Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1781: A Part of him that she never saw before: Part-2

Aqualina was utterly shocked by her husband’s words. She hadn’t even said anything, yet he was already speaking as though she had decided to abandon him forever. The accusation struck her so suddenly that her thoughts froze, unable to comprehend how the gentle, loving man she knew could utter something so desperate and irrational.

Why was he acting like this?

This wasn’t her Aether.

This wasn’t the man who always calmed her fears with a smile, who carried himself with quiet confidence even when the world seemed ready to collapse around them.

*W-WHO ARE YOU?!*

Her voice cracked beneath the crushing weight of fear and confusion as she stared at the figure before her, desperately searching for even the smallest trace of the husband she loved.

*YOU’RE NOT MY HUSBAND!!*

She instinctively scooted backwards until her back slammed against the Encapsular. The cold surface pressing against her back only made the growing dread inside her feel even more suffocating.

*…Huh?*

Young Aether slowly leaned backwards, his movements oddly sluggish, almost as though her words had physically struck him.

*N-Not Husband? M-Me?*

He slowly placed a hand over his chest, clutching at the armoured plating as though his heart had shattered beneath it.

*Why, God? Why did you do it? See… even my beloved doesn’t know it’s me… I am so sad… I-snifffff…*

His exaggerated sobbing echoed through the chamber, sounding almost pitiful enough to believe.

Then, without the slightest warning, everything changed.

The childish whining vanished.

The sadness disappeared.

Even the warmth in his voice evaporated as though someone had flipped an invisible switch buried deep inside his mind.

When he spoke again, every ounce of emotion had disappeared.

*I am so sad, bitch.*

The words escaped his lips with terrifying calmness before his voice suddenly exploded through the chamber.

*I am SOOO FUCKING SAD!!!*

Aqualina’s entire body violently flinched.

Her lips instinctively parted, desperate to respond, yet no words came out. Something deep inside her screamed that something was fundamentally wrong.

It wasn’t simply fear anymore. It was the overwhelming instinct that prey felt when standing before something that only resembled a human on the outside.

Although his face remained hidden beneath the helmet, she could almost see a pair of empty black eyes staring directly into her. They weren’t merely looking at her body but seemed to pierce through every memory, every emotion, and every hidden corner of her soul.

An icy chill crawled across her spine as though those invisible eyes had already stripped away every layer protecting her mind.

His voice became frighteningly flat.

*Oi… did you forget your own fucking husband?*

His head slowly tilted to one side.

*Hmm?*

Then it tilted farther.

He genuinely looked disappointed.

Just twelve days.

He had only been separated from them for twelve fucking days, yet they were looking at him as though he were a complete stranger.

The fuck!!

He slowly leaned closer, *Is it just you…?*

His voice dropped lower, becoming quieter with every word until it was barely louder than a whisper.

*Or… Did every single bitch… forget me…?*

SLAP!!

The sharp metallic impact echoed throughout the chamber as her trembling hand struck the helmet instead of his face. Pain immediately shot through her palm from the alloy, but she ignored it completely.

Her furious eyes locked onto him despite the fear consuming every part of her body.

*Mind your words, Aether…*

How dare he continue calling her a bitch?

*…*

Aqualina slowly clenched her fists, her heartbeat pounding violently against her chest while every instinct warned her that something terrible was about to happen.

Instead…

*Oh? My poor baby… your hand’s hurt.*

His entire personality shifted once again without any transition.

The coldness disappeared instantly, replaced by exaggerated affection as he gently took hold of the hand that had struck his helmet. His movements were unexpectedly gentle, almost reverent, as though she were something unimaginably precious.

*Look at you… so graceful… and I am SSOOOOOO IN LOVE WITH YOU!*

*H-Huh?*

*Hahaha…. See? This is my wonderful wife~ I knew she didn’t forget me~ Hahaha… Come on, baby. Give me a sweet long hug~*

He happily wrapped his arms around her with the innocent excitement of an overjoyed child.

Aqualina remained completely frozen.

Her mind refused to process what she was witnessing because nothing about his behaviour made any sense.

One moment he radiated enough malice to freeze her blood, and the next he behaved like an affectionate child desperate for attention.

The transitions were so abrupt that even girls’ usual mood swings couldn’t compete before him!

She pushed him away before biting her lower lip hard enough to taste blood.

*Aether… are you—Forget it?!*

The question died in her throat.

She shook her head repeatedly, trying to organise the chaos inside her mind. She didn’t understand what had happened to him during those missing days, nor did she understand why his personality fractured so violently before her eyes.

Yet despite everything…

Despite the fear.

Despite the confusion.

Despite the monster she had briefly glimpsed beneath that helmet.

One truth remained unchanged.

He was still her husband.

*L-Let’s go back home…*

She carefully reached for his arm, hoping that if she could simply take him away from this place, away from this empire filled with death and destruction, perhaps everything would somehow return to normal.

However, he immediately grabbed both of her shoulders and looked straight at her.

*What are you talking about, darling? I’m here to protect our people. You don’t know it yet, but these motherfuckers are genuinely capable of annihilating everything into dust. Believe me~*

His voice carried an unsettling seriousness as he gently shook her shoulders, and for the first time since they had reunited, there wasn’t the slightest trace of madness hidden beneath those words.

Aqualina’s expression slowly darkened.

After today’s battle, after witnessing a single attack vaporise an entire city into a sea of incandescent ash.

She knew.

These people possessed power capable of reducing entire civilisations to nothing more than drifting ash scattered across a lifeless world.

She bit her lower lip as she looked at her strangely acting husband. Although every instinct told her something was terribly wrong, she refused to give up on him.

*T-Then let’s do it together… Y-Yeah, since I’m here, this is our chance. We can deal with them here, in their own land. What do you think?* she asked, forcing a hopeful smile despite the anxiety tightening around her heart.

If Aether couldn’t come home…

Then she would simply come to him.

It sounded simple.

That was only if Aether were still the gentle, caring husband she knew.

Right now…

*What are you going to do? Huh? You’ll be nothing more than a pain in the ass. I mean, come on… you guys couldn’t even do shit in our world. You almost got caught by these fuckers and nearly ended up as experimental rats.

You’re just useless, dear… so go back… shoo~ shoo~*

He lazily waved his hand toward her, dismissing her as though she were nothing more than a stray dog desperately trying to follow its owner.

The motion was casual, almost playful, yet every word cut far deeper than any blade ever could.

Aqualina slowly clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms. His words hurt, and the careless look in his posture hurt even more, but she swallowed every ounce of pain before it could reach her face.

Getting angry wouldn’t help him.

Not now.

*N-No… I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you here alone.* She gently stepped closer before wrapping both of her hands around one of his.

*Let’s face this together, Aether. Whatever it is… we’ll face it together.*

A small smile appeared on her face, carrying warmth that hadn’t disappeared despite everything he had thrown at her.

*Just like I promised… we’ll always face everything together. P-Please.*

*…Hmm…*

He tilted his head, genuine confusion flickering through his movements. He couldn’t understand why she kept looking at him with those sorrowful eyes, as though she were watching someone slowly disappear before her.

Aqualina immediately continued before he could refuse again.

*You see… I can use my powers here.*

A brilliant azure radiance blossomed around her body, bathing the chamber in waves of shimmering light.

*See?* she said with renewed hope. *If we fight together, we’ll be victorious!!*

*Hmm…*

Aether nodded several times.

It actually made sense.

With Aqualina beside him, everything would become dramatically easier. Capturing the President would no longer be nearly impossible, and even facing Genome Beta wouldn’t require gambling his life every few minutes.

The impossible battlefield that had looked like absolute hell suddenly transformed into something far more manageable.

From Hell Mode…

To Easy Mode.

But… Any normal version of Aether would have accepted her offer without hesitation.

But the one standing before her now…

Wasn’t normal.

‘She will manipulate us.’

The voice echoed from somewhere deep inside his mind.

He couldn’t tell whether it belonged to the familiar darkness that had whispered to him ever since arriving in this world…

Or whether it was his own thoughts twisting into something unrecognisable.

The distinction no longer mattered.

The voice only grew louder.

‘She will stop us.’

‘She will destroy our hope.’

‘She will become our weakness.’

‘She will divert us from our glorious path.’

Each sentence pounded against his consciousness like a relentless hammer, drowning out every rational thought before it had the chance to exist.

Meanwhile, Aqualina mistook his silence for acceptance.

A relieved smile slowly bloomed across her face as the crushing weight in her chest finally began to lift.

Then his cold voice shattered it completely.

*Go home… and do your duty.*

*H-Huh? Aether…*

Her smile froze.

Disbelief slowly spread across her face.

He was rejecting her again.

That almost never happened.

Whenever Aether pushed her away like this, it usually meant he was trying to shoulder everything alone while hiding something from her. It was a habit she had always hated because he believed protecting everyone meant carrying every burden by himself.

She frowned before tightening her grip around his hand.

*I’m not going anywhere.*

*Darling… no, darling…* He sighed, rubbing the side of his helmet as though struggling to remain patient.

*Don’t make this harder than it has to be. I love you, dear… I really do… so just…

Just fucking go back already.*

He gently squeezed both of her shoulders before leaning closer.

*You can do that for me, right?* His tone suddenly became unusually soft, almost pleading.

*For your lovely, lonely, sexy hottie husband?~*

His voice ended with the same playful teasing she had heard countless times before.

Yet somehow…

Instead of comforting her…

It made her heart sink even deeper, because beneath that familiar joke lay something painfully unfamiliar.

It was as though someone was desperately pretending to be the husband she loved.

She…

Still, she shook her head.

*T-This isn’t you… I fucking told everyone not to let you go… See? Those bitches didn’t believe me! Fuck!! Look at you now! What the fuck happened to you?!

No! I can’t leave you like this…

YOU’RE NOT EVEN YOURSELF, AETHER!!!*

*I am not… myself???*

Aether tilted his head, genuine confusion flickering beneath the visor of his helmet. He stared at her for several long seconds, unable to understand what she was trying to say.

What was she talking about?

He was being himself.

In fact, he had never felt more like himself than he did at this very moment. Every emotion coursing through him felt sharper, every thought clearer, every instinct more alive than it had ever been before.

It was almost intoxicating, as though invisible chains that had restrained him for years had suddenly shattered.

His brows slowly furrowed.

He stepped closer.

*So…*

His voice was calm.

*You don’t like me???*

Aqualina immediately shook her head, panic spreading across her face.

*That’s not what I meant…*

*Bitch.*

The single word escaped his lips with chilling calmness before his voice gradually sank into something far darker.

*I accepted you for who you are… and yet…* He stared directly at her.

*You can’t even accept me? Huh?*

His tone wasn’t loud.

It didn’t need to be.

The murderous intent hidden beneath those quiet words pressed against Aqualina like an invisible weight, making the air around her feel unbearably heavy.

She instinctively flinched.

*W-What are you t-talking about?*

A slow smile spread across his lips beneath the helmet, one that she couldn’t see but somehow felt.

*You know exactly what I mean.*

He slowly leaned toward her until his helmet hovered beside her trembling shoulder.

He lowered his head, his voice becoming little more than a whisper beside her ear.

*The woman who killed her own innocent daughter… for her precious fucking dignity.*

A faint chuckle escaped him.

“Heheh~”

!!!

Aqualina’s entire body froze.

The colour drained from her face in an instant, leaving her deathly pale.

Her breathing stopped.

Those words…

Those were never supposed to be spoken again.

Aether had promised her.

He had looked into her tear-filled eyes long ago and vowed that they would bury that tragedy forever. He had told her that the past would remain in the past, that no matter how painful those memories were, he would never use them against her.

Yet now…

He was dragging them back into the light without mercy.

Before she could even process the first wound, he slowly moved toward her other ear.

*You think the blood on your hands disappeared?*

His voice curled around her like poison.

*Huh? You killed your own daughter.*

*A little girl who was born blind… blinded by her fucking mother!*

He gave a quiet laugh.

*What kind of mother does that?*

His breathing remained steady while hers became increasingly unstable.

*Just like my own fucking bitch of a mother…* he whispered.

*She abandoned her child for her precious dignity.*

His fingers slowly tightened into a fist.

*Tell me…*

His voice trembled with restrained hatred.

*Why are all of you so… fucking… disgusting?*

The words echoed through her mind long after he had finished speaking.

Aqualina couldn’t answer.

She simply sat there, completely frozen.

Her lips trembled violently as she bit down on them hard enough to taste blood, desperately trying to stop herself from breaking apart in front of him. Tears gathered along her eyelashes, blurring her vision.

Her chest tightened so painfully that even breathing became difficult.

*’S-So… all this time…’*

The thought alone shattered her heart.

*’Was this how he truly saw me…?’*

If only he had told her.

If only he had confessed that those old wounds still haunted him.

She would have done anything.

Anything to atone.

Anything to carry his pain alongside her own.

She would have spent the rest of her life trying to wash away that unforgivable sin if it meant easing even a fraction of the burden weighing on his heart.

But hearing those words now…

Hearing them spoken by the man who had once promised never to hurt her with that memory again…

The pain was unbearable!

Far deeper than any wound she had ever suffered in battle.

Far crueller than any blade could ever hope to inflict.

Aether quietly observed her fragile expression as she struggled to keep herself from falling apart.

For a brief moment…

Something stirred inside him.

Not guilt or regret.

Something else.

A strange excitement?

Watching the cracks spread across her composure, seeing the light slowly fade from her eyes, awakened a feeling he couldn’t understand. It was subtle, unsettling, and terrifyingly satisfying, like discovering a part of himself that should never have existed in the first place.

Deep within his fractured mind, the unseen darkness seemed to pulse with silent approval.

*He… Heh—*