Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

Priya stared down in disbelief at the sword embedded in her chest.

“Ugh…”

Dark crimson blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth. Slowly, she lifted her head to look at the one who had pierced her.

“Yunnaeril…”

Yunnaeril Dalheim met her gaze with cold, emotionless eyes as he pulled the sword, Starfall, out of her chest. The blade’s withdrawal sent Priya to her knees, blood spilling from the wound.

“How…”

How could you do this to me? How can you be so cold? How could you become someone so unrecognizable? Countless questions followed the word “how,” but none of them passed her lips.

Blood continued to drip from the blade of Starfall as it left her body.

“Do not interfere with me any longer, Priya.”

Priya, trembling, reached out a hand toward Starfall. After parting ways with Binaeril, she had decided to confront Yunnaeril directly. She had hoped to meet him, to reason with him, to take back Starfall, and somehow reclaim the man she once knew.

But this was Yunnaeril’s response—a sword through the heart of his former lover.

“Yunnaeril, I just wanted to talk to you,” she whispered, her voice full of pain.

Yunnaeril shook his head. “I know you’re after Starfall.”

“Yunnaeril! That fragment has twisted you, can’t you see? You’ve changed so much from who you once were.”

Yunnaeril remained silent.

“What on earth made you become like this? Let go of the fragment. It’s not a power that should be wielded!”

Seeing that she could still speak, Yunnaeril gripped Starfall tightly and plunged it into her chest again.

“Kuh… Ah!”

As her white dress turned red with blood, Yunnaeril’s eyes remained devoid of any emotion.

“Never.”

He spat the words at her, as if they were venom.

“Never appear before me again.”

The mist that had enveloped the two slowly dissipated. Yunnaeril withdrew Starfall and sheathed it.

From beyond the mist, soldiers who had been anxiously waiting called out to him.

“Are you alright?”

“What about that woman…?”

The soldiers stared at the lifeless body of the woman sprawled on the ground.

“How dare she attack the captain!” One soldier, full of righteous anger, started to approach her corpse.

Yunnaeril raised a hand to stop him. “Leave her. She’s already dead.”

At Yunnaeril’s firm command, none of the soldiers dared to approach the fallen woman. After the members of the Order had all left, Priya’s body began to dissolve into the air, as if melting away into the void. The low-lying mist around the area gathered and reshaped itself.

“Hah, hah,” Priya exhaled the breath she had been holding. “That heartless bastard.”

In the final moment, she had barely managed to swap herself with a decoy formed from the mist, narrowly escaping death. But even that was all she could manage. The wounds inflicted by Starfall were not easily healed. Even for someone as powerful as Priya, the cost of facing the First Knight of the Order was steep.

Priya looked down at her favorite white dress, now stained red with her blood. Despite her injuries, the first thought that crossed her mind was one of regret.

“This… was my only dress…”

Seeing the dress torn and soaked in blood, she felt a pang of sorrow. That was her last conscious thought before she collapsed.

And a moment later, a small shadow appeared over the fallen Priya.

“Priya is dying?” Binaeril gasped, shocked by Tera’s words.

Priya had parted ways with them at the border of Ruben, choosing to act on her own. Even then, she hadn’t been in perfect condition. But it was hard to imagine that a skilled mage like her would fall to a mere band of thieves or common enemies.

‘It must be the Order… and most likely Yunnaeril.’

Even Callisto, the Deputy Commander of the Paladins, couldn’t handle Priya. If she had truly been defeated, there was little doubt in Binaeril’s mind that it was Yunnaeril’s doing.

As Binaeril pondered this, a rustling sound broke his thoughts. He looked up to see the branches of Tera, filling the ceiling above, swaying as if caught in an eerie breeze.

A crackling noise, like logs burning in a fire, emanated from the bark of Tera’s form. The sound was unsettling, almost as if the tree-woman was in pain or distress.

“What’s happening?” Binaeril asked, his voice tinged with concern as he watched Kaya retreating.

“Mother… Tera… she’s crying…” Kaya whispered, her face pale with fear.

[My daughter… my daughter is in pain…] 

The voice that followed was an eerie, otherworldly wail, unlike anything Binaeril had ever heard. The magic around them swirled chaotically, becoming increasingly unstable. Binaeril felt the overwhelming pressure, making it difficult to breathe. Even the birds that had been chirping moments before had fallen silent.

“Kaya! Can’t you calm her down?” Binaeril urged.

“You need to go to the surface,” Kaya said, pushing Binaeril towards the exit.

“What about you?” Binaeril asked, hesitating.

“I have to stay. I have to try to soothe her,” Kaya replied, her voice firm despite the chaos.

Was it right to leave Kaya behind in such a situation?

*Crack!*

The sharp, tearing sound jolted Binaeril from his thoughts. Kaya shouted again, more urgently this time. Seeing no other choice, Binaeril decided to follow her instructions. He unfurled his blue, magical wings and aimed for the opening through which he had descended.

Just as Binaeril launched himself towards the sky, Tera’s voice roared through the space.

[That power! You…!] 

Suddenly, the ceiling, once open, was sealed shut by Tera’s twisting branches. Binaeril collided with them headfirst, and with a sharp cry, he plummeted back to the ground. Before he could react, roots erupted from the ground, latching onto him and dragging him towards Tera.

“Stop, Tera! What are you doing?” Kaya screamed, her voice filled with panic.

[You! You’re using the power of the fragment! What do you plan to do with my daughter? You intend to harm my daughters, the only three I have left!]

Tera’s enraged voice reverberated through the chamber, shaking the very ground beneath them.

“What…!” Binaeril gasped, struggling to speak through the searing pain that tore at his limbs. “It’s a misunderstanding, Tera…!”

But the pain was becoming unbearable. The roots that bound him tightened with every passing second, crushing him mercilessly.

Binaeril knew he could release a burst of magic to break free from Tera’s grasp, but doing so might only provoke her further.

“Guh!”

A particularly thick root coiled around Binaeril’s neck, squeezing until he could barely breathe.

‘This… this is the end…!’

Binaeril summoned his magic, ready to defend himself if necessary.

“Tera, stop!!” Kaya shouted, pressing her hands into the ground.

The roots that had been tightening around Binaeril suddenly recoiled and crumbled.

“This person isn’t a bad person, Tera. Please, stop the attack.”

[But my daughter…] Tera’s voice wavered, full of maternal concern.

“Tera!” Kaya shouted again, more forcefully. At her command, the roots that had been closing in on Binaeril slowly retreated.

Binaeril felt the immense power of the saying, “No parent can win against their child.”

“Kehlok, kehlok,” he coughed, gasping for air. Just a little longer and he might have met his end right there. He silently praised his own patience for holding out as long as he had.

“Kehlok… I’m not your enemy, and certainly not Priya’s. She’s my teacher—she taught me magic.”

“I bear no ill will towards the nymphs. Quite the opposite, actually. Both Elfenbine and Priya are like benefactors to me.”

[…But you, you wield an ominous power.]

Tera was referring to the power of the fragment. Binaeril recalled a similar situation he had faced before, where a supernatural being became hostile upon sensing the fragment’s power—just like when he encountered the spirit Zilph in the Hoenberg Mountains. Back then, he had needed someone else’s help to calm the spirit’s anger.

But this time was different.

Back then, Binaeril was just a novice, barely aware of the fragment’s existence. Now, however…

Binaeril confidently spread his blue wings and rose to his feet. The small space seemed to shrink as his wings unfurled.

“Ominous power? Yes, Tera, that’s true. But it’s a power I can control,” he said, meeting Tera’s gaze directly.

“And it’s a power that can save your daughter, Priya. I need to find her.”

Tera fell silent. Binaeril couldn’t tell if her silence signified acceptance or something else entirely.

He pressed on. “Tell me where Priya was last seen. I have to find her.”

Meanwhile, Inyakan and Dominic waited in awkward silence for Binaeril’s return.

“…Hey,” Inyakan broke the silence first, clearing his throat. “How did you get involved with the kid?”

Dominic looked at him, almost as if he couldn’t believe he was being asked such a question.

“Are you trying to get chummy with me? That’s the last thing I want, especially with someone like you,” Dominic retorted coldly.

“Why so prickly? We’re not exactly mortal enemies,” Inyakan responded, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

“It’s close enough. A barbarian from the north and an imperial citizen aren’t exactly a natural match.”

Dominic had already heard that Inyakan was from Barbaroa, and the tension between them had only grown since then. The two were like oil and water, and knowing Inyakan’s origins had only made things more awkward.

“I have no intention of fraternizing with a barbarian,” Dominic declared.

“Hah! If anyone has a reason to be angry, it’s me. Why are you the one throwing a fit? The so-called civilized people who’ve dared to mouth off to me never spoke again.”

“Want to see who ends up like that this time?” Dominic’s hand twitched toward his sword, but he stopped himself, letting out a sigh before collapsing back onto the ground.

“…Binaeril is just a bad memory from my past.”

“If it’s such a bad memory, why are you helping him? Don’t tell me you’re planning to gain his trust and then stab him in the back,” Inyakan asked, suspicion lacing his tone.

“I don’t engage in such petty tricks. I was a knight.”

“…And?”

“It means I have a knight’s pride!” Dominic snapped.

“Well, isn’t that something,” Inyakan replied with a hint of sarcasm, before turning away and sitting down beside Dominic.

“…If you’re even thinking about betraying Binaeril, you can forget it.”

“Why? Are you going to take revenge or something?” Dominic shot back, mocking him.

“Revenge? Yeah, I would.”

“Binaeril is the last person I have left in my life.”

“Don’t you have any family?”

“They’re all dead.”

Dominic immediately regretted his careless question. “Same here, barbarian.”

“How fitting.”

“The last person left in your life, huh… So tell me, what is Binaeril to you?” Dominic asked, curious.

Inyakan didn’t answer right away. Just when Dominic was starting to think he was being ignored, Inyakan spoke.

“What is he to me…? Well, I guess he’s like a son.”

“My only son, who’s already buried in the ground. Somehow, Binaeril has started to feel like that to me.”

There was a roughness to Inyakan’s words, but Dominic could sense the genuine affection behind them. Just as Inyakan finished speaking, Binaeril’s head popped up from the hole between them, peeking out cautiously.

Inyakan, completely caught off guard, reacted in the only way a startled Barbaroi would—he swung his Sikrun straight at Binaeril’s head like he was swatting at a mole.