Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1479: When Happiness turned to Fear and Death: Part-1

CRACK!

The ground around the newly formed single bud ruptured without warning, splitting open with a violent roar.

Stone screamed against stone as the earth tore itself apart, and the people seated for the grand function froze for a single breath before panic swallowed the place whole.

”OH MY GOD!! WHAT’S HAPPENING?!”

”RUN!! THE GROUND IS BREAKING!!”

”MOTHER!! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

”L-LET ME GO! PLEASE, LET ME GO!”

”S-STOP! DON’T PUSH ME!! MY BABY IS HERE!!”

”GO! JUST RUN, DON’T LOOK BACK!!”

”RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!! IT’S COMING!!”

Screams layered over one another as the earth fractured like a spreading spider web, cracks racing outward from the bud in jagged patterns. Dust erupted into the air, choking lungs, blinding eyes, and turning the once-celebratory ground into a living nightmare.

Crack, crack!

Chairs, stools, decorations, and equipment slid helplessly into the widening fissures.

The platform shattered under the strain, splitting apart as slabs of stone collapsed one after another, tumbling into a deep, forming valley that swallowed everything with a deafening echo.

This day was meant to mark hope, a promise of renewal and a brighter future. Instead, this auspicious day turned into a disaster, as the people’s once happy faces turned to horror.

”Everyone, get back! Move away from the centre!” Aria shouted as she waved both arms desperately. Maelona stayed close beside her, grabbing shoulders, pulling people along, forcing frozen bodies into motion as the ground continued to break.

A man sprinted blindly through the crowd, his breath ragged and uneven as the crack chased him like a living thing. The earth split faster with every step he took, snapping open just behind his heels.

”N-No, no, no, NO!! SOMEONE HELP ME!! PLEASE!!”

His foot missed solid ground as the crack surged forward, and the world vanished beneath him. His body dropped, the scream ripping from his throat as darkness swallowed his vision.

He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the end, waiting for the crushing impact.... that never came. Instead, there was only stillness, his body suspended in midair, the sensation of falling abruptly gone.

Slowly, trembling, he opened his eyes and found himself staring into the glowing gaze of an enormous onyx-colored wolf. Powerful jaws held his collar firmly but gently, keeping him from plunging into the abyss as Kaelen lowered him back onto stable ground.

”T-Thank you... Thank you, Your Majesty...” the man whispered, tears streaming freely as his legs gave out beneath him.

”Go. Don’t stop,” Kaelen said firmly, already turning away as his massive form leapt toward another collapsing edge.

Nearby, Liora moved with furious efficiency in her wolf form, snatching elders from the brink as chairs scraped and toppled around them. Their frail bodies barely reacted as she hauled them away from the spreading cracks, their fear slowing them more than age ever could.

”Fuck these idiots. If they can’t move when death’s right under them, they should have retired long ago,” she snarled, irritation sharp in her voice as she deposited them safely aside.

”M-Mommy! Mommy, help me!”

A child clung desperately to a chair, trembling, tears streaking down his dirt-smudged face. The crack slithered toward him, splitting the ground inch by inch as dust and pebbles dropped into the darkness below.

The earth beneath the chair groaned loudly, the fracture widening as the boy’s scream broke into sobs.

”A-AH! DADDY!!”

Just as the ground gave way beneath him, a shadow swept down from above.

”Caught you, little bird~”

Dora appeared in a blur of motion, catching the chair just before the ground beneath it gave out completely. With a sharp grunt and a powerful twist of her body, she hurled both the chair and the child upward, sending them flying through the air.

They landed hard but safely among the thick branches of a nearby tree, far enough from the spreading destruction to escape the cracks below.

However, the fractures did not slow. The ground continued to split faster and farther, jagged lines racing outward like veins.

”Get moving, your weak ass!” Dora roared furiously as she leapt forward again. The instant her feet left the ground, the earth beneath her shattered, chairs collapsing and vanishing into the widening void she had stood on a heartbeat earlier.

Everyone ran harder, fear driving their legs as screams echoed behind them. Soldiers arrived immediately and started guiding them too.

Aether turned in place, eyes darting across the unfolding horror. This day was meant to be joyful, meant to mark something beautiful, and yet it was unravelling into chaos before his eyes.

Then his gaze locked onto an old man struggling to move, his stick trembling with every step as the crack crept toward him. Aether didn’t hesitate.

”Shit!” he cursed under his breath as he rushed forward, slamming his shoulder into the old man and shoving him away from the edge just before the ground split open beneath where he had been standing.

”T-Thank you...” The old man said shakily, forcing himself to move faster than before.

Aether barely nodded, turning to move away himself. He took a single step—

Crack!

The ground collapsed instantly beneath him.

”Fuc—”

Aether dropped out of sight.

The crowd was too consumed by panic, by pushing bodies and frantic escape, to notice what had just happened.

”Just what is happening?” Ashara asked with a deep frown, her voice tight as she helped Aria steady herself amid the chaos.

Aria’s face twisted in disbelief, her breath uneven as she struggled to process the nightmare unfolding around her. This was supposed to be her engagement day, the happiest moment of her life.

”I... I don’t know,” she whispered, her eyes drifting to her father, who was held by several Elders.

Kaelith stared at the bud with a grave, unsettled expression.

A cold unease settled in his chest as questions clawed at his mind.

Was this a bad omen?

That seed was meant to protect them.

The sacred seed of Zephyra, passed down through generations, revered and trusted beyond doubt... And yet now, it was destroying them.

Had his father lied? Had all his forefathers believed in a false promise?

His eyes trembled as fear crept in.

Then, suddenly, the cracking stopped.

The spreading fractures froze in place, and the roar of collapsing earth faded into silence.

An unnatural stillness fell over the entire area, so abrupt it left ears ringing.

Everyone blinked, gasping for breath, staring at the cracked edges that had halted mere inches from further destruction.

”W-What happened?”

”Did it stop?”

People muttered in confusion, fear slowly giving way to reckless curiosity. A few stepped forward instinctively, drawn toward the cracks like fools courting death.

They stopped immediately when Dora, Liora, and Kaelen stepped in front of them; their cold expression made everyone shudder in fear.

The curious retreated without argument.

Kaelen shifted back into his human form and turned toward the shaken crowd, his gaze sweeping over every face. ”Is everyone alright?” he asked.

If someone had died during this auspicious event, panic would spread like wildfire. And more than that, he did not want his mother’s new life to begin with blood and tragedy.

”M-My baby...”

A broken cry tore through the crowd, silencing nearby voices as people instinctively parted. A woman burst forward, her face streaked with tears, breath hitching wildly as her eyes locked onto the cracked ground ahead of her.

She ran without thinking, feet slamming against the fractured earth. The moment she stepped onto the edge of the spider-webbed cracks, the ground beneath her gave way, collapsing suddenly as she lurched forward—

But Dora caught her mid-fall, gripping her tightly.

”Let me go! MY B-BABY!!”

The woman screamed, her voice shredding as tears poured freely, her body thrashing against Dora’s hold with desperate, feral strength.

Kaelen and Liora turned their gaze toward the cracked ground, scanning the shattered stone in growing dread.

They saw no small form, no movement... nothing! And immediately everyone realised as everyone’s face turned pale.

”Aether? AETHER!”

Aria shouted frantically, spinning toward the crowd, her eyes searching wildly for him. He wasn’t there.

Maelona’s breath caught as panic surged through her, others murmuring in rising distress—

”awweee”

The soft cry cut through the tension.

Everyone flinched and turned toward the sound, eyes snapping to a tangled pile of overturned chairs and scattered debris that had been pushed together during the chaos.

From beneath the mess, something small shifted.

Slowly, shakily, a baby crawled free, crying loudly, tiny hands scraping against stone as dust clung to his clothes.

”aww...”

”M-MY BABY!!”

The woman sobbed, her knees nearly buckling as she tried to rush forward, arms reaching desperately toward her child. Dora tightened her grip, holding her back.

Liora, still in her wolf form, stepped forward instinctively, her paw extending toward the unstable ground—

Crack...

The earth fractured beneath her touch.

”This is not good,” Liora muttered, pulling back immediately as her gaze assessed the terrain. The ground was weak, fragile, barely holding itself together. Even if she leapt, the moment she landed, everything beneath her would collapse.

”awweee!”

The baby cried louder, confusion and fear filling his tiny voice as his head turned frantically from side to side, searching for the one familiar presence he knew.

”MY BABY!!”

The mother screamed hoarsely, her body jerking violently in Dora’s grasp, desperation overriding reason. She fought as if nothing else mattered, as if death itself meant nothing compared to reaching her child.

The moment the baby heard her voice, his crying paused. His wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto her face.

”Maaaaa!”

He began crawling toward her, small hands pushing against the broken ground.

Crack!

”OH!!”

A collective shout erupted as the earth split open dangerously close to the baby, pebbles and dust tumbling into the darkness below.

”Don’t move... just stay there!” Kaelen shouted.

But a baby could not understand fear or warnings, nor the meaning of danger beneath his hands.

All he knew was his mother.

”Maaaa~!”

The baby crawled forward without hesitation, tiny hands slapping against fractured stone as instinct pulled him toward his mother. Every face around the crack hardened into grim dread as the child moved closer to the jagged edge.

”JUST DO SOMETHING OR LET ME GO TO MY CHILD!!!” the woman screamed furiously, her eyes bloodshot and shaking as she stared at her baby, who was seconds away from falling into the abyss.

Just then—

Sshh~

A single arrow shot cleanly from within the crowd, slicing through the air with deadly precision.

It pierced straight through the child’s collar at an exact pinpoint location, no deviation, no error, stopping him in place just inches from the crack.

Gasps rippled outward.

Aria stood firm, both hands gripping the thin, gleaming thread connected to the arrow. She moved sideways carefully, muscles taut as she slowly began sliding the child away from the broken edge, her boots skimming dangerously close to unstable ground.

”Maaa!!”

The baby cried loudly, his little body wriggling as he tried to crawl back toward his mother, confusion and fear mixing in his voice.

”Little guy... look at me. Look at me, darling,” Aria called softly, ”Wwwwhhhss~” She whistled gently.

The child hesitated, his cries faltering as his eyes finally locked onto Aria.

Aria smiled faintly, her hands never stopping as she adjusted her angle. ”Yes... Just look at me, darling. Your mommy’s going to get you. Just stay there, please,” she murmured, inching the thread along while circling carefully, like a delicate game where one wrong step meant everything falling into the pit.

A collective breath was released as people watched.

Then the baby turned his head again, eyes searching frantically until he spotted his mother.

”Maaaa!!... Maaa...!”

Crack!

Crack!

The ground fractured louder this time, jagged lines tearing forward, while the fabric of the child’s collar began to tear under the strain of the arrow.

Aria’s face turned pale as dread surged through her veins.

Dora moved instantly, shoving the mother forward toward Aria’s direction before anything happened. As the woman stumbled closer, the baby noticed her movement and cried out, crawling instinctively toward her.

”Yes, baby, come to mommy... s-slowly, okay,” the woman sobbed, forcing a shaky smile through tears. She clapped her hands softly, hiding her trembling behind playful gestures, even covering her face briefly and peeking out to draw his attention.

”Mommy’s here, don’t worry.”

”Hehe... Maaa... haha... Maaaa....”

The child giggled weakly through his crying, crawling back and forth in confusion as Aria adjusted her path, dragging him away from the crack in careful zigzags.

Maelona watched with her fists clenched, ”Just a little more... little more... little m—”

Just then—

Trrrrrr!

A violent vibration tore through the Empire, far stronger than before. The ground convulsed viciously as people lost their footing.

At the centre of the spider-webbed destruction, the massive bud shuddered violently, cracks pulsing around it as its surface trembled.

And then—

BOOM!