Raised in Dungeon

"What is this? Whose eye is this?"

The consequence of using Allen's god's blessing was a severe injury. As he was bleeding, Reig fused with Allen's hollow body to stop it. Allen remained conscious, unable to move or open his eyes but still feeling the wounds across his body. Because Reig fused with Allen's blood and mana, Allen was now connected to Reig's mind.

"Ugh! You're so heavy!" said Felicia. Allen could see Felicia, who was trying to carry him.

"What are you doing?" but even though he tried to say that, his mouth didn't move, like his consciousness was far away. He saw and heard everything through Reig's body and mind.

"It's okay; I'll definitely be fine. Everything will be fine. We'll get out of here!"

He looked at Felicia deeply, taken aback by all she had done for him. He had grown so accustomed to thinking of her as someone who merely pitied him that he couldn't help but feel strange about it. As his mind wandered, he began to reflect on his earlier thoughts about her. He had assumed that she had nothing but sympathy for him and the situation; however he now knows how wrong he had been. He watched as she forced herself to save him, and he could no longer deny that she genuinely cared.

"Geez, Allen. Why am I the one who is protecting you now? Aren't you my knight?"

If Felicia had felt a sense of pity for Allen just in the same way as the monsters, there was no way she would have tried that hard to save him there.

"I-I can't faint here yet... I have to save Allen..."

The enthusiasm and unwavering look on her face shocked Allen; he had never seen anyone like Felicia before.

"I'll... live... I'll live... and take Allen with me... We'll go home."

Felicia was different from everyone else

He knew that because he had been following Felicia, she was the strangest of the humans he had met.

But before, he thought Felicia was different in a bad way.

Allen, on the other hand, thought she was different in a good way, and he was starting to see the good in it.

She's special

She's not someone who would betray others

Nor is she someone who would abandon others

He is the true embodiment of his mother's last words

"Do not hate fellow human"

just as his mother had said, and he could not help but feel special about that. Felicia had changed Allen's view of humans, and he was now certain she was truly extraordinary.

Allen had become so overwhelmed by the hatred and anger he felt inside of him that he had begun to search deep down within himself for a solution, although he wasn't aware of it. He had become desperate for help and found salvation in Felicia. Whenever he was with her, he could forget the world and all the hatred within it, if only for a moment. He felt soothed and entranced by her presence, and if he could stay with her a little longer, he knew he could forget his pain.

So he had to protect her

He had to protect this girl at least

She wouldn't let Felicia end up like Isabelle or his mother.

But....

-SHOOT

The spider shot Felicia in the head with its web, causing her to fall backwards onto Allen's stomach.

"No..."

"You idiot, run!"

"Get out of here, just leave me alone..."

The spider was finally right in front of the two of them and was preparing to bite Felicia's body to infuse its venom into its prey.

"NO!"

"DON'T!"

"MOVE!"

"MOVE MY BODY!"

"WHY CAN'T I DO ANYTHING?!"

"WILL I LOSE AGAIN?!"

"WILL I ONCE AGAIN LOSE THE PERSON I CHERISH?!"

"RUN AWAY YOU STUPID GIRL!"

Allen couldn't move; he could only scream at the sight of Felicia, who now fell helplessly, and just then, the spider was about to bite Felicia,

"I-I can't d-die here... All...llen..."

Felicia gripped her rapier tightly, but she no longer had the strength to lift it.

Now that she was completely desperate, water was leaking out of her eyes, and she could no longer maintain consciousness; she closed her eyes.

Allen tried to move his hand, reaching out to Felicia who had collapsed motionless, but his consciousness was also slowly fading, and he was no longer able to see what happened next.

"FELICIAAAAA!!!"

...

"AAAAH!"

Allen woke up with water in his eyes.

"Where is this?"

He sat up immediately, looking around.

His clothes were missing; he was only wearing long pants that had been cut into pieces. When he looked at his stomach, there was a puncture mark there. It was the same scar as the one on his left hand when it was cut off.

But Allen didn't care about that. The first thing he thought about when he woke up was Felicia. The last time he saw Felicia was when the minotaur kicked her, and the spider was about to eat her. That worried him.

"Allen? You're finally awake!" Hoping that it was Felicia's voice, Allen immediately looked at the door.

But no, it was Lavinia.

"Where's Felicia?!" shouted Allen.

"La-lady Felicia is next to this room."

Allen immediately went outside. Pushing Lavinia, who was standing at the door.

"Felicia..."

Allen opened the door to the room next to him.

And there was Felicia asleep on the bed.

"She's alive... thank goodness."

Allen approached the sleeping Felicia, and as he approached, Felicia slowly opened her eyes.

"Allen?"

Allen stared at her for a long time.

Just then, Lavinia also entered the room and warned

"Allen! Lady Felicia is still recovering her mana; let her rest first."

Felicia then sat up, half asleep.

She tried to squint her eyes, looking at Allen who was staring at her.

Then after a few seconds Felicia was fully awake. And she could see Allen clearly in front of her.

"ALLEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?! AND WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?!" screamed Felicia.

Suddenly…

She saw something unusual on Allen's face

Something that surprised her even more.

Allen, at this time, gave her a smile.

[ILLUSTRATION]

He then came forward and hugged her tightly. His body trembled, like he was trying to contain the emotions that kept bubbling inside of him. He had failed to save his mother and Isabelle, the one person he was supposed to save. Here he was, trying to save Felicia, the one who had saved him in all those moments of despair, but he had failed. He was overwhelmed, knowing that Felicia was still alive despite his failure. She realized in that moment that she would not be able to carry this burden of guilt herself, and that she desperately needed her friend to help her.

"E-EEEH?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

His body trembled, holding back his tears, showing how glad he was to know that Felicia was still alive. He also tried to contain the emotions that kept bubbling inside of him. He had failed to save his mother and Isabelle, the one person he was supposed to save. And again, he had failed to save Felicia, the one that had saved him in all those moments of despair; if she died, he would fall into despair. But now she was still alive

alive...

and scolded him again as usual...

her face was also annoying as usual...

"Thank goodness, you're still alive...." whispered Allen.

Felicia suddenly fell silent, as Allen, who was hugging her, seemed like a different person; the sight of Allen's vulnerability struck her with a wave of sympathy, and she felt relieved that Allen who always looked like a mature man who held their pain, was actually nothing more than a fragile soul who longed for affection.

Lavinia, standing nearby, realized he was still the same Allen she had met in the dungeon. He is just a child raised by a monster without human affection. He is just a kid with a tender heart, forced by the situation to mature.

Lavinia then walked out of there, leaving the two of them in the room.

…

"Yo!"

Outside the room,  a dark-haired man stood waiting for Lavinia, the one who had rescued Allen and Felicia from the dungeon.

Lavinia immediately bowed before the man.

"Thank you very much, Sir Birawa, for saving those children. As you wish, I will try to join your party for a month."

"That's fine. Allen is my other-worlder friend! You're very lucky to have me here. My armacar is suitable for hit and run in the dungeon. Besides, I honestly felt troubled when I saw you desperately standing in front of my lodging. It's impossible for children to keep alive on the 6th floor. But because you believed in them, and your eyes demonstrated that belief, I attempted to save them.

Well… "However, I was surprised that they were really still alive."

"Then, what floor did the hole lead to? Is it really the 6th floor? And where did you find them?" Lavinia asked again.

"The 8th floor."

"Eighth floor?!"

"I won't be able to survive if I stay there for long. Especially if I meet the guardian of the eighth floor, the Great Minotaurs."

"The Great Minotaurs..."

"Have you ever met it?" asked Birawa.

"Yes, once. But our party only saw it from a distance because my spirit weakened when I saw it."

"It would be troublesome to encounter it because the spirits will stay away when it's around. Moreover, it's very dark there. Without the light from the crystal, there's no way to defeat it. Then we can't stay on the 8th floor for long either; the human body won't be able to withstand the air pressure and poison for long. When I found the two of them, they were already surrounded by the 8th floor's little insects, the Bat Arachne."

"Are there only bats arachne there?"

"Yup, there were only them. The two children fought desperately against those spiders. I can see from how many spider corpses there are around, and the shining crystals spread all over the floor."

"Thank goodness it's just spiders... Again, thank you very much!"

"Hahaha, that's fine. What's certain is that you're now part of my party. How about that person? It's been a day. Did they finally find him?"

"No, Mr Wulfgeat ran away when he found out you wanted to look down there."

"Yeah.... He won't live long; his name and wanted poster will be plastered everywhere, especially since he's a nobleman; sooner or later, he'll be found and executed."

"It seems so..."

Birawa then turned around and said,

"Then, let's go to the capital! My heroine is waiting for me!"