Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Asura took a deep breath.

He felt the movement of anima through his body like a flowing stream. Fast and fierce, but under his control.

The effect of his twin hearts increased after he evolved his dragon heart. It relied on his bloodline in the past, making it weaker than the devil's power. The two being equal changed his body.

His devil and dragon bloodlines were now like two sides of a coin.

"Well, you feel more balanced." Helia joked as she snapped her fingers, dissipating his flame.

"It's like I was trying to fight while wearing a metal suit."

He spread his arms before cracking his shoulders, letting the list slide down to the rest of his changes.

⁜ Asura Monolith Evolutions

Stage One: Eyes of Desolation - Allows the user to see through all illusions and resist all charming spells within Two Stages of current cultivation or One Stage when they have the Darkness Element able to disguise their stage.

Capable of perceiving the movement of mana, qi, anima, and magic.

Stage Two: Void Body Tempering—Temper the body using anima to make it more durable, flexible, and powerful.

Also allows for the usage of Void Battle Arts.

Stage Three: Unending Wrath - As long as mana, anima or qi should remain, the user cannot die or fall in combat. Lasts as long as their body and resources remain.

The user must fully heal within 12 hours after the effect ends, or they will die.

"Asura, why did you choose this as the next evolution? Do you know how hard it is to heal someone in such a short amount of time without expensive elixirs!?"

Helia's cheeks swelled as she saw his choice, although, in her heart, she knew it was best. The trials and battles that await him are difficult.

Yet it frustrated her to imagine him in such situations; as she went to bite his cheek, he turned to face her.

His mouth pressed against hers, her teeth biting his lip before they froze momentarily. Helia then forced open his mouth, her tongue sliding inside while her arms grasped his waist, pulling their bodies together.

"Mmn~ mm~ mmn."

Helia's low moans made Asura feel strange, a slight beating in his chest as his hand stroked her silky raven hair and the base of her wings, gently massaging the soft feathers.

The feeling of both hearts beating with such power caused him shock at first, but soon he relaxed, realising it was a sign of him being healthy.

'Am I becoming attracted to Helia...?'

Asura pondered before realising it wasn't impossible. She saved his life thousands of years ago, endured unimaginable torture and waited so long for him to return and in every dream, she was there... He couldn't resist the temptation as he returned the kiss more passionately than before.

Helliana's eyes quivered before separating their lips, a string of saliva connecting them. Her golden eyes reflected Asura's crimson ones, their faces inches apart as they stared silently.

'It was too soon... but I don't regret kissing her.'

"Helia, do you trust me?" Asura asked before Helliana froze. Her fingertips touched his lips as his hand caressed her cheek.

"...Yes... Why do you ask?"

"Then believe in me if I picked this evolution. Then, I can heal myself quickly. Even if it is an evil way."

Helia nodded before Asura kissed her forehead, his thumb brushing across her soft skin as their intimate distance caused Helliana to blush. "I understand, Asura. But stop doing things that make my heart race too fast."

"I can't help it. You are such a mature beauty, yet you act so cute. How can a young man resist your charm?"

Helia snorted before vanishing, returning to his body while Asura sat silently. He could only feel a strange amusement as he closed his eyes, secretly listening to her sound euphoric in the spirit palace.

"Ehehe~ he called me mature and beautiful. Ehehehe."

'Helia, you are so adorable.' Asura sighed before taking a deep breath and checking his last two monoliths—he no longer left things to fate or Helia alone.

From the moment he got the shadow-style cultivation books from Lucretia, he started studying, but now that desire had restored his old self.

The man who, despite having no mana, could boost the hygiene, happiness, and wealth of his wife's territory by doubling with his ideas as a No-Mag. He wanted to understand magic and Anima without needing others.

So he became engrossed in himself, the monoliths, and how the anima flowed inside his body. When idle, when casting spells, or even thinking about an element, he used the Eyes of Desolation on himself, using the water as a mirror.

'It seems I became more dragon-like visible because of my heart's evolution, or rather, my dragon features are more devilish than Xavida, who is cute and lovely.'

⁜ Devour Monolith Evolutions

Stage One: Sensual Link - When cultivating with females, it increases the pleasure felt by the female while improving the level of purification, increasing their magic density and affinity.

Stage Two: Force - Devour living targets at twice the speed, but devouring magic particles naturally is much slower.

Stage Three: Efficiency - You can purify all qi and mana for an additional time, increasing your and your partner's magic density further. It takes longer to drain something that is living.

Asura leaned back against the cool wall, his body once again feeling the special effects of the third evolution after his copulation with Xavida even now.

Originally, he believed that efficiency would hinder him because it takes longer to drain a living being. However, he read the information about Force and realised that just like his magic, it cost a little more, but thanks to the other evolution, it was a benefit.

The same synergy existed between efficiency and force.

'I can't believe my thinking was so shallow before.'

'That wasn't like me. If I had taken efficiency first, it might have been negative, but once mixed with force and sensual link, the negatives vanished, and only positives remained.'

"The monoliths are designed to be completed. All five evolutions cover the weaknesses of each other to form the perfected base bloodline!"

He could feel that some kind of fog in his mind cleared once he stopped thinking of them separately but as one large unit working together.

'The Devil monolith is about efficiency and power.'

'The Dragon monolith is about raw power and durability.'

'The Asura monolith is about efficiency and durability.'

'The Devouring monolith is about raw power and balance.'

"I have yet to start understanding the last monolith... but I feel excited to learn."

⁜ Rebirth/???? Monolith Evolutions

Stage Two: Dark Phoenix Fire (Passive) - A fire hot enough to burn the lowest levels of hell, created through profane experiments with the world's fire-breathing monsters because of its destructive and powerful nature.

The flame absorbs and accepts all others, increasing its ferocity and temperature with each flame gained. It increases the effective damage of breath-type attacks by 500%.

Stage Three: Born of Flames—Normal fire cannot hurt you. Powerful flames deal decreased damage, and your flames can heal your body.

***

That's right. Thanks to Lorem's curse and Helia's hard work, most of the power gained was gifted to the Rebirth totem, almost cracking the second name and allowing Asura to reach a balance he could only dream of before.

Meanwhile, as Asura focused on his recent changes, a flash of white light appeared before the waterfall with immense speed and almost no sound.

Asura didn't hear them.

A radiant woman with long silver hair appeared as they crept through the waterfall. She looked heroic and captivating, her violet eyes looking only at the half-naked man sitting inside the waterfall as a long serpentine tongue licked her red lips.

"Hmmm~ the bad guy was hiding in this little cave."

Behind her were four beautiful wings, two pure white with pristine scales, while the other two were a shade of purple and black, flickering with lightning.

Her eyes narrowed as the scales on her cheeks and neck turned dark pink with each step closer to Asura, the more affectionate and pleasant she became.

'Such a delicious scent... Ah~ it smells so good.'

The woman's steps quickened before appearing beside Asura, her beautiful eyes staring down at him as if wanting to eat him alive.

But she stopped...

Now, watching him write different expressions and calculations on the floor, the white dragoness wrapped his back instead of disturbing him so he didn't get cold.

She made her wings warmer, using magic as she gently wafted them to keep his body temperature up.

Suddenly sensing another person behind him, Asura felt surprised but didn't panic. He felt the soft embrace and recognised the smell—it comforted his heart.

"Xavi, is that you?"

Xavida giggled before licking Asura's neck, leaving a mark with her sharp fangs.

"Yes, husband... It's Me~ Ehehehe."

Her cheerful laughter echoed around the waterfall, followed by a yelp from her lips, as Asura turned and hugged her body tightly, pushing her down to the ground.

She felt embarrassed seeing his crimson eyes peer down at her, filled with an affection Asura rarely showed her... like she was the most precious treasure.

"Husband... Don't stare so much..." Xavida hid her face with her scaled hands, which Asura pulled away before kissing her lips.

"How can I not stare at such a captivating lady?"

Xavida's shy expression faded, replaced by a seductive smile as she wrapped her arms and legs around Asura, squeezing his body tightly while her tail swayed. This showed her happiness, and she also tried to display her new power as her cultivation reached the Fourth Layer of the Earth Cycle. She abandoned her old way and accepted the same path as Asura.

"Husband~ I missed you."

Xavida enjoyed Asura's kisses along her neck and collarbone, his hands touching her buttocks, thighs and soft scales around her body as she felt him pressing against her pelvis, making her tremble.

"Don't be greedy. We have to hunt."

"Just the tip~ please, husband~."

Asura chuckled before tapping her nose and shaking his head.

"Not this time. Come on. Someone wants to meet me, and I hate to disappoint them."