The crown shimmered into existence atop Helios's head. With a desperate surge of will, he summoned ten Targen guards, their spectral forms manifesting to form a phalanx against the incoming inferno.
"Circlet, do you have anything to say? Any advice?" Helios hissed through gritted teeth, shielding his face from the blistering radiance of the flames.
"I hope you have already planned your funeral, human," Circlet's voice echoed coldly within Helios's mind. "There is nothing I can do to help with this."
Almost instantly, the Targen guards began to incinerate, their ethereal armour turning into flickering shades of yellow and crimson.
"Give me a way to block the fire!" Helios roared, his crimson eyes reflecting the swirling chaos of the heat.
"You can not beat the Morpeth, but you can endure its breath," Circlet replied. "Shroud your body in spiral energy. Do not let it falter."
The guards collapsed into ash as the flames engulfed Helios. He channelled the energy, a frantic aura of spiral energy wrapping around him, but the sheer temperature was overwhelming. He watched in agony as the skin on his arms began to blister and char.
"Circlet, think of something before I turn to charcoal, and you become a melted puddle of gold!" Helios shouted, crossing his arms to protect his vitals.
"Don't just increase the energy—master it," Circlet chided, his voice a calm contrast to Helios's panic. "Strength without mastery is nothing but a candle in a gale."
Helios focused, compressing the spiral energy. He made the layer thinner, denser, and infinitely more stable. As the energy tightened, it began to knit his raw skin back together, the cooling power fighting against the external heat.
In the distance, the organization members watched in horror. "Is the leader okay?" one asked, squinting at the wall of fire.
"He's dead," another muttered, looking away in defeat. "Why did we even come here?"
"Look!" someone shouted, pointing. "The fire is dying down! He's still standing!"
A cheer erupted from the ranks, but Riku looked toward Sara with a grim expression. "The leader is alive? I honestly thought we'd be preparing a funeral after this mission."
Inside the clearing smoke, Helios panted, his eyes glowing with a dangerous light. "Circlet, give me a way to counterattack. I can't defend forever."
"I have nothing," Circlet replied dismissively. "You are too weak to summon the Knight Lords or General Athure. This may truly be the end for you, human."
"I can't die like this," Helios growled. "Not in front of them."
Above him, the Morpeth Phoenix began to beat its wings. The sheer scale of the creature was terrifying—it loomed larger than the surrounding mountain peaks. The wind from its wings hit like a hurricane, blasting snow away and nearly knocking Helios off his feet.
What should I do? Helios's mind raced. Runes. I have to use the languages from the memories.
"Are you going to come up with something interesting again, human?" Circlet asked, a hint of genuine curiosity finally entering his tone.
"I remember a few..." Helios's eyes sharpened with newfound motivation.
"How is he going to fight that?" Sara asked, her voice trembling.
"I don't know," Riku replied, his brow furrowed. "I thought it was a weak Morpeth, but it's evolving. We just have to watch."
Helios took a deep breath. He knew runes required a heavy toll—life force, and spiral energy merged into one. "I hope this works," he whispered. "Fireball!"
A massive sphere of glowing blue flame manifested. The surrounding snow didn't just melt; it vaporized instantly.
"You are more interesting than expected," Circlet remarked, his voice echoing with awe. "A rune that can affect the Laws? That is a dead language."
The Phoenix screeched, its talons igniting as it dove toward Helios. He dove to the side, hurling the blue fireball at the creature's chest. The Phoenix didn't flinch; it simply absorbed the impact.
"You dirty thing! You think fire can harm me?" the Phoenix's voice boomed, sinister and mocking. "I am fire!"
Its feathers glowed with blinding intensity as it began to spin, creating a localized fire hurricane that turned the mountaintop into an oven.
"If fire doesn't work, then let's try the opposite," Helios gasped, his vision blurring. "Rainfall!"
Dark, heavy clouds swirled into existence, blotting out the sun. A torrential downpour slammed into the mountainside. Helios staggered, clutching his head as a sharp pain lanced through his brain.
"If you didn't use so much life force, you would be fine," Circlet noted dryly.
The rain hammered against the Phoenix's heat, the steam hissing violently. The creature's flames began to sputter and die as its feathers became sodden and heavy.
"I have an idea," Helios muttered, summoning the Targen guards once more. "Since my nightmares aren't 'me,' if I give them the language, it won't drain my life force further."
He shared the runic intent with the spectral guards. Immediately, they began to chant. Water bullets, hailstorms, and ice runes erupted from the guards, peppering the Morpeth from all sides.
"The leader is winning!" a member cried out. "He looks like a god out there!"
A concentrated water bullet from a nightmare struck the Phoenix squarely in the head. The massive beast let out a final, choked cry and crashed into the mud, its body going still.
"I won," Helios panted, leaning on his knees as his followers began to celebrate.
But a nagging thought crossed his mind. Wait... who came up with the idea that phoenixes come back to life from the dead?
The Phoenix's body suddenly erupted into a pillar of white flame. When it cleared, a human figure stood there, draped in robes that shimmered like molten feathers.
"It seems you celebrated too soon, humans," the Morpeth sneered in its new form.
Riku and Sara rushed to Helios's side. "Leader, we have a bigger problem," Riku said, his hand on his weapon.
The Phoenix-man didn't attack. Instead, he looked toward the highest mountain peaks as if hearing a silent call. "It seems you are lucky today, humans. I will see you next time."
With a flick of his wrist, he vanished into a blur of heat.
"We're safe... I think," Helios sighed, his nightmares and crown dissolving into mist.
"Where did it go?" Sara asked, staring at the empty peaks.
In the deepest shadows of the mountains, the Phoenix knelt before a shrouded figure. "My Queen," he whispered, his voice trembling.
"It seems you have failed your mission," a cold, distorted voice replied. Black, tar-like tentacles slithered out from the darkness, wrapping around the Phoenix's throat.
"I will never fail again, my Queen! Please!"
"If you fail once, you will fail again," the creature hissed. The tentacles constricted with a sickening crack, and the Phoenix went limp.
"You killed him just because he failed once? Or maybe because he touched what is yours?" another voice whispered from the shadows.
The Queen's eyes glowed a murderous red. "The two of you know that the human belongs to me, and only me."
"Yes, your Highness," the second voice added quickly. "We will warn the others."