Chapter 98

In the ruins of a tourist spot on the outskirts of the Entertainment City.

I sat there, perched on a moss-covered rock.

“…”

I leaned my back against the stone and lit a cigarette. Right next to me sat a bottle—a carbonated drink that tasted like a makeshift lemon soda. I grabbed the bottle and took a sip. I would have preferred alcohol, but I had a big job waiting for me. I intended to endure until everything was settled.

‘Now then, I wonder how this will play out.’

The negotiation I’d proposed to the Sage via the crystal communication was simple: in exchange for handing over Mihana, the territories of the Sage and the Assassin King would be divided, with a portion ceded to Nerea and myself. I asked whether he would accept those terms. Furthermore, when I requested a face-to-face meeting for the handover, the Sage gave a businesslike consent.

The reason I chose these ruins as the meeting spot was to avoid collateral damage to the Entertainment City. The car chase with Mihana had already caused a fair amount of destruction. Since Nerea is now an ally, it would weigh on my conscience to wreck her town further.

Currently, I am here alone. I had Alice and Nerea wait at the mansion back in the city to act as guards for the unconscious Mihana. I had them protect her with layers of their respective magic.

Needless to say, I have no intention of negotiating seriously. This is merely a pretext to lure them out—bait cheaper than a cold order of french fries. Of course, they likely aren’t being fooled either; they’re coming despite knowing it’s a trap. The Sage will never abandon Mihana. I intend to exploit that.

According to my predictions, the Assassin King should be coming along as a set. Normally, the Assassin King cannot enter Nerea’s territory because of a specialized barrier she has erected. However, the Sage will manage somehow. He is a master of magic; I’m sure he knows a loophole or two. Considering he’s facing off against me, he’ll definitely bring the King along. He won’t think for a second that he can finish me off solo.

As for subordinates? If he decided he needed to scrape together all his military might, he’d bring them. If he wanted to avoid pointless casualties, he wouldn’t. It’s a fifty-fifty toss-up. Well, either way, my task remains the same: I’m just going to slaughter everyone who shows up.

I basked in the twilight while smoking. Just as the first hints of sunset began to settle, the Sage walked toward me. From what I could see, he was alone. I crushed my cigarette against the rock to extinguish it.

“Yo. Sorry for the sudden invitation.”

“…”

The Sage remained silent. I could feel his hostility. It seemed he was already in a combat-ready state. If Alice were here, she’d likely be sensing an intense magical pressure.

“Where is Mihana?”

“I have her sleeping in a safe place. She’s a precious princess, after all.”

I shrugged and gave a small laugh. The Sage’s eyes sharpened. Standing up, I asked:

“Is she really that much of a worry to you?”

“…”

“Well, I guess I don’t need to ask. You flew all the way to a place like this, after all.”

I looked around. There was no one else in the desolate ruins of the dusk. It was a perfect place for a fight.

“I heard in the reports that you’ve teamed up with Nerea. What do you intend to do?”

“Nothing much. Just deepening the friendship between Representatives.”

“I see…”

The Sage didn’t press the matter further. For all the tension in the air, he was being quiet. Was he testing the waters? If he had attacked me in a blind rage, it would have been easier to handle. It seemed he possessed enough reason to earn the title of “Sage.”

“Jack Aaron. Am I to recognize you as one who would destroy the tranquility of Eurea?”

“Now, I wonder. I’m just doing what I want to do.”

“Evading the question to the very end… Fine. You are finished.”

I laughed at his words. “You are finished”—what a trite cliché. I’ve seen many men die by my hand after uttering that very phrase. It was a line I was more tired of hearing than a neighbor’s morning greeting.

“Planning to kill me? You’ll never find out where Mihana is.”

“You’ve likely hidden her in the Entertainment City. It is the most heavily guarded place in this land. And do not misunderstand. I am not going to kill you.”

The Sage reached into his pocket. He held up the object he withdrew for me to see.

“Do you remember this? The contract we exchanged.”

“Yeah, of course I remember. I haven’t forgotten it for a single moment. I’ve gone through hell because of this goddamn contract.”

I pulled out my copy of the contract in the same manner. Two papers for one set. Both bore the same contents and signatures. They were the loathsome scraps of paper that shackled my every move.

At that moment, the Sage’s bloodlust surged.

He was clearly about to make a move. His eyes widened as he declared to me:

“I am forcibly nullifying the contract. And now—I shall manifest the penalty for breach of contract!”

Immediately, a piercing pain shot through my chest and head. Black noise began to flicker across my vision. My limbs grew numb, and I couldn’t help but drop to my knees. Looking down, I saw black thorns sprouting from my chest. I tried to grab them, but my hand passed right through. They had no physical form, appearing like shadows.

Ignoring my agony, the Sage approached with leisure.

“I tampered with this contract. It was a failsafe to enslave you should you ever betray me. I can trigger the penalty for breach of contract by force.”

“Heh… you really… outdid yourself, didn’t you…?”

I grabbed a rock and managed to haul myself up. I’m used to pain. I’ve been trained not to talk no matter what kind of torture I’m subjected to. This much is nothing.

The Sage, meanwhile, maintained his composed attitude.

“Once you are under my thumb, Alice will likely fall in line as well. I don’t know about the sorceress Nerea, but with you—the man who finished Dorgu—on my side, I should be able to handle her.”

“I wonder… about that.”

I looked down and smirked. The pain had been escalating during our conversation, but it hit a certain threshold and suddenly lost its momentum. From there, the agony subsided all at once. The thorns growing from my chest withered and rotted away. The noise in my vision evaporated.

I checked my physical condition. It was perfectly fine, as if the state I was in just seconds ago had been a lie. I wiped the sweat from my brow and laughed.

“Whew, that actually stung a bit. It was about as bad as getting turned into Swiss cheese by an anti-personnel mine.”

“What!?”

The Sage froze in shock. This was clearly a development he hadn’t anticipated. I tore my copy of the contract to pieces and began to walk toward him.

“You want to know why the enslavement didn’t work? It’s not like I’m hiding it, so I’ll let you in on the secret.”

“Y-you…”

The Sage backed away. Realizing the tide had turned, he tried to create distance. I kept pace with him, stepping forward with the same rhythm.

“It’s a very simple trick. You just had some competition. I already had a ‘previous engagement’ with enslavement.”

“A previous engagement…?”

Since he still didn’t seem to get it, I began to explain thoroughly. Before departing on this “camouflaged trip,” I had entered into a magical contract with Alice back at the Fortress City. We used a contract grade far higher than the one used in the duel with Mihana, and we signed it using dragon’s blood as ink. Apparently, that raises the weight of the contract to an entirely different level.

The deal I struck with Alice was the mutual enslavement of our souls. By binding our souls in advance, we ensured we could repel any new interference. Enslavement cannot be overwritten by a contract of a lower grade than the one currently in effect.

In essence, Alice and I ended up in a state where we were each clutching the other’s heart. However, in practice, it carries no coercive power. We stipulated in the contract that commands utilizing the enslavement are forbidden. Thus, this new contract served purely as a means to prevent any further enslavement.

I had kept the existence of this new contract in reserve as a last-resort failsafe. If I couldn’t find a safe and certain way to cancel our original contract, I had intended to use this as a shield to kill Mihana. The reason I didn’t do it immediately was because this method carried its own risks. Violating the first contract while under a second soul-binding would have put an immense burden on me. There was a fear of unpredictable side effects.

That’s why it was strictly a last resort. Originally, I had planned to either trick the Sage into discarding the contract or kill him to let it expire. Failing that, I was going to take my time finding a way to neutralize the document itself. I never imagined it would prove useful in this specific way.

“—And that’s why your enslavement doesn’t work on me. Tough luck.”

“Guh…”

The Sage ground his teeth as he listened to my explanation. A sphere of light manifested in his hand. He continued to retreat, ready to fire the light projectile at any moment. In the midst of his panic, he shouted:

“A contract for mutual enslavement? Impossible! Someone would inevitably betray the other…!”

“Hey now, don’t underestimate us. Alice and I are bound by a perfect community of interests. We’re indispensable to each other’s power. Neither of us is going to do anything stupid.”

I shook my head at the Sage’s nonsense. Alice and I understand each other’s utility. We know we can’t afford to lose the other. Therefore, we act for the other’s benefit—because we know it leads to our own goals. If Alice wants to pursue her research on world destruction, I won’t stop her. If she needs an experiment, I’ll help. It works because it’s a cold, businesslike relationship.

“Alice is the best partner I could ask for. She’s insane, but she faces her goals with absolute sincerity. She’s a thousand times more reliable than people who spout empty ideals.”

I taunted the Sage. He could say nothing, his breathing only growing more ragged. I pointed a finger at him.

“But more importantly, let’s talk about you. You tried to turn me into your slave with that pathetic little trick, didn’t you?”

“No! That was because you—”

“Save it. I’m not interested in boring excuses. You can do your grumbling in hell.”

I drew my handgun and pointed the muzzle at the Sage. Yielding to the rising impulse within me, I spoke with glee:

“Now then, let’s get started. I’ll see this through with you until the very end.”