My eyes shot open as my hand reached for my neck. Despite the fact that I could clearly feel the attachment, I could still feel the sensation of having my head cleaved from my body. It wasn't the first time I'd been decapitated, though this was the first time outside of the Dreamscape, and the phantom injury soon faded. I could still see Demonweb standing over the corpse of my Simulacrum that was beginning to dissolve and evaporate.
I didn't know what Skill he'd used, but I was impressed with the strange area he could create to move around freely in, not to mention that he was able to slice through my neck carapace in one go, though from what I could tell, the swords he was using were now no better than scrap. As I stood up Demonweb's Simulacrum suddenly fell over and also began to dissolve and evaporate, soon followed by Demonweb also opening his eyes and sitting up.
"Rather impressive." he said standing up. "While you might not be able to actively kill some of the stronger monsters, you could probably exhaust nearly every one of them, give or take a few that have extremely powerful Skills, like the one I used. I'm also surprised you managed to keep your calm after waking, most people who die for the first time don't take it well."
The praise tickled me, I was unused to words of genuine praise from anyone other than those I'd taken to bed, and that was a different feeling altogether. "It's a shame that I can only guarantee my safety that way. And it isn't the first time I've died" I said, shaking my head. "'But what about that Skill you used? I want to hear a little about it."
Demonweb slowly blinked twice. "So you did actually die? I had simply thought my brand was dispelled since Ein reported that you were healthy and alive. I suppose that explains a few things. " he shook his head. "No matter though, you're now and that's what matters. As for my Skill, it is the reason I was able to rise to the position of Dark Lord, and also how I gained my name. Neith's Demonic Webs is the name, and it is a unique Skill, I am the sole person able to use the Skill, until I die, then it will find a new successor."
"Hmmm, interesting." I said. The Skill name reminded me of my Aspect Skills, but I didn't want to pry, as it could be that it was that Skill that had caused him to become cold and calculating according to my grandma, Irellia. I hadn't seen him act in such a way, but he could just be putting on a mask. I knew that each of the Aspect Skills I had influenced my personality slightly, not enough that it was really noticeable, but it was more likely that I was the exception since even if it was going to influence me, I already had several other complete sets of memories that were doing the same, surely overpowering the lighter influence of the Skills.
Demonweb gave me some advice on how he thought I should fight, one such piece being that I should learn Itoryu as its highly offensive style would pair extremely well with my overwhelming survivability. Other than that, he gave me a few pointers in general, but quite a few times Steria interrupted and advised differently, causing the two to get into a heated debate about combat and the techniques used to survive. It eventually got to the point where they wanted to duel, but Steria knew she would stand a chance so she asked if the Simulacrum could be changed.
It apparently could, and while it was a rather simple process, it was mana intensive and would need to be undone since a manual creation would stick and be used by all the following users until it was. Thankfully not only was I essentially a magic battery, Steria and I had a special bond, one that made it easy to recreate the form of Sekhmet.
The Simulacrum of Sekhmet was very different from the current Steria. Mostly humanoid, she was extremely well-built, with highly defined muscles and a clear aura of power. Her head however, was that of a lioness, making her seem like a strange Therian, but it somehow worked very well. Since Steria couldn't exactly remember what her equipment had been like, I'd simply made an approximation by referencing several records from Seshat's Library.
It took Steria some time to become accustomed to not only the Simulacrum, but also having her old form back, even if it was only temporary. Much like her Skills dictated, she'd taken a shield and a longsword and was soon able to move fluidly as if she wasn't piloting a magical construct, but rather just moving her own body. Unlike when Demonweb had fought me, there was a look of intense concentration while he looked at Steria, as if he could sense the difference in strength between them.
I had expected an intense battle, but it had suddenly ended before I could even process what had happened. Steria had seemed to take a step forward, only for her to suddenly be in front of Demonweb the second her foot touched the ground, the longsword swinging towards his neck. With incredible reaction speed, Demonweb raised his arms and blades, putting as much between him and her as possible, only for it to come to nothing as Steria's blade began to glow a dim white and cut through not only the sword blades, but his carapace covered arms and neck in a single stroke.
This time it was Demonweb who shot up with a hand at his neck, a sheen of sweat covering his body. "What strength and technique." he muttered quietly, before turning towards me. "What kind of person did she used to be? How could someone so overbearingly powerful be defeated and sealed?"
I'd purposely misled him and lied when I talked about how we'd encountered Steria, as I didn't really want to give away that she was a conscious fragment of a Divine being that I'd put into a new body from a Skill, something that I wasn't sure if he would believe anyway. However, saying that I had found her sealed in an untouched valley and freed her gave me the perfect excuse as to why she was traveling with us in the first place when she used to be so strong.
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However, despite what I'd said, I was actually shocked at the power of Steria in the body of Sekhmet, though being able to recreate or find a physical body that was equivalent wasn't something that could just happen because one desired it. I didn't even know how I could go about returning her to anywhere near the strength she had just displayed, and it didn't help that while the Khetoran Werecat was a wonderfully compatible body, without extreme measures, she would likely become a speed and agility fighter, a completely different manner of fighting.
However, it wasn't like Steria had voiced any complaints with the current situation, rather I think she enjoyed having enemies to fight against that wouldn't be completely steamrolled were she to fight. Regardless, I would keep an eye out for potential ways, but unless she herself asked me, I wasn't going to go too far out of my way.
I shook my head, both to Demonweb's question and to clear my thoughts. "I don't know, her memory isn't completely intact either so perhaps she might never know either."
Demonweb gushed in excitement over Steria's power as she disconnected from the Simulacrum that melted away as her eyes opened and she moved her body, as if she needed to get familiar with it again. She was somewhat embarrassed as he barraged her with questions, however she answered what she could, and either pretended to not know, or asked me what she should say through our bond.
Me and Arya watched, entertained at Demonweb's strange childlike excitement when it came to combat and related subjects. However, it seemed that Steria was unable to completely rid him of his tension, so he suddenly focused on me and began to once more advise, though he had already revised some of what he'd told me not too long ago, likely thanks to insights he gained from Steria.
One of the things he was most interested in was how I was able to track him while his Demonic Webs were out, usually those he used it on would completely lose him and be completely unable to react, and though I was suppressed and slowed, I still managed to follow him for the most part, and even when I had lost him, I was able to locate him after some time.
Without much thought I manifested my Thread Sight eye and vaguely described that I was able to see connection between myself and others. The closer a person was the easier it was to find them, though I left out that there was all manner of things I didn't completely understand. He nodded in understanding and mentioned a few methods of trying to hide from the sight, but since I hadn't really done much testing I didn't know if any would be effective or not.
With his questions done he fell silent as he thought about something, much to the relief of me and Steria, though Arya just smiled amusedly and rubbed our backs. I was just about to release my third eye when a familiar thread caught my eye, faint and deep blue, it was inclined downwards, and towards north, almost exactly opposite where it had been when I'd identified it with Irellia.
I slightly trembled as I realized the implication, especially since I could see a stairway that led further down, however my voice was steady and gave away no hint of what I was feeling. "What's down those stairs?" I asked while pointing towards them.
There was no hesitation as Demonweb looked at the stairs. "That leads to the Ritual room, usually used for large scale magic rituals that require either big magic circles or many mages to come together. Did you want to take a look?"
I could only nod and hope that it was a coincidence, and that the thread was leading me somewhere outside the manor.