1.41 The bird with Golden Flames

The word "amazing" slipped out of my mouth when I saw those beautiful golden flames. It felt like I was being healed just by being close to those flames.

The long beautiful tail and the wide-open wings covered in golden flames were probably the most magical-looking things that I had ever seen since I came to this world.

The bird was almost a meter tall and its tail was at least two meters long.

"My master who has summoned me, I am here to serve you under a contract. But, before we move on to the terms and conditions, I see that we have a disturbing presence here. Do you want me to help you in dealing with it?" said the bird in a mature female voice. Even though I could hear its voice the bird's beak wasn't moving.

The pain and exhaustion in my body disappeared as I was hearing those words. My mind that was under so much stress just a moment ago, felt relieved.

"I am willing to sign any contract if you help me defeat that demon," I replied hastily as soon as I heard those words.

"Okay, master. We need to touch each other's forehead to make the contract," said the bird.

The bird came closer and we joined our forehead. As soon as we did that, I felt a surge of power inside me. My body felt much lighter and my senses were enhanced several folds.

"W-what are you?" asked Beelzebub in a shocked tone. He was standing right next to us looking confused about whether to attack or not.

"If you are talking about me then I am my master's summon. I don't have a name yet, but I have been known by several names in history. No, that history must have become legends by now. People used to call me with names like the 'Life bird', 'The eternal phoenix', 'Justice bird' and such," replied the bird in a calm tone.

"Don't mess with me. I have seen thousands of summoned creatures, but you don't look like one," said Beelzebub in an annoyed tone.

"I am not sure what kind of 'summoned creatures' you have seen before, but I am a divine summons. Ordinary beings can't summon me, and those who can, end up making legends," replied the bird. There wasn't even a hint of hesitation in its voice.

"Bluffing eh? I don't know what kind of trick you are trying to pull here kid, but if you are trying to scare me with that bird, it won't work," said Beelzebub raising himself in the air.

I tried manipulating the raw mana in the surroundings to raise myself up in the air too. I could float in the air but balancing and movement were still difficult. I used wind magic to balance myself and move. Since I could use the raw mana in the surroundings to float, only the balancing and movement part consumed my mana.

"Looks like you picked up some new tricks, but it's useless since there is a difference between learning something and actually being able to use it," said Beelzebub when he saw me float.

The bird was flying right behind me. I wasn't sure what kind of abilities the bird had, but I had a feeling that it can help me in winning the battle. I felt stronger from the moment our foreheads touched.

Beelzebub charged towards me but for some reason, his speed had significantly decreased. I easily dodged his claw that he was trying to attack me with. I wasn't sure what happened, but his attacks that were too fast for me to even react just a few minutes ago felt 'normal'.

I looked towards the bird hoping to find an explanation about what was happening. The bird sensed the confusion in my face and said, "My flames can boost someone's ability and heal them."

Beelzebub looked confused; he probably didn't expect me to dodge his claw. He followed his attack from earlier with a kick from behind.

"Can you heal others too?" I asked while dodging his kick by jumping forward and turning towards him.

"Yes. I can heal someone as long as you consider them a friend. My flames will only burn the ones that you consider a foe," replied the bird.

Beelzebub was rapidly attacking me with his claw, but I was stepping back and dodging them. I was trying to go towards the region where Miss Lilith had fallen before to check her condition.

"Can you please go and heal Miss Lilith too? She is a friend," I said when we reached the place where Miss Lilith had fallen before.

"Yes master," replied the bird flying towards the ground.

"I won't let you," said Beelzebub trying to attack the bird using his claw.

I intercepted him from behind by grabbing the limb that he was trying to attack the bird with and said, "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

"YOU COCKY BRAT," said Beelzebub trying to attack me with another claw after turning towards me.

I dodged it by bending forward and grabbed his left leg with my right hand. I pulled the leg and slammed him on the ground in the opposite direction from where Miss Lilith was. I then went towards Miss Lilith who was lying unconscious on the ground.

For creatures who used Mana, miasma was like a poison. Surviving a hit of densely condensed 'Miasma sphere' was in itself amazing. She did it not just once, but twice.

When the bird touched Miss Lilith with its tail, all the miasma that was around her like a black smoke disappeared. Miss Lilith woke up touching her head with her right hand and asked, "what happened?"

"W-What's this bird?" asked Miss Lilith in a surprised tone before I could tell her what happened. It was rare to see Miss Lilith react like that, her reaction when she saw the bird looked cute.

"I am my master's summon, I don't have a name yet," replied the bird its usual calm tone.

"Wait, don't tell me you are the divine bird phoenix that my father used to tell us tales about," said Miss Lilith opening her eyes wide.

"Yes, I remember people used to call me that once," replied the bird.

"Ha-ha... this day... first an archdemon shows up in the village that is in the middle of nowhere, and now a legendary creature shows up saying one of my students summoned it. Well, we can talk about it later, for now, let's finish our business with Beelzebub," said Miss Lilith while standing up on the ground.

Next Chapter: Payback