Time has proven the importance of information many times. No matter what world it was, information played a huge factor in winning and losing. Therefore, when Lucky saw the 'father and daughter,' he swiftly knocked the three-headed beast out.
"Good thing this book has a hardcover," Lucky said as he dusted off the book after pulling it from the Cerberus's mouth. He checked the edges of the book. There were barely any dents, proving that even Cerberus's razor-sharp teeth couldn't easily destroy the power of the holy.
"Wow! You took down a hellhound in a single blow!" A girl around the age of ten cheered as they approached Lucky. Her eyes twinkled in awe as she covered her lips, fixated on the unconscious beast they called a hellhound.
"That beast will not stay down for long," the man with the girl remarked, stopping a few steps from Lucky. "Stay back a little."
Lucky faced the two, observing the little girl hurriedly skipping away from the man. Deep lines appeared between his brows as he took a few steps back. Much to his surprise, flames suddenly appeared on top of the man's palm. It slowly formed into a solid ball, and with a flick of his hand, it flew straight at the Cerberus. The hellhound was instantly engulfed in flames.
"That should do it," said the man, turning his attention back to Lucky as he marched toward him. When he stopped three steps from Lucky, he spoke, "Nero's the name. I've never seen you around before. You are?"
"Lucky."
"Lucky…" Nero, the man with a wide and strong physique, almost laughed. "What a name."
Lucky shrugged, studying the man before him. Nero looked strong, albeit too dirty, as if he came straight from a chimney. When the little girl peeked from Nero's back, her doe eyes twinkled. She was also dirty, her clothes layered but tattered, yet her eyes seemed full of life.
Considering the fog in the air and the suffocating pollution, Lucky wasn't surprised by their state. If anything, he was surprised they looked healthy regardless of the situation.
"I'm amazed at how you took down that hellhound," Nero broke the momentary silence between them. "I would be lying if I said I'm not tempted to invite you to our base. But I don't know where you came from."
'There was no need to invite me,' was what Lucky wanted to say in return. It wasn't like he planned to stay with these two and meddle with their affairs. His plate was already full, and performing heroic acts was not something he was keen on doing.
But alas.
"That fire won't kill it," said Lucky, tipping his head in the hellhound's direction.
"Fire will kill it," Nero answered. "We've been taking them down using it."
"You do?" Lucky furrowed his brows, looking at the three-headed monster. "That's weird."
"What's strange about that?"
'They live in a place of fire,' Lucky replied in his mind, eyes still on the flames burning the hellhound. 'Fire doesn't kill them. It's their snack.'
"You're not from here, are you?" Nero remarked, catching the stranger's attention. "If you are, then you should know these things. It's common knowledge."
"To be honest, you're right." Lucky smiled. "I'm not from here, and I'm lost. Care to tell me where I am?"
Nero and the little girl looked at him strangely. Did he say something wrong?
"Rita, stand back for a moment," Nero said, placing his hand defensively in front of the girl and pushing her a little to move back.
Seeing the sudden hostility from the man, Lucky mentally winced. Surely, honesty wasn't always the best policy. At least, not in this situation.
"I said something stupid, didn't I?" Lucky asked suspiciously, raising his hand over his shoulders as a gesture of surrender. "Please don't kill me. Next time, I'll lie so you won't get angry."
The man's eyes slowly turned darker upon Lucky's lame attempt to fix the situation. Nero took a careful step back, entering battle mode for a reason Lucky didn't know.
'Can I kill?' he wondered, hoping the screen would show up in front of him and give him consent. But alas, it didn't answer. 'I guess that's a no?'
"Hey, man, whatever made you angry, let's talk it out!" Lucky negotiated one last time. "I meant no harm! I don't swear, but I'm telling you the truth! Just listen to me—"
He suddenly halted as his ears perked up a little. He looked away from the present threat, eyes dilating as he saw the hellhound standing back. It was still engulfed in flames. When it roared, it caused a harsh wind in their direction.
"It's bigger now," the girl, Rita, blurted out in shock. "How come it didn't die?"
Nero's face also turned grim, forgetting about his current opponent as he studied the hellhound. The flames that were burning the monster slowly extinguished as if it were absorbing them. If that wasn't bad enough, Nero looked around, only to see multiple pairs of red eyes through the thick fog.
"Rita!" Nero yelled, and without a second's hesitation, he sprinted toward her. "Time to retreat!"
Nero dashed to his knees, sweeping Rita up into his arms in a hurry, knowing that staying there even for a second could cost them their lives. They had to return and report back. This was abnormal. Usually, hellhounds disappear if they are burned. But that hellhound sucked in the fire, making it bigger.
"Nero…" Rita called as they fled the scene, her eyes over his shoulder and onto Lucky. "Are we going to leave him alone?"
"He's an enemy! He's probably sent from the Genesis."
"I don't think he is!" Rita exclaimed, looking at Nero in panic.
"Rita."
"What if he isn't, Nero?" Rita whined fiercely. "Don't you trust my judgment? He's not from the metro."
Nero clenched his teeth, swiftly navigating through obstacles until they reached a highly elevated area. He then stopped, looking squarely at Rita.
"I don't know where he's from, but he's telling the truth!" she reassured. "He is lost, and we cannot just leave him alone here!"
"But… we can't go back." Nero slowly turned around, seeing numerous hellhounds surrounding Lucky. "There are too many of them. More than I have ever seen gathered in my entire life."
Both of them could only look at the stranger they had just met. Lucky stood frozen in the same spot. They couldn't see his face as he had his back to them, but they could imagine the shock plastered on his face. What they didn't know was that they were entirely wrong.
Lucky stood motionless in the same spot, studying the larger hellhound before him. He didn't carry a surprised look, but instead an amused smirk.
"I don't need approval if I can kill this thing, right?" he mused, stretching his neck and his stiff limbs as a warm-up. After stretching his legs, he straightened his back and grinned.
"Come!"
As soon as those words rolled off his tongue, Lucky twisted on his heel and sprinted. Following behind him were ferocious hellhounds, growling, drooling, hungry for blood.
"Nero…" Rita called worriedly, clasping his shoulder blades tightly. "We need to help him. He's taking them far away from us."
Nero's face crumpled. If Rita was right, then he also wanted to help Lucky. But how?
"My fire doesn't kill them," he muttered. "It might just make them stronger."
"But we have to do something!" she exclaimed. "He can't outrun them! They're catching up to him!"
As the two debated how they could help the man, a sudden shriek warranted their attention. They shifted their focus to where the sound came from, only to see a hellhound's severed head flying. Deep lines appeared on their foreheads as they moved their gaze to where the body was.
There, on the ground, was Lucky, mounting the bigger hellhound's back. He sat on the far end of the bigger hellhound's back where its head couldn't reach. He was holding a book shut, keeping the beast's steely tail between its pages. Since he was on the hellhound's back, the smaller hellhound tried to attack the one he was riding. Hence, the fight between the beasts.
"Nero…" Rita awed, in disbelief at the sight unfolding before them. "Have you… ever ridden a hellhound?"
The answer was obvious.
Never.
One thing was because the hellhounds they encountered were a lot smaller. However, they were ferocious. Before anyone could ride on them, these beasts would have gnawed their flesh. The three heads were already a challenge, but these monsters also used their poisonous tails to fight.
Yet, Lucky daringly rode one and kept its tail locked in his book.
Thus, a question of great interest arose in their minds.
Who was that man? Just who is this Lucky guy?