Rebirth of the Phoenix God

"It's hard to believe that they could be so stupid…"

Muttering to himself as his initial peek turned into looking in all directions out of the now fully open doors, Fen couldn't really find out how did those stupid people managed to build such an insane empire. Even if they were absolutely certain that escaping the colosseum was impossible, then just for the sake of sleeping peacefully at night, they should still put someone to keep watch on the streets!

'Well, their idiocy will be my advantage.'

There was no point in debating over the decision-making process of the inquisition. Maybe their lack of countermeasures against the situation where he would manage to somehow make his way out of the colosseum happened because of their lack of manpower or support from the royals? Maybe it was nothing but a devious ploy of the predator playing with its prey, allowing it to feel the hope?

Instead of wasting his time pondering over this matter, Fen knew that his efforts would come to much greater fruition if he just put them to his escape attempt!

After confirming that no guards or private mercenaries were seen to be blocking the streets, Fen quickly moved out from the side entrance that he was hiding in. For now, leaving the hill on which the arena was located was the most important point. With no building nearby, the lack of obstacles made it hard to block him from escaping, but also put the young man literally on the plate for anyone smart enough to actually look for him outside the arena. 

Thankfully, even without his newly acquired abilities supporting him, Fen managed to just walk nearly the entire distance that separated him from the first line of the buildings before the sound of the alarm shook the city. At this point, the young man could dash forward towards the busier areas of the streets, yet he realised that doing so would only arise the suspicions of the townsfolk that remained within the city to celebrate the festival.

"What's going on?"

"Something happened?"

As the ringing of the huge bell coming from the centre of the inner city continued, more and more people started to look around in confusion. This kind of situation had to be extremely rare for the locals, as by the time anyone actually started to look around for anything or anyone potentially dangerous, Fen already disappeared in the deeper parts of the city.

Calmly walking through the streets, it didn't take a long time before Fen reached the first of the checkpoints that he had to go through before reaching the gate of the city. It was the bakery where he spent quite a while, either with Kaisha or Hekarion.

Just the single thought of this girl, that he had to leave right as their relationship was starting to bud, was enough to put a sour expression on Fen's face. While so far, everything looked as if he would be capable of escaping this city, making his future as uncertain as possibly it could be bright if he were to manage to escape the empire altogether. 

Sadly, without a token from Stiel, even if he managed to pass the border as the chances that the entire country would enter lockdown just because of his escape were nigh, entering the academy without any proof that he had the right to do so was another thing entirely. Completely ignorant about the way things would work over there, Fen wasn't naive enough to believe that he could enter the scholarly institutions just like that without anyone supporting him.

'Focus… There is no point thinking about the future, before securing it first!'

Shaking the useless thoughts out of his head, Fen turned his head away from the comfy bakery. Picking up his pace, it didn't take long before he passed by the academy grounds. In a sudden burst of inspiration, Fen was tempted to simply break into enough of the rooms to find where those tokens were stored and just steal them, but given how the edge of the city was already overtaken by the commotion, it was only a matter of time before the inquisition would catch up to him. 

With the renewed motivation, Fen continued to make his way towards the last of the checkpoints that he had to visit before he could go directly for the gate. The fire serpent archarity.

"Hey, it's been a while."

Contrary to his expectations, the young man didn't manage to just sneak past the doors. Standing right in the gateway, Firo taxed him with her eyes, before releasing a deep sigh from her lungs and flicking something towards him.

"I can't help you with anything else. If you wanted to use the gates to escape, then I have some bad news from you. Once the Hightower bell rang, all the gates were immediately shut. It seems that the inquisition learned about your true heritage."

Not even bothering to properly comment on her little gift, Firo only shook her head as she looked towards the town's centre, from where the sound of the alarming bell was coming, mixed with the ever-closer noises of the chase.

"Thanks. I really wish I could get to know you better… But before I go, I need to tell one thing."

Looking the girl in the eyes, Fen could see the very similar emotional pain in her pupils to what he always hated in himself. 

Being powerless.

"You might not see or acknowledge it yourself, but even if nine out of ten of my guesses about what you are capable of are wrong, then you are still far more powerful than what you imagine. Don't let others tell you that you are useless because of the lack of bloodline. Without you, I would be dead meat already."

Even though the young man knew that he was the precious time that he should use to figure out a way to escape, he still closed on the girl and brough her into a deep hug. 

"At this point, I can only tell you that I will always be indebted to you. If I somehow manage to escape this place, then a single message from you will be all it will take for me to come running to your help."

Feeling how stiff the girl initially was when he took her into his embrace by surprise and how his words seemed to somehow melt Firo's resistance and allow her to actually wrap her hands around his back as well, Fen could finally confirm that his encouraging words worked.

'It's kinda funny how I'm the one the angry mob and entre force of inquisition is chasing, yet I'm here whispering sweet words to Firo's ear.'

As this thought passed through Fen's mind, he realised that there was one more thing that he had to tell her, even though he already did once.

"Firo. Look at me."

Suddenly pushing the girl away, Fen brought his hand to her chin and raised her face to force this fake maid into looking directly into his eyes.

"No matter what, do not go outside of the city in the near future. No matter what they will offer to those who will join the hunt, make sure that not even a single person you care about will join it, understood?"

At this point, even though Firo still clearly knew far more about the reality of Fen's background, Fen actually dared to use an authoritative tone. After all, if his plan were to succeed, then not a soul of those who would dare to venture outside soon would remain alive to return!

Yet, once this realisation appeared in his mind, something once again shifted in his body. Just as Fen's eyes directed towards the now-closed gate in the distance, just as his mind started to roll on its full capability to find a way out of the city, Fen's body seemed to react to his wishes.

This time, no vision appeared. No ancient wisdom came to teach him how to use his talents. It just… happened.

In one moment, Fen was still standing relatively close to this greatest female supporter of his as a normal human, only for an enormous pair of fire wings to explode from his back!

"Whoa!"

In this one moment, the voices of Fen and Firo merged, both expressing the extreme shock. For the man, he was attempting to not only comprehend juts what the heck was going on but also somehow take control of those wings, seeing a chance to use them in his escape. Yet, it was Firo's reaction that managed to strike closer to the truth.

"So you are really the one!"