Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1713: Daddy will come for you

“Who are you?”

The longer they fought, the stranger the feeling became.

Something about this young man triggered fragments of old memories buried deep within his mind. Memories from so long ago that even the monster itself could barely remember them.

Young Aether’s lips slowly curled upward.

“Your daddy~”

He even added a playful wink.

The monster froze.

For half a second.

Then Young Aether disappeared.

Before the skull-headed monster could react, he suddenly appeared directly before it and threw a full-force punch toward its face.

BANNNGGGG!!!

The impact echoed across the battlefield.

“FUCK!”

Unfortunately, that scream didn’t come from the monster.

It came from Young Aether.

The moment his fist connected with the creature’s skull, a violent vibration travelled through the concealed metallic arm hidden beneath his illusion.

The shock nearly felt like punching a mountain made of reinforced steel.

Young Aether immediately jumped backwards while frantically shaking his arm.

“Are you made of titanium or something?!” he shouted while continuing to flick his hand.

The skull-headed monster barely moved.

In fact, it looked almost amused.

Its hand slowly pulled the embedded axe from the shattered ground while a cruel grin formed across its skeletal face.

“Still weak…” the monster said mockingly.

The rainbow-colored light within its hollow eye sockets intensified.

“Still H.U.M.A.N.”

The final word dripped with contempt.

Then the monster swung its axe with overwhelming force.

The blade cut through the air so violently that it produced a sharp hissing sound capable of making anyone’s skin crawl.

SSSHHHHHH!

Young Aether immediately abandoned any thoughts of fighting.

Nope.

Absolutely not!

The mission had never been about defeating this thing.

He only needed to buy time.

As long as Jonathan finished preparing their escape plan, his job was complete.

With that thought in mind, Young Aether resumed running without even looking behind him.

As he sprinted across the area, his eyes briefly shifted toward the portal area.

Jonathan was currently sitting inside a half-destroyed vehicle surrounded by dismantled components and exposed circuitry. The damaged anti-gravity systems continued emitting circular blue energy waves that spread outward across the ground like ripples in water.

However, something else immediately caught Young Aether’s attention.

Behind the vehicle rested the Origin Core Crystal.

The massive translucent crystal had begun glowing far brighter than before.

Streams of blue energy were flowing from the damaged vehicle into the crystal as though the two systems were somehow resonating with one another.

The Origin Core Crystal continued resonating with the damaged anti-gravity engine as streams of blue particles flowed continuously between both systems. Every pulse released from the vehicle’s unstable core was absorbed by the crystal before being reflected back with even greater intensity.

As more energy accumulated within the crystal, its once cold surface gradually became warm before slowly turning hot enough to distort the surrounding air.

Jonathan had already lost track of Young Aether’s exact location.

Most of the time, he only noticed brief spatial distortions followed by explosive impacts whenever the skull-headed monster appeared and attacked. Since locating Aether directly had become impossible, Jonathan simply raised his hand and waved it randomly whenever another strike erupted somewhere across the area.

Hoping Young Aether would find it.

A smile appeared on Young Aether’s face after noticing the gesture from the distance.

“Good.”

Although he recognised Jonathan’s signal, he intentionally avoided looking toward him for more than a brief instant.

If the skull-headed monster noticed where Jonathan was hiding, it would immediately abandon its pursuit and teleport directly toward him.

Young Aether was confident in his own ability to evade the creature, but Jonathan would not survive even a single exchange.

More importantly, the portal continued shrinking with every passing second.

The swirling red gateway had already become noticeably smaller than before, and its unstable edges were collapsing inward as though reality itself was attempting to seal the opening.

If they delayed any longer, escaping would become impossible regardless of whatever plan Jonathan was preparing.

Young Aether glanced at the remaining translucent crystals stored within his storage.

“I guess I’ll use all of them.”

He continued running across the area while constantly changing direction, forcing the monster to repeatedly adjust its attacks. Then, without any warning whatsoever, he suddenly stopped moving.

The skull-headed monster immediately appeared before him.

“HAHA… GOT TIRED? DIE!!”

The =double-edged axe descended toward his body with enough force to split apart buildings, mountains, and anything unfortunate enough to stand in its path. However, instead of showing fear, Young Aether’s lips slowly curled upward.

“Got you~”

At that exact moment, numerous translucent crystals suddenly materialised around them randomly.

The creature’s hollow sockets widened in surprise.

Because the crystals had appeared directly beside it, there was no room left to escape. The descending axe struck the nearest crystal almost immediately, releasing a shower of sparks before triggering a violent explosion.

Step!

Spark!

BOOOOMMMM!!

The first blast slammed into the surrounding crystals and created a devastating chain reaction.

BOOOMMM!

BOOOMMMM!

BOOOMMMM!

One explosion triggered another, and then another after that, until the entire area became consumed by white blast, expanding shockwaves, and overwhelming energy. The ground shattered repeatedly beneath the pressure while massive clouds of dirt and debris were launched high into the sky.

Young Aether never expected those explosions to seriously injure the monster.

After witnessing the creature survive attacks powerful enough to rival nuclear reactors, he knew these crystals would cause very little damage.

Their purpose had never been destruction.

He only needed several seconds.

That was all!

Step!

Step!

Step!

Without wasting any extra time, he immediately ran towards the portal!

Back near the portal, Jonathan immediately turned toward the source of the explosions after hearing the deafening series of blasts.

“What the hell is going o—”

“BLOW IT!!!”

Young Aether’s voice suddenly echoed with enough urgency that Jonathan reacted instantly.

Jonathan couldn’t see his friend since he was running faster to reach Jonathan, so without questioning the command, he pushed the damaged anti-gravity system beyond its operational limits. Warning lights immediately flooded the control panel while blue energy erupted throughout the vehicle’s exposed systems. The unstable waves slammed directly into the enormous Origin Core Crystal, causing fractures to spread across its surface.

The crystal’s glow intensified dramatically.

Within moments, the entire crystal resembled a miniature star trapped within a fragile shell.

Jonathan’s eyes widened.

“Oh shit…”

The Origin Core Crystal exploded.

BOOOMMMM!!!

A tidal wave of blue energy erupted outward and consumed everything nearby, while several destroyed vehicles were vaporised instantly. Other pieces of wreckage were launched into the air with tremendous force as the overloaded anti-gravity systems converted the blast into forward momentum.

PUFFFFFFFFFFFFSSSSSS!!!

Jonathan’s Vehicle too wrecked and half destroyed by the blast.

Everything flew into the air!

The half-destroyed vehicle carrying Jonathan shot through the air like a missile aimed directly at the rapidly shrinking portal.

Jonathan gripped the seat tightly while the damaged cabin spun uncontrollably through the sky.

Emergency alarms screamed throughout the wreckage while loose metal panels tore away from the frame one after another.

Despite the chaos, he could not stop a grin from appearing on his face.

For a fleeting moment, the battlefield, the explosions, and even the deafening noise seemed to fade away as the rapidly shrinking portal drew closer and closer. They were finally going to make it out alive. However…

Sshh!

The skull-headed monster appeared instantly, right before the portal, completely unharmed despite the devastating explosion moments earlier. The rainbow-coloured flames within its hollow sockets blazed furiously as it swung the double-edged axe across the battlefield.

Step!

SSSSHHZZZZZZ!!!

The sheer force behind the strike split the air itself, unleashing a colossal blade wave that stretched for kilometres and carved through everything standing before it.

For a brief second, everything seemed to freeze.

Step!

The burning vehicles that had been launched into the air by the explosion hung suspended within the battlefield as though time itself had slowed. Then, one after another, they were struck by the blade wave. The wreckage continued drifting forward for several more moments before thin glowing lines appeared across their surfaces.

Slowly, almost unnaturally slowly, the vehicles began separating apart piece by piece. Metal hulls, shattered engines, burning panels, and twisted frames slid away from one another as though an invisible hand was carefully pulling them apart. The clean cuts reflected the red light of the portal while countless fragments tumbled through the air, leaving trails of sparks and fire behind them.

Everything standing before that attack was cut apart.

The flying vehicle was no exception.

The remaining cabin split into pieces almost instantly.

The skull-headed monster watched the wreckage separate and assumed its prey had finally died and lowered its guard… just for a second.

“Hehe~”

Step!

A figure suddenly emerged from the as the rolling cabin revealed as the cut parted the inside… before it could begin falling.

Young Aether had somehow reached Jonathan during the confusion and was now carrying him under one arm.

Using one of the larger fragments as a foothold, he kicked off the wreckage with all his strength before activating his movement ability.

Step!

The next moment, he appeared directly before the rapidly shrinking portal.

Without slowing down, Young Aether crossed the remaining distance and disappeared into the gateway while carrying Jonathan alongside him.

Like someone zoomed past the monster!

Only the air moved after it!

Just before vanishing completely, he turned toward the skull-headed monster and revealed an infuriating grin.

“Daddy will come for you~”

The playful words echoed through the wrecked area.

For several moments, the skull-headed monster remained completely still.

Then pure rage exploded from its body.

The rainbow-colored flames within its hollow sockets erupted violently as the creature prepared to charge through the portal and hunt Young Aether down personally.

Daddy?

It will show who the real daddy here was!

Just as it was about to step into the closing portal, when,

Sshh!

A small hooded figure suddenly appeared between the monster and the rapidly collapsing gateway.

It was almost the height of a child around the age of 10 and was covered in a dark hoodie, hiding every feature.

The same mysterious individual who had previously accompanied Master Snape and now… Master Hunter.

“Move, Zero!”

The skull-headed monster’s voice contained enough killing intent to make ordinary beings collapse where they stood.

Yet Zero remained completely unmoved.

The small hooded figure slowly shook its head before responding in an equally cold tone.

“Master said, One is not ready to leave yet.”

The skull-headed monster stared silently at Zero before shifting its gaze toward the portal once more.

The gateway continued shrinking at an agonising pace, almost as though it were deliberately teasing him~

Every passing second made the distance between him and his prey feel greater despite the portal remaining directly before his eyes.

Eventually, the inevitable happened.

The portal closed.

Thud!

The sound resembled a gigantic door shutting forever.

Silence spread across the battlefield as the last traces of red energy vanished from the air.

The remaining vehicles fall down one by one, finally!

For several long moments, nobody moved.

“AAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Then the skull-headed monster threw back its head and unleashed a furious roar that shook the surrounding landscape.

Its skeletal jaws opened impossibly wide while an endless darkness became visible within its hollow mouth. The scream echoed across the ruined battlefield and carried enough rage to make the atmosphere itself tremble.

Nearby, Zero simply watched The One’s outburst in complete silence.

The hooded figure neither reacted nor spoke another word.

It merely stood there and observed.