Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Like a well-oiled machine, his body avoided their brutal attacks with precision.

Twist, dodge, lunge.

Another wolf falls to the silver blade, its face filled with confusion as the essence of life seeps from the wound, devoured by the man.

His raven hair swayed like a graceful dance at the capital's annual royal ball.

He flicked his sword, pivoting his hips to avoid a monster's claws. He let his hand press on the beast's snout before an explosion of ice crystals burst from within the monster's body, penetrating its organs.

"Ah..."

His voice was deep and refreshing, and his sigh caused the monsters to tremble momentarily. Two flicks of hair fluttering in the wind, his body twirled in a circle, slicing the nearest monsters with his silver brilliance.

Meanwhile, a small black phoenix blows flames upon the fallen monsters.

Her golden beak scooped its soft, juicy meat into her gullet as her wings flapped with a powerful black flame.

They tried to attack her earlier, only for the male to become berserk and tear them apart by the most brutal means. He used his bare hands, causing them to feel terror. Like a princess, she devoured their brethren while flapping her graceful raven wings in this deserted wasteland.

"Helliana, it's time to move on. The next floor is the last, so finish your meal. Don't eat too much; I don't like fat girls."

Chirp! Chirp!

The black phoenix spat flames as she fluttered around Asura's head, her little feet kicking his face.

His hair was now neat shoulder length and brushed behind his ears, dancing in the wasteland's warm, humid breeze as he snapped his fingers. He didn't even look at the huge black-and-white flame consumed by the rest of the monsters.

The anima from his abdomen flooded the entire wasteland as he became the devil. Hellfire fluttered from his feet like a deadly aura of death.

However, the princess was fine. Rather, the flames made her feathers glossier and her eyes more resolute.

'Thank you for the help, Auros. I will practise Your sword and skills until I surpass you in every single way.'

***

Not long after, Asura and Helliana reached the last floor of the tower. He never saw Vela or Verana again but assumed this tower might be something from the upper world used to observe possible talents that could ascent to the upper realm.

'Or like me, for experimental subjects.'

"Haaahhhh,"

A sigh escaped Asura's lips as he observed the last room of this tower. "Another wasteland. That woman must have hated me."

Chirp?

Helliana tilted her head before nuzzling Asura's cheek. Although she sacrificed herself, the newborn phoenix carried many of her mannerisms and feelings, but she couldn't talk, so Asura didn't know how much of her he had lost.

"I'm fine, Helliana. I just miss your sexy voice." Asura stroked her fluffy chest feathers with a smile before leaping down the large hole before him.

A loud boom echoed in the wasteland as the male's feet sank. This time, the ground was close to the sand, as something caused the sand to whirl in the centre of the huge sphere-shaped floor.

Asura walked towards it, Helliana fluttering on top of his head. Her keen golden eyes locked onto the source of the strange whirlpool.

'Weird... It feels like a black hole is trying to pull us into nothingness.'

Chirp!

He felt like her loud chirp screamed "BE CAREFUL" to him, as his body reactively flung into the sky using his wings—a moment later, a huge sandwyrm appeared with sharp teeth and an enormous body, large enough to swallow a house whole.

Its shadow covered the arena floor as Asura and Helliana floated above it.

"Something so big should be impossible to fight normally! Is this floor breaking down, or did someone want me to fight such a creature? No, did they plan for me to die if I reached here?"

The sandwyrm continued to devour the sands below its enormous body, causing Asura and Helliana to seem confused—before its black rock-like eyes looked towards them and blew a torrent of sand, the sharp grains aiming to slice their bodies.

Helliana shrieked as Asura used his sword, covering the silver blade in black flames to create a barrier that pushed the sand away from them. However, the wyrm burrowed into the sands below, escaping their view.

"Shit! We're going up." Asura immediately flew into the sky with Helliana, but a tremendous wave of sand engulfed the skies like a tsunami. He gritted his teeth as Helliana fluttered next to him, their gazes meeting momentarily before he swung his sword, empowered by his anima.

The blade of black and silver sliced the tsunami as he grasped Helliana and tossed her to the other side of the arena, near the closed portal outside.

Woosh!

Chirp!?

Chirp!!

Her little body broke through a small barrier, stopping her from returning as she pecked at it, chirping to Asura, who could no longer hear her cries.

Helliana's chirps grew louder, and then fiery black flames exploded from her body. She tapped her talons against the barrier, but it remained unbroken, blocking her from reaching Asura.

'Good... I can focus now.'

Asura faced the sandwyrm alone, his raven hair fluttering in the sandstorm created by the monster as his wings spread wide, releasing the power of his anima like a radiant wave of stars. It fluttered in colours of all shades, his bloodlines and elements in almost perfect synergy.

In an instant, the sandwyrm appeared in front of Asura. Its massive mouth aimed to swallow him whole, but he simply lifted the corner of his lips, revealing a vicious and gruesome smile.

—Manifestation Devouring Black Dragon

Yes. Asura could now use the devouring dragon and Asura's bloodlines to form multiple manifestations because his bloodlines were perfect. Normally, a person struggles to form one, with their thin blood and weak lineage.

Dragon - Sura

Devouring (Demon) - Auros

Devil - Asura 2

Asura (Upper Realm Human Hero) - Asura (Scholar)

Phoenix (Destruction and Rebirth) - Asura Fenix (Current) + Asura 3

The only bloodline that remained incomplete was the Devil bloodline, as he had yet to meet the devil of his past lives and accept him into the monolith.

With a flash of ruby-red flames, the skies roared with the welcome of a dragon from the distant stars. Its body was the size of a sandwyrm, and two pairs of wings flapped against the sky, shaking the universe. One pair was black like the void, and the other crimson like the beautiful hair of Lorem, Sura's first love.

It flew around the arena, ignoring the rules, with two gigantic horns, black with a swirling crimson flame surrounding them.

This was Asura's manifestation when fusing with Sura, a dragon of devouring and destruction.

However, when little Helliana saw the colour of his wings and horns, her eyes trembled as if understanding something, not realising that the black of his wings was identical to her raven feathers.

'I hate sand, but I'm quite fond of dragons.' Asura grinned as the sandwyrm seemed intimidated. His body narrowed, diving. Asura wasted no time grabbing its hard body with its hind legs, the sharp black talons crushing and piercing the sandworm's armour.

"GRROOOAAAARR!"

Its ear-splitting roar shook the sands, creating another tsunami of sand, but Asura didn't care. He continued to kick off with his hind legs, riding the worm like a madman. His brutal wings shot flames at the monster as they flapped intensely, lifting the huge worm off the floor, his maw letting out a dominant roar.

Suddenly, the worm twisted in his grasp, smashing his body against the sands below. However, Asura's wings flapped once, dodging the collision as he stabbed his talon into the sandwyrm's skull.

It grasped its face like an iron claw, and the worm trembled. Its body wriggled and tried to hit the dragon, but the aerial advantage was too great.

A sudden huge suction formed in Asura's mouth as he lifted his maw, sucking the realm's magic, life and power to form a deadly sphere of crimson flames, the deep red showing his affection and devotion to the memory of Sura.

Then he released it directly into the sandwyrm's face.

Boom!

An explosion rocked the entire realm, cracking the tower walls. The intense heat melted the sandwyrm's face while its body writhed in agony.

The destructive crimson flames ate away at its armour, exploding to damage its insides, but Asura didn't stop. His breath continued as he felt the anima within this monster flood his body, surging through his veins.

"GRROAAARRR!!!"

The sandwyrm continued to squirm and attack, but Asura's breath never stopped. The flame continued to burn until a terrifying white light shone inside its armour.

Then... with a loud pop, it vanished, nothing remaining.

Asura landed on the sands, his wings fluttering and releasing the excess Anima back into his spirit world using the help of Auros's mind to manage it while his figure returned to the handsome human form, his face a little pale, but he felt invigorated to connect with his past self.

However, the tower's floors remained cracked.

'Is it going to collapse? I won't be charged for this right...'

Asura thought as Helliana rushed into his arms. "Hello, Helliana. Did you miss me?"

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

As Asura chuckled, petting her little head, her chirps sounded like grumbling children.

His wings were currently the dragon type, which was powerful but lacked grace as he glided towards the portal that opened...

The black opening seemed to have cracked, damage to the illusionary barrier, perhaps from his attack that carried devouring properties. Asura held Helliana close as he walked through the portal.

Darkness covered his vision as Helliana chirped, her little feet tapping Asura's shoulder to wake him.

'This is Drakkur? The capital!?'

When he returned, no one was waiting for him, and the tower looked damaged from the outside.

A feeling of worry filled his chest as he hurried toward the city; something didn't feel right!

"How long was I gone!?"