Hellhounds were purely devils of the fire element. In order to treat their ailments, providing them with fire mana was often the most effective treatment method. However, the black egg was in its most primal form…it probably didn’t possess the ability to convert mana into energy, at least that’s what I thought. In other words, all that flame breathing was probably in vain.
Still, the heart wrenching scene continued for another ten minutes or so till the Cerberus finally ran out of mana and was unable to continue. As it laid on the floor, the fatigue it had was laid bare for all to see. Even amidst all that however, the grief reflected in its eyes overwhelmed any sort of tiredness it felt, and stabbed into our hearts like a burning knife. It gave out a string of ‘woof woofs’ as if it was crying, all the while rubbing its three heads against the black egg. From time to time, it would give the egg a tender lick reminiscent of a kiss…
Seeing that, my already broken heart shattered even further. The pitiful sight of it laying there and crying reminded of Mo Ci long ago. Back then, she didn’t have to die at all; she simply had to give up on that devil egg and she would have survived. However, she didn’t do that, instead choosing to give birth to that egg in a pristine condition. For that, she ultimately gave up her life…
Was that a mother’s love? Most likely. In order to protect their children, mothers were willing to do anything after all. If that wasn’t love, what was?
‘Perhaps there was something I could do to help it? That egg might not be of the same species as me, but it’s still a child. Speaking of children, Ancarin’s belly must be pretty big by now. By my estimation, there shouldn’t be much time left before it’s born…’
“Sweetie, pass me one of the elemental cores.”
“Here you go, Mama.” Prior to this, I fashioned a tiny box for Mo Na to store those cores for the sake of convenience. The little box came with its own bone chain to prevent any accidental loss, and was attached to Mo Na’s waist. The moment I gave it to her, Mo Na instantly fell in love with the box fashioned out of Flame Devouring Fish bones, and would often play with it.
Opening up the box, she passed me one of the Five-stars Fire Elemental Cores. “Mama, are you going to give this to it?”
“That’s right, even though we had some unpleasantness between us just now, I can completely understand its desire to protect its child no matter the cost.”
Such was my personality in this world and even back on Earth. Often I would do things that people found inexplicable simply because of my sentimental nature. Even after sacrificing my own interests to help a complete stranger, I wouldn’t leave my name behind. That applied to people who were most likely out to scam me as well. Despite knowing that the other party was most likely a con artist, I couldn’t bring myself to ignore a person asking for help. What happened if he really needed help? That was the biggest fear I had even amidst my fear of being cheated.
Those who knew me would often joke about me embodying the term ‘good samaritan’ more than the words themselves.
After all, I never left my name behind on purpose or even made a note of it.
(TL: A reference to some Chinese drama figure was omitted here since it wouldn’t translate well. The meaning was preserved though. )
The cores were supposed to be given to No.3 and Big 4 but because of trust issues, I decided to keep them in reserve till now. Seeing as this mother was in dire straits right now, giving it to her was as good of a use for them as whatever I had planned before. Simply put, this was my way of showing respect for a mother’s love.
I received the elemental core from Mo Na and placed it beside the Cerberus.
“Woof…”
It listlessly stared at me but as soon it felt the surge of fire energies from the core, it abruptly stood up and gave me a disbelieving stare. It probably thought of devils like me as devious and the complete antithesis to the word ‘kindness’. Such a figure actually showed such generosity to a stranger and an enemy no less! That was something the Cerberus simply couldn’t comprehend no matter how hard it tried.
The Cerberus gingerly probed the core with its claw; perhaps it wanted to confirm whether or not the core was safe or perhaps it simply wanted to check if I was messing with it.
“That’s for you, it might just be of use to you.” I pointed at the core before pointing at the almost lifeless black egg. “That’s a Five-star Fire Elemental Core, I’m not entirely sure what it can do but it should at least be able to replenish energy.”
Hearing that, the Cerberus gave me a grateful look before promptly pressing the egg against the core.
Then, something miraculous happened. The moment the core came into contact with the black egg, the energies within the core flowed into the egg even without needing any sort of guidance.
‘The egg knows how to absorb those energies by itself? Or was the core sending its energies into the egg automatically?’
I had no way of knowing which of the two it was but that really didn’t matter now. As time passed, the energy within the core decreased while the life force within the egg increased almost to a breaking point.
The moment the energies crossed that threshold, we heard a crack echo throughout the air. Soon after, a tiny little puppy’s head could be seen sticking out of the egg.
It was a black puppy that was completely jet black all over except for some red patterns running through its fur, and looked remarkably similar to a chinese farm dog.
“Bark bark bark bark!” The little puppy’s clarion call was filled with life, completely different from the dying wreck it was just moments ago.
The puppy surveyed its surroundings for a moment and upon noticing that Cerberus lying on the floor, it excitedly barked.
By now, the Cerberus was beyond tired but the joy it felt was visible on its haggard faces. Lowering one of its heads, it gently licked the fur on its child’s body. In response to that, the little black puppy hummed in pleasure before rubbing its little noggin against the fur of the Cerberus.
Seeing such a heartwarming sight, I was instantly filled with a sense of satisfaction that could have only come from performing a good deed. Even if I had just lost a Five-stars core, it was completely worth it.
“Mama, look at them, Mo Na feels so happy right now.” As the little scamp wrapped her arms around my back, she quietly leaned in and whispered in my ears. “Seeing that little puppy pop out of the egg like that is so interesting, Mo Na wants to give birth to a baby too.”
“…” ‘What the heck, you’re just two months old! Did you really have to enter into the giving-birth stage right away?! Also, if any potato dares to touch my daughter, I swear I’ll dice him up and feed him to the dogs! Don’t doubt me for a second!’
Completely oblivious to the damage her words did to me but still aware of my sullen look, Mo Na asked in a concerned voice: “What’s wrong Mama? Your face isn’t looking too good.”
“Sweetie, giving birth isn’t something you should joke about. You’re still young, wait till you’re older before saying that.”
In order to maintain the peace in our little group, I made sure to explain the matter to her. However, just after I said that, she said something that made me explode right away.
As if she was swearing an oath, or just marking her target, she waved her fist in the air before saying: “Okay! Once Mo Na grows up, Mo Na will have a baby with Mama!”
“…”
‘I swear she’s trying to kill me here.’
No longer willing to waste more time on this topic, I promptly changed the topic: “There’s nothing more noble than a mother’s love.”
“Mother’s love?” She looked at me, confused. “Did Mama say a mother’s love?”
“That’s right. A mother’s love is the unreserved love a mother shows to her children.” I gently rubbed her head and smiled. “That Cerberus had been protecting her child all this while. Even though she knew that there was a chance that it wouldn’t succeed, she still didn’t give up till we appeared…perhaps in her eyes, we were potential threats to her baby so she attacked us…honestly, I never expected that we would end up helping her.”
Mo Na blinked her eyes and in a voice as clear as day, said: “But Mama…that big doggie…is a male dog.”
“Ma…le?”
Mo Na nodded her. “Mhm, male.”
“…” ‘Kill me please…someone tell me where’s the nearest hole I can hide myself in…please.’
Looking around, I saw No.3 and Big 4 promptly turn their heads away as if they heard nothing at all; Big 4 even whistled a little ditty to emphasize that point…
In the midst of my shame-induced mental collapse, the middle head of the Cerberus, which was still snuggling against his child, barked once to catch my attention. Seeing me look at him, he nodded his head at me before taking a few steps forward and turning around to face me again. Seeing me stand there, he called out once more and beckoned for me to follow him with his head. He then turned around and continued walking.
‘He wants me to follow him?’
‘Don’t tell me my determination has finally been recognized by the heavens? Is this my reward?’
“Follow it, quick. Let’s see where he plans on leading us to.” As if I had just struck the lottery, I excitedly chased after the footsteps of the Cerberus.
‘Doesn’t this happen all the time in novels? After helping a sentient beast, they would hand out a reward like leading their saviour to a treasure trove or something. Judging by his attitude, it has to be something good! I wonder what kind of divine weapon will I find there? Honestly, I’m not asking for much, just a divine weapon or two is enough. But if I’m offered seven or eight of them, I won’t say no either!’
“Mama, where’s the big doggie leading us to?”
“No idea, but Papa feels it’s definitely going to be a good thing.”
Mo Na tilted her head and asked: “Really?”
“Really really.” I gave a confident smile and said: “You must trust your Papa’s instincts.”
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