Chapter 240 The Son of Fire Part 20

When Bon made his way through hundreds of people to the city gate, he saw the black panther standing by the gate, but Abrafo was nowhere to be seen. He rushed to the black panther and looked around to see if Abrafo was injured, but he didn't see Abrafo anywhere, so he jumped on the black panther's back.

"Let's go find Abrafo," Bong said when he heard Abrafo yelled. "Abrafo..." He quickly rushed in from the city gate. After passing many people trying to escape, he found Abrafo and U-ri not far from the city gate.

"Hajime!" U-ri yelled.

"Fuck!" Abrafo shouted in frustration.

 "Where is Hajime going?" Bong asked Abrafo and U-ri while riding the black panther towards them.

Abrafo looked at Bong angrily, "I asked you to leave. Why are you here?"

Bong said, "I am my own person. I will not take your orders."

U-ri said, "Now is not the time to argue. First, we must leave the city. The air is getting thicker and thicker, and that fire beast will not stop until the city is completely engulfed in flames."

Bong asked, "What about Hajime and the others?"

Abrafo sighed and said, "Let's leave it to fate."

Just when the two Tanzanies and Bong were about to leave the city, they saw Michio walking slowly from the burning house with two men.

"Michio!" Abrafo rushed towards Michio. He looked at the two people around Michio, and none of them was Yul. "Yul? Where is Yul?"

Michio looked down at the ground and said sadly, "I... I left him behind."

"You what?" Abrafo muttered. "Why?"

"He ordered me to leave him behind," Michio said sadly. "I..."

Abrafo said, "It's not your fault..." He grabbed the other man. "Let put these two people on the back of the black panther with U-ri."

Michio asked, "Hajime... I saw the eagles again..."

Abrafo said, "That stubborn mage. He refused to leave Yul behind. He is returning to Mount Zin to find Yul."

Michio said, "I know where Yul is. I will go back..."

Abrafo grabbed onto Michio's arm and said, "You are not. The city is burning. You will die before reaching Yul. Let's get out of here first. I know Hajime will find Yul."

Hajime searched the lava sea and found many people trapped on the unburned ground, and when he looked at them one by one, none of them seemed to be Yul. His eagle swooped down on the people, grabbed the survivors by the shoulders, and threw them onto the backs of other eagles. When Hajime was convinced that no one else survived at the foot of Mount Zin, he made his way back to the south gate in despair. 

It broke Hajime's heart to see some motionless people lying on the unburnt ground, none of them Yul. He predicted that if Yul was not among the living or dead, it would mean that Yul was one of those who perished in the sea of ​​lava or was burned beyond recognition. As his eagle got farther and farther away from the burning mountain, his heart was unsettled, so he wiped away his tears; he circled the eagle back to Mount Zin for a final inspection.

"Yul!" Hajime yelled in tears. "Yul!" Hajime's eagle flew so close to the boiling lava that he could feel the intense heat being released from the lava. "Yul!" Hajime continued to call for Yul.

Yul slowly opened his eyes because he believed he heard Hajime calling him. Exhausted from the heat and injuries, he wasn't sure if what he was hearing was true or if his brain was playing tricks on him. He turned slowly and saw an eagle flying very close to the boiling lava. He blinked twice to make sure that what he was seeing was not an illusion created by his mind.

"Hajime..." Yul whispered weakly. "Hajime..."

"Yul!" Hajime shouted with tears. "Yul!" He wiped the tears that covered his sight, but when he raised his hand to wipe his tears for a second time, he saw a dead man slightly moved. The man lying far away from the other dead people, so Hajime turned his head to look in that direction and saw the man he thought was dead trying to raise his hands to the sky, as if the dead were calling him. He turned quickly and pointed the eagle to the left.

As the eagle approached, Hajime immediately recognized that the person lying on the two boulders was none other than Yul. His heart was filled with excitement and worry. Hajime noticed that Yul was still holding a blanket on his arm.

"Yul!" Hajime shouted happily. The eagle landed on top of one of the boulders, and Hajime jumped off the eagle's back. He rushed to Yul and held Yul in his arms. "Yul..."

Yul opened his eyes and saw Hajime's eyes filled with tears. "Hajime..." Yul murmured. 

"I'm here... I'm here..." Hajime said, lifting Yul up from the top of the boulder and then walked toward the eagle with Yul in his arms.

The eagle spread its wings and flew into the sky. Hajime hugged Yul tightly inside his embrace and kissed Yul's forehead.

When the cool wind blew across Yul's face and he was safely in Hajime's arms, Yul said weakly, "Look...I found a brother for our little Meiji..."

Although Hajime was in pain, he still tried his best to smile at Yul and said, "Good... our Meiji will not be alone..."

Standing on the top of the hill, Fufu looked at the burning city below. She continued to look at the fire beast that continued to burn the south gate of the city.​

On the larger hillside, Fufu, Baqar, Dampa, and the others were still watching Zahog continue burning the city.

"What is the beast looking for?" Dampa asked.

Fufu said, "She seems to be looking for something." She turned to Baqar. "Father, what's the name of that beast?"

Baqar said, "I do not know."

Bo said, "Who would have thought that Malik would have such a powerful creature working for him."

Fufu said, "Looking at the current situation, the beast might not be on Malik's side."

Dampa asked, "Why do you think so?"

Fufu said, "If that beast was with Malik, he would have used that beast to attack us long ago. He would not wait until today."

Baqar said, "Since we have already abandoned this part of the city, we will have to travel to the first village."

Dampa said, "Father, we have too many injured people. If we travel, there will be many who would succumb to their injures."

Baqar sighed with a heavy heart and said, "Because where we are standing is the Hellfire Apex. I'm afraid that as long as Mount Zin erupted, all the hills and mountains with the apex of hellfire will erupt. If this happens, Maka City will be destroyed by the flow of lava."

Fufu said, "We can't go north, so we can only go south and take the sea to the north of Maka City."

Baqar said, "That's why we have to go to the first village. That should be far enough away from here. We just have to make sure that we outrun the lava." He turned to Dampa. "Start immediately because we don't know how long this will keep burning."

"Yes, father." After Dampa said, he left Baqar and Fufu and walked towards the people with a group of soldiers.

Fufu turned to look at the burning city and then at Baqar. She sighed and said, "I wonder if the other side of Maka City suffer the same fate."

Baqar patted Fufu's shoulder lightly and said, "Your mother and the others will be fine."

Fufu took a deep breath and exhaled. "I hope so." She looked up and saw many eagles flying straight toward them. "Hajime..."

The eagles with people on their backs and feet begin to land on the hill and then quickly disappears, turning back into leaves.

Fufu ran towards the injured. "Come here!" Fufu shouted. "Come and help the injured."

The Tanznaies trio, Bong, and the black panther climbed the first hill as the last eagle swooped down upon them. When the eagle landed, Abrafo and Michio quickly ran towards the eagle. 

"Yul!" Michio burst into tears. "I thought...I thought I let you die. Thank you, buddha...Thank you buddha..."

Yul looked at Michio and handed the baby in his arms to Michio. "Here, take him," he said weakly. Yul climbed down from the eagle's back.

"U-ri," Hajime said painfully. "Hurry and take a look at Yul's injuries."

U-ri jumped off the black panther's back, walked to Yul, and began to check Yul's injures.

Abrafo helped Hajime get off the eagle's back. The eagle suddenly disappeared and turned into a leaf, slowly falling to the ground. When U-ri help Yul to sit down, Hajime had taken two steps towards him, and Abrafo quickly grabbed Hajime by the waist to prevent him from falling to the ground.

"Hajime," Abrafo said worriedly.

"I'm fine...ah..." As Zahog screamed, Hajime began to have three more contractions, screaming in pain. "I'm fine, but why... why... every time I hear the screams of the fire beast, Meiji... Meiji is digging his way out... ah..." 

"Hajime..." Yul quickly stood up and then fell back into Michio's arms.

"U-ri! Yul..." Michio said, worriedly.

"He passed out from blood loss and his injuries. Michio, you need to summon Kaizen now," U-ri said.

Michio stood up and used his energy to draw a symbol. As soon as the symbol dissipated, a ten-foot-long white energy line appeared and slowly unfolded, turning into a portal; the person who walked out of the door was Kaizen.​

"What kind of predicament have you got yourself into?" Kaizen said angrily as he looked at five Tanzanies and the burning city below.

U-ri said, "Hajime...Hajime is about to give birth."

Kaizen looked at Hajime who was groaning in pain on the ground. "It's not time to have the baby yet," he said as he walked towards Hajime. When high-pitched screams sounded in the sky, Kaizen looked at the burning city again and found that Zahog was spitting flames everywhere. He quickly rushed to Hajime and picked Hajime up. "Hajime must leave here now."

Bong asked, "Why?"

"Yeah, why?" Abrafo asked walking towards Kaizen.

Kaizen said, "That fire-breathing beast, she is the legendary Zahog Phoenix. She is looking for Hajime." He shook his head. "Not Hajime, but the phoenix egg."

U-ri asked, "But we didn't know about the beast until today."

Kaizen said, "What she recognized is not Hajime, but the phoenix egg in Hajime's body." 

U-ri asked, "Please explain."

Kaizen with Hajime in his arms walking towards the portal gate. "No time to explain. Hajime must leave here to ensure the safety of everyone. She will not stop and continue to search for the phoenix egg until she finds what she is looking for or the smell of the phoenix egg is no longer present. She must have tasted Hajime's blood, and thought her egg is in danger, unless she wouldn't be so aggressive."

U-ri said, "I'll go with you."

Abrafo said, "U-ri you can't go. If you go, who will treat Yul's injuries."

Kaizen said, "Abrafo is right, it will do us no good if you go with us. We need to take the child out, and you are needed here." With Hajime in his arms, Kaizen walked into the portal and disappeared.