He looked as if he were about to suffocate.
However.
The Black-Robed Skeleton screamed for half an hour without dying. Rather than growing weaker, its voice became even more heart-rending. Ian had no idea what the hell it was panicking about.
It did not even have organs like lungs. Ian should have known he could not strangle the Black-Robed Skeleton to death. He was purely venting the frustration and misery in his heart.
"Why exactly does the contract I made with you stop me from entering the Misty Illusion..." Ian only wanted an answer, though he already had a feeling about what the Black-Robed Skeleton would say.
Sure enough.
After being shaken dizzy, the Black-Robed Skeleton was still swaying when Ian finally let it go. As usual, it raised a hand and pointed at its empty skull.
It said nothing.
Apparently because it was severely dizzy.
Yet silence spoke louder than words here. The Young Wizard understood its meaning perfectly.
"You don't even have a brain! What kind of concussion are you pretending to have?" Ian was utterly speechless. He raised his wrist and rubbed it hard a few more times. The gradually dimming contract mark was an eyesore.
"Dizzy."
The Black-Robed Skeleton's dry-heaving act was incredibly lifelike. Ian suspected the thing was acting for him, and acting skillfully at that, but he had no evidence to throw at its skull.
"If you can't give me an explanation today, see that big cauldron over there... Even if magic can't affect you, I'll catch a hundred rats and throw you in with them to make soup!" Ian truly had the urge to boil the Black-Robed Skeleton into soup. He even took out some devil peppers he had gotten from the House-elves.
Whether the rats frightened the Black-Robed Skeleton or the thought