Chapter 7: Entering the Cocoon

“Do you want to go to Leon? Is it really necessary?” Though his eyebrows raised, the disheveled magician didn’t seem overly surprised, as if he had anticipated Kommer’s move. “What about the Caucasus region? And that mage from Lome—you’ll need to think carefully about that.”
“There’s no other choice. Homer’s army at Bruce Fortress has already started moving. Those fools in Leon are no match for Homer’s forces. If we don’t intervene in time to help them, they’ll be wiped out in no time.” Kommer had taken a long time to make this decision. Direct intervention would only give Homer better excuses and allow more troops to join forces. His own limited resources couldn’t stand against Homer, especially since Leon’s mob forces were already strong. What they lacked was experience in dealing with regular armies and some necessary guidance. Of course, training couldn’t be resolved immediately, so they could only rely on their large manpower to make up for it.
“Are you worried that Homer will take this opportunity to attack the Caucasus?” Rebrí nodded. He understood the other man’s concerns—proactive planning was something every ruler had to consider.
“It’s not just possible; it’s certain. Philip won’t allow a rebellious force like ours in the Caucasus to exist, especially now that it’s growing too powerful. If I were Philip, I’d use this opportunity to eliminate the threat before it grows.” Kommer nodded calmly. “So I must stop the enemy at our borders, preventing Homer’s army from crossing into Leon. That means helping those mobs block Homer’s path.”
“Do you think those mob forces can hold off Homer’s army?” Rebrí also didn’t believe they could compete with Homer’s forces.
“Without our help, of course not. But with our intervention, anything is possible. That’s why I need your help.” Kommer smiled and nodded. It was time for these magicians and dark knights to step in. Otherwise, what sense was it to keep them at such a high cost? Although it seemed like helping the mob forces, it was actually to defend the Caucasus. They had to fulfill their responsibility.
Rebrí smiled indifferently and nodded. “No problem, my lord. We’ll keep our promise. What kind of help do you need from us?”

“I hope you’ll join me in entering Leon. My spies have already established a foothold there, so we don’t need to worry about exposure. We just need to give them some guidance when necessary. It seems Philip has also sent three magicians to assist the army in suppressing those mobs. Perhaps by then we’ll need to find a quiet place for those magicians.” With a sinister smile, Komer seemed to sense some anticipation in the other person’s heart. Leaning back in his chair, he snapped his fingers in a rather uncouth manner.

“Hehe, Baron, you’ve thought of everything for us. As always, no problem. We’d like to see just how skilled Mage Homer really is. When do you plan to set off?” Rebrí remained lazily calm, but his joy was evident in his eyes. The chance to engage in a unrestricted duel of magic was what he looked forward to the most—it allowed him to fully hone and showcase his abilities in attack, defense, evasion, and more. Plus, having such a large army to test his area-of-effect magic spells was a rare opportunity, indeed a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so Rebrí naturally didn’t want to miss it.

“Soon, within these few days. I’d like you, Mr. Mihajić, as well as Sorenberg and Vladkov to join me. As for Mr. Newman, his strengths lie elsewhere; it’s better to keep him in Damansky Fortress to study those secret passages and underground mechanisms.” Komer stood up and hugged him, finalizing the plan. “I still need to arrange something regarding Mage Lomei. This trip might take quite a while—maybe even a month.”

“Hehe, Baron, how’s your research on that Light Mage progressing?” Mentioning the mysterious mage made Rebrí’s eyes gleam even more, clearly very interested in Komer’s experiments.

“Hehe, Mr. Rebrí, don’t worry. We’ve made some progress. Once I’ve figured out everything about her and the Light Church she knows, I can completely erase her memories. She’ll soon become a new star among our Dark Mages—a unique and extraordinary one! Hahahahaha!” Looking at each other, only the two of them could understand the meaningful undertones in their words. Sinister and cruel smiles appeared almost simultaneously on Rebrí’s and Komer’s lips.

Reexamining the girl before him, who was now in a state of semi-confusion, her eyes shifting between clarity and chaos revealed that she had completely lost the ability to introspect. This was exactly the state Komer needed. Progress had been slow in the past two days, but Komer had already discerned the patterns of magic within the girl’s body and the depth of her mental strength. With his current mental power, he couldn’t fully control her mind; he had to rely on the black crystal staff he had acquired. Holding the token tightly, Komer couldn’t help but thank King Kenifer III for the various legacies he had left behind. He was certain that Damorlensk Fortress was a secret relic left by the remnants of the Dark Empire. The nobleman who suddenly became wealthy and built this castle in this remote region of the Caucasus must have chosen this place after finding the treasures of the Dark Empire—only he didn’t know why it had fallen into such disrepair later on.

Taking a deep breath, Komer tightened his grip on the token and gave it a gentle shake. The countless tiny bells on the token emitted a strange yet pleasant ringing sound as he infused magic into it. The girl sitting in front of him suddenly brightened her eyes and slowly raised her head to look directly into Komer’s eyes.

“Merciful Lord God, please protect your faithful servant. Soothe the wounded heart of your loyal servant!” Komer tried his best to control his emotions as he recited the spell in a peculiar tone, trying to avoid stimulating her thoughts. He needed to calm her mind so that it would be easier for him to cast spells.

His gaze, like a torch, was fixed on the girl who tried to avoid his stare. At that moment, she was left wearing only a pitiful corset and undergarments, her delicate collarbones exposed in the air. She appeared very frail, but the full curves beneath her corset proved that her body wasn’t as weak as it seemed on the surface—she even had a somewhat alluring presence.

At this moment, Komer had no time to appreciate this tempting sight. All his focus was on what lay beyond his eyes. Sweat gradually appeared on his forehead, but his gaze remained firmly locked on hers. From her eyes, it was clear that she was still struggling. Several times, her gaze almost broke free from Komer’s control, but it was suppressed by his suddenly intensified spell bindings and the strange sounds emitted by the vibration of the black crystal token.

The girl’s body was gradually covered in sweat beads; even the two bulges on her chest pressed tightly against her skin, revealing her curves. Her wet body appeared especially smooth and tempting under the glow of light, and her rapidly rising and falling breasts were truly captivating. Her delicate cheeks took on an unusually pale hue, as if she had gone through a fierce struggle. Her gaze gradually relaxed, and eventually she closed her eyes.

This process lasted nearly an hour. By the time the girl finally closed her eyes, Kohmer was completely exhausted, unable even to maintain his sitting position. The moment she closed her eyes, Kohmer could no longer control his body, which slowly slumped to the ground. But it wasn’t time to declare victory yet. Although he had managed to control her mind, the control was quite weak. Any external disturbance could wake her up at any moment. If that happened, all his efforts would be in vain, and the subject might even go mad, become uncontrollable, and even harm herself.

Suppressing his fatigue, Kohmer took a deep breath and took an energizer from a bag he had prepared earlier. A cool, refreshing sensation quickly spread throughout his body, reviving his spirits. He resumed his sitting position, shaking the black crystal token in his hand again. The faint ringing echoed throughout the dark room. The girl, already in a state of sleep, had her eyelids twitch, but she didn’t open them.

Kohmer’s heart also jumped at the twitch of her eyelids. If she suddenly opened her eyes, it would mean his experiment had failed, and he would have to face an attack from a “idiotic master.” Fortunately, as he had hoped, she only had her eyelids twitch without opening them—everything was proceeding according to plan.

Another series of chanting sounds, starting soft and growing louder, echoed in the dark room. This was Kohmer’s way of strengthening his mental control over the girl, who clearly possessed great mental strength and a very strong will. In the questioning that would follow, he would inevitably touch on many taboo topics, which could potentially push her to her limits and trigger a mental backlash. Without proper preparation, his efforts might fail, so Kohmer had to be extremely careful.

Constantly shaking the black crystal token in her hand to strengthen her control, Komer also carefully observed the changes in the expression on the girl’s face as she sat with closed eyes. The struggling look that had been on her face earlier gradually faded under the interference of the constant ringing of the crystal bells. It was clear that this light mage was still attempting a final struggle, but bound by multiple dark forces, she had immense light magic power yet could not unleash it. Especially, the three dark bindings from Rebrí were far more complex than ordinary magical restraints—ranging from mental imprisonment to restrictions on magical power—weakening both her mental strength and magical power to their lowest levels. Under such circumstances, coupled with Komer’s greatly enhanced magic power and mental strength from the black crystal token, she had no chance at all and could only gradually slide into the abyss of darkness.

“Take off your corset.” To ensure the other party was completely under her control, Komer deliberately chose an order that most people would find unacceptable.

Sure enough, a hint of panic and shyness appeared on the girl’s face. Though her hand went to the straps of her corset, she hesitated. Seeing this, Komer continued to shake the token while repeating her order in a firmer tone. Finally, the girl stopped hesitating, unfastened the straps, and took off her corset. Her full, firm breasts suddenly emitted a faint glow in the dark room, with two rose-red nipples trembling as they rose proudly. Her chest and abdomen were smooth as jade, and combined with her expression of deep contemplation, it created an indescribably strange and mysterious sight.

“Good. Now pinch your own nipples gently and twist them.” Swallowing hard, Komer suppressed her own desires as she gave the order. This time, the girl hesitated no longer—she immediately pressed her fingers against her breasts and gently twisted her nipples. However, the unprecedented physical stimulation caused her entire body to tremble uncontrollably.

“Stop! Let go!” Confident that the other party no longer had any resistance to her orders, Komer nodded in satisfaction and finally began to get to the point.

“What’s your name?” This was the first question, and one that had to be asked.

“Jalain.”

“Is Lomi also your name?”

“No, Lomi is an alias I used for this mission.”

“What is your role in the Light Church?”

“A Temple Guardian.”

“How many Temple Guardians are there in your church?”

A hint of confusion appeared on the girl’s face. Komer inwardly cursed—this question might be difficult to answer, or perhaps his way of asking it had caused such a reaction. Sure enough, the girl seemed to ponder for a moment before reluctantly replying, “I am a missionary of the chapel under Archbishop Alia. In Marco, there might be a few more missionaries like me, but they may not belong to the chapel of Cathedral Pericles. They could belong to a cathedral directly under the Pope or to a chapel under St. John’s Church.”

From her words, Komer inferred that there seemed to be quite intense power struggles within the Light Church. Cathedral Pericles was one of the three major cathedrals in Marco—along with St. Mark’s Cathedral, where the Pope resided, and St. John’s Cathedral. These three cathedrals were the highest governing bodies of the Light Church across the Azure Continent. The archbishop of Cathedral Pericles and the archbishop of St. John’s Cathedral each represented the Pope in governing the secular affairs of the Light Church on the Azure Continent. Besides managing their own dioceses, they also assisted the Pope in handling the church’s daily affairs. The Alia mentioned by the girl was none other than the archbishop of Cathedral Pericles, who, along with Archbishop Vazinki of St. John’s Cathedral, were key figures among the powerful members of the Light Church.

Actually, when she revealed her true name, Komer had already guessed that she must belong to Cathedral Pericles’ faction, as the Rema Knights were under its jurisdiction. In his memory, the masked female mage who had caused him significant harm during that incident in Gulin was referred to by those Rema Knights as Missionary Jiaye. With such a similar name, it was hard not to make a connection.

“Do you know Missionary Jiaye?”
“I do. She is also one of the missionaries from our Cathedral Pericles.”
“Where is she now?”
“I’m not sure. When I left on a mission, she was still in Marco, but I heard she’s going out on a mission too.”
“What’s your main purpose for coming to the Caucasus this time?” Finally, he reached the crucial point, which was also what Komer was most worried about. If he really had caught the attention of those high-ranking figures in the Light Church, he needed to carefully consider a way to deal with it. Even if he resolved this current problem, more troubles from the Light Church would keep coming, and those two guys, Belan and Kustav, couldn’t change the intentions of their superiors at all.

“This time it was my own decision. I heard that the lord of the Caucasus is very likely the one who sabotaged Kaye and the knights of Rema’s mission last time. Due to his special status and the lack of concrete evidence from the church, although his evil tendencies are quite obvious, they can only monitor him for now. I happened to receive an invitation from the Caucasus while assisting the Inquisition in dealing with an evil individual, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to learn more about the situation there.”

A chill ran down his spine. Though the other person spoke in simple terms, it was clear that Mihajic’s friend had already been targeted by the Inquisition and killed. Otherwise, this light mage wouldn’t be using his invitation as an excuse to come here. This issue needed to be clarified.

“Do the people from the Inquisition know about your actions this time?”

“No, they’re unaware. They weren’t there when I got the invitation from the person to be executed. I just replied to the sender using magic transmission in his tone.”

“You mean no one in the church knows about your actions?” Komer was overjoyed. If no one knew about her unauthorized actions, she wouldn’t have to worry about how to deal with the Light Church. As for the Light Church suspecting her, that suspicion hadn’t faded since she entered the Caucasus. Let them suspect if they wanted—so long as she didn’t give them any proof, they wouldn’t dare act against her for now.

“Yes, this is purely my personal action.”

“Then, since you won’t return to the church for so long, how will your colleagues find you?”

“Normally, we use mental communication, and for specific matters, we use magic scrolls.”

Mental communication is a way of connecting with each other once one’s mental power reaches a certain level. However, it consumes a lot of mental energy and can only convey very simple information, such as telling the other party one’s location or current state. To exchange actual detailed information, magic scrolls must be used. Magic scroll communication is essentially a form of minor spatial magic. Although it doesn’t require much magic power, its magic level is quite high. Still, it’s affected by many factors, such as weather, climate, the geographical locations of the caster and receiver, and their current states. The success rate isn’t high, so to ensure success, multiple attempts are often needed to avoid failure and delays.

“Hmm, what will they do if they can’t get in touch with you?”

Stunned, the girl clearly had never encountered such a situation. After pondering for a while, she replied, “I don’t know what they would do in this case.”
With the main task completed, Komer took a slight breath of relief. It seemed this espionage mission had been the girl’s own initiative, not an official action by the Church of Light. Yet it also indicated that the Church still harbored considerable suspicion toward him—though seemingly limited to the Aliya faction. Perhaps the incident he had stumbled upon was merely an isolated action by that faction, which explained why things turned out this way. He needed to thoroughly investigate the internal power structure of the Church of Light to see if there were any loopholes he could exploit.
As his gaze shifted, now that the formal matters were settled, the long-suppressed flames within Komer seemed to surge suddenly. The girl sitting before him had her eyes closed, motionless, but her bare breasts were rosy red, her slender waist as delicate as a willow branch. Her panties could only cover a small part of her delicate form, while her long, beautiful legs were crossed in perfect harmony.
“Stand up!”
At the command, the girl immediately stood, her full breasts swaying with her movements. Her flat, smooth abdomen seemed to show faint hairs under the glow of light. She showed no trace of shyness, standing there gracefully like a tall cedar tree.
“Take off your pants.” Licking his lips, Komer exhaled deeply and gave the order in a low voice.
With natural elegance, the girl removed her short, pure-white silk panties, which fell to the ground. In that fleeting moment, Komer even caught a glimpse of her private parts. Unfazed, the girl stood quietly before him, the shadow beneath her abdomen clearly visible under the light. A few strands of hair peeked out from the gap. A surge of passion rose in Komer’s chest—as if his long-dormant desires had suddenly erupted.
He gently placed his hand on her firm breasts, massaging them softly, as if comforting her like a loving partner. The girl’s body trembled strangely. Reluctantly pulling his hand away from her body, struggling to control his emotions, Komer had to use a cooling agent once again to calm his boiling blood. This was not the right time to indulge in her body. Although he had no problem using despicable methods, this wasn’t his style. If he wanted to possess and enjoy her, she had to be willing—and that could only be achieved after he transformed her into a new person.