Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1251: Clarion?

A few moments ago...

Another group was being herded down a steep slope.

Chained captives walked in silence surrounding them, metallic figures marched in grim order, each gripping a white staff that pulsed faintly.

Among them, one figure didn’t quite fit.

Its walk was strange, jerky, awkward, almost pitiful. As though it needed to take a shit, its steps were uneven and stiff.

That was Aether.

’Fuck... the connection’s getting weaker,’ he thought, every nerve tight beneath the metallic armour.

The disguise was slipping, the pieces barely holding together. Any second now, the others would notice. And when they did...

’Shit. How long do they expect us to keep walking like this?’

Two metallic figures nearby slowed their pace, turning their heads toward him. They glanced at each other, a silent exchange, before one nodded and moved away to alert someone. The other... approached him directly.

’Fuck! They found me’

The figure stopped right in front of him, staring without a word.

’What the hell is it doing? Talking?’ Aether wondered, sweat prickling under the metal shell.

Inside the armour, nothing showed, no light, no glow.

The soldier frowned, its head tilting slightly. Then it raised a hand.

Aether flinched instinctively, snapping his own hand up, blocking it with a sharp clang.

The figure paused, then stepped closer, scanning him up and down. Every movement was mechanical, deliberate, like it was analysing him piece by piece.

Finally, it lifted its arm again and pointed toward the front of the group. Aether blinked, then nodded briskly, pretending to obey.

He marched forward without hesitation, though his eyes flicked back once. The figure was still staring at him.

’Tsk. Yeah... I’m caught,’ he muttered in his mind.

At the front of the procession, another metallic figure awaited him. This one was larger, its body bulkier, muscular compared to the rest... It didn’t move as Aether approached, simply standing there waiting for him.

Aether clicked his tongue in irritation, ’Maybe I should’ve just stayed among the captives,’ he thought.

Still, he didn’t break the act. He stood straight, raised his hand stiffly, and offered the figure a soldier’s salute.

The towering figure stared him down, head tilting as if puzzled. Its arm lifted, hand gesturing in strange motions, like it was speaking a language only its kind could understand.

Aether frowned inwardly, but outwardly, he nodded.

But the moment his head dipped, the figure froze mid-gesture. It leaned in, studying him intently.

Aether sighed, ”Why bother now?” he muttered aloud, which made the figure stumble back in surprise.

Before the figure could react, Aether’s fist shot forward.

BOOM!!

The metallic figure exploded.

The others flinched instantly, heads whipping toward him.

The armoured figures raised their staffs.

Aether straightened, shrugging off the metallic armour like a snake shedding its skin. The disguise peeled away and fell in chunks, revealing him fully at last.

He lifted one hand slowly and beckoned them forward with a crooked finger.

That was enough.

The figures charged. Their spears thrust, their guns fired, their cuffs snapped open.

Aether didn’t flinch. He didn’t move an inch until they were within reach. Then—calm, precise—he dodged. A twist, a shift, a sidestep, every strike passing by him uselessly.

And when they were close enough...

He touched them.

That was all it took.

BOOM!

One of the soldiers blasted apart, fragments scattering in all directions. Everyone froze, stunned, their eyes wide as if they couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Aether smirked, his lips curling with dangerous satisfaction. He kicked off the ground and vanished, his body flickering like a shadow. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind one metallic figure, tapped it lightly—and it exploded... Then another... Then another.

He moved like lightning, tapping them one by one, each touch a death sentence.

The captives flinched back, their chains rattling, shock and horror painted across their faces. Some stepped aside, unable to take their eyes off the spectacle.

”Who is he?” one woman whispered, the same one who yesterday had dismissed him as nothing but trouble.

”W-Wait... isn’t that man... I’ve seen him before,” another stammered. ”In the Void Empire... with the Necromancy woman.”

Gasps followed.

”Did the Empress send help to rescue us?” a captive muttered, eyes wet with sudden hope, his tone breaking into tears.

Aether rolled his eyes so hard it nearly hurt, ’Yeah, dream on, fuckers. If anything, she’d only care if her daughter were here. You? She wouldn’t give a damn if you burned.’

He kept moving, striking, touching, detonating one after another... But suddenly, his flow faltered. His energy channelled unevenly, connection flickering. He needed more effort now—more than just a tap.

Every blast required more than one tap.

And the metallic figures noticed.

Their white staffs flared with light as they swung them toward him.

Aether dodged easily, leaping back and forth, weaving through their attacks like a phantom. Sparks rained as staff strikes hit the ground where he’d stood, while he continued to blow enemies apart one by one.

But then.... his legs suddenly got locked.

He flinched. His body froze mid-dodge, unable to move. Before he could react, a glowing staff slammed against his face.

”FUCK!!” Aether roared, eyes blazing with fury.

He had lost it... completely lost it—

Wait?

Nothing happened?

He blinked... The figure struck him again, the staff sparking as it touched his chest. Still—nothing.

Aether’s eyes widened.

’Wait... what?’

He growled, grabbed the staff in his fist, and shoved it violently upward into the metallic figure’s head.

Metal caved, sparks burst—but again, the body didn’t explode.

He turned sharply toward the woman who had spoken earlier. ”Oi, you! Are you sure you said those staff make people burst apart?”

The woman nodded frantically, her face pale as a ghost. Not just her... everyone nodded!

Aether frowned deeply, humming under his breath, ’Am I missing something here?’

His gaze shifted toward the remaining metallic soldiers. They stepped forward and back like nervous beasts.

They wanted to approach, but something kept them back.

He tried to move, but his legs stayed rooted, stiff like iron stakes. Aether exhaled slowly, taking a long breath to calm himself. He needed to stabilise the connection with his puppet body. Moving too wildly, burning too much energy—it was suicide.

He twitched his toes. Good... a little more. Just a little more.

Seeing him not moving, they closed in, their staffs glowing as they tapped against his body again and again.

Every strike sent a strange vibration through him. It wasn’t just impact. Something was entering his body.

He frowned.

It was just a fraction... or even a fraction of a fraction. Aether hadn’t felt it before, but now, with the constant tapping of those staffs, something seeped into him. His eyes widened as the realisation struck.

”Clarion?” he muttered under his breath. His voice was sharp, almost trembling, as he recognised the kind of energy leaking from the staffs—the same energy that had burst the captives apart.

Just then—

”ARRRRRHHHH!!”

A thunderous roar shook the slope. Everyone flinched, chains clattering, eyes whipping around in shock. At the far end of the path, a dragon appeared, flames curling from its maw, its wings stretching against the sky.

Aether’s eyes narrowed. He glanced at the metallic figures; even they froze, taken aback.

He glanced at the captives and at the metallic figures again and smirked.

’So that’s where this road leads. Their destination... Perfect. I don’t need these bastards anymore’

In a flicker of light, Aether teleported beside a group of chained captives. An ice formed, on his hand and sliced cleanly through cuffs and chains. Sparks burst, and the orange energy sealing them trembled before vanishing.

”Go,” he ordered, his voice low and commanding. ”Help the others. Take your revenge.”

The freed captives staggered, eyes wide as their power returned.

Some clenched their fists tight, growling as strength surged back into their veins. A few immediately rushed to release more captives, breaking shackles and chains. Others, their lips twisting into wicked grins, turned straight toward the metallic figures, who still stood frozen, staring at the dragon like fools.

Meanwhile, Aether glanced down at his legs. He shifted one slowly—yes, it moved now. But the other was still stiff. He needed more time, more stability, before he could throw himself fully into the fight.

His gaze drifted back toward the dragon far ahead.

He really hoped nothing would happen to his beloveds.

Then his eyes caught movement.

Something tiny, distant, cut through the sky—a shadow flying toward the dragon. For a moment, he thought it was nothing, but then the sight made him frown. The dragon staggered, flames breaking off as its wings faltered.

Aether’s eyes widened slightly. Taken down? Just like that?

Looks like there’s someone strong among them.

His knees bent, shifting, his legs finally beginning to move.