Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Asura held Helliana tightly in his arms before taking her to his tent. He wondered if they slept together, would he enter that strange place once again?

'I wonder what might happen...'

"Asura, I am a little tired. Are we going to sleep together tonight?" Helliana looked at him from the bed, her hands holding the soft quilt covering her face. She seemed to become timid whenever their acts became more intimate.

He struggled with her fair skin visible from the blanket, increasing Asura's desire that he tried to force down while climbing onto the opposite side. "Yeah, just sleep if you don't want to go further." Asura knew there were issues between them still to be completely fixed, and right now wasn't the best time to force those issues to the surface.

He turned his back towards her, both of them covered by a quilt.

'She was so worried that she broke my order to come with us borrowing a knight's armour... I should try to soothe her mind at least.'

"Hey, Asura." Helliana suddenly held his hand, and then he heard a gasp of surprise as if she didn't know what she was doing. She withdrew her hand for a moment but eventually grabbed him again. "Can we...hug?" Her voice was soft and hesitant, making Asura wonder what was wrong with her.

"If you want." Asura didn't move at all, waiting for Helliana to come closer. His heart skipped a beat when she placed her chest on his back, her legs locking around his knees tightly.

Helliana's body was warm and soft, giving Asura an incredible pleasure in that tranquil night. He was about to fall asleep, but something made him restless. Helliana was trembling and crying.

Asura slowly turned around and saw Helliana's eyes stained with tears. She didn't seem aware that she was crying, perhaps because she had been repressing her emotions for too long. "Silly girl..." Asura pulled her into a hug. Helliana widened her eyes as if surprised by his action and then buried her face in his chest.

She cried and cried until she fell asleep on him. Asura stroked her hair gently, unaware that they had entered the realm of dreams together.

But to Asura's disappointment, he didn't see that white-winged Helia again. What he saw was an enormous hall where two rows of statues stood on either side. They were not mere stone sculptures but moving and breathing people who looked alive.

A single throne, made of bones and filled with countless skulls, stood there. On it sat a man with a crown and a long robe.

When Asura looked at him, he felt conflicted because the man on the throne was Asura himself. Around his throne, nothing but blood and destruction remained; there was no gentle Mu Xue, lovely Xavida. All that remained was the isolated Asura, his eyes hollow and filled with darkness.

Helliana hugged him tightly, crying over his shoulder. He wondered why she had become so weak, which was strange. Asura had never seen her being weak, so that moment had given him a great sense of foreboding.

"You cannot keep her safe; even if you sacrifice everything, your power could never protect her." The Asura on the throne spoke with a raspy voice, void of all hope and passion... It felt eerie that the skeletal Asura spoke while Asura himself could feel the body of Helliana hugging him tightly, her soft lips brushing against his neck as she snored softly.

"What do you mean?" Asura asked as everything around him blurred into nothingness. The dream distorted into a void, with the voice echoing one last time.

"Nothing you can do will save her," the voice faded as if from a different plane and left Asura alone in the vast darkness. He felt Helliana's hands letting him go, and suddenly, the warmth around his body disappeared.

***

The next morning, Asura woke up panting, his body covered in sweat and his heart racing wildly. Helliana slept peacefully with her hands tightly holding his chest as if afraid he might leave her. Her tear-stained cheeks showed how much she needed him, and Asura patted her head gently while thinking about the strange dream.

'Is that a prophecy or just my worst fear? Also, who is she...? there are many women important to me.' Asura thought as he didn't recognise that place. He had never been in a hall made of bones before.

"Are you okay, Asura? You don't seem well." Helliana woke up, her beautiful eyes staring at him worriedly. Her face was red because she had slept against him, but a huge smile filled her face as she buried her nose into his chest, sniffing him with a strange sound of delight.

"It's fine; I just had a dream." Asura sat up, pushing the quilt aside.

"Ah... it's standing tall!" Helliana's eyes focused on his crotch, her face bright red as she coughed awkwardly.

"Asura, today..." Helliana was about to say something when Asura put his finger on her lips.

"I know; you should return to the others. I need to handle things by myself, too." He hugged her, his hands cupping her rear and massaging it slowly.

"Do you want to..." Helliana breathed heavily as Asura rubbed her soft flesh, squeezing and pulling on her addictive buttocks before shaking his head. Though it made her face seem disappointed, he would be fighting in a few hours and didn't want to waste time with those things until after.

Asura leaned close to her ear. "Let's think about those things after we finish this battle, okay?" He whispered, and Helliana nodded as she fidgeted shyly, not knowing what to do with her hands.

"I-If you want, we can... Then I won't be a virgin anymore, and you don't need to worry about things like that." She mumbled as Asura got off the bed and began dressing.

He watched her with pleased eyes but felt that Helliana and his women deserved his best; right now, he was too preoccupied with the battle. Though their forces should win, they could lose.

'Will Abaddon come back? If she is here, I cannot help everyone.'

'Abaddon, if you dare to show yourself, I'll fucking break all your teeth, and when I'm done with you, I'll cut you into pieces.' Asura felt that his recent encounter with the crazy white snake with the name Ouroboros, an enemy, had forced him to experience the most intense emotions since he came to this world.

His eyes burned with rage and hatred, making Helliana look at him with a complicated gaze. "Asura, are you..." She gripped his arm but couldn't continue as a few knocks on the tent distracted them.

"Asura, are you ready? We should leave soon." Verana's voice came from outside the tent, and Helliana hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly and releasing his arm because she was the fairest of his women.

"Asura, Helliana, today's attack will take place in three hours. You should grab a small breakfast and start preparing. I have made sure the knights and Valkyrie are ready, so you don't need to worry. Asura. Ignis and Amalia are taking care of the weapons and any issues we have with supplies. Maria is also helping the orcs with a few of her troops."

"Okay. I will be back after eating something light." Asura smiled at Verana. " Will you join me, beautiful princess?" His teasing words made her blush and smile shyly.

The three ate breakfast, which was a simple meat skewer with warm tea and various poached fruits with yoghurt prepared by Ignis. After that, the group began preparing to attack the northern part of Westrin City, where the walls had already been destroyed, and only a makeshift wooden wall existed now.

When they arrived at the central plaza of their temporary camp, Asura noticed an unusual feeling around the place, as if someone was watching them. It wasn't an aggressive gaze, nor did it appear malicious, but it still bothered Asura. He ignored those feelings and began talking to Ignis and Maria.

"Remember, our goal isn't to destroy the city but to conquer it for future use," Asura warned the commanders gathered around. Their forces were spread across the northern walls, near a large wooded area that made it easier to hide their forces and was essential for the surprise attack.

"We have to stay coordinated; Ignis, Amalia, and Helliana will act as one unit. Verana and I will lead the assault on the front, and we will aim to capture the defensive structures quickly--"

"W-What about me?" Xavida asked with her hand in the air. Her eyes fixed on Asura. As a dragon, he wanted to be at the centre of the action, but Asura's eyes on her lovely face revealed his real thoughts.

'If something happens to her...' He shook his head, stopping his thoughts and sighing. "You will be with Verana and me. You are our secret weapon if things go south. If we get hurt... Well, I'll let you imagine the rest." His soft words made her tremble, and a delightful blush covered Xavida's face, but she hid it with a nod, and all her silver scales became pink, revealing her emotions to everyone.

'Truly a lovely woman.'

He still felt a little cheated that Verana and Helliana snuck into his units when he asked them to remain back at the castle but he couldn't do anything about it.

'Not like I could stop Lucia from hopping along in my shadow, though...'

"Okay, let's go." Asura mounted a horse while his women did the same.

They led the group to the north while their forces began sneaking in through the woods nearby. Ignis and her Valkyrie attacked the remnants of the walls, while Asura and Verana jumped over the walls to attack the orcs and their defensive structures inside the city.

Westrin finally came into sight as they left the forest. It was a broken city with damaged walls and a gloomy atmosphere.

"Grom! Helliana, Verana! Let the battle commence!" Asura shouted as his mount shot forward, followed by Ignis and the main force striking the opposite gate.