[ Past: One Hundred Years Ago ]

Zu Wan brought Eva and Zhen-Zhen to the cave- the cave which served as their home. He created a barrier that was made of blue fire so that the enemies could not enter.

He felt like something was stealing and draining his strength and power. It was the result of being pierced by the divine dagger. His blood was also dripping out of his wound. He couldn’t stop the bleeding.

He was still holding Eva and Zhen-Zhen. A gentle smile flashed in his face as he looked at them. He was glad that his wife and his daughter were safe.

“Zu Wan! You’re bleeding!” Eva exclaimed with so much concern in her voice.

She held his chest with her palm, covering his wound to stop the bleeding. Eva’s body trembled as she began to sob. Zu Wan touched her face, wiping her tears using his bare hands.

“Don’t cry, Eva! I hate to see you cry.” Zu Wan softly mumbled.

“Fa-Fa!” Zhen-Zhen called him out. Then Zu Wan felt small arms caressing his face.

Zhen-Zhen reached out to touch her father’s face. She mimicked Zu Wan’s action when he touched Eva’s face. Seeing this scene, it warmed Eva and Zu Wan’s heart. They laughed because of their daughter.

After a while, the cave was engulfed by silence. No one knew what would happen next. Today was supposed to be a joyful occasion for their daughter’s first birthday but things turned out like this.

“Eva… I am sorry. I lied to you. I hide my true self because I am afraid that you will hate me once you find out that I am the demon god. The moment I met you, everything changed. I wanted to be with you forever. I know I couldn’t change the past. I am the cruel demon god. I had killed so many lives but I won’t hurt you. I always wanted to protect you and Zhen-Zhen.”

“You taught me how to love. You made me feel happy. This was the first time I experienced true happiness in my entire life.”

Zu Wan wanted to tell her his true feelings before it was too late. This time… no more secrets.

“I am willing to give up everything just for you and my daughter. I will protect both of you. So I hope you don’t hate me. I hope you could forgive me… my past deeds.”

Eva patted his head, gently stroking his hair.

“I don’t hate you. The man in front of me is not the demon god but my loving husband. I know you’ve changed now. I saw your good heart. You are not pure evil.” She sounded very sincere.

“I had a nagging feeling that you were hiding something from me. But I tried to understand you. Now that I know your secrets, my feelings for you did not change. Zu Wan, demon god or not, I still love you. I am willing to be with you.”

Her eyes were filled with love as she said those words to him. Zu Wan could not contain his happiness as he wrapped his wife and daughter into a warm hug.

“You two are my happiness, my world, and my life.” Zu Wan mumbled.

“Fa-Fa! Mo-Mo!” Zhen-Zhen also mumbled.

They were having this family moment when suddenly Zu Wan felt that the guardian warriors had arrived. They were now trying to break in the barrier. They could also hear what was happening outside the cave.

“They are here,” Eva said anxiously as her grip on Zu Wan’s body tightened.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t let anything bad happen to you and Zhen-Zhen.” Zu Wan comforted her.

“I am worried about you. You are badly hurt. Are you okay? Please don’t fight them. Don’t kill anymore.”

Zu Wan gave her a reassuring smile. “I know. I won’t kill anymore. I promise.”

“Just stay here with us. Don’t leave.” Eva said with her pleading look.

“Alright. I am not going anywhere. They could not easily break this barrier.”

The guardian warriors continued to unleash their powers, attacking the barrier. They combined their powers to destroy the barrier.

They wouldn’t waste this golden opportunity to kill the demon god. He was also hurt by the divine dagger. He was at his weakest right now. They thought that they did the right thing of using his family to threaten him. They succeeded in hurting the demon god.

Now, they were confident since demon god was not fighting back. Unknown to them, the only reason why the demon god decided not to retaliate was because of Eva and Zhen-Zhen. He promised not to kill anyone.

As time went by, Zu Wan felt that his power was weakening. He didn’t know how long he could hold the barrier. With the combined powers of all the Guardian Warriors, he knew that it won’t take long before they could finally destroy the barrier.

He had to make a decision. Strengthening the barrier was exhausting and draining his powers quickly. He had to reserve his remaining powers to protect Zhen-Zhen and Eva.

“Eva, do you trust me?” Zu Wan asked her.

Eva nodded at him as a response.

“I have to remove the barrier now. But don’t worry. I already thought of a plan to protect both of you.” Zu Wan said as he bent down to kiss Eva in the forehead as well as Zhen-Zhen.

Unknown to her, Zu Wan was already losing his powers. He was planning to use all his remaining power to cast a protection spell for Eva and Zhen-Zhen. With that amount of power he had right now, guardian warriors would not be able to hurt them even for a hundred years.

Zu Wan has removed the barrier. He was now standing in front of Eva and Zhen-Zhen. He closed his eyes while his hands were moving in circles.

Then Eva saw different lights surrounding Zu Wan’s body. He was releasing an unimaginably powerful aura. Later on, the lights coming out of Zu Wan’s body formed five dragons made of fire- Red Dragon, Black Dragon, Blue Dragon, Yellow Dragon, and Orange Dragon.

After a while, Eva heard heavy footsteps coming in.

“Zu Wan, the guardian warriors!” Eva exclaimed but Zu Wan didn’t respond.