Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Chapter 290: To Fight The Divine - One Must Stake Everything

Freyja's eyes looked stunned.

Her spear penetrated the ground, creating a crater deeper than five metres, yet what she watched stood on the opposite side of her body: a male figure covered in black scales, thick black horns with cracks pulsating with an amber glow, a pair of black eyes with golden iris staring at her without feeling, and a perfect set of bladed claws on each hand yet able to carry Vela like a princess gently.

"..."

She could not speak nor process what was before her. This was the form of Asura she knew, but this version had a distinct feeling, no, more like his soul's connection with her wasn't there. Like his entire existence rejected hers, those eyes, cold like ice, made her body tingle. A feeling of rejection was something new to Freyja.

"I have been calling you for a while now, you know?"

A clear yet dark tone of voice that once sounded warm and friendly now carried a sombre note. It was calm, like the eye of the storm. The voice was both sweet and malicious. The feeling one felt after meeting someone they despised so much and yet couldn't help but love and obsess over.

"I can't feel my magic coming from you anymore. What did you do!?"

"Surpassed your inferior bloodline."

Without warning, Asura dashed to Freyja at a speed she could barely follow, her hand reaching for her spear. To destroy the thing she should have worshipped a moment before, only to find that Asura didn't attack her but handed Vela to the queen.

"Leave, get her medical care. Don't get in my way, mother."

Asura didn't look at the queen's expression; he could only sense the various people trying to fight for him. Bearing their grudges and anger for the pain suffered at the hands of Freyja, he didn't care.

To save Vela, he abandoned the divine path for now and took the path of the devil. Able to hear the grudges and anguished voices of those he killed or the deaths he caused.

They wished for him to suffer and experience a fraction of the pain they suffered before passing on. Yet these voices, once upon a time, would cause him to grieve. Now, his mind remained still as if nothing had fazed him.

Because they were his food.

"Freyja, are you done daydreaming?"

The devil's smile grew as his voice changed with several wings growing from his back. Each one was smaller than the previous, except for two pitch-black ones that caused the devil's body to emit a threatening black smoke, shrouding him.

Now able to create Devil's Shroud at will.

"Asura!" Freyja didn't care if he didn't respond to her call. "How can you call her mother and me by name!?" She grabbed her spear, cutting the air with a hysteric motion, her face still crazed with a twisted smile.

"You are not my parent; the mother I remember loved and cared for me. Her name is Ophelia Fenix!" Asura's smile became cold, his voice carrying a distant tone as if remembering a fleeting dream. "The Freyja I knew never existed."

"No, I've always been here, loved you since your birth! Yet you don't understand and shy away from me. You chose those... insects because they fool you... It has to be! I watched you grow, watched you cry, watched you die...

I watched you over, over, over and over!!"

The intense power of Freyja began destroying the once beautiful capital city; with the loss of the Silvara Sword, the kingdom of Silvara lost its defensive barriers, and monsters would soon appear naturally in almost all parts of the kingdom. This woman destroyed the peace and prosperity that it celebrated since the first queen's sacrifice.

"Shut up... You're not my mother."

The final words fell, and in an instant, the wings on his back disappeared. The black mist spread from his body, enveloping him as he shot forward, holding his father's huge black sword; the wings didn't disappear but began flapping too fast to be visible.

Asura cut the air with several deep sounds and flashes of black light, each blow from his blade colliding with Freyja's spear like a meteor colliding with the planet.

Every collision caused Freyja's body to twitch, her steps faltering as she couldn't take even one step forward to fight. She felt like a feather facing a hurricane; he was becoming a storm that she could no longer weather. "Ah... you truly are amazing. I want to become one with you, but it's too soon."

Her body trembled, and a hot sigh left her lips as she tried to grasp him with her right hand, deflecting his blows with the left and holding her spear. "It's been hundreds of years since I had a good battle."

Asura didn't stop, continuing his attacks; the wings on his back began shining with an intense amber light that permeated his whole body. In return, Freyja began swinging her spear wildly, sending flashes of silver light mixed with an aura of death that moved too fast for anyone to follow.

Every flash could break through mountains and destroy several metre areas without end. The city began breaking apart as Freyja lost control. Asura's blade and Freyja's spear clashed because of their movement, causing the air to distort and rumble.

"Your body is perfect. Ah, such a wonderful boy. Yet your magic isn't ready. You aren't ready..." Freyja's voice changed with her lustful breaths.

Asura's power caused her to lose control more and more.

The calm and stable sky became a hell of roars and screams as the two vanished, reappearing in a new location every few seconds.

Yet the fight wasn't between two masters or peers who could follow each other's movements with their eyes closed.

Freyja, the one who awakened Asura's potential, could follow his movements with a single glance. While Asura, who seemed to be fine, suffered intense pain, each teleport, attack or block causing body-shattering injuries, the scales across his mouth were now stained red with his fresh blood.

The supreme power of a being beyond Stage Ten in both body and Magic became apparent. The clash lasted for only twenty minutes before Freyja noticed the amber and black mist on Asura's blade growing weaker, his attacks reaching a finish. The repetitive and even tempo broke without warning, causing him to stumble and miss several strikes.

"Are you finally done?"

Freyja's spear swung in a circle and pushed Asura into the ground, causing an eruption of debris and dust. In an instant, a claw shot from the dust and struck Freyja's cheek, causing her to stumble.

"Ah.... I'm so wet, your claw. You want me so badly?"

The next moment, her foot stomped on his chest, shattering all of his scales and the ground and damaging most of his organs, yet her eyes weren't violent or angry. They contained only lust and obsession.

"I should kill you and start again for a more obedient Asura, but you're still useful, little boy. Just endure longer. Mother will be here soon to save you."

"Go fuck yourself." Asura's gaze became even colder, his black eyes fixating on the insane woman's face.

Her lips pressed against the broken scales of his lips, and a sudden burst of divine magic flowed into his body, healing the damage in an instant. The shock caused him to struggle more until the torrent of magic was devoured.

His core, like a greedy beast, devoured her magic, her face turning bright red as she closed her eyes tightly, both hands grasping his arms, snapping them with the force she held him with, yet she continued to flood him with magic that only filled his core more.

"Sleep. You deserve a rest after impressing your mother so much."

"I will give you a year. If you cannot reach the level I desire, I will kill everyone you love, one by one and make you watch them die in despair."

With that, Freyja flicked her hand, causing most of the destroyed Silvara to repair; rocks floated in the air, and broken pillars restored themselves.

Though the sword remained silent.

"Why not use her powers..." Asura wondered if the sword wouldn't help him fight her, but his vision darkened before he could receive an answer.

When he regained consciousness, Freyja was gone, though he was now back in his dragon form, lying in a soft bed, the one from the castle. He could barely move his body but felt a hunch that there must be a reason she limited herself to power below the divine level.

'Is it because she can't or won't because of some sort of punishment?'

A brief silence followed, and Asura didn't know what to think. The gentle rays of sunlight entering the room caused his eyes to ache, so he shut them once more.

"He's alive!" The cry of Xavida disturbed him, yet he didn't seem to mind and only turned to face the door. With Mu Xue and Xavida rushing inside, Vela stood at the back, blowing him a kiss and showing a loving smile.

"It's good to see you alive. I knew you could do it."

His consciousness became relaxed and clear once more after he met Vela's gaze.

"How are you feeling, Master?"

"Sore, it's like I was flung into a wall several times."

"You have been out for two days and almost died several times in that time. We could barely keep you stable. I didn't think you would be hurt so badly or fight that crazy woman..." Xavida didn't mince words and had a sharp and tense tone. Yet he felt only affection, worry and love from her soft eyes that dripped with tears.

"Master, the city is almost fully recovered, but the barrier protecting our nation is gone. Monsters have popped up all over, causing chaos..."

"Husband, my mother called back the royal knights and army. We can no longer take Romantica and will probably have to leave it for the orcs."

Mu Xue and Vela gave him the information he dreaded to hear, a sense of irritation that he couldn't stop those people before Freyja got involved, though he felt her madness wasn't natural. 'It's like when I was still following the whims of those shards... Is there something binding her?' Explore more at m,v l'e-NovelBin.net

Asura hated anything related to fate and destiny, but when he remembered the mission the priestess requested of him, he felt like she knew something would happen.

'Now it must be me who attacks and conquers that kingdom...'

"How is the situation in Romantica now?"

"The orcs are still building their defences at the port city to the east while they seem to prepare to attack the fort city of Mary Svesta soon. We probably have less than two weeks before they attack."

"I see... Vela, can you inform the queen and Ignis I wish to speak with them?"

"Husband, are you sure?"

Asura only smiled at his kind wife. Their first night together was ruined, yet she still didn't complain, so he would make sure they could complete that sacred night soon. "I must do this for our kingdom."

"Ah.... Our kingdom..." Her little cheeks turned red as she seemed fired up.

The two girls followed Vela who suddenly rushed away, her face red and a happy chirp coming from her lips.

"Wait, Vela, your body is still..."

"Princess, you aren't supposed to run!"

Suddenly, a figure sat on the window, a nostalgic figure that Asura longed to meet. The moment he did, everything felt like it had finally started.

"Asura, why do you always do crazy things? If I couldn't help stabilise your body, you would have died from being too greedy and devouring so much of that woman's divine magic."

"Be gentle, Hellia. I am an injured patient."

The raven beauty didn't speak or change her faint smile as she walked towards the bed and placed her fair hand on his cheek.

"I am so relieved."