Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

He brought the blade down and pierced her heart... or so he thought—

Thuck!

A hand caught his wrist with unyielding strength just before the knife could even graze her skin.

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief, breaths catching as they saw—Aether's other hand had surged up and seized his own wrist, stopping the blade in midair.

"Arrhh!" Aether groaned, his body twisting with resistance. He struggled violently, forcing his right hand—which gripped the blade—toward her chest. And yet, his left hand wouldn't allow it. His own fingers clenched around his right wrist, refusing to let it move even a single inch closer.

His eyes flickered between black and white, trembling like a candle between two winds. Something deep inside him—furious, grieving, afraid—was resisting the command she gave.

Dora lay helplessly on the cold stone, her body covered in wounds and smeared blood. Her lips trembled as she looked up at Aether, whose face was a storm of fear, love, heartbreak, and guilt.

"C-Come on... why hesitate now?" she asked, her voice fragile, broken... and yet, strangely peaceful. She tried to smile through the pain, though it cracked at the corners.

Aether's lips parted. They trembled, but no sound came out for a long, shaking second. Then finally, "Y-You're really making me do this… ah..." he choked, his throat tightening. The weight of her request was crushing him. "You know I… I can't... and yet, you ask me to..."

His knees buckled slightly as the blade shook in his hand. He wanted to let go. But he couldn't. He wanted to obey her. But he couldn't. His body and soul were tearing apart, pulled in opposite directions.

Dora gave a soft smile, her lips still bloody. It was a broken smile, but it was real. She wasn't afraid—not of death, not of the blade, not of him.

That smile shattered him more than any scream.

Tears welled up in Aether's eyes. "Arrhh!!" he shouted, forcing his right hand downward again, but his left hand still gripped his wrist tightly, trembling, fighting back.

Sandra and Sera stood nearby, frozen. Sera's eyes flooded with panic. She stepped forward instinctively to stop this madness, but Sandra caught her arm firmly.

"No," Sandra said, her tone harsh and flat. "It's her choice… she wants it this way."

It wasn't that Sandra didn't understand what was happening. She understood all too well.

Dora wasn't the kind of person who let herself be cornered or weak. If it had been anyone else holding the blade—even her, even Sandra—Dora would've killed them without hesitation. Whether she was a queen, a friend, or a nobody.

Dora always followed her own will.

But Aether…

When it came to Aether, everything was different.

He was her disciple, yes, but he was more than that... So much more.

Aether wasn't just someone she raised or trained. He was the one who melted the cold in her soul, the one she entrusted her truth to. The one she—

Then why… why make him suffer like this?

If she truly loved him, wouldn't she choose another way? Couldn't she end it herself? Or ask someone else?

But Sandra knew. Deep in her bones, she knew.

Dora didn't want to die by anyone's hand.

She wanted to die by his hand.

Even Sandra had considered similar thoughts. If it came down to it, she would rather die by Aether or her daughter than be killed by enemies or strangers. She'd rather die looking into eyes that loved her.

Still, something about it all felt painfully, horribly wrong.

Sandra noticed Aether still trembling. His face was contorted, his breath ragged. She saw the war raging in his soul, and it hurt to watch.

She took a step forward and gently asked, "If you cannot… I will—"

"No need..." Aether interrupted, shaking his head violently. He bit down on his lower lip until blood seeped from it. "Don't touch this… I have to… I have to…"

He inhaled sharply, as if he were about to dive into a sea of fire. Then, as his eyes turned deep, endless black, he muttered, "Please forgive me."

And then—

Chucckkkk!

The blade drove into her chest.

Dora smiled. Peacefully. Silently. As if, at last, she was freed.

Her eyes lost their colour like a candle being extinguished in the wind. Her breathing stopped without resistance.

Aether let out a trembling exhale as he released the blade. His entire body convulsed. He turned to move forward, but his legs gave out beneath him. He collapsed onto his knees, his arms limp at his sides.

He panted—hard. Each breath was shallow, uneven.

It wasn't Dora's spell holding him anymore. That had faded the moment she died.

No... This was something far worse.

His own guilt. His love. His fear. They were wrapping around his heart like chains, squeezing, choking, tightening every time he tried to breathe.

'I killed her.'

His eyes returned to normal. His vision blurred as his pupils shook violently.

First Raven. Then Sandra. And now—Dora.

Even though the first two weren't his fault, even though he had told himself it wasn't really him… he had buried that guilt under excuses, under reasons. He had told himself it wasn't truly his hand.

But this time… there was no one else to blame.

This time, it was only him.

Sera rushed to him and dropped to her knees, embracing him tightly, holding him like he might fall into pieces if she didn't.

"I cannot believe that woman forced you to do that!!" she cried, her body shaking as she held him closer. Her voice cracked with grief and rage.

Sandra said nothing. She didn't interfere. Her hands were clenched at her sides, her nails digging into her own palms. She just waited—for the miracle Dora had promised. For something… anything.

Sera cradled Aether's head into her shoulder, rocking him gently. "It's okay, Aether… you did what you thought was right," she whispered fiercely. "And she fucking asked for it... that fucking bitch!!"

Aether's eyes flickered again, barely able to lift. His vision was clouded, his heart still collapsing inside his chest. But when he looked up and saw Sera's eyes—worried, hurting, desperate—he gave her a weak, broken smile.

A smile filled with too much love... and too much pain.

From this point… he started to feel numb.

That terrible, creeping emptiness was settling in.

He had just killed Dora—his Dora. And yet, he didn't sob like the first time. He didn't search for arms to hold him. He didn't pour out his pain in kisses or broken words.

No, not this time.

This time… he just knelt in silence, staring at the floor, as if the ground might open up and swallow him whole.

Because in the back of his mind, buried under all the guilt, sorrow, and madness—there was a quiet truth whispering.

'You can always turn back time.'

That knowledge, that power... that curse… it was the only thing making him move at all.

The first time he had experienced loss—Raven—he'd felt an overwhelming emotional rupture. The pain had clawed through his chest like fire. It was an accident, but it left scars that screamed.

The second time—Sandra—he had been forced, controlled. His soul cracked wide open, and he drowned in helplessness and despair.

And the third time... Dora.

This time, it was his choice. His own will. His hands, his heart, his decision. And yet...

He felt numb.

No tears came.

No desperate need for comfort.

No self-punishment through kisses or bleeding sorrow.

Only the silence inside him.

That was all.

'Is this what I've become… numb to killing the ones I love?'

His ability… this cruel, cursed ability... sometimes felt like more of a burden than a gift. Everyone thought power could save lives, that time reversal meant second chances. But no one talked about the weight of remembering every version of the same death… again… and again… and again.

Thud!

Suddenly, the Ebon stone beneath Dora's body cracked, a low, echoing shutter that vibrated through the ground. The remaining pieces began to shift, trembling like they were waking from centuries of sleep.

TTTRRRRRRRR!!

Slowly... deliberately... the last Ebon stone began to rotate.

But Aether didn't see it.

He couldn't.

His eyes were empty, unfocused. He was lost inside himself.

Dora's lifeless body still rested atop the rotating stone. Her long, once vibrant form now unmoving as blood trickled down the grooves in the stone, dripping slowly, methodically, like a countdown.

Sandra narrowed her eyes. "She's not waking up," she muttered, her voice uncertain, tension bleeding into her expression. "Aether..."

He didn't reply at first. Then, after a pause that hung heavy in the air, he whispered, hollow and mechanical, "Activate skill... Rebir—"

"There is no need."

A silky, seductive voice echoed from nowhere. They flinched in unison, heads snapping toward the sound—but there was no one there. Just the dead body on stone and the eerie, humming of the Ebon stone.

Then suddenly—

Dora's fluffy tail, once attached to her body, shimmered and detached from her corpse. It floated into the air like a soft, glowing ribbon.

Ssssshhhhhhhh~

Like wind through enchanted petals, it spun gracefully, sparkling like stardust... And in its place—a pink-colored fox form began to materialise in midair.

And from it—Dora.

Fully restored.

Not a wound, not a single scratch on her glowing body.

She spread her arms wide with a playful grin. "Tada~"

"..."

But no one cheered. No one even reacted.

Everyone just stared at her in complete silence, their faces blank.

Dora blinked, her grin faltering. "What happened?"

She looked down—and her smile vanished entirely when she saw Aether, still kneeling, still broken, still not even glancing in her direction. His head bowed. His expression was unreadable.

Dora's face turned awkward as guilt flickered through her eyes. She stepped forward slowly and moved toward him, only to see Sera still hugging him tightly.

Without a word, Dora shoved Sera aside with a soft grunt.

"Tsk, bitch," Sera hissed, gritting her teeth as she moved out of the way.

Dora gave a strained, almost apologetic smile. She crouched next to Aether, gently reaching out.

"Aether?" she whispered, voice much softer now. Her fingers lifted his chin, but his eyes didn't react. They were distant, glassy.

He wasn't there.

Dora's lips twitched, trying to stay light, trying to tease him back to life.

"It should be me who's angry... you know, for killing me. Not the other way around..." she muttered with a weak smile.

But those eyes… she saw it now. There was pain. So much pain she couldn't even touch it.

Sandra walked forward and casually pulled Aether up into her arms, holding him like a child who had been left out in the cold.

"Well," Sandra said with a sarcastic tone, though her eyes were serious. "Looks like you pushed him too far. He might have started to hate you, you know~"

Dora's mouth dropped open. "H-Hey! I was trying to help you, you bitch! If not for me, you'd be a red stain on the ground!"

"Yay, yay," Sandra waved her hand dismissively, annoyed, already walking away with Aether still half-limp in her embrace. She sensed Maelona back again so she walked towards her.

Sera followed behind, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue. "Fucked up bitch~"

Dora blinked, left behind as she looked at the rotating stone, now fully active. Her lifeless body had vanished from it as if it never there.

She sighed.

Her arms dropped to her sides.

Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

"I… I just wanted to help them… Was that really so wrong?"