When Tang's ringing command pierced her ears like a sword, the Spider Silk Matron Mother's first reaction was anger.
For most of her long life, she had been the one making others kneel before her. So when she heard that same word, even knowing she was in danger, she stubbornly replied:
"Male beast, who do you think you're ordering around?"
"Kneel." A second Command pierced her eardrums.
"I kneel only before Mother." She shifted two steps, swinging her Serpent-Head Whip through the air.
"Kneel," Tang repeated.
Unable to withstand the shackles of magic, she felt as though the weight of the entire Lightless City pressed against her back, forcing her to drop to her knees before Tang with a thud.
"Mother."
"???"
Night Shadow felt her entire worldview being reshaped by the shock. Bewildered, she turned toward Tang—he could actually make a proud priestess of Lolth kneel!?
Only when her gaze passed over Tang's shoulder did she realize that the matron mother had changed her angle with those steps. She was now kneeling directly toward Lolth's statue.
"You're a good child." Tang mocked the furious matron mother with words the Spider Silk Matron Mother so often used herself.
"It's time you admitted defeat. Kneel."
"Defeat?"
The Spider Silk Matron Mother kept resisting the command through sheer willpower, but when she struggled to stand, her knees slammed heavily into the floor again—
Damn it, what magic did this fellow's words hold?
Even knowing it was the effect of Command, she still could not clear her head enough to resist.
And that face of his...
It was almost like an illusion. In her daze, she thought she was seeing Vincent.
"You've merely used a few petty tricks to hinder me for the moment. Who gave you the confidence to spout nonsense about