"Huh? You're not going to kill me?"
Upon hearing Ketsuna's words, Firebird's arrogant face immediately showed a look of astonishment; though surprised, it seemed his silent prayer had somehow been answered.
"Why would I kill you? To eat your flesh? There's so little meat on you, it wouldn't even be enough to pick my teeth."
Ketsuna said, pinching and kneading Firebird's body, then showed a look of disgust.
This scene made Firebird so angry his teeth itched, wishing he could incinerate this villain with a single blast of his three-colored flames!
"Submit to me and work for me, and I will spare your life!"
Next, Ketsuna stopped joking with Firebird and spoke with a serious expression, his tone filled with an unquestionable command.
"...I will!"
For Firebird, who wanted to live, there was no choice; he had only one path, so he immediately lowered his head, indicating his submission to Ketsuna.
Seeing this, Ketsuna smiled, and then, under Firebird's gaze, a one-meter-long black rod appeared out of thin air beside his hand, then rapidly shrank at a visible speed, finally becoming so small it was imperceptible to the naked eye before stopping.
Then, Ketsuna directly inserted this inconspicuous black rod into Firebird's head, a scene that immediately silenced Firebird; he had originally harbored a sliver of thought about 'defecting,' but now that idea was completely shattered.
After leaving a countermeasure on Firebird, Ketsuna retrieved all the black rods from his body, restoring Firebird's freedom.
Without the black rods' restriction and interference, Firebird quickly sensed the surrounding natural energy and rapidly absorbed it into his body, then a special carmine-red flame emerged from within him, and the several penetrating wounds caused by the black rods on his body rapidly healed at a visible speed...
"What kind of fire is this?"
Ketsuna stared curiously at the carmine-red flame on Firebird, asking inquisitively; he had not used this flame during their previous battle.
"I call it 'Flame of Life'; it has an extremely strong effect on healing injuries."
Firebird looked at this master who controlled his life, quickly adjusted his mindset, and so, facing Ketsuna's question, he explained without reservation.
"By the way, do you have a name?"
Hearing Firebird's words, Ketsuna increasingly felt he resembled a divine beast from his past life's memories, so he asked him.
"They all call me Firebird, or 'Flame Calamity' and such names…"
Firebird thought for a moment, then replied, from the day his consciousness was born, he had lived within the magma of Flame Mountain, only occasionally venturing out for a few rounds with the eruptions of Flame Mountain's magma, spending the rest of his time secluded within Flame Mountain.
"Since that's the case, from now on, you shall be called 'Phoenix'!"
Ketsuna spoke to Firebird, then continued: "Your three-colored flames shall be called 'Samadhi True Fire,' and that 'Flame of Life' ability with healing effects, let's call it 'Rebirth from Ashes'…"
Firebird didn't care about these names; since Ketsuna said so, he would change it accordingly.
Facing Firebird's—oh no, Phoenix's—reaction, Ketsuna was very satisfied; with this, he had gained a great helper, but having only Phoenix as a hidden card wasn't very secure; it would be best to have a few more hidden cards!
Thinking this, Ketsuna immediately opened a black-red teleportation gate and directly pulled Chimi out of it.
Phoenix was immediately shocked to see this scene, as he was no 'naive' demon; this ability to manipulate space was enough to demonstrate the terrifying strength of Ketsuna!
"Lord Ketsuna! You've already subjugated Firebird?"
As soon as Chimi was pulled out by Ketsuna, he saw a large bird, covered in flames, docilely squatting in front of Ketsuna, and without much thought, he knew Phoenix had been subjugated by Ketsuna.
"Yes. From now on, he's called 'Phoenix,' remember that."
Ketsuna nodded, then told Chimi.
"Yes, Lord Ketsuna!"
Chimi respectfully responded, then, like a floating purple-black giant flying insect, circled around Phoenix, and then said somewhat smugly: "Brother Phoenix, I'm Chimi, an 'elder' who submitted to Lord Ketsuna earlier than you; please take care of me from now on!"
Chimi still remembered the scene where he was relentlessly chased by Phoenix's three-colored flames; that shameful and humiliating memory had always lingered deep in his heart, and now he could finally get his own back in front of Phoenix!
As a 'newcomer,' one must respect the 'elder'!
This was Chimi's self-evident thought.
Whoosh...
A slender stream of three-colored flames shot out from Phoenix's mouth, landing directly on Chimi.
The next moment, Chimi immediately let out a loud cry, his purple-black energy body dragging a wisp of black-smoking flame, frantically circling in the air...
"Don't let it happen again!"
Seeing this, Ketsuna knew Phoenix had shown mercy, so he merely reprimanded him without imposing any substantial punishment.
Phoenix, upon hearing this, simply lowered his head slightly, indicating obedience; for Ketsuna, who was far stronger than him, he could show submission and respect, which was the proper attitude towards a strong person; as for a small demon from another world who played with people's hearts, he didn't put him in his eyes at all!
As for 'elder' and 'newcomer'?
Phoenix had no such concept.
In Phoenix's mind, there were only two types of people: 'strong people' and 'weak people'!
After an unknown period, Chimi finally managed to extinguish the wisp of three-colored flames on his body with great difficulty, then floated weakly behind Ketsuna, looking at Phoenix in front with lingering fear; that previous scene made him relive the humiliating memory of that year...
"Alright, I have something important to…"
Ketsuna spoke at this moment, about to say something, but before the last word 'say' could be uttered, Ketsuna's figure directly disappeared from the eyes of Chimi and Phoenix.
Just as Chimi and Phoenix were puzzled, a whooshing sound suddenly came from afar, carrying gusts of wind.
"Hey! 'Flame Calamity'!"
A loli-like female voice rang out, followed by a snow-white tiger with wings on its ribs appearing above Chimi and Phoenix, its proud tiger eyes looking down, asking Phoenix: "Where's the person you were fighting? I clearly sensed he was still here just now!"
This White Tiger was not very old to begin with, and her personality was the kind that liked to join in on the fun, so when she learned that Phoenix was fighting a great battle with an enemy, she considered whether to go and take a look; she had originally suppressed her inner curiosity and decided not to go, but she didn't expect Phoenix to head straight towards the direction of her territory...
So she directly flew out of the canyon and rushed towards Phoenix; fortunately, she was skilled in controlling wind and space-time, abilities known for their speed, so it didn't take long for her to arrive here; she had originally thought of joining forces with Phoenix to play around with that enemy, but now the enemy's trace was completely gone!
Phoenix looked up at this foolish White Tiger, his bird eyes, filled with the color of flames, immediately showed pity and anticipation, and even Chimi beside him shook his head helplessly, his humanized face then showing an expression of watching a good show...
"?"
The White Tiger felt two deep currents of malice, but tilted her head, looking at Phoenix and Chimi in confusion, her adorable tiger face full of bewilderment.