Karura

Karura, also known as Phoenix and Fenghuang, is a high-level fire Demon and a kin of the King of Fire.

It was in service of Tatsuma Suguro and the Myōō Dharani until Saburota Todo consumed it. It’s remnants became the familiar of Tatsuma’s son, Ryuji Suguro.

Appearance
Karura has the form of a bird of fire with a well toned human-like torso and a noseless human face within its beak/mouth. On the sides of its head are a pair of large, bulging red bug eyes with a ripple pattern and a small dot in the center. It has an orange belt around its waist and a fiery crown on its head. Its lower body is a formless flame.

It can vary greatly in size; after Todo devoured most of it, it became much smaller. While originally the size of an eagle, the loss of most of its power caused it to shrink down to the size of a bluebird. Additionally, after Todo devoured it, it lost its human-like torso, instead having a regular bird torso in its place. It also lost the large bug eyes that were on the sides of its head and the belt from around its waist.

Personality
Karura is a noble and humorless Demon.

It dislikes humans because people have always sought to capture it for its power.

History
150 year ago, Karura was the familiar of Fukaku, the founder of the Myōō Dharani buddhist sect. Karura possessed Fukaku’s sword, Kurikara, and aided him in his battle against the high level disease Demon, The Impure King.

After the battle with the Impure King was fought and won, Karura left the sword and has since been passed down from parent to child through the generations of Fukaku’s descendants, serving as the familiar to the acting head of the family.

Part of the contract of Karura’s service to Fukaku’s descendants was that Karura be kept secret, due to Karura being nourished by secrecy.

Kyoto Impure King arc
Karura became the familiar of Ryuji Suguro.

Powers and Abilities
Karura is an Upper Level Fire Demon who can generate and control powerful and destructive flames. As a Demon of Fire, it is strong against Rot elementals, like the Impure King, though weak against Water, elementals, like Naiads.

Karura possesses a strong life force, which allowed it to come back to life, even after Todo devoured most of its power.

Its flames can stimulate animal cell activity, giving it strong healing abilities.


 * Karura Flame:
 * Kashoku no In (火食の印): Karura cause flames to burst forth from the target.
 * Kafun no In (火粉の印): Karura flaps its wings rapidly, successively sending out waves of feather-like flames.


 * Aeon Wave Flame:
 * Jōkafū no In (淨火封の印): Karura channels flames and quickly flies around the target and forms a pentagram of flames to deal damage to and seal whatever is in its center.


 * Fire Barrier: Through a Tamer, Karura can conjure a massive spherical barrier of flames that prevents any rot elementals, such as the Impure Kings spores, from passing through. The barrier is erected by the Tamer chanting the proper verse and touching their hand to the ground while making a hand sign known as the Earth Sign. Maintaining the barrier drains the Tamers stamina. If the Tamer stops making the Earth Sign, the barrier will fall. The Tamer can use both hands to create a second barrier, but this will drain their stamina twice as quickly.

Trivia

 * Karura is the Japanese name for Garuda, a creature from Hindu-Buddhist mythology.
 * Phoenix is a bird from Greek mythology known for its cyclical reincarnation.
 * Fenghuang are Chinese mythological birds, also known as Chinese phoenixes.