Kazuki didn’t know how long he had been in this hellhole. Days? Weeks? Maybe longer.
The dungeon beneath the royal palace was a nightmare carved from stone. The air was thick with the stench of mold, blood, and rotting flesh. Chains rattled in the darkness as prisoners groaned in agony.
Kazuki sat in his cold, damp cell, his body battered and bruised from countless torture sessions. He had stopped counting how many times they had beaten him, cut him, or branded his skin with strange runes. The pain had become a numb ache, but the rage inside him still burned.
"Why… Why did this happen to me?"
He was just a middle schooler. One moment, he was walking home from school, and the next, he was thrown into this cursed world, treated like a tool rather than a person.
Footsteps echoed down the stone corridor. Kazuki tensed, his breathing shallow. Was it time for another session?
A key clattered against the iron bars. The door swung open with a groan.
"You’re being moved," a guard muttered, grabbing Kazuki by the arm.
Kazuki didn’t resist. Not yet. He couldn’t—not until the right moment.
They dragged him through a long, dimly lit hallway. Faint torchlight flickered against bloodstained walls, the shadows stretching unnaturally.
Then, he heard them.
Screams.
Agonized wails from prisoners in other cells. Some begged for mercy. Others cursed the empire with their final breaths.
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The guards didn’t even flinch.
"This place… is hell."
They reached a large, circular chamber with an altar in the center. Magical symbols lined the floor, glowing with a sickly purple light. The high priest stood before the altar, a wicked smile on his face.
"It is time for the next phase of your transformation," the priest said. "The empire has no use for a weak summoned hero. But with enough pain, your true strength may awaken."
Kazuki’s heart pounded. He wasn’t going to survive this.
"If I don’t escape now… I’ll die here."
Then, something happened.
A loud boom shook the dungeon. Dust rained from the ceiling. The guards turned their heads just as a monstrous roar echoed from deeper within the castle.
"Shit! What was that?" one guard shouted.
The priest’s eyes widened. "An intruder?!"
This was his chance.
Kazuki lashed out.
He twisted his arm free and drove his elbow into a guard’s stomach. The man staggered back with a grunt. Without hesitation, Kazuki snatched the guard’s dagger and slashed his throat. Blood sprayed onto the stone floor.
The other guard drew his sword, but Kazuki ducked under the swing and drove his stolen blade into the man’s ribs.
The high priest took a step back, eyes wide. "Y-you filthy brat—!"
Kazuki didn’t let him finish. He grabbed the ritual candle from the altar and smashed it against the priest’s head. Flames erupted, igniting the old man’s robes.
The priest shrieked as fire consumed him.
Kazuki turned and ran.
The dungeon was in chaos. Beasts had broken free from their cages. He heard guards shouting, swords clashing, and monstrous roars shaking the walls.
He ran past rows of cells, catching glimpses of skeletal prisoners, broken souls who had given up on life. Some reached toward him weakly, their eyes empty.
Kazuki gritted his teeth.
"I’m sorry… but I can’t save you."
He sprinted through the corridors, dodging fallen debris and corpses. His lungs burned. His legs screamed for rest. But he couldn’t stop now.
Then, he saw it—
A ladder leading up to a rusted metal grate.
Hope surged through him.
He climbed, ignoring the pain in his muscles. With one final push, he forced the grate open and emerged into the night air.
The cold breeze hit him like a shock. His body trembled, but he forced himself to move.
The castle loomed behind him, its spires reaching toward the sky like monstrous claws. He was free, but the city was still dangerous.
"I need to get as far away as possible."
Kazuki took one last look at the place that had nearly broken him—
Then, he disappeared into the darkness.
