BXBX NOVEL Chapter 147: Who Are you?
"First, I will take you to my mother; she eagerly awaited your arrival, Asura," Verana muttered. "Even though our families have had their differences, there is no reason we should dis-serve you."
'Nothing I can say on that matter,' Asura smiled. He didn't hold her or the clan's past actions against her because his dislike of the Drakkur women was already at the maximum.
The palace was a wonder of magic mixed with architecture as it blended with nature.
However, he noticed a faint stench of iron while walking. It was a nostalgic scent he knew better in this lifeblood. Verana guided them through the most beautiful parts of the palace as they slowly ascended the spiralling design of the building towards the main greeting room.
"Princess, Earl Asura, please wait here." Verana paused momentarily; her ruby eyes turned to him before speaking up. "Earl Asura, the Duchess would like to see you alone."
'Hmmm? Why does she seem so unwilling?'
"Understood, I will do so." Asura didn't have a problem with entering alone; he had never met the woman in the past life in her prime. Because the moment Verana took control, her mother became sick and soon died. 'It caused a lot of issues at first, but nobody even mentioned it after the first year.'
While he contemplated whether he remembered her mother's death, Asura arrived at two enormous black doors with two young women standing guard.
They wore skimpy clothing, showing their bare shoulders, a red mark on their chest, and a tattooed black serpent down their stomach.
Their bodies were so slender that they showed every curve, making Asura realise these women were not eye candy but two of the deadliest women in this citadel; the twisting knives along their thighs and the black serpent marking showed their true rank.
'These women are deadly assassins and top-class knights. Raised in the most severe environment, meant to emulate the twin serpents at the doorway of the city.'
He focused his eyes on the beautiful details of the door, which had deep runes, complex formations, and spell structures. These were not defensive spells or runes; instead, they seemed to bind the citadel in a vow of silence.
'I don't know what secret they force everyone to keep, but it must be something grave for the Drakkur family...'
"Who are you?" A girl's voice resounded before he could understand the meaning of these runes. It was the left girl, her face narrow, beautiful, sharp, but fierce like a snake.
"I am Asura Fenix. I believe the Duchess is waiting for me."
"Interesting..." the right woman muttered.
'What?' He thought, noticing the two women watching him silently, their eyes taking in every detail. 'Do they want something?'
"Look, sister, his face is so handsome."
"His skin is so smooth."
"The perfect meal."
The two women came close. Their slender fingers approached his cheek, their eyes full of curiosity and intrigue. "You have a devilish bloodline."
"No, sister, he has a dragon bloodline... My mouth is watering, just smelling the vapours."
'What is going on here?' Asura wasn't sure what they were up to, so he let them check him as they wished, raising an eyebrow at their actions. "Have I offended the two ladies?"
"No, just wondering what a boy like you is doing here," the left woman responded, her finger trailing along his collar and gently across his neck.
"A shame. The Duchess would never let such a prey go to her daughter if she knew~ enter the doors, young earl." The right girls chirped as Asura felt confused by the two women.
He turned to see them again, but the pair vanished, leaving neither their scent nor even a hair. 'That was odd...' Asura thought, slowly opening the doors as the surrounding runes dissipated with a low hum.
The moment he entered the room, the door slammed shut, and he felt his body restricted. Yet only for a moment, as he saw an empty room, the grand meeting room of the Drakkur family, the place of humiliation for his former life.
Now he felt a sense of sombre and solemness to it as he gazed at the large throne, black with a soft cushion more like a sofa than a throne, as a woman sprawled across the arms in a loosely fitting black dress.
Her hair was crimson but duller than Verana's, while her skin was pale in a beautiful sense. "Are you Earl Asura?" She muttered as she watched him with lazy eyes glowing with a golden light. "Oh my, Verana never said you were so... so wonderful."
Asura had not seen the current Duchess before, but as she sat up and slowly leaned against the backrest, he understood the charm Verana inherited from her. As he approached her and stopped a few steps away, her nose sniffed the air a little before she tilted her head as if studying him.
"Do you want to marry me instead?"
"Forgive my impudence, Duchess Drakkur. However, I don't believe I have the strength to stand beside you without disgracing your renowned name," Asura responded, bowing his head slightly in respect.
"Valerie."
"Hmmm?" Asura wondered what she was saying.
"My true name. Call me Duchess Valerie." She smirked. "It sounds more interesting coming from someone like you."
"As you wish, Duchess Valerie."
"Mhmm, you pass." Valerie grinned. "I can't believe my daughter's intuition was right." Once again, her eyes examined him, her lips curling into an eerie yet captivating smile as she stepped off the throne and slowly circled him, her long dress dragging on the floor as she approached.
Asura did not stop her but did not understand the meaning of her words; they were nothing more than the ramblings of a lonely woman.
"Asura, come to the winter festival with me; I can promise you an experience like no other." Valerie stopped behind him, placed her hand on his shoulder, and whispered in a compelling voice, her face very close to his ear.
"Forgive me, Duchess. I am afraid that—" Before he could finish, a lightning bolt struck him. 'What is going on?' Asura wondered as he collapsed on the floor, feeling the ominous mana rampaging within him and destroying his body.
Her soft lips pressed against his neck while two long fangs seemed to have penetrated his flesh. They even pierced his black scales as she sucked his blood. The entire sensation was like an aphrodisiac. Her tongue lapped across his flesh, tasting his blood.
'This woman is a vampire!? No—The entire Drakkur noble lineage are vampires!?'
Yet this was a vampire's ability. She used her aura and vampiric magic to manipulate his body and cause him to feel pleasure.
However, Asura's blood wasn't something she could drink without suffering, as her entire body drained of all magic, devoured by Asura as he rapidly converted it into anima, passing a portion back to her as she climaxed immediately. Her body collapses to her knees while holding herself, making adorable sounds.
"What a feast... What a delicious feast..." Valerie muttered with a shaky voice; her cheeks flushed red as she slowly reached her hands out to him. Her lips quivered before she convulsed a second time, her body now kneeling before him as Asura placed a palm on her head, his eyes golden with black sclera, an unstoppable rage, like a landslide flowing through him.
"Your body will heal," Asura spoke in a cold and condescending tone as his magic returned to his body and filled the gaps and wounds. "Let this be a reminder. I will never become your puppet or anyone else's! Let me enjoy a fine meal while you make a mess of yourself."
In the solemn greeting room, Asura began forcefully cultivating their magic together, leading to her enjoying the extreme pleasure and pain while he began dominating the vampire until she could only cry and beg for him to stop,
"Please stop, Lord Asura. My heart hurts. Please stop... Please..."
"I'll die... the pleasure... Lord Asura..." Valerie whimpered as her tears dropped on the ground, her eyes rolling back into her skull before he finally released her.
"Clean yourself up, and tell the person hiding there to come down."
Asura could sense somebody watching, but their stealth and shadow magic were nothing compared to the twin serpents at the door; he felt disgusted the moment he smelled the woman and felt the aura of her magic.
'Who is she?' Asura wondered as his golden eyes stared at the ceiling above and his body was repaired.
"Don't kill her, Lord Asura; please..." Valerie spoke pleadingly, her voice sounding innocent and lacking any lust as she fixed her attire and wiped her face with a cloth.
"That depends on her," Asura said, gazing at the second floor, waiting for the shadowy figure to show herself. He didn't get angry like before; instead, he simply smiled. He only cared about how the woman planned to answer his next question.
"Come down, Verena."
'Hmmm? Verena..."
The shadowy figure only materialised after Valerie ordered her. However, what appeared before Asura was a beautiful girl with familiar crimson hair and crimson eyes; she wore a blue dress, unlike Verana's.
She reminded Asura of two things, one of which was his humiliation. 'Hmmm, she looks the same. Could it be that she is Verana's little sister, but is there anything different?'
"So, you are Verena. Who are you exactly?" Asura questioned as he watched her.
He could sense her mana, but it was unlike anything he could understand. There was no way he could mistake this woman and this feeling, but it made no sense as he didn't marry this woman. Her name was wrong!
"I am Verena Drakkur, the shadow piece and replacement for my twin sister, Verana." The woman spoke with a bright smile that, despite his suspicions, charmed him. "I have trained to live out my sister's life. In case she were to perish."
'....'
[Asura... Calm down, not here.]
When Helliana's voice sounded, Asura's hand reached Verena as he was about to use every ounce of anima to erase her existence.
"Lord Asura, you will ruin my training if you kill me," Verena spoke, her expression calm and unchanged, just like the calm before the storm.
"..."
Asura didn't respond, but the density of his magic flooded the room, causing Valerie to become confused. She did not know why the moment Verena appeared, his magic and anger exploded. Although she was strong enough to fight against him, the momentary weakness of his caress and blood left her weak.
"I will kill you. Keep your neck clean and wait for that day."
He could no longer control himself or understand the rage in his heart. At that moment, Valerie felt Asura had entirely turned into another person. Verena's body trembled from the pressure from Asura. Her eyes widened and filled with terror as the golden runes appeared around Asura.
"Stop!" Valerie shouted while reaching her hand out; her eyes radiated with intense gold light, and a similar symbol appeared in the middle of the runes that halted the anima.
"Tsk, the damn silence runes..." Asura clicked his tongue before turning to the Duchess with a bow, then left the room with a proud smile. His eyes never left Verena before he exited; a part of him felt satisfaction seeing the fear in her eyes.
"Verena... Verana... Hahahaha..."
Asura's face became like a twisted devil the moment he left the room, his entire body screaming to unleash his fury, but there was no target.
Thus, he could only attack the door behind him, saying to withhold stage eight's force.
However, as his fist reached the doors along with a resounding thud, the hysterical blow, the doors cracked from his single fist full of rage, shaking the entire greeting room.
'What is this feeling? Why do I want to kill her so badly?' Asura could not comprehend it but knew this wasn't a thought of his but a mental thing awakened by Verena. 'Is she really... the one who made a fool of me for all those years? Then what happened to the real Verana?'
He had many ideas but didn't want to believe them without hard proof...