Became the Unjust Contract Slave of the Archamage’s Book

The effectiveness of Operation Sinkhole was astounding! The massive body of the Minotaur, which had been pushing itself up with brute strength, was swiftly pulled back down to its waist. 

“Princess, that was amazing!” Sylvia, not missing the opportunity, immediately flattered Rike. Binaeril also gave Rike a thumbs-up. Rike, who had displayed such powerful magic, looked a bit overwhelmed. She responded with a faint smile, leaning on her knees as her legs shook. Relieved, Binaeril and Sylvia gathered around her.

“What do we do now?” 

“Ordinary attacks won’t work. Rike’s magic can only buy us some time.”

They needed a way to take it down for good.

“Its skin is too tough for most attacks to penetrate.”

“If we can’t injure it from the outside, maybe we need to strike from within?”

‘Wait a minute, strike from within?’ Binaeril had an epiphany. The Minotaur of Scala wasn’t a regular monster. It was an artificially created gargoyle. Such constructs usually had a core that supplied internal power.

“Gargoyles typically have their cores inside them, right?” Rike quickly understood Binaeril’s point.

“Yes, that’s right. There should be a core that engraves commands and supplies power. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“So we just need to destroy the core, but how?”

“First, we need to find its weak spot. Rike, can you see it?”

The core would be emitting stronger mana than the other parts of the Minotaur. And when it came to detecting mana, no mage in Elfenbine could match Rike.

“Yes… I feel mana between the neck and the chest, around the clavicle area.”

“Got it.”

“What are you planning?”

Directly damaging the core’s location would be ideal, but casting a spell that could strike from inside was beyond their current capabilities.

“We have to try to make a wound somehow.”

“Pierce that thick skin and reach the core? That sounds impossible.”

“No. As long as we can make even a small wound, I can handle the rest.”

Binaeril recalled reading about how stonemasons would break rocks by combining weaker forces. Even minor spells, if combined, could break through stone.

“Make a wound on its chest. Please.”

Sylvia nodded, understanding Binaeril’s expression. Like it or not, Binaeril was the most skilled among the three. The trapped Minotaur, flailing its arms, smashed the surrounding pillars in rage. Sylvia began kicking different parts of its body, narrowly avoiding its arms. She didn’t land any significant hits, but it was enough to capture its attention.

“I must go too.”

Binaeril’s slashes were ineffective against the monster’s tough hide. However, there was a more efficient method to simply create a wound.

“If the surface won’t work, then a line. If the line won’t work, then a point.”

Binaeril chanted a spell.

“Arrow of piercing mana.”

A piercing spell designed to stab and penetrate objects was only a tier-1 spell. But Pierre Blanchot had shown that the power of any spell varies greatly depending on the caster. Binaeril sharpened his imagination, concentrating that image into a single point.

Kiing—!

He felt the arrow of mana, which began to take shape, vibrate with the intensity of his focus. Sylvia, who had been watching Binaeril out of the corner of her eye, jumped over the Minotaur’s head to make it easier for him to aim. The Minotaur spread its chest wide, trying to catch her with its palm.

“Now!”

Piercing breakthrough.

The arrow of mana Binaeril shot hit the Minotaur under its neck. It now looked more like a thin thread than an arrow.

“Graaaah!”

The creature let out a pained groan. As the dust settled and stone fragments scattered, its chest was exposed.

“Darn it!”

Sylvia let out a frustrated gasp. The core of the gargoyle was still not visible.

“Can you do it once more?”

She shouted, but Binaeril was already chanting another spell.

“What are you doing?”

It was the same spell he had recklessly cast at Sylvia during the tournament finals. A spell that merely threw water, lacking any offensive power. Binaeril directed it at the Minotaur’s wound.

Binaeril didn’t pause for a moment. Imagining different types of spells in succession made him a bit dizzy. But this was the last time, and he couldn’t afford to lose focus. Lowering his stance, Binaeril charged straight at the Minotaur’s chest. The two girls screamed at his perilous move.

The Minotaur swung its right hand at Binaeril.

“Eden!”

A stone wall sprang up from the left, blocking the monster’s attack. Gaining momentum, Binaeril leapt and reached for the creature’s wounded, wet chest.

“Let this cold freeze everything!”

The small groove shaped like a diagonal line was filled with the water Binaeril had thrown. He froze it rapidly with all the speed he could muster and then expanded it.

‘Reach!’

The water touched by Binaeril’s hand spread within the monster like the roots of a great tree, finally reaching the core. As the distance closed, Binaeril could sense it as well.

Here it is, this is its core!

“Please pierce through!”

His mana penetrated the tough exterior of the Minotaur and finally pierced the core.

“Grrraaah! Ugh… uh….”

The movements of the creature, which had been about to strike the human clinging to its chest, began to slow. Slowly. Even more slowly. And finally, the red glow of the Minotaur faded.

When Binaeril destroyed the core, an anomaly began to occur from the broken core. Like a drain plug being pulled, the core started to create a vortex, sucking in its surroundings. The stone body of the Minotaur, the surrounding floor, and eventually the exhausted Binaeril were all sucked into the expanding core. Rike and Sylvia, who were a little further from the gargoyle’s corpse, were not exceptions either. 

The black hole, which had sucked in the three mages and the entire dome-like structure they stood in, finally ceased its expansion. Unbeknownst to them, this was the entrance to the third trial. Within the vortex, Binaeril, Rike, and Sylvia each faced their uncertain foes.

***

Meanwhile, in the office of the Albrecht Imperial Palace, a woman with long hair reaching her shoulder blades sat at a desk. The office was originally the Emperor’s domain, but his traces were scarcely found now, as the Regent, Princess Charlotte, had removed most of her father’s belongings. 

A visitor arrived as she calmly sorted through documents.

“Come in.”

An elderly man, approaching his twilight years, entered and bowed respectfully. He had a slight build, with his hair pulled back to reveal a high forehead, showing signs of much stress with patches of white.

Regent Charlotte acknowledged his greeting with a simple gesture. He was Hans Brante, the court physician of Albrecht Palace, and one of her most trusted advisors.

“Sir Brante, how is my father’s condition?”

“It’s not good. You should start preparing.”

Charlotte rubbed her tired eyes and wiped her face with her hands. The daily burden of work had taken a toll on her skin and hair.

“Is there no chance of recovery?”

Sir Brante shook his head gravely.

Princess Charlotte Albrecht was not concerned about her father’s health out of filial duty. Rather, as the Emperor’s representative, she worried about the situation where the Emperor might pass away without a clear successor. The opportunistic nobles of the capital would not leave her and her sister Friederike in peace if the Emperor were to die.

“Have there been any communications from Elfenbine?”

As the long-time confidant of the Emperor and now the regent’s deputy, Sir Brante also managed communications with Elfenbine.

“I sent word, so it should have reached Dean Yulio. But are you sure it’s the right decision to bring the youngest princess back?”

“She can’t run away forever. At the very least, she should attend our father’s funeral.”

The problem wasn’t just the Emperor. The monsters appearing in the eastern and northeastern parts of the Empire were growing in power daily. Public opinion about the royal family was declining, and within the palace, ambitious wolves were circling the throne. The regent’s position was precarious, like being on the tip of a needle.

“I just hope my sister brings good news.”

Sending Friederike to Elfenbine was not only for her safety but also to improve relations between the Empire and the Magic Tower. If she returned with skilled mages, it might improve their situation against the monsters. Central nobles opposing the Magic Tower would object, but as a regent, Charlotte had to make a decisive choice.

“Understood. I’ll take my leave now.”

Sir Brante bowed respectfully as he had upon entering and withdrew. Left alone, Charlotte sighed, placing her last hope on her sister.

***

Inside the black hole, Binaeril experienced mixed emotions. Standing before him was someone he never wanted to meet yet thought he must inevitably face one day.

“Snowfall Dalheim.”

The young man who faced Binaeril looked almost identical to him. Silvery hair with a mystical glow, cold and bold eyes. The only differences were that he was much taller and more robust than Binaeril. He stood with a ceremonial sword plunged into the ground, a sword bestowed by the Order that adored him, named Tailstar. Binaeril had never seen the sword before but recognized it instantly.

His brother cast a cold gaze upon him.

“Calling my name so casually. How disrespectful, little brother.”

At the sight of his brother, Binaeril felt a surge of the fever that had plagued him all his short life. It was a mass of emotions grown like a tumor: anger, betrayal, hatred, and a burning desire to question the past. But Binaeril decided not to ask any questions. Such exchanges were unnecessary between them.

Binaeril knew Snowfall Dalheim couldn’t be in Elfenbine. This was an illusion, the final trial of Elfenbine’s Scala Exam. He had restrained himself, but one final question slipped past his control and escaped his lips.

It was a question he would surely regret.

“Have you come to kill me again?”

Snowfall Dalheim responded with a cold sneer.