Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Chapter 50  Intense Training - Desperate Escape!

***

A red world with black rotting trees and soft, murky mud below their feet, the pair found themselves in a rotting forest filled with the stench of death and decay.

"We should get ready for combat—" Asura's words were cut short as a long black leg penetrated his abdomen, the sharp appendage coming from a deformed insect like a huge mosquito with eroded wings and black tar covering its body.

"Ugh!?" 'Damn, it hurts... my abdomen is burning... I can't feel my right arm!?'

There was no mistaking that the creature was above stage three and that the pair had zero time to respond due to the nature of this random teleportation.

It was all down to luck as a dirty, volatile substance began to fill the wound, dirty black tar bubbling as the leg tore from the wound with his blood spraying.

All of this happened in a matter of one second.

"!!!"

A jolt of purple lightning flashed before the body of Xavida, covered in dark purple scales, appeared above the monster; she had jumped into the air, transforming mid-way, using her wings to throw her forward as her claws ripped at the monster's back, tearing a thick chunk of the dirty purple meat and black sludge before her hands pushed out a loud crackle before lightning began to envelop the monster with a sharp bolt.

She felt her abdomen hurt, pulling the muscle due to her anger and bad positioning before the lightning was shot.

"Nnn....!"

Asura's dull eyes saw the flash of purple lightning before the sour scent of cooked meat that had spoilt filled his nose.

"Haa...." His lips struggled to breathe as the strange fluid was slowly devoured by his body and turned into whatever it could...

[Asura! This is a nasty toxin. Make sure your little partner doesn't get it in her body.]

He couldn't replay but nodded, trying to straighten himself, but the sudden attack had damaged the muscles connecting his right side, setting him off balance as he regenerated.

Xavida landed, her foot slipping in the sludge, her head leaning back as a long, sharp tongue snapped at her former position...

When she looked to the right, a sense of horror filled her chest as dozens of glowing eyes watched them from the darkness of the blood forest.

I should have activated my armour... why was I too conceited? He cursed, watching Xavida's eyes filled with shock and something he never expected from her...

Fear...

There was a moment of hesitation before her body glowed purple as the magical glow wrapped around her feet, and she used it to shoot away, grabbing Asura's arm.

He felt her arm almost crushing his bones as she lifted him and began to race at max speed; the world began to distort as her lightning propelled her faster and faster until that murky swamp and the black rotting tree vanished.

She desperately tried to escape.

But the eyes were still watching, peering in the darkness...

***

How long did she run for... Asura didn't understand. Normally, it would be fine for her to use that ability, but after cultivating with Asura, her breakthrough to Stage Three was delayed to make her foundation and body improve to perfection.

'I can feel her muscles and body trembling... Forgive me, Xavida, we were too full of ourselves.'

The forest began to fade, and they approached a rocky clearing with a huge mountain of rocks and crags.

Asura had remembered the horrors and experience of that month-long assessment that he locked away... eating dirt to survive, hiding and urinating himself when a Stage four beast passed by...

'I have to recover and support Xavida!' n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

He hated the dirty feeling of this forest as they reached a small cavern... Through the pain of his torn abdomen and muscles restoring themselves, he vomited over her shoulders more than half a dozen times, the image of a cool badass or cheeky classmate long gone now.

He hated the dirty feeling of this forest as they reached a small cavern... "Haa.....Ha...Haa....Ha....." Xavida was pouring with sweat; her veins were bulging under her skin from overusing her magic as she collapsed to her knee... "Fine... Okay?"

Even now, as her body was covered in small cuts and wounds from the monsters and sharp objects as the pair escaped, her beautiful eyes, now dull and tired, cared for his safety first... It made him feel angry at himself...

'I should have been ready.'

"Thanks to you, I am fine... Are you okay?" Asura's voice was a little dry, but he was recovering and managed to allow her to show a relieved smile until she suddenly seemed to gag—her cheeks ballooned as she began to vomit and wretch outside the cave entrance.

"Ueeeh.... F-fine... don't look." Xavida desperately tried to tell him—as her pale face and weak body leaned against the wall, he ignored her and began to prepare lemon water, some basic medicine for mana sickness and, of course, a fresh set of armoured leather like hers was destroyed.

'When she killed Stage Three, I got some essence...'

Asura knew that their lives weren't guaranteed here, and the only thing that was for sure was the timer on the teleport was seven days—this hell was genuine. The small scar on his waist was a testament to that.

'Let's not make the same mistake again...'

He was filled with anger and self-reflection as he wore his Black Wolf Mail, completely replacing his college outfit with a full leather armour and then that metal armour that Mu Xue had made.

"Xavida," Asura called out to her as she staggered inside.

"Nnnn....?"

Her eyes were no longer with any of the fight or rejection, barely able to stand or walk as she fell against his black and red-plated armour, seeming soothed as she rubbed her forehead on the cold chest piece.

'I will close the helmet once I am done...'

He grabbed the small bottle with the lemon water and medicine mixed before taking a large gulp, keeping it inside his mouth, before leaning down and kissing her lightly with his hand holding the back of her neck to stop her from resisting and thumbs against her lips to keep her mouth from closing—he transferred the lemon liquid before separating...

No matter how angry she got later, he decided this was the best way to help heal her body and mana core, which was likely damaged from overuse. Asura lifted the chin of Xavida—her eyes seemed as pale as her face as she looked at him weakly, a smile as if happy he was okay.

He grabbed the small bottle with the lemon water and medicine mixed before taking a large gulp, keeping it inside his mouth, before leaning down and kissing her lightly with his hand holding the back of her neck to stop her from resisting and thumbs against her lips to keep her mouth from closing—he transferred the lemon liquid before separating...

Xavida was too weak to fight, so she swallowed the sweet but sour liquid and medicine, and she coughed and wretched as Asura took another gulp and repeated the process twice until he felt her tongue fighting against his.

'So she has recovered enough strength to push me...?'

Xavida wanted to reject Asura due to the fact she had vomited and worried about her breath, but he didn't show a bad face and kept coming back, so she began to forget her fatigue and sore body as his anima entered her body, revitalising her from the core outwards, mixing with her magic element before entering her brain...

After transferring a few mouthfuls of lemon water with medicine and anima, Asura separated. He saw her blushing face, no longer pale, and eyes brighter before he placed their foreheads together, checking for a temperature.

Her amethyst eyes just watched him, her hands wrapped around his back now with more strength as she felt his strange power flowing through her body and, once again, the pleasure of him draining even more of the last bit of her curse.

"Are you feeling alright, Xavi?" His voice was low and gentle and seemed more charming as they were close in a dark cave, her eyes never leaving his face as she smiled gently.

"Mm! I feel really good, thank you... Asura." 'Good, I was worried you might become sick or hurt... He thought, stroking her soft, silky white hair—he didn't stop until her racing hearts synchronised with his.'

During her moment of fever, both of them were racing so fast he thought she might die as they burst from her chest. "I am going to go hunting outside the cave—I saw some edible monsters—can you wait here and start building our camp here? I have some talismans that ward monsters, safety candles and blankets in my storage."

Asura told Xavida with a commanding voice but still allowed her some leeway to choose. She looked at him like an abandoned rabbit before she pushed out her lips as if to say it was okay if he...

This time, without the medicine or an excuse, he leaned in, pressing his lips gently and kissed Xavida, their lips wet, warm and gentle as he opened her teeth slightly—they shared a deep kiss where her tongue entered his mouth.

Something he never imagined her ever doing of her own volition as she began to explore his mouth, wrapping her tongue around his and drinking his saliva...

When he separated after five minutes of gentle French kissing, Xavida seemed dazed as if forgetting everything except this strange guy, and she just watched him with half-closed, expectant eyes—watching his black wolf helmet close, leaving only his attractive red eyes glowing with a tracing light as he turned to leave.

"I'll be back within an hour."

"Mmm... I'll wait."

"Lumeris Nova... It's time to hunt."

[I will help locate the enemy and slowly leave things to you...]

'No, Brian. I will fight alone.' 'Otherwise, I will never learn and always rely on you in the moment of need.'

'Thank you for offering.'

[In emergencies, then!]

With that thought, Asura once again stepped into the dreaded hell that awaited him, but this time, he wouldn't be unprepared or overconfident for a single moment.

He realised the forest beside the kingdom only had domesticated and tamed monsters...

Here, they were all wild, violent and filled with hunger.