Phoenix looked down disgruntledly at Oboro, the tattooed man hovering in midair.
"Oboro, that was my prey, was it not?"
His words carried heavy reproach.
"President, this here's a battle hosted by the King we believe in. Reportin' our own military exploits to the King is a retainer's honor. First come, first served oughta be the rule across all factions, y'know."
Phoenix started to reply to Oboro, who spoke without a shred of remorse, but—
"Lord Phoenix, you've been bested."
A massive monster with the head of an owl emerged from above with his arms crossed, followed by a succession of grotesque winged and feathered creatures materializing around Phoenix.
These were the prominent top executives of the strongest aerial combat faction in the Subjugation Compendium—the Sky Lovers Club. Every single one of them was a true specialist in air warfare. When it came to aerial battles, it was said that the only entity in the entire Subjugation Compendium capable of standing against them was Beelzebub, the strongest demon.
"Indeed, you were the one who jumped the gun first, President."
A beauty with black wings chimed in, brushing back her long black hair as if it were a nuisance.
"Precisely. The president is as underhanded in his methods as ever."
As the long-nosed monster made the sarcastic remark with an exasperated tone, the other executives pouted, voicing their own complaints and grievances toward Phoenix.
"Ngh, you lots..."
As Phoenix ground his teeth with a sullen expression, the owl-headed top executive stepped forward in midair.
"Lord Phoenix, the remnants lingering in that sky are prey for all of us. Priority goes to whoever claims the head of a commander-class enemy. Does that sound fair?"
He put forth the proposal.
Pressed by the overwhelming consensus around him, Phoenix glared spitefully for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh.
"Very well. It is indeed my fault for failing to establish our faction's rules for this battle."
He admitted his mistake.
"No way... The president actually reflected on his actions? That's a first."
"Yeah! The president, whose divine caliber is as tiny as a flea and who's never once admitted his own faults except for his defeat by the Great One! The sky's bound to turn stormy for sure!"
With the executives chattering away as they pleased, Phoenix twitched an eyebrow, yet raised his right arm to proclaim:
"In the name of Phoenix, President of the Sky Lovers Club, I hereby declare: From this moment forth, all military exploits shall belong to whoever strikes the blow!"
Having made the declaration with his arm raised high, a triumphant smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Seeing that—
"Don't tell me—Lord Phoenix—!"
The owl-headed executive, the No. 2 of the Sky Lovers Club, turned pale and shouted to stop him, but at that exact moment, Phoenix swung his right hand down.
Suddenly, countless spears cloaked in flames materialized, raining down toward the Airborne Division far below, which was already thrown into chaos by the sudden departure of its commander, Major General Scalies.
"Aah, seriously! I knew he'd pull this!"
The black-winged beauty cursed.
"Dammit! That's gonna wipe 'em all out!"
The long-nosed monster clutched his head and bellowed in rage.
"Khahahahaha! Look at them! They are like winged ants! Buzzing and fluttering about, the lot of them!"
Phoenix threw his arms wide and laughed maniacally, watching the Airborne Division get impaled by the flaming spears and incinerated into ash.
"Unforgivable..."
Failing to notice the owl monster muttering with his head bowed, Phoenix continued:
"I, the undying Divine Bird Phoenix, have annihilated their Airborne Division! Now the only one to receive praise from the Great One shall be Phoenix alone—bwah?!"
Right in the middle of his grandiose victory declaration, a punch slammed straight into the side of his face.
"What do you think you are—?!"
Veins pulsed on Phoenix's forehead as he began to roar in fury, but the words caught in his throat the moment he saw the owl monster glaring down at him, cloaked in a crimson battle aura.
"K-Kamui?"
As Phoenix timidly questioned his intent, Kamui roared back:
"I've been fired up for this entire battle, giving it my all to meet the Great One's expectations! And you went and slaughtered them all just like that?! You rotten piece of trash bastarddd!"
His entire body swelling to several times its normal size, the owl monster Kamui drove a fist into Phoenix, sending him hurtling toward the earth.
Phoenix plummeted in a straight line and collided with the ground, setting off a colossal explosion.
"Aah, man, Old Man Kamui blew his top. Shouldn't we at least let the folks from the Goddess Coalition and Bushin on the ground know?"
"No, it's definitely too late. Both factions are bound to be furious by now, and things are completely out of hand."
The black-winged beauty shrugged, shaking her head.
"Still can't hold a candle to 'em... I'd be minced meat in an instant."
Wiping away beads of sweat as he watched the two figures continue to wreak havoc across the earth below, Oboro muttered to himself.
"Well, obviously. Those two are the top brass of our faction, after all."
The long-nosed monster twirled a rod in his right hand as he tossed back a retort to Oboro's remark.
"Can't be helped. Guess we'll go bow our heads to the folks who got caught in the crossfire."
Looking utterly fed up, the black-winged beauty dove downward.
"Man, we really are just a hopeless bunch, aren't we?"
Letting out a heavy, exasperated sigh, the long-nosed monster descended toward the earth as well.
Hurling curses of their own, the rest of the Sky Lovers Club executives dropped down to the ground.
Left all alone, Oboro spoke with grim determination:
"O King! My glorious King! I shall surely surpass every last one of them!"
—Annihilation of the Evil Army Airborne Division.