The Sinful Life of The Emperor

Every blood drop in the pool rose high up in the air and fused with the blood ring.

On the ground, Lillian continued to hug her twin from behind.

"Daddy would be safe!" Madison assured her twin.

"Right! Nothing could happen to him!" Lillian giggled happily.

The blood ring floated in front of Madison before fading in a crimson glow.

"But when would we meet him?" Lillian asked.

She didn't want to be separated with her daddy for too long. This land was dangerous, so how can two fragile girls survive without the care of their daddy?

"Soon... I have a feeling very soon."

***

The dangers in the forest were not restricted to the greed of humans or hunger of ferocious beasts. Rather, these two dangers were something expected and everyone would be cautious about.

There were other dangers which most would be oblivious of.

The strange colorful flowers, stainless plants, enticing fruits, seemingly ordinary vines and so on.

These were the greatest dangers which no one could expect in advance. The era of evolution has blessed both flora and fauna, and to survive in a rapidly advancing world, the plant lifeforms were continuously adapting.

A mutant might try to pluck a flower, not knowing that the flower has the ability to suck him alive. Beautiful honeysuckle might be hiding rare toxic insects. The vines lying between trees might entangle a careless individual and devour the flesh and blood.

Biological diversity was such that it was impossible to be prepared. Even flora experts would have difficulty much less ordinary mutants.

There was just no telling when death might arrive in Desolate Blood Forest...

Among old trees, an enormous ox growled. It rushed at Zed with its sharp horns aimed at his torso, but before it could even come close, a blue disc cleaved through its head, instantly beheading it.

At the same time, hair-thin vines dripped down from a tree, moving towards Zed without making any sound.

The disc shot out of ox's head and whistled through the air, its sharp edges covered by a layer of blood. Even before vines could make contact, the disc tore through them.

The disc then flashed with blue glow and the layer of blood vanished. It flew back into Ashlyn's hand.

"Thanks."

Zed expressed his gratitude but Ashlyn didn't reply. She continued to walk alongside him, completely silent.

Zed could only bitterly smile. She was overprotective but completely cold and distant.

To be honest, he didn't really need her protection to such an extent. His body has recovered and he could handle opponents of such a level. But Ashlyn would give him no opportunities.

The sky turned dimmer as evening approached. As night closed in, the visibility would be affected, and this, in turn, would make it harder to identify threats.

Ashlyn and Zed decided to find a nice place for rest. They followed a river stream, continuing their search.

Twenty minutes later, they stopped as some distance away from them, they saw a female tiger drinking water from the stream.

It was a humongous Red Tiger with black stripes and crystalline red fangs.

Red Tiger detected their presence and turned its head. Its lower jaw was open, exposing its sharp, huge canine teeth.

The tiger eyed them and their smell entered its nose. Its body jolted as if it was struck by lightning and the tiger focused its vision on Zed.

Then, without any warning, it leaped forward, piercing through the air. Its movements were so fast that only a red blurred shadow was visible.

Ashlyn was a bit taken aback by the speed. She quickly reacted, and discs shot out of her wrists but by then, the tiger has pounced on Zed, pinning his body to the ground.

Its mouth closed to his face and its eyes glittered.

Ashlyn was stunned by what she saw next.

The tiger pushed its tongue out and licked Zed's face. There was no killing intent, none at all. If anything, the tiger's actions were like that of a happy pet.

The two discs were moving forward to slice the tiger but they stopped in their path.

Zed was also surprised. He knew the tiger which was why her actions startled him greatly. The tiger was happily licking his face like a pet that hasn't met its master from ages.

"Could it be...?"

Zed has a guess on tiger's action but he found it rather hard to believe. After all, not only his aura, but even his smell was different from that of Kiba's.

Zed didn't think much. He ran a hand over the tiger's head as it continued licking.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Zed said with a genuine, sincere smile.

As soon as the tiger saw the familiar smile, its eyes turned misty.

Zed rubbed tiger's head as tears dripped on his face. They were rich with emotions and it took him a while to console her.

A minute later, the tiger has finally calmed enough to allow Zed to get back on his feet.

"You are acquainted?" Ashlyn asked as he brushed off the dust from his clothes.

"Well, not exactly. It is first time I'm meeting her," Zed answered.

It was Kiba who was acquainted with the tiger and not Zed.

Ashlyn's eyebrows raised up a little.

"Hmm?"

The tiger tucked Zed's t-shirt with its mouth while pointing a paw towards a particular direction.

"Sure," Zed nodded.

Ashlyn understood tiger's intent as well and she gave a slight nod for her agreement.

The tiger's eyes brightened and it started moving.

Zed and Ashlyn followed the tiger, and soon, they arrived at the entrance of a cave. The cave was rather hidden thanks to the boulders and foliage in the area; making it difficult to find.

Zed even noticed a few hidden traps during the journey. If not for tiger guiding them, it would be difficult to avoid those traps.

Both Zed and Ashlyn were impressed by the tiger's wisdom to have such preventive measures.

A minute later, they stepped inside.

The cave was rather spacious with moonstones embedded on the walls. The floor was smooth almost furnished with no rough edges.

As soon as the tiger entered, two cubs jumped on her, rolling over her back. The cubs tickled their paws on their mother's back and she responded with teasing of her own.

"I guess this is the reason I did what I did."

Zed thought as he observed the delightful bond shared by the tiger and her children. He recalled Fiona's remark when Kiba protected the tiger and her cubs:

You have a soft spot for mothers.

"Soft spot... Do I?"

Zed thought about the people who helped Kiba in creating his first Holy Technique - Happy Moments. He mused if they would agree with Fiona's remark or not. He has a feeling they would burst into curses at Fiona...

Some distance away from him, the cubs landed on the floor and noticed the human presence. Before they could be alarmed, their mother said something which calmed them instantly.

The eyes of the children sparkled, and the next moment, they leaped on Zed. He could only smile in response and leave his thoughts.