Now, after so many years, the 27-year-old Zephyr—who had finally let go of the family that saw him as worthless—let out a hollow laugh as something sharp tore through his stomach. Blood poured from the wound, soaking his prison uniform in a deep red.
He had tried his best to run...
Just like all the other prisoners who fled. Just like the guard who abandoned him.
He tried his best to survive.
But as someone who couldn't see, how much could he truly do?
Fate clearly had other plans.
Zephyr gripped the thing embedded in his stomach with trembling fingers. It was very smooth... like the surface of a seashell. He couldn't see the beast in front of him—only a big, dark blur, the sound of its screeching, and the foul stench of its acrid breath.
The creature flung him aside, only to seize his leg and drag him toward the portal that had opened a short distance away—maybe intending to store him as food for its kids.
It was far too fast on its legs and too strong for Zephyr to even put up a fight.
Yet, his mind kept echoing a single desperate thought: He didn't want to die.
He didn't want to die.
How amusing.
He had nothing.
Yet he still wanted to live.
He screamed for help, but no one came.
So he struggled—helpless, frantic—until, ultimately, he was dragged into the portal that had opened inside the prison. Despite the pain tearing through his body, he clung to life. The agony became unbearable as many creatures ripped him apart piece by piece… excruciating and relentless.
And yet, through the torment, the words that escaped his lips never changed.
"I don't... want to die..."
And then, as if something sealed deep within him had finally been unlocked, a flicker of light flashed across his form.
Had anyone been there, they would have witnessed how his broken form began to greedily absorb the mana thick in the air—pulling it in like a massive, starving void.
So much so, even the small monsters feeding on his flesh recoiled in fear.
Then, it happened. A dark, corrosive aura erupted from his body, killing every living creature in the dungeon before vanishing without a trace—as if it had never existed.
And yet, Zephyr's pain only intensified.
It was unbearable, maddening.
He felt like he was going insane, losing all sense of himself. He couldn't hear, couldn't see—there was only unbearable pain.
After what felt like an eternity, faint, dark shapes began to appear in the grayness—silhouettes that resembled human figures.
So, he begged.
"Please..."
He didn't know if there was even anything left of his body, but still, he reached out to the shadows. Desperately.
"Please... save me..."
His breath was fading.
Just as he thought he was about to die… someone suddenly grabbed his hand. The touch was electric—warm—a feeling that made him gasp. For some reason, he felt that touch alone was enough to save him.
But then, something began to flow through his body, and he felt euphoric. It was sweet—unbearably so. One second he was dying, and the next, he felt like he was alive again.
How can it be...?
How could something feel so sweet?
So impossibly beautiful—even though he couldn't see it?
His loudly pounding heart skipped a beat when the person touching him started to pull away. He instantly seized their hand.
So fast that it startled those watching.
No, he couldn't let go.
He pressed his face against their body, causing them to tense. Instinctively, the words slipped from his lips.
"My salvation… you're finally here?"
A single tear slid down his cheek.
Then, like a dam breaking, all the pent-up emotions finally poured out. He choked on his breath and forced the words through it.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
Right then and there, he made a vow: no matter who this person was, he would do whatever they asked of him—forever.
He would stay with them. Forever.
He would do anything to make it happen.
The person in his arms shouted and even pounded on his back, but it was as if nothing could reach him. Zephyr wrapped his arms around them and even tightened his grip.
Lucien groaned.
"This is exactly why I didn't want to deal with Espers who have clearly lost their minds!"
He turned and glared at the people behind him, some of whom were mocking him.
'Screw the protagonist and his lover! Why the hell do I have to suffer through all this? It was his lover's job to handle Espers on the verge of rampage! She's an S-rank guide, for God's sake! But he's making me do it—just because the previous owner of my body was in love with him and did everything he said?'
Lucien shot a sharp glare at the man clinging to him like a lost, oversized puppy—fed up.
'And who the hell is this guy? Why is he so damn strong—and why won't he let go?'
It had only been half a month since Lucien transmigrated into a novel he had read—the same one he had given a zero-star review—and he was already sick of the nonsense.
Reading a messed-up novel—where even the protagonist was half a villain—and living in it as a cannon fodder character were two completely fucking different things!
He didn't sign up for this shit, alright!