Creoboros Ker Berethrou

"Good morning citizens of Acheron. We are here on this day as gathered by our most loveable princess, Princess Nevaeh..."

Woohoo! Woohoo!

Sneers and criticism erupted from the stands making the King stop with his opening speech for a moment.

"Now we are here as the ruling states that the sentenced will be facing three of amongst the ferocious tamed beasts that the Kingdom has to offer...

Now don't get ahead of yourselves, upon facing all of the beasts and killing them, he will be granted back his freedom with a decree of leaving the Kingdom for all eternity...

And without much ado, I will be changing the sentence from the uproar that you gave to support him. Instead of facing one of them at a time, he will be facing them all at once..."

Woohoo! Woohoo!

Another uproar of criticism exploded making the King's face turn pale from anger. He thought that maybe imposing another heartbreaking ruling will make his subjects cower in fear and keep their mouths shut.

But the mixture of those that wanted to see the boy being ripped into bits and pieces and those that just wanted a good show made the King have a hard time controlling them.

With that, Heaven stood up before waving his hands up and the crowd died down with just a single wave.

Giving her father a reassuring smile, he let her continue with the speech as he sat down and looked at the other nobles from the different houses in his Kingdom that sat just behind the Royal Family looking at him with admiration.

It was considered a fact that the Royal Family hasn't been ambushed before by having Heaven as their backer. Even the King himself knew that Heaven would make a good Queen but also will help her sister if she chooses to give up the mantle.

After seeing the crowd turn their attention to her, she started her speech.

"Others are here for fun, others are here just to say goodbye to the most beloved son of the great pharmacist in the Kingdom... For that, I hereby say a few words for my friend, Lucifer." The Princess bowed down slightly in a sign of respect and gratitude.

When the crowd saw the gesture, they all rose on their feet and followed suit. In a moment, the whole arena was as quiet as a graveyard but one could see that all of those that had the chance to get in were all bowing down.

Except for the King, her daughter Nevaeh and a few nobles, all the others were in the same position. What left the nobles who chose to follow the King to sweat profusely was the fact that even the Queen herself was bowing. And that's not all that made them cower in their seats. The fact that even the most feared knight of all time, Sir. Mountain was also showing his gratitude.

With no one in the Kingdom capable enough to defeat him, he was like the King himself but without the crown, arrogance, and title. Even the King feared him as he usually chooses his words carefully when he is around him.

"Thank you, Lucifer, for the bravery that you have displayed since you were sentenced to death... Even though you are young and gravely ill, you have chosen to stand in the arena like a real man and face the fate that was bestowed upon you."

"In this life, within the few that am close with, I would have chosen you to be by my side as you have shown great honor and power for as long as I have known you... Though a commoner in other's eyes, you will be a royal in mine and forevermore."

"You are the brother I never had, the friend I'll always remember, and the life partner I'll ever wish for... With these few words of praise, I see you are cleansed of your sins in this life, and may you pass the test to the afterlife."

"I thank you again and rest my case. It will be quick and painless. Show no fear and act righteous, and if you come out of this alive, it is my promise that I, Heaven of the Royal Family, will accompany you in our new journey as we make our path in the outskirts of Acheron. With us together, we'll make history. Goodbye Lucifer." The Princess finished her speech before bowing down for a second time with her right hand on her chest as a sign of great respect.

The ones that were still standing followed suit and screamed his name before sitting down with somber faces and expressions.

With those few remarks, everyone present had their hearts sinking as they thought of all the reasons that what they were about to witness was by all margins despicable.

The fact that Lucifer was only an eight-year-old boy and had a history of the first most untreatable disease that has ever been witnessed in the Kingdom to inflict him. And also that he was the Kingdom's everyone favorite, the realization made the atmosphere gloomy and unfriendly.

After seeing that everyone was heartbroken, she decided to call upon the first beast to be released into the caged arena.

With just a signal of her hand, the rattling sounds of heavy metal sounded all across the stadium, everyone knew what it meant as their gazes were fixed on one of the large doors on the opposite side from where I was standing.

It was so quiet that an eerie feeling struck my bones making me rattle from head to toes. I wasn't a warrior or a gladiator or even a knight. I was just a boy who was scared of everything in the dark.

"I hereby introduce to you all... The people's choice. Cerberus, the protector." Heaven's voice thundered across the whole stadium making other commoners wet their pants from fear of the beast.

No one from the Kingdom has ever laid their eyes upon him from the days that he was captured and only stories that would make children not fall asleep at night were the ones that kept on circulating.

But hearing the name now, even the King and Queen were shocked.

It was just that the people's choice fell on the one who was closest to the one being sentenced for them to choose. And this time, Lola chose the beast from the underworld, the flesh-devouring beast.

The King had a smile on his face as he thought that his physician had gone nuts. What if the beast just ate her son there and then? He knew that it was tamed and friendly to a handful of people including the Mountain, but seeing that she chose the beast to protect her son. The King knew it was just over the moment it sets its eyes on him.

Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta!

Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta!

The sounds stopped just after the large doors were completely open.

The first head popped out, followed by a second one. If that wasn't enough to make the whole crowd soil their undergarments, the third head probably did.

Then the neck followed, and finally, the whole body was exposed to the morning sunlight. By the looks of it, I knew that even if the beast had the word protector among its name, it still devoured flesh and by far I was just had flesh like all that fell to its powerful jaws before they were torn into pieces.

It was a dog but on a different kind of level. It had three heads to start with, massive and enormous well proportioned built body. With every step that it carried while getting himself familiar with the surrounding area, the ground shook and trembled to leave behind massive paws plastered in its path.

If my mother chose this beast as my protector, then she was only showing mercy as she knew that I wouldn't be able to survive whatsoever.

After taking in all that it needed to see, it sniffed once before a low grumbling noise that traveled to the whole arena was heard as it looked at the other two massive doors.

It sniffed again and changed its head to my direction as I felt that it could smell the fear that I was giving out.

Thud! Thud!

With every step, it moved closer to my direction and stopped just a pounce away from me.

At that distance, I could see its six eyes flashing, like sparks from a blacksmith's forge. Or a near exploding volcanic mountain. I was rooted to the spot as I even measured my breathing in fear to attract more of its attention.

Its mouth were all oozing with fetid breath and gore which made the air dense and hard.

It just stood there looking directly into my eyes.

Chrr! Chrr! Chrr!

Without noticing it, a pool was forming under my feet as I peed myself. A peal of thunderous laughter escaped its mouth before making the leap.