“I’m surprised it hasn’t already,”

Over the next few days, I attempted to try and sense this soul that was supposed to be hiding deep within me, and only on the last day of the week did I manage to catch a glimpse of it.

It was hiding in plain sight, yet for some reason, I couldn’t see it… what was I doing this entire time?

“Good. You felt it, right?” Cerberus asked as he walked up to me in the midst of these raging flames, his own boiling atmosphere tearing the skin off my face.

But, just as that happened, a small red aura appeared around me, and its presence was enough to make the Cerberus take a step back.

“I’ll be generous and right off the period, you passed out, so you have one more week left. Will you hone this skill or try to acquire another skill?”

“Definitely hone. I don’t want to thin out my progress,” I muttered under my breath before letting the blood-red aura slowly spread through me, and a heated core slowly began to sizzle within my chest.

I attempted to dive deep into that heated core once again, but just as I touched it, I felt my mind nearly melt into absolutely nothing.

So, I quickly retreated before meditating deep within my soul, making sure nobody could reach me for where I was currently staying.

Even the Cerberus, who was standing right in front of me, wouldn’t be able to tear me out of my meditative state unless he literally killed me, which I doubt he would actually do.

…

And so, a week passed, and the time had finally come for me to fight Cerberus yet again, but as I slowly stood up, the flames around me slowly disappeared into the abyssal floor below.

“Huh? Aren’t those yours? Keep them here,”

“I just borrowed them… anyway, come! SHOW ME THAT THESE PAST FEW WEEKS WEREN’T FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! MORTAL!”

As the stage was set yet again, I grabbed my right arm with my left arm and let the blood-red aura that flowed from my body flow into my right hand.

It created a massive spear as big as my previous one, and this time, it was so solid that it might have been just as sturdy as a regular piece of magic armor.

“Interesting… but can it even scratch me?!” The Cerberus shouted yet again before charging in and swatting at me with its massive palm.

I blocked it instantly with my spear and then let part of the spear coat my body as the second head blasted a wave of flames that erupted from its mouth.

The heat was making my insides boil already, but I continued to hold onto the flames turned into saliva that slowly dripped from the dog’s mouth.

It retracted its palm, and at the slight moment where its balance was off, I spun my spear around and stabbed it directly into its palm while also coating myself in the aura once again.

“Ack… *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*… God… Dammit,” I muttered, coughing up a pile of blood and dropping face-first into the ground.

The spears of flames that melted me from the insides slowly dissipated as my life slipped from my grasp, and my body reset yet again.

But, now that I injured the dog, its movements were slightly restricted, so-

“Huh? What happened to the injury? It piled up last time, so what happened to it now?” I muttered in disbelief as my hard work was already gone. Erased from existence.

“Boy… the capabilities of the first head is solely regeneration… and how do you think you’re able to be reborn so many times?” The Cerberus growled, and I gnashed my teeth together upon feeling the realization hit me like a truck.

“Dammit… So you were able to regenerate this entire time as well?”

“What did I say at the start? I’ll show you the true power of what a god is supposed to be,” The Cerberus muttered, a blast of flames erupting from below him, creating a deathly silhouette that sent shivers down my spine.

I couldn’t help but crack a small smile as his pressure made my bones creak with each step that I took.

Each time I moved, it felt as if my limbs would all be melted off, and with each time that I made a massive movement, I felt my consciousness attempt to slip out of my mind… but I wasn’t going to let myself fall here.

“Tangible Bloodlust,” I muttered, and a blood-red aura soon coated my body, easing the pain and pressure, but I doubt I could fight in this state.

“GOOD! NOW TAKE OUT YOUR WEAPON AND FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU FUCKING GOT!” The Cerberus shouted at the top of its lungs, and so I pushed myself to my limits and produced more of this aura that seemed to make the core inside of my chest heat up even more than before.

p It hurt terribly, but even as my skin began to crack and bleed, I formed the spear under any circumstance.

“ARGHHHHHH!”

But then, all of a sudden, my vision dropped to the side, and I lost all feeling in my being, with the aura around me also vanishing into thin air.

As gravity carried me downwards, the pressure from the massive dog absolutely destroyed my neck, snapping it in half and breaking open all of the cracks that had formed along my skin.

And so, I woke up yet again, cursing internally and frustrated with my weakness once more.

This was only the second stage, so what would the third stage be like if I was struggling this much to even land a hit on the dog?

“*sigh*… Seems you need more time to train. Your body hasn’t used mana in so long that the sudden wave that bursts through your body causes you to have a type of allergic reaction. But don’t worry, it should go away with time,” The Cerberus smiled, and as it released the deathly pressure and fire once again, I smiled back.

“Practice makes perfect,”

…

A year had passed, and I was finally holding my own against the Cerberus, whose flames and pressure tempered my body to their utmost extreme.

My body no longer creaked or groaned under his pressure and my skin wasn’t even scratched from the flames that were formed into hundreds of fiery weapons.

As I faced my opponent once again, I saw him create a volley of fiery weapons that were sent flying toward me, but I quickly dodged them and then blocked the quick swat of his palm.

His flames poured from his mouth, but my aura shielded me from the purest of fire that attempted to melt me whole.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

His sharp nails clashed against my very own spear made from my pure bloodlust, and each time I hit them with the full intention of breaking them, I saw them slowly crack.

But, the first head quickly healed, so I knew I had to increase my speed.

I put all of my power into my legs and burst forward with a boost of momentum, completely tearing through the abyss and landing a strike on the second head… or so I thought.

The second head had opened its mouth and caught the blade with its teeth, a feat so extreme that I could barely keep my jaw from hanging open.

“Too slow,” It muttered before biting down even harder and shattering my spear of bloodlust.

I quickly turned those shards of bloodlust into daggers that spun around me, buying time for me to form another condensed spear.

They didn’t do much, but at least I was able to catch the first head’s left eye off guard, stabbing it and creating a small opening.

I dashed to the left, inside of its blind spot, and slashed at the eye that began to regenerate once more, disabling it yet again.

“Cheeky bastard,”

I quickly ducked down to dodge the obvious swipe with the paw, but I then dashed forward into the second head that blasted a stream of flames right at me, catching it completely off guard.

Unable to stop the flames that poured from its mouth, it tried to shield the bottom of its neck with its own hand, but it fell completely into my trap.

I circled around its neck, past the thick paw, and onto the top, where both napes were revealed to me.

I smiled maliciously as I gripped my spear with all its might, produced as much bloodlust as I could, and expanded the blade while making it denser in the process.

SHING

The Cerberus attempted to cover the first’s nape with the other hand, but I just slashed through it since the back of it was much softer than the actual paw itself.

And so, as the two heads slid off their necks, I awaited the next notifications that were bound to come.