Oath for Loyalty

Lilith calmed down and removed her hands from her face.

She once again took another look at her new follower.

Cerberus obviously had three heads and three different kinds of expression, but all were the same being. Its color was a striking dark red, with black strikes going down from each head down its back to its tail.

Its legs were also short and were more like stumps, like an actual puppy, but it was bigger than a standard pup. It was half the size of Lilith's child-like body. As for how it looked like, it was just like how it was said in the myths of Earth; it resembled that of a Molossian Mastiff breed…it also seemed rather chubby.

Lilith approached the pupper that was Cerberus and crouched down to get to its level.

'So this is the Beast of Myths, Cerberus, the guard of Hades. Not a species, but rather, the real thing... I thought it would be bigger.' Lilith was knowledgeable enough to know the beast.

She decided to look at the middle head. She tilted her head, and so did the other three, following her movements, and then she opened her mouth to make an inquiry, "Do you have memories of your past?"

"…Yes, why do you ask?" a cute voice echoed to answer.

Lilith nodded her head and made a mental note. She showed an unperturbed and rigid expression, but inside, she was screaming with joy, 'This is a goldmine.'

A treasure trove of information about history! Indeed, Lilith had been short-sighted by the alcohol to treat someone like Cerberus with contempt.

However, Cerberus failed to understand her, and so, it asked, "Is that the only thing you are going to ask me the very first time we meet? How eccentric you are." It said as it sneered.

Lilith, however, only sat with crossed legs. She rested her head on the top of her palms as she gave her response, "It might be useless to you, but it is quite important to me."

"Why is that?"

"I am interested in learning history and the truth about myths. Ashamed as I may be to admit this, but a Goblin might be more knowledgeable than me when it comes to knowledge beyond this world. But among anything else, I want to know more about the Underworld and Olympus… and quite possibly what's the actual hierarchy of daemons outside of my tiny world."

Cerberus raised its six eyebrows and found Lilith's intentions and honesty interesting, but it didn't speak.

"You see, I was given a somewhat problematic task. And you might know who this person is; the one who invited you to become a Guardian Deity or something like that was the one who asked me to conquer the daemons since the last Emperor died because of reasons I do not know.

"I can simply become stronger and grow out without much hassle, but the problem with that is that I will be completely unprepared. My forces can grow and become stronger, but I would be blinded by meager achievements. There should be Kingdoms of Daemons outside my world, and I have to somehow make them bow before me and make them accept that I am going to be their leader. So you see, I require your knowledge to increase my chances from none to one."

Lilith…was a flawed being. She makes miscalculations that lead to hundreds of deaths; she was susceptible to emotional outbursts; had so little strength that her followers could kill her if they wanted to.

However, that does not mean she was useless. After all, she had something that had enabled her to survive all this time, and that was a functioning brain that could learn from the mistakes she made.

She schemed her way to the top in the past, using everyone and everything to pave herself a path of glory. She miscalculated and failed to entice her subordinates to willingly follow her and got betrayed. But that was the past; she had already changed.

In the past, when she was the snake that ruled the underground, she was feared, and no one followed her willingly. This time, she was a Priestess that everyone followed through charisma alone. No one feared her other than her enemies, and she was very much aware of the zealous following that she had.

From a feared tyrant to a beloved ruler… she managed to achieve all that because of her prior knowledge. She was not blindly throwing around things, though there were many times when her words were taken out of context and mysteriously got more recognition.

She already failed once in not getting enough information about a particular target and failed. She wouldn't repeat that thing again if she could prevent it.

"It wouldn't be too farfetched to say that the beings that I would be going up against are at the Galactic Level. I have seen strong Daemons in this world alone, I know not what is a Mythical-Tier and what is not, but I know that they are beings that could wipe me from existence with but a sneeze. I want to slay all of them and to do so, I would need your help."

[Cerberus' loyalty +4]

Cerberus failed to control its expression as it smiled. Hearing Lilith speak somehow reminded it of Hades, the Master it used to serve. It laughed with its childish voice, "Guhahaha, you are indeed an interesting being. Thinking of going against Olympus and the other Major Kingdoms, without knowing what kind of enemy is ahead of you? Guhahaha, you are an insane being, my new Master.

"I would like to tell you everything, but not yet. If the Absolute One and her children had yet to say anything, I would not speak of anything because they have their reasons. But let me say this, the ones you wish to challenge are beings that existed for millennia. Some of them are the Ancestors of their Race, and some are the Myths that brought their own Ancestors to their knees.

"They rule thousands of worlds and have been sharpening their blades before this world existed. You are not even worthy of trimming their hair or cut a fingernail from their bodies. But even knowing all that, I ask of you, do you still plan on becoming an Emperor?"

Lilith faced Cerberus with an unwavering smile. She chuckled and covered her mouth only for her tiny sounds to turn into a guffaw, "I am a coward, I am a schemer, but I do not break my promises. I promised a drinking buddy that I'll become an Emperor and spread her name, and I shall not let fear hinder me, for everything will soon fit in my hands.

"I heard the Underworld was destroyed by Olympus, and I can see that you also want something. Is it for revenge or something else? For your satisfaction? I don't care, but if you decide to follow me and not betray me: whoever it is, whatever the danger — I shall help you take anyone's head."

Her laughter echoed inside the dome; it was deafening, but her announcement was glorious. It carried weight, and Cerberus found itself somehow believing Lilith despite every odds stacked against her.

She claimed to slay the one Cerberus hated, no matter who it was. Be it Zeus or any of the Olympian Myths, she would kill them without missing a heartbeat. And from her maniacal eyes alone, Cerberus knew that she didn't care what kind of method she uses.

This little daemon before it did not know the concept of fair play.

Cerberus failed to control its smile. 'The one you have chosen is Mad, Absolute One…I like it.'

[Cerberus' loyalty +5]

Cerberus felt a resonance with Lilith.

It was called a ferocious beast, but Lilith was even more than it was. It found Lilith to be lacking a fang to do what she intends to do; however, it stood on four legs and met her eyes, "I shall believe in your words and believe you. However, if you are to fail to impress me, I shall devour your head and kill myself for being stupid enough to trust your words, do you accept?"

Lilith only chuckled, "Pledge your loyalty to me, and I shall grant you your wish sooner or later."

Cerberus lowered its head as it heard Lilith, "I, Cerberus, shall become your Guardian and your Fangs…I shall rip anything that you wish."

"Tell me your desire…"

"I want the complete Annihilation of Olympus and have Zeus, Poseidon, and every other Leader's head for betraying my previous Lord."

"Then I swear to you, I, Lilith Qurenara, shall help you take their heads."

[Cerberus' loyalty +5]

Cerberus had not taken a Master since Hades' death. However, its loyalty quickly shot up as Lilith's unwavering oath echoed in the dome and its heart.

But, Cerberus was still contemplating and observing her, "I will follow you for I deem you worthy. But, think not that I am your tool who would listen to your every command just because I am bound to you through the Absolute One's powers."

"Do not worry, I know."

Lilith was aware that this dog's loyalty was unquestionable to its previous owner; that's why she made use of Hades' name to coax it into accepting her as quickly as possible. But that doesn't mean that this dog would be a follower to her like Dhampy and the others.

After all, it had no reason as to why it should act like that. It had its own goal, and Lilith hers.

She made an impossible oath just to ensure that this Mythical Tier daemon would not even think of leaving her side, and she managed to do it perfectly.

However, the oath still stands. Lilith would never break a promise, and this oath would remain valid even if, at some point, Olympus was to become her ally. The only one that could prevent its destruction would be Cerberus, but such a thing would never happen considering its burning hatred spanning eons.

Thus, Olympus' destruction was set in stone.

Lilith brought out the Divine Wine and let the Cerberus drink, increasing its level to 60.

And as the dome crumbled and the Shadow Troops went to greet Lilith, they watched as from behind the smoke, a loli could be seen dragging a drunk pupper.

[Cerberus' Loyalty +10]

The dog just grew to like her more.