The Strange Cat from Fuuto

"My sage, I have arrived!"

Medusa, kneeling on one knee, bowed her head, awaiting the sage's command. Fueki, disguised as the sage, turned around, gave Medusa a deep look, and said, "Medusa, come with me to pick someone up!"

"Pick someone up?"

"May I ask who it is that requires your assistance?"

"Hey!" Fueki Kanade chuckled and said mysteriously, "I can't not go. After all, that guy's magical energy has already exceeded his original level by a huge margin. If we let it go unchecked, he'll become the next Regios!"

"what?"

Medusa, her face showing shock, began to wonder which one the sage would treat with such caution.

It's worth noting that Regios caused quite a bit of trouble back then in order to satisfy his own desires. In order to capture him, the Sage led a large number of Phantoms to subdue him and seal him in the deepest part of the cave.

"Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Medusa followed the sage respectfully to a park that had been deliberately abandoned.

Since the battle, this place has lost its original value. Whether you lay paving stones or plant flowers and grass, they will be swallowed up by the inexplicable heat after a while.

"Could it be...?"

Medusa had a guess about the person the sage mentioned, but that guy's reckless nature not only caused him great trouble, but also buried him in the dark underground by Miku.

After a long wait, a faint smell of sulfur suddenly filled the air, and the air became increasingly hot.

Wisps of white smoke rose from the soil, accompanied by a flowing red light like lava.

"It seems he's actually turned misfortune into a blessing in disguise!"

As soon as the sage finished speaking, the ground suddenly exploded, spewing out an incredibly intense pillar of fire.

A pillar of fire shot into the sky, illuminating the heavens.

A loud cry rang out from within the pillar of fire, and a fiery red figure stretched out its fiery wings.

"Pfft!"

The figure that broke through the pillar of fire arrived before Medusa and the sage, leaving charred footprints with each step, his fiery red eyes filled with boundless rage.

Welcome back, Phoenix!

Chapter 46: If I just go because he tells me to, wouldn't I lose face?

Where is that guy?

The phoenix, speaking in a low voice, glanced around, completely ignoring the sage and Medusa in front of him.

Seeing the Phoenix's attitude, the venomous snakes behind Medusa's head came to life. "Phoenix, what kind of attitude is this towards the Sage?"

"What attitude?" The phoenix, its head tilted to the side, erupted with a massive wave of fire: "Right now, all I want is to find that long-tailed mage and tear his tail off piece by piece!"

That's all!

The phoenix, its body erupting in flames, sprouted wings entirely of fire: "I must find him!"

"find him!"

With a roar, the phoenix soared into the air and vanished without hesitation before the sage and Medusa.

"My sage, I'll go after him right away and calm him down!"

"No need!"

The sage, who had stopped Medusa, gazed silently at the dawning sky in the distance, his tone devoid of any emotion: "Let him go. The phoenix no longer obeys anyone's orders!"

"But..."

"No need to say anything more. You know that guy's personality. He won't quiet down until he's caused enough trouble!"

The sage turned and left without paying any attention to Medusa's opinion. Medusa, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes, glanced in the direction where the phoenix had disappeared, gritted her teeth, and followed the sage.

.......

In the early morning, in the hall of Serena's mansion, Miku was lazily sprawled on the table, nibbling on his breakfast in fits and starts.

"What are you doing here again, morning and night?"

Serena glanced at Miku, whose eyes were filled with sleepiness, and spoke softly, but her tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"I told you, stop acting like a mother hen, okay?" Miku glanced at Serena, then pushed her breakfast to Iggy and walked to her sofa.

"Tsk!"

Serena, her lips barely twitching, clicked her tongue and unconsciously tightened her grip on her food.

Seeing the atmosphere, Iggy silently took his plate and slipped under the table.

"What on earth did this guy do last night?"

With a hint of inquiry in her eyes, Serena shifted her gaze away from Miku and focused intently on finishing up breakfast.

Just as Serena finished getting ready and was about to leave, Miku, who had been lying silently on the sofa, suddenly spoke up: "The magic core you wanted will wait for me for a while. I'll get it for you soon!"

After speaking, Miku, curled up in a ball, fell into a deep sleep once more. Meanwhile, Serena, standing at the door, wore a faint smile.

She went out, quietly closed the door, and began her leisurely day.

.......

Within the infinite crimson space, the saber-toothed tiger memory continued to float and sink amidst the crimson light, while the massive white tiger within the starlight cage, as large as a mountain, unleashed a violent storm with each breath.

However, dark gold bone plates, resembling a mask, appeared on the white tiger's head, extending to the position of its eyes.

On the white tiger's mouth, two thick fangs broke through its lips and were exposed.

"We'll be able to succeed in a little while longer!"

A soft murmur echoed through the space, but the crimson space quickly fell silent again.

The white tiger's breathing paused slightly, then resounded once again like thunder throughout the crimson space.

............

"Where is he? Where is that bastard?"

A fiery red streak flashed across the sky above Torii-zaka, finally stopping atop Tokyo Tower. A phoenix with enormous fiery wings hovered there, sensing the surroundings for a moment before roaring, "His presence was here, but where is he?!"

"A magician with a long tail!"

A roar that was not human-like erupted with layers of fire above Tokyo Tower. "Since you won't come out, then I'll force you to come out!" The phoenix, its body engulfed in flames, swung its arm toward the sky.

A crimson cloud of fire suddenly appeared in the sky, causing panic among the residents of Torii-zaka.

"What is that?!"

"The end of the world?"

"My God, is this divine punishment?"

.......

Screams erupted one after another. The phoenix's indifferent gaze swept over the crowd below, which was gradually filled with panic, and it spoke in a chilling voice: "Shut up!"

With a flick of its raised arm, countless fireballs rained down from the sky amidst swirling crimson clouds, bombarding everything within the phoenix's sight.

"Come out here, you long-tailed magician!!!"

After the fireball landed, it triggered countless explosions, with flames shooting into the sky and thick smoke billowing out. The number of dead and injured in this attack was countless.

Some even wore expressions of despair, and dark purple cracks spread across their bodies.

Ironically, the phoenix's indiscriminate attack, seemingly driven by rage, happened to affect several unfortunate "gates" present. Its magical fluctuations triggered a magical fusion within their bodies, and in this apocalyptic scene, despair spread rapidly like wildfire.

"That bastard!"

Medusa, gritting her teeth in the shadows, stared resentfully at the phoenix above Tokyo Tower, but a look of astonishment crossed her face when she noticed several newly hatched phantoms.

"I never expected this guy to accidentally add a few more companions to our group!" The sage suddenly appeared beside Medusa, looking at the newly born Phantoms, his tone carrying a hint of ambiguity.

Upon closer inspection, however, his gaze remained fixed on a boy with a look of despair on his face. Countless magical derivatives sprouted from the boy's back, but soon a flash of light appeared on the boy's body, and all the strange phenomena disappeared.

A glint of shrewdness flashed in the sage's eyes as he patted Medusa on the shoulder and said, "I'm leaving this place to you, Medusa."

"Yes!"

Medusa, who was faintly excited in the garden, couldn't help but wonder, "Then, Sage, aren't you going to stay here and continue watching?"

"This is a truly rare and spectacular sight!"

"I'm a little tired, so I won't stay here any longer!"

"Well then, may you have a safe journey!" Medusa bowed slightly as she watched the sage depart, a triumphant smile appearing on her lips. "It seems that the cat was lying all along. I'm sure to win this game!"

"I wonder what to do with him after he loses?"

Medusa, with a mysterious smile on her face, silently watched this scene that resembled hell on earth.

At that moment, a bluish-green gale arose, and just as a fireball was about to fall from the sky and engulf a mother and daughter, a mage wearing a bluish-green robe with dragon horns on her head stood in front of the mother and child, and with a swing of her sword, split the fireball in two.

"I remember that guy was sealed away by Miku, how could he reappear!"

Before she could comfort the mother and child, Sister Fa looked at the phoenix engulfed in flames atop Tokyo Tower, and at the hellish scene around her, her voice filled with rage.

"Never mind that, the most important thing now is to stop that guy!"

With dragon wings formed from wind-attribute magic behind her, the mage soared into the sky and flew towards the phoenix atop Tokyo Tower.

Meanwhile, at Serena's mansion.

Serena, carrying a tablet, pushed open the door and stepped inside, arriving in front of Miku almost immediately.

"Hey, Miku, wake up!"

Serena, who wanted to wake Miku, found that he was still fast asleep, so she put the tablet aside and reached out to pick him up.

Even when Miku was picked up, he simply changed position and continued to sleep soundly, showing no sign of waking up.

"asshole!"

With great effort, Serena carried Miku in her arms, and with a tablet tucked under her armpits, she made her way to the bathroom.