Chapter 1907: Butterfly Effect : 2

After Beta’s long punishment, she finally managed to stand up again. The prolonged lack of movement had left them almost numb, and she had to steady herself for a moment before she could properly regain her balance.

With a slightly annoyed expression, she looked toward the God who had been calmly watching her suffer without offering the slightest bit of sympathy.

"Is there... anything else you need?" Beta asked carefully, choosing her words more cautiously this time.

She had already learned that provoking her God was a mistake she did not want to repeat.

"Well, there are a few things I need... A workshop, a laboratory, and... some new clothes. I also need an AI Ring. Can you arrange all of that for me?" Lackey asked, as though he were casually listing a few items he needed from a store.

Beta nodded slightly, already considering how she would arrange everything.

"I can arrange all of that, but... an AI Ring? Why do you need one?"

Lackey fell silent for a brief moment. His expression became slightly distant before he finally answered, "Let’s just say... My Guilt."

Beta blinked, momentarily confused by his answer. She clearly did not understand what he meant, but she could tell from his tone that it was not something he wanted to explain. Rather than question him further, she simply nodded, deciding that she would arrange everything he had requested.

"Also... I need someone from the Delta Empire. Can you get him for me?" Lackey asked as he leaned back comfortably in the chair.

"Just give me the information, and I will take care of the rest," Beta replied with a cheerful tone, almost as though she were deliberately trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Lackey simply nodded.

"Anything else?"

"How about having a damn dinner? It’s almost freaking night!" Lackey suddenly said, his voice carrying a hint of irritation. He still could not believe that this woman had dragged him from place to place throughout the day without hesitation, yet had somehow never thought about stopping long enough to eat anything.

"Huh? You need food?" Beta asked, staring at him with genuine surprise.

Judging by the tone, she truly had not considered the possibility.

And, to be fair, she had never thought that a God would need something as mundane as food.

After all... who was he?

GOD, right?

Did God even need to eat?

The very thought felt absurd to her.

Lackey stared at her with a tired expression before sighing. "Woman... I need food. I am hungry."

"But... you are God. Can’t you just eat the air or something?" Beta asked seriously as she motioned toward the air with her hand, as though she were genuinely presenting him with a reasonable alternative.

Lackey stared at her in silence.

His expression practically screamed, ’What kind of Doraemon shit are you watching?’

After a moment, he slowly shook his head. "I need actual food," he said firmly.

Beta blinked when she realised just how serious he was. She immediately stopped questioning him and began issuing orders.

Within a matter of seconds, she had arranged for the finest food available throughout her division to be brought to the top floor, with famous dishes from various establishments arriving one after another.

Once everything had been prepared, Lackey sat in the dining room and stared blankly at the table before him. It was covered with an overwhelming variety of dishes, each carefully prepared and arranged as though they were being presented to royalty.

"Please, eat your fill, God," Beta said softly as she bowed her head.

However, when she looked up again, she noticed that Lackey had not touched a single dish.

She tilted her head slightly. "God? Is none of it to your liking?"

"Well... I do not mind the food, you see, but..." Lackey paused as he glanced over the elaborate spread. "I was hoping you would have cooked something for me."

Beta blinked in surprise before giving an awkward smile and scratching the back of her helmet.

"I... I have never cooked before," she admitted, her voice becoming slightly embarrassed. "Please forgive me."

Lackey blinked at her confession. He had been certain that she had cooked for him many times before.

Still, he picked up the food and began eating without further hesitation. After everything he had gone through that day, he was genuinely starving, especially after all the warm-up exercises he had done throughout the day.

... Once he had finally finished eating, the drones quietly approached and removed the empty plates from the table.

Lackey leaned back in his chair, feeling the weight of his hunger finally disappear. He let out a satisfied burp before resting comfortably against the back of the chair.

"I presume you loved it all? Do you have any preferences for next time?" Beta asked curiously.

Lackey yawned and leaned back in his chair. "It was fine... Though, I prefer your cooking," he commented casually.

Beta gave an awkward smile and shook her head with a small sigh. "Anyway... it seems you are tired as well. Are you—"

"I will sleep in your room."

"...Huh?"

"I said I will sleep in your room," Lackey repeated without the slightest hesitation.

Beta blinked at him before carefully responding, "I don’t think it is appropriate for a God to stay—"

"It’s fine," Lackey interrupted as he stretched his body, feeling the exhaustion settling heavily into his muscles.

"Come on, let’s go. My body really needs a deep rest."

Beta hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure whether she should argue with him or... simply accept his decision.

Lackey smirked at her. "Come on. Let’s get moving."

Beta sighed before following him, her expression carrying a faint trace of annoyance.

’What a bitchy God’

She thought, though she quickly pushed the thought away before it could linger.

Inside the room, which was filled with books and softly illuminated by the warm lights, Lackey sank his body onto the bed with a quiet groan.

Beta smiled softly as she watched him. "Looks like God is really tired... Please take some rest. I will sleep on the floor."

Lackey blinked before turning his face toward her. "I don’t mind—"

"Please. I compel you to take the entire bed for yourself, and it is actually better for your health as well, since you are going to fight again," she said, her tone becoming serious and carrying a slightly firm edge that made it clear she was not asking.

Lackey chuckled inwardly and nodded. "Okay... I get it."

He was about to move toward the pillow when Beta suddenly stopped him.

"Wait!"

Before he could react, her tendrils moved with incredible speed, reaching beneath the pillow and retrieving something hidden underneath it and hide behind her.

Lackey blinked, "What is that?"

Beta calmly answered, "Haha... It’s just a book. You know, I love to read before falling asleep. Please don’t mind it," she said, her voice remaining calm despite the slight tension creeping into her expression.

Lackey almost laughed at the suspicious way she was behaving, but outwardly maintained a confused expression.

"What kind of book do you read before falling asleep?"

"Well... I could say... Biology?"

"PFF—Ahem!"

Lackey almost burst into laughter before quickly covering it with a cough. After regaining his composure, he glanced at her again.

"Anyway... are you going to sleep in that weird suit or what?"

Beta chuckled awkwardly. "I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I usually wear the suit all day, so I’ve become comfortable in it..." she explained as she walked toward the restroom.

Lackey lay on the bed and closed his eyes, his expression becoming thoughtful. His mind began going over everything he had done that day, quietly sorting through the events while considering what he needed to accomplish next in order to move forward.

Soon, Beta came out of the restroom wearing her night clothes. She glanced toward the God with her golden eyes and found him already sleeping quietly on the bed.

She sighed softly before taking another pillow and spreading the quilt on the floor beside the bed. She then lowered herself onto it and settled down for the night.

Nova did not fall asleep immediately. She remained awake for a long while, staring blankly at the ceiling as the events of the day replayed themselves in her mind.

So much had happened that she had almost forgotten just how dangerous the situation she had been caught in truly was.

Yet despite everything, she still had her doubts about this person.

Not about whether he was a God or something else.

She understood that he was definitely a God. She had felt the same presence only once before, when she had encountered the Goddess.

There had been something unmistakably similar about them.

The same strange sense of calm.

The same gentle presence beneath overwhelming power.

Even their auras carried an almost familiar quality.

But the thing she doubted was... his real objective.

There was something about this God that did not sit right with her. It seemed that he was truly pursuing something else entirely.

Even though he had said that he would help her find her daughter and... him, she still believed those things were merely a byproduct of whatever this God was actually planning.

Perhaps helping her was simply convenient for him.

Perhaps finding her daughter served some purpose she did not yet understand.

... Or perhaps there was an even deeper reason behind everything he had done.

The uneasiness in her chest refused to disappear. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that she was safe, an instinctive warning continued to whisper inside her.

It felt as though one wrong move, one careless decision, could send everything straight to hell if she failed to keep a close watch on this God.

She had survived this long because she had learned not to trust what she could not understand.

And this man was something she understood even less than she wanted to admit.

So she had better keep her eyes on him.

As she continued thinking about what she would do tomorrow, her thoughts gradually became slower.

She tried to remain awake for a little longer, still thinking about the God sleeping only a short distance away from her.

But eventually, her eyelids slowly closed as she finally surrendered to sleep.

Her heartbeat gradually became calm, and her breathing slowed into a steady rhythm as she slipped into a deep sleep within a few minutes.

In the next second, Lackey’s eyes suddenly flew open.

"Nova?" he called quietly.

There was no response.

Lackey remained still for several moments, watching her carefully. He did not immediately move, nor did he make any unnecessary sound.

He waited for almost an hour... just staring at the face he knew.

’She... hasn’t aged at all,’ He thought.

Only after he was completely certain that Nova was deeply asleep did he finally rise from the bed.

He stepped down quietly, avoiding anything that could make even the faintest sound, before walking toward the door.

Lackey glanced back at her sleeping figure one final time.

"Sleep well," he whispered so quietly that even the room itself seemed unable to hear him.

Then he walked out.

He descended through the elevator until he reached the base. Since everyone already knew him and his supposed status as the Governor’s favourite slave toy, the guards did not question him.

They had completely misunderstood the situation.

After all, the Governor had never taken a slave as her personal possession before, so his sudden appearance had naturally become a subject of curiosity among the others.

And he was rather well-built as well, which only encouraged their assumptions that there had to be some other reason the Governor had taken an interest in him.

Whatever the truth was, they kept those thoughts to themselves and decided it was safer not to bother him.

Except...

"Where are you going in the middle of the night?" the Commander asked as he stepped directly in front of Lackey, blocking his path.

Lackey stopped and looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"What’s with you?" Lackey asked. "The Governor already gave me a pass. I can come and go whenever I want."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"And if you still decide to block me after that... you already know what will happen, right?"

After several seconds, the Commander finally stepped aside.

Lackey walked past him without another word, a faintly satisfied expression appearing on his face.

The Commander continued staring at his back.

His hand slowly clenched into a fist.

’There is something wrong with this man,’ he thought. ’He appeared out of nowhere, the Governor suddenly treats him differently, and now he walks through the base as though he owns the place.’

His expression became increasingly serious.

’He must have bewitched our Governor somehow... I need to talk to her.’

***

Meanwhile, Lackey had already disappeared into the darkness.

He immediately moved through the streets using his Step skill. His body blurred through the shadows as he traveled from one street to another, moving far faster than an ordinary person could ever follow.

He already knew the city’s layout well enough that he did not need to stop or reconsider his direction.

The streets gradually became quieter as he moved farther away from the populated districts. The lights of the city slowly disappeared behind him, replaced by darkness and the occasional pale glow of distant lamps.

Finally, he arrived at a graveyard.

Lackey quietly entered the cemetery and walked between the graves until he reached a secluded corner beside a small tree.

The night was almost completely silent there.

Only the faint rustling of leaves whenever the wind passed through the branches.

Lackey stood beneath the tree for a moment before looking down at the ground.

Then he knelt.

Without hesitation, he began digging into the earth with his bare hands.

His fingers broke through the hard soil, pushing aside layer after layer of dirt. The ground resisted him, scratching his skin and forcing dirt beneath his fingernails.

Soon, his hands were completely covered in soil.

He did not care.

He simply kept digging until the hole gradually became deep enough and wide enough to hold a human body.

When he finally finished, Lackey slowly stood up.

He looked down at the grave.

He stared at the freshly dug earth for several seconds before slowly raising one hand.

In the next moment, a body suddenly appeared in his arms.

Lily’s lifeless body.

Lackey’s body trembled slightly as he felt the coldness of her skin against his arms.

Everyone else could move forward without knowing what had been lost, while he was forced to carry every memory with him.

Lackey looked down at Lily’s peaceful face.

"It’s alright..." he murmured, gently brushing a strand of hair away from Lily’s face.

"This time, I will protect you all."

His fingers lingered for another moment before he slowly lowered her into the freshly dug grave.

"I may have failed you once," Lackey whispered, his voice almost breaking beneath the weight of the memory,

"but I won’t let the same ending happen again."

He carefully placed Lily’s body onto the earth.

He looked down at her beautiful sleeping face. For a long moment, he simply stared at her.

Slowly, he raised his hand and gently touched her cheek. The coldness beneath his fingertips made his eyes blur slightly.

"Thank you... for accepting a monster like me," he whispered with a warm, almost bittersweet smile.

A tear slipped from the corner of his eye and fell onto the corner of her closed eyelid.

Clck!

Her eyes suddenly flung open.

"HOLY SHIT!"