Chapter 204: Bonds

The cyclop's eyes began to spew out laser of some sort. It burns everything it touches and instantly melts even rocks. "How should we fight this..?" I muttered to myself.

But Herold heard it, "I don't know, you're the one who rushed in blindly. So now we got his unwanted attention."

"That's definitely helping."

"Let's first target the phoenix above. The moment we stop flying or moving, the moment we'll all die. Those fireballs are dangerous. It's already slowly digging into the ground."

We flew higher trying to get to the phoenix. But it flew higher and higher until it stopped. Its barrage of fireballs on the ground stopped and began to face us. Herold was the first one to go in, cleanly evading the thousands of fireballs heading our way. It was attacking while it was moving, trying to get away from us. So we followed it.

"Let me go in front!" The two of them made way and I flew to the front and they all went behind me. "Dominion! Devour them!" My shield opened its mouth and began to suck in all the fireballs the phoenix was shooting at us as we were following it.

"Thanks! Blink!" Yefa began to close in on the phoenix. She began to reach for its tail and after a few seconds, she barely caught it. Stopping the phoenix from its tracks. Yefa jumped on the phoenix and ran up to the woman on the top of it. Herold joined in and began to hold its tail, preventing the phoenix from flying away.

Yefa wound up her punch and let it all out with a single powerful punch that made even Herold to have trouble holding the phoenix in place. Even when we were behind her, we could feel the shockwaves of her punch. Her power really knows no bounds. But to our surprise, her punch was completely blocked by barrier of flame at the place where Yefa intended to heat. The phoenix's skin began to light up in flames. And those flames began to form as it wrapped around in their bodies.

The phoenix is trying to keep them there and kill them with the fire, but I'm absorbing all of it and I already got my hands full so helping them will be impossible.

Yefa's strength was overbearing so she got out of that bind easily. "Stance Change, Tai Chi!" Yefa opened her palm and hit the Phoenix. The phoenix disappeared. Faster than our eyes could see. I looked around and Herold was nowhere to be seen too. I honestly don't know what happened but the phoenix and Herold compleely disappeared.

"Hey where are th-" Before I could speak, Yefa interrupted.

"Don't worry. They're down there."

Both of us flew down and saw the two of them were in the ground. Yefa pulled out Herold. "Argh... the next thing I saw as I opened my eyes were literal darkness... I thought I died."

"Well, I hope the same could be said for the phoenix."

We saw the phoenix twitch and the three of us instantly ran up and grabbed its tail. And just as we suspected, it blasted faster as it flew upwards.There were barely damage on its body so we were growing wary of it. I was the first one to notice something. "Wait! That cyclops will just walk over anything it sees! No one will be there to stop it!"

"I'll go! I'll leave this phoenix to you!" Herold detached himself from the phoenix as we just saw him fall down on the thousand feet high we were continually going higher and higher.

Then suddenly... the phoenix stopped. It flapped its wings trying to look at everything as if trying to search for something.

Me and Yefa looked at each other and nodded. "Dominion!" I began to ready my shield for whatever skill this phoenix was going to release. Yefa slowly worked her way up to the phoenix's head to kill it completely. The woman on the top of the phoenix didn't even mind seeing Yefa there. So that means that human is just for decoration or something. That part of its body is indestructible so we just have to kill its head.

Yefa raised her hand and the phoenix began to move. Yefa nearly stumbled on her feet so she grabbed the fur of the phoenix to hold on. The phoenix then dived straight to the ground, going speeds that we couldn't even imagine.

"Let's get off!" Yefa shouted. But just as we tried to let go and let the phoenix dived by itself, flaming whips of the flames it controlled latched itselves to us. Dragging us down with it.

It began to get incredibly hot. Way too hot. Our skin were easily being charred by the friction and this monster's heat that's enveloping our bodies. We couldn't escape. The moment that we landed on the ground, my eyesight disappeared. I was blind. Completely blind. And this excruciating pain were felt throughout my whole body. Wherever I walk or move, the intense pain came back again and again like needles piercing me. "YEFA! AR-" I began to cough up blood. "Are you there!" I couldn't hear myself so I just screamed and screamed. It was like a ringing sound on my ears. I didn't know what was happening but all I could feel was pain everytime I screamed. I felt like my throat was being ripped out. "YEFA!" I began to scream even though it hurts incredibly bad. I couldn't confirm if she's still alive. "YEFA! ANSWER ME!" I screamed and I screamed but I couldn't hear anything.

Someone grabbed me from behind and I began to flail my weapon around. I couldn't confirm who it was. But as soon as I did that, my whole body stopped. Someone then talked inside my head. "PRECIA! CALM DOWN!" It was familiar.

"Who are you!?"

"It's me Zeta!"

"Huh? Why are you here aren't you supposed to be at the underwater kingdom?"

"The place where you landed was a lake, connected with a river to the ocean. We instantly went here when we felt that the temperature of the water began to boil. Sea creatures were dying. And so... the place you're standing right now was the lake itself. Completely evaporated by this... egg..? Is this a phoenix egg?"

"The phoenix? It's dead!? That phoenix will resurrect! Kill the egg!"

"Wait that doesn't matter, what's the matter with you?"

"I don't care what happens to me! Just kill the egg! That's not a normal thing!"

"Cleanse!" Zeta casted on me and my blindness and deafness disappeared. I could see and hear again. "Now can we ta-"

"Not now!" I shoved Zeta away and rushed at the egg to kill it. It was far too dangerous to be left alone. The woman on the top of the phoenix was suddenly in front of me and I was knocked away without me noticing it.

The egg of the phoenix began to lit up in flames. The woman that knocked me away disappeared and reappeared on top of the phoenix like it was before. It was a curious sight. The phoenix flew high in the sky and began to drop down fireballs.

"Dragon King's Ice Seal!" The phoenix's body suddenly stopped. The ice slowly crawled up on its body, completely surrounding the flames on the phoenix's flaming body into a cold ice. The phoenix lost its air flight and fell straight to the ground.

I just couldn't expect how strong Zeta has gotten the time we all split up. I ignored that for now and ran to the phoenix and struck the icea with my sword and it exploded. The remains of the phoenix were gone. All that was there was the egg. The woman began to move in front of it again in an incredible speed.

"Binding Light! Restrict Speed!" Zeta's spell surrounded the woman's body with light that kept her from moving anywhere. "Dragon Lig-"

"Wait!" I stopped Zeta from doing anything further. "We were tasked for gathering an army so let me try something first." I walked up to the mysterious human, "Enslavement." [Low domination.] Is what the system showed me. Lam told me not to use this too much but this monster seems like a good addition to the army. It protects the phoenix's egg. And if I get this then that means that I get the phoenix too. And this woman is stronger than that phoenix. "Soul Contract." My consciousness faded away and I was dragged into the neverending darkness, floating around endlessly and aimlessly as I tried to find her.

After a while, I found someone crying. That woman was holding a dead bird. I reached out to her and her memories flooded in me. Someone... a man gave her a sort of resurrection potion? And she made the dead bird drink it which turned it into a phoenix. But in exchange, she'll be stuck with that bird forever." But the feeling she felt wasn't sadness but happiness. "This is the only thing that I have left. Rudy... I don't care what happens to me. But as long as Rudy outlives me... I'll be happy to die."

"Then how about I give you other special people other than Rudy?"

"Hmm... I don't care what happens to me. As long as Rudy is with me... I'm satisfied."

[Soul Contract formed.]