Volume 7, Chapter 16 – Cerberus

A fine red snow began to fall from the sky. Almost subconsciously, the Cerberuses flared their nostrils, trying to identify what the red snow was. They soon got their answer—violent and uncontrollable sneezing. Some of the Cerberuses rolled on the ground from the irritation of the chili, while the rest, in a very human-like manner, whimpered softly and rushed towards the lake with tears streaming from their eyes. Not a single one, including the level 60 Cerberus, put up any effective resistance.

Yisi hovered in mid-air, stunned.

“Hey, hey… you’re Cerberuses, the hellhounds of legend. How are you acting like domesticated pets?”

She had originally thought that at most, the Cerberuses would just feel very uncomfortable. She had even prepared for them to leap up and try to tear her apart in a rage. But now, she had neutralized the threat with just chili powder, without even having to lift a finger.

After waiting a little longer, an even more astonishing sight appeared.

The Cerberuses began to fight amongst themselves.

Since the three heads shared one body, and they all wanted to use the front paws to cover their own noses, two front limbs were clearly not enough for three heads. Thus, the heads began to butt against each other, trying to come out on top.

But that wasn’t what surprised Yisi the most.

The scene that made Yisi raise her eyebrows, at a loss for words, came from the Cerberuses that had jumped into the pool.

Although the Cerberuses rolling in the pool were not fighting each other, their black fur was clearly fading, turning into patches of black and grey. Occasionally, a glimpse of pure white could be seen. Furthermore, with the flames on their backs extinguished by the water, Yisi could see their true forms—just like Mary when she had first met her, they were clearly malnourished, emaciated from not having eaten properly for a long time.

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Their skin was stretched taut over their bones, outlining each and every rib. It was such a pitiful sight that Yisi felt a stir of compassion.

“I should have realized sooner… Being trapped in a place like this, it’s understandable that there’s nothing to eat,” Yisi looked around the room. Although it was clean, it was devoid of life. Other than the Cerberuses, there was no sign of any other living creature. “No wonder I didn’t see a single biological-type monster on the way here. Were they all eaten by these guys?”

As for the bite marks on the plant-type monsters, they must have been the result of these Cerberuses’ extreme hunger. Those plants were either poisonous or had thorns, so they stopped eating them after the first bite—no, wait, Cerberuses should be carnivorous monsters; they don’t eat plants at all.

Yisi glanced again at the Cerberuses rolling on the ground, so thin they were nothing but skin and bones.

“Hmm…”

They were too pitiful.

Without much thought, Yisi first used wind magic to blow all the chili powder out of the room. Then, she used [Invisible Hand] to scoop water from the lake and pour it over the rolling Cerberuses. After the dogs had recovered with whimpers, she took out the earth dragon meat she had hunted on Mount Hermion from her inventory and threw it beside them.

But perhaps because they were too weak, most of the Cerberuses just lay limply on the ground, staring longingly at the chunks of meat not far away. A few others struggled to move towards the meat, but they could only manage to drag themselves three or four steps before running out of strength, letting out low, mournful whines.

“Hey, hey…”

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Her mouth fell slightly agape at the scene before her, and Yisi’s compassion grew even stronger.

It seems I have to do it myself.

Sighing helplessly, Yisi descended from the air. Under the gaze of the nine Cerberuses—twenty-seven heads in total—she used an iron sword to cut the earth dragon meat into small, bite-sized pieces for a human, speared them with a fork, and brought it to the mouth of the nearest Cerberus.

“Go on, eat.”

Considering the possibility that the Cerberus might suddenly bite her, Yisi had even used reinforcement magic to strengthen her skin. But this was clearly an unnecessary worry. The Cerberus simply sniffed the meat lightly before opening its mouth full of rows of sharp teeth and swallowing it whole, skipping the chewing part entirely.

Are they so hungry they’ve lost all their wariness?

The person who left the Cerberuses here is an absolute devil.

“Whimper…”

To Yisi’s amusement, as she fed the first Cerberus piece by piece with the fork, the other Cerberuses would let out pitiful cries and make chewing and swallowing motions, as if by doing so, they too could taste the meat.

Yisi couldn’t help but smile wryly.

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“Don’t worry, you’ll all get your share. Hmm… I should have brought Mary and Andrea here. They would have definitely loved this job.”

It was just like raising pets.

Since feeding them with a fork was too time-consuming, Yisi eventually just cut the earth dragon meat into large portions and used Gungnir to spear it into the Cerberuses’ mouths. By the time all the Cerberuses were full, Yisi had already gone through three monsters the size of an earth dragon.

“No wonder you guys wiped out all the monsters on the entire fiftieth floor. With this kind of appetite, even someone of a Count’s or Duke’s status would have a hard time raising you.”

After all, they ate the equivalent of four earth dragons in a single meal.

“Awooo~”

The physical constitution of the Cerberuses as top-tier monsters came into play. Half an hour ago, they were too hungry to even walk, but after just one full meal, they became lively and energetic. In response to Yisi’s remark, they just affectionately nuzzled her calves and the hem of her skirt, prancing around her happily as if she were their master.

“Well, it’s not like I feel it was a loss.”

She casually patted the head of one of the Cerberuses. The fluffy texture made Yisi’s expression soften into a =w= shape. The original fur color of these Cerberuses was probably white. It was either because they hadn’t bathed in a long time or because someone had thrown them into a dyeing vat that they looked black.

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“Alright, alright, I’m going to see what’s in that treasure chest over there. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Awooo!”

As if understanding Yisi’s words, the highest-level Cerberus let out a joyous bark. Like a cannonball fired from a cannon, it rushed towards the treasure chest. With a single leap, it knocked the chest down from its high perch. Then, with its three heads, it nudged the cabinet-sized chest and pushed it in front of Yisi.

Hmm… I might have just adopted a rather incredible pet.

After tossing out a chunk of meat as a reward, Yisi opened the chest, which was inlaid with gems and gold leaf.

Inside was a red rapier, wreathed in flames and as translucent as a gemstone.

“It’s definitely not the Source of Mana, but it’s an exceptionally fine weapon. It looks like it was crafted from a gem, so let’s call it… Laevateinn. I’ll give it to Camilla when I get back.”

After storing the red longsword in her inventory and replacing it with an iron sword she had forged, enchanted with [Weak Electricity], Yisi placed the chest back in its original position. Then, surrounded by the nine Cerberuses, she clapped her hands. It felt like being a king, although her subjects were only nine little dogs.

“Now, let’s search floor by floor, with Cerberus.”