Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Meanwhile, to the south of the Silvaran camp. In a small armed fort at the border between Romantica and Silvara.

Duke Cavallio stood in the lord's manor with a conflicted face. Inside the room were the Fifth Lord Callum Weldon, and the Seven lord David Nerrick. The Council of Twelve sent both after hearing of the grave defeat that forced them to lie to the populace.

It became the largest failure in Romantican history for the past four hundred years, as they lost not only their first battle but also their strongest knight, who vanished after the battle.

"Lord Cavalio."

The male with short brown hair and green eyes called out; this man was David Merrick. His voice sounded severe, like a teacher scolding his students before expelling them.

"Lord Nerrick, what business does the council have to send you both here?"

"We heard a grand failure in your report,"

Lord Weldon stood two meters tall, and his well-trained muscles gave him a hulking figure. He had a hard face with deep-set eyes and a sharp nose.

"I was not the one who failed!"

Duke Cavallio barked, his blond hair messy as it cascaded over his shoulder.

"Silence."

The two lords warned together.

The duke gritted his teeth and nodded in defeat. Under the table, clenching his hands tightly, he felt frustrated at their sudden air of superiority.

'These old fools, I came so far with my own two hands!'

"We received reports from both yours and General Marco's account, and I must say."

David Nerrick raised his finger and pointed it at Cavallio's forehead.

"I will judge your worth, Duke Cavallio."

"Wha!?"

Duke Cavallio, as well as the lords watching from the shadows, gasped. Those permitted to speak these words needed the vote of most of the council. The fact he could say them meant that over five members of the council wished for Duke Nerrick to judge him for the failure.

'Does that mean... the current elders want my head?'

Cold sweat started running down his back, and Duke Cavallio could feel the life slipping away from his body. He still kept the trinket given to him by the cultists, but that item would forever ruin his name and title in Romantica.

'Unless these two don't live to tell the tale.'

"Now then, are you ready for judgement, Aldric Cavallio? Lord Weldon will take over the defence of this makeshift fort. Come with me."

"Y-Yes."

Cavallio smiled internally as his chances of survival went up. He followed Duke Nerrick as he stood to leave. David Nerrick turned away, most likely because Aldric didn't wield his holy sword.

"By the way, isn't it dangerous to not carry your sword?"

However, this might have been his biggest mistake.

The small red pill slipped so easily down Aldric's throat, like a warm candy dissolving into a sweet liquid as it flowed down his throat and dispersed into his blood.

The pill contained the blood of a Stage Eight Demon beast.

Aldric Cavallio smiled victoriously.

"Ah, is that so? You left the sword at home?"

"Yes."

'Ha... I got away with it!'

Duke Nerrick walked past the door to the main room while Aldric Cavallio's body transformed. Callum only heard bones snapping before he turned to see Lord Nerrick's brown hair and green eyes fly towards him.

Aldric snapped his neck and tore his head off completely.

"What in the Hells!?"

Callum's enormous body smashed the head into a spray of meat pulp before Aldric appeared within his range—with a flash of darkness, the small, handsome, noble hand closed the mouth of Callum before filling his mouth with dozens of squishy pieces of flesh.

This flesh now wrapped around half of Aldric's face and body, like the appearance of the deadly blood leech from the monster kingdoms. Aldric forced leeches down Callum's throat as blood and vomit surged from his throat as if a final safety mechanic.

Callum grabbed the revolting monster on his chest and threw him into the wall. He watched as the shadow creature rearranged its body and slinked up the wall as it climbed up onto the ceiling.

"NoW nOw LoRd CallUm!" Aldric's voice became distorted and eerie. The small fleshy creatures began expanding inside Callum's body, his eyes bloodshot, while small black tendrils fluttered from the corners of his eyes before boring into his pupils.

"Stop. It!! Aaaargh!!!"

Callum's body seized; his right eye burst from the inside before the tentacle slithered out like a snake from an eye socket, and then his left eye repeated the process. Thick tendrils under his skin writhed while undulating and distorting his body and muscles.

"PuSh ThEm OuT!"

Callum roared in rage; his body exploded, splattering the walls with a water tank of blood, muscles, and viscera. Until all that stood, there were several black leeches now the size of a small dog, all slithering towards Aldric, rubbing against his body as if to seek his praise.

"Good work. Now make more allies, we have people to kill before we go home and crush the damn twelve lords!" (Aldric still speaks with his distorted tone, but it is awkward for you guys to keep reading it that way.)

Aldric commanded them to devour everything inside this fort, except the storage, before he stepped out into the open air. He stood outside the fort, where he could hear the citizens of the town preparing to fend off a second attack from the Silvaran troops.

***

"Good grief."

Marco heaved a sigh as he walked toward the barbeque the soldiers were cooking in the training yard. He then noticed Aldric, his most trusted lord and leader, walking towards them, which seemed odd.

"My lord?"

"Oh, Marco, have you seen Captain Wells?"

Aldric Cavallio asked in his calm yet attractive manner. Marco had no issues answering and led the duke to the dining hall. He could smell the thick scent of iron but ignored it because of how obsessive the duke became about his visage after he took over.

'What a strange obsession, but I guess dukes should care about their image.'

"He is over there, sir."

Marco pointed toward a few tents, along with the remaining three captains in a corner.

"Well then, shall we celebrate our glorious return, my friends?"

Marco heard the voice of a group of friends chatting; they were still unaware of the commander's passing, and even if they knew, they wouldn't care.

This scene was the last moment for the entire Romantica army based inside the territory of Silvara; now, only strange monsters created of tendrils would remain, and the fates of the villagers became identical.

****

Meanwhile, twenty miles north, at the Silvaran camp, Asura stood quietly watching from the corner as Vela, Lorem, Barbatos and Lucia discussed how to handle the future assault against the south.

The sound of marching troops resounded across the camp.

Vela and the others looked over to see the mismatched cavalry riding towards the camp. Some troops rushed towards their squad leader while others headed for their units.

Unlike before, the students became more adapted to war, and with the addition of Lord Berand'ss wife Margit appearing with her mounted knights, their victory and morale only increased.

"Your highness, we should strike sooner than later." Knight Leader Barbatos and Bernard stood side by side; they were of equal rank, but because Bernard planned to take a step back, he allowed Barbatos to lead the meeting.

"Indeed."

Princess Vela agreed, but when she turned her head, she noticed Asura seemed absent-minded again after the battle, and when he suddenly came to her tent covered in blood from the forest, she helped clean him up.

'He wouldn't tell me what happened, but his aura became so heavy and filled with darkness. It made it hard to breathe when he focused his gaze on me.'

"What is the ideal time to depart Knight Lorem, Knight Leader Barbatos?"

"Your Highness, it should be soon because, according to the scouting reports, their army has vanished from the battlefield. However, their forts are still manned. There is also a rumour they are sending more lords to reinforce the fort, thus we have a moment to strike before things become dangerous."

Lorem reported the details while passing some magical shards with information to the princess and other knights. Barbatos nodded; he hated the complicated details and was thankful for his subordinates.

"If that is the case, then let us strike tomorrow morning."

"Understood, Your Highness!"

"Ah, Lucia, Lorem, could you please come with me, Asura? You are free to return to your unit. Sorry."

"Alright, I will go train. Bye."

Barbatos didn't seem interested in staying around and left quickly with a dismissive wave. Lorem bowed before following the princess. Lucia moved closer to Asura before whispering something in his ear, then rushing behind the princess.

That left Asura alone in the room, his eyes closed while he seemed to reflect. Vela looked back with concern but wanted to speak with Lorem and Lucia to ensure she was worried about nothing.

"Asura, would you mind waiting for me in my tent?" Those were the words Lucia whispered before leaving.

"No, I don't mind."

He didn't even lift his head as he walked out of the strategy tent.

****

Inside the tent, Princess Vela sat on her comfortable sofa while beckoning the two knights to come closer. Cynthia, however, waited outside while Lorem and Lucia sat on the blue sofa.

"Sorry to bring you both here..."

"It's fine, your highness."

"Don't be so stiff Lucia, call me Vela, like in the mansion back home."

"So, it's about Asura, right?" Lorem asked with her eyes, watching the princess and her reactions.

"Y-yes."

The young princess nodded, her silver hair following her head's motion. She breathed out before glancing at Lorem's eyes.

"After the battle, when he vanished. He returned while covered in blood and excited."

"Excited?"

Both Lucia and Lorem wore confused expressions; both knew Asura wasn't the type to get excited. He usually seemed calm, so they wondered before noticing Vela's bright red face and the deep-coloured marks on her neck.

"You mean~" Lucia began before gasping. Her reaction startled Lorem, who also understood why Vela called them here.

"I see. His aura felt more dense and heavy. There was a feeling of dominance and control that didn't exist before." Lorem added.

She felt jealous that she hadn't asked him to come to her tent last night. From the looks of it, Vela enjoyed a wonderful night and probably explained while she struggled to walk properly.

'Wait. My room is right next to hers, and I heard nothing?!'

Both Lucia and Lorem then began recalling when Asura arrived at the strategy tent earlier.

"He felt a little distant today for me." Lucia touched her chin while thinking to herself, "So I invited him to my room tonight to test him."

"What!?" Lorem exclaimed before standing up, her feathers fluttering with flames.

"Haha, are you jealous?" Lucia couldn't help teasing Lorem while holding her hand back down on the sofa.

"Psh."

"Why not tell him, or you could've spoken to him first?"

Lucia giggled as she felt happy with her master's changes, while the topic seemed to drift to a more adult tone. Vela enjoyed speaking with the two knights as if they were normal friends.