"It's the skeleton's doing!!!!" One of the men said as he looked at the skeleton who had both of his arms sticking out.

The skeleton was not moving, and it seems like it wasn't doing anything.

Of course, that was just on the surface as the people present here knew that the ominous aura that the skeleton was letting off was getting stronger by the second.

They could also feel that this ominous aura was making them weak, which is why they were starting to panic in this situation.

Why? It was because of Desire, who was still trying to move towards the skeleton.

"What are you guys doing?! Can you not see that I am trying to make a contract with the Representative!?" Desire said as he struggled to get out of the various men's hold.

The way he moved...was very stiff, which is why he wasn't able to get out of the men's hold even though he wasn't feeling weak or anything like that.

It was as if he was not affected by the ominous aura that the skeleton was letting off.

And that was the truth. The skeleton's aura was not affecting Desire at all, and that was because the skeleton wanted to make sure that Desire...would be able to proceed with the contract.

In fact, it was some other kind of aura that was affecting Desire; it was the skeleton's corruption, which is why he was acting like this.

With the help of the skeleton's 'corruption' and the ominous aura, Desire was forced to proceed with the contract without even realizing it.

However, it seems that Ryu doesn't plan to let this madness continue anymore as he churned up his mana from his Core and covered his left hand with it.

No, that was not all as Ryu began to cover his entire body with his mana to protect himself from the skeleton's ominous aura.

It was the aura that was making him weaker, but if Ryu can fight against it with his mana, then it wouldn't be a problem for him to return to his original strength.

And that was the truth as Ryu could feel his strength returning back to his body.

"The Representative's corruption must have gotten to your brain! Punish me for however you want later, but I must do this!" Ryu shouted out loud as he struck Desire's nape, intending to make him pass out.

The power behind that single strike was definitely strong as Ryu was even using his mana, but...it was not enough to make Desire pass out.

"Arghhh!!" Desire screamed as he felt the pain traveling throughout his entire body just from being hit in the nape.

"What the?! That was not enough?!" Ryu said as he began to churn some more of his mana.

If a single strike was not enough to make Desire pass out, then he just needs to strike him as much as he needs to.

Even though this would definitely create a rift between him and Desire, it would be worth it as long as Desire wouldn't be bound to the city just like the other Lords.

Right, that was Ryu's honest feelings about this whole situation, and that was why...Ryu was intending to smack Desire at the back of his head without pulling any of his strength back.

However, it was then that something...abnormal happened.

And that was...Desire fell to the ground without any warning.

Thud! The sound of his body hitting the ground hard resounded out, and this made the men holding Desire...jump to him just like how wild beasts jump on their prey.

"Quick!! Hold him down! Hold him down!!!" One of the men said as he began to restrain Desire's arms with his own arms.

Of course, the other men didn't need to be told that as each of them quickly went to work and began to hold some part of Desire's body to make sure that he wouldn't be able to stand up for now.

It was a chance that suddenly came to them; it would be stupid for these veterans of the battlefield to not pounce on this chance.

That was why it didn't take them long to ensure that Desire wouldn't be able to move and that...Desire was unconscious.

It seems that he really got knocked out from Ryu's strike, but it just took effect seconds later.

"Boss! The young master is knocked out!" One of the men holding Desire down spoke up as he looked at Ryu, his boss.

"Good! I don't know what happened, but make sure to hold him down properly! This situation is abnormal so prepare yourselves for a battle with this Representative!" Ryu said, and as soon as he was done, he whipped his head to look at the Representative, the skeleton.

However, when he did, his eyes soon widened as he saw the sigh of the Representative's left hand...slowly going back to its original position.

It was as if the skeleton was now done with what it had to do.

'The aura that the skeleton was releasing is gone...' Ryu thought as he observed the Representative.

As Ryu was using his mana to fight off against the aura that the Representative used to weaken the men, Ryu was able to feel if it was still present or not.

And the fact that it was gone when Desire suddenly collapsed...just strengthened the theory that Ryu had about the skeleton being done with what it had to do.

It was then that a feminine voice resounded out in Ryu's ears.

"What happened just now is an irregular among irregularities. I shall make contact with the headquarters and ask for an investigation regarding this Representative," the voice said.

And as soon as Ryu heard those words, he turned his head back to look at Amelia.

"Amelia. How's the young miss?" Ryu said.

"She's fine, I placed her in deep sleep," Amelia said as she pointed behind her, where Ryu could see Jarina sleeping on the ground.

"Hmm...anyways, I'll let you handle that. I will take care of the young master's wound and-" Ryu tried to say something else, but he was abruptly cut off by the man who called him earlier.

"B-b-boss! Boss! You got to see this! Boss!" The man shouted out loud and this made Amelia and Ryu turn their heads in his direction.

Of course, the man was holding Desire down, but the other men were just standing and keeping guard in case the skeleton does something else.

Anyways, the man who called Ryu was holding Desire's left arm up, where Desire cut himself up before.

And thanks to Ryu's good senses, Ryu could see the wound on Desire's left arm...closing up abnormally as if it were nothing as well.

The blood on Desire's left arm also became clean, but that was not important as Desire's wound completely closed without any healings or something like that.

"H-huh? Did I see it right or am I imagining things?" Ryu murmured as his eyes widened some more.

"N-no...I saw it, too..." Amelia said with the same expression on her face.

After all, the wound that Desire made was so bad that the floor...basically was tainted everywhere with Desire's blood.

A wound like that was something that must be healed up with a healer or a holy spell.

However...to see that Desire's wound automatically healed up on its own...was just ridiculous!

"Auto-regeneration? Is it some skill of the young master?" Ryu murmured, but...he was scolded by Amelia after she heard those words.

"Don't guess! The young master's secrets are not for you to find out!" Amelia said, but she was not done as she continued.

"Anyway, take the young master and the young miss away from here. I will take a look at the orb to make sure that the young master's blood didn't get to it."

And as soon as she said the last word, Amelia quickly went to work as she walked towards the Representative with no fear at all.

Of course, Ryu had doubts about letting Amelia check the Representative when the Representative could move, but...he decided to just let her do what she wants.

After all, Amelia was not a weakling who would be tainted with corruption or something like that.

She was used to ominous auras, and she could definitely defend herself against it.

"Alright boys! Carry the young master and the young miss to a room, and make sure that they get plenty of rest!" Ryu said as he disappeared.

Of course, the other men present in this room disappeared as well as they took Jarina and Desire from here.

And while that was happening, Amelia was now standing right before the Representative.

The cloth that she used to hide her face was mysteriously gone as she looked at the orb.

"Whew...it looks like the blood didn't come into contact with the orb," Amelia sighed in relief.

And right after that, her eyes...and demeanor changed as her aura turned sharp.

It was as if Amelia flicked a switch on, and it was with this kind of face that she spoke again, "What are you doing, Muzziah?"

"Do you understand what you just did?! That was blasphemy!"

"Answer me, Muzziah!" Amelia shouted out loud.

And the skeleton that didn't say anything until now...started to laugh.

"Ke ke ke ke ke," the skeleton, Muzziah laughed as his bones rattled, "ke ke ke ke."