Chapter 82 - Joren Vs The Hell's Dog

"I think that's just an expression, don't worry about it," Kidrith said while sniffing Joren to prove her point.

"I see…"

Joren immediately forgot the insult when Kidrith sniffed him. It was a strange feeling.

After the two 'escaped' Cerberus' grasp, the latter have cornered the lesser undead he thought was Joren.

"There's no escape for you now. Either you follow me into the palace, or I'll bring you there by my fangs!"

"Seriously, man, I'm not the one who you're looking for." the lesser undead pleaded, but Cerberus didn't believe the guy and turned into his original form, making the lesser undead's jaw and heart drop.

The intimidating three-headed dog looms over three meters high than the lesser undead. Saliva dripped from its three jaws, and intense growling could be heard.

The giant dog was about to pounce forward when-

Sniff sniff*

"..."

The heads looked at each other as their paw scratched the left's head. The three heads then apologetically nodded at the lesser undead before leaving and following the trace left by Joren.

Turning into its original form further heightened the senses of Cerberus, and thus, it determined that it made a grave mistake. The lesser undead dropped onto the ground unconscious, with his mouth foaming out of fear.

"T-the Cerberus!"

"Make way! Make way!"

Establishments immediately closed one after the other as people left the spot as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, imps with caps and cameras appeared on the scene. They control the only media circulating in the UnderWorld, the Hades' Intelligence Team or HIT for short.

With squeaky voices, they communicated.

"This is another scoop~! Another scoop~!"

"So many scoops in one day~! So many~!"

"Take all the pictures, hurry~! All the pictures~!"

"Sure, alright."

Four imps followed the Cerberus with their cameras popped up. There was the punishment of Nebarius and Hades showing his power. Both rarely occur, but unfortunately, the HIT is composed of fragile beings that would just be blown away at Allecto's power and be killed by going near Hades' power.

Their only ability is traveling through the shadows, enabling them to be the first on the news.

Back to Cerberus, the smell was getting stronger again, and the dog began to run, faster and faster, making the citizens of the UnderWorldLand panic more.

"Growr-!"

The Cerberus let out a terrifying roar as it found the source of the smell.

Joren, who was walking through the crowds, could hear chaos behind him. Looking back, he saw the giant three-headed dog running through the escaping crowds.

"The Cerberus is here-!"

Kidrith's anxiety came back as Joren replied to her.

"Alright, hold tight!"

He jumped forward and sprinted. Thankfully, the people in front of him are already making way since they've heard the Cerberus.

The Cerberus heavily and relentlessly barked at Joren. The gap between them was getting shorter and shorter as their speed increased over time.

Once the path was fully clear for the first time, Joren didn't hesitate to give the ground a powerful stomp, launching him forward.

"Kyah–!"

The hotel's manager Joren and Ness once stayed at shrieked in surprise. The distance between him and the dog widened once again.

'Isn't he too fast for a lesser undead!?'

Bark bark!*

Joren didn't try to turn corners. He ran through the main street straight forward.

"Y-you're outrunning the Cerberus…!?"

Kidrith forgot how many times she had been surprised by Joren this day already.

"But I have low stamina!" Joren huffed. His Toughness and Strength have reached five and four digits, respectively. However, as for his other stats, he was only better than athletes and nothing more.

With his Strength, he's using more energy than usual.

"You can do it!" Kidrith cheered.

At the same time, Joren slowed down and stopped.

"Right after I cheered you!?"

"No, I didn't stop because I'm tired," Joren said as he put down Kidrith and huffed.

"Don't act tough. You're catching your breath."

Kidrith hastily said because the moment they stopped, the Cerberus had already caught up to them in a matter of seconds. She was pretty disappointed since they've stopped after they reached that far.

She looked up and saw the big three-headed dog had already jumped and was about to pounce on them, who were like sitting ducks.

'I guess I shouldn't have expected that much.' Kidrith sighed and just closed her eyes.

Bam!*

"Kii-!"

Kidrith frowned after hearing these series of sounds.

'Did Joren die already? Why does his death sound like a dog who got hit?' she thought while wondering what's taking the Cerberus so long to kill her.

"All right, let's do this, guard dog."

But when Kidrith heard Joren's voice, all dots connected in a single moment. She opened her eyes and saw that the Cerberus had just stood up from the ground while Joren stretched his shoulders.

"You… didn't die?"

"... why would I die?" Joren strangely looked at Kidrith and refuted, "You're so pessimistic!" he laughed.

"S-sorry…"

Kidrith lowered her head in shame. She regretted doubting in Joren and seeing the Cerberus stare at Joren with warry, she was once again amazed.

'D-did that lesser undead just counterattack!?'

The Cerberus stood in puzzlement. Thinking otherwise, it pounced again, to which Joren repeated his actions in response.

The middle head has its jaw opened in an attempt to bite a big piece out of Joren. However, just like what happened the first time, Joren simply raised his fist, forcing the Cerberus' jaw to close before giving more force into it and sending the dog flying away once more.

Kidrith was not the only one watching the scene. They have reached the gates of Erebus, and the population there was fewer than within the main streets. However, people gathered to see what kind of a being threw the legendary underworld dog, Cerberus.

Seeing it the second time, there was no more doubt. Shock erupted from the crowd.

"Who's that man!?"

"He sent the Cerberus away!"

"I-is he a God!?"

"Don't exaggerate! If he's a God, even the Cerberus would've died already!"

"Hey, I remember that guy. Isn't he the one who fell from the tall stairs?"

"Seriously!? The idiot who shouted he will return after leaving Charon's cruise ship!?"

"Y-you're quite famous…." Kidrith muttered upon hearing the crowd.

"Don't mention it."

Joren depressingly replied.

Meanwhile, the Cerberus stood up again, and its puzzlement has now increased. The lesser undead did send it flying away!

'Wait, no! Something is wrong with him! He doesn't smell like a lesser undead now!'

Cerberus has a strong sense of smell. His sense of smell is not limited to physical properties but also spiritual.

'Is this really the guy the Lord wants me to catch?'

The Cerberus looked around as if nothing had happened.

Sniff sniff*

It smelled the familiar smell of his target. After a moment of sniffing, he found all traces leading up to this one man it once interrogated.

'I'm so forgetful sometimes! Maybe he's human from the start! If the target is this strong, I have to take this seriously. After all, he's the same man who escaped the palace.'

While everyone watched the dog's strange behavior, they instantly feel cold to their very bones.

Is everyone just hallucinating, or the big dog's size is still increasing?

No, the Cerberus is taking this seriously.

"R-run!"

A demon shouted, and along with four imps of HIT, they stepped back and took more distance. However, no matter how much they run from the dog, it doesn't seem like they're gaining distance since its size is still the same from their view.

"Umm… Joren, I think we should run too."

Kidrith's eyes turned hazy and wet as her head slowly oscillated up while a shadow continued to cover her.

"No, I have to knock this dog down here, or else it might catch up to us while we swim away."

Joren said as he walked forward to the transforming Cerberus. Like a hill, it stood over Joren, who's like an insect in comparison.

"W-what are you doing?"

"If you can move, get away from here."

Joren looked up and saw that the Cerberus' fur had turned into something fiery like embers. Its three pairs of eyes shone brightly in red.

Kidrith listened and tried to trust Joren on this one as she slowly walked away.

Once the Cerberus had reached its peak, it stood like a mountain. Joren, on the other hand, could be found near one of its paws. He raised one of his legs back and heavily swung it forward.

Joren kicked the Cerberus' unsuspecting claw, lifting it as blood spurt.

"Arf–!!"

The Cerberus' who looked down on Joren, didn't expect for its claws to be targeted as it beastly shrieked, shaking the grounds.

Joren didn't stop and attempted to do the same with the other nails, but Cerberus reacted swiftly, raising its gigantic paw in fear. In anger, it stomped towards him.

BOOM!*

An earthquake occurred, and a shockwave uplifted the nearby stands from the ground. Clouds upon clouds of dust spread out like a smokescreen.

Although no one could see what happened, the Cerberus raised its paw again and cried in pain.

"Arf—!"

A second claw was removed from his paw.

'Can you not fight dirty!?'