Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Despite Asura's current advantage, unless he wanted the two students to die. He needed to keep the attention of both monsters. He looked towards the girl the monster hit but couldn't sense any magic or life with his eyes.

It seemed that the weak body of a Stage Two student could not endure the force of a powerful Stage Six monster.

'I hope those two idiots run away with the other girl. Otherwise, I'll have to let them die to win.'

In the blink of an eye, Asura was gone.

When the monster had struck with its lightning, a part of Asura's body had vanished while his image was still there. In actuality, his body had only shifted a few centimetres to the side, but he used the illusion of his shadow clone to create a complete afterimage to confuse the white demon and his extremely flexible body.

'I cannot beat them without going all out.'

He looked back and saw Clarice and Akkrum before shaking his head. "Forgive me."

—Liberación La forma del diablo

Asura whispered before allowing his anima to surge and spread through his blood, fill his muscles, and permeate his flesh.

His skin turned pure black with solid scales, while his eyes turned black with golden pupils. He had a fierce look on his face. As Asura's fangs grew longer, his head grew two twisted devil's horns and a long, armoured black tail that snapped against the ground.

The sudden change caused the surrounding air to burn and make space itself crackle.

A deep force caused his steps to create small craters with each step, the force of his magic like a weight crushing down upon everyone within 2000 metres.

It was like he had increased gravity a dozen times over, causing Clarice and Akkrum's legs to shiver and struggle to breathe. The weaker Stage Two first-year and Stage Four Akkrum couldn't help but kneel with both hands on the floor.

"This..."

"Asura?"

Akkrum and Clarice looked in shock and awe as they watched Asura's transformation. Asura had taken on an appearance that seemed no different from the black demon, with the same black scales and demonic eyes as the white demon, almost like siblings.

"Valos." Asura's beautiful voice sounded as he spoke to the white demon whose eyes widened the moment Asura's sharp devil claws approached.

The white demon raised its thick white arm to block, only to feel claws piercing his skin. It howled in pain before the sound of flesh tearing echoed. Its arm vanished while the wound began festering instead of healing, causing the white demon to pull back and grasp the severed arm with a low growl leaving his mouth.

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"Ha... Ha... Ha..." Asura's powerful, deep breathing echoed as he stared at the white demon before slowly turning to look at the black demon. He could feel it. He could feel their pride shattering and now experiencing fear.

"Impossible... This..." Valos spoke in an almost human language.

"You two cannot beat me." Asura's eyes glowed with a sharp light that caused both demons to shiver. "I am not the weak Asura you knew. The difference between fakes like you, and the real deal isn't something bridged by eating others."

Terror affected not only the two demons but the group of two first years and Akkrum, who stared at Asura with their eyes filled with shock and disbelief. They could feel it. The presence of a Stage Six and the pressure of a Monster in front of them.

'By consuming the White Demon's mana, I would be able to evolve. To break the limit I've been facing since meeting Celine!'

Asura's demeanour changed; rather than thinking like a student of the royal academy, his mind became focused on power, growing stronger and killing the enemy that stood before him.

'In terms of raw strength, I can crush the pair of them. However, their bodies are strange and seem to penetrate my scales or armour. Despite only a month passing, their strength is nothing like before. At their true strength, I can still kill them.'

He looked at the remaining white demon, who was slowly holding his severed arm with the black demon behind him. 'Even if they try to flee, they cannot escape.'

With that thought, he leapt forward, intending to crush both monsters at once.

However, they tricked him, and neither intended to run; the mouth of the black devil opened before a huge beam of light shot out and pierced him.

He raised his claw and partially blocked the attack, but the force of it sent him off balance. The white demon appeared behind him, its claw slashing down his back.

"Grraaaahh!" Asura screamed in pain as blood splattered across the ground.

This time, it wasn't his shadow, and the wounds of a Stage Six could not heal that fast, but thankfully, it seemed the white demon's arm wouldn't regenerate.

Asura grasped his silver sword and stepped back, watching the two monsters, which seemed excited from drawing his blood for read.

"HeheheHE~ Ashura!"

"Hahahaha! Die Die!"

The two demons jumped forward like a pair of wild animals. Their mouths opened with a roar before a surge of magical power swirled around them like a vortex. A magic formation formed in the air before several spells began forming. There was no chant, no vibrations or signal of them casting magic until the moment the spell erupted.

'What!?'

'Impossible! How can they use such a high level of magic without even a single spell formation and not use a single chant, a spell circle or a mana crystal for a catalyst!'

Asura's body burned with a black flame, his eyes narrow and focused as he felt a sense of admiration toward this black demon. Its strength and magical density were immense, along with a brain that seemed to exceed the former prince by leagues.

⟪Asura-Devil Combat Arts⟫

"—Soulfire Void Burst." Asura muttered as a vast wave of magical energy spread through his body like a turbulent ocean before exploding outward as his entire body was shrouded in a coat of violent black flames that increased his physical prowess ten-fold.

'Damn! I can't block those spells!'

Asura cursed as he slashed with his sword, a distortion rippling in space as a slash of pure force appeared and slashed at the incoming magic attacks. Like a dancer, his blades traced along the sky, a series of flowing blows, like a swan dancing upon a lake.

The clash resulted in an ear-splitting explosion as flames erupted in the sky like an active volcano. Asura could feel his muscles scream from the shockwaves and a massive amount of magic draining from his body, not to mention the sizzling of his flesh as the black armour cracked.

However, the damage was far less than expected, and the black flames enhanced his physical body and granted him increased speed and durability.

"GGGRRRRAAAA!" The roar of two demons shook the ground as they rushed at the wounded Asura convinced of their victory.

"Ha."

'If I wanted to keep this act up, I might need to flee and kill you two in your sleep,' Asura thought with a cold gaze while preparing himself, sheathing his silver blade while waiting with his eyes closed, constantly pumping his anima into the blade, ready to tear them apart with a single slash.

Asura felt the world slowing down, his two hearts beating faster, like a horse galloping towards the finish. The pressure from the two Stage Six demons' aura weighed upon his body.

He could feel it—the tyrannical devil's magic in his veins surging and expanding through his body before condensing into his right hand, which gripped his sword.

"Now... die," Asura whispered with a bloodthirsty tone. The words barely left his lips as his eyes opened, his golden pupils burning with a fierce light. He released the tension in his hand.

His silver sword turned black from the anima, and flame sliced through the air as he crouched and leapt, using the power of the force to cross the 10 metres separating him from the two Stage Six monsters in the blink of an eye.

Asura's body spun as he moved like a raging bolt of lightning, slashing six times at the pair of Stage Six demons. His form was absolute as his magic reached its peak. His black-and-red slashes tore through the air, shredding the flesh and bones of the two Stage Six demons like paper.

"—Eruption."

A tremble filled the area before huge pillars of flame burst from the depths of the earth, forming a crimson flower as flames ate away at their flesh, preventing regeneration as it burned away at their magic.

"GRRRRRAAHHH!" Two demons roared as they scrambled to escape, and the effects of eruptions lasted for two minutes.

He watched the flower of flames with a smirk, Asura's hand reaching towards them while devouring their mana and essence. Asura learned how the prince became what he was, why they grew strong and the involvement of the church and king.

'With this, I'm one step closer to slapping that bitch in the upper realm. Killing a monster beyond my stage and taking in a large amount of mana has allowed my core to fill. It's a little sore, but I need to find a place of rest to break through into the next Cycle.'

Asura retracted his hand as the black flames wrapped around his body, restoring his flesh and returning inside him.

'Now what to do with those two students...'

***

Two hours later, Asura returned to find Clarice and Akkrum sitting on the wall trembling while a light element mage checked over the girl's state.

He looked nothing like before, the demonic form they imagined now the handsome raven earl.

Maybe deciding to forget the scene or mark it as his fear affecting his eyes.

However, Clarice seemed terrified with eyes as if seeing the devil himself. Once Asura appeared, he began crawling backwards to make more distance.

"Akkrum, please take the girl to the city's medical facilities. I need to speak to Clarice." Asura ordered the still-shaky Akkrum, who nodded and bowed before helping the girl stand after the mage left with an all-clear for permanent damage.

Asura waited until they left before turning towards Clarice, whose eyes were locked onto the ground with his legs curled up in front of him, making him seem smaller as her hands trembled slightly.

"Clarice, are you ok?" Asura asked in a warm tone as he sat on his knees with a smile on his face.

"Ye...yes... My lord." Clarice forced out while trying to sound calm, his gaze still on the floor.

"What did you see?" Asura asked in a cold voice, causing Clarice to tremble as he felt Asura's gaze on his back.

"N-nothing...my lord."

"Liar," Asura growled as his figure flashed, appearing in front of Clarice, who shrieked and fell back on his rear.

"Tell me what you saw!" Asura raised his voice, his golden eyes shining with a clear glow.

"I saw you change into a devil. I saw you slaughter the White Demon and Black Devil without a care in the world and smiled as you bathed in their blood! You're a monster! A devil that should be burned by holy water or purified with holy magic!" Clarice screamed while looking at Asura with fear-filled eyes, his hands clenched and raised protectively over his face as if to protect himself.

"I see, I understand."

Asura looked down. His eyes were no longer glowing; he seemed downcast. His face became glum, with loose lips and furrowed brows, before he turned away and vanished from the wall completely.

Clarine breathed a sigh of relief before slowly calming down.

He didn't understand what had happened, but slowly, his mind returned, and he realised that his words might have hurt the man who had saved his life. He wanted to find him and apologise.

"If he didn't save me, then I would be dead." He said while biting his lip and lowering his head with a groan. Yet things were too late, and he could only stay and watch the now silent forest with a heavy heart.