Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix - Chapter 376

Chapter 376: Nostalgic Training

Asura felt quite calm, walking towards the second stage with Vela and Ignis while the others stood and watched as the atmosphere grew rapidly. He watched as Vela unsheathed her blade with a focused gaze. “Asura, please, don’t hold back.”

“Are you sure?” He didn’t want to boast or insult her. However, the difference between them grew significantly from the moment they last trained together and now.

Vela gave a bitter smile, her lips curling with a slight tremble while she gazed at him with a sharp gaze. “Don’t get too confident.”

Her movements and her gaze became slightly nervous, which he noticed after a while. The others took their steps back until it cleared a wide area.

“Ready.”

Asura didn’t use his father’s sword. Instead, he used Nova, a similar type of sword to Vela, but it was of a Silvaran style, not Eastern. Its sheath was ebony black with a blue blade. He swung it down, and without waiting for another signal, he sprinted forward.

“Fast—” Vela was startled, using her sword to deflect his swing that came like lightning towards her right arm.

She tried to counter, but the impact sent her body stumbling to the side, her stance broken, as he lunged forward, stabbing towards her throat.

Unprepared, Vela could only throw her sword at his blade while rolling to the side to avoid all damage from his attack, the ferocious blue light of his blade almost slicing her face as it missed narrowly by an inch.

With the speed and force behind that lunge, the others could barely keep up. The shock of how Asura had knocked aside her guard and pushed Vela onto the back foot felt confusing for most students. In the past, Asura surrendered to her; now, he seemed to be easily defeating her. Their jaws slacked as they saw Vela stumble to her buttocks, holding her blade across her face to deflect Asura’s slash.

A beautiful array of sparks fluttered through the air, creating an ethereal sight for everyone watching as if this was an art and not combat. The sound of clashing blades resounded once more. It seemed Asura intended to end the duel with the next two exchanges, bringing down strike after strike that had Vela retreating under his sword.

However, she gained some distance, stepping to the right and parrying his attack with her amber blade. Although his swings were fierce, their control was precise as she regained some of the momentum, clashing her blade on Nova many times with both offensive and defensive moves.

Everyone could see that her amber blade seemed to move swiftly through the wind, gaining power and speed and tightening the more they clashed, yet Asura showed no sense of fear. His blows grew stronger, faster and more precise in return, their swords creating a blur of strikes, amber and blue lights illuminating their rapid clashes.

“Good, Vela. That’s it!” Asura’s lips curled into a delighted smile, his body twisting as he caught her thigh with a shallow slash.

“Ugh… you!? Why are you taking it easy!”

“Haha, because I love you.”

“Wha—!!” Vela paused her stance, the focus in her eyes falling apart. She fell on her back as Asura held her back, his sword pointed to her throat, while he lifted her off the ground.

“Be careful. Enemies will try to put you off with their words.” She stared at him with a shocked face before his empty palm pressed on her wound, healing it with a cooling sensation.

“Wait, can you stop teasing me?” She narrowed her eyes as the wound on her thighs closed, pushing herself away from him.

“Haha, but I couldn’t wait to spar with you. I wanted to see how you’ve grown.” He had missed fighting with her, the joy and the rush when the blades met.

“You’ve improved a lot, huh… so much so…” Vela thought it would have been embarrassing, but she held an amazed expression. “I cannot even get you to sweat anymore!”

“It’s okay. You can make me sweat in the bedroom.” He whispered in her ear, causing the princess to swing her sword and screech. “Pervert!! Hmph!”

He laughed, seeing her reaction. It had been a while since his mind became free because fighting his lovely wife didn’t have the same stress as fighting cultists or monsters.

Asura carried her towards the watching stands and placed her down, stroking her soft hair before he walked towards the stage, his sword pointing towards Mu Xue and Amalia.

“Both of you, come at me.”

Mu Xue didn’t speak, instead grabbing her weapon, the eastern blade of her family made of pure ice, the beautiful blade unsheathed and at her waist, ready in less than two seconds.

While Amalia looked confused before taking her broadsword and stood to the side of Mu Xue.

“B-Brother, are you sure?” Her timid voice was audible as her purple eyes stared at him, unsure whether he was mocking them.

Asura nodded while smiling at her. She wielded her broadsword, her compact frame making the weapon look much bigger.

Mu Xue narrowed her gaze while her stance became tight, parting her feet to shoulder width and stepping forward, not letting down her guard. The cold gaze of her azure eyes rested on him.

Amalia looked to her right at Mu Xue before nodding her head with determination. “I can do this…” She muttered, her body fluttering with a silver light, the swordsmanship of the Valkyrie.

“You girls ready?” Asura held his sword at his chest, pointing towards the pair.

They nodded, readying their stances, Mu Xue with her light feet, her small and delicate body nimble. While Amalia’s broadsword held in a double-handed grip, ready for any movement, her back muscles became tense as she stepped forward, rushing at Asura.

Asura waited as Amalia raised her broadsword with strength, swinging down the long and heavy weapon towards him with both hands, a golden light creating a shield over her.

“Not good enough—” Asura swung his blade against the blow, and at that moment, he felt a cold breeze flicker past his cheek as Mu Xue’s blade passed by his face.

“—Right back at you.” Mu Xue smirked as her body twisted from the high velocity she moved with, and the blade on the left side of her body, her warning attack barely touching his skin.

Mu Xue smirked with proud laughter, her frame looking light while Amalia stepped back and prepared to follow up.

“Oh, are we playing seriously? Are you both against me? Let me tell you this: it won’t work.” Asura smiled, and before Amalia could strike down with her broadsword, Asura pivoted his feet, whipping his body backwards with a tremendous display of physical fitness, his left foot smashing into her stomach while his sword deflected Mu Xue’s slash.

Amalia tumbled to the ground while Mu Xue gritted her teeth with shock and then clenched her blade in hand, lunging towards him again.

The beautiful clash of blue swords filled the sky, a melody of steel clashing as Asura and Mu Xue, lovers who knew each other best, began to duel in the centre of the arena, exchanging graceful strikes that shot out powerful tremors around them.

Amalia stood up, gasping while trying to catch her breath, gripping her broadsword before staring at Mu Xue’s slender frame, leaping forward with an attacking stance, her agile body full of vigour.

“If Brother can handle her alone, I’ll just go to a weak spot! My shield is tough—” She watched the pair fighting, each blow clashing, followed by a counter and a reaction; while Asura’s speed and power were higher, Mu Xue survived by exchanging a series of masterful moves.

With light steps, Amalia darted towards her brother, keeping a low stance.

‘Let’s hope Brother won’t be mad. I will just attack his leg and help Mu.’ She gripped her sword with force, thinking of their techniques that would beat Asura, where Amalia’s divine light began to wrap around her sword, turning her eyes golden as she built up her power and aura for a single devastating blow. Then Mu Xue followed up with precise attacks.

Amalia moved her blade as Mu Xue gave her the timing, the pair executing a perfect chain of strikes while forced back several times with flickers of blue light dancing across the battlefield.

‘This will definitely land…’ She clenched her blade while leaping towards Asura. Her broadsword held high as it formed a huge pulse blade of gold, her whole arm trembling to withstand its destructive power. ‘Divine Break!’ Amalia roared, bringing her broadsword with brute force and slashing down at her brother.

The instant Mu Xue noticed, she reached out, her left arm sliced by Asura’s blade as she closed her fist, wrapping Asura’s body in a frozen palm, stopping his movement, though after she pulled back, blood began pouring from the deep wound as she stumbled back, almost collapsing from the force of his attack.

BOOOM—!

Amalia’s divine broadsword exploded as she used a skill learned from Sigurd and hit Asura’s body; as Asura expected the strike from Mu Xue, the collision forced a heavy tremble within the battlefield. The ground crumbled for a few metres under the trio, and rocks broke from the intense quakes.

Amalia’s broadsword slid and lost its blade, smashing to the ground while the sound of Mu Xue retching coughs was heard as she rolled out of the crater.

“Looks like… we won?” Amalia whispered as she panted. Standing tall, her blade crumbled to dust.

Mu Xue fell to her knee, unable to stand, but her eyes widened as she saw Asura, with his uniform slightly damaged, thrusting his pommel into Amalia’s chest, knocking her out. “Pffft— hahaha— Amalia, this is the outcome.” Mu Xue burst out in a tired laugh, tears forming in her eyes.

“It was a great teamwork though, well done. Amalia.” Asura smiled as the pair could barely stand, his movements full of vigour.

“…Not fair. Why are you such a monster?” Mu Xue crawled towards Amalia with an ugly laugh while gazing at Asura.

“Haha, to keep you all safe, of course.”

****

Asura looked down at his chest, feeling a sudden prick in his chest, only to find a small white snake with the most glossy and beautiful scales biting his chest along with its lovely golden eyes gazing up at him with an angry feeling in them.

“Abby… stop being so violent.” His fingers stroked the snake’s smooth head with a laugh. However, this snake didn’t have any of the cultist’s corruption, only the perfect body of the all-swallowing snake and the mind and heart of the lovely girl.

He looked down at the serpent that stopped biting, her little pink tongue flickering as she slithered back into his outfit, causing Asura to complain.

In order to separate her from the past, he named her Abigail instead of Abaddon.