The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Sizzle!!

The oil, which was boiling on a whole other level from ordinary oil, spilled over and burned the ground. An eerie sizzling sound rang out.

—S… Squeak?!

Fire Chicken cried out in shock, desperately struggling to escape. Unfortunately, the sorcery that kept it crushed to the ground, or the chains made of a strange power, did not let go.

Clang!!

Once again, Davey kicked the pot and splattered more boiling oil in front of Fire Chicken.

Fire Chicken felt chills running down its spine. It was natural for it to feel panicked and fearful. It was a Vermillion Bird, made of flames, but it was merely made up of flesh and skin if the origin of its flames had been sealed. The panic from being burned to death was probably unimaginable since it was familiar with fire from birth.

—Squeak!!!

Davey grinned at Fire Chicken’s sorrowful cries.

“Oops, another mistake.”

As Davey petted its beak with a smile, Fire Chicken looked up at him with a shaky gaze.

“Don’t get angry. Don’t act out. I am your owner, and you were born from my desires.”

—Sq… Squawk…

“Remember that you exist because I exist. If you cause a scene with your temper and injure me…” Davey trailed off, then tapped on the pot with his bare hands.

‘You know what will happen, right?’

The pot radiated heat due to the boiling oil, but Davey had a way of tolerating it. This was unlike Fire Chicken, which had most of its power sealed.

At last, Davey released the Binding Seal that was holding Fire Chicken down without hesitation.

Fire Chicken cried desperately while shedding tears full of sorrow.

Rustle!!

Upon standing up, the Vermillion Bird quickly planted its head into the ground. It still felt a lot of fear, trembling non-stop.

“Now now, your body is still visible even if you dig your head into the ground. Don’t be scared, I’m not going to put you into the oil.”

The bird stayed right where it was, since its fear of Davey had been engraved in its heart. It cried out sadly when Davey forcefully pulled its head out of the ground and hugged it, tapping on the back of its neck.

“Wow… How nasty,” Illyna criticized Davey and looked at him like he was ridiculous.

‘You don’t know what is going to happen if you raise an ill-tempered divine beast with entitlement.’

The Vermillion Bird, made from Davey’s qi and desires, still had an immature way of thinking. If it grew up with this high-handed personality, it would become a scoundrel that Davey couldn’t handle in a few years.

In fact, his teacher who had taught him amulet magic, divine beast summoning, sorcery, and daoist magic, had shed a lot of blood from raising the four Divine Beasts however he wanted. Davey had been pecked and burned hundreds of times by the Vermillion Bird after facing the Divine Beasts his teacher had called upon to build a friendship with them. He had been hit with the ill-tempered Azure Dragon’s thunder dozens of times, had his head bitten by the Black Tortoise thousands of times, and it had taken him decades to make the White Tiger, who ignored the rules and always caused trouble, calm down.

Miraculous beings? The Divine Beasts were just lunatics who liked to cause trouble. However, the reason why they had the prestigious name of the Four Divine Beasts was that they were smart. So, what this meant was…

“I can’t allow that.”

It wouldn’t be too much of a problem if Davey simply needed a long time to tame them. However, if they thought to complain and cause accidents, there would be a need to calm them before their personalities fully developed. Of course, he had to keep their bravery intact.

“Now, do you think you can fly?”

—Squawk!

Davey nodded in satisfaction when he saw the Vermillion Bird spread its wings with a fierce cry. He said, “Alright. Go and fly as much as you want.”

—Squeal?

Fire Chicken glared at Davey with squinted eyes and tilted its head in suspicion. It was trying to discern Davey’s true intentions, but he did not have any ulterior motives this time around.

“You didn’t have a chance to fly because you were captured as soon as you were born. Fly as much as you want. You’re probably hungry, too.”

Fire Chicken’s eyes widened in surprise. Then, it took a step back while flapping its wings.

Fwoosh!!

Its extinguished flame was reignited, turning the whole bird into a huge flame. Fire Chicken boasted its fiery presence.

“It’s a little bit hot…”

The Fire Chicken momentarily paused, then the radiating hot air disappeared in seconds.

The Vermillion Bird’s flames had a will, so it could be hot as lava or cold as ice. Fire Chicken would have cranked up the heat without any regard for Davey’s discomfort if it had its regular temper, but it was obedient now that it had been tamed.

“Go and fly as much as you want until the evening. Oh, I’m just warning you, but if you mess with any innocent people… You know, right? Be careful.”

—Squeak!!

Fire Chicken flapped its wings and soared into the air, causing a strong breeze. Its long tail began painting the sky with beautiful strokes and curves.

* * *

—Squeal!!

Fire Chicken was a Vermillion Bird, the Divine Beast or sacred animal that came to life from human yearning. It soared through the blue sky while exhibiting an intense flame. Although someone else was the master of fire in this world, it was still a miraculous being that was born with fire; although, it did receive the embarrassing name of ‘Fire Chicken’.

Since birth, Fire Chicken knew that it was a great being. However, its parent who allowed his existence in this world was a bit odd.

Divine Beasts were instinctively born with a lot of knowledge. As far as Fire Chicken, the Vermillion Bird, knew, its presence was not trivial enough to be born from human hands. However, its parent was a scary being; it felt like he was going to seal its power and fry it in that hot oil if it made a single mistake. Even if it hadn’t been long since it was born, it was still terrified to think that fire, its most familiar element, would be what could kill it.

After flying for some time, the Vermillion Bird slowly descended to the ground as it reached the vast forest.

‘I will die if I get angry!’

The Vermilion Bird was a Divine Beast of fire and anger. However, it felt like it would really die if it expressed anger in any way it wanted to. The human parent it had was too terrifying; the intention that the human parent showed in his eyes was genuine.

Fire Chicken felt the need to calm his temper down. It was a sophisticated being; it was an elegant divine beast and not a flying lizard!

—Keek.

—Squawk!!

Just as it was all curled up with its eyes closed, Fire Chicken looked up when something hard flew into its huge body. It could also see small little green beings in its surroundings. Recalling the name of these beings from the memory traces it had inherited from its parent, the beings were…

‘I think they are called goblins.’

Goblins were hostile beings to humans, so they would be hostile to Fire Chicken’s parent. Even though it was associated with anger, it did not unnecessarily take lives as it was a sophisticated being.

But…Fire Chicken was irritated; it was mad! Still young, the Vermillion Bird wasn’t smart enough to make complex judgments. As soon as that thought went through its head, Fire Chicken ignited its extinguished flames and spread its wings. It looked so much bigger when it was no longer curled up and asleep.

The goblins flinched and took a step back.

‘How dare these little beings look down on me? I’m angry. I’m angry!!’

—Kyeck!!!!

While letting out a huge cry, Fire Chicken also felt hungry too.

‘I will burn and eat all of you.’

It would not be the Divine Beast of anger and fire if it showed its enemies mercy. Fire Chicken’s flames burned everything, creating a sea of fire in the forest.

—K… Kieck?!

Crack!

The goblins took a step back, realizing that something was wrong, but all their escape routes were blocked by the red flames. A single flap of the Vermillion Bird’s wings was enough to trap them all.

‘I will burn all of you!’

Fireballs with extremely high temperatures began to gather at the tip of Fire Chicken’s beak. Each ball gathered as the two feathers on its head trembled, shining with a blue hue. This attack was going to be an extremely hot breath, one of Fire Chicken’s specialties.

* * *

Flap!! Flap!

The forest burned with every flap of Fire Chicken’s wings. In the midst of the huge flames, Fire Chicken burned and ate up the goblins like it had lost its mind.

‘It’s delicious! How can it be this good?!’

Fire Chicken gobbled up all the goblins it could see. The flames surrounding it? What did it matter? Flames were the symbol of its anger! There was nothing that could stop its anger…as long as it did not mess with humans.

Fire Chicken, who had instinctively ingrained the fact that it shouldn’t mess with humans, did not realize the fact that it was already slowly changing.

As the hostile being that flew in the middle of the sea of fire, Fire Chicken was determined to eat up all the monsters in the forest. It didn’t think for long, and it took an even shorter time to act.

When it finally returned to its senses, Fire Chicken found itself devouring a huge animal that had yellow skin and was about five meters big. It seemed like an Ogre, but the Fire Chicken wasn’t sure.

Whistle!! Cang!!

Just then, something flew toward Fire Chicken’s wings and hit it hard.

Fwoosh!!

Of course, the object was engulfed in flames and turned into ashes. Still, Fire Chicken couldn’t help but be irritated by it.

Fire Chicken was a wise Divine Beast, so it could judge this situation with a clear head.

Letting out a short and low growl, Fire Chicken found the being who had attacked it. Then, it couldn’t help but flinch and freeze. The being standing in front of its eyes was something similar to a human but not quite one. The being felt a little closer to the forest, but it was subtly different…

[Do anything you want. But don’t hurt innocent human beings, okay?]

Fire Chicken was about to burst into anger instantly, but flinched after remembering what its parent had said.

Watching the bird, the human-like creature shot two more sharp objects towards Fire Chicken. They declared, “You burned the forest. I don’t know how an evil beast of fire entered the forest, but I cannot let you go.”

‘Evil beast? Did they just call the sophisticated Divine Beast of fire an evil beast?’

Fire Chicken, who was about to release fire, flinched after remembering what it had been told.

‘I have to hold back.’

Its parent was really going to capture it and throw it into boiling oil if it hurt a human being.

Cang!!

Fire Chicken had to hold back; it was a sophisticated Divine Beast, so it should be able to tolerate some trivial provocation.

Whistle… Cang!!

It had to hold…

Cang!!

—Kieek!!!!!

‘Hold back, my ass.’

Fire Chicken was going to burn that bastard up even if it was going to die tomorrow. As the human-like male and female, who both had long ears, stood in front of Fire Chicken, it moved according to the sudden burst of anger and disregarded the warning Davey had given it.

Fire Chicken was not old enough to really think things through yet.