Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

"Haa... haa... these damn tree fuckers...." Asura felt frustration upon fighting the monsters born from the enormous tree now in flames from his last attack. A feeling of tightness grew in his chest as he tried to recover from a feeling of weakness.

He fought constantly for the past ten hours, overusing his devouring ability to keep himself from collapsing.

Lorem offered no help, even when he almost died.

'Though I understand what she wanted to teach me... It's frustrating that she just watched.'

Their gaze matched for a moment as Lorem's wings fluttered, bringing her back to the ground as she flew towards Asura, a look of pride and worry painted on her face.

Asura, however, ignored her at the moment and leaned against a charred rock, the sizzling heat comforting to a phoenix. "Ten hours... no wonder I'm exhausted."

"You should take a rest. I'll be able to handle things for a bit." Lorem's soft voice flowed around the chaotic battlefield as her delicate fingers brushed against Asura's bloody cheek when he turned to meet her gaze. He saw her eyes filled with concern and tears. "I-I'm sorry for not helping you. But what you're doing is truly remarkable... and dangerous.

You're pushing yourself past your limits."

"It's fine... you wanted me to see my limits from the previous battles, right? I get it..." Asura's mouth struggled to move as he responded, but his head started spinning the moment he pushed himself up. Lorem's arms wrapped around him as he fell.

"Good... But it was so hard to watch you suffer. Forgive me." Lorem's thick, red lips were soft and squishy like sponge cake as they pressed against his. "This kiss is to heal your wounds."

Lorem's plump lips injected a warming flame, and her heated tongue sliding into his mouth increased the flow of her magic into his body, rapidly healing and soothing all the pain he had endured during the battle.

Though Asura wanted to be angry, truthfully, he gained more in that one battle than the past month of training alone, even with him cultivating with almost all of his women. The blood and flesh of monsters strengthening his own, along with the vast mana filling the air, nourished him just as much as the intense sex had.

Lorem's tender touch and caring kiss instantly eased his mind and body as she pulled him into her chest, allowing his head to rest against her soft, plump bosom. Asura sighed and focused on his recovery while Lorem took on the burden of defence.

Asura, the man who slew hundreds of the monsters within a few hours, now sat limp and powerless as if a young child in his lover's embrace.

"You're not fair, Lorem..."

"I know, but you still love me, right?"

A smile formed on both their faces as their lips once again met, their tongues lashing against each other before their passionate kiss ended.

"Of course... So just keep doing what you're doing, alright? You're very good at it."

"Thanks, it means a lot to hear you say that."

The two watched the sky for a few minutes before more creatures flocked towards them, their shrill screeches and savage roars nearly deafening Asura.

"No more rest for us..." Asura began speaking before Lorem interrupted.

"No... I want more time, so don't worry..."

Snap!

The moment her fingers snapped, the air seemed to stagnate for a moment. In the silence, Asura looked around, feeling the strange changes, before a flame devoured the flying beasts like a tide of flames; they were swallowed.

"I did it!" Lorem exclaimed as Asura looked at her in disbelief, not believing the change that occurred.

"W-what did you do? How is that even possible?"

"Fool... This is the power of your wife; show more passion and make her happy, haha." Lorem's nose pressed against Asura's, her warm breath blowing down his cheeks with each happy snort she made, holding him tighter than before.

"Thanks, Lorem. You really are a fantastic woman."

"Mhmm.. Just make sure I'm not a widow, and you pound me senseless when I'm hot and bothered, and we're even. Okay?"

Asura couldn't help but laugh at her words, knowing she was serious, before slowly untangling himself from her grip and pushing himself off the ground.

"Well... I think you've proven what you wanted to teach me, so let's do this!" Asura's vigour returned after being healed by Lorem, and the monster's bodies on the ground suddenly convulsed and rapidly shrivelled before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

The trees started to creak and groan in an unpleasant tone as the ground rumbled, and an earth-shaking roar exploded forth from the enormous charcoal tree at the centre of the valley.

"Are you sure you want to continue? I won't help unless you're about to die." Lorem said with a cheeky smile.

"Ah, I need to grow stronger and also learn to trust my women more."

Lorem's smile grew upon hearing his reply, and she nodded, a joyful expression on her face.

The burnt tree shook as a charred and grotesque figure emerged. The smell of burnt wood filled the air as the large, two-armed beast slowly raised its head.

Unlike the previous one with a strange elastic pair of arms, this one stood at two metres in height, with a powerful body filled with muscles and black plates of what seemed to be armour or stone. The head was a helm-like dome with two holes on the front, each releasing steam through the cracks.

"That's the mother, right? Though she seems more powerful than the others, I feel weaker fighting her alone." Asura muttered to himself as he kept his eyes trained on the creature as it stood staring at him.

"ROOOOOAR!" The sudden deafening roar of the monster made Asura's heart race, but he did not take his eyes off his foe, trusting Lorem to take care if things went south.

The ground cracked, forming spiderwebs. The moment the queen dashed forward, her speed and power beyond the previous monsters and approached Asura in the blink of an eye.

Asura, still recovering, did not have time to react.

The hammer-like fist slammed into his chest, creating a dull thud before cracking the stone ground behind him.

"Ah, fuck.!"

His body shot backwards, the ground and molten rocks torn apart, flying around his body, forming an enormous chasm to open up along his path before he smashed into a huge rock, leaving a light imprint and dust forming around his body.

"D-Damn... That hurt."

He struggled to stand as his body twitched and throbbed, but his wounds healed instantly as Lorem's healing magic surrounded him like a faint mist.

This monster's blows and magic were both at the peak of mortality.

'Don't underestimate me... I'm not weak enough to fall here!'

Asura's spirit rose, and he rushed forward like a dragon released from its cage. His speed surpassed that of the monster, pulling back both fists, a swirl of flames burning around each hand with a powerful vibration, filled with power. His body approached the monster with a flash.

"Roar!" The monster bellowed, releasing a shockwave of air.

The sheer force of its roar caused the air to tremble, with the ground exploding rocks and debris hovering around the monster that watched Asura's fist approaching its face.

It clenched its hands into a fist, and with a thrusting motion, it unleashed its blow.

The ground trembled.

"Idiot..."

The monster's attack was too slow, and although its punch carried a devastating amount of power, Asura's body dodged the blow by a hair's breadth as his fist struck the jaw of the monster.

KRRACCK!

"ROAR!!!"

The monster cried in pain as its body shot back and tumbled along the ground before raising its head and glaring at Asura, steam seeping through the cracks in the armour-like mask as it released another roar.

However, Asura's foot shot towards its face, not allowing the monster to recover; a howling echoed as the ground and surroundings exploded from their clash of aura.

'It's just a little harder... I can beat this thing easily!'

Bang!

His left foot crushed the jaw of the monster, destroying several of the deformed fangs into dust; taking advantage, he struck down with his right fist overhead and slammed into its chest.

Boom!

The ground cracked, forming a shallow crater, the entire area shuddering as the monster's right arm clenched its fist, pulsing with a sharp energy.

"ROOOOAR!!"

Its roar exploded forth, creating a windstorm, and its arm swung out at Asura, aiming for his head.

"Too light...!" Asura growled through his gritted teeth, blood oozing from their gaps.

Its blow lifted his body off the ground, even with his last-minute guard, before using his voice magic to teleport, enduring the damage to his body, appearing to his side in the blink of an eye before his fist struck its side and the impact of his blow travelled through its body.

"BOOM!"

The sound of the blast blew out all other sounds.

Flames exploded from his fist and sent the monster's body rolling and tumbling along the ground before slamming into a wall with a crash.

Asura watched the body remain motionless as a wave of air rippled outwards.

"Haa....ha...."

He stumbled towards the monster, his feet unsteady, before placing his hand on the face of the queen.

The next moment, his palm devoured her essence, the magic, vitality and memories of the monster devoured by Asura's monolith and bloodline. His eyes turned black while flooded with the information.