Something wet pressed against Jack's face.

Hot. Suffocating.

The sensation dragged him from the depths of unconsciousness with uncomfortable urgency.

His body felt heavy, unresponsive, like he was buried under tons of earth. But that wetness kept spreading across his cheek, his nose, making it harder to breathe.

Jack's eyes snapped open.

Six glowing red eyes stared back at him from three massive heads, each one larger than his entire torso.

Fluffy's center head had been licking his face, and drool, thick, steaming drool, covered Jack's skin in a viscous coating.

Cerberus's breath smelled like sulfur and charred meat.

"GAH!" Jack jerked backward, scrambling away from the monster that was apparently using him as a chew toy.

His hands slipped in the blood still coating the ground, sending him sprawling onto his back.

Fluffy's three heads tilted in unison.

The center head's tongue lolled out, dripping more drool onto the scorched earth.

"He likes you," S's voice called from somewhere nearby, carrying obvious amusement. "Fluffy doesn't normally show affection to strangers."

Jack sat up, wiping the hellhound saliva from his face. The stuff was hot, not burning, but uncomfortably warm, like it had been heated to just below boiling.

"Honored," Jack muttered, scrubbing at his cheek. "Right. That's exactly what I feel right now."

He pushed himself to his feet, his body was no longer protesting.

[Jack HP: 3,375/3,375]

[Stats restored to normal values]

[Blood Hunger: Ended]

Jack looked around the battlefield properly for the first time since waking.

Bodies everywhere. Hundreds of them, scattered across the scorched earth in twisted piles. The blood pool he'd been lying in had partially dried, leaving a dark crust on his armor.

The demon blood had helped him recover. The hearts, if he'd been forced to consume them during the frenzy, they might be necessary again in the future. Especially if he ever used Demonic Frenzy again and triggered Blood Hunger.

'I need to store these,' Jack thought, his gaze sweeping across the carnage. 'All of them. The blood, the bodies, the hearts. Everything.'

"S," Jack called out, turning to find his newly bound guardian deity standing near the western ridge. "I need your help with something."

S raised an eyebrow, his red eyes glinting with interest. "Oh? Already putting your guardian deity to work?"

Jack gestured at the battlefield. "I need to store all of this. Every body, every drop of blood. But gathering everything manually would take hours."

S's smile widened. "Ah. You're preparing for the next time Blood Hunger strikes, aren't you?" He stepped forward, his movements unnaturally smooth.

'Very wise. Most people would try to distance themselves from what they'd done. But you're planning ahead.' S thought to himself as he touched his chin.

"Can you help or not?" Jack asked impatiently.

"Of course." S raised one hand, and the air around them seemed to ripple.

The bodies began to move.

Not through any visible force, they simply slid across the ground as if pulled by invisible strings, converging on a point directly in front of Jack.

All of them flowing together into a massive pile that grew taller with each passing second.

The blood followed. The dark pools coating the battlefield lifted from the scorched earth like living liquid, defying gravity to stream toward the growing mound.

It gathered at the base of the corpses, creating a reservoir of mixed demon blood.

Within thirty seconds, everything had been collected. Seven hundred and fifty-nine demon corpses stacked in a grotesque pyramid, surrounded by gallons of blood that formed a moat around the base.

"There," S said pleasantly, lowering his hand. "Will that suffice?"

Jack stared at the pile, his stomach churning despite his best efforts to remain detached.

This was what he'd done. What the frenzy had driven him to do. Each corpse represented a life he'd ended, a creature he'd torn apart with his own hands.

But dwelling on it wouldn't change anything. And if he was going to survive in this tower, he needed to be pragmatic.

'System, can I store all of this at once?'

[Affirmative]

[System Storage has no weight or size limitations]

[Warning: Storing this volume of product will reach the threshold of items allowed]

[I recommend you upgrade the system storage]

Jack nodded and focused his will on the pile. His system storage opened like an invisible maw, and the entire mass of corpses and blood simply vanished.

One moment it was there, the next moment the battlefield was empty except for the scorched earth and lingering smoke.

[Storing items...]

[759 Demon Corpses stored]

[Approximately 847 gallons of mixed demon blood stored]

Jack felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Not a physical weight, but a psychological burden. Out of sight,wasn't out of mind, but it helped.

He turned to S, who was watching him with that same analytical interest. "Thanks."

"Think nothing of it." S gestured broadly at the now-empty battlefield. "Though I must say, storing demon corpses for future consumption is quite smart."

"I can't afford to forget," Jack said quietly. "If I use Demonic Frenzy again, I'll need hearts to survive the Blood Hunger. Better to be prepared than desperate."

S's smile took on an approving quality. "Indeed. Desperation leads to poor decisions. Planning ahead, even when the plan involves something distasteful, shows wisdom beyond your years."

Jack's gaze drifted back to Fluffy, who had settled onto his haunches and was watching the conversation with patient interest.

All three heads tracked Jack's movements, tongues occasionally lolling out between massive fangs.

"About what you said earlier," Jack began, not quite believing he was actually considering this. "The pet thing. Were you serious?"

S's eyes lit up with genuine enthusiasm. "Absolutely serious. Everyone loves a puppy, Jack. Even if that puppy happens to be a three-headed hellhound."

"That's not what most people mean when they say puppy," Jack pointed out.

"Semantics." S waved his hand dismissively. "Fluffy here came from the deeper levels of the tower. Floor thirty-seven. There's an entire pack of Cerberus creatures down there, though most aren't as well-trained as my companion."

A Disaster-class creature as a companion would be invaluable.

Protection, combat support, someone to watch his back in situations where even abilities weren't enough.

But it also meant responsibility for something that could probably eat a village if left unsupervised.

"Floor thirty-seven," Jack repeated, filing the information away. "How far down is that?"

"Quite far," S admitted. "You'd need to be significantly stronger before attempting it. The floors between here and there are populated by creatures that would make these Nightmare-class demons look like children." He paused, considering. "Though with my assistance as your guardian deity, the journey would be considerably safer."

Jack looked at Fluffy again. The Cerberus's center head tilted, and something that might have been intelligence flickered in those burning red eyes.

Not just animal instinct, but actual awareness.

"Would it..." Jack hesitated, feeling absurd even asking the question. "Would it be loyal?"

S's expression grew serious.

"Cerberus bonds for life, Jack. Once you've established the connection, they're absolutely loyal. Fluffy here has been with me for over three centuries, and he's never once disobeyed or betrayed me."

He reached out to pat the hellhound's nearest head, and Fluffy leaned into the touch like an enormous dog. "They're not pets in the traditional sense. They're companions. Partners."

Jack processed this information, his exhausted mind weighing the pros and cons. A Disaster-class companion would change everything about how he approached the tower.

But it also meant going to floor thirty-seven. Facing whatever creatures lived that deep in the tower. And somehow convincing a Cerberus to bond with him instead of, say, eating him.

"I'll think about it," Jack finally said. "After I've recovered and dealt with more immediate concerns."

"Wise," S agreed.

His gaze swept across the empty battlefield one more time.

'System, we have some things that needs to be settled before we move on.'

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