Clang!
A crisp sword chime rang out from the stone platform, echoing through the entire Divine Sword Hall.
Enoch raised his hand, gripping a golden blade that blazed with dazzling light.
In that moment, he looked almost radiant, like an ancient Mayan emperor made flesh, the kind of presence that instinctively inspired awe.
Holding the Sword of Ek Chuaj, Enoch burst into manic laughter.
"Hahahaha! The whole world belongs to me now, Enoch!"
Everyone's faces turned grim.
"Damn… we're finished," Grandpa Max muttered, clenching his fist.
Four Arms gritted his teeth and started forward, ready to beat that freak into the ground.
But Grandpa Max grabbed him. "Ben, don't be reckless! We run! He has the Sword of Ek Chuaj now. We can't fight him head-on!"
According to Mayan legend, one swing of the Sword of Ek Chuaj could wipe out a city.
Grandpa Max pulled Ben and Gwen toward the exit.
"Lucian, move!"
He turned and saw Sandbox still standing there, unmoving.
The sand dragon's whiskers drifted as a faint smile curled at its mouth.
"Grandpa, looks like we won't need to run after all. Look…"
The others froze, then followed his gaze to the stone platform.
Enoch held the sword high and shouted, "From this day forward, I am the ruler of the entire world! No one may defy me!"
Crack… crack…
Black fissures suddenly spread across the blade, accompanied by a harsh splintering sound.
Then the entire sword exploded, shattering into a storm of metallic fragments that sprayed outward and pattered against Enoch's cold armor.
Enoch went deathly pale, rooted to the spot.
A long moment later, he clutched his head.
"No! Why?! Why is this happening?!"
Seeing that, Grandpa Max burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"Hahaha! Looks like a five-thousand-year-old antique crumbles the second you pull it out. Enoch, your big plan just went up in smoke."
Four Arms bounced excitedly. "Yes! Enoch, you're still a total loser! Hahahaha!"
Rumble!
The Divine Sword Hall began shaking violently. Massive rocks crashed down from above like bombs, slamming into the floor and walls and ripping spiderweb cracks through the chamber.
"Oh no… it's collapsing!" Gwen's face went white.
"It must be the Sword of Ek Chuaj. Pulling it triggered the mechanism here." Grandpa Max's expression tightened. "We can't stay. Move!"
Four Arms scooped up Gwen and Grandpa Max, then sprang upward with explosive force, vanishing into the tomb.
Behind them, the Divine Sword Hall was in ruins.
Enoch sat on the ground in a daze, surrounded by fallen Forever Knights.
The death god Ah Puch was still unconscious, buried beneath a relentless rain of stone.
"No… no… this has to be a dream…" Enoch muttered, picking up the shattered scraps of the sword. "The Sword of Ek Chuaj is mine… hahaha… it's mine…"
Rumble!
Several enormous boulders crashed down, completely swallowing Enoch from sight.
Sandbox shook his head and began to reshape.
Countless drifting grains of sand scattered, then reassembled, constructing a new body piece by piece.
"Chirp!"
Two seconds later, a Golden-Winged Great Roc spread its magnificent wings, trailing a veil of fine sand as it flew out of the Maya tomb…
...
After leaving the Maya tomb, the Golden-Winged Great Roc did not revert.
Instead, it carried Four Arms, Gwen, and Grandpa Max toward the Rustbucket.
Gwen rode on its back, eyes shining. "This is way too cool! If only I had a mount like this!"
"Oh, awesome! Cuz, where'd you get this Alien Hero gene? Take me to collect one too!" Four Arms called from behind her.
"Chirp." The Golden-Winged Great Roc replied vaguely.
He couldn't exactly say it came from a Scrapped Hero reward.
The sharp wind whipped their clothes, snapping loudly.
The Golden-Winged Great Roc remained silent, sinking his awareness into his mind.
"Open the Scrapped Hero Chest," he thought.
[Successfully opened Scrapped Hero Chest]
[Acquired Scrapped Hero: Soulcatcher]
A cold prompt echoed in Lucian's mind.
"Soulcatcher? Sounds strong… but it also sounds kind of evil," Lucian thought.
[Soulcatcher: A Krampusarian from the Anur Star System. Possesses a zombie-like appearance and a ferocious visage. Even across the entire Anur Star System, its looks rank among the most fearsome.]
[Abilities: Great strength. Can absorb a target's life energy, temporarily zombifying the target and controlling their actions (this ability is only effective on weaker lifeforms).]
[Note: Soulcatcher cannot absorb energy from the Ghostfreak species, because Ectonurite are not conventional lifeforms and are closer to undead entities. However, Ghostfreak also cannot possess Soulcatcher, so relations between the two species are extremely tense.]
[Weakness: Fears aliens with holy attributes, such as angels.]
"So that's Soulcatcher…" Lucian murmured.
This Alien Hero looked perfect for group fights. With its zombifying ability, he could turn enemies into allies and flip a battlefield in an instant.
As for how strong it truly was, Lucian wasn't sure yet.
But no matter how strong, it couldn't be stronger than Humungousaur or Four Arms… right?
Whoosh—
The Golden-Winged Great Roc, wrapped in drifting sand, tore through the air and vanished into the distant horizon…