Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1624: The cycle is about to end… isn’t that right?

”The cycle is about to end... isn’t that right, Grace?”

A sultry, velvet-smooth voice unfurled through the dark chamber.

A strikingly handsome man stood before a blackish-purple vortex, its surface twisting and folding in on itself as though space had been wounded and left to bleed.

Faint arcs of energy pulsed within it, casting dim, shifting light across his regal attire.

”...”

Silence answered the question.

The man’s lips curved slowly, a dangerous, knowing smile forming as he stepped closer.

”Oh? How long do you intend to keep sulking?” His voice lowered, ”Come now... it’s not a sin to speak with your own brother.” He lifted one hand, almost inviting.

”After all... we are exiled ones... aren’t we?”

Crack!

A violent surge tore through the vortex. A bolt of lightning burst forth, jagged and blinding, striking him head-on. The impact detonated his skull into fragments, blood and bone scattering across the chamber walls.

For a heartbeat, nothing remained but ruin.

Then—

Flesh rewove itself.

Bone reformed with a sickening precision.

In less than a second, his head stood whole again.

”Tsk... tsk...” he muttered, rolling his neck slightly as if shaking off a mild inconvenience.

”Still the same as ever... aren’t you?” His tone held no anger, no irritation.

Only quiet amusement... almost indulgent maybe?

He exhaled softly and shrugged, ”Well... it hardly matters.” His gaze sharpened, fixed on the vortex.

”Our exile is nearing its end. When the next cycle ’Chosen ones’ begins...” His lips stretched into a colder smile.

”Everything will collapse into its conclusion.”

A faint tremor ran through the air as his aura shifted, something heavier pressing outward.

”And when that moment arrives...” His voice dropped, thick with restrained fury. ”Those fucking assholes will finally meet the end they gifted me.”

His fist tightened. The air around him distorted, pressure bending faintly toward him as his eyes glowed with a dangerous, simmering light.

”Haha~”

The sound slipped out from the vortex.

His expression hardened instantly.

He turned slowly, eyes narrowing as they locked onto the swirling darkness.

”What exactly is amusing?” His voice sharpened with annoyance, ”Do you still believe those bastards stand above me?” His gaze burned.

”The Mighty Primordial Vampire... beneath them?”

Silence lingered again, stretching thin—

Then it shattered.

”Above you?” The voice that emerged was cold, authoritative. ”Then explain why you stand here.”

A low laugh followed, ”Do not flatter yourself, Alucard. Our brethren and sistren did not merely exile you...” The voice grew sharper.

”They discarded you.”

The vortex pulsed darker.

”Just as those two traitorous fools who betrayed us were cast aside.”

A pause.

”This is not exile alone... this is abandonment.”

”They did not even care enough to watch you fall—”

BOOOMMMM!

The chamber erupted.

A violent explosion tore through the space, shockwaves slamming into the walls and cracking the ancient stone. Blood-red energy splintered outward, carving fractures along the structure itself.

At the centre of it—

Alucard stood.

”Even now...” His voice came dangerously threatening, furious, ”You choose to side with those pathetic remnants?”

”I side with no one.” The voice answered instantly.

”I side with Truth.”

”Ha...”

The sound started quietly.

Then it broke.

”Hahahaha!”

The laughter twisted, rising into something manic. His shoulders trembled slightly as he clenched his fist again, veins faintly visible beneath his skin.

”And here I thought...” he said, voice dripping with disappointment, ”that my sister might have softened after a decamillennium.”

His laughter faded, ”But I see now... nothing has changed.”

He turned away, his cloak shifting with the motion.

”Rot here,” he said without looking back, his tone final. ”Remain sealed in this cursed abyss... until even memory forgets you existed.”

He paused at the threshold.

”In the next cycle...” His voice echoed faintly, darker now, almost reverent in its cruelty.

”Everything that stands before me will be erased.”

A slow, quiet chuckle followed.

”Hahaha...”

Then he was gone.

The chamber fell into stillness.

The vortex dimmed, its chaotic surface settling into a slower, deeper rhythm.

For a long moment, nothing spoke.

Then—

”Do you truly believe I will allow you to live?”

The voice returned, ”Your so-called power is already decaying. Without the presence of ’true energy’, you are reaching your limit.” A pause. Calculating.

”You came here seeking my support.”

A faint ripple crossed the vortex.

”How desperate.”

Another pause, colder.

”I am not such a fool as to be manipulated by the likes of you.”

”I have waited... a very long time for this moment.”

”Alucard Xal’thren.”

Silence pressed in—

Then the voice sharpened.

”I have found the perfect weapon to erase your existence!”

A few seconds passed.

The chamber door creaked open, and a figure stood at the edge, head lowered.

”Call Concubine Mary Scarlet.”

The command rang out, absolute.

The soldier flinched slightly, then bowed deeply before turning and leaving at once, footsteps fading quickly into the distance as the chamber sank back into its suffocating, watchful quiet.

In a matter of a few minutes, a blurry figure with a feminine outline appeared before the vortex.

The air bent slightly around her presence, as though reality itself resisted her form. She knelt on one knee, her posture respectful, yet her eyes burned with thinly veiled annoyance.

”What has this humble one done to deserve an audience from Grace herself, Your Majesty?”

”...I can see your displeasure, Mary Scarlet.”

The blurry figure remained silent, ”Concubine Mary Scarlet—”

”I am Queen now.” Her voice cut in sharply, ”After all, I am the Chosen One... the Arcane Queen.”

”Yet in his heart, you are nothing... are you not?” The vortex pulsed faintly as it spoke.

”If not for the Arcane, you would still be nothing... a passing shadow trailing behind him.”

”...”

Mary fell completely silent. The air around her shifted, temperature dropping sharply as her eyes turned glacial, fixed on the vortex with deep, simmering hostility.

”Anyway, I did not summon you here to trade insults,” the vortex continued, its tone shifting from amusement to something colder.

”I want to know... do you truly love your daughter?”

The moment those words settled—

The chamber froze.

Frost crept along the ground, thin cracks splintering outward beneath her knee without any visible release of power.

Her daughter.

The memory carved itself into the air.

Lifeless weight in her arms, her only child... Her voice breaking as she begged, pleaded, shattered herself before the very vortex that now questioned her.

’Save my Daughter!’

And it had answered her with silence.

But now...

”What do you want?” Mary’s voice emerged low and ruthless, stripped of all pretence.

It carried a quiet threat, as if one wrong word would fracture everything beyond repair.

”That answer tells me enough,” the vortex replied, a trace of amusement slipping through before it faded.

”Listen carefully.”

The vortex darkened, its surface tightening as if something deeper stirred within.

”I can give her back to you.”

!!!

Mary’s pupils shrank violently. For a brief second, her composure shattered.

”W-What do you mean?” Her voice trembled despite her effort to contain it. ”Y-You refused before... you didn’t even—”

”Because you had nothing to offer me at that time,” the vortex interrupted with a sharp and absolute tone.

Mary’s breathing slowed. Her expression hardened again, calculation returning behind her eyes.

”You mean...”

The vortex trembled,

”A soul... for a soul.”

Mary’s eyes widened, then twisted, something unhinged flickering beneath the surface. Her lips curved slowly, dangerously.

”Hehe~... I see.” Her voice softened, but the softness felt wrong.

”Then I will drown this entire world in blood, Your Grace.”

She began to rise, intent already taking shape, power coiling beneath her skin as if ready to erupt and consume everything in its path.

”I need only a single soul.”

The vortex’s voice cut through her movement.

Mary stopped.

Slowly, she turned her head.

”Your husband... Alucard Xal’thren.”

The chamber seemed to hold its breath.

”Give me his soul,” the vortex continued, each word deliberate,

”And I will return your daughter’s soul to you.”

For a moment, Mary stood completely still.

Then—

Her eyes widened further.

Not in shock.

In something far more dangerous.

”Oh my~ is that all?” A soft laugh slipped out, rising quickly into something brighter, sharper. ”Hahah... you should have said it sooner~”

Her smile stretched, beautiful and monstrous all at once.

”I will rain the world with his blood... for the arrival of my beloved child.”

The chamber trembled faintly, as though even the walls understood what had just been set into motion.

****

**

Grace, seated within the birdcage, remembered the past with a faintly nostalgic expression. She slowly shook her head, then glanced toward Aether, who stood visibly shaken.

’So that’s why Xara mentioned Mary’s daughter was dead a long time ago.’ Aether remained stunned.

He had not expected this kind of turn.

He had thought Mary might be similar to Sandra, but he had not expected Grace to be involved in any of it.

”I see...” he muttered, his expression turning thoughtful as he shifted his gaze toward the vast, bloody ocean.

The surface rippled slowly under the restrained chains.

”But I am confused... if he already died, did his soul perish?” he asked curiously, turning his eyes back to Grace.

”I destroyed his soul into pieces,” Grace replied with a small shrug, almost indifferent.

Aether nodded slowly, ”Then this bloodline only carries his memories... or essence, right?”

”Yes.”

Aether exhaled, a quiet sigh of relief slipping out. If that were true, then there might still be a way.

Perhaps Thalia could help him understand how she had purged the phoenix traces from her own bloodline.

But then his brows furrowed, unease creeping back in.

”Wait...” he said, narrowing his eyes slightly. ”You said the owner of this bloodline is Alucard... then how does Mary have it?” He paused, thinking rapidly. ”If we are talking about Lia, she could have inherited it since he was her father... but Mary...”

His eyes widened slightly.

”Don’t tell me she was his child too?”

Grace shook her head without hesitation.

”Mary was born here as a lower vampire. Her bloodline was heavily diluted, and none of Alucard’s men or women ever received his blood to ascend further.” Her gaze turned distant for a moment.

”He had no interest in strengthening others or purifying their lineage.”

”Then...?” Aether tilted his head slightly.

Grace gave a small shrug.

”I don’t know. You will have to ask her.” A faint, almost teasing look flickered across her face.

”After all, you and she were sticking together like glue... weren’t you?”

Aether parted his lips, ready to respond, but the words never came. Instead, he closed his mouth and let out a small, quiet smile.

”Of course... we are...” he said as he turned his focus back to the ocean.

The only way forward... was to speak with Lia.

She was the one who had passed on the blood.

”Does that mean...” Aether murmured, ”he is still lingering inside Mary... and Lia too?”

Thinking deeply.

If that were true, why was he the only one being affected?

He needed to know if Lia was affected by this, too.

He frowned slightly, then turned back to Grace. For a brief moment, hesitation flickered in his eyes, something unspoken lingering at the edge of his voice.

”How are you... Grace?”

[+500 AP]

Grace looked up, surprise flashing across her face. She had not expected that question, not after everything that had passed between them.

Her expression softened, just slightly, as her legs began to sway gently within the cage.

”I... I am fine,” she replied, her voice quieter now. ”H-How about you? You seem to be going through something... rough.”

She had sensed it. His soul had been unstable, fluctuating constantly, as if something immense was shifting deep within him.

Aether let out a slow breath.

”Yeah... rougher than I expected.” His eyes dimmed slightly. ”So many deaths... I couldn’t protect anyone...”

Grace glanced at him but said nothing.

Aether smiled faintly.

He had not been expecting comfort. In truth, comfort now would only deepen the weight of his own weakness.

Silence settled between them.

There were countless things they could have spoken.

Yet neither of them moved.

Not because they were afraid.

Because they understood.

That day.

One had tried to survive.

The other had tried to protect.

Both had been right.

Both had been wrong.

And somewhere between those truths, something fragile remained.

What if he still carried resentment?

What if she broke free... and chose to attack him again?

Knock... knock...

Aether flinched as the sound echoed faintly. His consciousness began to pull away, slipping back toward his physical body.

Before he disappeared completely, he looked at her one last time.

A small, steady smile formed.

”I know... You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Grace remained still.

For a brief second, nothing changed.

Then—

Something twisted inside her chest.

A sharp, unfamiliar pain spread outward, sudden and disorienting.

”I... it hurts...” she whispered, her hand rising instinctively to clutch her chest, her expression tightening in confusion as the sensation deepened, something fragile awakening where only silence had existed before.