This time, he was really done for

Eileen's top had been slashed open, exposing her snow-white skin and even a small patch along the upper edge of her right breast. Overcome by embarrassment and panic, she screamed. That expanse of pale skin drew burning stares from the male Light Department students nearby.

Eileen was already a beautiful girl, and the faint air of inviolable holiness about her made her even more beautiful. Some of the male Light Department students nearby were adolescent boys at the age when they were most curious about women. Their eyes were all drawn to Eileen, and they forgot to come to her rescue.

By the time everyone noticed Little Skeleton moving again, it was too late to intervene. Little Skeleton had already closed in on Eileen with his dark little Bone Blade. Afraid their magic might hurt Eileen by mistake, none of them dared act rashly.

At the sight of the empty, dark gray sockets where Little Skeleton's eyes should have been, despair and helplessness suddenly rose in Eileen's heart. Seemingly paralyzed by fright, she stood there without moving.

As Little Skeleton came close and raised his faintly gleaming Bone Blade, Eileen's face turned sorrowful. I never thought I would end up being killed by the dark creatures I hate most-and by a Skeleton Warrior, the weakest of them all. How pathetic.

Riiip...

Eileen felt a chill at her right waist and thought the blade had struck her. But when she turned to look, she discovered that her waist had not been cut. Instead, the Bone Blade had sliced her magic robe open again, from her right waist down to her calf, exposing even more of her body.

Her firm, smooth waist and shapely, soft-skinned leg were exposed by this slash. Even the edge of her pale green silk lace underwear had been torn on the right. Eileen could already hear some of the male students swallowing, along with the female students' chatter.

"Ah!"

To her, being killed outright by Little Skeleton's knife would certainly have been terrifying, but being stripped completely naked before everyone would have been worse than death. A piercing scream escaped Eileen's lips. Covering her lower body with one hand and her upper body with the other, she ran blindly in utter disarray, flashes of bare skin showing as she moved.

"Wh-what's wrong with this Little Skeleton? Why is he specifically cutting Eileen's clothes?"

"Stop standing around! Hurry up and destroy him!"

"..."

Amid the chatter, the students of the light magic school finally reacted. They raised their arms one after another, seemingly preparing to chant spells to attack Little Skeleton.

After that strike, Little Skeleton stood blankly in place again, as though he only knew how to act when Han Shuo constantly gave him orders. Seeing his foolish appearance, Han Shuo grew frantic, at a loss for what to do.

The little witch Lisa beside him had seemingly intended to say something, but after seeing such a large section of Eileen's magic robe slashed open, she hesitated and ultimately said nothing.

"Accursed dark creature! You dare attack the beautiful Miss Eileen? Accept the punishment of Intermediate Knight Claude!" Just then, a figure raced over from the distance. He moved so fast that by the time his words ended, Claude was already beside Little Skeleton.

The moment Claude appeared, he charged nimbly straight at Little Skeleton and punched with his right fist. A beam of pale blue light shot into Little Skeleton, who remained oblivious to the danger. The blow sent Little Skeleton flying helplessly, and he landed on the ground with a clatter.

"Beautiful Miss Eileen, I arrived a moment too late and allowed you to suffer a fright!" After sending Little Skeleton flying with one punch, Claude bowed courteously to Eileen and spoke humbly.

Claude was eighteen, with long silver hair tied back and hanging loosely down his back. Dressed in white training robes, he was exceptionally handsome. As soon as he appeared, some of the female Light Department students nearby blushed and stole glances at him, whispering to the girls around them.

"Wow, it's Claude! He's already an Intermediate Knight at just eighteen, and he's the youngest son of the Imperial Griffin Legion's Legion Commander. He's amazing!"

"Stop swooning. Claude likes Eileen. You only come from a minor family, and you aren't as beautiful as Eileen. He won't be interested in you."

Some of the female Light Department students nearby murmured among themselves, stealing glances at Claude as though he were the Prince Charming of their dreams. The male students, however, looked at him with expressions of both hatred and fear.

While everyone around them whispered, Little Skeleton, whom Claude had sent flying with a sword strike, shakily stood up. The dark ribs in his chest swayed along with his short, skinny body.

Eileen covered her upper and lower body, looking utterly disheveled, her face flushed scarlet. Still, Claude's arrival brought her a sigh of relief. She was about to speak to him when she saw Little Skeleton shakily rise behind him. Panic and disgust immediately appeared on her holy, lovely face. Pointing behind Claude, she said in alarm, "Claude, destroy that hideous dark creature, and I'll agree to have dinner with you."

Hearing Eileen's words, Claude glanced back and gave a soft "Huh?" He seemingly had not expected Little Skeleton to still be alive. Then, with a sunny smile, he bowed to Eileen. "At your service."

Claude then turned around, and his demeanor abruptly changed. His courtesy vanished in an instant, and a fierce light shone in his eyes. He punched with his right fist again, sending another flash of pale blue light shooting toward Little Skeleton.

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, a thin, small figure suddenly dashed out from the left and stood directly in front of Little Skeleton. The pale blue light from Claude's fist struck that slight figure squarely.

With a thud, the slight figure staggered backward several steps, then toppled over onto his back.

"Huh? Who's that servant? Why did he suddenly run out?" Surprised voices rose nearby.

"Damn it, Brian, have you gone mad?" Jack was just as bewildered and cried out in anguish.

The little witch Lisa was stunned as well. Her mind felt sluggish as she stared at Han Shuo, who had suddenly rushed out and taken the blow for Little Skeleton.

Something even more unexpected happened. Though the pale blue light had struck Han Shuo head-on, he did not immediately cough up blood and die. Instead, just like Little Skeleton, he shakily stood up, a bewildered, witless expression on his face and a simpleminded smile on his lips.

Little Skeleton, meanwhile, suddenly acted as though he were having a fit. First his little body swayed, then he abruptly turned around. Before anyone could react, his two little leg bones bent and straightened, and he shot off toward the Necromancy Department's magic school.

For some reason, Claude, who had launched the attack, suddenly stumbled and fell into a sitting position as well. He actually took several rapid, deep breaths before standing up, as though he had just overexerted himself. Once he rose, however, his handsome face was filled with astonishment and bewilderment, and he stared at the witless Han Shuo with an exceedingly strange expression.

The confusion and bewilderment on Han Shuo's face were not entirely feigned. Claude's pale blue light had entered his body directly through his chest. In that instant, Han Shuo had felt a piercing agony in his chest and had almost thought he was dead.

At that same instant, perhaps because his mental energy had been stimulated, Han Shuo once again successfully transmitted an order for Little Skeleton to flee quickly. To keep anyone from discovering him, Han Shuo had specifically ordered Little Skeleton to hide in the Garbage Dump where he always disposed of rubbish.

What Han Shuo found most incredible was that he could feel the pale blue light that had entered his body being strangely enveloped by his demonic essence. It could not move at all, much less destroy his internal organs from within.

"Brian, why are you here?" The little witch Lisa finally came to her senses and could not help calling out to Han Shuo.

At that moment, Han Shuo had no idea what was happening inside his body. His demonic essence had enveloped the pale blue light in his chest, and he only felt a faint tightness there. Apart from that initial pain, his body had actually suffered no serious injury.

To everyone else, however, Han Shuo looked so idiotic that he could not even hear people questioning him. His bewildered expression and foolish grin seemed to further confirm that he was mad.

"Oh, so he's that mad servant from the Necromancy Department. No wonder he has so little regard for his life!"

"Exactly! Only an idiot would run straight into Claude's attack at a time like this!"

Jack's legs were trembling, but the little fatty finally walked over to Han Shuo, grabbed his arm, and dragged him away, saying repeatedly, "Brian, why are you running all over the place? There's no fun to be had here. Come on, let's go back."

"Wait!" Just then, Claude suddenly spoke, his eyes fixed on Han Shuo. Setting aside Little Skeleton's escape for the moment, he thought, Why do I feel as though a little of my battle aura has vanished? What's going on? Am I imagining it?

I only threw one punch using battle aura. There's no reason I should feel tired, much less fall over. This is far too strange. Could this servant know some kind of evil magic? Impossible. He's only a servant. That's too inconceivable. I must be mistaken.

"Noble knight Claude, surely you aren't going to hold something against a servant? And this servant is mad, at that. Wouldn't that be beneath your distinguished status?" At that moment, unexpectedly, it was the little witch Lisa who spoke up for Han Shuo.

Hearing Lisa's words, Claude bowed to her from a distance, then gave Han Shuo another searching look. He nodded and said, "You may leave!"

"Those two servants may leave, but Lisa, you summoned that filthy Skeleton Warrior and even had him slash my clothes. You owe me an explanation." At some point, Eileen had draped a loose white robe over herself. By now, she had recovered her composure from her panic and spoke while staring coldly at Eileen.

"What does it have to do with me? I didn't summon that strange black Little Skeleton at all. Otherwise, why couldn't I control him? He sneaked into my room in the middle of the night and even kicked me twice. I'm a victim too." Lisa gave a soft snort and replied just as coldly.

"How is that possible? If you didn't summon him, who did? Someone from your Necromancy Department must have summoned him. Whoever it was, I'm going to settle the score with him!" Eileen said furiously.

"Huff, huff, Bark. When... when throwing out the rubbish, saw him run... run out by Bark's room." Han Shuo wore a foolish grin and stammered as though unable to express himself clearly, but everyone understood what he meant.

"So it really was him! He must be trying to get revenge because I beat him up last time!" The little witch Lisa's face darkened as she spoke icily.

Eileen's face was equally livid, and her teeth ground audibly. Just as the two were about to go settle the score with Bark, the bell for class suddenly rang. Everyone froze briefly at the sound, then the light magic students ran toward the light magic school, while the necromancy students ran toward the Darkness Department.

Only Han Shuo and Jack remained standing there foolishly. Han Shuo gave another "foolish" chuckle and said to Jack, "Bark is done for."

Jack nodded emphatically and said in complete agreement, "Yeah, this time, he's really done for!"