Chapter Nine: This Time, He’s Truly Finished

Irene’s blouse was torn open, exposing her fair skin; even the upper edge of her right breast was faintly revealed. Overcome with shame and panic, she let out a piercing scream. That swath of snowy white skin immediately drew the heated and lustful gazes of the nearby male students specializing in light magic.

Irene was already a beautiful young woman, and the aura of inviolate sanctity she bore only enhanced her allure. Several of the male students, just at the age when curiosity about women was at its peak, found their eyes irresistibly drawn to her, forgetting entirely to step in and rescue her.

By the time everyone realized the little skeleton was about to act again, it was already too late. The small skeleton, brandishing its eerie black bone knife, had drawn close to Irene. Fearing a stray spell might harm her, none dared act rashly.

Gazing into the empty, shadowy hollows where the skeleton’s eyes should be, Irene felt a sudden surge of despair and helplessness. She was so stricken with terror that she remained rooted to the spot, unable to move.

As the little skeleton raised its bone knife, shimmering with a ghostly light, Irene’s face was filled with sorrow. She thought to herself, never would I have imagined that, in the end, I would be killed by the dark creature I despised most— and not even a powerful one, but the weakest of all: a skeleton warrior. How pitiful.

A tearing sound rang out.

Irene felt a sudden chill at her right waist. Expecting a mortal wound, she turned her head in fear, only to realize she had not been struck. Instead, the skeleton’s knife had sliced through her robe from waist to calf, exposing even more of her body to the crowd.

Her firm, smooth waist and her round, delicate, and shapely legs were now visible. Even her pale green, silk, lace undergarment was torn open at the edge. Irene could hear the sound of some male students gulping and the chattering whispers of the girls around her.

To her, being killed outright by the skeleton would have been terrifying, but to be stripped naked in front of so many gazes was a humiliation far worse than death. A shrill scream burst from her lips as she frantically tried to cover herself, one hand on her lower body, one hand on her chest, dashing blindly in a desperate attempt to flee.

“What’s wrong with that little skeleton? Why does it seem intent on tearing Irene’s clothes?”

“Don’t just stand there! Get rid of it, quickly!”

As the crowd erupted into heated discussion, the students from the Academy of Light Magic finally snapped out of their trance. One by one, they raised their arms, preparing to chant spells and attack the skeleton.

The little skeleton, after its attack, once again stood dumbly in place. It seemed that without constant orders from Hans, it didn’t know what to do. Seeing this, Hans became anxious, unsure how to proceed.

Beside him, the little witch Lisa seemed about to say something, but hesitated when she saw how much of Irene’s robe had been torn away. In the end, she remained silent.

“You damned dark creature! How dare you attack the beautiful Miss Irene? Prepare to face the punishment of Claude, intermediate knight!” At that moment, a figure raced over from the distance at blinding speed. Before his voice had faded, Claude appeared beside the little skeleton.

With a swift, agile movement, Claude lunged at the skeleton, his right fist launching a pale blue glow that struck the oblivious skeleton directly. The skeleton, hit by the blow, was sent flying and landed on the ground with a clatter.

“Beautiful Miss Irene, I am sorry I arrived too late and frightened you!” Having sent the skeleton flying with a single punch, Claude gave Irene a courtly bow, his tone humble and respectful.

Claude was eighteen, his long silver hair tied back and hanging loosely over his white training robe. Handsome and distinguished, he instantly drew the shy, admiring gazes of the female light-magic students, who blushed and whispered to each other, as if he were the prince of their dreams. The male students, on the other hand, looked at him with a mixture of envy and fear.

“Wow, that’s Claude! He’s already an intermediate knight at eighteen, and the youngest son of the commander of the Empire’s Gryphon Legion. He’s amazing!”

“Don’t be silly, Claude likes Irene. You’re from a minor family and not nearly as beautiful as she is. There’s no way he’d ever choose you.”

The girls whispered to each other, sneaking glances at Claude. Meanwhile, the boys’ faces were filled with complex emotions as they watched him.

While the crowd murmured, the little skeleton—who had been knocked away by Claude’s punch—staggered to its feet. The few black ribs visible on its chest shook along with its small, thin body.

Irene, still covering herself awkwardly, her face crimson with embarrassment, felt a wave of relief at seeing Claude. She was about to speak to him when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the skeleton wobble to its feet behind him. Her expression, once radiant and pure, twisted in panic and disgust. Pointing frantically behind Claude, she cried, “Claude, destroy that vile dark creature, and I’ll agree to have dinner with you!”

Hearing her words, Claude turned, uttered a soft “oh!” in surprise—he hadn’t expected the skeleton to still be standing—then smiled sunnily and bowed again. “At your service.”

Turning to face the skeleton, Claude’s demeanor changed in an instant. The courteous air vanished, replaced by piercing sharpness in his gaze. He struck out again with his right fist, sending another blast of pale blue light hurtling toward the skeleton.

But just then, a small, thin figure darted out from the left, placing itself squarely in front of the skeleton. Claude’s blue energy landed directly on this new arrival.

With a resounding crash, the slight figure stumbled back several steps and then collapsed.

“Who is that servant? Why did he suddenly rush out?”

“Damn it, Brian, are you crazy?” Jack shouted in anguish, unable to understand what had just happened.

Lisa, the little witch, was equally stunned, staring in disbelief at Hans, who had leapt out to shield the skeleton.

What happened next shocked everyone: though Hans had taken the full force of Claude’s attack, he did not spit blood or die on the spot. Instead, he staggered to his feet, just like the skeleton, his face blank and foolish, with a silly grin.

The skeleton, meanwhile, suddenly jolted as if seized by a spasm. It wobbled, then in a flash, spun around and, before anyone could react, bent its thin legs and shot off like an arrow toward the Necromancy Academy.

Claude, the attacker, for some reason suddenly stumbled and fell, sitting down hard before gasping for breath. He got up after a few moments, his handsome face full of confusion and astonishment as he stared at the dazed Hans.

Hans himself was not entirely feigning his look of confusion. The moment Claude’s blue light struck his chest, he felt a pain so intense it was as though his heart had been pierced. For an instant, he thought he was dead.

Yet in that same instant, perhaps prompted by the shock, his spiritual power successfully issued the command for the skeleton to flee. Determined not to draw suspicion, he instructed the skeleton to hide in the garbage dump where trash was always thrown.

What baffled Hans most was that the blue light that had entered his body had been mysteriously wrapped up by his inner magic energy, unable to move or damage his organs.

“Brian, what are you doing here?” Lisa finally snapped out of her daze and called out to Hans.

Hans, still unsure what was happening within his body, felt a slight pressure in his chest where the blue light was trapped by his magic energy, but other than the initial pain, he seemed unharmed.

To everyone else, however, Hans looked the perfect fool, deaf to all questions, his vacant smile confirming his reputation as a madman.

“Oh, so he’s that crazy servant from Necromancy. No wonder he’s so reckless.”

“Exactly! Only an idiot would throw himself into Claude’s attack like that!”

Chubby Jack, his legs trembling, finally mustered his courage, went over to Hans, and pulled him away, muttering, “Brian, what are you running around for? There’s nothing fun here. Come on, let’s go back.”

“Wait!” Claude suddenly called out, his eyes fixed on Hans. He ignored the skeleton’s escape, inwardly wondering why he felt as if some of his energy had vanished. Was it just his imagination? Surely, a single punch shouldn’t have tired him out, and besides, he’d even stumbled. Could this servant know some sinister magic? Impossible—he was just a menial. It was too bizarre. He must be mistaken.

“Noble Knight Claude, surely you’re not planning to trouble a servant? And a mad one at that? That hardly seems fitting for someone of your status,” Lisa unexpectedly spoke up, defending Hans.

Claude, hearing her, bowed to Lisa from a distance, then gave Hans a searching look and nodded. “You may go.”

“These two can leave, but Lisa, you must give me an explanation. It was your summoned skeleton that tore my clothes,” Irene said coldly. She had at some point wrapped herself in a loose white robe and had regained her composure, glaring icily at Lisa.

“What does this have to do with me? That strange black skeleton wasn’t my summon. Otherwise, why couldn’t I control it? It even broke into my room in the night and kicked me twice—I’m a victim too,” Lisa retorted with a cold snort.

“How is that possible? If you didn’t summon it, then who did? It must have been someone from the Necromancy Academy. Whoever it is, I’ll make them answer for this!” Irene fumed.

“Huff… Buck… I saw it run… out of Buck’s room when I was… throwing out the trash,” Hans said with a foolish grin, stammering his way through the explanation, but everyone understood what he meant.

“Aha! So it was him. He must be trying to get back at me for beating him up last time!” Lisa’s expression turned icy.

Irene, too, went pale with rage, her teeth grinding audibly. But just as the two of them were about to seek out Buck, the bell rang for class. At the sound, the students scattered: those from the Light Academy headed one way, those from Necromancy another.

Only Hans and Jack remained standing there. Hans giggled foolishly once more and said to Jack, “Buck is finished.”

Jack nodded solemnly in agreement. “Yes, he’s really finished this time.”