Chapter 9 Night of Slaughter (2) Fenrir, I'm going to kill you...
"The night of slaughter is fast approaching."
Xia Ying immediately sensed something was wrong: "What is the Night of Slaughter? It sounds terrifying..."
"I'll tell you later." Before she could finish speaking, Cerberus had already hoisted Xia Ying onto his shoulder and was running towards the registration point indicated in the [Student Handbook]. "We have to hurry!!"
Xia Ying wrapped her arms around Cerberus's neck in confusion and looked back. She saw a red mist gradually rising where the moonlight fell. In the mist, the shapes of the abyss creatures were vaguely changing, and unsettling growls floated around like muffled thunder.
Cerberus's running speed continued to increase, and Xia Ying buried her face in his shoulder to avoid the wind that stung her cheeks, so she did not notice that Cerberus, exposed to the moonlight, was gradually transforming into his beast form.
Besides his sharp teeth and claws, his crimson eyes were becoming increasingly intense and vibrant, like a pool of dark, surging crimson blood.
As the countdown drew to a close, Cerberus found the check-in area. He rushed to the counter like a whirlwind and slammed his paw on the register: "Check us in quickly!"
"Oh, two new students."
The goblin standing behind the registration desk slowly flipped through the price list.
"Let me see... what price range of accommodation are you two looking to rent? We have the cheapest standard rooms... nests suitable for small species... dungeons suitable for giant species... and if you'd like to move up a price tier, we can customize it..."
Xia Ying patted the demon dog's back: "Ker, put me down, I'll handle this."
She jumped down from Cerberus's arms, walked up to the goblin, and held out her hand: "Excuse me, could I see the price list?"
The goblin handed her the price list, which Xia Ying quickly flipped through and made a decision: "We want to customize an apartment. We'll rent it for five days for now, and I'll pay for it."
The goblin made two marks on the register: "Then, please present your [Student Handbooks]."
Xia Ying casually took out her phone from Cerberus's pocket and placed it on the registration desk along with her own. A flash of white light appeared, and the registration book automatically displayed their numbers, names, and species. At the same time, Xia Ying's Student Handbook emitted a notification sound indicating that 10 Auper coins had been deducted.
"Registration complete. You two have been granted five days' use of the custom-built residence." The goblin scrutinized the register. "You're a succubus? That's quite a rare occurrence..."
"A succubus?" Cerberus asked in surprise. "Where would you find a succubus?"
"..."
There are only two people here.
Xia Ying's gaze shifted to the other person, then back to herself.
Cerberus is a demon hound, and I am a human.
However, Tartarus seems to have said that he had prepared a disguise for himself...
Xia Ying tugged at Cerberus's sleeve with mixed feelings.
"Ker, the succubus is here."
####
"That bastard, the Lord of Demons."
Cerberus, overwhelmed by rage, displayed an unusual calmness.
“Remember, Xia Ying, never tell any abyssal creature that you are a succubus unless your human identity is about to be exposed.”
"Is being a succubus really that bad?"
"This is bad. Succubi have almost become extinct in the demon realm."
Xia Ying pressed further, "Why? Do creatures of the abyss abhor succubi?"
"On the contrary. Because succubi easily arouse strong infatuation in other abyssal creatures, they always end up dying because of it."
Cerberus looked uneasy into her eyes, and couldn't help but reach out and press his hand on her shoulder, only to recoil as if electrocuted when he felt her thin flesh and bone.
“…Abyssal creatures are always like that.” He paused for a moment before saying, “So unless absolutely necessary, don’t let them think you’re a succubus.”
"I'll be careful." After saying that, Xia Ying looked around at the TV, sofa, picture frames, and other things that were no different from those in apartment 1008 of Building C. "Is it okay for us to turn our apartment into this? Ker's not human, is there anywhere else you'd like to live?"
“Nothing else,” Cerberus said awkwardly. “This is fine.”
"Oh." Xia Ying stared intently at him. "Then, can Kernel change back to its original form?"
Cerberus instinctively obeyed the command. Before he could react, Xia Ying had already pounced into his soft, black fur, stroking it all over.
The big dog barked in embarrassment and anger, shook its head and tail and shook her off. It then nimbly leaped over the sofa and fled towards the balcony. However, the limited living space restricted its agility and speed, and it was soon caught by the hateful human who grabbed its neck.
After a period of intense, passionate caressing and affection, even the ferocious Flame Hellhound could only submit in humiliation, allowing the humans to do as they pleased.
A little tired from playing, Xia Ying lay down on the back of the big dog. The three moons hanging in the sky came into view, reminding her that she was in a foreign land.
"Ker, why are there three moons?"
"It would be strange if the Demon Realm had three moons and the human world only had one moon."
"And what is this 'Night of Slaughter'?"
“The red moon is called the Moon of Bloodscars, while the white and blue ones are the Moons of Bones and the Dead,” Cerberus replied. “When the full moon’s bloodscars reach their highest point, the Night of Slaughter will descend, and the creatures of the abyss will have an exceptionally strong bloodlust on this night.”
"Is it okay if we stay here?"
"It's alright. The residence is protected by powerful magic. Without the master's permission, no other abyssal creatures can enter."
"Is that so?" Xia Ying turned around, her lips lightly brushing against Cerberus's earlobe.
The dog's erect ears twitched suddenly, turning towards her almost imperceptibly.
“But now I’m not as helpless as I was at the beginning,” Xia Ying said. “Ker, when you’re not around…”
She recounted her experiences after leaving Charon's train to her briefly separated companions, including her encounters with Qiongqi and Jormungandr, the labyrinth, the treasure vault and magical artifacts, and the Fountain of Life.
However, Xia Ying deliberately skipped the part where she was almost killed by the crazed Jormungandr; she only said that the Demon Lord appeared in time to save her.
"In short, I finally found Cerberus," Xia Ying said, gradually succumbing to sleep. "I'm actually pretty amazing, right..."
Ker seemed to respond to her, but the drowsy Xia Ying didn't hear what he said.
She felt the moonlight on her face, but she didn't know which moon's light it came from. Xia Ying thought of the only bright moon in the human world. Perhaps it was because the human moon was always associated with distant longings, but a wisp of longing also floated up in Xia Ying's heart.
I miss her.
He asked in a low voice, "Who?"
Xia Ying buried her face in the soft, long fur and mumbled, "My mother."
Her breathing gradually became calm and long, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.
The demon dog transformed back into human form, carried Xia Ying back to the bedroom, laid her flat on the bed, skillfully brushed her hair aside, and tucked her in.
After finishing these tasks, he sat down by the bed and looked down at Xia Ying's sleeping face for a while until the moonlight slowly moved and fell from the window lattice to the foot of the bed.
Then, Cerberus left their sanctuary alone.
####
Cerberus flew through the night illuminated by the crimson moon, his bloodlust growing uncontrollably within him.
Under the crimson moonlight, he tried hard not to think about Xia Ying, but his mind was uncontrollably occupied by everything related to her.
Cerberus was thinking about her movements and expression as she ran toward him in the Fountain of Life, and the tiny pieces of evidence he noticed in her afterwards.
Xia Ying had three scratches on her ankles, two on the back of her elbows, and her shoulder blades were slightly bleeding from being rubbed raw by gravel.
Thanks to the healing effects of the spring water, these minor injuries healed quickly, except for the wound on Xia Ying's neck caused by the snake's fangs.
That was a fatal curse that even the Fountain of Life could not restore.
“You know, a powerful abyssal creature like Jormungandr could easily tear her apart, but he didn’t.”
A face identical to Cerberus emerged from the red mist, its crimson eyes brimming with a malice never before seen in Cerberus.
"Jormungandr did everything he could to choose the least painful way, but no matter how gentle it was, Xia Ying was probably still killed. Humans are such weak creatures."
Cerberus spat out the word through gritted teeth with disgust: "Get out."
"That's right, she's still alive because the Demon Lord saved her. The first time the Demon Lord saved her, he took her soul. What did he demand from her the second time?"
The man emerged from the mist and stood opposite Cerberus.
“You shouldn’t have come to Cocytus. Here, danger and enemies could take her away from you at any moment. Why not let her belong to you forever before that happens?”
"Shut up."
"What are you running away from? Has that human made you forget who you are?" The man with the face of Cerberus smiled. "The lust of abyssal creatures only leads to the same end, whether it's you or me. If you can't do it, then let me..."
“I told you to shut up,” Cerberus said. “Besides, you underestimate Xia Ying.”
The giant scythe, wreathed in black flames, suddenly cleaved the opponent in two at the waist. No blood splattered from the shadow; its fragments were swallowed by the mist and slowly fell into the shadows of the moonlight.
The world finally returned to peace, and Cerberus's throat bobbed silently.
You and I are different.
At this moment, the red mist around him began to slowly surge, but what emerged from it was no longer the disturbing figure, but several abyssal creatures that came seeking slaughter.
Cerberus gave a brief laugh, genuinely feeling pleasure.
"You've come at the perfect time."
#####
Xia Ying, who was in the apartment, suddenly woke up from her dream.
She instinctively reached out to touch the spot beside her, but couldn't find the big dog that always snuggled up to her. Half-asleep, Xia Ying noticed that the moonlight cast a strange shadow on the ground.
She slowly raised her head and saw a huge shadow standing outside the window...
"Ah, so it ran out." Xia Ying yawned, walked to the window, opened it, and brought the big, fluffy thing outside into the house.
"...Woof?"
Xia Ying climbed into bed, tucked herself and the big dog into the blankets, and closed her eyes comfortably again.
"Have I told you this before?" Xia Ying murmured, holding the other person tightly, "Sometimes, I really need you to be by my side..."
She fell asleep again very quickly.
This time, Xia Ying fell into a dreamless sleep. All the unexpected and chaotic encounters she had experienced so far seemed to melt away during this night's rest. When she opened her eyes again, she would be greeted by a brand new day.
That's what Xia Ying thinks.
However, when she opened her eyes again, the red moon outside the window was even fuller, and the expected daylight did not arrive.
Cerberus, covered in blood, stood before the bed, a storm brewing in his eyes.
Xia Ying sat up, puzzled, and rubbed her eyes: "If Ker is over there, then what's on the bed...?"
The blanket slipped off, and the frost wolf that Xia Ying mistook for a demonic hound transformed into a silver-haired youth in the dim light. He lowered his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over Xia Ying, and his captivating blue eyes rippled gently.
Fenrir.
Cerberus said calmly.
"I'm going to kill you."
A note from the author:
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Xia Ying: ...You mistook me for the wrong dog. (Feeling guilty)
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