Kyōi landed at xeir nest, dismissing xeir polymorph skill to transform back into a phoenix. Xey began preening xeir feathers, to untangle the branches and leaves that might've gotten caught among the feathers. Xey settled into xeir nest, getting into a comfortable position. Soon, xey fell asleep, surrounded by the sounds of the nocturnal animals and monsters that lived in the forest.
[Warning: Killing intent detected. It is recommended that the User wake up]
At around midnight, Kyōi awoke to the sound of xeir system speaking, which was a rare occurrence. Occasionally xey would receive notifications from the system, but it rarely ever spoke aloud. Reading the message once more, xey immediately activated the polymorph skill to transform all of xeir feathers to blend into xeir surroundings. Xey spoke in a whisper, scanning for any enemies nearby. "Ok, system, thanks for waking me, but where are the enemies? I don't see anything."
[Five humanoids using the skill (Hide Presence) detected]
[Analyzing]
[Skill Shop Unlocked]
[Recommended purchase of passive skill (God's Eyes)]
[^This skill allows the user to ignore all 'hide' type skills. The cost is 2 stat points. You currently have 5 unused stat points available.]
[Would you like to purchase?]
"Yes."
[Unlocked Passive Skill God's Eyes]
Suddenly, five humanoids appeared in the clearing below. With the God's Eyes skill, Kyōi was now able to both see and hear them.
"Are you sure it was here?"
"The scout left behind at the inn said they saw it fly towards the Forest of Beasts."
"Hey, are we sure that the Boss saw the status correctly? I mean, Avians are like, super rare, aren't they?"
"Shut up. We aren't supposed to question the Boss's orders."
Scanning the would-be attackers' statuses, Kyōi was surprised to see that they were all only around level 25. They were weaker than the bandits who tried to ambush xem and the adventurers the previous afternoon. While the men were stronger than Kyōi, xey had a few advantages over them. First, xey had the polymorph skill so xey could disguise xemself as anything or anyone. Second, xey could fly, while most of the attackers didn't unless they could control the wind element well enough. Lastly, xey had the system, which allowed xem to see the statuses of others, and gave xem a bunch of helpful skills.
But all of those advantages were immediately thrown out the window with only a few words by the one who seemed to be the leader of the group. "Boss already captured the adventurers that were with it. It wouldn't just leave them once it figures that out."
In a burst of speed, Kyōi took off, not caring if the attackers noticed. Xey couldn't just leave the adventurers in the hands of an enemy, especially if xey were at fault for getting them captured. Zoryn was xeir adopted father, and Malak was Zoryn's partner, so he counted as family as well. And Leilani was basically Kyōi's aunt.
~~~30 Minutes Earlier, In an Unknown Location~~~
Zoryn awoke to a splitting headache and a bump on the back of his head. Feeling cold hard ground underneath his body, he tried to push himself up only to find his hands and feet were restrained. He tried to activate his wind magic, but it felt like something was repressing his mana, trapping it in his core. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a stone cell, with thick metal bars at the front. Carefully, he managed to stand up and called out into the hallway, "Malak, Leilani, Kyōi, is everyone alright?"
He heard a slight grunt and a clang as if someone had hit the metal bars with something also made of metal before he heard a response. "Zoryn? I'm alright, but my magic is being completely repressed." "I'm also fine, just a bit banged up. And all of my armor and weapons are gone." Zoryn sighed in relief as Malak and Leilani both answered him before he realized that Kyōi hadn't responded. "Kyōi? Hey kid, are you there?" Worry began to make itself known in his voice. "Malak, Leilani, where is Kyōi? Do either of you see him?"
His teammates both voiced a negative and he began to fear the worst. "What the heck happened?" Leilani was the one who answered. "I think the people who captured us were after Kyōi. When they tried to capture me, they asked me about a kid with wings. When I said I didn't know, they knocked me out and I woke up here."
Zoryn slumped against one of the sidewalls of the cell, his mind racing. Did the people who capture them already capture Kyōi? If so, what did they want with the kid? And if they hadn't yet, where was he? Was he alright? Zoryn hoped so. He began to turn his thoughts to an escape plan.
Turning as much as he could, he examined the restraints on his wrists and ankles. They looked like normal metal handcuffs, but they had several glowing runes carved into the side. Because he could use magic, he had studied several runic languages. From what he could read, the runes were responsible for blocking his mana. "Damn these runes."
Malak, upon hearing his words wholeheartedly voiced his agreement.
~~~Present Time~~~
After flying back to the inn and asking(read: threatening) the spy xey found for information, Kyōi made xeir way to a large mansion, following the spy's directions. After using God's Eyes to confirm the location of the three adventurers, xey crashed through the roof of the mansion without another thought.
[New Polymorph Form Unlocked]
Activating the polymorph skill, xey transformed into a human form, but not the one xey had used when interacting with the adventurers. Xey made xeir body look a bit older and slightly more muscular. Xey changed the color of xeir sclera to black and transformed xeir feathers and hair to be blood red. Xeir eyes also began to glow bright red. Deciding to add to the demonic vibes xey were getting from xeir new form, xey added a pair of sharp horns that extended from xeir forehead.
Several guards inside the mansion heard a loud crash and decided to go investigate. This was very obviously a mistake. A black-winged figure with horns and a demonic smile descended upon the house, like a fallen angel or a grim reaper. Fire spread wherever the demonic figure stepped, and soon, most of the guards had fled in terror.
One guard stood in the demon's way, his sword held up in front of him, though he was shaking in his boots. He was either extremely brave or extremely foolish. In only a few seconds though, he was forced to retreat as his sword's blade suddenly lit on fire, burning his hands until he dropped it.
Kyōi kept marching forward, carefully controlling xeir flames to only burn where xey walked. If xey burned too much of the house, it might collapse, making it harder to safely rescue and retrieve xeir newfound family. Eventually, xey reached the basement, which was where Zoryn and the others were being held. Xey kicked down the door with a fiery kick, bellowing into the hallway. "I am here for the adventurers Zoryn, Malak, and Leilani! Stay out of my way, or face eternal damnation in Hell!" Kyōi had no intent to kill anyone, but xey were completely fine with bluffing. Even if the guards were a higher level than xem, the fire would still burn them like any other person. Besides, with xeir new demonic form, xey gave off an aura of intimidation.
Finding the cells holding the three adventurers, xey immediately melted the metal doors of the cells, dropping the demonic form so that they would recognize xem. Xey quickly moved to melt away the restraints on all of them.
"Kyōi? How did you-"
"Less talking, more escaping. I'll explain later. I'm almost out of mana."
Together, the group ran from the mansion while the guards were preoccupied with putting out all of the fires. Thanks to Malak supplying mana, Kyōi was able to keep the fires going until they had successfully escaped.