BAM! BAM!
With every paw that stomped the ground, vibrations rattled the nearby objects that surrounded the creature – including the human-shaped thing that fell off as it stood.
Blink. Blink. Blink.
Industrial lights lit up and brightened the hall in succession as if sensing the motion of the creature.
'WHAT THE?!' Mikael was in utter shock and disbelief at the scene in front of him.
The Middle Worlds' Hall looked like a giant doghouse.
It was a wide, cylindrical hall that was several floors high.
There were only two doors in this room; the one he entered from and one on the far side, blocked by a hill-sized dog with three heads.
The dog wore a black leather collar decorated with metal spikes on each of its necks. Dangling from which was a granite slab, reminiscent of a tombstone, engraved with the words:
[CERBERUS
OWNER: HADES
HOME: UNIT #1078, MIDDLE WORLDS' HALL, HADES HOTEL, UNDERWORLD]
Contrary to literature accounts that Cerberus is a three-headed black hell hound, the real thing was more like a mishmash of different dog breeds.
Its left head was a Bulldog, the middle was a German Shepherd, and the right one was a Beagle.
But the peculiarity doesn't end there!
The three heads were connected to the body of a muscular Pit Bull Terrier with three tails.
Grr!
The bulldog head snarled with so much madness that it was practically drooling, its sharp canines flashing menacingly with the overhead lighting.
On the other hand, the German shepherd stared at Mikael with intelligent eyes, as if sizing him up. While the Beagle barely looked at him before turning its head and closing its eyes, seemingly uninterested.
Below the monster was a clutter of toys that were hardly recognizable.
There were spiked balls of steel dripping with saliva and blood. As well as chew toys, in the form of a human skeleton, that had their limbs torn or heads missing.
'Ah… I thought it was a real person…'
The gears in Mikael's mind turned fast to assess the situation.
'Do I have to fight? Heck! Can anybody even fight this creature?'
Then his thoughts took a turn for worse.
'Is this a dead-end, after all?'
He shook his head.
'No. I will not make the same mistake twice. I should exhaust all my options before deciding that it's impossible.'
Mikael learned his lesson – the hard way.
Easily giving up just because it seems hopeless has led him to his tragic death.
A moment later, he grasped his last straw of hope, "Should I try that?"
While he was still alive, Mikael did various part-time work to make ends meet.
Of these, dog walking was one of the few jobs that he actually enjoyed doing as he had very fond memories of dogs.
As an only child with busy parents, his mother often worried whether young Mikael was lonely and thus gifted him Choco, a Labrador puppy who became his best buddy.
Years later, after his parents died, Old Choco became his only refuge.
Mikael was able to endure three horrible years thanks to his furry companion.
But poor Choco faced an untimely demise as it protected Mikael from the loan sharks who were harassing him – an act of courage and loyalty that no human ever extended to Mikael.
To cope with his loss, he started working as a dog walker and he naturally came to understand the personality differences between dog breeds and how to handle them.
Mikael hoped that the monstrous Cerberus was nothing but a big dog in need of a playmate.
'Phew… I really hope he's no different from all other dogs.'
He tried to calm his nerves, knowing that these animals become more aggressive when they smell fear.
'Based on its posture, Bulldog Cerberus is territorially aggressive…' he peeked at the three-headed monster.
Then, he slowly approached it and raised his palm.
In response, the left tail rose stiffly and the front left paw crouched low.
'Huh? Are the heads responsible for individual parts of its body?' Mikael noted that the other parts remained motionless.
Then his gaze locked on the sleeping Beagle.
'Ahh… this is going to be difficult.'
A long sigh escaped from his mouth.
In a way, the Bulldog was easier to handle than the Beagle.
Much like humans, Mikael usually found it easier to sell products to irritable, impatient customers compared to disinterested ones.
'If I don't wake that Beagle, I can't move Cerberus out of the way.'
Mikael felt like he was facing the underworld jury.
Unless they reach a consensus, the exit leading to Mikael's freedom will never open.
Minutes stretched to an hour and the initial aggression of the Bulldog head noticeably subsided.
The German shepherd, as if telling him that he passed some sort of test, lowered its head and licked Mikael's whole body before affectionately nuzzling its snout towards his outstretched palm.
"I knew it! There's no way such a gentle creature would hurt me… right, Cerby?" he cooed while gently scratching its chin.
'That's one head down. Two more to go.' He smiled, feeling proud of his dog whispering skills.
Meanwhile, the Bulldog looked disgusted by the German Shepherd's behavior and tried to bite its ear.
"Now. Now… Don't fight. What can I do to please yo- "
CHOMP!
Before he could finish his sentence, the Bulldog bit his ghost body as he would a chew toy and vigorously shook its head side-to-side.
Its sharp fangs dug unto Mikael's spiritual flesh.
"AaaaAaaaaAaaaahh!" he screamed; eyes shut tight until the pit bull loosened its hold and he felt his body fly.
BAAM!
His momentum carried him all the way to the entrance and his back slammed against the wooden double doors.
"Ugh…" he staggered as pain and dizziness momentarily darkened his vision.
Mikael fearfully eyed the savage dog.
The intense pain jolted him back to reality – that if he failed to escape the underworld, the pain he felt now was just a taste of the punishment that is to come.
Mikael shuddered at the thought of monsters gnawing at him Every. Single. Day.
"Wooo?" German Shepherd Cerby howled.
Its expression seemed to ask, 'Are you okay?' as it looked at Mikael in pity before turning its head to the left.
'Ah. To be pitied by a dog…' he smiled weakly.
Strangely, German Cerby looked like he was admonishing Bulldog for playing too much, but when it scoffed at him in indignation, the middle head seemed to lose its cool.
Rawr!
It bit its brother's head until the latter whimpered in surrender.
Middle Cerby turned to Mikael and slightly dipped its head.
'Is it telling me to come?'
Mikael cautiously approached the monster.
From the nasty glare that it gave him, it was obvious that Bulldog head still didn't like Mikael.
However, it still allowed him to come close.
Like a grumpy cat, it ignored him even as he scratched its massive chin.
"Maybe you're the playful type?" Asked Mikael, not really expecting an answer, but at the word 'Play' the left head's ears suddenly perked.
"Oh! So, you ARE the playful type!"
Mikael searched for something to throw.
His eyes landed on the skeleton chew toy with its femur dangling dangerously.
Snap!
Mikael waved the severed bone to Cerberus and threw it toward the front door.
The Bulldog's eyes enthusiastically followed the bone.
"Cerby! Fetch!"
--Chapter end--