The Life I Gained From Dying

Chapter 49 - Climax

The creature was large, to say the least. It made Ondo and the dragons look like regular pigeons in comparison. Its plumage was a gorgeous golden yellow with a crimson red accent on the end of every feather. While its flight feathers underneath its wings were a more dark blue that faded into purple halfway down each feather. Its tail had similarities of a peacock's but was a bit smaller in comparison to its body size, while its head resembled that of a falcon. Hovering above its head was what could only be described as a fiery halo.

The villagers were awestruck and paralyzed from fear as they were all aware of the history the Phoenix had with the water continent. Even Ondo crawled back into his cave on the mountain to hide.

"What is that thing?" Kaden asked.

"... That's the Phoenix." Mai replied after swallowing heavily. "The diety of the fire continent."

"Ah, she's beautiful!" Kajar exclaimed. "How dare you primitive insects enslave something so beautiful. Turning her into a mere light source because you were too scared to live under the sun like the rest of us. Pathetic."

"How'd you know about that?" Elder Aira questioned as she was finally able to pull her gaze away from the Phoenix. "Not even us Elders knew that she was our sun until recently. How'd you know?"

"Oh, I have my ways. Don't you worry about that. Anywho, I think I'll be taking my leave now."

"What?"

"I came here for one thing only, and now that my want has been satisfied, I'd rather not stay in this pitiful land any longer."

Without looking, Kajar could have sensed something above him that was about to threaten his life. He jumped backward just a second before an ice spike impaled the ground where he was just standing. The spike was taller than Kajar himself, and when he glanced upward, there were about twenty more of them hovering above him.

"You made those when you were flying around earlier, didn't you?"

"You come to my land, destroy my home, endanger my people, and you think I'm just going to let you leave?" Maleah said in a state of anger. "Your brother will have to take the throne after all because I'm not letting you leave here alive!"

"Heh, c'mon then." Kajar replied with a grin. "Allow me to see the famous Aira bloodline in action firsthand."

"Moisture on the ground and in the air is getting evaporated because of the Phoenix." Maleah thought to herself. "I need to be conservative with what I have."

With a swipe of her finger, Maleah sent three more of the spikes hurdling down at Kajar with the intent of gauging his speed and reaction time. The Ignus Commander quickly proved himself to be more than just a shot caller as he evaded the spikes with no wasted movements. He then struck the back of his hands together to create sparks as he was wearing a pair of spark gloves similar to what Jayson had. With them, Kajar created just enough fire to set his own hands ablaze.

"Let's go, Elder!" Kajar exclaimed as he used a quick burst of fire from his hands to propel himself towards Maleah.

Before he could reach her, she sent down another ice spike, perfectly aligned with the path he was taking, and if it wasn't for Kajar's quick reflexes, he would have been impaled. He blasted himself sideways with his right hand while using his left hand to throw a fireball at Maleah from a distance. Without moving an inch, Maleah caught the fireball with a wall of water. The attack left a cloud of steam blocking Maleah's vision, yet she still didn't move a muscle or became panicked in the slightest way. Before the steam dissipated, Kajar leaped through it and threw a flaming punch at Elder Aira.