Return of the Demon Sovereign (Book 1) [MxM]

71. Kings and Mad Devils

As the dust settled, a small cough broke them from their moment, and they turned around to see all of the Shadowbane soldiers and the small High Serpent party staring at them with wide eyes. Astra had her arms crossed in front of her and a scowl on her face.

Leo rubbed his neck nervously. "We made a breakthrough."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at the weapons in their hands. They were Devil weapons, so they did not have the best durability, but they were in poor shape with cracks and chips up and down the blades.

The two men were also in a state of disarray. They were shirtless but had bandages on their arms and chest from their constant battles. They were quite a mess after spending a week in the Hive.

A smile tugged on her lips. "You're both a mess. Clean up." She turned to High Serpent. "Rhys, you can help them with that, right?"

Leo paled, remembering how cold Rhys' Water Mana could be. "Wait—" He called out, but it was too late. Rhys had drenched both of them in cold water.

Erebus gave him a playful glare, and Rhys returned a shameless smile. But he changed his cold water to healing waters that helped them recover their superficial wounds.

"What did you two do? These are pretty serious battle wounds?" He asked, causing alarm in the others.

Leo grinned. "That's a secret."

Erebus snorted and concealed both of them in his shadows so they could change clothes. He emerged back in black pants and a long-sleeved shirt. He had one dagger on his hip, while the broken one was behind his back. It was reminiscent of how he would arm himself as the Demon Sovereign when he had one arm.

He tied his hair back and glanced at the large group that had gathered. "Give me your reports."

The captains rushed to the front and saluted. Their cohesion surprised High Serpent.

"Nothing unusual in the valley at this time. We have scouts in place to alert us if any Devils are on the way." Claire explained. "However, we will send out more scouts after your... breakthrough." Her eyes fell on the collapsed Hive.

Erebus chuckled a little. "Good idea. Our units' progress?"

Nash was next. "Each unit has met with three Devil camps and has eliminated them. The only exceptions are the units who have assisted with the Hive purge."

"How far South did you reach?"

"We were able to go to our designated positions." He explained.

Erebus rubbed his chin. A small scar had formed from his fight with Lychgate. His eyes flicked to the South and Aboros' old lair. Lychgate's words still perturbed him.

"Everyone back to the campsite. Captains remain. High Serpent, please leave a representative." He ordered.

Shadowbane members gave each other a curious look but immediately obeyed and left. The High Serpent group talked amongst themselves before leaving Claus behind.

Erebus looked over the soldiers, but his eyes caught a mark on Astra's collarbone. He felt a chill run up his spine as he realized it was a lotus petal—the mark of the Phonoi Heart. He had sensed a small amount of the poison before but didn't expect it to leave a mark. He quickly pulled her and Leo to the side. 

"Astra," he sighed heavily. "The Phonoi Heart..."

She laughed a little. "I only have one petal."

"It's one petal too many." 

She shook her head, a smile still on her face. "I am proud of what I did. I helped protect those women and helped you. I would do it again in a heartbeat."