Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1894: Hearken, children of the grave

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

Aether stopped.

Jonathan’s lips slowly curled into a smirk as he gestured toward Sasha, ordering her to capture him.

Sasha nodded and walked toward the car to retrieve the cuffs capable of restraining him.

Jonathan looked at Aether coldly, the smirk on his face gradually twisting into something more wicked as he leaned down and licked the little girl’s cheek before saying,

“You haven’t changed… Always trying to help the losers, even when they don’t deserve it. Ahaha…. What are you? A Protagonist? Huh? Hahaha…” Jonathan laughed with quiet amusement.

“I don’t understand… Why is everything always about you? Aether this, Aether that… It’s as if my entire life has revolved around you. Do you know how fucking sick that makes me? Even now, after everything that has happened… somehow, it’s still about YOU!”

Aether stared at him blankly, his expression cold and unreadable, before his eyes shifted toward the little girl trembling in Jonathan’s grasp. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to breathe.

Jonathan gritted his teeth as he watched Aether’s attention drift away from him.

“Answer me, Aether… Parents are supposed to love their children, right? Then why did mine always look at me and see you? Why was every achievement of mine still somehow measured against you?

Even though you are nothing but a fucking pathetic loser!!”

His voice grew harsher with every word as if he had been festering for years.

Jonathan snorted furiously as he glared at Aether as if he were the source of every humiliation he had ever endured.

“I gave them millions! Millions! Do you understand that? Haha… And it still wasn’t enough. You didn’t even earn a fucking penny, yet they spoke about you like you were worth more than everything I had accomplished.

“Even when the fucking world was being destroyed, they were worried about you. You? What the FUCK was so special about you?!”

His fingers tightened around the girl as his breathing became heavier.

“Do you know how it felt? I was pissed. I got so fucking pissed… I hated hearing your name over and over again. There were moments when I wanted them to die right then and there, just so I wouldn’t have to hear them compare me to you anymore.”

Aether looked at him for a long moment before quietly muttering,

“You haven’t changed. You’re still… a coward.”

Jonathan’s eyes widened slightly before his face twitched with anger.

“Me? A coward? What the fuck are you talking about? Come closer, and I will show you exactly who the coward is, motherfucker! PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPON!”

“ARRRHH!!”

The girl wriggled violently as Jonathan tightened his grip around her. Her breathing became increasingly strained, and her frightened eyes remained fixed on Aether.

Aether slowly released the bloody axe from his hand.

Tang…

The weapon struck the ground with a dull metallic sound.

Jonathan’s grin returned as he watched Aether surrender.

“I think you finally understand what’s happening here… But here’s something you should know. It wasn’t only me.”

“Allen helped me too… Ahaha.

That motherfucker gave me the toys I wanted. He knew exactly what I needed.”

Allen’s expression turned dark as he lowered his head, refusing to meet Aether’s eyes.

Sasha, holding the cuffs, walked toward Aether with deliberate confidence. The cuffs whirled between her fingers as she approached, her steps carrying a deliberately seductive rhythm.

“Look at you… so pitiful. If only you had cooperated with me from the beginning~~ Hahah.”

Sasha giggled wickedly as she licked her lips.

“What? Surprised? You thought I’d fall for you? Hahaha… You’re pretty, I’ll give you that. Maybe even fuckable… a few times. But I’d rather keep you as my toy.”

She stopped directly in front of him and raised the cuffs between them.

“You know what I love about pretty faces? I love breaking pretty faces. Watching that beauty disappear little by little is much more satisfying, darling~”

Aether’s cold eyes remained fixed on her.

“Come on, raise your hands!” Sasha ordered coldly.

When Aether did not move, her expression twisted with irritation.

“What are you looking at? Raise your fucking hands, you retard!”

She suddenly raised her knee toward his crotch.

Aether’s leg flickered forward.

Crack!

Sasha’s knee bent violently to the side as the impact shattered the joint, the bones splintering beneath her skin. For a brief moment, she simply stared at her own leg, as though her mind could not understand what had happened.

Then the pain reached her.

“ARRHHHHHHH!!!”

Even Jonathan was taken aback for a moment, almost failing to notice the shadow moving closer to him.

Bang!

A bullet pierced his shoulder.

“Argh!”

Jonathan staggered backwards and released the little girl he was holding. Clenching his wounded shoulder and gritting his teeth against the pain, he looked up and saw Lily approaching with the gun still raised.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Jonathan immediately raised his armoured hand to block the bullets, the shots ricocheting off the metal plating as sparks scattered across the ground.

Killing him was not her goal. Lily quickly rushed forward, caught the little girl, and pulled her away from Jonathan.

“Come on, girl. Let’s go to your father.”

“I-I… I… I’m scared…” The little girl’s legs trembled beneath her, nearly giving out, but Lily held her firmly.

“It’s alright… Come with me.”

Lily guided the frightened girl away, keeping herself between her and Jonathan.

As she passed, Allen stared at her with a surprised expression. His eyes widened slightly when Lily suddenly looked directly at him with a cold gaze.

Allen immediately lowered his head, biting his lips.

Jonathan’s face twisted with rage as he shouted after them,

“Stop there, you fucking bitch! I should have fucked you when I had the chance… FUCK YOU!”

His voice echoed through the area as he watched the little girl escape from his grasp.

“J-John…”

A weak, trembling voice called his name.

Jonathan’s eyes snapped toward it.

He saw Sasha kneeling, her face pale with terror as she desperately looked toward him.

Aether stood silently before her, his cold eyes fixed on Jonathan.

“Should God forgive the sinner?”

Aether slowly picked up the axe from the ground and positioned its blade against Sasha’s neck.

He continued in the same cold voice,

“Or… shall the Devil praise the sinner?”

Jonathan’s face instantly turned pale.

“N-No… NO… A-Aether…”

Sasha’s entire body trembled as tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked toward Jonathan with desperate eyes.

“P-Please… No… Please…”

Chip…

Aether lightly tapped the axe against her neck, barely breaking the skin.

He did it again.

And again.

The blade moved with the slow, deliberate rhythm of a woodcutter striking a piece of timber.

Aether’s cold eyes never left Jonathan as he moved the axe back and forth, gradually widening the shallow cut across Sasha’s neck.

“J-Joh…h…n…”

Sasha raised her trembling hand toward Jonathan, tears covering her face as she silently begged him to help her.

Aether slowly motioned toward Jonathan, almost inviting him to come forward and save her.

Jonathan did not move an inch.

He simply stood there, frozen.

Aether watched him for a moment before quietly saying,

“So you are… beyond redemption.”

Disappointment and coldness briefly crossed Aether’s face.

Then it disappeared.

What replaced it was something far colder.

His expression hardened with fury, and before Jonathan’s horrified eyes, Aether continued cutting into Sasha’s neck inch by inch rather than ending her suffering immediately.

CHIP!

“ARHHH!”

CHIP!

“ARHHH!”

CHIP!

“ARHH—!”

Jonathan watched in horror as his wife’s neck was slowly chipped apart like wood beneath the axe. Her screams became increasingly desperate until blood suddenly spurted from the food pipe and her eyes rolled backwards.

Then, with one final swing, the axe severed her head.

Her head rolled across the ground, leaving behind a jagged, uneven cut at the neck.

Blood poured from the headless body as it collapsed.

Thuck!

!~Ding~!

[Twin Domains: 981↑ / Iskha’vel]

Aether bent down, picked up Sasha’s severed head, and threw it toward Jonathan.

Jonathan stood frozen as the head struck his chest before falling heavily onto his foot.

He slowly looked down.

Sasha’s face stared back at him, frozen in her final expression of terror.

“AAAAAAAHH!!”

Jonathan screamed and kicked her head away, stumbling backwards in horror.

His face had gone pale, his breathing had become ragged, and his heart hammered so violently that he could feel every beat against his chest.

He had seen worse.

He had killed countless people.

So why?

Why was he feeling this primal, instinctive fear?

Step…

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Jonathan slowly looked up and saw Aether walking toward him.

Each step was steady and unhurried, as though there was no reason for Aether to rush.

There was nowhere Jonathan could run that Aether could not reach.

THUNDER!!!

Lightning flashed across the dark sky, illuminating the entire area for a split second.

Jonathan’s eyes widened when he saw what had manifested behind Aether.

A huge black grin hung in the darkness behind him, impossibly wide and twisted into a wicked smile. It had no face, no eyes, and no body, yet its presence alone made Jonathan’s stomach twist.

THUNDER!!!

Another flash of lightning tore through the sky.

This time, a second grin appeared behind Aether, white and unnaturally bright against the darkness.

Two enormous, twisted smiles hovered behind him, one black and one white, as though something unseen was standing behind Aether and smiling at Jonathan.

And at that exact moment, Aether grinned as well.

Piiisss….

Jonathan’s pants became drenched as his body betrayed him. His breathing became erratic, and his hands trembled uncontrollably as he scrambled backwards across the ground.

“N-No… No, no, no…”

Whatever this thing was… it was definitely not something he could stop.

Allen closed his eyes when he saw Aether get closer.

His entire body stiffened, expecting death to come next. He had already accepted that Aether would kill him.

But nothing happened.

Aether simply walked past him.

Allen slowly opened one eye, then turned his head and watched Aether continue toward Jonathan.

Jonathan saw the car ahead of him and gathered whatever strength remained in his body. He stumbled toward it, nearly falling several times as his legs struggled to carry him.

He reached the car and desperately grabbed the door handle.

Just as he was about to pull it open, a hand suddenly seized the back of his head.

SLAM!

His face was driven against the glass.

SHATTER!!

“ARHHH!!”

The window exploded into countless fragments.

Pieces of glass pierced Jonathan’s skin as he screamed, blood running down the side of his face. Before he could even recover, Aether pulled him away from the shattered window and threw him violently onto the ground.

Jonathan rolled across the dirt before stopping on his back.

His chest heaved rapidly.

He stared up at Aether, his face filled with genuine terror.

“A-Aether… L-Listen… Please, just listen to me.”

“I-I really didn’t have a choice. I swear, I didn’t. I’ll tell you everything, so please leave me… Please, buddy… We are best friends, right?”

His voice cracked.

“I was there when you needed me! I stood beside you when everyone else walked away. I-I know I changed after you left, but… but it wasn’t my fault, you know? You have to understand that!”

He desperately crawled backwards, his palms scraping against the ground as Aether continued staring at him.

“Please, buddy… Don’t look at me like that.”

Jonathan swallowed hard.

“We are best friends… Aether. You remember that, don’t you?”

His voice became smaller.

“You trusted me once.”

Aether stopped.

A faint sense of relief appeared across Jonathan’s terrified face when he noticed Aether’s hesitation.

He immediately seized the opportunity.

“Aether, my best friend, hear me out… It’s not what you think it is. I swear.

It’s Allen and… your father.”

Jonathan pointed toward Allen with a shaking finger.

“Yes, your father is the one behind all of this. You need to understand that!”

His words came faster and faster, each sentence becoming more desperate than the last.

“Both Allen and your father were working together to kill you!

I… I was secretly trying to help you. That’s all, buddy. I never wanted things to become like this.”

Jonathan’s eyes darted toward Aether, desperately searching for even the smallest reaction.

“In fact, Maiuri died because I tried to help you. I tried to do something, but I never had a chance… I was trapped, man. What was I supposed to do?”

His breathing became heavier as his fingers slowly moved.

“If I didn’t do what they wanted, they would kill me. You know how powerful they are. I had no choice!”

Jonathan’s voice cracked again.

“Please… Please believe me, buddy. I was the only one who stayed with you, right? Remember that. Remember when everyone else disappeared and I was still there.”

“You remember, don’t you?”

For a brief moment, Jonathan’s face became completely still.

Then his expression twisted as his armoured fingers clenched the black gun.

“Fuck you, dumbass!”

BOOM!!

The metallic gun erupted with a concentrated blast of energy.

The projectile tore through the air with furious force, sending dust and debris exploding outward as it slammed toward Aether.

BOOM!!

“Die, motherfucker!”

Jonathan fired again.

His arms shook from the recoil, but he barely noticed.

BOOM!!

“Die!”

BOOM!!

“Die!”

BOOM!!

“FUCKING DIE!!!”

The gun roared again and again.

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

Jonathan didn’t stop.

He kept pulling the trigger.

BOOM!!

BOOM!!!!

The concentrated rings surrounding the metallic gun began glowing from the overwhelming energy passing through them.

The metal started turning red.

Jonathan didn’t care.

“JUST DIE!”

BOOM!!

The metallic rings finally buckled under the pressure, glowing fragments breaking away from the weapon as the concentrated energy system began collapsing.

Jonathan’s chest rose and fell violently.

His fingers finally loosened.

The ruined gun slipped from his hand.

Clang…

He stared ahead through the smoke.

For a moment, there was only silence.

Jonathan’s breathing slowly stopped.

His eyes widened.

Because somewhere inside that thickening smoke… There was nothing.

“Hahahahaha… I killed that motherfucker! Hahahaha… Die, you fucking asshole! This is what you get for thinking you are the protagonist of the story… Ahaha—”

“Well, I am really the protagonist, though.”

Jonathan’s laughter abruptly stopped.

His entire body stiffened.

He slowly turned his head toward the amused voice behind him.

Aether was standing there.

Before Jonathan could even react, Aether’s hand shot forward, caught him by the throat, and lifted him effortlessly into the air.

“Arrgh… P-Please… d-don’t kill me…”

Jonathan clawed desperately at Aether’s hand, his feet kicking uselessly above the ground as his vision began to blur.

Aether stared at him without emotion.

“Kill you? Not yet… and not me.”

As he spoke, darkness slowly began spreading across Aether’s face.

It was not ordinary darkness.

Deep, pitch-black shadows crawled over his features until his face was almost completely concealed within them.

Then, from somewhere within that darkness, a voice began to echo.

Like something speaking from beneath the world itself.

“From tears to blood, the forsaken remember.”

One by one, the surrounding lamps flickered.

CRACK!

Then they burst. Every light surrounding them shattered almost simultaneously, plunging the entire area into darkness.

A cold wind passed through the area.

Aether’s voice continued from within the darkness.

“By the tears of the innocent…”

“By the blood of the forsaken…”

“By the cries buried beneath his silence…”

“Hearken, children of the grave.”

The darkness seemed to deepen around them.

“Rise.”

Crack…

Twitch…

Crack…

Twitch…

Crack…

Twitch…

Something was moving within the darkness.

Allen’s eyes widened in horror. He instinctively covered his mouth as he squinted into the darkness, trying to understand what he was seeing.

A strange chill spread throughout the area.

The temperature seemed to drop with every passing second.

Then came another sound.

Crack…

Something stepped forward.

THUNDER!!!

Lightning tore across the sky, briefly illuminating the entire area.

Jonathan’s eyes widened in absolute terror.

Behind Aether stood the shadows of children.

Dozens of them.

Their bodies were twisted and broken, their heads hanging at unnatural angles, their limbs bent as though their bones had been shattered long ago.

Yet they stood.

Their wicked eyes were filled with hatred as they stared directly at Jonathan.

Jonathan’s lips trembled.

“N-No…”

It was as if they knew him.

As if they… remembered him!

“The hand that defiled thee stands before thee.”

“Rise from thy silence.”

“The living shall not shield him.”

“The dead shall not forgive him.”

The shadows began moving forward.

Their broken limbs dragged across the ground, producing faint scraping sounds that echoed through the darkness.

Aether’s grip remained firm around Jonathan’s throat.

“And let the wicked be judged by those he wronged.”

“N-No… No, no…”

Jonathan’s voice cracked as panic completely overtook him.

He desperately tried to pull himself free from Aether’s grasp.

“Wait! A-Aether, please! I didn’t—”

Before Jonathan could finish, Aether swung his arm.

Jonathan’s body was thrown violently into the darkness.

“NO—!”