Kaiser Remington

"Brother?" I can hear Flora calling my name but my vision was blurry and I can't define her facial expressions.

"F-Flora?" I called out but my throat was hoarse from my shouting at the battle that happened at the Hall. "Where are they?" I asked.

"Father and mother?" She replied back.

"Yes, Flora."

"If you couldn't even save me, what do you think happened to them?" She coldly replied with her hair covering her eyes.

"Sorry."

"You can't save anything… anyone. You're just like the old you." She said.

"What did you just say?" I replied with my eyes still blurry.

"…" Flora didn't reply but she just walked away.

"Flora?! Please don't go. Flora!" I shouted but she didn't even bother to look at me. "FLORAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

"Wake up!" Someone shouted as they slapped my face.

I woke up with tears bursting out from my eyes like a broken dam. I looked up and I was lying down the young girl's lap.

"Grandma, he's now awake." She said looking away from me then looked again at me.

"Where.. am I?" I asked with a weak voice.

"Young man, you should not speak for a while. You're unconscious for about three days that's why your body must felt very weak." The voice of an old lady said.

"Can I heal him now?" The young girl asked the old lady.

"Yes, he's already awake. You can already heal him by now." The old woman replied.

"Okay!!" The young girl rejoiced as she hovers her hand through me and healed my weak body.

"…" A shed of white and green light enveloped my entire body as I slowly regained my strength.

Several seconds have passed and she stopped her spell. "Now you're wounds are healed."

I raised my head from her lap and touched the bandage wrap around my torso. I'm surprised because the wounds really are now healed.

"Where am I right now?" I asked as I looked around the unfamiliar territory.

"You're in the middle floor of the upper domain of this dungeon." The young girl said to.

"Middle floor? Upper domain" I replied with confusion visible on my face.

"Oh my, how forgetful I am. Of course, you're new here." The old lady said as she walked outside then looked at me. "We must first eat before I tell you everything in this domain after you came."

As we were walking down the terrain, there's an enormous amount of monsters lying on the ground, beheaded. I felt that something was wrong so I opened my God's vision, I gasped as I see a large amount of residual mana emitting from the dead bodies. I can feel myself thirst at the amount of mana that I'm currently seeing.

"Do you want to look at them?" The old lady said as she noticed me looking at them.

"Yes, can I stay here for a moment? I'll follow up." I said right back with a calm voice.

"Okay, Lucy, stay with him. If suddenly, a monster attacked you, you must run. It's really dangerous out here." She commanded the young girl.

"So your name's Lucy huh." I whispered.

"Okay!! I'll protect big brother!" She happily said.

"hmm?" I just wondered out of the blue.

The old lady turned her back at us as she walked away.

"Lucy, let's go." I said as I looked at her. As I stared at her, she looks like Flora but much smaller. She looks younger than us but I'm wondering what in the world is she doing in this domain. I started to remember my first experience in coming here and if my memory is correct, Caedric's party and I were at the middle floor and the monsters are so strong back there which means that…

"Are we not going?" Lucy asked as she interrupts my sudden thought.

"Oh sorry, let's go." I said at her. She tightly holds my hand and I can sense that she's really afraid of these monsters. I think it's safe to assume that the beheading was caused by a much stronger monster.

As we were closing the distance between the dead bodies, the terrain that is colored by the green plants was slowly turning into red.

"What are you gonna do to them, big brother?" Lucy asked.

"Just taking a look at them."

I kneeled before the largest monster that's dead as well and it's overflowing in mana. I used my shadow magic in my hands and it's quickly absorbing the mana or what may seem like life energy. 'Woah, what's this power?' I thought as the mana keeps running through my veins and filling up my drained mana body.

"Brother? What's happening? Why are you sweating and.. smiling?" She said with a trembling voice.

"Oh, please don't be scared. I just found that this monster is quite special." I said at her. "Let me take a look at this monster for a moment okay?" I said at her as I looked at her with a smiling face while rubbing the monster's thick feathers.

It took me three minutes in emptying the mana of the dead beasts and my mana body right now is brimming with energy. "Let's go, Lucy."

"Kay." She said as she held my hand with hers.

As we were exiting and heading to the road we took earlier, I suddenly felt strange movements behind us so I stopped her and looked at the grass.

"Who's there?" I said at the anonymous presence. I used my god's vision and saw a lightning magic residual emitting from one of the trees.

"Tsk" I clicked my tongue as I saw a large wolf taller than us jumping from the tree to the ground, growling as saliva was hanging from its large fangs.

"Let's go!" I shouted at Lucy as I carried her in my arms and ran with mana imbued in my legs increasing my speed.

I looked back and saw the giant beast chasing us, what I'm scared of isn't my life right now but Lucy's.

I trailed off the road to avoid the old lady getting caught as we move forward. I looked back and saw the large wolf closing its distance to us.

"Listen Lucy." I called at her hugging the remaining of my shirt. "I want you to escape from here. I'm going to hold the monster so please escape." She just looked at me but I hope she listens.

"Please be safe, big brother!" She said as she cried but quickly hid it from me.

I skid down the hill and slightly pushed Lucy. "Now Lucy, run!"

The wolf tries to get her but I immediately punched its throat throwing it to the rubbles near the stream of water.

It looked at me with its deadly eyes as it prepared to get up again. I imbued more mana and shadow magic at my legs and hands as I dashed with more speed to target its limbs.

"Faster! I'll never let Flora say those words again!" I shouted with more magic brimming in me as I target the enemy.

It leaped right at me with incredible speed but I managed to dodge by skipping to the right side and strike a punch full of mana to its legs. The large beast was more angered as he stumbled and howled as he rises up this time, this time the wolf uses its own electric magic.

"Shit, I'm overpowered." I bit my lips as the wolf's physique begun to increase in size.

I accidentally hit the handle of my knife and remembered my father's weapon. I smiled as I drew it out of my side.

As I was preparing for our round two, a familiar voice shouted from the small hill. "Big brother! I came for help!" Lucy shouted.

What have you done Lucy?

The voice gets the attention of the beast and it immediately ran in Lucy's directions.

"LUCY!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs but Lucy just stood there, trembling in fear.

As the beast was closing its distance, the world was like in slow motion, the decisions needed to make were crucial and one mistake will be Lucy's despair.

Being so desperate as I was, I put everything in this last resort that I have in my mind. This time, I will pour all of my mana reserves and my shadow magic.

I imbued more magic and mana into my body and clutched my legs and foot, after that, I vanished as I teleported behind Lucy's shadow. At first, I was surprised because I never thought that it would work but I can't think of this since the large beasts were at least one meter in front of us.

I dashed in front of Lucy and thrust my knife to the wolf's thick neck and defended Lucy in my back using my free hand.

The wolf died in my attack and we did survive the chase. However, the payment was my left hand which is bitten and cut by the beast.

"Gah!" Blood gushes out my open wound as it was too deep and shocked by the beast's magic.

Lucy didn't scream but she cried so hard because she's blaming herself for my injury.

"Lucy, look at me." I ordered her and she did follow me. "I want you to show me your healing magic in its most basic form."

She nodded and closed her eyes then formed her hand in a circle shape, after that, she conjured a whitish-green orb that seems to be her magic.

I put my hand in front of it and looked through my mana body. I'm thinking of copying her magic right now and it seems that it's working. A sudden gust of shadow smoke hovers around the orb and my mana body registered it in a form of a small orb just like my shadow magic when I first used it.

| Magic Structure Copied |

"It's done, Lucy."

I used healing magic to close the wound and I absorbed the wolf's mana residual.

She looked at me with an apologetic face but I reassured her that I'm not upset. We walked again for minutes and I decided to break the ice. "Lucy, life is more important than everything and I just want you to know that I didn't save you for nothing." I said to her with a smiling face.

She nodded and cried again for a couple of minutes but after that, she's clingy than before.

We reached the cave and the old lady was worried because of the look on her face. Lucy smiled and ran towards her and hugged her.

"Oh Lucy, what happened?" The old lady said as she pats Lucy's head.

The old lady look at my hand wrapped in the bandage that I took from my chest that was placed when I got here.

"What in the world happened to you?" She asked me with a worried face.

"We were attacked by a large gray wolf with lighting on it! But brother saved me!" Lucy said.

The old lady's eyes widened as Lucy described it. "How could a child like you survive that?"

"Why?" I asked.

"That is the wolf that's been on a rampage on this floor for many years and you've just killed it with just your hand cut off." She emphasized. "But I'm glad that you're safe. I must say, the dungeon's defected son is the one."

"What do you mean the one?" I asked.

"Don't worry I'll tell you more later. For now, let's eat the food that I prepared." She offered.

"Is there some waterfalls or river here?" I asked her while scratching my head.

"Oh, taking a bath first? Just go deep in this cave and you'll find a stream of clean water." She pointed at the deep side of the cave.

"Thanks."

After reaching the stream of water, I relaxed in its cold sensation and begun to check my vitals and mana body.

My mana body's still on the orange color level but now, it has two element orbs embedded in it – the shadow and healing magic.

I removed the bandage from my injured hand and took my destroyed hand that I took on my pocket.

I concentrated my energy on my wounded hand and used my healing magic.

| Heal | I cast as I stick my hand to my wounded left wrist. The heat was so intense that the cold water I felt earlier was gone. Sweat was falling for a couple of minutes as I concentrated my magic on healing myself.

"Perfect." I smiled as I open and close my healed left hand.