Chapter 6: Provocation

The worsening conditions of Briarnos and Grace plunged everyone’s spirits into despair. The dark fire within Briarnos flared up once again. Although he restrained his power during the battle, and Komer’s timely treatment gave him a breather, the fierce struggle inevitably triggered the underlying illness in his body.

Grace’s situation seemed even worse. An enemy assassin’s strike to her chest and abdomen nearly proved fatal. Had Komer not intervened immediately, Grace would likely already be lying in a grave. Though Eve’s healing magic helped restore her external injuries, fighting against the magical shield created by three enemy mages caused her wounds to reopen. And that wasn’t even the worst part—the assassin who wounded Grace was clearly a vicious individual; his blade was coated with a paralyzing poison, further accelerated by magic, speeding up its spread.

This poison was even more deadly than those that caused immediate death, as most lethal poisons couldn’t be accelerated by magic. Those skilled in close combat usually had some medicine to counter such toxins, and since most deadly poisons took time to take effect and were easy to treat, truly fast-acting and incurable poisons were rare on the Land of Azure. Yet the poison Grace had been poisoned with came from animal saliva, amplified by special water-based magic, enhancing its spread. Despite Grace’s best efforts to suppress it, she couldn’t stop its progression. By the time Komer and the others left the Bohemian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Grace could barely move. Komer even noticed her facial expressions had become stiff, underscoring the poison’s severity.

Everyone else had left the room, leaving only Komer, along with Eve and Lome, who were at a loss. Though Lome felt no affection for the naked beauty lying on the bed, she still tried her best to help out of duty as a companion. Unfortunately, despite every effort, Eve and Lome couldn’t control the poison in Grace’s body. It had already spread to her lower body, as her legs had also been slightly cut during the final attack. Though the wounds weren’t severe, they became another source of poison.

When Komer entered the room, Grace, lying on the bed, turned a strange shade of red from shame—being completely naked in front of a man was something even her straightforward and open-minded nature couldn’t accept. But now she was unable to move, and it was clear that her companions had also exhausted all their strength, as the fine sweat beading on their foreheads proved their helplessness in dealing with this unprecedented situation.

Although Komer was mentally prepared upon entering the room, the bizarre sight before him still shook his composure. The smooth, muscular body before him resembled a stunning sculpture by an artist. Komer had seen women’s bodies before—even Lomi, who was beside him, had once exposed herself to his gaze out of some of his own morbid desires. Yet this body was completely different from Lomi’s. If Lomi’s body was delicate, refined, slender, and smooth, exuding a serene beauty, then this body was muscular, well-proportioned, full, and firm, radiating a sensual beauty. The blood-stained underwear scattered beside the bed added to an inexplicable sense of agitation.

The round, full buttocks beneath her narrow waist were what caught Komer’s attention the most. He even suddenly felt an impulse to turn the beautiful girl over so he could fully admire her—his confidence in judging her buttocks as absolutely perfect was unwavering. A tuft of hair at the junction of her legs resembled golden flames in the light, while her delicate navel curved downward, complementing her prominent breasts in a way that could drive any normal man to the urge to press himself against her. Komer was no exception. He had to quietly use mental magic to control his surging desires. In front of Eve and Lomi, he needed to maintain a certain level of decorum—at least under these circumstances.

To Eve and Lomi, Komer only seemed momentarily stunned before returning to his usual calm. Though his gaze still revealed unmistakable admiration, praise, and even a hint of desire, that wasn’t surprising. Any man who showed no reaction to such a scene must either be castrated or a undead. Komer’s willpower and self-control were already enough to satisfy Eve and Lomi.

Komer’s gaze quickly fell on the two sources of poison on Grace’s body. The wounds had already healed under Eve and Lomi’s white magic and light magic, leaving only two faint scars. Grace had many scars of varying thickness and depth, clearly remnants of past battles. But these two scars were different. Normally, healed wounds should show a healthy pink hue, but these two showed a strange bluish-gray color, clearly indicating the presence of some kind of poison. This bluish-gray spread radially from these two spots, forming an unhealthy gray mist.

“Grace, how do you feel?” Komer gently pressed on Grace’s abdomen, chest, thighs, and neck, his calm eyes fixed on her face.

“Hmm, I only feel something in my neck. It’s like a coldness spreading slowly around. Even with my combat energy, I can’t stop it from spreading, and I’m gradually losing sensation,” Grace said, gradually calming down. She was originally a cheerful and open-minded girl, and Komer’s calm expression helped ease her anxiety.

“Komer, is it serious? Is there any solution?” Eve was the one who cared most about Grace. With only the two of them left in the Black Rose Mercenary Group and their strong bond, she feared most facing a situation where she was helpless.

Komer withdrew his fingers, frowning. From the sensation, the poison was spreading quite fast. Normally, with Grace’s constitution and the help of her combat energy, she should be able to contain or at least slow down the spread of the poison. But that wasn’t the case now—the poison was spreading at an alarming rate, perhaps because the enemy had added magic to it. If no action was taken, Grace might truly perish.

“Grace, your constitution is somewhat strange. Are you not human? Or do you have blood from another race, like the elves?” Komer suddenly asked, his gaze fixed on her face.

Grace’s naked body trembled instinctively. She lowered her eyelids, her expression turning sorrowful, before answering after a long pause, “My mother was an elf. As for my father… he was probably human.”

Including Eve, it was the first time anyone had seen such an expression on the face of a beautiful girl who had always been strong, never showing fear even in the face of death. Komer realized he might have touched upon deep wounds within her heart and sighed inwardly. He quickly changed the subject and asked, “I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have asked this, but your constitution is somewhat special. Mortals shouldn’t exhibit such symptoms—only the elves, who are most sensitive to poisons, show these reactions. That’s why I asked.”

“Komer, does having elf blood mean there’s nothing I can do?” she asked anxiously. By now, the young priestess was completely flustered.

“No, Eve, that’s not what I meant. I just need to find the right solution. Only by understanding all aspects thoroughly can I make an accurate judgment. That’s the difference between medical skills and magical healing,” Komer said with a smile, glancing at the worried priestess.

Eve’s face turned slightly red. She was clearly embarrassed by the teasing tone in Komer’s words. As a priestess, failing to protect her companions was indeed shameful. But it wasn’t really her fault—her magical healing skills were still at a novice level. Even a proper priestess might be helpless against such biological poisoning, let alone an impostor like her.

“Don’t worry too much. Though Grace’s injuries are serious, they’re no match for my prowess. I even hope to win Grace’s heart by playing the hero here. It would be great if Eve were also injured and lying here like Grace!” Perhaps sensing the dull atmosphere, Komer teased her intentionally, casting a few glances at Grace on the bed and then at Eve’s body covered by her priestess robes.

Comer’s action immediately caused a slight tremor to ripple through Grace’s body lying on the bed, and a blush spread from her neck to the rest of her body. The slight tremor made the soft flesh on her chest and the thick, reddish hair between her legs sway as well. With her elven heritage, she seemed particularly sensitive to verbal teasing of this kind, but Grace knew she had never been like this before—only this young man could make her react in such a way. Eve, on the other hand, was even more shy; his somewhat bold words stirred something deep within her. She wasn’t sure if his seemingly joking remarks had any other meaning, which left her uneasy yet also filled with a certain anticipation—she herself couldn’t tell what this feeling meant.