Volcanic Desert (5)

‘I really want to kill it.’

From since Evan realized his memories from the past, it was the first time that his gamer impulse was this intense. Despite the uncertainty in hostility, wanting to kill it just because he wanted the material wasn’t something an average human should think of. But still, wouldn’t it be all right since they are the Mahwa Tribe? If it were really the phoenix, he should have treated it with respect, but it is the evil itself that almost destroyed the continent in the past, so wouldn’t it be fine?

―Are you hesitating, human?

“What…?”

As Evan was distressed by his thoughts, the phoenix sneered and spoke as if it read his mind. Evan was so surprised that his eyes widened, and the phoenix laughed silently as it breathed out hot flames.

―No need to worry. We just want to know where the queen is located…if you answer willingly, we will not harm you.

“Ah.”

‘Huh, it didn’t read my mind, right? Well yeah, although it’s a phoenix, it can’t read people’s minds!’ Evan let out a sigh in his mind, then replied.

“So, I miraculously established a relationship where Queen Rose and I came to an understanding. But that doesn’t mean I can trust you, who were once her subordinates. In fact, she gifted me with this as a precaution against you.”

―As expected, so the will of the queen is…

‘The calm voice of the phoenix. If it weren’t for the ring that Rose gave me, I would have mistaken it for the real phoenix due to its dignified voice.’

Originally, the Mahwa Tribe’s characteristics and abilities differed based on the hosts they had taken over. For sure, they tended to become more destructive and powerful when compared to their original hosts. Still, it seemed that even the ruffian personality of the Mahwa Tribe calmed down when the host was the phoenix. So, Evan became curious all of a sudden. How on earth did the Mahwa Tribe manage to adapt to the Volcanic Desert and acquire the body of the phoenix that was regarded as the godly bird!?

―As we reached this place…how many hardships have we gone through?

It was at that moment. It started to recall its past willingly. Perhaps this time, it was certain that it really read Evan’s mind!

―You people will know as you have set your feet here. Although you are wearing very precious armor, it won’t perfectly negate the penalties of this land.

“Well, yeah.”

It seemed like everyone except Evan was experiencing a little difficulty. If it wasn’t for the armor made from the Glacial Tear, they might not even be able to set foot here.

―It was the same for us. Ever since we’ve entered this cursed land as bait in order to protect the queen from the detestable arch-enemy Dayin Concealed and Leo Arpeta…

Dayin Concealed was an alias used by Bernard when he was active in Yo-Ma Great War 2. The last name being ‘Concealed,’ that really wasn’t funny.

―Not long ago, 90% of our companions couldn’t withstand the environment and died…we had to survive by consuming the corpses left by them. The hosts that we had to parasitize on were monsters with devastating power. We’ve barely managed to parasitize the weakest hosts and lived a miserable life while hiding from the strong ones…

All Mahwa Tribes that gathered on the summit of the volcano looked at the phoenix with respect. Ah, so does that mean everyone here hadn’t experienced such ruthless survival competition? Evan wanted to ask when the phoenix appeared in the story, but he decided to listen.

―When we copulated in secrecy and increased the number of our companions, it was only then that we challenged the strong enemies. As we continued killing and parasitizing the numerous monsters, we’ve hunted down the monsters in this area. And during such a process, our spirits experienced huge growth.

When Rose was persevering and recovering her strength, these guys experienced ridiculously harsh conditions to level themselves in the greatest difficulty.

―And by the time we consumed most of our enemies, I was the only one remaining.

Hmm? Evan tilted his head at that part. The only survivor? Then, does that mean all other Mahwa Tribes except this phoenix were newly born after that incident? Evan suddenly felt goosebumps rising. He somewhat understood how this guy became a phoenix.

―And I’ve become the phoenix—a new form of the Mahwa Tribe that escaped from the decisive influence of the queen.

“That must’ve been harsh…”

It was like crafting phoenix feathers in a dungeon but in the Volcanic Desert version! The only differences were that the monsters in the Volcanic Desert were pure fire elemental monsters, and the scale was much larger than the dungeon!

―But the loyalty I have towards the queen remains the same. It remains unchanged…why did I struggle to survive? It was all for the queen. Why did I feed on my companions to survive? It was to protect the queen from humans.

Evan made his members prepare. Usually, such sentimental phrases came out before entering the boss fight.

―I don’t intend to fight.

The phoenix became aware of Evan’s intention and spoke firmly!

―I don’t intend to suffer unnecessary damages while fighting with you humans here. The enemies I must fight against are somewhere else…

“Enemies? If you’re referring to humans…”

―Not human. They are the traitors of the Mahwa Tribe.

Evan’s eyes narrowed even thinner.

“Are you talking about Queen Rose?”

―Just now, I said my loyalty for Queen Rose is eternal. I’m saying I must fight with those who betrayed Queen Rose.

“…?”

Evan tried to dig through his memory. Was it referring to those who abandoned Rose when she led the Mahwa Tribe to attack Sherden? Come to think of it, the reason why Rose crafted the ring for Evan was to be alerted against them.

“Do you know where they are located?”

―Of course. I can’t find out my queen’s location, but all Mahwa Tribes excluding her are under the influence of power ranks. I’ve been aware of their location ever since the beginning. I even know what they are thinking. They…

The phoenix continued talking. Evan understood what he was trying to imply, and he acquired good information unexpectedly. Then, he asked.

“Okay, then what happens after defeating those traitors?”

―Of course, I must serve the queen. So, you, who the queen recognized, come with us.

It breathed out as it spoke. Small embers appeared in the empty air in the visible form of seven. It contained an immense aura that was ominous.

―We will make allies with those humans with whom our queen has established a good relationship. And we shall subjugate the world once more. Take this. This shall make us allies.

Evan’s eyes became thinner.

“Queen Rose doesn’t intend on conquering the world, so what do you think about it?”

―What nonsense. Conquering the world means more than her life for the queen. She is waiting for her loyal subordinates to return. So, stop with your impossible dreams…take it. Hurry.

The phoenix was insisting Evan on taking the ember seed, the seed of the Mahwa Tribe, in a coercive manner. However, it said it had no intention to fight. As expected, as long as the Mahwa Tribe could parasitize, it didn’t need to fight. It wasn’t considering Evan and his members as formidable enemies. It was understandable that one could feel superior over the outsiders when it reached the pinnacle in the Volcanic Desert. Evan sympathized.

―Take it!

The seed came to them flying. The condition for parasites in the game was quite difficult, and it wouldn’t happen once the seed was absorbed, so it would be far more difficult in the case of the seed from the phoenix. The seed of Mahwa Tribe that flew towards Evan and his members got shattered into pieces as it froze in mid-air before reaching them. It was a spell from Belois.

―What does this mean?

As the phoenix growled with hostility, several thousands of monsters that gathered around the summit of the volcano tensed up as well. It was a great scene that could be found in the climax of a movie!

“Everyone, you’ve heard it, right? Now, commence the hunt.”

But Evan, who saw them swiftly, swirled his hand in the empty air and a cyclone of ridiculous scale appeared and swiped the entire Mahwa Tribe into the crater of the Volcano. He claimed that he just created artificial wind by manipulating the flow with his Annihilation. In other’s eyes, it was a grand form of magic.

“Everyone, be on standby. Perhaps after defeating that guy, we may be able to straighten up the distorted environment here.”

“How did you suppress your urges to defeat it, Master?”

“I desperately wanted to hear how the phoenix was born.”

―How did you…? My children…in one swipe…!

The phoenix shrieked in shock, but Evan realized that it was completely absorbing the blood of the Mahwa Tribes that floated on the magma while saying such words. Feeding on the children it raised, what a weird creature. Of course, it was Evan who made it happen. Anyways, he was thankful for it to gather the Mahwa Tribe in one place, which helped Evan wipe them out. It was pretty tiresome in comparison to the ancient ruin of the Eternal Glacier.

―How are you not affected by this environment!?

“Well, it’s obvious that it’s difficult to borrow strength from outside…but it isn’t hard to leverage the power that dwells within me, is it?”

“It’s difficult to perceive that such a scale of wind was created purely through the mana of an individual.”

Arisha coldly rebutted Evan’s statement as he sneered at the phoenix, but it surely wasn’t something the phoenix wanted to hear.

―I tried to welcome you to our tribe as I recognized your achievements in serving our queen at her side, but…! If that’s what you want, I’ll feed on you all!

It shrieked and flew above the crater. The volcano started to shake at that moment. It was about to erupt! Magma arose from different places, and a terribly hot vapor was created. It seemed like its aura was gradually concentrating, and it absorbed all the magma that the volcano erupted, which made its body grow bigger than Gnar!

―After using such a scale of magic, you won’t have any mana left! Try your best while you struggle!

“Huh, on what grounds are you being that confident?”

Evan didn’t have any intention of correcting it. He smiled quietly and reached out his hand once more. At that moment, everything halted.

―Wha…?

The phoenix, feeling the abnormality, froze while opening its mouth. Even the volcano that seemed to overwhelm the area with magma and volcanic ashes stopped immediately. The flow of the air stopped, and so did the heat that was spreading. Only Evan and his members were moving normally.

“Master, what is this…?”

Belois spoke in awe as she looked at the vapor that froze in mid-air. It looked like the world froze temporarily. Evan explained while laughing sarcastically.

“I froze time.”

“Master has finally done it.”

“No, don’t just believe it fully. It’s something I’m still working on. As my powers turned into Annihilation, the concept of flows that I can manipulate grew quite broader. I came to think that if I completely stop things in an area, it would be the same as stopping time.”

He didn’t actually intervene with the flow of time. Everyone beyond the reach of his ability was moving fine. Although he thought of the possibility that one day, he might be able to manipulate time if he continuously studied and practiced.

“This is way scarier than simply crushing it to death…”

“I feel pity for the phoenix…”

“Pity? You will feel more sympathy from now on.”

Evan spoke coldly as he wrapped the glove in his hand with the mana from Annihilation. The glove was an anti-heat tool that was part of the Glacial Tear armor.

“Everyone, help me out. We will commence the pluck-all-feathers-from-the-phoenix operation.”

“The thing you do after stopping time…”

“Hurry! We have to pluck as many as we can when it’s still alive!”

Three hours passed since then, and Evan was able to obtain many feathers, to the point that he lacked space in his inventory pocket. But the feather that contained the true power of the phoenix didn’t seem to regenerate well, so after feeding the phoenix with the alchemy potion that killed the Mahwa Tribe gene, it was fed on by Gnar.

―Kyuuuuuu!

“Yeah, yeah, eat well, Gnar. Ah, but you still have to leave behind the heart and the blood.”

―Kyukyuuuuu!

As Gnar was happily feasting on the phoenix, the members who finished their feather-plucking operation whispered to each other quietly as they watched the phoenix being eaten.

“…Is it still alive?”

“Don’t talk. Don’t look in its eyes.”

“Long time ago, my uncle told me that you could be eaten alive without being able to scream if you aren’t strong enough, and this is just like that…”

“Lady Arisha!?”