Chapter 34: Cerberus
While the group spectated Dante's training, he believed that he had enough control to summon a helper for their next mission. However, his explanation was quite vague.
"Wait!" Camille interjected, wanting the warlock to elaborate before summoning anything.
"I don't mind seeing the pretty lights and shadows from your magic, but I'll ask you to be careful with what you bring here," she continued.
Dante remembered that the only experience that his group had with demons was the night their family got attacked, which explained their hesitation in seeing another one being summoned inside their lab.
*Sigh* "I hate demons too, but there are a few of them that I can promise you will not be a danger to anyone… Unless you want them to, of course," Dante replied.
Camille crossed her arms and gazed at the warlock with a severe expression, but Dante didn't feel any sort of malice or anger toward him.
'She is excited and scared at the same time…' he thought, analyzing the energy flowing from the handler.
"What if I summon the friendliest demon I know?" the warlock asked innocently.
"Huh? The friendliest?" Camille asked with a raised eyebrow, tilting her head laterally.
"Well, from experience, I've never known anyone who doesn't like this demon," he replied.
Dante thought that if he summoned a friendly demon that wasn't as scary as the others, his group could get more used to them and wouldn't be as doubtful of him when summoning others.
"Alright…" said Camille, giving her permission for the warlock to summon the supposed friendly demon.
Dante felt the surge of fear that came from his group spectating behind the bulletproof window, but he genuinely believed that they would enjoy the company of said demon.
As the warlock pointed his hand at the floor, a glowy red pentagram appeared. "Summon: Cerberus," he muttered.
At that moment, the pentagram glowed brighter with almost blinding intensity, producing a smoke curtain that blocked their vision of the testing room for a second.
*Woof!* the bark of a dog echoed in the testing room, confusing the scientist and the rest of the group, who still couldn't see clearly inside from the smoke.
"Huh, a dog?" Paige asked, impatiently waiting for the smoke to dissipate.
When the smoke finally faded, they saw Dante crouching and petting a black puppy inside the testing room, happily wagging his tail at the warlock.
"Umm…" Zac pondered aloud, confused at the supposed demon.
"It's a puppy!!" Camille exclaimed, her eyes shimmering with happiness as she entered the testing room.
As soon as she approached the pair, the puppy happily barked at the handler and wagged his tail, making the woman melt from the cuteness as she lovingly patted his head.
Seeing the platinum-haired woman having fun with the dog, the rest of the group entered the testing room, and they couldn't contain themselves either, as they thought that the puppy was incredibly adorable.
Dante gazed at Megan, who always had a stoic expression. However, he could see her cheeks slightly blushing when staring at the puppy, along with positive energy flowing from her body.
"Yep, I was right. Everyone loves Cerberus…" the warlock said.
"Cerberus!? As in… the three-headed dog!?" asked Zac with a bit of uncertainty.
"That same one," Dante replied.
While the group felt a little apprehension after hearing the identity of the demon, Camille paid it no mind and kept petting the puppy with a smile on her face.
"H-how does he look so cute?" Sophia asked, still blushing at the sight of the happy dog.
"He knows that when I summon him, he shouldn't appear in his true form…" the warlock replied
Paige asked for clarification, piquing her interest, and Dante explained that Cerberus' true form was a giant three-headed dog.
However, summoning a giant dog in an enclosed space would be troublesome, so the warlock had asked the dog to always appear in his puppy form whenever he called him.
"He seems to really like you, Camille…" Dante commented, seeing that the dog was extruding more positive energy than usual.
"Awww, I like him too!" she said, still crouching and playing with the puppy.
"You should take him with you for some time," the warlock continued.
"Can I?" Camille pondered with a smile.
"Yeah. He must have a reason if he isn't separating from you."
The group didn't understand what kind of reason a cute puppy like Cerberus could have, but Camille didn't hesitate to agree to take him with her.
'If I have enough umbra control to summon Cerberus, I should be able to summon 'him'…' Dante thought.
With the appearance of demon blood in the drugs the mafia was feeding people, the warlock knew that his mission would turn into a demon hunt soon enough, and he had the perfect companion in mind for such a case.
Dante explained that Cerberus was quite powerful and could easily protect them from most demons that weren't high-ranked. However, the puppy's skills were lacking when it came to hunting the demons down.
"Since Cerberus is the guardian of the Abyssal Gate, he specializes in defending over trailing…" he commented, following it up by saying that he had an alternative for hunting.
Paige perked up with excitement, wondering what kind of demon he was going to summon next, while Zac hoped that it was as friendly as the puppy.
"He is kind of annoying, but he isn't a bad guy…" Dante described, saying that there was no other demon as friendly as Cerberus.
'Annoying?' Zac pondered, thinking that it was a strange word to describe a demon.
Giving the warlock his space to perform his summoning spell, they returned to the spectators' room with Camille carrying Cerberus in her arms, her cheeks blushing with happiness.
With Dante pointing his palm at the ground again, a red pentagram appeared, faintly glowing as it waited for the warlock's incantation.
"Summon: Krom," he muttered, making the seal glow brighter as it released a torrent of smoke once again, prompting Paige to turn on the extractor to regain visibility.
The group watched expectantly through the window as the fumes went away, showing a small humanoid figure standing before Dante.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone