Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

"Amalia, how's the training going?" Asura inquired, his steps light as he hopped along the rampart. He turned to face the pair of Valkyrie, their full gear gleaming in the sunlight. "You look stunning in that outfit—truly a beauty."

Amalia, the slender, silver-haired Valkyrie with enormous eyes, wore an armoured white dress with a white and silver leather chest plate. She tied her hair into a pair of twin tails that arced down to the top of her rear. "Ah... Thank you!" she said, blushing.

"You are welcome, my dear," Asura replied with a grin, his gaze focused on her while his tail and ears twitched. "I take it the training is going well?"

He didn't check her progress daily because it felt a little strange. Amalia wished for him to look at her as a woman, while for him, changing feelings couldn't happen so quickly. While Ignis always followed him to protect him, Amalia joining seemed alright for this once while he felt a little lonely.

Asura stepped towards the eastern tower, close to where Lorem, Lucia, and Helliana trained the troops.

A Valkyrie was in the middle of a spar with a human soldier, and Asura couldn't help but groan at the sight. "The guy is simply not up to par, is he?" He watched the silver maiden of battle easily taking down the human with a twist of her lance and a light knee. The male fell to the ground and surrendered.

"It seems she went easy on him, My prince," Ignis added, her eyes narrow, shimmering with a blue light as she cast an observation spell. The spar ended, and Asura looked down to see Lorem running up on the stage. It seemed she would be fighting Helliana.

'This should be an interesting fight.' Asura's eyes narrowed, and his ears perked to their peak while he tapped his foot in excitement. 'This is one I haven't seen before!'

While the fights were helpful in training the human soldiers, they were more useful for the Valkyries when people like Lorem and Helliana fought.

'I have seen them fighting in the past, but here on this world... Never.'

Asura became interested in who would win, as Lorem held a spear and Helliana a simple sword. Though Lorem held the advantage due to her range, she always lost to Helliana when it came to physical activities in the past. 'I am sure the score was abysmal for her.'

Their weapons clashed—Helliana moved gracefully, sweeping, cutting and stabbing the spear Lorem lunged at him with. While Lorem appeared to move in the standard royal academy style, Asura's sharp eyes noticed the slight errors in her movement. 'She's tense and nervous,' he thought.

Lorem's strengths lay in her magic and explosive power, while Helliana was agile, swift and very skilled with weapons. The fight ended in the span of three minutes, with Lorem's weapon flying into the air and Helliana pinning her against the ground.

"That was... as expected," Asura said, shaking his head. He said nothing and looked back at Amalia and Ignis, who watched the fight with shining eyes. "Do you both want to go train? I can wander around alone, you know."

"No need," Amalia answered, stepping forward. "I think it's fine as long as we follow you," she added.

"That's true, My Prince," Ignis agreed.

'These girls aren't telling the truth... Oh well, I will train with them later and see if it makes them happy.'

Asura slipped down the stairs, his boots pressing against the cold stone. It was midday, and the sun gleamed over the plains and the fortress, which cast shadows of buildings upon the ground. Like a child, his strides seemed to avoid cracks and shadows when walking. He wanted to visit the blacksmith.

Asura began running with a bounce in his step, causing Amalia and Ignis to become dumbfounded. He glided like the wind, and even to the Valkyries, he looked like a white blur. "My Prince!" Amalia called out in worry, not used to the antics of her brother. His body vanished, then reappeared a few metres away, causing the commoners to gasp.

"Brother is showing off..." Amalia whispered, her mouth agape.

Ignis nodded her head. "His Highness, do not forget, Vice-Captain Amalia."

"Ah! Right..."

"Catch me if you can!" Asura taunted, his words loud and clear. "And if you reach the forge before I do, I will grant you a wish!"

His voice seemed to trigger something in both of the women—Ignis and her goals seemed mysterious, but Amalia's glint filled with desire was obvious.

"Please wait for us, My Prince!" Ignis shouted.

"I will win, My Prince!" Amalia promised.

Ignis was always one to fulfil her duty to the highest degree, while Amalia did things out of pure curiosity and devotion to her brother. "I won't lose to you, Ignis!" Amalia exclaimed, her wings flaring forth behind her.

"Then may the best Valkyrie win," Ignis said, her wings stretched forth.

Amalia and Ignis charged forward at their maximum speed, a gust of wind fluttering through Asura's hair and clothes. 'Ah, this feeling of wind and speed. I haven't experienced something like this since running in the forest of the southern wilds. Should I let them win?' He considered for a few seconds before four black wings sprouted from his back. "Oh no, you don't."

Asura set off the floor, his wings flapping once to shoot him into the air. Ignis and Amalia's eyes widened, their wings burning with energy, but they had yet to reach their peak efficiency. Thus, their speed was simply average amongst the Valkyries.

Amalia clenched her fists, her mind shouting in disappointment. "Ah, my wings are too new!"

Ignis only glanced at Amalia without a word, her eyes fixed on the distant figure of her prince. He became like a blur. Streamers flickered off his wings, sparkling with various elements. With his body twirling in the air, and his hair flowing behind him. His lips curved into a smile as he flapped his wings, moving faster than any horse could.

'Hmm... My max speed is so ridiculous now.' He flew upwards until he reached the clouds and continued flying towards the blacksmith's forge, where he could see smoke rising from the hill where the fortress sat. 'I need to take a break one of these days and fly across the world—I would love to see the four continents of the world.'

"Nice to see you, Blacksmith," Asura greeted. "I hope you had a pleasant morning?"

The smith was a man in his early thirties with long black hair tied into a tail. Despite hearing Asura's greeting, he continued to hit the metal with a constant dang, the beautiful iron sword around 100cm long. The blade was in the process of being shaped into a narrow, deadly weapon with a sharp edge.

Asura stood by and watched for a moment before finally taking a seat on the stone bench beside the furnace, the fire flickering orange within.

A few moments later, Ignis landed with Amalia a few steps behind her. Both Valkyries looked out of breath. Amalia was panting more than Ignis, with her black wings deflating when they touched the ground. She whined to herself in disappointment while Ignis' wings evaporated into dust, which blew away in the wind.

"Well, it seems you lost. But since Ignis did so well... I will reward her."