Hellhound

Zane was struck with such terrible abdominal pain that he thought his lower abdomen was going to tear apart.

The pain was so intense that if it had been an ordinary person, they would have fainted or died from shock.

But despite all this, Zane still maintained a look of interest.

'... The manahole has grown bigger. Why?'

**Manahole.**

A vessel of mana that exists in an abstract form within the **danjeon**.

In this world, it is called a "manahole."

And each person has a certain amount of innate manahole.

Just as humans cannot acquire webbed feet no matter how much they hone their swimming skills, the total amount of manahole does not change no matter what you do.

... That would have been the general consensus.

But.

'Is this the result of the union that arises when the positive and the negative meet?'

The Black Magic Way and Divinity.

In the process of black and white colliding, a completely unexpected result had been produced.

Iron becomes hard when heated in fire and cooled in water.

Muscles grow through a process of tearing and healing.

Soon, pure mana began to accumulate in the large, solid manahole.

Even Zane, who was well-versed in all sorts of supernatural arts to reach the pinnacle of black magic, found it a remarkable phenomenon.

'Having divinity within one's body... It's something I've never even thought about.'

The reason was simple.

Divine power is an innate talent.

It is a power that cannot be obtained no matter how hard one tries.

A strange smile soon appeared on Zane's lips.

"... The key to increasing the size of a manahole was in something like divine power."

A mana training method that mixes black magic and divine power.

If he added the various magical knowledge he already knew to this newly discovered mana cultivation method…?

Suddenly, it occurred to him that it wouldn't take long to get back to where he was before.

'Five years… No, three years would be enough. Maybe it would be possible to surpass the realm of my previous life even sooner...'

Right then.

*Bang!*

The dormitory door burst open with a loud noise.

Zane raised his head, wondering what was going on, and saw a male student laughing unpleasantly.

It was the boy who had struck Zane on the back of the head just a few dozen minutes ago.

"Hey, did you skip class?"

"..."

"What happened to Zane all of a sudden? Thanks to that, there was no one to buy bread, so I had to skip snacks today."

"..."

"But you're really stupid. We're roommates, so do you think you can avoid it just by skipping one class? If that were the case, you'd have been beaten like a dog by me for the past few months, right? Think about it."

Finally, he wiggled his finger at Zane.

"Then, shall we continue the conversation we couldn't finish earlier, Zane? Come out to the garbage dump behind the lecture hall."

---

In the corner of the garbage dump stood two male students.

They were wagging their fingers toward a corner of the garbage dump.

"Come here. Ugh, ugh, ugh."

There, a small puppy was shivering.

A white puppy that looked less than three months old.

*Squeak-squeak.*

The white puppy approached the boys while keeping an eye on them, even though it was shaking.

And.

*Boom!*

A male student kicked the puppy.

*Wake up!*

The white puppy hid in the corner of the garbage dump, screaming loudly.

And the two boys giggled and snapped their fingers again.

"Come here. I'm sorry about earlier. This time, I'll really give you food. Sigh."

The white puppy looked at the two, trembling.

Was it because it missed the warmth of people?

The puppy started walking toward them again.

And.

"It's my turn now!"

This time, another boy kicked her.

*Puck.*

The puppy flew away like a broken kite and crashed into a pile of trash.

This time, it couldn't move again.

"Huh? It's already over. How many times have you been kicked?"

"Anyway, these days, wild dogs have no spirit. Where would they get a piece of food like that, huh?"

The two boys looked away with indifferent expressions.

At that time.

"Oh? Nice timing! Here comes a stronger dog."

The corners of their mouths twisted with malice.

Zane, the one they always harassed, had arrived.

"Woooooooooo- Come on, come on, our Zane."

"I'm really stressed out because I have final exams coming up soon. I need to really relax today."

"Hey, don't touch my face. If the class president finds out, we'll be in trouble again."

The three boys gathered together, giggling and wagging their fingers.

At that time.

"I see."

Zane's mouth opened.

"Zane... Is it because some of our names overlap that I am in this body?"

The expressions of the three boys turned confused as Zane muttered to himself.

Whether so or not, Zane continued.

"There is power in a true name. That's why it's important to call someone else by their name. It may also be fate that some of our names overlap."

"What the hell are you talking about, you punk?"

The expressions of the three male students contorted into menacing looks.

But, whether it bothered Zane or not, he was extremely calm.

'Good. I've received a new body, so I'll repay you.'

Zane quietly raised a finger.

The most basic of all the black magic he knew.

A spell so familiar that reciting it was unnecessary.

Grave Ministry.

The beginning and end of black magic that raises the dead. The first and the last.

Soon, a stream of dark mana began to flow along Zane's fingers.

*Tsksksksk… …*

In an instant, the expressions on the three boys' faces changed.

"...uh?"

Even though they were rookies, they were actually candidates for the priesthood.

It must be because they instinctively felt a sense of alienation from the dark mana flowing from evil.

The boys instinctively released the divine power they had accumulated within their bodies.

*Kwakwakwakwakwa!*

Their divine power was like three candles placed before a dark storm.

"What, what the hell!"

"All the divine power has been scattered..."

"Ugh, ugh... ugh..."

The boys collapsed on the floor, their heads turned toward the dark torrent flowing in one direction.

The place where dark mana gathered in a violent whirlpool was a corner of the garbage dump.

Soon, the three male students' eyes grew wide as if they were going to tear apart.

"...!"

"...!"

"...!"

There, something was stirring.

A small, white puppy with a cold, stiff body.

*Kurrururururur!*

Soon, a demonic beast, with its fur and flesh completely burned off and its white bones burning with black flames like a mane, raised its head and began to glare at them.

And the expressions of the three male students looking at it turned pale.

"... Hel-Hellhound?"