Fierce Vermilion Bird Flames

The night wind howled. He clutched the gunshot wound on his shoulder, gritted his teeth, and ran forward. Above the forest, the sound of helicopter rotors grew from distant to near, and a bright white beam swept across the sky. Behind him, he could faintly hear the sound of dogs barking.

Blood continued to pour and drip from the wound. Half his body had gone cold, and his footsteps grew heavier. Yet, he knew he couldn't stop now; if he stopped, it would all be over.

He couldn't figure out what had happened. Years of planning, meticulously chosen timing, all to escape the organization. He had gambled his entire life, only to find that tonight, the base was on its highest security lockdown. What was going on?

He had two bullets left in his gun. One for the enemy, one for himself. He had already decided. But before he died, he wanted to know why the organization was making such a huge fuss over a mere assassin's escape. Not only were there elite assassins, but even higher-tier espers had appeared.

Those mutated beings who called themselves "Evolved Ones" had always been hidden deep within the organization. Having reached his current position, he knew one or two of them and understood their scope of management. For an ordinary assassin like himself, there was no way they would be deployed to intercept him. But why?

He ran continuously, but excessive blood loss caused his vision to blur. As he reached the edge of the forest, a sheer cliff face rose vertically before him. With helicopters in the air, climbing it would be a sure death. He ran along the cliff face to the side. Around a bend in the cliff, a faint red light emanated.

The helicopters were rapidly approaching, and the barking of dogs and human voices grew more intense. It was likely his last moments. He slowed his pace and peeked around the corner. Flames burned fiercely there, but they gave off a strange, transparent feeling. Trembling, he tightened his grip on the gun and first saw a person standing beside the flames.

It was an esper from the organization.

These espers often possessed peculiar, superhuman abilities. He didn't know how many espers had gathered here, nor did he dare to look too closely. After all, he only had two bullets. He quietly raised his hand and aimed. He knew this was the last aim of his life.

Within his sight, the esper faced the flames, his back to the outside, arms spread in a somewhat strange pose. If it were an assassin, they would never adopt such a vulnerable, unguarded posture, but... whatever.

Gritting his teeth, he fired. The bullet struck the esper's temple, and the entire body was sent flying. So what if they're an esper? They still die when shot. Thinking this, he sharply turned the gun to his own forehead. But in that moment, a strange, soul-stirring cry suddenly rang out. His hand trembled, and then, a massive wall of fire surged past his eyes like a torrent.

The flames melted metal and burned iron. It was unclear how far they spread into the forest. The trees they touched instantly turned to ash. Because the flames erupted from a recess in the cliff face, they swept directly past him. Yet, he felt no heat. Looking up, a giant, fiery red bird soared into the sky with a soft cry. It was the Fire Phoenix depicted in Chinese legends.

The fiery clouds blazed across the night sky. The pursuing helicopters were instantly engulfed in flames, exploding and crashing. Red light rained down, falling in specks throughout the forest. He stared at it all, dumbfounded, then turned sharply. The pursuers behind him had already appeared within sight, clearly panicked by the sudden turn of events. They stared at the sky, momentarily forgetting to fire. Then, a look of horror appeared in everyone's eyes as they turned to flee.

Turning back, the phoenix, surrounded by flames, swooped directly towards him. The air pressure surged, and the massive rock face he had been using for support flew away. Then, he saw the phoenix's eyes.

Boom—

The flames engulfed him!

There was no death, no pain. The shock subsided, and he could clearly see himself immersed in a vast expanse of golden fire, as if surrounded by a large mass of liquid, gently bobbing up and down. There was no sound around him, as quiet as the beginning of creation. He looked back; beyond the flames, everything in the world had become incredibly slow. The large rock face that had been thrown out was caught by the flames, gradually peeling away. The air currents swept outwards like shockwaves. Every tree that burned, broke, and instantly turned to ash; every person trying to escape, every hound that hadn't taken more than a few steps, burned to ash with a wail.

In an instant, he understood everything.

According to legend, every so often, the phoenix sheds its feathers and dies, only to ignite in flames from its ashes and be reborn. The day he chose to escape happened to be the day of the phoenix's nirvana. All the manpower the organization had mobilized was to deal with this Fire Phoenix. At the moment of its nirvana, when its power was at its lowest, it was surrounded by espers mobilized by the organization. His shot, however, had created a gap in the encirclement, allowing the Fire Phoenix to escape.

In the distance, a voice asked him, "Thank you. What do you want?"

"I..." His eyes widened.

"...I want freedom."

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