I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!

Chapter 279: Born From the Ashes (1)

Back in her old world, Roxanna had once heard a myth about a mythical bird that could come back to life from its own ashes.

The bird could never truly die because once its heart stopped and its body turned to ash, eternal flames would wrap around it and bring it back to life again.

Back then, Roxanna always thought stories like that were nothing more than fairy tales. But after coming to this world, she realized that impossible things could sometimes become real.

"Roxanna, what did you do?!" Luan shouted at her, convinced she had lost her mind because she refused to let Cyrus leave.

But Roxanna said nothing. She simply stood between the rings of fire, staring at Luan with eyes filled with hope, regret, and compassion.

[He asked me to kill him,] Roxanna spoke in her mind, and Luan heard it the moment he stepped a few steps closer. [So I killed him.]

Luan’s eyes widened in shock. He couldn’t understand why Cyrus would ask for something like that in the first place, and even less why Roxanna would agree to it.

When he looked up again, Cyrus’ body had already fallen into the roaring flames rising high into the sky.

Falcoln and the eagle beastmen stared in horror. After all, the only reason they wanted Cyrus was because of his blood. But now, with his body turning into ashes before their eyes, there was no way for them to take it anymore.

"What a waste," Falcoln muttered coldly before clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Burn this entire place down, then retreat!" he ordered one last time.

From afar, Azul and Luan exchanged a quick glance. Both of them knew very well that once they were cornered like this, escaping was the smartest choice left.

Calen had already run off earlier, and hopefully he would be able to lead the elders and children somewhere safe.

"Go," Luan told Azul, asking him to leave first with the remaining warriors and villagers still inside the settlement.

Then he turned back toward Roxanna and shouted desperately, "Roxanna! We have to leave!" He reached his hand toward her, his eyes filled with panic and fear. "Please... you have to come with me!"

Roxanna, who was still on the verge of questioning her own choice, finally managed to force her body to walk toward Luan.

Roxanna herself was still struggling with her own choice, but in the end, she forced her trembling body to walk toward him.

The moment her hand touched his, Luan immediately pulled her tightly into his arms.

"Alright... you’re alright," he whispered shakily.

For a brief moment, he buried his face against her hair, breathing her in deeply as if trying to reassure himself that she was truly still alive beside him.

Roxanna slowly closed her eyes for a moment. "I’m alive, Luan."

Luan gave a quick nod and pressed a kiss to the top of her hair before tightly grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the burning area. "The others are already running. We have to go too."

As Roxanna ran beside him, she couldn’t stop herself from looking back one last time.

Her eyes landed on the settlement they had built together with so much effort, hope, and love. Every hut, every wall, every little corner of the place carried the hard work of the Vixeria Tribe.

But now... all of it was being swallowed by flames and turning into ash.

"L-Leader, what’s happening?!" one of Falcoln’s men suddenly shouted in panic.

Roxanna quickly turned toward the voice, and the moment she looked closer, her eyes widened slightly.

The raging flames surrounding the area were suddenly moving toward a single point, as if some invisible force was pulling all the fire into one place.

The fire twisted over and over again in the air.

Huge waves of flames spun together like a burning storm, and the heat became so intense that even the eagle beastmen instinctively stepped back in fear.

Roxanna’s breathing slowly stopped and her heart pounded so hard that it almost hurt.

"That place... that’s where Cyrus fell earlier," Roxanna murmured softly.

Luan, who had been running beside her, slowly came to a stop as well. Both of them could only stare at the strange scene unfolding before their eyes.

A few seconds later, every flame burning across the settlement suddenly rushed toward a single point, as if an invisible force was pulling them together.

Then—Boom!

The center of the flames exploded upward, creating a massive pillar of fire that shot high into the night sky.

Sparks scattered everywhere, dancing through the air like glowing red feathers.

At the same time, the golden feather hanging from Roxanna’s waist suddenly trembled. The golden light surrounding her body grew brighter and brighter, almost blinding.

"What..."

Luan could only stare with his mouth slightly open, completely speechless. The scene in front of him was far beyond anything he could understand.

The air around them suddenly became unbearably hot.

Even the ground beneath their feet started trembling faintly, as if something enormous was slowly waking up.

Falcoln instinctively took a step back. For the first time since the battle began, genuine fear appeared on his face.

"No..." he muttered. "That can’t be possible."

The pillar of fire twisted violently, and a deafening cry suddenly echoed across the battlefield. The sound alone made several eagle beastmen collapse to their knees in terror.

"That’s impossible!" Falcoln shouted again, his voice filled with disbelief. "I swear he only inherited one of its traits!"

"Leader... could he actually be—"

"No!" Falcoln snapped angrily. "The Phoenix disappeared hundreds of years ago! It’s been gone for ages, so how could that damn Cyrus possibly be one?!"

The moment those words left his mouth, a pair of enormous wings slowly spread open from inside the flames. They were so huge that they nearly covered the entire sky.

Burning feathers drifted down one after another, glowing softly like floating embers before disappearing into the wind.

Luan’s pupils shook violently. "What... is that...?" he whispered.

The creature finally stepped forward from the center of the flames.

Its entire body was covered in crimson and gold feathers that looked as though they were made from living fire itself.

And yet, despite how different it looked now, Roxanna immediately recognized those familiar crimson eyes staring directly at her.

Tears instantly gathered in her eyes. "Cyrus," she whispered shakily.