Raised in Dungeon

At the Barkaley Barony training grounds, before Leofric's dungeon raid begins, Arthur met Waldo Barkaley, the eldest son of the Barkaley barony.

As the eldest son, Waldo had to lead the raid troops to raise the family name and serve as the Barkaley family's overseer for the soldiers participating in the raid. Waldo was so scared of what he would face that he didn't feel up to challenging the dungeon. Then Waldo's fear was instantly dispelled when Arthur said

"No worry Sir. I will protect you no matter what happens."

Arthur's words had a transformative effect on Waldo, instilling a newfound sense of courage in him. After that, a deep bond formed between these two families; Waldo often invited Arthur's family, his sister Susan, for the meal after training. In their free time, Waldo would sometimes also bring his sister along. Despite only having known each other for a mere week, their close relationship was quickly noticed by the entire town, which couldn't help but remark on how much they looked like brothers.

To make Arthur even stronger, Waldo taught Arthur swordsmanship and sparred with him every day; Arthur has never won against him.

"At this rate, I'll feel ashamed for this weak body for saying to protect you," Arthur said.

"Haha. Your learning speed is amazing; you're even better than me in the way of learning; you just lack experience. Besides, your words alone are enough to give me courage. If coupled with your prowess in swordsmanship, perhaps I would feel small as you would defeat me in every field."

"You praise me too much," Arthur replied with some embarrassment.

"No, you're wrong. I'm not exaggerating... I may be currently stronger than you. But one day you will definitely become stronger than me. By then, you won't have to think about protecting me anymore. Do what you do, protect your sister, and do not use your power to kill others."

"S-sorry, I don't understand what you mean," Waldo's words sounded deep to the uneducated Arthur.

"When people have power, they want to achieve something higher and use it arbitrarily. It creates a system of 'the strong will eat; the weak will die' in this world. I wish for a world where everyone can live, not only with strength. I want people with power to use their power to protect, not kill others. I hope you will become that kind of person."

Arthur still didn't understand the details, so he only answered the parts he understood.

"For sure, you don't want me to become a murderer, right? Don't worry Mr Waldo; I need the power to kill monsters and challenge dungeon! And I will only use this power to protect you and your dreams! I will never kill a human!"

Then the next day, when they finally entered the dungeon.

Arthur had not kept a single promise he had made to Waldo.

Waldo's body being split in half by Allen made him realize how weak he was and how rotten all the sweet words he had said to Waldo were.

"Using this power to protect him? What the hell? What power are you talking about? You don't have it at all," Arthur said to himself.

As he watched Waldo die in front of him, he could only remain silent in the dungeon. He was frightened by the figure of Allen in front of him. The boy he knew in the dungeon turned out to be a monster who killed everyone, including the person he respected the most. It was at that moment that Arthur's purpose changed. Since he couldn't protect Waldo, he had to avenge him. So hatred grew in him, and he broke his promise not to kill humans.

No, he doesn't think about killing humans; he just wants to kill Allen because Allen is not human to him. But the hatred bubbling up inside her turned out to be only a small amount compared to Allen's hatred. The hatred Allen had for humans was much greater than his, making him unable to do anything about it.

Arthur bore witness to everything that happened on that fateful day. As he stood there, he saw Allen's tear-streaked face contorted in anguish before the Queen Orc's corpse. The raw agony etched on Allen's face mirrored the pain that Arthur and his sister had felt when they were torn apart from their parents. Arthur realized his hatred wasn't big enough at that time. Because he "rationalized" that Allen's searing emotions, which eventually drove him to take the life of Waldo, were only "natural" under the circumstances.

He felt sympathy for Allen and thought that what Allen did was not totally wrong.

But all of that was only in his subconscious.

When he thought about how he had broken his promise to Waldo and how his life would now go on without Waldo, his ego forced him not to accept Allen's actions, and he blamed Allen based on

JUSTICE

Arthur's ego forces him to hate Allen by making up various reasons why he should hate him.

-After Waldo died, what would happen to his family? When Arthur thought about it, he hated Allen even more for killing Waldo.

-After Waldo dies, what about his sister who already liked Waldo? His hatred grew more

-What will happen to Waldo's fiancée, who always waits for his return? His hatred grew even more.

He thought about everything many times, and the hatred grew unnaturally within him.

Waldo's death was natural? That's impossible! The boy was at fault!

Were the humans at fault for attacking Allen and Queen Orc? That was impossible! From the beginning of the child's existence, it was wrong! A monster with humans is impossible!

That child will never be a good human in the future!

He will only bring disaster

He is a monster inside a human vessel!

And that is not something that should exist in this world!

His denial made him think that he had to hate that child. He had to kill the boy, or even if he didn't have to... At the very least, the child would meet his end at the hands of Leofric. His denial had escalated into something far more sinister, and there was no turning back now.

But no,

Leofric decided to let the boy live

'Huh? Are you kidding me? If you don't want to kill him, then I will do it myself!'

Then he was imprisoned by Leofric for trying to kill Allen. While he was in prison, he could no longer see his sister.

And to add to her hatred for Allen, she blamed Allen. Because of Allen's existence, he was now leaving her sister alone.

'That's right; I left Susan alone because Allen killed Lord Waldo! Because of him, I was forced to avenge Sir Waldo and leave Susan! Everything is his fault! He's a monster that shouldn't be allowed to live!'

'THAT BASTARD PRINCE MUST BE WRONG TO HAVE ALLOWED THAT CHILD TO LIVE.'

'You'll see, that child will become a terrible person who will only kill! He will kill all humans because he hates them so much. He will continue to hate humans until he dies!'

But...

"I beg you... please let this girl live," Allen said with a trembling voice.

When she finally met with Allen again, the person she hated so much and wanted to kill was now pleading in front of him.

"I can feel the hatred you feel for me. That means you don't need this girl, right? I will give you my life, so please let this girl live," Allen said again.

Allen had lost his purpose in life because Leofric was dead. He already had no other ideas to save Felicia. So he chose to beg. At least he wanted Felicia to live.

Arthur couldn't believe what was in front of him. Allen, who used to rampage like a monster, killing all the humans brutally, was now begging for another person's life.

"Don't play with me..." Arthur's voice began to tremble like he was going to cry.

"WHY! WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING THAT GIRL?! YOU! THE SON OF A FILTHY MONSTER! WHO ALREADY HATES HUMANS BECAUSE YOUR MOTHER DIED! THEN WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING HUMANS?!" Arthur's aura exploded brutally. His desire to kill Allen was growing, but if he killed Allen now, he would be the same as when he was defeated. He wouldn't be able to get rid of the hatred inside him. If he killed Allen, who didn't resist at all, then there would be no point in him harboring hatred for revenge.

All his expectations of Allen were shattered.

Arthur could see it... Allen, whom he thought would only be a monster who continued to kill humans, was now protecting a human. Allen's eyes which he saw now, were different from Allen's eyes before. Allen's eyes looked sincere and desperate; he really just wanted to save the girl behind him.

Looking at Arthur's face, Allen slowly replied,

"This girl is... an important person to me. After I lost my mother, my only goal was to avenge her, so I held an excellent hatred toward humans. But after I left the dungeon, I met good people who were happy to help others. This girl was one of them. She was always trying to get others to accept her and do good things for everyone, even for people like me who often looked at her with a hateful gaze.

So I beg you... You can take this life, but please let this girl live."

Allen's answer made Arthur even angrier.

Because in front of him right now...

Allen looked similar to the Queen Orc as he desperately asked Leofric and him to let Allen live.

'THIS IS NOT TRUE, RIGHT?! THIS MUST NOT BE TRUE! YOU'RE NOT THIS KIND OF PERSON, ALLEN!"Arthur thought.

"SCREAM! GO BERSERK! SHOW YOUR STRENGTH! YOU'RE A MONSTER WHO KILLS HUMANS! THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE PROTECTING SOMEONE!"

As Arthur stood there, his tears filled his eyes, yet they refused to fall. His voice grew hoarse, and anger coursed through him. He wanted to vent his frustration, but he couldn't bring himself to lash out any longer. Arthur didn't know what to do if Allen became like he was now. He had no idea how to handle a situation like this.

Allen bowed his head, then said

"I'm sorry."

Arthur shook his head, still not believing what he saw, but Allen did things that were not in accordance with what he thought.

At this rate...

At this rate...

I'm the one who looks like a murderous monster!

That's what Arthur thought. Who saw Allen as similar to the Queen Orc.

And just then he remembered Waldo's words to him "I want people with powers to use their powers to protect others, not to kill others. I hope you'll be that kind of person."

This means that the person Waldo is hoping for is someone like Allen. Who is currently protecting the people who matter to him. While Arthur was the opposite, he used his power to kill people who were trying to protect others.

Arthur's tears, rolling down his eyes, now fell. So did the sword in his hand.

He bowed his head and covered it with both hands, crying over everything he had done.

Not only had he broken his promise to Waldo to protect him, but he had also trampled on Waldo's hopes for him.

"I'm sorry, Mr Waldo."