The Divine Sword Hall.
At its center sat a small pyramid, with countless golden steps spreading out in all directions.
A golden longsword was embedded in the stone platform at the very top. Only half of its golden blade was exposed, yet it still shone with a blinding radiance.
This was the Sword of Ek Chuaj, said to be the most powerful and destructive weapon in human history.
Enoch led more than a dozen Forever Knights into the hall, intent on taking the Sword of Ek Chuaj for himself.
But the moment they entered, they ran into something far worse.
A terrifying monster.
It stood nearly five meters tall, grayish-purple skin stretched over a massive frame packed with bulging muscle. It wore ancient Mayan clothing.
And its face… was identical to the Mask of Ah Puch, as if it had been made from the same mold.
"The Mayan god of death… the guardian of the divine sword… Ah Puch!" Enoch clenched his fist, then turned to his men. "Go. Draw its attention. I'll pull the sword."
"Yes!"
The Forever Knights rushed in all at once.
But Ah Puch was far more horrifying than they'd imagined.
Its strength was monstrous. With every swing of its palm, it could send someone flying. If anyone took a hit head-on, they'd be lucky to survive, let alone walk away.
Just as Enoch was about to reach the divine sword, a freezing aura wrapped around his body.
In only a few seconds, Enoch was sealed into an ice statue.
Big Chill hovered above. "Whew… just in time."
He drew his ice-blue wings in, landed on the platform, and walked toward the sword.
"Roar!"
Ah Puch snapped its head around and let out a shriek, its long tongue whipping wildly as it charged straight at Big Chill.
"Hey, big guy! Your opponent's me!" Four Arms planted himself by the entrance, hands on his hips.
The provocation sent Ah Puch into a fury. Its muscles swelled as it barreled forward like a runaway train, slamming into Four Arms.
Boom!
One heavy punch sent Four Arms flying. He smashed into the wall hard enough to spiderweb it with cracks.
"Ugh… seriously?" Four Arms muttered, scratching his head as he struggled back to his feet.
He barely had time to breathe before Ah Puch was on him again, fists swinging like hammers and raining blows down on him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four Arms was huge, but in front of Ah Puch he looked almost small, with barely any room to fight back.
Heavy punches, grapples, brutal side kicks… every kind of attack slammed into him, forcing him back again and again until he was miserable and battered.
"I'm not gonna last…" Four Arms' eyes flickered with bitterness.
This thing's combat power was absolutely on par with Vilgax.
Whoosh!
That purple iron fist was about to crash into his face.
At the last second, Big Chill arrived.
He exhaled frigid breath, forming razor-sharp ice swords that spun around his body. Then he beat his wings and dove downward in a flash.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The ice swords stabbed into Ah Puch one after another, bursting into white ice crystals and forcing it back for the moment.
Big Chill landed beside Four Arms and steadied him. "Ben, you okay?"
"Yeah. Not dead yet." Four Arms shook his head.
"Roar!"
Even after taking the full barrage, Ah Puch charged again, savage and fearless like a beast that didn't know how to back down.
[Alien Hacker Mission Triggered]
[Defeat Maya Death God Ah Puch]
[Successfully completing this mission grants a random Scrapped Hero]
A string of cold prompts echoed in Lucian's mind.
"Scrapped Hero?" Big Chill paused.
Right now he only had two Scrapped Heroes: [Sandbox] and [Jak the Freeze].
Looks like he was about to add another.
"Roar!" Ah Puch bellowed, crushing the tiles beneath its feet as it sprinted forward.
Each step made the ground tremble.
Big Chill pushed Four Arms aside. "Ben, go help Grandpa and Gwen deal with the Forever Knights. I'll handle this thing."
"But I just got my face rearranged! No way. I'm getting payback!" Four Arms rolled his shoulders, ready to jump back in.
Big Chill cut him off firmly. "Go. If you stay, I can't fight properly."
"...Fine." Four Arms finally relented, turning and leaping toward the remaining Forever Knights.
Even with Enoch frozen, there were still plenty of Forever Knights left.
Grandpa Max and Gwen were surrounded by several of them, and the situation was getting dangerous.
"Hero time!" Four Arms charged in and started swinging...
...
In a corner of the Divine Sword Hall.
Big Chill stood alone, facing the ferocious Ah Puch.
Whoosh!
A wave of freezing air surged forward, sharp and biting as it slammed into Ah Puch.
Ah Puch roared as frost sealed it in place.
In the blink of an eye, it became a towering ice statue.
But the very next second, the ice exploded apart. Ah Puch broke free by sheer force.
"Roar!"
It grabbed a massive stone from the ground and hurled it straight at Big Chill.
Big Chill shifted into his intangible phantom state, ethereal and untouchable, letting the attack pass harmlessly through him.
He swept forward and phased directly through Ah Puch's body.
Crack! Crack!
Thick ice spread from inside Ah Puch outward. Its purple skin quickly frosted over, freezing it solid once more.
Two seconds later, the ice shattered again.
"Looks like freezing alone won't work…" Big Chill murmured, hovering in midair.
Ah Puch's eyes burned crimson. With a savage snarl, its frog-like tongue shot out and wrapped around Big Chill's ankle.
"Not good."
Big Chill instantly turned intangible again, slipping free from the tongue's grip.
He landed lightly on the ground and folded his broad wings behind him, standing like a cloaked, mysterious figure.
Ah Puch, relentless, charged again.
Big Chill snorted and slapped the Omnitrix on his chest. A surge of eerie green light burst out.
"Rath!"
A humanoid tiger appeared in his place.
Orange fur with black stripes along his back. A powerful, muscular build. Solid chest. On the back of each hand, a black claw-like spike jutted out like a built-in knuckle blade.
The moment Rath appeared, he jabbed a finger at Ah Puch.
"Listen up, frog-tongue! If you even think about touching Rath again, Rath's gonna pound you into the ground and toss you into the Pacific to feed the fish!"
"Roar!"
Ah Puch bellowed, clenching its massive purple fists as it charged forward.
"Oh, so you're picking the hard way? Fine! Rath's angry now, and when Rath's angry, somebody's getting wrecked!"
Rath let out a thunderous roar, still trash-talking as he charged head-on toward Ah Puch...