Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

He grasped the black spear, a fusion of Lumeris and Nova, his dragon spear, and his sword of ice, two remnants of his devil and dragon bloodline.

Their combined visual looked more beautiful than before: a jet-black spear with a beautiful ice-blue blade in the shape of a short sword and a golden dragon etched along the shaft of the spear.

"Gigigi?"

Asura seemed calm and unrushed when surrounded by ten stage six goblin warriors. It seemed the lord and his stronger allies watched Asura from above in their small, makeshift stone mansion.

A nostalgic feeling flowed over Asura as he lowered his hips, pulling back his spear.

\'Wonder why I was so annoying about calling this a sword lance before.\'

His body stepped forward at an explosive speed and power, launching Asura forward more than five metres towards the first goblin.

\'Clang!\'

Asura\'s spear slammed into the first goblin\'s club with a clean slice through the enemy weapon, killing the first warrior with a swift, brutal, penetrating blow that caused the goblin\'s chest to explode, its heart and lungs popping into mush from the force.

"Kkrrooo..."

The dying goblin screamed out in agony as its organs became mixed with blood and shredded intestines. (+6 Anima)

"Not bad at all..."

Asura casually mumbled before twisting his wrists and yanking out the blade, his hips rotating to block the attack of two goblins who had just attacked his exposed flank.

The spear twirled, flipping through the air and shattering both goblin clubs and blades with two horizontal blows. (+12 Anima)

An enraged fourth goblin, unable to accept the deaths of three brothers, clenched its fist and flew towards Asura with an iron axe in hand.

Asura\'s eyes narrowed before he grasped the bottom of his shaft, then swung it in a circle, creating a storm of darkness, his devil\'s mantle expanding the blade to double its length.

"Krrrooaaa..."

The poor goblin didn\'t even have time to scream out in agony as the razor-sharp, reinforced spear decapitated the monster and his remaining brothers and sent its head flying in a bloody arc before it smashed into a stone wall, shattering it. (+18 Anima)

"Fwuhaaa..."

Asura flicked his wrist, shaking off the thick blood on the edge of his spear blade.

\'This weapon is awesome. However, my strength is definitely something a Stage Six shouldn\'t have. I could probably fight with Sigurd without magic now and only lose because of experience, but that gap will soon narrow.\'

That\'s because of Asura\'s brain; his ability to analyse and steal martial techniques while making them work for him was second to none.

"The princess is doing just fine... Well, let\'s get a little serious."

Asura turned his eyes towards the upper level, where the goblin lord seemed to watch him. A wicked gaze of hatred and frustration.

"Fifth and final trial..."

Asura\'s thoughts became interrupted as several dozen Stage Six and Seven goblins poured out of the mansion, surrounding the young earl, who had just killed six in an instant.

\'Well... Let\'s test the new body a bit more. The blade of the spear is better than the previous one.\'

Asura had no problems taking the lives of monsters. After the many changes in his mindset, he probably no longer felt issues killing humans and other races. Now, he focused on his desires, realising they must come first.

He refused to use magic after telling Celine she couldn\'t, and so he fought with his flesh body, blocking attacks with his spear and using his superior mobility to limit the actions of his foes while striking their limbs or necks.

While he didn\'t cut them up into tiny pieces like before, Asura felt the most enjoyment when fighting these goblins, as if his life depended on it; his experience, skills, and instincts combined to unleash a speed and precision that made it almost impossible for the goblins to touch him.

"Well... Let\'s keep dancing, Goblin Lord."

Asura could fight these monsters for hours. Thus, he slowed his pace and focused his gaze on Celine, watching her with dazzling eyes.

***

⁜ Celine POV

In the meantime, Celine began slowing, her breath heavy, becoming surrounded by at least ten goblins. The blood and the sweat of her slain enemies covered Celine\'s armour and dress. She hadn\'t expected to defeat so many Stage Five Goblins.

It was much easier to fight without her spells and magic than she had expected, but her lack of knowledge, experience, and previous reliance on spells were dragging her down.

\'I should have spent more time with my Uncle and Aunt in the sparring room...\'

Celine huffed, took a quick breather, and swiped away the blood on her chin with her forearm.

The more she fought, the more her muscles burned. She could feel the pain in her left arm, but her willpower and stubbornness overpowered her mind, allowing her to continue fighting.

\'It hurts more than I thought it would. But he is watching me. I have to prove I can do it!\'

Celine glanced back at the large castle tower as several goblins charged Asura, each holding an axe, sword, or spear in hand. Yet he watched her, dodging like a dancer, elegant and handsome.

Until his spear struck, destroying their bones and flesh with unbelievable force.

\'Why do you watch me with such beautiful eyes while slaying monsters in such a brutal fashion?\'

Celine wondered this as she clicked her tongue, but there wasn\'t any time to hesitate.

With a newfound energy, she released the Elven sword from her waist and lunged towards the nearest goblin, crushing its skull with a spinning back kick, the flat of her foot smashing into the monster\'s face.

The goblin flew into the air but didn\'t die instantly, as Celine no longer fought like a boar.

Instead, she stepped forward with a beautiful sliding movement, identical to Asura, before slicing across the goblin\'s neck.

Her body and beautiful hair danced as she twirled towards another, a heavy stab tearing into its stomach before ripping out its intestines.

\'Did I just steal one of his moves!?\'

Celine couldn\'t believe what she had just done, her heart palpitating wildly from excitement and shock. It also seemed Asura felt the same as his eyes watching her widened, and then he moved differently.

His spear slashing, stabbing, and dodging the monster\'s blows were complex patterns of seven steps. His actions were slow. Even Celine could realise Asura was moving slower to show her his steps and movements.

\'I will steal his moves and become the strongest! Then take him down!\'

She didn\'t realise the significance of her being able to learn his moves in such a short time; rather, from the start, since her first massage, the princess became like a sponge, absorbing all of Asura\'s lessons and training.

It seemed he only noticed now just how fast she could learn.

Celine faced five goblins while closing her eyes for a moment, replaying the movements of Asura and his style of fighting in her mind, before setting up her beautiful silver and gold Elven sword, lighter and shorter than the spear, but it felt better in her arms.

\'The spear isn\'t my weapon. I don\'t have the muscle power or endurance.\'

That\'s why the weapon clattered to the ground; Celine\'s moves were basic but sharp, slicing through the air while her small, supple figure twirled and danced, dodging the claws and spears of her opponents.

Until she struck and the Elven sword cleanly stabbed into each goblin\'s neck aiming for a light slash, using the least amount of force to end their lives.

Like a flower on the battlefield.

****

Two hours later, only corpses and death remained scattered around Celine and Asura\'s feet. A mass of goblin bodies lay at their feet. The ones Celine defeated were dead, while Asura brutalised his enemies with the newly found power of his body.

"You can wield the Elven sword well."

"Do you think so!?"

Celine was overjoyed as her cheeks reddened at Asura\'s praise. She had never felt more embarrassed. Asura\'s eyes squinted, and the corner of his lips curled upward as he stepped forward towards her, his steps elegant as he lowered his arms and lifted the filthy princess into his arms.

"You naughty girl, stealing my techniques. How should I punish you?"

He teased her while pulling her face closer and inhaling her scent. Celine couldn\'t help but wrap her arms around Asura\'s neck and avoid his gaze. Her eyes glimmered as she remembered the earlier battle, and she didn\'t know how to react in this situation—her lips opened as if to speak several times but only sucked in the delicious air that hovered around Asura.

His anima and pure elements would purify his surroundings.

"P-Punish me?"

"Yes, for being a naughty elf princess and stealing my moves..."

Asura grinned before bending his head, and his lips met Celine\'s ear.

The intense feeling of his warm lips touching her long ears caused Celine\'s mind to explode, leaving nothing but white mist and a strange feeling like the massage surging through her entire body.

"Ahhh..."

The beautiful elf groaned as a liquid trickled down her thighs, and Asura began nibbling her ear, causing Celine\'s soft groans to turn into heavy breathing and a sweet, captivating song of her pleasure.

Despite his speaking about punishment, Celine felt this was anything but punishment as she clung to him. Asura\'s smile made her feel weak as he carried her into the stone tower, not caring about the goblin lord.

Asura didn\'t seem to care about the two or even the dungeon as he acted upon his desires. When they entered the castle, he carried her up the broken rock stairs and came to the second floor before reaching the walls, where the entire area became visible.

"It\'s so pretty, ah!?"

Celine gasped as he placed her down on the wall, her legs dangling with an enormous drop beneath her. The princess clutched the edge, a little scared as her ears flopped.

"How should I beat their lord and his strongest knights, my princess?"

Celine couldn\'t answer his question as Asura wrapped his arms around her waist, his lips stroking the base of her ear as the elf became overwhelmed by Asura, yet she never wished for him to stop.

His teeth nibbled on the top of her sensitive earlobe, causing the princess to tremble, her legs spreading naturally while a wild moan erupted from the princess as she couldn\'t stop herself from crying out.

"No weapons! No magic! Only fists!"

The princess looked embraced, a bit of drool seeping down her lip as she looked away in a huff.

"Your wish is my command, princess."