Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1117: Choosing The Ruler: Part-4

Since Aria wasn’t fast on her feet, she had always relied on her unmatched skill in guiding the air. And she was so good at it—so precise, so instinctive—that even someone like Alaric, known for his sharp senses and speed, had trouble keeping up with her.

She stood at the edge of the track, calm and focused, pulling back the string of her compact bow. The wheels spun rapidly, whirring like turbines, while the air around them began to compress, coiling tighter and tighter with invisible force.

It wasn’t just wind—it was something shaped, guided, focused by her. The pressure built steadily, forming into the shape of an arrow on her bowstring. The air hissed and trembled, the wheels now spinning like miniature tornadoes, funnelling all their chaotic force into her shot.

As the arrow formed and refined itself, almost like it had a mind of its own, reality itself seemed to ripple. The air bent and warped as if trying to resist what was about to come.

Then, without a single breath wasted, she let go.

The arrow blasted through the sky with a deafening shriek, tearing through the clouds like paper.

SSSSSSSHHHHHHH!!

And just like that, Aria took off after it—her body launched into the sky.

She was tethered to the arrow by a rope tied at her waist, and it pulled her forward, dragging her into the open sky with terrifying speed.

“There she goes! Blazing through the heavens… all thanks to her arrow!” Thalia’s voice rang out suddenly as she grabbed a mic and shouted, full of excitement.

The crowd flinched at her sudden outburst, and she cheekily winked at Aether, who stood nearby. “C’mon, if we’re gonna watch this, let me make it fun! I’m doing the commentary!” she announced brightly.

Aether let out a sigh and shook his head. “Thalia, I’m not sure this is the right time for that. After what these people just went through…”

Before he could finish, Maelona interrupted gently, “Let her. It’s alright.”

Aether turned his blank stare toward Maelona, a little surprised. She smiled softly in return. She knew Thalia far too well—her strange timing, her habit of breaking tension, her passion. That kind of energy was hard to suppress.

And maybe… maybe it was what they needed right now.

Thalia smirked, eyes full of mischief, as she turned back toward the arena.

“Mr. Kaelen hasn’t reached the required number yet. And at this pace… well, I think we already know who’s going to win. Could it be… Kaelen doesn’t want to win anymore? Has he already given up hope? Oh, how tragic!”

Some people in the crowd exchanged glances and slowly turned toward Kaelen, their expressions faintly tinged with disappointment.

Kaelen’s jaw clenched as he ground his teeth. ’This isn’t over,’ he swore silently. And with renewed focus, he kept moving, pushing through the remaining attackers, one strike at a time.

Above, Aria soared through the air, laughing to herself, her body carried effortlessly by the wind she controlled. Behind her, several of Lyirrs’ subordinates trailed through the sky, operating the floating cameras that broadcast the live feed for the spectators below.

Aether glanced at Delphine. Her eyes were sharp, locked on both the arena and the screen, her expression unreadable but undeniably serious.

He let out a short laugh. “You’re gonna give yourself wrinkles if you keep frowning like that.”

Delphine turned her head, gave him a look, and rolled her eyes. He only responded with his usual grin, that same cheeky, irritating grin that never changed.

Her eye twitched slightly.

“It looks like Aria’s flying off with ease…” Thalia commented suddenly.

The entire crowd whipped their heads toward the screen, just in time to see monsters begin leaping toward Aria from every direction—massive, winged creatures diving through the sky to block her path.

Maelona smiled quietly and eerily. “It would’ve been too boring if it was just a race, don’t you think?” she said, still smiling.

Everyone turned toward her slowly… And gulped.

Dangerous. Without a doubt—she was dangerous.

Aria crashed down to the ground with a thud, rolling once before quickly getting back to her feet. She gritted her teeth and immediately began engaging the monsters. Her legs moved swiftly as she fought and ran at the same time, refusing to stop.

And then, the halfway mark appeared ahead. She crossed into the city, the second part of the course.

“Finally! Yes!!” Thalia squealed with delight as her eyes flicked back to the arena. “And look at that! Kaelen just reached the number!”

1000.

He had defeated 1000 warriors.

Aether nodded to himself, watching Kaelen collapse onto the ground.

The boy sat on his butt, gasping, his chest rising and falling in heavy, broken breaths. His body was torn and bruised, parts of his armour missing, blood dripping from a dozen wounds. He was alive—but only barely. And he had done it without killing a single one of his opponents.

Honestly, Aether was surprised.

Kaelen’s hair hung messily over his eyes. His vision blurred. His thoughts were slow, muddled with exhaustion. After all that training… all that grinding, all that pain… even after coming so close to her level…

He still lost.

He would never be the ruler of this nation. Not if he couldn’t surpass her. Not if he was always behind.

Thalia let out a quiet sigh, her voice softer now. “But it’s already over. There’s no point in running anymore… Aria’s going to win, no matter what.”

And even though she was right—even though Aria had all but secured her victory—most of the crowd couldn’t help but look at Kaelen with a strange ache in their hearts. He had tried.

He had given everything.

And still… he lost.

There was something deeply in that… Something too familiar.

They could relate. They saw a part of themselves in him. That feeling of giving your all, only to fall short. That heartbreak.

They felt it too.

Aether’s eyes didn’t leave Kaelen. He stood up slowly, shouted, “Givin—”

“Giving up already?” another voice cut him off, loud and cold.

Liora.

Everyone turned to see her standing at the edge of the arena. Her sharp eyes locked on Kaelen like she was ready to tear him apart.

Kaelen lowered his head. No matter what she was about to say, he already knew.

She’d berate him again. Call him weak. Push him to train harder, longer, with more pain.

Because to her, it was never enough.

It never would be.

He had trained. He had suffered.

This was all he could offer.

“My son, it’s fine.”

“…Huh?”

Kaelen’s eyes widened. For the first time, her voice wasn’t harsh—it was gentle. So gentle, it made something in his chest twist with pain.

Liora looked at him with an expression he hadn’t seen since he was little—soft, emotional, proud.

“I’m very happy that you did your best. 1000… even I couldn’t do that without killing. I’m proud of you, Kaelen. Truly proud. You’ve come this far… and you’ve proved me wrong.”

She took a step forward, her hand stretched out.

“I’m sorry. For always pushing you. For not thinking about what you wanted.”

Kaelen stared at her through the strands of hair that fell across his face.

Did she really just say that?

Was this real?

Shouldn’t she be mad?

Shouldn’t she yell?

Shouldn’t she hit him?

Tell him to stand, to train harder?

His mother would never say something like this… right?

There was no way.

And yet… here she was. Arms open. No anger. Only pride. Only love.

Kaelen groaned softly as he stood up, wobbling slightly, “Stupid mother… stupid mother… stupid… stupid…” he muttered under his breath, cheeks heating with something that wasn’t quite anger.

Something he didn’t know how to name.

“W-Why is she being so soft? Acting like this makes me wanna puke… ugh!” Kaelen groaned, his voice thick with frustration. He sucked in a deep breath, his fingers brushing through his sweat-soaked hair, pulling it back as he revealed his face—tears welled up in his eyes, but they burned with deadly seriousness.

“Hmph! I’m not doing this for you, Mother!” he muttered under his breath.

His body tensed. Muscles clenched. Then, slowly, bones cracked, reshaped, stretched. A dark, thick fur spread across his skin. His onyx hair shimmered wildly as his eyes began to glow—a dangerous, primal light burning in them. His lips peeled back to reveal sharp fangs, his mouth dripping with venom.

And then…

“HOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLL!!”

The howl echoed like a siren of war. Kaelen’s enormous paws slammed into the ground—

BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

The arena shook violently. A devastating shockwave exploded outward, cracking the floor, ripping through the stone path. The force was so strong that even the seating stands and elders sitting at the back were hurled from their places, tumbling from the sheer blast of air.

“Ha! Haha!!” Aether laughed with a proud, exhilarated grin as he raised his hand, waving the air to protect himself and the girls behind him. The wind tore around him as he looked forward—just in time to see Kaelen vanish in the blink of an eye.

He had zoomed out in a fraction of a second.

“HOLY SHIT!!” Thalia screamed, her jaw dropping as her eyes widened. She couldn’t even see Kaelen anymore—he was just a blur, a spot streaking through the track with mind-blowing speed.

“What kind of boost was that?!” Thalia gasped, spinning to face Liora with a shocked expression.

But Liora didn’t answer. She only smiled softly, watching the display unfold. Her eyes drifted to Aether. He spread his arms, and she appeared before him and hugged him.

“You’ve grown well…” Aether whispered in her ear, holding her tight.

All eyes turned to the live footage now. Kaelen was a storm on legs—too fast to track properly. Every monster in his path was obliterated in moments, either torn apart by the sheer force of his speed or shredded into pieces by the razor-like claws that extended from his now monstrous form.

The women beside Aether stared at the screen, horrified.

This… this was not the Kaelen they knew.

Aether grinned, wicked and satisfied. “Oh, you thought I was just playing around with him?” he said, his voice taking on a dangerous tone. “Ladies… if I say this now, you better believe me—this Kaelen could defeat all of you, right here, right now.”

His eyes shimmered ominously.

Aether remembered it all—how he had trained Kaelen brutally, breaking him down and rebuilding him from scratch. He saw the boy’s true potential, something wild and monstrous. Possibly more dangerous than anyone else Aether had ever seen.

The problem had always been Kaelen’s self-esteem. That fragile, wounded confidence had kept him shackled.

Perhaps Liora had played a role in that—unintentionally, maybe. She had never really understood how to nurture him. Not the way he needed.

But now… things were changing. She was slowly becoming something better. Slowly becoming the mother Kaelen had always needed.

And once Kaelen cast off the weight of that doubt?

He would outshine them all.

Hell, Aether mused with a grin, ’if it wasn’t for me, Kaelen would be the main character of this story.’

The girls around him gulped when they heard that. Aether wasn’t joking.

“E-Even if we all fought him together?” Aqualina asked, her voice tight, a bead of sweat sliding down her temple.

Aether just smiled.

They felt it now—the truth. There was someone out there stronger than them, someone rising fast. It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured over their egos.

“OH MY GOD!! Kaelen reached Aria?! What the hell just happened?!” Thalia’s voice cracked as her commentary picked up again, filled with raw shock.

Aria was gliding smoothly along the ground, propelled by the wind following her arrow, her expression calm and focused.

Spectators lined the side of the track, shouting and waving, excitement vibrating in their voices.

“Aria! Aria! Aria!” they chanted over and over, hands raised, faces beaming.

But then—she felt something behind her.

A pressure.

Something fast. Too fast.

Her instincts kicked in. She tensed, kicked off the ground, letting go of her arrow flight as she spun midair. Her eyes scanned behind her—

SSSSSHHHHH!!!!

A streak of black surged past her.

Her pupils shrank.

It was Kaelen.

He had passed her.

“I won’t let you!!” Aria snarled. Her feet slammed into the ground as she drew her bow again. The wheels beside her screeched and spun violently, the air twisting around her like a cyclone. She pulled the string tight, and three arrows formed—each compressed to perfection.

The engines roared louder than ever as she released them.

BOOM!

The force shot her into the air again. She chased after Kaelen, riding her own arrows like guided wind.

She caught up fast.

“Holy crap… now they’re neck and neck!” Thalia’s voice was trembling with excitement as she clutched the mic with both hands.

In one second, Kaelen was ahead.

The next, Aria overtook him.

Back and forth… Over and over.

What had seemed like a certain victory was now a wild, unpredictable duel.

“The once-easy win just became a showdown! Hell yeah!!” Thalia cheered.

The crowd erupted in laughter, gasps, and cheers. For that moment, they forgot everything else. Their hearts were caught in the race—who would win?

But then…

“Grrrrll!!”

A low growl rumbled across the track. Up ahead, a pack of sleek black panthers stood in their way, each one embedded with golden crystal. Five Stars sparkled on them—clearly loosed by soldiers.

Aether and the others turned toward Maelona with looks that said, ’Really?’

Maelona just smiled, shameless and smug. “They’re faster… and stronger,” she said with a wink.

The panthers roared, crouched low and ready to pounce on Aria and Kaelen.

But Aria acted first.

Grinning, she released one of the compressed arrow—not at the enemies, but straight into the ground.

BOOOOOOMMM!!

The explosion blew the road apart. The panthers were launched into the air, flung out of the way by the sheer shockwave. Aria used the blast to propel herself, performing a perfect somersault mid-flight and continued forward, smirking as she winked at Kaelen.

She knew—with that blast, the path beneath Kaelen would be unstable. He’d crash. No way he could handle it.

“Heh… he’s not gonna fall for that,” Aether muttered with a proud grin.

And he didn’t.

Just as the ground crumbled beneath him, Kaelen twisted his massive wolf tail and slammed it into the dirt like a springboard. With a sudden thrust, he launched himself over the broken path.

Aria, still gliding, looked up—just in time to see him soar above her.

He winked at her as he passed.

He landed ahead of her, sprinting even faster now.

Aria’s face twisted with frustration. She gritted her teeth and sped up, pouring more energy into her movement. But Kaelen… he was already ahead.

“Shit, man… the guy we thought had no chance is actually in the lead now?!” Thalia shouted, stunned.

The crowd went wild. People who moments ago were chanting Aria’s name now began cheering for Kaelen.

“Kaelen! Kaelen! Kaelen!!”

He neared the finish line. His heart pounded in his ears, his face lit up with joy. For the first time in so long, he was smiling so wide it hurt.

’I’m gonna win… I’m actually gonna fucking win!!’ he screamed in his head, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, “YYEEEAAHhhhh!!!”

Then his ears twitched—he heard something.

A sound.

He turned instinctively—

Thud!

A ribbon fluttered.

Aria had broken the finish line.

She had won.

Everyone blinked, stunned and silent.

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