Chapter 1: The Beginning

In a grand mansion where sweet music flowed, the residence of the Asura King, Shura Palace.

On the king-size bed with a pure white canopy, a young girl dreamed.

“Lift your leg a bit more,” a sweet voice whispered in her ear.

“Um… like this?” A soft tongue tickled her ear.

“Mmm…” She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Ashura…”

She heard her name being called, but it sounded distant.

“Ugh, hehe,” she said, involuntarily tightening her grip.

“Ashura-o!”

“Huh?! What?!”

This time, a loud voice sounded right next to her ear, causing Ashura to jolt awake. She found herself hugging a disheveled pillow.

“Ashura-o! Wake up! We’re going to battle!”

Standing beside her bed was a silver-haired, pale-skinned, muscular young man. Two beast ears twitched on his head.

“Geez, Hakuryu.”

Ashura stretched lazily on her fluffy bed. She fixed her slightly disheveled ponytail, which she had tied up high during her sleep.

“I was having such a nice dream.”

She looked at Hakuryu with a sulky expression.

Although called a king, Ashura still looked young. With an androgynous and ethereal beauty that made it hard to tell if they were a boy or a girl at first glance.

“It was probably another dream about Lord Buddha, wasn’t it?”

Hakuryu sighed in exasperation, placing his hands on his hips.

“Yeah, it was,” Ashura replied with a blush on her cheeks, still halfway in her dream, hugging the pillow again.

Lord Buddha referred to the founder of Buddhism as her lover from her past life.

“Seriously! Come on, it’s time to work!”

“I know, I know.”

Ashura hopped out of bed. Her long and slender limbs were generously exposed. A thin belt accentuated her delicate figure.

As the jingling of the necklace around her chest sounded, her expression instantly turned into one ready for battle.

Hakuryu was taken aback.

Even though he sees her every day, what is this overwhelming beauty?

An aura surrounds her body, radiating brilliance. Her almond-shaped, red eyes harbored a strength that allowed no equal, yet there was a hint of allure in her fleeting expressions.

“So, who’s the one interrupting my dreams?”

Hakuryu comes to his senses after being called out.

“Um, it’s the western section. The guardian deities there have been quite beaten up.”

“They’re too weak. Where’s Ryuju?”

Ryuju, another subordinate directly under Ashura.

“Ryuju-san has been dispatched to suppress a conflict in the south since yesterday. You ordered it yourself, didn’t you?”

“I-I know!”

Ashura glared at him sharply. Of course, she had forgotten.

“Alright, let’s go. Transform into a horse quickly.”

Hakuryu was originally a horse—a white horse—that fought alongside Ashura in the human realm in their past lives. After his death, as a reward for protecting Ashura, he gained humanoid form and speech, becoming one of Ashura’s right-hand men.

“Yes, right away.”

In just 1 or 2 seconds, Hakuryu transformed into a heavenly horse. He was a magnificent, pure white horse with not a single flaw. He flapped his wings a couple of times and neighed.

This is the world known as the “Asura Realm,” an alternate dimension.

All living beings are part of the cycle of reincarnation.

This cycle consists of six realms: the heavenly realm, human realm, asura realm, animal realm, hungry ghost realm, and hell realm.

The Asura Realm is where those who have dedicated themselves to fighting throughout their lives go.

This world is formed by an island about the size of a large continent.

Surrounded by the sea, the sound of waves crashing against the sandy beaches echoes endlessly.

The sky is thick with clouds, and the occasional light that peeks through is faint and fleeting.

Under this dim sky, the inhabitants of the Asura Realm continue to engage in ceaseless conflict.

The Asura King’s residence, where Ashura and others reside, is located in a subspace overlooking the Asura Realm.

Riding on Hakuryu, Ashura steps outside the mansion.

In the spacious garden, extending all the way to the forest, members of the Asura King’s army on heavenly horses were waiting.

“Alright, it’s time to march! Don’t fall behind!”

“Yes sir!”

The Asura King’s army is said to number anywhere from ten thousand to ten million, all seasoned elites.

“How many do we have today?” Ashura asks Hakuryu.

“Well, based on today’s assessment, I thought about a thousand would suffice,” Hakuryu replies.

“Hmm, that’s a lot. Well, it’s fine,” Ashura says.

Hakuryu receives reports from the intelligence unit below and allocates the troops accordingly. Some complain of overwork, but Ashura is not interested in such matters.

The army of a thousand slowly descended into the Asura Realm.

Under the orders of the supreme god of the heavenly realm, Brahma, Ashura, and Hakuryu have been here for a few years now. Initially, it was just minor skirmishes with the demons, but recently, something seems suspicious.

There’s a sense that the powerful demons are acting in an organized manner. It’s unsettling because they usually don’t band together.

The Asura Realm is looming closer. The guardian deities under the Asura King’s army, who are stationed there, seem to be under considerable pressure.

“Ugh, they’re as sluggish as ever,” Ashura mutters, then urges Hakuryu to dive down, plunging into the midst of the chaotic battlefield.

“Don’t make a fuss, you small fry!”

Leaping off Hakuryu’s back, Ashura swiftly cuts down enemy commanders with a single stroke. Continuing in this manner, she and Hakuryu crush enemy soldiers one after another.

“It’s Asura King! Asura King is here!”

The rebellious insurgents scatter in panic. However, Ashura lands back on Hakuryu’s back and mercilessly continues her onslaught. But this is the Asura Realm—cutting them down doesn’t mean they die. They’ll experience the same pain as being cut for hours, and it will take days for their severed limbs to regenerate. Still, it renders them temporarily incapacitated.

“Asura King-sama! We did it! The king has joined the battle!”

The guardian deities, as if revived from their previous struggle, breathe life back into their ranks.

Indeed, she is a true war god. With every swing of Ashura’s sword, the allies who were once at a disadvantage rally and charge towards the enemy. With the addition of the elite army’s strength, they quickly turn the tide of battle.

“Who is the mastermind behind this rebellion?”

Despite defeating most of the generals in a near-death state, there is still no sign of the mastermind.

“I’m not sure. But over there, Don’t you feel something?”

Hakuryu points his snout towards a cave with a gaping mouth. It seems his animal instincts are at work. They conclude that the battle has already been decided and head towards the suspicious cave.

“Hmm, indeed. But what does it mean for the mastermind to be hiding?”

“Someone must be inside. I sense a human presence.”

Hakuryu’s ears and nose are thousands of times more sensitive than humans’, making it easy for him to detect human presence.

“I see. Then it’s worth going in.”

“Asura King, it’s dangerous to go alone. Shall I summon Lady Karla?”

Hakuryu suggests this to Ashura as they move forward, but she shakes her head.

“It’s fine. Just wait here as a precaution.”

“Well, with your strength, you should be fine,” Hakuryu mutters to himself.

“Understood. Take care.”

The cave is almost pitch-black. The Asura Realm is a dim world with occasional moonlight. But this cave is so dark that it’s practically indistinguishable from darkness. Even Ashura, with her night vision, feels a bit uneasy.

“We need light…”

Drawing out the sword she had once sheathed, Ashura unleashes her own aura. The sword begins to glow faintly, illuminating the surroundings.

“It’s cold. Strange. Feeling cold here…”

In the Asura Realm and the heavenly realm, one doesn’t feel cold or heat.

“Accompanied by the cold, I feel something…”

Suddenly, Ashura is overwhelmed by drowsiness.

“No, this is…!”

Don’t sleep! Open your eyes! Ashura screams in her mind. She tries to injure her own legs with the hand holding the sword. But her thoughts halt there.

“Hah!”

How long had she been unconscious? Ashura rapidly raises her body temperature, shaking off the drowsiness.

“Oh, already awake? I was planning on having some fun while you slept.”

She looks up at the voice. A demon she doesn’t recognize is standing there, giving a vulgar laugh. Resembling a pig perhaps? With a chubby belly protruding, and a round nose.

“You! You dare…!”

Just as she tries to move quickly…

“What… What is this?!”

Ashura finds her limbs bound to the wall. And she’s spread-eagled.

What fate awaits Ashura, crucified like this?