Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King's Personal Knight

What a sorrowful plea that was. Alaric, who resonated deeply with this grief, completely understood Tiamat's sadness.

But he was unable to respond—

In the instant Tiamat spoke, Alaric felt a sudden shock.

His mind roared, blowing away all feelings of sorrow!

The scene before his eyes receded rapidly and Tiamat's pitiful figure was replaced by the wild and unrestrained stance of the Jaguar Man.

"Yoho! Spacing out is no good!"

Jaguar Man delivered a punch squarely to Alaric's face, holding nothing back. The unguarded Alaric was sent flying straight into the dense forest!

What had once happened to the Jaguar Man now befell Alaric instead!

BOOM!

A series of cracks and collapses echoed as the towering trees fell one after another, their collapse a sorrowful wail of nature.

"Awooo!!"

The punch struck him dead center in the face. Even for someone like Alaric, it brought on a bit of a concussion—especially as he had just regained his focus.

Before Alaric could recover and regroup, Jaguar Man launched another ferocious assault.

Like a predator seizing the chance to hunt, Jaguar Man wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by, attacking with all her might to tear apart her opponent!

A flurry of punches landed on Alaric, fully waking him up!

Rip!

With a surge of pitch-black radiance, Alaric, now fully alert, grabbed Jaguar Man's wrist, launching his counterattack!

BOOM!

"Ah—"

Jaguar Man, unable to dodge, was sent flying by Alaric's powerful punch. But with a quick handstand, she flipped midair and landed back on her feet.

Furthermore, under Alaric's watchful gaze, Jaguar Man summoned the spear she had used earlier.

With a mighty paw gripping the spear and clad in her tiger bodysuit straight out of 21st-century fashion, Jaguar Man gave off a strangely comical vibe.

"Heh heh, now I'm bringing out my weapon!"

Jaguar Man skillfully twirled her spear, shaking her head like a mighty tiger, shouting, "Are you ready? The Tiger of Fuyuki is coming!"

"…The Tiger of Fuyuki, huh."

Hearing this familiar phrase, Alaric smiled as he raised his hand. The holy spear Rhongomyniad materialized in his grasp. "Very well, then. Come at me, Fujimura-sensei."

"Whoa, not only is your spear cool, but you even know my name—Brother Alaric, you're seriously cool! As expected of…"

Jaguar Man stomped hard, lunging at Alaric with her spear at an incredible speed!

What should have been a continuation of their earlier clash of physical combat, now escalating to a fierce exchange of weapon techniques, took a sudden turn.

This time, Alaric chose a different strategy.

"Farewell, Fujimura-sensei."

From the tip of his spear erupted a pitch-black radiance, spreading out like a fan from Alaric's position, engulfing both Jaguar Man and the surrounding forest.

"Awooo?"

Unable to dodge, Jaguar Man let out a startled cry before being struck by the radiance.

BOOM!

The destruction caused by the attack far surpassed that of their previous battles combined. The pitch-black radiance tore through the forest, sending Jaguar Man flying hundreds of meters away!

The forest along the path of the attack looked as though it had been ravaged by a storm. Towering trees, meters wide, were snapped and toppled, leaving behind a wide-open, cleared path in front of Alaric.

Seizing the moment, Alaric stomped hard against the ground, propelling himself forward with explosive speed.

In an instant, he shot down the open path.

As Alaric reached the end of the path, his view suddenly opened up.

No longer surrounded by the dense forest, he now stood in a vast clearing. At its center was a mysterious altar hidden amidst the forest, standing silently.

'That's… a Mayan-style altar?'

Alaric immediately recognized the distinct style of the altar. It was identical to the ones he had tirelessly searched for in the past—a Mayan altar.

However, its presence here, in Mesopotamia of 2650 BCE, was undoubtedly out of place.

It must have been a structure built by someone who came later.

Moreover, the altar was dedicated to something. Without a doubt, it was the Sunstone, a record of the Aztec calendar tracking the movements of the sun, moon, and Venus. It was also an object used in rituals honoring the sun god.

'Is this the altar of Quetzalcoatl? And what's with that massive axe behind it?'

Alaric's gaze casually swept over the golden giant axe embedded in the ground behind the altar.

The axe was far beyond the size a human could wield—it was an implement fit for a giant.

At that moment, Jaguar Man, who had been sent flying, climbed back up like an indestructible cockroach.

Aside from the swirls in her eyes, the Jaguar Man appeared mostly unscathed.

Like Alaric, the Jaguar Man also took note of the change in their surroundings and exclaimed, "Oh wow, I didn't expect you to find this place! Hmm hmm, if we keep fighting here, Kukulkan won't be happy."

With that, Jaguar Man put away her spear, as if fighting here was forbidden.

Or perhaps, it was because she shouldn't fight in the presence of someone else.

Seeing Jaguar Man give up on fighting so suddenly, Alaric had no choice but to put away his holy lance as well.

The battle between Alaric and Jaguar Man seemed inconsequential—merely a side episode in Alaric's search for the goddess Quetzalcoatl.

Now that Alaric had successfully arrived at the Sun Altar, their fight could come to an end.

"You know—"

Just as Alaric was about to ask Jaguar Man about Quetzalcoatl's whereabouts, he felt a sudden ripple in his heart and immediately turned his eyes to the top of the altar.

At the same time, Jaguar Man's excited voice rang out, "Woohoo! Kukulkan!"

Standing atop the altar was the very figure Alaric had seen in his visions of the future—the radiant, free-spirited Sun Goddess, Quetzalcoatl.

At this moment, Quetzalcoatl stood there, holding a jagged sword in one hand, her gaze fixed intently on Alaric.

"Hmm~"

With a meaningful hum, Quetzalcoatl began to move.

Under the watchful eyes of both Alaric and Jaguar Man, she descended the altar.

Tap. Tap.

The crisp sound of her footsteps echoed as the sun slowly descended from its heavenly pedestal to walk among mortals.

Every sharp, clear footstep struck heavily on Alaric's heart.

Quetzalcoatl was unlike any other deity Alaric had ever encountered. As a supreme god of Mesoamerican mythology, her status alone was that of an absolute, top-tier deity.

Not to mention the immense power she exuded—her spiritual foundation was extraordinarily high, easily on par with that of Xuanzang Sanzang!

The strength contained within her body was undoubtedly divine power!

"Kukulkan! Look who I brought back—" Jaguar Man exclaimed excitedly as they rushed to Quetzalcoatl's side. "I mean, isn't he super cool?!"

BAM!

Even though Jaguar Man was overjoyed, Quetzalcoatl had no interest in idle chatter. Finding the noise bothersome, she silenced her with a single punch, sending her flying into the forest, out of sight.

Watching Quetzalcoatl decisively punch her ally into the trees, Alaric's eye twitched.

He suddenly had a very bad feeling.

And Alaric's premonition quickly became reality. Quetzalcoatl walked straight up to him, smiling.

Though she was slightly shorter than Alaric, the aura she exuded gave him the illusion of standing before a giant.

Especially with her bold attire, which radiated an air of freedom and strength.

Her natural physique, brimming with absolute power, was at the level of the divine.

Alaric could feel it—unlike Ishtar or Jaguar Man, who had materialized as vessels, the being standing before him was a true supreme god.

The supreme god of Mesoamerican mythology, manifesting in person.