The wind of flames swept over Phoenix, but it had no effect whatsoever, as if it were merely an ordinary breeze.
As Phoenix approached the flame bird, a blazing cross sword materialized in her hand.
The authority from Michael, the "Justice Sword," possessed remarkable effectiveness against "dragon-snakes" and "demons."
And the flame bird before her carried the aura of a demon...
"Devil from Hell! Accept the judgment of God's embodiment of justice!"
This sword had assisted Michael in defeating Satan when he manifested as a dragon. It wielded the power to suppress demons.
With a swing of the cross sword, heavenly flames carrying divine light destroyed the flame bird's body in a single strike.
Seeing the instantly deceased flame bird, Phoenix shook her head in disappointment. Too weak...
It's dead just like that... Probably can't recover its original form now.
"What?"
Just as Phoenix was reflecting, her eyes suddenly widened. The previously shattered flame bird before her began to reassemble its body and flames, as if preparing to revive.
"Flame bird... Reviving... Demonic aura. Could this be... an Undying Bird? A Phoenix?"
Phoenix suddenly recalled the mythology she knew...
The Undying Bird was a divine beast from Greek mythology, bearing strong similarities to China's phoenix but fundamentally distinct.
Its cry resembled that of a mischievous child, and it could assume human form.
In Demonology, the Undying Bird was one of Solomon's 72 Demon Gods, known as Phoenix (Phenex/Fenix).
Ranked 37th among King Solomon's 72 Demon Gods, it held the title of Marquis and commanded 20 legions.
However, Phoenix possessed an inherently kind and gentle nature, being a poet who eagerly anticipated the reincarnation of the Seventh Throne's ruler after 1200 years.
Last time, Phoenix had slain the first-ranked Demon God among Solomon's 72 Pillars—the Lord of Hell. Now, she faced the 37th-ranked Demon God from King Solomon's 72 Pillars. Was she truly at odds with all of Solomon's 72 Pillars of Demon Gods?
No...
As the 37th-ranked Demon God, Phoenix shouldn't be this weak, should it?
Is it just a resemblance?
The immortal bird before her, having resurrected once more, possessed the same ability to rise from the ashes like its namesake—the phoenix.
Just as Phoenix prepared to strike it down again, another powerful... a main deity-level Heretic God finally descended.
Faced with the immortal bird, Phoenix saw no reason to waste time.
"Who cares if you're the real Phoenix? Go taste hell in your master's domain! I'll have those great demons give you a proper welcome. I'll deal with you after I take care of the other Heretic God."
With those words, Phoenix dragged the resurrected Undying Bird into Hell.
The power of Beelzebub: Exile to Hell.
After banishing the Undying Bird, Phoenix swiftly arrived at the location where the new Heretic God had descended.
There she saw... a girl of indescribable beauty materializing in the air.
The girl possessed a peerless countenance, a beauty beyond mortal imagination - perfect, without a single flaw. This perfection transcended humanity.
Of course, she was indeed not human at all.
She stood upon a seashell resembling a lotus leaf, her figure tall and athletic, her form slender yet full-figured, her bearing graceful yet composed. Her thick, loose hair contrasted sharply with her smooth, supple limbs, accentuating the elasticity of her muscles and the allure of her physique.
What is beauty?
This is beauty—seemingly everything in the world has fallen under her spell.
Even Phoenix, facing the young girl before her, felt inadequate. Though called an Immortal, Phoenix was still human, and all humans carry some imperfection.
Thus, perfection could not be claimed.
Yet the girl before her embodied the pinnacle of feminine beauty, without a single flaw.
"The goddess of love and beauty..."
"Aphrodite."
The moment Phoenix laid eyes on the young girl, she recognized both her divine role and name.
Aphrodite was the ancient Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexual desire, one of the twelve main gods of Olympus. Born from the sea, she was sometimes revered as the protector of sailors.
Emerging from ocean foam, Aphrodite possessed porcelain-white skin and striking blue eyes. Her golden hair framed a figure that epitomized ancient Greek ideals of feminine perfection, symbolizing love and the beauty of women. Considered the highest embodiment of feminine grace and allure, every word and deed of hers was worthy of preservation as a model. Yet she could not represent female chastity.
In Greek mythology, though Hera had promised Aphrodite to Hephaestus, she frequently engaged in affairs with others: she had five children with Ares, the god of war; she had multiple encounters with Hermes; and she bore Aeneas with the mortal Anchises. During the Homeric era, she was often accompanied by the Horae (goddesses of the seasons), the Charites (goddesses of grace), and her son Eros, the god of love.
Though her beauty reached the pinnacle of what the Greeks could imagine, as a goddess of lust, she was also considered filthy.
A bus! A real slut.
Seeing Aphrodite, Phoenix recalled a character from a game:
The Knight on the Dragon's Back.
Also known as the Whore on the Dragon's Back. The promotional video showed an incredibly beautiful young girl, making it hard to believe she was actually a slut.
The Aphrodite before her now was the same. Such a beautiful young girl, she was practically the embodiment of beauty. Even Phoenix felt for the first time a desire to claim her as her own.
But alas, a bus...
Never mind!
After being summoned, Aphrodite surveyed her surroundings before focusing on the Eastern young girl with fiery wings nearby... Phoenix.
She sensed the immense magical power emanating from Phoenix - the vast energy acquired after slaying a god.
A Campione!
"Campione! So you're the one who dragged me out of mythology? How intriguing. I never imagined I'd be summoned from my realm... and not in Greece... but in this desert..."
Facing the Campione, Aphrodite showed no fear. Instead, she gazed at the desert with a young girl's smile.
Yet beneath this facade, she felt a deep aversion. As a sea-born goddess, the arid desert was utterly alien to her nature.
"Indeed, I summoned you here... Goddess of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite!" Phoenix replied with complete honesty, her voice carrying no trace of deception.