Raised in Dungeon

Allen was unmistakably in a situation between life and death.

Allen was already bleeding heavily, and his body had become paler than usual. Despite this, the minotaur relentlessly continued pounding away on his fragile frame which was now leaning against the shakedown wall. His attempts were futile, as Allen's body was too resilient. Even though his body wasn't destroyed, he was far from safe. It was only a matter of time before Allen succumbed to death.

The light from Felicia's god blessing that was getting dimmer and dimmer made Allen even more desperate. There were no more strategies he could create to kill the monster.

He gave up and began to close his eyes.

But suddenly, his mother's last words flashed through his head

"Live, Allen."

Not just his mother but Isabelle as well, and that made him instantly come to his senses and open his eyes

"What am I doing?" thought Allen while trying to stand up.

"If I die here, it's the same as not being able to obey mother's last command and her last wish."

With all his might, he tried to stand up, and just then, a strong wind began to surround him.

Allen glared at the minotaur through his sharp, red eyes. He was angry, not at the minotaur, but at himself for trampling on his mother's last command and neglecting to protect Felicia, who was trying her best to support him.

"It's not your fault... But I will take out all this anger and hatred on you."

The minotaur was filled with fear as he hit Allen again, faster and stronger this time. His hand bled from the impact against the dungeon wall, and he used his feet several times to strike Allen's body. Though the mist had clouded Allen's figure, the minotaur could tell that if he had managed to land a more powerful hit, there was no way Allen could have survived. The light had also vanished, leaving no opportunity for Allen to attack the minotaur in a pitch-black room.

Despite the logic of the situation, the minotaur was worried. He did not feel victorious at all; something was unsettling him.

"Are you satisfied?" said Allen.

The mist began to dissipate, and the minotaur saw the battered Allen.

​ Reig fused with him into a sword in Allen's hand, but it was small. The small sword couldn't pierce the minotaur's thick body.

Allen, who was standing, looked at the minotaur with hatred. Then he remembered that he hated not only humans but also monsters.

"I now possess this resentment and rage. Since then, I've never stopped being angry or hating anyone. I feel as though everything has culminated at this point."

The mind also embodies mana. The user's will and emotions can also affect mana, and due to the hatred and anger Allen felt, the mana flow in his body was rushing.

Allen could feel something new going through his head. It was like all the blood in his body was flowing up to his head, giving him something new.

"BE PREPARED FOR YOUR DEATH!"

As he shouted that, Allen stabbed himself in the stomach with Reig.

"!!!"

That confused the minotaur, which made him delay attacking Allen.

Allen's body trembled as blood oozed out of his mouth, eyes, and ears until he was covered in it. But it was too dark for him to make sense of what was happening. All he could comprehend was this pain was the consequence of his ability. A strange black liquid, thicker than blood, gushed from his stomach - the spot he had just stabbed himself with. It filled the floor around Allen and slowly crept up towards the walls and ceiling, so some of the water was falling like blood flowing down. They abruptly dripped down like a hand slithering towards every place.

The only one to witness the scene was the minotaur, who started to take a step back in shock - only to find its feet immersed in the wet, scalding darkness. It was clear to the minotaur that this was not blood, but he knew it was something much more sinister.

"Now, I no longer need to look at you to attack."

The black liquid was moving around like a living slime but in hand shape.

Allen raised his hand slightly as if reaching for something, and as he did so, the water under his hand rose until it turned into a sword-shaped black liquid.

-SLASH

Allen swung its sword. But he was far from the minotaur, so it shouldn't be able to reach the minotaur.

-THRUST

Without the minotaur being able to imagine, there was a thorn piercing its horse's belly from below.

"GHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

In the minotaur's deep scream,

Allen muttered

"God Blessing: The Spillege Mysanthrope"

The peak of his hatred, and the peak of his anger, then the emotions he had when he was on the verge of death, all the emotions that peaked and overflowed, made his mana perform a mechanism that triggered a new ability.

A god's blessing that can make him reach his enemy anywhere.

A god's blessing to kill everything he hates.

Having no other choice, the minotaur ran towards Allen quickly.

"It's useless."

Allen swung the liquid sword in his hand again

-THRUST THRUST THRUST

The water beneath the minotaur's body swirled, solidified, and advanced to pierce the minotaur's body.

"With this ability, I don't need light. As long as you are trapped inside my ability, I can attack you whenever and wherever I want."

Allen leaped forward with lightning speed, his sword held high above his head, and as it sliced through the air, a stream of black liquid coalesced into powerful thorns, tearing through the minotaur's body from the ground. The minotaur was enraged, trying to lash out and strike Allen again and again - but each time its mighty fist would come close, raging thorns shoot up, blocking the blow and pushing the beast back. As the monstrous creature hollered in a fury, it realized its attack was futile; he began to gallop in zigzags, faster than the water could form into thorns - desperately looking for an escape.

"Do you think by buying time, you can wait until I run out of mana? You seem to think you can survive as long as this liquid doesn't exist. In that case, I'll grant your wish."

Like a whirlpool, the liquid flowed back towards Allen and created a circle, slowly rising to cover his body. The black liquid shifted as if alive, forming a tight ball that enclosed him within. The water ball suddenly broke apart, leaving only his bare skin. Some water covered Allen's body like armor, and strange tattoos had taken their place, crawling along his flesh like a permanent ink painting.

[ILLUSTRATION]

He raised his hand, and all the black liquid around him moved into that hand, becoming a huge new sword filled with black mud.

Upon seeing that, the minotaur immediately ran towards the exit as fast as it could.

That monster knew that if that thing hit him, he would die.

"too late…"

Suddenly, Reig came out of Allen's shadow, turned into a small slime, and ran quickly toward Felicia. He then became a circle, covering Felicia as if trying to protect her from something.

Allen swung his sword.

That black liquid was his mana and also his blood. And now all of that liquid had materialized into a gigantic sword. As he swung it, the black liquid came out of the slash and seemed to shoot at the minotaur. Time seemed to slow down as the liquid hit the creature, but the liquid had become something entirely different - it almost looked like an effect of the sword, an effect of the liquid traveling so fast that it became a slash in thin air. Before the minotaur could even think of its last breath, Allen's attack had reached its mark, resulting in the minotaur being split into two and the dungeon walls behind it crumbling and collapsing. The power of the liquid attack was so great that Felicia, far to Allen's left, was almost hit by a flying rock.

"Finally... I have finally defeated that thing… Felicia…"

The black liquid suddenly disappeared, like water that goes underground. Allen then fell and was exhausted. Allen tried to drag his body as far as he could, reaching for Felicia, who was lying far ahead. But before he could reach her, he collapsed unconscious.

As for Felicia's blood slowly spread across the floor, finally reached the entire floor surface around her, and was consistently coated in a pond of her own blood that created a circle pattern. The blood began to make small, delicate plants sprout from the floor. Every second, a new life would grow, with bright leafy greens stretching towards Felicia's body. Then the plants glowed, and so did Felicia's body.

It illuminated the dungeon room, and the result of the light was

"Cough! Cough!"

Felicia, who was coughing, let out a little blood from her mouth.

She then sat up, looking around.

"Am I still alive?"