Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1891: Nothing but… Part-1

Just a few moments ago, after Lily had left the house with a furious expression, Grace and Lia watched as the woman Aether was holding suddenly began to fluctuate violently.

Her entire body distorted for a brief moment before disappearing completely, as though she had never existed in the first place.

Lia’s expression was filled with pure joy, but Grace’s eyes narrowed.

Right before her eyes, something emerged from the place where the woman had vanished. A faint glow drifted outward, circling Aether once before rising silently toward the sky.

“…” Grace’s expression tightened as she watched the strange phenomenon. After a moment, she simply shook her head inwardly.

“My baby!” Lia hurriedly shouted as she wrapped her arms around her son.

She held him tightly, believing he might finally break down after everything that had happened.

After all, as a proper mother, wasn’t it her duty to let her son cry safely in her embrace?

Only her duty!!

Aether’s expression slowly stirred as his consciousness returned. When he opened his eyes, he remained silent for several seconds, staring blankly at the empty cloak his mother had left behind.

“Don’t cry, Baby… Mommy’s here,” Lia whispered, gently stroking his hair as she held him closer.

Aether’s expression softened slightly. He reached up and gently patted her head before saying,

“It’s alright… I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Lia was taken aback by the firmness in his gaze. Something about him felt different now.

His eyes seemed clearer than before, almost unnaturally calm, as though something within him had finally settled.

“Hmph!” She puffed out her cheeks and turned her face away in annoyance. ‘It must be that random woman did something to my son!’ she pouted.

Aether then turned toward Grace. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he spoke with genuine sincerity,

“Thank you, Grace… I won’t forget this.”

[+600 AP]

Grace merely gave him a quiet glance before nodding. She seemed to have something she wanted to say, but ultimately remained silent.

Then, without warning, Aether’s body flickered violently.

“Baby?” Lia’s eyes widened when she saw his form beginning to fluctuate as well. Her expression immediately darkened with suspicion. ‘Don’t tell me that random bitch is trying to take my son too?’

Aether noticed the fear behind her eyes. He gave her a gentle smile and lightly patted her forehead before slowly standing.

“I… I’m glad you’re here, Lia.”

Lia’s expression instantly softened. Hearing those words from her son filled her with a happiness so overwhelming that she nearly forgot the strange fluctuations surrounding him.

Still, concern quickly returned to her eyes.

“Are you feeling unwell?” she asked, studying his face carefully. “Should I take you somewhere? We can leave this place if you need to.”

Aether slowly shook his head. Despite the instability of his body, his voice remained strangely peaceful.

“Just stay here, My Lovely Mommy~.”

“KYUU!!”

The words struck Lia’s heart with such force that she nearly staggered backwards, as though an invisible arrow had pierced straight through her chest.

“Ha… Ha… Ha…” Lia’s entire face turned crimson. She panted heavily, drooling, her eyes trembling with overwhelming emotion as she stared at her son.

He had finally called her Mommy.

What more could a mother possibly ask for?

Grace watched the scene with an expression of utter contempt. The disgust in her eyes was so obvious that she did not even bother hiding it.

Aether stepped out of the house.

With every passing second, his body fluctuated faster and more violently, while deep within his Twin Domains, cracks continued spreading across the border between white and black.

Grace, whose true consciousness remained within Aether’s Twin Domain, frowned deeply as she sensed the instability spreading through it.

“Why is it breaking even faster?” she murmured, her eyes narrowing as she examined the fractures.

“His external condition appears completely normal, yet the internal structure is deteriorating at an increasing rate. What is happening to him…?”

Her voice carried genuine confusion.

The Manifested Grace flew toward the entrance and stopped beside the doorway. From there, she watched Aether standing beside Lily.

Lia followed shortly afterwards and stood beside Grace. Unlike Grace, however, she could not take her eyes away from her son.

“Will he be alright?” Lia asked, her voice carrying a trace of worry.

Before Grace could respond, both women suddenly flinched at the sound of a third voice.

“That is something only he can decide.”

They turned toward the source and saw a white-robed figure slowly approaching them, a staff held firmly in one hand. The hem of her robe moved gently with each step as she crossed the distance between them.

Grace’s expression immediately became cold when she recognised the Prophetess.

The Prophetess stopped before them and respectfully bowed her head, delicately holding the hem of her robe.

“It has been a long time, Elder Sister.”

Grace stared at her without warmth.

“So…” Grace finally said, her voice quiet and merciless.

“The faithless one has finally returned.”

The Prophetess’s fingers tightened around the hem of her robe.

She did not answer.

For a moment, neither woman spoke.

Grace eventually looked away from the Prophetess, her expression becoming completely unreadable.

Lia blinked in confusion. What had just happened? Elder Sister? Faithless? The words made no sense to her, but then her eyes fell upon the wooden staff the Prophetess was holding.

“Wait, isn’t that the same stick that knocked me out before?”

Lia looked at the Prophetess as though she had personally offended her.

Ssshhhhh~

The sky suddenly darkened as thick clouds gathered overhead, swallowing the remaining light as though something ominous was about to happen.

Their attention instinctively shifted back toward Aether.

Meanwhile, Aether looked at Lily. He could see that, despite being terrified, she was still standing before them with everything she had left.

What an incredible child… Arcane really knows whom to choose, doesn’t she?

Aether smiled softly. “Even without powers, you shine brighter than I do.”

He gently ruffled Lily’s hair before turning his attention toward the weak man lying nearby.

Aether’s expression softened even further as he extended his hand toward him.

“Stand up, Sir. You cannot let your child see you lying here like this.”

The weak man barely looked at Aether’s extended hand. His breathing was ragged, and his voice trembled as he struggled to speak.

“M-My child… S-She… is…”

“It’s alright. She will be alright.”

Aether said it with such a gentle smile that, for a moment, the broken man seemed to forget everything around him. The fear, the pain, and even the soldiers standing nearby seemed to fade from his mind as he slowly reached toward Aether’s hand.

“Oi! Who the fuck are you?” one of the armed men shouted as he pointed his gun at Aether.

The new boy was acting as though they were nothing more than air.

“Isn’t that him?” another armed man asked as he brought up a holographic image of Aether.

Both soldiers’ eyes widened as they compared the hologram with the man standing before them.

“Haha… We found them. Let’s capture them.”

“Raise your hands!” the armed man ordered sternly, keeping his gun trained on Aether.

Yet Aether only continued looking at the weak man.

“It’s alright…”

The weak man’s trembling hand finally reached toward Aether’s extended hand.

“Oi! I said raise your hands, motherfucker!” the armed man roared as he stepped closer and pressed the gun toward Aether’s forehead.

Aether did not even spare him a glance.

The soldier’s face twisted with anger, and his fingers tightened around the weapon. He wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger, but their orders were clear.

Their target had to be captured alive.

So instead, he slowly redirected the gun toward the weak man.

“Looks like I have to teach you something. Stand up, otherwise this fucker dies here.”

“…”

“Oi! I told you to stand up—Chkkk!

The armed man suddenly stopped speaking.

For a single second, everyone seemed to hold their breath. Even the Dead Walkers, who normally showed no concern for anyone around them, suddenly froze and stared.

The soldier’s jaw had disappeared.

Blood poured from his gasping mouth as his body remained frozen in place, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Drip… Drip…

Blood began dripping from the back of the gun that was now held in Aether’s hand.

His eyes glowed with furious intensity.

It had happened so quickly that no one else had even seen him move. Only Lia, Grace, and the Prophetess had witnessed what Aether had done.

The other armed soldier stood frozen for several seconds, desperately trying to process what had just happened.

Then his face twisted in terror.

“ARRHHHHH!!!”

Before he could react, Aether calmly raised the stolen gun, placed the nozzle against his own mouth, and pulled the trigger.

BANG!!

The second soldier collapsed instantly.

Two armed men had died within a fraction of a second.

“What the…”

Everyone stood utterly shocked as cold blood dripped onto the ground, staining the land that had swallowed the blood of countless innocents.

Meanwhile, Jonathan, who was standing a little farther away from the location, rubbed his earlobe as the distant sound reached him.

“What’s that sound? Go and check it,” he ordered, casually pointing toward several soldiers and sending them toward the disturbance.

His attention then returned to the house where Sasha had taken the girl for a bath. His eyes remained fixed on the building, his expression carrying a disturbing hunger as though he were already imagining what would happen inside.

After a moment, he glanced down at Allen, who was still kneeling before him with his head lowered, his face hidden beneath his hair.

“That’s how a dog should behave,” Jonathan said coldly. “You should be grateful that I haven’t killed you yet.”

A wicked grin slowly spread across his face.

“Don’t worry. Once we find your daughter… I’ll teach her how to behave first. Hahaha.”

THUNDER!!!

Lightning tore across the dark sky, briefly illuminating Jonathan’s twisted smile.

Far away, Aether looked toward the incoming armed soldiers.

They came toward him in formation, each carrying a different weapon suited for close combat. Guns, blades, axes, hammers, and other weapons were raised as they surrounded the area.

The instant their eyes fell upon him, recognition flashed across their faces.

“That’s him.”

“The same face from the hologram.”

“Don’t kill him. The order is to bring him back alive.”

Several soldiers immediately pointed their guns at Aether. Their fingers rested against the triggers, but none of them fired. They believed the weapons would be enough to force him into submission.

“Lower your weapon! Surrender now!” one of them shouted.

Aether continued walking toward them with his head lowered.

His footsteps were slow and almost peaceful against the ruined ground.

Deep within Aether, his Domains trembled violently. Cracks spread across their boundaries like fractures through glass, widening with every passing second. The borders separating the white and black Domains began to break apart, the distinction between them becoming increasingly unstable.

“The God (I) abandoned you all.”

His body flickered.

For an instant, No. 25 lowered his head.

“The Devil (I) laughed at your misery.”

His body flickered again.

No. 27 raised his head and laughed wickedly.

“LOWER YOUR WEAPON!” the soldiers shouted again.

Their voices were louder this time, but their confidence had begun to weaken.

Their guns trembled slightly in their hands.

Aether finally stopped.

“And I… closed my eyes.”

His body flickered violently.

This time, only No. 28 remained.

A single tear slipped from the corner of his trembling eye and rolled down his cheek before falling silently to the ground.

For a moment, the battlefield became strangely quiet.

This was not a story about who was right and who was wrong. After all, the ones who suffered were usually the people who had never been given a choice in the first place.

Some called it protection.

Others called it survival.

But when the excuses were stripped away, what remained was often nothing more than selfishness, fear, and the desire to gain something at another person’s expense.

“They call it protection when they are the ones holding the shield,” Aether murmured, his voice almost too quiet for the soldiers to hear.

“They call it survival when they are the ones standing behind the blade. But when another person is the one bleeding… suddenly, their suffering becomes an acceptable price.”

His gaze slowly lifted.

“These people treat their own kind as though their lives have no value. So tell me… what could anyone expect from monsters when they look upon those who are different from them?”

“LOWER YOUR WEAPON—Chuck!!

Aether disappeared from where he stood.

The nearest soldier barely had time to widen his eyes before Aether appeared directly beside him.

He rotated his wrist, caught the soldier’s gun arm, and used the man’s own momentum to pull him forward. With his other hand, Aether struck the side of his head with the back of the gun.

The impact twisted the soldier’s head violently backwards.

His body collapsed before anyone could react.

The remaining soldiers froze.

Aether stood among them without changing his expression.

“W-What the hell…?”

Someone instinctively stepped backwards.

Aether slowly raised his head.

His eyes flickered between black and white, the colours fighting within his gaze as though two opposing wills were struggling for control.

“E-Everyone, capture him!” another armed soldier shouted.

His voice cracked.

The order snapped the others back into motion.

“Shoot his legs!”

“Don’t hit his head!”

“Take him down!”

Several soldiers immediately aimed at Aether’s legs and opened fire.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!!

The bullets tore through the space where his legs had been.

They expected blood.

They expected shattered bone.

They expected Aether to collapse onto his knees.

Instead, his body flickered.

The bullets passed through him.

“W-What?”

The soldiers stared in disbelief.

Aether was already moving.

He stepped between two soldiers as they swung their weapons simultaneously. He lowered his body beneath the first blade, rotated his shoulder past the second, and slipped through the opening between them before either man could adjust.

One soldier raised a hammer and brought it down with all his strength.

Aether caught the soldier’s wrist with one hand.

The hammer stopped inches from his face.

The soldier’s eyes widened.

Aether twisted his wrist, redirected the man’s momentum, and pulled him forward. He seized the hammer with his other hand and drove its weighted head into the soldier’s chest.

BOOM!

The man was launched backwards and upward, his body crashing onto the crooked metal rods protruding from the old building.

Before the others could react, another soldier rushed toward Aether with a blade raised overhead.

Aether stepped sideways.

The blade missed him by barely an inch.

He caught the attacker’s wrist, turned his body, and used the soldier’s own forward momentum against him. With one sharp movement, Aether redirected the blade back toward its owner.

Chuckkk!

The soldier collapsed.

A third soldier charged from behind with an axe.

Aether sensed the movement without looking.

He ducked.

The axe passed over his head.

Aether immediately turned, struck the man’s wrist with the back of the gun, and forced the axe from his grip.

Before the soldier could recover, Aether drove the axe straight into his mouth.

!!!

Everyone was taken aback. Aether blankly dragged the body toward them as he stared at the remaining soldiers before violently chopping off its head.

Chucck!

The head landed right before their feet, their bodies trembling as they stared at him.

As they looked at Aether, fear began taking root deep inside them, spreading through their bodies faster than any command could suppress it.

THUNDER!!!

White lightning struck across the sky, illuminating the battlefield for a single instant. For that brief moment, Aether’s shadow seemed to stretch unnaturally across the ground, growing until it towered over the soldiers before him.

Aether coldly looked at them before taking another step forward.

The soldiers instinctively stepped backwards, fear flashing across their faces. For a second, none of them dared to move.

Then one of them screamed and charged toward him.

“YOU DIE!!”

The others followed, driven forward by panic rather than courage.

Aether remained completely still until the soldier came within range. He threw the axe with brutal precision.

WHOOSH!

The axe spun through the air and slammed directly into the soldier’s head.

The man’s body lost its balance and skidded across the ground before sliding to a stop at Aether’s feet.

Aether looked down at him without expression.

He reached down, grabbed the axe, and pressed his foot against the soldier’s chest. With a single violent pull, he dragged it upward.

Skkkrrrkkk!

The sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed across the settlements.

!!!

The soldiers charging behind him immediately stopped.

Several stumbled backwards as their courage shattered before their eyes.

“M-Monster!!”

They turned and ran.

Aether did not chase them.

He did not even look at them.

His gaze remained fixed straight ahead.

Not at the soldiers.

Beyond them.

Jonathan.

Then a voice echoed inside his mind.

“What? Becoming a saint now? After all the blood you’ve spilled?”

The voice laughed quietly.

“Hahaha… Don’t make me laugh.”

Aether continued walking.

One soldier tried to attack from his left.

Aether shifted aside, caught the man’s arm, and drove the axe into him before moving forward without even looking back.

Another charged from the right.

Aether stepped into the attack, redirected the weapon, and struck him down with a single movement.

Blood covered his clothes, staining the fabric that had once been clean. Drops ran down his arms and fell from his fingertips as he continued walking toward Jonathan.

It was true.

Whatever he did now would never change what his name had become.

He had killed too many people.

Whether this had been a war or something else entirely, the truth remained the same.

He had taken millions of lives.

Men.

Women.

The elderly.

… Children.

He had taken those lives, and he had watched countless people suffer directly before his eyes.

The voice returned, colder this time.

“Nobody will accept you.”

Aether’s footsteps slowed slightly.

“You are a monster.”