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However.
"Your bird harmed me... so you need to take responsibility for its actions... grant me flesh and blood." The black-robed skeleton showed no interest in other humans at all.
It finally revealed why it had been following Ian.
"Which bird? The black Phoenix?" Ian furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Grant me flesh and blood, love, I need love... your bird said so." The black-robed skeleton ignored Ian's question and continued murmuring in his ear.
"..."
Ian tried to use the Protean Charm to create a device that would trap the skeleton's jaw, but when the device moved toward the skeleton and made contact, it lost all effect.
"Whoosh~"
It turned into a pile of branches.
Ian's extraordinary talent with Transfiguration couldn't alter this fact; no matter how much magic power he poured into it, the enchantment collapsed almost instantly.
"If you want that ghost bird, I can give it to you..." Ian's gaze shifted back to the black-robed skeleton, noting the strange power emanating from its broken chains.
He found it difficult to understand how a being adorned with such terrifying anti-magic chains could still perform magic similar to Apparition whenever it wished to pursue him.
"That's just an empty shell, a product of biological alchemy... isn't it your handiwork?" The black-robed skeleton seemed genuinely puzzled, raising a bony finger to scratch its head.
"I thought someone finally punished that bird." Its voice carried a hint of indignation, but more than that, it seemed to echo with a lingering fear.
"I just found the black Phoenix's egg, no, it was a friend who gave me the egg... ugh, you really are a trickster, didn't you just say you couldn't remember anything?"
Ian felt he had caught the black-robed skeleton in a contradiction, unsure if he could use this to persuade it to leave him alone, ideally, to return to wherever it had come from, the Twilight Zone.
"I have no mind, but resentment... has long seeped into my remaining soul." The black-robed skeleton responded earnestly, leaving the little wizard unsure how to counter.
Ian had never lost his mind, nor was he left with just a remnant of a soul. He couldn't provide any rebuttal, and the first thing that came to mind was Voldemort's fragmented soul. That old wizard had lost his mind in a variety of ways, and Ian wondered if other soul fragments would "quantum synchronize" with their hatred toward him.
"I still need to find a chance to eliminate him."
Ian felt uneasy.
Of course.
Right now, his most pressing concern was still the black-robed skeleton in front of him.
"What do I need to do for you to stop following me?" Ian tried to negotiate with the black-robed skeleton. Even though it seemed to have no intention of harming him, he didn't want a towering skeleton watching him while he ate, slept, or even went to the loo.
Would he still be able to attend classes? Would he return to the Orphanage during the holidays?
What about his reputation… well, that seemed to have little significance now.
After all, due to various reasons, he had lost much of his reputation, being regarded as a necromancer wizard. In fact, it could even be considered a relatively good reputation he'd gained in recent days.
"Grant me flesh and blood."
The black-robed skeleton repeated itself, but it no longer mentioned love. Perhaps it had realized Ian was sensitive to that word.
"How about some pork or beef? We could use lamb, focusing on something tender and young!" Ian had no real knowledge of biological alchemy.
Moreover, he was highly skeptical that alchemy would work on this being, given that the chains on it could nullify all magical powers.
"..."
The black-robed skeleton fell silent again.
Ian felt it was dissatisfied with his choice of meat.
"I can't get you human flesh, but I can write you a list. If you manage to kill those people and stick their flesh onto yourself, that might work too?" The little wizard began mentally listing his enemies, as well as potential enemies, including names from the Death Eater remnants.
"I want my own flesh and blood." The black-robed skeleton finally couldn't hold back.
"You really are making things difficult for an eleven-year-old child." Ian sighed heavily.
"Eleven years old?"
The black-robed skeleton seemed puzzled, its eye sockets burned with soul fire, and within that fire, a glowing soul appeared rather than the true appearance of a little wizard.
Clearly, the black-robed skeleton could not see life; it could only see the soul of life.
"How about this, let's compromise. You swear on your ancestral grave that you won't continue to disturb my life, and I promise to help you when I have the ability to do so?" After a moment of consideration, Ian tentatively proposed, as he was quite skilled at making such grand promises.
"There is already a contract between us." The black-robed skeleton's voice remained hoarse, as though a pile of fish bones were stuck in its throat.
"When the hell did that happen?" Ian blinked in surprise.
"The moment you awakened me, the contract was already established." The red lines on the black-robed skeleton surged again, and it gestured for Ian to look at his own wrist.
"..."
Ian complied and immediately saw a glowing pattern on his wrist, with countless crimson lines intertwining to form a design that resembled a blood-red sun.
"Is my wrist not enough for you, ancient monsters?" Ian felt a wave of helplessness; he had experienced this déjà vu three times over the past year.
"What is the content of this contract? Don't think about deceiving me... I have people behind me and above me… no, below me, I'll find them to verify whether what you say is true."
Ian was wary, having been tricked by the Ouroboros "curse" in the Slytherin Forest, and he was anxious that the black-robed skeleton might also be setting a trap for him.
"You use love to grant me flesh and blood, and I will serve you... for ten thousand years." The black-robed skeleton succinctly replied, pausing before adding,
"This is not my doing; it is a predetermined fact I sensed when I awakened." The skeleton's words explained why it had shown no hostility thus far.
"..."
Ian began to understand. Perhaps the deduction of his Twilight Zone Experience Card being "charged" by berserk magic was somewhat related to this contract that had been established without his knowledge.
Realizing this, he connected more dots. No wonder that mutt of a black Phoenix had refused to show itself earlier; the black-robed skeleton had pecked at Ian's hand a few times before its resurrection.
He had thought it was merely a gesture of affection, but the real culprit was that blasted Phoenix! Ian would bet his life that the so-called contract was definitely tied to that black Phoenix!
"Alright, alright, ten thousand years, you work first, and let me think about how to give you flesh and blood." Ian remained cautious, but if things were indeed as the skeleton claimed, it might not be a bad deal.
Ten thousand years.
His great-great-grandchildren's graves would surely not be disturbed; regardless of whether he could figure out how to provide the skeleton with flesh and blood, it was certainly a deal that wouldn't leave him at a loss.
"What... does 'working' mean?"
The black-robed skeleton tilted its head in confusion.
"Working means you don't eat, drink, or sleep while doing tasks... of course, there's no work for you right now; I just want to study the chains on you." Ian hesitated, contemplating whether to approach the skeleton.
"Whoosh~"
Suddenly, a sound of something slicing through the air echoed in the forest, and an arrow shot out from the darkness, fast as lightning, heading straight for Ian, who was sitting on the rock.
"Thud~"
Before Ian's protective gear could react, the black-robed skeleton appeared in front of the little wizard, raising its hand to catch the arrow, which was almost as fast as a bullet.
"Something dark is coming..." Ian glanced at the broken fragments on the ground, his tone slightly irritated, knowing that the arrow had been aimed at his head.
"It's a monster."
The black-robed skeleton was a linguistic genius.
It's single sentence quelled Ian's anger.
"Have you never looked in a mirror?"
Ian was genuinely impressed by the black-robed skeleton's lack of self-awareness. Well, it made sense; without a heart, it seemed normal to lack common sense. Voldemort's fragmented soul didn't seem as bizarre as this skeleton.
"Thud thud thud~"
As Ian was left speechless, the attackers revealed themselves, centaurs, their hooves echoing as they emerged from the shadows. Leading them was a burly, somewhat aged centaur with a gray beard and exaggerated muscles.
"Evil soul, and evil wizard... You have trespassed into a forbidden area." The lead centaur spoke in a stern voice.
"That's a skeleton! A moving skeleton!"
"This is a wizard who toys with the dead!"
"He's just a little brat, yet he dares to dabble in such dark magic; the people in the castle won't blame us; we are helping them eliminate this festering maggot!"
"Kill him!"
...
(To Be Continued…)