Chapter 5: Kerberos
He could genuinely feel air currents moving around him.
Before Kazama could determine whether this sensation stemmed from psychological suggestion—
The card in his hand exploded with brilliant light.
Whoosh!
An instant later, a miniature windstorm erupted inside the cramped apartment.
The gust used Kazama's card as its eye, surging wildly in all directions.
He instinctively squinted as the wind whipped his clothes into a frenzy, bangs slapping chaotically against his face.
Air currents spiraled violently through the few square meters of space like an invisible giant hand stirring everything into chaos.
Objects scattered throughout the room clattered and crashed.
Kazama raised his arm to shield his forehead, peering through his fingers to see the Book of Clow's pages flipping frantically in the tempest.
Then, one by one, the fifty-two Clow Cards that had been resting peacefully in their grooves tore themselves free from the pages.
They transformed into streaks of light, shooting through the window the gale had blown open, howling as they escaped.
In the blink of an eye, they merged into Kamimizu City's skyline, vanishing without a trace.
The entire process lasted mere seconds.
When the final light trail disappeared beyond the horizon, the wind in the room ceased instantly.
Only scattered debris and the still-swaying window frame proved what had just occurred wasn't hallucination.
Kazama lowered his arm, his expression completely unperturbed.
"That was fast."
He casually flipped over the softly glowing card, showing no inclination to pursue.
In Kazama's assessment, the cards' primary purpose was validating the Rat Talisman's capabilities.
Now that The Windy had successfully activated, his experiment had succeeded.
As for those fifty-one escaped cards?
The Rat Talisman remained embedded in the book anyway. Even if the cards fled, it didn't matter.
Worst case scenario, he'd make another trip to Akihabara tomorrow.
This merchandise was mass-produced after all. As long as he possessed the talisman, buying a hundred books to slowly activate posed no problem.
Just as Kazama withdrew his gaze, preparing to check whether the now-empty book shell retained any salvage value—
A disturbance erupted from that supposedly dead book behind him.
"Haaaaah—"
An extremely drowsy yawn echoed through the room, as if its owner had slept for an entire century before waking.
Kazama raised an eyebrow and turned around.
The Book of Clow's cover rippled like a water surface.
Then a bright yellow stuffed lion with tiny white wings slowly squeezed itself out from the book's surface.
It kept its eyes closed, raising both short front paws high overhead in an exaggerated stretch, its thin tail swishing contentedly behind.
Immediately after, a voice with a thick Kansai accent—somewhere between a duck's quack and a squeaky toy—rang through the quiet room.
"Mmm—that was the best sleep I've had in ages! Must be thirty years since I slept that soundly."
The unidentified creature floated mid-air, expressing satisfaction in the tone of someone who'd just finished a hot bath and cold milk.
It rubbed its eyes, apparently not yet adjusted to external lighting.
"Wonder what era it is now... But this familiar magical wavelength definitely means a new Cardcaptor has appeared, right? Hey, you newcomer..."
While speaking, it habitually glanced down at its book, apparently wanting to inventory its possessions.
However, this comfortable atmosphere lasted approximately three seconds.
Its gaze fell upon the completely empty pages.
The fifty-two Clow Cards that should've been neatly arranged weren't even casting shadows.
"Huh?"
The stuffed lion froze. Its previously squinted eyes shot wide open like someone had installed lightbulbs behind them.
"Huh huh HUH?!"
It flew disbelievingly above the pages, both stubby paws frantically searching those empty grooves as if this were merely a visual trick or sleep-induced hallucination.
"Not here? Not HERE?! Why aren't they here?!"
It bent forward, shoving its entire head between the pages, panicking like an ant performing tap dance on a hot griddle while emitting a series of incomprehensible shrieks.
"This doesn't make sense! I definitely felt the seal breaking! Where are the cards? My cards? My Clow Cards?! Why isn't there a single one left?!"
Kazama leaned against the desk, feeling neither surprised nor amused, simply reviewing this creature's original lore in his mind.
Apparently, despite its stuffed animal exterior, it genuinely possessed independent thought and linguistic capability.
This was the legendary Beast of the Seal—Kerberos.
The mascot character who, aside from eating sweets and playing video games, served basically zero useful purpose in the early storyline.
Watching the thing nearly tear the pages apart, Kazama finally exhausted his patience for spectating.
He raised his hand, offering the card pinched between his fingers.
"Looking for this?"
Kerberos's frantic movements halted abruptly.
Its attention instantly locked onto that familiar pattern.
"Ohhhh! There it is!"
Like spotting a lifeline, it flapped those tiny wings frantically, lunging forward to embrace the card—larger than its own body—rubbing its cheek desperately against the surface.
That soft texture, that familiar magical signature—definitely the genuine article.
"Thank goodness! There you are! Nearly gave this old man a heart attack thinking it was lost forever!"
It clutched the palm-sized card tightly, tears and snot streaming while muttering phrases like "scared me to death" and "thought I'd be unemployed."
A full five seconds passed before its processing delay finally completed its lap around the globe.
Wait a minute.
Who handed me this card?
Kerberos whipped around. Only now did it properly look at the human standing by the desk.
Black hair, black eyes, wearing an ordinary home T-shirt, face displaying the kind of cold indifference that made it feel like some inferior life form.
This human possessed no magical energy whatsoever.
One could even say that aside from an inscrutable depth, this was the most utterly ordinary high school student imaginable.
Kerberos retreated through the air, adopting what it considered an intimidating posture—paws on hips, brow furrowed severely, tail swishing for added dramatic effect.
"Hold on! Who are you?! Why do you have a Clow Card? And where is this place?!"
Kazama observed its battle-ready stance, crossing his arms while slightly lowering his head to use his height advantage for creating oppressive shadows.
"I should be asking you that."
"This is my home. And you are a strange talking creature that suddenly emerged from my book. By conventional logic, I should either throw you in the washing machine for a brain rinse or report you directly to Kamimizu City's Anomalous Entity Management Bureau."
"Uh..."
The stuffed lion clearly hadn't prepared for such unconventional responses.
It glanced around, confirming this was indeed an unfamiliar room saturated with modern living atmosphere.
No magic circles on the walls. No potion bottles on shelves. Just piles of cheap-looking plastic figurines.
The guy had a point.
After all, in this strange environment, it was the uninvited guest.
"Ahem! Well... that's my oversight."
Recognizing its disadvantage, Kerberos awkwardly scratched the back of its head, forcing several dry laughs.
However, as a seal beast that had lived countless years, it quickly adjusted its mindset, clearing its throat while striking what it considered a dignified mid-air pose.
"Listen up, kid! Since you opened the Book of Clow's clasp, you've earned the right to know the truth!"
It puffed out its barely muscular chest, expression deadly serious as it began reciting the opening speech memorized long ago.
"I'm no mysterious creature! I am Kerberos! The Beast of the Seal created by the great mage Clow Reed! My duty is guarding this Book of Clow, preventing the Clow Cards inside from escaping into the human world! Because once these cards lose control, they'll trigger world-destroying catastrophes!"
Kerberos circled The Windy card while speaking, apparently demonstrating its authority.
"I see."
Kazama watched it expressionlessly, not even blinking.
He'd memorized this exposition from watching the anime in his previous life, even knowing this appearance was merely a low-power conservation mode.
"'I see'?! What kind of reaction is that?! Show some respect!"
"It means I already know."
To humor this ridiculous initial meeting, Kazama reluctantly raised one finger, pointing at The Windy card in its embrace.
"So that's your so-called 'dangerous item'?"
"Exactly!"
Kerberos nodded with lingering fear, expression grave as if discussing nuclear launch codes.
"Every single Clow Card possesses unique personality and formidable magic. If left unmanaged, they'll cause mischief throughout the world—even irreparable destruction!"
It affectionately patted the card in its arms, releasing a long breath.
"Fortunately, despite that little incident just now, most cards should still be in the book... huh?"
Mid-sentence, it suddenly remembered something.
"Wait a second."
Kerberos slowly turned toward Kazama.
"Um... where are the other cards? I mean, besides The Windy—the remaining fifty-one cards... where are they?"
Kazama raised his hand, casually gesturing toward the still-open window.
"Just now, probably about a minute before you woke up, there was a huge gust of wind. It blew all those cards outside."
Kazama shrugged.
"I didn't see exactly where they went. North, south, east, west—all directions basically. Probably scattered throughout Kamimizu City by now."
Kerberos froze.
It blinked those beady eyes, apparently trying to process this statement's meaning.
All blown outside.
Every direction.
Scattered throughout Kamimizu City.
"WHAAAAT?!"