Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1945: Cursed Crimson King: Part-1

Third Person’s POV

While Aether’s consciousness flowed through the memories, his real body underwent a monstrous transformation.

His flesh twisted and reshaped itself into a bat-like creature, its grotesque wings spreading wide as it engaged in battle with the skull-headed monster.

“What are you?” the skull-headed monster demanded, its hollow eye sockets fixed on the monstrous bat that had suddenly attacked it out of nowhere.

“KKYRRRR!!”

The monstrous bat screeched violently before lunging at the skull-headed monster, attacking it again and again with its razor-sharp claws.

Its movements were wild and relentless, driven by an insatiable hunger.

To the creature, the world had narrowed down to a single target, one overflowing with blood and vitality.

And the monstrous bat wanted all of it.

It threw its head back and unleashed another ear-piercing screech.

KKKYYYRRRRRRRR!!!

The resulting sonic waves tore through the surroundings, striking the skull-headed monster with enough force to send it flying backwards. The air itself trembled beneath the violent vibrations, while nearby trees shook violently before being uprooted and hurled away from the epicentre.

Amidst the destruction, Grace sat calmly on a tree branch, watching her little brother’s rampage without the slightest concern.

Her hair fluttered gently in the aftermath of the sonic blast, yet she remained perfectly composed, as though she were watching an ordinary spectacle rather than a battle between two monstrous beings.

“Damn it!”

The skull-headed monster steadied itself and raised its hand. In the next instant, a double-edged stone axe flickered into existence, its stone-like blades gleaming faintly beneath the surrounding light.

The weapon appeared directly in its grasp before the monster vanished from its position.

A moment later, it reappeared behind the bat monster, its movements so swift that even the surrounding air seemed to lag behind. Without hesitation, it swung its axe in a single, fluid motion, slicing cleanly through the monstrous bat’s neck as effortlessly as cutting through butter.

Chucckkk!

The bat’s enormous head separated from its body and crashed to the ground, while blood erupted from the severed neck, splattering across the grass and nearby tree trunks.

“Tsk. How dare you disturb my rest?” the skull-headed monster muttered, its voice dripping with irritation as it lowered its weapon.

Grace merely smiled, seemingly unconcerned by the sight before her. Her gaze lingered on the skull creature.

‘Interesting… This monster doesn’t possess a soul, but virtues… Did someone create this creature under my nose? And who could possibly have the authority to create something like this? Hmm… How interesting…’

Grace showed no concern for the monstrous batdeath. Instead, she continued observing the scene with the quiet confidence of someone who already knew how things would unfold.

‘After all… that thing won’t die unless all the blood is stripped from its vessel.’

The instant the thought crossed her mind, the bat’s motionless body began to twitch.

Its severed flesh stirred as though an invisible force were pulling the scattered tissues together. Muscles reconnected, bones realigned, and fresh flesh knitted itself around the exposed wounds. Meanwhile, the blood coursing through its body surged at an accelerated pace, rushing through its veins with an almost unnatural intensity.

Within a fraction of a second, a new head had formed.

“Kekeke~”

The newly formed head curled into a sinister smirk.

The skull-headed monster froze, its hollow eye sockets widening as it glanced at the fallen head, which had already begun disintegrating into dust.

“What the…?”

Before it could comprehend what had happened, the monstrous bat lunged forward. Its wings beat violently, propelling its massive body across the distance in an instant. Its deadly claws descended upon the skull-headed monster with a furious slash, tearing through its chest and leaving a deep, jagged wound across its torso.

“Argh!”

The skull-headed monster staggered backwards, a harsh groan escaping its throat. It immediately raised its axe to intercept the bat’s next attack, barely managing to position the weapon between them.

Tang!

The bat’s claws collided with the axe’s stone-sharp edges, producing a deafening metallic impact. Sparks burst from the point of contact as the monstrous creature dragged its claws along the blade.

Crrrckk…

The skull-headed monster stared at its opponent, its irritation gradually giving way to disbelief.

Despite its grotesque appearance, the bat monster seemed to be wearing an almost amused expression, as though it were enjoying the struggle rather than fighting for survival.

“How dare you?! You filthy, mindless monster! You don’t even understand what you are, yet you dare look down on me?!” the skull-headed monster roared furiously, tightening its grip on the axe.

Grace, on the other hand, could only sigh at the spectacle. She rested her cheek against her palm, watching the battle with a faintly entertained expression.

“Even in this mindless state, he’s still the same as ever… Always finding new ways to piss people off,”

She muttered, though the corners of her lips curled upward ever so slightly.

[+1000 AP]

In the next instant, several root-like appendages erupted from the ground and shot toward the bat monster.

Sensing the incoming attack, the bat immediately spread its wings and shot into the air, narrowly avoiding the appendages as they lunged past it.

The root-like appendages pursued the creature relentlessly, twisting through the air and weaving between the trees.

The bat darted through the forest, its wings brushing against branches as it manoeuvred between the towering trunks.

Behind it, the pursuing appendages tore through everything in their path, splintering trees and uprooting vegetation as though the forest were nothing more than an obstacle to be crushed.

“You think you can run away now?!” the skull-headed monster shouted, its voice echoing through the devastated forest.

It could hardly believe that some random monster had dared to disturb its rest, wound it, and then attempt to flee as though the entire encounter meant nothing.

Its hollow eye sockets narrowed as its figure suddenly vanished.

In the next instant, the skull-headed monster reappeared directly in the bat’s path, its axe already raised for the execution. The bat barely had time to register the sudden appearance of its opponent.

Its wings were still beating as it attempted to change direction, but its movements were far too slow.

Then, the axe fell.

Slucck!

Slucck!

Slucckk!

The skull-headed monster moved with terrifying precision, its axe flashing through the air several times within a fraction of a second.

The monstrous bat was reduced to countless tiny pieces, scattered through the air like fragments of flesh caught in a violent storm.

“Let’s see you crawl back from that!” the skull-headed monster declared haughtily, lowering its axe with the confidence of someone who believed the battle had finally ended.

Yet, as it turned to look behind itself, its hollow eye sockets widened in disbelief.

Just as the countless pieces were about to fall to the ground, the blood covering them began to glow. Like a living slime pulling itself together, it dragged every scattered fragment back into place, forcing the pieces to stick together. The bones twitched, and the flesh shifted and knitted itself back together before…

“Kekeke~”

The monster chuckled as it prepared to leap toward the skull-headed monster. However, the skull monster merely raised its hand, and…

“KKRRRYYY!!!”

The monstrous bat screamed as root-like appendages suddenly shot forward and caught its body, wrapping around it tightly.

The twisted roots coiled around its limbs and wings.

Grace hummed thoughtfully as she observed the scene. ‘I guess that’s the limit without energy…’

She understood that Aether’s powers were sealed, preventing him from interacting with the energy around him.

Even in this monstrous bat form, his abilities remained locked away, restricting him from using the full extent of his power.

The skull monster chuckled as it tightened its control over the appendages.

“Now, you will become my nourishment, just like all those who stood before me!”

As soon as it finished speaking, the appendages’ sharp, spear-like tips pierced the bat monster’s body, digging deep into its flesh.

“KRRROOO!!”

The bat monster screamed in pain before attempting to bite through the appendages. Its jaws snapped shut around the twisted roots, tearing several of them apart, but no matter how many it managed to bite off, more continued to emerge and coil around its body.

“Keep trying. This is the end for you, for daring to stand against me!” the skull monster declared in an amused tone, watching its prey struggle helplessly.

Suddenly, the appendages began to pulse as they sucked the blood from the bat monster’s body. The crimson liquid flowed through the veins running along the roots, travelling toward the skull-headed monster’s back, where all the appendages connected.

However, just as the blood was about to reach the skull monster…

“Argh!”

The skull monster frowned as a sudden pain struck its body. In the next instant, it realized that instead of absorbing the blood from the bat monster, it was somehow having it dragged back toward the creature.

“W-What’s going on here?” the skull monster stammered.

How could a monster like this absorb the blood back?

And yet, the very appendages that had been drawing blood from the bat monster were now returning it to its body.

How ridiculous!

“N-No! Stop it! Come back to me!!” the skull monster shouted furiously as it felt even the blood that had nourished its own body being pulled away and returned to the monstrous bat.

The appendages trembled as the blood flowed in opposite directions, struggling against the conflicting forces pulling it back and forth.

Despite the skull monster’s desperate attempts to maintain control, the flow gradually shifted in one direction.

Toward the bat monster!

“Haha…” Grace chuckled, shaking her head as she watched the spectacle unfold. “I am amused by this puppet…”

Feeling its entire source of nourishment being drained away, the skull monster immediately severed the appendages connected to its back, desperately cutting off the connection before it could lose any more blood.

The severed appendages instantly withered, their once-living forms shrinking like dried roots.

Crack!

Shatter!!

The monstrous bat shattered the withered appendages wrapped around its body, scattering the brittle fragments into the air.

It then turned its gaze toward the skull monster, a deep, amused smirk spreading across its grotesque face.

“Keke~”

Even without a single word being spoken, the skull monster understood what that expression meant.

The creature was looking down on it.

“So what if you cannot die? I will keep killing you, then!” the skull monster snarled, gripping its stone axe tightly before lunging toward the monstrous bat once more.

BOOM!

KRRR!!

SHATTER!!

The battle continued as the skull-headed monster and the monstrous bat clashed again and again, their attacks tearing through the surrounding forest.

Trees collapsed under the force of their blows, the ground cracked beneath their feet, and the air filled with the deafening sounds of destruction.

Although the skull monster could still kill the monstrous bat with ease, the outcome never changed.

Every time the axe struck, the bat’s body was torn apart, only for its blood to glow and pull the scattered flesh and bones back together.

Its regeneration grew faster with every death, restoring it completely before the skull monster could understand.

No matter how many times the skull monster killed it, the bat monster returned without a single wound on its body.

Grace watched as the skull monster continued slaughtering the bat, only to realise that the one gradually losing its strength was none other than the skull monster itself.

“After all… the hungrier it becomes, the more it pushes its blood to amplify its power,” Grace muttered, her gaze fixed on the monstrous bat.

She was well aware of the nature of the Primordial Vampire bloodline, which amplified emotions thousands of times beyond their natural intensity.

And considering that Aether’s monstrous form was now driven by an overwhelming hunger for blood and vitality, the consequences were becoming increasingly apparent.

The hungrier the creature became, the more its blood amplified that hunger. And the more its hunger intensified, the more fiercely its blood responded, accelerating its regeneration and allowing it to continue fighting without rest.

It was a vicious cycle, one that showed no signs of ending.

Grace then shifted her gaze toward the enormous mountains of flesh and blood upon which the skull-headed monster had once sat, feeding and nourishing itself.

Those very mountains, once the skull monster’s source of nourishment, now awaited a different predator.

The monstrous bat’s food.

The monstrous bat would kill anyone who dared to come between it and its food.

“Didn’t know little brother had thought this through so thoroughly,” Grace muttered, wearing a slightly impressed expression as she watched the battle unfold.

Now she understood why Aether had chosen this very place to unleash the monster.

The skull monster would keep him occupied while the hunger inside him grew stronger and stronger, pushing his blood into an increasingly chaotic state.

This, in turn, could help him reach deeper into the power of the Primordial Bloodline.

But…

“Still, in the end, you will fail, little brother,” Grace muttered, as though she already knew that Aether would never be acknowledged by the Primordial Bloodline.

She continued watching the battle, which had already destroyed nearly half the forest.

“Ah… ah… ah…”

The skull monster panted heavily, its body trembling from exhaustion. It had been using every last bit of its strength, unleashing one attack after another, and yet, no matter how many times it killed the bat, the creature simply kept coming back.

Meanwhile, the monstrous bat stared at it with an almost pathetic expression, as though the skull monster’s desperate struggle had become nothing more than an amusing spectacle.

That expression only infuriated the skull monster further.

For some reason, it couldn’t bring itself to accept defeat against this creature.

“I was forced to wake up… Otherwise.”

The skull-headed monster gritted its teeth.

It watched as the monstrous bat slowly approached, an amused grin stretching across its grotesque face.

However, before the skull monster could launch another attack.

Crack!

Suddenly, cracks spread across the monstrous bat’s body, branching through its flesh like fractures in shattered glass.

Crimson light began bleeding through the fissures.

Grace’s eyes widened slightly. “What? He got accepted?”

But before she could react, a tiny, hooded figure appeared beside the skull-headed monster.

“Let’s leave, One,” the tiny hooded figure said, her gaze fixed on the monstrous bat, which was now clawing at its own chest in agony as more crimson light seeped through the cracks spreading across its body.

The skull-headed monster shook its head furiously.

“No! I won’t let a pathetic monster like that win! I’ll kill it!”

However, the tiny hooded figure merely turned toward the skull-headed monster, her expression concealed beneath the hood.

“One, it’s Master’s order.”

The skull-headed monster, One, clenched its teeth as it continued glaring at the monstrous bat.

Despite the pain wracking its body and the cracks spreading across its flesh, the bat continued moving toward the mountain of flesh with an insatiable hunger in its eyes, seemingly indifferent to everything else around it.

“Tsk! Fine!” One snapped in irritation.

It reluctantly turned to leave, following the hooded figure. However, just as the two were about to depart, a cold, authoritative voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

“I was wondering who had been watching quietly… So, it really is you.”

Both Zero and One flinched at the unexpected voice. Turning toward its source, they saw a tiny fairy hovering before them, her delicate wings fluttering gently.

One frowned, staring at the fairy with disbelief.

“What is this little thing?”

Zero, however, remained completely silent. She pulled her hood even farther over her head, as though desperately trying to conceal herself from the fairy’s gaze.

Grace, too, directed her attention toward Zero, studying the hooded figure with an intrigued expression.

“Hmm…” she hummed thoughtfully before a faint smile appeared on her face.

“I see… Now I understand what’s going on here.”

Without offering any further explanation, Grace casually waved her hand.

“Leave.”

Zero immediately bowed her head, holding the hem of her clothes as a portal opened beside her. Without hesitation, she stepped through it and disappeared into the other side.

One, who still seemed confused by the entire situation, hesitated for a moment before following Zero through the portal.

A second later, the portal closed, and the duo vanished without leaving a trace.

Grace continued staring at the spot where Zero had disappeared, her expression carrying a hint of amusement as she quietly contemplated what she had just witnessed.

Chuckk… Chuckk… Chukkkk…

Her ears twitched at the sound coming from behind her. Turning toward the source, she found the monstrous bat devouring the mountains of flesh with an expression of pure, unrestrained hunger.

Its entire body was covered in cracks, with crimson light bleeding through the fissures.

It tore through the mountains of flesh and blood, consuming everything in its path with frightening speed. Within a matter of minutes, the enormous piles that had once served as the skull monster’s nourishment were completely devoured.

Crack… Crack… Crackk…

The monster’s body continued cracking violently, the fractures spreading farther across its flesh as the crimson light beneath its skin grew increasingly intense.

Meanwhile, inside Aether’s Twin-Domain…

At the feet of Aether’s liquid-glass statue, a sea of blood suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The crimson liquid flooded inside the statue’s foot as though someone were pouring blood into an empty glass vessel.

The blood continued rising until it barely reached the statue’s ankles.

The blood waved quietly.

!~Ding~!

[New Title Acquired: Cursed Crimson King]