Shadow Phoenix and the Azure Flame Knight

"Whoa. A knockoff."

Halfway up the mountain trail, I gazed up at the purple monster bird hovering in the sky—a Shadow Phoenix—and let out a sigh of admiration.

The Castle Lord brainwashed spirits on Terra, extracting their mana to create these heat-warped monster knockoffs. In the original game, they showed up as mob enemies against the relevant spirit when you recruited that cadre member and entered their individual route. Each one was B- to S-rank, sure, but by the time you hit those late-game routes, these copycat monsters were just XP fodder for the protagonist's party.

But they even made one for Phoenix? Never saw that coming.

I couldn't have imagined experiencing something new that wasn't even in the original game. Staring at the Shadow Phoenix proudly unfurling its wings, I suddenly felt a bit embarrassed for no reason.

Isn't that exactly what I was doing against Unjang Shaolin out on the West Sea?

Remembering how I'd flaunted my wings back then made the Shadow's mimicry feel kinda shameful all of a sudden. I pressed a hand to my ear and channeled some mana.

"Jo Deok-bae? Can you hear me?"

His startled reaction meant the connection was solid. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pinpointed Deok-bae's location as the Flame Giant and waved.

"You know where I am, right? Come running over here."

"Oh, that's nothing. Just a knockoff of me. No need to freak out that much."

Deok-bae's words made me swallow hard. The estimated mana radiating through the air on thermal currents pegged it as top-tier S-rank.

"...Hmm, about Fenrir level? But compared to me, it's not that strong. I could play around for five minutes and still win."

"Well, yeah, but it's not like it's insanely strong or anything..."

It just bugged me a little that my knockoff had power on par with the other cadres. Where the hell did they even get the fodder for a Shadow like that—

Me again?

Shadows are drawn out by the mana of the original spirit beyond the dimensional gates. It's their instinct as copies to eliminate the original, claim its core, and surpass it. This Shadow Phoenix must have sensed the traces of my Azure Flame that I'd been blasting nonstop and forced its way through a gate.

What a pain. Don't wanna fight.

I could win, no problem. But right now, I needed to hole up somewhere quiet and calmly plan my next moves. Exposing myself in a fight wasn't ideal either.

The gate's closed.

Not just the initial dimensional gate, but the one the Shadow came through had burst from the strain of its mana. Pretty much the only threats left in Seoul now were small fry monsters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Shadows.

I thoroughly suppressed my mana and hid behind a tree near the summit. The owner of that fire-attribute mana chasing me was staring blankly at the Shadow, his mental state clearly shattered.

"What the hell. That's not it."

"Wasn't talking to you. Just hurry over here."

I spotted the Flame Giant—Deok-bae—hesitating around Dok-san Station. While he carefully navigated around buildings to reach me, I racked my brain looking at the guy on the verge of tears.

Definitely not the protagonist.

Even assuming the original plot was all twisted up, the premise itself was wrong. The protagonist was currently a powerless normal human who'd lost all his abilities. He'd probably be walking the path of a commander, lending support to monster subjugations despite his lack of powers.

Just to be sure, though. Good thing it wasn't him.

Then just some unnamed character?

An A-rank fire-attribute male hero. I'd recruited over a thousand allies, but no hero like this guy among them. Probably died or retired before the original game started five years from now.

Wasted trip.

Confirmation done, nothing left here. I slipped down the western slope to meet Deok-bae as he charged up.

"Stop right there."

Deok-bae, about to plant his foot, spotted me right below and jolted in surprise. The Flame Giant slipped trying to brake suddenly and tumbled down the mountainside.

Boom!

A massive human-shaped imprint scarred Gwanak Mountain. Unlike the Shadow's flames, my Azure Flame didn't set the surrounding trees ablaze.

Clap.

My palms met, and the blue flames cloaking the Flame Giant swiftly died down. In the brief moment it took to inhale, the giant vanished, leaving only a gray rock boulder rolling down the slope.

Whoosh.

Invisible residual mana flowed in on the wind, gathering between my palms. The spirit stone, forced to rely solely on its own power after being jury-rigged onto Deok-bae, solidified into an empty crystal.

Totally drained.

I fiddled with the hardened mana crystal in my palm as I descended the mountain. At the bottom of the slope, the gray boulder was snagged on a massive pine tree.

Thud, thud thud.

"Sloppy. If you don't pop out in three seconds, I'll smash it like a watermelon—"

"Gahhh!!"

A fist burst from the gray rock, and Deok-bae sprang out. His gray skin had already lightened considerably.

"Oh. C-rank now? You evolved."

"Forget that—what's that thing staring right at us?"

Deok-bae pointed in the direction where the Shadow Phoenix was glaring our way—specifically, toward where the Flame Giant had vanished.

"Ah. It's tracking my scent."

"So we're busted now?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

I let out a deep sigh and clenched my fist.

Hiding my presence too thoroughly might draw the Shadow to the mini Phoenix and Cheon Ga-eul (probably) I'd left at S University. Better to end this quick.

"It's fine. I'll just take it out in a flash."

"Didn't you say Cheonghwa-dan needs to lay low for a bit?"

"Yeah. I'm not gonna fight it."

"...!?"

I clicked my tongue and pointed at the summit.

"Shadows have simple brain structures, basically. They mistake the strongest original's presence for the real deal."

"And?"

Deok-bae prompted. Seemed like he'd given up nitpicking for now.

"I'm suppressing my mana to the max, so it can't find me. It's mistaking the Flame Giant you just smashed for me."

The Shadow flapped in midair, still hunting its prey—me. Its gaze was slowly shifting toward the lower slopes.

"So I need something else to pull aggro. We've gotta grab one guy and bolt to Gangwon Province. With a detour to Yeouido."

"Gangwon? That deathtrap in the ea... wait, never mind. Nothing's more dangerous than you. But one person?"

"Puhuhu. Yeah. Someone I know... or knew? Anyway, gotta bring a girl along. That's why no fighting this thing."

I grabbed Deok-bae's hood and bolted toward the summit. We entered the Shadow's line of sight perfectly, and it locked onto me.

The Shadow screeched and dove straight at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us.

"Hey! You said no fighting!"

"Yeah!"

"Then why're you charging it?!"

"Can't just take the first hit when it's winding up!"

The Shadow zeroed in on me, flames surging. That vivid purple blaze was unmistakably my corrupted copy, tainted by the otherworld god's influence.

Weak, though.

"Hup!"

I hurled Deok-bae forward. As he flailed in midair, I gripped both his ankles tight and poured in mana.

Roar!

Deok-bae's rocky skin activated rapidly, blue flames erupting from the mana cracks between. As my kaijin, infused with my mana, it accepted mine effortlessly.

Mana flooded in, and Deok-bae froze stiff like a statue at attention.

Seeing Deok-bae blaze so gloriously, was the Shadow jealous of these beautiful blue flames? It beat its wings harder and plummeted from the sky.

"Sorry, but!"

Poor artificial spirit, driven mad by the Castle Lord. Still, I couldn't forgive its audacity in trying to devour a Phoenix and become one itself.

I swung Deok-bae back over my shoulder like a baseball bat and leaped high.

The monster bird gaped its sharp beak wide. Vile, sticky drool strung thin between its jaws.

"I'm kinda busy!"

"Gahhh?!"

Deok-bae covered his face with both arms. I flared my wings and slipped sideways.

Crunch!

The Shadow chomped empty air. In that fleeting pass, our eyes met.

"Oh?"

Purple flames roared in its translucent pupils. Meeting that blatant hostility, I grinned wide in return.

"Cheeky bastard!"

I slashed Deok-bae diagonally, smashing into the Shadow's back. Deok-bae's shoulder slid, gouging the wing joint.

Kaboom!

A thunderous impact like an explosion. The flaming rock bat, swung by my mana, caved in the Shadow's back. It speared into the slope and tumbled down.

Blue flames from the hit point spread to the wing joint, igniting the wing.

"Rolling nicely."

I smirked at the Shadow, helplessly bouncing down the mountain on momentum, then set my bat—Deok-bae—down on the ground.

"Huff, huff, huff!"

Deok-bae gasped raggedly as the mana released and he regained control.

I shrugged.

"You good? This is the 'Kaijin Weaponization' system..."

"You fu■■■■g bastard!! Who swings a person around like a damn bat?! Warn a guy first—it's not like it'd kill ya?!"

Deok-bae raged—even overriding my no-cursing order (filtered, of course). Surprised, I clapped in delight.

"If I warn you, can I do it more? I've still got 13 experiments left."

" "

Deok-bae's jaw dropped, speechless. I patted his shoulder, chuckling. He flinched again.

"Relax. One of them isn't on you."

I pointed up the rocky path at the unconscious man.

"Gonna pin the aggro on him and bail. You're safe."

That should buy enough time for Gwanggeom to clean up. I grinned, channeling mana into the empty spirit stone.

"Jo Deok-bae, you like theater?"

* * *

In his hazy consciousness, Seung-hyung recalled his father's face. The man who'd cradled him in hands like pot lids had been deployed to the Pyongyang Incident and slain by a monster.

A face like his father's surfaced. His status had fallen far, but he was now Seoul's untouchable king. He seemed to cherish Lee Seung-hyung, yet used him for his own ends.

His mentor and master, Yoo Yeong-ho, had been baffled by Seung-hyung's background but treated him as a hero, not the president's nephew. To Seung-hyung, Yeong-ho was like the father he'd lost young. Under him, saving people, he'd begun truly becoming a hero.

And Seung-hyung realized love. At some point, the man in the mirror had the same smitten gaze as the women who'd rushed him upon seeing themselves.

He'd stolen a role to act in the same drama as Ga-eul. Her grumbling senior's concern was adorable.

Somehow she knew about his monster-hunt leg injury, and he wanted to cherish that worried gaze forever.

Hearing "I love you" from Ga-eul's lips, he wanted to be that Min-su—"Lee Seung-hyung." He'd sealed the gate, planned to confess upon return. If she'd accept, even marriage.

But those dreams withered in purple hellfire. Seung-hyung cowered in deep terror before the new monster atop the gate.

My hesitation.

Weighing duty and love, he'd dithered. In that wasted time, monsters blocked his path.

My weakness.

A-rank praise had fooled him into thinking he was hot stuff. But irregular threats kept cornering him, barring the way.

I'm... too weak.

The colossal bird ripping through the gate took the form of a purple phoenix—a notorious hazard from gates worldwide, an S+-rank-plus "Demon-species."

Sorry.

The Demon-species ignored Seung-hyung entirely. Amid the humiliation, relief it didn't kill him made him furious at himself.

Because I'm weak...

A thick male voice jolted Seung-hyung's head up. A hulking figure in a gray hood and jeans. But brilliant blue flames hid his face.

Who are you?

The giant knelt on one knee, meeting Seung-hyung's eyes.

"Ah."

Seung-hyung lost himself in the blue flames. Beside the giant stood a woman, his apparent servant, bowing deeply. Her face veiled in blue, she wore pale blue priestess robes.

Silent, the giant took the spirit stone from the woman's hands and offered it to Seung-hyung. Drawn by the boiling blue flames inside the transparent gem, Seung-hyung reached out unconsciously.

"With this power... can I kill that demon?"

The giant's gaze flicked to the woman. She straightened, a faint smile on her lips.

"What's the price?"

Seung-hyung gripped the spirit stone tight.

The giant glanced at the woman again. Her smile widened.

The giant rose. Massive tremors echoed from beyond the slope.

The one-winged bird monster charged up like an ostrich, blue flames relentlessly consuming its dangling wing stump.

The giant nodded to the woman; she bowed and vanished.

The bird rampaged up the mountain, chasing the woman's trace.

The giant pondered briefly, then continued to Seung-hyung.

"Huh?"

Was that pitying look through the blue flames Seung-hyung's imagination? The giant shook his head and headed downslope.

"W-wait! Giant God of Cheonghwa!"

The giant halted. Seung-hyung staggered up, bowing deeply.

"Thank you! I'll never forget this grace!"

The Giant God of Cheonghwa vanished downslope without another word—so stealthily even presence-sensitive Seung-hyung couldn't track him.

"...Right."

Suspicious, sure. But Seung-hyung wanted to believe the man who'd called himself the Giant God of Cheonghwa.

For world peace.

Seung-hyung popped the nameless gem into his mouth.

"!!!!!"

Heat exploded from his throat. The blue flames inside the descending gem blazed fiercely, scorching him from within.

"Urk!"

Seung-hyung gritted his teeth, circulating all his mana. The red-flamed bear on his back absorbed the Azure Flame and swelled massively.

Groooar!!

The Flame Bear bellowed atop Gwanak Mountain, its blue-glowing eyes burning with hostility toward the ascending bird monster.

The bird screeched wildly, charging the summit to devour Seung-hyung.

Flash.

Seung-hyung's eyes glowed blue. The mountain-shaking flames sucked back into his body rapidly.

The limit of his ability—wearing flames like an overcoat because he couldn't contain them—shattered.

Awakening.

His stagnant ability leaped to the next stage.

"Huuu..."

Seung-hyung stood on the precarious rocky path. The bird monster rushed him, igniting the trail.

"Just wait a bit longer, Ga-eul!"

No more fear. Seung-hyung's fist blazed red, clashing with the bird's beak.

Kaboom!!

A crimson fire pillar erupted on Gwanak Mountain.