Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

After a sudden clash of steel, Valkyrie stepped back, her face showing a grimace. Her eyes narrowed and filled with hostility while blood oozed down her cheek. Beside her, Ignis looked even worse, with broken armour and her left eye closed, panting for air.

"What's the matter? Are you already growing tired, women?" The enemy male mocked them while relaxing his guard. The Crusader's blade slammed against the stone ground while he mocked the women. His troops were still battling the Valkyrie in a brutal melee, with blood and bodies falling constantly. "Let's wrap this up.

That false abomination on the walls is causing too much trouble." His gaze watched Asura massacring the Crusaders along the wall like they were children.

'Asura?' Valerie's eyes caught the crusader's target. A feeling of regret filled her chest; although she began to regain her strength, she wasn't quite at her best due to the long years that led to her physical prowess degrading far too much.

"You can barely handle us. Do you think you can even reach his shoes? My beloved would never fall to pathetic scum like you!" Valerie spat venom in between her deep breaths to recover the numb feeling in her arms and throbbing pain in her chest and shoulder, making things harder.

'Damn! My body is too tired.' Valerie's gaze followed Ignis' figure, her body lunging forward the moment Ignis blocked the blade of the annoying male. Ignis had used her body to stop the blow, the blood flowing profusely as she groaned in pain, with the enemy's sword stuck deep in her abdomen. The sheer strength behind his blow pierced through her armour and left a large wound that continuously bled.

Her legs grew weak, and her vision started to blur. "No... I can't fail..." She muttered, with silver blood oozing from her lips.

The enemy sneered at Ignis before twisting his blade, making her scream in pain and fall to her knees. "Just another disposable puppet. There is no shortage of pawns in the world, and all of them are replaceable." He tugged his blade back, and her body fell, face down, onto the ground.

In a flash of red, Valerie's spear caught the Crusader off guard, penetrating his solid guard as the red tip punctured under his arm, piercing through his armpit that lacked heavy armour to protect him.

"Die." Valerie spat as her spear was completely immersed in his flesh. Yet, not a single muscle moved in his face. His brows didn't even twitch in response to the lethal injury. To follow up, Valerie placed her palm on the shaft of her spear. "Goddess of blood, rend my enemy." The familiar red light flickered on her spearhead, and she sent an energy slash directly to his neck.

With a smile on his face, he turned to face Valerie, muttering, "A nice move, vile wench." His eyes faded, the bloody blades penetrating his heart, lungs, and organs, which caused his face to change. "H-how..." His eyes were filled with confusion. "Now, it is time for you to meet the goddess of death, fool." Valerie spat out as she stared at him in the eye and smiled before moving away.

Her spear slid out of his body, and he fell lifeless on the ground.

However, she didn't linger on the kill, rushing to Ignis and shaking her body. "Ignis, wake up!" A hint of concern flashed in her eyes, but the injuries wouldn't allow her to feel at ease. Her eyes could see the aura of death, and Ignis looked at her with empty silver eyes, struggling to breathe and choking on blood. "I won't let you die."

Ignis' trembling hand caressed Valerie's pale cheek, wiping the blood from her face. "Don't leave him alone, please." Her voice was soft, but it was the loudest sound Valerie had heard in her life. It showed her feelings towards Asura, able to see something that most might have missed—seeing only his bravado and strong exterior—an exterior that hid his lonely soul.

"Don't worry. I shall not leave him alone, and neither will you." Valerie stroked her hair before taking a small knife and holding the gleaming blade across her wrist. "Please forgive me..." Her heart was conflicted, and tears welled in her eyes.

However, she pressed the blade deep into her veins, drawing a small line to open a wound, which she then pressed against Ignis' lips. "You may become a monster... However, you will be able to remain living at least." Valerie's words trembled as she felt a harsh sense of pain as Ignis began to drink the offered blood like a cat.

"When you wake up, everything might be different... I only hope he doesn't get mad. This was needed to save you." Valerie stroked the hair of Ignis before looking back at the remaining Valkyrie that helped fend off the Crusaders. "Get the wounded to safety, carry them, leave the dead for now and keep this entrance blocked. Use debris, your bodies, anything!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" The Valkyries followed her orders, carrying the injured, even some that were not severely wounded. 'They will live a few more days. I wish I had time to get more people...' Valerie sighed weakly before looking down at Ignis, who had long stopped drinking the blood and had fallen into a deep sleep, her skin becoming even paler than before.

However, she would take at least two days to transform fully.

"I should take her to safety and create an area in the palace." With a tired voice, Valerie lifted Ignis, her eyes catching Asura slaying a commander as she did without struggling. A feeling of shock pulsated through her body as their eyes matched. She tried to convey her feelings with a single glance: that everything would be okay, that Ignis would be fine.

In response, Asura just nodded before he vanished once again.

**

'We pushed them back with too many casualties.' Asura's gaze swept through the bodies that littered the ground. The hundreds, almost thousands of corpses piled around the entrances and along the walls were numerous. But he couldn't help but sigh. His hands wiped the blood from his forehead before wiping his bloodied blade.

'It's no good...' Asura thought before noticing a priestess come closer. "What is it, Miss Alice?"

She paused for a moment before responding, "You helped more than I thought. Thank you." Her eyes looked towards the wall, Maria leaning against the stone to keep standing, while the number of cultists attacking Utgard was now a fraction of the amount from before.

"Can we save the gratitude for later?" Asura looked at her, his eyes clearly exhausted. "This battle isn't over yet, and I have no plans to perish."

Alice chuckled slightly. "Fine, be that way." Her words were soft, and her eyes gazed at him with a gentle look, her dark hair flowing down her shoulders as the sun began to set over the horizon. "Then, let's finish this."

Asura nodded and rose from his seat before walking off.

**

Asura sighed tiredly as he sat on a large piece of rubble. Verana walked over to him with a bowl of stew before handing it over. "Eat." Her words were simple but tinged with emotion. Asura didn't reject her and ate silently, the familiar taste of the stew warming his body. "Mu Xue and I had some of the servants fill the baths as well."

"That is a great idea," Asura mumbled in agreement before leaning against her soft body and stretching. "Thanks for keeping everything stable."

"That's the least I could do. I'm just worried about you, not knowing when you'd do something stupid." Verana looked down at his face, her arms stroking his cheek, able to feel his exhaustion from his words and weak state.

"Heh, there is no need to worry. I won't throw my life away at such a simple task. Besides, my lovely ladies would be angry." He spoke before finishing the stew and rubbing his belly. "It tastes good for something made with simple ingredients."

Verana picked up the empty bowl before the two slowly walked towards the palace, hand in hand. "Mu Xue, Verana, come bathe with me." He called out softly, pulling the two women along with him. He wanted to recover his mind and body, to rest and relax. He noticed Xavida's enormous eyes looking upset, "Xavi, come too."

His words made her ears twitch, and her eyes began to light up, following Asura's group to a large stone bathhouse in the centre of the palace. The bath was circular, with the bath sunk into the floor in a shallow pool that reached up to one's thighs.

However, waiting inside as planned were Lorem, Lucia, Valerie, and several other females.

"How many are joining in?" Asura couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of several women sitting around the bath in towels, patiently waiting with their faces flushed red.

"Too many, probably," Valerie responded with a bitter smile.

Asura only felt relieved that the liberation of Utgard came far easier than he thought, though he knew this was a small step. The next would be harsh—trying to keep his word to Grom and save Alan after his presence was known might make things more difficult.

But looking at his women frolicking together in the bath...

Suddenly, the complicated things didn't matter so much anymore.