Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1742: Teaser of Hell’s Gate: Part-4

THUD!

The enormous Origin Crystal crashed onto the rocky ground.

Ssssshhhh…

Thin streams of white vapour escaped from the magnetic accelerator rings surrounding Jonathan’s shotgun as the weapon automatically vented the tremendous heat generated by the System.

Jonathan casually rested the shotgun against his shoulder before turning toward Commander 3.

A faint smile appeared beneath his visor.

“Twenty-four.”

Commander 3 remained perfectly still.

His visor slowly shifted from the smoking corpse… to Jonathan… and then toward the tactical display floating inside his own helmet.

His confirmed kill count remained unchanged.

“…”

Jonathan folded one armoured arm across his chest.

“I’m trying to remember…” he said thoughtfully. “What was your score again?”

Commander 3 reluctantly answered.

“…Ten.”

Jonathan slowly nodded as though he had just heard something deeply disappointing.

“Only ten?”

He glanced toward the countdown timer floating inside his visor.

“Hmm…”

“We’ve got… fourteen minutes and thirty-eight seconds remaining.”

Jonathan looked back at Commander 3 with an expression that almost resembled genuine encouragement… though he couldn’t see it~

“You still have a chance.”

Commander 3 narrowed his eyes.

“If you can somehow find and kill one monster every minute, you might actually catch up.”

Jonathan gave him a confident thumbs-up.

“I believe in you, Commander 3. Show me what you’re capable of.”

Commander 3 simply stared at him.

“…”

“…”

One monster every minute?

Even he wasn’t arrogant enough to believe something that ridiculous.

His armoured fingers slowly tightened around the handle of his blade.

“I…”

Jonathan patiently waited.

Commander 3 lowered his head before letting out a long, defeated sigh.

“…I accept defeat.”

Jonathan couldn’t help laughing quietly inside his helmet.

Watching Commander 3 willingly swallow his pride after spending the last hours provoking him was unexpectedly satisfying.

Still…

His amusement quickly faded.

These competitions had never really been about winning.

Jonathan walked closer before lightly patting Commander 3’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I’m not making you pay.”

Commander 3 looked at him in confusion.

“…What?”

“You don’t owe me dinner.”

For several seconds, Jonathan quietly stared toward the crimson sky stretching above the mountains.

When he finally spoke again, his voice was noticeably calmer.

“You weren’t wrong earlier. I’ve returned from missions while my squadron didn’t.”

Jonathan’s visor reflected the endless rivers of crimson light flowing across the heavens.

“Again.”

“And again.”

“And again.”

Each word carried far more weight than the previous one.

“No commander wants to watch the people under his command die.”

“I still remember every single face.”

“The rookies who talked too much.”

“The veterans who always complained.”

“The medic who kept sneaking extra coffee into everyone’s ration packs.”

“They’re all gone.”

Jonathan slowly clenched his fist.

“I couldn’t save them. I was the commander.”

“That responsibility belongs to me, whether anyone blames me or not.”

Commander 3 quietly listened without interrupting.

Jonathan continued looking toward the sky.

“So…”

“I’ll keep carrying their names.”

“I’ll keep carrying their dreams.”

“And I’ll keep trying to make sure nobody under my command dies the same way.”

Commander 3 suddenly snorted before roughly pushing Jonathan’s hand away from his shoulder.

“Then stop talking and do better.”

Jonathan smiled.

A tired smile.

“I am.”

Neither commander spoke after that.

They simply stood beneath the crimson sky while warm volcanic wind drifted through the mountains.

Eventually, Jonathan broke the silence.

“So… Should we call it a day?”

Commander 3 nodded.

“Yeah.”

He looked toward the dozens of Origin Crystals scattered across the rocky place.

“Getting those things back to the portal isn’t exactly going to be easy.”

Commander 3 immediately opened the squad-wide communication channel.

“All units, regroup at my location immediately.”

Within ten minutes, the exploration teams gradually arrived one after another.

The moment they entered the valley, every soldier froze.

“…Holy…”

“Those Origin Crystals are enormous.”

“How many monsters did you two actually kill?”

One soldier looked between the two commanders before groaning dramatically.

“Seriously? While we were mapping terrain and collecting geological samples, you two were out here having all the fun?”

Another immediately complained through the private squad channel.

“I knew we picked the wrong exploration route.”

“What a waste.”

“I didn’t sign up to become a surveyor.”

The private channel instantly filled with complaints.

“Enough.”

Commander’s commanding voice immediately silenced everyone.

“Each of you, grab an Origin Crystal. We’re returning to the portal.”

“Understood, Commander.”

The soldiers saluted before walking toward the enormous crystals, although their private communications remained filled with quiet complaints about their commander’s terrible luck… and even worse personality.

Meanwhile, Commander 3 frowned.

“There should be twenty-eight personnel here.”

Only twenty-four blue markers appeared on the tactical map.

“…Four are missing.”

His fingers immediately opened the communication interface.

“Recon Team Three, respond.”

“…”

“Recon Team Four, this is Commander 3. Respond immediately.”

“…”

Only static answered him.

He switched frequencies.

Still nothing.

Jonathan remained completely silent.

Inside a Hell’s Gate…

Silence usually carried only one meaning.

Commander 3 slowly lowered his hand.

“You all return to the portal.”

Every soldier immediately looked toward him.

“The Second-in-Command will assume temporary command.”

“I’ll find the missing teams.”

Jonathan understood exactly what Commander 3 intended.

He also understood what he would most likely find.

Yet…

He didn’t stop him.

Every commander owed that much to the people who entrusted them with their lives.

Sometimes…

Hope had to die with your own eyes before you could accept it.

Meanwhile, the soldiers began securing the enormous Origin Crystals for transportation back to Terra.

Thick magnetic cables were wrapped tightly around each crystal before automatically locking themselves into place with a series of metallic clicks. Powerful motorised winches mounted behind every mech suit immediately tightened the cables while hydraulic pistons embedded throughout their shoulders, hips, knees, and spine released deep mechanical hisses.

One after another, the soldiers slowly lifted the gigantic crystals onto their backs, the tremendous weight causing their stabilising thrusters to briefly ignite before balancing the load, then walked towards the portal.

Nearly half an hour later, the familiar Hell’s Gate finally came into view between the towering black cliffs.

Its crimson surface continued rotating peacefully while small golden particles drifted through the surrounding air, making it appear just as beautiful and mysterious as when they had first arrived.

Jonathan’s footsteps gradually slowed.

His visor immediately began scanning the surrounding area before a small frown appeared beneath his helmet.

“…Where is the soldier? The guard should still be standing here.”

Jonathan frowned, and he slowly lowered his gaze toward the rocky ground surrounding the dimensional gateway.

His heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

Fresh battle scars covered the earth.

Long claw marks stretched across the stone while shattered rocks were scattered in every direction.

Pools of molten lava had cooled into a black substance.

His eyes slowly followed the enormous trail of cooled molten lava.

It originated somewhere deep within the mountain range.

It continued straight across the valley.

And…

It disappeared directly into the crimson portal.

Every muscle inside Jonathan’s body instantly tensed.

“No…Fuck.”

Without wasting another second, Jonathan immediately activated the emergency communication channel.

“Commander 3! We have a breakout!”

Every soldier instinctively stopped moving.

Several helmets immediately turned toward Jonathan.

“What?”

“That can’t be possible!”

“The soldier would’ve reported it immediately!”

“We’ve been operating inside this Hell’s Gate the entire time. How could anything pass through without triggering an alert?”

Confused voices immediately filled the communication channel as everyone desperately tried to understand what had happened.

Jonathan remained completely silent.

His visor continued analysing the dried lava trail while his thoughts rapidly pieced everything together.

Then…

One of the reconnaissance soldiers suddenly spoke.

“…The missing teams.”

Silence instantly spread throughout the entire squad.

Everyone finally reached the same conclusion.

The missing reconnaissance teams hadn’t simply disappeared.

They had most likely encountered whatever creature left these tracks.

If they had died before alerting them… then it explains everything!

Jonathan’s mechanical voice suddenly thundered across the valley.

“Drop the Origin Crystals and prepare for combat.”

The enormous crystals crashed onto the rocky ground one after another as every soldier immediately unslung their weapons. Defensive formations formed almost instinctively while targeting systems locked onto the portal.

Without waiting for Commander 3, everyone exited the portal.

The familiar sensation of dimensional distortion vanished almost instantly, but instead of landing on the rooftop where they had left earlier, Mech-suits’ emergency systems suddenly activated without waiting for Jonathan’s input.

[Warning!]

[Ground beneath user not detected.]

[Emergency Flight Assistance Activated.]

Brilliant streams of crimson plasma erupted from the mech suit’s vector thrusters.

One after another, the remaining soldiers emerged through the portal before their own flight systems automatically activated as well.

The sight before them completely froze the entire squad.

The rooftop…

No longer existed.

The skyscraper that stood here had completely collapsed, leaving behind nothing except twisted steel beams and enormous piles of shattered concrete.

The destruction didn’t stop there. Entire streets had disappeared beneath mountains of rubble while countless buildings burned uncontrollably beneath pillars of black smoke rising toward the night sky.

The peaceful Commercial District had transformed into a battlefield.

PUUUUUUU!!–BOOOMMMMM!!!

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted several blocks away as a brilliant crimson energy beam shot across the city before striking a gigantic flying monster.

The creature exploded into burning fragments before its lifeless body crashed through another building, sending thousands of tons of debris cascading into the streets below.

KKKYYYYRRRR!!!

Terrifying monster cries echoed throughout the district while emergency sirens continuously wailed from every direction.

“Everyone, move immediately!” Jonathan shouted as he raised his shotgun toward the swarms of monsters filling the sky.

“Protect the city and eliminate every hostile target you encounter!”

Without waiting for further orders, every mech suit accelerated toward different sections of the battlefield.

Jonathan, however, ignored every monster flying overhead.

His thrusters erupted with overwhelming force as he accelerated through the ruined streets faster than any ordinary military unit could hope to follow.

The suit’s system continuously scanned beneath collapsed buildings, shattered roads, burning vehicles, and broken infrastructure, searching desperately for civilian life signatures hidden beneath the destruction.

“Please…”

Jonathan whispered under his breath while his eyes darted between countless scanning windows.

“Please… Not again…”

Suddenly, one of the scanners emitted a sharp notification.

[Subject Found!]

Jonathan’s heart nearly stopped.

“AETHER!”

The mech suit immediately changed direction as its vector thrusters rotated simultaneously, allowing Jonathan to perform an impossibly sharp aerial turn before landing heavily beside a collapsed apartment complex.

Massive slabs of reinforced concrete covered the street.

Steel support beams twisted through broken walls like snapped bones.

Hidden beneath the rubble…

Young Aether weakly opened his eyes.

“…J… Jonny…?”

Jonathan instantly disengaged the front section of his visor, revealing a face filled with unmistakable panic.

“Aether! Don’t move!”

The mech-suit immediately began calculating thousands of structural possibilities. Every unstable support beam, every fractured slab of concrete, and every potential chain collapse appeared across Jonathan’s vision before the AI highlighted the safest extraction sequence less than half a second later.

Jonathan carefully lifted each section of debris with overwhelming strength while ensuring the surrounding rubble remained stable.

Finally…

He reached him.

Jonathan carefully pulled Young Aether free before lowering him onto the relatively stable ground nearby.

The moment his eyes landed on Aether’s leg…

His entire body froze.

The limb had bent into an angle no human body should ever be capable of bending. Blood continuously flowed from the crushed leg before soaking into the broken concrete beneath him.

Jonathan’s breathing completely stopped.

Young Aether forced a weak smile despite the unbearable pain twisting across his face.

“I…”

“…I couldn’t save…”

“…them…”

His trembling fingers slowly loosened.

Only then did Jonathan notice what Young Aether had protected throughout the entire ordeal.

A severed hand.

Young Aether’s vision was slowly covered in darkness.

“N-No, No! Aether!!”

Jonathan’s scream echoed in the middle of the battlefield.