Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the surroundings had completely changed. He was in a long corridor lined with bookshelves, the warm glow of sunset filtering through. Having performed this spell successfully once before, the second time was easier. It was a spell that separated Binaeril’s mind from his body, a kind of hypnosis.

Murmuring the name of the Book of Truth, he closed and opened his eyes once more, finding himself in the center of a hall connected to the corridor. Veritas was sitting cross-legged on a reading desk, holding his ankles with both hands, rocking back and forth like a Weeble. As always, he had a playful demeanor.

“You can come and go freely now without calling me?” Veritas teased.

“You heard my voice, didn’t you? Why didn’t you answer?”

“I wanted to see your face.”

Veritas covered his mouth with his sleeve, smiling coyly like a bashful lover. Just looking at him made Binaeril’s blood boil. He had a face that became more detestable with each encounter.

“It’s been a while,” Veritas said.

“Has it?”

Binaeril had the impression that it hadn’t been long since he last saw Veritas. He recalled meeting him in the underground prison of Count Huber’s territory, conversing around a round table with Veritas and the spirit of the Hydra.

‘That wasn’t the real Veritas.’

It was merely a construct of Veritas’s consciousness created by Binaeril. So, it had indeed been a while.

“Yes, it has been a while.”

It was his first visit to this secret corridor since visiting the Imperial Palace. Binaeril approached the rocking Veritas and gave him a firm push backward.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Don’t pretend to be surprised. Answer my question.”

Veritas glared at Binaeril like a wounded child. Binaeril had no intention of indulging his antics.

“Answer.”

“Fine. What do you want to know?”

“What’s wrong with my body? Ever since I consumed the magic stone, something’s been off. Is this a side effect? Am I experiencing mana poisoning like before? Am I turning into something like that mage, Bernstein?”

“Wait, wait, wait!”

Veritas raised both palms, slowly moving them downward in a calming gesture. 

“Ask one at a time.”

“You understood everything. Don’t dodge.”

Though his words spilled out rapidly, the question was singular: ‘What is happening to Binaeril?’

Veritas put his hands behind his back and raised his left foot horizontally. As he placed his foot down, his form glided smoothly across the space as if on ice.

“I’ll answer, especially for you.”

Binaeril kept his gaze fixed on Veritas as he glided neither too slowly nor too quickly. At a certain point, Veritas’s form elongated, then multiplied. Soon there were two, then three, then four Veritases… until the hall was filled with dozens of identical figures.

The black-haired boys encircled Binaeril, who stood at the center of the hall.

“Why is your body in this state?” 

Dozens of Veritases spoke simultaneously, their voices echoing through the expansive hall. The overlapping sound disoriented Binaeril, making it difficult to determine the source of the voice.

“Is it a side effect of consuming the magic stone? To answer your question, yes, it is.”

Binaeril responded in a shrill voice, “You never mentioned that!”

“Hohoho.”

The multiple Veritases laughed at his surprised reaction. Binaeril now understood why Veritas was doing this—it was to prevent him from retaliating.

“Was the fever I suffered in the prison not enough?”

“That? Hmm, of course not—that alone wouldn’t do it. If a few days of fever could make you stronger, then everyone in the world would be a fool.”

Binaeril found Veritas’s smug smile infuriating. When he had been encouraged to consume the magic stone, there had been no mention of such consequences.

“What else did you ask? If these are symptoms of poisoning? If you are turning into something like that mage Bernstein?”

Binaeril hoped for a different answer this time, but Veritas, with a mischievous look, gave a cruel response.

“That too, yes, it’s true.”

“You insane scrap of paper!”

Binaeril let his magic explode. He didn’t need specific visualization or incantations anymore; his sheer mana presence was overwhelming. Even if he couldn’t fully manifest his power, his heightened anger provided an explosive boost.

None of the many Veritases reacted to Binaeril’s magic, and none were affected by his mana. All were either illusions or all were real; this was Veritas’s domain. 

Veritas neither laughed nor panicked; he maintained a subtle smile, watching Binaeril’s actions with numerous faces and eyes.

“I am you, you are me. You cannot truly harbor murderous intent towards yourself. You cannot truly attack yourself.”

Binaeril had to swallow his pride.

“You know.”

“You know what I need to do. That’s who you are. You pose problems only you can solve, laughing and deceiving me until the moment I’m desperate enough to choose what you want. That’s your way.”

“Yes, you’ve gotten smarter, Binaeril.”

The Veritas clones vanished like smoke, and someone placed a hand on Binaeril’s shoulder. It was the black-haired boy, Veritas.

“But you’re still foolish. I’ve always wanted just one thing.”

“…the fragments?”

“Yes, a page.”

“And if I get the page, I can solve this?”

“Since losing the cursed sword, you’ve been complacent about our contract. What can a powerless me do? All I can provide is a little ‘motivation.’”

“Is being poisoned by the magic stone your idea of motivation?”

“It’s like a time bomb around your neck, isn’t it?”

Either transform into a demon or find the page before it’s too late.

It was a choice with no alternatives.

“The odds of you consuming a magic stone from a powerful creature like the Hydra and overcoming the dark magic on your own? None. That’s why I waited.”

Veritas had meticulously planned and manipulated Binaeril. 

“The pages are the remnants of Dekypleio. He is the master of all magic. If you obtain the pages, you will be safe.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Richard Bernstein. What happened to that mage?”

“…So you’re telling me to abandon my mission in Elfenbine, forget about Inyakan, and run to find the pages? Professors chasing Bernstein are waiting for me, and outside, a chieftain from Barbaroana is ready to kidnap me.”

Veritas spread his lips into a broad smile and nodded, as if to say, “I know all about your situation.” It was an infuriating expression.

“I know. I’ll help you.”

“How?”

“I’ll give you information, as always. Do you know where that mage Bernstein is heading?”

“You said he was fleeing east.”

“He’s not ‘fleeing’. He’s ‘chasing’ something.”

“Bernstein is hungry. He’s sensed the scent of pure, immense mana. The scent of a fragment.”

Binaeril turned to meet Veritas’s gaze.

“Using your joke, you are on a mission to chase the mages chasing the mage chasing the fragment.”

Now he understood why Inyakan had growled when he had made that joke. It wasn’t funny at all.

“If I chase Bernstein, I can find the page?”

“Yes. He’s after something you lost once before.”

Veritas tiptoed to whisper into Binaeril’s ear.

“Richard Bernstein is after the cursed sword Mimung.”

When Binaeril returned to reality, he found Inyakan almost breaking free from the prison. He had created a small hole large enough to fit his arm through and was pointing at Binaeril.

“Binaeril, stay right there!”

It felt like a death threat.

“Stop resisting and come with me!”

Finally, breaking free from the stone prison, Inyakan charged at Binaeril like a raging bull.

“Wait, wait!”

Binaeril shouted urgently, but Inyakan showed no signs of stopping. Binaeril leaped back, placing sticky webs between himself and Inyakan. As if that wasn’t enough, he animated Inyakan’s shadow to grip his ankles. And still, he imbued his voice with magic and shouted again.

“Wait!”

It took three layers of restraining spells to finally stop Inyakan.

“Inyakan, let’s negotiate!”

Inyakan shook his head.

“You and I are heading in completely different directions. You want to go east; I want to go northwest. Negotiation is impossible. Will you yield?”

Inyakan’s fist, caught in the web, trembled violently. It seemed like it would break free soon.

“You don’t need to yield. I can give you the information you need.”