The Strange Cat from Fuuto

Frustrated, the phoenix scratched its head in frustration. "Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. None of these boring human affairs can compare to the exhilarating feeling of burning everything to ashes with my own hands!"

"Woof...Woof!"

The sudden barking of a dog caught the Phoenix's attention. Before he knew it, a dog had appeared in front of him, sitting in a crouching position.

"Where did this come from?!"

Its body is covered in smooth fur, which is black and white. The fur on its back is mainly white, but the fur on its chest is white. It has a pair of bright, icy blue eyes.

Upon realizing that the other party was paying attention to it, the dog excitedly chased its own tail around a few times before crouching down and barking again.

The phoenix, sizing up the dog in front of it, revealed a mischievous look on its face.

"Want some?"

A phoenix, holding a kernel of popcorn, waved it in front of the dog's eyes, and the dog's head kept turning back and forth with the popcorn.

"Catch!"

After casually tossing the popcorn in his hand, Iggy jumped high into the air and swallowed the popcorn into his mouth, under the expectant gaze of the phoenix.

"Wang!"

After catching the popcorn, Iggy squatted down again, his tail sweeping up dust like a broom.

"Again!"

After the phoenix, having tossed out another popcorn, saw Iggy swallow it accurately once again, its interest was fully piqued.

So, the Phoenix, who had thrown all the popcorn around him, watched as Iggy caught it with incredible precision using a variety of movements, including rolling, jumping, and repeated side-to-side leaps. His smile grew even wider.

"Oops, it's gone!"

After searching around for a moment and finding nothing, the phoenix picked up a thin twig from the side and waved it in front of its eyes, saying, "Pick it up!"

With the power of the Phoenix, even a small pebble could be thrown with the effect of a bullet, and the thin twig quickly disappeared at the end of the underground tunnel.

"Ugh..."

With an excited howl, Iggy moved his limbs and disappeared from the phoenix's sight like a flying arrow.

"What are you doing, Phoenix?"

Medusa, who had silently appeared behind the phoenix, glanced curiously at the other end of the tunnel, but quickly lost interest: "Whatever you're doing, it's time to get to work!"

"Wait a minute, Medusa, I just started playing!"

"Play?"

Medusa tilted her head in confusion, looking puzzled. The phoenix clapped its hands and said excitedly, "Yeah, I just found a pretty interesting guy!"

"The one behind you?"

Following Medusa's gaze, Iggy, with a long piece of wood still bearing fresh bite marks in his mouth, came to the Phoenix's side and tossed his head to the Phoenix's surprise.

The wooden figure pinned the unsuspecting phoenix to the ground. "This guy is really interesting, isn't he!" Even with the wooden figure pinning him down, the phoenix's eyes still gleamed with excitement.

"If you call this funny, then so be it!"

Seeing that Medusa did not refute him, the phoenix tossed aside the log that one person could hug with one hand.

"How about we take care of him?"

The crouching phoenix pulled Iggy into its arms and vigorously rubbed his dog head.

"This little guy is so interesting!"

"Whatever you like!" Medusa, tossing her long hair, did not refuse. After all, she knew the phoenix's personality very well. He was always full of energy with nowhere to vent, and wished he could burn everything in front of him to ashes.

But a dog, which the phoenix might not even get tired of playing with for more than a few days, could be burned to death by its own hand!

"Stop dawdling and come with me, I've found a new [door]!"

"okay!"

After ruffling Iggy's head once more, Phoenix got up, put his hands in his pockets, and followed behind Iggy.

Iggy, who was squatting in place, tilted his head and looked at the two in front of him for a moment. Then the Phoenix turned around and called out, "Hurry up and follow us!"

"Wang!"

With an excited bark, Iggy quickly followed behind the phoenix, and together they disappeared into the tunnel.

Behind the two people and the dog, a figure with its tail lowered followed quietly.

"Damn it, I was only away for a second and you've infiltrated the enemy ranks!"

Speechless, Miku watched Ichi's gleeful face without making a move, and instead slowly followed behind them.

"No wonder huskies can't become police dogs. With that personality that allows them to mingle with criminals, they're basically hopeless!"

Chapter Fifteen: What are you looking at? Look again and I'll crack your skull open!

Torii-zaka, a certain bar.

"Within the sweet and mellow aroma of the fruit, there is a distinctive fragrance that dances within—it is truly a masterpiece!"

A middle-aged man dressed in a custom-made suit sat on a black sofa. On the coffee table in front of him was a row of wine glasses, one of which he was holding and gently swirling.

The middle-aged man's face showed a look of intoxication as he smelled the aroma of the wine in his glass.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The sound of light footsteps echoed in the corridor outside, growing ever closer.

"What a rare guest!"

The middle-aged man who had placed his wine glass on the coffee table stood up from the sofa, while a husky with its tongue lolling out stood between a man and a woman standing by the door.

"Hahaha.."

The phoenix, who had been chuckling softly, was about to speak when he saw Medusa's serious expression beside him. He straightened his posture, crossed his arms, but his frequent downward glances betrayed that his true feelings were not as they appeared.

"Looks like you knew we were coming all along!"

Unable to contain himself, the phoenix approached the middle-aged man, while Iggy, who was standing next to the two Phantoms of high rank, seemed completely unaware of fear. His icy blue eyes darted around curiously as he watched the three conversing.

"Looks like we've found the [door]." The middle-aged man, staring intently at Medusa, asked. Medusa smiled faintly. "Yes, we've found it!"

"That's fantastic!" A confident smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face. "Leave it to me. I guarantee I'll plunge [the Gate] into the abyss of despair."

"It won't take long!"

Just as the middle-aged man, whose face contorted into a grotesque phantom, was about to reveal his Phantom form, a tearing sound from the side caught his attention.

"Waaaaah...waaaah...waaaah..."

With a fierce growl emanating from his mouth, Iggy had already torn the sofa he had just been sitting on to pieces. The original sofa was now reduced to pieces of leather, tangled cotton, and a shattered wooden frame.

"My... sofa!"

"That Iggy guy is as capable of building as ever!"

Miku, who had sneaked in with Medusa and the other woman, hid in a corner and sighed with a headache as he watched Iggy get more and more excited: "I wonder if Serena can handle the demolition. Maybe we can take this opportunity to recommend a new renovation plan to her?"

Miku, whose thoughts were somewhat scattered, was still observing the scene inside the store. Phoenix squatted down next to Iggy, hugged him tightly, and boasted, "Isn't this guy amazing!"

"Ah, indeed!"

Suppressing his anger, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and forced out a few words. Medusa, seeing this, shook her head helplessly and said, "Phoenix, we should go!"

"I'm leaving this to you, goblin!"

Medusa forcibly took the phoenix away, and didn't even glance at Iggy. It was clear that the dog's behavior had seriously angered the goblins.

All I can do now is leave the dog behind for her to vent her anger on, since in her eyes a dog is far less valuable than a Phantom that can add a companion to her side.

"Hey, I haven't called that little guy yet!"

"Phoenix, get this straight. We're carrying out a mission assigned by the Sage. If anything goes wrong, will you take responsibility?"

"But..."

"No buts, it's just a dog, not as important as the door!"

Medusa, who was pulling the phoenix away, had only taken a few steps when a dark shadow darted past her, the sound of the wind it created making her skirt flutter.

Inside the bar, the goblin, still thrusting his fork downwards, looked bewildered: "Was that really a dog?"

"He runs way too fast!"

"silly dog!"

Miku gave the goblin a deep look, wagged his tail, and left the bar through the back door. Finding the dog was the priority; everything else could wait!

On the other side, after running out of the bar, the dog looked back expectantly, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't see a single person.

"Waaah..."

With a slightly unhappy howl, Iggy lay on the ground, turning his head to search for that familiar figure.

"Awoo..."

"What the hell are you yelling about?!"

Miku, wagging its tail and tapping Iggy on the head, glared at the dog and said, "You've really got some nerve! I told you to wait for me there, and you actually came all the way here!"

"Woof...woof..."

Iggy, who seemed to want to argue, was hit on the head by Miku's tail again. "At most, they just let go and didn't keep it. But you, you've gone so far as to throw it away in the blink of an eye!"

"If I don't keep an eye on them, they could run off somewhere!"

"Awoooooo..."

Iggy, who opened his mouth and howled, seemed quite unconvinced. Miku glanced at him sideways for a few seconds.

"Awooo, awooo, awooo, awooo..."

A series of shrill screams echoed through the street. A few minutes later, Iggy, with several large bumps on his head and Miku on his back, ran towards the East District. He had put the weapon that the White Demon had given him somewhere and was now going to retrieve it.

You little punk, you dare poke my dog ​​with a fork? I'll smash your head off!

"Let's go, grab our weapons!"