Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix

Chapter 107: The Reward Ceremony - Hidden Tales

⁜ Lorem POV

The entire arena produced a strange tension. Whether from the battleship attacking the forest and the assassins who attacked the prince.

This year was much worse than the past decade. Lorem furrowed her brows as she examined the crowd of students.

Hers alone, with ten fewer people.

'I will never forget this, you cultist bastards. Not only did you try to kill Asura...'

'But so many of my lovely students!'

Filled with emotions, she finally took the stand and cleared her throat.

"Greetings, new students of the academy. Congratulations on surviving the first-year assessment."

A quiet clap followed because most of the first years were in a state of shock.

The horrific experiences of the assessment from the forest being destroyed by a dragon flame that claimed the lives of five students.

Then, the bombing wounded seventy and killed over fifty.

"Many of you might be filled with a deep emotion of loss, defeat and sorrow. However, you cannot dwell on such feelings. Instead, focus on the fact that you survived this event and will become stronger thanks to the loss."

'What are these lame ass lines... Who wrote them? Was it Bernette?'

"Ah..."

Lorem seemed to get irritated speaking with such a polite tone. She brushed her long red hair, thick like a lion's man, behind her ears. Then slammed down on the wooden podium, almost shattering it into pieces—if not for the regenerative magic cast upon it.

"Stop being pathetic. Do you think those guys would give two shits if you died instead?"

"If it makes you feel so much anger, resistance, and outrage..."

Lorem's entire body began glowing red, her flames vibrating with an aura that reached even the most distant people, filling them with a sense of power.

"Then get stronger and crush the enemy yourselves! You are here to become warriors! Mages and knights!"

"Show them why you attended this academy! Let your enemies remember your names!"

"Let your parents sleep easy, knowing you will protect them from harm! Instead of thinking, you are weak and spineless. Show your loved ones that they don't have to worry!"

"Those who lost someone, dear, I can only tell you to grow stronger and stop worrying about them in the upper realms!"

As her phoenix feathers rained across the stage in a glorious sight, Lorem's flames suddenly illuminated the scores on the board in the next moment.

Suddenly, the audience exploded with cheers, fists punching the air, and magic radiating from all kinds of students, regardless of elements, cultivation stages, or talent.

"Yeah!"

"RAH!!!!"

"Princess Vela! We love you!"

"Mu Xue! You are amazing!"

"Asura! Asura! Asura!"

'The little bastard... I can't believe that a Stage Four Beast died... I have to make sure he trains harder. Otherwise, he's body will become unbalanced, and he'll be a paper tiger if he rushes to the next stage....'

Lorem smirked before stepping down as Bernard took over. His words were boring, as the entire auditorium was now celebrating.

[First: 1,200 points - Asura Fenix and Xavida Bahamot]

[Second: 500 points - Vela Silvara and Mu Xue]

The king sighed before turning around.

"Father... Why don't you release me?"

"Don't call me that. You are no longer my son. Instead, a creation made from my stupidity."

"So cruel... after everything I endured. Everything I suffered..."

The creature laughed hysterically as the king left, ignoring the sounds of madness echoing through the castle dungeon; then a woman's scream sounded... A maid whom the king himself locked in the room below.

She was the prince's 'meal' as the sickening crunch of her bones sounded. Her wails and screams ended quickly as silence fell upon the dungeon again.

Only slurping and chewing echoed for the rest of the night.

'Forgive me, for I lack the strength to take his life... I will accept your punishment for this failure. My wife.'

The king thought as tears streamed down his face.

'Even if you despise me, hate me, curse my existence for eternity. I still love you, even though you have never thought of me more than a tool... Even though you married me out of obligation.'

'...'

Inside a secret chamber in the king's bedroom, a woman dressed in luxurious silk clothing lay unconscious, a child in her womb pulsating with a soft glow.

The secret of the prince's birth... a woman who looks almost identical to the queen was her cousin and a member of the Silvaran royal family.

Because of a prophecy, the queen used forbidden techniques and impregnated the Silvaran princess, who willingly offered herself to save the kingdom with a female heir.

However, the child's birth caused a mutation in the princess... making her infertile. Thus, the man who married her would lie with another woman to produce the second child. Someone who could never inherit the throne.

Whether the queen hated her husband or mother for this decision was unknown. However, the result changed her completely.

The kind and benevolent princess that the kingdom adored and loved... To a cold and brutal queen who did everything to protect the kingdom.

"You sacrificed your womb and rights to become a true mother for the kingdom. In honour of your actions, please allow me to keep this ruse until the end."

The king kissed the woman's forehead before leaving the secret room, hiding any traces of his presence.

"My foolishness... It will destroy this kingdom and everyone within. Forgive me for failing you."

Meanwhile, inside the dungeon. The creature licked its bloody hands clean, gazing at the corpse of the maid.

"Mother... Father... Soon, I will return home."

"We will return home."

"And Kill, Asura Fenix and that filthy lizard."

"Kill? Why not thank... we are here because of them."

The creature laughed hysterically, splitting into two sides once again.

One pale and the other tanned. Two beasts who shared the same body.

Two halves of a whole.

"Thank them? No, brother... They will suffer our wrath and pain. We will force them to repent for abandoning us."

"Repent?"

"Yes... Only then will we forgive them. Isn't that right, brother?"

"Hahahaha!"

"Hehehehe!"

Their insane laughter echoed through the dungeon as the moon shone in the sky, bathing the land in moonlight.