Ajaw closed its eyes at this moment.
Even though it had initially looked down on these humans.
It was still moved by their spirit.
Paying respects to those who walked alongside them…
What Ajaw did not expect was that when it opened its eyes again, it would see a sight it would never forget for the rest of its life.
Facing the still-increasing number of enemies, Kinich's body stood up once more.
Not only that, those bloodless hands gripped the greatsword tightly again!
The thin figure charged once more into the abyss army. The endless sword light illuminated the entire battlefield…
No matter how Ajaw thought about it, it couldn't understand. Hadn't that damn final flash of strength already ended?
How did he stand up again?
In his shock, he observed carefully.
Only then did he notice that at some point, a heart-patterned emerald gem had embedded itself into the pierced wound on Kinich's chest.
It radiated vigorous life force, stirring Kinich's unconscious body.
Turning him into a tireless ferocious beast that acted purely on instinct, until it had slaughtered every last monster…
It was at this moment that Kinich received the gaze of the gods.
And he also gained Ajaw's respect.
In fact, from this time onward, it no longer believed Kinich would lose his life to ordinary commissions out there.
Even if Kinich wanted to seek death, Ajaw figured it would have to ask why.
However, the stubborn-mouthed Ajaw would not admit it.
At least not to Kinich.
That would be too embarrassing for the great sacred dragon.
To this day, it still remembered what it had said when Kinich woke up.
And that feeling of hoping he could wake up again.
When Kinich opened his eyes once more, he found he had already returned to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame. The people surrounding him were singing passionate resurrection poems.
He turned his head to look beside him. His comrades who had fought in the war together with him were bathed in song, returning one by one from the Sacred Flame.
"Did we… win? Who…"
Kinich touched his chest and murmured to himself. He remembered he had already fallen before the abyss army.
But someone must have helped them win the war. Otherwise, the resurrection poems couldn't have brought the dead back to life.
Was it Ajaw?
Kinich looked at his contract "partner" with a strange gaze.
"Isn't that obvious? It was you, you tough-lifed crazy grasshopper!"
Ajaw lay on the ground and tossed a green gem to Kinich.
"Sigh, one wasn't enough, you even needed a Vision. At this rate, when will I ever get your body?!"
The stubborn-mouthed Ajaw did not admit its admiration for Kinich.
In this matter, both of them had deviated from their original goals.
Kinich had originally only wanted to be a money-earning hero.
Now he had become someone who wanted to protect even more precious things.
Protect his companions, protect his homeland, protect people's smiles.
He didn't know when the change had begun. Perhaps the seed had already been planted even earlier.
And Ajaw, through getting along with Kinich, had gradually been influenced by some of his qualities.
Its words were still harsh and it still liked to mock others.
But it was no longer as simple as pure scheming like at the beginning.
It would observe a moment of silence for the glorious sacrifices of Natlan warriors.
It had also thought about avenging them…
Ajaw lay on a large rock, gazing at the moon in the sky in a daze.
This Mu Yang was indeed not simple.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to be the talkative type.
He probably wouldn't say too much to Kinich.
Hopefully.
After all, the great sacred dragon was not currently in its full-power state.
It had no way to deal with Mu Yang at all.
While Ajaw was complaining and sighing,
Mu Yang sensed something was off.
With his increased power, his detection range was now extremely wide.
It was the aura of the abyss again. Could it be that, like the situation with the People of the Springs, they were about to be attacked by an Abyss Gate?
"Life in Natlan really isn't peaceful at all…"
Mu Yang sensed the abyss aura growing stronger, then for some reason it began to weaken until it disappeared.
Although the process was brief, it seemed accompanied by painful howls.
This was different from the sensation when an Abyss Gate appeared.
Perhaps it was too far away, or perhaps someone nearby had just happened to erase the abyss.
Seeing that the situation seemed resolved, Mu Yang had no intention of getting involved.
He was here to observe Natlan's customs and people, and to learn about the characters' stories along the way.
He wasn't here to take commissions in Natlan.
The next morning.
"Roar—!"
A huge roar came from a mountain cave in the distance.
Immediately after, the ground shook violently…
This enormous sound naturally alerted Kinich and Ajaw as well.
Ajaw hadn't slept all night and was currently throwing a tantrum.
"Which ignorant fool dares disturb the rest of the Lord of the Flaming Land?!"
Kinich ignored it and looked toward the direction the roar had come from.
His expression changed slightly. "It's the Mountain King… It's only been a few months since the last Return Fire Night. It shouldn't be time yet…"
"Mountain King?" Mu Yang never missed any information.
He took out his money pouch, preparing to listen to Kinich's story.
Kinich waved his hand and refused.
This should have already been included in the Scions of the Canopy's story introduction.
The two of them hurried toward the Mountain King's location while Kinich told the story.
For a very long time, the Scions of the Canopy have had a traditional ceremony called Return Fire Night.
It was to pay tribute to their ancestor from five hundred years ago, Bukina, and his partner — the Mountain King Kongamato.
Bukina was the hero who held the Ancient Name [Malipo (Return Fire)].
Kongamato was his dragon partner.
A very powerful Tepetlisaur warrior.
The human and dragon worked together to fight the abyss and had achieved victory after victory.
Until the final battle, where Bukina paid with his life, and the Mountain King was corrupted by the abyss, remaining in slumber to this day.
"Malipo… isn't that your [Ancient Name], Kinich?"
"…Correct."
Mu Yang noticed that Kinich seemed a bit unnatural.
But he didn't point it out and waited for Kinich to continue explaining.
The Mountain King's condition was very abnormal. A Tepetlisaur's lifespan was only about a hundred years.
Yet the power of the abyss had turned it into an exception.
It had survived until now.
The Mountain King symbolized glory.
But behind the glory came a price.
The abyss energy within its body was extremely easy to stimulate, and once stimulated awake, it would go berserk and attack all living beings…
Therefore, the Scions of the Canopy's Return Fire Night, besides paying tribute, was also to cleanse the Mountain King's abyss power.
To keep it in continued slumber.
"Originally, Return Fire Night was held once a year. Now, with the abyss situation growing increasingly intense, the Mountain King's slumber has become unstable."
"But the last Return Fire Night only ended not long ago. This outburst this time feels somewhat unusual…"
Kinich quickened his steps. He was the one who had inherited the name of Return Fire.
The Mountain King held special meaning for him…
"Run faster, run faster, you green grasshopper! Hurry up and go die in front of it, ahahaha!"
Mu Yang also followed.
But his inner thoughts were a hundred thousand miles away from Kinich and Ajaw's.
All three people had their own little schemes.
What Mu Yang was considering was:
"Oh crap! 'Abyss energy', 'extremely easy to stimulate'…"
"Could it be that the show-off sword strike I used last night to scare Ajaw caused this?!"