Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey-Chapter 1002: Kai was killed?

Kai slowly pulled his sword out from the lying body. The moment the blade slid free, thick blood coated his golden sword, dripping onto the floor in heavy, sticky drops.

Kai blankly stared at the blood for a long moment, his grip tightening around the hilt as if grounding himself with it. Then he turned to Xara, whose body was stiff, eyes wide, staring at him with a furious expression that trembled between rage and disbelief.

Of course, she would be furious. Even if she had done wrong—even if this mess was her fault—her creation... her precious work of fifteen long years... was now lying dead before her eyes like a discarded toy.

Was she supposed to feel happy about that? Smile and nod like nothing happened?

Would she feel peace knowing what she had built was destroyed in an instant?

Kai shook his head slowly, the taste of bitterness on his tongue. "I cannot believe you're looking at me like I was the one at fault here," he said in a quiet, trembling voice.

Xara blinked, her fury faltering for a moment. Her expression softened, not completely, but enough to show hesitation. "K-Kai... you shouldn't have done that... It's your little broth--"

"I HAVE NO LITTLE BROTHER!!" Kai suddenly roared, raw and filled with rage.

She had just created a replica of him, some artificial copy, and had the nerve to call it his brother? As if he could accept that... as if she thought he could replace real bonds with manufactured ones.

How dare she!!

Vesperine, always opportunistic, stepped in, her tone cold yet wickedly sweet as she poured more oil onto the fire. She stood beside Kai like a shadow feeding off his wrath and pointed directly at Selene. "Look at her. You called her a failed product? Look at your own child now. She's your daughter... and yet to your eyes, she is nothing more than a failed product?"

Selene shuddered. Her hands twitched slightly at her sides, but her face remained still—expression unreadable, almost doll-like—but the slight tremble in her shoulders betrayed her.

"Stop it...!!" Xara finally screamed, her voice cracking as she glared at the woman tearing her family apart piece by piece. Her hands clenched, trembling with helplessness.

Vesperine flinched dramatically and took a step back, hiding behind Kai with a pouty, almost childlike expression, "L-Look at her, Kai... she's shouting at me, even though she was the one who caused all of this... I only showed the truth. D-Did I do anything wrong, Kai? If so, tell me. I... I just wanted to help," she whimpered, her eyes glistening with tears that trembled on her lashes.

Kai's heart cracked a little at her words, his fury momentarily soothed by the pain in her voice. He gently shook his head. "You've done nothing wrong, my dear... It's this woman... this mother of mine... who thought of us as nothing more than an experiment"

Xara's breath hitched at his words. Her heart trembled. "H-How could you say—" her voice broke again, heavy with disbelief. But before she could crumble further, another voice stepped in.

Aether.

He stepped forward, face stern, voice heavy with restrained irritation. "Hey, Kai... don't you think you're overacting?"

Kai turned his head slowly, scoffing with disgust. "Look at you, talking to me like you're my equal... you filthy slave." Then he smirked cruelly. "Oh no, that's right. You're not just a slave anymore, are you? You're her secret lover's child. Who knows? Maybe you're another one of her twisted creations too. Shouldn't you be worried, Mr. so-called adopted son?"

Aether frowned, jaw clenching hard... but he didn't reply. The only reason—the only fucking reason—he was staying silent was because... deep inside, he knew Xara was wrong this time.

And as her son, even if it burned him, he understood Kai's fury... Most of all he didn't want to make things worse for her.

He shifted slightly, casting a side glance toward the bitch behind him—Vesperine—who was still silently smirking. Her eyes gleamed with amusement, as if this chaos was the sweetest wine to her.

Xara looked between her son and Vesperine, then toward her creation—her child—who now lay lifeless, soaked in his own blood. She bit her lips so hard they bled. She could feel it now... the crushing weight of all their gazes.

The betrayal... The blame... The disappointment.

She finally understood what they felt. She fucking understood their pain now... their hatred. And with a heavy heart, she stood up slowly, her limbs stiff as if carrying the burden of years.

She looked at her son, her Kai... and bowed her head deeply.

"I am sorry," she said softly.

Aether closed his eyes... His fingers curled into fists.

Kai's eyes widened, trembling slightly. Watching his mother—his mother—bow and apologise... it made something in him falter.

Xara turned next to her daughter and bowed her head again, this time even lower. "I am sorry."

"..." Selene didn't react. She just stared at her mother silently, with that same unreadable, emotionless face.

Xara wiped her tears roughly, her hands trembling. "N-Now everything is over, right?" she asked with a weak smile, her lips twitching as she tried to lighten the mood. "S-Shall we go home and continue our ritual?" she added, dusting her clothes and turning around slowly, deciding to leave... to walk away from this wreckage.

She thought if she left them alone, maybe... maybe they would calm down. Maybe the silence would heal things.

However—

"Continue the ritual? I cannot believe you're still doing that after literally breaking my heart!" Kai's voice cracked, a raw scream of hurt. He sounded shattered, like a boy abandoned again.

His hands were trembling... His vision was blurry.

Xara froze mid-step. She flinched. Her entire body stiffened.

She bit her lips again, almost choking on her own breath. What should she do now...? What could she say?

No matter what she did... no matter how hard she tried... her children would never look at her the same again... There was no going back.

Not after this.

Aether pressed his knuckles to his forehead. 'Maybe I... shouldn't have done that...' he thought bitterly. He clenched his fists, helplessly watching Xara fall apart, unable to find any right answer in this hell she created.

Just one more word... one more wrong sentence, and everything would collapse. She knew that. She could feel the line fraying.

She needed to speak... to say something...

It wasn't only them. Even she was heartbroken. Her creation—her precious, beautiful creation—was killed before her eyes. She couldn't be angrier at the one who did it... and yet, what could she say? What kind of cruel fate was this? To lose everything... in one single moment?

'I guess... it's really my karma...' Xara thought with a hollow, shattered tone echoing inside her soul.

Crack...

Suddenly, a sharp cracking sound echoed through the air. Everyone flinched on instinct, their heads snapping toward the source. It came from the fallen, dead body.

Kai, who stood closest to it, frowned deeply. "Is this thing... still alive?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

He stepped closer, eyes narrowing further as he noticed something strange—the body's once pale, lifeless skin now appeared to be warming, faintly glowing with a subtle flush, as if blood had started flowing again.

Kai grimaced. "No way..." he muttered, then without hesitation, he drove his sword down again. "Just die already!" he growled, stabbing toward the skull with full force—

Only—

Chukk...

The moment the blade touched, something unbelievable happened.

The seemingly lifeless body suddenly reached up and caught the sword with its bare hand.

Kai's eyes widened. Blood began dripping from the creature's palm where the blade had pierced through, yet it didn't scream. It didn't wince. It just held the sword tightly... unnervingly calm.

Kai's muscles tensed. He pushed down harder, trying to force the sword through. "What the fuck is this thing...? It's getting stronger?" he muttered, the horror creeping into his voice as he felt resistance far beyond what a corpse should be capable of.

Then—

In the blink of an eye—

The body moved.

Like a lightning strike, the dead thing flipped upright in a blur of inhuman speed, and its leg wrapped tightly around Kai's neck, lifting him from the ground.

It happened so fast that no one fully registered what had just occurred. One moment, the corpse was lying motionless... and the next, Kai's body was being slammed into the ground.

Aether, however, saw it... He caught the entire movement.

He watched in stunned silence as the creature's limbs twisted unnaturally, breaking its own bones in the process, flipping like a serpent out of water. It used that grotesque momentum to wrap its leg around Kai's neck and hurl him like a rag doll.

Then, even more disturbing—

The massive hole in the creature's chest... began to heal.

Flesh folded in on itself. Muscle reformed. Blood vanished. It was like the wound had never existed in the first place.

Everyone stood frozen, expressions contorted with horror... except for Xara.

She watched with a faint smirk on her lips, an amused spark flickering in her eyes.

Aether blinked. His expression turned blank as he turned to her slowly, like a machine processing too many emotions at once. And then—he caught her.

Xara glanced at him, noticed his stare, and her cheeks turned slightly pink. She lowered her head, giving him the softest wink.

Aether's lips twitched violently. 'Don't tell me... all of this... was just acting?' he screamed internally, almost shaking with disbelief. 'Give back my guilt and worry, damn it!!'

"Y-You! Let me go!!" Kai choked out, thrashing wildly. His voice cracked, panic taking over as he clawed at the creature's leg, which pressed tighter against his neck with bone-crushing strength.

Vesperine screamed, running over in desperation. "Let him go!!" she shouted, trying to push the creature off, but it didn't budge. It was like trying to move a mountain.

Then—

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Aether's eyes widened in horror.

He heard it.

That sickening, sharp crack.

The creature snapped Kai's neck with a casual twist.

Kai's body fell limp... and then dropped to the ground like a lifeless puppet with its strings cut.

"NNNOOOOOOO!!" Xara screamed. Her face contorted, her hands reaching out as if she could undo what just happened.

This—this kind of development... no one had expected. Not even in their darkest imaginations.

Except—

!~Ding~!