That morning should have brought hope, but what came was only deadly darkness. It was six in the morning, and the sun was reluctant to spread its rays. The sky above the Fan'nize Kingdom and the entire world remained dark, creating confusion and fear, creeping into the hearts of every citizen.
Suddenly, the silence shattered with a tremendous, rolling boom. All eyes lifted to the sky. Before their horror, the horizon split in two, as if a black cloth had been forcibly pulled apart. Behind that terrifying gap, the shadowy outline of a dark army appeared.
But the surprise wasn't over. Another boom sounded, this time from deep within the earth, triggering an earthquake beyond the kingdom's boundaries. The ground shattered, forming a massive chasm. From the abyss came screams and roars that tore at the ears, as if thousands of souls were being tortured. Then they emerged: fanged creatures with long sharp claws, about 150–160 cm tall, resembling savage dark brown goblins. Their estimated number? One billion.
The king immediately reacted. He commanded General Lao Ni Feng and mobilized his troops, instructing him to exterminate the half-goblin human creatures. Zeiron was summoned; battle was inevitable.
"Our defense formation is only five layers! We must hold them! Prepare for battle!" the king ordered, his voice filled with authority.
The creatures roared in unison, their screams deafening:
"ARGHHH ARRR RAHHHH!!"
Zeiron stepped forward, surpassing the kingdom's limits. Energy surged from his body, forming the glittering Universe Sword. He unsheathed it, channeling all his power into the blade.
"One Million Blades of Light!" shouted Zeiron.
Instantly, a million sword shadows enveloped him. At the speed of light, Zeiron vanished and reappeared in the midst of the monsters. The creatures flew apart, sliced into dust. Zeiron kept running, his sword strikes relentless, creating a destructive storm.
After clearing the surrounding area, Zeiron leaped high. His energy peaked as he unleashed his ultimate technique:
"Unknown Nature Army!"
Countless portals opened in the air. From them emerged one billion soldiers with glowing white eyes, wearing light blue flame armor, riding warhorses, and wielding Ancient Nature Knights' Swords. The troops advanced immediately, but Zeiron felt his emerald energy drain by 10%. He now had only 75% of his energy left.
Zeiron's soldiers clashed with the demonic creatures, triggering immense shockwaves. General Lao Ni Feng arrived, his voice echoing with determination:
"Do not let them advance! Fan'nize troops, support Zeiron's army! For the king and the kingdom! Advance!"
From the torn sky appeared the Captain of the Demon Army. He had horns, eyes shining like lasers, radiating a dark aura.
Tuo Fan Yi, seeing him, immediately flew with his Qirin dragon.
"Hahaha, we've found something interesting in the human world; quite a nice treasure," said the Demon Captain with a sadistic grin.
Tuo Fan Yi retorted sharply, "You talk too much, wretched creature."
The Demon Captain paused, then laughed loudly. "Never has anyone offended me like this! HAHA! Good, good, you entertain me!" He immediately commanded his troops: "Advance and behead him for me!"
The demon troops flew with their wings toward Tuo Fan Yi. Tuo Fan Yi hissed: "Cowards!" His Qirin dragon opened its mouth, spewing a massive flame toward the swarm. They burned and fell from the sky.
"Worthless troops!" snarled the Demon Captain.
"You're the worthless one! Hiding behind and sending your troops forward!" Tuo Fan Yi shouted.
The Demon Captain leaped, holding the Hell Demon Spear, hurling it at Tuo Fan Yi. The spear spun, surrounded by demonic energy with an extremely sharp tip.
Tuo Fan Yi directed his Qirin dragon's fire at the spear. Both attacks collided, sparks and energy erupting. Slowly, Tuo Fan Yi's fire weakened the spear.
"Hahah! Die!" the demon yelled triumphantly.
Tuo Fan Yi unleashed fire again. From the dragon's mouth emerged the Yellow Formation, enveloping the flames. The attack instantly strengthened! A tremendous explosion shattered the demon spear, the remaining fire surging toward the Demon Captain.
The Demon Captain tried to defend with the Trisakti Temple Artifact Formation, but it shattered, annihilated completely.
Back at the kingdom, another crack appeared in the sky. Two terrifying demons emerged: the Right Hand and Left Hand of the Demon King, along with their generals.
King Fan'nize appeared, standing tall before them.
"Who is this trash? How dare he look at me without kneeling," sneered the Left Hand of the Demon King.
"How dare you not kneel!" the Right Hand raised his hand, pressing the king with deadly gravity.
But the king remained standing, staring sharply at both demons, unaffected.
"You generals, advance and destroy him!" the Right Hand commanded. The demon generals surged forward at high speed.
The king unleashed the Supreme Celestial Technique. Instantly, the Shadow Spirit of the Celestial Guardian formed majestically behind him. The spirit swung its sword, slicing all the demon generals to pieces.
"Only a shadow fragment of the Celestial Guardian dares to act arrogant before me," growled the Right Hand. He leaped, executing the Six Hell Steps technique.
A glowing red-white hexagonal Star of David formed above the Celestial Guardian, launching a dense black fireball. The king quickly directed the Celestial Guardian's sword to block. An extraordinary clash of power erupted, shaking the land.
As the king focused on defense, the Left Hand of the Demon King leaped, unleashing the Golden Formation, forming the deadly Golden Fist Spirit. The king had no time to defend and was struck squarely, thrown into a mountain which crumbled. His Shadow Celestial Guardian shattered and vanished.
"So weak!" mocked the Left Hand.
Both Hands of the Demon King then unleashed massive formations simultaneously, launching relentless hellfire toward the kingdom.
Below, Fan'qiu and Hao'yan saw the citizens' turmoil. They went outside, witnessing the chaotic sky.
"Mother, what's happening? Where's Brother...?" Hao'yan's voice trembled.
Fan'qiu hugged him tightly. "It's okay, don't be afraid. Someone will protect us," she whispered.
From the mountain rubble, the king leaped into the air again. He reactivated the Celestial Guardian Formation, merging it with himself to form the Celestial Guardian Armor, radiating holy light.
"This trash is still stubborn, wants to play with me!" yelled the Right Hand.
The three engaged in fierce combat: slashes, punches, and relentless attacks. Two against one. Victory would only go to whoever survived.
The king gritted his teeth, thinking, "I... must save every life in the kingdom, no matter the risk!"
Both Hands of the Demon King retreated, releasing the Hell Palace Formation. A massive shadow of the Demon King appeared, pointing its pinky at the king, unleashing a blackhole with a purple horizon.
The king tried to split it and form a Celestial Defense Formation, but it failed. The blackhole destroyed everything. The king was thrown, crashing into the kingdom ground. His Celestial Guardian Armor cracked and partially shattered.
The king lay weak and exhausted.
At that moment, Xie We Shu, his daughter, found him. Without hesitation, she began healing the king with Heavenly Territorial Healing.
"Stop..." said the king weakly. "Your healing won't work. Only the Soul Root can heal me because my soul is fractured."
Xie We Shu glared at the two demons. "I will avenge you, Father!"
The two Hands landed, crushing the ground beneath them.
"Oh my, who is this cute little girl? Claiming that trash is her father? How unfortunate!" mocked the Right Hand.
"Shut up! This is none of your business!" Xie We Shu snapped.
She unleashed the Supreme Celestial Guardian Formation inherited from her father.
"Oh come on, I'm bored watching this useless technique," complained the Right Hand.
The Left Hand drew his sword, slicing the incomplete Celestial Guardian's head, shattering it. Xie We Shu was thrown aside.
But she did not give up. She rose and unleashed the Void Sky Light attack, forcing both Hands of the Demon King to defend together.
As the three fought, Tuo Yi appeared, moving with the Emperor's Golden Yellow Fist, and stabbed the king, holding his heart in his hand.
The Hands and Xie We Shu were shocked, unable to comprehend the betrayal.
Tuo Yi destroyed the king's heart, pulling it back.
Xie We Shu's eyes froze. She trembled, disbelieving.
The two Hands turned, confused. Who is this child? Why did he kill his own king?
Xie We Shu unleashed all her power, forming a blazing Sun Formation. She flew toward the sun, using the Forsake Sun technique, shouting: "Tuo Yi, you dare ally with demons!"
She sacrificed all her energy to release the ultimate Forsake Sun technique.
The sun shone above her, forming a divine golden ring. She unleashed the technique at Tuo Yi.
The two Hands of the Demon King immediately realized the danger and fled through cracks in the sky.
Tuo Yi summoned Emperor Cerberum, but the technique destroyed him completely. Flesh peeled, skull melted, organs scattered, blood blistered, leaving a massive crater. Xie We Shu weakened, falling to the ground.
The Beginning of the Struggle
Zeiron, General Lao Ni Feng, and Tuo Fan Yi felt the massive explosion. They rushed back immediately.
Upon arrival, they were shocked. Zeiron ignored the crater and ran straight to his mother and sister, finding them trapped under rubble, holding each other.
Zeiron trembled. "Mother... Hao'yan..."
Tears and fiery rage surged through his soul. Streams of red, white, light blue, emerald, gold, and black energy shot toward the sky.
Tuo Fan Yi and Elvaria witnessed the terrifying energy surge.
Zeiron smiled like a monster, his body manifesting as the 3rd Evolution Satan King, the sacred body of the ancient king, merged with his 3rd Evolution Demon King form. His energy boiled like molten water, steam rising from his body.
The Demon King and both Hands returned. They knelt, allowing the Demon King to walk.
The Demon King observed Zeiron, lips curling slightly: "Interesting."
Zeiron, his rage uncontrollable, asked himself:
"Is this what I must do? Become a monster to protect the light that's almost gone? Father, Mother, Hao'yan... they're gone. And now I must bear the burden of hope that even I cannot carry."
The emerald power flowing through him marked him as the ultimate embodiment of humanity's defense.
The Satan King slowly lifted its face. Its voice was no longer Zeiron's, but an echoing darkness that trembled:
"Why... why do you keep taking things from me..."
His Universe Sword now engulfed in hellfire and chaotic dark light, Zeiron's wrath was about to reshape the world itself.