Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1438: Forced sisters.... And natural friends.

”Cough, cough.”

As the dust finally settled, Nightfire doubled over, coughing violently.

Her vision swam before slowly clearing... What she saw made her breath hitch; the ground she stood on a few seconds ago shattered into deep fractures that spread outward like a spiderweb.

Her throat tightened as she realised how close she had come to falling.

One wrong step, one delayed reaction, and she would have vanished into the broken earth below.

Slowly, her gaze lifted, following the cracks until they ended at a pair of towering metallic legs planted firmly into the ground.

The figure loomed like a walking fortress, taller than a tree and broader than before. Jagged wires protruded from its metallic body, twitching and sparking as a distorted whining sound echoed from within its frame, sharp enough to make her ears ring.

”G-Guys?” Nightfire called out.

”I am here... cough, cough,” came Selene’s voice, rough but steady despite the debris clinging to her.

”Y-Yeah... I’m fine,” Thalia answered, forcing herself upright as embers flickered across her clenched fists.

Both Selene and Thalia stood fully, brushing dust and stone from their clothes while their eyes locked onto the towering figure ahead.

Thalia reached down, pulling Nightfire to her feet, ”Call the others and inform Lyirrs. Tell her everything you see,” she said as yellowish-red flames erupted from her arms, curling like living serpents around her hands.

Nightfire nodded, closing her eyes as she reached out through their shared connection. Her brow furrowed almost instantly, ”Wait... how am I supposed to contact Lyirrs directly?”

”...”

”...”

For a brief second, both Thalia and Selene froze.

They forget that part!

Shit!

”Just tell anyone,” Selene snapped, pulling her sword free with a sharp metallic hiss.

Nightfire nodded again, pushing the connection outward with urgency as she relayed the situation.

Far away, those who received the message stiffened in shock before immediately breaking into a run, as they moved toward Nightfire’s location.

None of them knew if they would arrive in time, but none of them slowed.

/You just hold on. Don’t you dare fall yet./

Their voices echoed inside Nightfire’s mind.

She swallowed hard, her gaze never leaving the towering figure ahead. ”I don’t think that’s going to be possible,” she muttered under her breath as the metallic giant finally moved.

Its massive body rotated with a grinding screech, metal joints whining as its head turned toward them.

Red glass-like lenses glowed to life on its black, metallic flat face, locking onto them.

It didn’t attack... It simply stared, as if assessing prey.

A wave of unease rippled through the group.

Why was it just standing there?

Why wasn’t it striking?

Then a male voice burst from the metallic figure, distorted and in an unknown language,

*What a grand surprise... To think I would encounter the same bitches who hurt my brother. Hahaha... looks like even God favours my vengeance.*

The laughter echoed unnaturally, bouncing off broken stone and shattered ground as the air itself seemed to vibrate.

Everyone blinked, exchanging uneasy glances as confusion spread across their faces.

They understood none of the words, but the hatred behind them was impossible to miss.

Thalia narrowed her eyes, flames flaring brighter as she leaned closer to Selene. ”You understand what it’s saying, don’t you?” she asked quietly. ”That’s Aether’s language... right?”

Selene weakly nodded as she clenched her fist, ”I am not proficient enough to fully understand it since it was fast and fluent,” she said through a tight breath, ”But... itcalled us... ’bitches.’”

Veins popped across everyone’s forehead.

Thalia’s lips twitched violently, fury burning behind her eyes as she stared up at the towering figure.

”Look at this motherfucker,” she snarled, flames flaring hotter around her arms. ”What? Is your mother a bitch?” Her foot slammed into the ground with a violent stomp as she launched herself forward, heat trailing behind her like a comet.

*Haha... come at me, bitch!*

The tall metallic figure raised its arm, joints screaming as metal shifted with a piercing whining sound.

Thalia didn’t hesitate.

Ever since her first time with Aether, she had trained her body relentlessly, forging muscle, bone, and reflex into weapons.

She could feel it now, power packed into every movement, every breath steady and controlled. She didn’t need borrowed strength.

She didn’t need Arcane or Clarion.

This was her body.

Now was the moment to show the world what she was capable of. Without hesitation, without fear, she surged forward as the strongest Phoenix.

When her fist collided with the massive metallic hand,

Crack!

It wasn’t Thalia’s bones that broke.

Fine fractures spread across the metallic figure’s knuckles, spiderwebbing across the surface as sparks burst outward. But before she could press the advantage, the damaged fist recoiled and slammed forward with brutal force.

BOOM!!

A sudden shockwave erupted from the collision, the sheer power launching Thalia into the air as if she were weightless. Her body spun violently before vanishing into the dust-filled sky.

Both Selene and Nightfire froze, watching Thalia fly helplessly upward, their faces draining of colour as disbelief tightened their throats.

Selene’s expression hardened instantly. She clenched her sword tighter as she broke into a sprint toward the towering figure.

”No!” Nightfire screamed.

Selene didn’t slow. She surged forward as she swung with everything she had, the blade slamming into the metallic leg with a blinding flash.

TANG!!!

The sound rang out like thunder, forcing Nightfire to clench her teeth as pain rippled through her ears.

Selene blinked, her breath catching as she stared at the result... There was no dent.

Not even a scratch marred the surface, as if her attack had been nothing more than a child’s strike.

*Done with your pathetic attempt, bitch?*

Selene didn’t grasp every word.

Veins bulged along her forehead as rage surged through her chest.

”Don’t call me a bitch!!” Selene roared, stepping in again as she brought her sword down.

TANG!!

Once more, the blade rebounded uselessly, leaving the metallic body untouched.

*Hahaha!*

The metallic figure’s laughter boomed as it lifted its massive foot high into the air.

The shadow swallowed Selene whole before the foot came crashing down toward her.

Selene barely managed to throw herself backwards, rolling hard across the shattered ground as the impact pulverised stone where she had stood.

Her body skidded violently before coming to a stop behind a broken slab.

”Arrh!” Selene groaned, pain ripping through her as she clutched her leg, her face twisting when she saw her foot bent at an unnatural angle.

”Selene!” Nightfire shouted as she caught Selene in her arms, pulling her close as blood and dust smeared against her clothes.

”We need to leave now! We can’t stay here!”

Selene nodded weakly, her face twisted with pain.

They had prepared themselves for those smaller metallic figures.

This thing, however, was something else entirely, a walking abomination far beyond their expectations.

The only way to defeat something like this was together, fighting as one without hesitation. Even then, she wasn’t certain they could actually beat this monster, not with their current strength.

Nightfire tightened her grip, preparing to drag Selene away no matter what it took, when a distorted sound cut through the air.

Nnnsssggg~

Selene’s eyes widened as she glanced upward. The metallic figure raised its arm again, but this time its hand didn’t remain intact. Metal twisted and reshaped itself, layers folding inward as the structure morphed into something unfamiliar and deeply unsettling.

A pulsating beam-like formation grew from its arm, glowing faintly as a slow, ominous humming sound spread across the battlefield.

Both Nightfire’s and Selene’s instincts screamed at them to run.

Every part of their bodies warned them that if they stayed even a second longer, this would be the end.

Selene’s heart skipped painfully as a single thought pierced through the chaos... Aether.

Nightfire’s body froze, locking her muscles in place as her lips trembled. ”A-Aether...” she whispered, the name slipping out as if it were a prayer.

She wasn’t just saying his name. She was calling him... Calling him to protect her, to appear like he always did.

Both of them, trapped in this hopeless situation, found themselves calling out to Aether in their hearts, clinging to the impossible hope that he would save them.

But he wasn’t there.

He was already wounded.

He was lying motionless somewhere else, injured to the point where even he needed saving.

The weight of reality crushed down on Nightfire’s chest. For a brief, shameful moment, the thought crossed her mind to let go of Selene and run, to save herself while she still could.

Her fingers loosened slightly, instincts screaming at her to drop Selene and flee. She forced her legs to respond, her body on the verge of obeying, when a broken voice stopped her...

”Nightfire... run,” Selene said softly.

Nightfire flinched as she looked down. Selene was smiling at her, weak and pained, yet sincere.

Guilt flooded Nightfire’s eyes.

She had thought of Aether first... She had thought of herself second... but... but...

She hadn’t thought of Selene at all.

The woman who spoke to her as an equal, never judging her, never looking down on her.

The one who helped her adjust when she struggled to belong here.

The one who always scolded and annoyed her whenever she got too close to Aether.

And now here she was, injured and helpless, still telling Nightfire to save herself.

Even if they weren’t bound deeply enough to call it something grand, even if their bond hadn’t fully formed yet, there was still something real between them.

”I-I can’t,” Nightfire whispered, her face pale as she shook her head.

Somewhere deep inside, she already knew the truth... Selene would never leave her behind.

This wasn’t about Aether or shared attachment.

It was about their time together.

About what they had become.

Forced sisters.... And natural friends.

Nightfire closed her eyes, shutting out the terror, the noise, and the looming death as she wrapped her arms tightly around Selene, holding her as if that alone could defy fate.

”A-Are you insane!” Selene snapped, shock ripping through her voice as she stared at Nightfire in disbelief.

If Nightfire truly was in this situation, Selene freaking knew she would have run the moment she realised this was the end, without hesitation, without looking back.

After all... losing two people was far more painful than losing one.

Guilty tears welled in Selene’s eyes as her breath trembled.

She shook her head slowly, anger mixing with shame as the truth settled heavily in her chest. She shouldn’t have been thinking only about Aether.

Not just him!

These women were here not only because of Aether, but because of each other.

It wasn’t always about Aether.

Her hands tightened around Nightfire’s arms,

”Y-you idiot,” Selene muttered.

Nightfire smiled weakly.

Neither of them spoke again as they clung to each other, eyes closing in silent acceptance of what they believed was coming.

*Haha... so long, bitches.*

The haughty laughter echoed as blue energy particles shimmered violently in the air, gathering into a blinding mass that distorted everything around it.

SSSNNNNN!

A concentrated blue beam erupted forward, vaporising everything in its path as the ground screamed and disintegrated beneath its force.

Both Nightfire and Selene squeezed their eyes shut, bodies trembling as a searing, ionising heat washed over them, close enough to burn yet strangely held at bay.

Then—

”I am very proud of you guys.”

Thud!

A heavy impact shook the ground as a gentle.

Nightfire and Selene flinched violently, instinctively opening their eyes as the blinding blue light faded enough to sting their vision.

”A-Aether?” Nightfire whispered, squinting through the fading glow as her heart pounded uncontrollably. Her breath hitched as she tried to focus on the figure standing between them and certain death.