CH 43

“Oh great, now we need to save that too now. Really?”

The team members were startled by the sound of the team leader spouting his frustrations.

It’s not that he hated dogs. Although it was close to the breed he very much liked, it was difficult to even take care of the dog in such a dangerous situation where people were also injured. He was really surprised at how well the puppy had been holding up so far, delicately balancing on top of the monster’s head.

Because of it, the monster grew angrier.

Why, why can’t I get you off! At first Spotty only shook his head, but he was starting to go crazy. Back and forth with great power. He banged his head against the wall and flapped his wings. He swung his tail, but something felt off.

“Kiiiik!”

I am so angry. I will definitely kill you! Spotty began to soar high into the sky. He intended to get really high and dislodge the dog by rotating his body. However, as the altitude increased, strangely, his head felt heavier. He tried to flap his wings hard, but the weight increased and they began to drop.

“Kiiiik!”

Spotty was desperately trying to regain control of the situation to make sure the annoying creature was disposed of before he got hurt. Ultimately, they crashed into the ground.

What? Huh? Spotty groaned and looked back. Then a black wall filled his gaze. Wondering just what that creature was, he slowly looked up and saw three dog heads at the end of the black mass.

Kero made eye contact with Spotty and grinned. Even though it was in the form of a beast, it was clear enough to tell he was smiling. Then, Spotty vigorously bounced back up and whisked Kero away. This time, Kero didn’t resist.

“Kirrrrk!”

(EN: Balrog = Spotty’s real name // Kerberos/Cerberus = Kero’s real name)

It was the first time seeing a familiar face since leaving the Demon Realm. Kero was in disbelief that his eternal friend Balrog was actually before him.

(Spotty) Upon closer inspection, two of the heads were merely illusions. It can’t be. Spotty’s chest swelled upon recognizing his friend.

(Kero) Balrog and humans weren’t too hard to beat, but Kerberos didn’t know whether he could win. There wasn’t a big difference in class between him and Balrog.

Spotty narrowed his eyes and glared at Kerberos. Then he looked up and started flapping his wings. He knew it was foolish for a creature that could fly to engage in a hand-to-hand battle with a creature that couldn’t. People did it because they thought it would be fun, but even Kerberos wouldn’t be able to manage it.

So, he tried to fly high, but Kerberos was a little faster than him.

“Kwang!”

Kerberos, who sprinted and shortened the distance in an instant, bit his wings and dropped.

I’m going to rip this dog apart! Spotty immediately began writhing like crazy, hitting him in the head, but he didn’t budge.

Thud thud!

Two giant monsters were entangled and spread across the street, and a loud sound resounded over and over again. Streetlamps bent; trees broke. A hole was smashed into the wall of a building and the road cracked.

“For now, we’ll step back!”

The manager hurriedly shouted. A small, black puppy had suddenly grown up and started attacking the Black Dragon. From then on, they were useless.

‘Should we attack?’

As he gritted his teeth and strategized, something came to his mind — The Korean first generation Awakened. He had heard that a Korean had easily handled a single monster.

‘The Three-headed Gatekeeper of Hell.’

Kerberos from the legend. This is how the stories described him.

“Should we attack?”

“No, we watch. Watch until they tire!”

He thought this was the best course of action, not knowing if the dog was friend or foe.

As the team leader issued orders, the battle continued. Time began to reveal which side had the upper hand. At the point where Spotty could not fly, the victory had already passed to Kerberos.

Spotty tried desperately to spit his acid breath but was blocked by flames. Spotty’s affinity was poison while Kerberos’ was fire. It was said that fire beats poison, so it was a battle with a natural disadvantage to Spotty.

He was so chagrined he felt like crying. Spotty was just starting to make a move, and Kerberos showed up. Spotty, who had held out until the sun went down, eventually collapsed to the floor.

The shiny scales he had always been proud of were torn here and there while his wings were punctured. Not only that, but he was utterly exhausted; there was no strength left in his body. Kerberos approached triumphantly as he lay there and tapped Spotty with his front paw.

“Kirk.”

He shook his head to say no, but the dog was too close to him. In the end, Spotty sniffled and made his body smaller. After a bit, the only thing that was left was a cute little snake with tattered wings. (EN: we aren’t sure about this description, but here is an image search of it.)

“Wang!”

Kerberos, who suddenly became smaller again, bit such a lizard in his mouth and held onto it with a triumphant attitude. Then he began to walk proudly down the street.

“Are we supposed to hold on to it?”

There were a lot of questions today.

“Who? You? Yes, justice seems to be on fire, so I will entrust you with a mission.”

“Alright.”

“Let’s follow where that monster goes.”

“Alone?”

“If it’s dangerous, jump out.”

The team leader didn’t think it would be dangerous, though. He entrusted the work to the team members and looked around the horribly ruined streets. Now how long will it take to restore this? A sigh came out.

Kero noticed that someone was following him, so he lightly accelerated. With his small body, he jumped up a height that could not be imagined, and he jumped on the roof of the building as it was. It looked like it was flying. After 20 minutes, Kero finally arrived at his destination and stretched out his chest.

‘I’ve caught a lizard!’

A stupid lizard couldn’t do anything since it can’t fly. Kero walked up to Hyeon-woo and spit it out in his mouth.

“Kirrrrr.”

As soon as he got away from Kero, Spotty wept bitterly. He hung in the dog’s mouth while he ran for over 20 minutes and thought he was going to die. So, he tried pretending to be weak to buy sympathy. (EN: He shrank like Kero)

“Long time no see.”

He only opened his eyes and was greeted by Hyeon-woo. Spotty blinked slowly and looked around him. Then he looked at Hyeon-woo’s face once again and looked at the sky once again. He started to scream.

“Kiyaaaaak!”

Kero’s front paw slammed past the head of Spotty. He banged his head on the floor in an instant but was so startled that it didn’t bother him.

‘What is that monster doing here?’

All of a sudden, his body trembled.

‘Are I dreaming? It’s a dream, right?’

He closed and opened his eyes, but reality did not change.

“Is that the monster from earlier?”

“Unn.”

“He gets smaller too?”

Most of the monsters known to have considerable power in the Demon Realm were able to adjust their size. That is why Kero and Spotty were able to become smaller.

“That’s right.”

“So what are you going to do with this now?”

Seon-woo pointed to Spotty.

“I don’t know. What should I do?”

Leon intervened between the two of them talking.

“You can’t just take it with you.”

“Why?”

“It’s a monster that destroyed part of New York, so if a foreigner takes it, other people won’t be able to stand still.”

“But Kero caught it?”

Things got complicated. Spotty was still docile for a monster, but the damage was not small. It was because the monster wasn’t kind enough to ignore the incoming attack. As a result, several fighters were destroyed, and several saints were injured. The streets had also just been destroyed during the battle.

“I’m sorry, but things are complicated.”

Leon said with a bitter smile.

“If you take him what will you do with him?”

“It is a rare living monster, so it will be used for research.”

“That’ll be difficult.”

“How would you know if you don’t try?”

Seeing Leon, who had no intention of backing down, Hyeon-woo folded his arms. Leon’s a cunning guy, so if he has to, Hyeon-woo didn’t mind making a mess. Then Seon-woo asked:

“Hyung, do you want to take it?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll try my best.”

Seon-woo said as if he had to trust him. And around that time, the member of the Guardian Guild, who had been following Kero and Spotty, arrived. Gasping for air, he looked at Spotty, Kero, and his guild leader, and immediately corrected his posture.

“Greetings to the guild leader! For glory!”

“Enough with the greetings. Rather, bring this monster to the truck.”

“Yes!”

Thus, Spotty was loaded into a transport truck and taken to a laboratory in the United States.

Seon-woo, Hyeon-woo, and Do-jin decided to stay a little longer in New York to examine the situation.

***

“Is this the monster?”

“Yes, it is.”

“But why is it this small?”

“They said that it’s possible for it to adjust the size of its body.”

“Awesome! That’s a new discovery.”

The researchers all looked at the small monster trapped behind the huge, transparent wall with excited expressions. They couldn’t believe this little thing was a monster the size of a house.

“First of all, it’s not feeling very well. Allow it to rest some before starting experiments. So much to do!”

Spotty, who had his head buried in his front paws the whole time, slowly lifted his eyes as he listened to the faint voice of the man. He remembered the last words Kero had delivered.

“Make them tired of you. Let me know if you lose control of the situation.”

It’s that easy. Spotty grinned and buried his head in his paws again. Recovery from the injury came first.