A Clever Trip to Hell (3)
“Woof woof!”
“Whoaaa…”
No wonder I sensed multiple dark energies.
The triple doggo that appeared had three heads.
Unlike our fluffy white doggo, this one was covered in sleek black fur—that was its standout feature.
“So cute…!”
But it shared one thing in common with our doggo.
This triple doggo was just as adorable!
Big, sparkling eyes.
A fluffy black tail wagging back and forth.
And a panting expression like it was thrilled to meet us.
Right up my alley.
-Woof!
Our doggo had been wagging its tail excitedly at meeting a fellow pup, but suddenly it got anxious and barked at me.
Snapping out of it, I reached out to pet its head.
“What’s wrong, doggo?”
Our doggo was a good boy.
Not the type to bark so fiercely like this.
-Woof woof!
Was it cutely jealous or something? Our doggo blocked my path, shaking its head side to side.
It clearly didn’t want me getting close to the triple doggo.
“Ho, what a sharp pup.”
Hecate unnie sounded a bit impressed from behind me.
I turned to her.
“Unnie… so what do we do with this bread?”
The moment I spotted the triple doggo, I’d planned to approach, hand over the bread, and give its head a light pat.
But seeing how much our doggo hated the idea, that approach seemed doomed.
“Just toss the bread to it.”
“But… won’t they fight…?”
I glanced at the triple doggo.
Its three faces looked like they each had their own personality.
And I knew all about doggo gluttony.
If I tossed the bread?
Even sharing one body, they’d definitely fight over it fiercely.
And I hate fights.
“Heh, wanna give it a try? Then you’ll see what I mean.”
“Okay…”
But if super-strong Hecate unnie said it was fine, I’d trust her once.
Digging up memories from my little league baseball days, I carefully wound up.
“Ooh.”
And hurled the bread with all my might.
Thud!
The bread was so dense it hit the ground with a brick-like smack.
Rolling with that loud noise, it came to a perfect stop right in front of the triple doggo.
“Whoa, our angel’s got skills? You should go to the Olympics!”
“Olympics…?”
“Yeah, you’ve got gold-medal form!”
“But I suck at math…”
I’d heard math Olympiads were for geniuses only.
With my current brain…
“Ugh…”
Just thinking about math hurt, so it was impossible.
“Ah… they call it the Olympics these days. Yeah, Olympics.”
“Aha.”
Olympics, huh…
I’d totally try discus throw.
Our doggo would fetch it no matter how badly I chucked it.
-Woof woof!
While Hecate unnie tied up my hair, the triple doggo charged full-speed at the bread I’d thrown, just as expected.
They growled and stared each other down, then one head chomped it.
And then.
-Yawn…
The moment it took a bite, its eyes slowly fluttered shut.
“Eek… doggo!”
I jumped in surprise at the doggo suddenly closing its eyes.
Doggos adapt anywhere and roll around happily, so I’d let my guard down.
But there were plenty of foods toxic to doggos.
Was there something bad in the bread I threw…?
“It’s fine. They’re just pretending to sleep.”
“Huh?”
Pretending to sleep?
While I stood there dazed, the other heads each took a nibble, wobbled off to a cave corner, and—
Plop.
—closed their eyes and flopped down.
They looked totally dead. Panicking, I squeezed my eyes shut too.
Thankfully, the dark energies were still there—no harm to the triple doggo’s life force.
I opened my eyes and asked,
“Why’re they pretending to sleep?”
“Hmm… Normally, Cerberus’s job is to keep the living out of the underworld.”
“Ah! Cerberus!”
I clapped at the familiar name.
It had rung a vague bell, but hearing it jogged my memory.
The three-headed hellhound!
“But when they have to let someone pass, they do it implicitly like this. Play a music box and they fake sleep, or toss bread and pretend it’s laced with sleeping pills.”
Faking sleep to dodge trouble? Smarter than I thought.
I gave the doggos a little wave.
“Thanks for letting us through. Bai bai.”
Clank clank clank.
The Anomaly Management Agency’s elite special operations unit, decked out in heavy gear loaded with cutting-edge tech.
Made up of ex-special forces and athletes, they’d endured the agency’s brutal training and procedures.
Real pros honed battling anomalies in the world’s shadows.
“HQ, we’re entering.”
Leading them, Special Ops Commander James Blade cracked open the sealed emergency exit door in suffocating silence.
Revealed: stairs glowing with an ominous red light.
“Hoo…”
The veteran, who’d faced countless anomalies, shuddered at the encroaching malice.
But overcoming such fear was what agency agents did.
“Control. This is Special Ops Commander. Commencing operation.”
He calmly notified control and stepped in.
Weeeeng.
Leading the way: a drone, as always.
Remote ones kept losing signal, so this time it was tethered by fiber optic.
They watched the operator’s feed intently.
The drone transmitted crystal-clear footage down the stairs, revealing a space utterly alien to the agency.
“This… is the underworld…?”
They hadn’t crossed the boundary yet, but the view from outside was terrifying enough.
“Deeper?”
“Enter.”
The drone bravely crossed.
The instant it did—
Bzzt crackle!
Sparks flew, it exploded, and the link died.
“Mm…”
James Blade grunted.
Something had obliterated the drone at camera-defying speed the moment it crossed.
Even the geared-up special ops might not win against that.
In a normal military op, he’d order retreat without hesitation.
But this was for humanity’s sake.
Sometimes they had to charge into known danger.
Thud thud.
Everyone on this mission knew the risks.
In the heavy quiet, broken only by footsteps, they reached the depths.
“Hah…”
There: a stark line where concrete met blood-red floor.
“…”
Blade carefully panned his body cam to capture it all for control.
“Entering.”
Agents crossed one by one.
They checked vitals immediately—no anomalies from crossing alone.
“Sigma-23. Return.”
“Returning. No issues.”
Securing retreat was priority one.
One agent went back fine.
“Good.”
Confirmed, the rest crossed in waves.
They fanned out in perfect formation, scanning.
Rumble…
Unidentified monster growls.
Whoosh.
Flaming floors.
Sizzle.
Lava dripping everywhere.
They were feeling the living hell when—
“River ahead. Suspected Styx or Acheron.”
Scouts reported.
“Also, entity resembling Charon spotted. Orders?”
Charon.
Mythic ferryman of hell—pay the gold coin, cross the river.
“Approach.”
Blade tensed, ordering advance—
Ruuuumble.
When eerie fog rolled in.
“Damn it, defensive formation.”
Sensing trouble, they clustered per training.
Tech deployed—
Thud thud.
A ghostly woman emerged from the mist.
She eyed the gun-gripping agents and grumbled.
“Hah… what a pain… why do the living keep coming here…”
She sighed deeply and snapped her fingers.
“I’d love to kill you all, but…”
A massive wave surged from afar.
“Lady Persephone says… send you back nicely…”
Blade and the team bolted, but the torrent was faster.
“Come after you’re dead, living ones.”
The giant wave swept them away.
Author:Special Operations Division Chief Dr. Rael
Operation:Orpheus — FAILED
Entire special ops unit returned soaked. Confirmed memory wipe of underworld entry.
All electronic records erased.
Additionally, unconscious Agent James Blade clutched a note in Greek reading [CENSORED].
Body composition analysis detected potent amnestic compound—research team estimates it could revolutionize agency amnestics.
Special ops agents under Level 2 containment observation for potential anomalies.