Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Asura stood at the entrance. Today was the final rehearsal, and though he wouldn\'t meet Vela, she was there. From the moment she stepped foot in the hall, a special force separated them.

The reason was that Asura could not see Vela. The ancient scrolls and marriage rules stipulated this unbreakable rule, but he could not resist. A spell made them unable to sense each other, only the vague presence, as the pair walked down the aisle.

Hundreds of benches, crafted from the finest marble, smiling faces, filled the room with guests—friends, family, and well-wishers. Rich purple carpets and a wreath of roses intertwined with green leaves and ivy filled the pathway that created an aisle. The buzz of excitement and anticipation filled the air among those gathered.

This scene caused a knot in Asura\'s chest—he wondered how each girl pictured their wedding, with the entire 7th and 2nd Valkyrie brigade holding swords above their heads as the procession continued.

What would Vela look like? He wondered.

Standing at the altar, the priest awaited the arrival of his bride—an elegant man dressed in rich royal robes with long, deep raven hair, a golden headband, and exquisite jewellery.

This kind of outfit made Asura feel strange. However, the intense looks of his other lovers made him realise just how good he looked. Even the girls from his Valkyrie unit couldn\'t help but blush at his looks.

Asura wished he could see her face. What did Vela look like? Alas, even his eyes saw the perfect movements of magic but couldn\'t see through the ancient relic that the queen used here.

It seemed to be something the first queen created, Queen Athea.

***

Two hours after the rehearsal finished, Asura sat in his private room, the golden headband placed on its stand along with the jewellery while his royal robes hung on an elegant hanger, with several females helping remove the slight makeup from his face and clean his nails and feet.

\'The queen ordered for the wedding to be perfect...\'

"Do you think it will be?" One female asked.

"How could it not be? Queen Silvara has prepared for years for this event." The elder servant smiled. "Of course, it is exciting to see our lovely princess look so feminine instead of always fighting with her sword."

"That\'s true... but the men." The younger one giggled.

"Fufu, isn\'t it part of the old stories when a girl, by chance, meets her groom on the wedding day, and the beauty of her radiance causes him to fall in love once again, and they live happily ever after?" The older one joked.

"You\'re not wrong about that..." The younger servant laughed.

"Haha, alright, enough joking," the older woman said. "Be careful with his hands—look how beautiful and delicate each finger is; softly apply the cream and gently file these wonderful nails with an adamantine file."

Asura closed his eyes and blushed slightly—though he was a warrior, the women wouldn\'t cease in their compliments of his appearance, even the servants, and he couldn\'t help but enjoy the sensation of being pampered.

The door to the room suddenly burst open, and Queen Silvara walked in, a black box in her hand and a serious expression on her face.

"Everyone, clear out." Her order for the servants caused them to hurry out. Asura lost his paradise, hearing the clack of her heels tapping the ground as she approached; he could taste the sweet scent of his mother-in-law\'s perfume, a thick floral scent, yet with a calming aftertaste.

Asura felt her sit next to him, looking at him through her veil. The veil seemed to be made from pure Arachne silk and decorated with floral patterns using 1000 strands of a phoenix feather—tough yet soft.

"Asura, you know tomorrow is the most important day of my daughter\'s life as a woman before she officially becomes queen, right?" Silvara spoke in a business-like tone.

"Yes, my queen," Asura responded.

"Good," she nodded, "it would be good if you also did your best to make it memorable, too." With a slight cough, her hand passed him the black box as the golden clip opened up and flipped the lid. "Ahem... Consider this your reward for everything you\'ve done in the past three months. I have spoken to your father, and he also accepted."

Asura looked in the box and saw a splendid necklace and emblem. The black gemstone shimmered in the light, revealing a beautiful pattern of two phoenixes opposite each other, with a spear in the centre, their bodies almost wrapped around the spear.

The emblem was similar: a black and white phoenix wing on either side of a black spear with a blue blade, while the wings attached at the bottom of the blade.

"From today onwards, your noble title is Earl Phoenix; this is your emblem and noble pendant," Silvara said with pride.

"Thank you, Queen Silvara," Asura lowered his head and responded.

"Silly boy, don\'t say that to me. Call me mother!" she chuckled.

Asura couldn\'t help but chuckle as well.

"Just remember that the wedding is the most important day for Vela; make sure she has fun... Even though you can\'t see each other, once you both kneel in front of the priest, you\'ll be able to hear her voice and know how excited she is. The moment you say your vows and kiss is when you will see her in all her glory.

If you try to sneak a peek or kiss her beforehand, I\'ll castrate you and not let you be the future king..." Silvara was direct.

"I understand." Asura nodded, listening carefully to Silvara\'s every word.

"Now that\'s cleared up," she explained, "I formed this special necklace using dragon blood, infused with the core of a 300-year-old dragon." "A very rare gift; no other in the entire royal family owns one."

"Dragon blood?" Asura questioned.

"Mhmm, in the past, there were quite a few. However, sadly, now there seem to be only two."

Her eyes seemed to shine as she looked at him through the veil with a calm smile.

"The pendant itself was created from a mixture of adamantine and obsidian, with the inner core being a dragon\'s magic ore, refined and purified over 2000 times in a furnace, heated over 1000°C by my flame until it submits and formed such a beautiful colour. It should reduce the time you need to cast spells and protect you from any magic below Stage Six."

Asura listened and felt speechless. She really didn\'t skimp on this gift.

"Thank you, mother..." He stuttered, thinking back to the mother he met the other day. "But won\'t it be useful for Vela?"

"Haha, silly boy... I have given Vela another, which uses the blood of a phoenix."

She placed the box on the table and stood up, giving Asura a gentle hug.

"Believe me, your efforts haven\'t gone unnoticed; I\'ve never seen Vela so happy, nor has she ever shown such vibrance towards me and the future. Please take care of my daughter—until I step down. You may find me harsh and detestable, but I must protect Silvara. No matter the cost."

The tone of her voice shifted; her eyes filled with a piercing gaze as she gave Asura a few pats on the back before straightening his suit and smiling, "Now... you should relax and prepare for tomorrow." Her body leaned close to his ear before whispering, "No more hotel romps, please. I don\'t want you with other women tonight."

Before Asura could respond, she left, leaving behind a faint trace of her perfume and the scent of her hair.

Apart from the earrings, her perfume, hair, and body scent made her different from the others, and he found her similar to his mother. The scary one, as he listened to her tapping heels, leaving him slowly.

\'Well, this necklace is beautiful. Although it feels strange to be called Asura Phoenix officially...\'

Asura smiled slightly—finding the name comical.

"I wonder what Vela would look like in her dress?"

He picked up the necklace and touched it. "It\'s a beautiful piece of work... just like its owner."

"..." The old servant watched Asura with strange eyes as the servants returned to finish pampering him and removing his makeup.

\'I pray she didn\'t hear me.\' Asura felt uneasy as he thought back to that piercing gaze and felt a chill running down his spine.

\'Let\'s just hope she doesn\'t kill me...\' He smiled wryly.

Though he seemed composed, it was strange—he couldn\'t stop his heart beating quickly.

\'Calm down...\'

Asura could feel the excitement. Tomorrow was his wedding day, and he couldn\'t help being a little strange.

Meanwhile, in Vela\'s room, Queen Silvara stood by her daughter\'s side as she placed on a beautiful necklace containing blood from a phoenix.

"Do you like it, my dear?" Queen Silvara asked her daughter.

"Yes, mother, I do!" Vela nodded in excitement, picking up the emblem with the black spear in the middle. "This is Asura\'s emblem!?"

"Mmm, do you like it? Because you love him so much, I will hold his noble ceremony during the wedding tomorrow." She smiled. "So, how do you feel? Tomorrow is your big day! Your wedding..." Her mother\'s tone was soft.

"It\'s hard to describe how I feel." Vela looked at the emblem, staring at her reflection. "But it\'s an amazing feeling. I didn\'t think I would get married in my entire lifetime, at least to someone I loved this much."

Queen Silvara felt a tinge of guilt, wondering if things didn\'t happen as she planned. Vela would still be happy now, or would her choices have broken her?

She knew it was a terrible thing to do but for the greater good. The happiness of one is worth the prosperity of many...

"My little girl is getting married..."

Yet, Vela wasn\'t just a tool, but her beloved daughter.

"Mother, stop squishing my cheeks!"

Vela laughed.

"I can\'t help it... my daughter is too beautiful. I\'m scared you will become a swan and fly away," Queen Silvara teased her daughter as the two hugged each other tightly.

"I\'m not going anywhere, Mother, at least not without you."

"My daughter..." Queen Silvara held her daughter\'s face, her eyes red from tears, "Make sure you take care of your husband, alright?"

"I will..."

"You must. That man is not some simple, noble son. He will one day surpass the land. I could feel his ambition before it felt dormant, and he seemed to be soft. Yet today, I saw his fiery passion and desire for power."

"I know... mother," Vela smiled, "that\'s what makes Asura, Asura; he is not some simple person to control but a man who will do anything for his love and those around him."

"True... Even for a king, power isn\'t everything; in fact, it\'s love that can move a mountain. With his tenacity, he can conquer the world and fulfil his ambitions... As long as he keeps loving you."

"Mm! I will make sure he never leaves me."