*Bash!
*Crash on rocky terrain
*The spot is destroyed… heavy panting.
"This is Cerberus? A giant three-headed dog with anger issues?!" exclaimed a young white-haired man with pointed ears, lying among the rubble of crushed red dirt and shattered rocks.
His opponent—Cerberus, the Hound of Hades—towered above him. Its three snarling heads glared with fiery orange eyes. Its skin gleamed with a mix of metallic sheen and red scales. From its back sprouted serpent heads, while its tail twisted like a massive snake. Flames flickered deep within its open maws.
Cerberus snarled menacingly, its massive paws stomping the ground. Then, crouching low, it launched itself into the air with a thunderous leap.
The young man sprang to his feet and dodged just in time, leaping aside as the beast came crashing down onto the very spot he'd occupied.
He wore a green tunic shirt and black trousers. Lifting his arm, he revealed a glowing purple mark—a Stigma—etched into his wrist. The symbol: a forward-facing dagger encased in a compass star made of countless human arms. The mark pulsed with light, and in a flash, it converged into a solid longsword in his grip.
He tightened his hold on the blade, channeling mana into it.
The sword ignited with purple flames. He dropped into a battle stance and leapt high into the air, legs supercharged with mana. Raising the blade over his head, he slashed downward.
A massive vertical arc of purple energy burst from the sword, racing toward the monstrous canine.
But Cerberus did not flinch. Its eyes burned with rage, yet it remained still, defiantly taking the full force of the attack head-on.
The young man's eyes widened. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Still midair, he thrust out his hand. A magic circle formed in front of him.
"Chains of Suppression!" he shouted.
But nothing happened. The spell failed. He clenched his jaw, a surge of anger bubbling inside him.
'Damn it! Ever since I let go of Igor's power, I've lost everything. I went from a 12-star mage to a one-star. How infuriating—fuck!' he screamed internally.
Having withstood the young man's assault, Cerberus lunged once more. It raised a massive paw and brought it down with brutal force. The man crossed his arms to shield his face just in time.
SMASH!
The blow sent him hurtling like a comet. He crashed into the red ground below, carving out a crater from the sheer impact.
Dust erupted, clouding the battlefield. Cerberus landed gracefully and began striding toward the impact zone, majestic and menacing.
From within the haze, a voice echoed:
"I'm grateful to you, Tony… for giving me this power. Even if I've regressed to a one-star mage—your gift still burns within me… YAAAH!!!"
PARTIAL TRANSFORMATION: DRAGON MAN.
His once bare and fair skin shimmered as blue scales began to spread across his arms, forming gauntlet-like armor. His fingernails sharpened into curved claws. The transformation continued—across his shoulders, chest, back, neck, legs, and lower jaw.
The scales gleamed blue, streaked with indigo. Two blue, membranous wings burst from his back. His eyes turned from brown to glowing indigo, and his white hair flowed with gradients of blue and violet, cascading like liquid light. His teeth sharpened to shark-like points.
Still gripping his summoned sword, he burst out of the dust cloud, flying toward Cerberus's middle head. He opened his mouth and unleashed a powerful purple energy blast.
Cerberus reeled, stunned, taking a step back. It roared skyward in rage, the sound creating shockwaves that swept across the land.
But the young man was undeterred. Slashing through the air, he unleashed wave after wave of powerful sword aura.
Cerberus lifted its paw to shield its heads from the barrage. But it wasn't about to remain on the defensive for long.
The serpents on its back extended violently, launching themselves at the challenger with open maws and venom-laced fangs.
Yet the young man danced between them, evading each strike with calculated grace, despite their unpredictable timing and sheer number.
Then came a dire shift—the flames in Cerberus's throats blazed brighter than ever. The three heads opened wide, unleashing a superheated inferno.
"Guk—!" he grunted as the blast struck him.
Before he could escape, Cerberus lunged again, swiping its paw and flinging him across the sky like a shooting star. He slammed into the earth, carving another crater. But he rose again—bloodied, breathing hard, but unbroken.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him darkened.
He looked up—and his eyes narrowed.
"What did I do to deserve this?" he growled. "What in the world did I do wrong? It's your fault, Igor. You and the rest of the Original Five. Damn you… damn you all!"
Cerberus came crashing down on him once more, shaking the landscape with a cataclysmic impact. The ground shattered. The earth groaned. The dust swallowed everything.
Author's note: add to your library, when we reach a 10 collection milestone, I'll mass update five chapters