Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Asura's mount shot across the field, the galloping hooves overturning the earth as a thunderous sound of the orcs on their wolves followed him. The distinct clashing of weapons echoed through the area; Ignis was already engaged in combat with the enemy forces while Asura, Verana, and Xavida rushed towards the walls.

Though his forces could've attacked sooner, Asura had been waiting for Abaddon to appear, but after several days without a sign of her, he finally made his move.

"Don't just look at them! Attack them!" A roar of rage and madness came from the walls as Asura narrowed his eyes at the towering figure of the mutated orcs on the walls, their bodies damaged and twisted by the green potion. Though they survived, unlike the ones in Grom's army, it was more of a when, not if, they would die.

"Ignis! Take care of them!" Asura shouted before approaching the walls. The sound of blades cutting the flesh of the mutated orcs reached his ears, and the crimson blood flew through the air, painting the stone wall red.

"Verana and Xavida, go ahead with me! Grom, take care of them!" Asura leapt high into the air. His arms and legs brimming with strength before he landed inside the city, the buildings damaged and full of debris, while the army of orcs turned to face him. There were over five hundred along the walls and fighting Ignis and Grom, while inside, he would have to fight over a hundred.

"Kill them all!" The battle cries filled the battlefield.

Asura stood in the middle of the orcs with a massive black sword in his hands, his eyes glancing around with a hint of determination, before Xavida and Verana landed, one using a beautiful black spear with a red tip, almost seeming to ooze with blood, while Xavida's short swords felt nostalgic for Asura as her body crackled with purple lightning.

"Xavi, take the right, Verana, take the left, and I'll take the big guy and centre forces," Asura told them while pointing at a giant orc holding a tower shield, but his eyes looked at the small cages on the sides. He noticed dozens of humans inside them. When Grom left, they gathered the human survivors and locked them in these cages.

Asura dashed forward, his greatsword howling through the air as it cut three orcs in half, his sharp blade cutting through their swords like paper. Normally, an orc would learn to avoid Asura, but because of the green potion, their judgement became weak, and instead, they fought only with instinct and the hatred it promoted through hormones.

"Attack him!" A mighty roar resounded in the area.

"Move! Don't just stand there!" Dozens of orcs screamed and lunged towards Asura, who swiftly sidestepped them, leaving only three living orcs behind. A quick swipe of his sword turned them into dust as it crackled with a deadly black flame with bolts of lightning flickering from the blade.

"These fuckers." The huge orc yelled, leaping off the wall. The beast stood at over two metres tall. Its muscular body was full of wounds and scars, showing the intense battles it had been through, and though it could kill other orcs in a single blow when it faced Asura, its eyes glittered with uncertainty.

"Bastard, I'll kill you!" The orc roared and swung its massive tower shield at Asura, the impact causing Asura to slide back several steps while using his sword to block the spikes and ramming his shoulder against the tower shield edge.

"Urghh!" The giant orc grunted in pain as its left arm flung back before it stomped down and seemed to endure the power of Asura's blow. "How dare you!" Its bulging muscles throbbed as its left arm swung a vicious backhand that was akin to a sharp blade.

Asura narrowly dodged the strike, and his right hand made a fist as he punched the orc in the face. The strength contained within his fist surged towards the creature before it exploded like a bomb.

His blow caused the orc's eyes to widen when the fist struck his cheek. The force deformed his face before causing the orc's body to sway and fall to one knee.

It remained down as Asura began counting to ten out loud. "One... two... three... four... five..."

"Are you finished?" Asura asked with a small grin on his lips. "No? Alright." Asura slammed his right leg down on the orc's back, which caused it to roar in pain before he began beating it into the ground. The brutalisation caused the orcs nearby to tremble and take several steps back.

However, before they could escape, Xavida's body transformed into lightning and darted between them, her blades slicing only the most deadly parts, leaving the orcs to bleed out while paralysed from her lightning.

"Take this!" Asura smashed his leg against the orc's neck, crushing its spine before kicking it away from him. His body crackled with an eerie dark power as his eyes searched for more orcs to kill.

"Husband, we are done on our side." Verana approached him, her face splattered with blood and her cheeks slightly flushed, and her crimson eyes shining with desire, her lips kissing Asura's neck, licking him teasingly as she bit into his neck, sucking his blood with delight.

"You look cute like this." Asura patted her head as he watched her sucking his blood with a cheerful smile on her lips. His eyes surveyed the place; most of the orcs were dead or dying as Verana enjoyed drinking his blood while Xavida continued to execute and play with the orcs that attacked her.

'Why is it so easy? This cannot be everything... Where are the cultists?' Asura's eyes swept the place; he could smell their disgusting stench, and Verana confirmed their presence in the city. So where were they?

"Husband, let's go to the fortresses. It's not far from here. I can sense something there." Verana tugged his hand while tongue lapped up the last of his blood.

"Abaddon." He snarled.

"Ah~ it's the voice of my future husband! Asura~ I missed you so much my body ached to see you again!" The fallen sun saintess appeared from the cracks, her beautiful face and monstrous smile the same as he remembered. Golden hair flowed to her neck, a messy bob with curved bangs on her forehead as her face showed the inhumane madness swirling within her eyes.

"You are here too?" Abaddon's face lit up with glee when she noticed Verana and Xavida at his side. You two will suffer first. Since you both stink of my beloved's scent... I'll crush you first!" Her tongue flickered in the air, like a serpent tasting the air—the moment she locked onto Xavida and Verana, her gaze became even more crazed.

"Stop! Your opponent is me!" Asura yelled before rushing forward—four dozen cultists and the archbishop appeared from the cracks surrounding him.

Abaddon didn't care and threw herself at Xavida and Verana.

'Is she underestimating me? Idiot!' Asura snorted, his muscles bulging as black and white armour covered his body. His height increased as he became less human and more of a devil than before, his blade cleaving ten cultists with a single arc. Asura's explosive power caused their bodies to pop like berries between someone's fingers.

"Kill him!" A dozen cultists descended from the sky and broken buildings, their bodies dripping with bloodlust as their blades struck at Asura, who raised his black armoured arm.

"Gahh!" Several cultists exploded while two injured his right arm, which had black lightning dancing across it. Asura moved faster than his previous form, able to deftly avoid another attack. Then he pierced a man's throat before raising his sword and slashing down, splitting another in half.

He constantly monitored the archbishop, who seemed to be watching the battle while Xavida and Abaddon clashed wildly.

'Why does he not attack!?'

"Wha-" His scream fell on deaf ears. Asura felt a horrible burning sensation on his skin as if he had been dipped into molten metal while a soul-shattering agony tore at his muscles.

'What is this!? It... it hurts.' He gasped in pain.

"Hahaha! You really are a beast! This is a spell specifically created to damage only devils and non-humans! HAHAHAHAHA!" The archbishop's crazed laugh reached his ears as Asura collapsed, gasping for breath. Pain clouded his mind, and his thoughts were uncertain.

'Fuck! Fuck!' His fists tightened as the strange poison made it hard to breathe or speak, the disgusting taste of rotting flesh and strange weeds filling his nose and mouth.

***

Xavida's body danced along the ground, her light steps barely making a mark in the sand and dirt as she sliced at Abaddon seven times in the flash of one purple bolt of lightning.

Her flexible body weaved around the flames as the dust clouded her vision for a moment before Abaddon's demonic left hand stopped half her attacks while Xavida's blade sliced across the white scales on her body, revealing her seductive curves and oversized breasts that hung low with an erotic shape.

"Damn slut, don't seduce my husband!" Xavida spat, her breathing erratic from the high-intensity fight.

Abaddon's bloodshot eyes glanced at Xavida, an eerie purple glow glinting in her orbs. "Ha, are you jealous, little lizard? Do you know he wants my body so bad you attack me?"

The ground exploded beneath Xavida when Abaddon moved. Her speed increased rapidly as she grabbed Xavida's wrist and swung her in an arc, smashing her body into a stone wall, before releasing Xavida, who hurled several hundred metres, crashing through rocks and stone buildings.

However, the moment Abaddon struck Xavida, Verana's spear penetrated her shoulder, the weapon cutting deep into the muscles before she pulled it out, striking Abaddon's face with the butt. Her body shot backwards as Verana pursued her. Verana's hands glowed with a crimson light, and her face showed the ferocious face of a huntress.

—Blood Lance

Verana's hand flung forward, sending a crimson needle through the air towards Abaddon before her left hand flicked in the same direction, sending three more crimson needles.

Abaddon sneered and shot purple fireballs at the needles.

However, they instantly grew longer than two metres and pierced the fireballs, splattering the flame on the ground while leaving the needles covered in a thick layer of corrosive crimson energy.

"Hehe~" Verana's eyes glittered with mischief, and when Abaddon realised what was happening, it was too late.

The crimson lances exploded like bombs as the explosion surged towards Abaddon.