Chapter 5 – Involved

Kai brought the man back to his restaurant like a sack of rice. The man in black was light even though he looked robust because of Kai's newfound physical strength.

His neighbors were watching him bring the man into his restaurant and were curious, but he answered that he found this man drunk and was about to feed him, which was already the usual thing for him to do.

Once he entered the restaurant, he marveled because there was no trace of battle at all, just like Amber had said. It returned to normal before the man started shooting a gun like a madman.

He went to the warehouse located beside the kitchen, where he saved all ingredients used in the restaurant. It was empty as they just emptied it yesterday on Saturday rush.

The warehouse was big and cold due to the refrigerator, and Kai just dropped the man in the middle of the warehouse without caring whether he would be injured or not.

"Amber, how do I cancel this fusion or something that we did?"

[It's simple. Just imagine it being canceled, and I will return to normal.]

"Just like that? Let me try."

Kai took a deep breath and commanded in his mind to cancel the fusion that he had done with Amber. He didn't know what this technique was called, so he just called it fusion for now.

Slowly, the fire began to seep out of his body, forming a humanoid form beside him. He felt his strength being drained, returning his body condition to normal.

The fire morphed into a female figure that he was familiar with. The color returned, and her body was clad in a sexy red qipao for whatever reason.

Her bright orange hair swayed as the fire danced around her, and she slowly opened her golden eyes, staring at him.

"Tada!" She exclaimed energetically as she raised her arms. "I have returned to normal."

"I-I see…" Kai replied.

The bloodlust and hunger for battle he felt earlier were gone. He even felt bad for the man in front of him now that his mind was being cleared.

"So, are we going to interrogate him?" Amber asked as she approached Kai, grabbing his arm and pushing it between her breasts.

Kai felt a soft and bouncy feeling and knew the reason behind it. But he kept his eyes on the man and nodded.

"Yes." He replied. "Let's start by taking his clothes off first. Who knows if he hides another weapon or Talisman under that cloth."

"Indeed."

Kai approached the man and crouched down. The soft feeling earlier was gone as Amber stayed behind him. It was a shame. As a man, he quite liked the sensation. But questioning the man came first.

He began to take off his clothes and tried to find hidden weapons and Talismans. In the end, he managed to find a dagger, 3 similar Talismans with different runes written on them, and a handgun hidden beneath his clothes.

The man stirred awake shortly after he was done. His expression morphed into a horrified one, and Kai surely didn't want to miss this chance. His smile turned into a feral one. Amber understood her assignment and smiled similarly behind him, creating a fireball atop her palm.

"Now then," Kai said in a lower tone. "I hope you can cooperate with us. If not, then we can say goodbye to your life just like your comrade last night."

The Slayer immediately knew. The man in front of him wouldn't hesitate to kill him. It was a mistake going after him and destroying his restaurant without talking to him first.

Not to mention, he didn't expect the man in front of him to be able to use Phoenix Fire. The idea of using that power was ridiculous itself. So he only nodded.

"A-As long as you spare me."

***

The Slayer was unexpectedly honest. A combination of threat and absolute power worked best to make the man terrified, so he told Kai the truth.

He also found something unexpected in Amber. She wasn't as merciful as he originally thought. That lovely girl was merciless and even proposed to burn the Slayer to a crisp to hide the evidence.

When she mentioned that, the man was terrified and began begging for mercy. However, Kai had already decided from the start. No one would be safe after they destroyed his restaurant and targeted his life.

The fact that the restaurant was still intact didn't erase the fact that the Slayer once shot a fucking gun and destroyed almost everything inside.

"P-Please save me! I have told you what I know ab–"

"Do it, Amber," Kai said casually as he stepped back from the man, standing behind Amber.

"Yes."

At Kai's command, Amber threw the fireball toward the man. The fire immediately spread and engulfed him. The man screamed loudly as the fire burned him and turned him to ash and then to nothingness, leaving no evidence.

Magically, the fire only burned the man as Amber controlled it. A Phoenix Fire obeyed Phoenix's will. It only burned things at the Phoenix's command.

"It's done, Kai." She turned around with a smile. "Praise me!"

"Good job, Amber." For some reason, Kai felt it was natural for him to praise the girl. He patted her head, and she purred happily. "I now know the situation." He said.

"Yes. Thankfully, that man is an idiot. He and his partner thought they could defeat me, a Phoenix. Well, they almost got me because I was careless and fell asleep, but no one besides them knew my existence thanks to this." Amber said, stepping away from Kai, satisfied.

"Indeed." Kai agreed. "Well, I still have some questions for you, but some of them have already been answered by that man. Also… Mythical Being is real?"

"It is real."

"Thought so…" Kai sighed, but he secretly felt happy that a Mythical being was real. He always dreamed of meeting one. He just didn't think he would meet a Phoenix, even saving her from when she was careless.

Of course, he never thought they could morph into a human. Then Slayer, a bunch of people tasked to destroy the Mythical or Supernatural Beings that harmed humans.

The ones he killed were the greedy ones. The man confessed that they planned to kill Amber and sell her body to Supernatural Black Market. A Phoenix only existed a few in number. Their numbers could even be counted with one hand.

Obviously, the demand and price on the market were high. It was like a treasure trove.

Kai didn't understand why he got involved with himself. But Amber said something about a contract between them. So he didn't seem to be able to escape from whatever it was.

Not like he had any intention of giving up this wonderful opportunity to meet the other Mythical and Supernatural beings that he loved.

"Well then, do you have any idea what to do with these?" He pointed at the ground at the pile of Talismans, a dagger, and a handgun he took from the dead Slayer while looking at Amber.

"Why don't you keep them?" Amber suggested. "I can teach you how to use Talismans and Spirit Power."

"Hmm, alright. Then what's this Spirit Power? You mentioned it before too."

"That would take time to explain." She said, "For now… Let's absorb the Spirit Power that that man released from earlier. It will be gone in 30 minutes, so we have to hurry. Just sit on the floor comfortably."

Kai still didn't understand, but he did it regardless. Whatever it was, it seemed like Amber had no ill intention against him. So he followed her instructions, sitting on the floor in a comfortable position.

"Are you ready?" Amber asked from behind. She also sat comfortably and extended her hands, putting them on Kai's back.

"I am ready."

"This will hurt a lot for the first time."

"Wai– Aarrghh!"

Without having time to prepare himself further, pain attacked his whole body immediately.