Phoenix

Phoenix (鳳凰) is the second Guardian Beast made up of a pair of twin birds with an appearance similar to peafowls with scales.

Appearance
The birds themselves seem to be like peacocks, with scales on their bodies. The tail and wings almost look aquatic with the tail feathers fanning out to form a fish-like tail. The scales are a mosaic of colours with one displaying vibrant colors, while the other circled around it the opposing colors. Each bird has a halo on its head. The two birds are not as big as the Spirit Tortoise but still have considerable size. Naofumi estimated them to be slightly larger than Father Gaelion who was at least 20 meters tall.

Skills and Abilities
As a Guardian Beast, the two birds have immense power capable of killing countries. When it comes to combat the two birds have their own specialty. The bird that tends to fight near the ground is resistant to physical attacks while the bird that fights at a high-altitude is resistant to magic. These birds have incredible vitality due to their elemental forces which causes wounds to heal incredibly fast.


 * Fire Bombardment: By flapping their wings, the phoenix birds can send a mix of feathers and fireballs towards the ground.
 * Slash Attack: Using their claws, the Phoenix birds can physically attack targets. This attack was preferred by the low-altitude bird.
 * Fire Breath: Expels a blazing inferno from the bird's mouth. This attack was preferred by the low-altitude bird.
 * Familiar Generation: Creatures that are burned by the Phoenix's flames are turned into zombies. Also, feathers that come loose by the flapping on their wings also become familiars. The feather familiars look like flaming bodies with a suit of armour and wings. These familiars were likely enhanced from the "hard-mode" unlocked.
 * Gust: By flapping its wings, the Phoenix birds can send people flying.
 * Summon Tornado: The Phoenix birds can summon tornadoes.
 * Flaming Shriek: The Phoenix gives a high-pitched shriek which inflicts burning damage to those nearby. This attack was likely unlocked with "hard-mode".
 * Flaming Spiral Strike: Engulfing itself in flames, the phoenix bird then spins like a drill towards its targets. This skill drains the MP of those it hits which can be used by either bird to heal or attack. This attack was preferred by the low-altitude bird.
 * Flame Beam: Taking in a breath, the phoenix expels a devastating red laser-like beam towards the ground. This attack was preferred by the high-altitude bird.
 * Rebirth: The signature move of the Phoenix. If one bird is defeated the other one swells into a massive explosion like a miniature sun. In the wake of the explosion, two fully-alive birds emerge. However, after the rebirth the two birds are weakened and take a few moments to recover.

Background
Though the origin of the Phoenix is unknown when it appeared, it is known to be tied to the waves of calamity. Phoenix was sealed away by the previous Gauntlet Hero who left behind a description of its attack pattern, as well as other information, which are presently unreadable due to interference from the vanguards of the waves.

The Phoenix was initially sealed in a shrine within a western country. At the shrine there is a Buddhist statue which can be moved to open a hidden passage to the Phoenix's seal. The seal looks like a large stone monument which glows red from heat as the Phoenix started to awaken. Present at the Phoenix's seal is a statue of the Phoenix. According the the game knowledge of Ren and Itsuki, if this statue is damaged, a "hard-mode" version of the Phoenix fight. This was confirmed by a mural depicting a more sinister Phoenix. This statue was recently broken before the heroes reached the Phoenix's seal by an unknown enemy.

As a Guardian Beast, the Phoenix is a backup safety feature to fight against the Waves of Calamity. They were meant to act as a last act of defence in case the Legendary Heroes were not powerful enough or willing to defend against the waves. However, their help comes with a great cost as the only way they can stave off the waves is by killing the residents of their world to power a barrier which repels the waves. In total, 2/3rds of the world's population would have to be killed in order to permanently repel the waves. The heroes were supposed to have been directed by beings like Ost on how to unseal the Guardian Beasts if they felt it was necessary. Unfortunately, the Spirit Tortoise was improperly unsealed by Kyo which leads to the other Guardian Beasts - including the Phoenix - to also begin awakening.

Volume 15
After the Spirit Tortoise had been defeated, the heroes had roughly three months to prepare for the fight against the Phoenix. The united forces of the Heroes and several countries prepared for the battle. They found that the Guardian Beast would be unsealed in a Western country and had the surrounding area evacuated. Unfortunately, there is very little documentation about the Phoenix. Using Ren and Itsuki's game knowledge from before they were summoned, they were able to find and investigate the seal. To their shock, they found that someone had recently gone before them and unlocked a "hard-mode" by destroying a statue near the seal. However, with hours to go before the fight there is nothing they can do and they prepare to fight the two birds.

The united forces are prepared as the Phoenixes are awoken. The Phoenix had some unexpected abilities but due to the united effort, the battle was starting to lean towards the hero's victory. As one was almost defeated, the efforts were focused on the other bird to prevent the explosive Rebirth ability to occur. However, a beam of light from an unknown person in the distance killed the nearly-dead bird. In response, the other bird started the rebirth process. Naofumi attempted to contain the explosion but the power nearly killed him. However, Atla saved him and took the brunt of the attack. She died but saved Naofumi and the rest of the forces with her sacrifice. Enraged by her death, the heroes fought the revived but weakened birds and then defeated them at the same time. Since the number of deaths from the birds were relatively small, it took only a few hours until the next Guardian Beast - Kirin - to be unsealed.

Trivia

 * Hōō is the Japanese reading of the Fenghuang(凤凰/鳳凰), a beautiful Chinese mythological composite bird, which is one of the Four Benevolent Animals.