Chapter 1926: A Mother’s Love, A Monster’s Obsession

"Hmm... that’s enough for today," Grace said as she dusted her hands, looking rather satisfied with herself after what could only be described as an impressive display of violence.

Her gaze settled on Lackey, who was lying there covered in blood, wounds, and twisted limbs.

His ass was still in the air, his limbs twitching weakly from left to right, while the only sound he could manage was a miserable,

"Arrhh..."

A low groan echoed through the room.

Grace looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"Stop acting so dramatic. You’re still alive, aren’t you?"

Lackey remained where he was, refusing to move as another groan escaped his throat. Grace’s lips twitched slightly before she spoke in a colder tone.

"Heal yourself. Otherwise..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Lackey immediately activated his healing ability. His body began restoring itself almost instantly as the blood that had spilled across his skin seemed to flow back into his body, while torn flesh closed and fractured bones snapped back into place. Within a matter of seconds, the wounds were gone, leaving only the lingering soreness of what had just happened.

"Okay!" Lackey said with a bright smile as he quickly stood back up.

The last thing he wanted was to give her another reason to kill him.

’Damn, she really didn’t hold back.’

Lackey groaned inwardly as he felt his muscles twitch and his bones settle back into their proper positions. Even after healing himself, he could still remember every hit she had landed on him.

’She really did a number on me.’

Grace nodded with satisfaction. "Good boy."

Lackey’s lips twitched when he realised she was treating him like a little brother.

Still, it was far better than being treated like an enemy. He had already pissed her off more times than he cared to remember, so being treated like this was probably the lesser punishment.

"Next time... if you ever go against your Elder sister’s words and use her as bait again..."

She didn’t finish the sentence. She simply allowed the unfinished threat to linger in the air.

That alone sent a shiver down Lackey’s spine.

"I-I understand, Elder sister," he said as he bowed slightly.

[+1000 AP]

Grace smiled with even greater satisfaction before beckoning him over with one finger.

Lackey blinked.

’What now?’

He cautiously walked toward her. Grace gestured for him to lower his head, and after a moment of hesitation, he obediently did so.

Just as he expected her to smack him on the head again, something completely different happened.

Pat... Pat...

Grace gently patted his head.

"Good boy."

"..."

Lackey’s lips twitched violently.

’She is definitely treating me like a dog.’

He screamed inwardly, but when he looked at her face, he saw something he rarely ever saw from her.

A gentle smile rested upon her lips, almost as though she were genuinely enjoying herself for the first time in a long while.

Lackey sighed and decided to let her have her fun.

Once everything was done, Grace looked at him curiously.

"So, what’s your plan with your mother?"

Lackey hummed thoughtfully before snapping his fingers. A portal shimmered into existence above the bed, its surface rippling with faint energy. A woman wearing a cloak emerged from it and fell gently onto the bed.

Lackey stared at her quiet face for several moments before slowly reaching forward and removing her veil.

A faint smile appeared on his face when he finally saw her again.

"It’s been a while, Mom."

For a moment, he wondered whether she would even recognise him. After all, he was wearing Lackey’s form now. His appearance was completely different from the son she had known.

"I am—"

Before he could finish, the woman’s eyes suddenly filled with tears.

But they were not ordinary tears.

Dark crimson tears slowly streamed down her cheeks... as if his very presence were enough to know who he was.

Lackey’s vision blurred.

His heart trembled as he stared at her.

"H-How did you...?"

His voice was barely audible.

She had recognised him.

Even though he had changed his appearance, even though his body no longer belonged to the person she remembered, somehow, she had still found him.

Just how could she recognise him so easily?

Even inside this motionless body, how could a mother still know that it was her son?

Lackey’s eyes trembled as he slowly shook his head, as though finally accepting something he had already known deep inside.

He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead.

"It’s alright, Mom," he whispered. "You don’t have to cry anymore. Your son knows everything now."

His voice softened as he continued, his fingers carefully wiping away the crimson tears from her cheeks.

"I know about him. I know what happened to you, and I know how much you sacrificed for me.

I know you were still there, trapped inside, crying all alone..."

More bloody tears flowed from her eyes.

Lackey gently wiped them away, but they continued to fall.

"Please don’t, Mom... don’t cry anymore. It hurts."

His hand slowly moved to his chest as his fingers clenched against it.

The pain inside him had nothing to do with his wounds. It was something deeper, something that no healing ability could touch.

He moved closer to the bed and carefully wrapped his arms around her.

"Forgive me, Mom. If I had known sooner, I would have... I would have done something. I swear I would ha-have."

His voice began to tremble.

"I... I should have been there for you."

His words faltered, his thoughts becoming tangled beneath the weight of his guilt.

For once, he had no words, no plan, and no excuse.

There was only his mother.

He tightened his embrace around her, almost as though he could somehow make up for all the years she had suffered simply by holding her tightly enough.

"I’m here now, Mom," he whispered. "You don’t have to be alone anymore."

He held her as though he could protect her from everything that had already happened, even knowing that some wounds were too deep to ever truly heal.

Grace quietly watched Lackey.

She knew this woman did not have much time left. The consciousness inside that body was already beginning to fade, and sooner or later, there would be nothing left for Lackey to hold onto.

As his Elder sister, Grace knew it was her responsibility to make him understand the harsh truth, no matter how painful it might be.

"Little Brother... remember, she is only a consciousness. One way or another, she will eventually disappear. You need to steel your heart before that happens."

Lackey flinched as though those words had physically struck him.

For several seconds, he said nothing. His arms slowly tightened around his mother, pulling her closer against his chest.

"No... I don’t want her to disappear," he mumbled as his voice trembled.

He hugged her even tighter, his fingers curled into the fabric of her clothes, almost as though his arms alone could prevent whatever was happening to her.

Grace sighed quietly.

Her wings fluttered before she flew over him and settled onto the headboard. Her expression softened, touched by a faint melancholy as she looked down at her little brother.

"It’s hard to accept reality, Little Brother, but... there are things that cannot be saved or protected, no matter how strong you become. Strength doesn’t mean you can save everything, Little Brother. There will always be something beyond your reach."

She paused before continuing.

"Sometimes, you have to let someone go, even when every part of you is screaming to hold on. Even when letting go feels like tearing your own heart apart."

Her eyes carried a faint trace of pain, as though those words came from somewhere deeper than simple wisdom.

"And... believe me. Time will eventually make you forget that pain."

Lackey remained silent.

Those words came from Grace, the death herself!

His hands trembled around his mother.

For almost a minute, he did not utter a single word.

Then, barely above a whisper, he said,

"I... won’t allow it."

"Huh?" Grace blinked.

Lackey slowly lifted his head.

He stared into his mother’s unblinking eyes.

Those eyes were motionless, yet he could still see the love hidden behind them. The love that had existed before he even understood what love was.

The love that had apparently remained there even when he believed she had abandoned him.

His thumb gently brushed across the corner of her eye, wiping away another crimson tear.

"Who do you think you are...?" he whispered.

His voice was strangely gentle.

"You cannot just tell me you love me... and then leave me."

His fingers trembled against her cheek.

"That’s not how this is supposed to work, Mom."

A faint smile appeared on his face, but there was something deeply wrong about it.

"You gave me your love."

His voice became quieter.

"You made me realise that... I was loved."

He leaned closer.

"So how can you expect me to simply let you disappear afterward?"

His eyes began to tremble.

"No... that’s not fair."

His smile slowly vanished.

"You don’t get to do that to me."

Lackey’s breathing became heavier.

"You cannot give me something I spent my entire life believing I would never have... and then take it away the moment I-I finally understand how precious it is."

His voice cracked.

"She cannot leave..."

His arms tightened around her.

"Not like this."

His eyes slowly darkened.

"Not now."

His trembling lips parted as his voice rose louder and more dangerous.

"NOT AFTER I KNOW SHE LOVED ME!"

The room fell silent.

Lackey’s expression had changed completely.

This was no longer simple grief.

Something far more dangerous had awakened inside him.

His eyes were filled with tears, yet beneath those tears burned an intense possessiveness and madness that even Grace had not expected.

Grace’s expression stiffened slightly.

She had seen countless forms of madness.

She was death itself.

Yet there was something disturbing about watching someone take the smallest piece of love they had ever received and turn it into an absolute obsession.

Lackey continued speaking as though he were finally releasing every word he had been unable to say in his previous timeline.

"No... Mommy..."

His voice became small again, almost childlike.

"You shouldn’t leave me like that."

His fingers trembled as he held her face.

"It hurts..."

A tear of blood rolled down his cheek.

"Mommy... IT. HURTS."

His voice cracked violently.

"You know that, don’t you?"

He looked into her eyes.

"You know what happens when you leave me alone."

"I hated myself because I thought you never wanted me."

His smile slowly returned.

"And now I find out that I was wrong."

His eyes widened with an almost euphoric realisation.

"You loved me."

Another crimson tear slid down his cheek.

"You loved me all this time."

His grip tightened around her.

"So why would I ever let you leave me again?"

His neck twitched slightly as his expression grew increasingly distorted.

"No..."

He shook his head.

"I won’t."

A soft, broken laugh escaped him.

"I won’t make the same mistake twice."

His smile widened.

"I lost you once."

His eyes gleamed with obsession.

"I will never lose you again."

He pulled her closer, burying his face against her shoulder as though he were a child finally reunited with the person he had spent his entire life searching for.

"I don’t care if you hate me."

His voice became eerily calm.

"I don’t care if you tell me to let go."

"I don’t care if the whole world tells me I’m wrong."

He slowly lifted his head.

"As long as you’re here... that’s enough."

His smile became strangely tender.

"You don’t even have to move."

"You don’t have to speak."

"You don’t have to smile."

"You can just stay here."

His fingers gently stroked her hair.

"I’ll do everything for you."

"I’ll feed you."

"I’ll protect you."

"I’ll build you a room where nothing can ever hurt you again."

His smile widened further.

"No one will touch you."

"No one will take you away."

"No one will make you cry."

He paused.

"And if someone tries..."

His expression became terrifyingly calm.

"I’ll make sure they never exist"

Grace stared at him silently. "Little brother?"

Lackey didn’t even seem to notice her anymore.

His entire world had narrowed down to the woman in his arms.