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He looked like he was about to suffocate.
However, the black-robed skeleton scread for half an hour without stopping, its voice didn't weaken but grew even more hoarse and desperate. Nobody knew exactly what kind of panic it was having.
Since it obviously had no lungs or similar organs, Ian should have guessed by now that he couldn't actually strangle the black-robed skeleton. He was purely venting his own frustration and discomfort.
"Why does the contract you made with prevent from entering the Twilight Zone…" Ian just wanted to know the answer, but he already had a feeling about what the black-robed skeleton would say.
Sure enough.
The skeleton, dizzy from being shaken around, stood up unsteadily after Ian let go. As always, it raised a finger and pointed to its empty skull.
No words.
It seed seriously dizzy.
But here, silence was louder than words and Ian understood perfectly what it ant.
"You don't even have a brain! Why pretend to have a concussion!" Ian was speechless. He raised his wrist and rubbed the fading contract mark hard a few tis, it was annoyingly visible.
"Dizzy."
The black-robed skeleton's dry heave was uncannily realistic. Ian suspected it was acting for him, and the performance was excellent, but he had no proof to throw at its skull.
"Either you give an explanation today or do you see that big cauldron over there… Even if magic can't influence you, I'll catch a hundred rats and throw you in to boil into soup!" Ian was genuinely tempted to cook the skeleton into a broth. He even pulled out so devil chili peppers he got from the house elves.
Whether it was the rats scaring the skeleton or the thought of being boiled with chili making its skull numb, the black-robed skeleton was so frightened by Ian's threat that it kept backing away.
Clearly, it hadn't expected Ian to co up with such a punishnt!
It might not be human, but this little guy in front of it was definitely a savage!
To think of such an outrageous way to punish soone, it was stunning. Though the skeleton had no facial muscles, the berserk flickering of its soul fla showed just how panicked it was.
"Hehehehe~"
Seeing the skeleton's reaction, the Dentor who was forced to play cards by the skeleton had already hidden in the corner, giggling like a baby's cries echoing through the room.
This was seriously eerie.
"I… smuggling… blacklist… waiting for reset." Probably unable to bear Ian's psychological pressure, the black-robed skeleton finally, after holding back for a long ti, spoke sparingly. Whether it was really for this reason or just making excuses to calm Ian after previous harsh scoldings, nobody knew.
"Waiting for reset? How long do I have to wait?" Ian hurriedly asked, treating it as a last resort. This was related to one of his major Gold Finger abilities, he couldn't afford to be careless or slack here.
"A short while." The skeleton answered honestly, no longer daring to ntion its lack of a brain. It clearly knew more than it let on.
"How long is a short while? I want a specific ti. Hours? Days?" Ian's gaze was sharp, but the skeleton seed not to understand his question.
"A short while is just a short while… The red moon must rise forty-nine tis. That's how long it takes for that bad thing to reset the blacklist on this land."
The skeleton seed to be looking for the black Phoenix's location, but by this ti the black Phoenix had already been released. It couldn't find it inside the Room of Requirent, Ian himself could hardly summon it back. Only Schrödinger knew if the black Phoenix was in the Twilight Zone or bullying the purebred Phoenix Fawkes.
"Forty-nine days?" Ian sighed heavily in resignation.
To be honest, not being able to enter the Twilight Zone really hurt for Ian, not only because he couldn't deliver the Magic Mirror to Professor Morgan but also because he would lose so chances to learn magic from her.
Although Ian had a binding connection with Ariana through the Patronus Charm, getting Ariana to send ssages was extrely troubleso, after all, the flow of ti between the human world and the Twilight Zone was highly unpredictable.
Sotis seven days would pass in the human world while months flew by in the Twilight Zone; other tis, only a few minutes passed in the Twilight Zone but several hours had already elapsed in the human world.
There was no fixed, stable ratio of ti flow. That's why Ian rarely used this thod of communication, only resorting to it in ergencies.
Like now.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Ian drew his wand and cast the Patronus Charm. Silver threads surged out, weaving before him into the form of a beautiful girl. Just as Albus Dumbledore had judged earlier during the ti loop, summoning Ariana properly in the human world was a much heavier burden for Ian.
Given his magic power now, which were slightly beyond human limits, he could only maintain this form for about eight minutes. Afterward, he would feel as exhausted as if he had pulled three all-nighters.
"Ian, did you run into so evil wizard again?" Ariana, projected into the human world, glanced around and fixed her gaze on the skeleton wrapped in a black robe.
The kitchen utensils she held were also projected along with her.
"Not an evil wizard per say, but worse than them, this guy's a blacklisted resident of the Twilight Zone. He's now stained my 'credit record' there black!"
Ian was speaking in terms that Ariana barely understood.
But the girl was already used to it.
"You an reputation?" She tried hard to grasp Ian's aning, though she was still sowhat confused. After all, Ariana had never encountered such magic in life or after death.
She hadn't even attended any Muggle school, so Ian's taphors were naturally unclear to her.
"More or less, that's the idea. This guy is like stubborn glue stuck on , and now the Twilight Zone is temporarily refusing entry. I want to ask you to help talk to Professor Morgan, see if she can figure out what's going on." Ian handed Ariana a small note.
On it was a copy of the contract Ian had ford with the black-robed skeleton.
"Also ask her to help analyze it, what exactly is this contract?" Ian felt he needed not only Nicolas Flal's advice but also his teacher's opinion.
"Okay." Ariana blinked and nodded in agreent.
"Thanks a lot." Ian slipped a large box of chocolates and candies into her hands. He had tried this before, using the Patronus, he could transfer physical items between the Twilight Zone and reality.
Of course,
Such "delivery" wasn't without cost; it heavily affected the magic power's activity inside his body for a short ti. Now Ian only dared to use this thod to send items without magical effects.
"No problem. I was just going to bring so fruit to Miss Morgan anyway. Now I can share so tasty sweets too." Ariana was very happy to receive her "paynt."
She waved cheerfully at Ian, then dove into his wand.
Seeing Ariana successfully return to the Twilight Zone with the items, Ian breathed a huge sigh of relief. It seed the black-robed skeleton's trouble hadn't deeply affected him yet.
The fact he could still transfer things clearly showed Ian wasn't truly on the so-called blacklist. The one nailed to that blacklist was probably only the black-robed skeleton. Ian was only influenced because the Twilight Zone rejected the skeleton, and its "credit" problems affected him by association.
"You really are a sneaky bastard!" Ian had wanted to smack the skeleton's head but the skeleton cleverly dodged and run far away.
It really ran far.
Under Ian's stunned gaze, it shoved open the Dentor's mouth and crawled inside, leaving only its head stuck at the Dentor's mouth, staring fixedly outside.
More precisely, it was staring straight at Ian.
As if Ian moved closer, It would imdiately crawl deeper into the Dentor's mouth. The Dentor, terrified, tried desperately to close its mouth but couldn't push the skeleton in.
The Dentor frantically ran around in panic.
(To Be Continued…)
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