Kim Wooju, dragged away by the government as an S-rank Esper, had no relatives and no guardians—he was, quite literally, the government’s perfect test subject.
And of all things, his initial awakening ability had to be regeneration.
'Those lunatics… the government… No wonder Kim Wooju became a villain.'
To see just how far an S-rank’s regenerative ability could go, the government experimented on him endlessly.
Anything you’d normally test on white rats in the lab—new drug trials, invasive procedures—every bit of it was done to Kim Wooju’s body.
Once he became an adult, his role expanded. Test subject by day, dungeon shield by night.
And yet, like an idiot, Kim Wooju actually felt satisfaction from being “needed.”
No longer wanting to be abandoned, he understood perfectly well with his sharp mind that he was being used—yet he made no attempt to escape.
He endured everything in silence, grateful for the fact he was of use.
Perhaps, in some twisted way, he was even content.
But that life couldn’t last.
Kim Wooju happened to be an Esper who was notoriously difficult to Guide.
Because there wasn’t a single Guide whose match ratio aligned with him, he constantly suffered from lack of Guiding.
Sure, he could force himself to be Guided, but his body was hypersensitive, and the side effects were severe.
Called all over the place, yet never properly stabilized—what do you think happened?
In the end, Kim Wooju went into Rampage.
Not that it was anything dramatic.
It was just an overload—his abilities wouldn’t manifest anymore. He’d pushed himself so hard that he couldn’t even Rampage properly.
Only then did the government discard him.
Unable to heal his injuries, half-crippled, Kim Wooju was now useless.
Though still alive, the government threw him into the corpse disposal site as if he were already dead.
Corrupted at last, Kim Wooju swore to survive no matter what and take revenge. In that abandoned corpse site, he awakened a second ability and clawed his way back to life.
From then on, he became a villain. He vowed to destroy both the damn government and the world that had cast him aside, forming a new faction.
That faction was Boxcode.
Had it not been for the protagonist, Kim Wooju would have succeeded.
That’s how thorough, how perfect his decades of preparation had been.
Seeing him silently enduring pain like this now… it must be during those years when he was still the government’s dog.
The slow healing of his stomach wound must have been because of Guiding deficiency.
Then the day Kim Wooju breaks away from the government isn’t far off.
Thinking about the unspeakable suffering he still had to go through made me feel strangely unsettled.
“This pretty-boy face pisses me off. Hey, hand me the knife.”
“Yeah. Here.”
“Let me carve a real man’s scar into him.”
The brown-haired man grabbed Kim Wooju by the collar. Wooju, blank-faced, showed no reaction, even as the knife was brought to his pale cheek.
Just as the blade was about to cut into his white skin, I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Graaahhh!”
Enough!
“Wh-what the hell is that!”
“Isn’t that a lizard?”
“You idiot, it’s got wings. Ever seen a lizard with wings?”
“Graaaaaaaahhh!”
'Who are you calling a lizard!'
I roared at the startled brown-haired thugs, flapping into the air. With a snap of my jaws, I sank my teeth into the hand gripping Wooju’s collar.
“Aaagh! This damned lizard!”
“Mmff! Mmmfff! Not… a… lizard!”
“Hey! Get it off me!”
“W-wait, hold still!”
They rushed toward me, trying to pry me loose.
'Not a chance.'
I clenched harder, fully intending to leave that hand useless.
That was when someone quickly came up and grabbed me.
Careful, almost gentle hands. I rolled my eyes upward to see who dared touch me.
“…Bambam. You don’t eat that. Bad. Spit it out.”
…What? Bambam?
I gaped in disbelief.
Seizing the moment, Kim Wooju scooped me into his arms and pulled me away from the brown-haired man.
He didn’t stop there—he shoved his hand right into my mouth, digging from the roof clear down to the back of my throat, fingers raking around as if to scrape it clean.
At first he was cautious, but soon his touch grew rougher, scraping past my molars, prodding deep against my tongue. My breathing grew tighter, choking.
At first, I was too stunned to react. But as the suffocation set in, my senses snapped awake and I thrashed violently.
“Mmmff! Mmmff, mmmmfff!”
'What the hell are you doing! Get your hand out!'
“…Bad. Bad. I’ll clean it properly with my hand.”
'You lunatic. Your hand’s just as filthy!'
“Ah.”
“Graaargh!”
Finally I bit down lightly, and only then did Wooju pull his hand out.
I glared daggers at him.
But he wasn’t looking at me.
Instead, he stared at his hand, drenched in my saliva, swallowing hard.
The look in his eyes was unsettling, a strange flicker—did this bastard have some twisted fetish? My scales prickled all over.
Just when it seemed he might shove that saliva-coated hand into his own mouth, he casually wiped it on his clothes instead, then looked at me with his usual blank gaze.
'…What the hell. Did I imagine it?'
Relieved, I told myself there was no way he’d be aroused by a dragon.
“You bastards!”
The brown-haired man charged with his knife.
Wooju hugged me tightly, shielding me.
I let out a heavy sigh.
'Idiot. This is when you either run or fight back. Bracing to take the hit? Figures.'
It was crystal clear how Wooju had lived his life.
I fixed my eyes on the charging thug.
He’d already pissed me off enough.
Calling me a lizard?
Wooju aside, you need a beating, punk.
Dare to tug a dragon’s whiskers? Don’t think you’ll walk out of this dungeon intact.
Earlier, my body had acted on instinct before my magic caught up. This time, it’s different.
Curling my lip into a cruel grin, I laughed like the Corrupted Dragon I was.
'…You’re dead, kid.'
***
“Graaahhh!”
With my roar, the brown-haired thug was swept up by magic and hurled against a tree with a heavy crash.
“W-what? Why are you… are you okay?”
“Cough—urgh. Wh-what was that just now? Wind?”
“Grrraaaahhh!”
'Serves you right.'
Surely they didn’t think this was over?
This was just the beginning.
Fixing my gaze on the dumbfounded lot, I summoned a wind far fiercer than before.
The howling gale twisted into a vortex, then into a black storm, a hurricane raging strong enough to swallow everyone whole.
Within that storm, only Kim Wooju and I remained untouched.
“C-crazy… what the hell is that?”
“R-run!”
Pale-faced, they bolted in a panic.
As if I’d let them escape.
My will infused the storm. In an instant, it swallowed the fleeing men, lifting them skyward.
Their screams echoed from dizzying heights.
“Uwaaaaahhh!”
“Save us! Aaaaaagh!”
For a moment I considered killing them outright. But if I killed too easily, what made me any different from when I lived as an assassin?
So no—I wouldn’t kill them.
I’d just plant a terror worse than death.
One they’d never forget.
I let them plummet like a bungee jump with no cord, only to stop them a hair’s breadth from smashing into the ground.
“Aaaaghhh!”
“P-please, stop! Aaghhh!”
After three repetitions, they foamed at the mouth and collapsed unconscious.
“Kuoo~”
Ahh, that hit the spot.
Snickering from Wooju’s arms, I flung the unconscious bodies toward the Gate with a flick.
Once I felt their presences vanish entirely beyond the Gate, I smiled in satisfaction.
“…Bambam.”
Ah, right—I’d gotten carried away and forgotten Wooju was still here.
I glanced up at him.
Wooju’s cheeks were faintly flushed as he looked down at me.