It was a fine day in the country of Veronica. Located in the mountains north to Fiore, it wasn’t a location that was troublesome to reach. At least for Haru, he wasn’t. Sabertooth was located in the northern region of Fiore after all. But still, how could he exactly know? His exact destination wasn’t Veronica itself, after all. It was the Boundary Forest that was located on the outskirts. With his hands in his pockets, he continued to climb the hill. On his way, he had left a long trail of dead monsters. It wasn’t his fault that they kept appearing out of nowhere, as if he would let them get away with it. Though he would understand his exaggeration only when he was on the top of the hill. The trail he had left behind consisted of red footsteps. The latter was his while the color was from the monsters. “Fucking pathetic.” he said. Feeling disgusted that he had to interact with such low creatures, the young man turned back and faced the forest on the horizon. Letting out a sigh, he focused the winds under his feet and propelled himself into the air. As he was flying high in the skies, the forest beneath him seemed to be normal in size. Only when Haru started his descend did he notice how absurdly enormous the trees were. After he entered the forest, he searched a proper large place that could inhibit his target. It took him four hours to find such a place, along with its inhabitant that was sleeping on one of the trees. He shortly woke it up.
“There you are.” Haru said, as he gazed upon the great bird. This was the creature he had been looking for. There were several of its kind inside this forest, but without a doubt this one fit the description he had read. It was the ruler of this forest, and also the strongest of its kind. Although he had read about its immense power, the young mage had also noticed an interesting part dedicated for the creature’s friendly interaction with the humans. With that in mind, he wasn’t surprised by the reply he got as the bird descended. “What do you want human?” the phoenix uttered, as it landed in front of the man. It’s size was big enough to remind the mage of dragons, yet he was also aware that Cordelia’s size was far greater than this. Glaring at the bird’s smile and the rather cheerful mood it displayed, the young man continued. “Immortality.” There was a moment of silence in-between. Not much later, however, it was disturbed by the loud laugh of the phoenix. “Gurararararararara! You seek immortality?” it said, continuing to laugh. Haru knew that immortality wasn’t living forever. For sure that was not what it felt like. Immortality was everybody else dying. At least that was the common thought. But he didn’t care about it. Unlike what everybody believed in, there were several immortals only in Fiore. The thought of having company made it easier for him. “Sadly that’s something I can't help you with, human.” the phoenix finished, ceasing to laugh any longer.
Hearing his reply brought up a smile on his face. This was the moment his Ruby Energy, his primary Dragon Slaying Magic type, became infused with his bloodstream. His strength, speed, and overall destructive potential increased as he entered a state of enhanced awareness and peak physical ability. Large amounts of magical energy to started to be emitted from his body. This was his activation for Crimson Drive, signing how he took this seriously. But he didn’t stop. He continued to raise his magic, until a scale-like design appeared on his face and, although unseen because of his clothing, body. His magic surged throughout the forest with an unknown immensity as he coupled Crimson Drive with Dragon Force. “Oh, but it is.” he said, looking at the phoenix with a menacing grin. “You see, I read that devouring the core of a phoenix would grant that person the phoenix's abilities. What do you make of that?” This made his intentions clear, as the phoenix recognized the lad’s aim. Haru wasn’t a person that liked taking chances. By the time the phoenix had started to ascend in the air, Haru was already halfway done preparing his attack. He had compressed all eight elements he had in his mouth, the density making it challenging to maintain. Eventually, he released this enormous beam of energy towards the bird, successfully hitting the majority of its chest.
As it started to fall down, or whatever was left started to fall down since it’s body had been mostly pulverized, Haru noticed how its regeneration had started. “What a majestic beast…” he remarked while quickly making his way towards the creature that was now on the ground with a good amount of its body already reformed, though motionless. Sure, it was regenerating to get better. Constantly, in fact. But that didn’t change how vulnerable it was at the time being. Once he was close enough, he imbued his right hand with lightning and concentrated it around. He sued this to pierce through the phoenix’s body, and searched for its heart. It didn’t take him long to find it, after which he would sever and extract it from the body. He eyed the organ he was holding inside his hand, noticing his arm soaked in blood. Not minding it, or doubting what he was about to do, he squeezed the heart and took a big bite. It took Haru only a minute to devour this heart, after which the phoenix’s regeneration seemed to stop. Instead, the bird’s body started to glow and fall apart. The particles started to surround the mage as he felt an unfamiliar power surge within. “I’m sorry. But it seems I will be the one watching the horizon for an eternity.” he said to himself with a smile. He was sure that his regenerating capabilities were actually greater than the original owner of the ability, since his body was smaller and his power was backed up with his Dragon Slayer Magic. Feeling satisfied with his newly-gained immortality, he turned around and deactivated his Dragon Force. He kept his Crimson Drive, however, and used the speed enhancement to run away from the forest before he attracted other phoenixes. He could fight them too, yes. But he wanted to save the opportunity for two other people he had in mind.
