He would lure the monster hunter and the hero hunter into fighting each other.
Then he would make the heroes drawn in by the commotion fight those two as well.
While bringing back the two, exhausted from consecutive battles, he would use Elder Centipede to eliminate the heroes and greatly reduce the Hero Association's fighting strength.
It was a fairly convincing plan.
At least, that was what Phoenix Man had thought after hearing it and being ordered to carry it out.
Phoenix Man was nowhere near a suicide seeker.
He had a survival instinct, and plenty of ambition too. He even dreamed of becoming the Monster King someday.
Of course, his rank was only Demon.
He wasn't even strong enough to beat a single claw of the current Monster King, Orochi.
He had no intention of dying after being handed an impossible mission, but if he carelessly refused the order, he might be the one fed to Orochi this time.
He had to be careful.
He needed a mission with the lowest possible risk and the highest guaranteed results.
And in the middle of all that, it was Gyorogyoro who picked him for this job.
Maybe because he had been working as middle management and had earned a certain amount of trust.
After receiving a few pieces of confidential information, he set out.
Right.
All he had to do was lead them.
Garou was said to be at most Demon level, while the monster hunter was to be treated as at least dragon-level.
If it came to it, he could just fly up and evade the attack, so Garou was relatively easy.
The problem was the monster hunter.
That guy's astonishing body transformation ability meant he could probably create a body structure suited for flight, along with wings, without much trouble.
And he also had psychic power, so it was safe to assume he could fly.
But... Phoenix Man was confident.
At the very least, his speed and flight ability in the air were top-tier even among Demon-level monsters.
Gyorogyoro had mentioned that and sent him out.
Yes.
All that was left was for the plan to proceed smoothly.
If not for the monster hunter suddenly showing up bulked up, it might have gone smoothly.
But the monster hunter, who had finished evolving on the very day the plan was to be carried out, was a monster.
The same guy who, while still in a Demon-level body, had unleashed dragon-level power and even killed Gouketsu was now dragon-level himself.
So then.
Just how absurd a monster was this?
He had used psychic power to instantly kill Jagan, who had his own fairly strong psychic abilities.
He had passed through countless monsters and torn them apart as if grinding tofu to bits.
He was a monster that should not exist.
If it was that guy, even the great Orochi would surely have to accept enormous losses.
Damn Gyorogyoro.
He was telling me to bring back someone like this?
Go rot in hell.
With those thoughts, he had been split in half and thought he was dead.
And then he was reborn as "Reincarnated Phoenix Man."
The tremendous power he felt made him lose his reason for a moment.
This was it.
This was truly number one. Overwhelming power.
A sense of liberation washed over him, as if he had become the strongest being on earth.
At this rate, becoming the Monster King would be no problem.
He would become the protagonist of the world, the way he had always dreamed.
Good.
First, he would tear apart that damn bastard who had torn him apart, just the same.
Then he would challenge Orochi and usurp the throne of the Monster King.
Thinking that, he charged straight at the monster hunter.
Honestly, it would have been better if he had just quietly taken Garou and left.
"Gyaaaaaaah!!!"
Boom!Kabooooom!!!
Crazy bastard.
A truly filthy crazy bastard.
He was clearly flying at top speed, around the speed of sound, and yet the other side was closing in on him as if nothing at all was happening.
Seeing the red heat-haze-like aura wrapping around his body, it was definitely psychic power.
The distance was shrinking.
Dangerous.
At this rate, he would be caught and killed before reaching the Monster Association.
Being torn apart or becoming the protagonist of the world or whatever was not important right now.
If he got caught, he would die.
Whether he was split in half again or erased entirely, leaving only part of his upper and lower body behind.
Either way, he would die.
"D-don't come! I said don't come!! [Phoenix Homing Feather Attack]!!"
Boom!Kabooooom!!!
"...That tickles."
"Hiiiiiik!!"
This was impossible. Absolutely impossible.
How was he supposed to beat that!
No matter how many attacks he threw, the other side just chewed through them as if they were a slightly warm breeze and kept closing the distance.
Even if that last attack had been weak, his face hadn't twitched at all despite an explosion going off right in front of it.
He had clearly been exhausted from the fight with Silver Fang, and yet if he was still this strong, then when he was at full power....
...His resurrection ability was definitely still active.
He was certain he could come back even if he died, though whether he would become stronger was another matter.
Still, that meant it wasn't over just because he died in one hit.
But.
That was when the opponent was normal.
For once, his instincts screamed at him.
A strong premonition that if he was caught, he would almost certainly be dead, resurrection or not.
"Kraaaaaaah!!!"
He dove sharply downward.
Like an arrow shot straight down, he spun.
He scattered a barrage of fireballs and flames at the pursuer behind him.
Bang!Kwak-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!!!
Kaboom!Kwooooom!!!
Kwak-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!!!
He didn't even dodge.
He tore straight through the wall of flame surging toward him head-on, spinning like a fired bullet.
That level of heat was nothing to him.
Physical attacks hardly worked at all.
"[Phoenix Fire Falcon Mode]!!!"
He concentrated the power inherent in parts of his body.
With a dramatic boost in performance, his form changed.
He invested almost everything into explosive speed.
Finishing his dive, he glided and arced upward in a reversed parabola, rising above the forest canopy.
Flames burst from the back of his spread wings, pushing his speed even higher.
Only then did the distance from the monster hunter finally widen by about a hundred meters.
Yes, if it kept going like this-
"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist"
-"Psychic Crushing Fist"
"............!!!"
A white figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
And then, in the next instant, a fist wreathed in ominous heat-haze filled his vision.
He quickly dove again, evading the torrent of destruction flying down from above.
The fist that had lost its target sliced through the air behind him.
Kwak-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!!!!!!
Kwooooooooom!!!
Kugugugugugugugu...
"...You're kidding, right?"
The path cut through the air by that fist.
Along that path, a scene of overwhelming destruction unfolded.
The ground began to redden as if melting.
Then it burst apart like a water balloon.
"What... is this..."
The forest he had just passed over had been split cleanly in two.
It was like a natural disaster, with the river evaporating and the mountain collapsing.
If he took that head-on, it would at least be a fatal injury.
No. If it had hit directly, he would have been blown apart in midair and died as he oxidized into steam.
If it merely grazed him, it would still be a fatal wound.
At that insane level of attack power, even Elder Centipede's carapace would surely be pierced.
And that wasn't all.
The distance of more than a hundred meters had been closed in an instant.
There had been no preparatory motion that would have allowed him to brace for it.
He had simply appeared there, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Damn it.
Shit.
"What kind of monster even is thisssss!!"
It was overwhelmingly strong to an absurd degree.
The confidence and arrogance he had gained from evolving to Demon level had long since evaporated.
More than that, the alarm bells warning him of mortal danger were growing louder and louder.
For a moment, he even considered counterattacking with [Phoenix Heat-Up Claw Attack], concentrating power into his claws.
A technique that created afterimages, attacked from all directions, and used sharpened claws to slash while evading at the same time.
An ultra-high-speed combo technique that used his increased speed.
With this, he might be able to inflict some damage....
...No. As if.
That thought lasted only an instant. It would be nothing but suicide.
He couldn't even be sure he could land a meaningful hit.
Besides, since that guy also used Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, there was a high chance all of his attacks would scatter into empty air.
And if that happened, his guard would be wide open and he wouldn't be able to evade a single blow.
His mind was racing like mad now, not for his goal, but for survival.
The distance to the Monster Association entrance was getting closer.
"GROOOOOOOO!!"
He was almost there.
But at this rate, he would be caught.
Even with [Phoenix Fire Falcon Mode], he was being slowly overtaken.
He kicked off the air again and again, accelerating and accelerating.
Yet the distance would not widen.
Merely flying over the ground stirred up enough wind pressure to rip trees out by the roots and send them flying.
The scorching heat wind erupted, causing a massive fire.
And even after all that.
"So, that's all you've got to show me?"
A tired, bored voice reached him.
At last, the monster hunter's sharp claws brushed past his back.
He hadn't even taken a proper hit, and yet Phoenix Man sensed death.
Just as he had feared.
Along the path where the claws had brushed past, a thin, straight crack appeared on Phoenix Man's neck.
Blood began seeping through the crack, which looked like a single spiderweb strand sparkling in the sunlight.
Sshhk.
His neck was severed so cleanly it felt unreal.
In that brief final instant, Phoenix Man thought.
He spoke to the costume, Donkanbird.
What a turbulent life it had been.
When Dumbbird was cut from the program, I, the suit actor for Dumbbird, was cut too.
After that, I could no longer take off the costume, and my senses as a human gradually faded away.
At some point, I could hear the will of the costume itself.
For suits and actors who were always being killed, the world was nothing but hatred.
The suits died every day in their own way, and the actors were humiliated and mistreated by their superiors in their own way.
And so I became a monster.
With my goal firmly in my heart, I carried out my grueling duties as middle management in the Monster Association.
And then, at last.
I overcame death and became stronger by another level.
I had become so strong that comparison with my former self no longer even made sense, and I was just about to become the protagonist of the world by aiming for the position of Monster King.
But a monster even stronger than that was existing there without a care in the world.
I'm sorry.
I wanted to repay your expectations and your feelings-
Pshaaaaaa!!!
Blood burst out like a fountain.
Along with Garou, whom he had been holding with both feet, the headless body fell from the sky.
...A flash erupted.
"Grrr...oooooooh!!!"
The costume and the body inside it changed.
A distorted yet refined form emerged, with four eyes on the torso, one pair of tails, and three pairs of wings.
He quickly snatched up the falling head and Garou, then rose back into the air.
He brought the severed head back to the cut surface of his neck.
[Phoenix Diamond Eagle Mode]
"Donkanbird... you saved me again... I will surely repay your will and your heart...!!"
He unleashed power on a completely different level from before.
Life force was overflowing.
But.
This time, he didn't recklessly charge in.
He held Garou more tightly and rushed down toward the ground at high speed.
The monster hunter, also accelerating to match him, chased closely behind.
Two silhouettes falling from the sky.
Countless fireball barrages were scattered wildly, weaving together in the air as they streamed past.
At last.
He had arrived.
Phoenix Man's figure disappeared first into a subway station.
Instead of rushing after him to seize him again, the monster hunter drew one arm back, this time intending to finish it for good.
Because of Garou, whom Phoenix Man was holding, he hadn't been able to attack properly.
He had been unable to use any real attacks except for one Psychic Crushing Fist, because getting caught in his own attack would have been a problem.
In the end, he decided to take the risk.
Letting him escape now would surely be even more troublesome.
Just as he was about to drive his fist forward.
"Now!!"
"Swarm the monster hunter!!!"
"Dieeeee!!!"
They were monsters.
From the front, and from both flanks.
More than several dozen Wolf-, Tiger-, and Demon-level monsters surged in as one tightly packed mass.
They leaped up, the huge mass rushing toward a single small target.
That was even better.
"...I'll gladly accept the free snack."
He changed the shape of the hand that had been about to throw a straight punch.
He imagined slicing the huge wave before him into pieces with a sharp wind.
Rotating his wrist by nearly 180 degrees, he thrust out like a spear stabbing into a slab of meat.
[Cyclone Iron Severing Fist]
Skrakakakakakakak!!!
Tukwakwakwakwakwa!!!
The monsters who had rushed in first were ground up like fruit thrown into a blender.
Chunks of flesh, neatly sliced like cube steak, flew through the air.
He used [Body Transformation].
The scale-covered skin on his back seemed to writhe, and a thick tentacle with a huge mouth at the end shot out and swept up the chunks of meat.
One large mass was carried in with a gulp and swallowed into his belly.
Good.
That had restored some of his stamina.
He looked at the swarm of monsters pouring out of the subway station for a follow-up attack.
And beyond them, he could just barely make out the shape of a new monster.
Strangely enough, his physical ability was still rising dramatically even now.
He stamped his left foot down, then planted his right foot firmly into the ground.
He tightened and gathered the muscles in his legs to their absolute limit.
He concentrated his power.
From the red energy he had been condensing, a purple current began to show through.
He pulled the bowstring back to its limit.
And fired the arrow of destruction.
Kwooooooooom!!!
A flash that swept over the world in a single wave.
And then a piercing ringing in his ears.
Most of the monsters who had rushed into the scorching blast were oxidized in midair, swallowed by the explosion of energy.
Raising a mushroom cloud so huge it reached the high-rise buildings, the monster hunter followed Phoenix Man into the subway station.
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