Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1893: The Conclusion is approaching…

In the Elysiumis Aurora Empire, a woman knelt silently before a rusted spear that appeared to be stabbed into the earth.

Even to the naked eye, it looked as though the spear had pierced the ground, yet its tip did not touch the earth at all. It hovered just above the surface, completely suspended in the air.

Nothing about the weapon suggested that it still possessed any power, yet the air around it suddenly trembled. A golden pulse spread outward from the spear, and the woman’s golden eyes immediately flung open as the weapon began to vibrate, as though something buried within it had finally awakened after an eternity of silence.

GGNNNGGGG!!

The vibration deepened into a metallic resonance that seemed to pass through the very air.

Fss~Fss~Fss~Fss~

A sequence of golden waves radiated from the spear, growing brighter with every pulse until the rusted surface suddenly fractured like brittle glass.

Ssshhhh~

A gentle breeze swept through the area as the spear slowly began to peel away its layers of rust, starting from the lower end.

Beneath the corroded surface was a pure, immaculate whiteness that seemed almost impossible for something or… someone to possess.

When the hidden surface emerged, its radiance grew so intense that the woman instinctively narrowed her golden eyes against the light.

Piece by piece, the rust continued to fall away, like old skin… that had finally reached the moment when it could no longer cling to the old one.

When the final layer finally disappeared, the spear stood revealed in its true form.

Its pure-white surface radiated an ethereal brilliance, while intricate words covered its length, each character carrying a profound meaning that seemed connected to the very essence of life itself.

The woman stared at those words with adoration, her golden eyes reflecting the spear’s light until tears slowly gathered and blurred her vision.

Then, in the next second, the immaculate white spear suddenly shot toward the sky like a star released from its chains. It tore through the heavens with overwhelming speed, as though it had finally found the person it had been waiting for and nothing in existence could prevent it from reaching him.

The woman’s golden hair fluttered violently in the rushing wind. She slowly raised her head toward the distant sky, watching the fading trail of light with longing, before she gently whispered his only name.

“Aether…”

***

**

*

Back on the Gaius Terravita, everyone stared toward the enormous object that had entered their atmosphere.

Panic spread through the world almost instantly. Soldiers shouted while others instinctively looked toward the sky, their faces filled with the same terror that had once seized them when their world had faced destruction.

“What the hell is that…?” Jonathan muttered in utter shock as he stared at the colossal object above them, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Even Allen, who remained kneeling on the ground, lifted his head and stared at the phenomenon with genuine surprise.

For a moment, neither of them could explain what they were witnessing.

It felt as though their world was once again standing on the edge of another unknown catastrophe.

Just then, a desperate voice came from behind Jonathan.

“B-Boss!!”

Jonathan immediately turned around and saw one of his soldiers running toward him.

The man’s body was covered in blood, and panic had completely overtaken his face.

“Huh? What happened—”

Jonathan’s words died in his throat when the soldier suddenly stumbled. His body wobbled for a moment before collapsing forward, revealing the axe embedded in the back of his skull.

Jonathan’s pupils dilated as fear washed over him.

Allen’s pupils widened, a faint smile slowly spreading across his face.

Behind the fallen soldier stood a figure covered in thick red paste.

A bloody axe hung loosely in his hand, droplets of blood sliding down its edge before falling onto the ground.

The figure continued walking forward after it massacred the soldiers.

Jonathan and Allen did not need to ask who he was.

They both knew.

“A-Aether?” Jonathan gulped, unconsciously taking a step backwards.

!~Ding~!

[Survival rate: 95%↓]

!~Ding~!

[Twin Domains: 980↑ / Iskha’vel]

!~Ding~!

[Took you long, asshole🥺]

Thunder suddenly split the sky.

Lightning flashed behind Aether, illuminating his red-covered figure for a fleeting moment.

Against the darkened heavens, he looked less like a man returning from battle and more like the wrath of a crimson god descending upon a world that had finally earned his judgment.

Aether reached down and pulled another axe from the back of the skull before slowly raising his eyes toward Jonathan.

His face was completely cold, his eyes carrying none of the hesitation that Jonathan had expected to find in the man standing before him.

Jonathan’s face immediately lost what little colour remained in it.

“A-Aether, it’s not me… A-Allen did this all—”

Sllcch!

An axe suddenly tore through the air and passed directly beside Jonathan’s cheek, grazing his skin before burying itself somewhere behind him.

Jonathan froze.

A thin line of blood slowly appeared across his cheek.

For one brief second, his face remained pale from the shock. Then the fear twisted into fury, and his expression reddened as humiliation and rage overwhelmed him.

“E-Everyone, KILL THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE!!”

As he shouted, Jonathan hurriedly reached into his vehicle and grabbed something hidden inside.

The remaining soldiers raised their guns toward Aether and began firing rapidly, their fingers repeatedly pulling the triggers as panic overwhelmed them.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!!

The bullets rained toward Aether one after another without stopping. Muzzle flashes illuminated the soldiers’ terrified faces in rapid succession, while spent casings scattered across the ground around their feet.

None of them dared to stop.

The sight of him continuing to walk toward them was enough to make their instincts scream that something was terribly wrong.

Their hands trembled as they kept firing.

“Keep shooting!”

“Don’t let him get closer!”

“Empty the magazines!”

They continued pulling the triggers until every magazine was emptied, the gun nozzles flaring with smoke as the final rounds disappeared into the crimson haze.

Click…

Click…

Click…

The hollow sound of empty magazines echoed throughout the area.

Slowly, the soldiers stopped.

Their chests rose and fell heavily as they stared through the smoke.

For a moment, they believed it was over.

No one could possibly survive something like that.

No human being could simply stand after taking that many bullets.

One soldier lowered his weapon slightly, his voice barely escaping his dry throat.

“…He’s dead, right?”

Nobody answered.

The smoke gradually thinned.

Then their expressions froze.

Aether was still standing.

His body remained covered in crimson, torn fabric hanging from his frame while blood slowly dripped from his arms and shoulders. Yet his posture had barely changed.

He simply stood there.

Then he took another step.

Step…

The sound of his foot touching the ground seemed unnaturally loud.

Another step followed.

Step…

The soldiers instinctively began retreating.

One of them whispered,

“What… what the hell is he?”

Jonathan, however, suddenly laughed.

“Haha… don’t worry. I’ll be the one to kill you, asshole~”

He raised a massive black gun that hummed with concentrated energy. Several metallic rings surrounding its barrel began rotating, each one pulsing with increasingly violent waves of energy.

VMMMMM…

The ground beneath Jonathan’s feet trembled.

Energy gathered inside the weapon, compressing so densely that the air around its barrel distorted.

His armoured fingers tightened around the grip… Just his hand.

“Do you know when I told you, my parents… I lied…”

Jonathan’s fear disappeared beneath a wicked smile and whispered,

“I only said… I will not eat them.”

As he grinned wickedly.

Aether froze as he realised those words.

“Goodbye, Fucker~”

BOOM!!!

A colossal blast erupted.

The shockwave tore across the area, throwing soldiers backwards and ripping dust and debris from the ground.

The concentrated energy blasted Aether’s entire body into pieces in an instant…

or so they thought…

!~Ding~!

[Unique Skill: Perfected Genome Activated]

Inside Aether’s Twin Domains, something changed.

The White flame and blood that had been restrained by the chains created from Grace’s powers suddenly trembled.

At first, it was barely noticeable.

Then the trembling intensified.

The blood compressed within the chains began fluctuating violently, swelling and contracting as though a living creature were struggling desperately against its restraints.

Grace’s eyes narrowed.

“What…?”

The chains groaned under the pressure.

KRRR…

The blood suddenly surged against them.

Grace’s expression changed.

“No… Don’t tell me…”

Crack!

The chains fractured.

The restraints shattered apart in every direction, and the compressed blood exploded outward like a crimson tsunami.

WHOOSH!

The enormous mass surged through the domain, violently flooding the surrounding space.

The laughter echoed from within the crimson torrent.

“Hahaha…”

The voice was distorted, yet filled with unmistakable delight.

“I am free…”

The blood twisted violently.

“I am finally free!!”

The voice echoed throughout the domain as a humanoid figure began forming within the violent crimson mass.

Its body gradually took shape.

Grace’s expression immediately changed.

The figure smiled.

“I will take over this body and kill that fucking bitch—”

Before it could finish speaking, an enormous transparent hand emerged from the valley below and…

BOOM!

It slammed directly into the crimson blood, crushing the violent mass beneath its palm with such overwhelming force that the surrounding space rippled.

Like a hand slapping the mosquito that drinks too much blood.

The figure’s expression changed instantly.

“W-Wait…”

The transparent fingers curled inward.

The hand clenched.

The blood was compressed inside its palm.

“ARRRHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The scream erupted from the crimson ocean, echoing throughout the domain with enough force to make the surrounding space tremble.

[Assimilation Progress of Demonic Vampiric Blood Resumed: ….96%]

The blood began glowing intensely between the transparent fingers.

It struggled.

It twisted.

It tried to force itself through the gaps between the fingers, but the hand only tightened further.

“N-No, no, NO!! LET ME OU—!”

Compress!

The blood violently contracted.

[97%]

“P-Please…!”

The arrogance was gone.

“I haven’t killed the bitch who… who killed my entire bloodline…”

The transparent fingers tightened again.

Compress!

[98%]

The crimson mass convulsed violently.

“I-I will b-be a g-g-good g-guy…”

Compress!

[99%]

The figure’s voice became increasingly faint.

“N-No… I-I d-don’t w-want… to disapp—”

Compress!

[100%]

CHUCK!

The transparent hand finally closed completely.

For a moment, everything became silent.

Inside the clenched palm, a crimson light pulsed violently.

The light struggled against the transparent fingers as though something was still desperately trying to claw its way back into existence.

But the hand clenched even tighter and tighter….

Then,

SHATTER!

The transparent hand shattered like glass.

Fragments of translucent energy scattered through the domain before fading into nothingness.

Only two drops of blood remained floating in the air.

One was crimson and radiant, glowing with a violent inner light that pulsed like a miniature heartbeat.

The other was dark and thick.

!~Ding~!

[Assimilation Complete]

Grace stared at the two drops without moving.

Her mouth remained slightly open.

Her mind struggled to process what she had just witnessed.

‘Just what the fuck am I witnessing?’

She slowly lowered her hand.

‘Was that… assimilation? Or did something completely different just happen?’

The ethereal flames that had been violently clashing moments earlier suddenly calmed.

The flames gradually lost their aggression, flickering softly as the chains loosened around them.

The flames withdrew and drifted back toward the Ethereal side.

Grace followed them with her eyes.

She wasn’t even sure what the fuck was going on anymore.

Everything she understood about the situation had been overturned in the span of a few moments.

She slowly rubbed her forehead.

‘What the hell am I even supposed to make of this?’

It felt as though everything she knew about the world had been thrown out the window, and she needed to study everything again.

Her attention eventually returned to the two drops of blood as they began moving.

Slowly, they floated toward another transparent hand where the Mutated Card hovered silently above the palm.

The two drops drifted toward the centre of the hand.

Then something emerged from within the palm.

A transparent figure slowly rose from the surface as though it were being sculpted from liquid glass.

Its body formed piece by piece.

First the legs.

Then the torso.

Then the arms.

Finally, the face.

Grace’s eyes widened.

It looked exactly like Aether.

The transparent figure stood silently in the centre of the palm and extended both hands outward.

Above its right hand, the crimson glowing drop hovered.

It began wobbling.

Then it twisted.

The liquid-like blood stretched outward, its shape rapidly changing as if an invisible force were moulding it.

The transformation finally stabilised.

A bat in the blood sea appeared above his hand.

Its wings remained folded for a moment before slowly opening.

On the opposite side, the thick, dark drop of blood floated above the other hand.

It began wobbling as well.

The dark liquid stretched in two different directions.

One mass grew larger, its body becoming long and serpentine.

The other spread outward, forming wings and a feathered body.

The shapes finally solidified.

A dragon… And a phoenix.

Both creatures remained suspended in the blood sea.

They turned toward one another.

The dragon’s eyes seemed to glare at the phoenix.

The phoenix stared back.

Neither moved.

It was as though the two creatures were eternally frozen at the instant before a battle.

Grace stood over the cage and was flabbergasted… as those two… were Primordial bloods.

“Essence?” Grace frowned… they seemed to be Essence of blood at the same time… not?

Then the crimson bat suddenly began glowing.

Its body radiated a violent red light.

Its wings snapped open.

FWOOOSH!

The bat threw its head backward and released a piercing screech.

SKREEEEEEEEEECH!!

Its wings fluttered furiously, sending waves of crimson energy through the domain.

The screech echoed from one end of the space to the other, vibrating through the very foundation of the Twin Domains.

Grace immediately covered both ears.

Her hair fluttered wildly from the pressure as she stared at the impossible scene before her.

Her eyes twitched. “…What the actual fuck?”

!~Ding~!

[Derived Skill: Perfect Regeneration]

!~Ding~!

[LOG 2.0 Status → 99.9%]

*****

In the real world, barely a second had passed…

Aether’s body blasted into pieces as the flesh and everything flew away in the air as the compressed energy trapped within him was about to cause a catastrophic explosion.

Suddenly everything slowed… or…the blood moved insanely faster.

The crimson liquid suddenly surged toward the scattered pieces of flesh in the middle of air, almost as though it possessed a will of its own.

Slrrrruupppp!

The blood wrapped around the fragments and violently pulled them back together. Before the multicoloured energy particles trapped within Aether’s remains could erupt, every piece of flesh was dragged into position and reconstructed with terrifying speed.

Broken bones aligned.

Torn muscles knitted together.

Flesh sealed over flesh.

Veins reconnected as crimson blood flowed through them, restoring everything in an instant.

The blood then tightened around Aether’s entire body, sealing it from within as though it were locking away the destructive energy before it could escape.

The violent energy that had been moments away from exploding was completely contained.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Aether’s body was whole again.

Not merely alive.

Completely restored.

Just like a Primordial Vampire.

!!!

Everyone’s faces turned pale with pure horror.

Some soldiers stood frozen with their mouths slightly open, while others instinctively took several steps backwards.

A few looked at one another as if silently asking whether they had all just witnessed the same thing.

One soldier slowly lowered his weapon.

“…No.”

Another shook his head.

“No, no, no. I didn’t sign up for this shit.”

Jonathan was completely taken aback.

His breathing became uneven as Aether slowly raised his head.

Those furious crimson eyes locked directly onto him.

Jonathan’s entire body stiffened.

His legs began trembling.

The massive black gun slipped from his armoured hand and struck the ground.

CLANG!

Jonathan stared at it for a moment before looking back at Aether.

“I-I-I am not scared of you!!”

His voice cracked so badly that even he knew how unconvincing it sounded.

He immediately turned toward the soldiers, desperately trying to recover whatever authority he still possessed.

“Hold him down—!”

“FUCK YOU!!”

The response came almost instantly.

The remaining soldiers scattered.

They didn’t even bother pretending to obey.

They scrambled away without the slightest intention of sacrificing themselves for Jonathan.

There was no loyalty left.

After watching Aether’s body literally explode and then instantly reconstruct itself in front of their eyes, whatever courage they had possessed had been beaten out of them by sheer survival instinct.

Jonathan’s face turned bright red with humiliation.

He looked around at the fleeing soldiers in disbelief.

“You useless pieces of shit! Get back here!”

Nobody listened.

For the first time, Jonathan’s authority had completely evaporated.

His eyes darted toward Aether.

Then his gaze landed on Allen.

Jonathan’s expression suddenly changed.

A solution.

He forced a grin onto his face.

“Oi… Go and kill that asshole.”

Allen simply lowered his head.

He didn’t respond.

Jonathan stared at him.

“Oi.”

Nothing.

Jonathan’s smile twitched.

“Oi! I am talking to you, bitch!”

He walked over and kicked Allen hard.

THUD!

Allen’s body shifted slightly from the impact, but he still didn’t raise his head.

Jonathan grabbed him by the collar.

“He’s not only going to kill me, but he’s going to kill you too!”

Allen finally lifted his head.

There was no fear in his eyes.

Only deep guilt and disgust.

“Oh yeah…”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“Then let’s die together, my dear friend…”

Allen’s smile widened.

“Ahahahah… I had been hoping for this as well… haha…”

Jonathan stared at him.

For a moment, he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“You… You fucking bastard!”

Jonathan’s face twisted with fury.

Allen simply smiled.

Jonathan’s breathing became heavier.

He had survived this long.

He had fought, schemed, betrayed, and sacrificed everything he could to reach this point.

He wasn’t going to die here.

Not now.

Not after everything.

And certainly not from this asshole who thinks he was the protagonist!

Then a woman’s voice suddenly came from behind him.

“John? Is something wrong?”

Jonathan’s head snapped around.

Sasha stepped out of the house, dragging the girl who had just freshened up behind her.

Jonathan’s eyes immediately landed on the girl, and his lower body twitched in excitement.

‘Such a young bud… Damn it!’

He licked his lips, thinking he was going to lose this… but still his life mattered more than his dick, right?

Immediately grabbing the little girl and pulled her into his arms. Then, with his armoured hand clenched tightly around her neck.

One squeeze.

That was all it would take to snap her neck.

Jonathan pointed toward Aether with his free hand.

“C-Come any closer, and I will kill this little bitch!”

Aether stopped.

Jonathan’s lips slowly curled into a smirk.

Meanwhile, near the door, Lia suddenly stirred.

Her eyes shot open.

“HERE I COME, DARLI—”

Boink!

The wooden staff descended directly onto her head again, producing a tiny burst of sparkles.

Lia immediately collapsed unconscious.

The Prophetess stared down at her.

“How did she even break through my spell this fast? It’s… insane—”

“Don’t look down on Mother’s lov—”

BOINK!

This time, Prophetess hit her even harder, not because she wanted to, but because she had been startled by the sudden movement. The wooden staff struck with enough force to make her stagger slightly before she caught herself.

Prophetess stood there in silence for a moment, her expression completely blank.

She slowly turned her head and stared at unconscious Lia… waiting for her to surprise her, but… no, she didn’t.

It seems she really struck her hard.

Then her gaze shifted toward Aether.

Grace already went aback when she sensed the domain change.

“Ahh…” Prophetess sighed tiredly, rubbing her forehead with one hand.

Yet, despite her exhaustion, the corners of her lips slowly curled into a faint smile.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore… not when it comes to him and… his people.”

There was no anger or exhaustion in her voice this time. Instead, there was something closer to resignation, as though she had finally accepted that the moment she became involved with Aether and those around him, even the most absurd situations could somehow become perfectly ordinary.

She turned and slowly walked away.

[+500 AP]

However, after taking a few steps, Prophetess suddenly stopped.

Her smile gradually faded as she lifted her gaze toward the Eternal Prison.

For a moment, she simply stared at it.

Then, in a voice so soft that it was almost lost to the wind, she muttered,

“The Conclusion is approaching…”