Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

"Ugh, enough! Shut up!"

Asura slashed with the blade of black flames at Aldric's body, yet the image of Azoth and the Elf Queen flashed in his mind. Fragmented memories. The feelings and emotions of Azoth finally seeped into his heart and mind.

'You felt so much anguish because of this monstrous bitch!'

"Foolish Asura!"

"Insane cultist!"

A loud clang sounded before Asura's left hand extended and grabbed Aldric's fleshy wings. He ignored the tentacle beam that penetrated his abdomen, creating a huge, gaping hole as blood and flesh burst from his body.

His teeth tightly biting together, Asura's eyes shone before he tore the flesh wings from Aldric's back.

"Ahhh~ yes, that's it. Hurt me more!"

"!!!"

The pair stabbed, sliced and bit each other's bodies before falling to the ground with a loud crash. Asura found that with each blow, the disturbed saintess would utter the most disgusting moans of pleasure.

"Ha-Ha-Ha, Azoth was so naïve that he wished for peace and almost started a new religion within his section of the Abyss. Asking these powerless and filthy mortals to change their faith! I put an end to his delusion and saved him."

"Saved? What saving?"

Asura laughed at her delusion. He knew her methods and the torture Azoth suffered because of her. His words came from the deep memory of Azoth's mind as a faint sorrow entered Asura's heart.

"You know nothing! A broken doll pretending to be a saintess!"

He grasped his sword, kicking away from the bloody body of Aldric that stood up using tentacles while twisting its neck with a disgusting snap.

"Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha, Friend? Children? Peace? Don't make me laugh! You are an abomination, an unnatural existence that others would destroy if they knew the truth! A monster which is reborn stronger each time he dies, the last surviving existence to carry the blood of the first evil god!"

Asura's face scrunched, his eyes narrowed, and he tried to ignore her words. But the truth in his heart told him that the bloodline that dominated his monoliths wasn't holy or good. It was pure evil.

"I tried to show you the error of your ways, but you rebelled against me! No matter, as punishment, how about Xavida, Mu Xue, that disgusting woman Verana of the treacherous Drakkur?"

Aldric held the holy sword, no longer showing a lack of desire to fight, the brilliant aura now fluctuating and wrapping around his body. "If you want them alive, then take the test, Asura Fenix."

"Not that again!"

Asura hissed, his wounds already healing as he began recovering from the countless blows he suffered earlier.

"Become our Divine Son. We will accept your loved ones within our Great Sun's warming light unharmed." Aldric's arm and tentacle spread like offering a hug towards Asura.

"I, Asura Fenix, will not allow a monster like you to exist nor follow you. I will take my path!"

Asura's low voice resounded before a powerful aura exploded from his body. Filled with his emotions and determination, black and silver flames danced around him, opposing the golden aura around Aldric.

Although his words were of denial, the saintess did not respond negatively; rather, a huge, distorted smile formed on Aldric's face.

His jaw snapped, his teeth almost deformed, and a smile the size of half his face revealed an eerie image.

"Hoh? Our Divine Son is a prideful boy. I love it~ ah~ why are you so lovely?" A sickly voice made Asura's skin crawl as Aldric licked the sharp tip of the divine blade, slicing through his tongue while the obsessive voice continued to whisper affectionate words of praise in Asura's mind.

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, Asura's vision blurred before Aldric vanished from his sight. Instead, an empty sky filled his view, no walls, no darkness. He couldn't even see a hint of the Abyss as golden brilliance filled the world, bright enough to cause his eyes pain.

"Mortal world?"

"That's right, Asura Fenix, choose me~ as your Divine Wife in this world. Survive and show your worthiness for our fallen sun! Surpass him and reign over this world like a god!"

'She's broken, twisted. Who the hell is this woman?'

A cold sweat rolled down Asura's forehead. For a moment, he forgot he was in a test or fighting against a monster that killed hundreds, maybe thousands of people! His fellow Silvarians!

Her words seemed to control his mind, distorting reality with her distorted memories and desires.

Asura realised she must have a special element allowing her to perform mental and psychic attacks, but the true extent of her insanity seemed far beyond him.

He held his black blade while ignoring the dazzling light and listening for Aldric's movements.

'I must focus. This isn't the time for understanding. It's the time to kill.'

Shua! Shua! Shua!

"Haaa!"

Asura slashed his blade three times at the light, sending three arcing bolts of black lightning at the bright surroundings.

Each bolt was stronger than the last, extending and scattering into the world before blasting away the golden radiance.

However, in front of him was a woman, her hair golden like the sun and a face so perfect that it made all of his beloved women look average. Her dazzling radiance caused him to struggle to breathe as he clenched his sword in hand.

"Asura Fenix, our divine son, use your power to fight back!" Her gentle voice swept through Asura's mind, echoing with a sensual sigh.

"This is your true form?"

The discarded corpse of Aldric lay torn to pieces on the ground, as if his body couldn't endure to hold her presence, now burning in a pile of ash.

"In this life, yes. I have waited to meet you for eight, no, nine lives. For the first time. Ah ~ for the first time, we met face to face, and your soul didn't shatter just looking at me."

Asura felt like thousands of needles began pricking his mind, images of meeting a single person with golden hair in all the lives he remembered.

A cute young girl like Sura gave him a piece of candy to help her find her way.

A sensual woman with short blonde hair, the woman who gave him the pills to resist the medicine given to him by the Cult.

A vibrant blonde student who asked Asura for help with a theory on the divine.

A girl was identical to Celine in the memory of Azoth.

Now, this woman encapsulated parts of all of them and likely more women that Asura had yet to remember.

"Wait, nine?" Asura's eyes flickered.

However, he tried to resist the intense pain. His body's defence system broke down by the saintess' mental attack.

The next thing he knew, her long, delicate fingertips were stroking his cheek, pushing into his lips and sliding along his gums to collect his saliva. Her eyes were insane, filled with a spark of insanity.

She stroked his face as if he was someone dear, her nails scratching his skin and lips, drawing a small trail of blood, yet she licked it up, savouring his taste like a sickly sweet nectar.

"Nnn~ my Asura, you are almost complete. I want to devour you now, but I cannot~ how cruel is the divine one? Ahh~ I feel myself getting hot. Shall we finish your test before I lose control~ of myself?"

Suddenly, the world darkened as the figure of the Saintess began distorting with a serpentine-like body.

The soft and seductive hand wrapping around him became a tail, wrapping tightly around Asura as her sensual voice grew distorted.

—Manifestation World Swallowing Serpent Ouroboros

Instead of the golden beauty with an elvish appearance.

She became a white serpent with wings, a strange being that looked down at him with emotionless eyes.

"Asura~ do you see? How destined we are! You who can destroy and create worlds, universes, and me who devours~ a perfect marriage."

"Ugh!" Asura grunted in pain. His head felt like exploding before his heart stopped beating as a frightening realisation filled his mind.

'She is a true Calamity, an existence of another realm like the Immortals!'

However, the true terror was that she existed on this plane, in this world, and could devour the entire planet whenever she desired. The only thing holding her back was likely the stupid religion and cult. Or rather, his existence might be the true reason.

"I won't submit."

Asura's lips dripped with blood as he resisted her, using his sharp elbow blade to slice her tail, forcing the serpent to flee, slithering away from him and revealing a truth Asura didn't notice because of the light and talk.

The moment he realised, the lights and strange situation faded, returning his vision to the dungeon from earlier, with Aldric's corps, the pile of burnt flesh and the beautiful winged serpent.

'She is only Stage Six!'

"A foolish decision!" The cold serpentine voice entered his mind, "I will crush you here, then devour one of those you love as a punishment!"

Bang!

Her tail smashed towards him, the pressure from her blow crushing the dungeon floor as Asura lifted his sword, using the width of the blade to block the attack.

"Ugh!" The impact knocked him to the ground. With a twist of her body, the tail-wielding beast struck at him again.

Asura rolled in a flash, dodging her first blow before she followed with another strike, bashing him in the chest and sending him flying away like a rag doll.

"Foolish boy, did you forget the difference in power? That I can crush you whenever I wish!"

"Peh!"

He spat a mixture of blood and saliva from his lips while setting up his sword and determined himself to fight, no longer feeling any fear or doubt.

"Even if you can crush me in an instant, I will not stop fighting. Because you cannot control me so easily!"

"Hm?" Her serpentine eyes narrowed while she licked her lips before a distorted smile formed. "Interesting, interesting."

Her body shrank rapidly, coiling as if ready to strike down on Asura from above. However, he prepared for this blow. The moment she attacked, he swung his blade down from the ceiling.

Bang!

A loud explosion occurred as the stone dungeon floor cracked into a vast crater. While the walls broke into pieces, the stalactites fell with them as a furious roar shook Asura's heart.

He blinked twice as his vision regained sight of the serpent before his sword extended like a lance and struck the beast.

"Don't get cocky, boy!"

The serpent's roar echoed throughout the Abyss. Her body rose into the air, and her tail blocked his attack.

"I am not."

With his left hand, Asura clenched his fist, feeling almost the entirety of his animus flooding into his palm, creating a powerful tremble in the air before he threw his hand towards her body.

The next moment, a sea of flames consumed the serpent's body as a manic laugh filled his ears.

"Ahh~ good~ that's it!"

Boom!

"Haah!"

His black lightning bolted forth, burning the serpent's scales with each arc, leaving a severe injury on her body.

Asura forgot about anything but channelling his magic. A bitter pain squeezed his chest as he constantly poured the regenerated Animus into the black flames and arc of lightning. Stay connected with m-vl_emp,yr

"Hahahaha, so hot!" The serpent roared while striking her tail at Asura, knocking him to the ground after three strikes in succession.

However, he stood up, wiping the blood from his lips and snapping his broken left arm into place while maintaining the blazing pillar of flame that tightened around her with each moment.

"Gaha... Urrk!"

Asura vomited blood, the pain from overusing his Animus draining his entire core dry as the ocean rapidly shrunk inside him.

Before it slowly recovered, it dried up again, causing small cracks in the mantle and forming more continents across the core.

A strange transformation that seemed to split the ocean into six smaller parts.

'Huh?'

The more he used them, the more his core seemed to adapt. As the serpent writhed in the flames, he noticed that one ocean would always be recovering, which stopped the intense pain he had suffered.

'My core is growing, adapting? Was I not using my magic enough to reach my true limits all this time?'