Chapter 260 - Vermillion Bird
The Vermillion Bird's beak snapped shut on empty air as Sol twisted aside.
Sol did even think of retreating. He pressed forward instead with his talons extended and fire streaming off his wings. The smaller phoenix drove straight at the Vermillion Bird's face.
Eden felt the intent through the bond before Sol executed it. It came with extreme aggression, hot and clear. He had no idea why, but Sol felt an immense hatred for this Vermillion bird. Sol was clearly aiming for the eyes, which made Eden know exactly what he had to do.
"Wingbeat!" Eden cast the spell to boost Sol, which empowered him mid-dive as his wings flared bright, speeding him up in a sudden burst faster than the Vermillion Bird had tracked.
Sol's talons raked across the side of the Vermillion Bird's head, but the larger bird turned at the last instant. The talons scored across its crown instead of the eyes, tearing free a spray of red and orange feathers that scattered and burned in the air.
The Vermillion Bird shrieked and snapped its beak sideways. Sol was already turning a hard left, but the beak clipped his wing and sent him spinning.
Eden's chest seized. He could feel the impact through the bond, a sharp jolt of pain that wasn't his own but might as well have been. His hand went to his chest without thinking.
"Sol!"
Sol caught himself a few feet above the ground as his wings snapped out and he screeched in absolute fury. Eden got agitated too. The anger and hatred he could feel from Sol was affecting him too, and he snarled at the Vermillion bird.
The Vermillion Bird answered with its own cry, louder, deeper, and the heat in the air intensified as the grass itself began to blacken.
Eden felt sweat bead on his forehead and evaporate almost instantly. He began to consider what to do. He couldn't just leave everything to Sol, fighting in the air in a fight he wasn't winning.
Think. Think. What did he have?
Eden then realized the solution.
If the Vermillion Bird only had eyes for Sol, and was going to treat him like air…
Then that would be the enemy's downfall! This was the perfect scenario for a Phoenix Master! For the enemy to focus on one of them, and ignore the other! If he could use spells on Sol, then…
Sol dove again, fire gathering at his talons. The Vermillion Bird tracked him this time and answered with a blast of flame from its beak, a column of fire wide enough that dodging left or right wouldn't be enough.
At that moment, Eden reached for Sol through the bond and teleported him twenty feet straight up.
The fire column passed through empty space. Sol reappeared above it, screeching in surprise. He had never been teleported before, but he instantly felt Eden's intentions. His wings flailed for half a second before he adjusted and dove again from the new angle.
"Solar Talon!" Eden cast the skill through the bond, and fire erupted around Sol's claws, brighter and hotter than before. Sol raked across the Vermillion Bird's back, carving four burning lines through the feathers, and the larger bird screamed.
It twisted its head around to snap at Sol, but Sol was already gone, up in the air. Eden's heart faced. He was reacting in real time to protect his partner. It was intense, and…
Eden could suddenly feel a very powerful bird's gaze on him.
The bird lunged forward on the ground, seeking to crush him directly under his talons. Eden immediately teleported off to the east.
"AAHHHH!"
Sudden pain seared through his shoulder. What had just-
"SCREE!" Sol screeched as hard as he possibly could as he dived directly towards the Vermillion Bird, who responded with its own aggressive screech as the two began to engage once more.
"Ow ow ow, holy shit…" Eden clutched his shoulder. He had never been injured in battle before. It hurt so much…
What had even happened?
He had teleported, had he not? How had… the Vermillion Bird have pecked his shoulder open? He quickly rushed to grab a health potion, downing it.
In truth, what Eden had just learned was a basic reality every magician learned early. Teleport was not a get out of jail free card. It was no different from a warriors leap. A way to move, but not a way to guarantee you'd avoid damage.
There were plenty of ways to predict or counter a teleport.
Eden shook his head and refocused. Enough over his shoulder. Sol was off fighting the Vermillion Bird in the air while he was being a coward over some pain.
"Wingbeat!" Eden cast on Sol, allowing him to narrowly avoid a scratch on his torso, as Sol navigated around the much larger Vermillion bird with prejudice.
BOOM!
The Vermillion Bird suddenly generated a strong gust of hot air, forcing Sol away. It locked eyes with Eden…
"Ember Wave!"
The fire rippled from Sol's position, catching the Vermillion Bird across its flank. The bird staggered but didn't stop. It came for Eden.
Eden would do better this time. He mentally sent the plan to Sol. Sol instantly understood.
Eden teleported… directly upwards.
True to his thoughts, he dodged the Vermillion Bird directly, but was about to fall on it. That would spell his certain doom.
Vroom~
Sol quickly scooped in, grabbing the falling Eden by his talons, then throwing Eden away to the left.
"Windbeat!" Eden cast once again as Sol dove, talons blazing, and raked across the Vermillion Bird's wing joint. The larger bird shrieked and finally turned away from Eden, snapping its beak at Sol, who danced back through the air just out of reach.
Eden gasped for breath. The heat was getting worse. The air itself felt thin, and his lungs felt like they were failing.
Even without having taken much direct damage from the Vermillion Bird yet, he already felt as if he was on the verge of collapse. He could only imagine what would happen if he didn't have mana guard.
He quickly downed another potion.
But he was just one factor. He could feel Sol's exhaustion now, and it was no surprise. Sol was very young, engaging in an intense fight. Every movement cost him something.
Yet was the Vermillion Bird not slowing too? The cuts along its back and wing were bleeding fire, which surely must be affecting the enemy's condition.
They were hurting it. Not enough to win, not yet, but enough to matter.
"Sol," Eden spoke to his partner through the bond. "There's only how long we can keep this up. We need to end the battle quickly."
Sol screeched in acknowledgment. It was obvious what Sol meant, and yet… Eden couldn't help but feel weird. Was he called… master?
It was just a screech. So why did he feel as if a word was spoken?
Eden immediately shifted his focus. His insanity could wait, the battle couldn't.
The Vermillion Bird spread its wings wide and screamed. The sound wasn't just noise. It was pressure, a wall of heat and force that slammed into Eden and nearly knocked him off his feet. Sol was hurled backward through the air, tumbling, and the Vermillion Bird lunged at the phoenix with its beak open.
Eden teleported Sol again. This time south, directly behind the Vermillion Bird. Sol reappeared and immediately dove, talons aimed at the base of the bird's skull.
The Vermillion Bird twisted at the last instant. Sol's talons raked across its neck instead of the spine, drawing fire but not ending the fight. The larger bird's wing swept around in a backhand that caught Sol across the body and sent him crashing into the ground next to him.
"Sol!"
Eden turned to his Phoenix without thinking. The Vermillion Bird turned, tracking him, and Eden saw the fire building in its throat. Another column of flame was coming.
He couldn't dodge it. He wasn't fast enough. And Sol was still on the ground, stunned, wings half-spread and flames flickering.
"NO!"
He could teleport one of them away. Both options felt wrong.
He could bring himself to safety, and what, abandon his partner? Just because Sol was a phoenix didn't mean it would be okay under the Vermillion Bird's fire.
But if he teleported Sol away, then he would take it himself.
He…
He made his choice, and began to start casting teleport.
If he was incapacitated, Sol might still win. If Sol was incapacitated, he could never win alone.
Thus he would bring Sol to safety…
However, a sudden strong feeling from his bond forcefully stopped him.
The feeling hit him like a wave. Not words, not exactly. But not just emotion either. It was a pressure in his mind, a voice without sound, a meaning that arrived fully formed without passing through language.
It was Sol.
And Sol was furious. Not at Eden. Not at the pain. At the Vermillion Bird for daring to exist. For daring to claim dominion over fire when an Imperial Phoenix stood before it. For being older and larger and stronger when Sol knew, with every fiber of his being, that he should be the one looking down.
Sol's body, as injured as it was, began to glow brightly as immense power and potential gathered within him…