Law of The Web - Volume 1 Chapter 9 - The Mistress of Death Interest

Gideon’s heart thudded in his chest.

This voice, in his head, stated that the nameless woman before him was using an ability on him, but due to the status of his soul, he was able to resist its main effects.

However, as a result, he garnered her interest.

The woman naturally passed him.

Her footsteps were soft, but they echoed into his soul, the memory of his death by her hands still fresh, as such chills raced his spine. Gideon strained his ears, catching snippets of her monotone voice.

It was clear that she saw him or knew that he was awake, but she ignored it and placed her attention on Clark and his men as she spoke, who at this moment were all kneeling at the front, keeping their heads done, none daring to look up, and she herself was behind them, as she said.

“The material is lacking… affinity determines the result of the ritual, you know… but then and again, it all comes down to the final survivor anyway.”

The woman said, making Clark uneasy as he responded.

“Lady Nerolyx, we assure you we can find better material just with the wide-scale announcement; it is making the competition stiff, and materials are lacking; I’m sure the kingdom knights are already looking into this.”

‘So her name is Nerolyx ha? That is quite a weird name.’

Gideon said to himself; on the other hand, Nerolyx replied as such.

“Well, the Lapris kingdom is indeed formidable, especially with a 7th transformation <<Paragon of Space>> as their king, but the Black Moon Clan also has a 7th transformation expert leading it for generations, so we have nothing to fear.”

Nerolyx flatly said as she continued with.

“Either way, I’ve forwarded my reports to Bram in regards to the quality of the shipment. Payments can be collected from him. As for the material, I’ll carry it deeper once I deactivate my <<Living Darkness>>, although don’t expect much.”

Clark wants to protest, but even he is not crazy enough to go against the 4th transformation expert.

On the other hand, he just replied with.

“Thank you for your time, Lady Nerolyx.”

With that said, Nerolyx waved her hand dismissively, and from between her large pair of breasts, a familiar-looking sigil of black and gold appeared, light pulsed from its being, and a swirling portal materialized.

Clark and his men didn’t hesitate.

They bowed deeply one more, their heads kissing the floor, murmuring thanks before retreating through the portal like cowed dogs.

Once the portal closed, silence descended.

Leaving only Kid’s and Nerolyx there.

And then she spoke.

“I know you’re awake, child.”

Gideon’s breath hitched at these words.

There was no use pretending anymore.

He slowly opened his eyes but kept his head low, avoiding her face at all costs.

She continued, her voice cold yet tinged with something resembling pity.

“Hmmm, you seem like someone who follows advice well; a good trait for a child to have? Curiosity kills the cat; after all, you heard that ball cow order not to look at my face, did you? Why else would you have your head down?”

Gideon just replied as such.

“Yes…

“Hmmm… impressive, you are resisting my Soul Worm sleeping effect despite being mere rank 1.”

“…”

Gideon didn’t reply; he did not know what would happen next, so he just shut up and listened.

“Hmmm… either way, I won’t sugarcoat it, child… yes, you were kidnapped, brought here against your will, and for the next four years, you all will suffer immensely. Your pain will forge the path for the young master’s ascension; that’s the fate chosen for you.”

Her words were like a hammer, and Gideon felt them crushing the fragile calm he’d built

Why the hell does he have to die for some young master? Honestly, it was pissing him off.

But what could he do? At this moment he was already too deep into the belly of the beast, so there was no running away here.

Nerolyx could sense Gideon’s bloodlust and anger from where she stood.

However, she paid it no mind and just continued to speak.

“But.”

She added.

“I’ll give you some advice since you seem to be a good listener.”

“Advice?”

Gideon said, to which Nerolyx nodded and said.

“Yes, advice. You see, the Black Moon Clan is no place for the weak; this world is cruel even to kids like you; if you want to survive, you’ll have to save yourself.”

Her gaze bore into him, even though he refused to meet her eyes.

“You’re an anomaly, a rarity in this twisted world; I can’t see your destiny. That means your fate is too vast, too unpredictable, even for me. Yet, despite today being your birthday, you’ve already reached the third step of the Awakening Stage; that’s no small feat… rather, that should be impossible even more for a noble-born child.”

Gideon clenched his fists, his mind racing.

“Anomaly?!”

“Don’t play dumb; you’re aware of your own power, but I’m not here to question you; my job is only to deliver, but if you want to survive, you need strength; as such, take my advice; trust no one! Use everyone, and kill everyone. If you’re destined to become the young master’s final sacrifice, then remember: The only way to escape being sacrificed is to sacrifice the one who seeks to sacrifice you.”

“What do you mean?”

Gideon asked, a little confused by her weird words.

Her words of reply, however, sent a shiver down his spine.

“To the young master, you and all the kids here are nothing but cattle, a pawn or mere fodder to elevate him to the first step into godhood.”

She sighed, her stoicism cracking for just a moment.

“This world is cruel to unorthodox cultivators like you. Most will tell you it’s a waste of time, a road that leads nowhere. But let me teach you something important, child. The 68 routes of Orthodox cultivation that everyone clings to today? They wouldn’t exist if the Apotheosis Gods hadn’t dared to tread paths others mocked as impossible or worthless.”

“Think about it, those gods carved their way through the unknown, defying doubt and failure, until they reached the Zenith. They became the living embodiments of their unique paths, turning what was once considered madness into the foundations of cultivation we rely on now. But here’s the harsh truth: by following their routes, we’ve trapped ourselves.”

“You see, these orthodox routes are only fragments of the journeys those gods completed. Each one is tied to them, forever bound by their existence. No matter how far we climb or how much we master, we can never surpass their Zenith. The 10th stage of cultivation, the peak, the ultimate embodiment of a law is a position that only one being can hold.”

“As long as we stay confined to these pre-carved paths these gods once took, we’ll always be walking in their shadows. True greatness doesn’t come from following; it comes from daring to step where no one else has. That’s what separates legends from the rest, so you can say what you have achieved is something I have never seen before… at least not in such a short period of time.”

Nerolyx announced to Gideon, as her explanation was right to the point; on the other hand, Gideon was surprised, as he said to himself.

‘I see… so that’s how it works. It seems my earlier assumptions about the power system were correct; there are far more routes of power out there. That aside, though, this woman, she’s terrifying in her own way. Though I suppose it depends on the situation. It looks like she has an ability similar to my <<I Spy>>; im guessing the <<Eye of Destiny>> has a similar function to <<I Spy>>. Because somehow she’s managed to figure out the age of this body and even confirm that today is my birthday, or rather, the birthday of this body’s original owner.’

On that note, however, Gideon was left perplexed as he began to question.

“Umm… may I ask, where are you people even taking me?”

“Hmm, to the ritual grounds, I suppose. That’s where we’ll prepare you, like pigs for slaughter, both in the short and long term. That’s why I’m telling you now, if you want to survive, you have to put yourself first.”

“The ritual itself will take about four years to complete, but we can’t even start it until all the children have properly awakened and grasped the basics of the Slaughter Route. That will take another one to three years, give or take. So, naturally, if you’re 10 now, you’ll likely be 17, maybe close to 18, when the ritual is complete.”

“For the mere fact that the transformation path the young master is walking is the Blood transformation route of the slaughter route, the same path as Bram, unlike my Countess transformation route.”

“Typically, for him to evolve from the 4th Transformation, <<Blood Supremacist>>, to the 5th Transformation, <<King of Blood>>, he needs to perform a blood cauldron ritual. This will upgrade his Carnage Blood Panther into a three-headed Carnage Blood Feline. But to complete that ritual, he has to start by gathering a bunch of kids and locking them in a place where they’ll fight each other to the death, over the years… it akin to raising murderous cattle.”

“However, they can’t just be any random children; they need to be slaughter route practitioners first and foremost. Once that’s done, out of the five slaughter routes, he has to kill at least three 4th Transformation slaughter practitioners with different routes of the main slaughter routes and offer their hearts to his Law Beast. Only then can he complete the ritual and ascend to the Sovereign Stage.”

Nerolyx explained to Gideon, who was taking in every ounce of information possible it puzzled him.

‘Why is this woman even telling me this, or rather why is she even helping me?’

Nerolyx seemed to have sensed this, and as such she began to answer.

“Let’s just say, I’ve taken an interest in you, kid. Honestly, I don’t have high hopes for you—don’t take it the wrong way. It’s just the way the world works. Your death wouldn’t really affect me. But, the cultivation path I’m on gives me a certain intuition, among other things. And right now, my intuition tells me that helping you could benefit me somehow.”

“So, I’m not doing this out of the goodness of my heart. I’m using you, though, to be honest, you don’t really have a choice in the matter. Think of it as me investing in you. Whether it pays off, well… only time will tell. I don’t mean you any harm, but if you want to survive, I can help. In return, though, you’ll owe me a favor.”

Nerolyx spoke with complete honesty, her tone flat and matter-of-fact. She was blunt, and in a strange way, Gideon appreciated it. Oddly enough, she was the first adult to show even a hint of kindness to him since he arrived here.

Despite that, he couldn’t forget that in the last timeline, she killed him as a result of looking at her face, well he kind of killed himself, but still.

The result of her passive ability, <<Faceless>>, a power all <<Mistresses of Death>> possess, which caused a horrific death to anyone who gazed upon their face to die.

On the other hand, though, Gideon just replied with.

“I see, so what now?”

Gideon said he does not know where to go from here.

But Nerolyx replied as such.

“Well, the timeline till the ritual completes, gives you plenty of time to reach the Fourth Stage, just like the young master, rather you need to reach the 4th stage. He’s 17 now and started cultivating at 10, just like you. I was the same. To be honest, I’m close to breaking into the Fifth Stage myself, though my evolution conditions are a little… special. Either way, take this… and continue fake sleeping.”

With that said, a book dropped before Gideon’s face, it was a black book, with red pages.

He didn’t know what it said, but I Spy basically translated the words for him.

[Book of Slaughter: How to Cultivate the Count Route Under the Aspect of Slaugther]

At the sight of this book, the voice in his head rang.

“Warning: You have earned the interest of a Mistress of Death, if you take up her offer and cultivate the Count Route, of the Slaughter Route. Her actions and decisions may affect your Thread of Fate.”