Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1844: Why is he still alive?

THUNDER!!

The sky above Zeta Tower darkened beneath gathering storm clouds.

A violent flash of lightning tore across the heavens, illuminating the city for an instant and revealing the enormous damage inflicted upon the Zeta Tower.

Thunder rolled across the skyline moments later, deep enough to make the surrounding buildings tremble.

People walking near Zeta Tower stopped in their tracks.

They stared upward in shock as shattered fragments of smart-reinforced glass continued falling from the upper floors.

“Move! Everyone, move away from the building!”

Soldiers and police officers rushed through the streets, forcing civilians away from the dangerous perimeter as automated emergency barriers unfolded from the pavement.

Warning drones hovered above the streets, projecting red holographic symbols through the rain while repeatedly broadcasting evacuation instructions.

It looked as though the Tower’s internal structure had suffered catastrophic damage and could collapse at any moment.

“Sir, what the hell is happening over there?” someone nearby asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the destruction.

“We don’t know exactly,” another man replied. “But I heard there was some monster lurking around Zeta City. Delta supposedly stationed people here to hunt it down… Maybe this has something to do with that?”

“Man… whatever that thing is, it must be fucking terrifying.”

He stared at the ruined Tower, his face slowly losing its colour.

“Look at that thing. Almost half of it has been destroyed. How the hell did something like that even get inside?”

~THUNDER!!~

Meanwhile, inside the Tower, around the lower floors,

Crackk…

Spark…

The circuits sparked violently along the damaged ceilings. Emergency lights flickered across the lower floor, their pale illumination repeatedly disappearing and returning as the Tower’s backup systems struggled to maintain power.

The entire floor was covered with debris.

Broken panels, twisted metal, shattered glass, fragments of machinery, and pieces of the ceiling were scattered across the ruined interior.

For a minute, nothing moved.

Only small pieces of debris continued sliding down the larger piles, making faint scraping sounds through the silence.

Then suddenly…

“C-Cough… Cough…”

A lone, broken cough echoed through the wreckage.

A moment later, the pile trembled.

Several pieces of concrete shifted and rolled away as something underneath pushed against the weight burying it.

Thud!

Another piece fell.

Thuddd…

Something moved again.

Then came a long, strained breath.

Sssshhh…

The mountain of debris finally collapsed outward as someone slowly rose from within it.

Metal fragments were embedded throughout his body. Some had pierced through his clothing and disappeared into his flesh, while others protruded from his shoulders, stomach, legs, and arm.

Blood covered him from head to toe. It ran down his face in thin streams, gathered beneath his jaw, and dripped from his chin onto the debris below.

Several jagged pieces of reinforced metal had pierced his body deeply enough that even the smallest movement caused them to shift inside his wounds.

A metal rod had gone through his cheek.

Another had torn into his shoulder.

One had pierced his stomach.

And another had lodged itself against his neck, where every breath caused the wound to open slightly and release another thin flow of blood.

Honestly, it was shocking that someone could still be alive after all this.

His body trembled violently.

His knees nearly gave out, but he caught himself against a broken support beam.

His head hung loosely for a moment, blood dripping from his hair onto the floor.

“U-Uncle?”

The trembling voice reached him through the ringing in his ears.

Young Aether’s head moved.

It was barely more than a twitch.

He turned toward the voice.

For a second, his blurred vision showed two figures below him.

His hand slowly rose toward his face.

His fingers trembled as they found the piece of glass embedded in his right eye. He gripped it.

Chuuckkk!!

The glass tore free.

Young Aether’s entire body jerked.

His fingers tightened around the fragment as blood and transparent ocular fluid spilt down the side of his face. His right eyelid spasmed several times, desperately attempting to blink through an eye that could no longer function properly.

Then it stopped.

He slowly lowered his hand.

Then he looked at the little girl below him.

Lily had suffered nothing more than a few bruises and minor wounds.

Compared to him, she looked untouched.

Young Aether stared at her for several seconds.

Despite everything, the corner of his mouth slowly lifted.

He smiled.

“…Are… you… alright?”

His voice was barely audible.

The words came out broken and strained, each one requiring effort. When he spoke, the metal embedded in his neck shifted slightly.

Blood immediately seeped faster from the wound.

Young Aether swallowed against the metallic taste filling his mouth.

He didn’t seem to notice.

… Or perhaps he simply didn’t care.

Lily stared blankly at the young boy before her.

Alright?

The question didn’t make sense.

She should have been the one asking him that.

Her lips parted, but no words came.

Why?

Why would he protect her?

Even her own father had been willing to kill her.

Yet this strange boy, someone she had known for less than two days, had thrown himself between her and death without hesitation.

Now he was standing there barely able to remain conscious, his body pierced by glass and metals, his face drenched in blood, one eye destroyed, and still the first thing he had asked was whether she was alright.

Lily’s chest tightened.

She could see his fingers trembling.

She could hear the uneven rhythm of his breathing.

She could see blood slowly dripping from his fingertips.

How was he still standing?

How could a person endure this much pain and continue moving?

Was it even possible?

Lily’s lips trembled as she forced a smile onto her face.

“I-I’m alright… U-U…A.. Aether.”

Her voice cracked.

She quickly bit her lower lip, trying to keep herself from crying.

Young Aether watched her for a moment.

Even through the haze of pain, he recognised what she was trying to do.

She was pretending to be strong for him.

His faint smile remained.

“You… need… to… leave.”

With every word, fresh blood gushed from the wound in his neck and ran beneath his torn clothing.

Lily’s eyes widened.

“Yes…”

Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

“W-We need… to go.”

Lily tightened her grip around him, positioning his arm across her shoulders and using what little strength she had to support his weight.

Young Aether, barely able to keep his eye open, slowly shook his head.

“Y-You… go….”

Drip… Drip…

Tears kept rolling down Lily’s cheeks. When she heard those words, she immediately shook her head.

“W-We’re leaving together, Aether. I-I am not… I am not leaving without you…”

“…”

Young Aether stared at her with his hazy eye.

His vision was becoming increasingly difficult to focus. The edges of everything around him had begun to blur. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw…

That child.

Those ice-blue eyes were staring directly at him.

Young Aether didn’t say anything. He just let Lily hold him.

Her small arms wrapped around his bloody form as she struggled to support his weight.

The closer she got to him… the more she realized the countless pieces of glass embedded throughout his body. She could feel them pressing against her arms and shoulders, their sharp edges catching against her clothes whenever his body moved.

She could feel the metal fragments buried inside him.

She could feel his blood soaking through her clothes.

She could feel the faint tremors running through his body.

And she couldn’t hold it anymore.

Lily began to cry.

Tears poured down her cheeks as she desperately tried to keep moving. Her nose began to run, her breathing became uneven, and every attempt to wipe her face only lasted a second before another wave of tears replaced it.

Still, she continued supporting him.

One step.

Then another.

How could he still smile in a situation like this?

How could he remain so calm?

How could he endure all that pain without screaming?

Lily wondered.

She really wondered.

Pain and guilt twisted together inside her chest as she looked at the blood covering him.

But what she didn’t know was that almost none of the pain was actually reaching him.

Except… There was only one pain he could feel.

The wound on his hip.

That single injury, gifted to him by his own friend, continued to burn through his body with an intensity that felt almost unnatural.

That was the only wound he could truly feel.

The countless pieces of glass.

The metal rods.

The shattered fragments embedded in his flesh.

None of them hurt.

Not even when he pulled the glass from his eye.

He hadn’t felt a single fucking thing.

Yet the wound on his hip continued to pulse through his body, its pain spreading like a persistent signal through every nerve.

That gift from his friend was still ringing throughout his entire body.

Honestly, Young Aether didn’t understand.

Why hadn’t he died yet?

Why was he still holding on to his life?

After all…

Didn’t he just want to die?

Didn’t he want to return somewhere?

Didn’t he need that?

Then why did he keep moving?

Why did he continue accepting the pain?

Why did his body keep obeying him when his mind had already given up?

Even he didn’t know.

His mind wanted nothing more than death.

Yet his heart wasn’t ready to stop.

Something inside him was still refusing.

As if his heart wanted to ask one final question.

Why did Allen betray him?

WHY?!

What did he do?

What had he done to deserve this?

And…

What did Allen mean when he said…

First time?

“Aether, don’t give up… We’re almost there.”

Lily’s trembling voice pulled him back.

They were almost at the elevator.

The pieces of glass embedded in Aether’s body occasionally pressed against her as they moved, cutting into her skin through the fabric.

It hurt.

But she didn’t care.

Compared to what he was going through, her pain meant nothing.

Just as they reached the elevator, Lily reached forward and pressed the call button.

The holographic symbol above the doors flickered.

A moment later, the display changed.

The system was still functioning.

“Just… just hold on, Aether. Everything will be fine… E-Everything…”

Her voice broke.

“Sniff… sniff…”

She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, but the tears continued flowing.

Her mind kept replaying everything that had happened.

Young Aether glanced at her softly.

His remaining eyelid slowly closed and opened again.

The movement was becoming slower.

He looked exhausted.

Then, with whatever strength remained in his voice, he spoke.

“I… am… sorry….. I… could… n’t… protect…. Noah…”

More blood flowed from his neck.

“N-No, no!”

Lily immediately shook her head.

“Don’t speak… please. Stop speaking…”

Her voice trembled as she tried to force a smile.

“It will be alright… O-Once we get back… We’ll talk to Mom, and she’ll help us. S-She’ll do something about this.”

She smiled.

A fragile, desperate smile that existed only because she couldn’t afford to lose hope.

“Mom will fix everything…”

“…”

Young Aether became silent.

He didn’t want to destroy that hope.

He didn’t want to tell her.

Her mother was already dead.

He didn’t want to hurt her anymore.

Not now.

Not when she was already barely holding herself together.

But there was one thing he could still tell her.

“It’s…. alright… dear….”

His voice was almost a whisper.

“Everything… will… be alright…”

He swallowed painfully.

“I… I will… do something…”

The moment those words left his mouth, the child with the ice-blue eyes suddenly appeared directly before him.

He stared at him.

Deeply.

There was something almost judgmental in those cold, unnatural eyes.

Young Aether lowered his head.

He didn’t know why.

He simply did.

Ding~

The elevator arrived.

The doors slid apart with a smooth hiss.

Lily moved closer, tightening her grip around him.

“Aether, the elevator came… Just hold on. We’re going toget—”

BANG!

The armoured foot slammed directly into their abdomens.

Thud!

Thud!

Both Lily and Young Aether were launched backwards.

Their bodies struck the floor and rolled across the debris-strewn corridor.

Lily immediately clutched her stomach.

The impact had driven the air from her lungs.

She coughed painfully as she struggled to breathe.

Then she looked up.

And froze.

Standing inside the elevator was a mech-suit.

Its armoured body was constructed from layered metallic plating, each section seamlessly locking into the next through advanced mechanical joints. Circular big metal rings were attached around its wrists and ankles, glowing faintly as energy circulated through them.

On its chest plate was a single enormous number.

‘1’

The glowing symbol reflected across Lily’s widened eyes.

She knew that armor.

“Iron Marshal?”

The words escaped her lips in disbelief.

The Delta Governor was here.

And he had come personally.

Lily immediately forced herself to stand, her legs trembling beneath her as she reached down and grabbed Young Aether.

“A-Aether, get up. We need to move!”

“Leave… go….”

His words were barely audible, almost swallowed by the distant rumble of thunder.

Lily’s heart trembled violently when she heard them.

“I-I am not leaving without you!”

She barked the words through her tears before throwing his arm over her shoulder and using her body to lift him. His weight nearly dragged her back to the floor, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself upright.

Blood continued dripping from his wounds, leaving a dark trail across the shattered floor as Lily dragged him away from the elevator.

Meanwhile, Iron Marshal walked toward them as if he were simply taking a stroll.

“Aether… don’t give up… Please… don’t give up.”

Lily kept repeating the words.

She wasn’t even sure whether she was saying them for him or… for herself anymore.

She simply kept repeating them like a desperate chant, forcing one foot in front of the other while her arms shook beneath Aether’s weight.

“Please… don’t give up…”

Her voice became thinner with every word.

“Aether… just hold on—”

Thud!

“Arrgh!”

A loose piece of rock struck the back of Lily’s head.

Her body jolted violently.

For one second, her vision completely blurred.

The corridor twisted around her as the emergency lights stretched into indistinct streaks. A sharp ringing filled her ears, drowning out everything else.

Her fingers loosened.

Young Aether’s weight slipped from her grasp.

He fell heavily onto the floor.

Thud!

“Li… ly…”

Young Aether raised his trembling hand toward her.

His fingers moved slowly through the air, desperately trying to reach her.

“Li… ly…”

But Lily didn’t answer.

She had collapsed onto her side.

Blood slowly began flowing from the back of her head, spreading through her deep red wine hair before running down the side of her face and dripping onto the floor.

Young Aether stared at the blood.

His remaining eye remained fixed on it.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

The world around him seemed strangely quiet.

He understood.

This was the end.

Maybe…

This was for the best.

He had tried until the very end, hadn’t he?

Yet…

Why was his heart still refusing to give up?

Why did that particular pain inside his body still refuse to disappear?

Why was that single wound still screaming through him when every other injury had become meaningless?

Maybe…

Maybe he wanted to make sure she was safe before he died.

Was that the reason?

Young Aether clenched his teeth.

His jaw trembled as he pressed his bloodied palm against the floor.

His fingers dug into the shattered surface as he tried to force his body to move.

His muscles barely responded.

Still, he tried.

Then he tried to use it.

His… black thing.

The thing that had destroyed the entire city.

The darkness that had appeared before.

The thing that had torn through everything standing in its path.

He tried to summon it again.

He wanted it to take control of him one last time.

Anything.

Anything that could keep Lily alive!

Anything that could give him enough strength to stand one more time.

‘Please… come on… do it.’

His thoughts screamed inside his fading consciousness.

‘You did everything! You destroyed everything! You killed everything in your path! So why aren’t you coming out?’

Nothing.

‘Why aren’t you speaking?’

Still nothing.

‘COME ON!’

He desperately reached inward, searching for that darkness.

He searched through every corner of his consciousness, desperately trying to find that familiar presence.

Yet, for some unknown reason…

Nothing fucking came out.

No fucking monster came out.

No overwhelming force waiting to devour everything around him.

NO FUCKING DEATH CAME OUT!

Everything had abandoned him.

His powers.

His skills.

His other selves.

Everything that had once made him something greater than an ordinary human being had disappeared.

Except him and the other one.

Just Aether.

And…

The one he had abandoned a long time ago.

The child with the ice-blue eyes crouched before him, silently staring into his remaining eye, before shaking his head… with a pitiful expression.

Young Aether was…

Utterly…

Powerless.

Without his power, he was nothing.

Without his incredible strength, he was nothing.

Without his money…

He was nothing.

Without his wives…

He was nothing.

Without everything that had once surrounded him…

He was nothing.

In the end…

He really was nothing.

Just like Delphine had said.

He held nothing.

‘No… 27…’

His thoughts became increasingly desperate.

‘I know you’re watching. Come… You came when I didn’t ask… You came when I didn’t even want you… So why aren’t you coming now?’

His vision began fading around the edges.

‘Why aren’t you coming—’

Thud!

Something struck the back of his head.

Everything went black.