(The pacing in the previous chapters was a bit slow; these two chapters will speed things up a bit.)
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Kachina stood in front of the defensive tower.
Before she could even take a deep breath to relax, a scorching fireball was already whistling toward her!
"So fast!"
Facing the oppressive pressure of the fireball at close range, Kachina finally understood why so many elite warriors had fallen in defeat.
That astonishing speed, carrying flames hot enough to incinerate flesh and blood, left almost no room for thought when it came rushing at her.
But Kachina was no ordinary warrior.
In the instant the fireball closed in, her figure flickered, lightly dodging the first attack. Without lingering in place, she continuously leaped and shifted, evading the second and third fireballs that followed in quick succession.
"So fast!"
"Kachina, you're dodging so well!"
The warriors of the Children of Echoes cheered for Kachina upon seeing this, hoping she could hold out just a little longer.
But what came next left their jaws dropping in surprise.
Facing the relentless barrage of fireballs from the defensive tower, Kachina executed flawless flips and evasions each time, dodging all the fireballs as if performing gymnastics.
Not only was she not hit by a single fireball, but the flames didn't even graze the hem of her clothes.
One minute passed, and the training mode ended, with the defensive tower ceasing operations.
"Suc... success?"
"Kachina actually dodged them all?"
The warriors were utterly astonished, never expecting Kachina, whom they hadn't been optimistic about, to pass the defensive tower's test.
No one doubted whether the defensive tower had gone easy on her—after all, they were all excellent warriors, not blind. They could clearly see that the tower's onslaught hadn't weakened in the slightest compared to before.
"Kachina, I never imagined you were this impressive."
"For the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame... and the battles against the Abyss monsters afterward, you'll have to perform well—we're all counting on you."
The warriors who had originally planned not to team up with her for the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame all changed their tune, their eyes filled with admiration.
"Mm..."
Surrounded by the crowd's praise and encouragement, Kachina's lips unconsciously curved upward, a long-forgotten sense of pride welling up in her heart.
Afterward, she jogged back to Rios and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Pyro Archon."
"If it weren't for the guidance from you, Pyro Archon, I couldn't have done this well." Kachina said sincerely.
Look at how polite this child is, even thanking me.
"No need to thank me."
However, in the face of Kachina's gratitude, Rios shook his head.
"The one who truly ignited the fire of victory is the courage in your heart."
Rios had originally wanted to say that Kachina had a lion in her eyes. But in Natlan, burning was the dominant theme, after all.
[Emotion value from Kachina +100]
It's a pity Kachina isn't one of Natlan's Six Heroes—otherwise, hearing Rios's words just now might have awakened her directly.
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After Xilonen adjusted the defensive tower's training mode values downward, the warriors of the Children of Echoes continued using the defensive tower for evasion practice.
Afterward, Rios followed Xilonen away from the Children of Echoes tribe and arrived at the place where Xilonen's aunt, Tlazolli, lived.
Xilonen knocked on the door: "Auntie, it's me, Xilonen."
It wasn't long before a middle-aged woman pushed the door open. She also had a pair of leopard ears on her head—it was Xilonen's aunt, Tlazolli.
"Xilonen, why have you come?"
Tlazolli glanced at her niece, then at the red-haired youth standing beside her. Her pupils suddenly contracted, and she exclaimed in surprise: "P-Pyro Archon, why have you come?!"
Tlazolli's expression instantly froze, a flash of undisguisable panic in her eyes, like a thief caught red-handed with a guilty conscience.
Seeing this, Xilonen furrowed her brows in confusion, but she still smiled and said, "Auntie, even if you've met the Pyro Archon, there's no need to be this surprised."
"You haven't done anything wrong, so the Pyro Archon won't punish you." Xilonen said.
"Ah... right, right." Tlazolli let out a dry laugh, "I was just surprised to see the Pyro Archon so young, that's all."
In truth, what she feared was her scheme of using her adopted daughter as a living sacrifice being exposed.
"Speaking of which," Tlazolli proactively changed the subject, looking at Xilonen, "why did you suddenly come to visit me?"
Xilonen took out a vial of potion and explained: "The Pyro Archon has developed a kind of elixir that can repair bodies affected by the Abyss—even lost memories can be restored."
"Auntie, didn't your daughter Nechca lose her memories after being injured by Abyss monsters? Using this elixir, she can get better." Xilonen said.
Before Tlazolli could respond, Xilonen continued: "The Pyro Archon is also very curious about the elixir's effects and wants to witness the moment Nechca regains her memories together."
"Auntie, call your daughter out—she can finally recover her memories."
"This..." Tlazolli's expression stiffened.
Her real daughter had long since died in the claws of the Abyss monsters.
Using this thing wouldn't make the slightest difference.
She couldn't exactly resurrect the dead, could she?
"Xilonen, you know, my daughter's health isn't great." Tlazolli forced a smile, "Her condition has been even worse lately. I'm afraid she couldn't handle using the medicine rashly..."
Tlazolli resorted to her usual lie, trying to use the excuse of the child's poor health to muddle through this crisis.
And just then, a heavy thud came from behind her.
"It seems like it came from the direction of Nechca's room." Xilonen's leopard ears perked up, immediately pinpointing the direction, "What's wrong with her?"
"She probably just tripped accidentally." Tlazolli smiled awkwardly, "Sorry, Xilonen, Pyro Archon, I'll go check on Nechca first."
"As for the elixir, we can talk about it next time..."
Tlazolli turned her head and froze at the sight before her.
The Pyro Archon had somehow appeared at Nechca's door.
Clearly, just before she turned, the Pyro Archon had been standing outside.
Did the Pyro Archon know teleportation?
"Tlazolli, the one who should apologize is me." Rios said politely: "I entered your house without your permission."
"And now, I have to meet your child first."
With that, Rios opened the door under Tlazolli's horrified gaze. The moment the door swung open, a little girl rushed out.
"Little Nechca?" Xilonen's expression froze. Nechca's appearance seemed different from what she remembered.
Before she could ask, the child hid behind Rios and shouted loudly: "Pyro Archon, that woman isn't my mother—she wanted to kill me!"
Hearing the little girl's words, Xilonen hadn't reacted yet when she heard a "thud," followed by the sight of her aunt kneeling down.
"The plan to revive little Nechca has failed..."
"Everything is over..."
Kneeling on the ground, Tlazolli was utterly despondent, tears welling up in her eyes.
In her view, with the Pyro Archon right there on the scene, even if she had heaven-defying abilities, it would be impossible to carry out the plan and reincarnate her daughter into the little girl's body.
Seeing the weeping Tlazolli, Rios couldn't help but complain inwardly.
"Kneeling down, shedding tears, repenting... You think you're filming One piece (Episode 405)?"