His heart pounded in his chest, disoriented. The moment of peace had come and gone like a passing dream. He blinked at the glowing countdown in the sky.
No buzzing. No stings. No mosquitoes.
Immediately suspicious, Dirga reached out with his senses — psychic threads fanning out around him. Nothing. Not even the faint shimmer of wings.
"Did Sasa cancel it?" he muttered, rising to one knee.
But no — that didn’t sound like him. That devil didn’t do mercy.
He stood slowly, flexing his fingers, body still sore from dozens of fights. The Crimson Core buzzed faintly in his palm, quiet... but alert. It didn’t detect any threat either. For now.
Dirga exhaled, letting tension slip from his shoulders. He turned to the side, where a tray of food materialized — and real food this time. Not just bread and water.
A thick steak. A burger oozing with melted cheese. Sizzling roasted potatoes.
"Finally," he muttered, sitting cross-legged and devouring the food with calm efficiency. His body needed every bit of it.
When the last bite was gone, he wiped his mouth and checked the sky again.
He stood and stretched — slow, deliberate movements to test every muscle. His bones ached. His wounds tugged. But nothing was torn. He was still whole.
"Let’s do this," he said to himself.
Sasa appeared, of course — floating lazily in midair, as if he’d never left.
"Nice nap?" the devil asked with a smile far too cheerful for what was coming.
Dirga squinted at him. "Where the hell do you even hang out when you’re not here?"
"In your penthouse," Sasa replied with a grin. "Nice place, by the way. I reorganized your fridge."
Dirga gave him a flat look.
"And no, I’m not reading your mind. You’re just predictable." He stretched, still floating on his back like a man watching clouds.
"Whatever," Dirga muttered, rolling his shoulders.
Dirga nodded. "I have to be."
"Good." Sasa’s smile widened, but his tone dipped lower. "Because this one... this one’s pissed."
Wider than any before — wide enough to make the entire arena rumble. A gust of sulfur and heat blasted through as a shadow moved behind the threshold.
And then it stepped forward.
The first paw was massive — claws like daggers, fur rippling like flames. It looked like one of the original hounds: red, sleek, and terrifying.
But then came a second head. Then a third.
The same monsters Dirga had already fought — now fused into one.
Its body was twice as large, shoulders scraping the edges of the arena. Its three heads snarled and snapped at one another before fixing their collective gaze on Dirga.
Saliva dripping in acidic steam.
Dirga took an instinctive step back. His hand clenched around the Crimson Core.
Sasa clapped his hands once, slowly.
"Let’s say this one’s the parent," he said with mock cheer. "You’ve killed its kids, Dirga. You reek of them."
He disappeared with a wink.
"...You absolute bastard," Dirga muttered.
But there was no time to complain.
The beast had already launched.
The ground shook as the Cerberus charged forward like a living avalanche — claws tearing trenches into the stone, three heads snarling in unison.
Dirga didn’t even think about blocking it. His instincts screamed louder than reason.
The force of the leap cracked the ground beneath him — a burst of telekinesis flinging him high.
But the moment he left the ground, he saw it — the red head’s mouth opened wide, fangs glowing molten white.
Flames erupted, a blazing inferno cutting across the air like a whip of hellfire.
"What the—!?" Dirga twisted midair, eyes wide.
He didn’t have time to dodge normally.
He reached deep — shifted the center of gravity two meters to his left, outside the flame’s path. Then he triggered the pull, dragging himself toward the new core point with brutal force.
The fire licked past his skin — so hot it felt like his blood might boil.
He landed hard, tumbled once, then sprang to his feet.
And barely had a second to breathe.
The blue head had already turned, its frigid breath charging like a cannon.
Dirga’s eyes widened. The monster exhaled — not fire, but hundreds of razor-sharp icicles.
They screamed through the air like a blizzard of spears.
"Shield!" Dirga roared.
The Crimson Core shifted in his grip — warping, stretching, hardening — until it formed a shield the size of his body. Its surface shimmered with layered red light, as if forged from crystallized blood.
He dropped to one knee, raised the shield — and braced.
The barrage hammered into him. Each icicle cracked like a gunshot on impact. The shield held — barely — but the shock rumbled down Dirga’s arms and into his spine.
Gritting his teeth, he dug in.
His senses screamed. The floor was too still.
He looked down — into the shadow.
And there, just for a blink—
A snout stretched from the shadow — then teeth. A second later, a massive jaw snapped upward to bite him whole.
Crimson Core — shift!
The shield collapsed, melted, and swelled into a massive warhammer.
With a snarl, Dirga twisted his hips and swung down.
The hammer slammed into the black head, forcing it back with a yelp. The shadow twitched — and vanished.
Panting, Dirga stumbled back, weapon still humming with energy.
A triple elemental threat.
This wasn’t just a beast.
It was a damn elemental raid boss.
And it wasn’t even trying yet.
Dirga narrowed his eyes, muscles tensed.
The black head of the Cerberus snarled low, pawing at its bruised jaw — where Dirga’s hammer had connected with a crunch that would’ve shattered most monsters.
But it was also angry.