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

Credits: Rey Kreuz

"Goddess Quetzalcoatl, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alaric, and I hail from Uruk, bringing greetings from King Gilgamesh to you." Seeing that Quetzalcoatl had been staring at him the entire time, Alaric realized that it was up to him to break the awkward silence.

Adjusting his mindset, Alaric decisively spoke, "If I have offended you, please forgive me."

The moment Alaric opened his mouth, Quetzalcoatl squinted her eyes: "Alaric, is it? What a wonderful name~!"

"Big Sis likes you!

 But pure words alone cannot allow us to truly understand each other, so... let's wrestle!

 That's right, with our bodies! It's best to avoid using weapons during a brawl~! Negotiations should also be conducted through wrestling~!"

Bang!

 Quetzalcoatl clapped her fists together, producing a loud, heavy sound. "We'll surely come to understand each other through battle~!"

Alaric, standing closest to Quetzalcoatl, felt his eye twitch.

Fighting Quetzalcoatl was a completely different matter compared to fighting Jaguar Man.

As a lower-ranked divine spirit, Jaguar Man could be dealt with even when manifested in this world.

But Quetzalcoatl was different. A supreme god's avatar in this world, coupled with her top-tier Saint Graph, meant that in terms of martial skill and physical power, Alaric would undoubtedly be completely outmatched.

Even though Alaric had significantly improved after fighting Jaguar Man, he still wasn't at the level to contend with Quetzalcoatl.

A true supreme god belonged to the realm of divinity, utterly beyond the reach of humans.

But would Alaric retreat?

"I won't retreat—"

Sizzle!

A pitch-black aurora shimmered around him. Alaric stared into Quetzalcoatl's eyes, a grin forming on his lips. "Goddess Quetzalcoatl, if this is the necessary path for us to converse, then so be it!

 The battle will bring us understanding!"

Ever since encountering Tiamat, an unnamed fire had been burning within Alaric's heart, demanding release!

It should have been vented entirely during the fight with Jaguar Man, but that fire had been suppressed when Jaguar Man stopped the fight—until Quetzalcoatl appeared.

Even if Quetzalcoatl hadn't spoken, Alaric would still have felt the urge to fight her.

To challenge a god as a mere mortal!

 It was an utterly insane notion. The gap between humanity and a supreme god was far too vast. Even among the renowned Heroic Spirits of history, few could match such a being!

And yet, Alaric, a Knight of the Round Table who had only been active for half a year, dared to challenge Quetzalcoatl, one of the supreme gods of Mesoamerica!

 What unparalleled audacity.

As Alaric's words fell, the smile on Quetzalcoatl's face grew even brighter. "Hmm~~ Be ready to take this!"

Before she even finished speaking, Alaric's instincts—almost like a form of precognition—sounded a warning in his mind.

At such a close distance, barely an arm's length away from Quetzalcoatl, Alaric responded immediately. Crossing his arms in front of him, he acted faster than Quetzalcoatl.

Almost simultaneously, Quetzalcoatl's punch landed!

Boom!

 With just one punch, Alaric felt an overwhelming, irresistible force crashing into him—a gap in strength as vast as a mountain! The sheer power penetrated through his guard, shattering the ground beneath his feet, with the cracks spreading into the forest dozens of meters away.

Rumble!

Unable to fully block the punch, Alaric was sent flying like a cannonball, tearing through the forest just as Jaguar Man had moments before.

By the time he finally came to a stop, Alaric was already over a hundred meters away!

 "She's really strong!!"

Alaric's expression burned with excitement as he stared at Quetzalcoatl from afar. This one punch alone had made him feel immense pressure.

Far beyond Jaguar Man, even surpassing Gawain's strength!

 Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent God, would be the strongest opponent Alaric had faced so far!

Sizzle!

His Dragon Heart began to overload, surging with endless magical energy that coursed through his body. The black aurora around him intensified, whipping up a storm that caused the surrounding trees to tremble wildly.

"You're coming at me, huh~?"

Seeing the fierce aura emanating from Alaric, Quetzalcoatl grew excited as well. She casually pulled a massive sword from the ground.

Bang!

With a burst of energy, Alaric and Quetzalcoatl launched themselves at each other simultaneously!

Clang!

The Holy Lance clashed directly with the massive sword, producing a sharp, ringing sound. The sheer force of their collision caused the forest to ripple as if it were the surface of the sea.

But the outcome of the battle was clear: with his current power, Alaric was no match for Quetzalcoatl.

After a grueling fight that lasted tens of minutes, Alaric's magical energy was finally depleted. Not even his Dragon Heart could restore it in such a short time.

With his magic completely drained, Quetzalcoatl seized the opportunity to grab him and slam him into the ground with a suplex.

Alaric could no longer get up.

Seeing that Alaric was no longer capable of fighting, a satisfied Quetzalcoatl laughed heartily: "Hmm hmm~~ I'm very pleased~!"

With that, she picked up Alaric and carried him back to the Piedra Del Sol altar.

"Kuku! Looks like you two had a lot of fun!"

Jaguar Man, who had been sent flying earlier, emerged from the forest and greeted them with a confident smile.

...

Ten minutes later.

Thanks to the rapid operation of his Dragon Heart, Alaric managed to recover most of his magical energy and got back on his feet, nearly bumping into Quetzalcoatl.

Knowing that the battle was over, Alaric was about to say something when he noticed the expression on Quetzalcoatl's face and froze.

Quetzalcoatl's eyes curved into crescents, her face full of smiles.

Casually tossing aside the massive sword, Quetzalcoatl cupped Alaric's cheeks in her hands and studied him intently. "Wonderful! I always thought you must be a good boy, just led astray~!

Hmm hmm~! The battle has told me what's in your heart. You are a good boy, someone I adore~!

It's just that you've been corrupted by that bad guy, Tezcatlipoca! Poor thing, let Big Sis hug you!"

As she spoke, Quetzalcoatl pulled Alaric into a tight embrace, pressing his bewildered face into her soft chest.

But Alaric had no time to enjoy the warmth and softness. His mind was entirely preoccupied with one astonishing name that Quetzalcoatl had just mentioned.

"Tezcatlipoca?"

Alaric was all too familiar with this name. It belonged to one of the supreme gods of Mesoamerican Aztec mythology—a figure deeply etched in history.

Tezcatlipoca, the God of Darkness, was one of the most powerful gods in the Aztec pantheon.

The god of war and magic, beauty and discord, night and dominion, storms and disease, crime and order, fortune and misfortune—he ruled over opposing forces and the conflicts born from their contradictions.

He was also the First Sun in the Five Suns myth, the Black Sun that reflected all creation.

In a sense, Tezcatlipoca was like a fusion of Odin from Norse mythology, Zeus from Greek mythology, Mara from Buddhist traditions, and Satan from Christianity.

Standing before Alaric was Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent God, who was the Second Sun and had countless stories intertwined with Tezcatlipoca—a sworn rival.

After four catastrophic Sun ages, they had finally joined forces to create the Fifth Sun.

Though myths belonged to the echoes of the past, Alaric was more concerned with the present and the future.

Why would Tezcatlipoca, a supreme god of Mesoamerica, have anything to do with him?