Chapter 533 – Black Dog Rebirth

–The next day. Today as well, I continued working on creating Cerberus’s body.

Perhaps because the object was taking shape, everyone seemed highly motivated, and apparently they had been working at quite a rapid pace since last night. All the necessary parts were gathered–it looked like it would be completed earlier than scheduled.

“Then let’s begin.”

“Yes. I’m ready whenever.”

Claudia nodded.

In the center of the magic array were me and Cerberus’s body placed there. Claudia stood facing us. Old Sigmund, Valentina, Forset, and Charlotte stood at the four corners of the room, and as each of them deployed their Magic Circles, the magic array at their feet began to emit a dazzling radiance.

I attached various components to Cerberus seated at the center of the glowing magic array–placing Magic Stones in its throat, chest, and other locations. The black, shining Magic Stone housed in its chest began to slowly rotate while containing flames within.

After confirming this, I also gripped Ouroboros and deployed a Magic Circle. I covered it with Black Golem material to house the Magic Stones, then layered muscle fibers over that.

Over the muscle fibers, I stretched a thin membrane equivalent to subcutaneous tissue made of Black Golem material and fixed it in place. Once the body parts were completed, I draped the prepared fur over it.

The fur covering the body surface came from Hellhounds–dog-type monsters that appear in the Blazing Fortress. Several pelts had been joined together and further treated with sorcery.

They were originally dog monsters with the fire element. The compatibility with Cerberus shouldn’t be bad. They possess high Resistance to fire, with anti-Curse Magic pattern sorcery applied to the lining to nullify Energy Drain and other effects, and even a self-regeneration Enchant was added–truly leaving nothing to be desired.

Just like my Chimera Coat, damage would likely repair itself naturally. I connected it so it would fuse with the subcutaneous tissue membrane.

After everything was done, I used Magical Power Circulation to check if there were any untreated areas.

…Seems good. The flow of magical power supplied from the Magic Stones also appeared harmonious and natural overall.

And then–I deployed multiple Magic Circles. This was an advanced Spell Formula belonging to the Create Golem lineage passed down in Silvatoria.

A radiance of magical power emanated from Cerberus’s body, then it was enveloped along with the magic array in a white light so bright it was impossible to keep my eyes open.

When it subsided–Cerberus’s closed eyelids slowly opened. Then it stood up with deliberate movements.

“How does it feel?”

When I asked, Cerberus seemed to be carefully checking each movement one by one–turning its three heads, moving its ears, scratching the floor with its front paws, twitching its nose… But eventually, as if satisfied, it twisted the corners of its mouths into a grin and let out a low growl from its throat.

Ah. I created facial muscles along with the masseter muscles, and incorporated sound Magic Stones for the Roar Resonance Bullet too. It should be able to both laugh and roar.

The texture of parts like the eyeballs and nose that had seemed slightly artificial until now now appeared completely real. This was probably the effect of Create Golem. After all, it had started moving as a Magical Creature.

Then its three heads bowed toward me as if in a salute, then it quietly walked over to Claudia. It also bowed its head quietly to Claudia, then went around greeting Old Sigmund and the others stationed at the four corners.

“Seems like it’s working well.”

Old Sigmund nodded at Cerberus’s condition. Cerberus positioned itself beside Claudia and quietly settled down.

“…Next is the exterior, right? You mentioned putting armor on it.”

Alfred asked.

“Yeah. I’m thinking of engraving similar magic to the Invisible Ripper on the armor, so it becomes invisible when the Magic Tool activates.”

“My, my. Adding even more on top of this, eh?”

Old Sigmund let out a dry laugh.

“Since Alpha and Cerberus’s Magic Stones seem to naturally recover over time without needing magical power replenishment, they usually don’t require much maintenance. But if full-power combat drags on, I think there would still be limits to their activity time. So I thought it might be good to make it easier for them to exert their power at key moments, just in case.”

“I see.”

Well, given Alpha and Cerberus’s high specs, combat dragging on for extended periods would probably be rare to begin with… But if they can attack while invisible, it would also save magical power. While the limits are somewhat unknown, it can’t hurt to have countermeasures prepared.

“Should we decide on a name?”

“Ah. Probably should.”

When Claudia asked, I thought about it.

It’s ambiguous whether it’s an individual name or species name, but now that it has obtained a body like this, it might be better to call it by a different name.

Cerberus looked at me with its three heads… Hmm, is that telling me to name it?

I had considered having Claudia name it and make it her Familiar, but that would create issues with magical power supply. I want to preserve Claudia’s magical power as much as possible.

“How about… Belius?”

When I called it that, Cerberus nodded and let out a howl with all three heads aligned. I don’t know if it liked it or not, but it seemed to accept it?

“Hmm, seems like it likes it?”

Sheila said while tilting her head. Ah… It’s wagging its tail.

Belius is… a play on the demon Naberius from the 72 demons of Solomon. The sound is similar to Cerberus too.

Naberius is said to appear either in the form of a crow or as a noble-like figure with three dog heads, and is sometimes identified with Cerberus or Nebiros. Well, it’s not exactly a demon, and the form has changed somewhat.

While we were having that conversation, Alpha had arrived at the workshop without anyone noticing. It seemed to have flown through the air. It landed in the courtyard, then came from the entrance to the room.

While Alpha moves around quite freely, almost appearing and disappearing at will… when its eyes met Belius’s, both twisted the corners of their mouths as if by mutual agreement.

From the side, it looked like an unusually dangerous scene, but since Lavigne was lazily lying on the floor wagging her tail, and Pietro was relaxing in a sunny spot by the window, it should be fine.

“From now on, please take care of us, Belius.”

When Grace and the others greeted it, Belius nodded quietly. Ashley, Marlene, and Sion were lightly patting its back, but Belius remained calm despite its large size.

…Time to clean up the room and take a break. I proceeded with cleanup–creating the Golems, erasing the magic arrays, organizing leftover Materials by type, and so on.

When we decided to take a break, Irmhild happily prepared her Lute.

Hmm. There’s a legend in Greek mythology that Cerberus falls asleep when music is played to it… I wonder how Belius would react.

“Before the exterior is completed, we might want to dive into the Labyrinth once to see how much power it has.”

Rosemary said while pondering.

“Hmm. Indeed, it might be harder to tell once it can turn invisible. Personally, I was thinking of doing it after Weltes and the others join us.”

“So you want to assess its power along with the Demon-Slaying Knight Order’s training, together with Weltes and Eckels?”

Regarding Eckels, it depends on the outcome of his meeting with the Magical Inquisition, but that’s the plan I have in mind.

“Probably.”

Other things to do… Creating Golem soldiers, I suppose. I should do this when I have time.

Since I obtained quite a number of medals from the Snow Golems in the Glacial Forest and the Pumpkin Gardener that appeared in the Star Sphere Garden. It would be good to incorporate those and create Golem soldiers.

Due to cost issues, I can’t make all of them top quality, but having numbers prepared would be useful in its own way.

Since I gained various Golem-making experiences while creating Belius’s body, I should put that to use by working on this.

For now… the work has settled down for today.

Since Elliot, Miriam, and Queen Eldorene and the others are coming to the workshop later to talk, I’ll take it easy until then. It’s not just about the Demon-Slaying Knight Order–there are also matters related to the Labyrinth Trading Company.