But now that Bahamut was actually agreeing with her, she was taken aback.

She wondered if it was really okay and regretted her aggressive response.

Alicia felt like she was experiencing a major failure for the first time in her life, but believing that Bahamut must have his reasons:

“Prepare yourself. I’ll show you clearly. My dragon god.”

Realizing there was no turning back, she began to act in earnest.

“Eh, really…? Are you really going to fight me?”

The Saint, facing her, had also expected Alicia to back down at the right moment, despite her strong stance.

She had essentially lost this game of chicken, but she consoled herself with the thought that she would be able to gather information about the dragon god Bahamut, and waited for Alicia’s summoning.

“Summoning Art. Bahamut!”

Soon after, a massive magic circle appeared in the sky, and as it cracked like an egg, a huge meteor began to descend from the sky.

The meteor slowly spread its wings, revealing its true form, and as it displayed its majestic appearance to the public…

‘I should greet it first.’

Instead of landing on the ground to show his presence as usual, he arrived in front of the Phoenix in the sky and began to silently make eye contact with it.

It was the first encounter between Bahamut and Phoenix, two divine beasts beyond human comprehension, and everyone’s attention was focused on them.

At a distance where sounds from the ground couldn’t be heard, Bahamut lightly bowed his head in greeting.

“Hello, Phoenix. I am Bahamut. Pleased to meet you.”

“Uh. Um. Uh.”

‘Huh?’

Unlike Bahamut, who greeted politely, the Phoenix seemed scared of the attention directed at her and began to stammer.

“T-t-t-that. Hello… I-I-I-I-I’m Phoenix…. Please just ignore me.”

‘I don’t know what that is. This is scary.’

Bahamut could feel another sense of kinship with that behavior.

Yes, that appearance, that social awkwardness… Bahamut couldn’t forget it.

Of course, the Phoenix before him was of the same kind as himself!

‘So you’re a shut-in warrior!’

That’s right! The Phoenix was also a shut-in warrior just like Bahamut.

Bahamut could now understand why he had felt a strange sense of kinship.

Who would have thought he’d meet a fellow loner here!

The saying that there can’t be two loners under the same sky… was nonsense. Bahamut was overjoyed at the fact that someone who could understand his feelings had finally appeared.

“…I shouldn’t have made a contract! The outside world is dangerous after all! I want to go back! I want to go home.”

As Bahamut silently stared at the Phoenix, she became even more embarrassed, covering her face with her wings and muttering that she wanted to go home right now.

Not wanting to lose this newfound kindred spirit, Bahamut immediately began to calm the Phoenix down.

“Calm down, Phoenix… sir? Miss?”

“Oh, I’m female.”

“Ah, I see. Then, Miss Phoenix. Please explain your situation. I’ll maintain a high degree of flexibility and improvise accordingly.”

While calming her down, he also learned that the Phoenix was female, but that wasn’t important right now.

Bahamut asked to know the Phoenix’s situation, and in response, the Phoenix…

“R-really?”

“Well… first we need to deal with the attention around us.”

She seemed intrigued by Bahamut’s offer and peeked out from behind her wings, showing interest.

Just as Bahamut muttered that they needed to deal with the attention first:

“Eek!? The people’s gazes are too intense! Argh! The sunlight I haven’t seen in so long! Come to think of it, it’s been a year since I left my room!”

The Phoenix panicked as she realized the reality of the situation.

She seemed to be even more of a shut-in than Bahamut, unable to bear the public attention directed at her, and her enthusiasm for this rare outing was rapidly diminishing.

However, Bahamut, with his long experience as a shut-in warrior, wasn’t surprised by the Phoenix’s behavior and could calmly reveal a strategy to get through this situation.

“Miss Phoenix. This isn’t WWE.”

“Of course I know that!”

The Phoenix, with her long experience as an internet shut-in, perfectly understood the slang Bahamut used.

In other words, what they needed to do now was:

“From now on, we need to put on a well-choreographed battle for the public.”

It was a blatant suggestion to make their upcoming battle a kind of staged performance.

Like the professional wrestling that gave birth to the WWE meme, he was suggesting that they create a script and pretend to fight for the public.

“…Won’t that hurt?”

“……”

“Don’t look away!”

The problem was that while it was a show, they would still be actually fighting, so there would be real pain.

When the Phoenix sharply pointed this out, Bahamut immediately turned his head away.

Well, he couldn’t be concerned about that.

“But if we just run away without saying anything, wouldn’t that be problematic in its own way? Down below, they’re starting to look bored with our standoff.”

Indeed, since they were quietly conversing high in the sky, the conversation between Bahamut and the Phoenix couldn’t be heard by the expedition below.

However, since there had only been a meaningless standoff after the summoning, complaints were gradually erupting from the expedition.

Seeing this, the Phoenix seemed to feel a bit guilty that her contractor was being criticized, and she nodded slightly, agreeing to the WWE proposal.

“Y-yes, it would be problematic!”

“So let’s do WWE in a way that satisfies them. We fight moderately. We just go through the motions. How about it? Sounds easy, right?”

“It does seem… easy?”

Of course, it’s difficult.

While professional wrestling is criticized by the public for being staged, the techniques shown in professional wrestling and the pain caused by those techniques are all real.

Even real WWE is like that, so to show a battle that the public would find convincing, both sides had to show some sincerity, and the additional problems caused by this… well, there’s no need to mention them.

“Like a turn-based game, we attack each other and then retreat at the appropriate time. Got it? Hmm?”

“Yes! I’ll do my best, Lord Bahamut!”

“Good.”

Anyway, the aftermath of their fight would… be handled by the Saint of Orleans from now on.

These two divine beasts just needed to enjoy their WWE-style performance as they wanted and then leave.