Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1664: Take care of everything... and everyone

”Divide et Impera.”

Lackey frowned the moment those words left Amara’s lips. A faint chill crawled beneath his skin... It was something his stepfather used to say in his previous life whenever he talked about power and the ugly nature of control.

”What’s that supposed to mean?” Celestia asked quietly as her eyes followed Amara, who slowly stepped deeper into the cavern.

Amara stopped before the portal. The golden-white glow danced across her face, making her calm expression appear strangely sinister.

”It means... Divide and Rule,” she answered with a small nod.

”This so-called Trial is nothing but a game forced upon us so the gods can keep humanity fractured forever... As long as people remain divided, they remain easy to control.”

”And this war between us and Terra?” she continued.

”It’s merely another ’Check’ in that game.”

The more Lackey listened, the heavier his thoughts became. Vesperine kept warning him about some approaching disaster, and now Amara sounded as though she already knew pieces of the truth.

”But the gods abandoned us... didn’t they?” Celestia asked after a brief silence. ”The Grace, The Death God vanished. Mother’s Temple was destroyed.”

Amara merely shrugged.

”Maybe,” she said softly. ”Or maybe abandonment was part of the design from the very beginning.”

The portal behind her pulsed violently for a moment, casting golden waves across the cavern walls.

The beauty of it felt terrifyingly unnatural.

Celestia tilted her head slightly, lost in thought, while Lackey narrowed his eyes at Amara.

”How do you even know all this?” he finally asked.

Amara turned toward him.

Then she smiled.

It was beautiful, warm even... yet something inside that smile felt broken.

”Because I hate this world.”

Lackey’s brows pulled together. For a brief second, he could not tell whether she was joking, confessing, or warning them.

”Anyway,” Amara continued casually, ”you don’t need to worry. As long as you follow my instructions, everything will work out. When this ends, I’ll make sure you and your wife live a far better life in the new world.”

”It’s time,” she said while crouching down. ”Let’s fix your appearance.”

She scooped a handful of dirt from the cavern floor and looked at him expectantly.

Lackey released a slow breath.

Part of him wanted to kill her right now and erase whatever scheme she was planning before it could begin. But another part understood how dangerous ignorance could be.

He still knew nothing about her real motives and who was behind her... or why her hatred toward the world sounded so genuine.

’I’ll slowly pull the truth out of her.’

Celestia’s calm voice echoed inside his mind.

Lackey removed his rabbit mask before pulling off his shirt.

Without hesitation, Amara stepped closer and smeared dirt across his chest and shoulders. Then she glanced sideways at Celestia.

”You really don’t mind this?”

Celestia walked forward and knelt beside her.

”I’ll help,” she replied calmly.

She grabbed dirt from the ground and rubbed it across Lackey’s face, neck, and even through his hair. Her movements were gentler than Amara’s, but no less thorough.

”What exactly is that thing?” Lackey asked while enduring their work. ”The portal.”

Amara nodded faintly.

”That is Hell’s Gate,” she explained. ”The path connecting our Empire to Terra.”

As she spoke, she sprinkled water over the dirt coating his torso, turning it into sticky mud that clung naturally against his skin.

Lackey stared at the massive golden-white whirlpool again.

”How is something like this hidden beneath your company’s basement?”

Amara laughed quietly.

”What can I say?” she replied while examining his increasingly miserable appearance.

”I’m lucky.”

Lackey’s lips twitched slightly.

’If you don’t want to explain it, then just say that.’

He kept the thought to himself.

”Can anyone enter it?” he asked instead.

Amara’s expression lost all traces of amusement.

”No,” she answered firmly. ”This path only accepts people from Terra. Others can only pass if they carry Terra’s mark.”

While speaking, she tore his pants into rough patches while Celestia pressed dirt into the fabric, making the damage appear old and filthy rather than deliberate.

Lackey frowned.

”So if someone tried forcing their way through...?”

Before he could finish, Amara slowly stood.

The playful attitude vanished entirely from her face.

”Not even ashes would remain.”

She dusted the dirt from her hands before taking a step back to admire her work.

Messy black hair clung to his forehead in filthy strands. Cracked dirt covered half his face, making him appear sickly and exhausted. Mud coated his torso while the torn pants barely hung from his hips. His bare feet looked rough and bruised against the cold stone ground.

A perfect slave.

A perfect beggar.

A man nobody would look at twice.

”Hmm... something is still missing.”

Amara frowned slightly as her sharp eyes moved across Lackey from head to toe. Beside her, Celestia quietly nodded as though she had arrived at the exact same conclusion.

Lackey blinked in confusion before glancing down at himself.

”What’s missing now?”

His lips twitched faintly.

’Damn... even when I was a slave, I don’t think I looked this terrible... and they still think it’s not enough?’

Amara crossed her arms beneath her chest and hummed thoughtfully while studying him again. Her gaze lingered on his posture, his expression, the dirt covering his body, before realisation suddenly flickered across her face.

”Right,” she muttered. ”You still look too healthy.”

She pointed at him casually.

”You look like a rich beggar.”

”Oh!” Celestia nodded immediately. ”That’s exactly it.”

Lackey stared at both women in disbelief.

”Rich beggar?” he repeated slowly before sighing heavily. ”There’s no such thing as a rich beggar.”

He shook his head in irritation, unable to understand how they had somehow managed to combine the words ”rich” and ”beggar” into a single insult.

His eyes wandered across the massive cavern.

Then he suddenly spoke.

”I’ll do it myself.”

Before either woman could react, Lackey slammed himself against the rocky ground.

Thud.

He rolled across the rough stone floor before crashing shoulder-first into the wall.

Dust scattered into the air.

Without stopping, he struck his arm against the jagged surface again before throwing himself down onto the ground hard enough to split the skin near his elbow.

”Holy shit! Mr. Lackey, that’s enough!” Amara shouted in shock.

But Lackey ignored her completely.

He dragged himself across the dirt, slammed his shoulder into the wall again, then jumped and landed heavily against the stone floor with his entire body. Blood slowly trickled from small cuts across his arms and forehead while bruises rapidly darkened his skin.

Then he clenched his stomach inward, forcing his body into a starved appearance. His shoulders lowered naturally.

His posture collapsed into something broken and defeated.

A man who looked beaten down by life itself.

Now that looked like a real slave.

Not simply poor.

Not dirty.

Broken.

Perfect~

”Ha... ha... now?” he asked between rough breaths.

Despite the blood and bruises, there was not even the slightest hint of pain in his eyes.

[+700 AP]

Amara could only stare at him with a strange expression.

’This guy... sometimes he’s worse than me,’ she thought dryly.

She glanced toward Celestia, expecting concern or discomfort, only to find her calmly observing Lackey as though this entire scene was perfectly normal.

Like it was part of their daily life.

Amara rubbed her temple before exhaling softly.

”Anyway,” she said while regaining her composure, ”about the question you asked earlier... there’s no need to worry. Just do exactly as they tell you.”

Her tone slowly turned serious,

”Mr. Epsilon has already prepared everything on his side. As long as you follow his instructions, you’ll enter the Terra Empire without suffering even a scratch.”

She paused briefly before continuing.

”And yes... you’ll be able to study there and manufacture those weapons without hesitation. Mr. Epsilon already devised a method to smuggle them back here.”

Lackey narrowed his eyes slightly.

”And the issue of us being Terra’s enemies?”

Amara fell silent for a moment.

She walked toward the cavern wall before pulling out a rolled parchment-like sheet. With a flick of her wrist, she spread it open against the stone surface.

A detailed image of a door appeared across the paper.

The moment Lackey saw it, recognition flashed through his eyes.

Amara turned toward him.

”As I said before... this entire world revolves around Divide et Impera. Epsilon understands that better than most people.

That’s why he wanted a partnership with me.”

Lackey quietly nodded.

Then suddenly...

Creak

The hidden door embedded behind the plastered paper slowly parted open.

Penelope stepped out first, her expression calm and serious while several documents rested in her hands.

”The goods have arrived, Madam,” she announced professionally.

Then she stepped aside.

One by one, figures began emerging from the doorway.

Clang...

Clang...

Heavy metallic cuffs restrained their wrists. Strange blue veins glowed faintly across the surface of those shackles, pulsing like living nerves beneath steel.

The slaves stepped forward carefully with pale faces filled with fear and anxiety. Some lowered their heads completely while others trembled visibly as they entered the cavern.

Amara calmly took notes while counting them one after another.

”100.”

”101.”

”102.”

The echoes of her voice blended with the rattling chains and nervous footsteps.

”137.”

”184.”

”249.”

Finally, the counting stopped.

A towering black metallic figure stepped through the doorway at last. Thin strips of gold ran across its armoured body while a glowing baton rested in its hand.

The figure approached Amara mechanically.

The two exchanged words while checking documents and verifying lists. Several Origin Core crystals changed hands during the process.

Meanwhile, Lackey and Celestia quietly stood farther away from the crowd.

”Stay close to her,” Lackey muttered under his breath. ”And monitor every single thing she does. I think... she might be connected to Hunter.”

Celestia’s eyes widened slightly.

”Hunter?” she whispered back carefully. ”You mean the leader of the Arcane Hunter Organisation? You think she’s related to that person?”

Lackey slowly shook his head.

”I’m not completely certain,” he admitted. ”It’s just... she reminds me of that small figure whose face I never managed to see.”

Celestia blinked before recalling the memory.

”Oh... you mean the little hooded one?” she whispered. ”But that person was tiny. Look at Amara. She’s tall... and chubby.”

”...That’s the only reason I haven’t concluded it completely.”

Lackey narrowed his eyes thoughtfully while watching Amara in the distance.

This knowledge.

These connections.

This level of preparation.

Very few people could accomplish something like this.

Other than Mary... only one person truly came to mind.

Hunter.

Just then, Penelope slowly walked toward Lackey. Her eyes carefully scanned him from head to toe before she quietly muttered,

”You look... awesome.”

A faint blush spread across her cheeks the moment she said it.

[+4000 AP]

”...”

Lackey fell completely silent.

For a moment, he genuinely wondered if he had heard her incorrectly.

Awesome?

He looked less like a human and more like someone who had been dragged through hell and thrown back out.

”Pfft...”

Celestia nearly burst into laughter before her amused voice echoed inside his mind.

’Look at her trying to flirt with you even while you look like this... she’s really giving it her all, isn’t she?’

Lackey ignored her entirely and looked back at Penelope.

”I’ll be going then.”

The small smile on Penelope’s face weakened immediately.

”...”

Her expression turned slightly gloomy, though she still forced herself to smile.

”Y-Yeah...” she replied softly. ”I hope you’ll do your best... and please be careful.”

Lackey’s gaze softened slightly.

”I will,” he answered warmly before nodding toward her. ”And until we meet again, you should be careful too, alright?”

Penelope quietly nodded.

The way she stood there, clutching her hands together, made her look strangely fragile.

Lackey almost felt tempted to pinch her cheek, seeing such an unusually meek expression on her face, but he restrained himself.

A short distance away, Amara waved her hand impatiently and beckoned him over.

”Okay, guys... I’ll be going now.”

Lackey gave them one final glance before walking toward her, as he wore the rabbit mask again.

Penelope instinctively parted her lips as though she wanted to say something more, but no words came out in the end. Instead, her fingers slowly clenched against her chest while a faint, painful expression crossed her face.

As Lackey approached the metallic figure, the figure lowered its visor toward him and examined him silently from top to bottom.

Then it turned toward Amara.

”Okay.”

Clang...

A heavy cuff locked itself around Lackey’s wrist before connecting directly to the final chain attached to the other slaves.

The instant the metal closed around him, Lackey felt something strange spread across his body.

A subtle distortion.

Almost impossible to notice.

Yet he could clearly sense some kind of invisible layer wrapping around his existence itself.

His eyes briefly lowered toward the glowing cuffs and chains.

’Interesting...’

He glanced toward Amara.

Amara silently nodded back with a serious expression.

Soon, the metallic figure stepped forward and stood before the chained slaves.

”Everyone, follow me.”

It grabbed the first chain before stepping directly into the white-golden portal.

The moment it entered, the chains violently rattled.

Some slaves instinctively hesitated in fear, but they were forcibly dragged forward one after another as panic spread across their pale faces.

One by one, bodies disappeared into the portal’s blinding light.

As the final few slaves were pulled ahead...

”Activate Null-Return,” Lackey muttered quietly.

Tik~

Instantly, the entire world froze.

Everything stopped.

Absolute stillness consumed the cavern as though reality itself had suddenly forgotten how to move.

The slaves froze mid-step.

The chains hung motionless in the air.

Even the massive golden-white portal stopped swirling entirely, suspended like a painted image trapped inside time.

!~Ding~!

[❗Notice: Do you wish to use this Space-Time as your New Null-Return?]

”Yes.”

[⚠️Warning: New Null-Return has been created and saved.]

Tok~

The world abruptly snapped back into motion.

The chains rattled once more as the slaves continued disappearing into the portal.

Finally, Lackey himself stepped toward the entrance.

Then suddenly...

”PLEASE BE CAREFUL, MR. LACKEY! A-AND DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID!!”

Penelope’s voice exploded through the cavern.

Lackey paused for the briefest moment.

He turned his head slightly and glanced back one final time.

His eyes slowly swept across everyone present before stopping on Penelope, whose misty eyes trembled on the verge of tears as though she truly believed this goodbye might last forever.

Lackey mildly shook his head.

’Idiot girl.’

Then his gaze shifted toward Celestia.

His expression turned serious.

’Take care of everything... and everyone.’

Celestia quietly met his eyes.

’I will.’

With that...

Lackey stepped forward.

And his body disappeared into the portal.

!~Ding~!

[Survival rate: 95↑%]

!~Ding~!

[❗Notice: LOG 2.0 Current status: 99.7%... ↑]

/

LOG 2.0 Status → 99.7%

Name: Aether

Sex: Male

Race: Forsaken [ Forsaken Bloodline (Unique Ether Bloodline + Crimson Elixir of the Null (Mutation Progress: 95% Halted)]

Level: 100

Title: Aether Seraphine, The Progenitor of Unknown Species, Eternal Contract to ########, The Only Holder of Ether and A Past-less, Future-less Entity, Loving Step-Father, Eternal Sovereign of Draconic Pride, Essence Devourer, Echoes of Souls, The Sole Siren’s Chosen King, The Hollow Being, The Mermaids’ Last King, The Aquilon Nairen Sovereign, Holder / Master of Yggdrasil, The Sylvaelith Zephyrian Sovereign, The Last Moon’s King, Seraphael Aurorien Sovereign, Paradox Angel’s Love.

Skill Sets:

Active Skills: Absolute Freedom, Master Puppeteer: Strings of Dominion, Chrono Traverse, King of Woods, Blood Thirsty Berserk.

Passive Skills: Seal of Aethernal, Umbra Sanctum, Spectral Phantom, Venom Apex Resilience, Love’s Trident, Null-Return.

Unique Skills: Clarion Energy, Rebirth, 3 Seconds, Sacred Flames of Ethereal, Forbidden Language: 90% Comprehension, Pasa Rope, Incendra Rut.

Twin Domains: 950/ 999

Trinity: 25%

Compatibility: 99%

[Survival rate: 95%] [Remaining Time (Paused): 00 days 00 hours 00 minutes 01 seconds]

Affection Points: 7,100,510,120

Seduction: 6/10 :-

Stella/Seraphine Ashwood: Desired Weapon: Transformation (Cannot be used until Twin Domains Filled)

Aria Zephyr: Origin Weapon:- Twilight Eclipse

Aqualina Naiadia: Origin Weapon:- Oceanic Tempest

Helena Sunfire: Desired Weapon:- Blessed Aegis

XXX—Liora Darkfang: Dreadwolf Fenrir—XXX

Raven Noir: Origin Weapon: Draconyx Form

XXX—Xara Seraphine: None—XXX

Nyx Shadowfall: Desired Weapon:- SoulBringer

/