Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

The moment he set foot on the Elven continent, Asura was met not with a grand welcome or any sort of fanfare but with a barrage of insults and degradation. The very bloodlines that had brought him this far were now the cause of his humiliation, igniting a rage within him that he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

I haven't felt that emotion since being a no-mag... spoken to as less than human, treated worse than an animal.

"Please, Asura, don't hate my mother!" Celine stood a few steps away, her hand pulling on his elbow, causing him to awaken from his moment of anger.

"Haa...."

With a long sigh Asura couldn't help but feel horrible seeing Celine's eyes filled with tears as his hand loosened and a white flame flickered before entering the body of the queen. He knew she would continue weakening because of some kind of poison or venom.

Thus he tried to use his flames of rebirth to help give her more time and identify the poison. The queen seemed to realise this instantly as her eyes widened, and she looked at Asura with the most peculiar look before her pale lips formed the faintest of smiles.

I hate to admit it, but this elven maiden could charm an entire continent, even in her current state, with that beautiful smile.

"Forgive us, and we were wrong to judge one of your calibre with the preconceived notions that our ancestors taught us about dragons." Her mother's sudden change of heart was a balm to Asura's wounded ego, her words washing away his anger and leaving only a flicker of his flame to discover the source of the poison.

So someone is making her drink poisoned tea...

"Please join me for a cup of Heliborne Tea; it's our royal family's most special floral tea."

Asura then looked at the queen as both of them seemed to reach an understanding. Thus, he shook his head. "Though I admire the great herbs of the elves as an uncouth human. That tea seems like it would make me grow sick because of nutrients inside being too powerful."

"..."

"Asura, you shouldn't reject it! This is such a rare tea that even I am not allowed to have it except for special events... Mother NEVER shares it!"

He didn't know if the queen understood but Celine sure didn't as she kept holding his arm and whined for him to try some as it was rare her stingy mother would offer some to others!

However, it seemed that Celine's addition helped the queen realise why Asura rejected her drink.

'The poison is in your tea.' He mouthed out of the view of Celine, who continued to speak about how delicious the tea was during winter while eating steamed apples and dates.

"I believe he is right, Prince Asura. Forgive me for forcing your hand." With a look of sadness, the queen spoke softly. "If the tea is the cause of your suffering, then shall we enjoy something that might suit both of our palates?"

"But mother..."

"This is a choice, Celine. You can enjoy the tea at your next birthday."

Celine paused for a moment and seemed to be in deep thought. "Well, okay. I can wait till then!" She said cheerfully. "Asura, see, my mother isn't so bad. She's just a bit old and boring."

The queen's lips twitched, and Asura felt Celine might not be the brightest elf in this forest.

"Celine." The queen's tone was ice cold, and the moment Celine heard the change in tone, she suddenly began running while holding her ass.

"No, Mother, I have not been bad. Don't hit my ass!"

The two seemed to have left him behind as they vanished into the trees.

Asura couldn't help but chuckle as the queen's eyes flashed with killing intent. It seemed Celine was in for a beating, though Asura wasn't too sure which of the two was in danger of death.

As Asura walked the winding path, he noticed a faint sense of danger around him. His steps slowed, and soon, he found himself standing at the centre of a circle of hidden Elven archers.

"State your business intruder! How dare you stand in our royal garden, dragon!" One elf shouted, his bowstring tightening as his words fell on Asura's ears.

"Oh, I came to visit Celine. What's the issue?"

"Do not toy with us, lizard! State your true reason, or we will fill your body with arrows."

"I have nothing to say, except you are the ones that are trespassing in MY presence. If anything, you all need to state your reasons." Asura didn't really want to cause an issue, but he constantly felt that someone seemed to plot against him in this kingdom.

From the moment he met Celine and Spica to this sudden need for him to transfer to this kingdom to support her...

Why did it feel like someone knew more than they should?

Or rather, it smelt of the cult!

"Do you know what happens when you threaten the elves in their forest? Only death and disgrace await!" A handsome elf started walking towards Asura, his lips forming a faint smile, and his face looked quite similar to Celine's. If he had to guess, this might be the first prince and the man Asura believed to be poisoning his mother.

"I have no issues with your elves. I came here for the girl and only her. Though if you threaten me again, I will destroy this forest and raze your city. That is my warning, and it will not be the last."

The moment Asura finished his words, he noticed a blade of green wind tear through the air and destroyed the wall behind him with a loud bang; the prince merely snapped his fingers to kill him.

"You may leave." The prince, whose face was filled with rage, his beauty fading with the veins popping from his forehead. As he pointed his sword at Asura. "I shall not take your threat lightly. Nor shall I let you meet my sister in private ever again!"

"What's your issue? Your sister asked me to come and support her, so I will."

"Support? You mean breed my sister, like an animal, in order to give birth to a filthy hybrid dragon that would be the greatest shame of our royal bloodline!" The prince spat.

This racist son of a bitch!

"You... How do you know that name?"

"Do you think I would seduce your little sister without learning important information?"

"..."

"Tell me, Prince. Why not just kill her? Or rather, why not kill all your siblings? You are the one who is going to be king and lead the elves into war. Yet you are too underhanded to do it by your hand, instead using poison and pathetic means."

"Tsk! H-How do you know of this?"

"If you kill Celine, I will bring war to your kingdom, and I will make sure to destroy all the people of the elves," Asura spoke, his eyes narrowed.

"I know you are a follower of the cult. I will make sure you all die before you achieve your goals."

"What? Do you think you are the first dragon that has threatened me or my people?"

Asura stepped forward, the extended sword of the prince stabbing through his body, a mere afterimage from using his void step technique; his hand placed on the prince's throat before Asura growled in a low, threatening voice. "No, but I am the last."

Now, Asura didn't mean half the things he said.

He just realised that to out a cultist and learn their plot, it's best to be as crazy sounding as they were. So he exaggerated everything from wanting to become Celine's lover to wanting to breed her and destroying Ar'Soleil from just wanting to destroy the spies.

"Mother... This filthy dragon seeks to destroy Ar'Soleil!"

"Hmm? Really? What proof do you have? As for his race, it matters not as he is Celine's future husband, are you not the one that tried to poison me with tea?"

"Menitos, if you don't answer me, I will have to punish you." The empress's words were a dagger in his heart, and he dropped to the ground, his voice low.

"I was told to do so... Mother, I am not wrong, forgive me... I was forced to do it!"

"By whom?"

"I-I... I cannot tell you... I am sorry."

"Menitos, I won't ask you again."

"T-They will kill me... They will kill all of us if I talk."

It was the first time that Asura and maybe even his mother saw the true face of Al Menitos for a long time. But there was something unbelievably disgusting about a 3,100-year-old male crying on his knees for his mother...

"Ar Menitos, a cult of unknown origin, has infiltrated the Elven court, and you are their puppet." As the queen said this, she released Celine and walked over, her eyes blazing with rage, her sword in hand.

"Mother, forgive me..."

Ar Melania looked down at her son, her sword dancing with beautiful leaves, the control of her wind magic using only the tiniest amount of her magic as she watched him in silence.

"Menitos, the day that I die. I will watch your soul go straight to hell."

"M-Mother?"

"Celine, your brother is a traitor. However, I will not judge him because I can see his truth and heart. This idiot doesn't truly want the throne, and he never did; there is someone in this capital manipulating our family in order to destroy us."

"What! No, he's a liar!"

"Ar Celinas! Listen to your mother's words."

Asura also believed her because the moment her green sword touched his chest, there was a strange dark cloud that dissipated from the centre of his eyes and chest.

Ar Melania then turned to Asura with a regretful look. "It seems that whoever this cult might be, they seek the World Tree Milas Turim which this kingdom is created from. Forgive me for the horrible reception you have endured here. Can you give me time to interrogate Menitos and find out who placed this in his body?"

Then she held up a black seed that oozed with a disgusting scent and the aura of the void.

Nothing can be simple, can it...

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