Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1746: I am their Curse! Part-4

The soldiers stood atop the rooftop as they aimed their weapons toward the swirling portal.

The portal had remained stable for nearly twenty minutes.

Since their commanders had entered the portal to survey the unknown terrain, the responsibility of guarding the gateway now rested entirely on their shoulders.

Ssshhhh~

The soft distortion abruptly transformed into a violent tremor. The entire portal twisted as crimson lightning crackled across its edges.

Before anyone could process what was happening…

KYYYRRRRRAAA!!!

CHOMP!!

A colossal cursed wyvern burst out of the portal like a cannonball. Its skeletal jaws, overflowing with molten lava instead of flesh, snapped shut around the nearest line of soldiers.

For a single heartbeat, everyone froze.

Then instinct returned.

“OPEN FIRE!!”

Blue-red particle beams erupted across the rooftop as dozens of beams discharged simultaneously.

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

The concentrated barrage struck the wyvern’s chest, blasting molten lava apart. Yet instead of slowing, the creature merely roared louder. Rivers of lava burst from the ribs, splattering across the rooftop and melting the surface.

“EVERYONE ENGAGE! FULL FO—”

Just as one of the soldiers prepared to issue further commands, something completely unexpected protruded from the portal.

A weird-looking DIY gun.

Then…

Bob!

A pulse of invisible energy burst from its barrel.

Instantly, nearly every mech-suit on the rooftop shut down. Helmet displays went black. Targeting systems disappeared.

PUFFF!!

The overloaded DIY weapon violently exploded into pieces moments later, unable to withstand the energy it had released.

Yet it had already completed its purpose.

Without the mech-suits…

The rooftop became a slaughterhouse.

KYYRRRRRAAAA!!

One after another, more cursed wyverns emerged from the portal.

Some landed directly atop soldiers, reducing them into crimson paste beneath claws hotter than molten steel.

Others swept their burning tails across entire defensive formations, launching armoured bodies through concrete walls. One soldier desperately tried to move… only for a massive claw to tear through his torso. His spine separated from his body before others casually ate his remains.

And those who were shut down fired while emergency distress signals automatically transmitted to every nearby military installation.

“Mayday! Multiple hostile entities! Portal containment has completely failed!”

“BREAK OUT!”

“BREAK OUT!”

“I REPEAT! BREA—”

KYYYRRRRRAAAA!!

The wyverns spread their stone wings.

With a single thunderous flap, they launched themselves into the sky.

The superheated airflow shattered every nearby window before the monsters descended toward the towering skyscrapers like living meteors.

Far below, civilians continued recording the phenomenon with their phones.

“Hey… look. Something’s falling…”

“What is tha…”

A sphere of molten lava crashed onto the pavement.

The asphalt instantly liquefied.

“ARRGGHHHHHH!!”

“RUN!!”

“MYY LEEGGSSS!!”

The people didn’t even have time to scream properly. Lava splashed across the crowd, stripping flesh from bone in seconds.

Faces melted into featureless masses while burning muscles slid from skeletons. Some remained standing for several horrifying moments before their bodies simply collapsed into piles of smoking remains.

Police officers and soldiers rushed forward despite knowing there was little anyone could do.

“Pull them back!”

“Medical teams!”

“Move! Move!”

But before they could reach the dying civilians…

KKKYYYYRRRRRR!!!

The wyverns descended.

Their enormous skeletal bodies reflected across the mirrored glass of the skyscrapers, each movement leaving trails of burning ash behind them. Rivers of molten lava dripped continuously from their exposed ribs, sizzling the air before reaching the ground.

The soldiers unleashed another barrage of beams.

Hundreds of blue streaks illuminated the street.

The wyverns ignored them.

Their jaws expanded far beyond what should have been physically possible before swallowing entire squads whole.

CHOMP!!

Armour, weapons, bones, vehicles… everything disappeared into those burning mouths.

Inside their skeletal throats, the soldiers could still be seen writhing for only a second before the molten lava dissolved flesh, organs, and bone alike. Every bite forced streams of blazing magma to spill between the monsters’ teeth, splashing across nearby buildings like grotesque saliva from some monstrous predator lazily chewing its prey.

The streets transformed… into hell!!

Burning flesh clung to shattered walls.

Half-melted corpses fused with overturned vehicles.

PPPUUUUUFFFF!

A sharp humming sound suddenly pierced the district.

Every wyvern instinctively turned.

One of them focused its hollow eyes toward the distant skyline.

A crimson beam, compressed to a single razor-thin line of destructive energy, tore through the air faster than sound itself.

BOOOOMMMMM!!!

The beam struck directly through the wyvern’s chest.

Its entire upper body detonated into thousands of burning fragments, scattering molten bones across several city blocks.

For a brief second…

Everyone thought it was dead… Then the real nightmare began.

The shattered pieces rained molten lava onto everything below. Entire office buildings caught fire as boiling magma poured through shattered windows, melting reinforced concrete, steel support beams, elevators, and structural pillars alike.

Floors collapsed one after another while desperate civilians trapped inside pounded helplessly against windows that softened under the unbearable heat.

SSSSTTTTTRRRRRR!

The skyscrapers slowly leaned before collapsing into the streets below like dying giants, burying countless screams beneath mountains of concrete, twisted steel, burning vehicles, and clouds of ash.

The people screamed in horror as a terrifying realisation spread through the streets. Killing those monsters wasn’t enough! Every time one died, rivers of molten lava burst from its shattered body; it was even more dangerous!

While the entire district descended into absolute chaos, a lone figure calmly stepped out of the portal.

Young Aether slowly emerged from the gateway, his polished shoes crunching across shattered concrete and twisted metal.

His purple slit eyes swept across the ruined rooftop.

“Hmm… That’s wonderful~”

Young Aether muttered with quiet amusement.

Carefully avoiding the rivers of molten lava still burning across the rooftop, he walked toward the edge with graceful steps before looking down upon the city.

The night sky was no longer dark.

Countless fires painted the heavens crimson while burning skyscrapers illuminated the horizon. Explosions erupted every few seconds as military aircraft streaked across the skyline, leaving trails of blue beams behind them. Emergency sirens echoed from every direction, overlapping with desperate screams, collapsing buildings, and the deafening roars of cursed wyverns soaring between towers like predators hunting trapped prey.

“Pure terror… and such lovely lights… Oh my~”

A slow smile curved across his lips.

To everyone else, those screams were cries of despair.

To him…

They sounded like a beautiful orchestra.

Every collapsing building was another note.

Every explosion another instrument~

Every desperate plea another verse in a fucking masterpiece~

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, inhaling deeply.

The scent of burning flesh, vaporised metal, blood, and ash drifted into his lungs, leaving an expression of genuine satisfaction upon his face.

“I could almost taste it…”

He whispered softly, as though the fear itself had become honey melting across his tongue.

Young Aether folded his hands behind his back and silently observed the destruction below.

The military’s emergency response was impressively fast.

Within minutes, countless armoured vehicles surrounded the district while airborne drones projected tactical barriers across evacuation routes. High-speed gunships circled above the burning city as automated artillery platforms locked onto every airborne target.

Then…

THOOM!

THOOM!

THOOM!

The streets trembled beneath rhythmic footsteps.

A colossal military mech marched into the area.

Standing nearly two stories tall, its dark alloy armour shimmered beneath countless warning lights while magnetic stabilisers anchored every step. Missile pods unfolded from its shoulders and electromagnetic rail cannons rotated into position.

The machine raised one enormous arm.

WHOOSH!!

Entire volleys of guided missiles screamed into the sky before detonating around the flying wyverns.

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

BOOOOOM!!

Several cursed wyverns were blasted apart mid-flight, their skeletal bodies exploding into clouds of burning magma.

“They certainly possess impressive toys…”

Young Aether murmured.

“…But the amusing part…is that killing them isn’t the end… is it?”

“Hehe~”

He giggled quietly, almost like an innocent child watching fireworks.

Above the battlefield, the remains of every destroyed wyvern rained downward.

Molten lava scattered in every direction like bursting bubbles, splashing across evacuation convoys, rooftops, streets, and fleeing civilians. Entire apartment complexes ignited as rivers of magma flowed through broken windows. Concrete cracked from unbearable temperatures while steel beams bent like wax beneath a candle flame.

Even though those mech-suits could withstand and regulate the extreme heat with their thermal shielding systems… the buildings and ordinary civilians possessed no such protection.

The overwhelming thermal radiation alone scorched their skin black before igniting their clothing. Eyes boiled within their sockets. Flesh peeled away from bone while lungs burned with every desperate breath. Some collapsed as little more than smoking skeletons before the molten lava finally reached them.

“Not bad…”

Young Aether nodded with genuine satisfaction.

“These people prepared themselves for countless possibilities…”

His eyes slowly scanned the burning city.

“…but they never prepared for something like this.”

Within only a few minutes, an entire district had ceased to exist.

Towering skyscrapers had become mountains of rubble.

Roads had transformed into rivers of molten concrete.

The once-vibrant city had become little more than a graveyard illuminated by fire.

Ssshh~

A cold breeze drifted across the rooftop, gently lifting strands of Young Aether’s hair.

Despite the inferno consuming everything below, he remained perfectly calm, silently observing every movement. His eyes followed military deployments, rescue formations, evacuation routes, weapon systems, response times, and combat efficiency. Every success… every failure… every tactical adjustment was carefully engraved into his memory.

“H-Help…”

A weak voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

“P-Please…”

Young Aether frowned slightly before lowering his gaze.

Near the edge of the rooftop, a lone figure desperately clung to a twisted section of the broken railing.

It was a young woman wearing a black business suit.

Half of the rooftop beneath her had collapsed, leaving her suspended dozens of stories above the burning streets below. Her fingers had turned crimson from gripping the fractured steel while blood slowly dripped from deep cuts across her palms.

Every trembling breath threatened to loosen her already failing grip.

Young Aether quietly walked toward her.

His footsteps echoed softly across the shattered rooftop.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped onto the narrow railing itself, balancing effortlessly above the endless drop before stopping directly in front of her.

He simply looked down.

“P-Please…”

Tears streamed across her soot-covered face.

“Help me… I… I don’t want to die…”

Hope appeared within her trembling eyes.

She recognised the clothes.

The clothes Young Aether wore resembled the person who had come alongside the Second-in-Command.

“Please… help me, sir… I…”

With the last of her strength, she slowly released one hand from the railing and reached upward toward him, silently begging for his help.

Young Aether remained motionless.

His eyes merely stared down at her without warmth…

Without sympathy… Without even curiosity.

The woman’s hopeful expression slowly began to crack.

Her outstretched hand trembled violently.

“S-Sir…?”

She whispered again, unable to understand why he wasn’t moving.

Young Aether said nothing.

He simply continued looking down at her in complete silence.

The woman’s heart sank.

A cold chill spread through her chest as panic completely overtook her.

“S-Sir… please help me…” she cried, her voice breaking. “I… I’ll give you anything. Money… anything! Please, I don’t want to di—”

KYYYRRR!!

A cursed wyvern suddenly swept past the side of the skyscraper.

Its massive obsidian wings slammed into the building, pulverising reinforced concrete and showering the rooftop with shattered glass and twisted steel. Before the woman could even scream, the creature’s enormous jaws snapped shut around her body.

CHOMP!!

There wasn’t even enough time for terror to fully register on her face.

Blood erupted across the rooftop as the wyvern ripped her away from the edge in a single savage motion. Bones cracked like dry branches inside its jaws before the monster disappeared into the smoke-filled sky, carrying the rest of her body with it.

“…”

Young Aether simply stood there.

His gaze slowly lowered.

Only two severed hands remained…

Still tightly clenched around the broken railing, their fingers refusing to release even after death. Fresh blood trickled from the torn arms, dripping steadily down the side of the skyscraper before disappearing into the inferno below.

“…”

Without the slightest change in expression, Young Aether quietly climbed onto the railing.

He sat comfortably upon the narrow steel beam, lazily swinging his legs over the hundreds of meters of empty air beneath him.

Below…

The city continued to burn.

A broad smile slowly spread across his face.

“La~ Laa~ Laaaa~ Laaa~ LaaLa~”

He gently hummed a cheerful melody.

The innocent tune drifted across the rooftop, strangely harmonious against the symphony of destruction below, as though the burning city itself had become the orchestra accompanying his song.

Then…

Grrrrllll…

His stomach growled loudly.

Young Aether blinked before placing a hand against his abdomen.

“…Fuck. I’m actually hungry.”

A slight frown appeared on his face.

“That’s… unusual.”

Normally, he could ignore hunger for days without difficulty.

Yet now…

The emptiness clawing at his stomach felt almost unbearable.

It wasn’t ordinary hunger.

It felt… Primitive?

“I should probably find something to ea…”

His voice gradually faded.

His eyes had wandered back toward the severed hands still clinging to the railing.

Fresh blood continued to drip from the exposed wrists.

“…”

For a long moment…

He simply stared.

Even he couldn’t explain why his body refused to look away.

Almost unconsciously…

His hand reached forward.

He gently pried one of the severed hands from the twisted steel railing.

It was still warm.

Fresh blood slid between his fingers before dripping onto the rooftop below.

Young Aether silently examined it.

The torn flesh…

The exposed muscle…

The scent of fresh blood lingering in the air…

Something inside him stirred.

Gulp

His throat had suddenly become dry.

Without realising it, his lips slowly parted.

Sharp fangs emerged from his canines.

“…”

For a brief moment…

He hesitated.

Then…

CHUCK!

His teeth sank into the flesh.

“Hmm…”

His expression froze.

“Hmm…?”

His purple slit eyes instantly turned to crimson slit eyes, widened in genuine surprise.

The taste…

Far exceeded anything he had imagined.

His pupils slowly expanded as his irises deepened into a brilliant crimson glow. Blood stained the corner of his lips while tiny fragments of flesh remained caught between his sharpened teeth.

“…Fuck. I didn’t know humans were… this delicious.”

A slow grin stretched across his face.

“No wonder monsters enjoy eating them so much…”

“Hehehe…”

A quiet laugh escaped him.

Not the laughter of someone horrified by what he had done…

But the delighted giggle of a child discovering an entirely new flavour for the very first time.

Any remaining hesitation vanished.

Munch… Munch…

He calmly continued eating.

Each bite was slow and deliberate, as though he intended to savour every mouthful.

His fangs effortlessly pierced flesh before crushing bone with crisp, audible cracks. Warm blood coated his tongue while crimson droplets slipped from his chin, pattering softly against the steel beneath him.

He neither rushed nor showed any shame.

He simply enjoyed the meal~

Slurrrrppp!

Tilting the severed arm slightly, he allowed the remaining blood to flow into his mouth.

He drank it as casually as someone enjoying a cool drink after a long day’s work, never once taking his eyes away from the burning city that continued to crumble beneath the night sky.

At that moment…

Beneath the burning night…

Amid the endless screams…

With warm blood slowly dripping from his lips while his crimson eyes silently watched the city drown in fire…

He looked far more terrifying than the monsters themselves.

There was no rage.

No madness or… hesitation.

Just… Just quiet enjoyment!

The severed hand gradually disappeared piece by piece until nothing remained except a few clean bones with tiny scraps of meat stubbornly clinging to them.

Only then did the crimson glow within Young Aether’s eyes slowly fade.

His pupils returned to normal.

The strange hunger that had consumed his mind receded as though it had never existed.

He slowly ran his tongue across his lips, savouring the lingering metallic taste before casually tossing the stripped bones over the edge of the rooftop. They vanished into the inferno below without a sound.

*…That’s fucking awesome.*

His voice carried genuine satisfaction, like someone who had just finished an unforgettable feast.

He stretched lazily before glancing across the battlefield once more.

“…Now… I suppose I need to fake some wounds.”

His expression shifted from amusement to calculation.

His sharp eyes scanned every corner of the ruined rooftop, searching for the most believable scenario.

The military had already begun regaining control of the battlefield. Most of the cursed wyverns had been eliminated, leaving only a handful still battling the emergency response forces across the district.

His time was running out.

“If I return completely unharmed…”

He quietly rubbed his chin.

“…he’ll become suspicious.”

The image of his friend flashed through his mind.

“I need something convincing…”

Young Aether muttered while thoughtfully pacing across the fractured rooftop.

“What would the normal Aether do in this situation?”

His gaze drifted across the surroundings.

The severed hand still embedded within the twisted railing.

The collapsed sections of the skyscraper.

The blood covering the concrete.

Then…

His eyes lowered toward his own left leg.

“…I suppose… it’s worth the price.”

Without the slightest hesitation…

He bent down.

His fingers firmly wrapped around his own lower leg.

Then…

CRACK!!

The sharp sound echoed across the rooftop.

His tibia fractured instantly beneath the overwhelming force of his own grip.

“Hmm…”

A muffled groan escaped his lips.

Not because the pain overwhelmed him…

But because his muscles instinctively contracted the moment the bone snapped. The involuntary reaction briefly distorted his breathing before his body settled once more.

His face quickly returned to complete indifference.

Pain… Had long since stopped meaning anything to him.

The broken bone hung unnaturally beneath torn fabric while blood slowly soaked through his trousers, creating exactly the sort of injury one would expect from surviving such a disaster.

Young Aether calmly picked up the remaining severed hand from the railing before turning his attention toward the last few cursed wyverns still circling above the city.

A faint whistle escaped his lips.

The monsters immediately responded.

One of the surviving wyverns altered its flight path and dove toward the damaged skyscraper.

KYYYRRRRAAAA!!

Its massive body smashed into the upper floors, sending violent shockwaves through the already unstable structure.

The building began to groan.

Cracks raced across its support columns.

Just before the tower started collapsing, Young Aether leapt from the rooftop.

He landed lightly upon the wyvern’s broad obsidian wing.

The cold, delighted smile vanished completely, replaced by the face of a survivor who had narrowly escaped death.

“…Perfect.”

He whispered to himself.

Then, limping heavily on his deliberately broken leg, he began the second act of his performance.

Now…

It was time to convince his friend that he had been nothing more than another helpless victim of the night’s catastrophe.

___

[A/N: Tell me if the chapter is getting too long… And yes, he freaking ate the human hand and I wrote exactly what I needed!]

“…”