The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 255 - Twelve: Entering the Path_2

Chapter 255: Chapter Twelve: Entering the Path_2

The official document from the Kingdom Star Chamber Court to strip Boninski of his noble title and status had reached Jazair, but it sank without a trace, as expected by Duke Philip. Leon had fallen, and in the short term, it could not be regained. Boninski had in fact lost his territory, and the revocation of his nobility was only a matter of time. Even if the kingdom intended to protect him to strike at Philip himself, he could not save his title. Surrendering territory to the mob was entirely different from losing territory in a foreign war, it was unforgivable, and the kingdom dared not set such a precedent.

The stance the kingdom was deliberately taking fueled speculation, and Boninski’s public defiance of Duke Philip’s authority had given the nobles of Cyprus a taste they had never known before. It was like a long-brewed wine whose lid was pried open, beginning to emit a faint, almost indiscernible fragrance. This scent was called royal power. Of course, whether that lid could be sealed tightly again depended on the methods of Duke Philip, the sole ruler of the Homer region.

Upon returning to Ugru, Komer almost immediately went to his secret chamber, bypassing the magic prohibitions and traps he had set up. Entering the inner layer of the secret chamber, Komer’s most secretive laboratory was divided into three rooms. Besides the innermost room, which was used for his own cultivation, the middle room housed the still-maturing zombie, and taking into account the special circumstances of this Light Mage, Komer had also placed her in the last room of the secret chamber. This secret chamber was determined to be the center of the Eye of Darkness by Rebury and Newman after their assessments. The naturally abundant yin energy here was an excellent place for cultivating Dark Magic Power. As the owner of the castle and the Lord of the territory, Komer appropriated the entire area of the second floor as his forbidden zone, and several mages and Dark Knights also took over several rooms on the first floor around the Eye of Darkness for their own cultivation experiments and living quarters.

The zombie lay quietly in a stone casket, or more accurately, a sarcophagus, with the lid already opened. Its square face had its eyes slightly closed, and its brows were slightly furrowed as if it had felt some pain just before life was lost, still bearing its initial appearance. Several bouts of fighting seemed to have had no effect on the zombie, other than some damage to the surface of its clothing. The golden flesh gleamed under the light, as the intense Poison of Sappan Wood had penetrated every part of its muscle, a condition that couldn’t be alleviated even in its zombified state.

Komer had renamed this unidentified zombie, calling it Garam. The term Garam comes from the ancient language of Dhārayaṃtikā, meaning the immortal god. To others, giving this name to a zombie was undoubtedly the greatest desecration and insult to the gods, but Komer was indifferent to this, for he liked the name. Komer gently touched Garam’s cold skin. Ever since he entered Damarlinsk Castle, Komer had used this sarcophagus as the zombie’s dwelling. The yin energy from the Eye of Darkness was also excellent for cultivating the zombie’s own constitution. Komer had been reluctant to bring it with him to Leon, hoping that it could absorb as much yin energy from the Eye of Darkness as possible to promote improvement to its constitution.

After carefully checking Garam’s condition, Komer left the room satisfied. He had been busy with the transformation of the neighboring Light Mage and had somewhat neglected the zombie’s training during this time. Fortunately, the Eye of Darkness was there, and he could use this opportunity to enhance Garam’s physical transformation, to reduce resistance in the next stage of training.

Komer found himself increasingly contradictory. The endless mysteries of the Dark Sky meant that even if he spent his entire life studying it, he could only glimpse a fraction of its depth. The growth of the zombie and the transformation of the Light Mage had already consumed most of his energy. He also had to create magic weapons for the pirates, and the complicated matters of secular governance didn’t allow him to clone himself. A month had passed in a flash during this trip to Leon, truly making Komer feel overwhelmed.

Komer realized that his own thoughts were gradually changing, as if he had become a capricious polyhedron. When he felt successful in pursuing the Magic Heaven, that exhilaration and joy were irreplaceable by anything else. Sometimes he even thought of giving up everything and, like Mihailovich and Rebury, devoting all his energy to it, wandering in the ocean of the magic world, never to approach shore. Yet, when he savored the sweetness of secular power, he felt that perhaps this kind of life was what he truly enjoyed deep down. Mellow wine, beautiful women, wealth—all the wonderfully pleasant sensations seemed to come from power. Without power, it seemed even the pursuit of the Dark Sky could encounter more setbacks and obstacles.

These two things, which should have been contradictory, somehow had an inevitable connection, and even Komer was somewhat puzzled, not knowing how to choose between them. He could only take one step at a time and try to maintain a balance as if walking on a tightrope, until the day the rope breaks.

The naked girl had not changed at all since he left, her fair skin smooth and shiny, even her breathing was as steady as ever. Lying flat on the wooden platform, the girl’s harmoniously beautiful body appeared so relaxed and natural—what a delightful sight to behold! Komer took a deep breath; it seemed his first experiment had not gone awry, and she had successfully transitioned from the initial shallow sleep into a deep sleep. His psychic hypnosis was not particularly brilliant, but his strong spiritual power had helped him. The next step was the cleansing phase, the most crucial stage. He needed to make this girl with strong willpower completely forget everything in the depths of her heart. It was an extremely difficult process, and a moment’s inattention could ruin everything. Most psychic mages fail at this stage, and now it was Komer’s turn to tackle this challenge.

Komer dared not act rashly; he needed to prepare more. This Light Mage, being a Sanctuary Guardian of the Church of Light, had an willpower and mana that ordinary people could not match. To erase the consciousness and beliefs rooted in her mind for decades while preserving her original magic power and skills was a daunting task. Komer wanted to mold her into a truly defiant example, a task that other psychic mages would not dare to contemplate, but Komer was determined to challenge it. Perhaps his only advantage was that Komer had dabbled in both Dark Magic and White Magic, and having accepted Kennifer III’s magic power, his progress in spiritual power had been incredibly swift. For this captive prey, Komer had no reservations, able to apply any kind of magic technique to her, which might benefit his own performance of magic.

After lingering on the girl’s body with an appreciative gaze for a while, Komer retracted his look. It was no wonder the Church of Light could dominate the central and northern mortal world of the Cang Mang Continent—just by looking at the performance of this Sanctuary Guardian, one could see that the upper echelons of the Church of Light had quite a high level in both magic ability and innate talent. If this Light Mage had not accidentally inhaled the Madness Mist prepared especially for those other than dark wizards, leading to impaired judgment, and if she had not encountered a group of the finest from the Dark World all at once, fear no one could have reduced her to her current state. How many more strong warriors like her were there in the Church of Light? Komer did not know, but he believed there would be no fewer than twenty. Just imagining what would happen if he were to openly confront the Church of Light made him shudder.

Perhaps the envoy sent by the Southern Great Mystery Church last time could match this Light Mage in power. Recalling the envoy’s deep, green, cold gleam in her eyes and the shock it brought him, Komer had been guessing whether the legend of the Great Mysterium Sect being the remnant of the Dark Empire and the Dark Holy Church was true. Perhaps, when the time was right, it wouldn’t hurt to visit the den of the Southern Great Mystery Church; maybe there would be other unexpected gains.

Gently pulling the velvet cover over the girl’s body, leaving only her delicate and tender countenance exposed, Komer sat silently in the large chair beside the wooden platform, lost in thought.