A horrifying feeling—one that he won't be able to escape, and that his life will be claimed by death.
It's the same feeling Luel once experienced on the fateful day his world was turned upside down—when he was crushed beneath the wreckage of his car, unable to move or cry out for help. Paralyzed, hopeless, and resigned to death.
It's that same feeling that now overwhelms him as he's pinned beneath the foot of the Rank A Ragnarok Beast: Cerberus.
---
Luel stands frozen in front of the beast that descended from the sky.
A towering, 20-meter-tall hound cloaked in abyssal darkness—its signature trait. A three-headed monster, the very embodiment of its Code Name: a Ragnarok Beast. The guardian of the underworld—the three-headed hound, Cerberus.
Where it landed, a massive crater spreads out, filled with the crushed bodies of countless Mutated Rabies. A dark aura rises from the corpses, flowing into Cerberus like fuel, as if their deaths are being absorbed into its body.
The remaining Mutated Rabies flee in terror, scattering in all directions. Even Luel is ignored as the Rank E Ragnarok Beasts rush past him, desperate to escape the presence of something far more terrifying.
He should run like them. But Luel remains paralyzed, caught in the gaze of the beast's six eyes.
One wrong move would mean instant death. And Cerberus gives no warning.
From the mouth of its center head, a torrent of dark flame bursts forth like a demonic flamethrower, aimed directly at Luel.
'Charge'
Luel activates his skill just in time—his strength and speed spike, allowing him to leap from the flame's path. But not far enough.
The fire catches him mid-air, searing his back.
"ARGHHH!!!"
His scream is raw—both from the burning agony and the impact of his fall. He crashes hard, his landing a clumsy mess. But the pain keeps him conscious. And in pain, he knows he's still alive.
Struggling, Luel forces himself upright and rips off his smoldering jacket, hoping to lessen the flames. It helps, but the pain from his burns remains excruciating.
Kneeling, gasping, barely able to think, he expects the next attack to come at any moment.
But it doesn't.
He lifts his head to check on the Cerberus—and what he sees chills him more than the flames.
The Cerberus is staring at him. All three heads. And on each of its mouths... a smirk.
Humiliation.
Cerberus is mocking him—looking down on him like worthless trash. Just like the people who once cast him aside when he fell from the peak of his ambitions into the depths of fear and failure.
"You faqing monster!"
Luel doesn't shout to retaliate. He shouts to reject the humiliation.
But his defiance is answered immediately.
The right head of the Cerberus opens its maw, unleashing a bolt of dark lightning. It strikes Luel, scorching his body, turning skin to cinders and locking every muscle in place.
"ARGHHH!!!"
Still, he lives. The pain intensifies.
Then, the left head exhales a wave of dark ice, freezing Luel to the ground. His screams die in his throat, trapped by the biting cold. His voice is stolen by the agony of his wounds.
Yet he survives. His high Link Force keeps him alive through all three elemental assaults. But survival is no mercy.
Cerberus approaches with cruel pride, towering over Luel before slowly lowering its front paw—pressing down to crush him with deliberate, excruciating force.
---
Once again, Luel is trapped. Crushed. Helpless. Voiceless. No way to move or scream for help.
But this time, it's different.
He is no longer drowning in hopelessness.
Right before the first death of his character, Lucent, what floods his soul is not fear—but an overwhelming desire for revenge.
To devour the Rank A Ragnarok Beast, Cerberus.
[Player Lucent has Died.]