Oh no, this can’t be happening!  

A look of panic washed over Yevar’s face, which had remained composed despite the unexpected turn of events.  

“Sir Knight? Just a moment……”  

It was the moment Yevar tried to hastily grab Seiden. Without giving him a chance to intervene, Seiden drew his sword as he walked towards the gate and then……  

“Ah……!”  

He cut his own palm without hesitation. Yevar’s eyes widened in shock as he realized the unexpected and horrifying significance of that action.  

“No! Zaraph!”  

As soon as Yevar chanted the summoning spell, seven mages were summoned into the room, which previously contained only Seiden and Yevar.  

“Stop him!”  

They tried to obey Yevar’s urgent command, but Seiden’s movements were much faster. His blood-coated sword was thrust into an old pot near the gate.  

“Aaah!”  

As the sword pierced the mound of dirt, brilliant light burst forth and spread in multiple directions. Immediately, all the mages in the room froze in their tracks.  

Seiden turned to them and said leisurely, 

“If you take even one step, you’ll get to see this tower you’ve worked so hard on crumble.”  

Yevar gasped for air at that calm voice. How could this be……?  

The spot where Seiden had planted his bloodied sword was, as he said, a pot that contained the lifeblood imbued with all the magic sustaining this tower. It was disguised as an inconspicuous pot, enchanted to appear as a withered tree to any perpetrator’s eyes, and even surrounded by a barrier to prevent anyone from approaching it. How could he……!  

But Seiden showed no intention of answering Yevar’s question, simply making a casual request instead.  

“Amend the contract.”  

At that, Yevar realized why this madman was causing such havoc. It meant he was not satisfied with the terms of the contract. It was indeed their fault for sneakily including a harsh clause in it, but wasn’t this an excessive reaction!  

“What are you doing with that old pot!”  

Yevar tried to regain composure and attempt damage control too late; of course, it had no effect on Seiden.  

“Really? Then let’s all check if this is really just an old pot.”  

As Seiden slightly twisted the handle of the sword he was holding firmly, Yevar’s face fell again.  

“Aaaah! Stop! I’ll amend it! I’ll amend it!”  

At his plea, Seiden stopped moving his wrist and looked at Yevar indifferently. Yevar, having completely lost his earlier composure and now flushed with anger and trembling, couldn’t contain his frustration.  

Seiden leisurely watched him until Yevar had calmed down. It was fortunate that Yevar’s mind worked as fast as Seiden thought and that he knew many things; thanks to that, there was no need to go around explaining things.  

Seiden was the youngest Swordmaster on the continent, and his body flowed with enough magic to bring down this tower if necessary. So Yevar very well knew what would happen if Seiden’s bloodied sword had taken over the lifeblood of this tower, which was crucial and probably closely related to his own magic power.  

“Everyone leave.”  

After trembling for a while, Yevar finally calmed down and sent all the still-petrified mages out of the room. Thanks to that, silence returned to the room, but now it was filled with an air of tension far sharper than before.  

Of course, it was the tension that Yevar alone had to deal with. Seiden remained indifferent and seemed to be getting bored.  

“So, what do you want?”  

Yevar asked through gritted teeth.  

“First, tell me what secret you know about lifting that damned curse.”  

At Seiden’s cold and quiet voice, Yevar clenched his fist. It wasn’t just a ploy to deceive Seiden; finding ‘that’ would indeed reveal how to lift the curse. But ‘that’ was a truly important secret, and he too was desperately searching for it.  

Having to give away such a precious secret without any compensation was like bleeding internally; yet Seiden’s sword was still deeply embedded, as if it could sever his lifeblood at any moment. And he couldn’t defeat this madman. Realizing this reality, Yevar swallowed his tears and answered calmly.  

“……Find the demon god book.”  

The demon god book? Hearing this unfamiliar name for the first time made Seiden’s eyebrows furrow narrowly.  

“It’s a magical tome that contains methods to lift every curse in this world.”  

At those words, Seiden’s heart stopped for a moment.  

“It was created by the highest-ranking demon serving a demon god who fell a hundred years ago, with the tremendous power of the demon god. So if you find it, you can discover how to lift any curse.”  

It was precisely what Seiden and Bellota desperately needed—if what he said was true.

Seiden gazed intently at Yevar, trying to discern whether his words were truth or lies. His eyes and fingertips still trembled with anger, yet he did not seem to be lying.

“Where is it?”

“I don’t know either. There have only been sporadic instances over the past hundred years where it has come into human hands, so I have been tracking it.”

Yevar’s dispirited words made Seiden’s heart grow cold. However, he did not show any reaction and asked in a low voice,

“How can you be sure of the existence of something you have never seen?”

“You believe in the existence of demons you have never seen, don’t you? The same goes for deities.”

“……Do magicians always have to answer in such a roundabout way?”

As the conversation grew frustrating, Seiden’s expression turned fierce, causing Yevar to tense up again. Whoa, whoa, Yevar raised his hands slowly and tried to negotiate.

“Please calm down. First, put away that sword……”

“Show me proof of its existence.”

As Seiden mercilessly cut off his attempt and demanded firmly, Yevar bit his lip. The calm before the storm, a madness too great to bear, lurked in the eyes of the mad dog.

Yevar, after having reached a position like his, could tell what kind of person someone was just by looking into their eyes. And judging by those eyes, this madman would not hesitate to bring down the tower he stood in.

Acknowledging that there was no escape, Yevar decided to present evidence. When he clapped his hands, an old book floated up into the air. The book, wrapped in worn, dark-red leather, had no title.

“The demon god book is a twin book. This book teaches all the curses that exist in this world. Of course, I have never used it. Really.”

Seiden’s gaze hardened at the unexpected evidence. He snatched the floating book and flipped through it carelessly. However, nothing was written on the ancient parchment, which seemed ready to crumble at any moment.

Yevar continued speaking,

“Perhaps the curse you speak of is a high-level curse that manifests sexually and has lasted for a hundred years.”

Clearing his throat, Yevar then commanded in a deep and dignified voice,

“I seek the method to cast a curse that will last for over a hundred years, that requires periodic s*xual intercourse to survive.”

As he spoke, red letters began to appear on the empty parchment. Seiden stared intently at the letters without surprise.

[The power of the demon god, the blood of Thalta, the sacrifice of a high demon]

“Those are indeed things that cannot be obtained now, aren’t they?”

Yevar spoke as if he knew without looking.

The ingredients for the curse were simpler than thought, but as he said, all were now unobtainable: the demon god and high demons, and Thalta, a high demon beast now extinct.

“Touch the spine of that book.”

Seiden did as Yevar said, touching the spine with his large hand.

“You will feel an empty power. That is proof that this book is only half complete. I cannot provide any more evidence than this.”

Just as Yevar said, the book felt like half of it was missing, its magic incomplete yet explosive. If its other half were found, its power could shake half the continent.

This could not fully prove the existence of the demon god book containing all methods to break curses, but Seiden had no choice but to believe Yevar. Without believing him, he could not find a way to save Bellota.

Having made up his mind, Seiden lightly tossed the demon god book back to Yevar and gestured for him to send over the floating contract.

Yevar, trembling but dutifully floating the contract back to Seiden’s front like commanding a subordinate. Seiden caught the contract with his remaining hand and spoke,

“Erase all written words here and inscribe what I dictate from now on.”

What? All of it?

At that firm instruction, Yevar’s hazel eyes shook with unease. Yet, he bravely erased all words from the contract as Seiden instructed.

The original was that for one year, when going on an extermination mission, at least three high-quality materials from that region must be provided, and besides that, Seiden must provide help anytime they need it without regard for day or night. That absurd content was smoothly erased as Seiden spoke again,

“Yevar Ramdel of Hellers Tower swears to devote all efforts to assist Seiden Blackwood in finding the demon god book and promises to commit suicide if he breaks this promise or engages in trickery.”

What? Yevar’s mouth dropped open. The condition was excessively radical. Only then did Yevar realize this mad knight had no intention of following his wishes from the start. He had come seeking him with this plan in mind!

Such contemptible weakness!

“Furthermore, during the contract period, Yevar Ramdel swears to cooperate with all of Seiden Blackwood’s requests and immediately inform Seiden Blackwood upon finding the demon god book and hand it over.”

“No, wait! That’s—”

“Lastly, Seiden Blackwood swears to return the demon god book to Yevar Ramdel after finding the desired method to break the curse.”