Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

She beamed brightly towards him while cutting the small apple into the shape of a rabbit, her golden eyes dazzling like the sun.

\'Just looking at her. I feel warm and comforted, yet when she looks at me, I\'m entranced and drawn in like a moth to a flame.\'

"I missed you..." Asura\'s words escaped his lips, his feelings too strong to be contained. The plate in Helliana\'s hand almost slipped to the floor as she jumped, her eyes widening in a mix of curiosity and shock as she looked at Asura.

"Really? I thought you might be angry, knowing that I am part of the reason those souls could easily manipulate you." She averted her gaze, her eyes filled with a deep sense of shame, hoping to hide it from Asura.

"That was a long time ago. The man I am today is different from the one I used to be." He couldn\'t help but tease her a little. "How did you change your mind, anyway?"

"I saw your death... Or, the prophecy of you losing to the divine one because the soul shards turned on you... Even I turned on you."

Asura matured and learned more than he revealed from the moment he devoured the soul shard of that pompous elder phoenix.

He knew the truth: both he and Helliana were being manipulated. The plan was to use her life to create an opening where the souls, all eight of them, would fracture and shatter momentarily, allowing the divine being to crush any resistance.

\'It would never be her fault, and the help she gave me is worth more than that.\'

"I devoured the fifth soul and broke my link to the black monolith." He proudly declared, shocking Helliana.

"But why? The power they can offer will only grow. You could even overtake that divine one." Her words were genuine, honest, and filled with faith in Asura.

"Because I wanted more time..." His hand reached out, slightly shaking from his recovering injuries, before placing his fingertips on the smooth cheeks of Helliana, "I want to live for you and the women who support me. Those prophecies and big plots. I don\'t care about them if it causes you or anyone else I love to suffer."

His declaration was earnest, strong, and filled with determination.

Yet Helliana couldn\'t hold back her tears after seeing Asura in this state, her own emotions stirred by his selfless behaviour.

If anyone knew the suffering and struggle that he would face in the future, it was Helliana who saw the many futures possible and Asura\'s struggle should he abandon the path laid by the black monolith.

"Are you sure? If that is your wish. I will follow you until the end."

Her soft fingers wrapped around his hand, stroking his palm with her eyes drooping while her lips curled into a faint smile. "Back then, I never thought we would get to this point. When I realised the corruption spread through most of my soul, the thought of being with you again relied on whether my heart could endure the rebirth."

Her fingers were warm as they grasped his hand, pulling it over to her chest.

"Even after being purified, my feelings have always been the same. Rather, I feel that only my feelings for you remain as if I finally could move on from my former obsessive feelings and guilt."

Helliana had a hidden side to her personality, and just like her physical appearance, she seemed much more mature than Asura remembered. "You still feel different. I thought it might be your rebirth, but I sense something deeper than that."

She chuckled before biting into the apple rabbit she held in her other hand. "Mmm! Yes, I suppose some things happened over the last few million years. After all, my purpose is not to wait in silence and support you in becoming the perfect vessel anymore."

"Now, my purpose is to love you and enjoy my second chance at life." Her soft and sweet voice entranced Asura, clearing his mind from the confusion of the previous battle with his insane mother.

"We can discuss the future another time since you are still wounded and seem to have something to do. Right?" She lifted her head and curled her lips into a radiant smile, blowing him a kiss with a playful look as she nibbled on her rabbit apple. "I won\'t leave you ever again, My love."

After sitting with Helliana for a few minutes, Asura felt his heart lighten, the burdens of the future no longer bothering him. Of course, it wasn\'t Helliana\'s intention to do so, yet Asura was given a much-needed rest, one he would use to arrange his thoughts.

His mother, Freyja, gave him a year, which made no sense when she boasted about his growth in a few months. It was as if she wanted him to beat her.

The threat against his loved ones lacked weight when she technically saved them by activating the sword. Rather, the only feeling he felt from her was obsession and jealousy.

\'I don\'t know what will happen, but I will surpass her and make Mother spill the truth.\'

The kingdom might be in turmoil, but this also benefited him.

His plan and promise to the priestess would be his first move. Asura planned to conquer Romantica and use its holy artefact to form a barrier that protected both kingdoms. However, this barrier would be weaker, and he would need to find allies who would follow him.

Asura felt confident this path would be better than waiting in Silvara for the enemy to act first. \'Rather, the cult is trying to take Romantica, so let\'s get a little payback.\'

Asura pulled himself up and stood at the edge of the bed. His wounds had healed enough for him to stand, though his lower body remained sore and tired.

Helliana stopped eating her rabbit apple as she walked towards Asura and wrapped her arms around his waist.

A sudden warmth filled his body, the pure Animus from her so compatible with his. The pleasure and healing happened almost instantly as her hands clasped his chest, pressing her face against the back of his neck so her warm breath flowed down his collarbone, making him tingle.

"Your injuries should be healed now. But please be careful when you take on beings far beyond you. After all, even the greatest kings fall, my love."

She gently stroked his bare skin before pecking his shoulder with a soft kiss, a brief sigh escaping her lips before Asura turned around and held her tightly, his eyes interlocked with hers, his pupils filled with adoration and happiness.

"Thank you." He lowered his lips and met with hers, a gentle yet affectionate kiss. They remained this way for a few seconds before Helliana pushed herself away with a slight grin.

Her cheeks blushed as she hummed a delightful tune.

"Your body still needs some rest. Otherwise, I wouldn\'t be able to hold myself back." She took a step back, her tone teasing and full of desire. "So please take care of your health, fufu, because I will not stop myself next time."

Her voice sounded like a warning, yet Asura couldn\'t stop smiling and knew she would be waiting for him.

"Prince Asura, are you awake? You\'ve been in there for a day, but I heard you wished to see me?"

Helliana gave him one more kiss, her tongue and breath tasting sweet like the apple she had eaten. Her giggles sent waves of heat through his body. "Your friend is here."

With a gentle nudge, she guided him to the door, her aura warming him as he opened the door to see Ignis in her silver armour but with a bloody bandage covering her left arm.

"Your Highness..." She raised her brow, noticing him half naked; with the bandages removed, all the blood and injuries she had seen only a few hours ago now healed, not even a scar.

Her eyes flickered to his black scales, which led down to his pelvis and shoulders, but she turned back to his face, her cheeks slightly pink. "I am glad you have recovered so quickly."

"Call me commander, like before. Don\'t worry about my title, for now, Ignis."

Asura did not want to stand here in his undergarments, so he invited Ignis in. Then he noticed Helliana, who magically moved back to the bed and began peeling more apples with an ethereal aura. "Commander, this is?"

He saw Ignis glance at Helliana before turning to him. "My wife, Helliana."

"Oh..." Her words faded as she looked back at Helliana with a complicated gaze before returning to Asura. It seemed she wanted to speak about the princess, but Asura just winked at Ignis, who nodded, seeming to have come to some kind of conclusion herself.

"Nice to meet you, Lady Helliana." Ignis gave a stiff but respectful bow and greeting.

.net

"Fufu, the feeling is the same: Captain Ignis of the Seventh Valkyrie Unit."

"Can you help me prepare my equipment? We need to head back to the palace and prepare to leave," Asura asked Ignis, noticing that the room only carried a basic set of noble-style tunics and pants for him to wear and none of his equipment.

"Of course. Since you said you wanted me, I have already sent word to recall the entire unit back to the capital. Also, an unexpected person requested to join the seventh unit and will come to visit you soon.."

Ignis turned around and walked outside the room.

Asura glanced at Helliana one more time, who put the knife down and ate the apple rabbit with a bright smile before waving. It seemed she didn\'t wish to join him during his meeting with the queen.

"I\'ll be back soon. Don\'t disappear again, okay?"

Once outside the room, Ignis followed him along the corridor, glancing at his black scales. "Commander, what is your plan now that the barrier is down? Do you plan to stay here and defend Silvara with the princess?"

"We will head to Romantica and destroy the cultists and conquer the land."

"What do you mean? They have thousands of soldiers, and the armies of Silvara cannot travel that far. Even if your troops had high morale, that is a feat..."

"They have me, Ignis. I will crush the enemy."

He grinned after noticing that her body shivered before she bowed. "As you wish, Commander."

"Fufu, you handsome fool. You have not changed a bit."

A quiet voice echoed from behind before a tall woman hugged him from behind—her strength and calming scent stopped him from retaliating.

"Sigurd, you\'re finally back?"