Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1914: This time, I will change everything!

Aether pulled his hoodie back, his expression immediately changing when he saw Allen’s grandmother covered in blood.

Blood stained her clothes and the floor beneath her, while several bloody handprints marked the walls as though she had struggled desperately against someone before collapsing.

“What just happened here?”

Shaking off his thoughts, Aether immediately moved toward her and knelt beside her. He pressed two fingers against her neck and carefully checked her pulse, needing to know whether she was still alive or had already died.

Ba…. dump…

A faint pulse answered his touch.

Aether quietly sighed in relief. He immediately retrieved a healing potion from his storage and carefully poured it into her mouth, making sure she swallowed as much of it as possible.

A gentle glow spread across her body, and the wounds on her calf slowly began to close. The bleeding stopped, leaving only faint traces of blood across her skin.

Aether stared at her healed calf, his brows tightening as he examined the injury.

‘She was left here bleeding?’ He frowned and looked over the rest of her body, searching for any other wounds, but there were none.

Only the wounds on her calf remained visible, and judging by their shape and depth, it seemed that some kind of blade or sword had caused them.

Aether frowned as he glanced back at the unconscious old woman.

‘What could have happened to her? Did she almost die during this period in the previous timeline as well?’ he wondered, unable to shake the uneasiness building inside him.

He gently tried to wake her, but she had lost so much blood that her body remained completely unresponsive. Even after the healing potion restored her injuries, the exhaustion from her blood loss was too severe for her to regain consciousness immediately.

Aether quietly lifted her from the bloody floor and carried her to the bed. He carefully laid her down, adjusting her position before staring at her with a confused and troubled expression.

Just then, something caught the corner of his eye.

The secret passage beneath the floor was open as well.

His eyes widened. He immediately turned toward it and hurried over, descending the narrow stone stairs without hesitation. The torchlight in his hand illuminated the walls as he moved deeper into the passage, his footsteps echoing faintly through the confined space.

When he finally reached the end, he stopped.

The chair was empty?

For a moment, Aether simply stared at it, his expression becoming increasingly tense.

“What’s going on here? Was she kidnapped during this period?”

His eyes slowly began to glow as a sudden surge of fury passed through him. Since he had arrived much earlier than he had in the previous timeline, he could no longer rely on his memories of what had happened here.

Maybe she had been kidnapped.

Maybe someone had taken her away, and Allen had somehow managed to bring her back afterwards.

‘Could that really be what happened?’

His thoughts became increasingly tangled as he stared at the empty chair. There were too many possibilities, but only one person could give him a definite answer.

That old woman lying unconscious upstairs.

Just as Aether turned around and began walking back, his ears suddenly twitched.

Footsteps?

His expression changed instantly. He clicked his tongue and immediately turned off the torch in his hand, plunging the passage into darkness once again. He stood completely still as the approaching footsteps grew louder, steadily making their way toward the stairs.

‘Fuck.’

He cursed inwardly as he listened carefully.

A moment later, two cloaked figures entered the passage. One of them raised a torch, its flickering light sweeping across the dark walls and illuminating the narrow corridor.

Flickering light danced across the passage as the two figures advanced cautiously.

Flick!

Then one of them suddenly stopped.

“I think I saw something moving over there.”

The woman’s voice echoed quietly through the passage as she pointed toward the corner. The other figure immediately redirected the torchlight toward the spot she had indicated.

The light slowly swept across the wall.

There was nothing there.

“Huh? But there’s nothing there…”

“Hmm? Maybe it was just the light flickering?”

“Whatever it was, hurry up.”

The two cloaked figures continued deeper into the passage, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone walls. However, the moment they reached the end and saw the empty chair, both of their faces turned pale beneath their hoods.

“Oh God… what are we going to do now? She’s gone.”

The man’s voice trembled with barely restrained horror.

“Who knew about her? We hid her perfectly here. She had been here for years, and now…” The woman’s voice became increasingly confused and shaken as she stared at the empty chair.

“Did he know about her?”

“I-It’s impossible. He never knew she was here. No one did.” The man’s voice trembled as he desperately tried to convince himself of his own words.

“Then who could it have been? Whoever took her knew we were hiding her here, and now she’s gone. Your grandmother was unconscious upstairs, and there’s blood on the floor…” The woman’s expression grew increasingly serious as she lowered her voice.

“Did they kill—”

“NO!”

The man immediately interrupted her, his voice echoing through the passage.

“Please don’t say that, Emily. We came this far, and…” His words trembled as he struggled to maintain his composure. “W-We can’t lose her now.”

Emily remained silent for a moment, staring at the empty chair as the reality of the situation slowly settled over her.

“We’ll search this entire slum, but…” Her voice trailed off.

They both understood what that meant.

If the person who had taken her disappeared into the slums, finding her again would be nearly impossible. The maze of narrow streets and countless desperate people could swallow someone without leaving a trace.

Who knew what was happening to her now?

Meanwhile, just above them, a figure quietly positioned himself against the walls of the passage. One foot pressed against one side while both hands braced against the opposite wall, allowing him to remain suspended above the two cloaked figures without making a sound.

Aether stared down at them from the darkness.

He now understood who they were.

Emily and Allen.

‘So she really was kidnapped…? But by whom?’

His eyes narrowed as he considered the possibility. Perhaps this had already happened in the previous timeline.

Since he had arrived much earlier this time, events might have unfolded differently, leaving him unable to recognise the sequence.

‘Should I leave her to them, or… should I search for her?’

Aether remained still for several seconds, weighing his options.

Honestly, he wanted to take his Mother away from this place himself. That was the reason he had come this far in the first place. His original intention had been to secure her first, bring her to his Sanctum, and then find a way to save her properly.

But now…

He quietly released himself from the wall and landed behind them without making the slightest sound.

Step!

Before either of them could notice his presence, his figure vanished into the darkness.

Emily suddenly turned her flashlight behind her, having sensed something.

Nothing.

Only the empty passage stared back at her.

She frowned for a moment before slowly turning around again and looking toward her husband.

“Allen.”

Allen’s face became even paler beneath his hood. He stared toward the empty chair for another second before shaking his head.

“Only Grandma knows what happened here. Let’s ask her. She might be able to give us some kind of clue. Come on, Emily.”

Without waiting for a response, Allen immediately turned around and hurried out of the secret passage.

Emily followed him as they returned to the room… the room was brightened now as Allen turned on the lights when he arrived.

Allen looked toward the old woman, who remained unconscious on the bed.

The man tried to wake her, gently shaking her shoulder at first before becoming more desperate when she failed to respond. Her body remained completely limp, and despite his repeated attempts to rouse her, she showed no sign of consciousness.

The woman raised her hand, and the ring on her finger immediately began to glow with a soft, translucent light. Several thin lines of light swept across the old woman’s body as the ring performed a detailed medical scan.

A series of holographic data appeared in the air before her eyes, displaying her vital signs and blood condition.

“She’s lost a critical amount of blood,” the woman muttered as she carefully read through the scan. Her expression became increasingly concerned as she processed the information.

“We need to get her to a hospital immediately.”

Allen’s eyes widened slightly as he looked down at the pool of blood covering the floor. He followed the trail with his eyes before looking back at his grandmother.

“Is this all from my grandmother? How can there be this much blood when there isn’t a single visible injury on her body?”

He immediately knelt beside her and carefully examined her again, checking her arms, legs, torso, and even the back of her head. He searched for cuts, bruises, punctures, or anything that could explain the amount of blood surrounding her.

Yet there were no visible wounds anywhere on her body.

Allen slowly withdrew his hand, his expression becoming increasingly confused. Emily also stared at the old woman, unable to understand what the scan was telling them.

“How is that possible?” she quietly muttered.

Allen clenched his fist as frustration began replacing his confusion.

“Emily, take her to the local hospital and get her treated as soon as possible. Inform me the moment she wakes up, and find out everything she can remember about what happened.”

“Okay,” Emily replied, nodding quickly. “And you?”

“I’ll gather my boys and search the surrounding area. They couldn’t have gotten far that quickly.”

His voice carried a firm determination as he reached into his clothing and pulled out a compact communication device. He activated it immediately, and a faint blue display appeared above the device as he contacted someone.

“Gather everyone. Search every street surrounding this area and check every possible exit. I want to know if anyone suspicious has passed through here.”

While the man continued issuing instructions, Emily carefully prepared to move the unconscious woman.

Neither of them noticed the shadow standing silently near the bathroom.

Two ice-blue eyes watched them from the darkness.

The figure remained completely motionless, observing every word and movement without revealing even the slightest sound of breathing.

Meanwhile…

YOUR POV slowly pulled away from the house, rising above the surrounding buildings and climbing toward the dull, overcast sky. The clouds stretched endlessly across the horizon, their grey mass hanging heavily over the ruined district.

For a moment, everything beneath the sky appeared small and distant.

Then the view abruptly changed direction.

It swept toward the left and accelerated forward, rapidly crossing the enormous distance.

Broken buildings and running factories rushed past at the corners of the view as it weaved left and right, shifting between sweeping views over the rooftops and rapid descents between the ruined structures.

It suddenly dipped lower, passing through the shattered window of an abandoned building.

A faint mechanical humming sound echoed from somewhere nearby.

The sound grew louder.

Then, at that exact moment, a sleek black car suddenly burst into view, launching over a broken section of road before landing heavily on the unpaved surface.

Thud!

The suspension compressed violently beneath the impact.

The tires immediately screeched against the dirt, throwing dust and loose gravel into the air as the vehicle wobbled dangerously from side to side. For a brief moment, it looked as though the driver might lose control, but the steering wheel was corrected almost instantly.

The car stabilised.

WRRRRMMMM!!

Then it accelerated.

The driver shifted the gear with a sharp movement as her foot pressed harder against the accelerator. The engine responded with a deep mechanical roar, and the black vehicle surged forward, tearing down the uneven road while a cloud of dust followed behind it.

Behind the steering wheel sat a thirteen-year-old girl.

Despite her young age, there was nothing childish in her expression.

Her pale turquoise eyes remained fixed on the road ahead. Her hands held the steering wheel firmly while the wind pushed strands of her deep red wine hair across her face through the partially open window.

For a brief moment, her eyes shifted toward the person sitting beside her.

A cloaked woman occupied the passenger seat, her body secured tightly by the seat restraints. A veil concealed most of her face, leaving only a small portion of her features visible beneath the hood.

The girl stared at her for several seconds before returning her attention to the road.

Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

The memories of everything that had happened seemed to pass through her mind in an instant.

Her pale turquoise eyes hardened, losing the warmth that might once have existed within them.

“This time, I will change everything that happened and make sure none of it happens again.”

Her voice carried a deadly determination.

There was no warmth left in the girl she had once been.

Only cold, unwavering, and deadly eyes remained as the black car disappeared into the distance.