Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

The darkness began to recede. The demons, which had been fiercely battling the people, all turned to look in one direction. At the center of the battlefield, the blue dome that had trapped everything inside, rejecting the outside world, was beginning to shatter.

“Awooo—!”

“Kiieek! Kiieek!”

The demons wailed as they watched the dome break apart. The humans couldn’t understand what it meant.

An unexpected lull had descended.

“Sh-should we attack?” 

The soldiers hesitated, unsure of what to do. They feared the backlash that might come if they attacked recklessly.

Sylvia, Priya, the Miao tribe, the Toins, the Barbaroi, and the duke’s army—all of them, even the soldiers of the Order, watched the demons’ actions in the eerie silence.

And then, the demons started to move.

“Th-they’re retreating! The demons are retreating!”

The demons began to withdraw. Even those that were wounded or had been raging against the mages’ attacks moments ago started to leave the battlefield as one.

The soldiers who had been fighting on the front lines were bewildered. The demons’ retreat was as sudden as their appearance had been.

As the demons withdrew, the most bewildered group was the Order’s army. The Anti-Order coalition had suffered significant casualties in the battle with the demons. Yet, even so, the numerical superiority over the remaining Order’s forces was clear. The army of the Order, which had set out with sixty thousand troops, was now nearly halved, visibly diminished.

It was ironic that the army of the Order, devoted to serving God, had relied on the power of demons. But without the demons’ support, their numbers were insufficient to stand against the Anti-Order coalition.

“Paladin, what should we do?”

The lieutenant asked, but the surviving Paladins had no answers. They, too, had been pushed into this battle by Yunnaeril’s orders.

“Where is the commander?”

The commander, Yunnaeril, had been swallowed by the blue dome and was nowhere to be seen.

“Capture the Order’s soldiers!”

The first to regain composure on the silent battlefield was Duke Torben Dux. Even though the demons had retreated, the war was not over yet. The soldiers of the Order were still standing before them, wide-eyed.

As Duke Dux made his move, the other factions of the coalition also began to press forward to subdue the Order’s forces.

The Paladins were still in a daze. Without any clear orders, the Order’s resistance was weak. The Order’s soldiers were quickly and easily overpowered, almost too easily.

“What on earth is going on?”

When the dome began to shatter, few had sensed victory. Perhaps only Emperor Friederike II, Priya, and Kaya—those who instinctively understood that the Dalheim brothers were fighting within the blue dome—had realized what was happening.

“Everyone, stay focused! Help the Imperial forces subdue the soldiers! The war isn’t over yet!”

Priya urged the exhausted mages to rally. Dean Yulio, Professors Pierre and Avia, and the other mages still wore bewildered expressions, struggling to comprehend the situation.

Priya approached one of them. The man was breathing heavily, his breath hissing in and out. His gaze, like that of a gatekeeper to the underworld, was fixed on the empty air.

“It’s over now. You can rest.”

Priya placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. Because of their height difference, she had to reach up to touch his shoulder.

“Inyakan, can you hear me?”

Inyakan turned his unfocused eyes, searching for the voice that had called out to him. His head moved slowly as he looked around, unable to meet the gaze directly.

Priya let out a small sigh and snapped her fingers, conjuring a spark of magic right in front of his face.

Snap!

“Have you come to your senses now?”

Inyakan’s expression was one to behold.

“The enemies? The demons? What happened to Binaeril?”

“They’re gone. The demons have all fled. It seems… Binaeril won.”

“Binaeril won?”

Inyakan, still dazed, looked around at his surroundings. It seemed he was just beginning to comprehend the situation.

Priya’s words were true. There were no demons in sight.

“It’s… over?”

“It’s over. If anyone deserves to rest, it’s you.”

Elfenbine, the smallest force in the war by numbers, had shown the greatest prowess on the battlefield. Consequently, they had also become the primary targets of both the Order’s forces and the demons. It was impossible for the mages alone to fend off the onslaught of demons. 

Inyakan had held the line, buying precious time for the mages with the help of the surrounding soldiers. His body was covered in wounds. Even as soldiers beside him fell and were replaced by others, Inyakan, at the center of the defensive line, had never faltered. 

No one could understand what drove him to stand firm against such overwhelming odds. It was a reflection of his unyielding warrior’s pride—something only Inyakan possessed. Without him, Elfenbine would have been decimated early on.

Priya was well aware of this.

“Rest. Just rest. When you wake up, all of this will feel like a midsummer night’s dream.”

She gently enveloped Inyakan’s features in a light mist. It would help, at least a little.

Swoosh—

The giant figure of Inyakan began to collapse backward. Priya caught his body with the mist and then handed him over to the mages.

“Take care of him, please.”

“Is… is he dead?” one of the mages asked, trembling as they took hold of Inyakan.

“No, he’s not dead. He’s just asleep. He needs rest.”

Anyone who had stood behind Inyakan would agree with her.

“Where are you going?” 

“I…”

Priya pointed toward the center of the battlefield, where the blue dome had once stood.

“I need to find Binaeril.”

As the battlefield entered a lull, more people began searching for Binaeril.

“Sylvia, I have to go there.”

“It’s dangerous, Princess! We haven’t fully subdued the Order’s forces yet. What’s so important over there that you’re so fixated on it?”

“Binaeril is there.”

When Rike answered, Sylvia’s mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air.

“You’re certain?”

“I am.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“You too?”

“I need to meet Binaeril as well.”

The Second Emperor, her close aides, and Count Forzia also made their way toward the center of the battlefield.

“Baron! Asdal!”

“Yes, my lord!”

“Take charge here! If those damned Order soldiers resist, cut them down without hesitation!”

“Understood! But where are you going?”

“I need to check if Binaeril is safe!” replied Duke Torben Dux.

“Old man, I’m leaving the rest to you,” said Kaya, the last of the nymphs.

Even Dominic, the Margrave, shared the same determination. Everyone was heading toward the center of the battlefield—to meet Binaeril Dalheim and to confirm whether he was alive or dead.

Riding on horseback, on foot, or even flying, the people converging on the center suddenly looked up at the sky.

“What is that? A star…?”

Above their heads, a comet was streaking across the sky. Murmurs of astonishment rose from those around.

“The tower is disappearing!”

Some who didn’t immediately understand looked in the direction others were pointing and gasped. The tower was indeed vanishing.

“Elfenbine is collapsing!” 

One hasty individual shouted, but that wasn’t the truth. The one who had shouted was just a lowly soldier, who soon found himself the target of many slaps to the back of the head.

“It’s not collapsing. It’s literally ‘disappearing.'”

The Mage Tower, Elfenbine, was melting away like an oasis in the desert. But that alone wasn’t what was surprising. A short distance away, a new tower began to appear.

“The real Elfenbine is revealing itself.”

While others were unaware, the mages recognized that the tower’s master had lifted her magic. Some quick-witted soldiers from the Order also realized what was happening and cursed aloud.

Once again, the comet passed overhead. Priya observed its tail closely. The comet’s tail extended directly from the “real” Elfenbine.

“Sister…?”

The meaning was clear. The first daughter of the nymph, the mistress of the tower who had remained silent until now, was searching for someone. The direction the comet was heading matched precisely with where Priya was going.

Could she also be searching for Binaeril? Priya quickened her pace, an inexplicable sense of dread growing within her.

Binaeril’s brother’s body, drenched by the rain, was growing cold too quickly. It also became unbearably heavy, like waterlogged cotton. Struggling, Binaeril tried to tuck his head under his brother’s side, intending to lift him, but found himself lacking the strength. Eventually, he stumbled and fell, losing his grip on Yunnaeril’s body, which now lay in the dirt.

Yunnaeril’s face was a mess, smeared with the blood he had spilled and caked with mud. Binaeril jumped up and rushed over, trying once more to lift his brother’s body. But again, he collapsed.

With a wet thud, he fell, making Yunnaeril’s body even more battered.

“Damn it…” 

Binaeril gritted his teeth. No matter how exhausted he was, he wasn’t so weak that he couldn’t carry a single person. But right now, his brother’s body felt as heavy as a chunk of metal of the same size.

“Ugh…!”

Frustrated, Binaeril tried to muster his magic to lift his brother. But even that wouldn’t work as he wished.

“Listen to me!”

“Answer me!”

“Wake up! I said, wake up!”

No matter how desperately Binaeril shouted, there was no response. It was then that he looked down at his hands.

“What the…?”

His magic was refusing to obey him.

Rustle, crunch, chomp, chomp—

A sound tickled his ears, a sound that didn’t belong in this place—someone greedily chewing food. He turned his head to find the source of the noise.

The Book of Truth was there.

Rustle, clang, clank! Crack, chomp, chomp!

An unbearably grating sound filled the air. The Book of Truth was biting into and chewing up the Starfall, literally ‘devouring’ it.

“Hehehe, heheh! Hic! Hic!” 

The book let out an unsettling laugh, as if it was overjoyed.

“Delicious! So delicious! I survived! I’m the final victor of the fragment!”

The voice was clear and distinct, a stark contrast to the subtle way it had previously communicated with Binaeril from within.

“Oh, Father. I won! It’s over now. It’s over! It’s over! So sweet, so incredibly sweet!”

The Starfal*, now more than half consumed, lay still and silent. Had its consciousness already been devoured by the Book of Truth?

Binaeril called out to the Book of Truth for help.

“Veritas! My magic isn’t responding. Why is that? …Hey! You idiot book!”

The Book of Truth, engrossed in its feast, slowly turned its pages. It had no eyes, no features—just an inanimate object. But the moment Binaeril thought their gazes met, he felt a chilling dread shake his soul.

Slurp!

“Hehehe! It’s you! Ah, that was delicious. I was so absorbed in eating that I lost track of everything. Yes! You!”

The Book of Truth floated ominously closer, exuding a sinister laugh.

“It’s over now. Everything’s over. I’ve achieved it all.”

Had a flying book ever felt this menacing before? It was impossible to tell if its behavior signaled hostility, curiosity, friendliness, or sheer joy.

“No, there’s still one left, isn’t there? But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make sense, does it? Why? Because I’ve claimed everything else—except for her!”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying our contract is over. It’s a win-win. You got your revenge, and I got what I wanted!”

The end of the contract. 

That’s what it meant.

“It means you’re no longer of any use to me. You! Yes, you! But wait…”

The Book of Truth circled around Binaeril’s head, its tone suddenly sly and mocking.

“But what was your name again?”

Binaeril squeezed his eyes shut as the Book of Truth opened wide its pages. The old book’s gaping maw was smeared with saliva, blood, dark magic, and something grotesque.

“Bon appétit!”

At that moment, a comet appeared above Binaeril’s head.

Boom!

The incoming comet struck Veritas squarely as it lunged to devour Binaeril.