Chapter Seventeen: Two Interesting People

Komer couldn’t help but burst into laughter, his arrogance evident in every line of his face. “Uma, have you become so timid now? That’s not like you. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid she’ll turn against you? That’s exactly what I want her to realize—then, while she’s on guard, I’ll gradually break down her mental defenses. Only then will this game be truly meaningful and interesting. An ambush without any suspense—don’t you think that’s far too boring?”
Although Uma was arrogant, she was still somewhat dissatisfied with Komer’s “defiant approach.” Elena’s Sacred Origin was meant to confront her own Dark Origin directly; she was the focal point of the conflict. If Elena was on guard, it would be much harder to achieve her goals. Whatever so-called “meaningfulness” or “interest,” it was nothing but making things up. But now that it had been exposed, she had no choice but to pretend to be confident.
Komer didn’t want to explain further. Conquering so easily wouldn’t help in understanding the existence of the Sacred Origin of Light. Only by gradually eroding it and revealing the mysteries of Light Magic could he uncover its intricacies. He could learn from its strengths and exploit its weaknesses to counter it effectively, keeping control in his own hands. Komer wasn’t worried at all that Elena could turn the tables.
“Uma, there are many opportunities in this battle. You can make good use of them to achieve your goals. Think carefully—such opportunities don’t come around often.” Komer’s smile made Uma feel a sense of unease. This guy seemed to be scheming all the time. Though he appeared to be giving her Elena’s body, it brought endless complications. She was still in a precarious position, unable to back out, while he seemed able to use this body to bind her tightly.
With a cold snort, Uma couldn’t think of any suitable words to respond. This battle would surely be brutal. Komer hadn’t called her along just to help her endure trials; it was probably more about preventing accidents. The necrotic power in her hands was what mattered most to him. Uma had no objections to that. As long as it allowed her to showcase her skills in battle against the Church of Light, it was enough. The thought of those mages and paladins of the Church of Light being subdued under her control filled her with uncontrollable excitement.

Uma’s excitement immediately affected another presence within her body. Elena immediately sensed the evil thoughts in Uma’s mind, but as they were firmly suppressed in a corner of her soul, she could only do her best to show through her own presence that she would never yield to the pressure of those evil people. As long as she had a breath left, she would try every possible means to stop their sinister plans.

Seeing the strange expression on Uma’s face, Komer didn’t need to guess—that the two of them were once again in a struggle. It was truly an interesting sight—being able to sense the presence of an enemy at all times yet being unable to destroy or overpower them. This was a rare experience for both Uma and Elena, especially for the one who would emerge victorious; it was an extremely valuable experience, particularly as it provided a rare opportunity to understand the true nature of one’s opponent.

With a light touch of his finger, a strange image appeared in the air. As if drawn by the struggle within her body, the bright white pattern rushed into Uma’s body like a wisp of smoke. Elena’s face, once holy yet tinged with seductiveness, twisted suddenly, as if cursed by some demon, becoming grotesque and terrifying.

“Komer, what have you done?” she managed to spit out through gritted teeth, the fury in her eyes blazing fiercely.

“Don’t get upset. It’s just restricting your dark primal force a bit. Is it really worth such a fuss?” Komer chuckled carelessly. “I just thought it wasn’t fair for you to always have the upper hand. And it seems Elena has never really had a chance to show herself. Why not give her a chance to fight?”

“Are you crazy?! Don’t you fear ruining everything by doing this now?”

Furious and panicked, Uma tried desperately to unleash her dark power. Suddenly attacked by the binding light, she felt her dark primal force plummet sharply. Meanwhile, Elena’s long-suppressed holy power erupted violently, almost reversing the balance of power in an instant. If not for the binding light loosening slightly at just the right time, it’s possible she would have succeeded in turning the situation around.

“I’m not crazy. I just wanted you to experience the atmosphere of war before the big battle and stir up your emotions,” Komer said calmly with a smile. “Well? Isn’t it interesting?”

There was no time left to argue with Komer; Uma devoted her entire focus to suppressing the surging Holy Light energy. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, even though she knew it might be a trap, Elena was determined to take a chance. Living in darkness was unbearably difficult, and since she had already come this far, there was nothing to lose by trying. At worst, she could return to her previous situation—Elena remained confident in her ability to stay vigilant.

The Holy Light energy surged like rolling waves, crashing against the barriers of darkness wave after wave. Uma silently cursed that damned Komer. The bindings of light acted like ropes, tightly restricting the outlet of her dark primal energy, preventing her from freely unleashing her dark forces in retaliation. She could only watch helplessly as the Holy Light energy boiled within her, gradually pushing back her dark forces.

Seizing the decline in her dark primal energy, the Holy Light energy intensified even more, recklessly attacking the limits of Uma’s dark forces. Uma was on the verge of collapse. Was Komer really planning to use Elena’s body as a test subject, even at the cost of destroying it?

It was infuriating. As Uma hated and cursed Komer, she was forced to unleash the power of her dark heart to counter the growing force of the Holy Light. The situation had reversed—she found herself in the same predicament as Elena before. Even Elena seemed unaware of how suddenly victory had arrived, with everything turning upside down in an instant.

Komer smirked, silently amplifying his spiritual perception to the utmost, sensing the changes within Elena’s body.

At this point, Uma was clearly at a severe disadvantage. With the support of the light-hearted essence, Elena’s Holy Light energy wreaked havoc, sweeping away the dark forces surrounding her soul like a storm. Uma’s dark heart also fought fiercely against the invasion of light, but since it relied on the host, it was inherently inferior to the light-hearted essence, which controlled the body. Moreover, her once-great advantage was now tightly constrained by Komer’s light bindings, leaving her powerless to stop her opponent from reclaiming lost ground. It was truly infuriating.

Everything was under control.

At this moment, Komer was like a civet waiting for a mouse to fall into its trap, quietly observing the changes in the situation. Elena’s light power wasn’t particularly strong, but her steadfast core of light was quite troublesome—like an endless spring that continuously generated light energy. Even if her light magic was consumed and eroded by the primal force of darkness, as long as that core of light remained unbroken, she could make a comeback. Her performance at this time was clear evidence of this, as Komer kept searching for a way to defeat her.

Uma’s performance was also noteworthy. Despite the extremely unfavorable circumstances, her primal force of darkness remained firmly intact, while the sacred light power within her body had formed a swirling vortex-like circulation. If this continued, the destruction of her primal force of darkness was only a matter of time. It seemed that it would take some time to completely break Elena’s control over this body. But to prepare for the fierce battle to come, it was necessary to push Elena back to her original state first.

Her hands moved mysteriously, and a series of dark seals appeared in the air, eventually overlapping to form dense, ink-like dark runes that swirled around before being poured into the top of Elena’s body.

In an instant, Elena’s body was struck by a thunderbolt. A powerful dark curse instantly sealed away her once-mighty light energy. At the same time, the light bindings suddenly transformed into dark bindings, as if the sky had changed. This sudden upheaval was hard for both Uma and Elena to accept.

The surging sacred light power was tightly sealed and compressed by the dark curses, gradually eroding away in the darkness. Without the suppression of the light bindings, Uma’s primal force of darkness erupted violently, reclaiming what had been lost. Elena’s core of light also wavered amidst the rapid shifts, with the surging dark forces nearly extinguishing that tiny spark of light. Yet no matter how fierce the dark forces were, that spark of the soul always managed to remain afloat above the chaos, unshaken and undying.

Komer felt somewhat disappointed. Even in such an overwhelmingly favorable situation, he couldn’t achieve a decisive victory. It seemed that relying on his primal force of darkness to overwhelm his opponent wouldn’t work. The only way might be to strike at their core, perhaps that would succeed.

Uma, having caught her breath after such a wild upheaval, was furious—her teeth clenched in rage. That shameless guy had treated her as a training object, manipulating her at will. Even a clay figure would get angry; such humiliation was simply unbearable.

Seeing Uma’s eyes wide with fury, Komer found it amusing. “Uma, do you feel wronged? If you still don’t understand my intentions, then you truly disappoint me.”
Puzzled by Komer’s words, Uma forced down her rage and asked coldly, “Komer, if you don’t give me an explanation, I…”
“What do you plan to do? Just walk away?” Komer sneered. “Uma, remember—it’s me who’s giving you a chance. Don’t you realize that if this continues, you’ll never gain absolute control over this body? We’ve seen how strong and stubborn your true heart is. Trying to conquer it by force won’t work; we have to find another way. Tomorrow’s battle is crucial for me, and your role is vital. I don’t want Elena to suddenly show up and create more complications. That’s why I went to such lengths to play this trick—partly to remind you not to take it lightly, and partly as a warning to Elena to curb her arrogance.”
Uma carefully examined the changes within her body. Despite still maintaining the stability of her true heart, the heavy blows from the dark curses had undoubtedly weakened her. Perhaps Elena could use her true heart to make a comeback, but not in the near future. The loss of so much holy light would also affect the stability of her true heart. She had to admit that Komer’s move was both cunning and effective—it was difficult to outwit him.
Glaring at Komer in hatred, Uma didn’t want to confront him any longer. She didn’t even want to say another word and turned to leave his quiet room.
Silence returned to the room. Komer smiled slightly. What an interesting person—also unconventional, but with a style completely different from Shatima. Having more such interesting people in life could make life much richer.
But his brows furrowed again as he heard another troublesome set of footsteps—light and firm, approaching him without hesitation. He couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed none of these people would let him have peace. After Uma left, Shatima came—was life even worth living anymore?
“Komer, Komer, stop pretending. I know you’re not resting. I saw Uma leave after being with you. What did you do to her? Why does she seem so upset?”

The unrestrained voice reached in even before the door was pushed open. A rather magnificent set of armor was always ready to be donned; the slightly heavy, scale-like anti-magic iron plate armor was nothing too difficult for Shatima. For her, weight was not an issue—the key was that it had to be exquisite and luxurious, capable of enhancing her presence. Once she put on this armor, she couldn’t bear to take it off, and even her usual walking posture changed significantly, becoming more like that of a dragon or tiger.