Chapter 96: Cerberus’s Speculation
Clearly, Mark was about to face death, yet he was extremely calm at this moment. It wasn’t because he had realized anything, but because he had misunderstood.
Mark believed that Nexus and the system both wanted to train him, so they absolutely wouldn’t let Cerberus kill him. Of course, this was just his misunderstanding. Nexus didn’t care whether Mark was killed by the strong or the weak.
But there was one thing Nexus would do, which was to give Mark enough time to think during the moment before his death, rather than letting him die so quickly that Mark wouldn’t even understand what was going on.
"What exactly do you want me to say?"
Faced with Mark’s question, Cerberus still calmly sat there with his legs crossed. Mark could be anxious, but Cerberus had no reason to hurry.
"There are traces left behind by Ziz’s power in this dungeon, but why is it that I can’t feel his presence here now?"
The moment he opened with this question that was completely beyond Mark’s ability, Mark was left standing there in a daze because he didn’t know what to say.
Ever since he was thrown into this dungeon, he hadn’t gone too far, let alone seen his master, much less Ziz.
And even if he had seen him, what could Mark understand? Mark’s impression of Ziz was simply that of Nexus’s harmless and adorable little pet.
"You’re thinking too highly of me, aren’t you? Can you ask something within my ability?" Mark could only helplessly ask him to change the question. He truly had no idea what to answer.
"What?!"
Cerberus’s three heads stared at Mark. As his overwhelming pressure was directed toward Mark, Mark felt like he was standing beneath a huge waterfall that kept pouring water down on his head.
Mark’s legs trembled. His body’s instinct wanted him to run away to save his life, but could he run?
If it were a skull ape, Mark would still have a chance to escape, but the difference in strength between Mark and Cerberus was so great that even Mark himself couldn’t imagine it.
"How dare a lowly mortal like you make a request of me?"
Cerberus’s huge hand was raised, and terrifying dark energy flew toward Mark, wrapped around his neck, and lifted him into the air.
His throat was being choked, causing Mark to widen his eyes and struggle desperately, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free.
I... I’m about to die again... No, at the very least, I have to do something to help them.
Mark’s feelings for these teammates made his will grow stronger. He wouldn’t submit; he wouldn’t give up this easily.
"I... really... don’t know... Change... the question..."
His throat was being tightly squeezed, making it difficult for Mark to force out each word. It sounded so unclear that if one didn’t listen carefully, they wouldn’t understand what Mark was trying to say at all.
"Let my teammate go!"
Kael no longer had time to be afraid. He desperately raised his bow and fired an arrow at full power toward Cerberus.
The arrow tore through the air, but after flying only a few meters, it was blasted apart on the spot by Cerberus’s power.
"Mortal, are you trying to destroy my brand-new suit?"
Although the question itself didn’t sound that frightening, the terrifying growl of the beast coming from Cerberus made everyone tremble violently.
No one understood why, but Cerberus suddenly reduced the pressure on Mark while releasing him so that he could speak.
"Lowly mortals, you should feel lucky that you’ve met the great Cerberus. There aren’t many people as patient as me where I come from."
Patient? Where have you been patient this whole time?
Everyone really wanted to curse this arrogant bastard of a monster straight to his face, but no one dared to open their mouths, nor could they open them because the pressure was still there.
"Cough cough cough..."
As soon as he was released, Mark began coughing violently. The feeling of thinking he was definitely going to die but then being able to keep living was truly hard to describe.
Mark himself didn’t know when, but a feeling of relief had already arisen in his heart because he had just barely avoided being strangled to death.
"You really are weak. There are many things you wouldn’t understand even if you saw them with your own eyes. So according to you, Ziz looks like a black chicken now? Ohoho, that’s interesting. Just who could make Ziz come to Earth but keep him from using his power?"
Feeling that these mortals were completely useless, Cerberus sat on his throne and talked to himself without even looking at Mark or the others.
After thinking for a while, Cerberus once again reached a point he couldn’t figure out. There weren’t many existences capable of turning Ziz into a black chicken, but just who was it?
"Where did you meet Ziz? The way you talk doesn’t sound like you just happened to meet him. It seems like you know him quite well."
Although he didn’t understand why a weak mortal like Mark knew Ziz, Cerberus’s intelligence wasn’t worthless. He naturally knew how to reason. Although the result seemed a little ridiculous, logically, it should be like this.
"I’m not really sure either, but I saw him sitting on my master Nexus’s shoulder. He looked pretty harmless, kind of like a cute pet. I’ve also never seen him use his power before."
Mark answered honestly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to lie, but the six eyes staring at him made him feel like lying was pointless.
"Ohoho, Nexus? That must be a fake name. Your luck as a mortal isn’t bad, huh? Just a trash F-rank and you’ve already caught the attention of a powerful existence. Where is your master to leave you in such a miserable state?"
Cerberus’s "Ohoho" laugh felt rather strange. Every time he laughed, it was exactly the same, without even the slightest difference in rhythm, as if he were following some kind of rule.
Cerberus was certain that there was no existence stronger than him in both heaven and hell whose real name was Nexus. This must be someone who escaped from hell to come to Earth for fun or an existence from heaven.
Although he wasn’t sure of the answer, Cerberus guessed that Nexus’s power must be far greater than his own to be able to tame Ziz as a pet.