Chapter Thirty-Three: The Ice Phoenix

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Camille stood beneath the clouds, his spiritual sense extending to the mountain’s summit.

“This… this is a phoenix. How can this be? How could such a divine bird exist in this world?” Camille exclaimed in astonishment.

“To think the world of pirates would harbor such a creature… Even if one existed, it shouldn’t be this powerful! This is more in the realm of a celestial beast! Its full strength is nearly on par with my own. If I want to fight it, I’ll have to go all out.” Camille’s expression grew grave. The power of this bird far exceeded what this world could contain. If it wished to leave, surely it could tear open the fabric of space with ease. Why, then, does it remain?

“Human, leave. Or be annihilated!” Suddenly, a voice filled with arrogance echoed in Camille’s mind. He realized it was a simple application of magical arts—a sign his spiritual probe had been detected.

Should I call Robin and catch it together? No, this is a rare chance to fight with my full strength in this world. Let’s see if I can capture it… perhaps make it my pet? Camille thought mischievously.

“Hmph! You’re overconfident!” Camille responded coldly through a mental transmission.

“Teleport!”

In a flash, Camille appeared atop the mountain. Though he’d braced himself, the sight of the bird still left him deeply shaken. He had never seen a true celestial beast before; the strongest sea kings could at best be called spirit beasts, but compared to the phoenix before him, they were nothing.

This phoenix stretched over thirty meters in length, its feathers a brilliant silver-white, streaked with blue and purple patterns. Three long tail feathers extended far beyond its body, and several multicolored plumes adorned its head. Cold radiated from its form, almost tangible, and its fiery red eyes glared at Camille in fury.

“Human, did I not warn you? Do you wish for death?” the phoenix said, lifting its head in anger. Clearly, it despised being disturbed by humans.

At this moment, Camille’s power was still sealed, leaving him with only a tenth of his full strength. It seemed this ice phoenix was about to meet its misfortune.

Camille ignored the bird’s furious words, fixing his gaze upon it as he began to form seals with his hands—hundreds in quick succession—before looking at the haughty phoenix with a hint of mockery.

“You’ll soon understand why I’ve not left,” Camille’s voice whispered into the phoenix’s ears, ethereal and formless.

“Hm?” The ice phoenix, preparing to strike down the human who dared defy it, was suddenly seized by a sense of overwhelming danger emanating from the purple silhouette hovering nearby. Its nerves tensed, eyes wary of Camille.

Camille simply smirked at the phoenix’s reaction. With a flick of his lips, he intoned, “Seal of Ten Thousand Arts—unleash!”

Boom! The air around Camille exploded as if struck by a bomb. At the word ‘unleash,’ a surging force erupted from his body.

The residents of Ice Peak Isle saw it clearly—the dark clouds that had blanketed their sky for over a decade were blasted apart, scattering in all directions. Soon, a breathtaking celestial spectacle formed overhead: a ring of dark clouds, ten kilometers across, hovered above the island, sunlight piercing through and dazzling the eyes of those below. Shielding their faces, they glimpsed a lone figure suspended thousands of meters high, at the very heart of the swirling clouds, not far from the towering peak.

“It’s Sir Camille! That pressure just now… it was terrifying!” Lance, clutching Lise’s hand, felt cold sweat bead on his brow.

The ice phoenix—no, the Frost Snow Phoenix—regarded Camille with grave caution. No longer did it dare underestimate this human. The force he had just displayed far surpassed its own. Though as a celestial beast its physical form was superior to any human, this man’s strength was greater still.

“Human, you truly hid your power well! I hadn’t expected you to be this strong!” The phoenix rose, its wings beating with force, shattering boulders atop the peak to dust, then slowly flew up to face Camille in the air.

“Heh, I never expected a phoenix to exist in this world, much less one so mighty. Can you tell me why you remain on this island?” Camille spoke slowly, his words ringing clear in the phoenix’s ears.

“You are not of this world, are you? I too am surprised to find such a formidable human here. As for why I stay, why should I tell you?” The Frost Snow Phoenix’s tone was tinged with pride, the divine bloodline within forbidding it from speaking humbly to a human, even a stronger one.

Camille frowned slightly at the phoenix, his voice unyielding. “How do you know I’m not from this world? Does that mean you aren’t either?”

“I have existed for thousands of years. I do not know when or how I arrived in this world, but with your strength, you cannot be of this place. No human here could reach your level—unless you come from another realm,” the phoenix’s voice echoed in Camille’s mind.

“Whether I’m an outsider or not, your presence here has already brought great turmoil to the people below. If you refuse to leave, then I’ll have to defeat you and take you captive. Heh! Having a pet like you wouldn’t be so bad.” Camille’s voice was clear and proud, but these words only enraged the divine-blooded bird.

“What? Ha! Capture me? You’re courting death!” The ice phoenix spoke no further. With a furious beat of its wings, the surrounding space trembled violently.

As the phoenix rushed at him, Camille’s expression turned serious. With a flicker, he dodged aside, but the gale from the bird’s charge still forced him back dozens of meters.

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“Hmph! You dodged that one, but let’s see if you can escape this!” the ice phoenix declared confidently.

Camille’s eyes narrowed. Suddenly, a sense of immense danger welled up—space around him seemed to freeze; he couldn’t teleport away.

“Hmph! Frozen World!” the phoenix roared, its piercing cry ringing out. The space around Camille quivered as a frigid wind, unleashed from the phoenix’s wings, swept forth, freezing even the air itself.

Camille was startled by the bird’s strength—stronger than he’d anticipated. But he was not one to be trifled with.

“Hah! Thunder’s Welcome!”

Unable to move, Camille resorted to his fruit’s power. A massive sphere of lightning materialized before him, swelling rapidly until it spanned hundreds of meters. The purple streaks of lightning formed a tangible web along the sphere’s surface, terrifying in their intensity. Camille failed to notice that the people below stared up in horror, as though the end of days had come.

“Run! Get to the basement—staying here is far too dangerous!” Lance grabbed his wife’s hand and swept his daughter into his arms, fleeing toward the warehouse. This young man was terrifying—who could have guessed he’d battle the giant bird? Would the island survive?

Some below hid away, while others watched in awe, oblivious to the mortal peril looming above.

The swirling blizzard slammed into Camille’s lightning sphere. As the sphere solidified, the spatial bonds holding Camille loosened—clearly, the phoenix couldn’t sustain its power over space for long. Camille teleported a kilometer away, quickly erecting a thick purple barrier before him.

Boom!

The two energies collided like a nuclear blast. Space itself convulsed, thin cracks appearing at the center of the explosion. The towering peak shattered, ground to dust by the ensuing energy storm.

Below, houses were obliterated in an instant, as if swept away by a typhoon. The fate of those watching could only be imagined. Deep below ground, Lance clung to his wife and daughter, the earth trembling around them. Bitterly he muttered, “I must have brought disaster upon us… I should never have let him go. How many will die because of this?”

After several minutes, the energy storm subsided, and the scene before them could only be described as catastrophic. The great mountain was reduced to a few hundred meters in height; the distant town was flattened, the frozen trees all splintered to pieces, and the sea beyond churned with violent waves.

As the dust from the shattered peak slowly settled, two figures appeared in the sky.

Camille glanced down at the town leveled beneath him, anger roiling in his heart. Though most had hidden and only a few had perished, it was still his doing.

Thousands of meters away, the ice phoenix hovered, eyes alight with shock and exhilaration. After millennia, it had finally met a worthy foe. This human’s strength matched, perhaps surpassed, its own—now was the time for a true battle.

“Human, your name! Only the strong are worthy. I am the Ice Phoenix—remember it!” The phoenix’s proud voice reached Camille’s ears.

Camille dismissed the barrier, a flash of purple light in his hand revealing the “Spirit Snow Blade,” a celestial weapon he had yet to wield.

“Aelros D. Camille! Remember it—that is the name of your future master!” Camille’s forceful voice echoed in the phoenix’s mind.

“Hmph! My master? That’s a death wish!” the phoenix snapped in fury.

“Then let’s see who prevails!”

“Shunpo!”

Clang! The ringing of metal resounded through the sky.

The Spirit Snow Blade struck the phoenix’s wing, producing a metallic clang—proof of the celestial beast’s formidable defense.

Screech! Though its body was tough, the phoenix cried out in pain, the blow intense.

Despite the pain, the blade failed to penetrate the bird’s hide, only knocking loose a few feathers as hard as steel and sending the phoenix hurtling hundreds of meters away.

“Hmph! What sort of blade is that, so hard?” the phoenix glared warily at the weapon in Camille’s hand, its form somewhere between sword and saber.

Camille was equally astonished; he hadn’t expected the bird’s defenses to be so formidable. His strike hadn’t even cut the skin, only sheared away a few steel-like feathers. He could no longer afford to underestimate the mighty bird before him.

He ignored it, narrowing his eyes.

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“Sharingan—activate!” Camille intoned, summoning forth the power of his eyes.

His pupils turned red, the three tomoe replaced by a six-pointed star, each point connected by a black line—a six-pointed star encircled by a ring. It was not strange, but beautiful—stunningly so.

“What kind of eyes are those?” The ice phoenix blinked, startled by the transformation, and grew all the more vigilant.

“Hmph! Eye of Intimidation!”

Suddenly, the phoenix felt a crushing pressure, as if ten thousand tons bore down on it, making it hard to breathe. The source was unmistakable—the gaze of those eyes.

Camille had unleashed a visual technique, the Eternal Mangekyō’s “Eye of Intimidation,” causing enemies to feel immense pressure and the freezing of space around them—an overwhelming force.

Bang! Camille’s right foot struck the phoenix’s neck. Under the eye’s power, it failed to react in time and was kicked squarely, sent flying by the sheer force.

Boom! What was left of the mountain crumbled further beneath the phoenix’s massive body, which slammed into the slopes and left a huge crater.

Shaking, the ice phoenix climbed from the pit, terror in its eyes. Just now, it had been utterly paralyzed, forced to watch helplessly as Camille struck. Those eyes were terrifying…

Camille appeared before the phoenix in an instant, ready to attack again, but the bird made no attempt to dodge, its gaze now filled with despair, helplessness, and a hint of fear.

Camille’s foot hovered half a meter from the phoenix’s throat, his eyes fixed upon it.

“I am defeated. Why don’t you kill me?” the phoenix’s trembling voice came, its expression changing from terror to pride—though tinged with resignation and sorrow.

“I don’t need you dead. I just want you to leave here—become my pet or my companion. Why didn’t you dodge?” Camille withdrew his leg, using shunpo to appear dozens of meters away, calling out to the phoenix.

“Hmph! Pet? I’d rather die than be your pet!” the phoenix snapped, momentarily forgetting its predicament.

“Then companion will do! As long as you leave this place!” Camille realized the reason for the bird’s anger and immediately rephrased his offer.

“Since you have defeated me, I can accept being your companion—but never your pet! Even in death!” The ice phoenix relaxed inwardly. A pet? How could a being like itself be anyone’s pet?

Camille smiled faintly, lit a cigarette, and blew a few smoke rings. “So you agree! From now on, you’ll stay with me. I can’t let you keep disrupting human lives.”

“Hmph!” the phoenix said nothing more. Suddenly, its body began to glow. A moment later, a slender figure appeared in front of Camille.

“You—you’re female?” Camille was stunned, entirely unprepared for the phoenix to be a she… So startled was he that he momentarily forgot about the bird’s transformation.

“What? Female? Are you looking for death?” The phoenix’s anger exploded as never before. Her voice, melodious as a celestial song, was followed by a punch to Camille’s head—not particularly hard, just enough to send him flying dozens of meters…

Rubbing his sore head, Camille sighed, unable to believe this magnificent bird was female, and not only that, capable of taking human form—an exquisite beauty, with a willowy figure, waist-length silver hair, a lovely face, and snowy white eyes—breathtakingly beautiful!

Of course, Camille was only briefly amazed. In his heart, Robin would always be the most beautiful—nothing could change that!

Suddenly, the beauty before him shimmered and vanished. In her place appeared a tiny bird, no bigger than a pigeon, snowy feathers and an adorable form that was utterly charming—gone was the former majesty.

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